Here's a quickie from me.
Kamen Rider Agito
Story/Characters:
The story mainly focuses on three characters, all who are Kamen Riders. First is Soichi Tsugami, an amnesiac that was found washed ashore on a beach. Soichi adopts his name from the name addressed to on an empty envelope that was found with him. He is somehow able to transform into Agito, a being that is constantly evolving. Then there's Makoto Hikawa, a police officer who became a hero after a particular incident. Because of this, in order to prevent anyone from inquiring about the incident, his superiors chose Hikawa to become part of the Squad of Anti Unidentified Lifeforms (SAUL) and become the user of the G3 System, a robot suit meant to fight unknown lifeforms. Last is Ryo Ashihara, a former star swimmer at Jyohoku University. Ryo was involved in an accident, which nearly ended his swimming career. After he healed, he started swimming again, but soon started to mutate, which ultimately lead him to transform into Gills, a feral Kamen Rider. Ryo eventually leaves his former life behind, and pursues the cause of his father's suicide.
The antagonists are a race called the Unknown, as referred to by the police to differentiate them from the "Unidentified Life Forms" from the previous Kamen Rider series, Kamen Rider Kuuga, which were defeated two years ago in the story. The Unknown are responsible for "impossible murders" happening to people around Tokyo, all of which have a certain connection. It is up to Agito, G3, and Gills to destroy these monsters to protect Tokyo, however the police are also concerned about whether Agito is an ally or an enemy.
As the story goes on, we are introduced to more characters, including crucial ones; Mana Kazaya, who, along with her uncle and his son, let Souichi live with them, and eventually is revealed to have her own special powers, and the people who were involved in the incident Makoto Hikawa rescued them from, who eventually become targets by the Unknown.
The story starts out a bit unusually, as witnessed in the first episode, Soichi can transform into Agito, but are left with no reason why he can do so, and even worse, we do not actually see him transform; he just sort of appears while G3 and an Unknown are fighting. However, as the series goes on, more is revealed, and though some plot points are fairly obvious, others are very well hidden and unseen, which, until late in the show, is revealed. The fates of the three Kamen Riders and other characters intersect at many points during the story, which, along with the mysteries surrounding Agito, Gills, the Unknown, and the incident, is a great hook that will keep you watching. It starts out a little bumpy, but it's quite a ride up to the 51st episode conclusion. I also thought the reference to the events in Kuuga was rather clever, though it was only brought up once early in the show, and never mentioned afterward. It's a pseudo-sequel, so watching Kamen Rider Kuuga isn't required.
Music:
The opening theme of the show from episode 2-35 is "Kamen Rider AGITO", sung by Shinichi Ishihara. From episodes 36-50, a remix of the song, the ~24.7 Version~, was used, also sung by Ishihara. Both are very catchy, especially the original version, which is somehow stuck in my head. In the fandub I watched, the ending themes/credits were cut out, but I believe most of the songs used are actually played during certain segments of the show. In almost all of the episodes, the song "BELIEVE YOURSELF" by Naoto Fuuga is used during fights, and I actually found it a little tiresome to hear the same song almost every time a fight breaks out. Another song also becomes a battle theme, "DEEP BREATH" by RIDER CHIPS featuring ROLLY later in the show. Overall, though, the music is pretty good, from the silly theme whenever a comedic moment occurs, to the ominous orchestra when the main villain appears.
Action/The Riders:
The fights in Agito are pretty good. Both Agito and Gills both make visual changes when they are about to pull off their strongest attacks, like Agito's Rider Kick, which is pretty nifty. Agito can also change forms when the situation calls for it, and some have similarities to some of Kuuga's other forms. For example, Agito's Storm Form is similar to Kuuga's Dragon form, where both can use staff-like weapons, are more agile, and wear blue armor. Agito and Gills are also biological Riders, not mechanical like many of the other Kamen Riders in the franchise, though Gills appears much more organic than Agito, including a mouthpiece that opens when Gills screams, which I thought was pretty damn cool. Though I haven't seen the other Kamen Rider shows, I do believe that Hikawa and the G3 System are unique in which that Hikawa does not transform into the suit, but rather has to put the entire suit on himself. It proves that G3 is very much mechanical, and a great compliment to the more organic Agito and Gills, and can also prove the ingenuity and strength that humans can achieve... though initially G3 was absolute rubbish in fighting ability. This show is actually the first in the franchise to have more than one Kamen Rider, as well, and this formula would go on to bring in villains who are Kamen Riders in later series.
Overall, Kamen Rider Agito is a very good watch, and not a bad starting point if you want to start watching a Kamen Rider series, specifically a Heisei era one. It starts out a bit disjointed, but it gets much better as the show goes on.
[4/5]
TL;DR
+Story that will hook you in.
+Interesting characters and Riders.
+Very good music that matches the scenes and overall feeling of the show.
-Starts out a little bit disjointed.
-Could have used more variety in fighting music.
