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Back in the day, I was a fan of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV show
when it first came out. As time went on, and the original cast members were
replaced, none of the later versions were as cool to me as the first one, and I
stopped watching. I haven’t seen the old episodes in a long time. But when I
heard rumors about the new Kamen Rider Dragon Knight series, there was something
about the show that caught my attention. I got the opportunity to watch the
sneak preview on Saturday December 13th, so I thought I’d put my two
cents in as to what I thought about it. I think I’ve been waiting for someone to
do a show like this—a show that reminded me of the feeling I got when I watched
the original Power Rangers.
I should mention that I’ve never seen the Japanese versions of KR, so I
won’t be comparing the U.S. version to them. I also don’t want to compare it to
the original Power Rangers because I think KRDK is in a different kind of
category. It’s geared to a slightly older audience, if I’m not mistaken, so the
content and story line are different.
I first saw the trailer for KRDK floating around online a while back, so I
know a little more about the story line than what was presented in the first
episode. I like the story line that’s presented so far—Kit Taylor, the young
hero just entering adulthood, alone and trying to find his way. I think people
can relate to it. The most unlikely of people are sometimes called to do great
things. It’s a classic story line.
Then there’s Len (a.k.a. Wing Knight)—the obvious mentor figure who will
help Kit in his newfound journey. He’s an interesting character. I’m not sure
about Len yet—who he really is. As a viewer, you know he’s supposed to be a good
guy, but he’s really intimidating at the same time. I’m curious about his back
story…. I hope the writers spend some time on that. Maya totally reminds me of
Lois Lane—strong, independent, and curious—which works here. But I hope, as time
goes on, I see more to her character than just another Lois Lane.
Right off the bat, I care about these characters. I want to see what
happens to them in the future, which is a good sign they are doing the show the
right way.
They seemed to have cast the right people for the main characters. The
acting was good overall. One small criticism is that, in relation to the first
episode, I wish Kit had reacted to seeing the monsters with a bit more surprise.
He didn’t seem as frightened as he should have been. But since strange stuff had
already been happening before that (e.g. Kit’s dad gone missing, and Kit
constantly getting in trouble for stuff he didn’t do), one could argue that some
of the novelty of the "strangeness" had worn off for him by the time the
monsters appeared.
My favorite scene would have to be the opening fight scene in the parking
garage where we meet Len for the first time. The special effects and fight
scenes are probably something I like most of all (I tend to like action movies).
I look forward to seeing more of that. Oh yeah, and the giant mechanical spider
was awesome.
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