#koji seto

瀬戸 康史 / Koji Seto

kamen rider kiva (2008)

Haruhi Iuchi, Koji Seto, & Shoki Nakayama | 8.11.24

I was really curious about this movie, since Mari Okada has written and/or directed some pretty amazing stories, and the promotional materials and trailers looked very interesting. However, I can't say I liked it as much as I expected. I did love how ambitious the film is in terms of concept and themes, and the animation definitely lives up to the Mappa standard. In particular, the final act includes some truly stunning visuals. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with these characters, and I didn't find any of them likeable or interesting. Therefore, this movie doesn't even come close to the emotional wallop delivered by the ending of Okada's previous directorial work, the beautiful Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. So yeah, Maboroshi is well-made, but rather disappointing.

"I hope Koji Seto is able to be convinced to return to do one more Kamen Rider Kiva project, since I know with him focusing on his music career, he has little interest or purpose in coming back, but the idea of one last thing for those who liked Kiva gets me excited, especially with Kiva's ending of the Neo-Fangire invasion, a follow-up to that would be great to get, even if it has to be retconned given the time-gap between Kiva's end and now."