-- 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑹𝑿 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 -- Kamen Rider Black RX, the final frontier. RX is the end of Rider’s tenure to the Japanese television screens on weekly airings in the Showa period. For Rider would not get its shine once more in television until 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000-2001). RX is direct sequel to the previous Kamen Rider Black (1987-1988), following Kotaro Minami in a new battle against the Crisis Empire with his newly gained form “RX” and later the forms of Bio and Robo Rider following suit. The show occasionally brings back cast from the previous season to further add onto a tighter sense of continuity. RX follows in Black’s footsteps by being essentially “Kamen Rider but with Sentai and Metal Heroes underneath”, a show that is so devoid of the typical Kamen Rider format that when it eventually does return to it with the final arc it feels fresh and new. From the well-crafted storyline to some really great scenes of character drama, RX seems to keep the ball rolling with Black’s strengths while putting it into a new setting and tone that still works. A problem Rider faces when doing a sequel series so direct (see Rider to V3), is that the sense of staleness coming from the similar tone and sometimes new takes on old plots. RX succeeds where V3 fails in this regard, where the more of the same types of moments don’t feel like they overstay their welcome and, arguably, show why those types of beats worked so well last season. Another issue they face is implementing the legacy cast into the story, and I think RX has the best approach to handling the return of the previous Riders compared to the many abrupt and rave-y attempts seen before. Instead of feeling like an attempt to garner higher viewership or ratings, they feel like they return for a reason that fits their characters. The show tackles its themes and ideas in ways not dissimilar to how Black did with its own, and even expands on many of the themes of Black. The two shows go hand-in-hand very well, as if they really do want you to also see how the writing team are able to strut their stuff. RX has a few issues with pacing at times, and I feel as if the show can have one too many unnecessary scenes that could have been cut out. I feel like this duo both have a wonky middle section that kinda bring them down but not to the point that it wholly affects the show. RX is worth a shot if you track down a good quality version, my personal recommendation is the Bereke Scrubs RX release. NEXT: Iron King
