[TV] Kamen Rider Dragon Knight

My first Kamen Rider show review and it's an American one. Well, here we go!

---Summary:
Kamen Rider is a popular Japanese live action superhero series, made by the same folks who make Super Sentai, an equally notable series. Since the 90s, Super Sentai shows have been brought over to the US and have been adapted into the Power Rangers series we're all familiar with. While there was an attempt during the early years of Power Rangers to do the same kind of adaption with Kamen Rider Black RX, creating what is now known as Saban's Masked Rider, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is the first successful adaption of the series. I may have to review Masked Rider someday, though, it's a pretty laughable show.


---Writing:
The story is focused around Kit, a young man whose father goes missing. One year after his disappearance, he sees his father in reflective surfaces, telling him to search for a dragon. Not long after, he comes across an Advent Deck which turns him into Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. He and Len, who uses his own Advent Deck to become Kamen Rider Wing Knight, fight off the evil forces of a monster called Xaviax, who took over the mirror world of Ventara.

It's a simple and effective plot. I found that within the first 5 or 6 episodes things kind of felt sluggish, but once the Riders started to get introduced things were getting more interesting. I also felt that some of the other Riders were mostly forgettable, but the ones that stick around are pretty well written.

A criticism I have with it is I feel like the show doesn't do good with funny. When they write drama, they succeed, but when they make jokes it feels a bit bland. Maybe that's just me, though. They do good banter, though.


---Acting:
There's some decent acting. And I do mean decent. The female lead has some spotty line delivery, but that's a majority of the issues there. Stephen Lunsford and Matt Mullins do a fine job as Kit and Len. Also, William O'Leary as Xaviax is awesome.


---Music:
The opening theme is addicting and there's some pretty rockin' tunes in the show. Apart from that nothing too notable.


---Adapting:
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is from 2009 and was adapted from Kamen Rider Ryuki, the third Heisei era Rider series which originally aired in 2002. Its age is not much of a problem surprisingly, but there have been some points where I can see incredibly obvious use of Japanese footage. Said footage seems more desaturated and sometimes a little blurry. Apart from that, it's worked well. I haven't seen Ryuki so I can't speak for how closely it follows the original story or use of fight scenes, but going by what little I know about the Rider suits and how they were utilized in Ryuki, I'd say Dragon Knight did some extensive rewriting.


---Final Thoughts:
Dragon Knight is a mixed bag. If you're used to the current types of Kamen Rider shows which feature a lot of comedy, this one might be too serious and somewhat bland. But I would say give it a chance because, like it or not, this is a much better adaption than that other one and deserves some attention. You might like it.