![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
A bit about Kamen Rider Kabuto
Okay, I wrote up a short bit of an essay because I wanted to try to share what this Kamen Rider Kabuto is that I keep writing fics about. Of course, I'd like to get more of my friendslist into it too, but I thought an explanation might be in order.
Introduction
Kamen Rider Kabuto, like most of the Kamen Rider series, has not been adapted in the United States. However, since it is fansubbed, those of us who are not fluent in Japanese can still enjoy it. As of this writing, Kabuto was up to episode 23, and 22 of the episodes had been fansubbed by the fansub group TV-Nihon. (And if you're masochistic or can understand Japanese, it's also available in Raw - untranslated - format.)
Another Kind of Tokusatsu Series
Those who are familiar with Power Rangers no doubt know that the source for some of the footage comes from the Super Sentai, which is a form of Tokusatsu. Kamen Rider is another well-known Tokusatsu (which means simply live-action special effects) series in Japan, and the two are often intertwined in promotion, though not in the series themselves.
Being so closely related means that Kamen Rider did make its way to America and other english-speaking countries in the form of "Masked Rider", which adapted footage from Kamen Rider Black RX. While it wasn't successful, perhaps because Kamen Rider might be a bit harder to adapt than Sentai, or perhaps because it wasn't the time, it did give audiences a view of what Japan had to offer.
Kamen Rider is different from Sentai/Super Sentai because it tends to feature not a team of heroes, but a group of people working both together and separately to defeat the latest menace. Kamen Rider series almost always feature their main characters on motorcycles (thus the "Rider" in the title), but don't share the giant robots of their Sentai cousins. In other words, fond of armored fights but not mecha fights? Then this might be your style.
The Day Shibuya Died, or what is it all about?
The basic premise of all Kamen Rider series is people on motorcycles fighting monsters. In the case of Kamen Rider Kabuto, these monsters are an alien species called the Worm. Worms can mimic humans, assuming their forms to pass unnoticed. Worms show up in two forms: a pupa form and a more powerful molted form.
The Worms arrived seven years ago, on a meteorite that wiped out the Shibuya section of Tokyo. Since then, they've gradually been wiping out the humans of Tokyo. The humans of Tokyo are largely unaware of this, thanks to the effort of an organization named ZECT. ZECT covers up the invasion, but it also fights the Worm population, both through its armored troops (Zectroopers) and through the Rider Systems it has constructed.
Only one Rider System, Kabuto, showed up initially, with other Rider Systems (and Riders) showing up throughout the storyline. The System consists of two parts: a mobile Zecter, and some kind of equipment that it latches onto. The Zecters are at least semi-sentient or intelligent; they choose who gets to use them, which sometimes means, much to ZECT's chagrin, that they sometimes choose someone who's not in ZECT. ZECT has tried to bring in or eliminate these rogue Riders at various times, though without much success.
Who It's All About
There are quite a few characters that appear in the series, but the story seems to center on the three that show up in the credits: Tendou, Kagami, and Hiyori.
Tendou is a young man who we don't know much about, other than he's been training for the day that he gets to be the chosen partner for Kabuto Zecter. He's arrogant, and seems perfect at times, easily beating the other Riders, both in fighting and sometimes in real life. He has a younger sister, Juka, who's still in school. He feeds her breakfast every morning and cares about her.
Kagami is in ZECT, though he also has a part time job at a restaurant called the Bistro La Salle. Where Tendou is arrogant and seems to do almost everything right, Kagami is brash, doesn't always think things through, and is more willing to believe in someone than Tendou does. He tries at various points to bring the rogue Riders in, not succeeding but willing to try. His compassion gets him in trouble sometimes, but it's part of who he is.
Hiyori is the last of the three main characters. She is as much a mystery as Tendou is, though we do know she is one of the survivors of the Shibuya crash, where her parents died. She works with Kagami at the Bistro La Salle and seems more comfortable with machines than people, and is a bit tomboyish and strange (to the extent that she uses "boku", usually used by some males, for "I", which is apparently a bit unusual).
Why I Like It
Okay, I confess, like most recent Kamen Rider series it has nice-looking twenty-something guys. (Though guys around my age are nice to have around too... the actors for Kamen Rider Hibiki's Zanki and Hibiki, and Kamen Rider Blade's Isaka, are all around my age.) But apart from the eye candy, there are other reasons I keep watching.
There's a mystery going on, not only with the Worms, but ZECT, the main characters, and the Zecters as well. Was Tendou at the Shibuya crash? What is his connection to Hiyori? Who killed Hiyori's parents? Does ZECT have an agenda other than to fight Worms? How intelligent are the Zecters, are they alive? Are they, in some way, Worms? And do the Worms have an agenda? Furthermore, how much of a mimicked person's memories and emotions influence the Worm that's taken on their shape?
I also like the CGI and music. The Riders' forms are, for the most part, quite cool. I like most of the characters, supporting and main. (My favorite's Kagami, for those who haven't guessed.) And there are plenty of Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman cameos in there too, which makes playing "spot the actor" quite fun.
Where To Get It
The series is subbed by TV-Nihon. Their site is http://www.tvnihon.com - go to the link that says "BitTorrent" to get to the Torrents. (There are other ways of getting it, including one person I know of who will burn DVDs of files for discs plus shipping, but this is the most reliable way.) If you're not certain, grab the torrent for the first four episodes and see for yourself. Or try YouTube to see if the subs are there if you don't want to go to that trouble.
Introduction
Kamen Rider Kabuto, like most of the Kamen Rider series, has not been adapted in the United States. However, since it is fansubbed, those of us who are not fluent in Japanese can still enjoy it. As of this writing, Kabuto was up to episode 23, and 22 of the episodes had been fansubbed by the fansub group TV-Nihon. (And if you're masochistic or can understand Japanese, it's also available in Raw - untranslated - format.)
Another Kind of Tokusatsu Series
Those who are familiar with Power Rangers no doubt know that the source for some of the footage comes from the Super Sentai, which is a form of Tokusatsu. Kamen Rider is another well-known Tokusatsu (which means simply live-action special effects) series in Japan, and the two are often intertwined in promotion, though not in the series themselves.
Being so closely related means that Kamen Rider did make its way to America and other english-speaking countries in the form of "Masked Rider", which adapted footage from Kamen Rider Black RX. While it wasn't successful, perhaps because Kamen Rider might be a bit harder to adapt than Sentai, or perhaps because it wasn't the time, it did give audiences a view of what Japan had to offer.
Kamen Rider is different from Sentai/Super Sentai because it tends to feature not a team of heroes, but a group of people working both together and separately to defeat the latest menace. Kamen Rider series almost always feature their main characters on motorcycles (thus the "Rider" in the title), but don't share the giant robots of their Sentai cousins. In other words, fond of armored fights but not mecha fights? Then this might be your style.
The Day Shibuya Died, or what is it all about?
The basic premise of all Kamen Rider series is people on motorcycles fighting monsters. In the case of Kamen Rider Kabuto, these monsters are an alien species called the Worm. Worms can mimic humans, assuming their forms to pass unnoticed. Worms show up in two forms: a pupa form and a more powerful molted form.
The Worms arrived seven years ago, on a meteorite that wiped out the Shibuya section of Tokyo. Since then, they've gradually been wiping out the humans of Tokyo. The humans of Tokyo are largely unaware of this, thanks to the effort of an organization named ZECT. ZECT covers up the invasion, but it also fights the Worm population, both through its armored troops (Zectroopers) and through the Rider Systems it has constructed.
Only one Rider System, Kabuto, showed up initially, with other Rider Systems (and Riders) showing up throughout the storyline. The System consists of two parts: a mobile Zecter, and some kind of equipment that it latches onto. The Zecters are at least semi-sentient or intelligent; they choose who gets to use them, which sometimes means, much to ZECT's chagrin, that they sometimes choose someone who's not in ZECT. ZECT has tried to bring in or eliminate these rogue Riders at various times, though without much success.
Who It's All About
There are quite a few characters that appear in the series, but the story seems to center on the three that show up in the credits: Tendou, Kagami, and Hiyori.
Tendou is a young man who we don't know much about, other than he's been training for the day that he gets to be the chosen partner for Kabuto Zecter. He's arrogant, and seems perfect at times, easily beating the other Riders, both in fighting and sometimes in real life. He has a younger sister, Juka, who's still in school. He feeds her breakfast every morning and cares about her.
Kagami is in ZECT, though he also has a part time job at a restaurant called the Bistro La Salle. Where Tendou is arrogant and seems to do almost everything right, Kagami is brash, doesn't always think things through, and is more willing to believe in someone than Tendou does. He tries at various points to bring the rogue Riders in, not succeeding but willing to try. His compassion gets him in trouble sometimes, but it's part of who he is.
Hiyori is the last of the three main characters. She is as much a mystery as Tendou is, though we do know she is one of the survivors of the Shibuya crash, where her parents died. She works with Kagami at the Bistro La Salle and seems more comfortable with machines than people, and is a bit tomboyish and strange (to the extent that she uses "boku", usually used by some males, for "I", which is apparently a bit unusual).
Why I Like It
Okay, I confess, like most recent Kamen Rider series it has nice-looking twenty-something guys. (Though guys around my age are nice to have around too... the actors for Kamen Rider Hibiki's Zanki and Hibiki, and Kamen Rider Blade's Isaka, are all around my age.) But apart from the eye candy, there are other reasons I keep watching.
There's a mystery going on, not only with the Worms, but ZECT, the main characters, and the Zecters as well. Was Tendou at the Shibuya crash? What is his connection to Hiyori? Who killed Hiyori's parents? Does ZECT have an agenda other than to fight Worms? How intelligent are the Zecters, are they alive? Are they, in some way, Worms? And do the Worms have an agenda? Furthermore, how much of a mimicked person's memories and emotions influence the Worm that's taken on their shape?
I also like the CGI and music. The Riders' forms are, for the most part, quite cool. I like most of the characters, supporting and main. (My favorite's Kagami, for those who haven't guessed.) And there are plenty of Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman cameos in there too, which makes playing "spot the actor" quite fun.
Where To Get It
The series is subbed by TV-Nihon. Their site is http://www.tvnihon.com - go to the link that says "BitTorrent" to get to the Torrents. (There are other ways of getting it, including one person I know of who will burn DVDs of files for discs plus shipping, but this is the most reliable way.) If you're not certain, grab the torrent for the first four episodes and see for yourself. Or try YouTube to see if the subs are there if you don't want to go to that trouble.