Kamen Rider Amazons (2016)

This is how you do a reboot.

The Japanese are privy to numerous benefits thanks to Nozama Pharmacy's many advancements in medical technology. However, their most recent breakthrough created something which even they weren't ready for - Amazon Cells. When injected into a living host, Amazon Cells increase the subject's strength, speed, and durability exponentially. Test subjects have even displayed the ability to shape-shift and assimilate the memories of other people. The company has essentially created evolution in a syringe and these new lifeforms are referred to as Amazons. Of course being the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder comes with a small caveat. Amazons have developed an acquired taste - people. Before the company could correct this issue the Amazons escaped. Elsewhere, a meek young man named Haruka lives with his foster mother Reika Mizusawa and her daughter Mizuki. Unbeknownst to Haruka, he himself is infected with Amazon Cells and it's not long until a strange (or calculated) series of events turns him into Kamen Rider Amazon Omega. Using this power, Haruka must fight to protect his family from the ever-growing threat of the Amazons while struggling to hold onto his humanity which slips through his fingers by the day. It is eat or be eaten in this world where the rules of nature reign supreme.

Kamen Rider Amazon Omega

Kamen Rider Amazons is a 2016 web series which celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Kamen Rider series. Created in partnership with Amazon Prime, Kamen Rider Amazons is a reboot of the highly controversial 1974 Kamen Rider Amazon. Kamen Rider Amazon shocked Japanese viewers with its graphic violence. Whereas most Kamen Rider series average about 50 episodes, Kamen Rider Amazon was cancelled after 24 because it was too extreme. While people are desensitized to that kind of thing today, having blood, decapitations and the like in a 1970s-era show was a good way to get pulled from the airwaves, even more so in Japan. Kamen Rider Amazons gets around censorship issues by being streamed online rather than aired on television. Still, much like its predecessor, Amazons has its own share of controversy. It's not due to the violence, but producer Shinichiro Shirakura.

Love him or hate him Shirakura equals ratings.

A big name in tokusatsu, Shinichiro Shirakura is infamous for his harsh criticisms of Super Sentai, recent entries in the Kamen Rider series, and tokusatsu in general. Shirakura drew major heat for regarding modern tokusatsu as lackluster, juvenile, and too quick to rely on tropes rather than complex characters. With more than 20 years in the business, Shirakura produced many of the early (and arguably most popular) Heisei Era Kamen Rider series including Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Kabuto, and the hugely successful Decade along with a few others. Of course he was also responsible for the legendary flop that was Hibiki. With numerous films under his belt, Shirakura's Kamen Rider series are known for being very character driven, more dramatic and more mature than many of the later Kamen Rider series. His rationale for the reboot is best summed up by Shirakura himself, "Do you think the recent Kamen Riders are interesting? I don't think so! I hope with Amazons the toothless Kamen Rider can get his fangs back." A bold statement to be sure, but this series definitely has some bite.

He's no pup anymore.

Kamen Rider Amazons is a more mature entry in the Kamen Rider series. Not every episode ends on a cheery note and in fact there are quite a few episodes that end with characters being only slightly better off than where they started. There's a substantial body count throughout because the stakes are incredibly high and the hero doesn't always save the day. Haruka doesn't always rider kick his way to victory because every battle is a struggle not just against the Amazons, but his own nature which is changing after every encounter. It isn't long until his mere existence endangers his loved ones. This forces him to distance himself from the very people he's fighting to protect. Tom Fujita does a great job portraying the struggle of this young character. You can see the uncertainty and fear that lay behind Haruka's smile. He puts on a brave front because for all intents and purposes he's very much a kid in a world of adults and monsters and his innocence is torn from him with each new revelation.

Jin Takayama AKA Kamen Rider BADASS

Any good Kamen Rider series has a dichotomy among its heroes; enter Jin Takayama - Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha. Played by Masashi Taniguchi, Jin has a complicated relationship with Haruka. Sometimes Jin will be an aloof ally, other times he'll serve as a sinister mentor, and at the the worst times he's a dangerous foil to our main character. Charismatic, smart, and totally badass Jin almost seems to move on a whim, but his true motives are a mystery. No one really knows what he's after or what he's capable of, but he's a rider you cross at your own peril.

Family

Actress/model Rena Takeda plays Mizuki Mizusawa and I have to give her a few extra points for being one of the few likable female leads in a Kamen Rider series. She's a lonely girl who doesn't appear to have many friends at school and she's often neglected by her workaholic mother. Prior to Haruka's adoption, it's clear that Mizuki didn't have any friends and so she's developed a strong attachment to Haruka. As Haruka changes, his refusal to open up to Mizuki brings back her feelings of isolation and neglect. It's clear that Amazons has a lot of great characters not the least of which being the Nozama Peston Service which is a team of mercenaries hired by Nozama Pharmacy to hunt down the Amazons. The mercs all have different personalities and their interactions are some of the best acted scenes in the show. The actors feel very natural and the characters feel less like mercs and more like a family that has been through it all together. The series does a great job with its human characters, but the action is well done too.

Kamen Rider Amazon Alpha

The battles in Kamen Rider Amazons are more similar to the battles in early Heisei Era titles. These are knockdown, drag out, smash mouth fights. The riders don't just get a power-up and wipe out the enemy in a flash (looking at you Kamen Rider Gaim) rather there is an ongoing, brutal fight and it's during these battles we see even more differences between our heroes. As the good folks at Rider Club Radio pointed out, the battles in Amazons is less stylish and is more of a fight between monsters. In many ways Amazon Omega is a berserker and as Omega Haruka's approach to combat is a wild, frenzied offense. His attacks aren't technically sound so it does take him awhile to wear down his foes, but he's absolutely relentless in doing so. Jin on the other hand is in complete control as Amazon Alpha. Even transformed he maintains his super cool swagger and he lays waste to the Amazons with a combination of bestial savagery and surgical precision. It's not all perfect though. The mercs are completely useless when the more powerful Amazons show up and they're relegated to just being distractions. Also, the digital blood spatter is used too much in some of the episodes which can detract from the presentation of the fight scenes.

Never get on Alpha's bad side.

The writing, the acting, and the tone are all top notch and this is some of the best cinematography I've seen in a tokusatsu in awhile. While the show isn't perfect, each episode leaves you wanting more and this is a fantastic reboot because unlike most it's a quality series and not just a cash-in on a franchise name. It's also a great jumping on point for those looking to get into Kamen Rider, but may have been turned off by the "shonen-esque" presentation of recent entries. (Once again looking at you Kamen Rider Gaim.) Kamen Rider Amazons is gritty and as long as you're not afraid to get dirty you're going to have a good time.