Kamen Rider FAIZ (Also known as Kamen Rider 555, or Masked Rider 555)
First of all, it's worth noting that FAIZ is probably a type of show you aren't familiar with. It's a Japanese Tokusatsu show, which is a live action show, the term is related to Science Fiction shows, Sentai, and the Kamen Rider franchise. So what is the Kamen Rider franchise? You could describe it as the supreme Japanese Super Hero Franchise. Kamen Rider is typically a grasshopper like hero, that fights against bad guys using it's super strength, and super powers. Kamen Rider FAIZ is one of the FAIZ shows from the new Milenium, it isn't on a timeline with any other Kamen Rider shows.
Kamen Rider FAIZ comes from the long, long, Kamen Rider Franchise, which is older then Gundam (The first Kamen Rider came out in 1971, Mobile Suit Gundam came out in 1979) it's gone from a Super Hero show about a masked hero fighting an evil organization taking over the world, to shows with a lot of drama and character development.
I think it's necessary to point out that all though FAIZ may seem stupid or child like, it's quite the opposite. The more you watch, the better it gets.
Kamen Rider FAIZ at it's very center is about two men. Yuji Kiba, and Takumi Inui. A year before FAIZ, Yuji was in a car accident, his parents died, and he was in a coma for a year. When Yuji was released, he found that his girlfriend hooked up with another man, and his remaining kin were trying to get rid of him. It is then Yuji realizes that he's been given an inhuman power. A power to transform into a monster, a half horse, half human monster. Yuji comes in contact with the Smart Brain corporation, a giant company that has been furthering a new species, the Orphenocs. Orphenocs can transform from humans, into monsters at will.
The other man, Takumi Inui gets dragged into the series when he gets his travel bag mixed up with a woman named Mari's bag. He chases her, and eventually they both get ambushed by an Orphenoc monster. Mari hurries up and attaches the FAIZ belt to Takumi, and he attaches it with a special cell phone like machine and a power suit materializes around his body.
The Kamen Rider franchise is not new to Drama. There's been dramatic installments of the franchise before. But FAIZ in my opinion has Drama that's magnificently done. FAIZ is loaded with characters that are all linked up. For example, sometimes FAIZ, fights Character B in Orphenoc form, and later they meet without knowing they are FAIZ and the Orphenoc, then Character B goes and meets Character C and doesn't know Character C has been living with Takumi and Character D, who occasionally Runs in with Character E. FAIZ is a complex web of characters, there's Orphenocs, humans, characters that are Orphenoc and don't know. There's characters that try and sabotage other characters, there's characters that fall in love with other characters, there's Romeo and Juliet romances.
The Characters are also very well ranged. There’s a character whose career got ruined because he was in a motorcycle accident, there's a character that kills everything it touches (Yeah that creates for some awkward moments), there's a human character trying to keep up with everything that's going on. Characters also have complex back stories, and information about characters is constantly discovered and found out as time goes on.
FAIZ isn't ALL characters and drama though. There's loads of fights, great fights, well choreographed fights, interesting fights, dramatic fights. This show probably has some of the coolest fights out of anything, ever.
It also has a superb OP song. The music in the show is pretty good, and the sound effects are great, especially the English that the devices say.
Overall, I'd say FAIZ is a must see, and is one of the best Japanese live action shows ever. If you stick with it past episode 1, you're really going to enjoy it.
Story: 5 out of 5 stars.
Characters: 5 out of 5 stars.
Action: 5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4 out of 5 stars
Suit Designs: 5 out of 5 stars.
Overall: 5 out of 5.
(This review was written by PronsAmuro)
