Kamen Rider Spirits · review
For a Japanese cult classic like Kamen Rider, this manga has been revolutionary. Comparing this to showa era riders is like comparing a base of a pizza with a fresh out of the oven pepperoni pizza. It is innovative, stayed true to the original series and linked all these shows together like a spear gutting several fish with a single strike. In order oto understand what this manga is really about, you need to have a firm but basic knowledge of the original showa riders. Most fans of the original kamen rider know what to expect in this manga, its bloody, dark and turned theoriginal cheesy, ancient and nonsensical plot into the stuff of legends. The plot may seem cliche as it follows a similar plot to the original Birth of ZX but in the manga, the characters and stories have a exceptional ammount of depth and a very threatening group of villains known as Badan.
But then again this is what the original series has always been missing, realism. Quoted from Emiya Shiro from Fate/Stay Night "People die if they are killed" the show itself did not have many notable deaths aside from a few mutants here and there, but was surprisingly dark. This manga innovated these aspects and pulled it altogether with the riders not being as omnipotent as expected but working along side soldiers to fight off the 'bad guys'.