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A dedicated Kamen Rider fan with 15 years of viewing experience evaluates the best series released since Ex-Aid (2016), analyzing eight consecutive installments through rigorous criteria including narrative consistency, character development, and visual innovation. The analysis reveals that Build stands as the strongest entry, followed by Zi-O as a unique retrospective experience.
What Happened
A long-time Kamen Rider enthusiast has published a comprehensive video essay and accompanying analysis examining viewer reactions to the question: “Which Kamen Rider series after Ex-Aid should I watch?” The creator, who has followed the franchise for over 15 years and watched every installment since Ex-Aid’s 2016 debut, provides detailed critical evaluation of eight consecutive series: Ex-Aid, Build, Zi-O, Zero-One, Saber, Revice, Geats, and the current ongoing series.
Why It Matters
The Kamen Rider franchise underwent significant stylistic and thematic shifts beginning with Ex-Aid, moving away from traditional tokusatsu conventions toward more complex narratives and diverse storytelling approaches. For both longtime fans and newcomers seeking entry points into the modern era of the series, understanding which installments best exemplify this evolution is valuable. The analysis addresses a common fan question while providing framework for evaluating tokusatsu productions based on narrative structure, character development, and production quality rather than popularity alone.
Background
Kamen Rider Build (2017-2018) marked a turning point in the franchise’s post-Ex-Aid direction by introducing geopolitical conflict as a central theme while maintaining character-driven storytelling. Zi-O (2018-2019) served as a retrospective culmination of the Heisei era, incorporating crossovers with all previous Heisei-era Riders. Subsequent series including Zero-One, Saber, Revice, and Geats each experimented with distinct thematic approaches: AI ethics, fantasy worldbuilding, sibling dynamics, and death game scenarios respectively. This period represents an era of increased narrative complexity and expanded target demographics compared to earlier Rider series.
Key Points
- Build is identified as the strongest post-Ex-Aid entry due to narrative consistency, compelling protagonist growth, complex antagonist characterization, innovative visual direction, and lasting emotional resonance
- Zi-O ranks second as a unique experience specifically valuable for long-term franchise followers, offering retrospective integration of the entire Heisei era
- Post-Zi-O series (Zero-One, Saber, Revice, Geats) each present distinct thematic experiments but with varying degrees of narrative coherence and accessibility
- The post-Ex-Aid era demonstrates three major trends: adoption of complex storytelling, multi-layered character relationships, and deliberate expansion beyond traditional child-focused demographics
- Viewer reception remains diverse, with different series appealing to different audience segments based on thematic preference and narrative complexity tolerance
- Critical evaluation should prioritize story structure consistency, protagonist character development credibility, antagonist complexity, visual innovation, and lasting emotional impact
Timeline
- October 2016 – August 2017: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (45 episodes) establishes game-inspired aesthetic and pops visual style, marking the beginning of the modern era
- September 2017 – August 2018: Kamen Rider Build (49 episodes) introduces geopolitical conflict narrative with protagonist scientist character arc
- September 2018 – August 2019: Kamen Rider Zi-O (48 episodes) functions as Heisei era retrospective with extensive crossover elements
- September 2019 – August 2020: Kamen Rider Zero-One (45 episodes) explores AI ethics and technological advancement themes
- September 2020 – August 2021: Kamen Rider Saber (50 episodes) adopts fantasy worldbuilding with complex multi-narrative structure
- September 2021 – August 2022: Kamen Rider Revice (50 episodes) emphasizes sibling relationships and human drama approaches
- September 2022 – August 2023: Kamen Rider Geats (50 episodes) introduces death game scenario targeting expanded adult viewership
Perspectives
The Creator’s Evaluation: Build achieves the optimal balance between thematic complexity and narrative accessibility, with particular strength in protagonist character development and antagonist philosophical depth. The Build-up transformation mechanism provides exceptional visual value, while the geopolitical conflict theme receives consistent development from opening to conclusion. Zi-O offers unique value specifically for franchise veterans through its retrospective integration of prior series, creating emotional resonance through accumulated viewing history.
Broader Fan Community Response: Twitter discussions frequently cite Build as the highest-quality entry, while also acknowledging Zi-O’s unique appeal for long-term followers. YouTube comments show diverse recommendations including Zero-One and Saber, reflecting varied audience preferences. 5channel tokusatsu board discussions note that post-Build series represent stylistic departure from traditional Rider conventions, with Geats’ death game concept viewed as particularly divergent from franchise norms.
Comparative Framework: When evaluated against classic Heisei-era standards like Kuuga (2000-2001) and Agito (2001-2002), Build demonstrates different structural approaches: macro-level geopolitical perspective versus individual-society relationships, rigorous scientific worldbuilding versus reality-grounded aesthetics, and multi-protagonist structure versus single-protagonist focus. These differences reflect era-specific production demands rather than quality hierarchy.
Critical Evaluation Criteria
Story Structure Consistency: The degree to which themes introduced in early episodes achieve meaningful resolution in concluding episodes. Build excels here; Saber shows thematic dilution as new narrative elements accumulate.
Protagonist Character Development Credibility: Whether the main character’s growth trajectory feels psychologically motivated and emotionally resonant. Build’s protagonist Sento Kiryu demonstrates compelling progression through internal conflict between scientific conviction and human emotion.
Antagonist Complexity: Whether opposing characters possess independent philosophical frameworks rather than functioning as simple obstacles. Build’s Evolto represents sophisticated antagonist design with coherent worldview.
Visual Innovation: Distinctive visual language and transformation sequences that enhance narrative impact. Build’s Build-up mechanism and Ex-Aid’s game-inspired aesthetics both demonstrate strong visual creativity.
Emotional Resonance: The quality of lingering emotional response following series conclusion. Build generates complex, multivalent emotional experience; this quality varies significantly across subsequent entries.
Viewing Recommendations
For New Viewers: Begin with Build to understand post-Ex-Aid franchise direction and experience the highest-quality narrative execution. Build provides optimal entry point for evaluating modern Rider series without requiring extensive prior knowledge.
For Franchise Veterans: Follow Build with Zi-O to experience retrospective integration of accumulated viewing history. Zi-O’s value increases proportionally with prior series familiarity.
For Thematic Exploration: Select subsequent series (Zero-One, Saber, Revice, Geats) based on specific thematic interest: AI ethics, fantasy worldbuilding, family drama, or dark psychological concepts respectively.
Viewing Method: Weekly episodic viewing generates superior experience compared to binge-watching, as anticipation for subsequent episodes amplifies narrative engagement and emotional investment.
Emerging Trends in Post-Ex-Aid Kamen Rider
Narrative Complexity Expansion: Shift from traditional “hero versus villain organization” structure toward multifaceted themes including geopolitical conflict, AI ethics, fantasy cosmology, and psychological game scenarios. This reflects aging audience demographics and broader tokusatsu industry trends toward sophisticated storytelling.
Multi-Layered Character Relationships: Movement beyond binary protagonist-antagonist dynamics toward complex webs including sibling conflict, organizational factionalism, and internal psychological division. Revice exemplifies this approach through emphasis on brother dynamics.
Demographic Expansion: Deliberate inclusion of mature thematic content and darker conceptual frameworks targeting adult viewership alongside traditional child audiences. Geats’ death game scenario represents this strategy most explicitly.
Challenges in Modern Kamen Rider Production
Complexity-Accessibility Balance: Increased narrative sophistication risks alienating viewers unable to maintain engagement with complex plot structures. Saber’s intricate multi-narrative framework demonstrates this challenge.
Thematic Coherence: Accumulation of new narrative elements across 50-episode runs can dilute original thematic focus. Maintaining Build’s level of consistent thematic development proves difficult for subsequent series.
Character Development Credibility: Protagonist growth must remain psychologically motivated despite expanding narrative scope. Not all post-Build series maintain this standard consistently.
Future Expectations
The creator anticipates that future Kamen Rider series should maintain Build’s achievement of balancing thematic complexity with narrative clarity. Protagonist character arcs require sustained psychological credibility to generate viewer investment. Antagonist characterization should preserve philosophical complexity rather than reducing opposing forces to simple obstacles. Visual innovation should continue enhancing narrative impact rather than functioning as aesthetic decoration.
The emotional and intellectual satisfaction experienced through Build represents the quality standard toward which subsequent productions should aspire. The franchise’s evolution toward mature storytelling represents positive development, provided execution maintains narrative discipline and character development credibility.
Insights
The post-Ex-Aid era of Kamen Rider represents a franchise in deliberate transition toward mature, complex storytelling while maintaining core tokusatsu conventions. Build’s success demonstrates that sophisticated narratives addressing geopolitical themes can coexist with character-driven emotional arcs and visual innovation. Zi-O’s retrospective approach reveals the franchise’s accumulated narrative capital and the value of long-term viewer investment.
The diversity of fan opinion regarding optimal series reflects intentional creative diversity in post-Ex-Aid production: each series targets distinct thematic interests and audience segments. This approach represents franchise maturation, though execution quality varies significantly. The challenge facing future productions involves maintaining Build’s narrative discipline while continuing thematic experimentation.
For viewers seeking entry into modern Kamen Rider, Build provides the optimal balance of accessibility, quality, and representative value. For franchise veterans, Zi-O offers unique retrospective experience unavailable elsewhere. The subsequent series merit evaluation based on individual thematic preference rather than universal recommendation, reflecting the franchise’s successful expansion beyond monolithic audience targeting.
