Kamen Rider Wizard aired yesterday morning in Japan. In a first for Henshin Justice Unlimited, we’ll be doing a series of episode reviews, weighing out the pros and cons each week.

Warning to all, spoilers be lying out ahead…

Pro: In 22 seconds of scene and story exposition, we know everything we need to know about the story and lead, it’s simple plot mechanic. Like the fade into the doughnut, good contrast to a somewhat dark opening.

Con: The street light isn’t that high, can nobody see?

Con: That Please sound effect is going to be quite annoying for the rest of year.

Pro: Police! Compent police too! Actually standing their ground and trying to fight. The last time they appeared was… Faiz? They weren’t even main characters and were phased out. Jinno & Makura from Double don’t count. Nice to see bullets dont just bounce off and do at least a little bit of damage.

Pro: CG bullets with ingravings on them that curl around? Yes please. Wizard being revealed from a fiery explosion looked awesome and an opening song that is vastly better now seen in action, even better. The in suit style has a nice Decade feel to it, but without the irrating smugness.

Pro: The sfx got better, Please isn’t… as bad.

Con: For your first line, Koyomi, that was… barely sound out loud?

Pro: Is he BUILDING a new ring for Wizard? You mean we actually get to SEE the Rider equipment being built for once instead of just existing and coming out of no where with no explanation? I’m looking at you, Yuki & Kengo.

Pro: Great looking villains and sinister attitude. These guys won’t be turning good any time soon.

Pro: Its become quite a trend in Kamen Rider for supporting casts, even characters who were in a position of power, to become redundant because of the monster threat from the show. They’ve managed to address this issue in the first episode and Rinko has a determination to not just give hope up because she’s out of her league. The dialogue isn’t perfect, but the fact it’s dealt with is very positive. Rinko even manages to point out that Haruto must have it easy, just because it’s got powers, but ofcourse it then shows us …

Pro: …our first good glimspe at Harutos being possesed and the ceremony that caused all the trouble and boy does it look like a fantastic set piece. Gave me Devilman flashbacks.

Pro: Good twist that the Phantom was actually her partner.

Con: I actually found him riding the unicorn funny, but bad CG so early means it’s not going to bode well for rest of the show. Plus, you can TELEPORT.

Pro: Stealing away a persons hope and leaving them full of despair to bring about a new Phantom is pretty… harsh. The first henshin and fight is great and I actually like the ridiculous Driver calls. Gravity defying rider kick is always good… WITH FIRE.

Con: Why does Land/Earth abilities always get the rough end of the elemental spectrum?

Pro: “I’m not going to let that happen again“. Both setting up some back story and first heroic line of the show. He jumped into her memories..? Awesome!

Pro: Everything in this scene. The Phantom breaking through Rinkos good memory, Dragonrise being wild, the finisher, the CG even gets excused here, it’s all gravy and a roast dinner. Even the powering down effect looks good. This is gunna happen everytime, right?

The first episode is off to a good start. It’s not a two parter like many of the previous series, but it didn’t feel rushed. The début episode isn’t phenomenal, but it does very little wrong, which counts. The theme is different from last time and has similarities to early Heisei era. This one Wizard you should keep a eye on.

Head over to our discussion thread to talk about your opinions on the fist episode.