Line #88 YMMV/KamenRiderWizard


1	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: After the events of ''Wizard in Magic Land'' some people view Haruto as a sociopath with a Messiah complex.
2	* AluminumChristmasTrees: Wizard's Infinity Style holding onto the Axcalibur's blade in its ax mode might sound nuts and confused many. However, this is an actual thing called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordhau_(weaponry) Mordhau or 'Murder Stroke']], and can even be safely done barehanded if one knows what they're doing.
3	* AmericansHateTingle: The show is [[BrokenBase very divisive]] towards Western fans, but judging by how many movie cameos Haruto has made since then, and the fact that it's technically the longest Heisei series, it's popular enough in Japan. Ironically, it was the first Heisei-era TV series to avert the franchise's general fate of NoExportForYou in the west (not counting ''Amazons'', or the [[Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight Western Adaptation]] of ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'').
4	* AngstWhatAngst: Nitoh doesn't seem too upset that's he is being used by Chimera to feed him mana and that each day could be his last. Rinko lampshades it.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
6	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr6U0c79Xbo Life is SHOW TIME]], the opening theme of ''Wizard'', is quite a treat to listen to.
7	** Haruto's main battle theme, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ3XI_uZwgQ It's Show Time]]'', is ''quite'' epic.
8	** As are the four themes for each Style!
9	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6B7wSDNDGA Last Engage]]''
10	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2iRNSip-lk Mystic Liquid]]''
11	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fhsdlm-BXE Strength of the Earth]]''
12	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=760s1v0nJrM Blessed Wind]]''
13	** Kamen Rider Beast's theme, [[https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=455234504557250&set=vb.430663267014374&type=2&theater ''BEASTBITE'']].
14	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdr0YOmzZnc Just The Beginning]]'', the main theme for the Dragon Styles overall.
15	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMpjdLaI-40 alteration]]'', which appears to be the theme for All Dragon and the theme used during a Drago Timer fight.
16	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEvTbDWsZ7o Missing Piece]]'', the theme for Infinity Style.
17	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Is Haruto a male {{Pollyanna}} who manages to be relatively positive and well-adjusted despite his tragic backstory, or a bland, personality-less cutout? Are Koyomi, Rinko, and Shunpei a decent supporting cast or a bunch of annoying hangers-on with nothing to do aside from being cheerleaders/kidnap victims?
18	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
19	** The appearance of [[spoiler:Santa Claus]] in the Underworld in #16.
20	** The entire MV for the OP "Life is SHOW TIME" counts as one too, what with the sudden appearance and asskickings of Japanese pro fighters blasting it into pure QuirkyWork territory.
21	* BizarroEpisode: Yes, #52-53 are basically post-season {{filler}}, but it's still ''completely insane''.
22	* BrokenBase:
23	** Is the story having a good time while slowly building itself up to something awesome, or is it all flash with no real substance? Should the villains succeed in making Gates Phantoms from time to time to make them more threatening or are they fine as they are? And the most broken of all: Is the show good or not?
24	** The Myna Bird arc has created this for some people. Is it a nice BreatherEpisode filled with lots of laughs to hold you over while its final arc begins or is it an IdiotBall filled two-parter that ended on a harsh note for some people?
25	** In both the marketing trailer and the teaser for ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'' shown at Power Morphicon, Wizard can be seen in a [[FreezeFrameBonus blink and miss shot]]. Debate about adapting Kamen Rider in the US aside, there's another broken base over if it meant anything: one side believing that it was included by accident[[note]]since if one looks ''very'' close, the logo for ''Series/SuperHeroTime'' is visible for a split second; while Kamen Rider Beast also appears in the promo the footage was taken from, he was cut since he appears at the beginning, but since Wizard appears in the middle, it likely was impossible to cut him out without it looking really apparent that something was taken out[[/note]], while the other believing that Saban did include it on purpose, and intends to use Power Rangers as another PoorlyDisguisedPilot for an adaptation of Kamen Rider. The former side seems to have been the one that was correct, since by the time ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' began airing, nothing came of this, meaning it was most likely a case of them renewing the trademark so that it couldn't be used by anyone else.
26	* TheChrisCarterEffect: The biggest criticism of ''Wizard'' is how long it takes for the MythArc to get going, with most episodes being two-parters with self-contained MonsterOfTheWeek plots about Phantoms. Not helped by the fact that it eventually turns out [[spoiler:that the Phantoms were inconsequential to Wiseman's true plan, which was really to find candidates who could become wizards]].
27	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
28	** Phoenix for being one of the few competent villains and for his memorable [[spoiler:death scene]].
29	** Mayu also qualifies. Her introductory episode and character arc [[spoiler:regarding her sister]] is one of the few things people praised about this season. After she was [[spoiler:taken in by the White Wizard]], many were hoping she'd become a Rider. Her return was welcomed with open arms and [[spoiler:many were glad that she averted the Female Rider Curse]].
30	* EvilIsCool:
31	** Phoenix, for being a powerful and legitimately intimidating threat. Most will agree he was one of the coolest things in the show.
32	** Gremlin later on, when he reveals the full extent of his machinations and shows just how threatening he is underneath his seemingly jovial persona.
33	* FanNickname:
34	** "Kamen Rider [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar]]". Due to the fact that the main Rider can use all four elements.
35	** "Equitem Persona Wizard Magica"[[note]]"Equitem Persona" means "Kamen Rider" in Latin[[/note]], for being the ''Kamen Rider'' version of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''.
36	* FauxSymbolism:
37	** The way Wizard enters a person's Underworld involves putting a ring on their finger. And it's called the ''[[WithThisRing Engage Ring]]''.
38	** The White Wizard looks like the majestic kind and a embodiment of hope at first, but as the series progress, his true colors begin to emerge.
39	*** The White Wizard also resembles Wizard himself and uses a Henshin belt and Henshin Call, but he is not labelled a Kamen Rider.
40	*** Toei confirms that [[spoiler:he is a Kamen Rider known as Kamen Rider Wiseman. Now this makes more sense.]]
41	* HarsherInHindsight
42	** The previous Kamen Rider, Gentaro Kisaragi, stated that he lost his parents in a car crash, but kept his optimistic personality and made lots of friends. Haruto on the other hand [[spoiler:also lost his parents in a car crash, but got SurvivorGuilt when he survived and they didn't. Three guesses as to which Kamen Rider is suffering the most.]]
43	** Remember back during the Lizardman arc how they had to [[spoiler:not let the Gate know what ''really'' happened to her boyfriend? Well, cut to the Myna Bird arc, where we see what ''would'' have happened. Adding salt to the wound? It's ''PlayedForLaughs''. Gets all the worse when this happens again in ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'', where it was PlayedForDrama, as it should have]].
44	** Yamamoto from #46-47 is played by [[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Todoroki]], and his wife (Miyu Sawai) was ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''. His love interest back in ''Hibiki'', Hinaka (Miyuki Kanbe), ''also held the role of [[Theatre/SeraMyu Sailor Moon]] before''! What drives this straight into TearJerker zone is that while Yamamoto's wife very nearly died here, Miyuki Kanbe passed away for real.
45	** Amadum says that the Riders (sans Gaim) represent a burning crucifix. Then Gaim comes into the picture once his SuperMode shows up, adorned with a helmet that gives the look of... well, we'll assume you put two and two together.
46	*** [[spoiler:Actually Amadum said the Riders are represented by a burning ''cross'' which is a reference to Cross Fire, a concept character designed by Ishinomori that would eventually evolve into Kamen Rider. Any Satanic imagery seen by viewers is entirely coincidental.]]
47	** [[spoiler:Mayu Imamori/Kamen Rider Mage finally averted the infamous Female Rider Curse that plagued the franchise. However, it sadly returned with [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Yoko Minato/Kamen Rider Malika]] being the recent victim of said curse.]]
48	* HilariousInHindsight
49	** Many people have pointed similarities between ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' and another [[Series/KamenRiderRyuki Kamen Rider show]], and now it seems ''Kamen Rider Wizard'' returns the favor by [[spoiler:having the monsters be created by crossing the DespairEventHorizon. Not to mention how TheHero is a HopeBringer]]. It becomes even funnier when it was announced that ''Madoka Magica''[='s=] [[Creator/GenUrobuchi writer]] will be working on [[Series/KamenRiderGaim the next Rider show]].
50	*** Not only that, but [[spoiler:certain events revealed in the endgame of the show have caused similarities to be drawn between the two Rider shows that Madoka is compared to]].
51	*** Ironically, whereas it's a plot point that the people who fall into despair are female in Madoka, the female-to-male ratio of Phantoms, who are monsters born from Despair, is staggering... Only two females were ever Phantoms, especially with Phantoms with clearly female mythical origins (Valkyrie, for one).
52	** Wizard getting attacked by his own dragon apparently foreshadowed the upcoming cameo by Wakana Matsumoto aka Airi from ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'', after which a different dragon (Ryuutaros) will be after his blood...
53	** At the start of the series, many believed and hoped that the secondary Rider would be female, this would turn out not to be the case, but then in #24, Kosuke, in an attempt to hide his identity from his grandmother while fighting as Beast, adopts a high-pitched voice and pretends to be a girl. Then Grandma Nitoh assumes that Koyomi (who some hoped would become a Kamen Rider) is Beast.
54	*** However, in #27, [[spoiler:Mayu, Misa's sister, is taken in by White Wizard to be his apprentice. She comes back at the end of #41 to face off Medusa as ''Kamen Rider Mage''.]]
55	** It's funny that while Wizard went about subverting the "monsters are good people" trope, [[Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger its sister show]] played it straight.
56	** The Hyper Battle DVD has the Donut Shop owner wishing he could be a dance choreographer. [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Fast forward to the next season...]]
57	** It's very ironic that [[Series/KamenRiderFourze the previous show]], a very light and soft show, had the villains manage to turn students into full-fledged monsters ([[spoiler:Including one of the main characters]]) with some of them being subject to a FateWorseThanDeath, but this show, a pretty dark and edgy show, the villains failed to even create ''one'' Phantom.
58	** Haruto defeating the immortal Phoenix by [[spoiler:Rider Kicking him into the sun where he can never escape]] is this when a few months later, the anime for ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'' concludes with Joseph [[spoiler:defeating Kars in a similar manner, only without the sun]].
59	* IKnewIt: Due to a formula beginning to form with the previous Kamen Riders, many people began to guess at some tried and true theories and got this trope in return.
60	** [[spoiler: White Wizard being Wiseman? Many so called it.]]
61	** [[spoiler: Koyomi being the Macguffin Girl that everyone's after? A lot of people called it. Her dying prior to the finale? Most people called it. Her being revived? ...Actually disproved, to their surprise.]]
62	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Beast's Hyper form has gotten some flak for having the same blue-and-gold color scheme as Meteor Storm, who debuted just [[Series/KamenRiderFourze one season ago.]]
63	* IronWoobie:
64	** Haruto is definitely in this. He lost his parents as a child and was put through the Sabbath ritual, but was able to cling onto his hope. Now he uses his newfound powers to keep other people from falling into despair. He has to deal with some pretty big punches throughout the series, including [[spoiler:Koyomi's death]], but he never lets any of them keep him down for long.
65	** Mayu. [[spoiler:After learning Medusa killed her family she has the Phantom starting to grow inside her, but instead of giving into despair she ''forces it back''. Why? Because she refused to let Medusa, an impostor of her twin sister, get her way. Now the White Wizard training her to be an apprentice so that she can avenge her family.]]
66	* JerkassWoobie: Caitsith did not want to make any Gate fall into despair and was not even interested in making new Phantoms. Like any cat, he just wanted to slack off. On the one side, he's forced to go after the Gate under threat of death by his superiors, especially when it was shown he couldn't hide nor flee from them, and on the other side, there's Wizard ready to swoop in to finish him off. The guy just couldn't catch a break. Of course the guy was the one to suggest they just kill the Gates outright and forgo the despair part.
67	* MemeticBadass: Haruto Soma. Crush someone's hope in front of him and he'll [[spoiler:[[HurlItIntoTheSun kick you into the sun]] for you to burn for eternity]], or at least that's how fans would like to portray him.
68	* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/KamenRider See this page for examples.]]
69	* MoralEventHorizon
70	** If Phoenix didn't cross it when he nearly killed Hiroki's parents, then he definitely did it when he [[spoiler:tried to burn Rinko alive after convincing him to stop taking orders from the BigBad]].
71	** Medusa crossed hers in one fell swoop, first by revealing to her Gate's sister that [[spoiler:she killed her parents and caused her to cross the DespairEventHorizon, and then by preventing Haruto from helping Mayu and forcing him to watch as she succumbs to despair.]]
72	** [[spoiler:Gremlin/Sora passed his in his backstory ''before'' he became a Phantom with the revelation that he was a sociopathic SerialKiller who began his spree by murdering his girlfriend. His moment afterwards? How about ''killing Koyomi''?]]
73	*** If not there, he definitely crossed it be [[spoiler:going on a rampage through Tokyo, on the rationale that the Gates will be driven into despair and become Phantoms and the normal humans will just ''die''. What makes it worse is how much Gremlin's clearly enjoying every second of it.]]
74	** Where was Wiseman's, you ask? [[spoiler:Was it when he turned his own daughter into a vessel for the Philosopher's Stone? Creating the Phantoms in the first place? Holding the Sabbath? Manipulating everyone and causing countless murders and deaths for the sake of making Phantoms and Wizards? By that point, kidnapping someone a kid is the equivalent to jaywalking for him.]]
75	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The repeated 'infinity' chant can be heard as this to some instead. This is because the only time it happened is when Haruto first become Kamen Rider Wizard Infinity Style.
76	** ''~Pleeeeeeease...~''
77	* {{Narm}}: ''Shabadooby touch Henshin!'', which quickly becomes dissonant during the more serious fights. They don't happen often, but when they do, it kills the drama like no other.
78	** The creators themselves seem to have become aware of this -- lately, they appear to be doing their best to cover up the sound effect by blasting the Ominous Choir soundtrack over it, and in #19 he actually swipes the ring ''the moment the switch is turned'', jumping the gun.
79	** After #39, they've been forgoing the sound effect entirely.
80	** In #46, White Wizard fought against Gremlin, and is essentially clobbering him. White Wizard strikes the finishing blow, and Gremlin dramatically falls to the ground...only for him to immediately stand up again and run off.
81	* NeverLiveItDown: Haruto's method of dealing with Phoenix ([[spoiler:trapping him in sun where his regenerative powers cause him to [[AndIMustScream continuously die and revive]]]]) is harsh but makes sense since he didn't have any other way of getting around Phoenix's regenerative powers, not to mention that Phoenix was a violent low-functioning sociopath too dangerous to be kept around. This hasn't stopped fans from exaggerating Haruto into someone who will [[spoiler:kick you into the sun]] if you so much as trample on someone's hope.
82	* ParanoiaFuel: As shown in the first episode, the Phantoms can impersonate the person they were born from almost perfectly. The person who was your friend, partner, or family member? They could've been driven over the DespairEventHorizon and ''killed'', then replaced by a monster seeking to do the same thing to others, all without you even knowing it!
83	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: At first Gremlin was seen as a ReplacementScrappy who isn't as awesome as Phoenix and for being very similar to Shunpei, but for the villains. And then he became ''a lot'' more terrifying when it's revealed that [[spoiler:he's still got his humanity, or what's left of it considering his human self was ''a serial killer'' which everyone found a nice dark twist]].
84	* TheScrappy: Shunpei is generally disliked for being an overeager {{Manchild}} with little in the way of character depth or development, and getting far too much screentime despite contributing very little to the story and being TheLoad. Even those who are more okay with him agree he shouldn't have been a part of the main cast.
85	* SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct: While Koyomi doesn't get much focus in most episodes, her actress Makoto Okunaka really gets to shine in the penultimate episode where she does an excellent job playing Koyomi as she's [[spoiler:grappling with her coming death and saying goodbye in her final conversations with Haruto.]]
86	* SignatureScene: Ask a western fan one thing they remember about this series. It'll probably be Haruto [[spoiler:rider-kicking Pheonix into the sun]] in #23.
87	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
88	** It's only for a second, but when Bahamut is defeated, he can still be seen lying on the ground ''after'' he explodes.
89	** In #49, Haruto struggles with a handcuff that he could obviously just slip his hand through.
90	*** Though possibly just practicality's sake, as once he's forcibly transformed into Wizard, the cuff is the perfect size to hold his wrist with the armour's wristcuff added on
91	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot
92	** Firstly, we could have seen whether Phoenix could survive death after Kamen Rider Beast or Medusa absorbs mana from him.
93	** Secondly, the Myna Bird arc ends with [[spoiler:the Gate succumbing to despair, but almost nothing comes out of it. He doesn't become a new Phantom and not even having Haruto or Nitoh go in his Underworld and slaying his Inner Phantom... Just going to the next episode that's completely unrelated]].
94	*** It can be perfectly assumed Haruto and/or Nitoh took care of it. It'd be out of their characters not to.
95	** Thirdly, [[spoiler:Dragon becoming a Phantom made of hope shot down the whole "using the Dragon Forms increases the chance of Haruto falling into Despair" idea and showing consequences for using the Dragon forms]].
96	** Fourthly, [[spoiler:Medusa only used her TakenForGranite ability once, and that was against Phoenix with special permission from Wiseman, on whom it didn't work. In #47, she's KilledOffForReal.]]
97	** It's implied that, in addition to magic having existed, Phantoms also menaced the world in the ancient past and that artifacts like the Beast Driver were developed to stop them. This never gets expanded upon.
98	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: [[spoiler:Fueki, the BigBad, commits all his crimes to try to revive his daughter. His plan to do so however is horrifically heinous, involving him mentally torturing hundreds of people until they cross the DespairEventHorizon, and he has no regret for anything he does. Although it's clear the writers want you to feel a ''little'' sorry for him, the fact that he even disregards said daughter's pleas when she asks him to stop mean he just comes off as selfish to a lot of viewers.]]
99	* TheUntwist: Hands up, did anyone ''not'' see it coming that [[spoiler:White Wizard was Wiseman?]] It didn't help that this exact same plot of [[spoiler:a rider's mentor being affiliated with the villains but having a distinct anti-villain goal]] was repeated [[Series/KamenRiderDouble twice]][[Series/KamenRiderFourze before]].
100	* TheWoobie:
101	** Mayu is a more straight example. Not only [[spoiler:did her sister die and get reborn as a sadistic monster, but then her parents were killed by said monster]]. Soon, she gets targeted as a Gate and her whole world turns upside down. It's hard ''not'' to feel sorry for her when she starts breaking down into tears.
102	** Yuzuru also had the same trappings as Mayu. [[spoiler:He nearly fell to despair after seeing that he hurt his friend, but stopped when he saw that she was better, making him an IronWoobie... Unfortunately, his woobieness continues when he ''doesn't'' want to be a Wizard... [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive Good luck with that, buddy]].]]
103	** It becomes apparent that Koyomi is this by the end of the series. [[spoiler:She's living on a limited lifespan and isn't even a full person, just an EmptyShell of someone else. Furthermore, she's unwittingly the reason for all the suffering in the series, as Wiseman is using the Phantoms to revive her. In the penultimate episode she admits to being scared of dying, but resolves to let herself disappear anyway if it means the fighting will stop. And to top it all off, she doesn't even get to die in peace, being killed by Gremlin just so he can get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone inside of her.]]

Context YMMV / KamenRiderWizard