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Kamen Rider Dragon Knight

bbally

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Red Shirt
Has anybody here seen this show?

Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is an American adaptation of a Japanese superhero show Kamen Rider Ryuki just like how Power Rangers is an US adaptation of the Super Sentai franchise. This adaptation is done by the Wang Brothers, the brothers who are big fans of Japanese superheros consist of award-winning make-up artist and filmmaker Steve Wang (who directed the 2 live action Guyver movies, the kickass low budget Mark Dacascos actioner Drive and independent films such as Kung Fu Rascals) and award winning commercials director Michael Wang, who directed that notorious Budweiser commercial about the guy who spilled his Bud on his porn mag
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Here's the story so far, the show revolves around a group of twelve called the Kamen Riders, who are the protectors of Ventara, a mirror world opposite to our own. In battle against the wicked General Xaviax, the Riders were defeated and ten of them were stripped of their Advent Decks, special card decks that allow whoever wields them to transform into Kamen Riders and utilize unique weapons and powers. While searching for his missing father, Kit Taylor finds an Advent Deck that allows him to become Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. He eventually meets Len, who serves as Kamen Rider Wing Knight, and the pair join forces after Kit learns that General Xaviax has imprisoned his father in Ventara and is using him and the other humans that his monsters abduct to gain power and rebuild his homeworld. Furthermore, Xaviax begins using his shape-shifting powers to recruit corrupt humans to become Kamen Riders and aid him in his goal by destroying the Kamen Riders interfering in it.

It may look like a Power Ranger ripoff but actually, it's aimed to a higher demograph of kids than Power Rangers, because it doesn't hold it's punches as much (literally and figuratively), the actors take situations more seriously, the show isn't filled with a bunch of wise-cracking jokes, although they use the usual words for a show of it's demographic like heck. Although it has differences from the original Japanese version, it's still a million times more faithful than Saban's Masked Rider, which was a horrible US adaptation of Kamen Rider Black RX, Saban's version of this classic Rider show was an abomonination that should never be mentioned again.

Also Kamen Rider is a franchise that originated in Japan since the early 70s and was originally created by the late Shotaro Ishinomori, who also created the first 2 shows of the Sentai franchise that later shows would be used for the Power Rangers, he also created Cyborg 009, Skull Man and Kikaider and was awarded the Guinness World Record for most comics published by one author, totaling over 128,000 pages. He also created the comic adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past that was published in Nitendo Power in 1992.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwGfi7Shbhg
 
It may look like a Power Ranger ripoff but actually, it's aimed to a higher demograph of kids than Power Rangers, because it doesn't hold it's punches as much (literally and figuratively), the actors take situations more seriously, the show isn't filled with a bunch of wise-cracking jokes, although they use the usual words for a show of it's demographic like heck.

Two things:

One, the current season of Power Rangers, subtitled RPM, is considerably smarter and more sophisticated than any previous season. It's funnier too, but there's a more serious premise (the world has been conquered and most of humanity wiped out by the villains), the technology is better-justified, the characterizations are richer and fuller, and the world isn't as sanitized (there are actual human criminals who aren't possessed by evil forces but are just bad people, and characters have actually died onscreen). It's practically a Ron Moore-style reinvention of the franchise, although a lot more fun.

Two, I've seen some of Dragon Knight, and for all its aspirations of greater seriousness than PR, it isn't nearly as entertaining or well-made as PR was even before the current season. The characters are rather unlikeable, the directing is kind of awkward, and the story doesn't do much for me. Just being older-skewing doesn't automatically make a show better.
 
Last week's ratings:

Final K6-11 Ratings for Saturday, July, 4, 2009 Broadcast Networks only (Live + SD Data):
Source: Disney Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
CW (TheCW4Kids) 0.5/4 Avg. (7a-12p)
Yu-Gi-Oh 5D 0.1/1; Sonic X 0.2/2; Gogoriki 0.2/2; Gogoriki 0.5/4; Sonic X 0.7/5; Dinosaur King 0.7/4; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 0.8/5; Kamen Rider Dragon Knight 0.6/3; Kirby Right Back At Ya 0.8/5; Huntik 0.7/4
ABC 0.5/3 Avg. (9a-1p)
The Emperor's New School 0.3/2; The Replacements 0.2/2; That's So Raven 0.3/2; That's So Raven 0.7/4; Hannah Montana 0.8/5; Suite Life of Zack & Cody 1.0/6; Power Rangers RPM 0.1/1; Power Rangers RPM 0.1/1
CBS (KEWLopolis on CBS) 0.2/1 Avg. (7-10a/10a-12p)
Cake 0.2/1;Horseland 0.2/2; Dino Squad 0.3/2; Strawberry Shortcake 0.2/1; Care Bears 0.3/2; Sushi Pack 0.3/2
NBC (Qubo on NBC) Avg. 0.0/0 (10a-1p)
Babar 0.1/1; Zula Patrol 0.0/0
NBC pre-empted programming from 9-11:30a for Wimbledon coverage


This is probably the 4th time Dragon Knight beat RPM in the ratings.

But wait! There's more:

http://www.kamenconnection.com/news/452/

Breaking News:

KRDK premiered on TV GLOBO, Brazil's biggest TV Station, on Monday, June 29th. It was ranked as the No. 1 boy's action show by earning more points than "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" and "Power Rangers" which were aired in the same kid's block. KRDK pulled the largest audience TV GLOBO has had this year for boy's programs.
 
I have been enjoying the show as well. I am looking forward to some new eps. I wonder if we will get to meet Len's double.
 
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