Kamen Rider began on Japanese TV in 1971 with a college student who transformed into a bug suited motorcyclist to fight an enemy of humanity. The series became a major sensation leading to movies and even more series over the decades. For the 33rd series, the producers went all out and gave us a more than one Kamen Rider. Not only are the Kamen Riders fighting to save the world from an invading force; they’re contestants on a futuristic reality gameshow. Kamen Rider Geats gives us an ultimate showdown that has a scoreboard.
Monsters from space calling themselves Jyamato attack the city. These humanoid creatures have heads that look like squid skulls. As a defense, multiple people are called to be Kamen Riders. This quickly turns out to not be the usual battle the aliens scenario. The new Kamen Riders discover that this invasion is part of the Desire Grand Prix (DGP). This gameshow from the future is a bit more dangerous than Survivor. The folks who are now the Kamen Riders can die in their battles. They can also be retired by the gameshow if the judges choose. What does retirement really mean? That’s a scary unknown to the characters. The folks who were chosen as Kamen Riders includes a construction worker, a social media influencer and a graduate student. It’s an odd crew that have to come together for the sake of defeating the aliens and score enough points to impress the judges of the show. But most of them want to be up for the challenge. A few might be playing for the wrong reason.
There’s a lot of action and fighting on the show. The characters do have a bit of interpersonal time on the screen, but it always gets back to beating up the aliens. The upgrade to Blu-ray is well worth it to fully take in the special effects used for the contestants’ transformations into the Kamen Rider characters. It’s good to see the details in the Kamen Rider costumes and life in Japan.
Most of the time it’s a few years before a season of a Japanese TV series arrives in America (by legal means). Kamen Rider Geats ran from September 4, 2022 to August 27, 2023. Barely a year later you’re able to see what the kids in Tokyo were enjoying at the end of last summer.
Each episode is around 24 minutes. It’s easy to fall into a marathon when you hit “play all” on your Blu-ray player. The season is segmented into six major story arcs so you can break up watching the 49 episodes with a sense of a good spot to pause viewing. Although you’ll be glued to the set to see who wins the big game show on Kamen Rider Geats.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The resolution brings out the futuristic feel to the gameshow. The Audio is Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo. You’ll hear plenty of punches and clashing of weapons in both channels. The episodes are subtitled in English.
No bonus features.
Shout! Studios present Kamen Rider Geats: The Complete Series. Directed by Shojiro Nakazawa and Teruaki Sugihara. Screenplays by Yuya Takahashi. Starring Hideyoshi Kan, Ryuga Sato, Yuna Hoshino, Kazuto Mokudai, Kokoro Aoshima, Tsubasa Sakiyama & Dai Goto. Boxset Contents: 49 Episodes on 8 Blu-ray discs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 23, 2024.
