Kamen Rider Gotchard is an odd one. After the powerhouse meta story that was Kamen Rider Geats, Gotchard seemed like it wanted to be a return to the fun, monster-of-the-week format with silly jaunts and funny characters about. Unfortunately, I don't think it did so without sacrificing a lot of potential. I'd like to list my positives towards the show first, though! I think the suit designs in Gotchard are overall *stellar*. The monsters are really fun, weaving in a repeated aesthetic throughout them in new and interesting ways each time. The Rider Suits overall look really slick! Also, the first female secondary Rider! The Abyssalis Sisters are really interesting each in their own way.

Unfortunately, one way or another, each of these things that I state is a positive gets hampered. While several characters get plot threads and conclusions and character arcs, other arcs seem to be rushed to conclude, some seem to conclude poorly or without fanfare, and other characters just don't get one. The ending is really rough. The overall plot can be slow to progress at times and can seemingly be interrupted by sudden things that feel out of left-field. The appearance of a character akin to Decade or ZiO as a plot-sensitive character feels odd in a show that isn't an anniversary or celebration of an era. Overall while Gotchard had potential, it really stumbled and dropped the ball.