Despite the aesthetics, this is a season of Kamen Rider I can confidently say got multiple people I know interested in the series (including one of the people who got me into Kamen Rider in the first place) and tokusatsu in general and, as such, is a great season to start out watching Kamen Rider with. The aesthetics were initially a huge turnoff for this season in particular, but I grew on them over time, and after hearing the season was pretty good I was convinced to give it a go and by no means did it disappoint

This season had everything. A solid and surprisingly dark plot, VERY cool upgrades, a thoroughly interesting cast (including some of the most lovable villains in the entire series), and solid fight choreography make for a season that demonstrates the essence of post-W Kamen Rider. It's also a season that accepts how campy it is and still manages to make a serious plotline that also plays off of it. On every side of the conflict there are some absolute "what the fuck" /pos moments that define the show, including the absurd degree of ramifications behind probably one of the most iconic lines in the season. This is what I've learned to love about Kamen Rider

Brief shoutouts to the growth of Emu throughout the season. He feels like he is literally growing into his role and by the end of the series it makes sense that he's up to the task

The main issue I had with Ex-Aid was its pacing; I felt like more could've been done with Snipe, Taddle Legacy, and the second Cronus user, and the disruptions in production are pretty clear as the quick end to the show draws closer. I also just don't like Hiiro's personality that much; he is by far the worst character in this season and some moments with him in it were hard to watch, and to some extent that is the point but I feel like even Taiga handles that better. I think his character can be done better by making him feel more human more often but he's so impossible to read and that makes his plotline a lot less impactful more than angering. There's also the issues with the color palette of the show itself that I think they could've done a better job with, but after a point I was too enraptured in the plot to care