As Alpha raised his hand, the spider monster began to panic, struggling to break free from Alpha's grasp. But it was all in vain.
"Whoa, this Alpha Rider looks pretty cool."
"Alpha? What does that mean?"
"When he transformed, he said 'Alpha.' I guess it's like Kuuga, where the name of the Rider is part of the title."
"Didn't he also say Amazon?"
"Well, yeah, but he's the Rider version of an Amazon. Didn't you notice how his transformation was different? The others, like that police officer, had their bodies mutate, but he used a belt."
Fans online couldn't stop talking about this new Rider.
It was hard not to, considering Alpha's easy dominance in battle made him seem incredibly powerful.
With a quick, decisive move, Alpha finished the spider monster with a piercing strike.
"But... who's that boy in white?"
Watching the episode, Daniel scratched his chin thoughtfully.
The white-clad boy kept appearing in the background, so he couldn't just be a bystander, right?
Could he also be an enemy?
Daniel's thoughts were interrupted as he saw a familiar sight—cells dividing on the screen.
The boy clutched his chest in pain, then transformed into a green creature that resembled Alpha!
The difference was clear: while Alpha transformed using a belt, this boy transformed similarly to the mole Amazon from earlier.
The two stood off against each other, seemingly ready to fight.
The fans' excitement spiked—until the ending credits began to roll, leaving them frustrated.
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The next morning, at the Kamen Rider Amazons ratings analysis meeting, the team at the Picca Company was thrilled.
The ratings for the premiere episode had reached an average of 2.84%!
A premiere rating over 2% was a dream for many regular TV shows, but Kamen Rider Amazons had achieved it on its first day, even breaking the record for the highest-rated drama premiere in the country.
This was a significant improvement compared to the ratings for Kamen Rider Kuuga's premiere.
Of course, this didn't necessarily mean that Amazons was better than Kuuga.
When Kuuga first aired, the Kamen Rider series wasn't well-known, but now that a second Rider series had come along, the existing fanbase flocked to watch it, which was one of the benefits of a strong franchise.
The established fanbase could help the new series achieve good ratings from the start.
With the added popularity of the Porter's name attached to the project, even more fans were drawn in.
And thanks to Kamen Rider Amazons' solid quality, it hooked the viewers, delivering the strong ratings that the team had anticipated.
Now, discussions about Amazons were popping up all over forums and fan sites dedicated to Kamen Rider.
"It's a shame, though. I feel like the episode was too short! Why was there only one episode?"
"Are you serious? It was over forty minutes! That's basically two episodes in one!"
"Ugh, I can't wait for the next one. There are so many questions! What exactly is an Amazon? Why are even the Kamen Riders called Amazons? Why do some transform without a belt, while that guy needed one?"
"Well, this show is definitely what I expected from Felix, the guy behind Nexus. The level of gore is about the same."
"No, I think it's even worse than Nexus!"
As fans eagerly discussed the show online, it wasn't long before the next episode of Kamen Rider Amazons aired.
The green monster introduced at the end of the first episode was revealed to be Mizusawa Haruka.
The scruffy man who transformed into Alpha was named Jin Takayama.
Through the episode, fans learned that Amazons were not random creatures—they were the products of a secret organization known as Nozama Pharmaceuticals, the same company that had created the extermination squad.
The company had created Amazon cells through experimentation, artificially developing these creatures.
These tiny artificial life forms had a natural hunger for protein, especially human flesh, which grew stronger once they transformed into monsters.
While drugs could suppress this primal urge, once they fully awakened, even the drugs couldn't stop them.
Originally, these creatures were kept in cages like livestock, but something went wrong, and they escaped, blending into human society and preying on people.
Nozama Pharmaceuticals formed the extermination squad to deal with the outbreak. The estimated number of escaped Amazons was around 4,000!
The extermination squad members—and even the fans—were stunned. Up until now, they had only dealt with a handful of Amazons. The idea that thousands of them were on the loose was shocking.
It also became clear why Jin Takayama, the Alpha Amazon, was always seen eating raw eggs—it was to supplement his protein intake and avoid eating humans.
Jin's mission was to eliminate every last Amazon, no matter the cost.
At that moment, everyone watching felt a pang of sympathy for him.
"This Kamen Rider has it rough."
"Yeah, even though he's a Rider, he's still basically a monster himself. He's only holding back that urge through sheer willpower and living off raw eggs."
"And there are 4,000 Amazons! Even if he kills one a day, that would take over ten years! Can he really keep going like this?"
As the fans watched Jin, many couldn't help but be reminded of the character Jun from Ultraman Nexus.
Both Jin and Jun bore heavy responsibilities and faced overwhelming odds.
By this point, the fans realized that this series was going to be quite dark.
"Felix is even worse than the Porter when it comes to writing tragic stories!"
"Exactly! He took Ultraman and Kamen Rider and turned them into something so heavy and intense. Every protagonist is burdened with such a harsh fate!"
"No wonder. Felix is the Porter's student. He's following in his footsteps but somehow making things even darker. Without the Porter's guidance, there's no way he could've written something like this!"
"Right! It's all the Porter's fault! Get him to fix this!"
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