Yesterday,was 25th Death Anniversary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz,the poet seer,who took Urdu to international arena after Ghalib and Iqbal.

During my discussions with my friend,I said once,in some thoughtful moments that If you have to learn life, you have to learn Urdu poetry’s history.

You need to be Ghalib (Overpowering) first to achieve the level of Iqbal (Excellence) and only then you can attain the status of a sage Faiz (Influential).

In simple Urdu,I’ll state it as;

“Aaapko pehlay Ghalba haasil karna hota hay,takay aapka iqbal aur izzat buland ho aur jab yeh donoon mumkin ho jaein tou tab he insaan faiz denay aur bantanay kay qabil hota hay…

For me these three poets were originally one holy soul…which came to the world again and again…in different bodies…but I don’t know had the cycle broke now or we have still someone after Faiz among us…….

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Following three poems and their translation I am sharing from the OldPoetry.com website.

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Original Urdu

Raat yunh dil mein teri khoee hui yaad aayee
Jaise veeraaney mein chupkey sey bahaar aa jaye
Jaisey sehra on mein howley se chaley baadey naseem
Jaisey beemaar ko bey wajhey Qaraar aa jaaye

English Translation

Last night, your lost memories crept into my heart
as spring arrives secretly into a barren garden
as a cool morning breeze blows slowly in a desert
as a sick person feels well, for no reason.

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Notes

Translation by Hamid Rahim Sheikh www.ece.utexas.edu/~sheikh/poetry/faiz

(London 1978. Taken from the collection My Heart, My Traveler )

* adapted from a couplet by Ghalib

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Ku’ch Ishaq Ki’ya Ku’ch Kaam Ki’ya.

Who Log Bohat Khush Qismat Th’ay,
Jo Ishaq Ko Kam Samujhty Th’ay,
Ya Kam Say Aashqi Karty Th’ay,
Hum Jeety Jee Masroof Ra’hay,
Kuch Ishaq Kiya Kuch Kam Kiya,
Kam Ishaq Kay Aary Aata Ra’ha,
Or Ishaq Say Kam Uljh’ta Ra’ha,
Ph’ir Aakh’er Tang Aaker Hum Nay,
Dono Ko Adhoora Cho’d  Diya’.

English Translation.

Loved a little, Worked a little…

Those were very fortunate people,
Who considered Love an obligation,
Or they just loved their task,
I remained busy all my life,
Loved a little, worked a little,
Sometimes love was a snag in the way of my work,
While sometimes duty didn’t allow me to love with passion,
Ultimately I got upset of the situation,
And left both my love and my work incomplete.

Faiz penned this nazm over six decades ago, as a poetic protest against the subcontinent, not to mention all those who in the ongoing spate of madness, saw the negation of all they had worked and struggled for and many had made considerable sacrifices for. In his words, the desired destination was still far off….

Today, more than six decades in the future, when one sees, albeit on a smaller scale, the same wave of madness, and worse still, the same pettiness and selfishness, it is obvious that the destination is still far beyond… far far beyond and unlike to be reached in our life, or so it seems.

One can only believe the wise man who said: “Be patient and you will have all you wanted in a better world.”

It was as soon as I woke up on Bde Day ‘09, did these familiar lines come into my mind and when I was trudging home, at the end of the day, did they return. Though I expected all that unfolded during the day, I guess I will be lying if I do not confess that I did hope that somehow a different outcome could be expected…. but then it was a forlorn hope indeed. However, as another wise man once said to a tyrant who flaunted his power: “This too shall pass.” We will see and as another wise man (the third for those who lost count) said: Time is a great leveller.

And if nothing else we can delve into in the wise words of Marcus Aurelius and Boethius (fourth and fifth, just in order to keep track). (For those who have no or sparse knowledge of these, I will recommend they consult a good encyclopaedia or pick up a good edition of the Meditations or The Consolations of Philosophy… one which boasts of a good preface and that will be good enough to know about these illustious personages ).

However, lets return to Faiz. Here is the nazm “Subh-e-Azaadi”. As it is the hallmark of a great effort, it easily transcends its title to be much more relevant in wide spectrum of situations. Have a look for yourself.

Yeh daag daag ujaala, ye shab gazida sahar
Woh intezaar tha jis ka, yeh woh sahar to nahi
Yeh wo sahar to nahi jis ki aarzoo lekar
Chale the yaar ke mil jaayegi kahin na kahi

Falak ke dasht mein taaron ki aakhri manzil
Kahin to hoga shab-e-sust mauj kaa saahil
Kahin to ja ke rukega safina-e-gam-e-dil

Jawaan lahu ki pur-asraar shaharahon se
Chale jo yaar to daaman pe kitne haath padhe
Dayaar-e-husn ki be-sabr khwaabgaahon se
Pukarti rahi baahen, badan bulate rahe

Bahut azeez thi lekin rukh-e-sahar ki lagan
Bahut qareen tha haseenan-e-noor ka daaman
Subuk Subuk thi tamanna, dabi dabi thi thakan

Suna hai ho bhi chuka hai firaq-e-zulmat-e-noor
Suna hai ho bhi chuka hai wisaal-e-manzil-o-gaam
Badal chuka hai bahut ahl-e-dard ka dastoor
Nishaat-e-wasl halaal-o-azaab-e-hijr-e-haraam

Jigar ki aag, nazar ki umang, dil ki jalan
Kisi pe chaaraa-e-hijraan ka kuch asar hi nahi
Kahan se aayi nigaar-e-sabaa, kidhar ko gayi
Abhi chiraag-e-sar-e-rah ko kuch khabar hi nahi

Abhi garaani-e-shab mein kami nahi aayi
Najaat-e-deeda-o-dil ki ghadi nahi aayi
Chale chalo ki woh manzil abhi nahi aayi

Chale chalo ki woh manzil abhi nahi aayi………….

I return to bringing out some more famous asha’ar in Urdu poetry. We were in the 20th centuryand had got to Akbar Allahabadi last time. However, I have to retrace my steps to early 19th-century Lucknow for a quite famours sher, which I missed last time around. Sorry.

Sheikh Imam Baksh Nasikh was one of the pioneer figures in the Lucknow school of poetry. One of his shers is quite famous but as usual, most of those who have used it, would have had no idea of its author. Who can confess they have never heard the lines, which could have been the inspiration for the industry of positive thinking:

Zindagi zinda dili ka naam hai
Murda dil kya khaak jeeya karte hai

That done, we will return to to the 20th century, and without fiurther ado, come to Allama Sir Mohd Iqbal, who certainly needs no introduction. It, no doubt, is a most formidable task to take out just a couple of famous examples from that entire oeuvre – which spans Urdu and Farsi – but I will try. In fact, I will make my task simple my just concentrating on his ghazals.

Sitaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hai
Abhi ishq ke imtihaan aur bhi hai

This is one of the most-quoted shers of Iqbal,  and famous for a long time before the popular Pakistani pop band Junoon included it in their album ‘Azaadi’. 

Given his status as Allama, Iqbal deserves one more sher. This one is equally famous and could be the first ever sher I ever read, as it was displayed in the Botanical Gardens in Lucknow at a place – where in the proper season – there was a riot of colourful blooms.  Someone had a great idea. I wonder if that sign is still there….. Anyway, the sher is:

Hazaaron saal nargis apni be-noori pe roti hai
Badi mushqil se hota hai chaman mein didavar paida

There is a funny story related to the sher, concerning its recital by a Si  a gentleman from the Punjab, but I will save it for another time. Just remind me, anyone who is interested.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz is another poet, boasting a voluminous output, some of which is quite well known as his work is quite closer to our time, not to mention the services of a number of noted ghazal singers – Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hasan, Nayyara Noor and Iqbal Bano to say the least – who made his kalaam popular. I will again restrict myself to his ghazals, though the lines he is most known for are from a nazm - Mujh se pahli si mohabbat mere mahboob na maang. The immortal lines are:

Aur bhi dukh hai zamaane mein mohabbat ke siva
Raahaten aur bhi hain vasl ki raahat ke siva

I must confess I have never felt the truth of these as much as in this annus horibilis. However, an often cited sher of Faiz, from the ghazal Ham par tumhaari chaah ka ilzaam hi to hai  is:

Dil na-umeed to nahi, nakaam hi to hai
Lambi hai gam ki shaam, magar shaam hi to hai

I have written much on Maulana Syed Fazl ul Hasan Hasrat Mohani, a firebrand when it came to politics but an incurable romantic in his poetry. He is best known for his romantic Chupke chupke raat din… But as I wrote in an earlier post, the same spirit permeates all his work. However, I remembered this gem, in which seems regretful of his escapades…. imaginary or otherwise. I remember it was quite popular among some gentlemen of an advanced age in Lucknow….. and Good heavens, it is striking a chord in me too.

Ab kahe ko aayenge phir ‘Hasrat’
Aghaz-e-junoon ke woh zamaane

Next is Sardar Ahmed Khan Behzaad Lakhnavi, another paladin of the Lucknow tradition. Many are familiar with ‘Ae jazb-e-dil…’ following its inclusion in Ismail Merchant’s ‘Muhafiz’ (In Custody), not to mention an excellent rendition by Nayyara Noor. Another famous Behzaad ghazal is ‘Deewana banaana hai to deewaana bana de’ and one has to listen to Begum Akhtar interpret it. A notable couplet from it was:

Ae dekhnewaalon mujhe hans hans ke na dekho
Tum ko bhi mohabbat kahin mujh sa na bana de 

Lets take a trio of recent poets to round up this post.

Ahmed Faraz is quite well known for his ghazals like ‘Ranjish hi sahi’, ‘Ab ke bichde shayad khwabon me mile’, ‘Shola tha jal-bujha hoon, havaayen mujhe na do’ and so many others. But this is a scattered gem.

Karun na yaad magar kis tarah bhulau use
Ghazal bahaana karun aur gungunau use

Bashir Badr is also quite well known and has a large corpus of poetic work in consciousness of those in the present era who have a foundness for Urdu poetry. One of his most perceptive shers,which is unfortunately true is, is:

Koi haath bhi nahin milayega jo gale miloge taapak se
Yeh naye mizaaj ka shahr hai yahan faasle se mila karo

Prof Waseem Barelvi is another well known figure for those who attend or otherwise catch mushairas. The truth of this is self-evident, though I guess there are some who might require this be explained to them.

Bahut bebaak aankhon mein ta’aluq tik nahi paata
Mohabbat mein kashish rakhne ko sharmana zaroori hai

I guess nothing can follow this, so I will end this post here. Tamam Shud.

Piyasalar hızlı açıldı: İşte ilk rakamlar
İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsası Ulusal 100 Endeksi, 561 puan artışla 47 bin 531 puandan açıldı. Açılış itibari ile hisse senetleri ortalama yüzde 1.20 oranında değer kazandı.

Açılış itinbari ile 47 bin 500 seviyesini geçen endeksin bugün pozitif bir seyir izlemesi bekleniyor.

Dış piyasalarda iyimser bir hava ve yükseliş yönünde hareketler gözleniyor. Diğer yandan yurtiçinde faizde ve dövizde gevşemenin yeniden başlaması hisse senedi piyasalarını destekleyecek gelişmeler olarak öne çıkıyor.

Uzmanlar, piyasaya yönelik olumlu görüşlerini sürdürüyor. Bununla birlikte, genel olarak piyasa eğilimlerinde kırılma yaratabilecek bir oluşum henüz görülmüyor. Endeksin 45 bin 800 seviyesinin üzerinde kaldığı müddetçe 48 bin 600 seviyelerini test edebileceği belirtiliyor.

Bugün yurtiçi tarafından Merkez Bankası beklenti Anketi ve saat 10:00’da Eylül ayı Sanayi Üretimi verileri takip edilecek. Yurtdışı tarafından önemli bir veri bulunmuyor.

İMKB açısından bu hafta, dokuz aylık bilançoların yayınlanmasında son hafta olması ve 165 şirketin bilançosunun açıklanacak olması sebebiyle de hisse bazında hareketlilikler bekleniyor. Banka bilançolarındaki yüksek karlılığın sürecek olmasına karşılık bu durumun piyasalardaki havaya da bağlı olarak kar satışı şeklinde değerlendirilebileceği öngörülüyor.

kaynak mynet

Comparing two shers of different poets is an ancient art, and anyone who gets into appreciating the subtle nuances of life and existence portrayed in ghazals, is drawn into this activity as well.

One of the earliest examples that came to my notice is from the work of the titans Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib only. I suppose it is appropriate.

Mir, in his ghazal ‘Dekh to dil ki jaan se uthta hai’, says:

Yun uthe aah us gali se ham
Jaise koi jahaan se uthta hai 

Several years later, penning the inestimably intricately-crafted ‘Hazaaron khwaaishen aisi ki har khwaaish pe dam nikle’, the ‘Chacha’, with his customary verve and panache, wrote:

Nikalna khuld se adam ka sunte aaye hai lekin
Bahut be-abru hokar tere kuche se ham nikle

Appreciate the difference. Both are talking about the same thing – their egress from the street the beloved lives on but one takes himself up from the earth, while for the other, it is a bumpy landing on it.  Mir leaves in a daze and feels as he has ascended from this world, while Chacha laments his ignominous ejection from the same place, and recalls Adam’s descent to earth after his expulsion from Paradise ….. well the Garden of Eden to be exact for purists, but it is worth remembering that the word paradise entered English from the French paradis, from the Latin paradisus, derived from the Greek parádeisos (παράδεισος), and ultimately from an Old Eastern Iranian pairi.daêza – the literal meaning of which is “walled (enclosure)”.  From there it moves into Hebrew as pardes – appearing in the Song of Solomon 4:13, Ecclesiastes 2:5 and Nehemiah 2:8. In those contexts it could be interpreted as a park, a garden or an orchard. In the 3rd-1st century BCE Septuagint, Greek parádeisos was used to translate both Hebrew pardes and Hebrew gan (garden): it is from this usage that the use of paradise to refer to the Garden of Eden derives. This usage also appears in Arabic firdaus.

However, with this etymological digression to satisfy linguist purists, I return to my comparitive study. I was planning to confine my effort to these two shers but as it happens, as I began writing this post, a  third one – dealing with a similar sentiment – came into my mind. It is so very surprising not to matter symptomatic of the various sections our brains operate according to that I had never associated this often-heard sher with this topic but I will make amends forthwith.

This is from Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous ghazal ‘Gulon mein rang bhare, baad-e-naubahaar chale’. In the maqta, he observes:

Maqaam ‘Faiz’ koi raah mein jacha hi nahi
Jo kuu-e-yaar se nikle to suu-e-daar chale

There is no heaven for Faiz sahab, a committed leftist, to ascend to or be thrown out of.  For him, the way out from the beloved’s street leads straight to the scaffold, with no distractions or other places worth visiting on the way.

As can be expected, Faiz, in his typical manner,  injects a political connotation in some of his most moving and emotional love poetry - as can be evinced in the scenes of suffering and tragedy right in the middle of  ‘Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang….’ 

But then that is a poet’s prerogative.

There are so many examples of poems and songs emerging as chants of a revolution, or as a form of protest. The tradition spans right from the famous socialist, communist,  and anarchist anthem ‘Internationale’ to ‘We Will Overcome’, associated with the US civil rights movement (and throughout the world in various translations) to Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin in the Wind’ to John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.

However, the tradition has a strong resonance in Urdu poetry, due to – most recently, the efforts of the poets of the Taraqqi Pasand Tehreek and other imbued with a socialist or revolutionary outlook, right from Allama Iqbal himself. Leave alone all this, the translation of ‘We Shall Overcome’  used in India is in Hindustani…. the first line is Urdu, in fact.

Here I will cite a particularly stirring call to action by Faiz Ahmed Faiz – Ham Dekhenge (We will See) - which does use some specific Islamic imagery but is no less revolutionary for all that. However, this worked to its advantage as I will tell in a minute.

Faiz had mostly an adversarial relationship with the government of Pakistan since his arrest on suspicions of involvement in the 1951 Rawalpindi Conspiracy case, and four years in prison. In the following two decades, he spent a lot of time in exile – in India and the Soviet Union chiefly.

Apart from his Communist Party background, Faiz was also an avowed supporter of Sufism and is credited with making the Sufi credo:  An-al Haqq (I am the Truth) - the utterance in public of which led to Mansur ibn Hallaj’s execution for heresy – as a political slogan…… as can be seen in my example.

One further fact about this ode. Most of Faiz’s works – those with even a revolutionary tinge – were banned in Pakistan during the reign of General Zia ul-Haq, which is not surprising. No dictatorship could countenance something like this anthem, visualising the day when tyranny would fly away, crowns would be tossed up and thrones crumble

However, in a spirited display of defiance, ghazal queen Iqbal Bano became a cult figure in the 1980s when she sang the banned revolutionary songs of Faiz.

The chants of a 50,000-strong audience in a concert of her in Lahore in 1985 as she  performed Ham Dekhenge have become a symbol of resistance. Those who listen to the bedlam as she came to the penultimate lines of the second stanza have been heard to be believed….. and they are available in the recording. And until they are heard…. you can read the anthem yourself and try to visualise the scene.

So without further ado, here is is it. Pay attention to the last two lines – before the refrain – in the third para. They are the ones that created the furore when she sang them. Its a pity that Faiz was not alive then to witness the effect, but then one can imagine him nodding with approval from some heaven for poets.

Ham dekhenge
Lazim hai ke ham bhi dekhenge
Woh din ke jis ka waada hai
Jo loh-e-azal men likha hai
Ham dekhenge

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-i-garan
Rui ki tarah urh jayenge.
Ham mehkoomon ke paoon tale
Yeh dharti dhar dhar dharkegi.
Aur ahle hakam ke sar upar
Jab bijli karhkarh karhkegi.
Ham dekhenge.

Jab arz-e-Khuda ke Kaabe se
Sab but uthwaye jayenge.
Ham ahl-e-safa, mardood-e-haram
Masnad pe bithaye jayenge.
Sab taaj uchale jayenge,
Sab takht giraye jayenge.
Ham dekhenge.

Bas naam rahega Allah ka
Jo ghayab bhi hai hazir bhi.
Jo nazir bhi hai manzar bhi.
Uthey ga An al-Haq ka naara,
Jo men bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho.
Aur raaj karegi khalq-e-Khuda
Jo men bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho.
Ham dekhenge.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote this when he returned from a visit of Dhaka after East Pakistan Separation and Bangladesh Independence. I hope we will learn from this and things will not be repeated in our tribal areas and Baluchistan…. I hope.

Image Source:http://pakistaniat.com/2006/12/16/december-1971-pakistan-bangladesh-faiz-ajnabi/

 Any poetic work is supposedly meant to be read but sometimes acquires much more fame and even deeper meaning when chanted or even sung. It could be valid for all literary traditions, but let me deal with the case of Urdu poetry.

At any mushaira, the overwhelming demand from the gathering is for the poet to recite them in ‘tarannum’ or in rhythm. However, only a few poets could and can do it with flair.

Majaz was one and most of his work bears a rhythmic cadence which makes it suitable for recital. Sahir Ludhianvi was another, of whom someone has said his voice and effect were akin to his name,  and closer to the current era, Wasim Barelvi is one of the few that people look forward to hearing.

On the flip side, I was once told that if once listened to Faiz Ahmed Faiz recite his poetry himself, “aapko un ke kalam se nafrat ho jaati.”  However, Faiz had some help in popularising him in those not even remotely connected with the pleasures of sher-o-shairi or in his Left-wing world, as I will mention below.

Most poets usually depend on singers to imbue their work with rhythm and meaning. Of such singers, Saigal, Noor Jahan, Ghulam Ali, Begum Akhtar and Nayyara Noor were the most renowned and have brought many known and less well-known shairs to the attention of the people at large. Closer to home and time, were Talat Mehmood and Suraiyya, who both  lent a rare meaning to Ghalib’s ghazals in the eponymous film, which in my opinion no one has bettered… at least for the ghazals in question.

Be it the duet treatment to “Dil-e-Nadaan, tujhe hua kya hain?” or Suraiyya sparkling with “Aah ka chahiye ek umr asr hone tak” and the slight hesitance that gave an allure to her voice, perfectly reflected in “Nukta cheen hain” . Even Rafi excelled the ligh-heartedness he gave to “Har bas har ek unke ishare mein”.

Nehru, who saw the film, complimented Suraiyya on her rendition: “Ladki, tumne Ghalib ki rooh zinda kar di,” he said. It is my guess that “Chacha” himself would have approved and as one hopes, fully content after listening to it in some astral plane.

Returning to Faiz, the poet himself is said to have sat entranced as the ‘Mallika-e-Tarranum’ Noor Jehan rendered his “Mujh se pehli se mohabbat mere mehboob na maang” and later observed she had brought out so many nuances in the nazm that even overwhelmed him.

He also has cause to be grateful to the dulcet, perfectly-modulated tones of Nayyara Noor, whose renditions of his poems can be thought to be a standard. Listen to “Hum ke thehre ajnabi itni madaraaton ke baad” to get an idea.

There are many singers who have become famous by singing ghazals and nazms of famous poets but sometimes, an unknown poet can be catapulted into the ranks of the famous after a well-known singer lends voice to the composition.

I was once told that Begum Akhtar was on her way to the stage to perform when someone in the crowd pressed a hand-written ghazal into her hand. The Begum did spare a moment to read it and liking it, used it in the same concert, mentioning the poet’s name. This was how Sudershan ‘Faakir’ came to the notice of a greater audience. I am not sure which ghazal it was but i think it was “Ae mohabbat tere anjaam pe rona aaya”, which remains his most well-known work.

To Be Continued……..

Ev hanımları arasında altın günleri yapılır, halen de devam ediyor.Altının onsuna baktığımızda bugün itibariyle 1050 $ civarını gördü.Değerli madenlerdeki yükselişin sebebi ne olsa gerek?Petrol ve gayrimenkul fiyatları bu sene için en yüksek noktalarını zorlarken Avro-Dolar paritesi 1.50 etrafında dans ediyor.Tüm bunların sebebini yalnızca zayıf ABD para birimine bağlayabilir miyiz?Küresel ekonomik krizin toparlanma işaretleri gösterdiği gelişmiş ülkelerde dolar arzı kısılırsa uluslararası piyasalarda talebe bağlı olarak doların çıkışını göreceğiz.

Bizim piyasalarımızdaki borsa-faiz-kur garabeti dış dünyanın etkilerinden muaf değil.Türk ekonomisinin en büyük riski büyüyen istikrarsızlıkla birlikte daralmanın derinleşmesidir.İşsizliği doğrudan etkileyecek bu gelişme üretimde gerçek bir düzelme olmadan temel dengesizliklerin baş nedenini oluşturacak.Bütçe açığının faizleri tarihi dip seviyesinden tekrar yükseliş ivmesine sokması dış kaynak bağımlı ekonomimizin öncelikli risklerinden diğer bir tanesi.Buradaki hayati soru şu:Dolar kaç lira olur? Tahminim 3 ay ile bir yıl gibi süre içinde dolar 1.90-2.00 TL’yi görebilir.Merkez Bankası bilançosunda net hata noksan kaleminde 18 milyar $ civarındaki gözüken para Vergi Barışı’nın bizlere bir hediyesi.Yıl sonuna kadar sürecek Vergi Barışı uygulaması ile daha ne kadar döviz girişi sağlanabilir? Faizlerin ve bütçe açığının artışı ile birlikte avro ve dolar kurunda yükselişin başlayacağına tanık olabiliriz.

Ülkemizde sürdürülemez bir istikrarsızlık hüküm sürüyor.Bizler burada kaosun matematiğini yapmaya çalışırken zayıf alım gücüne sahip görece değerli T.L. dalgalı kurun yeni bir cilvesinin ara sıcağını oluşturabilir.Fiyat istikrarının paranın alım gücündeki eriyişi karşısında çaresizlik yaşaması Merkez Bankası’nı suni faiz indirimlerine zorlamakta.Bu cümlelerin Türkçesi şu:Fena bir kriz geliyor,başınızın çaresine bakın…

TV Nihon sure is being slow in subbing Kamen Rider W…
Bored of waiting… I decided to re-watch all 1st episode of Heisei Kamen Riders… Sorry if I offend some of the fans with my words here…

Kamen Rider Kuuga

Personally, I like Kuuga 1st episode more than the others. Godai started clueless about the whole monsters and the belt, and we “the audience” are learning more as the characters develop.

Though I never like the drama in Kamen Rider Kuuga… the conversations between characters usually end awkward…

The 1st episode is quite memorable… with Godai transforming to Kuuga base form, the growing form and fighting with unidentified lifeform on the flying plane to save Ichijou. He ended it with his thumb pose and jumped out of the flying plane with sunset in the background. Truly classic and romantic, hehe…

Kamen Rider Agito

Awaken! That Soul!

Agito…. this show offers deep plot… very deep, and the drama is better than Kuuga… it’s becoming more enjoyable. The comedy scene is in its place, there are more characters than Kuuga, and each Kamen Rider has their own strong point and weakness.

1st episode showed G3 ( Kamen Rider made with Kuuga as the model, YES!! it’s related to the previous show, Kamen Rider Kuuga ) having a hard time defeating unknown, and when he was in a pinch, Agito came from behind of destroyed burning cars, easily defeated the unknown and left many misteries to G3 and the police.

Kamen Rider Ryuki

If you don’t fight, you won’t survive

Ryuki… one of the best Kamen Rider show with good story as well. It introduces battle royale between riders and what’s more… there are 13 kamen rider in total. Each has their own reason to fight, and there’s even a criminal as Kamen Rider here, not to mention he is one of the coolest Rider ever.
It is less darker than Kuuga and Agito because there are many funny scenes and the main character is stupid… maybe the most stupid Kamen Rider ever.

What dissappoints is because the Riders started using something (in this show, it’s cards) to use their finishing move and other skills… the fighting scene is less enjoyable. You can tell that the hits from swords and other weapons are just a warm-up… the fighting scene look simple and boring… the pattern is always the same, they fight for a minute as an introduction there and end it with a finishing move which is repetitive. It gets boring after a while and the monster doesnt play any important role here. Some even only show up for a bit, only to be killed by a Rider’s final vent.
Well… the sound effect is cool though ( Final Vento!! ).

The subtitle is memorable “If you don’t fight, you won’t survive“… It somehow resembles how people live in this cruel world…

1st episode is way different than the others. Stupid Shinji got caught in a mirror world with a Rider deck, accidentally transforming in the process and running from the big spider monster… it’s funny… to have a hero that does stupid stuffs. Even after he got his sword, he broke it when he’s using it againts the Big-Spider-Monster. Then Knight came and saved him. It ended with furious Draggedder showering them with rain of flame.

Kamen Rider Faiz

One of the coolest Kamen Rider with his hand-thing that he does when he fights. I personally think the 2nd Rider, the antagonist character is cooler than the main character in design, style and personality.
Kamen Rider with gadgets… gadgets are cool and so are the users.

The concept is amazing as well, it is realistic. People transform using a belt powered by energy that can be called by sending some codes to the satellit using the phone, which means anyone can transform as long as they have the belt. The story mostly show how humans and orphenoch (the monster) trying to get ahold of the belt for themselves.

At least, monster play important role in the series. Even monsters have their own reason to fight. This show giving us the idea that who decides what’s wrong and what’s right. All happens for a reason.

This show is enjoyable for both guys and girls because the drama is fun to watch, and so is the fighting scene.

1st episode… a girl trying to transform, and failed in doing so ( quite surprising… I thought the main character was the girl as well as the Rider )… while on the other hand, a man whose life was destroyed before him became a monster and killed a guy who he thought was to blame for everything.
Then the scene went back to the girl, putting the belt on nearby guy and helping him transform. The guy then showing the belt’s power by defeating the monster easily with a normal kick.

Kamen Rider Blade

This show is boring… for more than 10 starting episodes, but it’s getting good and better and more interesting that it’s hard to forget later on.

The 1st Kamen Rider with cards… which is cool and even better with poker combination such as Straight Flush and others. There is hardly any introduction unlike previous shows, and it’s kinda confusing until you watch more and more….

What’s good is the Rider usually has to work hard to defeat a monster… the monsters are way stronger than the riders, and there is a price for everything. The main character had to sacrifice many things to obtain what he needed to fix things.

The monster play important deal of the story again, Yayy!! It’s always fun to see why both sides fight against each other.

1st episode… there weren’t much to say I guess. The company where the Riders worked in was destroyed. The main character suspected his colleague. Even more so when he was fighting againts a monster and his colleague just watched from the distance.

Kamen Rider Hibiki

At first, this series wasnt planned to be a Kamen Rider show. It would just be another tokusatsu show, but in the end… they include it in Kamen Rider Heisei history.

There are many moral messages in the show, even though the show is boring… it really is, even to the end of the story. Something must be wrong when they’re making it, whether it’s the script, the casts or whatever the reasons were.

The only reason why I watched this was because I love Japan. It pictured many Japan cultures in here from a boy and a man points of view. I recommend this for people who love watching shows for their moral messages… it’s inspiring!!

I love the Kamen Rider Hibiki design though…. dunno why there are so many that disagree with me. At least it’s better than sentai. Super Sentai always use this skinny-looking costume, and Hibiki at least offers more muscular look with the costume.

1st episode was quite stupid, haha… It started with some high-schooler conversing with each other with songs… which wouldnt be used anymore in later episodes because TOEI realized it sucked after all… (I made this up >_< ). Hibiki showed up in a forest, transforming and fighting the monster in a different style than what we used to know. Using music and beam from his mouth. A boy was nearby and watched him from the distance.

Kamen Rider Kabuto

Walking the path of Heaven, ruler of all!

The coolest Kamen Rider ever!! The personality, the style… everything of him is cool. The cast is part of it as well… Hiro Mizushima… he does an excellent job in potraying Kabuto.

This show is different from previous ones as well. The main character was godly strong and it seemed as if the world revolved around him. He fights elegantly and confidently. He knows what he is doing and what he must do.

The show itself went well in the beginning of the stories, until it suddenly became strange and then … developing worse until the end, but the coolness of the Riders covered it all. Every battle was wrapped well in style. That alone makes it worth watching.

1st episode was amusing… how the main character trained alone for the battles that he’d been waited for years. Then the time came, the zecter showed up and ended grabbed by Tendou with his unforgettable 1st episode quote…. “The chosen one is me. Now I will create the future using these hands !!!“
Then he transformed into a Robocop looking like Kamen Rider and defeated the monster with his brain and brawn stylishly… of course!… That’s Kamen Rider Kabuto for you…

Kamen Rider Den-O

This show is best described as comedy show… it’s enjoyable if you’re into Japanese culture and stuff like that. Though it’s getting boring for more than half of all episodes. The idea of a short story for each episode is bad indeed. It makes each episode of this show seem not important at all. You can just skip it and you wont miss the story development…

I love this show for how they show different personality and catchphrase to each character. How one is better than the others in a certain aspect, and eventhough the main character is a weakling-wussy… (which sucks}… he never gives up.

Many Rider fanboys dont like this series but this show is incredibly popular compared to other Kamen Rider shows in Japan… even more surprising if you watch the special talk, you’ll notice most of the audience are teenagers… girls and older women.

1st episode turned out alright…. the interesting part is where the main character was possesed and suddenly became super strong!! The rest is just like your ordinary Kamen Rider show… he transforms, he easily kicks enemy’s ass, then he shows-off his Hissatsu-Waza (finishing move) as he finishes the enemy. Chapter closes.

Kamen Rider Kiva

Wake Up! Unleash the chains of fate!

I find this show is the most enjoyable Kamen Rider show..
The bonds between father and son, mother and daughter. The story was told in 2 different time, the past and the present and it’s connecting. We’ve got another wussy-weakling main character, at least better than previous show, the main character is strong after he transforms. There is a 2nd main character, the Father of the 1st main character who is a womanizer and has a strong sense of justice, he is also more charming because he is freer than any character… he does what he wants, anytime and anywhere.

It frustates me to watch the present part because the main character is indecisive and weak, but it is interesting to watch the past side. You’ll wonder how it will affect the future, how what is there was made. The story is definitely progressing in each episode, so you can’t miss one. This pattern makes it more enjoyable to watch. The beginning was good, and it turns better and drives you curious as it’s progressing.

1st episode doesnt tell much…. it’s just another pattern of later on before this episode ends, a monster appears, the main character shows up, transforming, kicking enemy’s ass and finishing it with a cool-looking killing blow. It’s cool how Kiva summons the night as he performs his finishing move. Love it!!

Kamen Rider Decade

Destroy everything! Connect everything!

Finally…. 10 Heisei Rider gather all in a show!! This would be an unforgettable MASTERPIECE!!
well… that’s what you probably thinking… hate to break it out for you, the show was a great disappointment until the very end.

It looked very promising until you find that it’s a repetitive movie…
Tsukasa’s catchphrase “I’m just a passing-through Kamen Rider, don’t forget it” sounds cool but to hear it for more than 20 times would only make people sick, it’s worse when it’s placed wrong… it ruins the mood even more.

The casts… the main character’s acting seemed unnatural for me ( well, this is his debut after all )… the same goes for the one playing Natsumi…
The characters chemistry totally turn you off… they were trying to give moral messages when the mood wasnt right, and many gay-things are in this show…
That’s not all, every episode gives has nothing to do with plot development… and just watching 5 episode, you’ll get the pattern of the show and realise it’s a pure show for kids.

It’s not all that bad though, at least the special-effects were nicely done and Decade has the best style out of all Rider!! not in his human form though…

1st episode looked very promising. I even watched it 4-5x while waiting for the next one.
It started with all riders charging into an unknown Kamen Rider just to be badly beaten. Turned out all of that scene was a dream. Then the scene changed. Main character’s world was in danger of being destroyed, with some clues from stranger… he got the idea what he had to do and transformed into a Kamen Rider. Strange enough, he knew how to fight in Kamen Rider form eventhough he had no memories of ever being one. We get many show-off and nostalgia moments of some Kamen Riders here…

Kamen Rider W

This clinches it!

Got not much to say, but this show looked very promising, even more with detective style.
By introducing the villains in the beginning, it’s as if we can expect more from the story…
From 4 episodes up till now, it seems like the story is progressing with each episodes…. I love this pattern!!

There is many pretty girls in the show, the characters are all lovable so far…
W’s skills can be combined to make a new one… and… well, we’ll see how it goes…

Too bad the sound effect is no match for Decade… I still find that Decade “Final Form Ride!! Final Attack Ride” the coolest sound effect in Kamen Rider series…

1st episode was normal… the usual characters introduction, then before 1st episode ended, a monster appeared so did the main characters that transform and beat it…

No matter how bad this franchise turns out, I can’t seem to be absent from watching it.
It has been growing with me for all these 10 years after all.

Kamen Rider 4ever!!

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