Kamen Rider RX has definitely been interesting. Nobuhiko has returned from the dead however not as himself but as a hate golem with one mission; destroy Kotaro Minami, Kamen Rider Black RX!
I find his return interesting because RX is a direct sequel to Black and for the most part has disregarded any theming or direct relations to black as a series. The closet acknowledgement as a sequel series we have is that Acro-batter evolved/transformed from Battle Hopper, the motorcycle from Kamen Rider Black.
Shadow Moon really has a two to three episodes that I can recall and they're sandwiched between some decent monster of the week episodes, one particularly good episode is 26, 'Bosgun's Counter Attack'.
The end of episode 21 introduces Shadow Moon, or at least the homunculus of a vessel that is walking around the world. Battered, beaten, and looking as though he literally crawled out of the Golgom headquarters after its collapse.
Episode 22 is an episode spent exploring the VERY loose way that Shadow Moon came back and is ever so briefly partnered up with the Crisis Empire. Being forced to work with the Maribaron, Gatezone, Bosgun, and Gedorion Shadow Moon begins to actually overtake RX. However, General Jak's commanders turn on Shadow Moon using one of Gedorion's demon, the ant lion, to attempt to take out Black RX out of fear that they're capacity for promotion in the Crisis Empire was about to be superseded by Shadow Moon. Honestly that is a really interesting motivation for some of the main villains of the cast and I appreciate the dimension of depth they added to them.
Episode 27 has Shadow Moon convincing one of Jak's Commandor's Monster, Demon Alien Matt Bott, to work with him so that they can take down Black RX. Matt Bott's goal was to put a bomb into a volcano and ignite its interruption to better make a climate fitting of the Crisis Empire, the cost being human cities destroyed. Briefly working with Shadow Moon this partnership fails as Jak's Commandor's retaliate against Matt Bott.
More interesting Shadow Moon appears to fight Black RX in what is the beginning of the ultimate showdown. Having just started, they're interrupted by Matt Bott who has kidnapped Akane and her brother Hiroshi to lay a trap for Shadow Moon and Black RX.
Blinded by his hatred and what I believe to be the last of the programming by Golgom, Shadow Moon and Black RX continue to fight as the children are chained to a pillar and a fire is lit around them.
This battle is amazing! Black RX begs Shadow Moon to find Nobuhiko inside. In some capacity he still believes he could be in there. With no other path to the children Black RX resolves himself to finish off Shadow Moon. Black RX slices and stabs the King stone used to defeat Nobuhiko, Shadow Moon.
Shadow Moon has fallen.
Kotaro saves the children however at the very end Shadow Moon truly was defeated and falls to the ground.
These Shadow Moon episodes are truly some of the better aspects of the show and I didn't expect them to be. They actually tie RX to Black and provide MORE depth to Minami Kotaro and the loss he faced with the Golgom Cult.
My initial expectation is that the rest of RX will be on a downward trajectory with the death of Shadow Moon, but hey!, I was surprised by these episodes. Here's to hoping for some good episodes in the back half of Kamen Rider Black RX
Shadowmoon Episodes:
21 - The Front of Love and Friendship
22 - Shadowmoon!
27 - Great Counterattack! The Prince of Shadows