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What are you watching? (Kamen Rider Edition)
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06-06-2019, 09:38 PM
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15365
Fish Sandwich
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
With Zi-O getting close to its final stretch, a series of coincidentally well-timed events has once again pushed me into rewatching more Kamen Rider. Except this time, I might be going a bit overboard. You see, with an era of Rider coming to a close, it made sense to go back to the series that where it all began for me personally. While that idea was floating around in my head, we also got a brand new Ryuki special, i.e. the
other
show where it all began for me.
Then
, as though that weren't enough, it took me long enough to commit to this idea that we've worked our way up Zi-O's Den-O tribute. What do these three shows have in common? That's right, they're all written by Yasuko Kobayashi, who is, of course, a personal favorite of mine, which is probably inevitable, when both of the shows that got me huge into Tokusatsu were helmed by her. So what to do, besides watch them all again... AT ONCE!
Not literally, though. I'm not as cool as Kougami. But what I am doing is going two episodes at a time through Ryuki, Den-O, and OOO, in order, as part of a weird experiment I've wanted to try. Will watching these shows in such close proximity reveal new secrets about the way they compare and contrast? Will the evolution of the franchise over a decade become obvious to see?
Will
I go completely insane at some point during this process?!
I don't know, but I feel like I've been in a bit of a slump when it comes to posting around here lately, and I've really missed talking about shows I'm watching in a kinda sorta blog style, so, assuming I can keep this up, I'm going to try in pop in here as often as possible to share some thoughts on each show as I do.
Ryuki 1-2:
I love this show so much. I'll have to try and restrain myself from repeating that too much because it goes without saying, but to this day, Ryuki really defines a whole lot of what I want to see in a Rider show. Ironic given what a huge departure from the formula it was at the time, but still. From stuff as central as the intense interpersonal drama between the Riders, to things as seemingly minor as the glass shattering effect when the opening starts playing, I just couldn't get enough of this show at the time. Especially the glass shattering thing. Stuff like the music in Kuuga and everything was cool too, but I'm convinced Ryuki is the entire reason I'm so obsessed with seeing Rider shows have a cool transition to their theme songs even now. Ryuki in general takes a lot of advantage of having mirror imagery everywhere, too. Even the episode titles (can you call them that if it's just the number?) are shown with a reflection.
Anyways, the plot's just getting started, but these episodes definitely do a great job laying down the groundwork. You can tell this is basically the buddy cop Rider show because the first episode ends with Ryuki and Knight running away from explosions together. Universal film language for "these two mismatched guys are going to go through a lot together and probably end up as friends". I also like the effort put in to establish Shinji's character. We're introduced to him as the total goof that makes him stand out from the franchise's other leads, but even this early we start to see the layers that make him work so well as a protagonist, with him realizing the gravity of the Mirror Monsters killing people in the second episode. When he properly becomes Ryuki, he actually gets to look cool in the fight scene, too, in contrast to the utter humiliation that was his first "battle". I always loved that about Shinji. You could maybe argue the logic of him being competent enough right out of the gate to swat projectiles away and do sweet poses during his Rider Kick (man do I love his Rider Kick), but come on, he has to be good at
something
, right?
Den-O 1-2:
I'll say this to start! Of the three Riders Kobayashi wrote, Den-O is actually the one I consider my favorite. We'll see if that somehow changes, but something about this show is just magic to me. It's so insanely approachable and likable I've never once questioned why it did so well in Japan. The tone and style Den-O had, I think really informed the "Neo-Heisei" formula, but even now it stands on its own it terms of how quirky it is, while still telling reasonably serious stories. It's very character-driven, and when those characters have such well-defined personalities, simply watching them interact has a huge amount of mileage.
The show makes it pretty clear right away by introducing Ryoutarou somehow stuck in a tree while on a bicycle that there's going to be a large amount of exaggeration to things, but that's what makes it all work. Everybody is just hyper-charged enough that it's impossible for them to be boring. In Ryoutarou's case, showing him being so impossibly pathetic at first also makes his arc that much more satisfying when it pays off. Still, Den-O also knows how to dial it back when appropriate, and the very first Victim of the Week arc has some surprisingly heavy emotion to it, considering it's so early into the series. I also didn't remember that part of the plot until I rewatched it, but the premise definitely explains why this show strikes such a chord with me. It takes guys like Drive and Wizard nearly a dozen episodes to save Christmas, but Den-O does it in
two
. I also adore the jazzy, easy listening background music, so that's another point in its favor.
OOO 1-2:
I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the best couplet of episodes I watched tonight, though. First of all, if we want to talk background music? I mean, the whole Ska thing? Pure perfection. Such a unique identity compared to the usual. But most importantly, you can tell Kobayashi's only gotten better at this over the years. The frantic pacing in these episodes is
insanely
tight compared to the slow burn of Ryuki or Den-O's leisurely attitude. Consequently, I feel like way more was established in way less time. We've got an introduction to our hero that tops even Ryoutarou's, interesting side characters, four villains with diverse, unique personalities, the renegade villain teaming up the protagonist, two different Monsters of the Week, an insanely memorable second episode climax, and somehow during all this they even make time to effortlessly establish things as minor as the etymology of OOO's name. Holy crap!
The thing about OOO's is that even though, or perhaps,
because
it was literally the first Rider show I ever watched, as well as the one airing at the time (I think it was like halfway through when I started?), I've always taken it for granted. So every time I look back at it, with more and more context, I feel so, so lucky such a stellar show happened to be on the air at the time. Like, these first two episodes are straight up flawless on a level that almost rivals Kuuga. Even that aforementioned second episode climax is nearly on the level of Kuuga's famous transformation into Mighty Form, with some
extremely
strong character development from Eiji, and a unique fight scene to top it off. Seriously, is it any wonder I fell so head over heels for this franchise when one of my very first experiences with it was seeing a dude on a motorcycle riding on a bridge made of octopus robots to slice up a giant monster with a sword? You'd have to be heartless not to. The effects even look remarkably good considering how bad these things can go. Definitely a huge difference from that spider monster in Ryuki.
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