And I even feel a little bad ragging on Shunpei, because I don't really think it's the actor's fault? He's got some great comedic timing in some of the Net Movies (he shows killer improv chops as Koyomi's sidekick for the fortune-telling ones), but on the actual show he's given such an irritating character to play.

Some of it's also the costuming, though, yeah. Keitaro dresses like a normal young man, while Shunpei feels like the adult lead during the second act of a kid/adult body-swap comedy.

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 05

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz05a.png

1. One of the things I was curious about was how exactly the show could balance the unique hilarity of the nebulously-motivated Team Faiz with the need to, y'know, actually progress the plot. They struck upon a pretty solid formula in this episode, where all the investigative beats get hit (Mari can't seem to get ahold of her dad) and the worldbuilding continues (Team Faiz runs a dry cleaners), but it's all done with a mixture of irritation and poor decision-making. That's pretty great? Having Takumi be the impetus to get Mari's story moving is a little unexpected, but it's also totally in-character: he wants to get this shit over with as soon as possible, and standing around wringing their hands isn't helping. Similarly, drawing backstory details out of Keitaro and Mari happens with him mocking Keitaro and ignoring Mari, which, A+. It's incredibly tricky to keep a grumpy, funny tone to the show while still making it feel like it's all going somewhere, and this episode manages it perfectly.

2. Growing Takumi's character was another thing I was sort-of skeptical about, since the more you humanize him, the more you start to define his antisocial tendencies, the more I feel like he's less fun? Ren on Ryuki was a fun character because even at his most heroic he was still a total dick, and that's not usually how these hero's journey stories go. We find out their trauma, there's a cathartic reckoning for their past behavior, and now they're all friends. (See: both of the secondary Riders from Ghost.) Here, it's more that we begin to see Takumi's behavior as stemming from insecurity, a belief that he's a terrible person (true!) that will inevitably hurt the people around him. The problem is that his belief in the second part is so all-consuming that it becomes self-fulfilling, with him pushing people away and treating them poorly so they won't care about him. It's a nuanced take on an antisocial character, and even his apology to Mari for how he's been acting is wrapped in backhanded insults and some small amount of snottiness. It'll be interesting to see if Takumi starting to let Mari and Keitaro in will rob the show of some of its complicated humor, but the first steps were promising.

3. The Orphnoch plot... it was okay? It's a lot of information delivered by a brand-new character who immediately died. It's okay at imparting context, but there's not a lot in there that I cared about. The Yuuji/Yuka stuff around the edges, though, real solid. Some nice touches for Yuka's part of the story (her leaning her head against the car window in contemplation is a nicely-observed bit of physical acting, and I love how the sound drops out as she writes Keitaro an email she can't send), and the way Yuuji's interest in discovering the truth of their condition curdles into terror as they're told to kill, that was great. The more the episode focused on Yuuji and Yuka's reactions, the better that plot came off.

4. I had a night job, some years back. Third Shift (8pm to 4am) at an insurance company, doing a backup of the database and delivering prints around the building to different departments. It was me and a guy named Mike. We overlapped with Second Shift (4pm to midnight), which was Joel and Mitch. Our desks were all in the same room, so people could chatter pretty easily. Mitch would always do this real specific laugh when he'd read something online, where he'd go HA real loud, and it was clear he wanted to share what he found funny, but he needed you to ask him about it first. He'd never just say, "Hey, here's something funny,” he'd go HA and he'd do variations on it until someone finally said Hey Mitch What's Funny. I hated it, so much. It got to the point where I would never ask him. I'd let him make that goddamn noise forever, but I wouldn't ask him what was funny. You're an adult! If you want to say something, just say it! All of that is to point out that I am 100% on Takumi and Mari's side for not asking Keitaro why he's sighing. Just say what you want to say! It's so annoying, Keitaro!

5. I feel like Faiz settled into a pretty enjoyable rhythm with this episode, getting all the various pieces into play while still leaving plenty of room for fun jokes (Keitaro shouting TAKUMI when he throws Takumi the Faiz belt, then a very small takumi when he throws the phone after he sees the Orphnoch), gentle sadness (Yuuji walking away when he sees a sad Yuka on the balcony), and great action (the whole Of Course We Forgot To Bring The Belt chase sequence with Takumi and Mari transitioning into a Faiz Fight). Just a really fun episode to watch!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz05b.png

Episode 5 of 555? I think that means you're finished with the show. Great thread! ...Oh wait, you probably still have another 550 to go.

Or maybe I'll just watch these first five 110 more times? A 700-page thread on the first five episodes of Faiz, two years of writing where eventually it's just three paragraphs about what the gas station attendant is doing in the background of a shot and two paragraphs on the glass partition in the Smart Brain lobby.

Really loved Auto Vajin in this episode, especially how he rides around for a bit. Really good stuff

It's that stoic heroism that's really his hallmark. He does a lot with a little!

Something I'm appreciating a lot as I go back and look at these episodes again is the variety of the scenery. We've got the office building, the cafe, the park, the gas station, and so many other places that aren't the same stock Toei filming locations that we see over and over again in modern shows. I usually associate more location variety with Hibiki, of course, but it's so nice to see it on something that's more urban, too. I know we'll see more of the familiar locations as the show goes on (including the debut of one that the franchise will go back to a lot), but for now I'm enjoying the change of scenery.

This episode sees the start of one of my favorite recurring features on Faiz: the emergency phone call for help with zero location information. We're not at "Takkun! Orphenoch!" yet, but I'm still happy to see the debut of the characters' miraculous innate GPS.

Oh, just to deepen things, wht I mean for The Kamen Rider Thing, to me are those that is actually having a full sheer angelic niceness, not merely those who saves innocents or fighting for justice (anti-heroes can have that too, it's rare for the supporting cast to have full Kamen Rider Thing, Notice I only mentioned Minori for Kuuga as one of the few examples). And for a show having very few with Rider sensibility, it's not like shows such as Ryuki is different in this matter too.

Michiko being ungrateful bitch and repaying those who helped her with vile act... oh yeah that's very soap opera (at least the ones in my country, t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶e̶l̶e̶v̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶o̶r̶r̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶q̶u̶a̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶u̶n̶i̶v̶e̶r̶s̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶p̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶, and that kind of moment being one of the many reasons). I guess this comes with Faiz being the one to have a monster as a part of the main cast right? (Burgmon, Cubi, the likes of Yuka and Yuji are your real predecessors).

Keitaro's story is really Kamen Rider protagonist's! Finding a belt, noticing that the power can be used to do more good deed (becoming a Rider is something that shows your heroism more clearly, someone's goodness wouldn't be as clear/significant in their daily job), taking up the mantle of Kamen Rider (by stealing but they refuse so..) and trying to henshin. In any other series, that'd quickly happen espeically with Takumi and Mari not being interested in that with Keitaro as the protector and the only problem being the burden he carries. But this is Faiz.... and yeah, this is the part where at the beginning, I talked about how it's unfair to mock Faiz for females failing to henshin, as you see here, the males aren't exempt from this, gender equality! Keitaro attacking Takumi's personal space though, asking to instantly calling him Taku-chan. Also here...

It's Auto Vajin. The character that got made as a total joke in Kamen Rider Climax Heroes OOO (based on how's him in the series). I'm quite surprised here that it... attacks Faiz here?! And also.... beating him? I wonder why Auto Vajin didn't transform before when Mari was attacked.

I don't know but boxer feels like the most simple form of self-defense, and brawler moves can be similar to that too, typically applied if someone never learns to fight but has enough power to pack a punch. Not a criticism as it makes sense for someone who never fights to throw simplistic moves like that.

The new Orphnoch, Kiaido, is one of the first three things I remember about this series, as a result of coming in from later media. The other two, you’ll find out what they are in I think it’s episodes 12 and 13 respectively.

Yeah, they're really all over the place in these first episodes, aren't they? It sells the whole Wandering angle, which you need if them deciding to settle down has any weight. I mean, they still manage a few favorites from the good folks at Rider Realty: that stairwell for Yuuji and Yuka's first meeting is in at least Ryuki, but probably Agito; I think the embankment Michiko gets run off of by the car is all over the franchise, but especially Fourze; and the sidewalk where the girls rob Yuka is from Ryuki. Still, a lot of the Takumi/Mari scenes are different enough locales.

And, maybe it's just in the copy I got, but there's a scene in Episode 4 where Keitaro laments that Takumi is going to be a hopeless Kamen Rider, and he'll probably try and run off again, so he injects a small tracking chip into his neck while he sleeps. He just wants what's best for Takkun! Don't judge him for caring too much!

I don't know, I think this is in line with how Ryuki treated Wanting To Be A Hero, where that character is best served by having that dream denied. It's easy to imagine a version of the story where Keitaro takes over and is either a) just the wrong hero for the mission, or b) immediately killed by a monster because he's got a good heart but weak muscles. Keitaro getting what he wants from stealing the belt and assuming he knows best... that would not be a great lesson!

Yeah, I don't think of Takumi as a very strategic fighter, one who's reading his opponent like a martial artist. He's a very Let's Get This Over With fighter, and that's what a quick-hitting boxing style says to me.

Neat! I'm looking forward to it!