Most of this stuff is over my head, but I am sincerely excited to get through all of these series so that, when a character makes a movie appearance, I'll be able to connect better with their story. It's tough sometimes, knowing how much I've got to watch in order to be looped in, but I think it's for the best that I do so.

I guess the only real roadblock I'm going to have when it comes to getting all the way current is the Kamen Rider Aqua stuff. I may to have to hold off on Zi-O and Zero-One and stuff for just a few decades, so I can get the most out of the OOO/Fourze movie first. It's just, I want to do this right, you know?

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 35

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki35a.png

Mostly really liked this episode, but not entirely. There's some really clever twists, as well as a HUGE change to a major character, but there's a decision early in this episode that threw me in a way that soured me some on this episode.

I don't know why they didn't bring the Ryuki vs Knight battle to some kind of a conclusion.

It's a choice, and, short of killing off one of the two main characters with fifteen episodes left to go, the only choice they could make. Fight's got to end without someone dying. It's just, I'm shocked that there was zero effort made into showing why the fight stopped. Did their time run out? Did Ryuki have Knight on the ropes and split? Were they both too battered to continue? To have a fight this big, this important, be left to the viewer's imagination... man, I don't get it. I don't know why you wouldn't spend a few more shots tightening that resolution up some. Weird choice. Unfulfilling choice.

The rest of the episode was pretty strong, though. In contrast to the big Hero Fight, the rest of the battles had some thought put into them, some smart ways to leverage characterization to conclude a fight. The Zolda vs Ouja one, so great. Of course Kitaoka had a plan the whole time. Of course he wasn't going to fight Asakura unless he had some advantage. Using the police to corner Asakura, in a specially chosen reflection-less alleyway, it's a genius move. It's nice to see that Kitaoka cunning brought to bear in non-murderous ways (although I'm sure he's betting on Asakura being devoured by one-to-three monsters), to make his successes feel more laudable. I like not feeling a little conflicted about cheering him on. It's good to have him winning in ways that aren't completely scummy.

Also, he didn't murder anyone, which makes him more heroic than Ren.

So, yeah, this is the one where Ren Murders Someone. (Right upfront: I don't think Kamen Rider Boss/Shiro is really dead. Don't buy it, not for a second. That said, the issue isn't whether someone died, it's whether Ren murdered someone, which he absolutely did.) It's been a long road to get here, with a lot of twists and turns. There've been times where it seemed like Ren would kill every other Rider without blinking an eye, and there've been times where it seemed like he'd given up on trying to be a killer. Now, after fighting Shinji to a standstill (allegedly!), and finding every other Rider taking a personal day, he's got no one left to fight but Shiro. It's suicide, but he's going to do it anyway.

Ren's a lot like Shinji at this point in the story. Shinji's plan in this one is to maybe find Shiro, maybe fight Shiro, destroy the Mirror World, something. He doesn't have a good plan, so he goes with his bad plan. Ren's got that same mentality here. As Yui points out, there's no pathway to victory for Ren. Even if he becomes a killer, there're too many Riders left to kill and not enough time to save Eri. It's pointless. But Ren's like Shinji, he can't ever do nothing. Ren can't concede defeat, can't abandon Yui to failure. He'll attack his best friend, try to become a killer, even throw his life away fighting a nearly-all-backhand godlike Rider, just to feel like he's doing something. He needs to try, always, at any cost. But, unlike Shinji, who more-or-less lucks into a way to save Ren by learning of the existence of the Second Secret Science Society aka Kamen Rider Tiger, Ren uses strategy and tactics to defeat Kamen Rider Boss. No, not defeat, murder. He murders him. It's a point of no return for Ren. It's the biggest decision this show has made, to spend 30-odd episodes telling us that Ren killing someone is The Line, and then crossing that line. It's shot perfectly, with Ren's triumph being framed as the eradication of his soul, of a psychic wound that's likely fatal.

And, cherry on top, it was probably all for nothing, as a tear-streaked Eri opens her eyes in the hospital. Ren became a killer to save Eri, who didn't need saving after all. All his efforts did was make him a man she's ashamed of. So pyrrhic. So perfect.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki35b.png

Probably this is a flaw yeah, but why do I feel that, from my replies on Kuuga rewatch thread, Kuuga also pulls this sometimes like in Kuuga vs Mebio fight. Surely it's disappointing not to see what Ryuki or Knight's take especially when one of them corners the other. Or actually neither corners each other and both are just critically injured as seen in the beginning of episode. Obviously Shinji wouldn't kill, he tried to prevent Ren becoming a killer and staying sane anyway. It would be plausble if Shinji won and just exhausts both parties so that Ren is too weak to kill (plausble because obviously Shinji wouldn't continue further if Ren is disabled, he wants both alive!) and Ren coming up to his coinscience, feeling unable/unworthy to return to Shinji and Yui and escapes.

The first display of Genocider Final Vent, it looks so deadly of absorbing everything in it, making the victim very dead and inescapable, my obvious favorite for Ouja's Final Vent. Even if the kick (which knocks down Magnugiga) is not the primary attack and just to send the victim to Genocider, I feel like the corkscrew kick's movement is cooler than his Veno Crash Final Vent. Yeah, I specifically cheered for Kitaoka in these situations, to keep Asakura in check (to send Asakura in particular rage). Using your privileged connection to defeat him, even cops submit to him, portrayed like his troops (when I was little I thought Kitaoka was a cop!). Surely can also ask the police to show no mercy like shoot him or something. And the thing is, bringing up previous stuff Kitaoka is more unafraid to bring up mirror stuff for police as he did to Megumi before like confiscate his Deck from 13 Riders before. It's actually murderous way, but it's benefical for society as it's Asakura. Why do you advocate indirect murders more? I feel like this stance can be applied to Shibaura too. He only indirectly kills and didn't actually have a direct murder so Ren is less human than him too? Ren is also appalled by Kitaoka's asshole moments (while Kitaoka is appalled to Shibaura and Asakura), means Ren's douche has his limits and him constantly calling Kitaoka out means he's still a better person than him.

Even if Yui is also partly, a catalyst for "no pathway to victory" for him. She forbids him for doing things a Rider supposed to do like preventing fights with other Riders and especially killing. Why do I feel now that both Shinji and Yui probably take Tezuka's stance at his beginning (knowing Shinji more) that he should just stop and give up on Eri, letting her die, which makes me wonder why she should be watched over. For Ren commiting a murder, it's revealed eventually that even Ren's adverse to murder is no greater than his will to actually survive. Odin forced him to choose only 1 and the latter is shown to be actually greater. Ren realizes that he wants to survive, and has no choice to murder Odin in self defense. And I again, want to talk about my favorite Rider Odin here. He's my favorite in every aspect; design, fighting style, and power. I like how nonchalantly he fights with him not taking even any stance, just armfold, and just slaps away Riders, knowing how overpowered he is that he doesn't need to take much effort. His powers like teleporting, levitating (to counter Knight Survive's Final Vent!) and the golden feathers also brings an omnious feel towards him, other than him being the only one to ragdoll a Survive Rider like nothing. He's also another Rider with long range with his feathers. But apparently, he still possesses other weaknesses Rider have, his Deck fragility being weak spot (Odin's attempt to kill Knight), which is how Knight kills him. I don't want Odin being seen as weak with how quickly he's killed, it's just Ryuki Rider's weaknesses. Eri being tear-streaked showed how strong their ties to each other are with her responding to Ren's pain.

I guess the levels for me are:
Killing another Rider - BAD
Putting Riders in situations where they kill each other - NOT GREAT, BOB
Allowing a Rider to be killed by their Contract Monster - GOTTA READ THE FINE PRINT

It's... I feel like Kitaoka at this point isn't killing someone, he's just not saving them, which doesn't feel that terrible to me? Like, Asakura and all the other Riders (well, maybe not Shinji) knew the score when they joined the Rider Battles: you are making a deal with a monster who really wants to eat you. It's a risk every Rider takes, and it's not Kitaoka's fault if that risk goes against Asakura.

I mean, I don't know about that. Ren picked that fight. He shouted FIGHT, not Shiro. In fact he's told multiple times to not pick this fight, that he can't win, that he's not powerful enough, that he can't win. Shiro tried to wave him off. Ren started that fight to murder someone, I'm not sure he claim self-defense at any point after that.

Well, apart from Kitaoka, I mean people like Shibaura who also merely putting others in situations to kill each other. He does express to commit murder and he didn't directly do it yet but he can't be considered a better human being than Ren because of that. And not talking only about Rider, but also murdering others too.

Ren picking fights is already standard of him throughout the series. To Sudo, to Kitaoka, to Shinji, etc. though he's more desperate. From beginning he always expects himself to be able to finish, to kill, but can never actually do so like in Gai fight. But he wants to survive, he wants to live (those 2 are separate from killing someone), and Odin forces himself to actually commit murder, unconsciously, otherwise Odin sword goes to Knight's Deck, the only way to prevent that is stabbing Odin himself, killing in self defense. Ren is as shocked as Shiro that he actually went through that, "unconsciously", realized too late that Ren's lance already impales Odin's Deck.

To me, if you're in a to-the-death battle royale where the rules are Fight Or Die, and you challenge someone to a fight? You demand they fight you? You kind-of lose the ability to claim self-defense. As viewers, we should be shocked that Ren went that far, expecting him to either change his mind or die. But he did the thing he said he'd do, and no amount of post-murder regret changes his culpability.

The thing I've been most impressed by in this thread is how you get to the end of these episodes with such thrilling cliff-hangers, yet manage to hold off watching the very next episode. I wouldn't be able to help but binge five to ten episodes at a time.

Funny you should mention that, since Aqua does show up in Zi-O.

Yeah, like, when watching Ryuki; I felt it was just so well-constructed and paced that it was something I couldn't help but keep on watching. A lot of Rider shows especially due to being ~50 episodes I often lose motivation for constantly watching and I have to take breaks, but Ryuki was one of those series that I just had to keep watching

Hehe Kamen Rider Society.

I go back and forth on the speed of watching Kamen Rider series. I've done shows in just a few days, and it's fun, but I'm so blurry on details afterwards. At this point, I'm very into savoring the experience. Like, I'm only ever going to get to watch Ryuki for the first time once, so I really want to get everything out of it that I can. Doing an episode a day, thinking about it, writing about it, and then talking about it... I like that rate of consumption. I like feeling like I've, I don't know, honored the unit of entertainment, approached it as a single episode instead of a bundle of content.

In all honesty, it's the writing that keeps me from just devouring it. The whole process of starting an episode to submitting a post, it's like 80, 90 minutes. (Maybe more if something extra special happens in an episode.) It's tough to do even a couple of those a day. If I was just watching them and doing nothing else about them, I could burn through four episodes or so a day. (More now, shit.)

But, yeah, I think I prefer this experience, talking with other fans and taking it slower. This is nice. Y'all are nice.

Character development!

I've got an arc now! Is this current Take Your Time attitude just a phase before a slide back into self-gratification? Or has a newer, better Die actualized himself and taken steps towards a brighter future? Find out later this season on KAMEN RIDER DIE!

Where do you get that Shinji's motive is to find Shiro, maybe fight Shiro, destroy the Mirror World, something? Also do you think that watching over Eri is also another "have to try" moment like Shinji here or Ren fighting Odin? Considering that Ren's friends are against him winning the war and it seems that the only way to cure her is the wish (may inevitably die otherwise).

Fair enough for you lose self-defense claim if you initiate the fight. Though just wanted to point out that Ren has picked fights and sent death threats several times before this fight too. If not self-defense, I probably should reword it as; Ren should be sent to the extreme brink of death to make him actually kill, where the only other choice is his own death.

Ironically (like Ryuki world itself) Ryuki is the series that isn't for you despite it being addicting.

This is just my stance but probably unknowingly clashes with your view of watching the series and if it does sorry for that. I think that the belt being used by one after another isn't a spoiler because it's just shown and happened in a Ryuki material (that was released at its time, albeit written by secondary writer). And I have no way to clarify other than the main series, but it was meant to just telling that the gimmick mechanic in 13 Riders is consistent as what's established in series, not touching any important Ryuki event (I was also at dilemma to do this, and dunno if other people using Advent Deck like Shinji did is much more important to you). I think I can't let an unjust complaint about a series being constantly lit up inside and eventually ruins an enjoyment about the series to the point of being too late (or just forgotten) for answers, so I was finding a way to stop this while also not actually spoiling important events. And retcons are like #1 no-no for various series.

For Shinji's plan in that episode, he mentions wanting to stop the Rider Battles "entirely" (in my subs). The next time we see him he's running to where Shiro's lab was. I'm just assuming that Shinji's plan (if you can even call it that!) was to either bargain with Shiro or try to stop him. I used "maybe" a bunch in that sentence because, you know, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to how Shinji wanted to stop the Rider Battles. Maybe he was going to offer every other Rider a free mirror if they dropped out? I don't know!

The Eri thing, I think that's just human decency. If someone's in a hospital near-death, you should be there for them if you can. Not that you can do something, just... someone should be there.

I realized a few minutes after this post that, just like Fish Sandwich knows more about Kamen Rider Kuuga than I do, he also knows more about Kamen Rider Die than I do.

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 36

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki36a.png

Ren's a killer! Eri's awake! Shiro's alive! Asakura is being transferred to prison by the entire police force of Japan! Reiko and Megumi are after the story! Yui and Shinji are desperate to stop Ren before he kills (again)! Kamen Rider Tiger and the Second Secret Science Society are waiting in the wings! And Goro, Shimada, and Kitaoka are hungover, possibly fatally! It's a big episode!

It's weird how little impact the Ren stuff had for me this episode, though. Some of that's because the other stuff popped way more, but some of it's because we just haven't seen the consequences of Ren's actions yet. He's stumbling around for this chapter, searching for another victim to bring him a step closer to saving Eri. But all of the weight for this storyline is with Yui and Shinji. It's about their attempt to save Ren before it's too late (when it's already too late), and how they need to let him know that Eri's alright. We get a little moment at the end, with Ren's relief at Eri's recovery, but that's not as interesting to me as what comes next. I'm excited to see what becomes of Ren after killing, and after Eri's out of danger. This part, where he's still a self-destructive Rider who's pinned all of his hopes on Boy I Hope I Can Murder Enough People, like, it's necessary, but it's not that compelling.

The Asakura/Everyone Else story, though, hot damn. It's just great sequence after great sequence, as Asakura schemes and threatens and assaults his way to freedom. High point of the episode, by far, is Asakura single-handedly defeating every single uniformed officer in Japan while a terrifically badass fight song plays. The police force seems absolutely cowed by Asakura, which is both totally cool (he's a war machine in a snakeskin shirt, I guess) and maybe too much. It's one thing when Asakura sneaks an Advent Card out of his Deck (that I guess no one ever searched him for?) to get a bloodthirsty Mirror Monster onto a police escort, it's maybe another when a cop has him dead to rights, revolver to his face, and Asakura just smirks so dangerously that the cop can't pull the trigger. I don't need the cops to stop him, that's a Rider's job, but I'd like the cops to feel like more of an obstacle than, say, Auntie. She would've pulled the trigger for sure. Or, more likely, she'd've put Asakura to work at the tea shop. Shinji hasn't been helping out, and she needs someone to fill in, and Asakura fits her only criteria of being a handsome boy!

Shinji and Yui do have their hands full with Ren and Asakura this episode, so hopefully Auntie isn't too put out. (That tea shop is empty 90% of the time, so I'm not sure what her problem is.) It's not really a lot of story spent with them, as they're pretty much just reacting to whatever else is going on. First it's questioning a completely wrecked Kitoka and Goro about whether they'd seen Ren, in a typically priceless scene. They're both destroyed from their victory celebration over Asakura, who Shinji didn't even know had been arrested. (Super funny exchange: "Arrested? Why?" "Aren't you a journalist?" Also, was that Shinji's actor on the TV that Shinji turns on?) Then, it's tracking Asakura in case Ren show's up, until Asakura busts loose and then it's chasing him and Ren. Once Ren gets news from Yui, though, it's pretty much just Ryuki versus Ouja with a final assist from Tiger. It's very fun scenes, but they're all plot-driven and/or action stuff. Effective and tense, but not much to say other than I Think They Did Their Job Well.

And, really, that's my feeling for the whole episode. It's an incredibly well-done, tense episode, but one where it's hard to do more than just say that. Thematically, there wasn't much to this one. A lot of cause and effect, not a ton of ideas to dig into. Still, ain't nothing wrong with an ass-kicking episode of Kamen Rider once in a while, right?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki36b.png

Did you mean Shouichi? Because that looked and sounded an awful lot like Shouichi's actor. But yeah, definitely some fun easter eggs on that TV. The clip right before that, I believe is from Moero Robocon, which was the show that had its timeslot taken over by Kuuga when it ended, where of course Kamen Rider stayed right up until they flipped the times around with Super Sentai a little into Build.

Also, you think it's hard to say things about these episodes? Imagine being me not having anything to contribute about you saying things about these episodes! This is a killer stretch of the show and the best I've got right now is meaningless trivia! :lol

Is it weird that I think Shouichi and Shinji look really similar? They both have this long, feathered head of brown hair, they both have a goofy, earnest delivery... They look so similar to me, sometimes. Good catch, though! I thought it was something Shinji's actor did before Ryuki, but it being some other project from Shouichi's actor makes more sense.

Hey, you're trying. If there's anything Ryuki's taught me, it's that trying is sometimes the most important thing. Even if you don't have a good plan, go with your bad plan. And that was good stuff you shared! I mean, it's not like you showed up to this thread just to yell at me for liking a character more than you do. What sort of monster would do that?

Yeah no I don't blame yeah heck the next Rider Faiz also had a similar haircut too. It was just really popular style back then.

Yeah. Shoichi, Shinji, Takumi, and Kenzaki all had very similar looks. When I first watched Faiz and we started out focusing on a different character I thought it was cool that we had a different aesthetic; then Takumi showed up and I knew we'd found our main Rider.

I'm glad it's not just me!

I wonder which of the two leads on this show was considered more trendy, though: Shinji or Ren? Even for 2002, I feel like Shinji's long-haired look was falling out of fashion. (I mean, Ichijou had long hair on Kuuga just a couple years earlier, and that's the squarest dude alive.) I wonder if Ren was seen as being more modern, more fashionable. That hair is more what I think of when I think of "early 2000s Japan", for whatever that's worth.

Hmm.. this one's actually more of Shinji and Yui's stuff first rather than Ren's (who's still in set-up). Ren's still a self-destructive Rider because throughout the episode he never knows about Eri until at the very end, after that he started to seemingly change his stance. Other than that Ren's also too heavily injured to fight. Ren somehow gets to know Eri news by himself? As what's seen on screen was Yui slapping him (and the 2 insisting him not to fight) before leaving away.

There's a bit of both of them trying to help the victimized cops but not having enough time (especially with their slow af kei car to catch up against Ren's bike, and somehow they're able to!), but I wonder how to spend more story with them in this situation, your thoughts? The only other one following was ORE (Megumi and Reiko, the latter knowing newspapers on the van) and probably other news press with a breaking news shown on TV where poor Okubo can't get a hold on this. Besides yeah, Shinji needs to get a car (and unknown how) to transport more than 1 person as shown here, he can't do that in his bike.

This shows that calling a Contract Monster isn't only done by slotting the Advent Card as a Rider, and once again Asakura feeding his Contract Monster to regular humans (and yeah, truly Mirror Monsters can eat more than 1 people at once!). Surely Asakura is a great fighter of him handling 8 cops (not every in Japan!) at once, though I wonder how that holds up to Riders that can knock down Mirror Monsters (there are no fodders of them this far) in human form, like Shinji himself, his opponent.

Probably you're joking here but wasn't Sanako like, the one that also fears Asakura ("that felon")? She worries about the jailbreak, requests to close Atori, attempting to fight him off outside (wtf), and thought he's the one killing everyone on the ferry (plausible assumption tbh, but still shows how she views him). By that she surely will pull the trigger out!

Well, poor Kitaoka and Goro (and Shimada), though the latter 2 kinda brought that to themselves by keep going and have fun, where somehow Megumi is still fine and fresh. I guess the only reason Kitaoka can't leave was Goro staying there. Not helped by Shinji keep pestering and being a bit loud to Kitaoka in that state. Kitaoka's completely right about criticizing a journalist missing a huge news like this. And Goro also confirms Kitaoka's Rider activity now. As already said by others it's Shouchi on TV.

As for the fight itself, it once again shows the superiority of Survive form! This time Ryuki's. A Heavy Pressure (Metalgelas) Final Vent is just merely swatted away by Ryuki's Guard Vent (which functions similar like Advent? And MW subs got it wrong! See the pic below). Asakura also pulls his own trump card of Unite Vent to Genocider, but that only upgrades the monster, not the Rider himself, who Ouja has been shown to lose badly to a Survive in a direct combat like Knight in ep. 24. Oh I did say that Final Vent one shots everything in contact (sorry maybe bad English after this)... but only in a complete attack, not interrupted ones like Ouja kicking Destwilder. Tiger's Final Vent is completed the moment the dragged victim gets stabbed by Tiger himself. And also for Ryuki vs Ouja one, Dragranzer hits Ouja's body, not touching his Metal Horn (the attack). For a sneaky guy like Tiger, to balance they probably purposely made his Final Vent being more impractical (overall worse), to keep the Riders alive as they have a chance to free themselves from his Final Vent. Though Ouja still did get attacked in a nasty way interruption aside, he got KOed, where despite the easy chance, Shinji still only keep him in custody.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...5866/guard.png

There's a point after Yui slaps Ren where she's telling him something, but the audience can't hear it over the police sirens and car noises. It's got to be about Eri's recovery, which is why he leaves so fast.

I thought the show made an interesting choice to not have that dialogue audible. It'd be a waste to just have Yui tell Ren everything we already know, so doing it where we get to fill in the blanks, where it's not information but emotion being conveyed, that's a slick way to do it.

I don't really think you can. This is a plot-heavy episode with a lot of ground to cover. Ren gets the tense parts, Asakura gets the exciting parts, Kitaoka/Ore get the funny parts, there's really not much you can give to Yui and Shinji. Most times the story serves them, this time they had to serve the story.

I'm not mad about it, though, since very few characters on this show are merely functional for the plot. (Mostly Yui, and not even always.) It's cool for Shinji and Yui to take a backseat on this one.

Also my thoughts on this scene: "A Subaru Impreza wagon!"
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...88/impreza.png

Trivias are so random and unpredictable that I actually lament of not giving them much.

Yeah, not saying you're mad but still really want to know about your thoughts here (and this reply gives more than what I expect). Because the others you mentioned here can have smaller screentime... I guess for those 2... probably not that significant in this, they take the warming part.

Not finding Kenzaki too similar. I think Shouichi can be differentiated more easily due to his more "mature" face, but Shinji and Takumi did caught me off guard several times. Also if you talk about Shinji and Shouichi being similar (in looks here) that reminds me of the "Shinji being similar to Shouichi" topic back in the beginning of the thread. How come there aren't any joke of "Shouichi stumbles upon Ryuki world and gets a third identity as Shinji Kido" yet?!

For the 2nd one I prefer Ren's style of hair.

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 37

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki37a.png

For a show with a dead-simple premise, FIGHT OR DIE, there's a real sense of aimlessness going on right now. Ren's goal is saving Eri, but he's never sure how to do that, and it seems always just out of reach. Shinji wants to stop the Rider Battles, but he still doesn't know how to do that. Yui's been attacked, but it's not clear why, or if it's going to happen again. Eri's upset, and perpetually Almost Dead. It's a weird, shitty time for our main cast.

It makes for, honestly, not a fun time for me watching this show. There's this, like, morass everyone's stuck in. Characters like Reiko and the Second Secret Science Society are making moves, putting together plans, and generally trying to solve their problems. (Kitaoka and Reiko! Please let me watch that show instead of this one!) With our heroes, there's a lot of questioning, of letting people down, of not knowing how best to help, of being sort-of helpless.

It's an interesting idea to play with, but a frustrating one for me to watch. I get the need for these characters to feel overwhelmed, for the stakes to feel insurmountable and the choices to feel invisible. If there's going to be a triumph, there needs to be a time of being behind the eight-ball, of feeling adrift. It's just, to have all three of the leads going through it simultaneously, it doesn't feel so much like thematic importance, it feels like miserablism.

Shinji's got his typical There's No Such Thing As A Bad Suggestion attitude at play, going back to the Second Secret Science Society for a hint, a clue, something to help him stop the Rider Battles. They don't give him answers, but they do give him a lecture. They've got a number-centric view of heroism, where the plan that saves the most people justifies its own costs. It gets Shinji thinking, but it doesn't really come into play in this episode. It's also totally incompatible with Shinji's worldview, so I'll be interested in seeing how he inevitably refutes it. But, like, that's not a thing that happens in this episode. In this episode, he's confused and stymied. He's got no outs and things just keep happening around him.

Things like Yui being attacked by Kamen Rider Beetleborg, a thing that definitely happens and also definitely is not explained. Also, it doesn't do more than generate another Shiro Sure Pissed Some People Off dialogue. There's no sense of trying to keep Yui safe from violent abductions after this, which, really weird choice. (Shinji abandons Yui right at the end of the next scene, and for the rest of the episode, so, uh, hope that Rider doesn't ever come back I guess!) It's almost formulaic, and the characters bizarrely treat it like formula afterwards, like Yui almost being murdered in the Mirror World is just going to keep happening every day, like a sunset.

It's Ren's story that disappointed me the most, though. After a huge change like Eri being awake for the first time in a year, all of the Ren stuff is just Boring Asshole Ren (not even Fun Asshole Ren!) and his eternally jeopardized girlfriend. The worst stakes I can imagine for this storyline is waking Eri up and STILL having her be mysteriously imperiled, meaning Ren has to keep fighting for the exact same reasons he's been fighting for the whole series, and I'll be goddamned if that's not what this show decided to do. Such a letdown. Could've evolved it, changed it, but it's, like, a minor inflection at best. (Now Eri's pleading with Ren in real life instead of in a dream sequence!) Ren has to keep fighting, he's pushing away his friends, Eri could die at any moment, etc. Bummer.

This whole episode, at least the main cast stuff, was a real bummer for me. I felt like every story choice had me rooting for the heroes less than before. Contract Monsters help those who help themselves, right? But so much of this felt like characters going through motions because they've got no better ideas, and while that's a complicated concept that could have some nuanced results, what I watched was just a slog, all repetition and no forward movement.

Not one of my favorites!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki37b.png

All of you have to explain how you get so many thoughts on single episodes, like just this level of deep analysis.

I can't speak to anyone else's process, but:

Step 1 - Have a broken brain that needs to talk about this stuff like your heart needs to beat.

Step 2 - I mostly use Google Docs, but any word processing software should suffice.

Step 3 - Expunge all of your weird thoughts about the Japanese children's program dedicated to selling toys of costumed superheroes. Wring out your brain like a dirty washcloth.

Step 4 - Maybe a cookie? I don't know, I only had two of those chocolate-covered Nutter Butters today, a third wouldn't be the end of the world.

Step 5 - Repeat.

Hope this helps!

There's only one Die, so hopefully it's not selfish of me to assume I'm part of the "all of you" in question here, and jump in with my own thoughts. Now, my method has some similarities to Die's, but it's a little more detailed:

Step 1 - Convince your brain Japanese children's programs dedicated to selling toys of costumed superheroes are what makes your heart beat.

Step 2 - Watch episode of Japanese children's program dedicated to selling toys of costumed superheroes.

Step 3 - Have irrepressible urge to organize thoughts on episode.

Step 4 - Just open up Notepad. Literally just Notepad. What else do you need?

Step 5 - Wait, you need to open the episode back up to skim around while writing things down!

Step 6 - Open up wiki pages to make sure you're spelling things right?! This is getting more complicated than I thought it would be!

Step 7 - Start writing thoughts on the episode by talking about anything. Like, just absolutely anything. You can find a way to tie it all together later.

Step 8 - Self-doubt.

Step 9 - Rewrite all that worthless trash you just typed up.

Step 10 - No, actually, on second thought that was fine, leave it.

Step 11 - WHAT TIME IS IT?!

Step 12 - Marvel at the perfected, final form your analysis has taken as a result of the hard work and effort you put in.

Step 13 - Release your magnificent writing into the world for others to consume.

Step 14 - Self-doubt.

Step 15 - Repeat.

which step do you eat the cookie though

is it 8 or 14

or is it both

My process is like this

Step 1: Read this thread, and see viewpoints I wholeheartedly agree with, as well as some I don't agree with but think are well thought out.

Step 2: I write out responses to things people have said and throw in a few of my own thoughts, directly into the Quick Reply box.

Step 3A: I decide not to post about halfway into what I'm writing.

Step 3B: I considerably condense my thoughts into a few sentences because of limited time.

Step 3C: I actually write what I intend.

I almost 3A'd this post a few times.

Alright, I’ve got a few minutes, it might be fun to actually talk about this for real.

(I was going to watch a movie, but I decided to do some work stuff instead. There’s about fifteen minutes between tasks, so I can probably knock this out.)

My day job is selling comics, same as it’s been since I was twelve. There’s a lot of busywork to it, but the main thing is reading comics, understanding what they’re about, recognizing what’s good and bad about them, and then being able to describe that to people in ways that’d help them decide if they’ll enjoy it. Like, that’s what all of the busywork supports, that part of the job. So, in a way, all of that work has reshaped my brain to be able to watch Kamen Rider and then enjoy talking about it.

Beyond that, a lot of my “process” is just talking about the ways the episode(s) worked for me. I’m not really into doing a big recap, or trying to write down everything that happened in the episode. I don’t want to do a Wiki post, you know? (I'd do a shit job of it, is the biggest problem.) I mostly want to talk about how I felt watching these episodes, what I think they’re doing right and wrong, and hope that’s of enough interest to other fans that they’ll feel like sharing their feelings about the show.

The actual writing, and I don’t want to minimize the difficulties other people face, it’s not something I really slave over. I like it to feel conversational, so everything’s pretty much a first draft. I might tweak a sentence here or there, but most of this is just what I type, and that’s it. I need to get this, whatever “this” is, out of my head. This isn’t performance, it’s self-care, it’s therapy. Without an outlet to process this, to talk it over with other fans, it spills over into boring my friends and losing sleep. The flipside of training my brain to process narrative and form opinions is that I can’t exactly shut it off. There’s no one in my life who’d give a shit about my thoughts on Kamen Rider, so god bless you people for giving me a space to talk about it.

Even this part, the talking it over with fans, that's still what I've been trained to do in my job. It's not just answering questions or pitching stuff, it's having a dialogue, trying to get what someone's looking for, what they enjoy. If you don't care what people like, and why they like it, you'll do a terrible job of helping them find something they'll want to buy. This whole thing, it's like orienting all of my job training toward fun, toward escapism.

I really enjoy doing these posts, and getting to talk about this franchise with you all. It's a real treat. Thanks!

I think it’s worth mentioning that the SSSS’s knockoff rider isn’t officially considered a Rider by Toei or Bandai.

If he looks like a rider, walks like a rider, and quacks like a rider, then he's a Kamen Rider.

Though I'm being biased because I'm willing to believe guys like Chaser and Night Rogue aren't a rider because of the context of how they opposed the actual riders in their respective shows. But here, the Science Team's bug man doesn't give me that vibe at all. He's joining the fight like anyone else with his own purposes and using a facsimile of their powers. By that logic, G3 shouldn't have been considered a Rider.

While it's on my mind, I don't remember if they ever say what Beetleborg's rider name is actually is but I'll hold off in case they actually do. I only say this because I just think it's a super cool name.

Yeah, the Rider designation... super-weird to have it not apply to that one dude in a show where heroes, villains, and even lawyers could be considered Kamen Riders. I don't know that dude's deal yet, so maybe there's a good reason for him to be excluded. I don't know.

I feel like the criteria (as sort-of established in Build) for being a Rider is that you have to have a Driver that's identical/incredibly similar to the main hero's Driver. Like, Chaser wouldn't be a Rider, but once he uses a Signal Bike, he's a Kamen Rider. Same thing with Evol(t) on Build. If he uses a Transteam Gun, not a Rider. The Rider System and Bottles? Kamen Rider Evol. It's a weird criteria, but I think it's at least a way to classify different superpowered characters. If Kamen Rider Beetleborg doesn't have a Card Deck, then, no, I guess he wouldn't be a Kamen Rider. Time will tell!

Well yeah, the heroes are truly helpless this time (I wonder if you hold off complaints until now) and that you may tolerate Reiko and Kagawa's group more because their moves are new and just established, while the heroes are already established previously. But don't expect those 2 to have a change/triumph either, especially Reiko's that she goes to Kitaoka and he now joins in another one who keeps things secret to others... just like Shinji here below. Other than Kitaoka seeing this as an opportunity for a date as many places have glasses/mirrors as Okubo pointed out. I feel like, even if it's not as significant as the heroes, everyone is actually helpless here, even those that only want to kill, eventually.

Shinji wants to join Kagawa's group in Room 401, they are seemingly another one who also wants to stop the Rider War. He's doing one of your suggested plan frrom ep. 35... "destroy the Mirror World". Nakamura, as I said in the past, is being as rude and violent as Ren himself. Probably he's a bit softer to women where he only verbally abuses, but to men he just bodily deals with them like Ren. I wonder if the other 2 Tiger Deck replicas are actually functional. And, yeah, previously you thought that in ep. 26, Shinji's turning point being putting Riders in secondary prority because the risk that they won't save innocents, and decide how to do the greater good. It's already refuted in ep. 28, and it comes full force in this episode, where there are other group who has that greater good mindset. The confused part is Shinji's main hesitation throughout the Rider War trying to keep everyone alive.

The "next scene" you talk about is the flower scene? Also there's Shiro Sure Pissed Some People Off dialogue, and Nakamura is a part of Kagawa's group in Room 401, coincidence much?

Ren's story is actually trying to keep his Rider fighting secret to Eri, especially that he made a Contract with the monster that put her in coma at the first place (not a good choice to tell to your gf!), and also the fact about him you said in ep. 35 here.
Ren tries to make sure Eri knows nothing of that, and leave Eri to his friends (he wants them to look over Eri who he wants to stay away from Rider stuff, which leads to also leaving his friends together with her). But Eri knows that Ren is keeping something secret for her, so she gets out from the hospital to get to know. The bizzare thing is that how did the hospital miss the fact that a patient escaped especially in her condition?! Seriously, it takes a regular civilian visitor to take care of this instead of one of the hospital members who houses the patient... wtf. It was a misleading moment that it's thought that Knight killing Odin wins him the war and gives him the wish but, ha ha no her awakening is only temporary to motivate him more info fighting by giving him a glimpse of the result after the war.

In a nutshell, that's what disappointed me about this episode. Things that seemed like they should at least drive an episode, if not fundamentally alter the direction of the show, are just... something that happened? And everyone moves on from it? Like, it's maybe got a slight change to it, but Ren Has To Keep Fighting To Save Eri weirdly didn't feel that different to me now that Eri's awake. He's not being forthcoming with her about the choices he made, and he wants to take on the burden of saving her all by himself, but that's pretty much just Ren's character for the last 36 episodes. He doesn't come across as more or less conflicted, more or less angry, more or less desperate, more or less anything. He's just Boring Asshole Ren, shutting out everyone in his life so he can save Eri.

The Shinji/Yui stuff was along the same lines. Yui's been dragged into the Mirror World and attacked! How does she take it? Disappointed in Shiro, moving on. How does Shinji take it? Abandons her to plead with the Second Secret Science Society for help, again.

It's just these loops it feels like the characters are trapped in, where I'd hoped that things would grow, evolve. One of the things I love about Kamen Rider series is that they make changes and have consequences that affect their world and characters. For something as pivotal as Ren Kills and Eri Wakes Up and Yui's Been Attacked to, like, only serve to reinforce the status quo... it bums me out.

I didn't release what that acronym stood for at first and legitimately thought this was in reference to Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad for a second. Like, we're just giving this guy nicknames based on whatever forgotten 90's shows made in Power Rangers' wake we can think of? :lol

Pretty rough deal the only guy in Ryuki with an insect motif (he's apparently a cricket) is also the only one who isn't considered a Kamen Rider, but I suppose it goes to show how much this series was tearing down all the rules.

Advent Master is a Kamen Rider in my heart, god damn it. Chalk it up to the same weirdness that Another Agito wasn't called a Kamen Rider till 2017 or something.

I have always found that weird because when I first watched Ryuki I always saw the character listed as "Kamen Rider Alternative" on reference pages. Some of the decisions Toei makes about who does and doesn't count as a proper Kamen Rider can be pretty weird sometimes. *coughTacklecough*