I genuinely can't say if any of the ones that showed up in this episode have shown up before. Like, I think the belligerent boy was Bobby Drake, and I think the long-haired girl was Jean Grey, but if you told me they were all brand-new I'd probably believe you. They just all suck so bad.

We already have seven protagonists and a group of recurring villains that is still expanding. You can be forgiven for not sparing Xavier's Red Shirts any space in your brain!

Like, I think they're trying to go for a Star Wars-style "all of these other stories are occuring off-camera", implied world-building thing, but they all die so fast that there's nothing to be curious about. In this one, Takumi is so bored with their drama that he goes home to get a can of pop! And he sincerely cares about how this is affecting Mari! And he still leaves!

(I mean, okay, technically he volunteers to find the Delta belt and the Ryusei Cram School alumni tell him to butt out. He doesn't put up a huge fight, though!)

Right on cue, another episode where you were particularly impressed by the direction turns out to be a Hidenori Ishida episode. No wonder it reminds you of Kuuga!

Also, once again, this knowledge probably won't make that scene with Murakami and Lucky Clover any more exciting, but for the record, Murakami said that Hanagata "fell into darkness" because he betrayed Smart Brain, which should be obvious. The subsequent line TV-N has as "There is a darkness that cannot creep up upon us a second time" is likewise more along the lines of "There is a darkness that you can never rise from again" or something. It's connected to the stuff he was saying a few episodes back about how Hanagata "will never see the light of day again", which is perhaps a literal reference to the fact that he spends his time nowadays chilling in an underground school, but mostly is Murakami's way of saying Hanagata's burned all his bridges, as far as he's concerned. It's why he's saying it as a warning to Ta- Houjou and Kageyama. It's a "friendly" reminder not to push their luck with him too much. Given how genuinely classy Murakami is even when making threats, though, it's not hard to see why TV-N wouldn't totally grasp that right away. :lol

Since Delta’s made his debut, I think it’s safe to say I can share the fact that his belt is the only belt in KR (period) that has a voice-activation feature. It even became a primary selling point for the CSM version https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=3GjDLnK_pCo

Yeah, it's a clunky-ass translation in the subs, but the whole scene makes it pretty clear that there's growing tension between Murakami and Lucky Clover, so the specifics of the threat aren't important. Still, thanks for clearing that up!

Neat! Thanks!

So that'd mean, the "Them being solely focused on their mission" part then. It probably actually marks the difference for Lucky Clover and the 2 trios, that they're already professionals who are dedicated to their job no matter what, while the other 2 has more blunders by being distracted (or handling) to daily focuses. Which yeah, would make Lucky Clover more one-track minded, compared to the 2 trios. Though still, this one can be a good or bad thing depending on the person IMO, like prefering their unyielding mission approach to Team Faiz and Renegades' cluttered activities.

Wouldn't work on another show.... dunno that... they're already trying to make shows overheated, like Neo-Heisei Kamen Riders.

Keitaro's got that OCD. You probably expect Takumi and Kusaka working together with comedy bits because this is the time you thought they'd finally get along like other secondary Riders? Oh well, Kusaka's questioning sounding like someone truly on protagonist side can convince that. But don't get your hopes, at all. So that'd mean mystery genre aren't for you, then too bad if a part of Kamen Rider show, plays the mystery card then. What I really want to know are the belts that killed them. Other than that yeah, this part is bizzarely so.. Ryuki like... not only the TATAKAE as FreshToku pointed out...

Complete with childhood version of a character drawing pictures.... Also Daddy did give Kusaka something to encourage TATAKAE, that is the Kaixa pointer in place of a Survive Card. For the last question, Takumi is DEFINITELY Shinji, just look here!

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Kaido's a wild card. It also extends to his relation to Renegades or humanity. I wonder if there's someone who thinks he's inconsistent like that. Though this one is probably the one that cements his acceptance to Renegades because of him coming back and doing things for them by himself.

Yeah Takumi getting the belt back, was glorious (always like seeing what the villains have backfire on them), thanks to Daddy though! After that obviously you'd only need to fight the other as Faiz in equal grounds to get the Kaixa belt back. Didn't the last episode has dressing.... by Kageyama and Takuma? For Orphnoch fight, as Kouhai held Yuka hostage, how would he even finish off her that she was nowhere in their fight? And that Kaido brought her to the area Kouhai's in. And the last one, a demonstration of Kaixa's Gold Smash. It's seemingly used in a more effective way than Faiz's because of the drill already implanted into the victim's body, stunning them, though I wonder why Kouhai just keep holding Kaixa's leg.

It's not that I thought they'd get along, but I thought the story would be about them not getting along. It's completely not about them at all, as a team. It's them getting chased together, but it's a story that's only for Kusaka's benefit.

I can definitely see some people feeling like Kaido's an inconsistent or contradictory character. I like it, though. He feels like he's figuring it all out, what he's for and against, and I like being able to go on that journey with him.

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 27

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--1--

It's late at night, I've had a very long day, I'm tired. Let's talk about Faiz!

Hey, speaking of things that are exhausting, the continued appearance of the Ryusei School alumni is maybe crushing my spirit? They are the worst. And not in the fun Kaixa way, but in the What If The Most Irritating Psychopaths Were In Every Goddamn Scene Of This Show way. They're just addicted maniacs, constantly screaming about getting more of their sweet, sweet dr-- Delta belt. There are no levels to the performance, it's just them loudly saying DELTA DELTA DELTA, DELTA IS AWESOME, I WANT DELTA. They're rabid dogs, and their schtick is so abrasive and unlikeable that it's no surprise that Takumi just Nopes right out of this plot in the first scene. It's terrible. These kids suck, and the high point of the episode is when they're murdered.

Other than, like, meat for the machine, I'm not 100% sure what the Ryusei School alumni are even supposed to be adding to the narrative. If it's supposed to be some element of the past that gives context to Mari and Kusaka's story, it fails massively. Every time these dinks show up, it's a message that everyone who isn't in their group is doing super great by comparison. They make Kusaka seem like the well-adjusted one. Having them around concentrates the story on the most paper-thin, annoying elements of the story. The more they show up, the worse it ends up making Mari and Kusaka's story seem, as the actors have to abandon present-tense conflicts and motivations to try and connect with poorly-conceived material. It's grueling to watch Kusaka try and focus these idiots, or to watch Mari plead for sanity. I just want them to follow Takumi's advice and leave them behind.

--2--

Especially because, man, I really thought we'd get a lot with Team Orphnoch this time out. The first scene with them is priceless, as Yuuji attempts to ignore/console a despondent Kaido. It's terrifically framed, a neat little piece of physical comedy, as Kaido croaks out a request for Sour Kelp. But then Yuuji's run to get Kaido some Sour Kelp is interrupted by Houjou, and it all goes a bit sideways.

Houjou's in... not a great place. He's on a losing streak, and it all started with his inability to kill Yuuji. Now, he's back at it. Except, he immediately loses track of Yuuji, and gets mind-bendingly spooked by Delta.

And, man, look. I'm sure Delta is really cool. He's a Weezer fan, judging by those shoulders, and, y'know, I enjoyed their first two albums a lot when I was younger! (A few years back they played all of the Blue Album in order at Riot Fest, and I could hear it from my bedroom. Fun time!) But, god, they are laying on The Almighty Terror Of Delta a little thick. We've got Houjou practically shitting himself from a partial glance of Delta. We've got two childhood friends abducting a third childhood friend to get to be Delta again. We had both Kamen Riders in awestruck terror of Delta just being in the same zip code as them. It's... like, under promise, over deliver. Maybe try that. I'm not sure if anything on this or any other planet could live up to this level of hype. If Delta deHenshins and it's four corgis wearing tiny hats, I'm still going to be let down.

--3--

The stuff with Keitaro and Takumi and Kimura... eh. I like the idea of exploring how Takumi can be a tremendous asshole while still fighting for people. That's... that is the premise of this show. That's the mission statement. What they did with it here, though, not super into.

I think it's that Kimura is just really dull? She's got no spark. The performance is all bashful fandom, and I get why her behavior would grate on Takumi. But, more than that, it's not really saying anything new about Takumi. Did you know that he's rude to people even though he's a hero? I mean, I've watched 26 other episodes of Faiz where that is the goddamn baseline, so, yeah, got it clocked. It's not even really exploring that idea, it's just playing it out and then giving a tiny sliver of regret from Takumi for being curt. (Not even really rude! He just doesn't love getting peppered with questions from a new coworker! That's a valid response!)

Kimura having a crush on Takumi instead of Keitaro, it's a funny premise. Keitaro really sells his infatuation for Kimura, as well as his frustration with Takumi. But, like, there's no real story there, just a funny premise. It doesn't really go anywhere.

--4--

The one fun thing about this episode is the Sawada twist. That one, the show did good on.

Sawada gets mentioned last episode, out of basically nowhere, as Mari's childhood bully who maybe also had a crush on her. Almost directly after that, the Ryusei School alumni show up and start talking about the Delta belt. Two and two is that Sawada is Delta. Itchy and Scratchy, the two jonesing psychopaths, are convinced he's got the belt. So they kidnap Mari to draw him out.

And it works! Sawada shows up! And immediately turns into Skullcandy, the bloodthirsty Lucky Clover candidate, vowing to murder Mari right before he kills his other two classmates.

It's a really solid twist, and one that honestly never even occurred to me. I love how it ended up bringing that Lucky Clover thread into the show in a surprising, relevant way. There's an economy to it that I really appreciate.

--5--

It's weird that all I can really compliment this episode on, besides that twist, is a few fun things around the edges. (Like, in the Faiz Fight at the end, it's an enclosed space, but the camera shoots from up in the rafters to give some wide shots to the fight. Very clever!) It's just I hate these goddamn Ryusel kids so goddamn much. Murder them all, and get back to the excellent cast that I am fully invested in. Like, one Kaido/Yuuji scene? In this whole episode? Why am I being punished?!

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Yeah actually that. They wouldn't get along, but it could be that to you (admittedly yeah speaking for you here because Kusaka's not infamous without reason) this seemingly is like the standard relationship of primary and secondary Rider where they get along and build relationship and companionship by acting like enemies, such as taking potshots or something.

For Ryusei Cram School, even on much further extent than the likes of Mari, the likes of Kusaka seemingly gets along fine with each of them, the only place Kusaka seemingly finds commonality of. Then again, Kusaka's the soap-opera manipulator type (like those in Yuji and Yuka's backstory), which includes being two-faced. It's unknown if Kusaka genuinely treats them as his friends or at the end he doesn't value them at all just like to others (obviously other than Mari, albeit he's acting inappropriate to her). What interests me currently is what shit will Hanagata pull out, other than helping them get their belts back previously and overwhelming Takuma.

But Houjou's actual character name has been mentioned several times. The other informations were if others joining Lucky Clover is a good or bad thing, the dilemma of Lucky Clover must have 4 members to be well, lucky and succeed (the reason of them losing the belts again), and about the others except probably Kageyama (though she's the sadistic type) not accepting the inclusion of others. I didn't expect that Kitazaki, one of the most famous Faiz characters, still don't appear yet, even longer than Ouja (debuted in ep. 18). So this episode reveals Takumi's good side, he tolerates those similar to him more like other nekojitas. Keitaro wants to tag along with the other main casts... yet he wants to hire more part-timers to help him out, which seems contradictory of him? The former would mean him leaving Kikuchi cleaning to dust to tag along with others, the latter would mean him prefering Takumi, Mari, and Kusaka staying and help him out.

The biggest bodycount of Orphnoch so far, the one played up just like standard MOTW. With the monster just attacking the area full of civilians as usual type of them, really, like Kuuga's one where Biran slaughtering civilians on a ferry (Chouno one). He's the one Lucky Clover is considering to join albeit a showy one? He did have a quirk about burning origamis in a dark area.

So it seems that the flames aren't merely from the monster explosion, but it's a part from the Rider's attacks as well if the pink flame would mean it's Delta...

"No one cares"? Lol... Switchblade's comment above for example to talk about 2 of them or so that you'd remember. It's understandable to enjoy talking about the stuff that works but, would that be negated (like I would do, in this section of my reply here, which I wouldn't be comfortable to do due to that) if you also want to hear what people's thoughts, like being curious about something not working to you, or those that disagree with you? I mean yeah Ryusei Cram School cast isn't meant to be a huge player, but I'm not asking about them, but, I ask about why everything in a story should be made with as much effort as the main casts? Why create something like, victims to MOTW then? Also other than Kusaka to Mari here.... there's also everyone to Keitaro and Murakami to other Smart Brain.

Admittedly Ghost does get a flak, but the theme song is not one of them AFAIK!

Did you hear about that Delta? I heard he has an eight-pack and can blow up the planet with a single Rider Kick.

I remember Sawada and his silly gimmick of lighting a thing on fire before fighting. As long as he keeps his murdering limited to the other Ryusei alumni, I think you might end up rooting for him the most out of anyone at this rate!

Yeah, they get a bit sidelined in this arc because of all the focus on the Ryusei kids, the introduction of Delta, and bringing in some new villains in the forms of Sawada and Baby Ray Fujita (minor 28 spoilers). The bit with Keitaro and Kimura seeing Yuka at the crosswalk was fucking GOLD, even if it was her only contribution to this story.

I was counting Sawada as one of those. Technically one of the kids, even if he's on the villain side.

On a quick side note, I did look up Sawada's first appearance from the TV version and the scenes really do play better with his rap music. It's a pity they went with something that had to be edited out.

Yeah, these guys are actually so obnoxious, even Kusaka is dunking on them!

My favourite part about this is that you'd think the music had to be edited out due to the colourful language... but, no, it turns out that it's actually because of copyright reasons. It's so funny to me for some reason.

This is your brain.
This is your brain on the SB-333 Delta Gear.
Any questions?

Delta Gear is weird. Not even I can explain how it works. Chronologically, it's the first Gear developed by Smart Brain and an unfinished prototype since it's not supposed to be compatible with everybody. It's probably not supposed to turn people in to evil Cole MacGrath wannabe junkies either. These side effects don't even come up again after this arc. Delta Gear generates thrice as much Photon Blood as Faiz Gear, it's the most taxing to use and yet it not only doesn't kill humans but actually gives them residual powers. That's weird as hell! What's powering this thing?!

Kusaka was already aware of Delta from his road trip between Episode 18-21 and he seems surprised to see how his friends have suddenly became evil. You know how screwed up they are when Kusaka is repulsed by their behavior. Kusaka thinks Orphenoch and Smart Brain are the worst evil but these guys are way worse. They're worse than Devon when he was high on Fury Cells. However, despite being compatible with everybody, only those with strong will can negate Delta Gear's insanity. The two Ryusei School guys who abducted Mari weren't fit to be Riders.

Delta's Greek letter is, well.... delta. It's not a goroawase pun like the others. It's also a triangle which is symbolic for leadership and supremacy, referencing how it outclasses basic Faiz and Kaixa in raw power. It's like the alpha, except it's delta.

Turns out the Photon Blood isn't just energy this time, it's heroin with some cocaine blended in for the white colour.

God, I never even thought about how Kusaka might really feel about these idiots. I assume he likes them well enough, since they're not a threat to him. He seems to have decent relationships with folks that he feels are beneath him!

Don't care! Houjou FOREVER.

I'm not sure I'm 100% getting you on this, but I'm always onboard with hearing alternate/dissenting views. If someone's super into the Ryusei School alumni, I'd love to hear why.

As for the benefit of making a rich, three-dimensional cast at every level... I mean, why wouldn't you? Some of the most memorable Kamen Rider episodes are the ones where a guest star gets a compelling arc, or a victim becomes deeper than you'd thought. I'm not sure the shows that have a forgettable set of victims or a bland monster know they're doing that, though. I think (hope?) every creative team is trying their best. It's just, sometimes it doesn't work as well as they'd hope.

I'm as addicted to making fun of Delta for being overhyped as those kids are to being Delta. Thank you for that fix!

Sawada is by far my favorite Ryusei School alumnus, since he wants to murder all of the Ryusei School alumni. It's the most direct heroism we've seen on this show yet!

That Yuka scene was pretty great! Her smile was... it was a choice!

Thanks for that translation elaboration! As much as I hated those two chuds, I grudgingly appreciated how disinterested they were in the judgment of their peers. They could not have been more rudely checked-out of that diner scene! Their friends are like Why Are You Breaking Our Hearts and they're just all Delta Or GTFO. It's sort-of funny!

If Delta's user doesn't scream I LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU at one of the other Riders later in this series, I might have to quit this whole franchise.

It was sort-of inevitable that the Ryusei School alumni, already so heavily influenced by the X-Men, would get mutant powers at some point. It doesn't keep them from getting instantly killed by Sawada, though! It's not my favorite part of the story. It's just one more Delta Is Awesome thing in an episode that definitely had too many Delta Is Awesome things in it.

The Delta name... is it too straight-forward? It's not as weird as the other two, but I feel like this show already established Weird as the way it generated names? I don't know. It's fine.

I also liked that scene, even though it caught me off guard. Yeah, even on my rewatch!

The whole show is about mutants like the Original Orphenochs and mutates like Kaido. Compared to them and the Gears, the Ryusei School guys' powers are pretty lame, only strong enough to incapacitate a human. They were morons for thinking they could take back Delta Gear like that. Their insanity made them too cocky. Whether it was Sawada or the actual Delta, the result would've been the same.

Its simplicity isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it's fine. But it doesn't follow the goroawase convention of the other names. Its number is 333 for the reason of triangles rather than puns. Maybe they could've done something with 180, the total of angles in a triangle and the highest score in darts.

I don't have much to say about the Ryuusei Children (the callous way they get slaughtered whenever they show up is endearingly Faiz-y?), but I will stick up for the Takumi/Kimura stuff a bit. I don't think it's a big problem that it fails to do anything new with Takkun, because the way I see it, the whole point is looking backwards. For the past 10-ish episodes, Takumi's jerkiness has been toned down a fair bit from how it was early on. He's almost totally warmed up to Mari and Keitarou at this point, significant time has been spent showing his compassionate side through his interactions with Yuka, he's bros with Yuuji after working at that pizza place together, heck, after hearing that bit about Mari replacing his mom, his attitude towards Kusaka has even shifted from straight animosity to cautious curiosity.

Of course, he still has his moments, by for the most part, we're seeing Takumi hanging out with people he's gotten to know. Presences that he accepts as part of his life. What Kimura showing up accomplishes is letting the show inject like, just a concentrated dose of Takkun by having him interact with some stranger he'd rather not put up with. It's a lightning-bolt reminder of all his issues, and, knowing what's coming up, I think this was a smartly placed point for the show to basically take inventory of his character traits.

Also, the scene in episode 26 where he walks into the room to grab that soda and actively ignores Kimura's presence is one of the funniest bits of the whole show in my book.

Ooh, wait, I got one!

I heard Delta is so incredible, he can do three surgeries at once.

No, actually, I have two!

I heard Delta is so powerful, he can make Tezuka get off his couch after he predicts he needs to crash at Delta's house for the next week or two.

There actually is some minor connecting tissue to Faiz's rider names in that they're all three syllables in Japanese. Fa-i-zu, Ka-i-za, and De-ru-ta. I don't know if that's some intentional thing, but they share a rhythm that would've been ruined by sticking some arbitrary bits on the end of the word like they did for Faiz and Kaixa. Plus, Delta sounds a lot catchier as a name on its own that Phi and Chi do!

Sure, I can see that.

I'm not sure it works super great for me, for a couple of reasons. First, I don't know if it's deployed that great, considering everything else going on in this episode. I see what you're saying, about it needing to be here as a reminder of how Takumi's grown, but it feels so weightless and incidental, so basically irrelevant, that it's tough to feel like it's more than just a Hey Remember When storyline. Second, I feel like we see Takumi be a dismissive asshole to the Ryusei School alumni in both of these episodes, so the Kimura stuff even feels like a bit of a retread of that.

Yeah, I see what you're saying, but I'm not sure it's terribly effective by those standards.

I heard Delta is so powerful, Daguva stopped smiling.

It's not perfect, for sure! I will add that the key difference with Takumi's abrasive attitude towards the Ryuusei School guys is that those guys are jerks back. The fact that's it's a mutual feeling makes it less easy to process that Takumi is being a jerk there. I mean, most viewers are probably going to be very supportive when he decides to blow that entire plotline off. When he's telling some random nice girl to shut up just because she's being slightly nosy, it actually makes him look bad to a level I don't think he has in a good while. "Weightless and incidental", though? Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I do agree that Kimura's personality is rather dull, especially by the standards of this show.

I heard Delta is so tough, Accel can't ask him questions.

I hear Delta's so awesome, he's already onto a Blade watch thread!

I think I judge Kimura harshly (but not quite as harshly as those Ryusei goofs) because I don't find her questions as, like, Getting To Know You charming as I assume the show wants me to. I feel like her scenes with Takumi come off as an interrogation, and I think it's her not being fair to Takumi. There's for sure some classic abrasive Takumi dickery (he lets her eat none of the noodles!), but she's not exactly being a good conversationalist.

I heard Delta is so tough, he can cut through Kamen Rider Brave.

I heard Delta is so awesome, he tells Bandai what SO-DO to make.

Funnily enough, when people were first pulled about which older kamen riders they'd like to see in SO-DO Faiz finished fifth or forth, I can't 100% remember.

I would eat up a SO-DO Chronicle set for Faiz. I'm only halfway done with the show, but: Faiz, Kaixa, Delta (unless he's too powerful to be sold), Horsepower, Faiz Accel, maybe another Orphnoch (a Lucky Clover, or Yuka). Seems like an easy set to produce!

Oh, there's... a few more significant suits you've yet to see. But it's okay. You'll get there.

Heard Delta beat em all up though

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 28

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--1--

My main complaint about all of this Ryusei School stuff is that it sucks, and I hate it, and it sucks.

My secondary complaint about all of this Ryusei School stuff is that it's too backwards-looking, too beholden to a version of Mari and Kusaka that we never saw. I'd rather see how they're responding to present-day circumstances than see them rehash an idyllic/insane past.

So, my compliments to this episode for immediately and successfully reframing the stakes as Mari's mental well-being. All of this Delta belt shit, all of Sawada's spree-killing, it's destroying Mari. These are people she grew up with, cares for deeply. This is her family, and they are literally killing each other in front of her.

It sets the stakes as something greater than survival or victory, and I appreciate that. Mari's a character that often feels like a way into a storyline that she can't really participate in. She'll give exposition about the Ryusei School, and then the Kamen Riders will go investigate it. Here, she's integral to the emotional core of the story. It's not about getting a belt or stopping an Orphnoch, it's about trying to heal a frayed family. I really like that.

Seeing Mari take the lead on a crucial plot, to see her treat a Kusaka vs Sawada fight as a nightmare scenario, I dug it. It didn't redeem all of the time spent on the lemmings of the Ryusei School, but it definitely locked in this chapter's human element.

--2--

The Orphnoch element, though, I assume that's going to be everyone's favorite part. Because, like, Kitazaki.

He's otherworldly, detached from the trappings of the flesh. His presence is terrifying. He invades space, holds stares, forces other people to run, to blink. He views the world as a playground, and everyone in it as a toy.

He reminds me a lot of Parado from Ex-Aid. (Admittedly, some of it is the hair.) Both of them have this joy at destruction, at maybe being challenged, at feeling something through that challenge, finally.

The performance is captivating, all whispered questioning and disturbing demands. The way he hovers over Houjou's shoulder, and then floats to the other shoulder, it's like a cat playing with a mouse.

(Incidentally, I'm predisposed to love this episode since it gave me what I've been missing out of Houjou's appearances on this show: Cowardly Houjou. When that dude is shook to his core, nearly hysterical from terror, I am truly alive. Seeing Houjou almost bug-eyed from fright, it is a gift.)

More than anything, Kitazaki's energy completes the Lucky Clover dynamic for me, giving them the brains (Houjou), the looks (Kageyama), the muscle (Sawada), and the wildcard (Kitazaki). It's not just lucky, it's perfect.

--3--

Less perfect is the Kimura stuff, which... man.

I liked some elements of this plot, for sure. It's not a disaster or anything. The part where she asks Takumi why he fights, why he saves people, and he's like, "I'll tell you in ten years,” that's killer. It's so Takumi to tell a bedridden person that you'll give them an answer to a deep question in a decade. It's a great, asshole deflection. And she rolls great with it, hoping he's still saving people in ten years. There's an acceptance of Takumi's... likeable unlikability, I guess. She's okay with him being an asshole, because he's an asshole who cares about people.

Making Kimura actually be Saya is a smart move, giving her a reason to be around instead of being some random subplot. I guessed it (probably way too late) when she came in at the start of this episode, since I realized we'd never seen her around when Kusaka or Mari was. Since Skullcandy ended up being Sawada, it figured Kimura was really Saya.

But, man, the specifics of this story! They are not great!

First of all, she just walks in and collapses. Wh--- why? It shouldn't be from being Delta, since no one's mentioned that it was harmful to use. (Unless you count a crippling addiction to that sweet, sweet Henshin.) So, is she just generically weak? It's corny as hell to have the female character faint, like she has a case of the vapors or something, so it did not get the episode off to a great start.

It's the end that felt the most compromised by how the show wrote Saya, though. Her getting killed by Sawada, it should mean something. And it does, to a degree. It's devastating to Mari, I assume, despite her not being around to react to it. It signifies that Sawada's a lost cause, and that's dramatically interesting for future stories. But her as a character that dies, it doesn't feel like anything more than a plot point. She brought the Delta belt, got killed, Lucky Clover wins. Almost as soon as she dies, she's irrelevant to the plot.

They managed to get a good scene out of her presence, but the rest of it... not a great use of a guest star.

--4--

I love that ending, though. So much. It's a total victory for the villains. They shoot it great, with Skullcandy killing Saya, she drops the belt, and suddenly the rest of Lucky Clover is just there. It's a massive escalation in the fight, turning it up to ten, before Kitazaki puts on the Delta belt and it goes up to eleven.

This episode, I feel like it really did the work to make Lucky Clover seem unstoppable. All of the pieces are in place. They've been a fun collection of adversaries, but I feel like here they became a group that I want to see more of, a group where I get what each of them wants. It's been some hard work to get here, but I love the result.

--5--

The only problem is, boy does this show not have room for another compelling group of diverse character types. Like, zero Team Orphnoch this episode. Zero! And there aren't even any Ryusei School turds to blame for it, it's just too little show for all of these awesome characters. Good problem to have, a surplus of talent, but it's still a problem.

Also a problem, my schedule. The next thing I've got to watch is the Faiz summer movie, but I don't have time to watch it until Saturday. So! That means a couple days to discuss this episode and come up with more Delta Is So jokes. Speaking of jokes, I heard Delta is so funny, he made Mashin Chaser laugh.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz28b.png

Uh, I can't stop you nor will I insist very hard to the contrary, but I certainly don't this think is a good point at all to be watching the movie. Oh well, whatever happens happens.

It's kind of silly to think all that hyping up for Delta technically leads to this episode where Kitazaki dons the belt, because the actual person who turns out to have had the belt just ends ups getting killed. Everything about all that set-up and Saya does not leave a good taste in my mouth.

Speaking of Kitazaki, I like him. It might honestly be a pacing problem to introduce him and Sawada so soon within each other. Sawada only just recently arrived as the newest, toughest villain who easily wallops the heroes. And now here comes Kitazaki... who is also the newest, toughest villain who is gonna easily wallop the heroes.

I like Kitazaki though. In my eyes, I consider him Faiz's equivalent of Asakura from Ryuki. He's just an especially evil guy who relishes in violence. I think I might even like him more than Asakura because 1) I think Delta is a cooler design than Ouja, and 2) his mellow and bizarre demeanour is more interesting to me than Asakura's bloodthristiness.

The Wiki says the Faiz movie released to theaters six days after Episode 28 aired, and I am but a simple fan living in 2003 Japan. I'm fated to watch the movie next!

So, defense of that setup: it's how every Kamen Rider debuts on this show. Takumi becomes Faiz after the belt doesn't work for Mari. About 8000 dorks from the Ryusei School sacrifice themselves to the Kaixa belt before Kusaka wears it. And four canonical non-Orphnoch Delta wearers get killed before Kitazaki wears it. It's like musical chairs, except with belts and disintegrating teenagers.

Man, a cooler design than Ouja? Tough call! I do like the stark black-and-white body suit, that's eye-catching. But that snakehead helmet, so cool. Real tough call!

The movie is an alternate ending to the show, I get the whole "watching it as they are released" thing but you also don't like spoilers, and the movie is spoiler city.

Also, Kitazaki is a great character, his almost child-like attitude while being so powerful makes for a very interesting character. Ray Fujita is one of my favorite toku actors and he puts in a great performance as Kitazaki.

The movie nonchalantly spoils a big plot point for the show granted the context is a little different and that's all I say on the subject for sake of not spoiling it.

Actually I do have to wonder how did the kids and fans back in 2003 reacted to the whole spoiler thing. Were they surprised they putted into the movie? Pissed off over spoiling a major turning points a month in advanced? Probably nobody was expecting it since the movie was an AU(and the trailers didn't even tried to hide the fact that the movie was going to be different from the show) that had no connection to the show.

I guess we'l find out when Die watches it! Since they haven't seen the series, they won't know what might be or not be an actual spoiler anyway (assuming nobody in this thread just comes out and says it...) so that should be fun to witness unfold.

edit: I don't even actually remember whether it was the movie or the series first that exposed me to the twists in question.

I guess my take on it is, if another fan were to say to me around Episode 26 "Kitizaki is Delta", that's a spoiler. If the show did a Hyper Battle Video around Episode 26 where they revealed that Kitazaki is Delta, that's a narrative decision. The former sucks, the latter is worthy of discussion.

Eh, it's really just one of those hindsight things that makes you go "why did they decide reveal that in such a nonchalant way in the movie, but then treat it like such a grand revelation in the show proper?"

That's a fair question!

I wonder how much of the weekly audience even saw the movie? I'm curious how much crossover there is between movies and shows. What if it's not a lot? Like, we're dedicated fans who watch everything we can get our hands on. But, I wonder if a large part of the audience in 2003 wasn't able to see the movie? Or even interested in doing so? I'm legit curious about that.

The Ryusei stuff is an absolute drag, no disagreement on that. Funny thing is, it's not actually that bad when you just consider the actual narrative itself, it's the execution that simply didn't land every single time. Might be the combination of overcrowded cast and bad pacing, I dunno.

Not... really? Not for me at least, this stretch of episodes really sucked for me because of Team Cannon Fodder, and while the Lucky Clover/Smart Brain stuff was nowhere as awful, they're also part of the problem to me. All of them felt a bit too one-note to have them take up that much screen time; they just don't have that aura of lore/mystery (a la the Grongi in Kuuga) or actual interesting personality (ala some of the Undeads in Blade), they're more like, 'Team Rocket, but kinky' to me if that makes sense :v

I'm super okay with them just being secondary characters; my favorite moment of them at this point was actually when Kageyama and Houjou (too lazy to look up dude's actual name :lol) swiped Faiz and Kaixa belt. It's when their actions reflect on the show's themes or contribute to the progression and development of the core seven characters (i.e. the characters that really matter to me) that they bring good value to the show, IMO. For some reason, the longer they stick around, the more I got annoyed and took them less seriously as actual threat with the constant defeat-and-retreat pattern.

(though while Ryuzaki was totally poor man's Asakura to me, I do agree Dragon Orphnoch's got a pretty cool design).

On the movie:

Go for it! If only for my personal morbid curiosity, because I haven't seen any opinion by someone who actually watch it at this point and continue to watch the series afterward. Would be really interesting to see how you re-interpret both everything you've posted and the rest of the series after that.

Also I guess it's too late, but... if you really went in to watch that with the mindset of a fan in 2003, I don't think you'd even realize it's a spoiler :v It's an AU movie that has nothing to do with the actual series' timeline or even narrative, and they did what the modern (read: people like us) audience think is wrong because the audience in that era has a different kind of expectation, I believe.