Fair enough. I wouldn't want to dismiss villainy. I guess I meant that Uesugi is actually evil, but yeah, Rui may qualify as an extreme antivillain. However, she ultimately bought Shoutarou time to figure out the truth which led to the best case scenario of saving Satoru and other victims and bringing Uesugi to justice before he could do even worse harm. Seems like this was only possible by Rui agreeing to be a reluctant accomplice. Whether or not she was selfish to value the life of a loved one to take such a risk, I think that's still better than the cynicism of sacrificing a life for the sake of the many, as that only guarantees the bad outcome.

Shroud is only marginally better than Ryubee, "helping" the heroes won't necessarily mean she's good, she just wants to exact revenge, only that her target happens to be a deserving one, it's a case of evil vs evil with what had she done, as she admits that her giving Weather Memory to Isaka is because, as shown later, he wants to take down Terror too; any means if it'd create a hero (anti-hero at first for Terui) or villain (evil vs evil in Isaka against Ryubee). To rely on at least both Isaka or Terui and pit them against each other (motivating Terui by Isaka's murder of his family) regardless of what'd happen to both, it's as if they're put in brutal competitive situation to "improve" each other, trying to one up each other. She also wants to draw strength from Terui's hatred by molding him as Raito's partner and fight as W CycloneAccelXtreme, getting rid of Hidari via Old. Shroud treats everyone as her tools, which explains how she glorifies cold detached traits. For this part, Ryubee can have a real sadistic side to his family, other than using Raito as a tool due to him being Earth itself, he disposed of Fumine with Terror Memory, along with an evil laugh, which is IMO quite deviating from how he usually is, like even if he wants to punish Saeko for rebelling, but it seems to be out of necessity other than outright maliciousness unlike the flashback.

As for this episode Kumi's turned old just like Miyu, as Yoshie hired Ager to turn Kumi old to take revenge. Yoshie is proud of her actions, reveling in Mitsuko feeling the same misery as she did. While I'd still say Yoshie's the lesser evil as I'd consider the one who started shit as worse rather than someone who retaliated, two wrongs don't make for a right, as this harms an innocent, Kumi, treating the actual victim only as a means to an ignoble end. Terui points out that Yoshie only satisfies her hatred instead of doing anything right, overlooking the fact that both of the daughters are obviously miserable for something none of their fault. It's just Ryoko Yui's thing to play terrible moms (later as Irumi in Geats), albeit in this case, the victim isn't own child but other's.

As the headmaster begs for forgiveness to the moms of doing something out of love to their children, Terui later compares Shroud's situation into the moms, doing all of her wicked shit for Philip's sake. Indeed, Shroud is the combination of both moms, she has Mitsuko's thing for getting rid of people who are obstacles to your end (Shotaro, Miyu) and her obsession to create CycloneAccelXtreme also makes her a stage mom for her son Raito as well, and also Yoshie's thing for taking revenge to someone who wronged them (Ryubee, Mitsuko) and harming innocents in the process (Terui's family + her other victims, Miyu), the 2-parter nicely sets up a parallel for Terui to completely denounce revenge ways, witnessing the destruction it can cause via the petty moms, as well as Shroud herself taking away Terui's family in her quest of revenge.

The moms are referred to as morons because really, revenge by proxy isn't practical either, it'd have a risk of earning even more enemies, like getting other relatives or potentially friends involved to help their respective favored person, escalating the revenge, as people who seek revenge forget that they won't always hold the upper hand, and as Saeko said before, it's wrong for Terui to assume that Isaka's death means it's over, in reality there's no end to vengeance. Yoshie did bring up about human nature to pay back for those who wronged them, but doesn't mean that if something is naturally predisposed to a certain act or state, it must be accepted. It seems that struggle can make some villains more subdued, and Saeko (a name resembling "psycho" in pronounciation) at Foundation X Arc seems to be W's take of it, sort of being willing to "cooperate" with Terui, like for other series, Gentoku cooperating with Sento/Banjou after Hokuto attacks, but doesn't mean that the villains are redeemed or such, just being forced by circumstances.

Kinda underselling it, Terui sets up to prove to Shroud that hatred isn't the only thing needed to defeat the forces of evil, wishing for Shroud to observe their fight, where Accel uses his unique physiology again to block Old's ooze directed at W, giving W a chance to directly strike Old as Xtreme. By this, like Yoshie, Shroud loses some common sense in her pursuit of revenge as well, where Accel simply needs to tank the ooze and let his allies strike the opponent, or focus on getting rid of Shotaro forgetting that he's just more addition for those who'd take down Terror, even was surprised when Terui mentions 3 of the Riders to do the job. Or even if what Shroud wants is getting Raito back, currently he's no longer with Sonozaki family, so there's no restriction of her being together with Raito/Philip without using convoluted schemes.

Fortunately, Shroud isn't irredeemable, as the Riders get through her, successfully proving her wrong, as she now regretted her actions like how Isaka turns out to be such monstrous creature that causes many deaths. Terui accepts her apology, with rather clever words, a comforting one but still not forgetting her atrocity, that she doesn't need to hurt anyone again now (can seem to be giving slap in the wrist to those bitter of villain's actions, but by this she won't do bad stuff to others anymore). Overall I'd view this 2-parter as one of the best in the series, with convincing way of showing the damages of a negative human trait, a crucial plot twist and story advance, a smart parallel between the main and side story, and the conclusive character development.

Though this'd mean CycloneAccelXtreme will never appear, if there'd be those who are disappointed in that. There's Climax Heroes OOO game that featured playable CAX, but is mostly a palette swap for CycloneJokerXtreme (but with Engine Blade in place of Prism Sword), but had the Prism Breaker move replaced by Engine Memory slashes, as well as no finisher (for being bonus character).

Old justifies his actions as making others happy (commonly said by main Rider types), which would also appeal to human's dark nature of wanting to see others miserable, thus he'd have completely no qualms of doing that if it's what his customers ask. At his very best, within his twisted mind, it'd be another picking favorites, only caring about his customers, complying to their request, but others be damned. Or it's just an excuse to profit off others by exploiting said human's dark nature, as he did say that he wants to prolong human vendetta to each other as he escapes, letting them gain their temporary happiness of having the upper hand in their vendetta, but one upped by their opposition who'd also be happy too regaining the upper hand, and so on. Old escapes due to Xtreme Memory beating him. Silly me to forget that, even without being used by W, Xtreme Memory is still a formidable fighter by itself, it fended off Weather in its early appearance.

Feels as if someone didn't do bad things out of malice, the writing is blamed to question why they take this decision rather than the more sensible one. Nah, someone can be bad outside of malicious reasons. Yoshie is meant to be a parallel to Shroud (one half of it, both moms are) to perform revenge by proxy. By this, for not taking the daughters, not that Shroud is a wonderful mom to Philip either, Shroud is also a stage mom, she gaslit Philip (e.g. to remove Shotaro), and uses him as a tool as revenge against Museum, and forcing him to abide in her ways, fighting Ryubee as CycloneAccelXtreme fueled by destructive hatred. Even if Shroud took Philip, she was a terrible parent to him too.

Indeed the moms abetted a known criminal, and Terui did confront them, albeit Terui probably sees no need if they did listen to his criticism and changed, as law is done to make sure others won't repeat their misdeeds. Terui seemed to get through to them as after he calls them out (as someone formerly hellbent on revenge), they just hug their crying children respectively.

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Man, look at that design. Isn't it just perfect?

There is alot to these two episodes, and I consider them dang near perfect. So let's get the one negative out of the way: Terui and Akiko hooking up.

With that done, I'm now going to do alot of gushing that most likely none of you will agree with, but hey, that's what I'm here for, to be The Only Fan of things no one else is, right?

First off, these episodes bring alot of depth and consideration to Double Xtreme's' design. Why does it come with a Sword when the only other weapons Double has wielded are a stave and a gun? Because it was designed with Accel in mind, whose main weapon is the Engine blade. And it's the same reason why three of the Memory Slots in the Shield are for Philip and only one is for Shotaro. That fourth slot is meant for the Accel Memory.

Second, I was also really surprised to learn that Sakamoto was the one who directed these two episodes, as they're very outside his usual style. He absolutely nailed it too with some great shots ontop of absolutely nailing the overall atmosphere that the story demanded. I think this is some of his best work!

And lastly, these episodes cemented Shroud as one of my favorite characters in the show, and I mean that unironically. Incredibly impressive to me how this show managed make her over the top nature both funny and yet incredibly sad at the same time. She serves as the prime example of the dangers of becoming single-mindedly obsessed, and I never once felt like the show tried to excuse it.

The second episode gives the story the out of "a parent's' love goes beyond comprehension" but really, I don't think it needed it, because alot of what goes into Shroud's' psychosis is pretty self-evident. She made alot of choices that she obviously regrets, but she became so dead set on her mission that her anger is the only thing keeping her going. Because without it, she'd fall into despair again. It's an awful headspace to be stuck in, and gets one to make alot of decisions that there's really no winning with.

It's all very intentional irony that's brought forth here too, because she in turns becomes every bit as bad Terror Dad, and I don't feel like the show ever shyed away from that. Yes, she walked out on her daughters after what happened to her son. Yes, her actions resulted in alot of terrible things happening. But not once does anyone go "You did nothing wrong." Heck, even Shroud doesn't think that, which I believe her brief scuffle with Wakana even showcases. Thus, like with Gai in Zero-One, I think the story less about full on redemption and more about self-actualization and a chance at moving forward.

Or, I suppose the simple way of summing this all up would be how someone else summed up an episode of a different Rider show that featured a mother treating her offspring horribly: Her behavior is human, therefore, it's fine.

Ha ha, disagree! I love the idea that these two have been drawing closer completely in the background, and that Terui is now in a situation where he's forced to reveal his private life to Shotaro. I've always disliked how out of nowhere the Akiko/Terui relationship felt, but Episode 44 sort of turned that into a character-based strength. Big fan! I get why these two are still married!

SHOTARO HIDARI HARDBOILED DELUSION DIARY EPISODE 10 - “WHAT IF AKIKO WAS AN OLD LADY?”

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This is another Delusion Diary that’s more fun in the real world than it is in the delusion. The wraparound segments of Akiko subjecting the guys to her new slipper-slapping fortune telling is nicely unique, and I appreciate how game and supportive Terui continues to be for Akiko’s enthusiastic nonsense. It’s cute, and a fun look at this four-person dynamic. (Shotaro is basically always overruled in favor of seeing where a dumb idea can go, which is exactly what the cross-section of Philip’s curiosity, Akiko’s enthusiasm, and Terui's delight at seeing Shotaro get frustrated should look like.)

On the other hand, the Everyone Is Old future delusion only has a couple good gags: Philip looking exactly the same because he’s a “data human”, and Terui needing to be reminded that he’s a ghost. The second one is the funniest thing in the entire short, but it doesn’t manage to make the rest of the delusion anything more than old people gags and a quick Dopant attack. It’s fine, but not a particularly funny or memorable delusion.

Modern-day stuff was great, though! This cast has impeccable hang-out chemistry!

Yeah the delusion definitely didn't do it for me either. There's some neat concepts like what you mentioned with Philip, and the idea that the Narumi Detective Agency can keep going up to the 2060s (just 8 more years till you get Oma Zi-O as a client folks!) is amusing, but not enough to really make it stand out.

That being said yeah, the hangout opening and closer with everyone in reality was definitely better. I wouldn't say it's amazing, but the hangout energy exhibited by the cast at this point is very cozy.

Hilariously, this Delusion Diary's suggestion that Terui would no longer be a part of the Narumi Detective Agency (due to being a ghost who will never admit that he's died) flies in the face of the reality that he's the one who shows up the most often post-W.

Wow, Shotaro’s brain was dark that week.

On the other hand, he thought the Narumi Detective Agency would continue operating for another 50 years. As a small business owner, that is some refreshingly optimistic expectation!

No response for my last episode reply? (ep. 44 one)

Not really? It was a pretty thorough summation of the events of the episode. Thanks!

KAMEN RIDER W FOREVER: A TO Z WITH 26 EXPLOSIVE SKETCHES

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These were a blast. I never watched these the first time around with W, since I didn’t have any context for what they even were back when I was new at this, and I can’t believe I’ve robbed myself of so much enjoyment for so long. My biggest complaint about recent Rider shows is that they stopped doing fun, fourth wall-breaking stuff like Net-Movies. There’s a lot of warmth to be found in these comedic peeks behind the curtain, even if they’re all just promotional content for a summer film. Let’s see how W approached the brief tradition!

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Pairing Akiko with Shroud helps to create my favorite version of Shroud, where her low-level cruelty and abusive approach to instruction finds an indefatigable opponent/pupil. Shroud constantly posing trick questions, just to berate her student, is so perfect that I can’t rightly call these shorts non-canonical. This is the most pure realization of Shroud’s weirdness that I’ve ever seen.

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My least favorite of these shorts. The UFO one is cute (I assume the UFO Dopant returned to Earth in 15 years to help Gotchard defeat the Hades Sisters) but the rest of them are okay, nothing special. It’s all a little too much Wacky Costumes, and it misses some of the digressive humor that makes the other shorts sparkle.

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My favorite of these shorts, and maybe my favorite W thing, full stop. This whole thing is Peak Kirihiko – long-suffering Wife Guy who doesn’t see how pathetic he is. Seeing him get progressively more destroyed by his in-laws, his son, his wife’s new suitors, and eventually his wife – all while retaining the classy dedication to his family and city that has made him so beloved/pitied – is the absolute best use of a deceased character. This was the Kamen Rider Nazca content I wanted, and it is glorious.

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These were cute, for an “Isaka pervs all over a variety of Dopant suits” value of “cute”. The actor completely commits to being a lecherous creep for Dopants, and the sketches have a decent amount of fun with such a restrictive premise. Not the most memorable of the bunch, but always good for a laugh.

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I love stuff like this. My favorite of the Fourze Net-Movies is the one where the kids do a Showa game show, and this is a quicker version of that. (This is a bit more indebted to the previous year’s Decade game show, where everyone jokingly-but-not-really yelled at Masahiro Inoue for sleeping too much on set.) Shotaro has legit drawing chops, while Akiko and Philip find clever ways to work within their skillset. Terui, meanwhile, is completely hopeless. The best note was Watcherman pointing out that even when Terui’s drawing wasn’t bad, it was somehow still hilarious. I love seeing the actors be 35% in-character, while slightly embarrassing themselves. It’s such a nice way to feel around the end of a series, you know?

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My favorites are definitely the ones where the cast plays Pictionary together. I'm just a sucker for those shorts. Just like my favorite bonus material for Wizard was the short where the cast all LARPed together.

So in general. These were alright? The last Net Movies I mostly remember are the Decade Net Movies and the Zi-O Supplementary Material shorts. And these... don't really hit as high as these do? They've got some highlights sure but these were fairly average tbh.

So let's discuss these in order from least liked to best liked imo.

5. Professor Jinno and Assistant Makura's Gaia Memory Research:

Absolutely my least favorite of the bunch. The two actors feel very drone-ish and stiff in how they act in this. While the idea of looking at odder Gaia Memories is a neat concept, this doesn't really do much for me.

4. Kirihiko's Room - The Talk Revenge:

Not really a fan of this one? Though it's not as bad I remembered for sure. I feel like they make Kirihiko a bit too petty and insensitive in regards to certain stuff. Plus the running gag of people just constantly attacking him in various ways? Not fun the further that went tbh. I appreciate them bringing the actor back, but they could've used him better even if there are some highlights. The best part is the Futo-Kun Segment since that's mostly wholesome up until the end where we have to fill the "Kirihiko suffering" quota which made me roll my eyes.

3. Dopant Medical Practitioner - Shinkuro Isaka:

I surprisingly enjoyed this one since Isaka got to ham it up a bit more than usual. It's mostly standard stuff carried by his actor and the gags but even then it's only so much of a step up from the prior two. Though this one mostly takes the spot up this high for actively like... calling on a criticism I mentioned forever go?

Like we finally get an actual in-depth explanation for how the Dummy Memory and Dummy Dopant function. I can retract my remark about how he knew about Sokichi and Skull now! Honestly the most enlightening bit in the entire Net Movies and the fact that we ended on that is incredible.

2. When I, Shroud Opened a Kamen Rider Academy... Student Akiko:

We started off real strong in how these were ordered since this was the first of the set. There's not much to say but there's a delightful insanity to how Shroud works here and it's fun to see her and Akiko bounce off each other. I completely forgot about this one when remembering these so this was fun to rewitness. The trick questions and Akiko eventually turning the tables on Shroud were honestly great.

1. Artistic Taste Battle in the Narumi Detective Office:

It's just the actors screwing around, drawing, and having some fun Dopant guest appearances alongside bringing back up past foods from the W TV Show. And I honestly loved every second of it. Real fun and I loved seeing everyone's artistic talent at work, even if some weren't as good as others (they were still hilarious thhough).

Also it was a fun twist on how the last of those was basically a punishment to the ones who won given the food they received as a reward. Though the funniest one was everyone receiving popcorn from the Gene Dopant while Terui (the loser) received caltrops/spikes as his reward. Fun callback to that bit in the Gene Arc!

The Drawing Battle shorts were so much fun. There's this moment in each of them where you can't tell where the actor ends and the character begins: Shotaro, so assured of his own talent; Philip, super easy-going and curious about how other people decided what to draw; Akiko, kind of disregarding instructions while arguing for her own rightness; Terui, perpetually uncomfortable and bashful about his failures. It's the show's dynamic in miniature, and I feel like the writers never had to work too hard to make these four seem chummy?

My one issue with these videos is that the way they were released, alphabetical order, is not the way they must have originally aired. I don't mind spoilers for the drawing game, but I really think the Kirihiko bits would have been fun to see in chronological order.

I'd also like to say that the part of me that finds old Super Dave Osborne bits funny got a huge kick out of the Smilodon Dopant beating the hell out of an obvious prop Kirihiko.

Honestly, I agree that Kirihiko becoming the love child of Mr. Rogers and Jerry Springer is the highlight of this. Though I’m probably going to get controversial and say my least favourite set of segments were the drawing ones. Mostly because there wasn’t really much comedy beyond whether you think most of the pictures presented are funny or not.

However, I will also speak up for the Gaia Me pry Research segments, mostly because that type of humour is pretty common over here in the UK. And he narrator making these two goofs sound like the most despicable criminals to walk the Earth is just a cherry on top.

It's a little surprising, yeah. I'd've preferred if they'd kept the sequence they 'd released them in, but anything is better than 26 individual videos with closing credits, so I will take the format we got.

Interesting! I'd imagine it's the same for a Japanese viewer, where a two-man comedy team isn't such a weird idea.

originally posted on December 2nd, 2021, as part of “Kamen Rider Die rewatches Legend Rider projects (and more!)”

KAMEN RIDER W FOREVER: A TO Z/THE GAIA MEMORIES OF FATE

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Oh man, is this my favorite Kamen Rider movie?

I honestly didn't think it was, before now. I remember it being solid. I remember thinking Foundation X was a weirdly inert overarching menace for several movies to come, and they got their dull start here. (Just, like, the boring pragmatism of funding a dozen different World Domination mad science schemes. I want a global terror initiative that commits!) I remember Eternal, of course, and his strangely theatrical group of zombie soldiers. But, like, that's it? Quality-wise, I didn't remember it being any better or worse than any other summer movie.

And, okay, maybe it's the intensely lowered standards of the Phase 1 films and their nebulous continuity and their frequent poorly deployed themes and their air of exhaustion and their inability to find time for the entire cast of the series they're spinning off from and their etc., but I thought this film was just about perfect? I honestly don't know what I could find fault with.

Thematically, it's doing some interesting stuff with the topic/keyword of Memory. Philip is the lead for the emotional part of the narrative, since his identity is wrapped up in his amnesia. His disconnection stems from his belief that his past holds the answers to his sense of self, so a story that forces him to set aside what his memories have to offer in favor of a present surrounded by people who care for him, that's going to be an excellent dilemma to base a W movie on. Like, this movie is about the value of Memories and memories, and how the lack thereof can't keep you from being a hero.

Structurally, the movie sort of hands off from Philip in the first half to Shotaro in the second half, which I really enjoyed. This isn't really Shotaro's story, so his involvement gains intensity from Philip's absence. With Philip captured, the movie pivots slightly to a more straightforward Assault On The Villains' Base plot, and it's here that I really dug the film.

It's... pacing these things is hard. Any number of these movies have bungled their story by coming out of the gate strong, padding out the middle, and then trying to land an emotional punch in the climax. It doesn't work great, since the audience (or maybe just me) has lost patience with the thinness of the narrative. Here, it's the Kamen Rider W team as a multi-act motion picture story. There's all of Philip's cerebral empathy – the puzzle-solving interest in human connection – and then Shotaro's two-fisted heart-on-his-sleeve problem-solving. Whenever you start to get tired of one, the other tags in. It makes for a viewing experience that never wears out its welcome.

Even the parts I might've found a little too deus ex machiny, I find them charming now? Stuff like Skull providing the crucial Lost Driver to Shotaro, or the town of Fuuto lifting Double up with a gust of wind; it all reads as Magical Realism to me now, not some hacky writing or regrettable plot hole. Skull's appearance is the theme of Memory, the power we imbue it with, and ways it can help us better protect our present. In a story freighted with the importance of Memories/memories, why shouldn't the memory of Skull be a weapon for our heroes to call on? And the town of Fuuto – maybe literally the town of Fuuto – protecting its hero long enough for its hero to protect the town, man, that's just an A+ ending. I can't even slightly get mad at an ending that corny. That's a refutation of Eternal's villainous philosophy of Inhumanity As Freedom, the separation from community as a pathway to power. Here, it's Double's commitment to the townspeople that provides a route to victory.

And Eternal as a villain! The trope of Evil Version Of The Hero, like, always works. Trope for a reason. The way Daidou needles at Philip's insecurity, and then laughs at Philip's connection to humanity, it gives the superhero side of this movie a lot to work with. Daidou's scheme is born out of the same outsider frustration Philip has, the same need to find a connection, but Daidou gleefully solves it with citywide terror and a giant laser. The premise of this one totally delivers, which is a very low bar that not every Kamen Rider film clears!

Eternal just looks awesome, too. The sideways E on his forehead to play off of Double's W antenna. The cape, the holsters, the knife; all boss as hell. The whole movie looks great, honestly. I love how they suspend the Hardboilder in the air for a couple shots, to make Shotaro and Double's attacks look insanely epic. All of the weird lieutenant villains feel distinct and have memorable fights with multiple heroes. AND THE FIGHTS ARE ALL SO GOOD. This thing just looks phenomenal. Absolutely everything you love about the action of Kamen Rider W, but bigger and faster and cooler.

Plus, like, everyone you love from the series (who's still alive at this point) gets at least a few minutes of screentime. Saeko! Saeko acts as a clearly-filmed-separately Greek Chorus! But there's also a half-dozen characters I smiled at remembering (that AKB48 gag!), a cool moment for Shotaro and Terui to acknowledge each other's commitment to justice in a manly way, and an entire subplot where Akiko is horny and Terui treats her like a little sister. (I have never loved their "romance", and that didn't change today.) Just, like, everyone's in this. Everyone.

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Even a brand-new Kamen Rider! Yep, first OOO appearance, and the continuation of the Early-Bird guest appearance Double inaugurated in the Dai Shocker film. Pretty much the same thing here, but we get Actual Eiji instead of just the suit and some ADR. It's cute! It's OOO showing off his Henshin, a form change, and a finisher, which I think is the high water mark for this sort of thing.

I dig it, mostly because A NEW KAMEN RIDER DEBUTS is the icing on the cake, rather than the reward for putting up with nonsense. It's a bonus. The whole movie around it is so fun, so entertaining, that it almost felt greedy to me when Eiji showed up. I already loved this thing! You don't need to give me a gift when I'm neck-deep in gifts!

And what a gift this movie was. I didn't remember much from it before, but now I'll never forget it.

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(I will 100% forget it. My brain's like a sieve for this franchise! I will have forgotten this movie by next week.)

—

DIE-A MEMORIES (aka The New Stuff)

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-Still real good! Still an incredibly fun film that never loses its way, which is some of the highest praise I can throw at a Kamen Rider film.

-The big difference for me on this viewing, obviously, is being in the midst of a full W rewatch. It didn’t fundamentally change the experience – this thing is just a solid film, no matter your level of knowledge – but it did make me enjoy certain elements more. I love how the crowd scenes are populated with previous Dopant Dilemma victims: the magician family, Jimmy and his fan/girlfriend, the zoo guide, that little girl who clearly has still not been told that her father is dead and is also not Double. It’s neat to see them all again, and seeing them will on Double to defeat Eternal. It gives the resolution of the film a bit more specificity, which is cool.

-All of the Shroud stuff here played a little dumber for me, though? Philip’s insistence on Maria being Shroud… it sort of can’t possibly work after the last couple episodes of the show? We know too much about Shroud’s backstory, alongside her many interactions with both Philip and Terui, for her to possibly be Special Agent Maria S. Cranberry. (THAT NAME.) In general, I’d be okay waving that all off as The Movie Takes Place A Few Episodes Prior, but the show specifically has the Foundation X guy pick up the T2 Memories in Episode 44, so the Shroud revelations have all definitely occurred. It’s not a deal-breaker or anything, but it just makes Philip’s bizarre fixation on Maria a little more bizarre than before.

-As a newly-christened Akiko/Terui shipper (#Akcel), it pains me to say that Terui still treats Akiko like a little sister in this one, which is a bummer. That little hair tousle thing he does to her – infantilizing! Weird to do to a girl you’re dating, man! Other than that, I like their chemistry here. I like that Terui gets them tickets to a clearly romantic thing, and then tries to play it off like he didn’t know that. I like that he takes a beat – TWICE – to apologize that he has to go save the city instead of take her out on a date. Everything between them is great in this movie, except that little kid sister hair tousle thing he does to her. Quit it!

-TA. TO. BA. TaToBa TA-TO-BA.

Desu

Remember kids, Eternal didn't lose, the wind just didn't blow his way.

Anyway, yeah W Forever is likely in my Top 3 of Standalone Rider Movies. It's a solid production for the theatrical run and revisiting the Directors Cut was fun. I had seen it a nebulous amount of years ago after watching the theatrical version first, but I also remember the theatrical version better. So it was fun recognizing what scenes got extended, etc. Also like, I consider this movie peak Sakamato in regards to directing. He nails Summer Blockbuster in not only the action but also the general vibe and mood of the story. There's a lot of fun shots and stuff done here, and while he's known for a lot of other things, which are plenty present in this movie, I feel like this is a solid movie from him overall.

Can I just say I kind of adore how cold the villains plan is? The idea that they definitely looked up Team W enough to where they decide "Shroud Mommy Issues? Let's hit the heart with those" and purposely goad Philip into making a Shotaro-level mistake? *chefs kiss*

I just loved how much of a role-reversal this film got once we see Team W after their first defeat. Philip going for the Shotaro route of wanting to believe in Maria while Shotaro tries to talk sense into him was great. And that punch! Very fun to see.

I've got to talk about Skull though. Still one of my absolute favorite scenes in the franchise. Just this "ghost from the past" showing up and basically passing on his will to a downtrodden Shotaro, it's just the best.

Eternal is as cool of a villain as I remember him. Evil Kamen Riders are dime a dozen these days, so it takes a lot to really stand out. Eternal himself has a distinct look, a very reasonable and solid motivation, and just has some good lines in general (his counter line to "count up your sins" will forever be the best).

Also I think OOO has my favorite Rider Cameo when it comes to Rider Cameos. There's just something very charming and flowing about the way he enters and deals with an issue before seeing off W. I also love how beta his effects and personality are, it's such a fun indicator of what was going through productions minds at the time.

That being said it was fun to see the different client cameos from various characters. Admittedly I didn't recognize one or two, mostly when they weren't in obvious duos, but it was still fun to see them all. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't shout out the most important cameo of all.

DESUUUUUUUUU

It's a crowd full of people that have maybe not learned anything new since being saved by Double, and that's okay!

I love that his whole plan is to make everyone zombies like him, so he won't be different and alone. There's something so pathetic and childish about that, the dark mirror of Philip's found family and embrace of Fuuto. Also, I like the touch that he dresses Philip up in NEVER (NEcro-oVER, from the people who brought you Special Agent Maria S. Cranberry) clothes, because why wouldn't Philip want to be part of this terrorist organization all of a sudden. Charming, everything about Eternal.

Personally, A to Z was and is still one of the best summer rider movies ever. :rock:

I’ll just say that I agree with everything everyone’s said so far, before going on to point out that given all the T2 Memories are Kamen Rider Gaia Memories, there are parallel worlds out there where we have Kamen Riders Key and Ocean (and the latter is the Ramen guy).

And now we begin the surprisingly light actor trivia (besides the fact Queen and Elizabeth found the Accel, Key and Bird memories in that particular order.

Special Guest Alert!

First off, our ally for this movie (such as she is) Maria is played by Aya Sugimoto, who was previously the villain in both Ultraman Dyna’s movie and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. One imagines based on that end credits scene in the director’s cut that they had plans for the character to reappear that fell through.

And the only other major guest I know of is Masayuki Deai as the Trigger Dopant, who was previously Eiji Takaoka/BoukenSilver in GoGo Sentai Boukenger (hilariously, his character here has the hairstyle and mannerisms of a different character on that show, who’ll be appearing in an OOO two-parter, so I’ll be sure to point him out then) and was later Tessai/KyoryuGray in Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger.

And a fun fact: both the hero and the villain of this piece get to pay homage to their actors’ childhood Rider shows: Shotaro turns into a black coloured Rider who uses the Rider Punch and the Rider Kick (Black), while Daido beats up some thugs in South America during a flashback montage (Amazon).

Agreed!

Sounds like fertile ground for some enterprising fiction writer to till!

Man, the background music in this movie really had it in for Jinno and Makura.

Excellent summer film. I think I like Fourze's a little bit more, but this is definitely one of the greats. I always like it when the movies tie directly into the show and I think this one is probably the best for both being impacted by its place in the show and having a direct impact on the episodes that followed it.

I always forget that the next show's hero usually debuts in these movies so I was caught completely off-guard when Eiji showed up. That was a really fun moment and definitely reinforced my desire to join in on the OOO rewatch later this year.

The incredibly problematic Luna Dopant was played by Genki Sudo, a very famous MMA fighter who was considered almost as big of a stunt cast at the time as getting rockstar Mitsuru Matsuoka to play Eternal. Minase Yashiro, the Heat Dopant, had also recently starred in The Machine Girl, a very silly, very gory action movie that got a US release.

Fourze has the better version of this movie's ending, with a season's worth of Switch Subjects (getting that one in early) all powering up Gentaro's counter-attack, but I'm not as crazy about the villains in that one, nor the mission prep montage stuff. Eternal and NEVER are way more interesting to me than Skydain and Groundain, and I really enjoy how much this movie foregrounds Fuuto.

Uh, very late this year; so late, in fact, that it's January 2025. I'll touch more on this in a month, but I'm currently planning on "Kamen Rider Die watches A SUPER SENTAI" to start in late August, and then OOO in January. Two a year for me, especially as the early Phase 2 stuff has enough content for three months.

That might give me enough time to build up the resolve to sit through Wizard again.

2027! You've got time!

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 45 - “WHAT K DEMANDS – THE DEVIL’S TAIL”

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I think it’s appropriate, in what’s our second-to-last W story, to embrace reluctance. Learning the truth means having to confront and/or embrace it, so isn’t ignorance maybe something to cling to instead?

It’s a good penultimate story for a noir mystery superhero series, even if it robs the show of the fun, looser vibes of a traditional Dopant Dilemma. (I mean, this thing kicks off with Team Double Is Hired By Lady Indiana Jones, so it still left a little room to goof around.) There’s a safety in the status quo, and what comes next can only alter it. Maybe it’s okay if Philip never learns the truth about his past, and can just make up something that lets him feel safe? Maybe it’s okay if Shotaro just protects Fuuto around the edges, rather than confront Ryuube and risk everything? Maybe it’s okay if Kyoko doesn’t open the Evil Tail box, and convinces herself that the admired museum curator isn’t a USB drug metaphor kingpin and global supervillain? We’re in a noir mystery, and that means the truth is frequently more dangerous than a lie.

Which is exactly what happens, right down the line. Every answer we’re given puts our cast in greater jeopardy, but they’re not all equal in narrative weight. For one, I don’t love the revelation that Shotaro has been subconsciously avoiding a confrontation with Ryuube because of the Terror Memory’s evil fear powers. While it’s fine if that’s the case, we already had a perfectly good explanation for why Shotaro didn’t launch an assault on the Sonozaki compound: he’d immediately be killed. The various Museum lieutenants in residence were generally enough to make a frontal assault foolish, and the Terror Dopant was exponentially more powerful. Frankly, the thought of attacking Ryuube has never even come up in the show past their first run-in, and that’s because it was obviously a non-starter. To say that Shotaro’s been avoiding that dude because he’s petrified… like, maybe the series could’ve included a single scene of everyone being in favor of fighting Ryuube, and Shotaro being against it? Maybe once?

But the revelation that Philip is just the Earth’s memory of Raito… I like that better? Beyond being a wrinkle that doesn’t ask us to square some weird circle, it makes the Sonozaki family’s utilization of Raito into something a bit more sensible. Ryuube didn’t see Raito as anything more than a tool, because Raito was already dead; what came back was a glorified Gaia Memory, so who cares? In retrospect, Wakana’s between-scenes dismissal of Philip makes a sort of sense – if Ryuube told her the truth about Philip, she’d probably also see him as less than human. (It’s a stretch, though. Doesn’t exactly redeem Wakana’s abrupt turn, even if it maybe sketches out a rationalization for it.) Also, man, to drop this thing directly after the movie where Team Double fights a reanimated child that was just like Raito? Brilliant.

We’re in a story that’s largely about setting up the final pieces for the finale three-parter, as well as tying up whatever loose ends remain for our year-long narrative, but the episode allows most of that exposition and revelation to come alongside a few good fights (Mick! Twice!) and a substantial atmosphere of dread. Nothing’s dispensed in a dry or analytical way; it’s all bombshells, straight through.

I like that this show wanted to give everyone a little moment of fear, right before the end. It’s natural, and it’s dramatic, and it’s suitably noir.

—

DIE-A MEMORIES

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-Hello, movie fallout! Is this maybe the only summer movie that leads in on one episode, and leads out in the next? Usually these films are treated as an optional side story that slots in Somewhere In The Early 40s Maybe, but this one is locked in place. Neat to see.

-Kyoko is a fun character, and I’m glad that it’s not the easy gag of Shotaro lusting after the pretty new client. They got friction, and not the possibly-romantic kind. Kyoko just immediately gets on Shotaro’s nerves, as two pulp archetypes are bound to do.

-It honestly never occurred to me, but clearly neither Double nor Accel ever knew that Mick was a cat, not a cat-man. Terui gets so mad when he finds out that he’s had multiple stalemate fights against a housecat, and it’s great.

Cats tend not to like other cats, in my experience.

It also explains Shotaro's frustration with Mick, as Shotaro has used Sokichi's training to enter a cat's mental state.

You’ve gotta love how they make clear that even transformed, Terror Dad is just an elderly rich man, and not some MMA wannabe. His entire fighting style is based on his abilities and the Terror Dragon.

And now for the…

Sentai-lert!

Our client du jour/accessory to supervillainy Kyoko is played by Yuka Hirata, who was previously the RinJuu Chameleon-Fist Mistress Mele in Juken Sentai Gekiranger. She was later the human form of Himiko in Kamen Rider Ghost’s movie.

And a more series wide example is the Smilodon Dopant, because for some reason, someone on the crew felt they needed a VA to do what amounted to angry cat noises. Namely, Yasuhiro Takato, who’s been making appearances as monsters both regular and one-shot in Sentai since 1996. Outside of Toku, he’s known for Artemis in Sailor Moon.

His Figuart is a Figuart ZERO, even!

If I may I would like to suggest one of the following below as your first sentai show. Reasoning being these are what I like to consider introductory.
Timeranger
Gaoranger
Hurricanger
Abaranger
Dekaranger
Magiranger
Shinkenger
Gokaiger
Kyoryuger
ToQger
Zyuohger
Kiramager

As much as I want to recommend Donbrothers and Kingohger those are such curveballs in comparison I recommend you watch one of those after watching one of the above.

I appreciate the suggestions! Definitely nice to get some recommendations from a knowledgeable fan. I've already decided on what show it's going to be this time, but I'm saving the announcement until W's all done. Still plenty to do in Fuuto!

I see, looking forward to it. Does this mean we get bread crumbs that build up to the big reveal? :lolol

No! No clues! ONLY FUUTO.

*gasps* A bread crumb right from the get go!
Just kidding. :lolol