But Die, even if it wasn't relevant to the current, standalone discussion we're having, this sounds like it might've been really furthering your overall character arc! :p

(Funnily enough, I was going to specifically mention that it feels unfair of me to come in here with my future knowledge and act like you should be getting all this right now, but I ultimately decided to cut that thought entirely. I definitely understand the difference in our positions here.)

Hideo Ishiguro's performance in Ultraman Orb is insane, by the way. His acting as Kai doesn't even compare, and I don't think that performance was bad to begin with!

Appreciate it!

There are three guest stars that I wanted to point out.

First are the Leo Imagin's troopers, played by recycled ZECTrooper suits.

More importantly, we have Kai himself, played by actor Hideo Ishiguro. Ishiguro's highest profile tokusatsu role is as Gai Kurenai, the leading role in 2016's Ultraman Orb (and it's films and spin-offs). For my money, Orb is my favorite of the current New Generation era of Ultraman (which is a really high bar) and Ishiguro, in particular, is fantastic in it. He's one of my all-time favorite Ultra protagonists. It's a performance that couldn't be further away from Kai: heroic lone wanderer haunted by his past failures. He also does the Kaiketsu Zubat thing of appearing suddenly while playing a musical instrument, which I'm always a fan of.

The other guest actor is Kenjiro Ishimaru, who plays the Station Manager. Ishimaru is a veteran actor and TV narrator whose body of work includes, apparently four Kekkou Kamen (don't Google that) movies all made in 2004. More notably, he's made multiple appearances on Sasuke, known as Ninja Warrior in the US. He's not the only Kamen Rider actor to appear on that show, but I cannot find a full list easily. I want to say that either Blade or Agito's actors did it, but I can't remember. Either way, you may think that Kenjiro Ishimaru resembles Owner's actor, Kenjiro Ishimaru, but you would be wrong.

There's a thing where...

I'm about eighteen months out from catching up to Kamen Rider Whatever Is After Saber. This year is Kiva, Decade, maybe starting Zi-O. Next year is Zi-O, Zero-One, Saber. And then I'm done with all the writing I felt like it could be interesting to read. Eighteen months is a lot of writing I've got ahead of me, and yet I still think about additional projects for the future. Not on a regular daily basis or anything (that's probably done when I catch up on Kamen Rider), but something I could have fun with a couple three times a year. Go-Busters, to try out a Sentai. Maybe an Ultraman, since folks seem pretty into that.

But then I think about all the shows I never wrote up, 'cause I already watched them. There's a part of me that would like to point to a thread for every Heisei show, to go I Made That. Except, I don't know if that'd be as interesting to me, revisiting shows I've already watched.

Maybe that'd be a nice experiment, though, to come at with the full scope already in mind. Instead of shrugging at, say, the Meteor stuff on Fourze, being able to see it for the ways it talks about friendships that are transactional, or about the ways friendships can sometimes let guilt overpower self-sufficiency. I remember that brief Ex-Aid Movie rewatch thread being fun. I don't know.

(Folks can chime in if they'd care about me rewatching W through Ex-Aid, interspersed with first time stuff. Interested to know if there's interest. I would kind of love to let the final Big Project that I tackle for these boards be rewatching Ex-Aid. There's a symmetry to that that I find really enticing.)

So, yeah, the tension of y'all having watched these episodes while I haven't, it's sometimes weird for me. Not bad! Not at all! But I think it can lead to us getting different things out of some of these episodes.

Crazy that this dude didn't do any major Kamen Rider stuff before this episode. The second I looked at him, it felt like it wasn't Den-O without him. It happened that fast! First appearance! Very weird!

Hey! This is me, chiming in! Probably don't even need to tell you I'd be interested in that, but here I am anyway! :p

Only cover Wizard again if you want me talking about how awesome Shunpei is every episode.

Please don’t disappear on us after you finish hesei rider die. I love having you around.

Thanks!

What if Shunpei wins me over? Since I watched all of those Net Movies where he and Koyomi hosted a fantastically ridiculous fortune-telling show, maybe I'll love seeing him again?

(I will not love seeing him again! I feel like a lot of that thread is going to be countdowns to the Phoenix/Medusa/Gremlin spotlights!)

I'm not going anywhere! There's a part of me that is incredibly anxious to start getting to talk to folks about new weekly Kamen Rider episodes, rather than hoping people have interest in shows they watched years ago. Multiple pages of discussion for each week's Saber? Understanding the significance of Figuarts and SO-DO reveals? Be still my heart!

Also, I mean, my brain has definitely formed itself into a shape that needs to do this kind of thing regularly. Even if I don't rewatch shows, I'm sure there's random stuff I could take a poke at. I kind of like the idea of doing another 6-7 Rider threads, though, and tossing in some other stuff in-between. That commits me to another four or five years of this... whatever this is. I'm okay with that.

I see your Chichin puipui and raise you a Magical Girl Beast. Mayo and camping gear included.

And Die, don't forget that Kamen Rider BLACK now will be rebooted to Kamen Rider Black Sun so more fun awaits. :lolol

I stopped checking in on that thread almost immediately, but I love how quickly the conversation shifted from Oh Boy A Reboot Of Black straight to Oh No It's Gonna Be Like Amazons in, like, three posts. As someone who found some positive qualities in Amazons (early-days KR for me, we were all young fans once), I still found that depressing realization both hilarious and tragic. My heart goes out to you Black fans!

Shunpei is lame.

And here we are with the debut of the official Big Bad… and Kai. Here’s his VA’s other credits.

Kazuhiro Yamaji

Notable Anime roles: various roles in Detctive Conan, Bel in DokiDoki Pretty Cure, the Narrator in Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V

Notable Tokusatsu roles: Kei Karasuma in Kamen Rider Blade (Live role), Emperor Yodon in Mashin Sentai Kiramager.

Notable video game roles: Makoto Date in Yakuza.

Notable dubbing roles: Various roles played by Jason Statham, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Sean Penn, Willem Dafoe, Al Pacino, Christoph Waltz, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Nicolas Cage, Benicio del Toro and Viggo Mortenson, Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Red Skull In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kendall Duncan in Bedtime Stories, The BFG in The BFG, Mister Tinkles in Cats and Dogs, Bane in the Dark Knight Rises, the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who, Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, General Thade in Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, Ray Charles in Ray, Danger D’Amo, Tick Tock, the Timekeeper and the henchmen in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Darth Maul in Star Wars, King Fergus in Brave, Gill in Finding Nemo, General Monger in Monsters vs Aliens, Nico in Rio, Lord Voldemort in The Lego Batman Movie.

(No seriously, Toei uses the Leo Imagin if they want Den-O representation in a group shot of Big Bads. Likely because it’s much cheaper, likely because Kai is not that popular)

So what I'm hearing, Die, is that you're going to have to go back and do Showa and dig deep for those character arcs.

This is the most confusing statement I've ever read on these boards. Did you mistype Miura?

That Shin Kamen Rider announcement (eliciting an early-morning WHAT from me) may get me watching a Showa series in 2023. On the one hand, I, like, viscerally don't enjoy watching 70s-era sci-fi from any country. On the other hand, Hideaki Anno.

Do I really want that sort of final arc for Kamen Rider Die, though? Iffy. Definitely more of a possibility than yesterday, however.

Third Doctor disrespect? On this, the day of Rider's 50th? You're far too cruel

No Miura’s great. He’s one of the best mentors ever with some seriously great - oh wait, we’re not talking about Ohranger are we?

Jokes aside, I’ve seen a few people on TokuTwitter (as that community calls itself) call Kai the weakest part of the show. He’s basically an evil Ryotaro, but without any Rider or Monster form to make the comparison work beyond “is a Singularity Point”. Plus there’s also the fact his plans are vague as hell and I’ve seen someone wonder why the show felt it needed a big bad after functioning without one well enough for so long (I personally think Toei mandates every show has to put a big bad character in there somewhere for a final battle).

"Third Doctor"? Who, Matt Smith? I wouldn't say I don't respect him. I liked his first season okay, but I did bail after that. Still, I don't begrudge anyone enjoying that era of Doctor Who.

Weird to bring him up now!

I haven't seen nearly enough of Kai to figure out how he works into the show's series-long themes and motifs (that Singularity Point reference is new information), but Evil Ryotaro is a perfectly acceptable villain for a show like Den-O; if anything, the show's emphasis on Ryotaro as the core of the narrative makes Evil Ryotaro the ideal type of big bad?

Next you'll be telling me you don't think this is a masterpiece of science-fiction storytelling, smh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRUqJSCOyZ4

my least-favorite episode of skyrider

And with how Ryotaro deals with Yuuo by getting the aggression like just forcefully taking away the Zeronos card, and Ryotaro snarking the most at him, like Yuuto at first did to him.

Yeah, Ryutaros is childish and selfish, and this is a real lesson to the audience to remind that just because someone fights against evil, doesn't mean they're exempt from negative traits, or that those can be overlooked. Other Imagins also didn't really change from their initial state, other than their affection to Ryotaro. But yeah, if you want big screw-ups like this, use your existing characters who are the most likely to create this, and don't turn characters who aren't like that as OOC by giving them more sudden dark traits for forced drama like this, which is sorry, something Inoue can do. And for Ryuta's side not being seen for this long, well, if people are put in a fight against evildoers, everyone will look noble because they're all against 1 threat.

Ugh why you just don't use "Shouma Kai" as the nickname for him with Parado reference. Kai is literally the name of Parado's actor! OK like what has said above, S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai is not that popular, he basically receives the same complaints that you give to the previous main villains of phase 1 (Kai is the main antagonist of Den-O), like being boring, flat, sudden, forced as a main antagonist role, etc. But by watching him I also expect for you to act against the "norm" to receive him well instead (right again), as I also got the Shouma Kai/Parado vibes from him. I've known about how being upbeat can be menacing, both in real life and fiction, where for the former, it's if someone malicious is all smiling and laughing by making fun or mistreating others, and for the latter, it's like kind of villains who engages in evil purely for its own sake. Others said he's an evil Ryotaro, but I also feel that he's Naomi if taken to the real extremes, of the upbeat demeanor is to show a dark trait like thriving over other's misfortune, but this one's pushed/carried over actual evil acts. S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai is the leader of Imagins, so his interaction with Kai would be something bad boss type.

Well, the issue before was that Ryotaro can't be possessed anymore, but here, Momotaros can possess him to train Ryotaro in swordplay? Also, well, Ryotaro wasn't really a fighter at all, but teaching Ryotaro to properly fight, I think, is good if Ryotaro is against an enemy who is a skillful fighter, and schools someone who just relies on power in fight.

You mean the station lol, that's the term for stopping trains. So what is the criteria for setting introduction that attracts you?

a) I think Den-Parado is funnier.
b) I didn't know Parado's actor's name.
c) see "a)".

So, my understanding of the dilemma with the Imagin is that they can't possess Ryotaro in the past, but they can still possess him in the present. That's why Momo and Ryuta can both possess him in this episode, since they're running around in 2007. It's when they travel to the past that they're unable to possess him as Den-O, necessitating Liner Form.

Momo's training of Ryotaro has a plot function, sure. Getting Ryotaro to be at least minimally competent is what Momo's after. But that scene is really there to drive home how much Momo cares for Ryotaro, how he wants to make sure his friend is safe if he's not there to protect him. It's Momo's pragmatism, looking at what a Den-O without the Imagin would be, and trying to solve that problem. He can't really deal with his emotions (because: Momo!), so he channels that sadness into something beneficial.

I feel like there was some dialogue in this one where they clarified that this wasn't the train station. I think that was explicitly stated?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/shrugemoji.gif

Best Kamen Rider villain of all time.

Also, man, I get it now. I get Liner Form!

The DenLiner, for all of its capabilities, is just a vessel. It isn't the fighter, it's the thing that gets the fighters to the fight. It's nothing without the people inside of it.

That's Ryotaro. He's just the suit that the Imagin wear. He isn't the fighter, he's the vessel.

Liner Form is a suit where the vessel becomes the fighter, so of course it's Ryotaro wearing a DenLiner-themed costume.

I get it now! A+ suit design!

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 38 - "THE KING TRAIN WITHIN THE TRAIN TERMINAL”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den38a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den38b.png

Sometimes we don't get what we want.

That's it. That's this story's lesson. Ryuta wants Airi to see him as a real brother, but she doesn't. Yuuto wants to be remembered, but he won't be. The end.

There's something nicely realistic about this story that centers on an imagination monster from the end of time and a self-negating swordsman. Sometimes shit just doesn't work out. Sometimes we want things that are never going to happen. What do we do with that feeling? How do we move on?

The answer here, so beautifully simple and real, is that you just do. You admit to yourself that you are always going to want that thing, and you accept that you can only dream of it. You just carry that weight. Maybe it's a burden, where the need for it drives you to anger or sadness. But maybe it can be a thing to aspire to, a way to bring your dream that little bit closer.

Having Yuuto be the one to make that clear to Ryuta, not by a big speech, but just by his presence. Ryuta sees Yuuto as the one who is winning with Airi, and Yuuto is the one who's lost the most. But he doesn't let that destroy him. He accepts it, and moves on. If Yuuto can do that, maybe it's time for Ryuta to do the same.

I mean, the first thing Ryutaros does after accepting that Airi isn't his sister is that he apologizes for everything he did over these two episodes, so, like, maybe it's going to be okay! It's hard, but so is growing up. With this story, the show is getting at a concept that its younger viewers can most relate to, which is a neat thing for these shows to do occasionally. Growing up means accepting that the world doesn't just exist to make us happy, and that sometimes we're going to have to deal with not getting everything we want. It sucks! It's not fun. But it's part of growing up, and we all have to do it.

I mean, unless you're Den-Parado, who is living his best villain life. I cannot for the life of me imagine how someone could dislike this performance. He is not afraid of these do-gooders at all! Even a little! They're amusing when they're frustrated, and boring when they've got some spine. His first face-to-face showdown is him shrugging at some questions and laughing at others. He isn't here to monologue or exposit. He's here to finish his task and enjoy himself, in that order. Getting rid of the Riders is a step in that direction, but it's not like he's trying to torture them or anything. To put it in train terms, they're all just on parallel tracks. He doesn't care about what they're doing.

I kinda loved that swing between Den-Parado's blitheness and Ryuta's grudging acceptance. It's this throughline of a feeling of equanimity, where all we can do is accept things and move on. It's another Den-O story where no one really wins, despite two rescued Liners and a detonated monster. Ryuta's humbled, Den-Parado is barely inconvenienced, and the train just keeps rolling along. Sometimes the victory is small, personal. Being that slight bit more able to handle our emotions, or get by with what we've got. Walking away from disappointment. That's nothing heroic, maybe, but it's part of getting better as people.

That's it, and that's okay.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den38c.png

THE BAGGAGE CAR

-Okay, how the hell do Yuuto and Ryutaros end up back in the present?! They were both at the train platform in the future, they're fighting Den-Parado and the Lion Imagin (and Dance Dance Ryutalution) on a roof, and then Ryutaros is running to Milk Dipper. At what point did they leave the future and get back to the present? And how did they manage that without either the DenLiner or the ZeroLiner? I genuinely can't see how they managed it, so please fill me in on this plot point.

-Having the majority of the train line exposition occur as Owner and Manager have a rice-eating contest (with timer!) was far-and-away the smartest version of that scene. It's a lot of vague Time Nonsense, where we're still just like Ooooh Mysterious Train Line, but it all being conducted over thrilling rice-eating maneuvers forgives a lot of its sins.

Ah, Owner and his rice shenagins. I forgot just how late into everything he was introduced.

Man, it is really hard to remind myself that was Hideo 9 years prior to playing the galactic nomad we now love and adore as Ultraman Orb. Man has not changed a bit.

Seeing Ryutaros' delusion fall apart with him crying after Airi doesn't recognize him is one of the saddest moments I remember from this show. His delusion of taking Ryoutarou's identity as his own and Airi being his big sister made him feel less alone but even though he has good intentions, he can't be the Ryoutarou she knows. Now he has to deal with that truth, that playing pretend can't give him what he wants, which shows that there is a limit to what imagination can do. There is still that thing called reality which people have to fight and the reality for him is that he comes from a future without a family. That's not going to change unless he actually shows people who he really is. I have a lot of pity for him.

The Train Terminal is a cool location since it allows the Imagins to physically interact with the world and fight outside of Den-O.

He was introduced at the start though.

He probably confused the Owner with the Station Master.

Yeah, this story did a ton to humanize Ryutaros. He's given a problem he can't tantrum his way out of, and the end result is him carrying this disappointment with him in secret. That's heartbreaking! I think I almost lost it when he's acting like a brat on the DenLiner to avoid having to apologize twice, ha ha, everything's back to normal... and then he's just unrolling his drawing of Airi, delicately, preciously, and staring at this sister who now knows he exists, but doesn't feel anything for him. It's this minor positive change (she finally sees Ryutaros for himself) that ruined everything for him (she knows that Ryutaros isn't Ryotaro). Incredibly sad!

That said, if there's one non-fight-geography problem in this episode (HOW DO RYUTAROS AND YUUTO LEAVE THE TRAIN TERMINAL), it's that this is another Airi story that doesn't have much use for Airi as a person. It's about Ryuta's feelings about Airi, and about Yuuto's feelings about Airi, but Airi doesn't get much of a voice in this story of two people treating her as a prize. Also incredibly sad! But for different reasons!

Androzani's got it, entirely from the contextual clues.

Well I like jokes that are related to the actual phenomenon (dunno how to put in the words as a non-native English), including puns, like "Hanakuso Onna" containing "Hana", making it seems that Hana is the short version of that phrase (ergo "Hana" name is a shortened insult by itself). "Parado reminds of Kai and... he's portrayed by Shouma Kai". And for actor names, Parado's one especially stuck on me as Parado and Graphite are brothers in arms, and both of their actor's names are the same, Shouma; with surname Kai for Parado, Machii for Graphite. I̶n̶b̶4̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶D̶e̶n̶-̶O̶ ̶v̶i̶l̶l̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶"̶M̶a̶c̶h̶i̶i̶"̶,̶ ̶m̶o̶d̶e̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶G̶r̶a̶p̶h̶i̶t̶e̶.̶ I feel guilty to bring out my preference though by this reply (is this on purpose?).

Other than that, sometimes wanting is better than having. One's desire and anticipation for something is often better than the actual result. After all, desires and expectations are infinitely boundless, whereas the reality is limited by various flaws and limitations — which were overlooked during the daydreaming in expectation. This is a reminder that a part of life is the struggle, and that's what keeps you going. If you had everything you wanted, you would have nothing to shoot for. And besides - getting what you want isn't always that good for you. But what's important for Ryuta now is to get himself free from S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai's clutches, the leader of the Imagins.

Ryuta is a childish Imagin, and the selfishness and spoiled part of him comes from that. He needs a parent figure to discipline him and develop him/making him grow up mentally! But Ryuta is someone superpowered unlike an actual child... they have to be tough mfker too to endure the monstrous Imagin power. Ryuta is likely directed to the younger viewers who possess similarly, but without the superpower to fuck up things as severely as Ryuta did, to teach, but doesn't mean this will be successful in doing so though, like youngsters can just admire the heroes from their fighting and flashy action instead of the values, which would just do harm.

I see your point here about his performance here (I know nothing about Kai before watching), so I'd try to ask a part of Rider audiences about the polar opposite of Kai's view between you and them (but I hope you won't act obnoxious to ignore that people holds that view to S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai, well not here at least that you don't understand but know that audience are against him), borrowing your explanation here. But basing from what you've said before in move, regarding Gaoh, one of the complaints audience have is like what you summed up regarding Gaoh's motivation, which S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai feels similar to. But fearless villains, well, that's common in any part of the audience, one of the villains' main trait is arrogance, so they will never be afraid of the do-gooders because they feel they're above them. But like I said before, S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai to me feels like Naomi if pushed into actual villainy, like you said there where they're amusing when they're frustrated, which was Naomi's reaction to the infighting between the Imagins. I feel like S̶h̶o̶u̶m̶a̶ Kai is torturing Ryuta though, and as the leader of the Imagins, it'd of course feel inconvenient that one of his kind betrayed him.

It should be Ryuvolution! Taken from Revolver to Ryuvolver.

Owner and Manager are actually arch-enemies. I know that the exposition here is done in the usual Den-O way, with the animestyle comedic wacky style of presentation. I hope this won't mean that, everything (and not only exposition) should be turned into that kind of show like quirky, satire, simple, exaggeration/carricature type of thing, like those who bash an original series over an abridged one. Different parts of KR should all be treated equally as enjoyable if those are good, or

Which is ridiculous, since they look nothing alike.

Not on purpose, but I was definitely being an asshole about it. Sorry!

This is where the Airi scenes sort of let me down, since Airi is treated like an achievement, not an actual person. I can see what the show is going for, maybe, in how Ryuta and Yuuto have to become better if they're going to be worthy of Airi... but, like, that seems to leave Airi's preference out of the equation?

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 39 - “THE RIDER DISAPPEARS AS WELL”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den39a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den39b.png

Spent a couple minutes trying to figure out why I found this Yuuto episode so dull. I mean, I like Yuuto? I like the idea of Yuuto trying to get on with his life instead of pining over Airi? I like the idea of Yuuto trying to get on with his life instead of pining over Airi by going to a grocery store and wrestling Deneb because Deneb won’t stop putting Mushrooms in Yuuto’s food?

That kind of storytelling is all over this episode, tons of little goofy-ass gags: the bit in the beginning where Momotaros is so psyched to get a chance at using Sword Form again to thrash some low-level Imagin that he forgets that he’s supposed to be demonstrating proper swordfighting technique to Ryotaro, so he asks the Imagin and Ryotaro to forget all of Momo’s exuberance and start over with a serious fight; Owner does spoon-flipping tricks, and then misses one, so he runs alongside the DenLiner for exercise; Yuuto kicks an empty bottle that hits Ryotaro in the face ten seconds later, dumping both of them down a hill; just so much fun nonsense in this episode.

But then it’s Den-Parado’s scheme to get rid of Zeronos (if this show doesn’t want me to keep thinking of him as Parado, it needs to not put Kai in menacingly gleeful nighttime rooftop conversations with the episode’s monster-suited monster), and… I mean, it’s a bit much. Kind of checked out at that point.

It’s just got a real Kicking Yuuto When He’s Down feeling to it, and I wasn’t into it. Yuuto’s already had his past obliterated, leaving him only a handful of people who’ll even remember him when he dies. He had just started to try and reconstruct his life, so here’s this episode to obliterate him as a student in the 90s. It feels unnecessary, stakes-wise. It’s like trying to steal something right before someone throws it away. Even killing Yuuto (or “killing” Yuuto) feels like salt in the wound for a guy who was already vanishing from existence before he was literally vanishing from existence. Like, man! Just let him have one dinner before you try to complicate his reality again!

There’s a point the show is making with all of this Yuuto miserablism, which is why I feel like I’ll enjoy the next instalment better. Den-Parado responds to Ryotaro’s angry hero threats with a simple question: why shouldn’t some pasts be changed? What if the changes could be better? The proof of his argument is at the end of the episode, when Ryotaro returns to a Milk Dipper that’s no longer astronomy-themed and Airimirer-infested, but one that’s a flowery library full of women.

And, look, I don’t know if the show’s trying to say Kai Was Right at the end of this one (I feel like Ryotaro’s devastated reaction says Nope), but seeing all the Airimirers swept away and replaced with a more welcoming, more energetic cafe? I will trade Yuuto for that! Den-Parado was right! Give Deneb a good home and do not rescue Yuuto’s past!

And, yeah, I think the show is giving this new reality the slightest veneer of Better. Airi’s happiness isn’t worth nothing to Ryotaro, so seeing her no longer tortured and conflicted over Sakurai’s variable existence, that’s going to be something he won’t just want to destroy. There’s some obvious surface benefits to Sakurai not ever being in her life, even if the show’ll inevitably come down on the side of Please Get Along With Yuuto’s Existence. I respect the lead-in with things feeling objectively better, though. Fun twist on an altered reality.

But the getting there! Not as much fun, even if I’m always glad to take a field trip back to the quarry. (Not that much quarry work this series! Bit of a bummer.) It’s just more shit the cosmos is piling on Yuuto, and Ryotaro’s righteous indignation isn’t enough to overcome how tired that plot is starting to feel. Yuuto, and the viewers, deserve better.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den39c.png

THE BAGGAGE CAR

-I like the implication that the other Imagins never brought Den-Parado up to Ryotaro because Kai’s a dick and they hate him. He’s just some pushy jerk in their brains and they’re like No Thanks? That’s an appropriately character-driven reason for why there was this Big Bad that absolutely no one thought to mention before. He sucks! That’s it!

-Den-Parado, obviously, does not suck. One of my favorite villain moves is when the villain forces a hero to break off a threat to go save some poor soul that the villain just put in jeopardy. He does it to both Ryotaro and Yuuto in this episode, and it’s great. It’s Den-Parado reminding the heroes of how far ahead of them he is, as well as how almost none of this matters to him. It’s Ryotaro saying that every life should be protected, and Den-Parado answering him with a shrug. He’s such a great adversary for Ryotaro.

-Deneb bowing in apology to the soda he almost drank at the grocery store is adorable.

-I can’t believe that I ended up with a bunny-themed Imagin on Easter!

Oh hey, I’ll read the post in detail in a bit but this is where my stop was during my first trip with den-o. I watched up to 38, but never got to this for some reason.

I’ll mention the rabbit Imagin is voiced by the same guy who voiced the tortoise one a while back. There’s a lot of reused VAs in these last few episodes, so I’m not feeling entirely bad about not being able to update you while I’m in the process of moving house.

I have three main takeaways from this two-parter, one of which I’ll mention after next episode, the other will be a few episodes down the line and the last when you (eventually) get to the Cho Den-O movies.

I can sort of see why. There's a tension between the show shifting into its endgame (Kai, Liner Form) and the more wacky shenanigans that it's best at. It doesn't help that the larger mysteries are still incredibly nebulous (Sakurai, a name I hope I don't ever have to hear after this show) and/or basically the same as when the show started. It's a puzzling choice to evolve the characters without really raising the stakes, and that makes it tricky to keep putting these folks in the same types of jeopardy.

I don't know. It's definitely a part of the show that is not the easiest to enjoy.

Best of luck on your move!

This one actually has one of favorite Ryoutarou moments of the whole show, which I think is that aforementioned "righteous indignation" you mentioned? It's his little speech to the Imagin after Yuuto disappears where he's deeply offended at the idea they find smashing up the past like this to be fun.

It perfectly illustrates what I love so much about the nature of Ryoutarou's character growth, which is how understated it is. He clenches his fist in anger and everything, but the words he says as still as soft as ever. Just a simple "I won't ever accept that", and at a volume only slightly higher than usual. Combined with the body language Takaiwa gives Liner Form, I've always found it fascinating how Den-O conveys the idea that Ryoutarou has learned to be more assertive and confident in himself by this point without any of his older traits ever really going away. It's a very particular take on the typical hero arc I find stands out.

Yeah, I think it shows how this series has slowly shifted Ryotaro from someone who cares about people, to someone who fights for people. In the first episode, he's someone who'd rather get beat up than fight a bully. Here, the idea of someone causing death and destruction because they heard it would be funny, that makes Ryotaro viscerally angry. It's his empathy growing, if anything, where he can't stomach the idea of people suffering. He's had these adventures, been tested, and now he understands himself well enough to be able to articulate his needs.

Fun development for that kid!

I'm trying to give Kai a reappraisal this time through, mostly because of Ultraman Orb. In the past I was always put off by his over-bearing goofiness, but it isn't bothering me as much this time. It's possible that some of the more contemporary comic relief has increased my tolerance, but so far I'm getting into him a lot more. The "what does my face look like" thing still gets kinda old, but I'm having more fun with viewing him as more of a puckish villain. I got a big charge out of him just randomly showing up while Ryotaro is just walking around. Also, I have to give him real props for having the cojones to say "Hey, this is a time travel show! Let's just kill Yuuto in the past to prove a point!"

It helps going back through the whole era, too, and realizing that it's been several shows now since we had a major villain that had a dynamic presence as a character. We've had characters that were dynamic but not threatening (Mishima), threatening but not dynamic (boss man from Blade), and enigmatic but not... anything (Hibiki). I'm down for having a villain who feels like he's engaged with the story again, even if the answer to "what is my face?" is usually "punchably obnoxious."