It's like if Ren had a monocle, out of nowhere, and it takes until halfway through the episode (and at the end of a scene!) for Yui to go, "Hey, what's up with the monocle?" Part of me wishes they never even brought it up, just, one episode eyepatch, next episode no eyepatch.

Yeah, that's basically what Scissors' role in the show is: he's not really a proper character, he's a statement of the show's rules. After this we get a better sense of the full stakes of the Rider Battle and the knowledge that not every Kamen Rider is going to be a hero. We also get a better understanding of the relationship between Rider and Contract Beast, including what happens if the Rider loses control. Scissors is easily the most minor and forgettable of the show's Kamen Riders, but he still serves an important role in this early part of the series.

Minor yes, but nobody ever forgets Scissors' showing up just to get eaten by his crab to this day.

I'd almost say Scissors is more popular than anyone outside of the main four Riders. He's infamous for being a loser. That's why he got a Ridewatch in that fan vote despite only ever being in two episodes and never getting to successfully pull off his finisher. I love Scissors. I can't wait till you see his role in the 13 Riders special, it's hilarious

Still to this day episode 6 seems like one of the most memorable episodes for me because of Scissors' exit. And now that think about it, I wonder what it was like for actual viewers who saw THAT on a Sunday morning while eating cereal. :lolol
And I believe Guyver Spawn will agree with me on this, but Sudo/Scissors was the Guyver 2 of the show pretty much.

I mean, it totally would've been me, if someone else didn't beat me to it. :p

Yes. Good. Do more of this.

Man, this show must have set one high bar to clear then, because Scissors isn't minor, and he's sure as heck not forgettable. Actually, you know what? I don't know how often I'll be busting these out, but since I've already got my opinions on like everything in Ryuki written down, I'm just gonna quote my existing eulogy for the guy:

So hopefully we all understand now that Scissors is the s***. Do you have any idea how excited I was for Die to get to these episodes? Especially after seeing that "NO MORE COP STORIES" remark.

I forgot everything about Scissors except the suit and that he did the Kool-Aid Man one time. At least I think he did? I vaguely remember him bursting through a wall or something.

Aside from that? Zero.

To be fair, I watched this show 5 years ago so not a whole lot of it is still left in my brain. Episode 19 however, that one I still remember. Make a mental note of that one Kamen Rider Die and try to find the exact scene engraved in my mind to this day.

OK, which is the reason I've been waiting for this thread. Though you haven't give your thoughts about Yui's good deeds (comparing those to Shinji) yet. I have to get your feedback on this before episode 7 (the first written by Inoue) comes.

Again have to give props to Shinji for this one, he quickly figures it. Though I don't think he can do anything regarding this. Seems that now even Yui has reached the roadblock of what she knows regarding Mirror/Rider stuff, and both her and Shinji are now exchanging and discussing current informations instead of her being the guide/exposition.

I also want to know which is actually the proper dialogue/translation about the conversation (haven't learned Japanese yet aside from hiragana/katakana letters). One translation talks about how Ren probably didn't really take the Rider fight seriously despite his demeanor (plus he starts to know something about Ren that mellows him out being the engagement ring he wears), the other talks about how Shinji thinks this whole Rider fight isn't something to take seriously. I think between the 2 have largely different meaning...

The debut of the first Kamen Rider villain in the series. Oh shoot. I mean, in the whole franchise! Ryuki is a completely different KR series on its time, almost veering on "KR in name only", other than Shinji and Ren having Ichigo and Nigo henshin poses.

Sudo takes advantage of "missing people" phenomena to a good use for his benefit being a Rider. He gets away with literal murder (also his other crimes btw)....with even more murders! By purposely feeding people to monsters, like how all the fate of those missing people. So there wouldn't be witnesses to his crimes as a cop, and murder by Mirror Monsters leaves no evidence to anyone (which ORE Journal's been trying to investigate), meaning no one would know about his crimes, keeping clear record. I also have to applaud his construction skills to bury use the wall of Kaga's shop as his grave, or did he hire someone to demolish then construct the wall to fit Kaga inside there?? (probably not because that would be suspicious unless Sudo made a good excuse, but then again, Volcancer exists to remove all witnesses).

I have to give props to Reiko for turning her attack to grant her an eyepatch, into her advantage because of Sudo's mistake of not reporting the situation while "protecting" her, as the officers didn't know about the situation on the antique shop but her confirming there was an officer, which would make Sudo set the situation up, moreover with him showing at the nick of the time. It'd be a real contribution to other series....but unfortunately this is Kamen Rider, her efforts are nullified, Scissors can just again, send Volcancer to anyone knowing his crime like those 2 officers. Only Riders can properly solve a threat in these kind of universe, with Knight indirectly killing Scissors. I guess that's the trait that makes people only care about Riders and/or monsters in toku, that only those 2 gave impact to their universes?

Ryuki is a series where all Riders' powers came from monsters, be it good, neutral, or bad. So a teamwork of MOTW and Rider. Anyone kills MOTWs but

Scissors has an ironic death; he feeds people to Volcancer, but at the end he is eaten by Volcancer himself. After that, even the weakest Contract Monster can make Knight powerless against it, though that's probably due to fatigue of the previous fight; despite Scissors being the weakest Rider in stats (more info below), probably Sudo's fighting skill as a cop makes up for it - even if Ren is also a street brawler outside Rider. Or also that he seems reluctant to fight, instead setting up deathtraps for others, and if he fights he uses dirty tactics. He seems to be aware of his weak Rider stats and mostly became a Rider to use the "missing people" phenomena and protect himself.

Also would you talk about Shinji's first real badass moment here (after being guilible before)?! Saving Knight and killing Volcancer. Volcancer was completely untouched before Ryuki came, and only gets 1 stab from sword. But a Final Vent instantly kills him. A clear indication that in Ryuki, all Final Vents are one hit kills. I also found the purpose of the dual shields being worn in the shoulders, for (literal) pincer type attacks like Volcancer does.

Shinji thinks this is a sentai world where Riders can work together to defeat those monsters. It would be hilarious if there's a traditional KR show where Shinji watched it and tried to pull it in the real world (showing how Ryuki is a departure to usual KR).

Ren being a thuggish asshole AND Shinji having bad assumptions about him should've taught him something from the experience, like being fishy about new Rider and thinking he might be as bad as Ren or even worse (definitely even worse), but alas...

Ren canonically throws the show's tagline in the episode "Tatakawanakereba, ikinokorenai!". A minor thing...why did Yui welcome Sudo to Atori as a customer? Didn't she say the shop is closed until her aunt returns (she hasn't)? And where did you get that she let the shop unlocked? I think with how the scenes played out in Ryuki, it seems that everyone gets customer services without paying anything. So probably the series just skips those.

And to show that not all cops are good (before cops are your best friends in KR).

I don't think Scissors is forgettable; most of Kamen Riders won't be forgettable afaik, at least he can share same screentime like in videogames or something (PSX Ryuki or Climax Heroes).

If you look at the stats, Scissors is the weakest alone among the Riders in Ryuki (probably depends on what monster you contracted instead of the Rider itself).

https://kamenridernexus.files.wordpr.../vbuckle18.jpg

He has only 4000 AP for Final Vent, which gets defeated by Knight's 5000 AP Final Vent. I wonder why they made Knight the one knocked off his feet, probably to add up suspense.

Ryuki didn't want to fight Scissors, but it's clear that Ryuki had superior equipments, and about Scissors' weak stats. Merely activating Guard Vent knocks back Scissors a good distance.

What's hilarious about him there btw?

Look, Kiwami, if "psychotic corrupt cop who stuffs his murder victims' corpses in walls, and then gets eaten by a giant crab" is not considered a memorable character in your mind, I don't know what to tell you. I guess this is just more proof one of us is from some kind of mirror universe. :lol

Oh! That guy.

...

Yeah no, I don't remember any of that.

https://i.imgur.com/2ZeuFtL.gif

Aww, man; I wait for you to get there and everyone beats me to the punch of why this is great! And I've got a headache so I can't say much!

https://i.imgur.com/d1Zkw2e.png

But, yeah; Scissors is just fantastic. Teeechnically we had Another Agito last season, but there even from the start they were hinting at him being misguided and he eventually gets some sort of redemption. But Scissors just changes the game completely.

Like, I said before that Kuuga and Agito are very fundamental, back-to-basics seasons, right? They're naturally quite different from most Showa series due to their supernatural elements, but they're still essentially -about- the same ideals and morals as those series and follow similar formulas, just with a different aesthetic and framing. So Toei finally nails down a Kamen Rider formula, defines them as heroes who fight for justice... and within the first 6 episodes Kobayashi comes out swinging with a Kamen Rider called Scissors who's an evil cop that kills people with his crab! The absolute sheer contrast and how far removed it is from previous seasons just goes miles in showing what they wanted to do here, and I get the feeling that if Ryuki wasn't my, uh, 18th Heisei Rider I would have been able to appreciate it a lot more.

This more than anything was the series that really said "yeah so we can kinda use Kamen Rider as a vehicle to tell any story we want", and I kind of love that. Thank you, Guy Literally Called Scissors. You did good.

Well, I hoped you like that; because I'm probably gonna slow down a lot more after the halfway point!

I guess when I say Scissors is forgettable I mean outside of his Rider form. Compared to the other Riders who appear later, the dirty cop isn’t around as long or as intimately involved with the other characters.

I'll put this in as non spoilery way as I can for Die's sake, but I found Asakura's reason for hating him funny

GodDAMN, y'all! I go to bed, wake up, do a little a bit of work, and when I finally get back to the real work of interacting on the TokuNation boards... folks got feelings about Scissors!

I'm not going to be able to respond to everything individually (Sorry! Still at work!), but I think it's neat how the response to Scissors (not counting the occasional "which one was Scissors") splits between appreciating his role in expanding the role of Riders in the franchise, and appreciating how quickly he was defeated/monster-devoured.

It's definitely something I struggle with, remembering that a lot of what Ryuki's doing was brand-new at the time. From someone who came in through Ex-Aid, the idea of a) multiple Riders b) who were doing this before the POV hero c) fighting against Riders who are clearly evil, that's like... that's the template of Kamen Rider to me. It, yeah, it must've been a huge shock to the audience that Scissors wasn't someone who was misguided, who wasn't to be reasoned with. He's a murderer, and he's more than willing to murder more to get away with it. There's no conflict in Scissors. He's fully, unrepentantly evil AND he's a Rider. That's a massive narrative gift that Kobayashi gave the franchise, because it opens so many new doors as far as what tricks you can pull on the audience. When a new Rider shows up now, who knows what they want or what they're going to do? That's an exciting change for Kamen Rider shows.

Plus, I love that folks are willing to stan for Scissors because of, not in spite of, how quickly he's dropped. That shit, that's like Hardcore Fan 101. Picking some dink to cheer for who gets offed almost as soon as he appears? I get it. I see you. There was a point, early in Build, where I might've claimed that an ornate chair was my third favorite character on the show. I was obsessed with that chair! So, yeah, I don't blame anyone who'd fly the flag for Scissors. Just, personally, the way he kicked the tire on the car after Ren pulls him over? Christ, the way he treats Run Off Of The Road By A Rider Who Wants To Kill You Also You Kidnapped His Friend And He's Pissed About It as, like, being pulled over for speeding: a little annoyed at himself for being in this position, a little frustrated that someone's going to give him shit about something that's not a big deal, a little entertained by the whole thing since he knows it's his fault. Scissors has a lot to enjoy about his brief role on Ryuki. You aren't wrong to be a fan!

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 7

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki07a.png

We're really in Take With One Hand, Give With The Other territory with this one.

So, it's a comedy episode. It's so, so a comedy episode. And, man, it don't get off to a great start. All of the stuff with Shinji dreaming of flames just to wake up and coat the ORE Journal offices (is the ORE logo supposed to remind me of the Ryuki logo? Is that on purpose?) with foam, it's not that funny. It's wacky and broad, and I just find that approach real dull. I'm with Reiko on this, who can't seem to muster any enthusiasm for either Shinji's Wacky Antics or some dumb crawfish story. The ORE stuff, it's something I can usually find something to enjoy in the scene somewhere, but all of that stuff this time out bombed for me.

Worse, the only Yui and Ren stuff we get this time out is centered around the returning Auntie, who... you guys. She is the worst. She takes up a ton of time, she's a laugh-track away from being the Special Guest Star on a shitty 70s sitcom, and she makes me want to see less of Ren and Yui, which, unforgivable sin.

Also, she brings up a ton of weird continuity things. First, Yui says she's just reopening the tea house, despite strangers like Scissors being able to walk right in like it's a functioning business. Second, Ren takes Yui to pick up Auntie from the airport? On his two-seater motorcycle? With no spare helmet? What was the plan to get the three of them back to the tea house? Finally, Yui says that Auntie is returning to open the tea house unexpectedly, as in sooner than anticipated. As of last episode, there were more-or-less no customers, and a big question mark as to whether or not the tea house was even open for business. Here, Auntie is back, and within an hour it's a bustling business, filled to capacity. I... what is their advertising secret and can I please have it? The goddamn building looks abandoned, and twenty people including one fugitive from mobsters drop in like it's the only business in town. That's... that's not how businesses work!

All of that, all of the ORE Journal and Auntie stuff, awful. Nothing of merit in those stories.

But, I mean, Kitaoka. This goddamn guy.

It takes a long time, a lot of boring-ass time, but as soon as Kitaoka shows off his press clippings (he keeps his own press clippings on himself at all times!) to Shinji, this thing explodes. Everything from that point on is stellar, from the shredding fight music, to Goro kicking ass, to Kitaoka's Shoot Vent... all of it. It's such a great last few minutes that I can basically forgive how dire the rest of this episode is.

It helps that, like, I dig Kitaoka's whole thing. The idea of him being an ace attorney who represents scumbags but only does it to get rich off of their ill-gotten gains, leaving them broke? There's... there's a lot going on there, and I love every word of it. I can't stop laughing at how, in the midst of a car chase, he's going to insist that Shinji acknowledge how handsome he looks in his press coverage. I love that he runs away so much and so fast. I love that he's another Kamen Rider who's an authority figure, another Kamen Rider who's an agent of institutional justice, who think his profession is a joke and could not care less about high-minded morality. He's the comedic anti-hero compliment to Scissors, a guy coded as Hero who uses that to get away with whatever he can. Like, yes. Kamen Rider Scumbag, hell yes. More of that, less of everything else in this episode (a whole thing about how Yui needs to smile more? Yikes!), we're back on track.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki07b.png

Kitaoka is the man.

There is so much gold still to come Die, and I'm really looking forward to your analysis of the next couple of Riders introduced.

I've wanted to post on here more, but I've got some stuff going on with my dog and my Aunt (if I'm not at work, I'm at the Vet or the Hospital). Reading this thread has brought a smile to my face more than once, I really love Ryuki and it's great getting to read everyone's opinion on what is one of my favorite Rider shows.

Fun random trivia. Kitaoka's actor Ryohei Odai, who went by just Ryohei when he was filming this show, his wife is currently the Japanese dubbed voice of Cartman from South Park. Not joking. :lolol
But on a more relevant note, Ryuki, Knight, and Zolda each have one traditional design trait they inherited from the typical Kamen Rider design. Ryuki has the eyes, Knight the crusher(mouthguard), and Zolda the antennas.

[QUOTE=Kamen Rider Die;757378]There was a point, early in Build, where I might've claimed that an ornate chair was my third favorite character on the show. I was obsessed with that chair!
Ah, I see you're a person of culture as well.

Glad you're having a good time with this thread! Hopefully things in your personal life go well. This show is pretty fun, you're right to be a fan of it!

Oh, ha ha, neat! I didn't catch that, about the ways they spread around the Kamen Rider motif.

I didn't mention it before, and this is sort-of barely on topic, but I really like how the grill on Ryuki's mask flares back and up. It gives him a sense of motion at all times. I really like it.

Legitimately, if someone could find a reasonably-priced 1/12-scale chair that looked like that chair from the first dozen episodes of Build, I would have to buy that chair, and a Figuarts Night Rogue, and a Figuarts Blood Stalk. That chair... how was it in so many different places?! Where's my goddamn New World: Chair movie, Toei?!

... whoo boy. Die's wallet, I'm sorry, but I have some news about the Machine Kivaa Option Parts set...

https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/shfiguar...08fefe37-s.jpg

My wallet must've played a Trick Vent (reference!), since that chair is not THE chair, and my money gets to stay where it is for a little while longer. It's a good chair! I love that they have Blood Stalk (EDIT: and Night Rogue! I couldn't pick him out at first) lounging in it. It's just, you know... it's not the chair.

A reminder of The Chair:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/build/nrchair4.png

Somebody wants to find a version of The Chair that scales with Figuarts, I got room on my credit card and no sense of fiscal responsibility.

Yeah, and I like how the dragon whiskers align with it to give the impression of antennas in a sense. Speaking of the grill, Bandai should make a BBQ grill shaped like Ryuki's face. I am amazed Bandai has not done this yet and it has been 18 years. :lolol

Hey, since we're on the topic of Ryuki costumes, I keep forgetting to mention that Knight's whole Medieval Batman thing reminds me so much of the Batman character (I am not making this up) Knight:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...ightbatman.jpg

You can read more about Knight here. He's basically a British Batman. That design, the JLA Classified one, debuted a few years after Ryuki aired, and... I'm not saying Ed McGuinness cribbed it from Ryuki, but man. MAN. There're a lot of similarities in those designs, the way the chestplate and visor work, the bodysuit, the gloves... Very similar designs.

I am beyond proud of everyone on this forum that there's an entire straight page of this thread devoted almost exclusively to Scissors discussion. :lol

I mean, I wasn't watching it at the time, but I think the experience for me was pretty similar. I can barely begin to describe what a mark those two episodes left on me as someone getting into Kamen Rider. If you asked me what moments defined Rider to me as a new fan, only having watched a few episodes, I could give you three of them, not necessarily the three, but three big ones, and I'd tell you without hesitation they were...

https://i.imgur.com/paUikVql.png

...the inspiring determination of a man standing unflinching amongst the flames for the sake of people's smiles...

https://i.imgur.com/vPNCI5Xl.png

...the wonderful absurdity of a man on a motorcycle riding on a bridge made of robot octopuses that came from a vending machine...

https://i.imgur.com/3ugM1X4l.png

...and the trying emotional complexity of watching a man I should feel no sympathy for suffer a cruel and violent death.

Those are like, the absolute building blocks of what I love about Kamen Rider, and just how much it had to offer, and Scissors is right up there. With episode 2 of Kuuga, no less! The guy is genuinely that formative to me.

Why this one particular ORE moment is the one you disliked? Because it's too disastrous to be funny? (whole computer being sprayed with foam, slowing down the business). Well, Okubo (editor-in-chief) can't muster any enthusiasm either for Shinji, and he's probably gonna kick him out sooner or later, which will lead to...an important plot point later.

So it seems you, who doesn't hate characters like Shinji (she also quite pulls a Shinji from episode 4 to judge Ren badly), aren't immune to hating (well she has a name, but iirc wasn't mentioned yet here?) Auntie.... and you want to see not only less Yui but...also Ren?! I don't know if probably blame Inoue for the first time writing episode 7? (Ryuki's a Kobayashi series).

The bolded one was the one I asked yesterday, that you weren't able to answer.

Also btw, for one fugitive from mobsters, did you mean Sudo? It's you know, from Shinji, and he wanted to use Yui's relation to Shiro to gain an advantage in Rider War.

Yeah, Kitaoka is a scumbag narcissist, he only cares about getting perfect records for his job, regardless of his clients being guilty or not. That kinda reminds me of Hiiro from Ex-Aid who only cares about his achievements and records for his job (him being a surgeon), but Kitaoka has more chance of causing problems to society due to well, folks are being conviced by law because, well, they doing immoral things, but Kitaoka will let them continue their immoral stuff that he makes them completely free.

Kitaoka...still great even when he gets his ass kicked here?? Probably he can run away so fast because he's so tall lol. Shinji pinning him to the wall to call the others. Also him letting Shinji to ride together just to show off his achievements, I guess being a narcissistic scumbag lets you doing some good things, if only to boost yourself (like a sleazly politician trying to get publicity)....well (sarcastically) at the very least he asked him to wear a seatbelt first. Well, Kitaoka is a narcissistic scumbag, but do you think that him telling that the suit guys are from Sakaura company who beats him up because of him emblezzing money from as him being honest, or only to protect his reputation (to a guilible Shinji)? Another act of Shinji being someone righteous but immediately runs over to a situation instead of thinking it first. First he wants to punish Kitaoka for causing problems to him and the suits by pinning him and calling them, but when the suits are beating him up, Shinji helps Kitaoka instead because he thinks the beating is too severe that he may die.

Goro looks like a clear Rider material, with his fighting skills AND also a henshin pose, which kind of ruins some points of a plot later that Kitaoka's already shown as a Rider here....

Shoot Vent is like Ryuki's Strike Vent where it's a weapon that can finish monsters, but not a Final Vent. It's also a very dope weapon in games like PSX Ryuki. And for another thing, Zebraskull (the zebra monster) is the one non-Contract Monster playable in that game.

My problem of "Yui needs to smile more?" is that it contradicts the previous episode events (...Inoue!). She already smiles most of the time like in her conversation with Shinji (like even back then at episode 2 when the very first time they talk), well, the sole exception is at episode 4 where Shinji acted like an asshole. Which also brings me to the other pet peeve, Shinji calling her smiling weird as it's first time she smiled despite already seeing her smile numerous times before?!?! Other than that she also clearly smiles widely when welcoming Sudo to Atori. But nah here she suddenly acts cold and rude behavior here like freaking Squidward.

Kitaoka is a fantastic character, total scumbag but so charming at the same time. And Goro, man, I had such a huge crush on him when I watched Ryuki. Dude's really hot

Like, the whole thing is incredibly contrived (he sprays down the entire office, something that would take minutes of sustained action) and serves no narrative purpose. Why did that need to happen, when it doesn't really affect anything in the story? It's another Shinji Shouldn't Be Living There scene, sure, and that's a storyline, but it's too dumb to believe in. That's when comedy gets bad for me, when it's too ludicrous to buy into.

I got so mad seeing Auntie that everyone around suffered for it. She was, like, an AOE on me getting mad at the show.

No, sorry, I meant Kitaoka. Dude is on the run and happens to wander into the one tea shop he'd be recognized in? How was Auntie getting these people to all show up at once? Was Ren out there blocking traffic, pulling people out of their cars, pushing them into the tea shop?

Oh no!

Yeah, all true, it's not like she's a morose character previously. If some parental figure showed up, referred to me as a teenager, and took over my life, I don't think I'd be smiling much, either.

Mostly, though, the A Woman Should Smile More plot point is, like, intensely problematic. For a character like Auntie, that I was viscerally opposed to, to trot out that little pearl... I was maybe reflexively grasping for my Final Vent card.

Oh, he's a dreamboat. Can't whistle for shit, though. I can't tell if him whistling terribly is a joke, or the show thinks it sounds good/correct.

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODES 8 - 9

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki08.png

So good! It's so good right now on Ryuki!

Obviously, a lot of that is down to Kitaoka. Kamen Rider Scumbag is maybe one of my favorite secondary Riders of all time? After maybe three episodes? Every scene he's in kills, from his mentor relationship with Shinji, through his gross come-ons with Yui and Reiko, to his Don't Hate The Player shit with Ren. He's so perfectly smarmy, with his Greed Is Good ethos and his manservant and that he hates kids... why is it that everything that's horrible about Kitaoka is so awesome? (Honestly, I felt like a total asshole watching these episodes. Every time Kitaoka or Ren were dicks, which was so often, it was cracking me up. There's a point where Ren's being horrible to Shinji, when Shinji's been falsely imprisoned, and Yui goes "Leave him alone, Ren," and I out loud said to the show, "Do NOT leave him alone, Ren. Never leave him alone." I love it when Riders are awful to each other! That's what Ex-Aid did, and by God it's the right way to do it.) These two episodes are chock-a-block with Kitaoka, and they are sterling. Kamen Rider Scumbag forever.

The other big thing now, I guess, is the tea shop? We're there a lot now? Masked Rider Ryuki seems all-in on the tea shop, and I'm of two minds on it. (Also, why are they all reading maps when Shinji shows up late at night? Are they all taking a trip together? Who just kills time by looking at maps?) My gut reaction is Too Many Settings. We've already got ORE, do we really need another workplace for comedy? I still don't love Auntie, despite her schtick being toned down a lot, and I feel like we've got plenty of space to tell Shinji Is Bad At His Job stories with ORE. It feels redundant, I guess is what I'm saying. On the other hand, the tea shop scenes do an outstanding job of fleshing out the Ren/Shinji rivalry, so it's hard to be too mad that they exist. If anything, it makes it seem like maybe the ORE stuff should go? The tea shop, it just features more primary characters, seems more convenient for a lot of the Rider Battle storytelling. I don't know. I'm not loving them trying to do two workplace comedies in one show, and the tea shop just feels more economical, story-wise.

That said, holy shit am I not loving how the show's been using Yui. The more she's left out of the Rider Battle story, the more she's just some girl for Ren to feel protective of or Auntie to talk over, the more frustrated I get with seeing her. I don't want to feel like that! I liked Yui in the first few episodes! Since Ren and Shinji aren't doing a whole lot of monster fighting recently, and no one wants to clue her in on the Rider vs Rider stuff, it's like the show can't figure out what she's there for, so she gets the worst The Girl story beats. (It's not, like, Mai-from-Gaim bad, but it's getting to the point where she might as well be a literal object for men to protect and covet, like a sturdy cabinet, or a commemorative plate. She's barely a character right now!) Between spending all of her spare time staring at a picture of her brother and not saying a word when Kitaoka is an unbelievable creep, I'm not at all sure why the show is putting Yui in the doghouse.

If only she had got the kind of attention that Shimada got in part of this story. That self-date night! Hilarious. I probably could've watched another ten minutes of her having an incredibly romantic evening with a giant stuffed doll she won at an amusement park. It was, sincerely, better than just about any sequence Yui's been in since episode three. I'm glad the show's finding room to write fun stuff for one woman on this show...

Oh, hey, Rider fights, lemme talk about those for a minute. There, uh, aren't a lot of them in these two episodes. There's the Ryuki/Scumbag (I know he's got a different name but they ain't said it yet on the show so he's Kamen Rider Scumbag in my heart) fight, after Ryuki knocks out the last Mirror Zebra, and a minute or so of a Knight/Scumbag/Like A Mirror Boar Or Something fight at the end of episode nine. The Ryuki/Scumbag fight, that's the meaty one. I really like how each Rider (so far?) has a different color base suit. Big bright red, or green, or orange, plus a black suit for The Cool One. It's a great visual cue, that These Are The Riders. From that one-color base suit, there's plenty of room to layer on gears or vents or grills or whatever. It's a great, flexible, dynamic design philosophy. Oh, and the fight was great! Kitaoka comes off as a very weasley, intellectual character, so watching him beat the hell of Shinji rounds him out as an antagonist. He can be cunning, but he doesn't have to be. But, like, just because he can win in a fair fight doesn't mean he won't stack the deck (reference!) by cheating. It's... he's so great.

He's so great.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki09.png

You know if they ever remade Ryuki into something more comical akin to MMPR instead of something serious like Dragon Knight, I bet Shinji would be the yearbook photographer, Ren the Luke Perry wanna-be, and Kitaoka the smug yuppie-in-training who drives a green Jaguar to school. :lolol

They should have made the chair in So-do. They already sent so all out on making every suit but the smash and monster Evolt, making the chair wouldn't have been too much of a stretch

Yeah Ryuki imo has lots of rider conflicts but the fights are too short. Though the movies and specials do help alleviate this with thier bigger budget. And yeah Auntie the worst she not funny, dosen't contribute to the plot, isn't even really moral support as her advice and attitude puts people off. And some other things that hasn't happened yet but I definity prefer Ore over her.

The tea shop becomes a juice bar...

I spent, uh, more than a minute looking for a 1/18-scale chair for my tiny Faust mans to lounge in. (They aren't as poseable as Figuarts, so they couldn't nail a lot of the same poses, but, like, I already own those three figures as SO-DO?) There are a couple kits I could buy, but the fabric and pattern aren't right. It's got to be perfect! Utsumi fought and died for that chair.

After her first appearance, honestly, she's a bit easier to take. She's still adding an energy that I don't think the show at all needed, but she blends a bit more with Ren's one-upmanship and Shinji's undependability and Yui's, uh... her... thing... for the group.

Yes I remember this character and I actually like that rendition as well. Plus it's fine if it has resemblences. You won't believe how hard I was laughing circa 2002 when I went to the TV Asahi website, enter their Ryuki page, and immediately as I see Kamen Rider Knight I said Kamen Rider Batman, Bat Rider, Kamen Bat, the list goes on. :lolol

Well, I said before it's a plot point, and it's answered in episode 8 where Shinji moves to Atori. Beginning of bromance lol.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D3PJhWVV...g&name=900x900

Shinji snoring also...never enough of "annoying" traits to people in-universe.

I think he just came to Atori as a regular customer honestly, but with Shinji (someone troublesome to him) there, makes it too uncomfortable for him there and canceled himself to order in Atori (you see before Shinji pins him, he sits on a table like regular customer does). As you saying he's a fugitive I think no; as his ego shows, he generally has a good reputation to the public as the best lawyer, but only a particular group like the Sakaura suits had a problem with him.

This is one of the reasons why I vehemently talked about Yui's Shinji-level good deeds before, before all of this came up. Glad you noticed that she's not a morose character previously though. And for bolded one, the one that made me worked up is that she described herself as "she's just that kind of person she is", not because of Auntie situation or something. Though she IS a teenager regardless Auntie being wrong or not (19 year old). And not only for Yui, I also talked about how Shinji thinks her smiling is weird -_-

Though like I said before, different writer for episode 7, and an infamous one (Inoue...).

Kitaoka is tertiary, not secondary btw, Ren is the secondary. And well, with you being cracked on with their dickery, I thought at first you won't like Shinji because he's not like those, and also like what Kitaoka thinks about him at the end, Shinji's righeous ideals make him boring as pedestrians. And even Ren met his limits on his douchebaggery as shown in his episode. He thinks Kitaoka is a dick, and actively criticizing him and calling him out for his acts "the best at his job, the worst at being human". Now again with Kitaoka treating Shinji to his life to get his charm but, well at least Shinji got something free even if Kitaoka doesn't do it to care for him, and voila, the first time, Rider battle but not fighting, but ideology clash! Shinji also uses his role as a journalist to take infos, taking notes. Kitaoka's gross come-ons to Yui and Reiko does come to an advantage though, with Reiko being the one asking him to represent Shinji, making him easier to oblige due to Kitaoka liking her.

And extra points of Kitaoka being a dick, when he came to Atori to force them to pay, he didn't know yet that Shinji was a Rider and that Yui and Ren were related to Rider stuff (which are all his enemies), so as far as he knows, he was just harassing innocent civilians and because they all need him, he can do whatever he wants there.

I admit Ren's dick moment here is funny, like telling how Shinji living there is the best for them with him "seemingly" comfortable and Ren can sleep well. Also regarding Yui to stay away from Shinji that she may get kidnapped, as Shinji is another Rider and that's like in episode 6 (and Ren genuinely thinking Shinji is dangerous to Auntie). With someone like Ren accusing Shinji as "villainous criminal", it should've been easy to talk back to Ren saying how he's the one actually thuggish and having criminal demeanor.

ORE will be needed for something....later. Regarding Auntie, I have to give a crack when she points out that Ren looks far more dangerous than Shinji (very true) when Ren thinks it's dangerous to let Shinji live there. Have also to point out the waiter scenario with primary/secondary rivalry inspires the same thing on Gaim. Also as Auntie is a traveler, so reading maps for next trip or something?

How did Ren know Shinji's shoes are dirty there? I usually check if shoes are dirty by checking its bottom. Also Auntie is abnormally open, she just lets Shinji stay on Atori, and later, Ren, after showing off his skills. That would mean he had a waiter background before being quit/fired before. Ren's waiter outfit also ftw! (more because of his dedication to the job)

As Ren said in the episode (to defend herself for Shinji accusing him of being jealous), he also keeps Yui for his advantage in Rider War, due to her being Shiro's little sister (but as ep. 6 shows, he cares more about her than that, enough for Ren's to suppress his more immoral traits for her; morality pet)

Not saying a word? Well, that'd be fixed with something on the next episode (something I liked about that episode there). And as for her role, after that next episode... Though if you talking about her role here, did everyone just do the same thing in this episode? Yui, Ren, Reiko, Okubo, Auntie, all trying to get Shinji out from the prison?

Also gotta have to say something here; despite expressing some distrust for Shinji in episode 4 before (which probably should be proven true with Shinji being accused as a kidnapper), she's the only one among Shinji's group that genuinely tried to help him and made him feel better, only bringing up the good news. Ren was a dick (sorry if I'm pointing this out cockblocking the Ren's comedy dick moments here), Reiko suspects Shinji as the kidnapper and is uncaring (only thinks about it being a scoop), and Okubo is a bit better, but still suspects Shinji for kidnapping Shimada.

Shimada doing what weebs doing with their waifu pillow, replace the waifu pillow with a stuffed doll. And her being kidnapped is a testament of Shinji's hard luck. Him being just arrested without giving a word. So this is a comedy moment you appreciate?

Speaking of philosophy, also Shinji and Kitaoka's idelology clash in place of Rider fight!

Can we also talk about how Zebraskull seemingly brutalizes a victim? That only gets obscured by a window view. Yeah, Kamen Rider is for kids, totally.

And also can we also talk about Goro being the contrast to the 2nd Kamen Rider Scumbag, after Yui to the 1st Kamen Rider Scumbag (Ren)? Kitaoka hates kids (we don't know why tho), but Goro treats the kid opposite into what Kitaoka does, also contrasting his thuggish looks.

I just think it's weird that he was running for his life a few minutes earlier, and then he's like, what, Hey New Tea Shop? Why didn't he got to his home, where his ass-kicking manservant is? Why not, I don't know, go to a better tea shop? It's just weird, narrative contrivance. He needs to run into Shinji so he just walks into where Shinji is. It's not, like, totally unbelievable, but it was straining credulity in a setting that I already was finding insane.

I mean, honestly? Yui's smiling has been weird before. There's a scene a couple episodes earlier where she's telling Shinji that her parents were dead and she's got this big, beaming smile on her face. It's unnerving. Yui strikes me as a character who smiles to put people at ease, not out of sincere happiness. She see monsters all the time and has since childhood. That's... that can't be good for an emotionally healthy life! It wouldn't surprise me if she has to fake it a bit in social situations, and sometimes that stuff gets mixed up.

Still, I think it's mostly Auntie. Yui had autonomy, she felt like an adult, and then this (well-meaning?) family member comes barrelling in, calling her a thirteen year-old, making decisions on her behalf, and just generally infantilizing her. Your mileage may vary, but, like, family can be grueling as an adult. I love my mom, but by the second day of a visit with her my face looks pretty permanently like Yui's. Older family can't help it, they'll always see you as a kid, but it's so frustrating.

To my mind, any non-primary Rider, any Rider whose name isn't in the title, they're secondary Riders. I don't know that I'd rank them beyond that, since who's getting the spotlight can change a lot through the season. Like, if I was ranking them right now? Kitaoka definitely feels more integral to the show than Ren does.

I mean, yeah, but a) it's not totally impossible that Shinji could be the kidnapper, considering only Ren and Yui are aware of his Rider powers, so he's got basically zero alibi when it comes to anyone else, and b) it's hilarious. I like that this show took a situation like it's hero being falsely imprisoned for kidnapping, and just went, "You guys know he didn't do it, he's definitely going to get freed soon, let's just have everyone dunk on him for a few scenes." Like, I think it's to the show's credit that no one really treats this a serious thing. It's like when Shouichi got arrested as a murder suspect in Agito. Don't insult the audience, play around with the inevitability of this going away.

All of the Shimada stuff was great, yeah. ("Smooch!") I loved how the police carried her and the big stuffed doll out of the shack, like they were both victims. That's the kind of wacky I want from this show.

I don't know if, at this point in the show, I've seen enough between Shinji and Kitaoka to get that impression. There's been some great discussions, but it feels more mentor/apprentice than anything more conflicting. Like, I think we get a moment of Shinji saying "But, what if greed isn't good," that Kitaoka answers with "NO, SCREW YOU! GET OUT! GET OUT FOREVER!" It... you know, it lacks nuance. I feel like we'll get to a real debate in time, but so far we're really in the Kitaoka Show part of it.

Goro's great! That mix of thug looks, manservant presence, and asskicking skills? And he's got candy for sad children? He's fascinating in his complexity. Definitely want to know more about this dude's deal!

Personally I don't think he's running for his life all the time in his life, otherwise it'd be hard for him to even doing anything to enjoy his life or even doing his job (well, he clearly has the best life without issues and has a good publicity), where him going to Atori is just another time trying to enjoy life. Shinji having to call the suits is an indication Kitaoka isn't continuously pursued.

Well, what I meant for weird is that Shinji at that episode felt like it's the first time he saw Yui smile, not her situation. Regarding her situation/putting people at ease, can't discuss/explain this further without spoilers so... leave it.

And that is conditional right, like only happening at certain situation? My pet peeve is that the episode described as "just her personality"/"kind of person she is", which would mean, all the time regardless of condition (ex: Ren scowling all the time, cuz he's just rude, no matter what's the situation).

And regarding spotlight, some thinks Ryuki isn't the actual protagonist....

These 2 are covered a bit more in my full review for the episodes, which was in the "Kitaoka is the tertiary Rider" part.

Glad to see you appreciate the comedy moments that aren't Rider/monsters related, that some toku followers will deem as useless and filler. Just that you have limits regarding that. It's a blessing that the police cares more about the victim, like their belongings too as bringing her stuffed doll.

Unfortunately still loyal enough not to fully help the poor kid that gets attacked by Kitaoka. Though there's a bit of change in the next episode.

But, like, he just escaped those guys. Maybe getting his ass kicked makes him thirsty?

Sure, okay. For Auntie, maybe she doesn't think Yui smiles because Yui absolutely doesn't smile around Auntie. For Shinji, it's weird, for sure.

Oh, man, I love the humor in Kamen Rider when it's done right. Like, in general, I love how many moves a Kamen Rider series can have in it: humor, horror, action, drama, romance, morals, all of it. I like all of those things, I like all different kinds of stories, and Kamen Rider's capable of doing all of them.

There're limits to all of that, though. Kuuga went too hard on Apocalyptic Body Count for me, Amazons got pretty in the weeds on Moral Philosophy, and humor's so subjective that nearly every show's had moments where I'm like Okay Pull It Back. It's about balance, it's about proportion. Shimada going on a date with her stuffed doll, funny. Shinji destroying an office, not funny. I could try and drill down into the whys of it, but I just didn't laugh at the latter like I did the former.

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 10

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki10a.png

Great, great ending to this Kitaoka arc.

Thankfully, resolving the Kitaoka/Shinji/kidnapping thing is really all that happens in this one. It's an all-hands-on-deck episode, with every single currently active character putting in a little something on this plot. It feels like everything's pulling in the same direction on this one, moving characters to where they need to be to keep the plot moving organically. Like, Shimada getting discharged from the hospital just in time to run into Kitaoka (literally, and god bless him for knocking her plush doll, just gonna call it Smooch, out of her hands, staring at her for a few seconds, and then just walking away) so we can find out that he's terminally ill. That could've been info conveyed in a dumber way, a more distracting way, but it came at just the right time in just the right way.

And, hey, we get another piece in the puzzle that is Kitaoka. He's terminally ill, and he clearly expects to be made immortal should he take out the other Riders. There's a thing he brings up, that I'm super into exploring, and that's the Power of Selflessness versus the Power of Selfishness.

Riders, traditionally, exhibit their heroism through self-sacrifice, through saving others at a potential risk to themselves. Ren is fighting on behalf of someone else, presumably. (I figure girlfriend, but maybe it's something else.) He's willing to do whatever it takes for that other person. Kitaoka's fighting for himself, his survival, and he makes the excellent point that fighting for himself makes him stronger than Ren. I don't think he's wrong on that? Fighting for another person you care about, like Ren does, or fighting for strangers, like Shinji does, that's a high-minded goal. That's choosing to put others ahead of yourself. That takes effort and drive and dedication, as Ren has tried to drill into Shinji's head. Fighting for yourself? That's the default. That's baked into nearly every person on the planet. It is natural to want to live, it's difficult to choose not to for someone else's sake. Kitaoka can fight harder because it's his life on the line, the most precious thing to him. (In all fairness, Kitaoka's life is currently the most precious thing to me, as well.) Ren, Shinji, they might hesitate to save someone else, might not go to the lengths they need to. Kitaoka will do anything to save himself. Self-preservation is the strongest thing on the planet. But what Kamen Rider shows presuppose is, what if it isn't? I can't imagine a Kamen Rider show ever suggesting that heroism is naive and we owe nothing to others, that's... why would you even make a Kamen Rider show, if that's what you're trying to say? I'm sure we'll see Kitaoka's Everybody Wants To Live viewpoint tested in the coming episodes, and I'm excited to see how the show disputes it.

I guess I maybe got a sneak preview tonight, though, as Masked Rider Ryuki deploys its most sinister weapon yet: an adorable child with a shattered homelife who can only depend on a good-hearted manservant. Goro and Cub, man, great stuff. Low-hanging fruit, who could say no to those cute cheeks and sad eyes, and the kid generates plenty of sympathy, too, but it's stupid effective. The show does a great job of getting Kitaoka to a place where he'd agree to pay for the surgery to help this kid, but still framing everything as a) just as much about getting this shit out of his life as it is about helping a stranger, and b) something he's so mad at himself for doing. That bit in the parking lot as Team Ryuki confronts Kitaoka over his vague plan to swindle Ren/Auntie and leave Shinji to be monster-devoured while they try and figure out why he'd pay for a stranger's surgery, he wants to leave so bad. He doesn't want to be around some kid, or angry Riders, or crusading journalists, any of it. He completely regrets getting involved and feeling emotions other than self-satisfaction. He's so mad at considering the needs of others. I love it. I love how the show has him perform two heroic acts and he's mortified at them. It's like Kitaoka murdered Kamen Rider Scumbag and he doesn't know how he'll live with himself.

Heavy stuff. This ended way more somber than I'd've expected, leaning way more on real anger, real guilt, and real personal growth. I'm a huge fan of the previous parts of this story, where snarky assholes verbally spar, but they 100% landed this ending, making every character choice seem right and every story beat add up. (No fat on this one! Every scene told the same story, and every character was necessary. Even Smooch needed to be there to get knocked out of Shimada's hands so she'd see Kitaoka!) Just a great, great arc.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ryuki/ryuki10b.png

Well sorry but, it's your fault Shimada, you covering yourself with your huge doll, you can't really see what you're bumping into! Kitaoka's talk about immortal life and his dedication to Rider War came on full circle.

Another running gag also with Ren not only bringing up Shinji's debt, but also raising them up! If this one's not funny enough, it'd be even funnier if you know the reason why Ren raised it up later. Other than that, as previously Yui told Ren to stop being hostile to Shinji...now it's the reverse. I wonder why Ren didn't place the debt into Yui who was the one broke the mirror, with "preventing him to win the Rider War by killing another Rider" as an excuse, which is ironic that he sided with her to gain advantage on War, but she prevents him doing things what Riders are supposed to do.

Tfw, Ren got mocked relentlessly by Kitaoka, with little way to fight back, not even talking back at the end. Plus at home he lays on bed, thinking about Kitaoka's words, about how you shouldn't befriend another Rider (means Shinji)....tsundere detected! He even is the one to suggest to change lawyer, while if he truly didn't care about him, he should pretend to not know anything regarding Kitaoka (as a Rider), letting himself do his plan to take out Shinji while he tells Yui and Reiko it's gonna be ok that Kitaoka's the best lawyer, but when Shinji got guilty at the end, feigned surprised expression that he didn't think he's actually guilty. Also btw, before Ren also made a point about being stronger in fighting when you have a stakes to fight, a good reason to live, like his girlfriend for Ren, which he criticizes Shinji for not having one (and he responds by the 30,000 yen debt to drive him forward). So I think it's not about fighting for yourself but about what drives and motivates you to keep fighting?

Also even if it's misguided, can we talk the cool human moment where Shinji catches Ren's punch to punch Kitaoka himself?!?! Because Shinji deserves to punch Kitaoka more for almost indirectly killing him.

Unfortunately for Shinji and his group, Yukari (that child), prefers Kitaoka group to Shinji's group because of one good Kitaoka act, which is sympathy only for people as ill as him. Yukari only speaking to Goro, but not to any of Shinji's group who are also protective (even Reiko just holds her in her arms!) when Kitaoka kicks her out again (and Shinji who gave her thanks at the hospital). Why I also feel that Yukari seems doesn't mind to lose his father (in exchange of his mother's surgery)...? I know she wanted Kitaoka to bail out her father but, didn't seem to worry further about him at the end of episode.

I also like how when they confronted Kitaoka, there's a balance there that everyone had something to say to him, Ren, Yui, and Reiko. Ren was as hostile as the latter 2 regarding Kitaoka's behavior and how he treats Shinji, now now don't deny it Ren you're a tsundere :p. Goro also fights back more, he insists to say Yukari's request to Kitaoka now even knowing before, and I guess Goro also tried to protect Yukari when Kitaoka kicks her out? (but still far from her). Same goes for when Shinji's finally freed, everyone had something to say to him too. I just hope that there were full team there, with Okubo and Shimada there too (and them saying something to Shinji too for sure).

Shinji's injury from episode 9 comes as an important plot point here, when Shimada and Okubo accuses him again as the kidnapper because that's the same spot where Shimada bit the kidnapper's hand, but Shinji reveals it's a huge bruise to convince them otherwise. I guess it's a good thing he kept his pride up against Yui and Ren regarding this injury before when he came home late this time.

Regarding Kitaoka, as my post here said, I have to also talk about my favorite Final Vent at ALL time! That is Zolda's End of World!! The point of finisher is to use everything you have in devastating result to make sure you totally win. Zolda's Final Vent is definition of that, firing EVERYTHING he has in his arsenal, be it guns, cannons, missiles, lasers, etc. no matter who or what the opponent is. Unfortunately, Knight and Ryuki was only hit by the explosion radius instead of the actual attack (missiles, guns, etc.) due to the Final Vent's slow start time. Still Ren and Shinji should've been careful of what they wished for....

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Yui was the one described it as "just her personality"/"kind of person she is" when Auntie asked her to smile in that episode.