"Doesn't come across as The Best Dude"? wtf?!?! He's literally perfect. The speech about him ruling over everything and being chosen one isn't a hyperbole. Now with him being another asshole protagonist, and moreover, hypercompetent one, I'm afraid (and that it already happened) that it further reinforces where nice people are incompetent, scumbags are competent (where for Hibiki comparison here, you can be one and competent too, but unfortunately people may be irritated and irrationally label them as "mary sue" or "gary stu"). And well, I evaluate people more on how they would act to those that they're less likely to be nice tbh, so in this case, a stranger like Kagami. So he's an asshole; it can happen but it's less common for even those like them to be rude to family member (and in worse case, became actual villain for their sake).

Something that puts Kabuto way ahead of other series is yeah, the visuals. Kabuto prioritizes coolness and spectacle. If it's for action, Kabuto is one of the series that does it best in flashiness. The "well-armed, well-trained crew" are red shirts here, actually dunno, you expect them to be elite killers, but I already expect them even before facing worms as fodders to them somehow. Because the more quantity the less quality... usually ("red-shirt" is the inverse of mooks). Again, Tendou is literally perfect, he can do everything, one of them being defeating Worms with lasers.

Again, from the Blade post, don't judge the superhero program solely by comedy, something that you said you would not feel comfortable. Like about being less light-hearted, addressing darker themes at times can be good, evoking feelings in a sense of despair, grittiness, realism. And obviously, either (anything obviously, which is why not judging by lack of an aspect alone) works only if used right, and no unnecessary utilization. Like for some, comedy can feel, trivializing or downgrading the emotional content (it still depends on context, if it's the audience or the series' mistake in this take). Though yeah, Kabuto is likely, the more serious tone, except when the crazy spectacle can be so ridiculous that it actually brings laughter.

And I'm also saying that, I guess that, to organizational template, you prefer the daily life showings? Well, that's what I prefer too, something that I like within Kamen Rider, and it's exemplified on its intros with the human focus. Some other tokus which are formulaic do take places mostly on their headquarters only. But I do feel that, the hanging base on phase 2 Riders also have that feel, with the headquarters being littered with more science fiction stuff anywhere such as CR or Nascita, compared to the homely main headquarters in the phase 1.

There's other series that doesn't give full suit at episode 1, like Kuuga with Growing Form, and Ryuki with Blank Form. And the total opposite is Blade with the characters already certified Riders doing their job.

For sure! I think it's pretty effective in the first episode at crafting a serious, horror-tinged tone. It's just, that's not what I respond to the most? They did a great job on something I'm not that excited about, if that makes any sense.

I don't know about that. When Kabuto gets silly it gets really goddamn silly.

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 02

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto02a.png

CLOCK UP

First episode with the Kabuto suit, and I think it's a winner. I wasn't crazy about the beetle horn (or whatever) on the helmet when I'd see it in pictures, or on figures. Not a bug guy! But in motion, with all of the bells and whistles, I think it really works.

The process of moving from Husky Kabuto to Kabuto, the CHANGE BEETLE stuff, it's fun to watch. Moreover, it's this nice thematic link to the molting of the Worms, this concept of something more powerful bursting out of its casing. What was a slow and bulky fighter is now lithe and speedy.

And it really is a slim suit. I'm sure it's not any smaller than the older suits (and the dude inside probably didn't get any smaller from the first few Heisei shows), but there's an... elongated nature to it that I think helps the illusion of slimness. That beetle horn makes the helmet more of an oval, and the physicality of the character is more closed-in, creating a thinner silhouette: arms at the sides, legs together. A pillar to heaven.

--

Okay, I talked about the suit, I hope you're all happy, now it's time to talk about what I cared most about from this episode... the depressed teenage girl!

I'm a sucker for melodrama, so you know that I loved that scene of Hiyori sketching a world of comfort and connection while peering out over the destruction of Shibuya. It's shot beautifully, with these tight close-ups on Hiyori as she tries to lose herself in the fantasy she's created. It's a great introduction to her character.

She's someone who has a wound that's become her whole world. She's her trauma, all the time. Seeing someone like that try to find their way back to happiness... I love those stories? I love how Tendou is blunt with her, telling her that her greatness isn't something to diminish or excuse. That story, yeah, it's the one I most want to see explored on this show.

--

It's just, she's currently a pretty minor character compared to Kagami, who I'm realizing now I maybe didn't talk that much about last time?

He's a terrific foil/partner to Tendou. Tendou is all confidence, directness, judgement. But Kagami... he's sort of lame? He's frustrated, confused, desperate to prove himself. He has a nervous, excitable energy to him. It's not the barely disguised self-loathing we've seen in other would-be Riders, it's something more... it's like the opposite to Tendou's story in the first episode. Tendou knew he was destined for greatness, but he didn't know what. With Kagami, he knows what he wants but he doesn't feel like the universe is acknowledging that.

It's a tough role, but I think the actor does a great job with it. It never veers too far into Kagami being a jerk or a clown. He's not great at his job right now, but he wants to get better. He believes in the mission of an organization that may not believe in him. Easy dude to care about.

--

I like that opening song! Lyrically, it's tough for me to follow, but the beat is fantastic. It's the right mixture of propulsive and rhythmic. Plenty catchy, and absolutely suited for a show about speed.

CLOCK OVER

I love the scenes set there, and I like what it brings out of the characters, but... holy shit, another restaurant?! I know, it's a Kamen Rider staple, but it feels so random to have it appear in this episode. The show already has the massive ZECT org to deal with, and the various machinations therein, so suddenly having this little French bistro where folks can hang out... I don't know, it feels like it's dropped in from a different show? It feels like it's from a version of Kabuto where ZECT doesn't exist.

And Kagami having this as a part-time job? He needs a part-time job at a bistro while he's working for a highly-militarized secret organization devoted to eradicating monstrous doppelgangers who defy the laws of physics? I... what?! It feels so forced, and unrealistic. Yes, I am suggesting that the only unrealistic part of the show about speed monsters from space and the superheroes who fight them is that the secret agent works part-time at a bistro, but that's where I'm at with this. I can get on board with every other aspect, but this shoehorned restaurant thing... too far!

And I like the scenes in the restaurant! They are great! But the version of the show set up in Episode 1 just can't make the restaurant stuff in Episode 2 feel cohesive.

--

It doesn't help that there are so many characters and plots to service?

Or, maybe it's not so many (it's really just Tendou, ZECT, and the restaurant), but that each of them feels so bloated, so full of ingredients. ZECT's got a half-dozen unique characters in it, Tendou's got scenes with just his sister, and the restaurant has two or three characters of its own. Unlike last episode's efficiency, this one feels crammed with too much to focus on, and it leads to an episode that I liked in parts without feeling too thrilled by the whole.

It just doesn't come together in a way that worked for me. It felt like a checklist of scenes and characters, rather than a clear, singular story.

--

And, y'know, still not super into ZECT! It's a mysterious organization of nebulous authority (Kagami's like Wait Do We Get To Kill People and Misaki's like Shrug Emoji), and the only part of it I'm really invested in is Kagami. (The bit where he's only excited about recruiting Tendou so that he can boss someone around!) His role, his belief, that's fun to watch and think about. The machinery of ZECT, what they're really up to... ehhhhhh. I'm hopeful that the reveal will be entertaining, but I haven't spent a single second being curious about them. It's very boilerplate right now, and there's nothing that feels weird or intriguing. Dudes in shadows making threatening proclamations, troubling moral ambiguity in the name of safety, a group of monsters that have a grudge against humanity's protectors, etc etc etc. It's fine. It's stock. But, I don't watch shows about superheroes for Stock and Fine, you know?

A QUESTION

Kabuto's suit! His full CHANGE BEETLE Henshin! I dug it. How do you feel about the debut of Kabuto's base suit? Is that beetle crest too much? (I like how it comes up out of the chest and locks in.) Color work for you? (I think the red carapace as chest armor really pops.) What do you think is the best part of the Henshin, and why is it the alarm klaxon that goes off just before Tendou inserts the Zecter?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto02b.png

The horn is what makes Kabuto Kabuto! It makes the suit come together in the same way Gaim's sword crest or Agito's horns do; he just looks naked without it -- and I love what they do with it specifically in relation to the Masked form. First of all, as said; without the horn that form despite the massive armour just doesn't look finished without it and that's such a cool idea. Second, I really like how it goes from a visor - which is arguably more 'realistic' and robotic - to going to two eyes with the horn, which 'realistically' would probably just impede vision, but damn if it isn't cool. Which on the whole is a nice dynamic the two forms have going on -- the main suit is stylish and streamlined and awesome, while the Masked form trades that in for a lot more practicality. It's great!

The way it comes up to bisect the visor and lock in as the final move of the transformation.... I get chills at that stuff. It feels so epic, when the helmet finishes.

There's a great physicality to it, right?

Kabuto’s suit is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen.

And now, this thread’s first example of casting trivia. Two of the ZECT members debuting here, Yaguruma and Kageyama, are both fairly prominent actors in Tokusatsu, and I’m not just talking about the wealth of video game appearances and role reprisals they made after this show. Yaguruma’s actor, Hidenori Tokuyama, would later go on to star as Hiroto Suto/Go-On Gold in Engine Sentai Go-Onger (still one of my favourite Sentai shows), while Kageyama’s actor Masato Uchiyama was previously the Orphenoch of the fortnight when the villains stole both the Faiz and Kaixa belts from Takumi and Kusaka, and since then, he was temporarily the protagonist of Ultraman Nexus (since that show’s gimmick is that whenever the protagonist gets a new form, he chooses a new human partner to bond with just prior. Uchiyama’s character got the pre-final form, Nexus Junis Blue).

I'd tottally buy Kagami working another job. I think adds to his character that this secret agent tasked with fighting against aliens also needs another job to help pay the bills. It fits with his current ranking within Zect as overall from his convo with his superior that he not that high rank.

Conversly I like Zect and I guess overall organizations. I think it fit within Kamen Rider. Though really I would be find with practically anything with Rider tbh.

I loved the whole masked form rider form stuff. Like I said before we have had instances where the pre-debut form was introduced with Kuuga (and Ryuki) so at the time it was fine. Also it made more sense given that he is based off an insect so even if it was a gimmick didn't really bother me. Looking back now it was also a nice reference to(though I am not certain it is the intention) a Ishinomori classic manga/tokusatsu hero called Inazuman, who at first is a cocoon-like form called Sanagiman(Sanagi is Japanese for cocoon) and later breaks from it to be his Inazuman form. As for the rider form suit, one of the most sleek and coolest designs to this day. This is the part of Kabuto as a show that I love despite some of the flaws, really nice clear gimmicks with timeless designs. It was the perfect recipe for an anniversary rider show and nice back-to-basics approach after the experiment that was Hibiki.
Man, I remember just rewinding and watching the clock-up scene multiple times when I first saw it. Could not believe they just took bullet time and made it work for them. That was just insane. And the rider kick? IT DEFINED TENDOU. That roundhouse kick was just so fresh considering all the previous rider kicks were just battlecry-heavy jumping kicks. The 1-2-3 gimmick was cool too cause it felt like him unlocking safety switches. Again, another example where the gimmick worked very well for the show, and this show had no collectibles. :lolol

It just triggers all of that childhood Voltron nostalgia of the transformation sequence: the process, the weight, all of it. There's a comfort to the routine, and an excitement as it gets closer to concluding. Some heroes do it better than others, and I think Kabuto's suit deployment is one of the good ones.

Very cool! Thanks!

It's so weird to say I don't like Organizational Kamen Rider, since I came in through Ex-Aid and the C.R., but I find myself way more into the lone hero/team stuff. (And even Ex-Aid didn't really have much in the way of oversight, at least past the first couple stories.) Just not my thing, all of these support guys and bosses? I like a group of friends (or frenemies) teaming up to defend the world. The more bureaucracy the show inserts, the less excited I am.

And you're right that Kagami working a second job attests to his junior status, but... everything ZECT does is so emergency-based. Why risk one of your few operatives not being available because he's delivering food for a bistro? Working for ZECT (or, really, any militarized organization of nebulous authority) seems like the sort of thing you don't half do. Feels inefficient to have this one guy (who seems to have been given some fairly important tasks!) splitting his time.

I absolutely reposed my FRS Kabuto into a roundhouse pose after this episode. It's a great finisher!

I'm a fan of organisational kamen rider... when it abandons it. This is maybe part of why Blade's first episode is such a killer for me; it builds up BOARD and then just as quickly destroys it and further episodes imply that was maybe a good thing. That's so deeply cool and so deeply Kamen Rider and I love it!

...

Probably not the best thing to hear from Hibiki Lover 7, huh?

I think my favorite version of Organizational Kamen Rider is probably the Kamen Rider Club from Fourze. The idea of a group of friends hanging out on the moon after school and fighting constellation monsters -slash- metaphors for the turbulence of late adolescence... that's the stuff. Flat structure, titles are bullshit (Miu's just like I Am The New Queen Of The Club and everyone just lets her have it), and everyone contributes equally. That's my platonic ideal of How Systems Should Work In Kamen Rider.

So, let's talk Tendou now that we get to see more of him. Tendou is a character that I feel can be very hard to like. His supreme confidence often dances close to the line between "cool and cocky" and "insufferable prick." I like him, personally, but I do so in spite of some very obvious personality flaws. A lot of that I chalk up to the actor. Hiro Mizushima is incredibly charismatic, which helps smooth out a lot of the character's rougher edges. There are definitely still times when I find him to be a lot to handle, though.

Food is a huge part of Kabuto and it's something that will keep coming up throughout the show. It will reach a peak eventually, but it's always a dominant element (and 95% of Jyuka's entire character). The Kagami thing is a fair point, though. I think it exists solely so there's a pre-existing connection between him and Hiyori.

Kabuto's suit is really nice. I'm a big sucker for metallic red and I agree that the whole look is very nicely streamlined. I'm also a fan of the cast-off gimmick, which is clearly something made up for the toys but the in-show implementation really works. Part of the fun of seeing new Riders show up in this series is wondering not only what their suit will look like, but what will the Masked Form look like, too. My only real issue is that I still can't figure out how Kabuto has much neck motion if part of his helmet is folded down onto his chest.

More production trivia! The illustrations for this show were created by Mitsuru Karahashi, the actor who played Kaito on Faiz.

https://i.imgur.com/5pfUMB2.png

Somehow I get the feeling Ishida's favorite part of directing is whenever he gets to tell people to light things on fire. Even if it's only for a few shots, he always seems to find that excuse to go the extra mile.

And because that's his kind of style, it makes all the sense in the world to me to go back and find out that among the laundry list of memorable Rider moments I'm constantly discovering he's responsible for, the inaugural Kabuto Rider Form fight is on him too. The Clock Up shtick was obviously just a genius idea executed brilliantly, of course; I don't think the biggest Kabuto hater in the world would deny that much. It's a visual style that instantly sets the show apart. You hear those sounds and see those effects and you know without a doubt you're watching Kabuto. A big thing any Rider show needs to do is find a way to give itself a unique identity, and few of them did it as effortlessly as this one.

And Kabuto is a character is no slouch either! I think when Takaiwa plays an understated Rider like this, it's arguably even more of a showcase of his skill than usual. Perfectly fitting the character of Tendou, the guy who wouldn't even break out his main form until Kagami wouldn't shut up about it, the overall language of Kabuto is all about moving as little as possible. Deeply ironic for the super speed Rider, sure, but you'll notice Kabuto dodges and deflects attacks with no excess movement whatsoever, and his most dynamic poses are all variations on standing in place. This is especially genius when it comes to the Rider Kick. Despite having such a heavy Showa influence that he's the first Heisei Rider to call out the name when doing it, Tendou refuses to even leave the ground to finish off his opponent. Brilliantly in character for the guy; I love it.

But once again, I find myself having things to say about the show and not so much the episode. I've got exactly one observation I feel is worth sharing – and there were a ton of moments like this in the premiere too – but I really do appreciate how bluntly the show portrays the contrast between Tendou and Kagami, in this case having Tendou bragging about how he only needs call the Kabuto Zecter to make it come to his aid immediately followed by Kagami getting totally ghosted by the thing as it flies off to Tendou instead. Great stuff. Got *this* close to eliciting a chuckle out of me! Still had a fun time though, honest!

Oh, and as for your question, Die... I just can't even get behind your terms here. There's no such thing as "too much" beetle crest, so I don't know why you bothered to ask, and while the sounds are cool, the best part of the transformation is when the armor loosens up right before Tendou flips the switch all the way. It's like the high point of anticipation or something.

What I really love about Kabuto's fighting style is that it oozes finesse and swagger like no other. Even the simplest jabs and motions feel efficient and every hits feel like they do some damage. And this is all from a man who just finished playing a high school kid wizard dressed in red and has a phoenix slapped on to his helmet the year prior. :lolol

I didn't hear about this until you brought it up (thank youl it's amazing information!), but it turns out it's even better. Tendou was inspired by Inoue.

(For the record, this whole anecdote is loosely summarized from an archived version of the old Toei website for Kabuto. It's way down towards the bottom.)

Series planning for Kabuto began with deciding Tendou's personality, and according to Yonemura, the basic concepts were:

• Gifted; puts enormous effort into things, but never shows it on the surface.
• Like an athlete competing on the world stage, considers working hard to win such an obvious, natural thing that he never talks about the hard work he does.
• Never gives out flattery or compliments; blunt and unreserved.
• Doesn't speak using polite language; Most courteous greetings are "hey", and "hi".

All of which apparently greatly resembles Inoue's own personality, which caused director Takao Nagaishi to bring this up to a confused Hiro Mizushima when they first met, although it's specified Inoue was totally not the direct model for Tendou – after all, Inoue insists he's nowhere near that nice.

Those flaws are a lot more prominent in the second episode. There's a forthrightness to Tendou in this episode, where it's his attitude towards the vendors in the premiere, but to nearly everyone he interacts with. It's... it's like he's so disappointed in the world, how it keeps not living up to its potential. When he fights as Kabuto, it's like he's doing it to give humanity one more chance to prove itself worthy of being saved.

When he's talking to Kagami, he's so dismissive of him when he finds out that Kagami is so incurious that he hasn't caught on that ZECT is up to something. It's all first impressions with this dude, which is a ton to live up to.

The thing that makes it work for me is... some of it's the performance, where it's done without any malice (just, like, stating a fact that Kagami is a patsy), but a lot of it is in how Tendou relates to Hiyori. He's so insistent that she understand her own talent. It's that thing from the first episode, where realized potential is a gift to the world, and how important it is to nurture and protect that talent. He's got no time for people who'd squander their gifts, but he adores people who use their genius.

Oh, it's totally just for narrative convenience, but that's the problem? It's a thing that makes no sense (currently) that the show needs you to not think too hard about. Seeing something like in the second episode... rough! Hard to accept!

Some Kamen Rider Die trivia! I completely thought the murdered candidate was played by the guy who played Kaido. (Also, I can't read the name Kaido without hearing it in Kiba's annoyed tone: "KAIDO".)

Are there Kabuto haters? I assume there must be, but the worst reaction I've seen people give this series is Okay But Not My Fave. I'm curious what the haters hate about it, but I figure it's likely to be spoilery stuff.

Clock Up is great. Like the Mirror World stuff from Ryuki, it's a way to break up some otherwise standard fights. (I don't love the evolved monster suits here? Sort of basic?) It uses some pretty appealing effects work to transition into and out of your basic fight scene.

I'm struggling with this, too. If I had to give it a food metaphor, I'd say that Kabuto is (so far!) a well-prepared dish with sub-par plating. The first episode was solid if unexceptional in its storytelling, and the second one has a weirdly high number of great moments that refuse to cohere into a great episode. It's not doing anything wrong (I don't care about the ZECT stuff, but that's a personal choice thing), but it hasn't harnessed what it's doing right.

I've seen Hyper Kabuto, so we'll circle back to that "no such thing as 'too much' beetle crest" later.

For your switch-flipping answer, you are right about it being the high point of anticipation. What I love about that alarm noise, though, is that it's the start of the anticipation. That sound says a monster is going to get punished and then detonated!

I don't follow the second part, but a big YES to the first part. There's a precision to how Kabuto fights, where he doesn't need to fight hard because he's already won this fight in his mind.

All I'm hearing is that Inoue is divinely ordained and that sounds about right to me.

What happened was while Makoto Ito(suit actor for G3, Knight, Kaixa, and Chalice) was being the suit actor for Hibiki, Takaiwa was sent back to the Super Sentai department and was Magi Red for Magiranger, the sentai show airing alongside Hibiki. Basically it was Toei cashing in on the Harry Potter craze at the time by having five siblings fight evil using magic alongside a gold armored ranger wizard who has a lamp for a weapon, and the genie is a anthropomorphic cat to top it off. :lolol
FYI Takaiwa was mainly the red ranger suit actor during most of the mid to late 90s and the year 2000 until he got transferred to the rider department in 2001 to play Agito.

Oh, got it! That is a pretty huge change!

OK still, what do you think about what I said about Tendou here?

I think character's morality depends more on what they do/or will do to people less related to them, for both good and bad guys. What'll they do to, for example, civilians or strangers (taking care of them for good guys, and preying them for bad guys). I think caring only about friends and/or family won't necessarily cut it (if they would care, more apathetic, or outright cruel to others; overall). And so does for bad guys if they only brutalize primarily those that are in their target; like, in Ex-Aid, nthe one that finally made me think Masamune is more evil than Kuroto was him reprogramming Gamedeus to spread the virus to everyone (where Kuroto creates Zero Day, I think killing Lovelica as product discontinue and abusing Hiiro isn't comparable yet).

Not a bug guy? Blasphemy! It's what shapes Kamen Rider, no matter where you personally begin! It's a source of backlash the time a Kamen Rider is made not to sport a bug motif! Jokes aside, I think it's not a big deal for Kamen Riders to be made outside bug theme, unlike for some people there. IIRC, no such thing as an inherent bug theme for Kamen Rider philosophy, it was only something like, "if there's no religion there's Kamen Rider", or "human lives are more important than justice", etc.

Minor? Hiyori's the main heroine for this series. And people being a sucker for melodrama is a common concurence, and no offense, but unfortunately, that contributes to making the world being a harder place to live. Those who love drama is a serious issue in society; because those kind of people try to stir up drama even when drama doesn’t exist, creating a life that others envy even when they must drown everyone in drama, people thriving off car accidents, disasters, or death, gossiping and make up lies to provide story fodders, causing fights and disruptions in order to fulfill the need for more drama, etc. That aside, Hiyori's likely source of depression comes from a clear-cut source, but it's not brought about here. Probably coming from there, her demeanor is rude and quite misanthropic, with her questioning to others why she should be the one to do the job like cooking.

Kagami is someone that you'd expect getting the main character development in this series, some even think that Kagami is the true main character in Kabuto. Kagami is the everyman to Tendou's flawless human, he's idiot, rash, struggling, unlucky and naive. Kagami's the failure hero to Tendou's perfect hero. This is also reflected into something later, but I can't talk about it yet.

Well, he did work part time there, but actually, the main center of attention at Bistro La Selle is Hiyori, she's the waiter there.

Recruiting Tendou to boss someone around... did Tendou rub off on Kagami? ZECT is just something that provides the Kabuto Zecter for... Tendou to use, and they'll hunt Tendou for being outsider who uses their tool without permission. That also shows about Tendou's apathy to something like rules or laws due to his ego being allowed to do anything because he's perfect and can accomplish any task, or at best, him being pragmatic to feel like someone that's capable should be the one wearing Kabuto Zecter and eliminate Worms. Tendou so far feels like having the mindset of a hero (or that he only wants to kill Worm for his narcissistic tendencies, he's another anti-hero main Rider either way) being someone that is never fail or lose; invincible (flawed take if it's the case, or he doesn't care about this), probably ZECT's true concern about the Kabuto Zecter being used by someone outside of its member is not about that, but likely about the Kabuto Zecter being misused for someone's other amusements in a horrific way (e.g. causing destruction), if someone's using that turns out to lack moral decency; regardless of how strong they are (which Tendou boasts himself as); strong person without decent morals is a thug, a strong person with decent morals but the lack of desire to use that strength to serve others may well make a great sportsman, but will be a lousy hero.

I think Kabuto's base suit is one of my favorites among phase 1 heisei, 2nd to Kiva. The design looks sleek and tough. Other Rider designs in phase 1 had some parts that I don't really like, but so far there's none for Kabuto, talking about the base form.

Kagami's rejection is like seeing Peter Parker telling the radioactive spider to make him Spider-Man and reaching out his hand, only to have the spider ignore him and crawl away to bite Flash Thompson instead. :lolol

Kabuto without beetle crest wouldn't be Kabuto. I think the Cast Off gimmick for the ZECT Riders is very cool and I've always had a penchant for superheroes with a focus on speed and agility. Every show has one but this show is all about that. Clock Up is OP, even by today's standards. Kabuto's red works fine, even though it's hard to deny that there were a lot of red Primary Riders in Heisei Phase 1.

I think Tendo's vigilantism is what makes his character so appealing (when he's not being too aloof). A lot of my favorite Riders are chaotic good wanted men like Sento, Ryuuga and Inui Takumi, being pursued by their respective morally ambiguous organizations. Tendo doesn't needs rules to determine his actions, his judgement is Heaven's judgement after all. ZECT's efforts to reclaim the Kabuto Zecter are futile, since Tendo is the one ordained by the Zecter, whether they like it or not.

I'm not sure I completely follow, but I think Tendou's a pretty complicated protagonist at this point. I'm not sure I'd call him an asshole? He's... prickly. The things that usually define an asshole protagonist (let's just go ahead and say Kyosuke From Hibiki), Tendou doesn't do that stuff? He doesn't lie, or belittle, or make excuses, or rant, or push people away, or or or. He's a guy that comes off as egocentric, maybe, but his interpersonal problems are that he's too honest, too blunt, too quick to judge. I'm not sure I'd put him in the same bucket as your Kyosukes or Kusaka.

Yeah, man, I came in through Ex-Aid: this bug stuff is not why I fell in love with Kamen Rider! I'm okay with it, to a degree, but it's not my favorite motif for these shows.

Hoo boy, a lot to unpack there.

I called Hiyori "minor" because that's where she's at in Episode 2? I'm not sure where everyone goes, but I feel okay suggesting that a teenage girl who's in just a few non-action scenes is a more minor participant than Kagami. She's fun to talk about, but she isn't exactly propelling the plot in this one.

To her melodrama... it's a TV show? I think it's okay to enjoy conflict (physical and emotional) without seeing it reflected in the real world. If anything, there's a catharsis to experiencing Hiyori's troubles because it's not real. It's a way of connecting with those emotions in a safe, controlled way.

Finally, I don't think she's being mean to anyone here? The dish that she's making in the back is for her own use, or to share with friends. It's not on the menu but Tendou insists she serve it to him. If anything, he's being mean? Pushy, at the very least. (Which I'm okay with because he's clearly trying to get her to acknowledge her talent, so it's a well-meaning pushiness.)

I'd go Ultra Magnus Trying To Operate The Matrix Of Leadership, but I can't be mad at a Spider-Man reference!

There's a thing Kamen Rider tends to put forward as a message, where you should respect organizations, but always be skeptical of them. It's like the difference between deference and blind obedience. There're frequently these structure that exist that are, like, 80% useful, and it takes a hero to get them to 100%.

Just occurred to me I should probably clarify that I was only speaking hypothetically there? Word choice is one of those things you're way better at than me. Opinions on Kabuto I've seen generally range from "okay; definitely not my fave" to "okay; not quite my fave", so sorry if I got you thinking there's some huge faction of people who utterly despise Kabuto. Or at least, I haven't seen them either. Perhaps if they do exist, they take a page from the Worms and hide among us in secret? :p

People hating on Kabuto would require people talking about Kabuto, and from what I've seen on the boards, that's rarer than most other series :p

Oh, okay, then; I think I get this! So the haters hide in secret like the Worms, and the hardcore fans must just do all their talking about Kabuto faster than normal human senses can register, like the man himself, leaving only the ambivalent masses to occasionally bring the show up. It all makes sense now!

I think it's one of the shows that's just kinda "there." I don't see many people saying it's their favorite, I don't see many people saying they hated it. Doesn't seem to be a show that provokes a lot of passion in people.

How do the Worms molting into high-speed forms fit into this metaphor? Are they haters who grow to love Kabuto, but with such specifically weird viewpoints (Tendou Is Secretly A Plate Of Mackerel Miso) that they're constantly at odds with other hardocre fans?

That's been my experience so far. I love Kamen Rider just as, like, an idea, so I'm probably going to be able to draw at least some enjoyment out of this series. Had it been my first Rider show, though? Uh. Maybe wouldn't be on these boards right now.

Easy! The haters just do their talking about Kabuto at super-speed too, but it's all extremely vitriolic instead! I mean, if nobody can witness your ranting, you're still hiding in secret, yeah?

Indeed, the ongoing battle between these two groups might be going on all around us at this very moment, blocked from view like a particularly toxic social media account...

The funny thing about this is that I remember vaguely from when I got into Rider, back when W and OOO were still hip newcomers, that Kabuto was considered a good gateway show for its appealing mechanical designs and slick action. Maybe someone who's been around longer than me has a better idea if this was any particularly popular opinion or not?

It was a bit before my time into KR but yeah, as I understand it Kabuto was a gateway entry for alot of people. Something that helped it out was that it was the first show to get an out and out dub IIRC.

This reminds me that I saw a guy in a Facebook group (it mostly takes Tokusatsu screenshots and posts them out of context for comedy) say Kabuto was one of three shows he hated purely because they have an obnoxious fan base that puts down other shows that he likes. The other two were Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and Ultraman Orb.

And assholes only come in form of lying/make excuses/rant, push people away like Kyosuke or Kusaka? They come in many form. And for belittle he surely did to others not for family members; like Kagami (he's the series' punching bag but that doesn't negate the assholish acts happened to Kagami; it's actually) for the exact reason that he knows that he's superior. Being egocentric like you said there is a form of assholery; he even had outright god complex, though he's a rare benevolent example in fiction; usually god complexes come from villains in fiction. And to be specific, I'm putting Tendou in the same bracket as the likes of Takumi, or some other secondary/tertiary Riders like Ren, Hajime, Kaito, Hiiro, etc. obviously won't put him on the same bracket as Kusaka lol, dude's an actual villain (those I mentioned there are anti-heroes, which are still good guys)!


Well yeah, for it not being reflected in real world, the place where I read that I didn't bring up here contained a part that discussed about how the reason drama is loved is it connecting with people's emotions; and that reading stories like in books does connect a bit with people's emotions, but it’s a written story without all the real-world dramatics (so, for some it can still be not enough, moreover the "it's just a fiction" stigma), where on the flip side, how emotional will they get when they learn something like a friend's misfortune, while people will feel certain empathy especially for close ones, secretly they may be glad they shared the news with them as well; if they are taking comfort from them, they will feel even more in touch with their own emotions too.

For Hiyori being "rude" I'm talking about how she addresses others as 'omae' regardless of gender and age. Tendou also advised her not to refer her customers with 'omae'. Tendou is of course being mean too there (and you didn't call him an asshole yet?). And note that talking of them as stand-offish aren't criticism to characters.

It is insane to me that, at the time W and OOO were out, people needed a recommendation for a different "good gateway show". That is like having a wide-open door and opting to crawl in through a window.

They do, but I still don't think Tendou's an asshole. He's a jerk, maybe, and insufferable, frequently, but he's also not malicious, which is a core component of what I think an asshole is.

I don't speak or read Japanese, so the honorific (or whatever) was not something I picked up on. I don't know how a big a deal that is!

And, Tendou being mean... I also walked that back by landing at "pushy", but see above! It's more that he's being inconsiderate than he's being an asshole.

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 03

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto03a.png

I think this is the first episode to really come together for me. It helps that it's a fairly light done-in-one mystery, but the big advantage is that it goes all in on Kagami and Tendou as a crime-fighting partnership.

There's a lot more friction than you usually see in a Rider show, y'know? There's this tacit agreement that Tendou and Kagami want the same result, but the actual mechanics of how they each plan to achieve that goal (and the specifics of their motivations)... I mean, these are two dudes who are so not on the same page that they are in completely different books.

The thing is, though, I feel like I've seen this dynamic before on a Rider show? It wasn't until the sequence of Tendou enjoying the mackerel miso that Kagami covets that I figured out where I saw this type of partnership before. The egotistical prick who needs the harried everyman to achieve his goal; and the easily-distracted guy who needs the power of some narcissist that can barely stop rolling his eyes long enough to actually do his job.

It's OOO, isn't it? But if Ankh was the Rider.

Once I realized that, this episode was smooth as butter.

It's a pretty fun story, despite only really having a couple moves. (Boy, if you don't immediately figure out that the Yuki who doesn't talk to anyone and runs away is actually the real Yuki and not the Worm... well, you're probably not a grown adult and thus more likely to be in this show's actual demographic and hi welcome to how weird adults can be about the shows that are made for you.) Yuki's on the run, and Yuki's in prison. Misaki and Kagami are tasked with determining which is the Worm and eliminating it, which leads to Tendou, the law of Conservation of Energy made flesh, just putting the two Yukis in one space to see which one murders the other. It's not a terribly complex setup, which is appropriate for an episode that actually spends more time making a case for itself tonally than the introductory story did!

Like, there's some backstory stuff here (Kagami recaps some details about Shibuya and ZECT, but mostly he's foreshadowing his But Why Heroism story), but the main thing we get in this episode is wall-to-wall Kagami and Tendou, and A THOUSAND PERCENT YES.

I mean, that whole prison break scene! It's Kagami flustered and terrified of getting in trouble, while Tendou's just calmly walking through the police station, living the creed that Being In Trouble Is A Fake Idea. Tendou could not care less about the laws of man, and Kagami is trapped in this conundrum of Definitely Illegal But Getting Results. It's this ridiculous combination of men that somehow, inexplicably, succeed.

It's incredibly charming, and I haven't even talked about the aces action involved in it. Tendou takes out a squadron of cops by using their movements against them, letting their anger and confusion eliminate them as obstacles in Tendou's path. It's thrilling and comedic in equal measures, highlighting how supremely chill Tendou is as he takes what wants. It's, easily, the best action sequence this show has had yet, and it doesn't involve a single rubber suit.

And then they end it with not one but TWO defining Kabuto moments. The first is that Tendou 100% leaves Kagami inside the police station, and then seems slightly amused that Kagami couldn't escape a half-dozen cop dogpile quicker. (Which, how did Kagami get out? Is he actually that good?) It's maybe Tendou having faith that Kagami could extricate himself on his own (and he could!), but I feel like it's not some small part Tendou sort of forgetting to take Kagami with him? I don't think he forgot forgot, but Is Kagami Going To Be Okay was probably pretty far down Tendou's decision-making matrix.

The other thing, though... man. Killed me. Tendou lets the imprisoned Yuki go, knowing that she'll interact with the other Yuki. As Yuki runs off, Kagami runs off after her. Tendou then gets so mad that he has to run as well. So mad! It's the most, like, aggrieved attitude he's had yet on this series. I loved it.

I found this episode delightful. It was really the thing I needed, the spark that the previous episodes missed. There's warmth and humor, but still plenty of danger and foreboding. (Howdy, Ryou.) Mostly, there's a chemistry to Tendou and Kagami that I find addictive, with Kagami viewing Tendou as a Necessary Evil, and Tendou viewing Kagami as a Useful Idiot. This was the first episode that I finished where I was aching to watch the next one.

A QUESTION

While the good/bad split setup isn't sticking around (too confining!), I do still want to keep asking questions for these episodes. The heart of this episode, for me at least, was the mismatched buddy cop dynamic of Tendou and Kagami. There are bunches of other Rider shows with a great core duo (OOO, obviously, but also Build, W, Ryuki, and more); but we've also seen plenty of shows with a more ensemble cast (Ex-Aid, Fourze, Drive). My question to you is which type of setup do you prefer, all else being equal: a core duo or a broader ensemble?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto03b.png

I definitely used to be a Kabuto hater! Well... maybe not 'definitely', I eventually realised it was just "dislike", and very recently it backed down to "I just kinda don't care about it aside from [SPOILERS] and [SPOILERS]".

In my experience it very much stems from Tendou -- fittingly for who inspired him, he's a character you either love or you hate; and for me I just really don't like him -- following on from that, yeah, the people who do hate Kabuto will more than likely cite Tendou as their first reason. Does his personality toe the line between obnoxious and likable enough for you to enjoy him? Does he overstep that line and just become an unshakeably unlikeable asshole in your eyes? Honestly, I'm kinda stunned to have found out Inoue inspired him because writing that out it's amazing how much I'm echoing similar sentiments said about 555.

Fun fact: among those who dislike Tendou as a character? ... Tendou's actor. Don't quote me on this but I think he's actually turned down re-appearances as Tendou for that reason. From what I hear he'd be up for it these days if he wasn't busy with his career in America, but back in the day he did not like this character!

Yeah, that sounds about right! Most of what's in this show (currently) is hard to muster much enthusiasm or anger about. It's a show where ambivalence seems like the natural response... except for Tendou. That is definitely a character you form a real strong opinion about.

Omae isn't an honorific, it's literally one of many ways of saying You in Japanese. It's casual, which is fine between friends, but not suitable for addressing customers. Tendo isn't being mean for telling her not to use it in that way, it's similar to what Keitarou and Mari did with Takumi to stop him being too blunt with customers at the launderette. I hope that was a good explanation.

There are a lot of good dynamics. I like the Best Match of Sento and Ryuuga but I also like the larger cast of Team Faiz & Team Orphenoch and Kamen Rider Club.

Looking back, I definitely do enjoy how much Hiyori does not care about her job, or for anyone, really. It's very reminiscent of Mari but going even harder and I kinda love it!

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

So, right out of the gate, I echo Die's sentiments about the prison break sequence. Absolutely wonderful both for its raw comedy and for how much it illustrates Tendou and Kagami's characters, further refining the parallels thing the show has been doing. Tendou is a character I neither love nor hate (sorry Kurona), but when I see a scene like this, I start grinning, and then when the moment keeps escalating, I start grinning even harder. The first genuine emotion I've felt during this rewatch. Loved how even the very end, with Tendou telling Kagami to show his ZECT's power, makes it clear everything he does is part of the plan. Abandoning him there isn't about disrespecting Kagami; he just wants to test the limits of ZECT's ability to cover strange happenings up.

I also feel compelled to complain about translation errors even though I retired from that at the start of the Blade thread. The instincts just haven't left me, I'm sorry.

Earthly's scrubs of TV-Nihon's subs seem to be the kind that are mostly focused on things like removing honorifics rather than fixing the actual translation errors TV-N so frequently made back in the day. I don't doubt that this is still an upgrade, mind you (you'll see the proof in a second), but I noticed in the second episode some odd choices of phrasing, and now with some straight gibberish in episode 3, it's got me all tensed up. I don't know if I'll be spending the rest of the series doing this, but for now, I wanna set the record straight on a surprisingly important subplot in this episode.

That line up top from Tendou? Not what he's saying at all. He's responding to Juka asking what the new thing he's waiting for is now that the thing he was waiting for in the premiere (becoming Kabuto) has happened, and the response is a call back to the earlier scene of him stealing Kagami's mackerel. Kagami said he'd get Hiyori the best mackerel there is as thanks for making him the dish, to which Tendou enters the scene by replying that he'd better get Matsuwa Mackerel's Marutoku then. This is a reference to a specific (presumably pricy?) brand in Japan that is considered so high quality it's also referred to as "golden mackerel", something Tendou even explains in his dialogue. Maybe half of this is translated correctly.

https://i.imgur.com/vLRRAj2.png

But hey, Earthly's not to blame here, because they've merely inherited the mistake from TV-N, who seem to think there was a pun being made here.

https://i.imgur.com/x3ajiui.png

(Trout is also "masu" by the way,)

And from TV-N's perspective, you know, I feel for them. The show is drawing on something very particular here, and you're not always going to have time to go figure all this out translating a show week by week. Heck, I needed a visual aid to figure out that the "Marutoku" thing was referring to a mark on the packaging that is literally the kanji for special (特/toku) in a circle (maru). As for where I got that visual aid? I'll mention that next time if I have to.

ANYWAY! Sorry for venting on everybody! I don't have much of a good answer for the question this episode. I pretty much always love a good protagonist duo, but some of my favorite Rider shows have them, and some don't, so there's no real hard pattern there. There's obviously merits to either, but I guess I prefer the duos as a concept?