First off, my archived thoughts. I remember this was when I started coming around on the show.

And we see Daiji pick up a red coloured belt, which many assumed he would use when he became a Rider. I on the other hand, though that it was either unfinished or it was going to be a final boss Rider belt, since there was no obvious way to store a Vistamp when transformed. We’ll come back to this topic later (either with me, or probably with En-chan. He seemed eager to voice his thoughts on certain parts of the toyline)

I totally forgot about the real estate guys after watching this the first time. Which caused some minor confusion not too far down the line.

And now for this.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Mammoth!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AbiRMeMmWK0

Bearing giant fangs! Land boss! Mammoth! From the start, it’s a climax!

Ikki: Mammoth’s power grants me a sword and Vice a shield. We can also ride along train tracks in order to do battle much faster.

Vice: Train tracks? What do they have to do with mammoths?

George: Ah, that’s my cue to explain the Legend I based this one off.

Desire Driver: Den-O!

M-Ryotaro: Henshin!

George: Kamen Rider Den-O. An unlucky person with a weak will who just so happened to be a fixed point in time. He contracted with the 4 Imagin to protect the proper flow of events.

Den-O: From start to finish, I climax!

Vice: Hey, a Rider that contracts with monsters? That’s our gig!

(Enter Momotaros and Ryotaro, the latter transformed into Plat Form)

Momotaros: Aha, but can you do this?

(He possesses Ryotaro)

Sword Form!

(Den-O transforms)

Momotaros: Ore… Sanjou!

Vice: Okay, Ikki let’s do this.

Ikki: Vice, I don’t think…

Vice: Orecchi toujou! (Crashes into Ikki, knocking both of them down)

George: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

Momotaros: (waving) See you later!

Ah, episode 3, in and of itself, it's fine. Didn't find it massively exciting, but I didn't hate it at the time.

That said, having looked back through some of my posts on the weekly threat, guess 3 was the episode Vice really cemented himself as a character I did not like. And honestly, a lot of my opinions on him haven't changed since that day.

He's written like a new Momotaros, which in and of itself is fine; the problem is simply... he lacks a lot of the nuance of Momo, replaced with an even more hyper sense of humor and fourth-wall-breaking. Only exasperated by the fact that, apparently, a lot of his dialog is ad-libbed, and boy, do I think that was a horrid idea.

He's written with an expectation that he will be liked instead of actually making him likable or interesting.

And now, to the part that made me dislike him as a narrative tool. That was the episode where I basically was certain he was just spurting out Ikki's subconscious thoughts without any filter, and I hated it. It felt like a lot of the potential mysteries around Ikki and why he is the way he is were just immediately revealed since I can just listen to Vice, which makes Ikki seem like a very flat and boring character.

I derive a lot of enjoyment from a show from figuring characters out their whys, who's, and whats, and this felt like a massive rug pull at the time.

Yeah, get used to this. Characters walking off stage is kind of a consistent thing here, mixed with anything offscreen kinda doesn't exist, which, to be fair, is a normal thing for Toku, but this show is very heavy on it, sometimes to humorous effect, sometimes to annoying effect.

Oh boy... Episode 3, and we already started with some of my critiques... ^^'

As for the Daiji stuff in this episode, at the time, I was interested in it. Seemed like a potentially interesting idea at the time.

So, yeah, all in all, an ok episode I kinda used as a springboard for getting into the first few frustrations I have with the show.

I'm not exactly going to get detailed into toy production, at least not yet, not until it's more obvious.

But I have a lot of things to say about Revice's toyline specifically. Not yet.

But boy will they come.

Now, some more screentime with the other family members except the still hospitalized Yukimi, of which she can still contribute via her wiseness, and I do agree that she's one of the best (actual) parental figures in the franchise, but you'd tolerate a role that is confined into maternal streak (seen as more typical female role)? I do thought that this was a hint of Daiji going on the deep end, suspected similar to Micchy, but actually..... So he indeed does have several issues within himself, but it seems as if it's just him feeling useless while also having a fear about turning into Rider based on Hiromi's experience. And even jealousy isn't necessarily a dark trait if it's played up as it making him merely insecure, and he was trying to get Ikki join Fenix like before, but there's an implication of him having negative trait, albeit expressed mildly too, in him blaming others (as Vice pointed out) in Ikki not signing Fenix for having the girls kidnapped.

Like Daiji's inner demon (figuratively), the established Shiawase-Yu being evicted for the town's urban redevelopment project finally appears here. I guess I was too impatient. Ikki's still provoked by Vice as ever to yell shut up at the real estate agents, and this was theorized as Ikki's hidden dark side to have more sadistic thoughts which Vice exposes (to the audience, unfiltered)... a testament about how there's no limit in what's going on your head, humans can think completely unprovoked there. I had a feeling about the real estate agents being the Deadmans from their slimy demeanor, pulling some political shit of claiming their actions as being done "for the future", which'd make them untrustworthy. Shiawase-Yu did have some success if the revitalization plan outraged the customers then.

George stays suspicious, before he gloats on Hiromi's demotion, and now he trashtalks Daiji for trying to henshin with his previous fear of creating more chaos. Bruh, everything is wrong in George's eyes, what should others do other than getting expected result like Ikki, morton's fork situation that if you try you'd be like Hiromi, if you won't try you'd be like Daiji, and either way you got bullied by him. Wakabayashi's the stereotypical professional and rigid type to forbid any personal feelings in the job, the type to see emotions as weakness. But well, open display of emotions can actually be pragmatically useful if used well, like being done on purpose to manipulate others and achieve the outcomes that one is after, such as lowering the guards of their audiences and earning their trust), or reveal a softer side to them in order to achieve their goals.

It's a depressing and horrific scene of Ayaka's call being outright ignored by her mom Taeko, who favors her celebrity child Miharu, and she's her idol manager too in Koakuma Rendez-Vous. She even claims she drives Sakura and Ayaka only on Miharu's way. Horrific because she's in a kidnapping scene (well less so with Sakura being there, as a longtime friend she probably must've known her martial arts proficiency), otherwise it'd be just a depressing one. The hooded figure at the Deadman's base, there's a heavy implication of it being her, shown in the jeweled sandals the hooded figure wears, which was the sandals Ayaka took at the mall. It'd be a plot twist, of Yoshida not being actually the ViStamp user, but being an unfavorite child can really take emotional toll on them, which makes sense for Ayaka to lash out in form of becoming a Deadman servant. I guess this is a show of how the cruel world can push someone into that I was questioning before, other than people being hedonistic. Another part of her is still unknown as this episode doesn't feature actual resolution, more of a setup, but I'd wonder if she'd be much more attached to either Ikki or Sakura than it seems, as unfavorite child can easily latch onto anyone that shows them affection.

The Deadmans, or at least Olteca and Julio, finally shows themselves on battle, and their difference in strength is noted by Revi in battle. But despite their strength advantage, they'd still resort into dirty tricks to further increase their advantage by using the girls as hostages (still... would be satisfying if Sakura reveals herself in front of the Deadmans, allowing Revice to beat them up unprovoked), as well as Julio lying to Daiji about their deal. Olteca and Julio seems to be set up as contrasts with the former being calm and collected, and the latter being hammy, waiting for the series to peel more of their contrasts. The Deadman bosses aren't 100% cooperative either, with Olteca teasing Aguilera for not showing tears to Giff and her reacting poorly.

Hiromi shows some ferocity as well not unlike Wakabayashi in the last scene... The ViStamp that Daiji took from Fenix...the Mammoth one, for Den-O themed mammoth form... even the intro still had Vice not replicating Momotaros fully, the Rider suit replicating Den-O less than ep. 2 before! It's nice to see more of the previous Rider's implementation other than aesthetics, of the brute Mammoth form being propelled forward by the rail. The finisher of Mammoth form is also my favorite there, with an attack more than just an energized ordinary attack, the shield teleporting the boomerangs and then stacking up to squash the opponent. It was nice to see more of W's Cyclone as well with the Eagle using the wings to form a protective tornado.

For another Igarashi sibling Sakura, it's seen miles away that she'd kick Namio Yoshida's (the thug) ass due to her being martial artist, though she still got 'kidnapped' at the first place due to the reality that, for a normal human, being a skilled martial artist doesn't make you capable of surviving a bullet to the head (and she's far away from Yoshida that time). I'd wish her escape would be revealed to both of the Igarashi family and the Deadman, especially to blow the latter's ego. Her little tolerance has her father also suffer for it though, and even Ikki sort of... praising him as dependable as if he's probably sort of annoying to her too before (not counting girl friendships like her to Ayaka). Genta continues to be a cringy comedic relief with his latest eccentricity being tissue-pulling challenge, and even the hyped scene of him trying to do something regarding the revitalization plan.... being stamping the contact after a hyped scene of him probably punching those agents. So even at this stage, you don't loathe Genta, the loser dad, like you did at Haima?

It's a weird plot that doesn't get touched on for the rest of the episode, but I really appreciated how it illustrated the Happy Spa's (I don't think that's what it's technically called, but that's what was on Ikki's shirt all episode, so that's what I'm calling it) place in the community. Very few businesses in Kamen Rider ever feel like a permanent part of their world. Most might as well vanish into a void after the final episode, along with most of the supporting cast. But here we are in Episode 3, and the whole community rallies around Happy Spa, and fights with all their might to keep Gen from caving instantly. It's a nice scene!

And a nice Stamp skit! Thanks!

I guess I don't have a problem with Vice being a way into Ikki's secrets and inner dilemmas? As Daiji shows this episode, it's a lot harder to fix yourself than just knowing what's wrong with you.

That said... Vice is sort of a lot! He's not my favorite type of character, the one who is constantly at Full Energy all the time. Even Momo got grumpy or sleepy or other dwarfy or whatever. Vice is kind of always screaming? It's generally fine within the context of the story -- and his minimal screentime so far -- but I would not normally ask for him to be on screen.

I don't! I think he's incredibly fun! He nicely balances being a kooky burden to his family with being a sweet, devoted presence. I like how him and Mom Igarashi collectively explain how their kids are well-meaning but a little screwed up. That household definitely feels like one where the kids had to grow up pretty fast to keep things from falling apart (and probably had to raise each other more than they'd've liked), but it was all in service of a warm, nurturing family unit.

I'm not sure how much of it was intentional, but the show really does go all-in on Daiji being the middle child of the Igarashi siblings.

Episode 3 comes out... okay. One major thing that I felt worked against it was having the guy who took the girls hostage talk way too much sense. And while I am overall liking Daiji's' arc, the pacing we've been going at doesn't so the story any favors.

When it comes to this episode's' Line Texts, the screenshots I put together ended up kinda big, so instead of posting them directly, I'll just have them as attachments to this post instead.

I found them to be rather interesting in that it shows, to me atleast, that Vice is thoroughly on Ikki's' side and most likely always has been.

Vice might be goof, but he does have a sense of honor to him. I like that.

Oh, it feels very intentional. I haven't gotten enough from Sakura to completely get her deal, but so far she's a standard youngest child: a little more connected to her siblings than her parents, and a little more likely to do her own thing. Ikki's a standard oldest child: committed to the family as a pseudo-parent, but maybe chafing under the responsibilities in a way he can't articulate. Meanwhile, yeah: Daiji is very much the middle child.

I thought it worked to make the kidnapper someone who wasn't some crazed lunatic, but a guy who feels like he has to do things his way to get what he thinks he's owed. Beyond being more interesting than just some nut with a gun, it ties in nicely to both Ayaka and Daiji's feelings of envy and resentment.

And thanks for the screencaps!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MOVIE

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/moviea.png

Oh, it’s pleasant enough, I guess.

Little (if anything) to talk about, though. There’s no real story to this theatrical short: Deadmans attack, Revi and Vice defeat them, bathhouse, bike, etc., the end. The only real villain arc/plan is a business guy whose name we don’t even get, whose motivation is KILL ALL PHONIES. There’s no specific theme or moral to what goes on. It’s all very Revice Sampler, in its hodge-podge of all the different elements of the series' conception. No full family scene, which makes it kind of a failure for me, narratively-speaking. Show’s built around the idea of family, so if you aren’t going to have the whole family show up even once… that’s a miss? For me, at least.

Otherwise, what’s here is fine. Pleasant, like I said. It’s not the Climax Right From The Start lunacy of the Saber theatrical short from the year prior, which made up for its lack of setup by keeping the pedal to the floor from the first frame to the last. This one just… sort of does its thing, in no particular hurry. There’s no scheme from the Deadmans, so there’s no momentum to bring us to a finale. Just, monsters showing up, and a Kamen Rider defeats them. It’s more about showing off how everything in Revice works, which is still kind of fun. I like the stamps and stuff. That’s a fun collectible for the season, mostly for how the stamp is a thing that represents the household, not a specific person, but also ‘cause they’re chunky and colorful. It’s all entertaining to watch, the Revice of it all.

(I will say that I picked up the DX Revice Driver, and I don’t love it? The stamp pad never seems to look right, is the main thing. It’s always a very faint impression of the Rex stamp, no matter how hard I slam it. Besides that, the rotation of the stamp pad frequently ends up out of alignment, and I’ve got to wrench it back into position, which always sounds incredibly bad for the mechanism. But! It’s still kind of neat to mess around with, when it works close to how it looks on the show. I like the big 5 and big 0. That's super on the nose, but agreeably so.)

(Also, the Drivers on this show are frequently shown to reside in an empty PC case, which always cracks me up. Did George just have that case lying around? Is Fenix partially sponsored by Newegg? The most intriguing mystery for me this far!)

It’s a trifle, this pre-show theatrical advertisement. It’s not trying to tell a twisty story, since there’s not even a show to twist yet. It’s a slightly more plot-heavy version of the Transformation videos that exist alongside DX Driver on-sale dates. But, within those parameters, it’s solid enough. The Decade-flavored suits are good, even if Vice forgot to do any of the Tsukasa catchphrases. Nothing to talk about narratively or thematically, but a pleasant enough viewing experience.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/movieb.png

Very much a day in the life of Revice here in terms of vibes of this.

This is also accompanied by a Manga from kinda Daiji's perspective (mostly a few word bubbles while the rest is stylized recap of the theatrical special).

This is an interesting and fun short purely for the fact that we don't actually get any of these for Rider? Like this is very much a demo/test run of Revice and it gets a lot of things right off the bat in terms of general aesthetics and such. Very much a template for a show they had yet to film and wanted to show alongside Super Hero Senki.

Not much else to say here but uh... here's our proper debut of Megalodon form, Remix and all. And given Megalodon shows up, we can only assume sometime after this is where the Saber Special Episode takes place.

Fenix is sponsored by NZXT, thank you.

Anyway yeah, this is very much just a sampler platter for Revice, and for that, it's fun. Vice and Ikki are both pretty on point in terms of their personalities for the most part, the gimmick is shown off, the works.

Somewhere between Kamen Rider Revice: The Movie and Saber Special Issue, Vice learns about fart jokes. If only I was still writing fanfic!

Mostly? I sort of still can't believe they didn't bother getting the whole family together, which is like pitching Den-O and not including the train. We get a scene with Ikki and Daiji, and a scene with Ikki and Sakura (sort of), but I just think the magic doesn't happen until all of those characters are in one room together. With the parents! The parents are sort of crucial!

So your Revice Driver’s pad probably isn’t working because it’s a magnadoodle, which have a tendency to stop working after about a year. It was one of the pre-show gripes people had (along with the casting for Vice and the Legend Rider motif for the forms)

So yeah, the Revice pilot. It’s based off of earlier plans for the series, which leads to some oddities.

The FENIX captain who failed to become Revi doesn’t appear because at the concept stage, he was intended to die in the attempt. But since they got an actor who’d been trying since 2013 to be a main Rider, they felt he?d be perfect for a regular version of that character and the idea subsequently never made it to scripting.

Olteca appears entirely in his monster form with his voice disguised because originally, he would’ve had a cover identity as an unlicensed doctor, ala Taiga. Similarly, Julio would've been a police officer using his position to cover up the existence of the Deadmans. Aguilera on the other hand, would’ve lived her life entirely within the cult, plotting to destroy both FENIX and the entire concept of family (due to her parents having died as part of the Vistamp experiments)

The Spider Deadman here was later reused as the Batta Deadman in Saber’s epilogue.

This is where I forgot about the realtors, but to be honest, it had been a month since I’d seen the episode and this made it seem like they’d be a major part of the show.

And Ikki back-to-the-futuring out of a photo. Keep an eye on that.

Uh, good gripe! Sort of a bummer that a brand-new DX toy from last year is already compromised, and destined to only get worse. Fun lesson for children to learn!

Thanks for the info! I didn't know the specifics, but, yeah, it seems like a few things that the show opted not to go with, or not to make a big deal out of. Sakura doesn't seem to know that Ikki's a Kamen Rider, which the whole family is aware of in the series. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Igarashis were supposed to all be orphans at this point, rather than just losing their mom in the premiere.

But, y'know, I like how flexible these shows are allowed to be? I like that even a few months before the premiere, with most/all of their cast and sets in place, they felt like they could pivot to a different idea. That's a plus!

I mean, I just assumed this was a tease for Beyond Generations?

Die, you just reached your 5555th post, on the 55th post in this thread, after you watched the movie that the Faiz-themed Vice Ptera Genome shows up in. Did you plan this?!

The main thing I remember about this is that it sat in my unlatched tokusatsu folder for about six months before I eventually decided I was never going to watch it and deleted it.

I don?t know if this is just me hearing more about Revice, less about some other series, or both, but it feels like Revice is the one show that comes closest to OOO in terms of scrapping its original plans and just making shit up as it goes.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz03b.png

Ha ha, plans. In these threads? You're hilarious!

I was reminded recently how much Fourze took its original Kamen Rider Urban Legends plan and buried it on the moon. It crops up in movies and side projects, but never really gets referenced on the main series.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 4 - “LACKING LOVE BIRTHS DANGEROUS DEMONS”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/revice4a.png

Family are the people who can love you the most. Family are also the people who can hurt you the worst.

There’s a neat complexity to the beginning part of this episode, where emotions and relationships are allowed to be complicated: Daiji resents Ikki’s lack of focus as Kamen Rider Revi; Ikki chafes against Daiji’s value system and selfishness; Ayaka resents her sister’s primacy in their mother’s eyes; Ayaka’s mother is maybe doing a not great job of caring for one moody teenager and one pre-teen celebrity, but is mostly just guilty of some slight inattention. It’s a group of characters that all have valid reasons to be upset, but also are all lacking in the empathy that would let them consider someone else’s feelings. It’s messy! I like a messy storyline where everyone’s a little wrong!

The problem with a messy storyline on a Kamen Rider show is that, nine times out of ten, there needs to be a good guy and a bad guy; things need to flatten out for a clear victory with a side of Rider Kick. What starts off as a nicely nuanced exploration of differing perspectives and emotional needs within a family structure just resolves into Ayaka’s Mother Was Wrong and Ikki Signs With Fenix. It’s two characters subsuming their own needs into what’s best for someone else, rather than anyone collectively learning to respect boundaries and/or prioritize self-sufficiency. In a story that desperately needs to end with a middle ground solution, we’re left with two winners, and two losers.

And even the solution… it’s just Love Them More? It makes a little more sense for the clearly troubled Ayaka than it does for Daiji, but both conclusions feel rushed and somewhat myopic. Ayaka’s got a sister that she imperiled, and a mother who (based on two episodes of appearances) is raising both of these kids solo. I don’t know if Ayaka’s mom is who should be at fault here? And Ikki’s asked to set aside his own convictions (reasonable ones!) to pick up Daiji’s slack and support Daiji’s goals, which is maybe not a great long-term strategy for resolving Daiji’s mood swings. I can respect Ikki opting to put in more energy to meeting Daiji’s demands as Ikki always sacrificing for his family, but alongside the Ayaka stuff, it’s a disappointing solution for a legitimate dilemma.

In the periphery, we get some interesting exposition from the Giffamilia, where the types of monsters (and their scarcity) gets detailed, and Aguilera gets a little scene to emphasize that the enemy group is also a family. It’s not really a ton, and it’s maybe only a few degrees more interesting than the Book Club ever was on Saber, but the Giffamilia is intriguing enough to not write off yet. (I mean, it helps that Aguilera’s performance is so goddamn magnetic. There’s a seductive exuberance to her threats, and a performative petulance to her impatience. She makes such neat choices as an actor!) There’s also George’s robust Kamen Rider collection, which strangely goes unremarked upon, but I’m sure we’ll get there soon.

Overall, I thought this one was a miss. The show reached for an emotionally complex problem, and then solved it in the flattest, least-complicated way possible. Hopefully they’ll get back on track next time!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/revice4b.png

Aguilera's actress originally auditioned to play Sakura, but the producers passed on her because she was too old. They cast her as the villain instead and - I will keep this vague here - ultimately ended up doing a lot more with the character than they originally planned to.

For my part, I'll say that she ends up being one of my favorite characters and the focus of my absolute favorite episode of the season.

TL;DR: This episode struck a nerve with me and I ended up disliking it immensely.

Fuller thoughts: Episodes like this really showcase the problem with this show's' pacing right now. While I liked a decent chunk of what they were going for, alot of it is marred by things just kinda getting glossed over. Also, I do not for one second actually believe that Ayaka's' mother actually loved/cared for her. Awful parent.

No Line Texts this time since they're very standard in terms of Vice making jokes and Ikki telling Vice to stay focused.

While I know you're wary of the Giffamilia compared to the Book Club in Saber, I can say without a doubt that the Deadmans are a better evil organization, in terms of both flair and singular characters.

That being said... didn't care much for this episode back then and now, and it's mostly because of the mom.

The action sequence is a notable one for me purely because of how bad the CG City they're leaping around in is at points. Also Ptera is Faiz... I guess? Well not like we'll be seeing it that often probably.

I mean, Ptera is the hoverbike and considering Toei's real lax with bike scenes do you really think they'll take the time to do hoverbike stuff constantly?

If the villain stuff works at all in this Throw Monsters At The Wall And See What Sticks stage of things, it's down to the little bits they give Aguilera. They definitely were smart to expand her role!

I don't know that I hated the mom that much? It's a pretty massive swing the episode asks for, and predicating it on Ikki being like What If You Told Your Hostage-Taking Daughter You Were A Jerk (he's a definite busybody!) is kind of nowhere as a turn in the story, but I thought... like, I thought the mom was maybe just not super good at juggling two kids, and probably had more fun with the younger daughter. That's not great parenting! But it's human in a way that the end of this story wouldn't allow for. I think a story where the mom was trying and failing would've been more interesting than What Older Daughter straight to I Would Love You No Matter How Many Siblings You Dangled Off Of A Roof.

The CG is so bad! It maybe somehow got worse from Saber, and that's not exactly how technology is supposed to work? But, yeah, terrible chase sequence. Jesus, terrible.

And it's so weird that they went to the trouble of commissioning an actual hoverbike, then let its onscreen debut consist of CG and composited shots. What is even the point of it, then?! You might as well get the bicycle back from previous episodes!

So to start with, this was an episode I gelled slightly with…

Speaking of what Olteca and Julio are, the designer confirmed that the whole idea behind the Phase 2 Deadmans is that they look like a different animal to what the stated motif is, as a reference to the Judeo-Christian devil, who is supposed to be a lion, but resembles a goat.

And here we go.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Ptera!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gWtWjpjmIdU

Updraft! First Class! Pterosaur! Ptera! Flying by! Complete!

Ikki: This stamp allows Vice to transform into Rider Machine Vice. This allows us to fly high and move across vast distances easily.

Vice: So, you can finally call yourself a Kamen Rider. As for me, I’m stuck as a guy with no mask or ride.

George: No-one cares. Let’s talk about today’s Legend.

Desire Driver: Faiz!

Standing By!

Takumi: Henshin!

Complete!

George: Kamen Rider Faiz, one of three belts created by Smart Brain to protect the king of their own genetic successor to humanity, the Orpheus Enoch, or Orphnoch. The main user was a Wolf Orphnoch, Takumi Inui. Though he had no dreams of his own, he fought to protect those of others.

(Vice is now being handed tissues by Auto Vajin)

Vice: I know man, it’s just so painful.

Ikki: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

I could use this episode to talk about pretty much my biggest gripe with the show and the core of what I think it screws up, but I’ll get plenty of chances for that anyway and seeing it repeat a few times won’t hurt.

So, let me instead talk about something I really enjoy about this episode.

We never knew the Phase 2 was gonna be a thing. It didn’t show up in any Scans or promotional material, so it was a legit surprise! And I loved it when it happened, especially since the Phase 2‘s designs are all great, compared to how meh I am on the Phase 1‘s.

So, yeah, great surprise!

As a show with family theme, now Ikki faces an opposition of, the opposite of how his family get along, which is a dysfunctional family. Though I wonder how actually close Ikki to Ayaka (Oketani, not Imoto) before if Ikki doesn't seem to know fully about her dysfunctional family. I know that the parental favoritism had happened since long ago, though probably it can be Ayaka hiding to Ikki about her family or such. Still though, tfw Sakura's portrayed by Ayaka Imoto, and that she's a karate practicioner, and that she had a friend named Ayaka, and that Ayaka (the character)'s actress Seiko Utsumi was the one that is stated to be able to do karate irl...

So the claim of Ikki protecting family is meant to show that he's the type of the person to not skipping steps, as you said, heroism starts local and builds global. Him prioritizing to protect family doesn't mean that he wouldn't care about others, for his case it's about knowing that he won't be able to accomplish everything, and it's not that all realistic to expect himself or someone to alter the whole world or its interlocking systems altogether. I'd think it's good to show that realistic doesn't mean negative traits, where the right way should be caring about family (or any loved ones) while being ok to be apathetic to any others, probably due to some audience trying to use fiction as fantasy escape, to live freely without regard of society around, wanting to only care just about certain things against the society's expectation to care about others. It's a nice mix of realism and moral, that Ikki is grounded and focuses on what he thinks he can like his family priority, but doesn't mean that he won't have the decency to help others if he can, where he said it himself that he'd be there if Deadman shows up. Kamen Riders aren't omnipresent though, the location of the Deadman needs to be told to him, which Fenix would have more... and that'd mean Genta is.. useful for this!

The strife between Daiji and Ikki did happen, but though you depicted the previous episode of how unheroic Daiji is, and that there were people making dark speculations about him at that time, actually this shows that Daiji is one of the secondaries who is straight up heroic from the start, like Rintaro before. Good guys can be at odds with each other, not that one must be good or bad. Daiji gives me an Ichijou vibe here, he believes in the serious duty of the soldiers (Fenix) to protect the people, which'd mean not letting civilian with no real aspiration get involved, even if they have superpowers. Though that's the reason of him trying to get Ikki join Fenix so he'd be an actual part of the group having a actual public safety role, Ikki has impulsive nature of acting before thinking, and that Fenix is more well-equipped to do the job of fighting off Deadmans and especially tracking them down - while Ikki only goes fighting when he learns of the news, more passive. Ikki now did have more commitment to become the Kamen Rider that would keep the citizens safe, like how Yusuke gains Mighty Form after being more committed, which is how they make amends at the end of the episode.

For Ayaka one, it'd be the opposite, it's about how both sides can share a portion of faults and that not only one side should be held accountable, which can happen to only solely blame the shitty parents, like Taeko, for how the child ends up as ignoring the child choosing to commit atrocities themselves. I didn't expect her revealing herself openly in front of others instead of keeping herself concealed with the shadowy cloaked outfit (outside of the sandals, which she keeps as civilian). Though yeah she has had a miserable life, her actions also have harmed others like those who watch the concert, which means she's still hold accountable for her actions here which are her own choice. Notably Ayaka's the one to escalate the Deadman threat as well of signing a contract, giving the debut of Phase 2 Deadman, with teleporting ability, and it seems that they're more sentient compared to the beastly usual Deadman (and I guess explains Revi holding Kong Deadman Phase 2 in place), and I got what I wanted of Deadmans showing a further corrupted version of the ViStamp users (Ayaka wanting to torment her mom).

Taeko's a grounded take of a shitty parent of her deflecting blames and giving excuses of her actions to Ayaka, instead of a very over the top practice (blatantly abusive) that my country's TV show is rife of (and Yuka's treatment in Faiz reminds me of many of what my country airs instead), doesn't mean she's less despicable of having more subtle abuse (depending on the people, can make them more slimy with her vagueness, even if the over the top abusive one can cause more damage). She's also probably the type to crave fame (standard human... vice) to favor the child that can take her to that, Miharu. Though still Miharu's personality was never really shown, like how, only very small thing like reminding her mom that she'll be late in last ep., probably showing that she's dismissive of Ayaka too, but also takes her idol career seriously (instead of being pressured).

Yeah, Revice has solid first half, but this was the part that I hate the most among it. The resolution is though... uhhhh... the usual extremely quick "everything's instantly fine" due to it not being the focus of the whole series and it only being 2-parter, that Ikki simply convinces Taeko to make up with Ayaka, without any substance (or they show too little via only flashbacks), I mean other than it being done too easily, there are no plausible reason for Taeko to suddenly change for lifetime behavior, when even after the Kong Deadman's rampage, she's still concerned about only Miharu's well-being. It can be to protect herself and Miharu for Deadman's rampage for example, but it's not addressed. And even after they make up, it shouldn't be about how the family's instantly fine now, there should be also the fallout that have to be dealt by them due to the mom's shitty upbringing. It's probably a rather easy choices/solution too of freeing people of being contracted to Deadman just by beating them in battle, when it's presented as something someone can't turn back against (or Taeko convincing Ayaka that she won't care how she looks like, and Ikki previously trying to reason with Ayaka instead too). Though this still shows that George is utterly chaotic, presenting the solution of Rider Kicking them with glee, thriving on violence albeit the end result would prevent further violence. I hope Geats won't go this route with the abusive parents angle.

The one who convinces and signs Ayaka's contract, Aguilera, finally goes to the scene here directly, in a different outfit. I guess they saved her for bigger stuff compared to Olteca and Julio before, of being the one to present contracts and Phase 2 Deadmans. Like the other 2, she also persuades the ViStamp users to do her bidding, and though she carries it in a calm and affable manner like Olteca, there's still obvious maliciousness behind her smile and joy she presents to others. It's a show about how upbeatness can turn someone menacing instead, and it'd portray Aguilera's complete ego to accomplish tasks without much effort, which means she won't treat others seriously, constantly taunting others, potentially to create a demon out of them figuratively, knowing that they won't stand against her power and/or charisma. Seems similar to George's style of speaking, and probably would be the evil counterpart to George in that case, if George is a good guy at the end anyway (him in this episode responds to Daiji's request more seriously, to guide him to update instead of mocking him). She'd even literally step on others (obligatory "I wish it was me in Ikki's place") as if they're not there...

The Ptera form's special ability seems to be the Rider form that provides a huge vehicle, while the Rider itself didn't have many other than hopping around. The CGI's still questionable, but that applies to all KR series. The fight still portrays the monster's menace well though, with the damages from the rampage of Kong Deadman Phase 2 being prevalent. The finisher, again, seems to be the Ryuki type (Alternative's Final Vent) where your vehicle spins rapidly in impact to the opponent. Though the Faiz motif seems to be shown in Vice being a vehicle (like Auto Vajin), not much of Faiz-motif abilities like Mammoth's rail before though, probably the super-speed like stuff to save Miharu that resembles Faiz Axel. Speaking of Mammoth, the AoE capability is used well here to take out the swarms of the Giff Juniors at once.

Thanks for the fun and informative skit!

I... didn't love the Phase 2 Deadman? It's a little Showa in how furry and creepy it is, which isn't my aesthetic. Also, the Phase 1 version was an origami gorilla in a little vest! That's brilliant!

I think it's reasonable to write off some of this stuff without needing to have it explained to the audience. Fretting over a daughter who made a deal with a devil is probably going to take a backseat to fearing for your life and the life of your youngest daughter.

But, yeah, it's not a great episode for really delving into the home life of Ayaka in anything other than broad strokes and darkly-comedic favoritism. We can intuit that the mom was doing a worse job than she thought or intended, but it's still a big leap to get to that finale.

interesting, and hilariously, I feel the same way about the Phase 1.

I like the idea behind origami, but... It kinda doesn't work?

The Phase 1's look like Sentai monsters to me, in the worst way. They look gaudy, fake and just don't feel like actual creatures to me in a way Rider Kaijin usually do.

Even as artificial as the book on the Megid looked, it still felt more like something that fits in that world more than the Phase 1's. When I look at a Megid, I see a homunculi abomination made out of a book; when I look at a Phase 2, I see an eldritch, demonic twisted animal.

The Phase 1's feel like weird, colourful origami awkwardly layered on top of something more primal and subuded. It clashes in the worst way for me.

That's the thing for me, though: I want them to look gaudy and a little fake. Like, I'm not at all disagreeing with your descriptions, but the aesthetic payloads are reversed for me. I way more into a monster suit that looks like a monster suit, rather than looks like a monster. Luckily, this show is giving us both!

I think the differences between Phase 1 and 2 are kinda clever tbh, now that we have the Phase 2's and Phase 1's established I can kind of get into something that I thought of while reading this conversation at work today.

And that's how the paper/origami style to the Deadmen kind of are like almost a cocoon in a way. Each Deadman and Phase 2 both share similar legs, though Phase 2 obviously gives a bit of extra details to show evolution. But in a sense it's like the Deadman itself is shedding off the paper exterior now that contract has entered a more tight agreement. So they gain a more humanoid/demonic appearance as opposed to the Phase 1's more exaggerated looks.

Honestly though, Gorilla Phase 2 is honestly my least favorite in terms of design... it just, feels a bit too generic to me.

That makes sense! Thanks for the description!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 5 - “WORLD-CHANGING RIDER! WHO’S THE TRAITOR!?”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/revice5a.png

God, I thought this was just exhausting.

It didn’t come together for me on just about any level. I don’t care about Fenix Wrong and whether or not he’s the Vistamp thief. I don’t care about a pranking YouTuber and his doting grandfather. I don’t care about the wisp of a subplot Sakura is given, that never develops into anything. I don’t care about the less-interesting two-thirds of the Giffamilia showing up for a pointless battle. This one… god, I just didn’t care at all.

Its structure does it no favors, that’s for sure. We’re immediately neck-deep in Fenix drama, despite a) Fenix being nothing more than a SHIELD knock-off that’s primary mandate is to hector and belittle Daiji, and b) our main Fenix character for the story being the guy who gets knocked out in Episode 1 and hasn’t appeared in a substantial scene since. There’s no way into this story for Ikki – the main character of the show, who we actually care about – and not even that much for Daiji, someone we’ve grown to enjoy seeing hectored and belittled. Fenix isn’t anything to value yet, so why should we care if it's under siege from spies and saboteurs? Daiji’s story ostensibly is that a workplace can become a pseudo-family, but there’s no warmth or support in Fenix to see it as anything other than a gigantic hassle for characters we actually want to see succeed.

And the story around all this… it’s not much? Ikki chafes under helping people with their problems, which is unique for a modern-day Rider, but sort of a bummer for an episode that desperately needs a bit of heroism to invest in. I generally like that Ikki’s stories and motivations are so hyper-focused on Protecting Families, but it’s all vaguely unappealing when there’s more story to tell than that. Masao could possibly be a nice way to talk about how heroic motivations take different shapes, and a focus on them to the exclusion of basic empathy is a danger, but Masao isn’t enough of a character to spark a debate around. He’s a prankster who’s allegedly trying to bring attention to corporate malfeasance and mistreatment of workers, but he’s also filming a YouTube prank show where he lets a Deadmans rampage through a lobby? And we have no idea why this means anything to Masao in the first place? He’s just doing murder-pranks, and then realizes that his grandad misses him, the end. It’s a story that never starts anywhere, and never goes anywhere.

Even the fight at the end is this weirdly perfunctory Revice Vs Giffamilia thing, where we know that the kaijin aren’t the culprits, but we have to get through the fight anyway. (Also, the plan to flush out the traitor is both incredibly stupid – everyone in Fenix knows this plan is to flush out the person in Fenix who’s a traitor – and somehow maybe actually effective in its goal. It’s stupid, but kind of commendable in its stupidity.) It’s a fight that’s not furthering the story even a little, since the culprit – Kamen Rider Live or Evil, I don’t know which one is which yet – is just going to show up at the end regardless. It’s boring, just waiting for the conclusion.

I thought this whole episode was so boring, you guys. Sakura’s scene with her mom was halfway okay, and Aguilera being like Wait Is This One Of Our Schemes was cute, but everything else was drawn from a version of this show I desperately want to quit. Nothing was character-based, except for the parts based on a character that’s either mysterious or a red herring or a cipher. I found this to be a grueling installment of Revice, and I hope it never gets worse than this.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/revice5b.png

This is a weird one-off episode plot, I mostly say that since well... our Deadman Dude for the episode is very thoroughly wrapped up in this singular episode.

It's an episode that wants to push the main plot but still needs a MOTW story to happen/we need to show off the new Genome that's on store shelves. It's main purpose is just to sow the seeds of our new mystery paint Kamen Rider.

There's some fun choreography bits, but it's overall fairly standard. That being said, I do want to talk about designs this episode.

Not Revice Kuuga Genome though, again, most of Revi's genome swaps mostly blend in together and that's mainly because they're the same coloration as his body but mixed up/they only usually change the upper body from what I recall. W's stands out so much purely because they had to nail the two half aesthetic alongside the coattail and big eagle chest piece.

Oh wait, guess I did talk about Kuuga Genome in a roundabout way.

Anyway our new Rider has a cool splatoon paint splatter motif to him, I thought that was cool. And I also dug the Lion Deadman, there's just something about the way the colors work and how the mane looks like a pinwheel that makes me remember him more than the other Phase 1's.

Oh wait, right. That scene with George and the Rubber Chicken. Absolutely random but I have a video saved of that... for what usage? Literally no idea but I needed a video of that saved.

George and Fenix hanging out at Happy Spa should've been so good and weird and fun! Instead, it's barely a scene, and the major thing that happens is that Daiji freaks out and almost shoots George in the face for no reason! I don't like this episode's choices!

(I mean, the reason is possibly that Daiji's lack of sleep is his demon going out and doing weird things, and now he's out of his mind, but I guess we'll find out for sure next episode.)

Well, this was the last episode I typed up thoughts for back in the day, so I’m going to have to remember my initial thoughts or just start making my own analysis of the episodes while discussing BTS info.

From what I’ve seen of the fandom at the time, pretty much everyone believed it was “Failed Henshin Oji-san”, as he was called back then, based on that one scene of Daiji holding up a completely different belt to the new guy’s in episode 3. Which just proves how much people read too much into these things, since I did point out I doubted that would be a regular release when I first saw it in out of context pics.

Anyway, the new guy. More thoughts on him later, but I will say, he is our secondary, despite what you end up thinking later on.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Lion!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BIxQ648zA3I

Roar! Get on! Wild beasts’ king! Lion! Watch me! This is my… cry!

Ikki: The Lion Genome can give us the power of fire to seriously burn the enemy.

Vice: It’s a super hot Vistamp.

George: Yes, super hot! Just like this guy.

Desire Driver: Kuuga.

Godai: Watch me! This is my… Henshin!

George: Kamen Rider Kuuga. A Rider from ancient times revived in the modern era. With the power of his Arcle, he took on the malicious Unidentified Life-form, Grongi. I hope to create a Rider that surpasses his power someday. But right now, my strongest effort is…

(The door breaks down, revealing the Mysterious Black Rider)

Ikki: You again! How did you get in here? Only FENIX staff have clearance to enter. (The figure starts making gestures with his hands) What’s he doing?

George: Oh, I deliberately omitted a voice filter from his Rider System to avoid any prolonged reveals. But it seems he’s using Japanese Sign Language to enforce one.

Vice: I’ve got the gist of what he’s saying. “Kamen… Rider… Revi… and… Vice…” Hey, that’s me! “Prepare to… truth”. (The figure slaps his face and makes the signal again) No wait, he’s saying “die”. “Prepare to die.” (The figure gives a thumbs up, before signing again) “We… hope… you… enjoy… the… next… piece.” (The figure growls and smashes a vial, causing a poorly rendered explosion, which clears to reveal that everyone now has a face full of soot, except for the figure, who has vanished)

And to give my own production notes, the Mysterious Black Rider not being referred to by name, speaking in a variant of Japanese and creating a PS1 quality explosion are all meant to reference the Grongi.

Kamen Rider Evil's identity heavily leans between 2 of the Fenix members; either it's Hiromi who stole the Lion and Kong ViStamps. Or it's Daiji, who is seen having more pragmatic ways in accomplishing the job such as using the (now-redeemed) Masao as a bait. It probably explains how he's hesitating to henshin into Revice before, and his paranoia seems to be right that he probably won't be able to control his demon either. Though the new scans show Wataru Hyuga in black outfit at that time. George stays shady, though consistent, he's been shown as chaotic person in ep. 1 when Revice appears, but now he's exhibiting insane behavior just like Kuroto or such, wanting to snap the traitor's neck with much joy. About a guy who gets knocked out in episode 1, you refer to Hiromi? In Kinoshita's (the writer) tweet, Hiromi was actually intended to die in episode 1, but the actor's performance impressed to have them keep him.

The victim of the week Masao, is made as an antithesis to the ViStamp featured in this week Lion which has Kuuga motif. Masao is a dark take of Yusuke where both wants to make others smile, but Yusuke actually has proper moral compass to go through it, while Masao isn't, only having the intention. He seemingly only targets slimy bastards with Lion Deadman, which for some people, they can think it'd be good to target deserving ones for murder-prank. Fortunately, Revi had it easy for redeeming him, Masao seems to be someone who doesn't know better (he's so young), instead of a self-righteous radical believer that is much harder to convince, so some explanation would quickly make him realize. As Yukimi says, good intention doesn't matter if they take things too far, which unfortunately a good number of people justifies someone's questionable or outright evil action if they have good intentions, and I've been saying similar thing as Yukimi to them as well. As they also say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Ikki seems to generally use family prioritizing as a way to set others straight. I guess a good implementation of something that can be potentially a bias, where family prioritizing taken in dark take would be them being either apathetic to non-family, or worse, screwing others for the sake of their family. Ikki reprimanding the company executive also shows that one party being at fault doesn't mean the other party is blameless, either have their portion of their blame as well. So apparently Sakura's way of "acting cool" as Ayaka (Imoto) claimed is reacting negatively to almost anything around her and even quite agreeing with Masao's actions (edgelords can also justify someone's dubious actions)... she also really needs Yukimi's guidance just like the other child. She did show genuine concern over Masao's grandpa though.

The Deadman uppers is completely detached of human morals, only being concerned about Masao being too weak to be given ViStamps, and only complains about how Masao loses quickly against the Riders. And like usual, some infighting between the Deadman uppers continue with the blame game (Julio primarily). They value ViStamps much more though that Masao attempting to destroy it is enough to bait them.... which leads to them being scapegoats to Ikki. The Lion Genome, it's clawing instead of blunt force which wasn't what Kuuga Mighty was (and for others, Kuuga has weapons), reminding me more of OOO LaToraTah instead... I guess the flaming part is what relates to Kuuga Mighty? The Revice combination, there's a comedy moment of Vice forming a cat instead, but I'd like to see the cat one being used for more than one-off gag. The actual Lion other than having lion movements, it has a roar that can affect physical things as well. Olteca and Julio takes an interest on Evil too before escaping, who had good showing of his power being superior to Revice like the strike that sends Vice bursting through the roof. It'll be probably powercreeped though.

Yeah, sadly, at least in my opinion, a lot of the things you criticized in this episode, like the flimsy episode plot and the very stupid logic, are here to stay and get far more pronounced.

There are a few one-offs that far outshine this in how badly it's executed.

I'm kinda dying to use a few of your points as a springboard, but I don't want to go overboard; we'll get there, but... yeah.

I actually was very indifferent to this episode back in the day, but boy... The next one will be fun...

Really curious what your opinions on it will be.

You can say that, but I've already decided on the Secondary for Revice:

https://64.media.tumblr.com/b12cbdd2...912b32a035.gif

I mean, that's one way of putting it! It could also be that the show didn't put in the time or care necessary to make Masao a character worth caring about, so Ikki's demonstration of familial obligation is all it took to reform him. Either or!

YAY!

I don't really feel like doing any writing today, so I'll just give some bullet point thoughts:

-Revi and Vice are great designs. I love them and their motif and the Genomes are very clever in incorporating the Rider designs without making them outright Rider forms.

-Live X Devil might be my favorite Reiwa Opening. It reminds me of the Pillar Man theme from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

-The First Episode is amazing. Hiroi is a chad. I actually like Vice (except for some of the jokes at the end of Saber). George. Just George.

I'll write a full Saber thoughts at a later date than jump back here.