This is a really good one, yeah. Having another suit actor to consistently fight against does make for some better action scenes than the giant CGI monsters. I really love how feral the insane Douji is, not only tearing apart his own partner and child, but also jumping into an episode of Kamen Rider Danki to mess up the fight scene that was happening there, too. The Douji and Hime monster suits are really weird and not always that good looking, but goddamn if they don't sell the ferocity of the crazed one. The bridge and abandoned building fights with Ibuki were also really good.

So we see Danki for the first time this episode. He's the first of the minor Oni that we'll be seeing. We will see him again, but he's not signing up as the show's third main Oni. This is another cool piece of world-building that the show does. Like with Zanki - the injured guy from several episodes ago - we get the sense here that there are a lot of other Oni going around exterminating monsters. This time we got to see instead of hear about it over the phone. I think it's a nice touch and I like that Danki has his own fighting style that makes him distinct from Hibiki, even though he's a fellow drummer.

Glad you recognized Shingo Kawaguchi. He will, indeed, be back for Wizard. For now, this isn't the last we're going to see of him. As the trailer for the next episode implies, he does have a connection to part of our existing cast.

The base suits the Douji and Hime wear are pretty bland (they look like walnuts?), but they work because the show keeps plussing them up when necessary. I'd rather have a boring suit that could be a cool Armored version or a powerful Deranged version, than just have a bunch of different suits running around. They've done a good job of visually indicating the level of threat by how ornate the Douji and Hime look.

Danki even gets his own fight music! It's (I think?) the first time we've heard any guitars on this show, and it must be because Danki has been hoarding them. I like that he's so fully-formed that he's got a fighting style, a musical motif, a group of enemies he's already tracking down... I liked it so much that I won't do more than note how cobbled-together his suit is. He's a very fun element in a very fun episode!

Yeah, one of the downsides of trying to figure out where I knew him from was finding out what his character name was on Hibiki, and I was like Boy That Sounds A Little Familiar. Nothing beyond that, really, so I don't have any clue what his deal is yet. And, honestly, it was pretty clear he was going to end up being someone, even before I saw the next episode teaser. He was too clearly framed to just be a random nobody. Like, he was shot to tell you Remember This Face. And I eventually did!

And we’re back with my usual stuff.

Like I said last time, I forgot to talk about the new villain that appears in episode 11, mostly because they barely registered when I watched the series. It’s basically the Hime actress in a Kuroko (the guys in Oabuki plays who handle the special effects) costume, who the Wiki refers to as “Black Clone” since she doesn’t have a canonical name and she’s in the same mould as the Hime.

And then there’s Danki (etymology: shorthand for Dangan no Oni [Bullet Demon, which makes me wonder how he came up with that name, based on later revelations]). He’s played by Hibiki’s suit actor Makoto Ito, which surprisingly, does not net him a larger role. We’re still a few episodes away from the minor Oni with the most appearances outside the main group.

And as for Shingo Kawuchi’s new character? He’s not entirely out of the blue. I’ll just say that he was name dropped a few episodes back. In one of the photos I posted for that episode.

Very interesting! Thanks!

Sums up just well, Kamen Rider CGI in general. It's worse on giant creatures like this monster, and this is not a Hibiki exclusive trait. And well, no, I'm not the kind to defend this/give this free pass. My country's television quality is notoriously bad and one of the reasons is these kinds of CGI (even worse ones here).

Well yeah that's the way, it's still, the part that I talked about before of role model being outwardly perfect sets up too much expectations for the "protege", giving insecurities, the solution is to let them know that the role model isn't perfect as you made them out to be and approach them in a more realistic manner, which is well for here, used to have flaws similar to Asumu himself. I think that's the plausible way to solve Asumu's issues regarding Hibiki, but if this doesn't work for you, (well, again, want to know) what should be done as improvement as solving, or never solve (poor sanity)? And I guess I get it why "miscommunication" part is tolerated... because telling the info is seen as lazy? (but you also don't like if someone continually keeps something secret even if they know?).

O̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶l̶a̶s̶s̶m̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶K̶a̶m̶e̶n̶ ̶R̶i̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶a̶m̶i̶,̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶a̶m̶i̶.̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶H̶i̶b̶i̶k̶i̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶t̶h̶?̶ But origami is made from paper! They're so fragile! They break easily, especially on the watery environment the Oni sometimes fight! And I wonder why the access to that room is made as traps, to hurt anyone that wants to expose something inside the room? The room's content... I wonder if the toy collectors arrange their toys like the one in the room, it looks something like it.

It hurts Asumu though unintentionally... and passing it off as comedy... it's the "disregard of the hurt's feelings that they don't matter for the comedic or entertainment value in those behaviours" mindset I fear.

Someone hasn’t seen Shinkenger, since they have Origami as their mecha. (Though given the show’s focus on Kanji, the “gami” is changed to mean “god” instead of “paper”).

Ps, Die, remember the name “Shinkenger”. It’ll be important 4 threads from now.

Okay, got a little behind on this thead! Lemme just power through these real quick:

I basically completely forgot about this dude's existence until seeing them again here, where I was like "oh right, that dude!" and it all started coming back to me. Having seen a couple episodes past this point already, I agree this is a character that works wonders for making the monster plots more interesting (and you can tell they're getting more focus than usual, even), but also, I find the whole black robes and silly staff a bit hard to take seriously, if I'm being honest? Or heck, really anything about their shtick is that way for me. It makes me feel a bit disconnected from the show, because it's clearly shooting for creepy, but feeding the monsters of the week sea urchins or whatever, I don't know, just not my style I guess. Weirdly negative of me, I know, but don't worry! I can turn this right around!

Hi! Yes! That's me! Telling you to lay off that Nurikabe, because it is ~adorable~! How can you stand being so mean to something so cute? Look, I understand the prop snail face is a lot less impressive than the freakishly detailed ones for the previous Makamou (that only got used in like a shot each because Takatera), but it's just so endearing. I bet that little guy just wanted to head into town to say hello to everybody and make friends! Probably wasn't even evil!

To be a bit more serious, though, I honestly do find the giant monster showdowns one of the most interesting parts of the show. They just fit so much more with Hibiki's identity as a series than the more typical hero tokusatsu fare with the Douji/Hime in each story, and the effects are like... I mean, we're probably never going to come to a real understanding on this, but I'd probably like them less if they were better? I have to imagine this one was particularly rough for you; those floppy pool noodle antennae are aggressively Showa.

The thing that really blew my mind about how intense, dynamic, and atmospheric that battle with Ibuki was is that the episode was directed by Osamu Kaneda, who these days is probably best known for the dishonor of directing the first couple Super Hero Taisen films, which were... well, pretty much the exact opposite of those three adjectives. Lately I've come to think his poor reputation maybe doesn't give him enough credit for his other work, and seeing a fight scene like this in his first episode of Hibiki is all the more evidence that he at least was legitimately great when it came to the action.

You're right that finding out about Hibiki's similarities to Asumu's troubles both humanizes Hibiki in Asumu's eyes, as well as making Asumu feel less critical of his own failings. But! I really, really wish the way the show chose to dramatize that was telling Asumu that the exact same thing he's going through happened to Hibiki. A bit of metaphor, or a slightly different failing, and I'd've been more on board. As it is, I found it too on-the-nose.

Sure! Definitely gave me some Collecting Goals.

Well, that's the "cringe" part!

I will remember it!

(I will definitely not remember it. I won't even remember the name of the Kamen Rider from this show by the time I'm on Den-O. Please remind me when we come to the appropriate time.)

I think Clockamou ended up working better for me because of how much I wanted the monster plots to pop more, and it definitely did that right away. The aesthetic, it's not a lot, but the Shoving An Arm Down A Monster's Throat is a hell of a memorable move for me.

I knew that when I was criticizing it. I'm like, This Thing Is Indefensible OH RIGHT Fish.

The thing is, I do like the idea of Hibiki taking out these giant monster from mythology. Having to consistently defeat a monster that's as big as house, that also sometimes is literally a house, that's pretty damn unique for a Kamen Rider show. It's the execution where I feel like the show can't quite reach a level where I can enjoy what they're doing. The CGI is too weirdly composited, where I can never lose myself in the illusion. The physical effects in this one were worse to me, where I was actively laughing at how dopey it was. That's why, seriously, so grateful for the show doing new twists on the Douji and Hime. That's where my disbelief gets suspended!

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 14 - "DEVOURING DOUJI"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki14a.png

"Want you to take me to the H
Take me to the O
Want you to take me to the S
Take me to the P
Want you to take me to the I-T-A-L
Want you to take me to the hospital"

-The Faint, "Take Me To The Hospital"

I think this was a really strong Kamen Rider episode, but maybe not a great Kamen Rider Hibiki episode.

As much stronger as the monster plots have gotten (and this one's great!), this is the episode where it felt like it was happening at the expense of the Asumu stuff, a.k.a. Everything That Makes Hibiki Hibiki.

Like, I don't enjoy chiding this show for having merely a really fun plot where two superheroes and their support staff team up to defeat a rampaging monster. That's a thing that not every Kamen Rider manages! That shit is not a gimme! But all of that emphasis on a tight, compelling monster hunt left the Asumu stuff feeling... vestigial. Like an appendix. Oh! It's a metaphor!

The Asumu plot wasn't bad, but it felt, for maybe the first time, like it wasn't worth spending time on during this episode. Even the episodes where Asumu was freaking out over his ineffectiveness at least felt like they belonged on this show. I mean, they didn't feel cohesive, but they felt like something that deserved to be on this show. The whole thing with Asumu In The Hospital, I don't know. It never felt that vital to me? Asumu got sick, and then he got better. It's got a few nice moments in it (AsuMum and Hitomi talking about Hitomi outgrowing drama club was sweet, take that, actors), but there's really no tension to anything that happens. No one really learned anything, or demonstrated some new insight to their character. God, maybe it was bad?

Or, not bad, but... unnecessary? It's something for Asumu to do, at a time where the show seems steadfast in keeping Asumu as far away from Hibiki as possible. And, okay, that's probably intentional. This is the episode where half the cast tells Hibiki to just ask Asumu to be your apprentice already, god, so having Hibiki neglect/ignore Asumu for a few episodes feeds into that plot. But the practical effect is that it feels like Asumu is in that Kamen Rider Narrative Penalty Box, where a series just backburners a character for a bunch of episodes. Normally, it's just slightly irritating (depending on how much you want to watch the women in the cast!), but here, it's the co-lead of the show. I don't need Asumu to be going on missions or anything, but I need his plots to feel as vital to the storytelling as Hibiki's. I just wasn't getting that out of his side of the story this time out.

Of course, Asumu's side of the episode had one other thing, his meet-cute with the Mysterious Patient who had a cool Guitar Theme and a Very Admirable Sense Of Rugged Compassion and probably looked like Asumu's dad and look it's Zanki. Maybe it's another Oni, but I feel confident in saying It's Definitely Zanki. He's pretty cool in this one, and I especially love how almost star-struck Asumu gets when they have their hallway conversation. Asumu really needs a dad! I grew up without a dad, too, man! I get it! You're looking for father figures everywhere! Don't be so thirsty, though, my dude! Be cool about this!

Speaking of Asumu's surrogate father, great episode for ol' Hibiki. Seeing him team up with Ibuki and Akira was very fun. They have a natural rhythm, and an almost psychic bond when it comes to coordinating their attacks. Everyone knows what to do, and they execute perfectly. Not a lot of weird turns to this one (Ichiro nails that this is an experiment that either went Super Right or Super Wrong, but there's no special thing that needs doing to defeat it), and the fact that everyone's so professional means that there's very little drama to get into, but the fights and action were engrossing. This was a super-watchable episode of monster hunting, and on that level it's a success.

But, y'know, the monster hunting is not what hooked me on Hibiki. It's great that they've fixed that side of the show, but I wish it didn't feel like it came at the expense of the Asumu moments. He's here, and he's doing things, but it isn't clicking like it used to. I'd love for this show to recapture some of that early spark and keep delivering entertaining action. I hope that isn't asking too much!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki14b.png

Yeah, that was Zanki. Not even going to pretend. He's played by an actor named Kenji Matsuda, who has a pretty good track record with both action movies and tokusatsu. He'll be back after this as a regular on Kiva, too, and he had a big role in the second Garo series. He's one of my favorite tokusatsu actors; even in just two short scenes here he radiates cool.

I totally get you on Asumu feeling shortchanged this time. It's not like he didn't have some story, but the big focus here is on the monster fight and he's just not part of that. It's also pretty obvious that the show is using his story as a way to introduce Todoyama and Zanki, which makes Asumu feel even more sidelined.