There's a real heavy "found family" vibe in this series, and it's not just focused on Asumu looking at Hibiki as a father figure. I think it's equally focused on Hibiki as a dude who sees that all of his friends have kids (of different sorts) and it just never happened for him, but now he's reconsidering. Like, Asumu's story is What Would It Be Like To Have A Dad, and Hibiki's story is What Would It Be Like To Have A Son. That's a very fun story for a Kamen Rider series to try and tell.

Standard fare I would say. Sazer X had action figures, robots, and roleplay toys that consisted of the transformation device, roleplay weapons, and their collectible items of the show the cosmo capsules. Oh and the very first season of GARO happened on 2005. Sorry, forgot about that. :lolol

Personally I was already under the impression at the time that this was an going to be a departure from the usual and I loved the lore and world building they did so it did not bother me too much. I mean I'm sure kids didn't hate it as much cause merch still was being sold somewhat probably, but sentai came strong with Magiranger I must say. It came out when Harry Potter was big as the MCU at the time globally so I assume it clicked better when you mash colorful spandex armored heroes and magicians. The colors popped and opening theme was catchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC64pVVtMo8

2005 is probably the best year of tokusatsu ever.

Except for Magiranger de gozarimasu desu.

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 16 - "ROARING ONI"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki16a.png

"I wanna forget how convention fits
But can I get out from under it
Can I gut it out of me"

-Spoon, "The Underdog"

There's a fundamental flaw to the mentor/apprentice relationship. A mentor is there to teach an apprentice, but they can only teach what they know. They can bring an apprentice up to their level, but that's as far as they can take them. Not only does a mentor need to know when to step aside, but an apprentice needs to know when to surpass their mentor. If the mentor and the apprentice can't recognize those moments, you're in a situation that's destined to fail.

Luckily, the cast of Kamen Rider Hibiki is, to a person, smart and generous and perceptive. This is an episode where mentors need to hope for more for their apprentices than they had themselves; and where apprentices need to be able to see beyond what they've learned, to reach for their own successes.

It's a moral that trickles down through all three partnerships amongst the Oni, and it starts with Zanki and Todoroki.

That's right, Todoroki. Todoyama takes the stage all on his own (I love that the music motif is so present in this episode that Todoyama's solo mission is referred to as his 'debut'), with him trying to find a way to be the Oni that Zanki always has been.

Which, that's the trick. Todoyama sees all the ways he doesn't measure up to Zanki, all the things Zanki does that he can't, and he fails as an Oni. He's patterned himself so intently after Zanki's (admittedly awesome) style that he can't see what his own strengths are, what he can do better than his mentor. He needs to see what Zanki's achieved as not so much the ceiling to reach for, but the ledge to launch off of. The show tells us this a bunch of times, but my absolute favorite example is what I used as this episode's screencaps. Todoyama's practicing, swinging his ax the way Zanki always taught him, but he keeps falling over. And then as he goes to pick up his ax in frustration, he switches his grip. He holds it as Todoyama, not as Zanki, and he's faster, stronger, more accurate. He's taken the lessons of his mentor and drawn from it what he needs to win, supplementing it with his own instincts. Now, he can fight as Todoroki. Now, he can be his own kind of hero.

The Ibuki/Akira team takes a run at this moral by addressing my favorite detail: Akira doesn't ever go to school. They're too damn busy fighting monsters, and she's too damn good at it. But while Ibuki has been training her to be an Oni, he wants her to have a fuller life than he had. He wants more for her than he got to experience, and that means making time for her to go to school. His mentoring, it's not just about preparing her to be an Oni. It's, like Zanki, about preparing her to be a better Oni, a better person, than he is.

Which is a great way to start talking about the Hibiki and Asumu stuff, which, man. Man. Completely not where I thought it was going, and I loved it for that.

Everything in the last few episodes has been leading to Hibiki taking Asumu on as his apprentice and training him to be an Oni. Everything in the storytelling, everything in the franchise, everything in the history of storytelling. It's all pointing towards a formal Mentor and Apprentice relationship. That's the next step in the story.

Except, that's not Asumu, and it's not Hibiki. When Asumu asks to be Hibiki's apprentice, it just feels wrong. It feels perfunctory, like it's the only reason these characters would have to interact. But Hibiki sees that Asumu doesn't really want to be an Oni, and Hibiki isn't really looking to step down as one. It'd be them going through long, arduous motions for no reason other than inertia, and that'd be lame. There's no reason why these two characters need that relationship.

They mostly don't need it because there's no reason to put a label on their friendship. Telescoping out from that joke where no one knows how to explain to Ibuki what Asumu's relationship is with Hibiki, their connection is broader than the professional roles of the other four characters. Hibiki isn't looking at Asumu as someone he needs to mold, he's looking at Asumu as someone he gets to see grow. He doesn't want to see Asumu give up on his options just to be an Oni, and he doesn't want Asumu to settle for Hibiki's life. He wants him to try things, train himself, and know that Hibiki'll be there if he needs someone to guide him.

Like a compass.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki16b.png

No! A person you just met earlier in a rather cold note (Akira) can't overtake the relationship that has been built from childhood (Hitomi)! (kinda jokey here actually cuz I know it doesn't always end up that way).

Guitars can be used as spears. Utilize everything you had in hand as weapons. And, I guess Zanki went into the future and watched the Sony E3 2006 conference as a tips to fight the giant enemy crab, that you have to flip it over. Zanki's stuff looks the least combat-y compared to the other Riders, unlike Hibiki who is about smacking the monster over and over, or Ibuki who turns the bullets into bombs.

Nah, Honda is just all over Kamen Rider franchise. Some other examples are Machine Tornador being Honda VTR1000F, Gills Raider & Blue Spader are Honda XR250, Shinji's bike is Honda Ruckus, Tezuka's bike is Honda CB400 SF, his Survive Mode bike is Honda X4, and for Knight Survive's it's Honda Shadow, Hardboiler (W's) is Honda CBR1000RR, Machine Massigler & Machine Builder are Honda XR230, Bike Gamer is Honda CRF250L, etc. Smart Lady's car is Honda NSX (my fave JDM) and also the car Tridoron is based on, Kageyama's car is Honda S2000, etc. And while we can see him earn it... it's rather ironic that someone with peak physical prowess can't do something as ordinary as riding a bike.

Yeah, the hurled guitar move is neat (as an ordinary move, not so much if someone has that as a finisher). And nah, flashiness =/= powerful, this is one important thing to judge when evaluating fights (don't be shallow just by the ability/attack looks), while Zanki resonates better to you with abilities that look cooler to you, it doesn't mean Zanki is a better combatant than the other Riders, he could be someone who is weaker than others due to age (according to him) that just happens to use guitar as a weapon. And for this one, you're okay with Todoyama being a support? Because can be judged "UseLesS" by others.

Hibiki having most responsibility, he has to look after Asumu and here he did it to Akira.

It's been 17 years and they still haven't told us what element the Honda is. But.. despite these unique features (no pillar between the front, rear-hinged rear doors), it wasn't as nice to live with overall as the CR-V. Those rear-hinged rear doors can be a hassle, and the thick roof pillars interfere with the view out. It's a long reach to the steering wheel, there are only seats for four, and a low payload capacity limits its utility. The Element handles well enough, but is noisy and has a choppy ride. It seems that Todayama is admired by a bunch of people currently, I thought this at first for Hitomi, but it turns out to be her cousin. And actually I didn't know how did Hitomi end up in Takeshi's HQ honestly, but this is also another coincidence that must be let known like Asumu with Midori.

And dunno for me, Zanki probably didn't have anything of that intention, but his chillness and unflappable can come off as being cold and dismissive somehow to me. He utters nice words, but it can sound curt and also with it being mostly short. And for all Todoyama has like above (and being a police officer too?), he still has lack of confidence and fear like clearly shown in this episode, and I ought to people not to demean that part.

Dude it's clear... Team Zanki's Honda Element is green, while the rest's Element is red. They're opposite colors in the spectrum... would that imply something?? And well, if Ichiro wants to be reasonable, he has to accept Zanki's retirement proporsal, he can't force himself to work against his will and endanger himself and potentially others.

I agree, this is one outstanding henshin. And to me, also more like how this one henshin you can freely pose because you are protected from attacks by that lightning.

Well, necessary to you, doesn't mean it objectively is needed or not filling out. "cynical tryhard edgy media with milktoast characters = good " mindset needs to stop, obviously not purge away those completely, but like, this aspect being hailed as something (or worse, considered the only way) to make something appear more complex than it actually is when it degrades and is pretentious in its attempt. Unless you meant for conflict being just any obstacles, struggles, and challenges a character need to overcome (like Asumu's story), then sure why not (like probably Akira being Ibuki's apprentice), which is also something I want to convey, that conflict isn't only toxic characters childishly infight all the time, so no need to degrade characters to create conflicts. And well, I guess, because of mentor archetypes having lack of struggles, stories commonly kill off mentors because of the reason you mention here.

Chemistry's real, man! Folks just click, sometimes!

But, like, I don't want to make this a thing where Hitomi is somehow Less Than because I don't see her as a romantic partner for Asumu. She's been his friend forever, and she understands (and cares for) him on a deeper level than anyone outside of his mom. They might not end up a couple, but Hitomi is still his best friend. That's not a consolation prize!

Zanki's stuff looks the least combat-y compared to the other Riders, unlike Hibiki who is about smacking the monster over and over, or Ibuki who turns the bullets into bombs.

I mean, it looks cooler to me, and that's one of my main criteria for judging fights. It's maybe 85% of what I'm looking for? (The rest is 10% gags and 5% Was Anyone Interrupted During A Form Change Or Henshin.) If I can't judge fights almost purely on aesthetics... I literally can't think of what else they're there for.

Sure! It's basically his entire job at this point! It'd be like judging Hinaka harshly for working in a restaurant!

Huh! I hadn't noticed that. Maybe? The Zanki/Todoyama relationship is pretty much the opposite of the Hibiki/Asumu relationship here, so... yeah, worth thinking about!

If someone who's key to your organization suddenly decides to quit, I think it's okay to press them on it a bit. But, it's not really Ichiro that I was trying to single out, it's Zanki. He maybe owes Ichiro a better explanation? It'd be out of character for him to give it, which is why I thought it was funny, but still.

Yeah, no, I mostly meant more along the lines of Reasonable Disagreement. People can work together and have different views on how to achieve a goal. Some of the most fulfilling storytelling is when two characters disagree and both of them are right. Here, it was just people working well together and succeeding. A fun thing to root for, but nothing that's going to stick in the brain.

It is going to be so nice to use Todoroki's proper name now. Using "Todoyama" felt so weird.

I love Todoroki. He's one of my very favorite characters on a show full of characters that I love. I really like that he's the rookie Oni but he's still really good at his job of fighting monsters. His youth shows up not in being less capable, but in lacking complete confidence in himself and being over-enthusiastic. He's a really good kid, but he can get a little too caught up in his own head sometimes. It's great to finally have him on the show because he does bring a new dynamic to the cast.

Plus we get one of my all-time favorite finishers with the Ongeki Zan Raiden Gekishin move. It doesn't get much cooler than rocking an enemy to death.

Todoroki still to this day is one of my favorite secondary rider alongside a few others. That soundtrack is just pitch perfect and like Switchblade said, Raiden Gekishin is just awesome in theory and in execution. :rock:
Fun fact, Shingo Kawaguchi who plays Todoroki tends to be paired with actors who played Sailor Moon in the live action department. It started with this and then it continued with Kamen Rider Wizard.

Gonna join in on the chorus and say that Todoroki is also probably my favourite character in the show. I think what I meant to say the other day, about how Zanki and him have this story about themselves as opposed to only being there for Asumu's sake, is that I was invested in this story for Zanki and Todoroki themselves. I definitely like Ibuki and Akira for sure, but I didn't feel like I needed to be concerned about where they'll end up, if that makes sense.

Also personally speaking, I can totally get why the merchandise in this show wasn't exactly flying off the shelves. Ibuki's trumpet-gun and Todoroki's guitar-axe are the only DX toys I see any appeal in, and those only come into the show a little later. Hibki's tuning fork, his sticks, the disc animals, they're cool in the show, but probably unimpressive to actually own.

Ok, now for today’s etymology: Todoroki = Todoroke no Oni (Roaring Demon).

I’ll point out that while it’s not used in the show (along with every other song written for it), Todoroki does have his own image song, Raibu Gougou, performed by JAM Project’s Eizo Sakamoto https://youtube.com/watch?v=ulYUAfVOaLE

But 15 years later, Sakamoto got his due. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1EyL-QA43OY