Somebody did, but I don't remember who. It's still a neat idea, though!

So, the thing that bothered me on that, is that it's another variation on what Shinji's trying to achieve, and we just got an entire arc on that. It felt like the series was instituting a new structure, where every episode Shinji would need to state his motivation while changing exactly one element. First it was fighting monsters and saving people, then it was stopping Rider Battles, then it was fighting monsters and saving people again, now it's fighting monsters and saving people including Riders. Shinji's a pretty questing character, in that he's constantly learning better ways to be true to himself, but I feel like it's getting a little ridiculous. Like, maybe stick to one stated motivation for an arc, explore that, then revise it.

MASKED RIDER RYUKI HYPER BATTLE VIDEO: RYUKI VS AGITO

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

I love this shit. I love the goofy-ass magazine pack-ins and Net Movies and just all of the ephemera that goes along with a Kamen Rider series. I like how much they can screw with the format, how much they can let one random-ass idea play out without worrying about the context of the series... they're fun. I like that that can sometimes be enough.

And this is fun! Shinji goes into a mirror, teams up with generous, friendly versions of Knight, Zolda, and Ouja, and fights monsters. They work alongside Agito (Shining Form) to defeat Agito (Burning Form). Then Shinji wakes up from his dream, gets teased by Ren, roll extraordinarily long credits.

It's maybe eight minutes long, once you drop the credits. It's mostly fight scenes, and they entirely happen in Kamen Rider Warehouse. Like, there's not a lot of thematic heft to this one. It's something to get kids excited about watching Masked Rider Ryuki once a week.

But what's amazing to me is that so much of the run-time is given over to Ren giving Shinji shit, and Shinji getting upset in ever more clumsy ways. Nearly as much as time, it felt like, as the monster fights with a Legend Rider. That's fascinating to me. The producers have this opportunity to, basically, pitch Masked Rider Ryuki to a group of kids who may not be watching it. So they pick the most important things to include in this special: a henshin, Vent Cards, four main Riders, a Special Guest Star, monsters, explosions... and Ren acting like an asshole-with-a-heart-of-maybe-bronze-but-not-gold to Shinji. That's the thing they thought was a pillar of Ryuki. Not just the relationship, the warrior's bond, but Ren calling Shinji stupid with a smile on his face.

And, goddamn, not wrong! That very specific tone of their friendship, it's indelibly Ryuki to me. If you watch enough Heisei series, it can feel like you've seen every Rider/Rider variation, how they get along or don't or whatever. This, though, I don't feel like I've seen this thing in any of the other friendships or rivalries. The way Ren cares but doesn't care, the way he sincerely likes to see Shinji get mad at him, the way he never lets Shinji feel like he's in on the joke, I love it. It's outstanding chemistry, and I totally get how that could be the hook to get people to watch Ryuki.

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

Funny thing is that when I first watched Ryuki a long time ago as a child (it actually aired on TV where I lived!), I came I think sometime around the time Tezuka bit the dust, so this recap was actually kinda useful if only so I could experience Scissors getting eaten.

Even as a kid though, Ryuki getting a punch on golden bird man was cool... but that not having any effect just made the whole thing feel so tragically pointless. And I understand that is probably the point, but it still doesn't feel great to watch.

Yeah, I’m not keen on episode 28 either. They could’ve done so much with a reset button and all we get out of it is a clip show (and given what I’ve looked up about the Time Vent card, it’s not going to get much better in this series).

Also worth mentioning that Odin starts the grand tradition of the guy who voices the equipment playing a character in show (unless you count Denji Sentai Megaranger, since apparently, one of the minor technicians on that show was the voice announcing the numbers in the Digitizer/Battle Riser/Keitaizer). He does not however, start the grand tradition of explaining WHY they’re the same actor. That honour goes to Faiz (again, unless you count Megaranger).

Well, Ren is more "emotionally healthy" member because he's aloof and pushes other people away from him, meaning that he doesn't have much to care? There are only few people he actually cares like Eri and Yui. Shinji's kind of growing but still hostile. And there's still a scene of him totally breaking down over Eri in the episode at night. So the lesson here might be that... to be more "emotionally healthy" you should be more of a scoundrel (or even worse, full villains who just don't care about anyone, therefore he has no time for feelings). Actually by that, what I asked was how someone like Ren didn't show any animosity towards Yui ever? From the beginning of the series to present unlike to Shinji (Eri is his fiancée so it's obvious).

So even if the debt is an actual responsibility, all of the torturing scenes like this one has no real animosity?
O̶h̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶A̶u̶n̶t̶i̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶a̶i̶m̶e̶d̶!̶

It a shame that you don't like this one, where I liked it because this is a recap episode that isn't an actual recap and is a part of the plot. Probably this won't change your mind because the outcome's still the same ("not what I wanted") but even if it didn't change, it's still actually about Shinji. Shiro rewinds time back to the past to save a childhood picture of Kanzaki siblings, but for Shiro, it inadvertenly has an unwanted side effect in a form of Shinji, and this will last. Shinji is Shiro's biggest obstacle in the war, more than just him wanting to stop the war, is that him being a total wild card in the war - the reason Tezuka called him unpredictable fate-wise and passes his quest to him, mainly because he's not a chosen Rider, and it really shows in this episode.

Unlike the other Riders who proceed the same, Shinji has memories of the previous timeline ingrained to him, although only temporary (creating an intense version of the trio scene at ep. 2, Shinji asking millions of questions that can't be answered). This drives him to make some attempts to change the war, like warning Kitaoka that Asakura is going to escape and become a Rider and that he has to prevent it, this can be considered his attempt to save Tezuka and Shibaura (unfortunately though, he was talking to debut Kitaoka), after he forgets when trying to warn Ren and Yui before (and this may also save Sudo if successful). Didn't you appreciate Shinji's effort to stop the Rider War before despite how impossible it is, why not here? Then he tried new methods instead, where it's to keep an infinite number of notes for something Rider War related he remembers before he loses the memory of it. Yeah, it was only a reminder about Odin's fighting style, to punch behind when a gold feather appears, but it's a symbolism that Shinji can fight against his destiny, and he's the only one NOT helpless against the war and Shiro's shenanigans, especially that he has found a method before (ex: to keep remembering Rider War events), Shinji has now become a permanent nuisance for Shiro in Rider War, not just in that one rewinded timeline. Shiro's gonna be especially wary of Shinji if he tried to pull that kind of stunt again, the small change of Ryuki punching Odin and doubled burden of Rider's death to fuel Shinji's determination is just a start of that. And would like to bring up something from ep. 26 again, as he said here, he still vows to protect other Riders (they are also people)

And I still want to talk about this, your hate here aside, the debut for my favorite Rider in all aspects of Ryuki, Odin. Cronus' debut from Ex-Aid is similar to his. Both being the main antagonist's Riders named after a god, beating up every present Riders effortlessly while abusing their powers (flash step for Odin, time stop for Cronus), and they are accompanied by their own giant clock as they do their respective time powers. Odin's another one with a staff as his card scanner, it's clearly shown how Odin summons his staff for him to use but... how did Ouja summon his staff and have it disappear afterwards? It works like summoning Advent weapons perhaps (ep. 17 Gai)? Also they don't seem to use the staff for combat.

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88...NEdbqiKu_iAhTs
BITCH SLAP!!

I feel like the folks who love it, all they really remember is the first couple minutes and the last couple minutes. And those parts, the bookends, they're really good! If that's all you remember, this is a great episode: Kamen Rider Boss just backhands everyone all over the place, Ouja sort-of joins the team because he thinks Boss is a prick, Ryuki gets that awesome Strike Vent on an untouchable opponent, and Ryuki gets to have a big No, Eff YOU speech to get some heat back from Kamen Rider Boss. Those are all good things! It's just, there's this middle section that drags interminably, has no real effect on the story except for one hit, and is in service of something inexcusably insignificant. (I'd've been less angry if the final scene was Shiro looking in his refrigerator to see that, yes, his milk was now unexpired.) Maybe in a few years I'll be all, "Why was I mad at this episode? That Strike Vent is the best!" Right now, though, I remember the middle part, and it sucks.

Neat! Thanks!

I mean, it's "emotionally healthy" in that Ren's processing his feelings honestly, and being honest with what he needs from others. It's just, Ren's an asshole, and that's never going to change. It can be both things, emotion healthy AND an asshole. He's just, like, honest about needing to be an asshole.

In that vein, I think it's just that Shinji really bugs him (despite warming to him) and Yui really doesn't. For a misanthrope like Ren, there's going to be people he hates, people he teases, people he tolerates, and people he connects with. It's just way way less of the last one, of which Yui can count herself.

Yeah, I don't think Ren ever really wants Shinji to pay him back. He just wants to keep throwing it in his face because it's hilarious.

That's a good point, about Shinji fighting destiny. I'm not sure it's as pivotal as it would've been for Tezuka, since Shinji doesn't really believe in destiny or fate, but it's a good point to bring up.

It's cool to see the ways this episode worked for people, but it just didn't work for me. I honestly found the whole I Was Mad Before But Now I've Seen Things Happen For The Second Time And Now I'm DOUBLE MAD motivation to be... not my favorite. Corny, and not in the usual good way for Kamen Rider. I'm not sure that's how motivations are supposed to work? With a multiplier effect? Yeah, really didn't land for me. I'm okay forgetting it, going forward.

It's very Cronus, yes! That huge clock chime, the BONG BONG BONG is activating all of those old Cronus memories. Thanks for the reminder!

What Shinji wish Riders are.

Shinji's still half asleep and still treat the dream as true events. And Ren actually smiles here, in one scene more than himself in the entire Ryuki!

OK, I thought that emotionally healthy for Ren to you was correlated with how stoic and emotionless he is which stems from how aloof and misantrophic he is. Though he's not exactly rational that he still can come off as childish like with his uncontrolled temper and how he copes with his problems. I thought that even if he's less hostile to Yui than Shinji, he wouldn't be completely free of hostility to any other human or something. Especially that he sticks with her for an advantage, then she can be a... hindrance to him for winning that she forbids him doing something a Rider supposed to do (read: any immoral actions to win like killing), acting as his coinscience, and he fully submits to most of those.

Also just a trivia. What was the most popular name for females and males respectively in Japan at 2012?
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...813486/ryu.png

More like Shinji really proves to Tezuka posthumously here that fate is unpredictable, by him fighting against his destiny here, in line with how he doesn't believe in destiny or fate. I guess that Shinji's strength in stopping the war is actually his determination so doubled burden is important to him?

Just sad that you left out this part before. Why Ouja cares if he thinks that boss is a prick? He's irredeemable and no one's a bigger prick than him!

Well, to make it less simple for Parado (all of his atrocities come from his game character status, but for this one is this), he's someone who, being from a game, used to killing enemies and objects in-game, thinks that real life is just an expansion of video games, which includes human lives. Parado thinks killing human lives (to have fun) is just like killing the NPCs in video games. He's like a GTA player who doesn't differentiate playing GTA (doing cruel stuff there) and real life, and t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶g̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶a̶n̶t̶i̶-̶v̶i̶o̶l̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶s̶"̶ ̶c̶l̶u̶b̶.̶ Emu killing him makes him differentiate life in real world and life in video games, based on how he feels during R̶O̶N̶!̶ Ren A̶k̶i̶y̶a̶m̶a̶ Amagasaki death, and that how he fears for his life, despite video game characters known for dying multiple times.

Whoa! That is bonkers! I wonder if that's a bunch of 18-year olds having kids and fondly remembering Masked Rider Ryuki? I mean, it can't be, can it?

Everything in my quote was about the middle part! All those scenes of Shinji fruitlessly trying to stop the same things from happening again, I genuinely think that's the hook for the episode. Odin's cool and all, but the moment that most sticks in my head from that episode is actually just Shinji trying to get Kitaoka to make sure Asakura doesn't become a Rider. Followed, admittedly, by sticky notes, but still.

Just for this one episode, the pointlessness IS the point, and while I guess it's easy to see why that flavor wouldn't be for everyone, I legitimately do love the entire thing. It's weird, and I thought it was fun. I suppose that's all I can really say.

Look, just assume that when I say "folks", I mean "everyone but Fish Sandwich". I know you love the unlovable parts. I do, too, sometimes!

Sometimes.

("The pointlessness IS the point", though... man. They are grinding your face into the dirt and you are admiring the additional nutrients you're getting to eat.)