Mr. J and Murakami's stuff.... Murakami is presented as a irredeemable villain, but so far, it seems that Murakami (and probably other Lucky Clover) tolerates their minions/henchmen for losing 2 lives and faiing....

It's definitely not me, obviously it's a good thing to have the non-Riders having stories and plans. But unfortunately, for some people, if it's not related to the grand plot, like you know, directly influencing the main plot part (commonly something like the fate for the world or potentially foiling the villains) or something, it's considered useless sthick for people. Like if the dreams are so slice-of-life, personal, and domestic, the scenes about them pursuing the dreams can be considered as filler scenes because it bears no relation to the main plot. Once again, it's not me, I know full well that people can have daily life stuffs, and KR is a toku with that element inside, and that it's unfair to judge them if what they want is unrelated to Rider stuffs.

It's obviously in character yeah for Keitaro to be taken advantage by others because of his dream. But man... that'd mean Keitaro could make for a bad parent (cmiiw). If it's like that, Keitaro can be the kind to spoil his child to no end, which actually would make the child grow up to be terrible and likely won't happy because spoiled one would never be satisfied for ever. And Keitaro... calling out Takumi and Mari mean for not understanding Keiko's situation with dead parents.... didn't you just forget what Mari monologued to you second at ep. 12? And even then he somehow is able to buy her all the stuffs he used to spoil her like a whole new mixer, or the likely so expensive idol outfit.

With her behavior to Keitaro, I wonder how her dead parents live with her. Like did she put them through hell or something with her spoiled behavior to be given everything (which probably can also stem from her parents' upbringing to spoil her first, or if they're rich enough to actually spoil her without problem... but dunno, she seems to be doing a street beggar-like business currently). A̶n̶d̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶w̶o̶n̶d̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶h̶a̶v̶i̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶o̶l̶e̶r̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶b̶r̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶y̶n̶a̶m̶i̶c̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶F̶a̶i̶z̶?̶ Then again for being a brat, childs are usually being made like that in various medias.

Did you talk about the Mari knowing about Soeno being a detective as a misunderstanding/melodrama? I mean, that doesn't have a real disastrious consequence yet as shown here, probably people won't refer to that one for the misunderstanding stuff, AFAIK people actually have pet peeves to the misunderstanding because of how it can make problems unecessarily escalate into catastrophic levels. And for Takumi and Yuji walking in, obviously that's plausible too, because nothing crosses in any of their mind that, Yuji may be monstrous to Takumi, or Takumi may be a Rider to Yuji. Which makes them think about the monster talk refering to Morishita's state instead of Takumi's fight against 2 Orphnoch. Also what's with Yuji thinking about Faiz being in the hand of those rebellious against Orphnochs? Obviously the trio are the non-malicious Orphnochs (even Yuka genuinely thinks Kaido as a wonderful person despite him mistreating her most of the time on the outside - albeit he cares about the 2 deep down), but does Yuji think about the other Orphnochs the same way? And that even if they refuse to play into Smart Brain's hands, the other Orphnochs aren't likely?

The 3 being still friends with all the dysfunctional thing being heroic.... sure! But don't make this as a promotion to convince people being scummy and cruel to others and give them free pass in the name of building chemistry! (more excuses for people being terrible then).

Well true. I just felt that you saying this may can be resolved as you seeing Kusaka as righteous deep down from him making a point, probably just my wrong instincts. And the fact that either douchebags or villains having a point isn't an uncommon moment.

Not even that long ago!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kuuga/kuuga09.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kuuga/kuuga10.png

That's from Kuuga, only three years earlier!

Yeah. For one thing, there are (allegedly) five of them. For another, they seem more like a social club?

I sort-of love that if you shook up the six main characters into nearly any other three-person configuration, they'd all be a lot happier. That's something I really appreciate in this show's writing.

Lifehack: I just listened to all of the Phase 2 Heisei theme songs on a drive for work today, and that pretty much reset my brain. Be The One is super great, though! My second favorite after Surprise Drive.

And he takes it so hard. It's interesting, how a character like Keitaro who's, like, a parody of empathetic heroes can still feel relatable and sympathetic. I think a lot of it is the actor, who makes some of Keitaro's absurdities (he lost his temper at a girl he'd taken into his home who destroyed his livelihood after selfishly manipulating him for a day, and he acted like he'd murdered her) still seem understandable. I'm rooting for this dope!

Yeah, I feel like Takumi's in the clear since Mr. J picked the fight. It's a pretty solid Get Out Of Guilt Free card for ol' Kamen Rider Faiz!

Ah! Can't believe I've just stumbled upon this thread! Kamen Rider Faiz is definitely one of my top favorite Rider series along with Gaim and W and I'm extremely glad that you're liking what you're watching thus far! Hope you'll give the movie a shot as well as I personally think it's one of the best standalone movies in the franchise.

As for the series itself, I can understand why it's divisive, and even agree with some of the points (most of which has to do with the plot in the latter half). Regardless of the plot, I just love these characters that are so real and grounded and it is the characters that make the series for me. Humanizing the monsters is something that Kamen Rider really doesn't do enough. Of course, the suits, action and Rider Gear are all top-notch and are among the best in the franchise.

Auto Vajin (his bike) is also my favorite Kamen Rider bike and one of my top favorite robot designs in all of fiction. Not only is the transformation really elegant, the bike functions as not only a simple mode of transport, but as a support mecha that can actively help Faiz out even during combat. That's brilliant.

He would be an incredibly bad parent!

Well, the flashbacks certainly make it seem like Keiko's just having a real tough time of it since her mom got hospitalized. In those flashbacks, she's a happy, thoughtful kid. She's having a tough time processing her mom's amnesia, and feeling abandoned, so everything she does to Team Faiz is because of that. (Even her drawings are meaner than they used to be!) Once she gets her mom back, she probably won't be as terrible to people. Probably!

Oh, I just meant that it's a little convenient for the detective to be loudly shouting Keiko's name just as Mari's around to hear it. It's a little clunky.

Hey, thanks for finding this thread! Paying all of that money to upgrade my TokuNation account really helped get some eyeballs on this thing. I'm only really budgeted for Xtreme right now, but fingers crossed I can afford bumping up to GoldXtreme next month. (Things don't really start ramping up until you get out of the free Lost level, but that's a whole other thread.)

I definitely plan on watch the movie and the HBV. I don't want to miss something cool!

How great is Team Orphnoch?! Those three could anchor a show of their own, which is something I can't really say about any other group of Kamen Rider adversaries. ("Adversaries".) I think what's makes them so strong is that you could pretty easily tell their story without Faiz. They don't really care about what he's up to. If Yuuji sees Faiz out kicking Orphnoch ass, he's going to mix it up, but Team Orphnoch isn't sitting around plotting against Faiz.

Having so much time spent on their motivations, their fears, and having it mostly be unrelated to belts and heroes and smiles and whatever, it leads to incredibly deep characters.

Thanks again for finding this discussion!

Oh no, there are four of them and it's very much an elite membership thing. You're going to see Mistah J's open seat being a major issue in upcoming episodes.

I mean, at their first meeting they mentioned a guy who wasn't there, so I just assumed. But, yep, the empty seat comes up in Episode 20!

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 20

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz20a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz20b.png

--1--

Oh my god, YOU GUYS.

This episode was... it's like my wish got granted. This episode is all of my Faiz hopes and dreams, even the ones I didn't dare speak aloud, bundled together. It moved from strength to strength to delirious delight, and I almost don't want to watch another episode, because I've already touched the face of God.

--2--

When this one started, it was already making me happy in the very first scene. I love the minutiae of Team Faiz, the stuff they do between fighting to "Dead or Alive” and the next time someone shouts Orphnoch. I like the little domestic scenes of them at work. I like the admission that Keitaro is a very hard worker but probably an extremely poor businessman. (Although, he's only paying Takumi 100 yen an hour, so maybe he's smarter than he's given credit?) All that stuff is great.

Then the show ups the ante by having Yuka hang out with Mari, while Keitaro hangs out with Kaido. The stuff with the boys is incredibly cute, them exclaiming their love for Mari and Yuka, and it's so charming how romantic these two characters are. They're ruled by their passions, and it's a blast to see them bond over that trait.

The scene with the girls is one of my all-time favorite in the show, and it's such a small thing. Everything in it is so naturalistic, just two young women sharing their insecurities, gossiping about dumb boys, and enjoying each other's company. They're surrounded by men all the rest of the time, so it's nice to see them get a little time to hang out with other women. It's a little bit of a shame that the talk turns so quickly to their romances, though.

Which is the problem, and it sends this show into a higher gear, putting my brain on a very high boil. A double-date between these four characters, with Mari realizing that her new friend Yuka is in love with Kaido, who's crushing on Mari, while her old friend Keitaro is crushing on Yuka... it's the best. I could not imagine how this show could come up with something so perfectly suited to my tastes.

Until all four of them took a job at a pizza place.

I say this with absolutely no hyperbole, but if that concept existed as a separate show I would quit Faiz and start a thread on that show tomorrow. I would never look back. That idea is so flawless, that... I was so happy. I was so into that. I could watch a million hours of that idea. That's, like, the top of the mountain in entertainment.

Until all four of them got sick and asked Takumi and Yuuji to fill in for them.


!!!

!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!

When Yuka and Kaido are begging Yuuji to take over their shift, I was begging louder than they were. Takumi and Yuuji working together in a pizza place is the fanfic of my dreams, and somehow it is canon.

This... my heart. I don't know what to do with all of this joy.

--3--

I was so into the romantic comedy escapades of these idiots that I honestly wasn't super dialed in for most of the Lucky Clover stuff. I liked it, I like those characters, but it was silver to the other plot's solid gold.

Kageyama's a compelling character, but most of what she's doing in this one is bumping off nobodies. Nice to see her work, but it didn't really start to pop until she (literally!) whips Horsepower's ass. Mr. J became not that much of a threat by his third death, so it's great to see the other members keeping their heat.

And, y'know, Houjou. Speaking of my dreams given form, Houjou versus Faiz? Yes. Hell yes. He immediately knocks him out of his Henshin, stealing the belt and Faiz phone in less time than it took Mr. J to transform. He's a beast, and I'm into him being Faiz for a minute.

--4--

Which, of course Takumi and Yuuji are running for their lives in the same warehouse, and of course they both got knocked out of their superpowered forms, and of course Yuuji sees Houjou Henshin into Faiz. It's so perfectly arranged, I'm not mad at a single note of it. It's such a great cliffhanger for the show. I genuinely wouldn't be upset if the two of them go on the run together, and that's what this show is for the next 30 episodes.

--5--

This episode, you guys.

It's all overheated romantic hijinks and supporting cast subplots, and easily my favorite episode of this show. I don't give a shit that there's barely one Faiz fight at the end. I don't give a shit that Takumi is backgrounded for 80% of this episode. Just plug Four Idiots Have Romantic Misadventures Until They Get Sick And Takumi And Yuuji Need To Work Together At A Pizza Place into my veins.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz20c.png

I really forgot how funny Faiz can be. The double date with each participant having not only their own locked expression but accompanying theme music was just delightful, as were Takumi and Yuuji squirming to stay out of all this ridiculousness.

I'm really glad I decided to watch the show again with you because it's really making me re-evaluate my stance on it. Faiz has lived on in my memory for so long by its worst elements that I'd completely buried all the good. Truth be told, back when I was first watching the show I really loved it up to a point. It wasn't until someone pointed out the tendency towards poor communication that I started seeing it all over the place and my opinion of the entire series soured (not completely, mind you, there's one moment near the very end that I loved and still want to see get its own spin-off series - it involves a frying pan and it is fantastic). That's basically what Faiz has been for me in all the time since then: just a memory of its worst elements and a mental block on all the good. I'm not sure if my revised opinion will hold - I know some of the stuff that's coming up and there's definitely some moments in there - but for now I'm really happy to be seeing this show in a new light.

You see Faiz's main motif was actually a pizza all along, his helmet featuring the image of one sliced in two.

Problem with extreme behavior? When? This is probably a flawed view, but from my experience, extreme behavior is like, the one acceptable way to write a character, the only way to give a shot for an interesting and memorable character (keyword: give a shot, because this is fifty-fifty, they can also be hated for the exaggerated behavior, but...). This is also something that is more prevalent in Neo-Heisei serieses. Continuing from the acting topic before, you're talking about this episode having more realistic take of those, but people thinking of characters who doesn't behave in an extreme way as having no personality or is a bad actor, the reason they say that? Because they think non-extreme characters are robotic and not like humans at all, and thus unrealistic... (and more unfair jabs to introversions). So that'd mean, making characters not extreme is the problematic one. Anyway, Keiko's sthick of dirtying others' clothes because she can't be happy anymore... this reveals the root of her problems, that's the standard toxic behavior of "people putting others down just to make yourself feel better" coping mechanism, within the old maxim of “stand on other people’s toes to raise themselves”, commonly seen in internet trolls. This is not a healthy one and when it seemingly works they will just feed off of it. Also there's a part where she pushes people away, but about her being a spoiled brat to others like Keitaro? Where apparently she wasn't that way to her parents, but were her parents didn't teach her to behave?

Mari had visited Team Orphnoch HQ (Speaking of Team Orphnoch, I've just checked the series outside again, they're refered as The Renegades) before, more than once.... where did you think that Kaido's love sthick came from?? Also I don't think what people complained was about folks running into each other (I don't know how did you assume that's the part of "misunderstanding" or "melodrama", honestlly). Otherwise, for Mari regarding Keiko Noguchi or Kurata... this just reminds me (and probably her) back when she mistook Ichiro for Masato when looking for Kusaka... partly same name with different first/surname. Probably that's the reason why she didn't talk about it before, she (and I also thought this way) thought he was coincidentally talking about the other Keiko, right from Ichiro & Masato experience.

I agree with this. The Toadstool Orphnoch being heavily emphasized between these 2 episodes with Keiko as the main target and also her main source of fear.... that'd make you think it being influental in this story, but yeah, it was big time nope, unless somehow Toadstool's the one who caused the gas explosion. Because he's not related to anyone's problems here, if Keiko was just played as the victim of the week, Toadstool's sthick would play exactly the same. Regarding protecting people's smiles and a monster, it'd make a point if the monster actually attacked Keiko's mom and putting her in amnesia and hospital, thus sending Keiko into this unhappy state, right?

I also agree, while the finisher attack isn't a good one to me, the choreograph and maneuver here is superb. To have Faiz being thrown up to air after Crimson Smash only to still fight back while airborne the whole time by using Grand Impact attack. It's all smart, cool, and smooth.