And then they proceed to refuse to do anything until Gauma exposits to them, which in turn it letting the KE get away with whatever they wanna do and could've easily gotten everyone killed, as Gauma himself points out.

There's wanting to get more information and then there's being an actively stupid risk to, well, everything.

Also it's hilarious how despite all of the grandiose nonsense over "bridging a gap" or whatever, Gauma proceeds to give them a complete non-answer anyway, and that's apparently good enough.

If you wanna argue thematics over logic or whatever, sure, but even then the whole scenario just made me groan.

So according to the toy images, Dyna Soldier awkwardly riding Dyna Diver is the official combination between the two, Diver Combine. Thankfully, the official novels went the less silly route of just having the combination be Soldier with Dynazenon's legs.

Also I just found out that the interior shots of Dynazenon aren't a cockpit, but what Ultra Series fans call an "Inner Space" (I'm not quite sure I can explain the concept beyond essentially one of those shots of the guy inside the super suit, except said suit is a 200 foot giant of light).

And the first kaiju summoned by Onija (onscreen at least. They confirmed that he was responsible for Shalbandes in episode 1's rampage) is Burnaddon, named for the concept of burnout, the idea of doing something long past your ability to engage with it.

Again, I don't think that's how I'd characterize what happens in the fight? The team absolutely tries to defeat the kaiju, but when Gauma orders them to combine, the team points out that they can't do that because they don't trust Gauma, and Gauma's the one who drags his feet on coming clean about his motivation. Like, they aren't refusing to combine, they're pointing out that Dynazenon's feelings-based combining (maybe not the best system, admittedly!) is being stymied by Gauma ignoring the multiple times they've asked him to come clean with them about why he's doing what he's doing. (They even tried the night before the battle! And Gauma blew them off!)

I will definitely not do that, then! Sorry!

I am now genuinely curious if this is some sort of edit to the script that the dub made, because atleast in the Simuldub version, they literally just stop fighting and refuse to do so until Gauma tells them more about himself. To which Gauma responds "Can't this wait until after the battle?" Which, ya know, he's right about.

I don't... you really don't like this episode, and I'm not trying to convince you that you're wrong to not like it -- art's subjective, and no explanation can make you retroactively appreciate it; plus, it's just an episode of a cartoon robot show -- but here's the script on my copy, and then I'll get into how I interpreted it:

GAUMA: Let's combine and fight!
YOMOGI: We can't combine without--
GAUMA: Wrong! If our feelings are one, we can do it!
YOMOGI: We'll never unite our feelings.
YUME: Gauma, are you not telling us something?
YOMOGI: Gauma, tell us the truth!
GAUMA: Fine, but let's do this later!

So, it reads to me like the team telling Gauma that his strategy of "worry about this later" is a) not exactly going to assuage a trio that has explicitly told him that they can't just forget about the mystery he's actively avoided explaining to them for over a day now, and b) pretty obviously a way for him to not eventually explain this to them later, once they've defeated this kaiju, judging by the way he's bailed on mutliple polite discussions up until this ultimatum.

Like, they for sure get distracted by Gauma's reticence -- they almost get exploded! -- but no one opts out of the fight just to spite Gauma or anything.

Oh this isn't even about my feelings anymore, I am just genuinely curious on if FUNi messed with the script or not. And as such...

I went ahead and pulled up the SimulDub real quick to compare, here's what they say, word for word:

Gauma: This Kaiju's' power's a real beast! We'll have to combine to fight this one!

Koyomi: Combine?

Yomogi: Hold on a sec! We haven't had time to practice that!

Gauma: Hey, if our feelings are together, then it will work!

Yomogi: No it won't.

Gauma: Why not?

Yomogi: Because we'll never unite our feelings.

Gauma: Say what?

Yume: Gauma, we all think there's something you're not telling us.

Gauma: For real?

Yomogi: All we want is for you to be honest with us Gauma.

Gauma: Okay, fine, but can we please just do this later?

Yomogi: NO! We wanna know NOW!

And then the Kaiju blows stuff up more.

Gauma: You moron! We almost bit the dust because of all your yapping!

Yomogi: Well it's your fault for not answering! If you'd spit it out then we could all move on!

And then Yomogi proceeds to demand that Gauma talk to them, meanwhile everyone continues to just like, do nothing and blah blah blah this conversation goes in circles at this point.

For the record, I'm not demanding you see my viewpoint, I'm just trying to make clear why I feel the way I do as well as the version of the story that I saw.

It's great to see Die celebrating the upcoming 10th anniversary of Kamen Rider Ghost by reenacting the kind of arguments I used to get in frequently on here back in 2016. :p

...wait that's less silly?!

Yeah, I think it's cool how mystical it is to see them in this, like, Toku Void, but there's still an entire Steel Battalion controller they get to carry around and use, too. Best of both worlds!

I appreciate you sharing it!

My time on the boards is shining bright!

An apt comparison, since that controller is a very direct recreation of one from the OG Gridman -- basically just a regular old flight stick that the protagonist's friends would hook up to their big computer to command the Assist Weapons, exactly like a video game, except there's an actual superhero inside that computer they're actually helping save the day. Again, the whole fantasy that show was presenting was pretty brilliant, though I do have to give credit where it's due to Dynazenon for acknowledging through Yume that Dyna Wing's greatest use is just to beat traffic.

Every time I see Gauma's Dynaboat (or whatever), I just think of Knightboat, from the Simpsons:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nightboat.jpeg

I might be wrong about this, but I think there are actually occasions in the show where Dyna Diver is just sitting on the ground completely immobile, and the show just doesn't call attention to it? A lot of aquatic super robot components would either be amphibious, or just fly, but I'm pretty sure Gauma genuinely can't move on his own without a nearby body of water.

It is very lucky for the Dynazenon Alliance that this battle against the Kaiju Eugenicists is happening within the Japanese archipelago, rather than, like, New Mexico.

SSSS.DYNAZENON EPISODE 4 - “WHAT IS THIS THUMPING HEART?”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nazenon04a.png

Just a perfectly ridiculous episode of Dynazenon, where the bits of longform storytelling – the burgeoning friendship of Yume and Yomogi, the demystification of the Kaiju Eugenicists, and Koyomi’s reconnection with Yomogi’s boss – are just the springboards for non-stop humor and relentless absurdity.

My absolute favorite joke in this episode, and kind of the prime example of how fun this episode is with how it’s still managing to talk about things like unintended and unavoidable consequences for how we treat each other (even a goofy episode of this show is still incredibly smart!), is… there’s that little declaration the team does when they combine, and they shout COMBINE DRAGON DYNAZENON, but this time Yomogi coughs at the end, because he has a cold. It’s such a dumb little touch, but I had to pause the episode from laughing. There’s a mundanity to how this show approaches piloting an otherdimensional giant robot, and it’s endlessly entertaining.

I kind of don’t even know what else to say about this one, other than that it was incredibly funny, and I laughed a lot? Almost all I can do is list the comedic scenes that peppered this episode, like Gauma dropping everything to try and fight Sizumu at the school, and losing because he can’t stop announcing his move before he does it; or Chise pointing out that Koyomi can’t need a day off because he already has every day off; or the way Chise pilots Dyna Soldier to run without moving its arms; or the little scared body language the animators give Dyna Soldier when Chise’s piloting it; or anything Chise does in this episode, spotlight episode for that kid, we need more Chise in Dynazenon.

Again, it’s all still in service to things like plots – Yomogi trying to figure out his crush on Yume – or themes – the ways we affect each other without even realizing it, so we need to be more conscious of our goals and motivations – but all of that is so completely beside the point, which is that this one was hilarious. I don’t care about what else it was doing, despite it doing those things well, because I couldn’t stop laughing watching it. The end!!!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nazenon04b.png

https://i.imgur.com/vMDLvQS.png

This chick is Yume's' imaginary friend and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

Can't go wrong with 90s Simpsons. Now I wanna binge Knight Rider because of this. :lolol

That green creature on the karaoke monitor looks like one of the Tamagotchi creatures.

I almost immediately assumed it was Yume's older sister after Episode 1. If not, I like that she's just got a normal, supportive friend?

My original summary still stands. That being “Never let Chise drive a mecha”.

Also the start of Yume having the same naming sense as Shinnosuke, even when in this case, Gauma has a perfectly serviceable name for what she names the “Something Beam”.

This week’s monster is named Didoras, after the consumer behaviour known as the Diderot Effect, wherein adding one new item to a collection of older ones leads to a need to buy more newer items.

And finally, since he finally has significant dialogue, I can discuss Sizumu’s prior experiences with Toku. His VA Kouki Uchiyama made his acting debut as a child actor in Ultraman Cosmos, before voicing Desast in Kamen Rider Saber and Kamen Rider Outsiders and Phillip in most Kamen Rider W related media since 2021.

I'm sorry or you're welcome!

Incorrect! They should let her drive all of the mecha!

...I want to say something at least vaguely of substance about the episode, but I keep getting distracted by what a perfect, beautiful little frame of animation this is. I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but like, I'm actually not sure what I can add here.

In my case, replace Chise piloting robots with Knight Rider. :lolol

I hear they're maybe making a new Knight Rider! So maybe!

(Also, is Kamen Rider Drive an adaptation of Knight Rider?!)

Might as well be, considering that the staff said how they were inspired by it. Just like how Jetman was inspired by Gatchaman. :lolol

There is only one who I consider the true Knight Rider.

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-00023...w-t500x500.jpg

Well, that's clearly a picture of a Rider Knight, and not a Knight Rider. Big difference; no idea how you could ever confuse those two things

SSSS.DYNAZENON EPISODE 5 - “WHAT’S LOVER-LIKE MEAN?”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nazenon05a.png

Dynazenon has been a series of fascinating duality, mixing comedy with haunting disconnection to create something memorable and affecting… but nothing could’ve prepared me for a hilariously long segment of Yume eating a churro.

I honest to god cannot believe the animators committed to that joke as completely as they did. Just a dead scene, with Yomogi’s pointless small talk and Yume’s incongruent concentration on eating a churro, and it goes forever. I think a part of me is still somewhere watching Yume take tiny bites of a churro and complain about sugar getting everywhere, while Yomogi stands there. In much the same way that Episode 4 got warped by Chise’s manic piloting of Dyna Soldier, this one becomes a masterclass in absurdity thanks to precise and ridiculous poolside shenanigans.

(The bit at the end where, after cutting to the lifeguard three different times for him to scold Gauma, when Gauma tells everyone not to run, they cut back to the lifeguard saying nothing. This episode!!!)

It’s nominally in service of a couple key plots, namely nabbing Sizumu, and getting more time with Yume and Yomogi. I’m gonna be honest and say that neither of those really amounted to much, despite being funny throughout? The Sizumu scheme is lost from the start, pointedly so, as Gauma has nothing in particular in mind for how he’s going to nab Sizumu, or what he’s going to do with him if he does. And Sizumu isn’t really doing much, just sort of Gathering Data on the two main kids. He gives a little speech about bonds being a prison that humans see as freedom, and while that’s for sure a main theme of this series – Yume’s investigation into her sister’s death is kind of Exhibit A in connections not being a way to free yourself – it takes more than half the episode to get to a few lines of dialogue, and then we’re off to the perfunctory kaiju battle, which, while very fun, is sort of treated like an imposition to absolutely everyone but Onija, who is way way too into it. (The whole K.E. plot is super Team Rocket, up to and including Onija getting crushed by debris or whatever.) Everything with Sizumu is funny, or fun, but feels too light and comedic to get much out of dramatically.

The Yume/Yomogi stuff fares a little better, even if it doesn’t exactly move them along in any visible way. Yomogi’s still crushing on Yume, and Yume’s still disinterested and/or oblivious, while still managing to let herself be vulnerable around Yomogi in a way that speaks to how strong their connection has become, even if I wouldn’t characterize it as romantic, or certainly not reciprocated. It’s sweet in its unhurried normalcy, while building something in the background between its two lead characters.

And that’s sort of this whole episode? The gags are terrific throughout, but it’s not in any hurry to tell its story, because it wants you to relax enough for it to spring its trap at the end. I liked it, and found it entertaining, but it mostly felt like setup for a reveal at the end that I don’t know that I found particularly surprising? I sort of figured the sister’s death was a suicide, and while that isn’t confirmed, it didn’t strike me as unpredictable enough to close out an episode on. (I’m also going to assume that Chise’s ever-present sleeve is covering a tragic story, based on the quick look Yume gave it at the pool.) What was here was lulling us into complacency before a gut punch, but it just didn’t hit me that hard? I guess we’ll see if that changes for the next episode!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nazenon05b.png

In which All This Time gets played three different times, at three different temps. Most notably, the original version is played for the only time here.

And also we get Striker Combine… which is basically Max Gridman again, even down to engineering on the toy version (a lot of people even tested and you could have Gridman replace DynaSoldier in the combination, and all that's missing is a compatible helmet to complete the look)

And the customer from epusode 6 of the last show returns here, as Gauma’s presumably new arch nemesis, the lifeguard. If this added to debates as to whether Dynazenon was a continuation in the same world as Gridman, or a different world, I have no idea.

And this week’s monster is named Neophobia, which is straight up the fear of new things.

And that ending. Oh Hasegawa and Amemiya, you teases.

This is the episode that made it clear that Dynazenon wasn't for me. I remember literally shouting "DO SOMETHING" out of frustration at the churro scene. This entire episode felt like meandering to me, which is really not a good sign when there's only 12 episodes to work with.

This was very cool! I like the way this song gets to mean different things throughout the episode.

Ha ha, yeah, I certainly wouldn't fight you on this one feeling a little like a goof-off episode. I think it did some nicely subtly things for the Yume/Yomogi plot -- a big part of their arc is about the idea of just being present for other people in a responsive way, so Yomogi being a person that Yume can be vulnerable around is worth as much or more to her than someone who forcefully interrogates her reactions -- but the Sizumu plot is a total joke (positive) and the kaiju fight is a total joke (negative). I hope the production team doesn't need these 20-odd minutes by the end of the series!

(Disagree on the churro scene specifically, though. Masterclass in comedy!)

So, DreamSword and I have weirdly parallel yet opposite experiences with this whole franchise, right down to him being a fan of the SSSS part of "SSSS.Gridman" while I went in as a fan of the Gridman part. Fittingly then, I'd call this the episode that made it clear that Dynazenon WAS for me. (If that wasn't clear already, anyway.)

One of the things that drove me crazy about the previous show at first was how often it felt like it'd hold on certain shots and moments just a ~little~ longer than needed, and at the time, I didn't really get it, but that churro bit, I thought that was amazing immediately, and never once questioned it. And that gag gives you a lot of time to ask questions! What helped is that I had become pretty attached to these characters so quickly.

Everything in this one feels major and important to me, specifically because of how small and "stupid" a lot of it is. I think the way it handles the entire main cast, both heroes and villains, is pretty emblematic of the show's goals and style as a whole, and I especially liked Yume's compact little arc here. It really impressed me that the show didn't feel the need to have her jump into the water with everyone else at the end to make its point.

Again, I was already loving the show since the second episode, but this sorta feels like the point where I really started to... just put my trust in it, I guess? Like it was gonna work out alright? Feels like that could be a song or something...

Just realised that I could post this now rather than when I thought I’d have to.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kdSB2MIK...ruWjoRRi1JZbGH

Yeah, it's a fun episode for making the bonds between the characters just be present, rather than addressed. And that goes for both groups! And even stuff between both groups!

CSM Dynazenon replicas! (I know, they're just toys, but still!)

SSSS.DYNAZENON EPISODE 06 - “WHAT IS THIS PAIN?”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nazenon06a.png

Friendship is vulnerability.

It’s the value of friendship that you get to be vulnerable around other people, where you can confess your fears and pain and anger to better exorcise them; if not to fix them, then at least to free yourself from their control by illuminating them. But vulnerability is also the terror of friendship: needing people who can let you down or expose you, and letting them see the parts of you that you’re ashamed of, or guilty about. Making friends introduces a whole system of support and potential for improvement, but also introduces new vectors for you to be hurt by others, and to hurt others.

Tricky episode of Dynazenon, is what I’m getting at, and that’s even before we touch on the possible last second (literally!) arrival of Maybe Gridknight.

This one’s very clearly a multi-part story, never more clear than when we were halfway through and I’m getting a scene of Koyomi and Mujina meet-cuting outside a convenience store, and it felt like we were a million miles away from any sort of kaiju appearance. (We were!) If Episode 5 didn’t feel like it was in any particular rush to segue out of a story of personal-scale dismantling in favor of city-scale combat, the addition of a legitimate cliffhanger indulges the previous installment’s unhurried character drama to a higher, almost distressing, level. We are in Emotions territory, for better or worse.

I’d say better, but your mileage may vary. (I learn that on the boards all the time!) It’s an episode that incrementally adds divisions to the heroes by exacerbating their latent personality defects: Yomogi’s need to be there for Yume without really connecting with her, leading to his jealousy as she finds real connections elsewhere; Koyomi’s assumptions leading to his feelings of manipulation and humiliation, bound up in a sense that’s he’s owed more; Yume’s realizations that she never really knew her sister due to never really trying to know her, and how impossible it is to know anyone while also making herself unknowable; and Chise’s frustration at being overlooked, coddled, and generally treated as an afterthought. It’s all the trope-y parts of their characters blown up into their largest, most depressing resolution, and treated as sincere problems that need to be solved, just when the tools to solve them – their teamwork and camaraderie – are completely inaccessible to them.

Meanwhile, the Kaiju Eugenicists are out here learning all the right lessons, and putting them into action. With the ostensible villains, we’ve got a story about recognizing that every person matters, even if all they bring to a relationship is just being another person, and that we only grow and improve as people by letting each other in. Mujina and Onija have to share control of the kaiju in order to harness it, and they overlap their desires and outlooks in order to do it – you can see Mujina becoming more like Onija as they collaborate. While the heroes collapse into individual misery, the villains rise up through mutual understanding and being vulnerable enough to let each other in.

And then Maybe Gridknight shows up.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...nazenon06b.png

Those last 30 seconds are some real good serotonin if nothing else.

Maybe!

It’s mid-season and we’ve shown off all but one of the gimmicks you can get from the first THE GATTAI set for this show alone. Time for something to shake things up (and allow them to sell a second set)

And around this time, Tsubaraya began pushing Gridknight a bit more, giving him his own Primal Fighter colours (replacing the purple and Orange with a metallic blue and green) and a spin off miniseries aping the old Ultra Fight shorts from the 70s (which have only been subbed in Italian, so unless you speak that language, don’t worry about adding it to this watch thread right now).

And this weak’s monster Bullbind plays with the “Toku monster” aesthetic by looking like it would require 2 suit actors to portray. It’s named for the Double Bind, wherein two people doing the same thing get completely different results.

Neat! Thanks!

Man, poor Gauma. He's working hard to train this ragtag group of misfits into an elite kaiju fighting force, but it's like he's the only one who understands what genre of story this is. Or maybe he's the only one who doesn't understand what genre this is; the lines get rather blurry!

Be the wacky tokusatsu protagonist you want to see in the world, I guess!

Randomly thinking about the designs in SSSS.Gridman today, I sort of have a read on Utsumi's design? Like, I was thrown by how the white shirt he wears makes him look more like SG Ratchet than SG Sideswipe, but I feel like that might be intentional, in that his character actually is sort of both SG Sideswipe -- friend to Cliffjumper/Yuta -- and SG Ratchet -- weirdly loyal to SG Optimus/Akane. He's sort of drawing from both of those personalities, and I feel like that's why his design straddles the line of both of those characters. Just a random thought!