We are all connected!!!

Yo this is a good analysis of suit design. I'm sitting here mentally comparing Takeshi Hongo to Steve Rogers. I feel like there's something to compare the two as icons of heroism with similar levels of strength. Takeshi getting bulkier because years wear on him, he's been fighting/learning for decades. Steve stays sleek due to comic time though.
Die, help me out here?

I can try!

I think it's also about how the suit helps communicate their mental states: Takeshi is someone who has persevered through the decades, while Cap is someone who skipped over history. Takeshi is, like, scar tissue, physically and emotionally. He's watched his world slowly change, in ways that left him alone. Cap is someone who just woke up and everything was different.

Cap's suit needs that continuity of design, because he's literally a man out of time. He's the exact same guy who punched Hitler in the face.

Takeshi's suit needs to evolve because he's become a different man than he used to be. He's not the adventurer of the 70s, doing cool bike tricks in a quarry. He's slower, bulkier, and his suit (and bike!) immediately communicate that. You look at that guy and instantly go He's Seen Some Shit.

I get what they were going for with Ichigo's suit in the movie, but I still think his best modern suit was the Super Hero Senki suit.

Haven't seen it, yet, so I couldn't say. I like the bold swing of this one, though.

Okay, this one I know for a fact I skipped. I was of the opinion, at the time, that I just did not feel like actively seeking out more Ghost content if I could avoid it. Not the last time I'd make that call, but that's a discussion for Die's next Watch thread.

good news, ghost isn't really in this one

i mean, there's some karaoke

he's definitely here for that

you can fast-forward through that part though

Maybe I'm just not understanding what you're getting at here, but I feel like you're massively underselling this.

Not only can one learn lessons via observation and listening to what others have to say, but that is something that is every bit as important as learning things the hard way. It emphasizes Takeru's' empathy, his ability to take in the feelings of those around him, and shows that he has a good head on his shoulders.

Not only is learning via the example of others important, but it's smart. So to say it's hollow, that it's not impactful, that just doesn't sit right with me. Heck, it's a skill that I wish more people would learn.

Anyway, I love this movie. The action is great, the celebration of both the first Kamen Rider and the franchise as a whole was wonderfully done, and the emotions that the movie was trying to convey really did reach me at many points. Even as someone who's yet to see all of KR-1 or even finish its manga, I got the idea, and the movie did well on selling me with his relationship with Mayu.

Probably my favorite anniversary movie up until Super Hero Chronicles came along and stole that spot.

Yeah, but it's dramatically inert. It's some real Show Don't Tell stuff, where it's more compelling to see Takeru struggle with something and have him come to his own conclusions, rather than have him just overhear Takeshi explaining the themes of the story. The end result is positive (I genuinely like the themes of this movie!), but the path to get there turns Takeru into a generic observer to Takeshi's story.

It goes hand-in-hand with the way this moral is introduced, which is Takeshi just straight-up asking Takeru if he's guessed the moral of the movie that's barely begun. We aren't in a story where Takeru is grappling with the ways people can benefit from the sacrifice of others; we're in a story where Mayu is. She's the one who actually struggles with forgiving Takeshi, and coming to terms with how he can still care for her while leaving to go fight Shocker. Takeru is just trying to save Japan from an evil corporation.

So, yeah, it's a bummer that this is a big moral that Takeru a) doesn't really have any skin in, and b) learns it like he's memorizing facts.

Can't say I agree. All throughout the film, Takeru isn't just dealing with Shocker, but is also doing his usual thing he does in his own show of helping others with their problems. Only in this case, it's Mayu and her issues he's focused on, and being an active observer to the entire affair lends to credence to not only him learning something as well, but also learning more about the people around him. To say he's just a generic observer feels really disingenuous to just how much he does through the movie.

Like, yeah, he gets bodied alot, and he very much isn't the main star of the show, but the small arc Takeru has is still there and is pulled off well enough for what it is. If you didn't get anything out of it, fine, but for me, it was something unique and nice to see in a show that I was otherwise just okay with, and something I haven't typically seen in superhero shows like, much at all.