I'm 10 episodes into Kamen Rider Black RX and I'm honestly somewhat enjoying what I'm seeing with the show so far.

Black RX's beginning is pretty weak. It gets a lot better as it goes along.

Black RX is my favorite Showa Kamen Rider show, it's madly underrated. I hope you like it!

Just got done watching Beyond Generations, and I thought it was pretty solid. My biggest praise definitely goes to how well-realized a character Century ended up being, which itself speaks to how focused the story is. It's not really concerned with throwing some big party for Kamen Rider as a whole, which is probably to its benefit, but at the same time, what anniversary elements the movie does have are generally looped into its own narrative smoothly. Probably not a new favorite Rider movie for me or anything, but certain aspects of it left me quite impressed, and there's nothing actively bad I could think to say about it.

I remember comments from the director saying that to distinguish it from Super Hero Senki - another 50th anniversary Kamen Rider project, which celebrated its past - Beyond Generations was made with the intent on focusing on Kamen Rider's future. Probably pretty obvious given Century but thematically that seems on point from your impressions there

Personally I don't think Kamen Rider should continue for another fifty consecutive years, but maybe that makes me the kind of villain who gets kicked in these movies...

I'd probably be dead before they reach the 100th anniversary anyway

Thanks. Considering how Black RX gets unfairly compared to the previous series due to featuring the same main protagonist and even couple of other elements from it and how well-loved that show is, it makes one think it's like the worst thing that ever comes into existence and yet, despite a few hiccups, I really am liking Black RX so far despite a few hiccups and I'm already up to episode 21 and being few a episodes away until I am at the show's halfway point.

Watched the first two episodes of Kamen Rider Amazons!

-Honestly, after hearing so many people go "it's the gritty one!/this ain't your little bro's Kamen Rider!", hm, I was expecting a bit more.....? violent? But all the gore and violence has been done tastefully.(So far, I do expect it to esclate, so we'll see) Really makes me hope that the "edgier" tone isn't just done simply for the sake of violence and they're using it to tackle more mature things not usually seen in modern day Rider.

-I know they're probably just going to be fodder for this show's body count, but like, I love the extremination team???? There's nothing better than regular ol humans aiding the heroes/fighting off a monster, yknow! Gave me Team G3 vibes, esp when they all wake up drunk and have to go fight a monster hungover. I grew attached to them so fast that Ootaki being an Amazon geniunely made me upset! (The van scene in Ep 2, fucking devasating..)

-The fights, are like, really good? Real beastly, real gripping. L-O-V-E all the fun wire work in this one, people are *flying* all over the damn place, it's great!

-Surprised out of all of the Amazons, I came out interested in our protag, the least? Mamoru's a certifed Good Boy, Jin seems like a fun guy, Haruka is....not much, as of now. Of course, it's apporipate, to be Scared and Confused, in this situation. I'm a bit sad we barely got to know about him pre-awakening, other than the little aquarium tidbit. Hoping he'll peak my interest somehow!

-I haven't watched the original Amazon, but I do have a comment in comparsion! I've always found Amazon's suit, to be quite cute, y'know? Very much shaped like a friend! Alpha and Omega are interesting re-imagings of the suit, I imagine they try to evoke the more beastly feel you're supposed to get from the original suit. I like Alpha's suit more, Omega's suit feels too...rounded? like they "modernized" it a bit too much.

All in all, it's a solid opener, feel like I'm ready to really sink my teeth into this show, so to speak.

Kamen Rider Revice Legacy: Kamen Rider Vail

Part 4

So at this point, it's 'siding with the angel or the devil' scenario for Genta, obviously with Yukimi for the former and a literal case with Vail for the latter. Yukimi trying to not let Genta succumb to his inner darkness, and Vail convincing Genta to give in into his vengeance. Both sides have plenty of temptation, of how both cater to Genta's wants, Genta wants to have more fulfilling life and Yukimi already showed he can have it, but Genta also wants to take revenge against his family's murderers and that hasn't been resolved, and Vail revealed himself and what NOAH, particularly Agariyama were doing, purposely instilling hatred in Genta to use him as their executioner. Now Agariyama clearly has nihilistic outlook to think only hatred can make someone kill devils, and thus ruining someone's life for that, when someone who cares about others could fit the bill, they'd want to use Riders' power for good by killing devils for protecting others by themselves alone. But for now, Vail is the winner, taking over Genta's body, and it's expected as now Genta knows the real culprit and thus can directly exact his revenge right now after tirelessly seeking for it. Genta does want a fulfilling life, but that hasn't knocked his vengeance of his top priority yet, and Vail just made it easier now.

Yukimi displays more of her considerate trait here, other than staying to look after Genta which means she's not "stuck" there, to not only thank Irabu for his help but also be concerned of his newfound fugitive status. And she here still acknowledged the other NOAH soldiers as still human, in an attempt to prevent Genta becoming similar to a devil. And ong ago that she took a stray dog, of which the dog was named Genta and it was where the name came from. Which as Junpei noted, Yukimi basically saw Junpei as a stray dog. I wonder if Yukimi had done more of taking in living beings like this, there'd be an army of Genta (but more importantly, the gender of the living beings she helped). The "busybody" part of her staying to look after Genta also shows that it's not only the fighter that looks after others despite that they're the one that can save others due to their power.

There's already obvious speculation before of the NOAH Captain being younger Buu-san, and now the series officially introduced him as one. So he's already called that in his younger days too. Usually even without being Riders or scientists, people who have militaristic job are usually more competent and capable than average person, and thus is more 'useful', and in the main series, Buu-san was apparently just a regular at Happy Spa that got close to the Igarashis, but has excellent information gathering skills. A previous case of information gatherer in Build for Sawa was partly about how she was a child soldier of Namba (a part of her temporary betrayal too). And turns out Irabu too, was a former soldier, thus explaining how he got those skills from. And he got close to the Igarashis not from regularly visiting Happy Spa, but as said before in the series, already did before the Igarashi siblings even born, by helping Genta escape as per his resistance job.

About Vail's slaughter of the NOAH soldiers which actually shocked Yukimi, as well as Yukimi pleading Genta to stop beating up a soldier to death... so that'd mean Genta as Vail didn't actually kill the soldiers in Part 3 before? Despite the soldiers being thrown like a ragdoll from a Rider's blows. And then again Buu-san already shot several soldiers before to protect the main couple, so soldiers being killed aren't a new thing, unless it's not meant to show a similar outcome, but Vail's bloodthirsty nature instead. Actually I do have some questions about how Buu-san can actually contradict himself in his job as a spy in NOAH. Like, if it's a named major character like Masumi, Buu-san gives him a chance to remind him to redeem himself, but other nameless soldiers who are probably doing less damage than Masumi, they're killed without reasoning, but I mean talking them out first outside combat like Masumi.

It shows how far Genta has fallen in to despair, that he'd be willing to throw away his chance at happiness and make a Deal With The Devil who killed his parents to complete his revenge against the person who ordered it. Like he's given up on living and succumbed to his new existence as a devil human, despite Yukimi trying her best to reach out to him. Vail even makes out like NOAH "forced" him to do it, even though killing and eating humans can be considered a hobby for devils, so if Agariyama served up the Shiranamis on a silver platter, then of course Vail was going to do that, no questions asked. That scene was cleared up anyway, since we see that Genta was personally present to watch, but this was before Vail introduced himself, hiding his true identity as the red devil.

Not justifying Kamen Rider Vail using his powers lethally on mere human soldiers if it was possible to incapacitate them, but I guess in the previous episode it was self-defense, as they were armed and trying to murder him. Genta wasn't exactly a heroic Kamen Rider either, since he was set up to be motivated only by his own personal problems. While Yukimi objecting to him graphically beating up and already defeated soldier could be due to how such an unnecessary cruel action would make Genta no different from the people who ruined his life. Regarding Buu-san's moral advice, I figure he just knew Masumi on a more personal level and acknowledged that his genius could be used for good, compared to the soldiers who may have been aware that they were working for the villains.

I just watched Dear Gaga and wanted to say I really really enjoyed it.

Like a lot of these Blu-ray spinoffs, it feels like a waste to confine it to some expensive physical release, but instead of that being because of some elaboration on the canon or whatever, it's just... it's an interesting story I'd want every Revice fan to see? It's kind of obvious from the actionless structure why they didn't want to do it on TV, but I still would've loved to see this as a very special and touching episode of the show proper, somehow. It's not an issue for us, obviously, but it comes off as almost cruel to make the continuing story of Hiromi, and make it this good, and then give all the kids and less diehard fans in Japan a clip show where we get told Hiromi is fine but barely see him. There's a lot more emotional depth to how Hiromi reacts to seeing Daiji and Ikki than episode 29 lets on!

But I want to stress the key point there, which is that I can only be upset about this because Dear Gaga is seriously good. And that's just based on the half(?) of it we have right now!

There are Revice fans?

There sure are! Especially fans of Hiromi.

Just finished Beyond Generations, and despite it being the crossover movie for Saber and Revice, I found that it actually works pretty well as a standalone. Really dug the character development on Century himself, and the action was consistently smooth all the way through. Plus, the scenes with Hongo were pulled off well and were a delight to watch. Not my favorite Rider movie, but a fun time all the same.

Finished Beyond Generations as well and I'll echo what Dreamsword said, it's a very good standalone movie that really doesn't need you to know all the specifics behind either series its crossing over with.

And yeah thankfully, the emotional core of the movie is put on Kamen Rider Century and his whole deal since well... we have a very big extended Rider Cast.

I do like that we did at least have budget for mostly getting a Quirk Miniboss Squad into play via the Crispers. Also its never not going to be funny whenever I just hear Frieza's VA show up to voice like different roles in things I watch.

Overall, very fun, would recommend. And Promise continues the streak of like great Ending Theme songs they've had going for a while now.

I realize I'm waaay late to the party by now, but I've had a partially-completed writeup for Superhero Senki sitting around since before it was subbed, and the thought has finally occured to me that I'm better off putting some thoughts about the movie out there rather than none. I'll get to explaining why this took me so long in a second. And just in case, this post will have a few *SPOILERS* in it... assuming you're even later to the party than me, anyway!

---

Having seen this movie now, I really appreciate how significant the title being "Senki" instead of "Taisen" is.

Those earlier crossovers, they were always selling themselves on being, exactly like the latter word says, Big Conflicts. A lot of the time, for better or for worse (I legitimately like a lot of those films, to be clear), the scale of that conflict would be emphasized by how all these heroes who had gathered would feel the need to fight with each other, at least for an act or two. That was a key part of how... weirdly dour, I guess, some of those movies could feel. They were supposed to be celebrations of these huge franchises coming together, but they always stumbled with that need to focus on fighting, fighting, and fighting.

Superhero Senki, on the other hand, is about, exactly like the word says, how the Conflicts of these characters have left a Record behind. An indelible history carved out by countless faces over the course of many years. The stories behind those fights, and the impact those tales have left.

If you ask me which series got more focus here, I'll tell you in a heartbeat it isn't Zenkaiger. While there's surely potential for that show's own themes to carry a meta plot like this, Kamen Rider Saber stars a writer defined by his genuine belief in the power of storytelling, and you'd better believe they get everything they can out of that in this one. I can't even be upset the Zenkaigers aren't a more active driving force in the plot, because the plot they came up with instead is the kind of story only Saber could tell.

I'm maybe getting ahead of myself now, though. First of all, it's hardly as if the Zenkaigers are glorified extras or anything. (Even *if* my one complaint about this movie is that, like everything, it would be greatly improved with more Magine.) The team still gets their moments to shine, for sure, and I was particularly fond of how effectively they split the groups up for the first big chunk of the plot.

For the whole portion where everything is split between the alternating Hakkenden and Journey To The West stories, you get this clever twist where the equally excitable Touma and Kaito essentially swap their contrasting partners, resulting in some pretty fun dynamics. Zyuran's mellow attitude and snarky quips bounce just as well off the always earnest, often rather emotional Touma, and Rintarou's inclination towards hestitant analysis of his surroundings makes a great contrast to Kaito's eagerness to dive headfirst into anything. There's an instant sense of chemistry that builds up, and it's a real treat seeing two casts I love coming together this way. Again, there's no heroic infighting in this movie, so they're just kinda hanging out right away, and it's awesome. Even though there are bigger ideas the film moves on to tackle eventually, this section emphasizes the actual crossover stuff so well that I ended up feeling totally satisfied on that front. It helps that the twisted recreations of those classic tales are so much adventurous fun in their own right, with all the other returning characters getting their moment or two to shine.

And what helps that along is the usual stellar direction by Ryuuta Tasaki, who brings an *immense* amount of visual clarity to everything that happens. Beyond even the direction, Superhero Senki has a level of detail to every little scene that elevates it a ton. It's sort of like, begging to be savored, and I found because of this that even the smallest moments can feel like big deals.

An easy example is when Saber and Zero-One team up -- the first time Saber and Zero-One have teamed up, because the traditional winter crossover for them got lost in the shuffle. That's a huge bummer for me when I adore both these characters so much, but Superhero Senki clearly gets that. Even though it only has room to be just another small thing, those couple of shots of the two together are framed *really* carefully to convey them being an awesome action duo, fighing back-to-back against evil hordes. It really shouldn't be anything that impressive, and yet it's kinda so epic it manages to scratch the itch left by the absence of a full-length team-up in about a minute. Fumiya Takahashi only gets to do one quick Aruto joke, but he makes sure to absolutely kill it. Grand Zi-O gets to be cool. The both of them, and all the returning Sentai characters, specifically get to transform on-camera, because this movie understands it's cool to see the actors filming new transformation scenes again after an absence. As a Saber fan, I love how well-represented his fashion sense is, with quite a few different forms showing up, including a surprise appearance by Traffic Light Saber, the affectionate nickname I gave in my head to Dragon Hedgehog Peter because I like it so much even though I never expected to see it beyond the early episodes of the show. Everywhere you look, Superhero Senki displays a strong understanding of what... well, at least what I'd want to see from all these characters in a movie together. There are so many little things that made me smile and go "I see what you did there!", like Aruto making his entrance saving an android(!) who then explains his joke(!), and I adored how much thought it was evident they put into this.

And it isn't just the thought put into the delightful fanservice, either! When the story gets to those heavy emotional beats, the execution makes them land so much harder. That scene of Touma and Mei reading their own story is so wonderfully realized. First of all, you can see right from when it's on the shelf at the beginning that the book after Zero-One has no title, and while the twist of Saber being fictional too is entirely internal, having the book's title be hidden because it was in the form of a pop-up book style flap is still a fantastic reveal.

And yet that doesn't even compare to the way everything that comes immediately after this impressed me with how *visceral* it was. Tasaki's fantastic direction mixes beautifully with Nobuhiro Mouri's script to make you empathize with how shocking this all is for Touma. It's a recap of Kamen Rider Saber up to that point, but it's all being reduced to a bunch of lines of text on a page. Touma's whole life, with all the sorrow he's endured and all the victories he's earned, is nothing more than text on a page. The subdued piano version of Saber's BGM motif underscores the melancholy of what's happening, as the film suddenly slows to a crawl after so much bombastic action. The music stops completely for a bit as it becomes apparent the book even has the dialogue that's happening in this scene, word for word, and the way the text pops up gets more and more aggressive and unnerving, culminating in the absolute darkest hour for the heroes.

Until is isn't the darkest hour, because Touma is back home, in "reality", living the peaceful life of his dreams. The score continues to be impressive throughout this scene too, contrasting even more with the rest of the film, and Tasaki does his part to convey both the subdued break in the pace and the surreal vibe by making this one long 7 minute take. (Or at least it's made to look like one; I'm pretty sure the part with Mei and Shoutarou is a separate bit, but it's hidden seamlessly, and the two chunks are still pretty dang long!) The green screen background is classic Saber, but it looks fake here for a legitimate purpose. We're in the "real" world now, but you can tell how cramped it is, and combined with the elaborate staging, it feels like just that -- something staged. It's a theatrical production Touma is an actor in, because for him, the real world is the escapist fantasy. It's also just a plain impressive scene to watch, completely earning how much it's showing off. This is the emotional peak of the film, and Tasaki wants you to know it.

There's a certain level of arrogance that's maybe inherent in making Shoutarou Ishinomori a character in a movie based on his creations. Fortunately, I get the sense Mouri felt that pressure, and used it as motivation to make a very respectful tribute to how Ishinomori's legacy has grown even beyond the man himself. Touma's nature as an author makes this a much smoother process, because he is absolutely the guy who is going to see the beauty in a young Ishinomori's unique vision of heroism, and encourage him to tell the stories only he can. (Touma would know the importance of expressing yourself through art, considering he wrote a hit book inspired by his literal Lost Memory.) Similarly, Hiroshi Fujioka's brief appearance lends a weight to it all that you could only get from the actual original Kamen Rider himself. It's as much him speaking as it is Hongou, and I love how many of the lines in that brief exchange carry different meanings depending on who you imagine is saying the dialogue.

...Aaaaaand this right here is where I stopped! I watched the movie like two or three more times back when it was released, hoping that would help me to gather my thoughts, but all it did was cement the hang-up I was having. This movie is "begging to be savored". I was too right about that, and it was beginning to feel like some kind of paradox trying to express all the things I enjoyed about it in any kind of succinct manner. I might have been having a similar crisis of faith to Touma at the start? I lost sight of what I was even trying to accomplish with the review.

Was I just going to sit there listing things about the movie I liked off? I'd have to describe every single scene! From the very first shot, where we pan up from Southern Base to some orbital station that's apparently always been there, all the way through to the climax, where the logos of the shows join the fight as if to emphasize the heroes are fighting back AS works of fiction, the amusing creativity in this film is off the charts throughout. If that was the direction I wanted to go, I might as well be making a commentary track for the whole thing. I mention how much better Superhero Senki is then the Taisen films were, but even putting them in the same breath feels like an insult to Senki. The thought put into stuff like the score and the shot composition is basically on a whole different dimension, and I love so many completely random minor bits that I could never list them all off. That's part of why I think it's a great movie! You'll always notice something new on a rewatch. It wasn't until the second time through, for example, that I noticed Zyuran drew Gaon's picture smaller than everyone else's on the sign he's carrying around at the start, alluding to their bickering dynamic in Zenkaiger.

Was I just trying to convey a general appreciation for the overall film, then? Wasn't I basically done already, in that case? I guess I didn't feel satisfied with that at the time, because part of me, even now, really does just want to go picking this thing apart in a stupidly detailed recap, but it's probably asking a bit much of anyone to read whatever monstrosity of a rambling post I'd make doing that... not to mention asking a bit much of myself to sit down and write it.

So, after rewatching the movie yet again recently in the hopes I might finally settle things this time... I'm settling them! This is what I'm doing! I'm not going to go into excruciating detail about stuff like what an amazingly gutsy and poignant statement it was to have the Saber cast do an outright Sentai roll call here -- even though I would *so* love to do that -- but I am chiming in to say that I find this movie to be something of a masterpiece tribute to both these franchises and their legacy, and mentioning enough about the details that I can hopefully encourage everyone else to look at it a bit closer themselves.

Superhero Senki isn't anything as lowly as "the best one of those crossovers yet" or whatever; it's a fantastic crossover, plain and simple. It combines the beautifully unashamed sentimentality of Kamen Rider Saber with the insane amount of layers and detail in the production that Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger brings to the table, and the resulting mix is something to behold. I love it enough that... well, I mean, I've already watched it around half a dozen times in like half a year, so I think that about says it all. Or at least, as close to "all" as I feel like getting right now!

Now that's something I'd certainly like to hear. ;)

Anyway, yeah, I really loved this movie too, even as someone who's never seen Zenkaiger or Saber. That final act especially is just top notch, and made the film my favorite of the Anniversary movies.

Kamen Rider Revice Miniseries: DEAR GAGA

Page 1

Already watched it a while ago, but posting about it now.

So turns out that Hiromi didn't get amnesia, but was faking it to run away from his responsibilities and avoiding Fenix. Though Hiromi has retired before from it though? Which'd mean Hiromi didn't die a hero, but lived long enough, not to become a villain, but becoming a bit jaded. Hiromi did have miserable life, like his flashback of being bullied, as well as the current event of Wakabayashi being Chameleon Deadman, George using him as guinea pig and discarding him, the reveal of Fenix having a corrupt leader, and Demons devouring his life force, but I guess he's not 100% immune to the dark side of him succumbing to some apathy here after so many crushing cards dealt to him.

A clear new path for Hiromi's character, and actually despite that I thought at the beginning Hiromi would be messed-up inside despite his outwardly heroism, this one that did it a bit with apathetic Hiromi surprised me, as Hiromi had been genuinely heroic for so long in the main series. Would see more how Hiromi would get back into track later, and I hope it wouldn't be handled too easy in a nonsensical way (which often happened when talking down outright villain, and Hiromi here is still a good person), he's still doing that despite that he received unconditional love and support from his mom Takako Kadota, to the point of snapping at one point to throw away his Fenix uniform.

Probably if Hiromi gets out of his funk, the parts of DEAR GAGA would be brought up on the TV, but agree, actionless part can be a really meaningful and impactful part, and likely for the kids, they think what appeals more to them is the actions, so focus on action in the TV series. But not only this, the Vail Legacy is also commonly seen as the good one for the series now, like this continuing story of Hiromi.

I watched it yesterday and thought it was pretty enjoyable. Feels good to return to the Movie War format after 2 years. I like how Century's name is very appropriate, being the fusion of Ryuunosuke from 1971, Hideo from 2021 and the Cyclotron Driver from 2071. I appreciate how Revice used Neo Hopper Genome in the final battle, since it gave a feeling that Zero One was present in spirit, which is a nice consolation for never getting to star in a Movie War with Saber. We also got to see Touma use his final form, unlike Aruto. As a fan of Xross Saber, I was very excited about that.

The Saber guys don't really have a lot of personal involvement in the story though, since it's mostly the pillar at Southern Base that serves as the catalyst to pull them in to the conflict. However, we do get some sweet moments for Rintarou/Mei shippers (and a fanservice-y one for Rintarou/Sophia shippers!), Reika is unusually tolerable here (or maybe she just seems more tolerable compared to Sakura) and Touma does deliver an important moral to Vice about the importance of keeping promises (Sakura clearly not paying attention though, SMH). Vice is naturally not the type of person to value promises, so this is a big development for him and it reminds me how awesome Touma is, that his powerful words can reach even the heart of a devil!

As somone who hasn't seen any Revice, is Movie Wars Century edition (aka Beyond Generations) still understandable? I get the general gist of Ikki and Vice, but that's about it.

To be honest I think all you need is the general gist of Ikki and Vice.

Like Dreamsword didn't have any context for either Saber or Revice but he enjoyed it just fine.

The way I'd put it is that Beyond Generations straight up isn't a movie about Saber or Revice. None of those characters are really at the emotional core of the plot, and the details of their respective settings don't factor in all that much either. You should be able to follow along just fine without knowing much about either show.

Cool cool, thanks for the responses! I guess I've got no excuse not to watch it then!

(I should really get back into the groove of regular Rider at some point. Maybe with whatever comes after Revice, idk)

I honestly think none of the characters aside from Ikki and Vice actually feel like they're in it?? It's definitely a Century movie, featuring a bunch of guys doing some fights

Well, it's been a while but now I'm back to watching Kamen Rider Black RX and I'm up to its 26th episode.

I'm now up to episode 33 of Kamen Rider Black RX and I got to say, the last several episodes of this series have been pretty good especially Shadow Moon's final appearance and episodes 29 and 30 which is the two-parter that deals with the Crisis Empire taking control of Japan's entire water supply.

Currently up to episode 41 of Kamen Rider Black RX with only six episodes left after this. I should be able to finish this series tomorrow if not today. After that, it would time to open your eyes with Kamen Rider Faiz.

I'm on episode 16 of Den-O. Having a lot of fun, you can really tell this is where the shift in tone and style comes in between early Heisei and late Heisei. The multiple Imagin possessing Ryotaro gimmick is really cool and something I didn't know about before starting, and Hana is one of my favorite Rider assistants/companions. Some of the mechanics of time travel/Imagin are a little unclear to me but I'm enjoying it anyway.

Just watched Beyond Generations. Wasn't a fan. The plot overall was meh, it felt like there was no passion put into this movie, aside from the really good 71 portion. What made it really bad though was partially Hongo being thankful that he was remodeled, which I really didn't feel fit with Ishinomori's idea of being a Rider being a tragic thing, and worst of all, this line:
https://www.tokunation.com/attachmen...1&d=1654237882

That's such a horrible message to tell children. It's objectively untrue. There are genuinely evil parents in the world, and I'm sure that some of the kids watching this are going to be hearing this message and feeling like they're a bad child for hating their neglectful or even abusive parent

I wanna add to Beyond.

It's baffling that the movie resolves the parent and child plotline with the father knowingly lying to his son. He knew he'd disappear and he boldfaced lied to his son! What an awful father!

I disagree there. I felt that the movie itself never shied away from how terrible Shocker's' experiments are, and that includes what happened to Hongo. This is even shown via Ryunosuke's' major regrets and defecting from Shocker.

Instead, to me it's more highlighting something else that Kamen Rider has always been about, ever since the original: That even if something bad happens to you, that good can come out of it and if possible, you should look to spin it into a positive. Hongo isn't saying that his life became amazingly awesome thanks to his modification, he's simply thanking Ryunosuke for helping him be able to do more good in the world, inadvertently or not.

The movie definitely felt like it was taking its subject matter with all the subtlety of a hammer, yeah. Least favourite Reiwa movie yet, but the 71 flashback was super nice at least

That's what I think as well. Hongo's existence is lonelier after becoming 1, but he was able to use his originally evil powers to bring happiness to so many people. Even though his human body was taken away, made to feel different from everybody else, he always held on to his human heart, which became even stronger through his endurance. He's not the only example either. Jo willingly signed up for Black Satan's remodification surgery, whereupon he revealed his true intention to oppose them, as he mockingly thanked them for giving him the means. Hiroshi even says the same "I'm grateful" line in the first episode of SkyRider. So there's no way it would be something that Ishinomori would be offended by, since he was right there giving the thumbs up.

As of now, I'm up to the 12th episode of Faiz.

I've never made it past episode 5 :lol

One of these days I'll actually finish Faiz...Maybe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2YneycIHjE

He kinda sums up my feelings on Over Demons and Revice's direction as a whole.

One day soon, I hope! :D

been working through Zero One some more, starting with the tail end of the competition arc, and up to the MBJR crew reuniting.

Jin and Fuwa are fighting for my favorite
Yua is alright

just like Naki has no gender, I have no care.

Gai is an inhuman monster that needs to go to prison.

Kamen Rider Revice Legacy: Kamen Rider Vail

Part 5

Other than how the Igarashis form a family, turns out this also revealed something more.

So how Vail was defeated and came into contact with Demons Driver was answered here, Masumi used the Driver both to seal Vail while also saving Genta to atone for himself. That also revealed how Masumi decided to wear a mask all the time, as he set himself on fire while doing so. Honestly, shows even if someone had committed unforgivable sins and genuinely felt remorse, better try to atone it even if it's not enough, rather than letting yourself die like what Masumi did at the beginning. Who'd seal Vail at that time?

After Genta chooses to live a fulfilling live (if he survived), Vail seems to be running out of ideas on what to do, likely the first time, he just tried to persuade Genta to rule the world together with him... as if Genta ever had a wish to rule the world lmao. That's Vail's weakest manipulation yet in the series so far, but it seems that Vail also has similar views on demons against humans, to think they'd be instantly tempted by stock villainous goals.

Agariyama met his end here as expected, but it was more brief than I thought, Agariyama just carries himself a gun to confront Vail, which predictably, had Vail just impaling him with his arm. I thought as someone in military who had several scientists (more shown here than Masumi) under his control, he'd have some trump card to deal with Vail, either supernatural devices like ViStamp or even military vehicles like tank, but no. That'd still mean Agariyama isn't a coward type to face Vail like that however, not that him being brave would reduce his wrongdoings.

So Genta's face was really altered, and while the reason is typical fugitive one, it makes more sense now to alter his face, so that he's harder to be tracked by NOAH, Yukimi wasn't the only one to 'change' his identity by naming him Genta. And at that time, I guess even someone as noble as Yukimi (had a bit irrational side at first, but it shines more in real tragedy), when she gets a shot at happiness after the tragedy ended (temporarily), took the opportunity to make a decision solely for herself too. The selfish decision, to put it bluntly, though it's a harmless and a deserved one, by stringing Genta along as her husband, done likely before their official marriage in credits, which'd mean technically still a lie albeit Genta would happily oblige.