I think the thing that really ended up working for me with Lucky Clover is how we first see them hanging out, having a drink. It sets a unique tone for them as a group. I think I called them a "social club" before, rather than a villain group, and that's a very fun dynamic. Even groups that we see hanging out in other series like OOO or Kuuga or Drive, those scenes are largely about specific power structures and immediate goals. With Lucky Clover, it feels more like they're just enjoying some time at a bar, relaxing, and then they'll go do villain stuff later.

Well, Yuka's setting Kaido up here. She wants Kaido for herself, and that'll never happen as long as Mari is a possibility. She knows how Mari would react to a proposal (not well), which is why she suggests it to Kaido. It all blowing up in his face was exactly what she wanted!

I pretty much just want to see Kaido winning constantly with cartoon premises. There is no limit to the idiotic stuff you could have him try. Like, I gotta think Kouhai talked him out of dressing up as Mari and trying to trick the belts off of the Riders that way, or maybe having the two of them create a pantomime ride machine and, when one of the Riders got on, they'd jump out and grab the belt. All of these ideas, none of them are too stupid to have worked.

He's a really solid supervisor! I mean, Hank Scorpio is pretty much a dream boss, right? With Murakami, he's not great to his Smart Brain employees, but he really treats Lucky Clover with an appropriate amount of respect. He wants results, but he understands the difference between someone failing and someone being a failure.

Third favorite theme song, W-B-X.

Second favorite theme song, Be The One.

First favorite theme song, SURPRISE DRIVE. It has the best opening, that squealing guitar and propulsive drumming, the announcer saying "START -- YOUR ENGINES", the staccato rhythm right up until "Fire Up/Ignition", and then the guitar speeds up... it's so good! It's the best theme song for a Kamen Rider!

Brb, I'm gonna go write a Kamen Rider theme tier list and post it in a thread, seems like a valuable use of my time.

I’ll just say this:

There is only one Kamen Rider theme song that‘s so catchy it randomly pops into my head at least once a week.

https://youtu.be/trT3e7juaCs

Well if we're talking catchiest Showa openings the answer is obviously Amazon!

https://youtu.be/wYHDAf6xidA

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 25

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25a.png

--1--

Kusaka has some of the best facial acting of anyone in a Kamen Rider, ever. I think maybe 60% of it is those eyebrows, the ridiculous intensity they add to everything he says or does. But he really does make a meal out of every expression, finding some little tic or flared nostril or slightly curled lip to really drive home how messed-up he is.

It's an acting choice that probably wouldn't work on another show. There's not much that's small about Kusaka's choices, you know? The character is very broad, as portrayed here. But Faiz is such an overheated show, it's hard to say it doesn't work. It works great for me, anyway.

--2--

Which is good, since there's a shit-ton of Kusaka in this episode. There're only two plots, and Takumi and Kusaka are really the only reps for Team Faiz's plotline. (Mari's in one set-up scene, and Keitaro gets so into his role as a cleaner that he vacuums dirt instead of saving Kusaka.)

Normally, I'd think a story where Takumi and Kusaka would have to work together to escape from Smart Brain HQ would lead to a bunch of buddy comedy bits, insights into how they'd work together to survive, that sort of thing. Nope! It's all weird Ryusei Cram School ("Go Meteors!”) stuff, and it's... I mean, there ain't a lot here.

It's shot well, I'll give it that. The transition from Smart Brain's clean surfaces and fluorescent bulbs to the Ryusei School's damp atmosphere and purple lighting takes us from a heist story to a horror story in one scene change. It's terribly effective at heightening the tension, making survival seem unlikely. It's very cool to watch.

It's just, other than some cool fights, it's way more mysterious than it needs to be. My rule of thumb for mysteries is One Answer For Every Two Questions. A worse ratio than that, you've lost my interest. Here, it's all questions. Why is the Ryusei School in the basement of Smart Brain? Why is there a new belt? Why is it killing people? What does Orphan Daddy want? Why is he in the Ryusei School? Why is he screaming at Kusaka to FIGHT? Did he get Shiro's script from Ryuki by accident? Is Kusaka going to have to keep killing Orphnochs to save Mari from a coma? Does this make Takumi Shinji, or Kitaoka? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

All of these questions will probably be relevant at the end of the series, but right here it was just too much, too fast.

--3--

And that's a shame, since the Kaido plotline totally delivered for me.

Kaido's someone that has maybe the broadest range of anyone in the cast. Last episode, it was pure comedy. Him swooning over all of Yuka's compliments, his ridiculous marriage proposal, the fact that the fake monster attack he does with Kouhai uses Thriller choreography... it's a whole episode of him being a giant cartoon.

But then this one, it's pure sadness. He wanted to be rid of his humanity, but he can't do it. He doesn't see the value in the family he's made, but he can't throw them away. There's a sweet story about acceptance in this one, about Kaido concentrating on what he has rather than what he doesn't.

It's amazing how well the actor sells it, making Kaido's return to the fold of Team Orphnoch feel both like the best of bad options, as well as something he's grown to love.

--4--

Both stories get incredibly cool fight scenes to close out the episode.

The Takumi/Kusaka vs Faiz/Kaixa fight does some fun tricks with lighting and shutter speed, making the fight appear quicker and more disorienting than normal. I liked how, despite the appearance of Orphan Daddy, the fight's won by Takumi using what's at hand (a killer belt) to get the belts back on our heroes. (Last episode's fight was all about undressing, while this one has undressing and dressing! Escalation!) It's a fun fight.

The Horsepower vs Rabbitpunch fight, it's a decent brawl that has a great, emotional hook in the middle. The disappointment Kaido feels in Kouhai, the way he tells Kouhai that if he needs to hit someone, hit Kaido... so great. While the Rider fight is stylish and clever without having much weight behind it, the Orphnoch fight feels like it's about something, something that matters to the characters beyond their survival.

--5--

Yeah, the Orphnoch stuff really landed for me, while the Faiz stuff was fun to watch but nothing I'd really dwell on.

Except for Kusaka's facial expressions as he revisits the figurative and literal ghosts of his past, because those are glorious.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25c.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25d.png

Actually, I was asking about why Lucky Clover stuff isn't on par with the others like the 2 trios.

I forgot to talk over about theme songs. I already talked about my opinions to Justifaiz early on, and I also have memorized all its lyrics (and lemme test myself here without looking at the other sources).

Hirogaru uchuu no naka can you feel
Chiisa na hoshi no hanashi wo shiyou
Tell me the truth shinjite ta mirai ga
Kurure sarou to shiteru

Kanashimi wo kurikaeshi
Boku ra wa doko e yuku no darou

(Chorus) Ima hitori hitori no mune no naka
Me wo samase the time to go
Tsuyoku aru tame ni
Mata mamoru koto to tatakau koto
Dilemma wa owaranai hashiri tsuzukete mo
The end Justifaiz the means!

Ashita no kono sora sae keep you real
Eien ja nai kamo shire nai
Over again messeeji wo okuru
Byouyomi wa hajimatta

Boku ra ni wa mada kiito
Yaru beki koto ga aru no nara

(Chorus)

Also instrumental version of the song used in Climax Heroes (that got replaced by People With No Name following Fourze, a song that I don't get as invested as Justifaiz)
[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU47OnesWuU[/URL]

Oh! Sorry, I didn't get that.

I guess, for me, it's that we spend way more time with Team Faiz and Team Orphnoch. We've seen them change and grow. For Lucky Clover, there's not that much interiority to the characters, no sense of who they are when they aren't in Lucky Clover. You'd have to completely reorient the show to make them work as well as the other two groups, and I'm not sure it'd be worth it?

Man, I don't know if that's right, but it looks pretty right to me! Excellent work!

Orphan Daddy here making his appearance with that exact same Mirror World sound effect (or at least something really similar), and immediately telling Kusaka to 'Tatakae!' was very surreal. Just imagine that he handed Kaixa a Survive Card and it wouldn't be much more out of place...

Honestly, all of the early 70s, horn-based theme songs tend to blur together for me. Amazon, in particular, I can never fully remember.

For today's casting trivia, Orphan Daddy is played by the late Koji Naka, who had formerly played mentor figure Master Kaku on Dairanger. He passed away in 2015, the same year as Yuuji's actor, Masayuki Izumi.

Look since we’re wasting threadspace talking about themes, I’ll just share my personal favourites here and move on to talking about the episode. https://mobile.twitter.com/4thdocact...63352606052352

Given what I’ve heard about Inoue not getting along with Yasuko Kobayashi, I can’t help but wonder if the Rabbit Orphnoch’s name (Yoshio Kobayashi) and horrific death are a coincidence or a take that.

Also, we learn that the third rider gear is designated “Delta”. Expect him to show up soon.