Doing my yearly pop-in. Still a huge Rider-fan, but a full year behind as I've had to wait and watch the Malay DVDs of the past four seasons!

That will change for the next Rider, post-Gotchard, as I have a new laptop and will be able to watch as subs are released. I really look forward to talking with everyone again as the show is happening!
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As for current watching - we just wrapped up Geatz! Definitely a top five season for me, absolutely loved it. My gf thinks it's her favorite of the five seasons she's seen.

That's all for now!

8 episodes into Kamen Rider Drive and I am honestly enjoying this show already.

Finished watching Movie War Full Throttle which serves as a crossover movie between Drive and Gaim not too long ago and this is easily the best Kamen Rider crossover film I have seen so far since Mega Max. I love it so damn much! :D

Personally, my favorite is Movie War Ultimatum!

Mega Max is still my personal favorite among them, don’t get me wrong. Movie War Full Throttle is a very close second, though. I just seriously love how Shinnosuke and Kouta play off with each other in the latter film.

I am now episode 22 of Drive and it looks like this is going to be yet another favorite Kamen Rider series for me.

If you love the show already then I can't even imagine what you'll think about the better half.

I'm currently doing something I have been kind of dreading for years: I'm rewatching Kamen Rider Gaim. Like, not because it's Gaim, but because of what that little project could entail. It was the first ever Rider show I had seen. It's the reason why I'm here.

Two amazing people, SanoBaron and CybermanWorf, were talking about it on another form, sharing clips, one of which was about a fabulously gay guy transforming into a durian armor man. I saw this and thought to myself "I gotta get in on that". They were so kind and helpful, showing me everything I needed to know to get started. And I fell in love with Gaim back then, fell in love with Kamen Rider. My life is so much better because of it, because I have this franchise in my life.

But as the years went by, as I watched more and more Kamen Rider I started to wonder: Was it really that good? Or was it all just really great new car smell? Would I end up seeing the cracks (pun not intended) when I rewatch it now? Will I end up disliking it even?

So that's what kept me from giving it another go. I was afraid it would not hold up.

But then like 2 weeks ago when they were pumping out the Seihou Gaim news and I saw that 10 anniversary logo - I knew now was the time. 10 years later, I need to watch it again.

Long story short, I absolutely love it still. From the first episode onwards I was hooked. It really is just that good, after all this time, after all the Rider shows I have seen since. The setup, the story, the characters, the sounds, the suits, everything. Watching the drama slowly escalate, looking at these characters knowing of what they will become. So many clever twists and turns I forgot about entirely.

It's not perfect of course, nothing is, but it is perfect for me. I'm really having a blast making my way through the episode count. Gaim is really awesome.

I am now at the show's final quarter and, thanks to its second half, I just simply love Drive even more than I already do.

Oh, and on a somewhat related note, I should be able to get my copy of Kamen Rider Black Blu-Ray series along with Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger DVD series set from Amazon sometime later today or tomorrow at the latest.

Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 41 & 42: All Club Activity Ceases & Reign of the Archer

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...220190ee51b2c&

(Full disclosure - I watched this like two weeks ago before a work trip so my memory isn't as fresh)

We're entering the endgame, as various mysteries resolve themself, and this two parter is devoted to Meteor's backer, Tachibana. I would've liked more Ryusei in the back half instead of being banished to the Dark Nebula, as he's had the most connection to the guy all series, even if it's basically a phone call every couple of episodes to make sure he's still killing Zodiarts. His characterisation as a double agent is fine, and does play on series long set-up, but Professo Emoto is a bit of a non-entity. His push for Gentarou to be ruthless, self-reliant rather than self-sacrificing, is a fine moral dilemma at this point in the show, but it was never going to work for him. Gentarou is an idiot, but he would never put himself above his friends. Even the return of Rocket States, which I guess he had in his pocket the whole time, is a signifier of his connection to other people.

I do like the stuff with the KRC breaking up, though. Virgo suddenly proving she can kill them at a moment's notice is crossing a line the other Zodiarts never managed, and at this point in the show, everyone is mature enough to accept there's nothing wrong with not wanting to die every week. But, of course, friendship wins out, whether it be Gentarou telling them that, just because they're not in the KRC doesn't mean they can't still remain in touch, to them deciding risking their lives to stop evil space monsters is probably worth it. It's the stronger of the emotional threads, for sure.

And in one final "Overall plot thread" thing, Sagittarius is here! He's very powerful

Finished my Gaim rewatch, it was so much fun. Not only was the show exactly as good as I remembered it, but it brought back lots of little memories I had forgotten. Like all the fantastic people I met because of it for example, and all the cool things I got to experience. What a nice blast from the past.

I'm glad I can now proudly say that this is my favorite Rider show. After all the time that had passed, I wondered if I only held it in such high regards because it was the first one I ever saw. But that's not true, it really is my favorite still, 10 years later.

With eight episodes left to the series, have also watched both its summer movie and the V-Cinema film centering around Kamen Rider Chaser beforehand just the other day which I really liked especially the latter, I should be able to finish watching Drive before the end of this week. I even rewatched a couple of episodes of Ryuki in between.

Surprise Future is my favorite Rider summer movie! Like, man, that part where Shinnosuke shouts "Start Your Engine!" to revive Krim, followed by the climactic fight scene between Drive Type Special and Paradox, it was awesome! Drive Saga Chaser is still cool though, a strong and emotional performance from Chaser's actor. Hope you enjoy the Mach V-Cinema as well.

Don't worry, I really enjoyed Surprise Future as well. Definitely one of my favorites among the Kamen Rider summer movies so far and the entire climax you just mentioned is great! :D

Also, thanks. :)

A movie that managed to completely turn my expectations around twice. The Heart idea seemed intriguing, but essentially turned out to be fan service. And I didn?t expect much from the Mach part (not a big Go fan), but the story turned out to be quite interesting.

I feel pretty neutral towards Drive overall, but I remember really loving Surprise Future! Don't remember it too well anymore though. Hmm, maybe I should rewatch Drive...

Oh right, I kind of forgot about Heart. The suit design was pretty cool, but I'm not sure if anybody actually cared to see a buddy cop story between Heart and Otta of all people. I enjoyed the deep narrative of Mach a lot more, with how it explores Gou's feeling of guilt about being the son of a monster.

Yeah, you should! For me, Drive only barely makes my top 10 for Heisei Rider, but nevertheless, I have to praise it for the compelling mystery plot, some exciting movies and the intense dynamic between the 3 main Riders, Krim and the Roidmude generals. Worth a rewatch for sure.

Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 43 & 44: Light and Darkness Twins & Ceremony of Celestial Fate

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...743&height=418

(Screencap included because Gamou and evil!Yuki in these episodes makes me uncomfortable)

I had to pause and laugh when, at the start of Episode 44, Kengo casually drops on us that aliens are real, he has known all series, and never thought to tell anyone. Yes, Nadeshiko was in the movie, but there's a difference between one (1) space goo girl, and these new extraterrestrial super-beings that are the focal point of our main villains plan. And they've been driving Yuki to her wit's end all season!

The actual plot feels like something that could've gone down back in the mid-20's and maybe fit better, with the Zodiarts actiely targeting a member of the KRC club, and deepning Gentarou and Yuki's friendship that has mostly fallen to the wayside. As is, it doesn't "not" work, but it does feel like a downgrade to have right after Virgo's death felt like an escalation.

Evil Yuki is alright as a villain, and I'm surprised she isn't kept around at the end to give the Zodiarts slightly more firepower as an organisation. I get what they're going for, having her be the darker impulses that Yuki is always deciding not to give in to, and it is an important lesson to learn that merely thinking nasty things doesn't make you a bad person, its the ability to mentally catch yourself and be better that makes us human... but it does feel like there's a disconnect? Maybe its because Yuki so rarely feels like a person, but evil!Yuki struggles to feel much like our Yuki, outside of scenes where she's explicitly faking her identity, like at her parents'. That said, the horror side, with Yuki losing her own identity, to the point of not recognising the KRC and even Gentarou, with them mere moments away from executing her, that hits very well. And the resolution pulling something from Gentarou and Yuki's own childhoods, something which has remained underdeveloped in their bond, I like. I just feel like a plot revolving around our primary female character could be stronger, ya know? Good, but not perfect.

I think a little more preparation could have made this story much stronger. On the other hand, Fourze never really liked to deal with the main plot.

I'm not sure the issue is the main plot coming up, it's that the story doesn't feel very specific to Yuki, or her and Gen's relationship. It's reminiscent of Cygnus, being the split-personality and "letting out the darker side". I almost feel like this would be better not tied into all the Horoscopes stuff, with the stakes a little lower and letting this be the episode that gets into Yuki and Gentarous history, without also having to be further escalation into the end of the series.

I'm now up through episode 43 of Gaim, including the Soccer movie.

My big takeaway from said film is that Kota pulls off the glam rocker look surprisingly well.

With that out of the way, unless these last handful of episodes throw me for a total loop, I'm pretty sure I've got my final verdict on Gaim. With being that while I like the show, I don't find it anything super incredible.

Don't get me wrong, I can totally get why viewers of the time would cling to it, as it does have alot going for it. Essentially being a fresh new take on handling a Rider show while still retaining many of its core elements. And the usual nihilistic elements of Urobochi, while toned down some, are still very much present.

It's just that, for me personally, the show just doesn't really emotionally grab me all that much. I like a handful of the cast, some of the stunt work is rather neat, and the story, while having some pacing stumbles here and there, is overall structured well. But just, I dunno, the show hasn't really elevated past a level of "Yeah, this is solid" from me.

I think what also might not help is that, given Gaim's' overall (in)famy, it's kinda hard to just sit back and watch it without considering alot of stuff I've read over the years? But I'll get more into that when the show itself is done and dusted. But hey, I am atleast appreciating alot of what the show does in comparison to say, Build, which in my eyes tried to imitate alot of what Gaim did and failed at it. Especially its handling of atmosphere.

But yeah, solid enough time so far, but nothing mind blowing.

Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 45 & 46 - Tipping of the Scales & The Ascension of Sagittarius

https://i.imgur.com/g0UjXsRl.png

Oh wait hold on wrong show

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...9657cb21837ce&

For the last few arcs, ever since his Supernova really, Libra's whole schtick has been worry over Gamou replacing him, so it's pretty smart to have him pull the traitor arc as a fake-out. In a show like Fourze, where friendship rules all, I was mostly ready to buy it, aside from the small part of my brain that did, in fact, think it was too nice and neat and Principal Tachibana is obviously a traitor I-mean-look-at-him. Also nice to bring back Ran and Fly Zodiarts for the final act; it's not much, but it does bump up the stakes slightly having this be characters we've met before, fresh out of reminding us of their existence and Junior Membership in the KRC from the movie, and again, makes AGHS feel like a living breathing school.

As for Gamou's plan... I actually think it's pretty suited for Fourze? More buildup over the series would have been very welcome, and "The villain was letting the Kamen Rider win because it was GOOD for him" is a trope that can always feel a little cheaty, but the crux of his plan works for me. It's not a vague melodramatic "I want to rule the Earth / destroy all humans" plan like Rider seems to default to, he has a clear goal (Meet aliens) and clear motivation (Meeting aliens is cool). The difference obviously comes down to seeing himself as uniquely suited and chosen and special and Better, vs the KRC mechanism of being nice and supportive and building each other up. The fact that the collateral damage is all secondary, that his blowing up of Japan is basically an unfortunate side-effect but thats something he's willing to live with, again, pretty good. An Ouja would be a tough sell as the final villain here, but someonw who is less "actively malicious" and more "apathetic shrugs" flows nicer in the theming, A lot of it is coming from the actor's performance tbh, and how in his scenes with the kids he manages to come across as genuinely supportive, although we recontextualise that into a scientist basically making sure his lab rats are eating well before he injects them with Zodiarts juice.

And finally, the reveal Kengo is an alien space baby. Genuinely, this was one of the things I knew about the series going in, but forgot to ever mention because it's unguessable. I don't know if this was planned from the beginning, or cooked up in the last arc - given discussion recently on the Double thread, with needing the non-human sidekick for the sweet 2010's formula, I'd guess the former - but it does add to the feeling that Nakashima was end-loading all the arc stuff to the last possible moment. I get that the 2-episode MOTW structure doesn't lend itself as well to these kind of revelations, but it's putting a lot on the last 2 episodes to resolve.

Obviously the former, because this is what was hinted at by Kengo's illness stated back in the pilot (and in subsequent episodes, to establish that this is not just to give the driver to Gentaro). Also, regarding the idea: "non-human sidekick" Fourze should be given credit for being the first show to make it non-explicit (unless someone missed the winter W movie). And then the Wizard was the first to use a girl for this role, which means that all Takahashi's shows (well, and Zi-O) follow the magic show formula.

I would say that Build rather imitates Ex-Eid, which imitates Gaim, so the corruption of the formula is understandable.

My biggest issue with Fourze is with the ending and the whole alien thing. It doesn't violate any of the show's rules or anything, but it still feels like an ass-pull because nothing about it was telegraphed before now. A few hints in advance would have made it feel much more organic.

I don't think the line from "Kengo is a sick boy" to "Kengo is a space baby" is the only way to take that thread, but yeah, I was thinking the same.

I bsically agree with this - you hit the last 5-6 episodes and suddenly aliens have been speaking to Gamou and Yuki all along and we're going to meet them. I get Nadeshiko was here for the movie, but it was weird then! And it's weird no-one has pointed out we've already met aliens in that case! And it's handled very inelegantly, with Kengo and Hayami basically dumping the info on us at the start of an episode before all the fight scenes kick off. Kengo going away to meet his makers is something you could easily build a whole 2-parter around, espacially the little glimpses we get of his and Yuki's friendship before Gentatou showed up, but its revealed right as we hit the finale so it has to be bundled up with everything else.

Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 47 & 48 - Best Friends Part Ways & The Galaxy of Youth

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...9eccbf3a522fe&

We didn't even get to meet the Presenters, show ruined, 0/10.

This is very much a finale of two parts, with the first devoted to Kengo's newfound directive to warp into space. It's the stronger part of the two, as it's blatantly obvious Kengo is faking being emotionless in an attempt to protect everyone's feelings, pushing them away so when he leaves they don't feel as awful. It fails almost instantly, as if Gentarou would let an emotionless space baby escape his friendship radius. This and the scene in Part Two where Yuki reads his letter to the group are the highlihts, as it focuses on what Fourze did best - the KRC dynamic. Kengo's message to the group even has me believing him and Shun exchanged dialogue at some point, it's uncanny.

The Zodiarts stuff is good, but nothing spectacular. Leo wrecking the Rabbit Hutch is a clear sign this is for realsies the last ever episode, and it's an effective image, but Leo himself was never characterised beyond "Gamou's heavy", so his and Meteor's final showdown is nice and Sakamoto-y, but not deep. The faux-Graduation ceremony they put together for Sagittarius is way more Fourze-esque, and I think it thematically works. Gamou was so focused on himself, on being the special chosen boy who would go to space and rule the world, and he's defeated basically by the KRC thanking him, but letting them know they've moved beyond his influence. Because, at the end of the day, school ends. You go into the wide unknown of adulthood, and hopefully do better than those who taught you. And for all his protestations, Gamou wouldn't have made his new year soup if he didn't care just a little about his students (Love the shot of Gentarou eating it while everything goes to shit. I love him so much).

Also if Fourze came out today, you know the Core Switch would give him Ultra Base States, don't deny it. As is, we get the perfunctory Kengo revival in the last 2 minutes, which I'm really mixed on. I don't think Fourze is the kind of show to aim for heartbreaking loss, but oh boy is it contrived. A weird note to end on, but I can't stay too mad for what is two weird minutes in an otherwise solid, if busy ending.

Personally, I would be interested in a version where Kengo disappears forever just to find out whether Fourze would then be considered the most fun and frivolous rider show or not. Although, considering that speaking about Den-O in this way ignores all the melodrama of Sakurai Yuto there, I will assume that a sadder ending would not have changed the perception.

I think it would probably put an asterisk next to it, but 99% of the show runs the same, I don't think the overall preception changes that much.

I managed to finish Drive two days ago and the show is easily among my top 10 favorite seasons of Kamen Rider. I also watched the V-Cinema movies centering around Kamen Riders Heart and Mach and I am now in the process of finishing the Kamen Rider Brain miniseries. I am planning to watch either Hibiki or Ghost as my next KR series.

Movie Wars Ultimatum

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...5f75df4eec613&

Just stickint to the Fourze section for a moment, it's an interesting tale of generational responsibility. Gentarou was always going to be a teacher, he's been imparting life advice all series, but here he steps up to become a proper mentor to the next generation of Ishinimori hero - a psychic butterfly. Only he could make destroying the Fourze Driver seem like a logical move, but as he says, he's not facing down a mad genius. He's fighting a kid lashing out at the world. Granted, it could be handled better - said kid is actively bullying his classmate and threatening world domination, but what are you gonna do with kids?

The Wizard section... it sure is an extended length Wizard episode! With a lovely transphobic endcap! You've let me down, Haruto.

Anyway Sakamoto is at his Sakamoto-iest and its really hitting uncomfortable levels when done to a woman acting as a 15 year old.

"This Driver is my best friend."

*immediately throws it in lava*

I don't go to Kamen Rider expecting positive representation, especially not something that's over ten years old (Wizard was twelve years ago!? What the flipping heck!?). I think Rider Time Ryuki and Revice are the only two times queer characters have been portrayed in a way that wasn't meant to be a joke. It would be nice to see more characters that aren't high camp but for a number of reasons I don't expect it.

I'd have to go back and check my comments on the film from a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure I listed this as peak Sakamoto.

Kengo is his best friend, the Fourze Driver and him need some time apart to rediscover just why they fell in love. It'll be back next time Gentarou has to save the day.

I'm not surprised that the 12 year old show designed to sell plastic rings to impressionable 8 year olds has it as the big joke reveal, but it's still not fun to actually watch, you know? Especially with how all-in it goes on the bit, and how there's not much else of substance besides "Yeah, retreating to a fantasy world sucks".

(There's also 01 with Naki who is handled reasonably well, althought I can come up with several reasons why they might escape any major hurdles, including "01 having 712 Riders to split screentime between

Honestly, I just completely forgot about them.

AHHHAHAHAHAHAHA :lolol

Personally, I appreciate Ultimatum because it's two hours of non-stop action and fan service. There are shortcomings in both morality and logic, but I simply didn’t have time to notice them.

I inexplicably just started watching Kamen Rider Hibiki. I also watched the second Super Hero Taisen film's net movies a couple days ago mostly just for some shits and giggles which I rather enjoyed.

https://www.tokunation.com/forums/at...1&d=1712631034

And yes, I know you won't - they never do - but it's a tradition.

Admittedly, I am somewhat tempted to do so. The second half of the show I'm only going through is just for the sake of completion. If I ever feel like watching Hibiki again in the far future, I really am just going to watch the first 29 episodes.