I genuinely can't say if any of the ones that showed up in this episode have shown up before. Like, I think the belligerent boy was Bobby Drake, and I think the long-haired girl was Jean Grey, but if you told me they were all brand-new I'd probably believe you. They just all suck so bad.

We already have seven protagonists and a group of recurring villains that is still expanding. You can be forgiven for not sparing Xavier's Red Shirts any space in your brain!

Like, I think they're trying to go for a Star Wars-style "all of these other stories are occuring off-camera", implied world-building thing, but they all die so fast that there's nothing to be curious about. In this one, Takumi is so bored with their drama that he goes home to get a can of pop! And he sincerely cares about how this is affecting Mari! And he still leaves!

(I mean, okay, technically he volunteers to find the Delta belt and the Ryusei Cram School alumni tell him to butt out. He doesn't put up a huge fight, though!)

Right on cue, another episode where you were particularly impressed by the direction turns out to be a Hidenori Ishida episode. No wonder it reminds you of Kuuga!

Also, once again, this knowledge probably won't make that scene with Murakami and Lucky Clover any more exciting, but for the record, Murakami said that Hanagata "fell into darkness" because he betrayed Smart Brain, which should be obvious. The subsequent line TV-N has as "There is a darkness that cannot creep up upon us a second time" is likewise more along the lines of "There is a darkness that you can never rise from again" or something. It's connected to the stuff he was saying a few episodes back about how Hanagata "will never see the light of day again", which is perhaps a literal reference to the fact that he spends his time nowadays chilling in an underground school, but mostly is Murakami's way of saying Hanagata's burned all his bridges, as far as he's concerned. It's why he's saying it as a warning to Ta- Houjou and Kageyama. It's a "friendly" reminder not to push their luck with him too much. Given how genuinely classy Murakami is even when making threats, though, it's not hard to see why TV-N wouldn't totally grasp that right away. :lol

Since Delta’s made his debut, I think it’s safe to say I can share the fact that his belt is the only belt in KR (period) that has a voice-activation feature. It even became a primary selling point for the CSM version https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=3GjDLnK_pCo

Yeah, it's a clunky-ass translation in the subs, but the whole scene makes it pretty clear that there's growing tension between Murakami and Lucky Clover, so the specifics of the threat aren't important. Still, thanks for clearing that up!

Neat! Thanks!

So that'd mean, the "Them being solely focused on their mission" part then. It probably actually marks the difference for Lucky Clover and the 2 trios, that they're already professionals who are dedicated to their job no matter what, while the other 2 has more blunders by being distracted (or handling) to daily focuses. Which yeah, would make Lucky Clover more one-track minded, compared to the 2 trios. Though still, this one can be a good or bad thing depending on the person IMO, like prefering their unyielding mission approach to Team Faiz and Renegades' cluttered activities.

Wouldn't work on another show.... dunno that... they're already trying to make shows overheated, like Neo-Heisei Kamen Riders.

Keitaro's got that OCD. You probably expect Takumi and Kusaka working together with comedy bits because this is the time you thought they'd finally get along like other secondary Riders? Oh well, Kusaka's questioning sounding like someone truly on protagonist side can convince that. But don't get your hopes, at all. So that'd mean mystery genre aren't for you, then too bad if a part of Kamen Rider show, plays the mystery card then. What I really want to know are the belts that killed them. Other than that yeah, this part is bizzarely so.. Ryuki like... not only the TATAKAE as FreshToku pointed out...

Complete with childhood version of a character drawing pictures.... Also Daddy did give Kusaka something to encourage TATAKAE, that is the Kaixa pointer in place of a Survive Card. For the last question, Takumi is DEFINITELY Shinji, just look here!

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...023387/kid.png

Kaido's a wild card. It also extends to his relation to Renegades or humanity. I wonder if there's someone who thinks he's inconsistent like that. Though this one is probably the one that cements his acceptance to Renegades because of him coming back and doing things for them by himself.

Yeah Takumi getting the belt back, was glorious (always like seeing what the villains have backfire on them), thanks to Daddy though! After that obviously you'd only need to fight the other as Faiz in equal grounds to get the Kaixa belt back. Didn't the last episode has dressing.... by Kageyama and Takuma? For Orphnoch fight, as Kouhai held Yuka hostage, how would he even finish off her that she was nowhere in their fight? And that Kaido brought her to the area Kouhai's in. And the last one, a demonstration of Kaixa's Gold Smash. It's seemingly used in a more effective way than Faiz's because of the drill already implanted into the victim's body, stunning them, though I wonder why Kouhai just keep holding Kaixa's leg.

It's not that I thought they'd get along, but I thought the story would be about them not getting along. It's completely not about them at all, as a team. It's them getting chased together, but it's a story that's only for Kusaka's benefit.

I can definitely see some people feeling like Kaido's an inconsistent or contradictory character. I like it, though. He feels like he's figuring it all out, what he's for and against, and I like being able to go on that journey with him.

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 27

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--1--

It's late at night, I've had a very long day, I'm tired. Let's talk about Faiz!

Hey, speaking of things that are exhausting, the continued appearance of the Ryusei School alumni is maybe crushing my spirit? They are the worst. And not in the fun Kaixa way, but in the What If The Most Irritating Psychopaths Were In Every Goddamn Scene Of This Show way. They're just addicted maniacs, constantly screaming about getting more of their sweet, sweet dr-- Delta belt. There are no levels to the performance, it's just them loudly saying DELTA DELTA DELTA, DELTA IS AWESOME, I WANT DELTA. They're rabid dogs, and their schtick is so abrasive and unlikeable that it's no surprise that Takumi just Nopes right out of this plot in the first scene. It's terrible. These kids suck, and the high point of the episode is when they're murdered.

Other than, like, meat for the machine, I'm not 100% sure what the Ryusei School alumni are even supposed to be adding to the narrative. If it's supposed to be some element of the past that gives context to Mari and Kusaka's story, it fails massively. Every time these dinks show up, it's a message that everyone who isn't in their group is doing super great by comparison. They make Kusaka seem like the well-adjusted one. Having them around concentrates the story on the most paper-thin, annoying elements of the story. The more they show up, the worse it ends up making Mari and Kusaka's story seem, as the actors have to abandon present-tense conflicts and motivations to try and connect with poorly-conceived material. It's grueling to watch Kusaka try and focus these idiots, or to watch Mari plead for sanity. I just want them to follow Takumi's advice and leave them behind.

--2--

Especially because, man, I really thought we'd get a lot with Team Orphnoch this time out. The first scene with them is priceless, as Yuuji attempts to ignore/console a despondent Kaido. It's terrifically framed, a neat little piece of physical comedy, as Kaido croaks out a request for Sour Kelp. But then Yuuji's run to get Kaido some Sour Kelp is interrupted by Houjou, and it all goes a bit sideways.

Houjou's in... not a great place. He's on a losing streak, and it all started with his inability to kill Yuuji. Now, he's back at it. Except, he immediately loses track of Yuuji, and gets mind-bendingly spooked by Delta.

And, man, look. I'm sure Delta is really cool. He's a Weezer fan, judging by those shoulders, and, y'know, I enjoyed their first two albums a lot when I was younger! (A few years back they played all of the Blue Album in order at Riot Fest, and I could hear it from my bedroom. Fun time!) But, god, they are laying on The Almighty Terror Of Delta a little thick. We've got Houjou practically shitting himself from a partial glance of Delta. We've got two childhood friends abducting a third childhood friend to get to be Delta again. We had both Kamen Riders in awestruck terror of Delta just being in the same zip code as them. It's... like, under promise, over deliver. Maybe try that. I'm not sure if anything on this or any other planet could live up to this level of hype. If Delta deHenshins and it's four corgis wearing tiny hats, I'm still going to be let down.

--3--

The stuff with Keitaro and Takumi and Kimura... eh. I like the idea of exploring how Takumi can be a tremendous asshole while still fighting for people. That's... that is the premise of this show. That's the mission statement. What they did with it here, though, not super into.

I think it's that Kimura is just really dull? She's got no spark. The performance is all bashful fandom, and I get why her behavior would grate on Takumi. But, more than that, it's not really saying anything new about Takumi. Did you know that he's rude to people even though he's a hero? I mean, I've watched 26 other episodes of Faiz where that is the goddamn baseline, so, yeah, got it clocked. It's not even really exploring that idea, it's just playing it out and then giving a tiny sliver of regret from Takumi for being curt. (Not even really rude! He just doesn't love getting peppered with questions from a new coworker! That's a valid response!)

Kimura having a crush on Takumi instead of Keitaro, it's a funny premise. Keitaro really sells his infatuation for Kimura, as well as his frustration with Takumi. But, like, there's no real story there, just a funny premise. It doesn't really go anywhere.

--4--

The one fun thing about this episode is the Sawada twist. That one, the show did good on.

Sawada gets mentioned last episode, out of basically nowhere, as Mari's childhood bully who maybe also had a crush on her. Almost directly after that, the Ryusei School alumni show up and start talking about the Delta belt. Two and two is that Sawada is Delta. Itchy and Scratchy, the two jonesing psychopaths, are convinced he's got the belt. So they kidnap Mari to draw him out.

And it works! Sawada shows up! And immediately turns into Skullcandy, the bloodthirsty Lucky Clover candidate, vowing to murder Mari right before he kills his other two classmates.

It's a really solid twist, and one that honestly never even occurred to me. I love how it ended up bringing that Lucky Clover thread into the show in a surprising, relevant way. There's an economy to it that I really appreciate.

--5--

It's weird that all I can really compliment this episode on, besides that twist, is a few fun things around the edges. (Like, in the Faiz Fight at the end, it's an enclosed space, but the camera shoots from up in the rafters to give some wide shots to the fight. Very clever!) It's just I hate these goddamn Ryusel kids so goddamn much. Murder them all, and get back to the excellent cast that I am fully invested in. Like, one Kaido/Yuuji scene? In this whole episode? Why am I being punished?!

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Yeah actually that. They wouldn't get along, but it could be that to you (admittedly yeah speaking for you here because Kusaka's not infamous without reason) this seemingly is like the standard relationship of primary and secondary Rider where they get along and build relationship and companionship by acting like enemies, such as taking potshots or something.

For Ryusei Cram School, even on much further extent than the likes of Mari, the likes of Kusaka seemingly gets along fine with each of them, the only place Kusaka seemingly finds commonality of. Then again, Kusaka's the soap-opera manipulator type (like those in Yuji and Yuka's backstory), which includes being two-faced. It's unknown if Kusaka genuinely treats them as his friends or at the end he doesn't value them at all just like to others (obviously other than Mari, albeit he's acting inappropriate to her). What interests me currently is what shit will Hanagata pull out, other than helping them get their belts back previously and overwhelming Takuma.

But Houjou's actual character name has been mentioned several times. The other informations were if others joining Lucky Clover is a good or bad thing, the dilemma of Lucky Clover must have 4 members to be well, lucky and succeed (the reason of them losing the belts again), and about the others except probably Kageyama (though she's the sadistic type) not accepting the inclusion of others. I didn't expect that Kitazaki, one of the most famous Faiz characters, still don't appear yet, even longer than Ouja (debuted in ep. 18). So this episode reveals Takumi's good side, he tolerates those similar to him more like other nekojitas. Keitaro wants to tag along with the other main casts... yet he wants to hire more part-timers to help him out, which seems contradictory of him? The former would mean him leaving Kikuchi cleaning to dust to tag along with others, the latter would mean him prefering Takumi, Mari, and Kusaka staying and help him out.

The biggest bodycount of Orphnoch so far, the one played up just like standard MOTW. With the monster just attacking the area full of civilians as usual type of them, really, like Kuuga's one where Biran slaughtering civilians on a ferry (Chouno one). He's the one Lucky Clover is considering to join albeit a showy one? He did have a quirk about burning origamis in a dark area.

So it seems that the flames aren't merely from the monster explosion, but it's a part from the Rider's attacks as well if the pink flame would mean it's Delta...

"No one cares"? Lol... Switchblade's comment above for example to talk about 2 of them or so that you'd remember. It's understandable to enjoy talking about the stuff that works but, would that be negated (like I would do, in this section of my reply here, which I wouldn't be comfortable to do due to that) if you also want to hear what people's thoughts, like being curious about something not working to you, or those that disagree with you? I mean yeah Ryusei Cram School cast isn't meant to be a huge player, but I'm not asking about them, but, I ask about why everything in a story should be made with as much effort as the main casts? Why create something like, victims to MOTW then? Also other than Kusaka to Mari here.... there's also everyone to Keitaro and Murakami to other Smart Brain.

Admittedly Ghost does get a flak, but the theme song is not one of them AFAIK!