I think the red leather worked for him! It's a little weird to think of him as Gotou's nemesis, but it barely matters in the course of the film.

This is similar to the complaints of Philip returning at the end of W. I'm not someone who wishes the cast remains complete or that certain characters come back, so I'm not as torn over the deaths of important cast members to complain about a show killing them off. It also feels out of nowhere in how Ankh managed to come back to life, just Eiji wishing for it at the brink of his death, albeit it may be explained by alchemy stuff, of which King OOO's group did use it for the Medals, as it was established that no matter how much he tried, Gamel was unable to revive Mezool.

They don't need to make Eiji revert to human form so he'd die saving the girl. Eiji has the power, albeit he only used TaToBa against King OOO, which is why he lost. There should be a difference between the powerless Eiji during the civil war, and now, where Eiji now desires power and gets it, between Eiji saving a little girl, but KR can't let go of self-sacrificial decisions over optimal ways/methods in saving people. I feel even when untransformed, Eiji should retrain his powered-up self when he absorbs the massive amount of Cell Medals from Kougami Foundation, to the point that he cracks the ground where he walks.

I don't know if Shingo was unconscious due to Ankh possessing him, as when Ankh possessed him, Shingo didn't really interact, even when Ankh went rogue late OOO. And Ankh did possess Shingo to save him from rubbles here. That was why Hina was worried about Ankh, not Shingo, as Shingo was completely safe, and Ankh was the one who's going to die. Otherwise, I think both Goda and King OOO are just there to be a threat for Eiji and Ankh to fight together; they often do not develop the antagonists or setting well enough, particularly for the movies, other than them being used as something to fight against. Goda isn't really needed too IMO if he only ends up as another final threat for Eiji and Ankh to fight, just stay with King OOO as something Eiji and Ankh fight together.

Of the two, Goda's the one who I think is the most interesting for a movie that puts Ankh in the driver's seat, because it's Ankh fighting the other side of the finale from OOO -- making Ankh try and save Eiji from a Greeed's possession is basically what Eiji was trying to do through the last chunk of that show. The best -slash- most emotionally coherent parts of the movie to me were the ones that spotlight the Eiji/Ankh dynamic through the lens of Goda's excitement and tone-deafness.

OOO 10TH BIRTH X BIRTH - BIRTH X SECRET BIRTH STORY

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These TTFC things are always so weird. They don’t have to be hampered as much by continuity and canon and whatever, so they can push the boundaries of their storytelling and references to an absurd degree. It’s a fan club offering, so they can get hilariously Deep Cut with it. That said, I’m a little shocked at exactly how weird and how deep they got with their cuts this time out?

Okay, no, for real this time, I’ll talk about the actual special. I loved it? I loved it. I honest-to-God wish that this had been the shape of the actual OOO 10th film: all of your favorite actors, completely goofing around as deranged and ridiculous versions of each other’s characters. Getting to see Assertive Hero Hina, Flirty Partner Greeeds, Flamboyant CEO Date, Respectful Satonaka, Mad Scientist Ankh, Working-Class Ass-Kicker Chiyoko, and I Guess He’s A Pirate Eiji (like Gotou, there’s a point where I stopped trying to make sense of it) run through a comedic superhero narrative is basically all I want out of a nostalgia project like this. Let me have fun, sure, but let me enjoy the actors all having fun. (My favorite piece of apocryphal W reunion content is watching Philip play around with the Fang Memory toy 7 years after the show ended.) I could care less about the continuing narrative of OOO; I care about how much I enjoyed this show.

It’s all hilarious, even if -slash- especially as it degenerates into even more contradictory and inexplicable content. The cause and effect is just there to provide the setup for a new punchline, and it’s so good. Even Gotou is great, since the only way this insanity works is if you have the most dull and unflappable character around to react to it, and his reactions are priceless. And the Birth X armor! With it’s G2 color scheme! Thought it was dumb and out of place in the movie, but it’s perfect here. This is a story where only the most garish and overwrought concepts can flourish, so you absolutely need Birth X to finish off Dino Date. Hideous suit, but used beautifully.

I wish this thing had been four times as long. In my brain, this is the extent of the OOO 10th anniversary media, and it’s the best choice the creative team could’ve made. What a gift.

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And this is most likely going to be the only OOO 10 Year Anniversary related thing I actually am planning to watch at some point if only because the overall concept of this story seems like it's going to be a very fun watch.

While I'd still suggest you watch the main 10th anniversary movie -- it's got its fans! -- if you do only watch one piece of associated content, do not miss out on this special. It's so joyous and goofy, just like some of the best parts of OOO.

To start off with, I can make a semi-obligatory Zenkaiger joke.

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Also, this is something you’re not supposed to take too seriously, but I’m still wondering what happened to Maki in all this role swapping. Or the Gotou of that universe (even if alt!Date was anticipating a visitor from another universe, there is no way he’d know the name of who showed up unless he knew their counterpart and recognised them). But the special does give me the line “There’s an old guy in there too”, so I’m not overthinking it.

Also, I know DreamSword got some catharsis from the villain of this piece.

The Maki of that reality runs Cous Coussier, which has terrible Yelp reviews: "Owner refused to make eye contact, and burned all of my food." The Gotou of that reality is clearly all of the Candroids.

THREAD WRAP-UP

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And that should do it for “Kamen Rider Die rewatches Kamen Rider OOO”! I’m incredibly grateful to this board for giving me a space to talk about OOO for a few months, and I greatly appreciate anyone who took the time to stop by and share their own thoughts on the series.

This is normally the place where I’d talk about what show was coming up next, and when I’d be back with it, but I’m feeling like this is a good place to put this project to bed. Without getting into boring details, this hasn’t been that fun for a little while, and I’d rather just let it be done. As I said up above, I’m nothing but grateful to TokuNation for giving me a place for the last 5+ years to be weird about Kamen Rider (and a Super Sentai!), and I appreciate everyone over that time who dipped in to share their own thoughts on these shows.

I hope you all keep being as passionate about Kamen Rider going forward, and I wish everyone the best!

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Well, this was a twist I certainly wasn't expecting.

Well Die, whether this really is the end of your reviews or you end up just taking a break, it was certainly a fascinating journey.

It's almost a meme at this point that you and I will have totally opposite views on any given show/episode, but for what it's worth, I was happy your threads were around. They're part of what got me into the craft, afterall.

Whatever you decide to do from here, I just hope it's fun.