First off, my archived thoughts. I remember this was when I started coming around on the show.

And we see Daiji pick up a red coloured belt, which many assumed he would use when he became a Rider. I on the other hand, though that it was either unfinished or it was going to be a final boss Rider belt, since there was no obvious way to store a Vistamp when transformed. We’ll come back to this topic later (either with me, or probably with En-chan. He seemed eager to voice his thoughts on certain parts of the toyline)

I totally forgot about the real estate guys after watching this the first time. Which caused some minor confusion not too far down the line.

And now for this.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Mammoth!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AbiRMeMmWK0

Bearing giant fangs! Land boss! Mammoth! From the start, it’s a climax!

Ikki: Mammoth’s power grants me a sword and Vice a shield. We can also ride along train tracks in order to do battle much faster.

Vice: Train tracks? What do they have to do with mammoths?

George: Ah, that’s my cue to explain the Legend I based this one off.

Desire Driver: Den-O!

M-Ryotaro: Henshin!

George: Kamen Rider Den-O. An unlucky person with a weak will who just so happened to be a fixed point in time. He contracted with the 4 Imagin to protect the proper flow of events.

Den-O: From start to finish, I climax!

Vice: Hey, a Rider that contracts with monsters? That’s our gig!

(Enter Momotaros and Ryotaro, the latter transformed into Plat Form)

Momotaros: Aha, but can you do this?

(He possesses Ryotaro)

Sword Form!

(Den-O transforms)

Momotaros: Ore… Sanjou!

Vice: Okay, Ikki let’s do this.

Ikki: Vice, I don’t think…

Vice: Orecchi toujou! (Crashes into Ikki, knocking both of them down)

George: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

Momotaros: (waving) See you later!

Ah, episode 3, in and of itself, it's fine. Didn't find it massively exciting, but I didn't hate it at the time.

That said, having looked back through some of my posts on the weekly threat, guess 3 was the episode Vice really cemented himself as a character I did not like. And honestly, a lot of my opinions on him haven't changed since that day.

He's written like a new Momotaros, which in and of itself is fine; the problem is simply... he lacks a lot of the nuance of Momo, replaced with an even more hyper sense of humor and fourth-wall-breaking. Only exasperated by the fact that, apparently, a lot of his dialog is ad-libbed, and boy, do I think that was a horrid idea.

He's written with an expectation that he will be liked instead of actually making him likable or interesting.

And now, to the part that made me dislike him as a narrative tool. That was the episode where I basically was certain he was just spurting out Ikki's subconscious thoughts without any filter, and I hated it. It felt like a lot of the potential mysteries around Ikki and why he is the way he is were just immediately revealed since I can just listen to Vice, which makes Ikki seem like a very flat and boring character.

I derive a lot of enjoyment from a show from figuring characters out their whys, who's, and whats, and this felt like a massive rug pull at the time.

Yeah, get used to this. Characters walking off stage is kind of a consistent thing here, mixed with anything offscreen kinda doesn't exist, which, to be fair, is a normal thing for Toku, but this show is very heavy on it, sometimes to humorous effect, sometimes to annoying effect.

Oh boy... Episode 3, and we already started with some of my critiques... ^^'

As for the Daiji stuff in this episode, at the time, I was interested in it. Seemed like a potentially interesting idea at the time.

So, yeah, all in all, an ok episode I kinda used as a springboard for getting into the first few frustrations I have with the show.

I'm not exactly going to get detailed into toy production, at least not yet, not until it's more obvious.

But I have a lot of things to say about Revice's toyline specifically. Not yet.

But boy will they come.

Now, some more screentime with the other family members except the still hospitalized Yukimi, of which she can still contribute via her wiseness, and I do agree that she's one of the best (actual) parental figures in the franchise, but you'd tolerate a role that is confined into maternal streak (seen as more typical female role)? I do thought that this was a hint of Daiji going on the deep end, suspected similar to Micchy, but actually..... So he indeed does have several issues within himself, but it seems as if it's just him feeling useless while also having a fear about turning into Rider based on Hiromi's experience. And even jealousy isn't necessarily a dark trait if it's played up as it making him merely insecure, and he was trying to get Ikki join Fenix like before, but there's an implication of him having negative trait, albeit expressed mildly too, in him blaming others (as Vice pointed out) in Ikki not signing Fenix for having the girls kidnapped.

Like Daiji's inner demon (figuratively), the established Shiawase-Yu being evicted for the town's urban redevelopment project finally appears here. I guess I was too impatient. Ikki's still provoked by Vice as ever to yell shut up at the real estate agents, and this was theorized as Ikki's hidden dark side to have more sadistic thoughts which Vice exposes (to the audience, unfiltered)... a testament about how there's no limit in what's going on your head, humans can think completely unprovoked there. I had a feeling about the real estate agents being the Deadmans from their slimy demeanor, pulling some political shit of claiming their actions as being done "for the future", which'd make them untrustworthy. Shiawase-Yu did have some success if the revitalization plan outraged the customers then.

George stays suspicious, before he gloats on Hiromi's demotion, and now he trashtalks Daiji for trying to henshin with his previous fear of creating more chaos. Bruh, everything is wrong in George's eyes, what should others do other than getting expected result like Ikki, morton's fork situation that if you try you'd be like Hiromi, if you won't try you'd be like Daiji, and either way you got bullied by him. Wakabayashi's the stereotypical professional and rigid type to forbid any personal feelings in the job, the type to see emotions as weakness. But well, open display of emotions can actually be pragmatically useful if used well, like being done on purpose to manipulate others and achieve the outcomes that one is after, such as lowering the guards of their audiences and earning their trust), or reveal a softer side to them in order to achieve their goals.

It's a depressing and horrific scene of Ayaka's call being outright ignored by her mom Taeko, who favors her celebrity child Miharu, and she's her idol manager too in Koakuma Rendez-Vous. She even claims she drives Sakura and Ayaka only on Miharu's way. Horrific because she's in a kidnapping scene (well less so with Sakura being there, as a longtime friend she probably must've known her martial arts proficiency), otherwise it'd be just a depressing one. The hooded figure at the Deadman's base, there's a heavy implication of it being her, shown in the jeweled sandals the hooded figure wears, which was the sandals Ayaka took at the mall. It'd be a plot twist, of Yoshida not being actually the ViStamp user, but being an unfavorite child can really take emotional toll on them, which makes sense for Ayaka to lash out in form of becoming a Deadman servant. I guess this is a show of how the cruel world can push someone into that I was questioning before, other than people being hedonistic. Another part of her is still unknown as this episode doesn't feature actual resolution, more of a setup, but I'd wonder if she'd be much more attached to either Ikki or Sakura than it seems, as unfavorite child can easily latch onto anyone that shows them affection.

The Deadmans, or at least Olteca and Julio, finally shows themselves on battle, and their difference in strength is noted by Revi in battle. But despite their strength advantage, they'd still resort into dirty tricks to further increase their advantage by using the girls as hostages (still... would be satisfying if Sakura reveals herself in front of the Deadmans, allowing Revice to beat them up unprovoked), as well as Julio lying to Daiji about their deal. Olteca and Julio seems to be set up as contrasts with the former being calm and collected, and the latter being hammy, waiting for the series to peel more of their contrasts. The Deadman bosses aren't 100% cooperative either, with Olteca teasing Aguilera for not showing tears to Giff and her reacting poorly.

Hiromi shows some ferocity as well not unlike Wakabayashi in the last scene... The ViStamp that Daiji took from Fenix...the Mammoth one, for Den-O themed mammoth form... even the intro still had Vice not replicating Momotaros fully, the Rider suit replicating Den-O less than ep. 2 before! It's nice to see more of the previous Rider's implementation other than aesthetics, of the brute Mammoth form being propelled forward by the rail. The finisher of Mammoth form is also my favorite there, with an attack more than just an energized ordinary attack, the shield teleporting the boomerangs and then stacking up to squash the opponent. It was nice to see more of W's Cyclone as well with the Eagle using the wings to form a protective tornado.

For another Igarashi sibling Sakura, it's seen miles away that she'd kick Namio Yoshida's (the thug) ass due to her being martial artist, though she still got 'kidnapped' at the first place due to the reality that, for a normal human, being a skilled martial artist doesn't make you capable of surviving a bullet to the head (and she's far away from Yoshida that time). I'd wish her escape would be revealed to both of the Igarashi family and the Deadman, especially to blow the latter's ego. Her little tolerance has her father also suffer for it though, and even Ikki sort of... praising him as dependable as if he's probably sort of annoying to her too before (not counting girl friendships like her to Ayaka). Genta continues to be a cringy comedic relief with his latest eccentricity being tissue-pulling challenge, and even the hyped scene of him trying to do something regarding the revitalization plan.... being stamping the contact after a hyped scene of him probably punching those agents. So even at this stage, you don't loathe Genta, the loser dad, like you did at Haima?

It's a weird plot that doesn't get touched on for the rest of the episode, but I really appreciated how it illustrated the Happy Spa's (I don't think that's what it's technically called, but that's what was on Ikki's shirt all episode, so that's what I'm calling it) place in the community. Very few businesses in Kamen Rider ever feel like a permanent part of their world. Most might as well vanish into a void after the final episode, along with most of the supporting cast. But here we are in Episode 3, and the whole community rallies around Happy Spa, and fights with all their might to keep Gen from caving instantly. It's a nice scene!

And a nice Stamp skit! Thanks!

I guess I don't have a problem with Vice being a way into Ikki's secrets and inner dilemmas? As Daiji shows this episode, it's a lot harder to fix yourself than just knowing what's wrong with you.

That said... Vice is sort of a lot! He's not my favorite type of character, the one who is constantly at Full Energy all the time. Even Momo got grumpy or sleepy or other dwarfy or whatever. Vice is kind of always screaming? It's generally fine within the context of the story -- and his minimal screentime so far -- but I would not normally ask for him to be on screen.

I don't! I think he's incredibly fun! He nicely balances being a kooky burden to his family with being a sweet, devoted presence. I like how him and Mom Igarashi collectively explain how their kids are well-meaning but a little screwed up. That household definitely feels like one where the kids had to grow up pretty fast to keep things from falling apart (and probably had to raise each other more than they'd've liked), but it was all in service of a warm, nurturing family unit.

I'm not sure how much of it was intentional, but the show really does go all-in on Daiji being the middle child of the Igarashi siblings.

Episode 3 comes out... okay. One major thing that I felt worked against it was having the guy who took the girls hostage talk way too much sense. And while I am overall liking Daiji's' arc, the pacing we've been going at doesn't so the story any favors.

When it comes to this episode's' Line Texts, the screenshots I put together ended up kinda big, so instead of posting them directly, I'll just have them as attachments to this post instead.

I found them to be rather interesting in that it shows, to me atleast, that Vice is thoroughly on Ikki's' side and most likely always has been.

Vice might be goof, but he does have a sense of honor to him. I like that.

Oh, it feels very intentional. I haven't gotten enough from Sakura to completely get her deal, but so far she's a standard youngest child: a little more connected to her siblings than her parents, and a little more likely to do her own thing. Ikki's a standard oldest child: committed to the family as a pseudo-parent, but maybe chafing under the responsibilities in a way he can't articulate. Meanwhile, yeah: Daiji is very much the middle child.

I thought it worked to make the kidnapper someone who wasn't some crazed lunatic, but a guy who feels like he has to do things his way to get what he thinks he's owed. Beyond being more interesting than just some nut with a gun, it ties in nicely to both Ayaka and Daiji's feelings of envy and resentment.

And thanks for the screencaps!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MOVIE

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/moviea.png

Oh, it’s pleasant enough, I guess.

Little (if anything) to talk about, though. There’s no real story to this theatrical short: Deadmans attack, Revi and Vice defeat them, bathhouse, bike, etc., the end. The only real villain arc/plan is a business guy whose name we don’t even get, whose motivation is KILL ALL PHONIES. There’s no specific theme or moral to what goes on. It’s all very Revice Sampler, in its hodge-podge of all the different elements of the series' conception. No full family scene, which makes it kind of a failure for me, narratively-speaking. Show’s built around the idea of family, so if you aren’t going to have the whole family show up even once… that’s a miss? For me, at least.

Otherwise, what’s here is fine. Pleasant, like I said. It’s not the Climax Right From The Start lunacy of the Saber theatrical short from the year prior, which made up for its lack of setup by keeping the pedal to the floor from the first frame to the last. This one just… sort of does its thing, in no particular hurry. There’s no scheme from the Deadmans, so there’s no momentum to bring us to a finale. Just, monsters showing up, and a Kamen Rider defeats them. It’s more about showing off how everything in Revice works, which is still kind of fun. I like the stamps and stuff. That’s a fun collectible for the season, mostly for how the stamp is a thing that represents the household, not a specific person, but also ‘cause they’re chunky and colorful. It’s all entertaining to watch, the Revice of it all.

(I will say that I picked up the DX Revice Driver, and I don’t love it? The stamp pad never seems to look right, is the main thing. It’s always a very faint impression of the Rex stamp, no matter how hard I slam it. Besides that, the rotation of the stamp pad frequently ends up out of alignment, and I’ve got to wrench it back into position, which always sounds incredibly bad for the mechanism. But! It’s still kind of neat to mess around with, when it works close to how it looks on the show. I like the big 5 and big 0. That's super on the nose, but agreeably so.)

(Also, the Drivers on this show are frequently shown to reside in an empty PC case, which always cracks me up. Did George just have that case lying around? Is Fenix partially sponsored by Newegg? The most intriguing mystery for me this far!)

It’s a trifle, this pre-show theatrical advertisement. It’s not trying to tell a twisty story, since there’s not even a show to twist yet. It’s a slightly more plot-heavy version of the Transformation videos that exist alongside DX Driver on-sale dates. But, within those parameters, it’s solid enough. The Decade-flavored suits are good, even if Vice forgot to do any of the Tsukasa catchphrases. Nothing to talk about narratively or thematically, but a pleasant enough viewing experience.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/movieb.png

Very much a day in the life of Revice here in terms of vibes of this.

This is also accompanied by a Manga from kinda Daiji's perspective (mostly a few word bubbles while the rest is stylized recap of the theatrical special).

This is an interesting and fun short purely for the fact that we don't actually get any of these for Rider? Like this is very much a demo/test run of Revice and it gets a lot of things right off the bat in terms of general aesthetics and such. Very much a template for a show they had yet to film and wanted to show alongside Super Hero Senki.

Not much else to say here but uh... here's our proper debut of Megalodon form, Remix and all. And given Megalodon shows up, we can only assume sometime after this is where the Saber Special Episode takes place.