Hinaka's actress played Sailor Moon in that musical at one point, too.

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 10 - "ONI ALIGNED"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki10a.png

"There's a black light glowing
At the center of the world
And I'm losing my sight
There's a black balloon imploding
At the center of the world
Full of nothing tonight"

-Portastatic, "Center Of The World"

I think I see what they were going for in the Asumu storyline?

Asumu lives a pretty sheltered life, notwithstanding being involved in the battle against mythic monsters. (He's a teenaged boy in Tokyo! It's assumed that he'll be involved in some amount of monster battling!) He's loved by his mother, included by his friends, and mentored by Hibiki. Things are pretty smooth for him.

But then there's shoplifters, and anger, and violence, and the world seems to be a much darker place. Monsters are scary, but their terror has a context. People being awful, being cruel... that's just something Asumu can't comprehend. He's suddenly in a world that seems too dark to interact with.

It comes to a head after he tries to escape. He bikes out to a field, and watches a soccer game. The players bicker and fight, letting minor disagreements explode into raised fists. It's everything he feared, confirmed. The world is awful, and the people in it are all capable of cruelty.

But then Hitomi calls. She bikes out to him, bringing him a snack. She's not mad at him for missing the movie. Truthfully, she slept through it. She'll go see it again with Asumu, some time.

It's the flipside of Ichiro's lesson that, yeah, everyone has the capacity for darkness. But they also have the capacity for goodness. The soccer players brawl on the field during the game, but they shake hands and laugh at the end. Some asshole almost punched Asumu in the face, but Hitomi cared enough to bike out and cheer him up. The world is complicated, and so are the people in it.

It's a nice story, honestly. It's very sweet.

It's also bizarrely applied and completely disconnected from the Kamen Rider stuff this episode. (I mean, yeah, the moral of "there are both good and evil in the world" could be applied to the Rider storyline here, but it could also be applied to every Rider storyline on every Rider show forever, so I'm going to fall back on saying it's disconnected.) The Rider stuff here is about Hibiki and Ibuki teaming up to defeat... Gamera, basically, and if there's a theme in there, I'm not really seeing it.

Even for Asumu's story... I'll more or less give it a pass, since it's shot so well. (A whole lot of shooting in ways that box Asumu in! It's a very cool motif!) There's a sequence of Asumu racing away on his bike that's so poignant and beautiful that I'm not sure I even care if the rest of the story makes sense. And, I'm not sure it really does. Asumu having, like, an existential crisis after witnessing two teenagers shoplift, I don't know. It's a lot. If this plot had stayed on Asumu feeling self-loathing or anger over his inability to stand up for himself and/or call out wrongdoing, I can see where that fits into his character. What's here feels like a storyline for a much younger character, not a 15-year old who I would think has less naivete about man's capacity for evil. (If this teenage boy has never dealt with bullies or jerks at any time in his life, I think he needed to go through this story.) It's a very well-done version of an idea that doesn't feel nuanced enough to be worth two episodes of this show.

The Kamen Rider part, though! God DAMN!

First, they're hitting that nostalgia button hard by having Ibuki and Hibiki meet up outside the decommissioned BOARD base from Blade, before transitioning to what looks like the big bike locale from that early Kuuga episode where Kuuga motorcycles all over a building, and then finishing at Kamen Rider Dam. It's a very cool group of sets, more surprising for being on a show that's largely eschewed old locations.

The team-up itself is a blast. It's fun to dig into the themes and metaphors of these shows, but I am not immune to the charms of two superheroes working together to detonate monsters. I got those interests, too! And this episode doesn't disappoint in that regard, with great teamwork leading to a rousing finale. Ibuki's able to use his ranged attacks to bring down and stun Off-Brand Gamera, giving Hibiki the opportunity to finish it off with Blazing Dance Chain Style. (It's the standard Hibiki finisher, despite the cool name.) There's honestly not a lot to talk about with their team-up, since they immediately start working together and have zero friction, outside of Hibiki forgetting to tell Ibuki that he can drive a bike, but he can't stop a bike. It's a very cute moment! The rest of it is very awesome, though. Simple pleasures, sometimes.

This was maybe not the best two-parter Hibiki's done to date. The Asumu stuff is a long way to go for a plot that needed to be more complicated to be worth its time, while the Rider stuff is competently (occasionally thrillingly) executed action that isn't really saying anything. It's an Asumu plot that needed to be more visceral, and a Rider plot that needed to be more thoughtful. Maybe if they'd bothered to link them up, this wouldn't've been a problem!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki10b.png

Yes, thank you for the reminder. It seems that another actor succeeded Amano while she was Sailor Moon and then when she left Kenji Urai who was N Daguba Zeba in Kuuga took over as Tuexdo Mask.

You're doing better than I am then! I mean, I love a story that uses a light touch, but this whole episode just made me feel like I missing... everything? There's a story about Asumu here that's really hard to get a grip on, and there's a story about Oni aligning that just kinda doesn't seem to even loosely parallel the Asumu story the way Hibiki's plots are supposed to be structured? A lot of the individual moments are done rather poignantly, but I wasn't getting a strong sense of cohesion here.

Hibiki and Ibuki teaming up to fight a flying tortoise, though, that I understood. Obviously this is the best episode of Hibiki ever because he pulls a Wizard and comes flying in from offscreen to drop kick a monster attacking Ibuki – the BEST way to make an entrance in a Rider show.

He also drives a bike in a way that playfully taunts the audience expecting Kamen Rider, which is one of the few moments of Hibiki I very clearly remembered. I'm usually the one clamoring for bike action, but I can't help but love how upfront they are here about that not being one of the things Hibiki is well-trained for.

I think Hibiki crashing Tatsumaki is the best part of this episode. It's humorous how subversive the show is about what Hibiki, as a Kamen Rider, can actually do and operating a vehicle isn't a talent he automatically has. This was foreshadowed in Episode 2 when he stalled the car all the way to the place where Shounen and his cousin were staying. Even Shinnosuke who doesn't have a bike can still drive a car competently. How did Hibiki even get his driving license like that?!

After defeating the Otoroshi, Hibiki attempts a high touch and the look on Ibuki's face when he leaves Hibiki hanging to immediately check on Tatsumaki like it's his wounded child is a very comedic way to end the arc! Although I pity Tatsumaki a little as well, good thing Takeshi offer financial support for accidents like that. Ibuki treats his bike a lot better than Takumi treats Auto Vajin at least.

It's also the first time we see how Hibiki and Ibuki work together in a fight with Ibuki stepping back from his solo focus in the previous arc to shoot down the Otoroshi for Hibiki to finish with his subtly different technique. Fortunately, Ibuki is still an independent Oni in his own right and you can look forward to seeing more of his solo fights later. Regarding what fantastic monster the Otoroshi resembles, I thought it looked like some kind of flying Adamantoise, which would be terrifying!

Its big problem, for both parts, is that we never get Asumu articulating what he's going through. There's a chance that a small scene with him and Hitomi could've put a bow on this one, but instead it's just her saying that things aren't that bad and him silently eating. We never, once, get to hear Asumu tell us what the problem is. Even Ichiro's little speech... he's just guessing at what Asumu's going through. He's insightful and wise, but he's not a mind-reader. (Aslo, he's spent about twelve minutes with this kid, so he's really got no idea what he's dealing with.) It's cool that the show felt like we knew enough about Asumu to be able to discern his troubles, but they could've thrown us a rope at the end.

And, yeah, baffling that they never try to tie it all in with the Hibiki/Ibuki plot. If ever a story needed that parallel to surface the themes, it was this one!

Maybe the Kamen is Hibiki, and the Rider is Asumu? All I know is that there are two leads on this show, and Asumu's the one who's constantly riding a bike. It's literally the first thing you see after the Don't Get A Seizure warning!

They were a pretty great team. For all of their individual responsibilities, it's nice to see that the Oni can work together against bigger threats. It's a more professional dynamic than I think we've seen before? Even Blade/Garren had some issues with working together (in the very brief window of Tachibana's stability), and they were meant to be a team.

Sorry I’ve had nothing to say this time (mostly because I said most of it by accident the last time). But I do have one interesting fact.

This is the last episode to be co-written by Tsuyoshi Kida (who left Taketera’s production posse after Hibiki) and Shinji Oishi (who joined said posse with Hibiki), the show’s two head writers. From here on out, every episode will have one writer per episode.

(Plus the first 29 episodes had some ghost rewrites by the guy playing Hibiki, but that’s neither here nor there).

Huh! Maybe that's why this one felt so disjointed? Because it had two writers?

Thanks for the info!

I mean, that would suck. The only Riders who actually made bicycles look cool were Beast, EX-Aid and Genm. There's a certain Rider in a show you haven't seen yet who makes bicycles look boring as hell and Shounen doesn't really do anything with his bicycle that makes me go "Wow!" either. He rides it so mundanely. That would really undermine one of the franchise's appeals even though it's mostly downplayed these days.

Kamen Rider is an earned title and Hibiki has yet to earn the Rider part. Training is one of the show's morals after all so it's important to teach viewers that you can't just take the driver's seat of a vehicle and immediately know how to operate it.

It's nice for Asumu tbh, his life was mostly about harmony with his mother, friends, and Hibiki. I'd expect the characters in Asumu type to be the one constantly being victimized by awful and cruel people (like in school) like the shoplifter here. Otherwise, would this mean that goodness is realistic too then? Because some people only treat darkness capacity as realistic ones. And this topic leans towards Rousseau's view, where when they last long enough, most human societies and civilizations apparently tend to get more peaceful and tolerant. Whilst there are notable and unfortunate exceptions, it does appear that we as a culture (if not as a species) are becoming if not more loving and caring, then at least less violent and bloodthirsty.

From a world stage picture one could argue the world has (in general) seemingly never been more peaceful. While there are still conflicts and wars, many disputes overall are solved through negotiation, as opposed to outright elimination of the opposing side. The number of wars fought between countries that are going on as opposed to internal conflicts can be counted on the fingers of one's hand. On the other side, it could be argued that weapons technology that's reached today's level of destruction and control is what really keeps the peace. Powerful nations simply can't afford the ramifications of armed conflict, so it's the threat of wholesale destruction that keeps conflicts limited in scope.

Ah, Rider series aren't really high on budget, so various locations are re-used repeatedly, like the BOARD base here. Though probably as you say, this one's a whole package of it. This teamwork choreograph yeah is actually good and better synergized, like enhancing Ibuki's bullets with Hibiki's fire. Ibuki actually uses his finisher towards the Gamera, but Hibiki's the one that can kill him. And, for a well-trained person, it seems Hibiki isn't too well-versed towards vehicles... it's probably the reason why Kasumi was the one that drove the car...

Well obviously you're not the writer, but I'd like to see back ups in criticisms yeah. And lol, there yeah, the shop is managed by Tachibana family, Kasumi's surname is Tachibana... and the Tachibana in Blade is also a surname. You should refer to it as Takeshi HQ, as it's the group's name.

Not a ton to say about this one, just that Hitomi is such a great kid. Being Asumu's totally-not-girlfriend looks like a frequently thankless job, but she is really committed to it and she knocks it out of the park so many times.

I was gonna go on a big whole rant about Kuuga, W and Build and finish by saying this is the franchise that has a final form change your giant mecha dragon into an even cooler giant mecha dragon who turns into a flamethrower bike... but then I actually looked at what you were saying haha.

I gotta be honest, I'm weirdly into the idea of a Kamen Rider show where the main Rider spends the entire series learning to ride a motorcycle. Just a dude who's terrified of motorcycles being given the power to ride them against the forces of darkness? Yes. Very yes. I would watch the hell out of, like, Kamen Rider Rider.

I would've assumed a somewhat meek boy like Asumu would have a history with harassment, but it certainly doesn't seem like it from this story!

And, yeah, I think the show is trying to make the point that it's not that Everyone Is Evil, like Asumu starts to fear, but that everyone could be evil... but they can also be good. That's assuming I'm reading this episode correctly, and I might very well not be.

I just don't like to rewrite a show. It's one thing to critique something, it's another to completely alter it to fit your expectations/enjoyment. I don't like approaching art that way. I'll maybe point out that a show could've done something differently, but as soon as I start telling a different story, I'm not really engaging with what got made. It's fine if other folks want to do that, but it's not my taste.

And, sorry, Team Hibiki Bar and Grill! That's what's in my brain now.

She really helps make the ending as good as it is. I like that when someone like Ichiro is like Let Me Share Some Of My Wisdom, it completely bounces off of Asumu (or makes things worse!), while Hitomi just shows up and chills things out. She knows that it's not the time to pry out of Asumu what's bothering him, so she just sits with him. She's a really good friend!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...hibikibike.png

Thank you, Kamen Rider Hibiki!

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 11 - "ENGULFING WALLS"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki11a.png

"They'll give us what we're asking for
'Cause god is with us
And our god's the richest
Our power doesn't run on nothing
It runs on blood
And blood is easy to obtain
When you have no shame"

-The Thermals, "Power Doesn't Run On Nothing"

Hey, let's talk about the brand new player in the Makamou side of things: Clockamou, the timepiece-accessorized overseer that's skulking around and powering-up the mooks.

Clockamou is an interesting addition. The monster plots had gotten a little formulaic, so having someone besides the Douji, the Hime, and a CGI monster to contend with, I'm all for. Its appearance immediately pays dividends, turning the one-hit chumps that are barely a speedbump for Hibiki into formidable threats.

It's something this show has badly needed. I usually don't care that much for the Hibiki Drums A Computer Monster Into Oblivion parts of the stories, so anything that allows the people in monster costumes to get a little bit more screentime is a positive as far as I'm concerned. Just the little bit extra they get here is one of the strongest cliffhangers this show has had yet, with Hibiki getting just handled by the upgraded Douji and Hime. It's a visceral threat that is worth a dozen semi-weightless CGI monsters. Very into these two being more formidable, and very into finding more about Clockamou's strategies. (Or "schemes", as the text over the scene calls out.)

The rest of the episode was pretty fun, although (as is typical for a first part) it's full of things I'll be more apt to talk about after the next one.

Midori, for example, seems like someone that I'm going to have more to say about later. She's fun in this episode, with her sweet tooth and clumsiness, but a lot of her story is probably yet to come. There's a neat mention of her being a former middle school classmate of Hibiki's, which, coupled with the She Is Trying To Ask You Out You Dummy antics of Hitomi towards Asumu, feels like a big part of what's to come. As a result, until I know more, I'm probably going to hold off on trying to figure her out. As is, she was fun in this episode.

Most of Asumu's stuff is him dealing with whatever he's still trying to process from the last story, and it gets a little clearer. Regardless of what exactly went through his head before, the result is a big helping of shame, which keeps him from wanting to see Hibiki. (Great moment outside Trauma Bookstore, where the salesperson basically does everything she can to activate Asumu's PTSD. She's so cordial in her triggering!)

Asumu being too ashamed to face the people he admires, I can understand that motivation. No one really knows what he's going through, but to Asumu, it's painted on his forehead. He's certain that his failure, his weakness, his whatever, is being broadcast to everyone around him. So he tries to stay away from anyone who might pity him, or be disgusted by him. It's a stronger concept than whatever was going on before, and I'm curious where they'll go with it.

Hibiki's still strongly in Hero mode, with his story being entirely about monster hunting again. There's some neat touches, like when Hibiki and Kasumi go to visit what I think was the couple from the photo that Hibiki showed Asumu a few episodes back. I like that Kasumi is getting hard data, real actionable intelligence, and Hibiki is playing with their kid and has a plan of Trying Hard, the end. Hibiki really needs a strong support team! His training does not seem to include formulating multi-phase plans!

(Quick thing, speaking of training. There's a brief scene of Ibuki training, where Akira is helping him out. It's a scene that's there to name-drop Midori before she shows up, but, shouldn't Akira be at school? She goes to Jounan, and it's their first day of school. Why isn't she at the same place as Asumu and Hitomi? Is this referenced in the next episode? I can't imagine Ibuki is making this girl skip school to help him shoot better!)

I had a good time with this one. All of the Asumu stuff was a lot stronger, with some beautiful sequences (him walking to school through the cherry blossoms, as a glockenspiel version "Shounen Yo" plays!) and a better grasp on the emotional component of Asumu's journey. The Hibiki stuff was pleasant, with a strong action finish. Not a total stunner of an episode (the Ibuki stuff seemed unnecessary, and there are a few too many mysteries for my liking), but definitely a solid entry. Nice to be back to enjoying Hibiki!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki11b.png

Don't worry about this Akira being in Jounan is going to come up. And honestly I think that when the show got really good for me the high school stuff and the oni gets a little more connected because of Akira being both in Asumu class and being Ibuki appereantice.

Okay, cool. It was just so weird, seeing her hanging out in a cave with Ibuki on the first day of school, three episodes after they explicitly told us she goes to the same school as Asumu. If they'd never mentioned that, I'd just assume she was being, like, homeschooled by Ibuki or something. Or, is being an Oni's apprentice a thing Akira's getting class credit for? Is Jounan a trade school?

So something I was thinking about the other night when I saw that Midori's debut was coming up is that Hibiki has the most regular female characters of any Kamen Rider series from the Heisei era (there may be some Showa ones with more, but that's because some shows like the original series and Skyrider would swap out the supporting actresses occasionally). We've got Kasumi, Hinaka, Hitomi, Akira, the Hime, Asumu's mom, and now Midori. Midori will be more of the Asumu's mom level of recurring - around a lot, but not every week - but that's seven regular or recurring female characters. It's neat to see so many women on the show, especially with Saber shaping up to be pretty much a complete sausagefest at the moment.

Anyway, Midori is great. Like everyone else on the show she's really nice and friendly, but she adds just a little bit of... I don't know. I kinda want to say "airheadedness," but not in a negative sense. She's just a little bit out to lunch most of the time, like she kinda operates on a slightly different wavelength then everybody else. In any case, she's fantastic and there's going to be some great stuff with her in the next episode.

We also got our first Black Puppet appearance. They represent the start of an escalating level of threat. They also look really freaking cool and I love their crazy steampunk staffs.

Not a lot to discuss about this episode, so I’ll go into random trivia mode.

Look at this unused concept art for Ultimate Kuuga https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20150202003642

Now look at Hibiki’s tuning fork
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20190908121539

Notice anything?

And it wouldn’t be the last time either.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20150122124525

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20200107165256

And here’s what they ultimately went with (represented by a Souchaku Henshin figure)

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170620004738

The way the show treats characters like Kasumi, Hinaka, and Midori, I really like it. It's not Strong Hero Hibiki and a bunch of support characters, it's Hibiki as the weapon Takeshi wields. (It's a little similar to Blade, but there it was more metaphorical/emotional, here it's more literal.) I'm so much more into that idea than the more typical Rider Knows Best template. It's nice to have a show with multiple competent women working to defeat monsters!

I don't know if it's her look or her tech skills or her weird energy, but Midori reminds me so much of Rinna from Drive that I had to check and see if it was the same actor. It wasn't, but I'm still not convinced.

That's so cool! Thanks!

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 12 - "SECRETS REVEALED"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki12a.png

"If we put things right
Then we'll sleep tonight
If we can't put things right
Then there will be no sleep tonight"

-Rainer Maria, "There Will Be No Night"

It's hard to find fault with this one... but if Hibiki has taught me anything, it's that nothing worthwhile comes without effort. And I'm pretty well-trained at nitpicking otherwise entertaining episodes of TV shows designed to sell toys to children!

In general, I think this episode worked pretty well. Most of my criticisms are going to be of the A-Minus When You Could've Gotten An A-Plus variety. A couple things where, with some different choices, it could've been a perfect episode.

The big thing is the Makamou in this episode, which... look, I get budgets. I get the technology of the time. I get that not every monster in a series can be the best. But holy shit did the giant slug in this story look unforgivably janky. The camerawork that gets used to make it seem massive is laughably cheesy, while the puppet head has a level of sophistication approaching, but not touching, Mystery Science Theatre 3000. It's bad. I'm sure someone out there will defend it as So Bad It's Good, or call it "charming" for its deficiencies, but, no. No. This monster looks like garbage, and it's shot in a way that makes it hot garbage. Ridiculously lame finale to this story's monster plot, all the more glaring for how great everything ahead of it was.

The smaller thing is that, and I know this may sound dumb after a few episodes of complaining that the Hibiki and Asumu stuff wasn't connecting, but... it's maybe too on the nose in this one?

I mean, I love that they've concluded the Asumu Chokes plot in such a decisive way. After episodes where it wasn't clear what was going on with Asumu, we get confirmation that his multiple choke jobs lead to him having such self-loathing that he couldn't face Hibiki. Midori tells Asumu that Hibiki famously choked back when he was Asumu's age, and that's what put him on the path to being an Oni. It's information that allows Asumu to move beyond his shame, and vow to be more assertive/useful/ambulatory/articulated in the future. The end.

It's just, I don't know that what I want out of a Hibiki/Asumu plot is Nearly The Exact Same Thing Happened To Hibiki When He Was A Kid. I find that sort of parallel cheap, and dull. It lacks the cleverness of the better comparisons, something this episode actually has for a different part of Asumu's story! Hibiki trains to defeat the Armored Douji and Hime, who have their gifted power-up run out after Hibiki's dodging and stalling. Hibiki states the theme clearly (it's nice that the Douji and Hime can learn a moral before they're detonated?), saying that power without effort won't last. It's another way of saying that Asumu shouldn't just expect to magically be assertive and powerful, he'll need to work at it. It's a much more nuanced and specific way of addressing Asumu's dilemma, and I wish the show had kept it there.

(And, yeah, Asumu's not around to hear Hibiki's narratively-convenient lesson, but still. Having Midori just tell Asumu that the heroic Hibiki was once like him, I don't know. It feels a little lazy to me.)

I think my favorite things about this episode were the little details, and that's worth more to me than some plots that had rough edges. I liked the hidden Oni Accessory room, even if the ways it's accessed aren't something that'll stand up to much scrutiny. (I love how the kid-friendly secret rooms are waved off as Like A Ninja House. Okay, sure! Whatever!) I adore the idea of the previous iterations of the disc animals being origami animals. That... I like that so much better than disc animals. Disc animals are a downgrade! I liked the shot sequence of Hibiki Screaming/Asumu Screaming/Hitomi Smiling At A Magazine/Asumu Screaming. I liked Kasumi playing a guessing game with Hibiki. I liked Akira and Hitomi meeting and immediately passing the Bechdel Test. I just... I like this world, and the characters in it. It's always nice to spend time in.

And, complaints aside, pretty good episode of Hibiki! It felt like the end of the first part of the story, with Hibiki's skills increasing just as Asumu finally deals with his failures. All of the info Midori provided has spelled out how the world works, and we're ready for the next phase of the story. I'm excited to see it!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki12b.png

"one-hit chumps" oh well, that kind of enemy is commonly refered by community (not limited to Kamen Rider) as mooks, or goons, or lackeys, or anything like that. Yeah, those kind of enemies are only made to be mowed over by heroes, and that without them the series would have much less action. Not exactly my cup of tea too but, the purpose is yeah, If every single minion your hero ever runs into has a deeper characteristics, then the pacing of the show would slow to a crawl and the major antagonists would not feel as unique in comparison. Thus, mooks serve as filler and a backdrop to the truly climactic moments while also ensuring that in-between things are kept lively.

It's even considered...bad for mooks to be given any sort of detailed backstory or personality (beyond broad strokes). Put another way, for the purposes of heroes continuing to be seen as heroes, and to avoid a major mood swing, mooks generally have no family/friends, don't belong to church groups or non-profits that might miss them, and generally die quick.

It's so coincidental, to bump into someone that is related anyway, in films I usually only see someone unwittingly bump each other to make way for love/shipping, but for once, this one's not it. Midori being former classmate just explains so much why she's a part of Takeshi too, and unwittingly dragged Asumu to the place he tried to avoid.

The salesperson unfortunately won't know the inner side of Asumu (though he's outwardly meek), that he has self-scuffle of unknown reasons/origins to others. I guess the salesperson wants to tell the truth about what's actually going on in her shop that shoplifting is more common. And, from previous talk, probably this is the actual part where Asumu got hit by too much expectations that he, likely, from the shoplifting news, is nowhere near as much of a hero as Hibiki was that he can contribute to save others while Asumu had failures? And with Hibiki acting as a "perfect" role model, failures, weaknesses, etc. just serves to fuel insecurities inside him? The solution is probably for Hibiki to also show that he can fail too, as nobody's perfect, even if a role model is outwardly so.

Hibiki apparently already know the couple, as he talks to them as if they're friends and also play with the child. Though, getting hard data, what does it have to do with actionable intelligence? It seems that here so far, they only warn them about the escalating Makamou.

And this is exactly why I love this show so much, it just has a quality to it that makes everything feel so warm and enjoyable.

Without going into any details, the next phase is a good one. There's some stuff coming up that I've really been looking forward to.

Nothing to say about this episode. I’m going to be spending the time reading through someone’s OC Kamen Rider and try to find out what makes them so much more difficult to create than OC Sentai and OC Ultras.

You mean as a character or as a design? For me, I understand characters better as I write them in different scenarios but designing a Rider seems daunting since they're so much more complex than Sentai and you have to figure out how the Driver and gimmicks work and how they factor in the story.

Honestly, I feel like you're kind of hard on the Makamou in general. I agree that they're not the most interesting characters but as things for the hero to beat up, I think they're pretty cool to look at and an effective way to show off the Oni's fighting styles. If my recollection is correct, you weren't too thrilled about the Elasmotherium Orphenoch either.

As much as the show is mostly Shounen's story, I think it was necessary to hear at least a little of Hibiki's backstory by Episode 12. I would totally watch a prequel about Hibiki's journey from middle school to becoming Hibiki.

Origami are a lot easier to produce for sure but they lack the intelligence, resilience and functionality of the Disc Animals.

Mostly in general plotting and concept. A guy on Twitter said that it took him 45 minutes to write a Sentai season, a week to write an Ultra series, but he’s been working on his Rider season for 20 years.

45 minutes to conceptualize the general plot, suits, morphers, weapons, mecha and characters for Sentai? Wow, that's fast! 20 years for Kamen Rider though.... ouch.

Oh, for sure. (Although I would love to watch an episode of a Kamen Rider where the mook volunteers at a non-profit. There was that OOO anniversary story about the Shocker mook that mined some of that territory, and it was weirdly heartfelt.) I guess what I'm looking for from the Douji and Hime is a little bit more than your traditional mook, since they're basically the only communicative enemy Hibiki or Ibuki faces. I don't need them to have regrets from their university days, but I'd like them to hang around for more than 10 seconds of a fight. There's got to be a balance!

I think it's more just the joke of this woman trying to make him feel better while making him feel so much worse. Cringe comedy is still comedy!

Yeah, but Kasumi's clearly getting the full scope of the situation (contingency plans, theories) while Hibiki is playing with their kid. I don't think it's a problem, or anything. It's more that Hibiki has his skillset, and Kasumi has hers, and their success comes from each of them doing their best. Hibiki needs her to be paying attention because he can be a little excitable.

It's a very pleasant show!

That's fair! I think this one in particular didn't work for me, though. I've been lukewarm-to-cold on a lot of the CGI fighting, but every time they'd cut to the giant slug's face, I burst out laughing. This was a different level of it not working for me.

After hearing Midori's stories, I feel like we are watching Hibiki's journey from middle school to becoming Hibiki!

All valid points. Counterpoint: origami are cooler.

Turns out I was misremembering. The Sentai was thought up in a plane ride and the Ultra was thought up in an hour.

Edit: I apologise for going off-topic today. I promise tomorrow will give me something to talk about, with a double debut (plus one I missed in episode 11)

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 13 - "CHAOTIC AFFAIRS"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki13a.png

"I am gonna make it through this year
If it kills me"

-The Mountain Goats, "This Year"

High-octane episode! Big fights, huge danger, and some fun new combos. An outstanding installment!

It's nice when they can get the theme of the story working over as many threads as possible, namely Holy Shit Everyone Is Working Way Too Hard. Asumu is working too hard to acknowledge his illness, Kasumi is working so hard she got sick, Hibiki is now expected to be assisting other Oni as well as taking care of his own Makamou, Akira's got no time for school?€? even the Douji is having too much pressure placed on it! Folks are getting burned the hell out.

Asumu's both the most invisible part of this episode, but also the lynchpin. He's someone who's trying to get up to speed in a brand-new setting, while still wanting to support Hibiki. Admitting that he needs a break, that he can't deliver, to him it smacks of choking. He's started to think of asking for help, or needing to slow down, as his flaw of cowardice. It's one thing to try hard in order to help your friends, it's another to put yourself at risk because you didn't know your limits.

Mostly, though, we're seeing the flaws of overcommitting in Hibiki and the Douji.

Hibiki, for one, doesn't come out that great in this episode to me. He's maybe getting a bit of a swelled head now that he's the Special Mobile Combat Unit Or Whatever? Being made the Assistant To The General Oni has made him get maybe too much of a the-mission-comes-first attitude, with him being okay with Akira never going to school again, I guess. (The way he and Ichiro just sort-of shrug their shoulders at a 15-year old barely attending school! I know they're aware of it, because they want Asumu to help her out, but, like, insufficient! Let her attend class!) There's a fine line between his normal enthusiastic optimism, and what we see here. It comes off a little too self-assured to me, bordering on cockiness. I don't know, that's probably overstating it. He's not an asshole, or anything, but he does seem to be a little more reckless with the people he's depending on.

And, yeah, speaking of overworked underlings, the Deranged Douji! Pretty great! I've been hoping for more suit-on-suit action, and boy did this episode deliver. We got to see the Douji mutilate the Hime, destroy two other Douji and Hime, attack Danki (who looks to be wearing Ibuki's undersuit and mask with Hibiki's straps), and have a thrilling brawl with Ibuki. It's, hands down, the best fight this show has had. It's great at keeping some balance to the sides, where the Douji never feels unstoppable, and Ibuki can get the occasional shot in. If it'd been two minutes of Ibuki getting demolished, it'd've been not that fun to watch. Having it go a little back and forth, while still letting the Douji get most of the offense in, really helped make for a tense battle. My favorite fight yet on this show.

I feel like I'm forgetting something. I liked this episode, but it looks like those are the only big things jumping out at me? All I've got left in my brain are the usual small touches, the bit of spice that flavors an episode of Hibiki. I was excited to see Hibiki team up with Hinaka for parts of this one. They're way more similar than Hibiki and Kasumi, so it definitely ratchets up the goofiness factor. (Although, honestly, she's pretty professional in the car with him. I could've used some weirder interplay!) Speaking of the Autobots' Chief Medical Officer, neat to see Ratchet's toy-style ambulance pulling up to the hospital. Oh! And there's the dude that AsuMum talks to at the hospital! I knew I knew that dude from somewhere, and it was killing me, so I jumped on the Wiki real fast to find out. He was one of the Mages from Kamen Rider Wizard! I would've never gotten that, and it would've driven me Douji-level crazy. (Sorry to check the Wiki! I didn't really learn much about who he played on Hibiki!)

This was a super-tense episode that I thoroughly enjoyed. The monster stuff was leaps and bounds better than before, enough so that I didn't mind how much it took over this episode. The Asumu stuff should be pretty interesting to watch develop, especially if we can get a little critique of Hibiki's single-mindedness. Like, let Akira go to school! You guys!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki13b.png

This is a really good one, yeah. Having another suit actor to consistently fight against does make for some better action scenes than the giant CGI monsters. I really love how feral the insane Douji is, not only tearing apart his own partner and child, but also jumping into an episode of Kamen Rider Danki to mess up the fight scene that was happening there, too. The Douji and Hime monster suits are really weird and not always that good looking, but goddamn if they don't sell the ferocity of the crazed one. The bridge and abandoned building fights with Ibuki were also really good.

So we see Danki for the first time this episode. He's the first of the minor Oni that we'll be seeing. We will see him again, but he's not signing up as the show's third main Oni. This is another cool piece of world-building that the show does. Like with Zanki - the injured guy from several episodes ago - we get the sense here that there are a lot of other Oni going around exterminating monsters. This time we got to see instead of hear about it over the phone. I think it's a nice touch and I like that Danki has his own fighting style that makes him distinct from Hibiki, even though he's a fellow drummer.

Glad you recognized Shingo Kawaguchi. He will, indeed, be back for Wizard. For now, this isn't the last we're going to see of him. As the trailer for the next episode implies, he does have a connection to part of our existing cast.

The base suits the Douji and Hime wear are pretty bland (they look like walnuts?), but they work because the show keeps plussing them up when necessary. I'd rather have a boring suit that could be a cool Armored version or a powerful Deranged version, than just have a bunch of different suits running around. They've done a good job of visually indicating the level of threat by how ornate the Douji and Hime look.

Danki even gets his own fight music! It's (I think?) the first time we've heard any guitars on this show, and it must be because Danki has been hoarding them. I like that he's so fully-formed that he's got a fighting style, a musical motif, a group of enemies he's already tracking down... I liked it so much that I won't do more than note how cobbled-together his suit is. He's a very fun element in a very fun episode!

Yeah, one of the downsides of trying to figure out where I knew him from was finding out what his character name was on Hibiki, and I was like Boy That Sounds A Little Familiar. Nothing beyond that, really, so I don't have any clue what his deal is yet. And, honestly, it was pretty clear he was going to end up being someone, even before I saw the next episode teaser. He was too clearly framed to just be a random nobody. Like, he was shot to tell you Remember This Face. And I eventually did!

And we’re back with my usual stuff.

Like I said last time, I forgot to talk about the new villain that appears in episode 11, mostly because they barely registered when I watched the series. It’s basically the Hime actress in a Kuroko (the guys in Oabuki plays who handle the special effects) costume, who the Wiki refers to as “Black Clone” since she doesn’t have a canonical name and she’s in the same mould as the Hime.

And then there’s Danki (etymology: shorthand for Dangan no Oni [Bullet Demon, which makes me wonder how he came up with that name, based on later revelations]). He’s played by Hibiki’s suit actor Makoto Ito, which surprisingly, does not net him a larger role. We’re still a few episodes away from the minor Oni with the most appearances outside the main group.

And as for Shingo Kawuchi’s new character? He’s not entirely out of the blue. I’ll just say that he was name dropped a few episodes back. In one of the photos I posted for that episode.

Very interesting! Thanks!

Sums up just well, Kamen Rider CGI in general. It's worse on giant creatures like this monster, and this is not a Hibiki exclusive trait. And well, no, I'm not the kind to defend this/give this free pass. My country's television quality is notoriously bad and one of the reasons is these kinds of CGI (even worse ones here).

Well yeah that's the way, it's still, the part that I talked about before of role model being outwardly perfect sets up too much expectations for the "protege", giving insecurities, the solution is to let them know that the role model isn't perfect as you made them out to be and approach them in a more realistic manner, which is well for here, used to have flaws similar to Asumu himself. I think that's the plausible way to solve Asumu's issues regarding Hibiki, but if this doesn't work for you, (well, again, want to know) what should be done as improvement as solving, or never solve (poor sanity)? And I guess I get it why "miscommunication" part is tolerated... because telling the info is seen as lazy? (but you also don't like if someone continually keeps something secret even if they know?).

O̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶l̶a̶s̶s̶m̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶K̶a̶m̶e̶n̶ ̶R̶i̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶a̶m̶i̶,̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶a̶m̶i̶.̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶H̶i̶b̶i̶k̶i̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶t̶h̶?̶ But origami is made from paper! They're so fragile! They break easily, especially on the watery environment the Oni sometimes fight! And I wonder why the access to that room is made as traps, to hurt anyone that wants to expose something inside the room? The room's content... I wonder if the toy collectors arrange their toys like the one in the room, it looks something like it.

It hurts Asumu though unintentionally... and passing it off as comedy... it's the "disregard of the hurt's feelings that they don't matter for the comedic or entertainment value in those behaviours" mindset I fear.

Someone hasn’t seen Shinkenger, since they have Origami as their mecha. (Though given the show’s focus on Kanji, the “gami” is changed to mean “god” instead of “paper”).

Ps, Die, remember the name “Shinkenger”. It’ll be important 4 threads from now.

Okay, got a little behind on this thead! Lemme just power through these real quick:

I basically completely forgot about this dude's existence until seeing them again here, where I was like "oh right, that dude!" and it all started coming back to me. Having seen a couple episodes past this point already, I agree this is a character that works wonders for making the monster plots more interesting (and you can tell they're getting more focus than usual, even), but also, I find the whole black robes and silly staff a bit hard to take seriously, if I'm being honest? Or heck, really anything about their shtick is that way for me. It makes me feel a bit disconnected from the show, because it's clearly shooting for creepy, but feeding the monsters of the week sea urchins or whatever, I don't know, just not my style I guess. Weirdly negative of me, I know, but don't worry! I can turn this right around!

Hi! Yes! That's me! Telling you to lay off that Nurikabe, because it is ~adorable~! How can you stand being so mean to something so cute? Look, I understand the prop snail face is a lot less impressive than the freakishly detailed ones for the previous Makamou (that only got used in like a shot each because Takatera), but it's just so endearing. I bet that little guy just wanted to head into town to say hello to everybody and make friends! Probably wasn't even evil!

To be a bit more serious, though, I honestly do find the giant monster showdowns one of the most interesting parts of the show. They just fit so much more with Hibiki's identity as a series than the more typical hero tokusatsu fare with the Douji/Hime in each story, and the effects are like... I mean, we're probably never going to come to a real understanding on this, but I'd probably like them less if they were better? I have to imagine this one was particularly rough for you; those floppy pool noodle antennae are aggressively Showa.

The thing that really blew my mind about how intense, dynamic, and atmospheric that battle with Ibuki was is that the episode was directed by Osamu Kaneda, who these days is probably best known for the dishonor of directing the first couple Super Hero Taisen films, which were... well, pretty much the exact opposite of those three adjectives. Lately I've come to think his poor reputation maybe doesn't give him enough credit for his other work, and seeing a fight scene like this in his first episode of Hibiki is all the more evidence that he at least was legitimately great when it came to the action.

You're right that finding out about Hibiki's similarities to Asumu's troubles both humanizes Hibiki in Asumu's eyes, as well as making Asumu feel less critical of his own failings. But! I really, really wish the way the show chose to dramatize that was telling Asumu that the exact same thing he's going through happened to Hibiki. A bit of metaphor, or a slightly different failing, and I'd've been more on board. As it is, I found it too on-the-nose.

Sure! Definitely gave me some Collecting Goals.

Well, that's the "cringe" part!

I will remember it!

(I will definitely not remember it. I won't even remember the name of the Kamen Rider from this show by the time I'm on Den-O. Please remind me when we come to the appropriate time.)

I think Clockamou ended up working better for me because of how much I wanted the monster plots to pop more, and it definitely did that right away. The aesthetic, it's not a lot, but the Shoving An Arm Down A Monster's Throat is a hell of a memorable move for me.

I knew that when I was criticizing it. I'm like, This Thing Is Indefensible OH RIGHT Fish.

The thing is, I do like the idea of Hibiki taking out these giant monster from mythology. Having to consistently defeat a monster that's as big as house, that also sometimes is literally a house, that's pretty damn unique for a Kamen Rider show. It's the execution where I feel like the show can't quite reach a level where I can enjoy what they're doing. The CGI is too weirdly composited, where I can never lose myself in the illusion. The physical effects in this one were worse to me, where I was actively laughing at how dopey it was. That's why, seriously, so grateful for the show doing new twists on the Douji and Hime. That's where my disbelief gets suspended!

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 14 - "DEVOURING DOUJI"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki14a.png

"Want you to take me to the H
Take me to the O
Want you to take me to the S
Take me to the P
Want you to take me to the I-T-A-L
Want you to take me to the hospital"

-The Faint, "Take Me To The Hospital"

I think this was a really strong Kamen Rider episode, but maybe not a great Kamen Rider Hibiki episode.

As much stronger as the monster plots have gotten (and this one's great!), this is the episode where it felt like it was happening at the expense of the Asumu stuff, a.k.a. Everything That Makes Hibiki Hibiki.

Like, I don't enjoy chiding this show for having merely a really fun plot where two superheroes and their support staff team up to defeat a rampaging monster. That's a thing that not every Kamen Rider manages! That shit is not a gimme! But all of that emphasis on a tight, compelling monster hunt left the Asumu stuff feeling... vestigial. Like an appendix. Oh! It's a metaphor!

The Asumu plot wasn't bad, but it felt, for maybe the first time, like it wasn't worth spending time on during this episode. Even the episodes where Asumu was freaking out over his ineffectiveness at least felt like they belonged on this show. I mean, they didn't feel cohesive, but they felt like something that deserved to be on this show. The whole thing with Asumu In The Hospital, I don't know. It never felt that vital to me? Asumu got sick, and then he got better. It's got a few nice moments in it (AsuMum and Hitomi talking about Hitomi outgrowing drama club was sweet, take that, actors), but there's really no tension to anything that happens. No one really learned anything, or demonstrated some new insight to their character. God, maybe it was bad?

Or, not bad, but... unnecessary? It's something for Asumu to do, at a time where the show seems steadfast in keeping Asumu as far away from Hibiki as possible. And, okay, that's probably intentional. This is the episode where half the cast tells Hibiki to just ask Asumu to be your apprentice already, god, so having Hibiki neglect/ignore Asumu for a few episodes feeds into that plot. But the practical effect is that it feels like Asumu is in that Kamen Rider Narrative Penalty Box, where a series just backburners a character for a bunch of episodes. Normally, it's just slightly irritating (depending on how much you want to watch the women in the cast!), but here, it's the co-lead of the show. I don't need Asumu to be going on missions or anything, but I need his plots to feel as vital to the storytelling as Hibiki's. I just wasn't getting that out of his side of the story this time out.

Of course, Asumu's side of the episode had one other thing, his meet-cute with the Mysterious Patient who had a cool Guitar Theme and a Very Admirable Sense Of Rugged Compassion and probably looked like Asumu's dad and look it's Zanki. Maybe it's another Oni, but I feel confident in saying It's Definitely Zanki. He's pretty cool in this one, and I especially love how almost star-struck Asumu gets when they have their hallway conversation. Asumu really needs a dad! I grew up without a dad, too, man! I get it! You're looking for father figures everywhere! Don't be so thirsty, though, my dude! Be cool about this!

Speaking of Asumu's surrogate father, great episode for ol' Hibiki. Seeing him team up with Ibuki and Akira was very fun. They have a natural rhythm, and an almost psychic bond when it comes to coordinating their attacks. Everyone knows what to do, and they execute perfectly. Not a lot of weird turns to this one (Ichiro nails that this is an experiment that either went Super Right or Super Wrong, but there's no special thing that needs doing to defeat it), and the fact that everyone's so professional means that there's very little drama to get into, but the fights and action were engrossing. This was a super-watchable episode of monster hunting, and on that level it's a success.

But, y'know, the monster hunting is not what hooked me on Hibiki. It's great that they've fixed that side of the show, but I wish it didn't feel like it came at the expense of the Asumu moments. He's here, and he's doing things, but it isn't clicking like it used to. I'd love for this show to recapture some of that early spark and keep delivering entertaining action. I hope that isn't asking too much!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki14b.png

Yeah, that was Zanki. Not even going to pretend. He's played by an actor named Kenji Matsuda, who has a pretty good track record with both action movies and tokusatsu. He'll be back after this as a regular on Kiva, too, and he had a big role in the second Garo series. He's one of my favorite tokusatsu actors; even in just two short scenes here he radiates cool.

I totally get you on Asumu feeling shortchanged this time. It's not like he didn't have some story, but the big focus here is on the monster fight and he's just not part of that. It's also pretty obvious that the show is using his story as a way to introduce Todoyama and Zanki, which makes Asumu feel even more sidelined.