Oh yeah! It's a really good theme song! I was pleasantly surprised that Kamen Rider Shinobi's three-episode spin-off got its own opening sequence and theme song. They committed to the bit, which is crucial.

I wonder if they'd've leaned into the ridiculousness of this premise for a series, or if they'd've kept it more grounded. I kinda love the idea of Ninja Bus Driver and Ninja Butcher and Ninja Call Center Employee. I don't know that they're great for a Kamen Rider series (again, not at all clear on what the thematic payoff for any of that would be), but it's agreeably dumb to ponder.

Decade lived long enough to see himself become the fan-favorite anti-hero who screws things up for the Anniversary Rider.

It's the best part of a sub-par episode, that's for sure. Decade didn't really click for me as an open-ended story until Inoue gave Tsukasa that Protecting People's Journeys speech, and Sougo's appeal for someone to Believe In Their Future Self felt similarly definitive. It feels earned, with Sougo talking about his own difficulty in staying positive, rather than just some thematic platitude. And feels like a thing that Sougo can take with him beyond the boundaries of Oma Day or Time Jackers or Another Riders. It's a thing he can do as Sougo, not just as Kamen Rider Zi-O.

Oh, right! True. That was a fun first episode, too. Inoue Forever!

Thank you for the info, but please never mention The Last Judgment ever, ever again. God, I hated that movie.

Never watched this, so I have very little to say. Apparently it was three episodes? I thought it was just a one-shot.

So Ninninger and Zi-O actually had the same head writer, Kento Shimoyama. He didn't actually write the Shinobi miniseries, though. That took a surprising amount of time to look up, but the Zi-O page on the Kamen Rider Wiki is a fucking mess because of all the guest stars.

So this is a thing that you run into with Japanese media sometimes. I'm not even remotely into anime, but I know enough about the current state of the medium to know that this shit pops up with alarming frequency there. I don't know if Shinobi pulls the "not blood siblings" card, but at least you can be grateful that she's 17 and not 12.

So uh, despite having the Shinobi miniseries on my laptop for 3 years at this point, and rating its theme song very high compared to other themes, I've not actually watched it. Let's fix that.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...744&height=418

And yeah, Episode 1 is pretty solid! The sibling love triangle is weird, moreso because Rentaro seems to think it's a good idea, but ignoring that, I like it. Could it work as a full Rider series? There's some concepts here you could expand on - Mr Toad Scroll, the evil Ninja Business empire, why Iroha is in Kiriko-territory of not being a Rider despite being obviously skilled - but that's not really the point. As much as the kayfabe of this being the totally real 2022 show is uphelp (again, theme music goes hard), as a web special, it does a good job of telling its own story in the short runtime, establishing the characters, and creating a unique world that I could see happening.

Also, another thing I found in my downloads folder - back in 2020, during Lockdown 1, I took a crack at doing an English version of the Shinobi theme. It's based on a mix of Earthy and KRWiki's subs, modified to fit the flow, and I might record myself singing it and upload it at some point? I'd do it for the Episode 3, but I'm away at my first physics conference starting tomorrow (very exciting, time to learn how becoming a physics ninja can stop global warming), so it'll be late, but that was a very cute surprise from past me.

I have seen enough toku to not be too shocked when an older brother pulls a patronizing/paternalistic/infantilizing move of treating his teenage sister as both Too Pure For This World, and also But She's So Kawaii. (Like, Makoto from Ghost kept his sister in his pocket for a dozen episodes. This is not my first Creepy Sibling Relationship rodeo!) So, yeah, cultural differences or whatever. But gross is still gross, and this was gross.

Yeah, the smartest thing this first Shinobi episode does is treat it like it's the 15th Shinobi episode. Just throwing us into not only a world that is completely bonkers (and I say that having watched Gaim), but an ensemble that treats Icchy's debut appearance as We Are All Sick Of This Guy. Super funny stuff!

Oh, awesome! I look forward to it!

And have fun at your physics conference! Even if you can't get into the track on Ninja Climate Science, maybe you can at least hit a roundtable during lunch and learn to do a Vortex Finish? Fingers crossed!

As I said before, the opening narration explained about how Shinobi's world has become rife with ninjas, thus the Kagura family is far from lone family that is made with ninjas. They aren't the protagonist group that is special and distinct among average joes, though Iroha does seem to be particularly skilled, able to beat Rentarou, at least his version that pretends to be incompetent, as well as her skill in the tournament just that her "failures" are all set up. Not taking the diss of actual Kamen Rider well here though. The actual one that formed the series root not the fake Phase 2 Heisei. Even Ex-Aid had bike-riding or a Rider that is bike himself!

Already said this before, but it's Rentarou's current problem, but not revealed why. Rentarou had to pretend to be unskilled to hide his identity as Kamen Rider Shinobi for some reason, as well as missing job interviews thus his family had to live in poverty, thus Iroha also tried to get them out of poverty by her aiming for Konjou Company. Not to Sougo's extent.... but even Rentarou pretends to be less competent than he actually is... like him, but this does make him seem goofy to Iroha. It's still unknown why Rentarou had to hide his Shinobi identity, so don't blame Rentarou for Iroha's crush on Shinobi. Rentarou is NOT into Iroha crushing on him. Otherwise yeah.... Iroha is a dude magnet and Icchy is the one known as subject to win her affection for now.

Dragonmaru is a European dragon with the power of magic, so I think it would be more of a reference to Wizard.

Thanks!

I'm more surprised that you almost watched AND finished an installment of Showa Rider. Not that I can blame you for going with the ninjas instead, since this was such a perfect opportunity. I mean, ninjas, what's not to love?

ZO is a cool movie though, especially for us Metal Heroes fans who can excitedly spot the actors from Winspector and Spielvan.

Congrats, you managed to pull an April Fools on yourself!

Everything's Ninjas is an awesome enough concept to sell the series on its own! But if you're looking for a deeper theme, then the values of a Kamen Rider aren't so far removed from the values of a ninja. They're both connected to Rentarou's identity and purpose. Kaneko Kaori is a very "dessert before dinner" kind of writer. She's focusing on introducing all these exciting characters and this crazy world in this episode, but while it's not apparent yet, there's still an important story that exists within that world that goes beyond the surreal comedy Kaneko has a reputation for.

I'm glad you acknowledge that. Personally, I've learned to leave western taboos aside when watching Japanese media. That way, I never get culture shocked.

Sometimes there are jokes!

Yeah, it wasn't the Kamen Rider values I thought were lacking, it's the... like, what is Kamen Rider Shinobi for? The world is goofy but coherent (I think doing a tournament thing is a smart introduction to the world and the power structure and stuff), the cast relationships are slightly horrifying but legible, and the the superhero/supervillain stuff is right there.

It's more that it was difficult to see what Shinobi was about as this specific superhero. Rentarou's a wacky brother and a one-upping friend, but I don't think the first episode nailed down what Shinobi's goals are, as a hero.

Glad to hear that part of the character is coming soon!

RIDER TIME: SHINOBI EPISODE 2 - “NEXT NINPOW!! VOLUME: THE DARK NINJA’S ASSASSINATION"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/shinobi2a.png

I think Farce is a good space for this series to exist in.

There’s a part of me that would’ve loved to see a real attempt to craft a serious Kamen Rider Shinobi story. Something that mixes wacky hidden-identity hijinks with something darker or sadder. Nothing to the extent of, like, Amazons, but something less frivolous than this episode.

But with such a limited run-time (this one’s not even fifteen minutes) and probably a miniscule budget, going with a super-campy and completely unserious lark is enjoyable enough for me. There’s nothing but gags in this story, and the few nominally poignant or complicated emotions are immediately played as satire, only missing the laugh track to really hammer home the show’s targeted tone.

Funny gags, though! It’s almost all following the Rule of Threes, where a joke is funny, then not funny, then REALLY funny. By the third torn-off-clothes costume change, I was dying. Stuff like that, or Iroha’s incredibly quick No Thanks to Icchy’s vow to protect her, was delightful. This whole thing was practically an HBV, with how nonsensical and broad it was. (Hattari having absolutely no poker face! In either identity! At all times!)

Still, the emphasis (financially-motivated or otherwise) on humor over pathos or stakes, it’s not what I’d’ve hoped for from this mini-series. I get why Toei hasn’t announced anything for Shinobi in 2022. Why bother? It’s a gag premise, and not a particularly deep one. This is like the Kamen Rider Brain stuff: what you’re getting is plenty, so let’s not wear out the joke.

But they’re good jokes!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/shinobi2b.png

So this time, I’ll discuss some costume reuse for this miniseries. Aside from Shinobi being a Ride Player with a few pieces added, Hattari is a heavy remould of Dark Drive, while the bad guy is a repaint of Another Shinobi, to enforce the rule that the Another Riders look like the original’s enemies.

RIDER TIME: SHINOBI EPISODE 3 - “LAST NINPOW!!! VOLUME: THE CLOSE CALL IN A DEAD-END"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/shinobi3a.png

Boy, resolving the action with an Everyone’s Horny For Iroha story beat is… it’s a choice! It’s definitely a real decision that this three-episode mini-series made! To have multiple adult characters lust after a 17-year old girl! And for that 17-year old girl to accidentally lust after her older brother!

I pretty much disliked this series. There’s not much here but the gags, and a TON of the gags in this episode (a full third of the series!) are built around some really uncomfortable storylines. It’s tacky, and it’s not for me.

And it’s a shame, because despite Iroha being knocked out for the bulk of this episode and used as a prize for multiple men to fight over (was not expecting a Gaim tribute in this Shinobi series), there’s some neat stuff added to Iroha’s character here? Her use of science sets her apart from the more straightforward ninja spellcasting, giving her a perspective that’s pertinent to the themes and struggles of Shinobi’s world. Her use of opposing elements to achieve a new effect is used by Shinobi to escape from a trap, but it’s also relevant to Shinobi and Hattari teaming up to save her. It’s a great use of her character.

Buuuuut then some old man says that he wants to kill Shinobi so he can abduct a teenage girl and force her into marriage, and Rentarou’s like You Only Kidnapped Her So You Can Go, and Icchy shows up later to perv on Iroha, and I’ve completely forgotten my positive feelings for this series.

Real bummer, man. I liked some of the crazy worldbuilding of this short-run series (that bonkers cliffhanger!), and the more the show leaned into Ninja Status Quo, the more I loved it, but just landing everything on dudes wanting to hook up with a 17-year old girl was… nope! No thanks! No thanks forever!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/shinobi3b.png