Sophia praise is rare, so I'll accept it!

I think you have me confused with someone else, because I actually rather like this movie and, as far as I'm aware, always have!

The only prediction I made was that this movie wasn't gonna be Die's' cup of tea.

Now, I could give a big whole post full of detail about why I disagree with Die's' assessment, but instead, I'mma just link this really awesome MAD someone made with the theme song, Promise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=met_EjkefIE

I just looked back at the concurrent discussion for the movie and yeah, you're right, I totally confused you for Fredbob392 somehow. Sorry!

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'd always prefer these movies find an audience, even if I'm not a part of it.

I haven't watched a Rider movie since... Zero-One, I think? I generally just don't find the time to sit down for something that requires 90-120 minutes of reading subtitles.

I've been thinking about the crossover movies since reading the most recent write-up, though. The last one of those I watched was the Build/Ex-Aid team-up. I kind of miss the days when these films consisted of an epilogue to the old show, a random side story for the new show, and some kind of action sequence for both of them. The single, cohesive plot can be nice, but there was something kind of fun about the old format (when it wasn't based off of early drafts of OOO).

I think the problem I have with the single, cohesive plot is that it oftentimes just ends up being About Kamen Rider, rather than anything too specific to the characters or setting its ostensibly tying into, and that just makes it kind of homogenous for me. There's a lack of specificity on a narrative level, even if there's a lot of fun on a character level. Very fun to see old favorites again! Very fun to see the new cast pal around with Legends! But the tone of it rarely feels nailed down to the shows its built from.

Also, zero Lovekov in this movie, does Toei just not want to make any money or what.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 14 - “THE COMMANDER IS A DEADMAN…!?”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice14a.png

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Last Day Before The Final Battle, but for the villains before? Plenty of series have done the story of the heroes enjoying one last day before their ultimate triumph or eternal defeat, but I don’t really recall an episode where the lieutenants tried to cross off some bucket list items by getting a Rider to kick the bucket?

As the Giffamilia either expands its ranks or evaporates three chumps, we get three short stories of the final days of a few returning villains: the Planaria multi-level-monstering guy from the Jeanne debut; Kudo, the scheming attorney; and Commander Chameleon, Fenix’s most recent traitor. They all get one last day to work some evil magic, before they’re forced to get upgraded/obliterated.

Hard to say there’s a main story for this one? We’ll start off with the Kudo/Ikki/Vice one, since it features our title Riders. There’s not a lot to this one (expect to hear that criticism again), but I appreciate how what looks to be a dark story of unhinged revenge turns into a confusing demand for a marauding psychopath to remove his shoes, and then sort of lightly critiques Ikki’s (relative to Riders) lack of empathy. It’s an emotional attack by Kudo that sort of lands on Ikki, since Ikki isn’t super keen on hearing people out when he gets up on his high horse, but it’s not really a fair read of Kamen Rider Revi. It’s Kudo deflecting the blame for his situation onto someone else, because it’s always someone else’s fault with that guy. He took a shortcut that landed him in hock to a cult that worships a yonic sculpture as their dad, and now he’s going to try and shift the blame to the guy who most recently kicked his ass. There’s really nothing in Kudo’s argument to respect or rebut, which is how Vice is able to get Ikki back on side. It’s a cute little story, but it’s not really trying too hard to interrogate Ikki’s nosiness or pushiness.

The Sakura/Multi-Level-Monstering one is very cute, as you might expect. It’s focused on Sakura trying to hide her new superhero identity from her friends at school… for about one scene, before MLM rolls up and challenges her to a duel. There’s not a lot to this one (*gif of Vice saying “Two”*), but it’s agreeably goofy in how quickly MLM tries to get out of doing any fighting himself, and how thoroughly Sakura beats the holy hell out of him. We don’t know anything about Sakura’s friends (at least, the ones who didn’t kidnap themselves for attention), and we’ve never been to her school before, so a story that at least briefly hinges on Sakura attempting to conceal her identity and maintain her status quo… sort of doesn’t work? It’s a story that might’ve worked better if we’d had even one school scene before this episode, or if it ever felt like there was a reason for Sakura to conceal her Rider powers. The cast of high school girls makes it funny, and I will never say no to an excuse to see Lovekov heckle a creep, but this one coasts pretty hard on comedy and charm.

Finally, we’ve got Commander Chameleon versus I Guess The Only Three People Who Work At Fenix, and I liked this one more than I thought I would? It gets weird, in its melodrama, which I super wasn’t expecting. When Commander Chameleon bugs out his eyes and wags his tongue (like a… hmm, I’ll get it, hold on), it’s almost exactly the answer to my criticism of Kagerou’s performance. It’s gleefully unhinged, and it’s a brilliant counterpoint to Hiromi’s WHYHAVEYOUBETRAYEDUS meltdown. This whole sequence is just George and Daiji stunned into silence as the two most buttoned-up Fenix guys completely lose it, at different ends of the Losing It spectrum. The Giff Stamp gets stolen, Fenix is maybe done for good (who can tell with that part of the show), and Hiromi is screaming into carpet squares that the world no longer makes sense. Maybe my favorite part of the episode!

(There’s an epilogue scene where the now six-strong Giffamilia tells Aguilera she’s the next sacrifice, and I confess to not exactly understanding the significance of this whole power structure. I guess they’re going to make her be a monster lady? I understand very little about Giftexes and sacrifices and whatever is supposed to make Giff unfold like a flower on his wedding night!)

Interesting way to get at the next phase of the show’s story, this episode. It definitely makes me more invested in all three of the new henchmen, maybe to a greater degree than Julio and … Olteca? I think the green one is Olteca? Fun angles on this one, from conception to execution. Not exactly a lot to the individual plots (“THREE”), but I liked the whole package.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice14b.png

Ah, that one. Was very weird as I watched it back in the day.

Very much agree with your read on lawyer guy; I'm not looking up his name, even if you have it here. That said, with the power of hindsight, his accusations are certainly interesting, but that I have to talk about at a later date.

Sakura's probably the best? It's funny, goofy, and comes right the hell out of nowhere and disappears into the either just as far as it arrived. It kinda feels like they had no real idea for this one, so just went with funny, which I'm fine with. I always gonna take an entertaining one-off/episode plot over some ok plot progression.

As for Fenix... Did I mention that's probably the most incompetent organisation in Rider?

Yes?

Good, I'll repeat it a few more times.

Their plan is... not particularly good. And the way it falls apart is hilariously simple. It really feels like it didn't move past the concept of a p?an, but yeah...

I have more problems with the melodrama.

It feels really weird and unearned?

We never met the commander minus one or two lines, but this is treated with such significance and importance it just falls flat.

We never even got a hint about Hiromi's and the commander's relationship, and we kinda needed to for this to have any narrative weight since Hiromi really hasn't made himself particularly interesting or relatable, and even if we can only assume what the relationship was, so, yeah... This needed a better setup.

All in all, an episode consistens of funny, meh, and underwhelming, rounding off to a shrug from me.

So, it turns out that the guy from Amazons is a bad guy. Who’da thunk it?

And I mentioned a while ago that the Planarian Stamp was based on Chaser. So I’ll follow that up by revealing that the Chameleon Stamp is based on Mach.

And now, some minor casting trivia.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...C0EF7589F.jpeg

This episode marks the first appearance of Sakura’s friends from school (like every character in high school fiction, she only has a few non-main character friends who seldom appear). Two of them are notable in that one is a Russian supermodel and one is a former idol.

And now, back to my recurring gimmick of sharing memes from Zero-One and Saber.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...CB33B32357.jpg

Translation:

Lovekov: Kov!

Sakura: Love-chan! Love-chan, are you okay? (Sees the legs) Love-chan, hang in there.

Caption: pretending not to have seen that

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...7E92AA343C.jpg

And now for something completely different.

Olteca: This is Olteca’s and

Kudo: Yasushi Kudo’s…

Both: Deadmans Vistamp Navi

Olteca: Before we get on with our red wedding, We’re taking over this segment so that we can discuss my Vistamp.

Daiouika!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2M3KCtriJ8&t=240s

Deadmans Up! Fleeting ink? Ain’t it big? Giant Squid!

Olteca: This Vistamp transforms me into the Daiouika Deadman, with the power of prehensile tentacles that give me total control over my territory.

Kudo: I suppose this is also based on a past Kamen Rider.

Olteca: How pass?. I have my own brand of legend who I take inspiration from.

(He takes out and activates a Gaia Memory)

Shinigami-Hakase!

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...8f4fd9f23.jpeg

Olteca: Dr. Shinigami, real name Ivan Tawanovitch, Shocker’s Master Monster Creator who sought to find a way to transcend death through replacing the body. Sent from the Swiss branch to Japan to deal with Kamen Rider Hayato Ichimonji. During his transfer to Europe, he remodelled himself into the ultimate monster, Ikadevil to defeat Kamen Rider Takeshi Hongou for destroying his experiments. However, the Rider found out his weak point and defeated him.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...2bb40e620.jpeg

Kudo: Truly a pathetic man. If only he’d patented his work instead of relying on criminals, he might’ve succeeded in reviving the dead. Now then, is it my turn?

Olteca: Well you don’t have a toy to show off… but you’re also not going to be with us for long, so I’ll let you discuss your stamps’ inspiration. (He hands a portfolio over to Kudo) All pilfered from the files of George Karizaki.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...b70709068.jpeg

Kudo: The true form of the cursed witch Smilodon, Genshi Tiger, who is called the mother of the "Kiba clan". It is the ancestor of all the fierce beasts that reigned on the earth about 1 million years ago, and it is characterised by a face that makes you feel the atmosphere of the cat family and sharp fangs that protrude from the oral cavity. In battle, in addition to spitting out high-heat flames from the mouth, it attacks with sharp claws and fangs on the fingertips. In addition, it can ride a huge fang-shaped motorcycle-like machine that can continuously launch small missiles from the front. And there was also this guy

Hazami Jaguar: Scissors!

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...7c2881d66.jpeg

Kudo: Hazami Jaguar, the first monster created by Destron, who arose from the shadow of Shocker. In his human identity as a priest, he murdered the Kazami family after their son Shiro discovered Destron’s Atomic Bomb operation. However, the young man was transformed into a brand new Kamen Rider, V3. This new interloper’s interference led to Hazami Jaguar’s downfall, as he gave away his location and Destron’s operations. What a fool.

Olteca: Now now, we have to be cordial concerning the Catholic Church. They are backing us.

Kudo: Really?

Olteca: Why else do you think we have nuns on staff? The Protestants certainly don’t have any to loan.

Aguilera: (shooting from offscreen) Can you too stop flirting and just kill me already? It’s freezing in here and this dress has no sleeves.

Olteca: Of course. But we’ll have to wait until next time for the slaughter to begin. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Self production notes: Okay, not really a production note, but with the exception of Aguilera and the Planarian guy, all the Deadmans have an animal motif in common with a Showa monster. I’ll reveal more next time.

I think it worked okay for me? Fenix is such a dull concept to begin with that I am in favor of ANYTHING that makes it weirder and more personal for our heroes. Commander Chameleon is a terrifying foe that attacks Hiromi's dedication, which is incredibly fun to think about. Even if what came before is only glimpsed in sepia-toned flashbacks, I think their interplay over the last dozen episodes created enough of a launching pad to propel both characters to more idiosyncratic storylines in the future.

(Also, I can't currently think of anything more boring than having to spend time with Fenix before everything blows up and everyone gets weird. The producers were maybe doing us a favor by keeping the Fenix backstory implied!)

Whoa! Amazing! Thanks so much for informative and fun skit!

how do I spoilertag stuff just wondering cause there are things I wanna say but don't want to run the risk os spoilering everything cause as I said either this or a stretch of episodes in the 20ies is sadly the best part of Revice I can't say why the rezt of the show isn't good albeit your starting to see signs of it, poor characterization aside from the Deadman trio and Sakura at this point being one of them this is because when the guy who wrote this came up with the story for Revice he wanted the main rider and secondary riders to be females the MC he envisioned more or less became Sakura(I'm sure there were a few changes from what that and what we got as there always is)

The short answer to Spoiler Tags in this thread is please don't. I see every comment without the spoilers on, so anything that gets tagged is actually just spoiling stuff. Please save any relevant comments until the appropriate episodes! We will get through the whole show! Please be patient!

got it just wanted to be sure

What if I were to tell you that Kamen Rider Vader is Luke's father?

Much appreciated!

Ha ha, very funny. Next you'll be telling me that a title Rider from a Kamen Rider series has a secret sibling, you goofball.

Oh, probably this episode's the real turnabout for Revice, instead of George collecting 10 ViStamps. Things really changing much for . 2 of the major human villains Kudo and Amahiko settle their grudges respectively to Ikki and Sakura. And despite being billed as Deadman savior before, this episode actually displays Amahiko as someone only big talk, revealed to be a coward that prefers to save his skin by any means possible (including manipulating which doesn't work on Sakura) like letting Deadmans fight for him, and this elevates Julio in charge to force him becoming Level 2 Deadman himself. As for Kudo, doubling as reply..

I don't know why some people can take any villains' words as gospel. A villain making a 'good point' can be one of the reasons for people to even justify them as "did nothing wrong". This one's isn't even an anti-villain that has a noble cause (doesn't mean that the solution is to follow the villains' philosophies and/or course of action), but just someone who is only doing bad things, assaulting civilians, put lives in danger, siding with an organization that regularly hurts others for their own gain. And all only to satisfy his ego of winning streak.

Kudo may made a point, but if it comes from someone without any redeeming qualities, and regularly doing something far worse than just Ikki being clueless at times to the surroundings, it'd be only an example of gaslighting Ikki's actions to make his own actions justifiable. Other than how what someone says make a point, the person who uttered those words should be taken into account too. If it's Kudo talking about that, it's just an example of someone hypocrite, so entitled, would never take responsibility, lacking empathy to comprehend why an action can wrong but instead feels unfairly persecuted, and constantly deflecting blames into others. He's the last one to be lecturing it for.

Kudo's words really get into Ikki, almost breaking him, but this time it's Vice that snaps him back to reality, and it's done in devil-ish way by convincing Ikki to keep his flaw, so Vice being helpful stays loyal to his character of being a demon. But it's also more valid if the one lecturing that is Kudo, basically telling him to ignore someone who has no right lecturing others, and that it's not even about constructive criticism to improve oneself either. The part of Kudo walking with his shoes on, that moment's probably only meant to be a comedy in the surface... but I too see the scene as more than that; as an Asian I approve of a reminder to not wear shoes on certain places (KR also mostly have characters not wearing shoes in bed, though there are a few exceptions), and yeah if it's someone like Kudo, it should show his lack of regard for others.

Doesn't mean Ikki should stay that way, even if you're imperfect gotta still learn from mistakes and strive to be better. But I guess currently the appeal to Ikki for me is that even if he's nice, well-meaning, and not doing anything morally questionable, he can still cause disastrous consequences, and in a way other than a character being made impossibly idiotic. Also shows that flaws aren't only toxic traits, making flawed characters doesn't mean they have to be made as completely immoral jerk, awful, completely messed-up, which is a misguided take some has.

Sakura's full schoolgirl outfit finally shows up.. took this long that it was her first look at the scans. I wonder why Sakura's friends stick to her like glue even before she becomes Jeanne. Hiromi is at his limits now, beneath his straight-laced persona, he's always a really emotional guy, the betrayal reduces him into nothing more than a sobbing wreck with all of his bottled up emotions surfacing. The Chameleon Deadman didn't address Hiromi's emotional self enough... as someone who lashes out at Daiji for being emotional to want to become a Rider to catch up to Ikki.

The Deadmans gain an upper hand due to something that is just so recent including to the characters, about the current Wakabayashi being Chameleon Deadman, due to Wakabayashi being already killed since 1st episode, with the scene giving heavy Evolt vibes of him killing someone in a flashback and switching faces, and using that to induce paranoia and posing as someone's hero to traumatize them... Hiromi. His laugh from the usually super strict demeanor he copied from Wakabayashi is also really upsettling, which means good job on that scene. Apparently George would just hand over the Gifu ViStamp without much thought, wonder what's in his mind for that. Not yet shown for Aguilera's backstory, but it's shown here that humans can be turned into Giftex, which happened to both Kudo and Amahiko. I guess Deadmans aren't inherent that way, and Amahiko will continue despite his newfound joke status. And another cliffhanger for Aguilera that she's revealed to be the sacrifice for Giff.

Yeah, it's... Kudo's right about Ikki, but it's not relevant to Kudo's situation. Ikki's a guy who wants to solve people's problems, but that can lead to him not really considering their emotions into his solution. He's goal-oriented, which can sometimes be dismissive of people's own points of view and emotional needs. It's legitimately a character flaw of Ikki's.

It's just not a flaw that has any bearing on Kudo's activities? It's a personal attack, and nothing more. It happens to be a well-observed personal attack, but it's nothing that absolves Kudo of his guilt.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 15 - “EXTERMINATION! SHOWDOWN! DEADMANS!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice15a.png

This is going to sound like damning the Kamen Rider franchise with the faintest of praise, but I honestly mean it: I love when these shows have their heroes face a problem, devise a strategy, execute the strategy, and overcome an obstacle.

It probably sounds like I’ve just described Heroic Storytelling at its most simplistic, but it’s weirdly something this franchise grapples with fulfilling? A ton of plots count more on a hero being in a place than anything more clever or complex, and most tension is derived from the heroes responding to a(nother) villainous scheme. The villains plot, the heroes respond; that’s, like, ninety percent of Kamen Rider storytelling. So when we get an episode where the heroes have to figure out a way to take the fight to the villains and win? Refreshing! Very refreshing change of pace!

I knew this was going to be a good one for me when the heroes are trying to figure out who knows how to enter the Giffamilia base, and I went Kagerou Knows and then a scene later Sakura goes Kagerou Knows. I don’t like guessing stuff on the show to feel smart or anything (my guesses are almost always wrong), but I like it because it means the show is adhering to a logic that I can comprehend. It’s not pulling some information out of its Driver, it’s using the details of previous episodes to embroider this one. Kagerou is the only cast member who actually hung out with the Giffamilia, and it’s a clever and fascinating plot development to find a way to get that information out of him.

That was the high point of the episode for me, by a mile, all of that stuff where Ikki and Sakura Rider Kick Daiji into Kagerou and then feed him spicy food that Daiji hates until he parts with the info. It’s adorably half-assed in a classic Igarashi way, where a million things could go wrong but somehow don’t through sheer pluck. They make a great/terrible team!

The rest of the episode proceeds pretty much how you’d expect. Team Igarashi breaks up the sacrifice of Aguilera, brawls with the Deadmans, and stops Giff from manifesting. Each fight has a detail or two that keeps it entertaining – Olteca complimenting Live’s suit, Commander Chameleon inaccurately duplicating Vice, Aguilera getting super creeped out by Lovekov – but there’s no real sense of danger for our heroes. Stories like this one, when the villains are on the back foot, they’re kind of foregone conclusions. It’s still fun, the fights all have strong individual hero moments (even Hiromi! Despite having a demonic seizure, maybe!), but it’s the weird consequence of the heroes setting the tone for a change: it’s the protagonists in too much control of the narrative.

So they win! They win big! The Deadmans’ nightclub-slash-church-slash-spaceship(?) dislodges from the Toku Caves and hovers over the bay, then gets obliterated by a full roster of giant-sized Remixes. It’s a lot of CG, which had me tuning out, but I appreciated how fully this episode cleared the deck of the villains’ status quo. Giff got blown up! Aguilera and Julio have split from Olteca! Maybe Fenix is going to arrest the other Giftex baddies! There wasn’t even an Or Did They stinger to the team’s win, since the cliffhanger is just Aguilera despondently screaming over not being a sacrificial bride to a yonic sculpture who is also sort of her dad. Seems like a clean win? Not sure where the show goes next, which is kind of a fun place to be in. Possibilities! I do like them!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice15b.png

I woke up for some Revice. It's okay/10.

This episode was alright. Ikki finally gets called out for his complete inability to think beyond face value motives. Julio and Red continue to be the only deadmen with some personality. I guess they accounted for the mammoth stamp moving around a bit too?

...Buuut then you've got Hiromi "Gills" the minute man trying to matter in an episode. Sure would be great if he could fight for more than 30 seconds at a time. Dude is a huge jobber. We've also got Ikki and Vice just kind of going "Eh. He's still a villain so who cares." Which rounds back to lawyer man having something of a point. Sure, he's definitely not saying it to evoke a genuine discussion, but he's also not necessarily wrong, albeit it that it's coming from someone it's not very relevant to.

I'll give it a Hiromi out of Victory.


15 is okay. I like the violence, I guess. Julio's actor is bringing some life to his performance! But then he gets one tapped and is rendered impotent all episode. "But wait what about George leaving Red to die" - Totally in character. Man is a cackling psychopath.

Ha ha, yeah, he's all about fondling that statue, human sacrifices be damned. I like the implication that George didn't exactly care about defeating the Deadmans, he just wanted to go on a field trip to their lair and see how the other half lives.

So fun fact time:

The FENIX Skybase was designed with the intention that it could turn into a giant robot. While obviously scrapped (I’m assuming because there was no room in the budget of either the toyline or the show), I remember someone suggesting it probably would’ve appeared here to take on the Deadmans base.

Speaking of which, the writers confirmed that the reason the Deadmans have a UFO is that it’s actually the spaceship Giff came to Earth on thousands of years ago. The only reason he (and all the “demons/devils” born from his DNA) are referred to as “demons/devils” (depending on the subs) is presumably because the people back then had no other frame of reference for “unearthly creature of immense power”. Kinoshita said in retrospect, he should’ve made a bigger deal out of it (and switched over to calling the creatures born from using the Vistamps “Giffkind”)

Julio: It’s Julio and…

Aguilera: (unmotivated) Aguilera’s…

Both: Deadmans Stamp Navi

Julio: And today’s Vistamp is… this one.

Wolf!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2M3KCtriJ8&t=300s

Deadmans Up! Pushing up self! Moonlit night pain! Wolf!

Julio: With the power of this Wolf Vistamp, I can contract with my inner demon and become the Wolf Deadman. It gives me primal power and expert marksmanship.

Aguilera: Sure, just tell them your full skill set. Add another few years onto our jail sentences,why don’t you?

Hiromi: Currently, you’re at 37 with that last remark.

Julio: Anyway, this Vistamp was chosen by me from learning about this guy.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...4f2871c50.jpeg

Julio: Colonel Bakarashin Iinodevitch Zol, former member of the Nazi Party and head of Shocker’s Asian branch. He joined Shocker following the Nuremberg Trials condemning him as a monster, and was transformed into the Golden Wolfman. He was defeated by Kamen Rider Hayato Ichimonji in the middle of his Human Wolf operation. But his legacy was continued years later by his disciple General Monster.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...4dff2f954.jpeg

Aguilera: How do you know so much about him? Is he your grandpa or something?

Julio hesitates. Nearby, “Wakabayashi” watches.

“Wakabayashi”: Those fools. Still, it would be prudent to discuss my own inspiration behind my choice in Vistamps.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...af77b72b5.jpeg

“Wakabayashi”: General Black, former bodyguard to Tsar Nicholas before he deserted following the Oktober Revolution, joining with he esoteric Buddhist group Geldam to continue a campaign of terror in Africa. They were later approached by the Great Leader, who transformed them into his new organisation Gel-Shocker. There, he eventually became the monster HiruChameleon, with the power to drain blood from the living to revive defeated monsters and to turn invisible. Eventually, his plot to defeat Hongou by freezing his transformation circuits was thwarted due to Ichimonji’s return from Europe and their subsequent teamwork saw the fall of Black and Gel-Shocker, along with the Great Leader. Or so they thought…

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...7da6e5ede.jpeg

“Wakabayashi”: Just as they thought I was dealt with. But in the next instalment, I’ll be back…

Not only George letting the Chameleon Deadman being taken away the Gifu ViStamp isn't a losing move, it actually leads to the protagonist's victory as he planted an invisible chip. Sasuga George, the genius scientist out-gambitting the Chameleon Deadman, the Deadman's action only served to track down the Deadman's hideout, so nothing loses here, it only gains Fenix full upper hand. George was acting lecherous and outright inappropriate on how he deals with Aguilera (+Giff), but Aguilera's just someone that kind of deserved that. Hiromi (and Daiji) saying "Gracias Deadmans" to enter the Deadman base reminds me of something Marvel, but no, not Spider-Man, instead about Cap saying "Hail HYDRA" (MCU one as the comic book is controversial for that iirc). When someone so righteous and noble, are forced to outwardly support their enemy to advance.

Regardless of what happens to Aguilera, the situation's really bad for the heroes either way with the awakening for Giff, Ikki and Sakura are forced to take drastic measures by releasing Kagerou to get to know Deadman's hideout. So I guess it's not Ikki's treatment to Daiji that pushed him, Kagerou manifests when Daiji gets beaten in a fight. So the drawback of being Live is that Daiji must not get beaten up too hard, not only that you lose one of the fighters in your team but also creating a new threat in the place. Like Ikki, Sakura didn't fully learned her lesson yet, which I guess is natural, where Ikki convinced her to loose up by bathing (a step to world peace), and as a Rider, she lives (not that one) for more and more fighting - not exactly a good trait. but Yukimi's just overprotective to her in an even worse manner than Ikki (at least him onscreen)... smh, and like, only to Sakura, not the male childs (patronizing to a gender). I guess despite acting as the advisor before, Yukimi needs some lesson herself (Genta's turn... before pointing out about more courage to trust). Still wondering what sparks sympathy from Sakura to Aguilera here to point out about saving her, where previously she hates and specifically targets her for good reason.

The fight in this episode pitting everyone against their respective rivals... Ikki against Kudo who had vendetta on him being lectured and humiliated by an "egoist", Sakura against Amahiko who is the one behind her traumatic experience (involving Seiko) before becoming Jeanne, Daiji against Olteca who was the one that interacted and fascinated with Kagerou the most, and Hiromi against Chameleon Deadman who betrayed him taking Wakabayashi's form. There's a nice Vice moment (and Ikki's solution, probably a proof that Ikki fully accepts Vice now) of exposing Chameleon, of Vice being his usual coarse self claiming the family as tasty. I guess that shows that at least being upfront is better than being two-faced. Ironic for Jeanne that her barrier while henshin didn't appear when the siblings henshin in a very vulnerable position (kinda wasted), and she got a powerup that... didn't involve the use of martial arts as all in a turret weapon Turtle. I guess I "agree" with Hiromi should try taking care of his body more (of course Chameleon wants an easy target that time), as not giving doesn't necessarily mean keep going when you can't, but that would keep trying again in better times even if you stop knowing you can't go on anymore. I'd also like if Scorpion Genome also can poison other than swiping with tail. The fight against the spaceship Deadman base here is hype (aside of KR's typical CGI) with Barid Rex's perhaps ultimate ability to summon every Remixes, albeit the finisher is basic. Really makes Barid Rex seemingly outclass everything seen.

So the villain faction finally had a fallout, and while I did expect that, the fallout between them is actually nastier than I thought. Olteca turning out to be the really one in charge of the Deadmans, with Aguilera as figurehead. Her more of being bratty teen is not really hiding capability as much as it seems for now. But I don't like something about her treatment that what's with her being easily KOed now, twice in the same episode? I thought she's established as strong even in "human" Deadman form and can gain upper hand easily on Sakura likely due to being superhuman as Giftex. As everyone speculated, Julio is hellbent on saving Aguilera, he'd defy his other comrades, though halfheartedly complies when, as I expected, as a total simp Aguilera would offer herself to Giff if it's what brings him, or even be more content of being just one with him. Technically Ikki and Vice saving her would be going against her wishes that she'd only want to sacrifice herself if it what brings Giff, so her lashing out at them (other than how she cares little for anyone other than Giff, and those she likes such as Sakura is meant as sacrifice for Giff) is in-tune with that. So despite turning into Giftex Amahiko and Kudo didn't last long, they're killed for good here as sacrifice for Giff.

Huh! That would've been a way worse finale for this episode, had they beat up a nightclub-church-spaceship with an aircraft carrier robot. Giving Fenix a big win like that... why? Who would care? It needs to be Ikki getting the win, and there's not reason for him to pilot an aircraft carrier robot right this second.

Thanks for the info, though! And the fun skit!

Yeah, I don't love the quick aside from Mom Igarashi to complain about Sakura -- and only Sakura -- going off to fight Deadmans. It's played for laughs, and Ikki (mostly) pushes back on Mom's concern, but it's still a weirdly adversarial stance for one of my favorite characters on the show. I wish she'd stop being a weird mom about this with Sakura!

Intense and unaddressed attraction.

*Inhale* Okay so...

After a great first episode, we have the typical villain-of-the-week accompanied by family lessons and such, that are admittedly, not as good as previous seasons, but still okay. Not my favorites, but I can live with them. Also, the glorious Genomes! Lion and Brachiosaurus being among my favorites alongside the last season revealed Megalodon.

Now, the story bounces a lot, more lows than high in this stage of the show, mainly because they feel resolved a little too quickly, though maybe not as rushed as Saber's first quarter (yes, I still want to get around to writing that whole Saber essay) but slightly noticeable.

But then, the Daiji/Kagerou arc appears and suddenly, I started to really enjoy Revice. They set up an interesting Two-Face dynamic upon Daiji, who was one of my favorite characters at this stage in the show, but really made the family theme actually interesting.

Heck, FENIX was already pretty neat, so I was certainly interested in the cast there, with Daiji, George (such a fun character), and of course, our boy Hiromi and his beautiful Kamen Rider form, Demons. It's just beautiful. I already like Revi and Vice's design, but I think Demons might take the prize for me, especially his gimmick.

But wait! What about Sakura/Jeanne? She's amazing! Her debut was fantastic, from the whole fight scene she gets, that gorgeous suit, she's definitely a win. A whole trio of Kamen Rider siblings. And then there's Lovekov, an adorable punching bag.

So, the Deadmans... They're a fun bunch. They probably throw the best Cinco de Mayo parties. Also, the three heads are certainly a bunch. Olteca probably being my favorite, more on that later. The actual demon monsters we fight week-to-week, are odd, they're a strange mix of creatures (I think one of them was straight-up TaToBa), probably not my favorite monster designs, save for the three bosses, who actually have good designs.

But anyway! Much like how Saber dealt with the first big boss fairly quick, we march into the Deadmans base very early in the show, however, it didn't feel as rushed, which I appreciate, and the whole raid was a fun one. From the big Villain turnabout to the big boss battle against the bloody base, it was a lot of fun.

Anyway, I know these aren't as interesting as when I follow episode-by-episode (heck, I could just look back on the episode posts I made if I felt like it), but it's the most I feel like doing right now, since I'm busy. But for now...

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrracias! Deadomans!" *Horrific grin*

Yeah, I think the assault on the Deadmans' nightclub-church-spaceship is fine this early in the run, since the Giffamilia never felt like an especially strong or devious adversary? Fenix arguably has them on sheer numbers, and Revi/Vice/Etc have managed to defeat all the new recruits at least once, so... why not just take the fight to them? Especially with Barid Rex as a new level of power? There's a sort of indifference the show has had to the Giffamilia as any kind of sustained, focused threat that makes their defeat here more of a jumping off point to a bigger story, than the end of anything that defined the show.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 16 - “FEELINGS TO PROTECT… THE ERA OF THE IGARASHI SIBLINGS!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice16a.png

Much like Vice, I just want to bask in Mom Igarashi’s love.

The best thing this show has going for it is an idealized yet heartfelt version of familial love and support. It’s a scarcity in Kamen Rider, that type of tight family unit. We’ve had a boatload of Wacky Uncles and Surrogate Guardians and Emotionally-Unavailable Mentors, but very few loving parents, let alone loving parents and devoted siblings. There’s a warmth that can be generated by these five characters existing in one space that is hard to match.

So, naturally, it was a gigantic bummer to have Mom Igarashi spend multiple episodes comically infantilizing her daughter, and hilariously diminishing her independence and resolve. Like, the show got it immediately (Ikki frequently calls it out), but it’s not any more fun to watch when you can see that the show is going somewhere with it. I liked it at first, because there was a rationale behind stopping non-powered Sakura from joining the fight; now, Sakura’s the equal to (at least) Daiji, and there’s no reason to assume that she can’t handle her side of the fight against the Deadmans. It’s a dumb plot.

Luckily, it ends well, in probably the only way it could. Mom Igarashi has probably had to stare down her unified children on many occasions, as they assumed that by working in concert, they could get their way. That… probably never worked. She’s okay telling her kids no, if it’s for the right reasons. Ikki and Daiji can pull all the She Can Handle Herself and We’ll Watch Out For Her pleading they want, but Mom’s made up her mind: Sakura’s too young to fight Deadmans.

(It’s an argument I’m probably making on Mom’s behalf, because the show never really bothers to articulate one? She’s just putting her foot down in a way she never did with Ikki, and we don’t even get a You Can Fight Deadmans When You Turn 18 to make it seem like it’s not a bizarre gender-based double-standard. But it feels like where the show is trying to position Mom in this conflict with Sakura.)

The solution, weirdly, is to put Mom directly in the crowd for a hectic battle against Commander Chameleon and a few dozen Giff Jrs. She’d never really seen her kids at their best as Kamen Riders, as it turns out. She got knocked out before Ikki became Revi. When Ikki and Daiji were first Kamen Riders, they battled on vacation. She’s been worried about the dangers her kids have faced, but she’s never really seen her children working as heroes. Seeing them in action, it’s hard not to root for their success, rather than fret over the danger they’re in. Her natural instinct is to cheer on her children’s greatness; she just needed to be in a position to see them be great.

It’s an interesting exploration of family as something that defaults to support, rather than needing a unified goal, which is a fun way to contrast it with the rapidly deteriorating Giffamilia. Aguilera thought she was in a family, but then she found out she was just in a gang. Where the Igarashis win the approval of their mother by showing their independence and self-sufficiency, Olteca turns on Aguilera the second she lacks a purpose in his scheming. The one thing Aguilera always counted on was a sense of belonging, and now she’s pissed off in a warehouse, with only Julio for backup. But Julio's there for her, which is sweet. He cared about her as more than a pawn or a boss; he cared about her as family.

It’s always enjoyable to see this show dig into family dynamics so fully. They’re always there to some degree – it’s the DNA of this series – but I like it when it’s both the main plot and the subplot for an episode. I like when we get a firm declaration of parental support, as well as a messy interrogation of how bonds can be misconstrued or taken for granted. It’s a fun show when it remembers how integral Family is to its identity.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice16b.png

So, we finally get to see Aguilera’s Deadman form, in the shape of a Queen Bee. It was originally going to be a rattlesnake, to round out the Shocker executive homages Julio and Olteca had. But then they decided to make Sakura’s motif a cobra and it got changed to avoid confusion.

And we get to see the Chameleon’s true identity as he’s about to die. It’s the guy from this 10 year old meme (kudos to the guy playing Wakabayashi for pulling that face off perfectly).

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...4/IMG_8014.JPG

And the show gets its first insert song, in the form of “Go with the Flo”, performed by Ikki, Daiji and Sakura’s actors. Compared to previous “trio songs” Spinning Wheel and Rewrite the Story, I actually like this one. (It probably helps that it has three distinct singing voices, rather than a blending of baritones) So much, I’ve transcribed it (using initials in brackets to denote the dedicated solo segments)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=d3ZPTztcVYA

Let's get started, we're all here

People call us boiling soul brothers



(I) I want to do something about the tragic tragedy I witnessed.

Furthermore, if a family's life is at stake, I'll be there! (I)

(D) As usual, why can't you stop being too nosy or overburdening yourself?

Once in a while, i want to be relied on! Believe me, Family Time!(D)

The cracks of awakening! (I)Always comes with inner awareness!(I)

My changing ideals, and my heart! (S)It's boiling up!(S)



Just go with the flo! There is no need for words!

Let's go! Hey, my bro! Because we're connected!

Just go with the flo! There is no more confusion!

Let's go! Hey, my bro! Bind our fates together!

(I)We'll go all out!(I)

(D)We'll settle this seriously!(D)

(S)Defeating you swiftly!(S)

Go with the Flo!



So exciting! Did you see that?

We're known as boiling soul brothers



An extreme power, a complete misunderstanding, and the revolving Earth.

Time lags when the light hits, wherever you are at the moment.

(D)I understand(D), (I)that both sides, the protector and the protected, are one and the same.(I)

It's difficult to say how to save each and every person.

The Halation of Darkness, what it (I)brilliantly reveals are(I)

Our feelings and emotions, the acceptance of them... (S)are invincible!(S)



Just go with the flo! We don't need any map!

Let's go! Hey, my bro! If we return to the same place!

Just go with the flo! Then no secrets are needed!

Let's go! Hey, my bro! Inseparable relationships!

(I)We'll go all out!(I)

(D)We'll settle this seriously!(D)

(S)Defeating you swiftly!(S)

Go with the Flo!



The breathing of attacks is perfectly synchronised!

(I)I can't save them by myself!(I)

(D)If we can work through our grief and our struggles(D), we can create miracles!
(S)We're boiling up!(S)


Just go with the flo! There is no need for words!

Let's go! Hey, my bro! Because we're connected!

Just go with the flo! There is no more confusion!

Let's go! Hey, my bro! Bind our fates together!

(I)We'll go all out!(I)

(D)We'll settle this seriously!(D)

(S)Defeating you swiftly!(S)

Go with the Flo!

And now, back to our regular feature.

Ikki: It’s Ikki and…

Daiji: Daiji and…

Sakura: Saku’s…

All: Stamp Navi.

Sakura: Today’s Stamp is… this one.

Turtle!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_gi9iC-aA3E

Protect the Peace! Super Battle! Turtle! Blow them away!

Ikki: The Turtle Vistamp grants a powerful cannon to Sakura, which has a shell built in to prevent recoil.

Daiji: In other words, it’s a Kame (turtle) Bazooka.

George: Kame Bazooka, huh? That’s why I went with today’s Legend for the motif.

Desire Driver: V3

Shiro Kazami: Henshin! V3!

George: Kamen Rider V3, Shiro Kazami. After his father, mother and sister were killed by the evil organisation Destron, he threw himself into the Double Riders’ battle with them, costing him his life. However, the two revived him as a new Kamen Rider with the skills of Ichigou and the power of Nigou, which he can channel into 26 special moves.

Sakura: (angry) Seriously! Who the f@ck keeps giving me these Vistamps based on guys with dead sisters? (She storms out)

Ikki: What’s with her?

(Vice and Lovekov pop up, wearing a Megatron mask and a Soundwave T-Shirt)

Vice: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

Lovekov: Love!

Self-production notes: If you don’t get the final joke, then this comic may or may not help you.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...0/IMG_5486.JPG

Amazing work! Thanks for the info and the fun skit!

Yet previously you defended Yukimi from people who criticized her like this...

Sakura has more potential than both Ikki and Daiji (as she's a black-belt ace martial artist), as stated in the previews. Now Sakura had another thing to be protected of which is her innocence, of which dunno if she'd approve of that or not, but I hope it can be a good lesson for her or audience to learn further about the burden of killing others. While Sakura does declare altruistic motivation to fight alongside others; making sure everyone is at peace, on the other hand she goes overboard on Genta that she just harshly takes her Driver from him despite that he practically helped her against Yukimi's overprotective nature, kinda gets on my nerves there.

To me Yukimi's overprotective nature that is even worse than Ikki is kind of annoying, though primarily due to how she doesn't extend that to Ikki and Daiji too, seems lowkey sexist. At least it's revealed here that Yukimi thought Deadmans are temporary that got her to be overprotective to Sakura, still doesn't explain how she views female sex as less to males to be only overprotective to Sakura. Hiromi finally clears this up by explaining about how the Deadman situation really is and that the world needs Igarashi siblings' protection more than them needing protection from Yukimi. Probably it's some poetic justice for her that instead of her children, she's the one had to be guarded by Fenix going anywhere here. Other than her previous overprotectiveness, I do like that they try to give some effort and touches in her cheerleading role, with her treating Vice differently, likely due to him trying to eating her or such, or her high energy actually harming Lovekov by accident, that she had to be restrained by Fenix soldier.

About Ikki saving Aguilera, it's explored further here that he felt burden that he can only kill Giftex like Kudo and Amahiko, without finding a way to separate the demons from their bodies, so he's the type to show sympathy for villains (like many of other main Riders) and would prefer to not use drastic solution, and he tried that too against Chameleon Deadman here, to no avail. Cool move from him to see through Chameleon taking Yukimi's form and block her literal backstabbing with the tissue. There's a nice fighting move of Revi in his Eagle ability to not brute forcing his way, but using Eagle's vision to track down Chameleon Deadman.

While Daiji is a bit more pragmatic here that he'd resort to ending threats like Giftex albeit he'd still shoulder the burden too like what he signed up for as a hardened soldier, instead of someone who relishes at using the 'brutal necessary' solution, so Daiji would still be a mostly safe guardian to be around (aside from Kagerou) compared to a good number of other secondary Riders.

I approve that despite the hardships that the Deadmans face, doesn't mean that Aguilera and Julio are instantly won over by the Igarashis/Fenix (well, Sakura sorta to Aguilera but for different reason, and planned to use her for sacrifice anyway), as obviously their aims aren't about their safety, but about Aguilera wanting to become one with Giff and Julio wanting to please Aguilera by any means, and the Fenix's actions are quite... hindering to their goals (Julio's interwinding with Aguilera).

Not to mention, what Julio does here only gives Aguilera hope to continue her original goal, with her outfit is fine and that'd mean so does Giff. She'd continue her villainous schemes, only without Olteca. So does Julio then if he had utter loyalty to Aguilera, revealed due to her saving him in the past. Dunno how long in the past, or even if Aguilera's probably not-so-evil at the time she saved Julio (likely her redemption key), even in present time Aguilera throws tantrums to Julio like a bitchy teenager, using him as punching bag of which Julio would endure with his loyalty to her.

Olteca reveals his goal of just ruling the world so far, and admitting that Aguilera's just his puppet queen, as he does to Vice. Chameleon Deadman dies quicker than I expected, just like Amahiko before, with him being revealed as the impossibru guy... so he's not actually unremarkable... he's remarkable as meme icon... depends if Revice had memes similar to irl ones (I mean they have KR shows). "Impossible!" is also a stock villain remark upon defeat, but ironically it's not used here to focus on his insecurity more.

So far this episode seems to portray George at his most wholesome, just applauding the Fenix members and the Igarashi's work, and also taking care of Hiromi who once again is promoted as Commander. I guess Hiromi has no mistakes or blunders anymore so far and that's likely lowkey his development. Still though there's his smirk as Hiromi leaves.

I feel like I've taken pains to note the differences between her earlier objections (Sakura wasn't a Kamen Rider, so it was fair for her mother to be concerned about her safety in a way she wasn't for Daiji or Ikki) and now? This is a shifting story, there's no sense in being overly rigid.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MYSTERY EPISODE 1

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery1a.png

KAIDO

Oh, man, this dude. This dude! Probably my favorite Kamen Rider actor, full stop. I don’t think I’d’ve cared about the Kento storyline in Saber half as much if his dad hadn’t been played by Kaido. He’s just always fun to watch, to see how he imbues even the smallest role with weird affectations and compelling strangeness. I like any story he’s in more than I probably should.

…Which is maybe another way of saying that this initial episode of The Mystery is sort of dull? It’s heavy on setup, to the detriment of a tangible hook. The mystery is just There Are Monsters, and that’s not– it’s not exactly a million miles away from your standard Kamen Rider premise. The twists here are threefold: first, we’ve in a locked-room mystery, where the suspects are trapped for a duration of time, while the killer (or killers) whittles down the cast; second, there are both a Deadman and a Roidmude, as well as possibly an Orphnoch or Imagin; finally, we are in Special Guest Star Project territory, with all the ways that mandate warps the narrative.

Still, Otta! Kaido! Terui! The shitty boss from Kiva as the groundskeeper! It’s a mess of familiar faces in the first episode alone, with at least Terui and Otta requiring whole scenes dedicated to their arrival. They’re, frankly, the only reasons to be excited about a fairly innocuous bit of tie-in content, so it’s hard to say the episode made the wrong decision in stretching out their intros. (Nice to see that Terui still takes meetings at the one cafe from his Zi-O appearance, I think!) The whole point of this thing is Look Who Came Back, so why not give them room to breathe?

The rest of it is, again, a lot of setup. None of the lodge’s guests make much of an impression, and one of them is bumped off a few minutes after we meet him. Ikki and Hiromi are both smitten with the innkeeper, which is… a choice. (I like that Ikki is canonically the horniest modern-day Rider; I dislike Hiromi getting easily distracted by a damsel in distress.) There’s some fun in providing a mystery for Ikki and Vice, since Ikki tends to be unobservant, and Vice is quick to notice things but bad at processing which details are important. They’re not exactly Philip and Shotaro, you know? It’s a nice change of pace to put these two at the helm of a murder mystery, mostly for how badly they’re equipped for it.

Didn’t think this first episode was much to talk about, beyond citing the Special Guest Stars, but that’s not nothing. Really hoping that the story picks up in Episode 2!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery1b.png

Alright, I had something prepared for this, but it was in the event that you’d watched all 5 episodes. So I’m just gonna do the cast trivia.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...C0D045F83.jpeg

Suzu-san is Rina Aizawa, better known as Saki Rouyama/Go-On Yellow from Engine Sentai Go-Onger.

The gardener is Takuma Sugawara, better known as Tappei Mikami/Sazer Gans from Chouseishin Gransazer.

And as you can guess from the picture, the guy who exists solely to die is Another Ex-Aid from Zi-O.

Anyway, like I said, I’ve got some opinions and material for this, but they’re all very spoiler-y, so I’ll see you in episode 5.

Cliche, perhaps a little, but I don't think I could call a murder mystery dull. The Mystery is actually my favorite piece of Revice content! I was surprised to find out it was written by Uchida, whose comedy involving Ikki and Vice in this special has improved significantly since the fart jokes from Saber's post-finale crossover episode.

So, as this is a murder mystery, I have to ask, who do you currently think murdered Gondawara? You seem to have suspected an Imagin or Orphenoch, due to the mysterious sand-like substance in the room.

It's definitely George's favorite part as well. I enjoyed how he and Terui were staring at each other seriously and then George just got all excited and asked (Don't ask me questions!) for his autograph. Another thing I've noticed about Uchida's style is that he loves to play up this lovable side of George and I should also credit the actor Hamao Noritaka for the energy he brings to the character in these scenes.

While Ikki and Vice are, individually, half-boiled morons, they can be super competent when they put their heads together. Ikki almost drank poison once due to ignoring Vice, but he was also the one who made the plan to expose Kudo's and the judge's crimes. From those two episodes, putting the eponymous Revice team in a murder mystery makes sense and encourages them to work together to compensate for each other's flaws. For this reason, I think it was smart to limit the cast to them, Hiromi, George and the guest characters. The Ikki/Suzu/Hiromi love triangle is entertaining as well, since it allows Ikki and Hiromi to be more comedic.

Sorry! I don't mind doing a two-episode project as a single post, but I'd like to let anything longer get treated as individual episodes. Thanks for the trivia!

I mean, murder mysteries are great! They have fun setups that make the characters behave in different ways, with fewer options for problem-solving. This first episode was a little dull, though, for how it's just establishing the genre and introducing the cast. The story proper doesn't really kick off until the end of the episode.

(The death of Hiromi in the beginning doesn't count, because it's a big fake-out.)

No suspects for me, for two reasons:

1) We really don't know much about the dynamics of the characters yet. The two guys have checkered pasts, but what about the staff at the lodge? Where did they come from? Do they have any connections to the other characters? What does any of it have to do with Vistamps?

2) Kamen Rider mysteries in spinoffs have a frustrating tendency to pull solutions out of their ass. What if one of them is secretly a robot from a world of robots? What if it's Terui, but he's Kenzaki from Blade in disguise? And so on, and so forth. Kamen Rider mysteries tend not to play completely fair with their audience -- in movies and side-content -- so I'm going to wait at least a few episodes and see what curveballs I get thrown.

Oh, for sure. I've no doubt that it'll be the two of them that eventually puts the clues together and solves the mystery. It's just going to be a bumpy, funny, stupid road to get there. In a good way!

Good points. The first suspicions are virtually always wrong in this genre, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a mystery, so it's wise to keep an open mind until more details come to light. Decade VS Zi-O was enjoyable for its crazy unpredictability, but that did ruin the mystery part for those who were actually invested.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MYSTERY EPISODE 2

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery2a.png

It’s got to be Suzu, right?

She’s clearly playing Hiromi, Kaido, and Ikki. As soon as one of them sees her with another man, she starts flirting with the new one. It’s classic noir damsel behavior, where she’s trying to inflame those protective feelings in the men that should be suspicious of her, to get them to disqualify her as a suspect.

It’s an interesting weakness in Kamen Riders, them not really being suspicious of folks. The empathetic nature of their role in the story – to generally see the best in people, to afford second chances, to lift up rather than drag down – means that they’re almost all terrible at sussing out lies and exposing deception. They’re terrible at solving mysteries, because they take people at their word instantly; it would be unheroic of them to think someone’s lying. It makes for a whodunit where it mostly seems impolite to accuse anyone of a crime, and that’s always fun to watch.

Also fun to watch: even more guest stars! We still have Otta here to remind us of his terrible police work (mostly yelling at people and getting into shoving matches) from Drive, where Shinnosuke was the one who solved mysteries every other week, not him; but we also get the (brief?) arrival of Gridon and Bravo, fresh from a cute Saber cameo (I feel like it’s even the same outdoor set) and in their TTFC upgrade suits. It’s a fun scene, even if it’s another in this project’s series of George Fawns Over Riders recap scenes. I like Kamen Riders having to deal with fandom? It’s such an unexplored section of meta storytelling for this franchise, where they’re usually either urban legends or hunted monsters. The integration of an excited fan like George makes these little cameos that much more delightful.

I thought this was a fairly enjoyable second episode. There’s more time spent trying to get at Suzu’s character, and how she’s exactly as pure and innocent as she needs to be to get men to fall all over themselves protecting her. All the cameos and Legend Riders were a bonus this time, rather than the main event, and that’s my preference. Things are shaping up!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery2b.png

So we find out that Vistamps can be used to become past monsters. That probably added to the “FENIX is Foundation X” (or in one case, FENIX is Shocker) theories that were common at the time this aired.

And I turns out, I have a filler gimmick to bide away the time until episode 5. Around the time this came out, a video of Aguilera trying on various cosplay outfits for past heroines in Kamen Rider (for a given value of “heroine”) in front of Julio in the woods. Since as far as I know, that video hasn’t surfaced on Nyaa, I’ll just post cosplay pics.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...A422E7EA67.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...C3CC04A5A.jpeg

Very cute! Thanks for sharing!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MYSTERY EPISODE 3

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery3a.png

Let’s start with the good!

I love that the Terui/George side of things is just a grumpier, more emotionally distant version of the Shotaro/Philip dynamic from W. Terui’s all DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT PEOPLE’S LIVES, while George is geeking out over all the cool new mad science he’ll get to do in violation of God’s will. It’s a conflict between facts and empathy, yet it might actually have cracked this case. Very fun homage to the original Kamen Rider detective duo.

Also, Kaido is Kaido! I’d sort of assumed he was, despite the pseudonym, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it’s actually the character from Faiz, not just another guitar-playing weirdo for the actor to elevate. Just a nice little beat. I like when characters I like get to show up again! I’m easy!

Now, the bad.

There’s basically no real mystery-solving going on at the lodge? The brainpower, when it comes to actual investigation, is all happening outside the locked-room murder mystery part of the project, and it’s an element that is the most standard Kamen Rider plot imaginable. Hunting Down A Monster is… it’s not exactly a mystery that necessitates placement in the title? That’s something that could be in not just any Revice episode, but any Kamen Rider episode. The twist for this one was supposed to be trying to catch a killer in a remote lodge, not running around the city, collecting clues in an abandoned lab. It’s disregarding the rules of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, and it makes the story more generic for that change.

And back at the lodge, the investigation is still just shouting accusations without any proof – baseless speculation and circumstantial evidence are the only tools at our heroes’ disposal – and then discovering that they’re no closer to the truth. It’s funny and all, sure. I like seeing an innocent Kaido get wrestled to the ground by a spry Otta and an injured Hiromi; I like physical comedy. But there’s no sense that anyone at the lodge is more or less a suspect than before, which makes everything that happens on that end of the story feel superfluous. The solution is to be found, if George is to be believed, outside of the lodge entirely. It’s not playing by the rules, which is a shame.

Diverting enough installment (I can’t express how excited I was to see Kaido put on that hat!!!) but not really creating a taut and gripping mystery over here. We don’t learn anything about why the groundskeeper had the Roidmude Stamp. We don’t learn anything new about Suzu, the maid, or the other dude. The bulk of the lodge story is pointing in Kaido’s direction, but he’s such an obvious red herring that I don’t count that as forward progress. (Mostly because anyone watching this is doing it because they know Accel and Kaido and Gridon and Bravo, so there’s no tension in if Kaido is suddenly a serial killer. I mean, any more than usual for an Orphnoch.) It’s a pleasant time spent with George and Terui in actually discovering clues, but the lodge part feels like empty fan service. Not a great installment, plot-wise.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery3b.png