So yeah, Kamiya Naoto is just “Naoya Kaido” with the kana swapped around. Kind of the JP equivalent of the alias being an anagram of the real name.

And we get a full list at the monsters being used for the stamps: the Rhino Grongi (from Titan Form’s debut), the Culex Worm (from Drake’s debut), the Spider Fangire (from the show’s debut), the Aries Zodiarts (from Cosmic States’ debut) and the Stretch Smash (the one Sawa turned into… which was also Cross-Z’s debut). Supposedly, the theme was “monsters that transform from humans”, but it falls kind of flat with the Worm and Fangire, both of which were straight up monsters that took on human form. (While there are Worms transformed from humans, in the form of the Natives, aside from Hiyori and Mishima, they didn’t have unique forms like the Invading Worms. And while Shima was turned into a Fangire in one episode, it was clearly the exception, not the rule)

Anyway, enough nitpicking. Here’s more of Aguilera’s costume changing action

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...0EE2AE19A.jpeg

Yeah this is a crossover stuff. I find it surprising that George actually got Terui's autograph, despite asking for it. Perhaps he should give orders instead to say I want your autograph instead of questioning him. And here George already has mentioned his father.

I'd think actually Ikki is a detective-like Kamen Rider without being an actual detective, like how he outwitted Kudo. Guess this kind of murder mystery would be fitting for something that has Ikki as the MC, and the intro also has W vibes, with W actually being a part of this crossover. And ofc, Vice has the ability to be intangible and check out stuff, which also helps in outwitting Kudo. I'd think actually it's not something that special in Suzu that makes Ikki and Hiromi so smitten with her but perhaps that's just me.

Yeah, the moral beacons of justice in Kamen Rider is often shown to be the type who see the best in people. But I honestly hate it when mistrusting or thinking someone's lying is considered unheroic. Which is where I don't necessarily view idealism and kindness as one-part, of which the former is your worldview, yeah, the part of seeing the best, while the latter is an action, to do good to others. I don't want for goodness to look even more bad (and stupid/blind) and got discouraged. Being good and being mistrustful aren't mutually exclusive. Good people can be just as discerning and mistrustful as any hardened, gruffy character but they feel no obligation to wear their healthy sense of skepticism on their sleeve in plain view. At that point, all one has to do is keep their wits about them and observe.

This'd be the main appeal for George to people in this point, considered relatable that he's a Kamen Rider fanboy himself. And here actually Oren and Jonouchi returned the favor of also being enthusiastic in those photos. Gaim itself also has fandom dealing like Kouta (and Micchy) being asked for a photograph, for Beat Riders dance though, but that got interrupted.

Interesting! Thanks for all the info!

I guess I don't think of that so much as Solving A Mystery -- since they already knew Kudo was the culprit, they just needed to find a way to expose him -- as it is them trying to prove a point. It's a weird subsection of a legal drama, where you can know someone's lying, but you need to prove it in court. The Revice team is pretty good at getting involved enough in people's lives to get to the bottom of whatever they're hiding, but they're not great at figuring out which person is hiding something. Crucial difference!

Kaido spent the early part of Faiz boasting about how he's going to kill a bunch of humans, only to end up as one of the few Orphenochs to never kill a single one, so yeah, I didn't buy him being the culprit at all. He's not an idiot, he wouldn't have left his ash at the scene and more importantly, he wouldn't have left sand, as he points out. The murderer must've known Kaido was an Orphenoch and used that to frame him, relying on the probability that nobody else would even know enough about Orphenoch anatomy to question this inaccuracy. But what could the motive be?

Kamiya Naoto also sounds similar to Fukamiya Hayato and Miyamoto Musashi.

The main thing about this miniseries for me was that this was pretty much officially when I decided that I was never going to keep up with all of the ancillary material that they put out for these shows. I have all of the episodes downloaded, but I never felt like I needed to watch them, even knowing who some of the guest stars were. I like that we get all of these new miniseries and webisodes and stuff, but it usually takes something special to get me to pay attention to them.

I mean, I just assume it's Suzu, and her fiancee/husband/boyfriend was the monster researcher who mysteriously died/vanished. (I feel like we got a bit of her backstory in a scene, but it did not stick with me.) She's probably continuing his research and/or trying to revive him as a monster hybrid.

It's a lot, yeah. I sort of miss the days when in-series ancillary content was just a movie or two, an HBV, and a bunch of non-canonical Net Movies. Having whole mini-series full of side stories with nebulous connection to the main show? I'd rather stuff like this be a post-show V-Cin(ext) or whatever. It is very weird to me that we're at a point with Toei where a new episode basically every week for an entire year is considered insufficient exploitation of the IP.

It's like the shows are giving you homework. I don't want to feel like I have to do extra reading to understand something I'm watching to relax.

Sure, and I don't disagree with the reaction, but it's also... it's only a problem if you let it be one? The only thing that ever really matters to a season's story is the season itself. There might be a mini-series or a couple films, but those generally have little impact beyond showcasing an upcoming form, or teasing the arrival of the next Rider. We're rarely in a place where skipping some TTFC streaming thing means you've missed a death or resurrection, at least during a season.

I don't know. It's all optional, but it never feels optional -- I just can't figure out if that's the producers manipulating my affection for the show, or my own collector mindset demanding that I catch 'em all or whatever.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MYSTERY EPISODE 4

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery4a.png

The main thing that makes a mystery story for me isn’t the complexity of the plot, or the construction of the cast, or even the fleetness of the storytelling. It’s how fairly the mystery played for the audience; how possible was it to guess the culprit in advance of the detective.

On that front, I thought this episode’s Drawing Room Accusation stuff mostly worked. I got it when Ikki got it: When Suzu says the word "Orphnoch", there’s no way she could’ve heard it yet. Kaido didn’t identify his monster type before he jumped out a window, and Ikki was the first person to see her afterwards. There’s no possible way for her to have just learned he was an Orphnoch, so she must’ve known well in advance and hidden it from everyone else. Plus, there’s almost no one else it could be at this point; Suzu was the only character with enough screentime to make for a villain worth confronting.

Beyond that… hoo boy, it’s all just a mix of previously unrevealed details, stuff the audience learned outside of Ikki’s investigation – meaning Ikki had no idea whatsoever of Suzu’s potential motivation – and wild suppositions that incredibly turned out to be accurate. The biggest offender is the frequent instances of Suzu spilling dirt, which I can’t recall ever being shown onscreen, despite Ikki mentioning it as his first clue something was up. It’s the only clue prior to this episode, but I don’t think it was ever actually shown to the audience? Seems like a big deal!

Still, it mostly doesn’t matter in the details. Suzu was bound to be the culprit, her motivation seemed reasonable to deduce in the previous episode, and the nuts and bolts of how she committed her various crimes is more academic than integral. (Nice to know that half the reason for attacking Hiromi was that he was a sweaty pest! This poor guy! Jesus!) I don’t love how much Ikki just guesses that ice cubes were used to delay the discovery of a crime scene until the perpetrators had an alibi, but whatever.

It’s a fairly good resolution to this mystery, even if it leans more heavily on new information -slash- lucky guesses than I’d prefer. There’s a fun rhythm to the accusation scene trading off Terui’s half of the solution with Ikki’s half, as Suzu unconvincingly tries to deflect their interrogation. (She’s got this facetious But I’m A Helpless Damsel voice that plays great with the smirk that’s breaking through her facade.) Even as I’m grumbling about the minutiae, I still found myself enjoying the resolution to the mystery.

But not the resolution to The Mystery; that’s tomorrow! Will Terui finally Henshin into Accel? Will things get worse for Kaido? And will the resurrected fianc? get an evil repaint of Barid Rex? The answer to all of these questions – which is almost certainly Yes – will be uncovered tomorrow!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery4b.png

The most I remember from this particular part is a) Vice’s random impersonation of Tassel (to which someone on Discord said “One does not need a reason to impersonate Tassel. Dons pink hat” and b) one sub has Vice describing everyone being suspicious as “Everyone here is a sussy baka” (merging a rather obnoxious meme from Among Us with the gratuitous Japanese word for “idiot”. It’s a very nonsensical sentence as a result)

And now, today’s Aguilera cosplay gives us some Gamer energy (though presumably, a better game than Among Us)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...7963B9048.jpeg

"Sussy baka" is itself a separate meme, deliberately designed to be silly and obnoxious. It's 'perfect' for Vice.

This anti-Among Us rhetoric is exactly what an imposter would say.

So this'd be several times that George's suspicious behavior is actually pointed out in the series, where I always felt that people overlook that (though not entirely) just because George is a help to the protagonists. He has not gotten official villain status at this point unlike Kuroto, but still, not all people who aid the good guys are also good (the assumption at this time).

Adds up to the returning characters after Terui, Oren, etc. Though Kaido's looks are really different now compared to the past, the other one that I can consider similar was only Asakura from Ryuki.

So just like Beyond Generations, comedy aside, I do feel that Hiromi is more standoffish and hostile in this part than his usual portrayal, though this makes sense with him being made "OOC" due to Suzu. Otherwise this part just feels like some prejudice of viewing Kaido lowly because he's a monster, though finally the sand is referenced in this episode as Orphnoch's remains, when it's actually from Orangutan Deadman.

Yep, you called it from Episode 2. Well done! The moment Suzu mentioned "Orphenoch", that clinched it for me as well. She seriously screwed up there. While the murderer in Decade VS Zi-O was virtually impossible to predict for any sensible reasons, I guess this one was a little too easy by comparison. I'm glad you mostly enjoyed the deduction part anyway. It's another win for the teamwork of Revice, between Ikki's selective observation skills and Vice's ghostly investigation abilities. Suzu might've gotten away with it if it wasn't for that meddling busybody and his devil. Now they just need to bring her in....

#NiceTassel!

See, now I'm going to be super disappointed when this isn't Aguilera's costume going forward...

Ha ha, do people seriously not think that George isn't already a villain?! This guy has never once shown that he cares about any of the Riders or civilians or Fenix troops or literally anything other than his own mad Kamen Rider experiments. He's basically a Shocker scientist in everything but name! He's not a good guy!!!

I wouldn't say "easy"? For all of my complaints about where the clues come from (it will always bug me that Ikki doesn't have any of Suzu's motivation when he makes his accusation), I think the overall pace of the mystery is good and correct. We're introduced to the cast in Episode 1, we're specifically introduced to Suzu in Episode 2 through Ikki and Hiromi, we're given the monster explanation and Suzu's overly-weak damsel stuff in Episode 3, and then we're given the final clue at the beginning of Episode 4. Like, Ikki, you might have suspicions earlier, but the show does incrementally point in the direction of Suzu without rushing it or making it up on the spot.

(Well, mostly without making it up on the spot.)

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: THE MYSTERY EPISODE 5

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery5a.png

If nothing else, I really appreciate how much the finale to this Legend Rider (and Legend Supporting Cast) spin-off mini-series felt like a Revice ending.

It’s all about the need to interrogate and confront the things inside yourself that are shameful and/or destructive, to better understand why you felt that way to begin with. As Suzu’s scheme was revealed last episode, it’s time to reveal what her goal is: resurrection for her dead fiance? Power enough to rule/destroy the world? It turns out that the answer is… nothing, really. She just wants to get enough revenge to stop feeling like her future was taken from her by George and Fenix and Kamen Riders and monsters. There’s no resurrecting her dead lover. The stated goal of Destroying The System is laughably open-ended and ill-advised. It’s all just rage, with no direction or goal. Continuing the work was a way to feel connected to the man she lost, but now there’s nothing but grief and anger. There’s nothing but hurting people to make her rage feel purposeful.

And that’s more sad than it is villainous, which Ikki recognizes. This is a woman who needs to let go of the anger and resentment she’s been bottling up, and if she’s gone and turned herself into a composite monstrosity? Well, maybe she can unload her rage on the Kamen Riders that can withstand it. It’s not an ending where Suzu needs to be defeated; it’s an ending where Suzu needs to be rescued from her trauma. The only way to do that is to let it come to the surface, and then let it burn itself out in a safe place. (The lodge's adjacent Natural Hot Quarry, now taking reservations.) Ikki will always want to help someone in trouble more than he’ll want to fight a monster, and this ending recognizes that. It’s the perfect ending for a Revice story.

As for the rest of it? Generally enjoyable, even if I find myself questioning about 80% of Suzu’s backstory in regards to how the lodge stuff lines up with the research scientist stuff. (Why does she have a lodge and a devoted staff? Was she independently wealthy, and just loved doing science? Why did she pivot from science into running a bed and breakfast? If the project her fiance started was still being worked on by her, why was the lab accessible to George and Terui? How did she track down one of maybe three remaining Orphnochs, and not even one that was a Kamen Rider for more than two episodes? Why was she working with a guy who was selling black market monster Stamps, when it looks like all she needed was the Orphnoch DNA? Why were they waiting so long to extract Kaido’s DNA?) As much as I like how the story eventually made Suzu a compelling and sympathetic villain, her backstory makes about zero-to-negative sense.

It’s a good ending, though. Kaido gets a heartbreaking moment of connection and sacrifice before being like I Told You This Wouldn’t Kill Me and slinking off to go have more scumbag-adjacent adventures. (PARADISE REGAINED??? come on of course paradise regained) I laughed incredibly hard when Ikki suggested to Otta and Terui that maybe he could someday meet their Kamen Rider friends, since that is 2/3rds never ever going to happen. I thought we’d maybe get Daiji and Sakura back for the Happy Spa closing scene, but I still had fun with what we got.

And I had fun with this whole thing, despite some choices that I wish the producers hadn’t made. It’s a Neo-W team-up Kamen Rider project that makes room for two classic supporting cast dudes and a thoroughly Revice ending. (Also, a deeply humiliating subplot for Hiromi!) It’s not a great mystery, but it’s a fairly solid piece of Revice storytelling. I’m glad I watched it!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../mystery5b.png

Yeah, you basically summed up my feeling on all this. In the end, it wasn?t a matter of defeating a villain, but saving a soul.

And now I can conclude my Aguilera cosplay photos before getting back to my skits (this one featuring additional dialogue from DreamSword. If he ever deigns to post in this thread again, I?ll let him do the BTS)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...BD244AE31.jpeg

Ikki: It's Ikki...

Vice: And Vice's'...

Both: Stamp Navi!!!

(Both pause, slightly confused)

Ikki: Where?s George?

(Enter Suzu, accompanied by armed guards)

Suzu: He insisted on checking my lab for any surprises, but he asked me to handle today?s entry on his behalf.

Ikki: Seems fair

Vice: And today's' stamp is this one...

Oblivian!

Suzu: Oblivian is the project my late fianc? Shogo Ueshima started work on, to combine the DNA of 10 different types of monsters from across the Rider multiverse into one ultimate monster. Though if you ask me, he was fairly short sighted to stop at 10, as I?m sure the two of you will agree.

Vice: Looks like a real bad egg!

Ikki: Ugh. That was bad, even for you.

(Suddenly, Ueshima)

Ueshima: But not nearly as bad as the Roidmudes!

Ikki: Whoa, who are--

Suzu: (teary-eyed) Shogo, it can?t be?!

Ueshima: A race of evil robots, hellbent on disrupting public order and messing with the laws of nature! Their ability to slow down time really messes with everyone's' morning routine!

Vice: Wow, that does sound annoying!

Ikki: Vice, don't humor--

Ueshima: Humor is something monsters like the Smash lack! They're basically just the Roidmudes but a lot less unique in their design, with many people only becoming them thanks to the dangers of gaslighting.

Ikki: I don't think that's exactly--

Suzu: Shogo, I know your knowledge of Rider monster was poor, but?

Ueshima: I mean really, look at all the black recolors they'd eventually get! You'd think they have a total aversion to sunlight, like the Fangires. Creatures of the night which have a particularly strong aversion to sunlight, garlic, and respecting boundaries.

Vice: Same.

Ueshima: Which, thinking about it, means they'd be no match for a Zodiart. Zodiarts utilize the power of the stars, which includes the sun, and as such could turn Fangires into shattered glass in an instant. Kind of a bad look when someone drugged up on a switch could easily beat a supernatural monster.

Vice: (leans over to Ikki) I'm starting to think this guy's even more looney than Kari-chan is, Ikki.

Suzu: (now yelling) Its wrong. This isn?t Shogo. The real Shogo was kind, he wasn?t this? this? (the guards escort her back out)

Ueshima: Actually that makes me wonder, are they more doped up than a Dopant is? You feeble minded normies wouldn't know about them. They're a bunch of criminals who directly inject USB sticks into their veins to get high off of the memories of the planet, turning them into elementals that pose a danger to society.

Ikki: You're not even listening to us at this point, are you Chuckles?

Ueshima: OH I'M LISTENING! AND HOW DARE YOU COMPARE MY BRILLIANT RESEARCH TO THAT OF GEORGE KARIZAKI!?

Ikki: Wait, you could hear Vice?

Ueshima: DON'T ASK ME QUESTIONS! His research is what lead to the problem we're all dealing with now: The Deadmans! Who are basically just Japanese people who are culturally appropriating Mexican culture with origami!

Vice: WHOA! Does the board allow that kind of edgy humor!? (stares at the screen) To the guy writing this, what is your damage!?

Writer: Sorry, I'll tone it down.

Ikki: You gotta tell me who you keep talking to one of these days.

Vice: Well you see, he's a devil who's stuck inside of a ring and--

Ueshima: Once I have the DNA of the Orphenoch, that's right, spelt with an E, because they're Evil, the Oblivian Vistamp will be complete, creating the ultimate monster, and I WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH GEORGE! ME!!!!

(George then finally arrives on the scene)

George: What??

Ueshima: Feeling threatened, George? Once my life's' work is complete, I'll be break dancing all over your grave like the Inves! And who even knows what the heck those are even supposed to be?

George: Goddamn Ueshima, either you've changed alot since the last time I saw you, or... wait, how are you even here?

Vice: (whispers to Ikki once more, who's just in shock at everything going on at such a rapid pace) It's almost like this guy didn't have much of a personality in the special he showed up in.

Ueshima: Well, you see, the thing about that is...

(Ueshima stays in stunned silence for a moment, before dropping the Oblivian Vistamp and transforming into a Worm)

Worm!Ueshima: Egad, I dare say I'd been befuddled into revealing my secret identity! I must away!

(The Worm flees the scene, with no one giving chase)

Ikki: Is... is it okay to just let things end like this?

George: Ah, it's fine. This will make things far more interesting!

Ikki: Well uh, we hope you all enjoyed??

(Suzu re-enters the room, now bound in shackles)

Suzu: Erm, excuse me? I actually know some real facts about the monsters used in these Vistamps. Perhaps I could discuss them before I get shipped off to 5 years in Fuchū.*

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...6D2EFD54D.jpeg

Deadman

Suzu: The Deadman monsters are born from humanity?s impulses, unleashed through the animal DNA within the Vistamp system. Humans can become a Deadman by pledging to a contract with the resulting creature, at the cost of their own humanity, unless they become the offspring of a malicious alien who plans to kill us all. (Glares at George) I hope you?re happy!

George: Perfectly. I?m a mad scientist with full government backing. But please go on.

Roidmude

Suzu: One-hundred and nine mechanical lifeforms created by Dr. Tenjuro Banno and his associate Krim Steinbelt. They were split into three types: Bat, Cobra and Spider. In addition to their Slowdown ability shifting the density in an area where they activate it, they also evolve into stronger forms capable of freezing a quarter of the globe through absorbing humanity?s negative emotions. I suppose my group would be the all you can eat buffet to them.

Ikki: I thought these Vistamps were things that humans transformed into.

Suzu: In theory yes, but Shogo wasn?t much better informed than the Worm you just encountered. Roidmudes could fuse their Viral Cores around humans in order to gain a stronger output of emotions, in theory. But in practice, it was the biggest balls up this side of AIMS letting Horobi go free with no penalty of any kind.

Dopant

Suzu: These people were like me. The Sonozaki Family sold body-augmenting Gaia Memories harvested from yhe Earth?s Core, all because their oldest son died in an accident. Only I simply wanted to fulfill my fianc??s final wish, they took it too far. The Dopants? original leaders, Museum, planned to exterminate all those who couldn?t survive becoming one of them in the Gaia Impact, before your new policeman Kamen Rider friend and his drinking buddies stopped them.

Ikki: Well, I wouldn?t call Accel-Sempai a friend.

Vice: He gave us his phone number.

Suzu: I?m going to assume your demon friend contradicted you, and say ?I rest my case?. Now then, let?s get to something more unpleasant.

Inves

The Helheim Forest. A cosmic lifeform that infests planets with its fruits to induce evolution into Overlords. Those who fail to make the cut eat the fruits and become these mindless creatures, Inves. And then they were used purely as fodder for a Pok?mon knockoff by a bunch of dancers, only with no way to recover from defeat. Not the most noble of fates.

George: I mean, it was kill or be killed during Gaim. And it?s not like the Femushinmu could?ve communicated their intentions to humanity, even with their intelligence.

Suzu: Exactly. Not understanding a foe can be both a blessing and a curse.

Grongi

Suzu: 2000 years ago, a tribe of humans in South America were mutated into these creatures through exposure to the mysterious element, Amadam. They attacked their enemies, the Linto tribe, but were fended off by a warrior bearing a refined form of Amadam, Kuuga. But evil dies with great difficulty, as the Grongi proved when they returned at the turn of the millennium and infiltrated Tokyo society by turning into humans, adopting heavy makeup and speaking in unusual words. In other words, goths. The police didn?t know what hit them. One of them even became mayor, for crying out loud.

George: What? I don?t remember that episode and I?m a BIIIIIG Kuuga fan.

Suzu: Clearly not, since you haven?t read the novel. Now then, let?s stay on topic with more serial-killing monsters.

Fangire

Suzu: For 22 years, or possibly longer, these demons lived among human society, draining life energy from those they deemed ?weak? or ?a threat?. They wiped out 3 whole races of fellow demons, and then a fourth by proxy. But their downfall came about in 2008. (Suddenly perks up) Ah, that was such a good year!

Ikki: It wasn?t for me. I had a tooth I?d swallowed come back up and get lodged in my teeth.

Suzu: Don?t let the bad get you down. (Goes over and makes a smiley face motion with Ikki?s mouth) Smile, Smile.

George: Ok, Kengo.** Can we please finish the segment without any more actor/role confusion?

Orphnoch

Suzu: Humans with DNA modified by the Smart Brain corporation. They were supposed to be the next phase in humanity?s evolution once Smart Brain conquered the planet. But then it turned out that they only possessed a half life, and the one thing that could fix that ended up on death?s door. That?s irony for you.

Zodiarts

Suzu: Not long after the fall of Museum, their benefactors in Foundation X turned their attention to these creatures, born from the cosmic energy that exists within all humans being amplified by an offshoot of the Core Switch sent to gather information by the mysterious alien Presenters. Those with the strongest Cosmic Energy levels would evolve into a constellation-themed Horoscope. When 12 Horoscope Switches are gathered, a portal to the Presenters? world is opened, but a chunk of the planet will be taken out.

Vice: Any chance they could open it in France? (Awkward silence and death glares) Hey, I?m just saying what we?re all probably thinking.

Worm

Suzu: The Worms come in two varieties. The Natives, who spent years infiltrating human society, and the Salis, who chose to launch an all out assault by crashing a meteor into Shibuya. Regardless, the two factions shared one goal: to usurp humanity as the dominant species on Earth from within. The Natives were simply better at seeming reasonable, until they began turning humans into their kind.

George: It?s always the ones who seem trustworthy that turn out to be the real threat. (Looks up at the FENIX logo on the wall)

Suzu: And now, there?s only these to finish this explanation off

Smash

Suzu: There?s less information about these than the other monsters Shogo chose for his experiments. But what we can gleam is that they?re monsters from a parallel world where Japan?s infrastructure was tattered into three governments, warring with each other. The Smash existed to create equipment for Kamen Riders to fight in this war, with the poor saps turned into these creatures not remembering a thing. That is, if they were able to survive the transformation.

George: And then you copied my Barid Rex Vistamp to combine these 10 into your Frankensteined monster form, am I correct?

(Suzu laughs)

Suzu: Copied? I IMPROVED upon your Burrito Rex, or whatever. You simply applied an imprint from your 10 Stamps, where as I combined their full powers.

George: (having a lightbulb moment) Perhaps you?d like to discuss this with me over coffee and the matter of reducing your jail time. (He then leads Suzu away)

Ikki: (watching them go, mournfully) I?m not sure who to feel sorry for. George or Hiromi.

Vice: Until next time! WAH-HOO!

* The maximum penalty for drug trafficking in Japan, in the country?s most high security prison.

** Suzu is using the catchphrase from Rina Aizawa?s role as Go-On Yellow and George?s comment is a sly jab (though considering I like the show, intended affectionately) at Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga, whose titular character has the same catchphrase.

That was amazing and incredibly thorough! Thanks to both you and DreamSword for such a fun skit!

Yeah, they do, even claiming Hiromi's the one responsible for the events in ep. 7 (debut as Demons) with George speaking the truth. Him being a Kamen Rider fan (and not direct bad guy fan) seems to be also what can downplay his atrocities albeit some do think of him as sus. Though... it's not the first time because I also felt people forgot that Woz was a villain in earlier Zi-O, who just happens to be a help for the primary Rider (and was introduced as that).

Like I said before, I think this just boils down to people's prejudice for monsters (...like Kusaka), which is also the reason for Suzu to direct suspicions to Kaido, so that people'd only focus on taking out the "obvious baddie" (albeit Kaido's a misanthropic jerk), including even Ikki's Kamen Rider duties of going after monsters as Suzu mentioned Orphnoch. I guess actually for this time, Ikki seeing the best in people actually pays off, because it also extends to some monsters as well in him defending Kaido from Otta, not blindly viewing them as evil like Suzu hoped, allowing him to suspect another one as the culprit. Though Kaido himself claims nice guys like him tend to think with heart than brain more, but it's not something inherent, and it's just a writing choice to make nice guys dumb.

I do think that Suzu was the culprit too when I heard about her mourning about her fiancee, and for previously, the talk about Orphnoch DNA, which'd likely lead into her actually scheming something related to said fiancee. This actually means there are more than 1 baddies though, where Hanawa too is Suzu's right hand man. Still, I'd hope that the two-faced Suzu being the culprit won't be used to enforce "politeness is deceptive, bluntness is honest" and encourage people to be rude assholes to be "honest" (including if you'd hope that pure and innocent girls will always turn out like this so it won't be "generic" and "subverting expectations").

Hiromi here is more blinded by love to deflect any of Ikki's assumptions towards Suzu and immediately buy any words from her. Yeah, sense of justice is often shown by chivalry to protect women, but actually, real sense of justice should be unbiased, and not only protecting something worth your affection, but something undesirable as well (I guess monsters above in this case), and also not get blind in acknowledging how what's not expected as bad can be one (equals not seeing the best all the time).

Weeell if I gotta~

Okay, so, Androzani was all "Hey guys I need someone to make me a really dank shitpost." And I was all "Well shit dude that's all I ever post!"

And thus this epic tale of deception and rivalry was born! The first half is 99% me whereas the second half is all Androzani. But I gotta say, what handful of edits Androzani made to my half made it even better.

Fun fact: I originally had the name of this Stamp spelt as "Ablivian" since that's how the subs I watched had it spelled. This is despite how the English spelling of the name appears in the little stinger after the credits.

https://i.imgur.com/Nf6VJlo.png

Don't ask me why, but this bit makes me giggle like an idiot every single time.

This is actually a reference to GARO, which also featured a devilish character who could break the fourth wall.

I like to imagine said Warm is also wearing a tiny top hat, a monocle, and a fake mustache.

But yeah that's about it. I had fun writing this nonsense, and Androzani makes a great editor.

As for The Mystery in and of itself... it was fun. Yeah, that's about all I got for it.

Yeah, it's a conclusion that makes Ikki's trusting nature -- usually a drawback for investigators -- the thing that allows him to see that Kaido's not the culprit, and that Suzu is doing horrible things due to unresolved trauma. He was crucial to this story's mostly positive outcome! (I mean, one guy is definitely still dead, so....)

You don't gotta, but I appreciate the peek behind the curtain! Thanks for the insight!

This is modern day Kamen Rider, he'll be back as a robot or something by the early 30's

While Ikki's sympathy towards monsters isn't always consistent, his moments of sympathy are the best part of his busybody behavior. He knows better than to jump to the prejudicial conclusion of "monster = bad", cause his buddy is also a monster. Suzu committed a terrible crime and deserves to be punished, but she also deserves the chance for rehabilitation and Ikki encourages her to continue Shogo's work after she pays her sentence. I agree, it's a satisfying ending for a Revice story (as most of them aren't IMO), but I'd also say it's a satisfying Double and Drive ending, as those shows also had sympathetic criminals who ended up turning their life around, like Nishihori Reiko.

Hell yeah, Paradise Regained! :D

(and also Tycoon x Shinobi)

This is also rather irrational due to how she focuses on something beyond her control in how it's Shogo losing the competition for a job position, even if it's sickening. George being better isn't something faulty to any side, regardless of George's behavior or Shogo's breakdown afterwards, of which it's unknown if George only got chosen due to the privilege of his father being previously a scientist for Fenix, as it's coming from someone close to them that is full of rage and grief. And Shogo's claimed to want to use his inventions for the better of humanity.... and Suzu claiming that she'd want to carry his will, this time actually the "would they approve of what you did" really fits here to be brought up to her in an attempt to stop her revenge. And I feel that, this isn't touched upon this time, I think there should be a vision of Shogo being disappointed on her instead to use his research to hurt people instead, to get her remorseful. Regarding the research, hers is the opposite of George's Barid Rex Vistamp, as it also uses the power of 10 Vistamps, but made up of the Kaijin Vistamps.

Eh, people shouldn't be absolved from villainy only because they have been abused or hurt in some way. Actually I'd wish if people'd stop measuring how someone's villainous simply by maliciousness alone. While she has tragic story, she has still done bad things while being two-faced about it, so she's villainous by that. But doesn't mean that all villains must be punished by brutally murdering them, and thus characters not getting that isn't villainous or such; it's more heroic for someone to not go into pay evil unto evil territory. And other than Ikki, I'd like if Terui makes a more convincing argument about telling about how bad revenge is because, he underwent through one in his debut. Though still, other than her being handcuffed, I kinda feel that Suzu got away with it lightly with her still being in the good graces of pretty much everyone. While you can deal with them in an understanding way, this can feel like how Ryunosuke (the father Shocker scientist) in Beyond Generations get treated by others, even though he's a worse one (he's when Shogo's desperation leads into actual dark path).

Deceased Scumbag from the Telasa spin-off is the surprise 4th Igarashi sibling!!!

Sure, but Revice is more explicitly about Ikki's focus on individual hardship and suffering (his busybody nature) than anything societal or global, as opposed to Protecting Fuuto or Shinnosuke's vow as a policeman. Ikki's almost always motivated by This Person Needs My Help Right Now, rather than an ongoing job fighting Deadmans or whatever. It's one of the things that drives Daiji crazy about his brother!

I mean, I don't know that Shogo's dream of harnessing monsters into stamps and composite monstrosities ever made any sense as a philanthropic effort. This isn't curing cancer or reversing dementia, this is a guy who's like MONSTERS WILL SAVE US, so it's maybe fair to look skeptically on any claims of humanitarian applications of this technology. They're all crazy in this story.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: KOALA VS KANGAROO!! CRYING OUT LOVE SMACK IN THE CENTER OF A WEDDING?!

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

A lot of incredibly funny stuff in this HBV: a Build-themed Genome that turns Vice into a tiny baby that calls Revi “Papi”; a fight between two baby-sized puppets against an outback backdrop; Sakura consistently avoiding telling everyone that she’s definitely marrying Aguilera; and Lovekov casually rejecting Vice. Good stuff, all around. But let’s talk smooching.

I will always love this series for hinging a plot in its HBV on – loudly, canonically – how badly George wants to see Daiji and Ikki kiss. That’s it. That’s the top of the mountain for this series. George, long the most background-horny character on the show, contrives a Deadmans-elimination scheme that will hopefully get Ikki and Daiji to smooch, preferably with Daiji in a wedding dress, where George can also record it for later. To gleefully rewatch at his leisure.

It’s honestly pretty great? It could absolutely come off a little gay panic-y, but I think the commitment of the characters (as well as the salacious delight George shows) keeps things from making the joke about two dudes kissing; the joke is in two brothers kissing, and how thirsty George is for it, to a level that would make a Supernatural fan cringe. Ikki, the heroic lead, never once makes it seem like kissing a dude is some horrible sacrifice or shameful action; he’s like Hey Let’s Smooch And Then Go Fight A Monster, smile on his face the whole time.

(Also: Daiji definitely enjoyed both his Ikki smooch and his Hiromi smooch. This is a very queer-positive HBV!)

It’s a special that doesn’t really have a lot to say about family (weddings are where your family grows???) but it’s all in on antagonistic comedy between the Igarashi siblings and bonkers teamwork between Revi and Vice. (Also, the now-requisite comedic humiliation for Hiromi.) This is one of those HBVs that’s just trying to have fun, and I thought it was a bullseye on that count. Its approach to queer romance could be called a failure, but its willingness to get agreeably horny about two young men sharing a romantic moment for George’s duplicitous pleasure was a rousing success.

Glad George could get to see his Ikki/Daiji fic finally come to life!

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

So, this special was written by a writer named Ayumi Shimo. I’m sure if Fish was here, he’d give a long paragraph gushing about her (since that’s what he did with her episodes of Kiramager), but since he’s not here, I’ll mention that the HBV brand of comedy is right up her alley. (Since much of her previous projects generally fall on the “silliness” sided of the sliding scale of seriousness)

Anyway, some highlights from this:

Vice shipping Sakura with everyone, even himself (would that count as incest?)

George having Vistamps ready for all of Build’s main 4. Though in real life, only the Kirin (giraffe) stamp has a chance of being made into a toy (since there’s a sound for it in the Demons Driver), though surprisingly, the ToysRUs exclusive for Revice was a Rex repaint called “Toysaurus”.

Ikki deciding to remove the obvious candidate to play a blushing bride in favour of doing what Ned Flanders’ kids state they intend to do (marry their brother).

It's truly a shame that we didn't get to see the Rogue one in action. That Vice suit!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 17 - “DEEPENING BETRAYAL AND THE TRUE WORTH OF A BUDDY”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice17a.png

A week later, and I’ve pretty much forgotten everything that happened in Episode 16. Lemme scroll up a bit… Oh! Right! The supermarket! And that cliffhanger where Sakura goes into the neighbors’ basement!

Well, we can knock that last one out real quick: absolutely nothing happened. While I admire the Giff-sized balls it takes to resolve a cliffhanger with a character Nope-ing out of any further investigation, I admit to finding it startlingly hollow in practice. It’s… did the producers not have any idea of what was at the bottom of those stairs? Could they not get that family to come back for a guest appearance? It’s something that has basically no redeeming qualities to it as a storytelling move: It’s a raised question, and the answer is just I Forgot What I Was Going To Say. It’s not even an entertaining misdirect! It’s just leaving it behind! Amazing choice, Kamen Rider Revice.

Luckily, the rest of the episode was more thoughtful and compelling.

We’re firmly in Act 2 now, and without a cool new Rider to focus its narrative muscle on – Daiji got plenty of spotlight in Act 1, Hiromi is a disintegrating mess with a big ol’ Ask Again Later flashing over his head, and Sakura is already absolutely perfect – the show smartly decides to start treating the Deadmans generally, and the Giffamilia specifically, as an actual collection of people worth interrogating. Now that their nightclub-church-spaceship is destroyed, and Olteca’s split off from Julio and Aguilera, it’s time to dig into what’s making people Gracias so many Deadmans.

Julio’s backstory kicks us off, and I confess to not previously spending a single second wondering about what drove him to mariachi-inflected monstering. The hair, yes, of course; constant wondering about that absurd bowl cut. But beyond that… I don’t know, I guess I got burned out because of the Book Club from Saber, whose eventual story of kinship tainted by power was thin gruel after a season of inappropriate flips and playing the piano. Julio’s motivation was being a sidekick, and I just assumed that was the extent to which I was supposed to see him.

Instead, we get this heartfelt story about teenage bullying and betrayal, where a sweet kid gets burned by his best friend and joins a cult. I mean, it’s more nuanced than that, but the gist is that Julio felt alone and joined a cult. I don’t mind that, honestly? I like the slow exploration of the Deadmans as something that offered a found family to people who felt punished by a world of villains, and manipulated those people into serving Olteca’s desire for power. Julio needed something he wasn’t getting anywhere else, so he let himself be reshaped by the Deadmans (horrible haircut and all) in order to feel like he was loved and protected.

The larger story of the Deadmans doesn’t really get elevated (it’s just a bunch of deranged cultists with chips on their shoulders; nothing to see here) but in a show about the ways Family shapes, improves, and negates us, I like spending a little time with how people inherently thrust themselves into family dynamics of their own making. I like the idea that the Giffamilia’s bond is weaker than biological family because there’s no societal pressure to enforce it, but maybe stronger than the Igarashis for the same reason. Julio thought Olteca was on the same side as him, and now learned that Olteca was only ever on his own side. Julio’s in a story about when friendships hurt us, and what we owe to the friends that hurt us.

Very interested to see if this one sticks the landing!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice17b.png

I still respect Sakura for that choice. Seeing a creepy staircase and deciding to just turn around and gtfo is by far the most sensible response, which is usually the option of last resort on Kamen Rider.

The real crux of this plot is Ikki and Vice battling Revi in the Satellite There set. And George has obviously got over Vice dissing his Jackal design, since he gives a more standard upgrade this time.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Volcano!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mTuZv0dC1dc

Burst Up! Revice! We are! Revice!

Ikki: And this is but one step of its full use. We can unleash its true potential by uniting it with Barid Rex.

Devilishly Blazing! Very Intimidating! Incredibly Amazing! Wicked Strong! Revice! We are! Revice!

George: The strongest Genome Change beyond that of Barid Rex, that is Kamen Rider Revi Volcano Rex Genome! This warrior of burning fire can be said to be a completely new concept of genomics that was developed assuming a battle with the evolved Deadman. However! The balance of the Buddy Index is essential to master this Volcano. I believe in you! You guys can do it, right?

Vice: Hey Kari-chan, what about my new look? Talk about that.

George: The next stage of Vice, which has been powered up to the Barid Rex Genome inherited from Revi. It has the power to freeze everything in a snappy way that is paired with the vexuevolcano. Hey! Vice. Are you still not going to let go of that shield? Then the Defence is overspec!

Vice: Hey, you can never be too careful. Besides, this makes an ideal weapon.

Ikki: I have to go with Karizaki on this. Besides, there’s no greater weapon than a Rider Kick.

Hissatsu! Baribari Vol Vol Finish!

Ikki sets his foot on fire, causing an explosion that leaves everyone with an ash face

Vice: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

Fun toy fact: Due to the way the transformation for Volcano is initiated, you can actually trigger all the relevant sounds by pressing a button on the back of the Barid Rex stamp (I don’t own the toy, I’ve just seen it done in a video online)

If the Sakura VS Stairwell scene had been in the middle of an episode, and we came back from commercial with Sakura back at Happy Spa, asking her mom about spooky stairwells, I'd probably be okay with it. It's a minor detour, and sort of funny for Sakura's clearheadedness. But as the resolution to an episode's cliffhanger? No. No, that's just disregarding the audience's investment and expectation. If you end a chapter with the promise of Spooky Secrets Revealed, you can't just have the next episode start with the character deciding to leave.

So much the crux that I never mentioned Volcano Rex!

I reeeeeeeeeally don't like the Revi suit, is the main thing. Beyond Volcano Rex's story being a pale shadow of Barid Rex's (it's just a Dragonball plot), I find the purple-with-yellow-flames to be a total eyesore. I'm not sure I could go into much detail, because my first, visceral reaction to seeing Volcano Rex was much the same as Sakura's reaction to the spooky stairwell: I don't want to be here.

(Also... did George harness the genetic material of a volcano? At least Barid Rex had a little dinosaur on it!)

Continuing from before, Daiji is relatively more pragmatic, but not in brutal and ruthless way that anti-heroes usually have on this, he accepts that Giftex can only be killed, but he's also a bit morose for this instead of being forceful to Ikki like a good number of secondary Riders that clashed with protagonists. I kinda feel disappointed that Sakura didn't reference Tamaki at her dojo before, as she does try to subdue Julio here for Yosuke, and that she had heard Yosuke's story, that he really was named Tamaki. Otherwise Sakura's quite considerate and understanding against Yosuke. Later time for the Ushijima's long stairs though.

Regarding Ikki, for now George proposes the Volcano ViStamp to separate demons from Giftex, of which requires him to level up his teamwork with Vice, done via a virtual reality fighting against Revi. I'd like to see the stakes there though (other than Vice freezing/Ikki burning), like what'd happen if they got hit, though probably it also shows that they've established teamwork (since ep. 13) before George puts them there. Other than the debut of Volcano Rex Genome with fire and ice power for Revi and Vice respectively (Ikki can get fired up against Vice's antics yeah, but don't understand yet for giving Vice with ice... e̶h̶ ̶w̶a̶i̶t̶ ̶V̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶V̶), I guess we won't see the separating demon part that George claimed before, as the episode emphasizes Olteca's schemes more, with his new Giftarians that actually sacrifices the cult member and not leaving any body behind after its defeat. The scene of Giftarian's appearence was chilling, good job to show how horrific it is and, Olteca's stint now that Volcano Rex Genome's plan is instead to make Ikki angry, like Kouta to Redyue or... Sento to Evolt.

So turns out Tamaki was really Julio's real name. Sakura had "known" him in her karate dojo by his real name. I guess not only the newcomers Haitani and Kudo, or even the Deadman cult members, our antagonist cast are all originated like them too. I did expect that someone will turn into Deadman cult out of miserable life, and turns out that it's one of the major antagonist's origin too in Julio, of him suffering high school hell by playing TCG with Yosuke (and him giving in into peer pressure as well). And actually Tamaki looks sharper with his glass and hairstyle compared to him as Julio now despite that it's something to make him nerdy along with TCG hobby. The origin of his "smile" came from Yosuke as well, of which him implementing that to Aguilera would mean despite denying Yosuke's existence at the end, deep down he still valued their time together. Albeit the betrayal makes traitors his trigger, and Olteca's the obvious target.

Julio had talked about Aguilera saving him, and I guess, the flashback shows that it's not really noble thing as I thought (and that's good, it's consistent with her character), it's Aguilera persuading others to join the cult as usual like she did on people like Ayaka (and Julio being one of those recruits like contract holders, only that he became general). Despite the backstory being set to establish their bond, this quite gives a dark implication that it's another way to show the influence 'selling soul to a devil' can give, outwardly giving people pleasure (for the despondent or hedonists especially), shown in how loyal Julio is to Aguilera for major character, and the Deadman cult members that Olteca leads (particularly Kanae Motomura, the girl who is eager to help him) for minor characters.

Julio though, backstory aside, shows how a trait that is normally viewed as good can bring out bad things instead here, Julio is loyal to a maniacal cult leader as she gave him what he wants, thus that'd mean he becomes nightmarish cult executive himself that dishes harm upon others, the exact something that worries Yosuke. Though sympathetic, I think Julio strengthens my argument about how being kind to certain loved ones doesn't make one necessarily good person. Yosuke's apology and the effort to make amends seems genuine and sincere here that he's not hateable despite his betrayal (still at fault).

Those are the negative influence a demon cult brings and how an admirable trait turned negative, and that should be stopped. Doesn't mean the way is strictly 'murder anyone who is bad' though, if there are other less violent ways that can be thought of, which Ikki is considering and looking for ways to separate demons without killing humans. This is expected if a Rider series made the main protagonist to be straight-up heroic, of which Ikki is made like that too (and him being focused on family is him taking small steps, not him neglecting others for family), at least for now (if the implications of his negativity via Vice comes later), that other than saving and (too much of) helping others, he'd try to go for more civil solutions and best case scenarios if able.

Well, I feel like the negative influence of a demon cult is right there in the name? Hard to argue that even the most supportive and thoughtful demon cult isn't inherently detrimental to someone's emotional health and/or immortal soul.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 18 - “THE TRAJECTORY OF BUDDIES & THE MIRACLE FIRE AND ICE”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice18a.png

So much of what makes Revice interesting as a show is how it wants to talk about forgiveness as a concept.

It’s as baked into this show as any theme I can think of; maybe even more so than, like, Family. The inner demons are the things we can’t forgive about ourselves. The Giffamilia preyed on victims who can’t forgive their transgressors, or even just the people who didn’t suffer as they did. Fenix is a societal structure that would rather incarcerate or destroy than reform or rehabilitate; forgiveness as an existential threat to community and stability. It’s a constant thread through this series, how hard and necessary it is to forgive not just each other, but ourselves. We get a nice exploration of that in this story, as Julio/Tamaki discovers that everyone is both hero and villain, so there’s no need to hold grudges or cast blame in a friendship; and Ikki and Vice talk about what they really are to each other.

As much as the melodrama of the Julio story was memorable, it’s the Ikki/Vice story that really landed with me this time. Ikki’s spent the last 17 episodes treating Vice as, alternately, a curse, a burden, a pest, and occasionally as a family member. (Which usually means one of the other descriptions as well!) This is the episode where he really starts to understand that Vice is, and always has been, an aspect of himself.

It’s the sort of revelation that could ring hollow in another show. Once we’d met Kagerou – and especially once we met Lovekov – it was clear that Vice wasn’t some summoned wish monster from the end of time or whatever. Vice is a part of Ikki, even if Ikki would rather that not be true. When George was telling them that they needed to be unified to harness the full power of Volcano Rex, he didn’t mean that they should get along or be friends; he was telling them that they needed to see each other as the same person, which Vice always had. The unity they needed was just Ikki letting himself see that Vice was a part of him, instead of an anchor or a distraction. Recognizing that we’re not always the victim… it’s hard.

And that’s the Julio part of this episode as well: the ability to see ourselves outside of our own pain and resentment and guilt; to forgive our failings; and to forgive other people for how they’ve hurt us. His story with Yousuke is full of mistakes and regret, but neither of them are totally blameless. Yousuke hurt Tamaki, and Tamaki refused to see that Yousuke was trying to fix things. Forgiveness is a thing people have to earn, but it’s also a thing we need to offer. It’s difficult to see past our own pain, to find sympathy for the people who have hurt us, but it’s better than letting pain be the substitute for happiness.

It’s not an episode where everything works out for everyone, sadly. Yousuke’s brutally murdered in front of Julio to give heel heat to Olteca, in a scene that’d feel gratuitous if it didn’t feel so completely in-character. Olteca could not give two shits about Julio and his motivating torment, so why not twist the knife if he has the chance? There’s redemption for Ikki, though, as he successfully separates Julio from his Phase 3 form… so that Julio can now wallow in his anguish as a human being, instead of as a rampaging monster. Y– yay?

I liked this episode, despite the downer ending for half of the plot. The real ending is Vice giving Ikki a piggyback ride at sunset, one person where there used to be two. It’s a nice manifestation of this show’s thoughts on forgiveness, that shot. It’s Ikki seeing that part of himself as something other than a spectral adversary, or a short-term burden. It’s him seeing Vice as a valid part of himself, and one he’ll need if he wants to help the most amount of people. It’s forgiveness as the key to greater happiness, both for ourselves and for the people we care about.

Can’t think of a more heroic thing than that.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice18b.png

Well there’s the whole plot with Ikki and Vice renewing their contract and Julio managing to use the power of hatred to become stronger (before this episode aired, a lot of people assumed he’d attain this form from being stamped with the Giff Stamp). But my main takeaway is that last scene with Hiromi.

First off the scene introduces new character Akemi Mokishiba, played by Sayaka Fujioka (no relation to Hiroshi) from the Takarazuka Revue. As part of that group, she’s known as Michiru Kaioh/Sailor Neptune from their Sera Myu productions. In the world of Tokusatsu, she played Cinderella in an episode of ToQger.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...0844FAB3D.jpeg

Second of all, we learn that Hiromi is 80 years old now, which gave the world this comment, as it seemed the next episode would FINALLY give us some screen time dedicated to him.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...E2922AD41.jpeg

(The first half of the comment is talking about the guest stars for that episode, which either I or Switchblade will talk about tomorrow)

Finally, a bit more BTS information. Julio was originally supposed to be killed by Olteca after Revice de powered him, but Kinoshita thought a redemption arc would be a more unique and interesting path than killing him just as he was starting to reform.

Olteca: It’s Olteca’s and…

Kanae: Kanae Motomura’s…

Both: Deadmans Stamp Navi.

Olteca: And today, we’ll be looking at this Vistamp. You may know it well.

Giff Junior!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TA7A3GlUnPY

Deadmans Up! Gracias! Deadmans! Giff Junior!

Olteca: The Giff Junior Stamp contains fragments of Gif’s alien DNA. When stamped, some of these cells are unleashed and take on humanoid form, creating the Giff Juniors.

Kanae: Wait a minute. Did you just say Giff-sama was… an alien?

Olteca: But I no longer have need for this. The Giff Stamp unleashes more concentrated amounts of the same, which when given a human body to incubate in, creates an army of stronger soldiers for my conquest. And once I take my prize back from FENIX, I will be unstoppable.

Kanae: Um, Olteca-sama, you’re scaring me here.

Olteca: I hope you enjoy the next instalment.

True, but people made up Aguilera as a benevolent figure at that time (the typical justifying villain kind). Not to mention regarding how Aguilera would usually abuse him.

I'd admit, George's portrayal here is mostly wholesome that he seems genuinely on good side here (still the more morally dubious type, but not evil). His suggestion for Ikki to save himself by not thinking about separating demon is done similarly to Daiji's suggestion, that it's not done to demean Ikki or his more idealistic approach, but out of concern. He also acts pretty much as a mentor to him by telling him about what's going on as well as guiding him on using the Volcano Rex, in a straightforward way. Albeit George has been mostly good to Ikki, like him allowing Ikki to keep the belt at first episode.

There's setup of Hiromi being biologically 80 years old according to Mikoshiba Akemi, the female Fenix doctor. She seems to be someone no-nonsense and strict, but this is done for Hiromi's sake. Ironically, despite chastising Hiromi for his Rider activities, Akemi seems to be someone workaholic and pushing as well, with several energy drink bottles she drank. I guess probably it'd be revealed the consequences of Demons not unleashing Hiromi's inner demon. The director Hideo seems even more suspicious with him being enthusiastic to Giff's body. Honestly, Fenix is a shady organization, but the members, except George and Akaishi, are generally genuinely good and noble people fighting for just cause.

Actually, Ikki and Vice have gotten along since ep. 13, though this episode takes their bond to a further level as Ikki refers to Vice as aibou. More about Ikki is shown here as well with him being someone that has existential crisis, with his current action of taking care of others but himself being the means for him to look for himself. Would see later on how existential crisis being handled, but for Ikki apparently, going for more ethical solution is selfish due to his failure there compared to just resorting into killing Deadmans. This shows quite harsh truth that being more idealistic can be more difficult and costly, that Ikki likely can end the potential victims Olteca can create if he finished off the Deadmans.

That doesn't mean he's selfish for that though, or that he should give up on it (of which there can be bad consequences on other parts), your morals or goodness aren't necessarily determined by the result (including villains that created birth of heroes, many in KR of which heroes' powers can originate from villain's), that sometimes it's just your incapability instead of selfishness. For him being 'selfish' due to him dragging Vice into danger, it's the one that is used to reaffirm their escalating partnership, with Vice now acting as Ikki's emotional support despite the rocky start, and for this one, there are no Vice "corrupting" Ikki to console him. Vice seems to have changed for the better this time, with Ikki's faith of him (piggybacking him) paid off.

Ikki and Vice's fight and teamwork, despite the contradicting powers, is shown really well and it's one of the fight choreography in KR that impressed me. It shows a good use of ice and fire power, with Vice freezing Riot Form to hold him in place for Revi's punch. Another one I liked is Vice utilizing Revi's fire by creating ice sword handle to make a fire sword.

Daiji's reaction of Ikki literally being burned with rage is just reprimanding Ikki for his behavior again. So this shows further that Daiji can feel under Ikki's shadow but doesn't hate him, all his "feuds" with Ikki are only about Ikki's bad habits. Despite showing sympathy to Aguilera, Sakura still holds some grudge to Tamaki, of which while understandable, still Aguilera had done more harm to her compared to Tamaki (albeit Tamaki was a double-crosser). Their fights on Julio's Riot Form, this kinda shafted Sakura a bit that Live did a bit better, when Jeanne's the one that is considered having biggest potential.

Yeah, the blame isn't only on the traitor, but he himself has a share for not considering Yosuke's condition that, he too was bullied. There can be cases where both parties share certain portion of blame. That's some good bait for them to make Julio say no to Yosuke's offer at first, thought as a rejection, but actually it's Julio blaming himself a bit. Disagree with Julio Learning That Everyone Is A Hero And Villain though, while human can be complex like that to be multifaceted, I don't like the view that lumps every single humans together as the same like that.

Now Olteca's on his way turning into an irredeemable pure evil villain, now he didn't only carry out his schemes like in first arc, but they emphasized his cruelty with his utter glee and satisfaction in killing humans for Giftarian as well as his psychological torture to Julio by killing Yosuke as they're in process of reconciling. Yosuke's death here does raise points for Julio's sympathy, but there's still no redemption for him here (or he had some by asking for heroes' favor in rather civil manner, but pushed back by Olteca). In fact, it just escalates his threat, seen in him gaining much stronger Riot Form, as well as him rampaging in the city (he turns into Fenix' main attention). He does fight Olteca, but targeting evil person doesn't make you good, it'd be a case of evil vs evil. Riot Form has awesome showing here, back into Kuuga-like scale of nuclear-explosions.

Thanks for the info, and for the fun skit!

I guess? We rarely get a sense of how large of an organization Fenix is, really. Some episodes make it seem like George, Hiromi, and Daiji are the only ones left to man the fort, until a new random character shows up like they've always been there. I'd hope most members are dedicated servants of justice, but maybe they're just cashing a paycheck?

Beyond that, this is a post-Showa Kamen Rider series, so it's best to go in with the belief that Fenix is already horrifically compromised and destined to oppose our heroes through actions that make the Giffamilia look like the Kamen Rider Kid Corps. "Shady", as a descriptor for modern Kamen Rider organizations, is frequently underselling it.

Obviously there can be more neutral party on what seems to be a good force (and I do agree that those joining a noble occupation isn't inherently more heroic than others, of which Fenix to public would be like soldier type), though at least among the current cast, the servants of justice (Hiromi, Daiji, several soldiers aiding those 2, Akemi, real Wakabayashi) outweigh the ones who aren't (George, Akaishi). About Fenix being compromised and opposing heroes, same applies to SoL from Saber before, I mean while the true nature of the organization is rotten, the noble members are still just and aren't at fault, just not all-knowing about the true nature, like people such as Rintaro being a part of SoL.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 19 - “DEMONS ON WARNING, HIROMI SURROUNDED!?”

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I wonder what it would be like if one of these big military organizations in a Kamen Rider show wasn’t secretly villainous. (Or, y’know, not so secretly villainous: when your big boss wears black gloves to the office and has a Resting Sinister Smirk Face, it’s fair to say we’re past the point of wondering if Fenix can be trusted.) I wonder what it would be like for the corporate/military version of Rintaro’s not-suspicious introduction off of Saber, where benevolence was the first, last, and only mode of the troopers entrusted with the world’s safety.

There’s a nice consistency to it, if nothing else. A skepticism of authority is sort of baked into the franchise, where a lone hero battles for the soul of humanity, society’s expectations be damned. The things a Kamen Rider protects are self-determination, individuality, peace; those are all sort of antithetical to gigantic organizations in general, and military organizations in particular. There’s an incongruity to a Kamen Rider existing within a formal command structure, so it makes more sense to disassociate the hero from the structure at some point.

But there’s a banality to this type of story, where OF COURSE Fenix is up to something, and every Fenix storyline to date is just figuring out who the newest traitor is and why. Hell, the only way we ever seem to meet new Fenix soldiers is if they’re either a traitor or suspected of being a traitor, which makes me feel like the recruiting office is just signing up every scheming asshole and trusting patsy they can find to fill out the quotas. There’s never a point where Fenix seems competent, or useful. They were falling apart when we met them, and their slow-motion collapse is the main attribute of these parts of the show.

This episode’s version is getting introduced to Hiromi’s Fenix boot camp chums, and figuring out which of them is a traitor, and which is just a hilariously bad friend. Let’s look at our suspects!

Chigusa’s our traitor, which is only mostly obvious. I think the actor did a fairly good job of making her Devoted Friend cover story feel natural and trustworthy. It’s never cloying or helpless, it’s just her being a good soldier who’s trying to support her friend… because her friend is Hiromi, a guy who would give his life to protect an ice cube in summer. He’s especially hopeless at maintaining his ability to stand upright and move blood through his body in the episode, so her concern comes across as attentive and critical. She’s a good friend …and, naturally, she’s the traitor, for reasons that have yet to be fully established. The switch is from Worried Comrade to Pro-Ice Killer, and it’s a swing that’s a little farther than I’d’ve liked. It definitely feels like she wishes she’d put a bullet in Hiromi’s head years ago, so I’m curious what Terrible Secret that Fenix is hiding that’d validate her full-on disdain of her former comrades.

Comrades like Tatsuhiko, who isn’t a traitor, but is somehow a worse friend than the woman who is trying to kill both him and Hiromi. He’s worried about Hiromi’s health – the absolute worst-kept secret in all of Fenix; did George post on TikTok that Hiromi has the body of an 80-year old man for laughs? – and he’s aware that the Demons Driver is the culprit. (Not sure how much this is supposed to come across as a surprise? Tatsuhiko treats it like something that isn’t common knowledge, but there was never any other reasonable explanation for Hiromi’s rapidly deteriorating health than You Used Mysterious Technology To Simulate Demonic Power You Numbskull.) So far, so good. But he opts to show his concern by first humiliating Hiromi, then disrespecting him, and finally almost getting both of them killed. It’s… not a great way to show your friend that you care about him? Sort of bad, actually!

But all three of these deranged soldiers were trained by Wakabayashi in his pre-Commander Chameleon days, so it sort of tracks that they’re all hilariously broken and incapable of functioning in ways you or I might recognize as emotionally coherent. Their training was all Push Past Your Weakness And Be A Hero, to a degree that even Daiji (who was so catastrophically ruined by feelings of inadequacy that he manifested those feelings as a heavily made-up duplicate whose main fandoms were My Chemical Romance and Fratricide) recognizes this manly dedication to heroism as troubling, if not full-on suicidal. None of these three Fenix troops managed to survive their own training with their heads in a good place, and they’re probably considered the successes!

Which just gets back to my original point: what if one of these organizations was good? Good as a concept, and good at their jobs. What if there was anyone in Fenix that wasn’t a traitor, or a weird creep that you assume is a traitor, or clearly just doing mad science because they’re a sociopath, or whatever is up with that probably-sadistic new boss that’s haunting the skybase. What if one of these stories wasn’t overly concerned with the least surprising twists in tokusatsu, and let these background guys just be background guys?

I long for the day!

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