It's also an amazing window into Takumi's subconscious, netting it the Kamen Rider trifecta of Theme/Humor/Toys.

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 45 - "RELIVING A BLANK DAY”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den45a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den45b.png

Oh, Kamen Rider Den-O. What am I going to do with you?

This episode seems like the start of the final story. It's chockablock with Time Nonsense, as Ryotaro is discovering that his memories of Sakurai's disappearance (and Airi's resulting amnesia) are incomplete. There's a third stopwatch, a more-stubborn-than-usual Yuuto, and a disappearing Airi and Sakurai. It's almost wall-to-wall scenes of Ryotaro trying to puzzle out what really happened to Sakurai, and being greeted by ever more baffling evidence.

I mostly resented this episode.

There's a nugget of a thing I like about Den-O that was in this episode. Ryotaro's insistence on uncovering the truth that's being hidden from him, the memories he's lost, it's grounded in the show's belief that memories aren't good or bad, they're what you make of them. Tragic memories can give you strength in the present. Happy memories can haunt you. It's up to you to give your memories value and purpose. Yuuto's obstinate refusal to engage with Ryotaro's concerns, on the grounds that what he'd learn would sadden him, can't possibly work to dissuade Ryotaro. Ryotaro isn't looking for comfort or solace in these memories, he's looking for understanding. Even if he learns something horrible, he'll still be learning something, and there's value in the learning. That's a nice moral from the writer behind Ryuki, a show about the value of curiosity.

That's pretty much all I liked about this episode, and it's something that happens in one scene that I thought about for maybe two minutes.

Everything else is... I mean, god, I'm going to sound like a broken record if I list everything that bothered me, and I want to write it even less than you want to read it. I'd rather just have this be a short post than vent my anger at a show that treats Plot and Entertainment as two competing resources, at least from my own experience. It's just mysteries answered with questions confronted with skeptical looks accompanied by unconvincing denials topped off with murkiness. I didn't understand anything that happened in the last several minutes of the show, and I mostly didn't care about anything preceding it. The plot is infuriatingly opaque, and I'm so far past the point of hoping it'll get better. At this point, I'm just trying to get through it.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den45c.png

THE BAGGAGE CAR

-If this shorter post and adversarial treatment of one of the most beloved parts of the Kamen Rider franchise hasn't made you sick of me for one night, you can head over to DreamSword's Let's Play for Memory of Heroez, where I was given the opportunity to sit in for a session. It was a very fun experience, and DS is a gracious host. Check it out!

-It is almost adorable how badly Yuuto does at talking Ryotaro out of investigating Sakurai's disappearance. I took a minute to accurately transcribe their standoff in Kamen Rider Plaza, in case you've forgotten the scene:

YUUTO: Don't go back in time to that date, Ryotaro!
RYOTARO: Why? What aren't you telling me?
YUUTO: Don't!
RYOTARO: What are you hiding from me, Yuuto?
YUUTO: DON'T!
RYOTARO: ...okay, I'm just going to go.
YUUTO: DON'T
RYOTARO: *loads ticket into Rider Pass*
YUUTO: DON'T
RYOTARO: *leaves on DenLiner*
YUUTO: *to literally no one* DON'T

It's a cunning strategy, keenly applied, but somehow Ryotaro circumvents it. Ryotaro's intelligence and insight would give Tendou a run for his money!

-I wonder if Sword Form's kinship with Santa is because Momotaros is also a red wish-granting imaginary hero?

So here it is, Merry Christmas. Everybody’s having fun… except Die apparently.

Let’s start be recounting where people can see the further exploits of Frosty the Snowmagin.

Toru Okawa.

Notable Anime roles: Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist, Shibata Katsuie in Nobunaga no Shinobi, Rufus Shinra in Final Fantasy VII: The Origin.

Notable Tokusatsu roles: Mummy Legendorga in Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World, Butterfly Absolute God Deboss in Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger.

Notable video game roles: Joseph Joestar in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Detective Pikachu in Detective Pikachu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Onimusha: Dawn of Dream, Rikimaru in the Tenchu series.

Notable dubbing roles: “Ra’s al Ghul” in Batman Begins, Salvador Dali in Midnight in Paris, Adrien Toomes/Vulture in Spider-Man Homecoming, the Colonel in War for the Planet of the Apes, Thompson in The Adventures of Tintin, Coach McGuirk in Home Movies, Victor Quartermaine in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

As for how convoluted things are getting… you ain’t seen nothing yet.

I hate this? I hate feeling like this at the end of a show. I hate being a guy who comes to a board and complains, about anything, not least of all a show that I've enjoyed large chunks of (less so in the second half, but still) and overall enjoy.

I would so much rather come here and rave about something, or ponder over the significance of a story choice, than I would endlessly repeat Why Does This Show Refuse To Answer One Question Before Moving On To The Next. It bums me out to be a person who does that! I like liking Kamen Rider!

Ahaha. Haha. Ha. This resonates way too much with me.


Not about Den-O though, because I remember genuinely liking this stretch of episodes at the end? There's a real rush and excitement to it, nothing in here I could say I particularly disliked

Mood. So instead, let's look at something I bought ages ago and only now put togther!

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...571&height=426
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...319&height=427

The best Den-O form, the egotist himself, Mr Wing Form. I hate those shoulder stickers.

The thing that's really been getting me lately is how little the Imagin are getting involved with the story anymore. Yeah, there was the episode with Ryotaro's doubt about partnering with them anymore, but they're generally feeling really removed from the main story now. Part of that is Liner Form being the hot new toy, but even in the civilian scenes we aren't getting much of them. Apart from the fight, all they did this episode was goof around on the train, which had zero bearing on the plot. I like Ryotaro taking more agency for himself, but I miss having the possessions pop in to make things more interesting.

Things I don't miss that haven't been in the show for a hot minute? Ozaki and Miura.

Oh fair enough, I thought I'm trying to type it long enough (but ofc not longer than the main posters) is to give more room to talk, but I guess I said too much there. Dunno if you still can but here then.

Tragic memories, despite the popular belief that they are justified explanation for someone being mean asshole or outright evil, they can also be something that makes them more empathetic and kinder (or improves those who are already kind and generous), being the first to reach a hand out, due to using the knowledge of the feeling of hell along with compassion. I̶ ̶w̶o̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶R̶y̶o̶t̶a̶r̶o̶'̶s̶ ̶b̶a̶d̶ ̶l̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶s̶h̶a̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶q̶u̶a̶l̶i̶t̶i̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶At worse he's only not acting upbeat, but he doesn't seem to upset from his bad luck status. But at the very least, if he learns something horrible, tragic memories would be a relatively piece of cake for Ryotaro to handle, and it kinda makes sense, judging from him being used to his bad luck that he didn't seem too upset.

Oh right, I've forgotten the term but you brought it up here, now I remember again the uneasiness I feel when I reply like certain part, I want to convey something that I find it right, but I'm afraid of it sounding like broken record. Actually I thought for Den-O being beloved, you'll always overlook the plot part of the series (well, you actually did too at certain part of the series), like people who are of course Den-O, fans commonly describing the series as great in characters, but not in plot, as this episode still had the usual Den-O comedy slapstick, like the chrismas scene and a part of Ryotaro's curiousity that had him falling over.

Talking about Ryotaro's intelligence and insight giving Tendou a run for his money, it's a shame that it would be overshadowed by Ryotaro's loser status, especially for those who dislike him due to that status, but it shows that being intelligent and insightful has no correlation to being mean and hardass, unlike what some imply.

This is another statement that really goes to show how polarized our opinions on Den-O get, because there's a bit from my post talking about Climax Form's debut during my rewatch that reads like this...

...and that's still very much something I stand by. Den-O to me is one of those series that just gets better and better the longer it goes on, and a huge amount of my favorite material in it comes from that second half.

You might feel bad about feeling bad about these parts of Den-O, but rest assured, it's at least fascinating seeing such a wildly different perspective. Just try thinking of it this way – the absolute worst that can happen is you accidentally creating a "Fish Sandwich rewatches Kamen Rider Den-O" thread. :p

Those are mighty kind words coming from someone who basically outright carried the latest episode. :)

oh boy i cant wait until we get to kiva