So yeah, that was Kuuga’s world.

A lot has already been said, so I’ll default to the basics.

Yashiro’s actress was previously in Faiz as one of the bullies who tormented Yuka. In between the two shows, she had a regular stint on Madan Senki Ryukendo (the Takara-produced Tokusatsu show that outsold both Rider and Sentai, but had way worse ratings) as a flower girl.

One thing I remember about these episodes that isn’t actually in the episodes themselves is that Tsukasa’s actor actually spoke with a legal expert about Tsukasa’s action in the first episode and how much jail time they would earn him if he were a real person (22 years for impersonating an officer, tampering with evidence, withholding evidence, barging into a police meeting and assaulting an officer)

Also had a major role in the third Garo series.

You know I knew she looked familiar, I just couldn't place my finger on it until you said that just right now.

Yeah, I like the A.R. take. The main problem with bringing back previous actors, rather than previous characters/shows, is that it can overshadow the current Rider. Like, Decade can tell a Kuuga story that still makes Tsukasa look good, but you bring back Joe Odagiri? Ain't no one paying attention to Team Decade if that happens. Recasting and reconceiving makes everything feel like it's still supporting Decade's journey, rather than him being the host for a Rider Reunion Special.

It is so, so gross.

Very cool! Thanks!

My assumption has always been that they realized that they weren't going to get everybody back, so they decided to go with an all or nothing approach.

Yeah, this is what I figured as well. From the start if you're doing a series focused very specifically on these past 9 shows, and you know you can't get their main leads back to begin with (especially Joe Odagiri), then you may as well play around with that. I prefer that they went with this approach; trying to nail down the spirit of each show rather than trying to do a direct continuation and tribute that ends up half-baked due to the limitations of who you're able to get back.

... then again, I still like Zi-O and love Gokaiger, but... I dunno, it's different for Decade imo

I think it was probably the right choice. Trying to do a middle road where you have Tsukasa hanging out with Shouichi, Wataru, and Kenzaki, then there are just three completely random new guys as Kuuga, Kabuto, and Hibiki would have been a complete mess. The new guys still feel weird, but it's a consistent weirdness.

I think that both Gokaiger and Zi-O had an easier time than Decade with being anniversary shows. Gokaiger had whole Sentai teams to pay tribute to, so if one actor didn't want to come back there were 2-5 other options. To avoid spoilers for Die's sake, I'll just leave it at that Zi-O found ways to work with characters that weren't necessarily the title Kamen Rider in a way that Decade really couldn't, given its premise and Tsukasa's power set. Decade really needed to have those nine main Riders.

First of all, I'd like to say that I was honestly really psyched about being the one who got to help cover these particular episodes of Decade, even if I was apparently the only real option according to Die. There's a lot of sentimental value there what with this being the original Decade two-parter, and the opportunity to really get in on the ground floor of this thread talking about alternate counterparts and big dumb action climaxes and all that is one I'm grateful for having. So grateful, even, that I'm going to keep talking about them for a bit!

- First of all, the episode guide I referenced is right here, just in case anyone is anyone curious.

- Probably worth bringing up that Ishinomori's real name was Shoutarou Onodera.

- Die calling my interpretation of that scene with Newsuke and his bike a "good catch" is maybe giving me way too much credit. I ended up watching episode 2 a whole day before 3, and spent most of that gap kicking that specific scene around in my head not because I had some genius read of it ready to go, but because I was wondering why the heck Tasaki directed it to look so aggressively meaningful.
The camerawork is going out of its way to scream at the viewer about how important the bike's lack of motion is, using these abrupt cuts where it pans over like Newsuke is about to drive off before smashing right back where it was, and if it weren't for that inspired direction giving me pause for thought, I would've let the moment slip right by. Tasaki was being smart so I didn't have to be! (And while I'm on the subject, there's a certain novelty to seeing Tasaki direct something even Kuuga-adjacent in general, since he started working on Rider with Agito.)

- Tsukasa and Natsumi maybe have one of my favorite hero/heroine dynamics in Rider history, by the way? They're constantly giving each other crap in a way that's about as dysfunctional as you'd expect from Heisei Rider, but at the same time you can tell they care about each other quite a bit, complete with him having a pet name for her and her always calling him Tsukasa-kun all affectionately.

- I'm going to take Die up on that offer to gush about the Decade fight music here. It's real good. I know I spent a couple months raving about Kiva's soundtrack like it was untouchable, but truth be told, Rider soundtracks are just kinda really good basically all the time? And in Decade's case, it's the big BGM debut of Shuuhei Naruse and Koutarou Nakagawa, the dynamic duo who would define an entire new era of Rider, with one or both of them doing the music for every show from here to Wizard, and then Drive after that. (Nakagawa will also be handling Revice, too!) As can be gathered from how Toei started leaning on them THAT heavily for a period, they're pretty darn good at what they do, and despite having an identifiable "sound", one of the things that's most commendable about their Rider soundtracks is how they pick and choose styles and genres to create the right tone for each show.
Part of the reason they got both of them for Decade specifically was to represent the sort of duality of the character by having Naruse handle the "Tsukasa" side of the music, resulting in a glorious Latin sound that is indeed 100% Tsukasa; and letting Nakagawa create that big blockbuster movie sound with the "world" side of the music, representing Tsukasa more as a "destroyer" with epic tracks that just make you wanna brandish a trading card and tell someone you're a passing-through Kamen Rider. Both of those tracks I just linked are instantly memorable themes, by the way, as tends to be the case with this team of composers. Truly iconic stuff. Letting these guys do like five more shows was a very good decision!

They've always felt very much like siblings to me? And way more than most blood siblings in Toku usually do; they feel very real and grounded in how much they annoy and nag and can't stand each other but in a very affectionate way. Their relationship is so fun and endearing and one of my favourite things about the show!

Oh yeah I agree heavily on this and Fish's points, the two definitely have a really strong dynamic with each other and it's just nice to see. Like I was always trying to figure out in the back of my head like, what kind of relationship the two had. But them being described as siblings always escaped me, and yet when you put it like that... it just clicks in place?

Ah yes these two tracks, the two tracks that I always think about when listening to Decade. I always loved that Latin flare for Tsukasa, it's very much his thing. Now to add them to my Rider OST playlist I have. Also can I just say I love how music (mostly OST stuff) on Youtube been a lot more easier to find if you know where to look for it?