Originally yes, it was Ryotaro and the Taros. But after Takeru Sato who played Ryotaro went onto do bigger things and hiring him got pricy it shifted to The Taros pretty much.
Random tangent, I wonder what a crossover of Otoya and Yuri with the Toei tokusatsu heroes of 1986 would be like. Exhibit A we got Flashman, a group of spandex-clad former human abductees-turned-heroes from outer space and exhibit B we got Spielvan and Diana, an extradimensional armored warrior couple. I was hoping there would be a scene where they would play one of these shows off on the background randomly as a nod to the year but sadly they missed that mark. Heck, Inoue worked on select episodes of Flashman so double shame.

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 13 - "UNFINISHED: DADDY FIGHT”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13a.png

Let me just get this out of the way: there really wasn't much of a Daddy Fight in this episode, which is an almost unforgivable letdown. There's some wiggle room in how you want to define Daddy Fight, I guess, so it's not that there were zero Daddies and zero Fights. Otoya fought Jirou in this one (Zanki no more; dude earned a real name), so a Daddy was in a Fight. Technically, they were fighting over Jirou's intention to put some Clawolves into Yuri, so that could maybe be termed a Daddy Fight. I don't know, it's like… it's like, I shouldn't have to squint to see a Daddy Fight in an episode subtitled Daddy Fight. I don't feel like the show delivered on the promise of Daddy Fight. That's a heartbreak it'll be difficult to overcome.

Luckily, this was an absolutely stunning visual outing for Kamen Rider Kiva, so I'm feeling magnanimous. (I got one or two positive qualities! Like Otoya!) This one's so pretty to look at that I can't feel too wounded about a dearth of Daddies and a fraction of a Fight. Like, look at what the director is doing in this episode:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13b1.png

The design of this bedroom/apartment is perfect. It's the focus of Kengo's dream: music, everywhere, but with that great big window to dream of success. The way the right side of the shot is this massive guitar, and the left side of the shot is this giant stack of CD cases (2008!), it just visually communicates everything we need to know about how all-encompassing Kengo's dedication is to be a rock star.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13c.png

I am a sucker for a director using an open window to signify a character's longing, and this one is another great example of that motif. It's Kengo practically bursting through the screen (Wataru, the star, is mostly obscured) to grab at his dream.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13d1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13d2.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13d3.png

I just love the simplicity of this gag, how it's all built on Wataru's minor changes in expression. Wataru is one of the least-demonstrative Riders, even with his best friend. (And, man, how great is it to see Wataru getting to just enjoy hanging out with a friend?!) So when Wataru's trying to understand Kengo's declaration that the two of them are going to be rock stars, the director really drills in on how to visualize Wataru putting the pieces together. It's Wataru's gigantic, blank expression; his unfocused eyes; and this slowly moving finger. And then this tiny drop of his eyebrows, the start of Wataru's OH SHIT realization that his best friend has a dream for them both that Wataru doesn't really share.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13e.png

Another perfect, perfect new set. The other members of the Monster Squad have taken up massage and shoe shining, no explanation required, and the set is exactly what you'd assume monsters would create. The lighting is foreboding and garish. The various posters shout I Don't Know How A Human Body Is Supposed To Work. It's constructed out of imposing chain link fences and housed underneath a bridge. It's just wrong, all wrong. So of course Jirou is comfortable there, being sat on by a Gillagoon and a Frankenbury. He's never looked more inhuman, and I've never seen him more at peace.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13f1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13f2.png

This was the thing that made me really start sitting up and taking notice of what the director was doing. The way he's giving you context and exposition visually! Placing their monster forms in the mirrors, so that you get that they're not human, and still letting the human performers get across the specific notes of menace required to stoke the audience's unease! It's so smart! And striking! These shots are beautifully composed.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13g.png

Same thing with this one. This is the full Jirou Is A Bad Guy shot. Perfect. Strips away all of the pretense to deliver malevolence. Love it!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13h1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13h2.png

This scene is maybe my favorite scene in Kiva so far. Wataru's uncertain of how to break it to Kengo that their dream is really Kengo's dream, so he invites Kengo to his home to discuss it. After that, it's just raw, honest emotion. Wataru tells Kengo that he's become a better person because of Kengo's friendship, and the enthusiasm that Kengo has for his dream of being a rock star, but that Wataru's dream is to make an exceptional violin, a different kind of work of art. And Kengo rebuffs him, calls Wataru's singular goal selfish. It's petty and selfish of Kengo, some real ugliness. But when Wataru plays his violin, shows Kengo what he's capable of on his own when he follows his heart, Kengo is won over. He admits his mistake in trying to drag Wataru along on his dream of rock stardom, and is genuinely excited for Wataru's potential. It's a heartwarming moment.

And it only works because of how the scene gets Kengo from Selfish to Selfless. It's mostly accomplished through how this shot is framed. After Wataru finishes playing, Kengo moves to Wataru to congratulate him. Wataru bares his soul, and Kengo moves to him. It's all about Kengo realizing he made a mistake, and bridging that divide. It's the acknowledgement, physically and verbally, that it's Kengo who screwed up. Just an incredibly sweet scene, executed smartly.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13i1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13i2.png

Oh, but there's more smart directing in this scene. Kengo's actually a wounded party in this story, too. He's sad that Wataru didn't trust him enough to confide in him earlier. Wataru's reluctance to speak up and vocalize his feelings made Kengo believe in something that wasn't what Wataru wanted.

As Kengo's recounting the ways Wataru made things more difficult for both of them, the camera's drooping down. Besides keeping the scene visually engaging, it's also multiplying the dread of Kengo's accusations. It feels aggrieved, maligned. Kengo is hurt, and the camera has this drop to it, like we're falling into darkness.

But then Kengo gets over his own embarrassment at misreading Wataru's interest, and his resentment towards Wataru for not thinking enough of a friend to be honest, and resolves to support Wataru's dream, whatever it is. Success isn't a zero-sum game. They can both achieve their goals, and Kengo wants to make that happen.

Once Kengo regains his optimism and enthusiasm, the camera stops dropping and starts rising. It's buoyant now, energized. We're raising up to meet Kengo's spirits. It's liberating. The whole sequence is shot with so much emotional intelligence, so much care and consideration. It's a tiny moment of friendship in a superhero show, and it's by far the best writing and directing this show has had to date.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13j.png

This scene transition was a great composition. It's a newly solo Kengo trying to figure out what his next move is, and so we find him at a bizarre angle. He looks uncomfortable, even laying down. It's doing a great job of communicating how spun around and unsettled Kengo is after his talk with Wataru.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13k.png

This was a striking shot, and I can't even begin to figure out why it looks this way. It could be the director trying to spare the audience the visual of Jirou kicking the crap out of Otoya in the forest. Or it could be a subtle hint that Otoya will soon be IXAlso, a bright light of justice. I don't know. It's just such a weirdly pretty shot that I wanted to call it out.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13l.png

Every so often, I'll think Am I Seeing Ghost In This Show For No Reason, and then there'll be a shot of Wataru's bed beneath his heroic workspace. This is more vertical storytelling the director found in this space, keeping Shizuka on a higher level than Wataru. She's got the God's-eye view of the story, able to figure out how Kengo's patron is taking advantage of him. Wataru, adorably, chides her for her suspicious nature. He's almost a dick about it, which is both so unusual for Wataru, and so colossally off-base, that the joke lands beautifully. The way Wataru ducks out from underneath the ceiling to drive home how disappointed he is in Shizuka for not believing that Kengo should give a bunch of money to a stranger to be a star! And he's so pleased with himself for putting Shizuka in her place with his unimpeachable logic! Adorable!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13m.png

There's a lot done with reflections in this episode, and here's the story's Fangire. It's a great shot for how it's focused simultaneously on the victim's fear, and the approaching Fangire in the reflection. Really solid monster intro.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13n.png

The start to the one-and-only Daddy Fight uses one of the tricks from the Kengo/Wataru talk. The camera slows drops down on Otoya and Jirou as they're threatening each other, letting the tension incrementally build as the camera angles down one. More. Degree. It's excruciatingly slow, and it had me salivating for their fight.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13o1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13o2.png

Hard to get across in stills, but Jirou's dominance is communicated through the way Otoya is static, the camera slowly pushes in on him, and Jirou stalks him in a spiral. It's giving Jirou all the power in the shot, all the freedom. He's moving with grace, with impunity. He's already beaten Otoya; it's just that Otoya hasn't figured it out yet.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13p1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13p2.png

One of the best things about the fights at the conclusion of this episode is how the director finds subtle ways to tie them together, even though they're about completely different things. (I mean, they aren't really: they're both about protecting people you care about from those that would prey on them. It's just, Wataru doesn't know that right now?) Both fights have the Kurenai men trying to take down a monster, so here's the monster's victim in the foreground of the start of each fight! Great visual touch. (Also, that headbutt from Otoya! Cool as hell!)

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13q.png

nbd, just the monster squad, unchanged from 22 years in the belly of a dragon cathedral, making an ouroboros out of dominoes

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13r1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13r2.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13r3.png

There's so much staging and shooting that's emotionally rich and intelligently planned. And then there's a throw-away gag of Jirou eating a domino. I feel like I shouldn't have to explain why this is funny!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13s.png

Another smart way of tying together Wataru's battle with Daddy Fight '86: these little puddles in the garage. It pulls the rain from Wataru's fight into the conclusion of Otoya's fight in a nice way. It's this little linking element that makes it all feel like one action-packed finale, not two separate climaxes.

This whole episode was… perfect, visually. A million smart choices and clever decisions. The story was great, don't get me wrong (it's all about protecting the people you care about), but the way it was shot was just next level. Very, very entertaining episode of Kiva.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13t1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva13t2.png

Oh, absolutely, I think regardless of where any of us started with Den-o, we're all in this boat—in fact I'm going to push that boat out further and argue that Momo is possibly one of the most recognisable characters of the Heisei era.

Pretty much you can put Momo in anything and you've at least got my attention, even when it's not so great, as was the case here.

So,yeah, you’ve just found out why the IXA figuart comes with an Otoya head. At least I had the benefit of watching the show before Bandai decided to reveal a load of IXA merch on 19th March (sure, I’d read the TV Tropes page, but I hadn’t been paying particular attention).

And now for something on our talent scout (sai) who’s really our MOTW, based on a rhino (Sai).

Rhinoceros Fangire

True name: The Cape with the Shipwreck and the Scarlet Sands (緋色の砂と難破船のある岬 Hiiro no Suna to Nanpasen no Aru Misaki)

Human identity: Tohru Miyake

Class: Beast

Rank: Pawn

Actors: Satoshi Jinbo (Kagawa from Ryuki and Mr. Satake from Fourze), Ryusaku Chiziwa (dub artist for Leonard in The Big Bang Theory) (voice in Fangire form)

And for this episode, it's finally the turn of the track that Die explicitly called the "best piece of music this show has done outside of the main theme" when talking about episode 6. It plays in this one as Wataru is explaining his dream to Kengo, which further explains why that scene went over so well for Die.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8wqU-9gBxM

I mean, the scene and the music ARE both pretty good. Furthering what I was talking about with Wataru earlier, this is the stretch of the show where I really started to become endeared to the guy, and the sense of growth that comes across in that conversation encapsulates why. It's easy to take for granted, but remember that this dude couldn't even speak to other people back in the premiere. And now he's made a friend who, again, is just genuinely supportive and has this fantastic opposites attract kinda chemistry with him, and that bond has helped Wataru find a strength he didn't know he had. I feel like Kengo's character is so perfectly tailored to Wataru's whole fearful shut-in concept, because he's basically proof the world outside isn't always so scary. It's just nice to watch, you know? I like things that are nice.

And those visuals are pretty nice too, aren't they? Again, I've been skimming through the episodes to pick out the music, and this was one where even just quickly jumping around, I kept finding myself taken aback a little by how pretty the shots looked. That's all thanks to the work of our old friend Naoki Tamura (TV Asahi), who handled episodes 13/14 of Kiva, and – kinda sadly with this level of quality – only 13/14. It's good that Die is savoring that work while he can! :p

He's no Music Note, but he does have a certain comfortable and well-earned ubiquity.

Fun fact! I saw some articles going around about a Grease head for an action figure, but I didn't even know it was a Kamen Rider suit. I just thought, like, Grease was in some other hero franchise besides Kamen Rider? Otoya being IXAlso wasn't some huge surprise (it's a toku show with a limited number of cast members; figured he'd wield the knucks at some point), but it wasn't anything I went into the show knowing.

Yeah, it's another great scene where Kengo isn't mad at Wataru, he's mad at the idea that Wataru doesn't think of him as enough of a friend to let Kengo support him. And then! Kengo out loud says Oh Yeah I Was Being A Jerk About This and apologizes to Wataru! This scene exists for me to point emphatically at everytime I say Inoue and someone else says Misunderstandings. No! Not always! There are very specific characters who say what they feel and defuse tense situations with honesty and empathy!

I feel like the show has to get rid of Kengo because, with him around? I don't know that it's going to take Wataru another 30-odd episodes to finish his emotional journey.

That reminds me. There was a guy with the same name as Otoya’s actor (they’re spelt slightly different though) who appeared in a show called Chouseishin Gransazer (which I may have mentioned as the show that outsold Blade) as one of the heroes and the henshin device is a knuckle, similar to the IXA belt (though without the belt).

Yep. The Kouhei Takeda who played Otoya and Kazumi writes his name as 武田航平. The other Kouhei Takeda you have mentioned, who played Ken/Sazer Leon, writes his name as 武田光兵.

First of all, I completely agree on the title: you can't just call something "Daddy Fight" without creating some implications. If you don't plan to follow up on those implications, then get out your Japanese to English dictionary and try again.

Second of all, I am seriously reevaluating my inherent Kengo bias. I will freely admit that it has been a long time (~11.5 years) since I first watched Kiva and I really don't remember why the character annoyed me so much back then. This episode has definitely put me on the "Kengo is a good dude and a good friend" train.

The biggest thing for me in this episode is the Otoya stuff. Probably the best part of Kiva is Otoya's journey from 1980s Japanese Jean-Ralphio into... well, what he becomes by the end of the series. Picking up the Ixa Knuckle here is a big step in that process. And yes, his creepy obsession with Yuri is still his primary motivation, but he's acting out of legitimate concern for her safety now and not just romantic jealousy.

We're also setting up the events for episode 14, which includes a moment I have been deeply anticipating since the series began. We are about to hit peak Otoya.

Oh, and finally, one thing that I hadn't realized before this that having both Kengo and Wataru showing off their respective talents in the same episode highlights one of the really weird issues that we have in a series that's so focused on music and musicians:

No offense, but I feel like this is an ordinary and expected take of Kengo having his room filled with his passion which is all about music in various forms. There's a case of when you can't fill the room with something like that... like mine, due to the leaking when it rains.

It's great for people like Wataru to be accepted by someone and not be ostracized or be used as punching bag of course... though it can sometimes make the audiences who are like Wataru jealous of Wataru being the one to find acceptance unlike them.

I've seen in other parts too of the monster set having garish and foreboding lighting. Though not every series implement this. There are various ways to paint the monster's menace, either in shot or setting. Though sometimes, the colorful lighting they use here can feel like lower in quality to me (not always but sometimes), like Blade's intro of sorting lights everywhere.

I've said before that I do want for Kengo to get to know about Wataru's already music-related occupation... though their interaction here isn't as smooth as I expected. Actually there's some strife between Wataru and Kengo not being like-minded in their music where Wataru is focused on creating violins and Kengo is focused becoming rock star. Though Wataru once again performed excellently to convince Kengo (it's Wataru's turn to perform solo in front of Kengo, like their introduction scene).

DreamSword before refers to Otoya as the Kusaka of this show, so yeah... in 1986 period, he's the main user of (Ka-)IXA. Let's see how a human fare within (Ka-)IXA's burden, or that IXA is probably have been improved after Jiro's stint as IXA.

But this is an episode that has Otoya becoming (Ka-)IXA, so actually to me, it's Otoya evening out the match, putting him on similar position to Jiro's Wolfen powers, with Otoya's Rider powers.

Maybe they just screwed up their punctuation, and it was supposed to be "Unfinished Daddy: Fight"? Otoya is a remarkably unfinished daddy so far...

He's just super understanding of Wataru's more off-putting behavior? He's not going to let Wataru throw him, you know? He's like Proto-Gentaro: He is going to befriend every reclusive Rider with daddy issues! It's Shakin' Time!

It's a nice reminder that Otoya can take stuff seriously? When he first runs into Jirou in the forest, he's typical Otoya. He's jokey, he's crude, he's confrontational, he's flippant. So Jirou kicks the crap out of him. After that, Otoya approaches him as less a rival and more a monster. He's serious and dedicated, ready to end Jirou if necessary. It's, like the stuff with Oomura, this other side to Otoya that we don't get to see that often. (I think the last time was maybe Episode 2?)

When Ikemens is practicing, and Kengo's like One More Time, for a second I thought we were going to get, like, Break The Chain or something. Nope! Just Destiny's Play, again, forever. It's a good song, but, like... how did they even put on a concert? Did that crowd just show up to hear a brand-new band play one song one time and then leave? I mean, I'd do a lot to piss off Nago, but that sounds like a bit much.

Eventually, yeah, just not in that shot. It's a reversal of that earlier scene. This time Jirou's coming in and taunting Otoya, while Otoya gets more incensed, until Otoya beats the crap out of him. It's a very cathartic scene!

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 14 - "POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE: THE SHOCKING PURPLE EYE”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva14a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva14b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva14c.png

Middle chapter of a three-parter! Was not completely expecting that!

It's more the Otoya part that doesn't really wrap up this episode. The Wataru part... I mean, it mostly does, depending on how weird things get with him trying to explain I Detonated A Monster Who Was Fleecing You And Wanted To Feast On Your Dreams Of Stardom to Kengo in 15. That's either going to be a whole additional episode, or something that's blown-off before the opening credits. Inoue! Tough to predict sometimes!

I liked the Wataru story, incidentally. It's not a very robust part of the narrative (it's basically just Shizuka getting Megumi to tell Wataru that Kengo's getting fleeced and may have his dreams of stardom devoured by a decorative vampire monster), but the emotion behind the final fight with the Rhino Fangire was nice. We've seen plenty of fights where Kiva was competent, and a couple where he was reluctant, but I think this is the first one where he was righteous. He's not just defeating a monster; he's punishing an evildoer.

That side of Wataru... I mean, obviously, not something you want to see all the time (he's a very sweet boy!), but it's like Otoya's new strain of self-sacrifice and quiet heroism: it's adding dimensionality to a character that you could feel like you've already seen all the sides of. It's an episode that wasn't really twisty in plot, but had a few surprising character turns.

Like Otoya not blowing the whistle (or Whistlestle) on Jirou! Took me a minute to figure out why he wouldn't just show up at Mal d'Amour and go This Man Is A Clawolve, but I think I get it. (Well, the main reason why he doesn't say anything is to prolong this story, but I think there's some narrative cover for the decision, as well.) Otoya is trying to protect Yuri from Jirou, and that's heroic, but it's still Otoya being heroic. There's a top layer of heroism now, but everything underneath that is still The Worst. He doesn't want to, like, tattle on Jirou. That's cheap, and unmanly. It's cowardly. (It's also exactly what Jirou does.) Otoya wants to defeat Jirou, to end his threat against Yuri with his own hands. He also needs to do it in secret, because this, strangely, isn't about showing off for Yuri. It's about keeping her from harm, but a patronizing A Woman Shouldn't Bear This Pain type of harm. He's toxically masculine, in his need to shield Yuri from painful knowledge. It's more bullshit paternalism, but it's also exactly the sort of bullshit paternalism that Otoya would reflexively go for.

It makes for an episode that just, like... delivers. Nothing was a huge surprise, but the fundamentals were rock solid. It's another episode where the visuals are insanely good (there's this shot of Jirou lounging on the roof of Monster Squad Massage that is disgustingly clever), the humor is whip-smart (Otoya's answering machine greeting!!!), and the character relationships are specific and engaging (Shima and Megumi trying to, like, manage Nago's fragile but bottomless ego).

It's still a middle installment, though, so I don't really have a ton to comment on, really. It's weird to see Kengo spurn Wataru, but there's some impatience in Kengo that was bound to bristle against Wataru's sweetness at some point. There's Nago's new Ixcavator, or whatever, but I think my feelings towards CGI monstrosities are abundantly clear by now. And then there's Kiva's new purple Whistlestle, which turns him into Titan Form With A Hammer. (I liked it, but: it's literally just Titan Form With A Hammer.) Good stuff, all of it (well, Ixcavator), but nothing I have a lot to say about.

I feel like I'm underselling this episode! I really did like it. It's progressing multiple storylines, but it's just harder to comment on them when you're in the middle of them. (I also want to order dinner now.) Good episode, though! Delightful to watch!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva14d.png

Shouldn't you be happy to put all that Time Nonsense behind you though? The best parts of Den-O is when it's not focusing on that.

She finally sees the real Ryutaros! I was very happy for him in that moment!

I mean, that's the least I expect from any Den-O content. Sure, it's nice to have a deep and meaningful story with development for the main characters, but a movie where the Denliner crew are cops, Momotaros has a cool bike chase scene, Ryutaros goes nuts arresting anybody who looks suspicious, Urataros uses his deception to help Yuto, Kintaros has a cool fight scene and Kohana beats a bunch of people up on her own? Virtually every character is doing something cool here. So I'll take it!

The movie is indulgent comedy that gives the Denliner crew the excuse to experience all those espionage and detective tropes for the first time, which they have an awesome time doing, with even Ryoutarou getting in to it at the end.

I think the reason why people may not like this movie is due to taking it too seriously and not appreciating it for what it is, just a cute adventure. I understand that not being invested in Suzuki's story is going to get in the way of that. It's mostly a simplified version of Wataru's story, but I thought it was good enough.

I don't think Negataros and Kai are that similar, other than getting bored easily. Where Kai is apathetic and sick of everything, Negataros is motivated in the pursuit of his clear goal. It's like he took inspiration from the Showa style bad guys and decided, "I want to do that but better." Negataros' whole generic evil organization is totally to be a parody but that's pretty appropriate for a movie that parodies the cop comedy genre. It's just another part of the fun of the movie. He's also the first Dark Rider to debut after his heroic counterpart's show is over.

Fun Fact: Flashman Episode 14 was Inoue's writing debut!

But yeah, a crossover between Team 86, my favorite 80s Sentai and my favorite Metal Hero? I've been wanting that before you even mentioned it! Maybe I'll make a fanfic of that one day.

And here we are with the final of the arm monsters, Dogga the Frankenstein (alias Riki, and I’m sure of this this time). I’ll reveal now that all three are named for onomatopoeia (garulu is the howl of a wolf, basha is the sound of something hitting the water and dogga is the sound of being punched).

And next time, my Gransazer comment from earlier will become all too apt.

This is too far in the opposite direction, though. Instead of poorly-defined rules that suddenly take on massive significance, this is all just Whatever and nothing seems to have any weight to it.

Probably the best moment in the movie, and the sort of thing I was hoping we'd see more of.

I think the more likely reason people dislike this movie (aside from legitimate criticisms regarding theme and Ryotaro's insignificance) is that it takes place after the series, but then doesn't do anything with that placement. If this had been the summer movie during the show's run, instead of I'm Born, I don't think there'd be as many haters. As far as dumb fun goes, yeah, it totally delivers some ridiculous shenanigans. But as the first Den-O project after the series finale, it aims way too low. This was a chance to expand our understanding of the finale and set up a new status quo. Instead, it feels like a regressive money-grab, something where everyone involved was just aiming for Good Enough. That, ironically, isn't good enough.

Sure, I can see that. I found the whole Purposeful Disinterest of Negataros to be very similar to Kai, but that's maybe me projecting some on Negataros. In fairness, he is not very well defined!


I did a real double-take when I thought Kivat had called for the Doggo Hammer. Good to know the reason for the actual name!

And still don't get why it took so long to get final form.

Flashman be comparing Otoya and Yuri to Spielvan and Diana. And music showdown between Otoya and Lie Kopflen. Violin vs Pipe Organ of Horrors. lolol

I assume that the Dogga Hammer and Powered Ixer were part of a new wave of toys, which is why they both debut here. I'll save my comments on the Ixer for when it actually does something. I do like Dogga form, even if I agree that it's just Titan Form with a hammer. I appreciate a good slow but steady beatdown, though, as we saw with the Kintaros fight in Climax Deka.

I have to say that I was kinda disappointed with this one. Not that it was bad, because it wasn't, but because my favorite moment played out differently than I remembered. The way I remembered Yuri's phone call with Shima was that Otoya had randomly created a massive street dance in the background. I hadn't realized at the time that the dancers were already there and he just joined in. Still adorable, but less perfectly random and bizarre.

And now that Dogga Form is finally here, so is its theme!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKEOMeNR1FA

Again, terrible at describing these things, but I like that it manages to be aggressive in a different way than Garulu's BGM. Something I guess I could say about the form itself, too? I mean, Garulu probably should be my favorite Arms Monster form hands down when it fits three of the descriptors that most guarantee I'll like a thing (those being "blue", "fast", and "is a dog"), but, aside from all three of them just being equally cool to begin with, something about the way Dogga Form is held off on for so long combined with the timing of its use in the story make it especially memorable to me. Like, Wataru is swinging that hammer around for Kengo, man! It stands out a bit, despite not being a particularly elaborate fight scene.

EDIT: Also I just realized the soundtrack spells Dogga as "Dokkaa" for some reason. Huh.

Dogga Form rocks and is probably my favourtie of all the archetypical "strong and slow" form changes in the franchise. I really like the added bits of armour, that first slow walk it does while dragging behind its weapon sells it imposing power way really welll, and that massive fist-shaped hammer that opens up, and also drops down an even bigger fist made of energy on the enemy to crush them into a million pieces? Best thing in the world.

Oh yeah, and IXA is pretty cool too honestly. I think I like the 86's closed visor slightly more than the 08's classic bug eyes, but 08's IXACalbur is maybe one of the coolest weapons? Its a submachine gun that turns into a sword, which isn't that unique or anything, but its pretty wonderfully elegant how it manages to be a weaponised cross in both modes.

Oh, wow, I didn't realise it took Dogga this long to get here! I swear it was in the single-digit episodes... more importantly though it looks cool as hell; easily one of the best designs in the show

It's a very appropriate debut for sure. I'd also like to point out how the lightning backdrop in his finisher could be a metaphor for anger, symbolizing Wataru's anger towards the Rhino Fangire for sadistically destroying the dreams of his victims and attempting to do the same to his new friend. The other symbolism is of course Frankenstein but I mostly like what it says about how ticked off Wataru is in this scene. It's the same anger that Kiba felt when he fought Owl Orphenoch.

So let's address the elephant in the room.
https://i.imgur.com/wfg6q5c.png

Of course this has been common practice in previous seasons but I think it is worth talking about.
https://i.imgur.com/h3Ces4u.png

Personally it is interesting how certain design elements resurface in future seasons. Also fun to tease and comment how one iteration looking similar to the previous, etc. :lolol

Makes sense, honestly -- everything about Kuuga was perfect, so why not take a few leaves from its book? :p

Personal headcanon, due to Den-O's success the big bosses at PLEX orders their designers to do the 4 form changes again for Kiva. One of them skims through their archives and sees Kuuga and goes, why not. :lolol
I would like to add a reminder that the key difference is that Garuru is associated with wind and Bassha with water, while Kuuga Dragon and Pegasus is the other way around.

This Wataru right there, this reminds me of again Kuuga, which is Yusuke against Jaraji, the one he's pushed into brutally beating the monster with full of hatred. Though I don't think that this part is righteous for Wataru, or more righteous than the other times, while it's appropriate for Wataru to be enraged for this Fangire, I think if you're filled with hatred and vengeance for killing evildoers, it can be a fuel for.... becoming more and more severe in punishing until you end up like Nago (not that Wataru will of course, but sometimes these kind of monster can urge the hero to stain themselves while finishing them off in the process), giving excessive punishments to anyone that is bad just to make sure.

The "everything underneath that is still The Worst" is exactly about Otoya's heroism here, that is, Otoya is only concerned about certain people, which is women, that he wants to protect, but he'll be detrimental to non-women ones like for example males, which he'll likely be apathetic or potentially dangerous to them (the talk about Otoya's heroism, I'm more convinced for him against Oomura rather than Yuri, as he's womanizer), like you said, toxically masculine. Being a womanizer has either 2 outcome, being fiercely protective to any women and likely detrimental to non-women, or being detrimental to the women itself for the objectification and tactless approach (like Spider Fangire). Being caring and protective of your loved ones; friend or family, doesn't necessarily make you a good person, which is why I prefer to judge morality on what will they do to people less related to them like civilians or strangers, as there are villains that is revolved around their loved ones.

Nago gets his just desserts for shifting the blame for his defeat to IXA, which Shima pointed out that it can be Nago not capable enough to bring the best out of IXA :p. Other than that, it's seen again for Nago's self-righteous extremism, that he gives excessive punishment to a human criminal that even Megumi had to stop him as he can potentially kill the human. Again, unfortunately some people are like-minded with Nago here to kill anyone who does bad, because likely being influenced by media negativity to think the law is never competent even once for dealing with criminals (them getting off scot-free) for one of the reasons.

Yeah, it seems that Kengo reverts back to the more selfish part of him after initially getting to know Wataru's violin stuff, though I likely will give less flak about this as Inoue wrote Kiva from the beginning and this part's also done by Inoue (no clashing between different writers), but for the sake of conflict character growths can be ignored. I feel like Nago feels betrayed by Wataru that he feels Wataru is giving him false hope to become a pro rock star (as the manager turns out to be Fangire, and apparently, humans with burning passions has more life force for Fangires to consume). And yeah, new form for Kiva, the mighty glacier one in Dogga Form, a purple one too like Kuuga Titan. Dogga's main finisher is slamming the opponent with a projection of purple fist... but as Fangires crystalize when killed... it can be that the finisher attack is the shockwave that got released from The Eye instead.. although when I read other sources, the shockwave is meant to immobilze them, not killing the Fangire..

That would've been amazing, but I can't feel even a little disappointed with what we got. The blocking for that gag, with Otoya perfectly matching his choreography with the other dancers while Yuri tries to give a report over the phone to Shima... it's wonderful. It's so perfectly Otoya to not just try and cover up his injuries in front of a woman, but to go so far overboard in his faking that he's dancing in the streets. I loved it.

Yeah, for all the clever camerawork these episodes had, the final fight against the Rhino Fangire was sort of forgettable. But the way Kiva is 1000% not screwing around makes it still come through, emotionally.

One of the things it does, and it's a tiny detail that I love in Rider weapons, is that it changes form via physical manipulation. Like, IXA transforms it by hand between the two modes. It gives it such a playful, DX feel that I find it very charming and engrossing. I like the reality of it, I guess.

Yeah, this fight is personal to Kiva in a way that even Megumi's kidnapping wasn't. There's a sadism to the Rhino Fangire, a joy in crushing dreams, that's antithetical to Wataru's worldview. The Rhino Fangire needs to be erased from the world. It's an intensely cathartic finale.

(One tiny thing that cracked me up, though, is when Wataru gets to the Rhino's shrine. Wataru is looking for confirmation that the Fangire is preying on Kengo, and Wataru has to look over the entire shrine multiple times to pick out his best friend from a group of two dozen people. Is Wataru face-blind? Was he so stressed that he briefly forgot what Kengo looked like? It's a small thing, but it made me laugh just before the darkest part of the episode. I would maybe have edited that scene differently!)

One of the nicest things about the Nago scene is the way Shima and Megumi's tone communicates to the audience that everyone knows Nago is being a gigantic baby after losing to Kiva. He's folding his arms like a grumpy toddler, refusing to own his mistakes, and making everyone treat him with kid gloves. It was such a fun scene to watch. I like petulant and childish Nago! He's so weird!

The "why not" is because they made it too hard for me to pick a favorite of the bunch again. :p

But really, I think it ended up being great timing to reuse that concept, since Kiva was the last just kinda "ordinary" Heisei show before the big anniversary celebration Decade came along and then Double went on to create a new normal shortly thereafter. They essentially had the perfect amount of distance from Kuuga for it to not be redundant, and frankly, with a design aesthetic THAT radically different, you're not exactly going to mistake one Rider for the other. Seeing them all together like that in the image Sunred posted really gave me pause to think about how crazy the franchise had already gotten from that relatively humble rebirth in 2000.

I do really love the idea that Kiva's motif is just monsters, by the way? It's such a direct example of a Kamen Rider being a hero created from something evil, and then you throw in stuff like edgy rival Ixa as the light to Kiva's dark, ironically heroic in a way that's more creepy than Wataru could ever hope to be, and it's just so—

The theming in this show is amazing, is the point. This isn't even the first time I've gone on a tangent praising the aesthetics. Probably won't be the last, either.

Oh, and hey, speaking of!

I specifically remember being rather enamored by the Ixa Calibur when I was first getting into Rider. Weapons in toku that transform from guns to swords are a dime a dozen – and for good reason – but something about the elegance of the way this particular one changes shape entirely by jamming the magazine up into the rest of it really caught my eye. I feel like it's a perfect one weapon crash course on how fun, smart, and creative the toy designs in Rider can get.

Yeah, it's... it's kind of two things that I like about it? There's the fun, visceral nature of the weapon change: that CHONK of it switching from gun to sword, the slap on the magazine. That's just fun to imagine yourself messing around with.

But the other thing is sort of how cathartic that feeling is (it just feels good to smack that gun, exert some force on something), and how that reflects on what IXA means to Nago, and also how ingrained the idea of catharsis is to the show?

Like, Nago becoming IXA is an outlet. It's him shedding his human form in favor of a purer distillation of his worldview/psychosis. (YMMV.) Kiva is sort of the same thing for Wataru. It's him getting to express the aspects of his personality that he has problems articulating outside of being a Rider.

The IXA Calibur being a release valve for Nago is one of those little background touches that feels too aligned with the series themes to be accidental, you know?

Hey, I love to point out that the notoriously uncommunicative Kamen Rider Faiz draws his superpowers from a phone, so I'd believe it! Having designs that can also speak to the story is a ton of the fun of Kamen Rider for me.

Do you even like Toku? Because even killing monsters seems wrong to you.

I don't want to put words in people's mouths, but I'd be shocked if someone who is as opinionate and curious about Kamen Rider shows as DreadBringer didn't like toku. We don't always see eye-to-eye on these shows, but I never got the feeling that DreadBringer wasn't as passionate about these shows as anyone. We all process art differently!

I've asked this elsewhere on this site but Die, would love to hear your two cents now that you have experienced both shows. Who did the four main forms better, Kuuga or Kiva?
https://i.imgur.com/wfg6q5c.png

https://media.giphy.com/media/13Cmju3maIjStW/giphy.gif

So, part of me wants to just mention that Kuuga wasn't so much my show, and that I'm way more of an Inoue guy. (To be absolutely contrarian: I am enjoying Kiva more than I enjoyed Kuuga, hands down.)

But the other part of me wants to acknowledge the iconic simplicity of those designs, even if I ain't, like, rushing out to buy Seihous of them. (Someday, but there's no rush.)

Honestly, though, I think I'd split the difference.

RED: Kuuga. I think Kiva's shoulder pads and chained-up shin are great, and I think Kiva's Yellow Eyes Red Crest are better than Kuuga's Red Eyes Gold Crest, but I gotta give it up for the OG.

BLUE: Kiva. The black shoulder pads on Dragon Form make it look like he's wearing a tank top? I can't not see that. Advantage, the guy in a full jacket.

GREEN: Kuuga if he's holding a revolver, Kiva if it's a magic gun-shaped Rider weapon.

PURPLE: Tie, because I literally can't tell them apart. Just the same goddamn suit.

I hope this helped!

real talk tho can we pls rename dogga form to doggo form

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 15 - "RESURRECTION: CHECKMATE FOUR”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva15a.png

I wonder if Wataru will be a good dad someday.

He's trying his best, with Biggie. They flat-out tell you that Biggie's "like a newborn”, so you don't miss the story they're trying to tell. It's all about how Wataru would be as a father instead of as a son.

I'd argue it's maybe a little early in the series to hit those notes, since we've barely gotten to see enough of Wataru As A Son, and basically nothing of Otoya As Someone You Would Let Even Hold A Child, to get a ton out of flipping those roles around. (And they are totally flipped, because Otoya needs/”needs” Yuri to feed him in this episode.) With how diffused the storytelling has been on this series, it's not like we've gotten fourteen full episodes to flesh out Wataru's character. It's still some pretty broad strokes.

But we're getting a story about him as a dad, and it's as sweet as you'd expect. Wataru finds himself caring for an amnesiac giant he names Biggie, and it's all these little jokes about a mountain with the mind of an innocent child, but then there's real warmth when Wataru and Biggie bond over bike maintenance. It's cute to see Wataru get aggravated with Biggie's clumsiness, and it's extra cute to see them connect in the service of others. And that piggyback ride! Adorable. It's a sweet 2008 story.

And it's an action-packed 1986 story, because "Biggie” is actually Rook, a member of Lucky Clooooh oh oh! Whoops! Sorry! I meant to say that "Biggie” is actually Rook, a member of Checkmate Four. He's the same Fangire that killed a lab full of scientists, including Yuri's mom. He's also, we learn in this episode, the Fangire who wiped out the rest of the Clawolves in Jirou's pack. He's shown to murder rapidly in this episode, coming up with little challenges to overcome for no visible reason other than personal achievement. (Well, there's also a parfait?) He's a completely terrifying monster in 1986, executing himself with electricity at any loss and then resurrecting to murder anew.

That duality... it's interesting? It's a little too broad, maybe (the choices are Innocent Babe or Relentless Engine Of Death), but it's got some possibilities. There's a chance we'll get into a nature vs nurture thing, see where Wataru's influence will get him with Biggie/Rook, depending on if Kiva survives the ass-kicking he's enduring. And we've still got to find out why Rook lost his memory, and what caused it to return. Some stuff in there that could be fun to explore.

This episode felt a little thin to me. The fact that there's still so much story left to tell, and so much of Why Are You Telling This Story Now left to examine, that's not great. It's a weirdly small amount of characters that got used here. Megumi and Nago don't show up. Shima's only in one '86 scene. Shizuka's gone halfway through. Kengo is nowhere. Otoya's bedridden, and only gets a couple short scenes. The entirety of this episode is just Biggie Is Sweet and Rook Is A Killer. It makes for some fun fights at the end (having Kiva henshin directly into Garulu Form is excellent, since it makes it feel like one contiguous fight where Jirou is getting wrecked), but I don't feel like we know nearly enough about Biggie or Rook yet, and there's almost nothing else in this episode.

I'm loath to kick about a Kiva episode spending too much time on the story's Fangire, but this was almost unreasonably focused on building up Rook. It didn't really allow for any other subplots (short Otoya's recuperation), and it still didn't give me a grip on what the story is. I know what's happening, and why, but I don't know what it's all for. Compelling episode on a tense, action-y level, and I loved Wataru Is A Skinny Dad as a brief subplot, but it was hard to see what might've been going on under the surface.

It feels like Kiva's on the right track, though? A cool villain is a step in the right direction!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva15b.png

Yep fine by me.

That said, Rook is played by Tomohide Takahara. Prior to Kiva his claim to fame in the genre was playing the role of Naoto/Sazer Tawlon, a fighter and the leader of the Earth Tribe in Choseishin Gransazer, a tokusatsu hero that featured 12 heroes based on the zodiac and produced by Toho aka the studio behind the Godzilla franchise.

And, here we discover why I’ve been referring to every Fangire so far as “Rank: Pawn”. Because there is a hierarchy based on chess pieces (though as far as I can tell, no knights). The Checkmate 4 are basically the bastard child of the Lucky Clover from Faiz and the Volturi from Twilight.

And since Sunred shared the actor trivia, I’ll just do the fact file.

Lion Fangire

True name: Creation of Heaven and Earth, listening to the Baby's Cry and the Angry Roar (天地開闢, 産声と怒号を聞きながら Tenchikaibyaku, ubugoe to Dogō o Kiki Nagara)

Human identity: Dai-chan

Class: Beast

Rank: Rook

Actors: Tomohide Takahara

Also, he has an insert song, but it’s not in the show at any point, so here it is https://open.spotify.com/track/31vCO...TNSPzeVkBqowYA

I am slightly familiar with the works of Gransazer!

Yeah, there've been a few unexplained chess references so far. The first time we saw Jirou, he was playing chess with the Frankenbury. And then again, the first time we saw Dogga Form, the Frankenbury was crushing a chess piece into dust. So there were a couple bits of foreshadowing.

This is the one time I felt the whole "two time periods" thing actually worked? The contrast between this Fangire's past as a vicious berserker vs his present of an amnesiac sweet gentle giant. Builds a lot of tension and has a more natural and sensible connection