KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 25 - “VAIL RETURNS!? IGARASHI FAMILY MEMORIES”

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Honestly, I’m okay with it.

Beyond tying up a variety of loose ends – why all three Igarashi kids have inner demons when no one else seems to, why Genta doesn’t have a heart, why Weekend was convinced this family was going to be important, the fire shown in the opening credits, if there’d ever be a way for me to remember Dad Igarashi’s name – I appreciate how personal it makes this whole Giff business for the main characters.

The big failing of both Fenix and Weekend to date is that they’re faceless: figuratively in Fenix’s case, literally in Weekend’s case. (Hopefully the show will cast an actor to play George’s dad at some point!) They’re organizations, not characters; the people running them feel interchangeable, just clock-punchers. The Giffamilia is so far in the rearview as to make Olteca’s weekly stabs at relevancy more depressing than captivating. There’s no sense of stakes for our heroes in this story, beyond a baseline level of Averting Villainy, and even that has felt less integral to this show than drumming up business for Happy Spa. (That is far and away the plotline I’m most invested in, and I’m not even kidding. I’m worried about the family business!) This show needs a villain with both gravitas, and a real connection to our heroes.

Enter: Vail.

It’s a great suit, first and foremost. I like how it maintains the asymmetry of Demons, but built around a beetle instead of a spider. The way the horn comes up along the jawline, and the wing comes down like a cape… beautiful suit. And the performance! It’s classic New Boss energy, where Vail takes out his foes either quickly (one-shotting a Giffterian to start things off) or slowly (really pummeling a Giffterian into paste before detonating it), whichever is most demoralizing to his witnesses. Olteca’s stint as New Demons was fun, but this is a whole new level for the show’s adversaries.

The big addition to the story isn’t the suit or the punching, though – it’s the expanded family backstory.

Normally, I’d be furious about this sort of “revelation”. A mysterious fire that was never brought once before (to my memory) is now suddenly all anyone can talk about. (Genta’s just like OH THIS IS ALMOST AS BAD AS THE FIRE, like it’s his most famous catchphrase, despite none of the kids really having heard about this before.) Worse, it’s ANOTHER Kamen Rider storyline where a character has Narratively Convenient Amnesia, with Vice blocking Ikki’s traumatic memories until Vail shows up for some 2022 revenge. (Maybe it’s an anniversary reference to Saber?) There’s a lurching feel to this start of a new phase in the show, and it’s distractingly clunky. (Why does George have a book from childhood on his desk at work, beyond reminding him that search engines are a thing?)

But I think it all works, eventually. Vice blocks Ikki’s traumatic memories because he’s always been there for Ikki, and this is just protecting him from pain. Moreover, it reframes Vice’s actions in the premiere episode as the continuation of that original trauma, this demonic protector always rising up when Ikki’s fears become too much for one person to shoulder. (It sort of doesn’t explain why Vice went from Protect Your Family to wanting to devour Ikki’s mom 18 years later… unless there’s some horrifying oedipal content that this show’s going to spring on us at some point?)

Genta as Vail, though, just works to both the main theme of this arc (maybe even series; see: anniversary season) – we have to know our past to find our future – as well as larger themes of families as more complicated for us as we get older. There’s a messiness to our parents that isn’t really clear when we’re kids, but is a necessary lesson to learn as we become adults. We need to humanize them, and start to consider how their flaws both shaped us and limited us. We have to answer for their actions, and try to understand their mistakes. We’re the result of their intentions and their accidents, and that’s a difficult bit of self-analysis to grapple with.

It’s fascinating to think about, though, and easily the most interesting threat this show has introduced to date. I love it for how much it focuses on the Igarashis to the exclusion of dumb stuff like Akaishi or Weekend, who could both fall off a cliff tomorrow and I wouldn’t care. (Maybe Hiromi could climb up over their dead bodies? I’d like that trade!) All I want this show to be about is the Igarashis, and it looks like someone making this show heard my wish.

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Revice had some named characters that apparently served as the main villains (Deadman's higher ups) right-hand (wo)man, but all of them except the main trio are rather killed quickly after their appearence, be it Haitani, Kudo, Chameleon, Chigusa... and now Kanae too met her end. Of course bodycounts will happen more often and easier with Olteca's Giftarian schemes along with him becoming more and more heartless (figuratively, not literally like Genta). Kanae apparently felt overjoyed to become Olteca's sacrifice unlike Chigusa, as seen before in her enthusiasm to help Olteca out, or that it may show the side effect of someone being doctrinated on a cult to only reassure her decisions by joining the cult. This is done to serve Aguilera's minor role in this episode, that even evil has standards in her being appalled by Olteca's cutthroatness. This does show that Olteca is the worse one between the 2, but Aguilera's still a lesser evil as previously she also had no problem of stamping people, though not Giftarian schemes where it eats up the stamped victim.

Tamaki just served as the comic relief again here (more overt), and he seemingly behaved civil with the others too such as attempting to return a customer's purse, but earning a rebuff from Sakura by entering the woman section. That'd be quite unreasonable response from her even if Tamaki is clumsy (as per the usual slapstick gag ._.), but then again it's only due to her Tamaki can still go on. Tamaki's main problem is his lack of social skills as usual, with his forced smile being creepy instead as Daiji chastised him of. This is just like when Julio infiltrated Sakura's dojo as Sakura and Hikaru talked about her family trips, his social problem didn't come from how he's a monster trying to infiltrate a human life, but from him being a withdrawn bullying victim, expected to be socially-awkward. And this further shows Daiji's professional and stern personality, the most serious among the Igarashis (also against the rowdy Vice in Happy Spa). Other than that Daiji's only shown dealing with Kagerou's influence, nothing more.

George is morally bankrupt... yet he's a Kamen Rider fan (who also mocks heroism before in Hiromi). Previously, George was the one to held a petty grudge against Vice due to him mocking his Jackal Genome, and Vice got shafted several times for that. Now, the feud between them (if George also still isn't over it) is mutual. A demon that switched places with humans isn't a good idea as shown here with Ikki starving; thus Vice will die if Ikki dies from that. The reveal is both comedic (mundane problem) but also carries some stakes. This is another scenario of Vice having to help Ikki to save himself, but here, it's now clear Vice genuinely cares about Ikki rather than doing it only out of necessity (including on how he'd fight for good before), or being like Kagerou before to save someone for his own benefit, shown in him understandably distrusting George out of fear of what can happen to Ikki if he misplaced his trust like Hiromi. And of course, Vice immediately conveys his concern right away here and though he quite delays the problem with his mistrust, the others can deal with it better like Ikki's new contract.

Other than his clear concern for Ikki though, this shows an opposite scenario of characters in KR who'd keep going along with the manipulatior's (villainous or morally dubious characters) schemes, willingly turning themselves into their "pawns" as it'd still gave them advantages such as power ups to help others, such as Kouta in Gaim (against Sagara or such), where actually as shown here, it wouldn't really create a better outcome if they dodged the shady figure and their schemes, Vice is getting nowhere from that as Sakura pointed out, it'd be too late, for those who think characters who went along with the manipulators as idiots. As Ikki stated here, there are no other ways than to believe in shady figure like George as the hard fact is, he's the only path to fix their problems as a brilliant scientist (with another Karizaki being the one to be able to make Rolling ViStamp, as George deduced about his father surviving). Indeed it further shows on how scientists are almost automatic MVP (to the groups they're in) regardless of their morals (or just roles, like various mad scientists), as they can generally create almost anything, and that it'd be unfair to be hard on other 'normal' characters who didn't contribute nearly as much due to them not being scientists, as Ikki summed up that George's the main reason they can do everything they did until now, from helping others to getting to know each other, despite Ikki too understandably condemning George for his own reasons.

Other than that, it happened! Olteca and George! 2 of the characters I'd want for the series to meet, and it didn't disappoint. I guess other than (from what I think), some similarity between George and Aguilera before at the earlier part of the series (at Aguilera's reign), there'd be also some similarity between those 2, as the geniuses of their respective faction (Fenix and Deadman) for starters, but other than that both are also cool-headed at dire situations (major difference between them is George normally acts eccentric and childish though), but are also cutthroat and sneaky, while displaying sinister demeanor at times (Olteca's much more severe though at this). It'd start with the 2 being on "physical" bout, though George held his own as a non-average scientist, Olteca managed to capture him (he can still teleport others...).

Then it'd be testing both of their wits as the geniuses in their faction, with both being able to come to an agreement, and for rather similar reason in both wanting to see the power (Olteca)/scientific (George) potential of the Demons Driver and Rolling ViStamp respectively, even plotting to pit both of those Riders together by letting their location be told. This also further shows that George only cares about furthering his research, he'd have no qualms teaming up with the worst. Though turns out that even Olteca isn't Demons Driver, or as for now, Bael's first choice with it leaving the Driver, it shows that George did apparently improve the Driver, confirming Olteca's suspicion of George tricking him (and thus won't go through his schemes) wrong, George is really a bastard despite his earlier bath with Genta. At the end too George pulls a Kuroto, a highly sociopathic character with a god complex, by only boasting about his brilliance as Ikki and Vice switched position (or so was thought).

Only because IMO it's little to know about Weekend at that time, and it's more of the Ushijimas as individuals. But now it's the first appearence of Masumi in the series proper which I read was already the one behind the ViStamps (thought he was deceased), and him being the leader of the organization.

Regarding Weekend, now Sakura has a new suspicion on Hikaru, with Tasuke apparently not being Hikaru's real dad. Being interrupted by George though, also for dad-related topics. More daddy issues! Sakura's all about standing up to Ikki here by contronting the Weekend leader, now full name revealed as Masumi Karizaki, who is set on helping Ikki too, as well as giving some "lesson" on Sakura to learn from the past, likely from his 'malfunctioning' plan that the Rolling ViStamp instead switched Vice and Ikki around. Based on the extent Masumi is going to take to help Ikki, by suppressing demons despite knowing how Ikki and Vice are buddies now, Masumi is shown to have a racism towards demons, no matter who they're (similar to characters like Mach towards all Roidmudes). Masumi isn't learning from the past the best way here, from how the original ViStamp purpose instead can turn the inner demons a nuisance or a threat, but Masumi goes too far on the extreme direction to "help Ikki" by eliminating Vice for good due to how he's a demon, which still malfunctioned as both Ikki and Vice share the same body now. Other than that, Sakura is paired with Vice in this episode, clashing in their approach to save Ikki, with Ikki as the mediator, as usual with Sakura being a harsh type (more than Daiji in this episode) when things don't go her way.

Previously, Ayaka Imoto (Sakura's actress) got tested positive for Coronavirus at that time. Regarding Sakura against George, she helped him when a Giftarian attacked him, so that can give me a vibe that her harshly rebuffing George at the beginning was more of her irrational harsh reactions, despite that George is obnoxious as usual. And poor Lovekov though for falling while trying to catch up... luckily she seems to be able to survive falls (as a plushie) thus Jeanne won't be killed. In her and Ikki's team up against Olteca, Lovekov is 'stamped' by Jeanne in a bad way of it being jumped over for her Rider Kick, creating marks in her head. Other than that, there are other Jack Revice's abilities as shown by Ikki, using paint strokes to create elemental attacks, so Jack Revice is quite a versatile form.

I think it's more about what each of them was trying to accomplish with the Stamp Stories: Aguilera's schemes were about growing her family, with Giff resurrecting at the end to lead them all to a better future; meanwhile, Olteca just wants more power. Aguilera would happily do "evil" (society's view, not hers) if it meant that her family was growing. That seems like a pretty big deal for decoding her character!

It's because of the most powerful Vistamp, the Retcon.

Anyway, I am just hopping in here to say it's nice that you're enjoying Revice. But also on the week of this episode, the Super Hero Time hour block also aired the first episode of Donbrothers! So if you need like a handy way to get back to following that show, you could unrelated to this thread just watch it after the Revice episodes you're already watching every other day and it'll be just like you're a kid in Japan watching it on Sunday mornings. :)

Well, here we are again.

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And we get our new Rider, Vail. He’s basically somewhere between an elaborate promotional stunt for his miniseries and a way to give us pre-new form angst, so don’t expect the suit to show up in the show again. I?m not sure why they went with “Vail” for the romanised name (beyond a lame ?pulling back the Vail? joke you could probably make), and a lot of people thought his name was “Bael”, like the demon.

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And after a few weeks of it not being an issue, and a few more weeks of it being an Ikki-only issue, we finally get the “Giff’s awakening induced headaches” affecting the whole gang.

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And with the reveal that Giff is, in a sense, the granddaddy of the Igarashis, someone dragged this meme out.

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Oh yeah, I’ll be doing a few relevant memes for that show for the foreseeable future. At least for as long as I have memes to share.

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(Throughout this segment, a timecode of 03-28-96, with a clock counting up from 20:30:21 is in the corner)

Karizaki: Hello, this is Masumi Karizaki, with the first in what should be a series navigating through my creation. These Vistamps have the latent DNA of the entity known as Giff, who was dubbed a devil by ancient man. I have my doubts that he was an actual devil, but I can’t voice them due to orders from higher up. By mixing it with the latent animal DNA in the human genome, I can create a group of super soldiers powered by their own inner demons, so that they may one day be free of them. While I would preferably like to class them as my attempt at creating B-Fighters, my son George has recommended I call them Masked Riders, even though they have no cybernetic components whatsoever.

(A man in overalls with his face obscured walks forward)

Karizaki: I see our test subject, #71, has arrived. Looks like I can begin my demonstration, starting with equipping the belt.

(The man equips a red coloured belt)

Vail Driver!

Karizaki: And next, the man uses the Kabuto Vistamp to trigger his transformation, equipping his armour. I installed a vocal circuit in both the belt and the stamp, to ensure our subject doesn’t rupture his vocal chords with roll calls and attack cries.

Kabuto!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4utW366PoV4

Karizaki: This machine should grant a fuller output for the Vistamp’s power. I can’t create a belt that uses this output, since I haven’t figured out how to incorporate the Stamp into such a belt. But this machine is a good substitute.

Cry for Justice! Flap your Wings, Beetle! Beetle!

Karizaki: If my modifications to this Vistamp are sound, then it should give the user access to the power of a tank.

(The shadowed man speaks, with Vail’s voice coming out of his mouth)

Vail: A tank, huh? Well, let?s test that shall we. Henshin!

Bane Up! Destroy! (Break) The World! (Broke) Unusually! (Broken) Masked (Rider) Vail!

Karizaki: It's an archetypal Masked Rider that transforms using the Vistamp system. Its ability, inspired by beetles, emits a stab that boasts rapid fire and a tremendous finishing blow that unleashes the power of the devil. In other words, a super amazing perfect soldier with combat power that surpasses existing weapons! That's the way.

Vail: You mentioned more Vistamps, Professor. Perhaps you’d permit me to test what happens when I try transforming with them.

Karizaki: Alright. First, let’s try one of the lesser known insects this side of the Longhorn Beetle.

Masked Rider Vail Sacrifice: Heracles!

Karizaki: And now, my son’s favourite animal, the Tyrannosaurus.

Masked Rider Vail Sacrifice: Rex!

Karizaki: Since he was so insistent you be a Masked Rider, rather than a Metal Hero.

Masked Rider Vail Sacrifice: Batta!

Karizaki: And finally, these two from outside my pre-programmed Vistamps.

Masked Rider Vail Sacrifice: Extra!

Masked Rider Vail Sacrifice: Another!

(Vail begins to emit static and collapses onto one knee)

Karizaki: It seems that the belt can’t handle anything other than it’s main form for any length of time. Looks like Masked Riders just aren’t meant to have a multi form balance. Maybe I could make some upgrades that allow your base state to use the Stamps’ power. With some limits.

Vail: Yes, that would be nice.

Karizaki: And we’re running out of tape, so I’ll just say, I hope that I can do more of (tape cuts out)

Shigeyuki Totsugi really isn't kidding about Genta holding untold secrets. It started since Genta is revealed to literally have no heart but it's even more than's expected (likely except those who remembers about multiple enemy dads in KR, especially on how Soichi is Evolt). This was an episode that took Revice to its heights again, I do think that the plot twist is good, but... sadly I think this is the last one in a while. And it's overall good that Revice doesn't only have a full family as the main casts, but all of them gets big focus on the series (what'd be your mystery, Yukimi?).

As for Aguilera, it seems that while continuing her schemes she'd now take care of her underlings, trying to prevent the Deadman cult members to be turned into Giftarians by Olteca. Still abusing them (like Julio) if she can but now has limits on what bad being done on them. So far, this change also seems sudden as previously she had no qualms of sacrificing people she "likes" for Giff such as Sakura, and she still only cares about Giff after Olteca's betrayal, does she actually take lessons herself with herself going to used as a sacrifice for Giff and applying that to the Deadman cult members here (but is in denial)? Other than that, should Aguilera easily manhandle Olteca now under her submission again as now he lost both his contract and Demons Driver (he did KO George but still...)? Aguilera's the only remaining Giftex for now.

Though for Vail's performance in his Kamen Rider mode, with Vail being able to destroy a Giftarian simply just by crushing its head, actually to me it'd feel as if his finisher move to the other Giftarian is a weaker feat, despite an effort to have the finisher break all of a building's window, as finishers would have the Rider use more effort to take down an enemy, while Vail took down a Giftarian with an ordinary move before. I'd also hoping that his henshin isn't loud like the other Riders but it was the same. Otherwise his design fits with the soldier mask to represent its militaristic motif as well as the rhinoceros beetle's legs coiling his body to represent it being a guinea pig-themed Rider that can have tubes injected on them. The glitch in his teleportations also gives different flavor of that kind of power. When Vail attacked the Igarashis, the scenario is the reversed one when Kagerou attacked Ikki on where one of the Igarashis got possessed and went on a rampage, with Genta trying and failing to stop Kagerou. Now it's Genta being possessed and went on a rampage, and Ikki trying and failing to stop Vail. While Genta is a lame father, he's never established as someone who doesn't care about his family like said Kagerou attack. Obviously he'd try to stop his children from being hurt, but the fact that he succeeded here to regain the control of his body back and thus de-henshin back adds an actual badass points for him here.

The Igarashi family flashback which got repressed in Ikki's memory until now, also shows about how Vail is a yandere to Genta, he only saw Genta as his partner, but he saw Genta living a mundane life by starting a family as betrayal and thus he'd want to destroy anything Genta holds dear (yeah that's yandere alright). As Vice manifested too in that time, apparently Vice wants to protect Ikki's family albeit with the contract that Ikki should forget this memory. This is my gripe that it's quite inconsistent to Vice's debut at the series where he wanted to eat Yukimi or such and only fought for his selfish desires, it's a flashback where Ikki was a child but apparently it uses recent Vice's characterization to genuinely care about Ikki and his family. And this is also revealed as the reason why the Igarashis can fight as a Kamen Rider (as well as the oddities with them being affected by Giff)... so the requirement to become a Rider here is having Giff cells, thus they're technically descendants of Giff with Genta being injected by that. By this though, it's a different system from something like for example, Banjou in Build, as him having the DNA of Evolt made him superhuman via his abnormal Hazard Level, not only him being a boxer. While Sakura is also a martial artist, but the Giff cells apparently doesn't make her superhuman as when she faced Aguilera both in their human form it was about her accepting her limitations as human.

The demon in the Demons Driver, which is revealed to be named Vail (after the debate between Bael, Veil, and Vail), took part in this secret reveal as well, as he's the demon of Genta. Other than Genta, turns out that Vail's role too is not just as simple as a doomsday villain type (like Arch Orphnoch or such) either as he leaves the Driver to go on his own, which is also good. Demons Driver is really the most significant part of the show, that takes a well-executed time to slowly establish its significance, starting from Hiromi being able to henshin unlike with Revice Driver, then Hiromi's predicament of suffering more physical problems as he keeps fighting, then Hiromi being revealed to have 80 year old's organ, then the Demons Driver revealing to be the one devouring his life force, then it being more sentient to give Olteca more power to use, and more by it deciding how much power he uses and leaving the Demons Driver. So... Hiromi's character so far was only a fodder (longer than what was planned) and stepping stone to establish Vail, and by that the secret behind Igarashi family. The question that should be explored later was how Genta and Vail can be separated like that with Vail ending up sealed in the Demons Driver. As when Vail takes over Genta while he henshins to Kamen Rider Vail, Genta's heart forms back, thus so far it's likely that Vail is Genta's heart, and that the separation may be about Genta cutting his heart off.

About the past that Buu-san hides, but what Ikki and George tells, so that reaffirms more that Masumi is morally dubious... it runs in the family too I guess, there's more than just his ViStamp plan to separate demons and his racism towards any demons, he's an unethical scientist that even disturbed Tasuke, shown in him injecting young Genta with the Giff's cells to restart his heart and using him as a guinea pig later.

As Vail left, now Olteca spend the episode trying to blame George for what he did to the Driver, where George was only confused on what's he talking about. I felt that Vail's reveal at last episode does confirm that it wasn't George who manipulated Olteca, but Vail himself, so obviously George would be confused, not lying here. Don't know if Olteca seeing Kamen Rider Vail finally convinced Olteca it wasn't George here other than him running off. Other than that, the episode still further showed his despicable traits by having jaded view of promises being made to be broken and gleefully doing it. With Olteca now losing both his contract and Demons Driver, as well as likely Vail and Giff (or Akaishi, albeit he warned Olteca to keep focus), his end might be near.

I remember the Vail plot twist really working for me at the time. It caught me completely off guard and made me excited to find out more.

Thanks! I'm glad I'm enjoying Revice, too. It's a thing that's never really in doubt for anymore -- I inevitably end up enjoying these shows, no matter what -- but I'm always curious in what specific way I enjoy these shows. Zero-One had a complexity to its view of partnership and support that I found refreshing; Saber was the most warmly bizarre workplace drama I'd ever seen; and Revice is doing some smart stuff about the push and pull of family connection. I like discovering what's special about these shows!

Terrific skit! Thanks so much!

More than that, though, I think it's really intersting way to get at the sacrifices someone makes when they become a parent; Vice is Ikki's abandoned ambition, and Vail is the part of Genta that maybe resents giving up his dreams to settle down. With both of them, it's about the struggle to be what you think the people you love want from you, maybe to the destruction of a part of yourself that was selfish in its desire for more. I think that aspect, the similarity between Vail/Genta and Vice/Ikki... I think that's a fun story to potentially tell?

See above! But, yeah, I like how it grounds the story way more than whatever nonsense Akaishi and Kamen Karizaki are up to. Genuinely interested in this show's storyline now!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 26 - “SHOWDOWN! FAREWELL!? THE END OF LIGHT & DARKNESS”

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It’s too literal of an ending for Kagerou, is I think my problem with this episode.

The battle between Daiji and Kagerou… I don’t think I ever wanted it to be one where Daiji, empowered by his growth as a person, defeats and eliminates the darker aspects of himself. I don’t know that Daiji ever completely grappled with the genesis or survival of Kagerou, so I don’t think he’s right to power through his reluctance and give Kagerou the demise he’d been looking for. There’s lip service paid to Daiji hoping for a better outcome, but I don’t know that the show ever made it anything like a priority.

It didn’t help things for me to have Ikki quietly cheering on Daiji’s psychic demise. It’s perhaps asking too much to have Ikki see the humanity in Daiji’s Evil Twin -slash- Fratricidal Parasite, but the certainty that this was what Daiji needed to do to self-actualize? Sour taste in my mouth, honestly. Did not love Ikki – and the climax of this episode – rewarding Daiji’s ability to externalize and obliterate a part of himself that he created and never really interrogated.

Like, I don’t completely hate it; I think there’s narrative value in Daiji destroying the embodiment of his jealousy, resentment, rage, and enjoyment of spicy foods. Daiji’s been a dude wracked by both imposter syndrome and delusions of grandeur, so he needs to address those failings in as thorough a manner as is available to him in tokusatsu. But I just don’t think it’s fun to see Daiji pummel a dying Kagerou? Or for Kagerou to sacrifice himself for Daiji’s self-improvement? There’s a smarter side of this show that asks us to view the totality of ourselves, and find balance between the face we show to the world, and the one we hide away. A version of this show that looks at Kagerou (and potentially Vice and Lovekov) as something to be cleaned up and removed… I just find that disappointingly narrow and thin.

And that’s sort of the whole episode? There’s more backstory for Genta (or whatever his original name was; I just learned “Genta”, I ain’t learning another name) and Buu, but it’s nothing terribly original or necessary. It’s just more info, because that’s what mode this show is in for its series arc. Beyond that, it’s pretty much the Daiji/Kagerou Epi–

Oh! Right! Aguilera and Sakura!

I absolutely love how Aguilera comes out of nowhere to tackle Sakura and demands to know why Sakura’s so cool and strong and special and there’s no subtext to this scene you guys. It ends up sort of rhyming with the Kagerou plot, as Aguilera’s another character whose ability to sharpen a protagonist has left them dulled by comparison, but Sakura’s version of events is just that Aguilera’s never had anything to fight to protect, so she’s never improved. Kagerou could only fade in Daiji’s light, but Aguilera’s a woman who’s never been out of other people's shadow. Interesting argument, but not one the episode is looking to resolve in a single scene. Definitely the sort of plot that has at least a full episode to figure out if Aguilera can find a new path to walk. We’ll have to see if she hears what Sakura’s saying!

Overall, I thought this Daiji/Kagerou episode was the slightly lackluster and straightforward version of a conflict I was very much looking forward to. I’d hoped for something elegant and thoughtful, but the show gave me a blunt and binary battle instead. Not a total miss, but a letdown nonetheless. If it worked better for you, please let me know!

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As someone for whom these characters' dynamic was absolutely my favorite part of Revice, I'm glad to see you appreciating it, too.

The one where a lot of people turned on the show. Though I am not one of them. Namely because I never cared for Kagerou in the first place (and recalling the original episode thread, neither did Fish), so I was glad that the cost for Daiji getting a cool new suit was to get rid of him. By contrast, the scenes with Sakura and Aguilera were starting to grate on me, due to how their frequency and irrelevance to the rest of the episode were growing.

In other discussion points, remember how you pointed out the retcon that Vice was benevolent, despite all his dickish behaviour at the start of the show?

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Well George, the same guy who handed Kagerou a Driver in the first place, and allowed Hiromi to use a belt he knew was dangerous for shits and giggles, now refuses to hand Kagerou a new Vistamp, even when he threatens Akemi’s safety, requiring that Akaishi step in and order George to do what he would’ve done willingly not too long ago.

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There’s an IRL reason for this, but I’ll get back to that in a while.

Daiji: It’s Daiji’s Stamp Navi. And today, I’m going to be looking at this Stamp with Karizaki-San.

George: Indeed. You’re the apex of everything my father set out to achieve. He wanted to remove peoples’ demons from them, but he couldn’t even do it to himself. But thanks to the Crow Vistamp and your own strong will, we’ve given rise to this.

Holy Wing!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lCw_w6TC2iE *

Wing Up! Holy Up! Wind! Wing! Winning! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy Live!

George: A new wing that has been reborn beyond the darkness of Kagerou! It's Kamen Rider Holy Live that transforms with the Holy Wing Vistamp! It is possible to quickly control the target with an almighty attack regardless of three-dimensional manoeuvrability and range that makes use of its flight ability. I'm looking forward to that holy and just power.

Daiji: Thank you, Karizaki-san. From now on, I’m going to fight free of my demon. Olteca and Giff won’t know what hit them.

George: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

Olteca: Good it’s over, now can we resume the fight?

Daiji: You know it. (Leaps into battle with Olteca)

* I may not own a Revice Driver, but given that this Vistamp has the exact same sounds in both that and the TwoSiDriver (the Wing Charge being the Remix for this stamp), there’s no real loss when it comes to me having made this video.

I think, this is the part where Revice had its downfall, and never reached its early heights again. I thought before Revice would break the trend of Reiwa's troubled productions, but no.

I too felt like the Daiji/Kagerou plot here wasn't as well executed as the Genta/Vail twist previously, because of the previous events preceding it. For Vail part, the buildup is consistent and smooth, with Hiromi becoming a Rider despite him failing to henshin as Revice before, then Hiromi's physique deteriorating, then the Demons Driver revealing that he's devouring his life force, then the Demons Driver showed to have more independence as he lent Olteca more of his power, prefering a sociopathic bastard using Demons, then the Demons Driver revealed as Vail and even Olteca wasn't his first choice at that time and he only wants Genta, revealed to be his former partner who had yandere-ish obsession to him to reunite.

Regarding how Daiji and Kagerou can be separated like that, it's further shown that Akaishi for some reason wants to groom up Daiji by letting George give what Kagerou needs, though he shows more vileness of not caring if its Daiji or Kagerou who survives, he treats his men as tools, like how he views Hiromi before. While George here showed clear concern to Daiji, trying to stop both Kagerou and Akaishi on getting the Crow ViStamp and the 2nd Two SiDriver ('two side'). It seems that both Akaishi and George value Daiji more than Hiromi here, though in twisted way for Akaishi, I wonder if the reason of Daiji being somewhat 'precious' here would be shown later, so far he's been criticized for lacking presence in the series, and Daiji's conflict with Fenix hasn't been touched yet. And Akemi appeared again here, but she's here acted as sorta of damsel-in-distress for Kagerou. So she's not a combatant.

For Daiji/Kagerou here? The events in this episode seem to contradict the previous episodes, as the minor scenes that featured Wataru Hyuga had Kagerou's influence growing stronger and stronger and Daiji worrying about it. But the fight here had it being 180 that it's Daiji blatantly stronger, Live having constant upper hand, not even using finisher attack to dispatch Evil (also cracking his helmet before), with the problem that he's shaking instead. The turnabout here is quite sudden, like this should be extended first before the eventual Livevil showdown like how Daiji prefers for peace between them (even giving more Kagerou other than just gag scenes), or had different setting altogether before.... like Kagerou whining about Daiji's power before (though this'd upset Kagerou's fans).

Otherwise, Kagerou's demise here reminds me of the previous dark clone, like Ghost's Makoto Copy, which died 'making peace' with the original version (but only at that time they 'get along'). I don't know if Kagerou knows that killing the human host would kill the demon too or not as he claims to fight Daiji for his freedom, but if he knows then yeah it's a cruel to be kind approach to make Daiji stronger then. Still shows that cruel to be kind approach only prolongs the problem; all of the previous Daiji and Kagerou feud in instance, though of course other than to Sakura or eventually Daiji, Kagerou is still overall cruel and tried to corrupt Daiji in the name of making him stronger, as someone who prides being evil and looking down on virtue.

So what Buu-san told Ikki was that Genta also had even different identity back then, Junpei Shiranami. And more origin for something in the series, that the Deadmans originated from a military research organization called Noah that tried to weaponized demons, where Buu-san and Junpei met, and Junpei worked as Noah's executioner against failed demon experiments. So Genta was the one in control and he truly fought as a Rider back then, not Vail, and he didn't act as a super soldier or such. Junpei/Genta didn't seem to do morally questionable thing there by fighting off rogue demons but he still felt hollow (he was still pretty much a killing machine but against deserving target) until he met Yukimi and decided to escape, helped by Masumi to atone. Guess while Masumi is still an extremist, he had limits and he did have remorse for Junpei/Genta. Of course as Sakura noted, it wasn't enough to compensate for Masumi's deeds. But what happened had happened and, Masumi's still gotta be given a chance to atone even if it's not enough (like Rolling ViStamp) especially with his scientific abilities, just like George at ep. 23 before. After Junpei/Genta left Deadman was formed by the group stealing Giff coffin to create said cult. Well, Noah seemed already evil anyway before, being a warmonger. Buu-san does tell about Genta here, but, what did Buu-san do that time?

Said Vail chose to go back to Olteca's Demons Driver again due to him wanting to have fun by helping Olteca for now. Vail still values sociopathic bastards like Olteca much better than Hiromi even if Genta is his first choice. Or that Olteca wants to fight off Igarashi family thus it served Vail's desire too. And Olteca can't find a way to get him out of the trouble before despite being self-proclaimed genius other than Vail choosing to come back... Olteca had clear shortcoming here (and the next episode preview is about his schemes again). Missed chance for Aguilera before tbh, who's still a Giftex, to put Olteca down for good. Olteca's role here is smaller but in-line, he'd cause trouble for the heck of it and to test Demons' power as Vail complies. Here, the main focus is instead the weaker Evilive, and the side troublemaker is the much stronger Demons (as well as Ikki fighting as Jack Revice); again no wonder Hiromi's debut as Demons almost upstaged Evil despite Vail not liking Hiromi, Demons was the real top dog. Other than that, this shows further that Ikki's growing out of his busybodiness to not interfere despite that Vice insisted him to help Daiji. So that'd mean, while Ikki and Vice are buddies now, Ikki shouldn't comply to Vice's rather corrupting ad-vice to stay the way he is; Ikki's busybodiness can cause trouble instead of helping, and Ikki's growing out of it here.

Now unfortunately for Aguilera (well she's despairing already), Sakura now surpassed her even when they're fighting in human form, shown that while both are still standing, Aguilera's the one that was bleeding from the mouth. I guess this episode had Sakura overall losing her patience that she wasn't angered (for understandable reasons) only at Masumi but also at Aguilera here who she had symphatized. Though obviously she won't know anything about Aguilera and that she doesn't know her weakness, she claims Aguilera had her reasons of fighting in front of her eyes already that she pretended to be blind of. About Sakura herself claiming Aguilera made her stronger.... technically it did came from Aguilera owning her and mocking her weakness that finally had Sakura accepting that she's not the strongest which made her able to henshin into Jeanne, which had Aguilera being proud later. She wanted to use Sakura as a sacrifice though and likely she wanted strong sacrifices, but of course... making one of the heroes stronger as a method can backfire like this that they're out of the villain's grasp now.

It's really nice. I like the way the show is portraying Aguilera as the demonic cult equivalent of a spoiled rich girl who's lost everything. She was all smug and condescending when she was treated like a princess, lecturing Sakura on her lack of drive, and now she doesn't know how to deal with actual adversity. Meanwhile, Sakura's on the other side of her self-actualization, and realizes that Aguilera's never once had to motivate herself to do anything. It's a fun dynamic! With absolutely zero subtext!

See, I was warming to Kagerou (I like a tragic asshole!) and this ending wasn't as rich as I'd hoped for. I don't think it was bad or wrong, though -- just not up to the standards of this show's previous inner demon stories. I definitely haven't turned on Revice!

It does feel slightly out of character, but I think it still makes sense for George in the broad strokes. Hiromi (according to George) willingly agreed to use the very dangerous Demons Driver, because he wanted to be a hero that badly. (And he was a hero, badly.) Giving Kagerou the Driver was an experiment; this is consigning Daiji to death. George likes there to be enough of a variable in the experiment so that success is possible, and death only happens if something goes horrifically wrong. I don't think he's at the point in his mad science where he wants the blood to be directly on his hands.

And thanks for the fun skit!

I think it's still a story about Kagerou being stronger, just not in the way Daiji assumes. Kagerou's able to assert his will and take over Daiji's body, but he loses the fight because Daiji's strength is in being able to push past the shame and anger that gave birth to Kagerou in the first place. Giff's influence made Kagerou stronger, but Kagerou made Daiji stronger still.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 27 - “STOP! TYRANT’S MAYHEM AND VIOLENCE GONE WILD”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice27a.png

I was pretty uninvested in the Giff plot of this show, even before we landed in the Destined To Fail arc of the series. Giff’s just some big dumb yonic-looking statue – I don’t know what it wants, or how it feels about the events transpiring throughout the show. Its menace is purely theoretical; something’s going to happen, maybe, at some point, and it’d be better if that didn’t happen. Giff is a Big Deal, but not because of any inherent drama or excitement, but because any number of characters keep telling us – since the first episode – that Giff is a Big Deal.

After 27 episodes, I think I’m okay saying I do not give a single shit about Giff.

Beyond the sophomoric humor of noting its similarity to human anatomy (THAT PEARL!!!), talking about Giff is like talking about cloudy days, or getting stuck in traffic: it’s annoying to deal with, and pointless to discuss. Giff is a presence that multiple characters are fighting over, but there’s no real sense of what an endgame even looks like for the cultists and psychopaths who orbit it. As a result, we’re given a storyline where relatable characters have generic-to-arbitrary motivations, and all of the emphasis is put on a mute statue that any American broadcaster would deem inappropriate for children’s programming.

That’s all a long way of saying that I found the bulk of this episode relentlessly dull. I don’t care at all about the fact that Giff is driving Vice and Lovekov crazy. It’s all part of a Catch-22 plot, where Olteca’s making monsters that the Igarashis have to defeat, but each one they defeat just makes Giff stronger. The problem is, there’s no plan on behalf of any of them to actually solve this problem (other than George, with a new power-up), so it’s hard to care about the trap they’re in. (I mean, one solution would be STOP OLTECA FROM ESCAPING WHEN YOU HAVE HIM OUTNUMBERED, but that is probably never going to happen on this show.) It’s just grueling, miserable combat, where the villain is shouting This Is Pointless and the hero is shouting Yeah I Know. Not super fun to watch!

This has been my least-favorite subplot over the last few episodes, even though (or especially because) I never brought it up much. It’s just this rising body count, as everything gets worse, and there’s no strategy on the heroes’ part to combat a spiraling situation. If I can’t see a sliver of hope, or a chance at a reversal, it’s boring to watch a superhero show. The worst possible outcome for the miserabilism of this arc is George showing up with some Deus Ex Vistamp, and that’s about all I can see happening right now?

Bummer episode, and it started off so promising! Mom Igarashi comes home, and it’s such a beautifully warm scene! She’s sorry that the happiness she stole as a young woman is coming back to haunt her family now! It’s a fascinating, well-observed take on family, and it’s as rousing and affecting as the rest of the episode isn’t. As always, when this show sticks to the family drama… unbeatable.

The rest, though? Well, Sakura said it best:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice27b.png

Having not watched this Ep (or like any revice), it is actually kind of a bummer that Daiji and Kagero don't like merge and they just kind of let Kagero fade into sparkles to unlock a new power up.

I'm not really sure why they killed Kagero, he wasn't good, but a lot of people in the show weren't good and found their way. Maybe the show could focus on compartmentalization and how Daiji shoves any and all negative feelings onto Kagero and how Daiji can't just keep essentially swallowing his feelings. Kagero might start to suffer physically cause Daiji hate himself so much. \

I don't know where I'm going this, I guess what I'm saying is parts therapy and internal family systems are neat, and probably applicable here.

Yeah, it's very weird how quickly everyone (including Kagerou!) decides it's correct for Kagerou to die. Kagerou sort of forces things, but... also not really? Daiji decides to do it, and Ikki is there to verify that Daiji is acting in a noble and heroic manner. Feels like someone could've put the brakes on this in favor of a more humane and psychologically holistic solution, but: POWER-UP!

Yeah, Giff has all the personality of the metal slab from Blade, the difference being that people in the show treat it like it’s an actual character.

And at least with the Sealing Stone, I'm pretty sure it doesn't take 27 episodes (and counting!) to find out exactly what it's going to do.

Changing gears to keep things positive: What is everyone's favorite inanimate-but-villainous object in Kamen Rider, Kuuga to present? I will happily accept both serious answers (the statue from Zi-O) and stupid answers (the wall in front of Tachibana from Blade).

My answer to this would have to be that one RideVendor that Eiji couldn’t get to work in OOO.

As for the episode… yeah, I talked last time about how much of a plot tumour the Sakura/Aguilera rivalry was becoming, and shifting focus to Weekend isn’t much better. Granted, I like the idea that they’re actors playing a family both in-universe and out (which I imagine caught a few people off guard)

Also, we learn what exactly Genta did as a Kamen Rider and all the unpleasant details.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...D628888D4.jpeg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...3D89CBAEA.jpeg

Also, this aired the same week as Donbrothers episode 3.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...0/IMG_0183.JPG

Taro: Skipping the palanquin.

Touma: Not bothering with the bike.

Ikki: I came on a bicycle.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...B0BF79FA6.jpeg

Panel 1

Sononi: So you’re the Aguilera I’ve heard so much about. You?re not really cute.

Aguilera: What?

Panel 2

Sononi: Oh that’s better. So cute... You’re so lovely (giggling)

Aguilera: What is with this woman?

Panel 3

Tamaki: Lady Aguilera!!!

Sononi: But I don’t like you. I’ll exterminate you!

Aguilera: Ahhh! Sakura-chan, help me! Seriously, what is with this woman?

Sakura: Oh, now you want my help? Too late.

Lovekov: Love! Loser. Kov!

And now for the regular scripted part of this post.

Daiji: It’s Daiji and…

Sakura: Saku’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

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

Anomalocaris!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOL7R72uNfc&t=145s

That Day! That Time! And that Sea! Anomalocaris! Go beyond time! Run through the sea!

Sakura: The Anomalocaris Vistamp gives its user a powerful punch that can punch through anything. When used by Demons, it grants the spiky Demon Bladiors.

Daiji: I?m assuming “Bladiors” is another reference to the motif Rider, like the Demon Bottom Higher.

George: Exactly! And now is time we talk about one of the greatest.

Desire Driver: Black!

Kotaro Minami: Henshin!

George: Kamen Rider Black, Kotaro Minami. He and his adoptive brother Nobuhiko were taken in by the ancient cult Gorgom, and modified into their candidates in the battle for the Century King, Black Sun and Shadow Moon. However, Kotaro escaped before his modifications were complete, using his new form to fight both Gorgom and his brother. And later, his powers were revived and changed by the sun to do battle with the extra-dimensional Crisis Empire as Kamen Rider Black! R! X!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=R8_s0e4g7F0

Daiji: He failed to save his brother, huh? Not really the story we wanted to hear right now.

Sakura: Yeah, if we don’t do something soon, then Ikki will be trapped under the will of an evil force forever.

(Enter Shadow Moon, flanked by Great Mutants Baraom and Darom)

Shadow Moon: I fail to see an issue with this. After all, I became more popular because of my modifications into a warrior of evil.

Darom: Perhaps we could modify this boy so he can face his brother as an equal.

Daiji: Yeah, no thanks. I already got rid of my demon. I don’t need one back in my head again, clouding my morals.

Baraom: Your loss (the three depart)

Sakura: Creeps.

George: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

The Weekend stuff isn't even my least favorite part of Episode 27, but... still not fun to watch! They're an organization, which means they'll always be tangential to the main conflict of this show; they don't seem to have any specific beef or grudge, they're just mad at Fenix for secretly trying to revive Giff. Even the main guys from Weekend can only vacillate between Spooky Plotting and Ambiguous Support. Hard to care when there's no real urgency to their actions!

Probably the Hayabusa-kun puppet, the thing that finally sent Yuki fully reeling into madness.

Olteca and Demons parted ways again faster, with Holy Live being outright stomping him in a fight, though taking a while for Holy Live to put down Demons, as Demons did punch Holy Live, but it had no effect. Other than that, Olteca's even more fleshed out in this episode, and it's nice that even a purely evil villains got this without giving them redeeming traits when Olteca displayed his nihilistic worldview like him thinking promises are meant to be broken or that he thinks happiness can only be gained from sacrificing others, to psyche out Daiji killing Kagerou before. I'm one of those that hoped Olteca won't be redeemed, and now he's shown to have a dark kind of backstory too that his father abused him due to being a freak via being a prodigy.

And Olteca goes even further in his cruelty, using Giff ViStamp on a young child this time. Otherwise I predicted about Olteca mass turning people into Giftarians as a sacrifice for Giff in the preview before. I don't know how did those people get unconsious though. Now there goes the chance to kill Olteca easily (like when Aguilera worked with him again) as Giff protects him when Holy Live attacked him, and his presumed evolution in preview. There's also a tease of Olteca and Akaishi breaking apart too.

For more Weekend reveal here, the theory of Ushijima family not being actual family was a right one, but other than that there's more in that Weekend is an anti-government organization thus it targets Fenix for their true intention. Both Ikki and Daiji are enraged of them targeting Fenix... of which both of them seem clouded and biased in this case, and is not like their previous portrayal after they deemed Fenix as questionable (albeit Daiji wants to stay to investigate further), or them still trying to reassure themselves of the organization they have affiliation with. Other than that, though at first they forcefully take Ikki by zapping him, the Ushijimas don't seem to have malicious intent towards the Igarashis, apologizing for the secrets too and revealing them, albeit their method is still questionable to spy and keep tracks on them. And Kimiko admitting she enjoyed Happy Spa. And the relation in Weekend wasn't only between Ushijimas and Igarashis, but also between Yukimi and Masumi, the former who remarked that Masumi survived, and is unfazed by that. Now this can signify Yukimi's importance just like Buu-san before.

Regarding Ikki being captured, this shows more of their newfound friendship that Vice is more concerned about Ikki disappearing in his berserk state, and Vice's old wish of being free is now treated as banter. But despite Ikki telling Vice to believe in him, it'd not be as easy as what's said of Vice still going berserk at the end, making him one of the current main threats, emotionally too. Jack Revice got buffed with the berserk mode at the end? As Jack Revice that time can repel Holy Live who beat Demons (and who beat Jack Revice before). For Daiji and Sakura's fight against Olteca and then Jack Revice, while Daiji has been shown to be dutiful soldier of Fenix that fights for people, this episode didn't only make Sakura fight alongside him but is also like-minded as well, to also vow to not let Olteca get away or the innocent civilians being killed. Guess this is also good to show actual characterization within her and not only fighting threats, to also being altruistic (well, since her declaration to Hiromi alongside her siblings)=. Oh, them being like minded here... but Sakura had joined Weekend while Daiji defended Fenix... so that could mean something later. Teased George's henshin as Demons... and him claiming to help the Igarashis later. But previously George excused himself of the group hug nonchalantly. That still brings up sus points for George to me.

It seems that even Yukimi had a bit of a selfish going with the past that she wanted to keep the family's happiness thus she kept Genta's backstory a secret from everyone. This can be the keeping secret to honor Genta type, but this is also the keeping secrets to keep people she loves happy, the "doing what's best for them in their mind" type, which can remind me of certain characters.... obviously if it's really Yukimi being in the wrong, then she gotta apologize for keeping secret. For the group hug, now Yukimi sees Vice as another Ikki, of which resolves the feud between them now. Vice has changed for the better now, but I'd like to see more clear resolution of the apology like Kasumi to Gentoku in Build, forgiving him due to how Gentoku's clearly redeemed at that point as Kasumi noted. Otherwise this shows more why Yukimi really cherishes Genta, more compared to the children, including acting lovey-dovey to him without shame.

I always figured it was Ohsugi's suspenders that did it?

I mean, I wouldn't say "in the wrong"? She feels bad about how everything's going with her family right now, but the guilt she feels is that of a parent who wanted everyone to be happy; there's a difference between her blaming herself, and her being at fault. She only did what every parent does - protect her children from harsh truths until they're ready to hear them. I don't think she was wrong not to tell her children that their father was the victim of extra-governmental experimentation and they had to change their name to escape the grasp of mad scientists?

I gotta give it to the book club's evil writing machine from Saber. I don't know what it ever did, but my god, it was in the Top 3 Book Club personalities.

Honestly, the best theory I've heard was that she kept standing too close to Gentaro when he transformed and was getting brain damage from the cosmic radiation.

congrats you finished the good part of Revice unfortunately it's all downhill from here I didn't like 27 though because it feels like EVERY SINGLE Time the writers of Revice didn't know what to do they just made Vice look as suspicious as possible or had Sakura and Aguerlia fight or something else I can't mention yet due to spoiler reasons a theory of mine is the plot outline of Revice was only for like 30-35 episodes but was stretched into 50 Which this is a problem admittedly MOST Rider shows have(I thought Ex-Aid was never outright bad but the Kamen Rider Chronicle arc is kinda ehhh until Chronus debuts properly, and Build losses a LOT of it's steam when Evolt is introduced imo) but here and Ghost it's ESPECIALLY Noticeable

EDIT part of the reason for the Sakura shilling is the initial draft of the plot of the show that became Revice was that a young woman was going to get Kamen Rider powers to protect her family and the character that became Aguerlia was going to be the secondary rider (TOEI wouldn't let the wrtiers do this but it's also all but said said character more or less became Sakura)

Can't argue with this. I'm curious to see how Die takes this on a daily pattern because there is some stuff in this show that was definitely not helped by seeing only one episode per week.

Kinda wish that machine gave, like Evil Recaps of the show when Tassel was out of the picture. Some spooky hand retelling last episode's cliffhanger as a flawless victory for the forces of darkness? What a waste that we didn't get that!

That works, too!

Uh, thanks? I gotta be honest: still optimistic about this show! There're for sure elements I dislike, but even the dull installments manage to plug in at least a couple things I'm super dialed into. I'm probably tempting fate by saying this, but I genuinely can't see myself disliking this show as a whole. Bad beats? Sure. Trying to do too much at once? Absolutely. But there's a core of this show that is unique and nuanced enough to keep me from writing it all off. Hopefully they'll rediscover those attributes again soon!

Yeah, I know very well that there's a difference between blaming herself or actually being at fault (though I noticed that you tend to hate the former); I don't really want for the words of someone blaming themselves to be taken into face value and have them demonized for it (e.g. self-loathing primary Rider types). But yeah, I guess I'm bringing this up because in many stories, someone keeping secrets like this is portrayed as being at fault, but I'd also wonder more what'd differentiate between those who are in the wrong or not.

I think in this instance, there wasn't any damage done by keeping things a secret. It's a shame that the kids had to find out in this way, but it's not like knowing about their dad's past would've prevented anything from occurring. If Yukimi had knowingly withheld important information that her kids needed to save lives and/or protect themselves, that would be a thing worth blaming her for.

Hell yes. :rock:

Right? It's really a stunner. And when you get the backstory, it totally makes sense why it's a more militarized, old-school style of suit. I hope it comes back soon! Without killing anyone I care about!

Yep. I can respect people's opinion on the show hate it or love it because this show as a whole kinda was a 5 or 6 out of 10 for me. But I have to go Spinal Tap when it comes to this suit in particular and give that an 11 out of 10 because of the retro sci-fi anime cyborg look it has going complete with the militant color scheme. :rock:
And the life support system gas mask aesthetic on the helmet with the asymmetrical design it has going for it is badass.

Hoo boy! Lots to talk about...

Internet's been bad here lately and I've got some work coming up, so I'll speed through this as best I can.

So Hiromi (Rider) kicked the bucket, which is funny since that wasn't a very convincing death scene to start out with. Like everyone else, I do like Hiromi, ever since Episode 1 where he tried to transform himself to fight the Deadmans, to how willing he was to be a hero he was willing to let the brand spanking new belt kill him or be killed in battle to fight against the enemies. That and Demons is just such a cool looking suit.

Speaking of cool looking suits, we got Vail. Absolutely love the militaristic aesthetic tied in with his insect motif. That and he's voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda, what's not to love? Certainly the best villain in this show to me...

Akashic... This guy who just walked in with a big neon sign reading "the villain" who's in charge of FENIX and talks to Gif, even making very suspicious comments at every opportunity. I do want to talk more about him at a later date, but for now, I can say, I don't like him, but I also see some genius in him.

We have the Sakura/Aguilera thing going on, which is nice and all, but we're slowly but surely losing sight about what Revice was set up to be, which I'll talk about more later, but first... Jack Revice. I love this suit, it's nice and simple but has all the charm I love about Revi and Vice (mostly Vice) rolled up in one.

Now again, the plots have this very weird sort of being too short, yet the ends are (mostly) satisfactory, to me at least. And the continuing Ikki vanishing from photos, that I kept being drawn towards over the revelations about Gif (you know, the big statue that everyone wants a piece of?).

Olteca on the other hand, is absolutely my favorite villain of the show, as much as I was saying stuff about Vail, I just really enjoy Olteca being absolute scum. Put another way, Olteca has the charisma and atmosphere of a villain, while Vail is the most thematically appropriate villain to oppose our cast. Sure, I give a lot of credit to Kagerou for making Daichi an interesting character on his own, but then again, I always liked his sense of justice and duty to protecting the world.

Oh yeah, then there's Weekend... Definitely thought they would be our new bad guys given how FENIX seemed just about as obvious as them, and the Deadmans thoroughly lost Big Daddy Gif. And of course, the man in the mask is already giving off villain vibes, but for some reason, I kind of thought more to Mirage (was that her name?) from W.

But anyway, we're now getting into the meat of Revice, and that's going to be something... And meanwhile, I've still not seen the Mystery or Beyond Generations Movie (except that Century is a beautiful suit and Promise is a beautiful song), but at least the little stuff Androzani throws in here have been entertaining, thank you for sharing!

It's great! It definitely sells Vail as a suit that isn't safe to operate, which is a fitting precursor to the Demons suit.

Yeah, I also like the way Olteca won't let a little thing like no one in the cast caring about him be any obstacle to pursuing his schemes and objectives. He's just going to keep showing up, being a reprehensible asshole, and laughing at you for getting upset about it.

Agreed! Androzani's skits are a delight!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 28 - “CONQUERING FEAR AT LIGHTNING SPEED! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AS ONE MIND, ONE BODY!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice28a.png

Much like George’s extreme mad sciencing, this storyline could only end in abject failure or resounding success. (I love that he’s created a device that will kill 1-2 of the two people he’s trying to save, but also maybe none of them? I very much enjoy his commitment to insanity in the vague direction of science!) The show pushed all its chips in on Thunder Gale, and the result was bound to be either a huge blow to Revice’s fortunes, or the move that would get the show back on track.

For me, I thought it was an exceptionally accomplished installment.

Setting the bulk of the episode inside Ikki’s head was the best choice. There’s a moodiness that helps ground the stakes of the episode: Giff and the Deadmans and Vail, they're all encroaching on safe spaces, warping comforting bonds. The Deadmans bathing at Happy Spa, or Veil wearing Genta’s face at the Giffamilia’s nightclub-church-spaceship – it’s all things Ikki cares about, inverted into anxiety and tension. He’s trying to salvage his identity, and everything around him is telling him that he’s living a lie. He wants to be a good son, and a monster wearing his father’s face is tempting him to give up. He wants to protect his home, but it’s already infested with monsters. He’s beset on all sides by temptation and failure.

But it doesn’t work. Not even for a second.

It doesn’t work because Ikki being under attack is the least viable way of defeating Ikki psychologically. Ikki doesn’t care about his own well-being or happiness, he only cares about other people. Specifically, he’s fighting this battle in his head because that’s where Vice is, and Vice needs to be rescued.

It’s a really beautiful next step on this journey Ikki and Vice are on – from bickering teammates, to grudging partners, to brothers, to each other’s guardians. It’s a role we’ve not really seen Ikki in before with Vice, which is what made the episode so special. We’ve gotten a whole bunch of stories about Ikki realizing that Vice cares for him, and some backstory that establishes how far back their union started, but this is maybe the first episode where Ikki lays it all on the line to save Vice from servitude to Giff. It’s an acknowledgement that Ikki owes Vice, in a real and tangible way, and it’s time for Ikki to fight for his friend.

I liked it a lot, that whole sequence. It makes this story about self-acceptance so clear and direct; Ikki looking at this weird part of himself and fighting for it to exist, when the world would either corrupt it or revile it. It’s so vulnerable and corny, with the scenes from previous episodes layered over the tearful vow from Ikki to Vice. To go from that to the rousing debut of maybe my favorite suit yet? I couldn’t ask for a better conclusion to this arc.

Thunder Gale! So pretty, that suit. I like the way the pastels completely overtake the black and gray of Jack Revice, the new tomorrow of Revice creating a palette that Revi or Vice couldn’t access, even in tandem. They’re no longer teammates, or partners, or even family. They’re one hero, the end.

And they aren’t even the only new hero for this episode! George decides to Henshin and make the wiki entry for Kamen Rider Demons even more complicated, soon to rival Kamen Rider Faiz for lengthy lists of onscreen identities. It’s fine, in as much as it was inevitable. You can’t be a fit young man on one of these shows and not eventually, uh, shout DADDY and then turn into a superhero. It’s not out of place in this episode of people drawing a line in the sand and dedicating themselves to a fight (or not, in the case of Aguilera), but it’s not really where the weight of this episode is directed.

It’s a story about Ikki and Vice removing the barriers between them and uniting to defeat Olteca and Giff, which they… mostly do? Olteca’s devoured by Giff, which is the best counterpoint to Ikki and Vice’s triumph of unity as I can think of, at which point Giff bursts from his cocoon and launches into orbit, never to be seen until a few episodes from now probably once Hiromi comes back and Aguilera becomes a Kamen Rider. Wild guess! For now, the point is to give Revice a clean, decisive win, and lay out the storylines for the show to address outside the pressure of All The Demons Are Going Crazy.

What we’re shown is a bit of a mixed bag, as far as my interest is concerned. A bummer to see Genta/Junpei “in hiding”, but I think it creates a nice cloud over the Igarashi household, dramatically. There’s this absence now, and that’s maybe worth more than Genta looking sheepish and worried in the living room. Meanwhile, Sakura’s thrown in with Weekend, and Daiji’s thrown in with Fenix; two decisions that I’m sure no one’s going to immediately regret. But they’re young! Let them make dumb, idealistic decisions! I’m willing to believe in them, just this little bit.

Because, boy, this show can absolutely nail a story when it puts its mind to it. Very happy with how this one came out!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice28b.png

So since everyone loves to repeat the inaccurate version of the “Hiromi was supposed to die in episode 1’s draft script” (as I said when I first shared it, he was supposed to die in the OUTLINE for episode 1), here’s another death fact. Aguilera was supposed to die in this episode, consumed by Giff. It’s kind of obvious in the finished episode, given that after Giff reacts to her pleas like she made tasteless jokes about his sick wife on stage, all she gets are a few scenes with Tamaki that look like they were added in post-production, and the only acknowledgment she gets from anyone else is Sakura calling her name, which could easily have been for an impromptu mourning session.

And yes, I do love Revice the suit (strange that we”re only introducing the lead Rider 28 episodes). I’ve never really understood the vitriol towards it. If someone’s going to say it looks gaudy… do you even Revice? The guy has bright blue and pink as his main colours, and his second upgrade suit has fire painted onto it.

That just leaves one person out of the upgrade party.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...62/unknown.png

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: We’re finally back to normal, after what seems like forever.

Vice: So to celebrate, let’s get on with looking at today’s Vistamp.

Thunder Gale!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iMBvILujp8I

Together as one! Do you think it’s cozy? Super cool! A new style like a thunderstorm! Kamen Rider Revice!

George: Wonderful! It's Kamen Rider Revice, where humans and demons are subject to a sparking rebirth! By the power of the Thunder Gale Vistamp, the super flashy blow that is violently, quickly, and from the stormy demeanour is exactly the wind and lightning! Marvellous & Sensational!! It is no longer an exaggeration to say that it is the complete form of the Revice system.

(Enter Den-O)

Den-O: So, you guys managed to finally combine as one. I’m proud of ya. Tell me, do you take over his mind?

Vice: Um, no. That was kind of the last one.

(Enter W Xtreme)

W: (Phillip) Do you sit back and provide tactical advice for your partner to use in battle?

Vice: Well, I’m not really a helpful guy at the best of times…

(Enter Zi-O Trinity)

Zi-O Trinity: (Sougo) Do you guys take it turns being in control then?

Geiz!

Zi-O Trinity: (Geiz) You say that like you actually give us an opportunity to take over most of the time.

Tsukuyomi!

Zi-O Trinity: (Tsukuyomi) Confused by my presence here? Find someone to translate the Zi-O Novel by Kento Shimoyama-sensei. Out now in every good Japanese bookstore.

Ikki: Will everyone stop bombarding us? Can’t we figure out our partnership fusion on our own terms?

(Enter Leangle)

Leangle: At least you guys have a partnership. (The Spider Undead’s laughter can be heard)

W: (Shotaro) Awkward.

George: Anyway, I’d like to announce that we won’t be doing this segment for the next episode, since we don’t have a Vistamp lined up to talk about. So all we can say is, see you next time.

Looking at Holy Live now had all that green been red and certain parts were black the first thing I would've thought would be karasu tengu. Must be the chest armor and boots.

Other than Vail and Olteca's demise, the other antagonists here are still given setups.

• Aguilera trying to reach out to Giff as he more and more acts on his own, only to get (funnily) slapped by him after it seems that Giff is caressing her face which likely shattered Aguilera's delusion of Giff being her love (this is the only scenario that can advance Aguilera's character, Sakura trying to get her away from Giff won't do anything).
• Tamaki continuing his loyalty to Aguilera (finally his portrayal isn't being a comic relief punching bag here).
• Akaishi still not acting much and only praising Daiji (as well as a setup for Daiji curing Fenix from its corruption).
• Giff getting resurrected.

However, I lost faith of how Revice would handle them (partially the reason Olteca may better stay), given their current track record of them like Kagerou before, and including Ikki fighting himself in this episode if Vice can qualify here (more on that below). Vail was the twist that is done really well before, and actually had him being more fleshed out with good build up using Hiromi and is well-written regarding his conflict with the Igarashis, compared to the others, and so far I only saw Vail as the real potential of being a compelling antagonist (and there's also a setup for Genta, him recovering all of his memories with Buu-san helping him as well as temporarily leaving his family).

Ikki's fight with himself involves him waking up in a surreal version of Happy Spa, with his family members acting weird, the more serious Daiji and Sakura instead childishly playing with a plane and stuffing her face with huge foods (in both size and quantity) respectively, and Giftarians taking a bath in the onsen and seductively inviting him to join. That might be some comedy material, but it's left insignificant in the long run, as the next 2 confrontations didn't touch any of the weirdness in the Happy Spa in his head; the first confrontation being Vail facing off Ikki (unless Vail made that version of Happy Spa in Ikki's head to psyche out Ikki).

Like I said above, as a yandere for Genta, Vail's threat to Ikki is done well and is more than just both fighting it out, as he knows there are more of someone he can target with, Vail tried to mind rape Ikki to crush his hopes that his family can be normal and happy, due to how all of them are devils too (of which it's used against Olteca instead), and tried to convince him to leave the family instead.

Of course, this won't work as he.. Vailed to notice what does Ikki actually want, he had made himself suffer constantly before (y'know, like ep. 2 to let himself die when Vice won't comply for instant), thus his persuasion doesn't work albeit Vail is still confident of his power to dispose the Igarashis, which kinda reminds me of Gaim too in Redyue (who also uses illusions for that) trying and failing to convince Kouta to give up saving people due to how he's going to be hated, but not being hated isn't really what Kouta aims thus it failed.

The second one being Ikki fighting Vice within himself, of which Vice gains Ikki's head too. Outside of Vice looking more silly as Ikki like a cheap cosplay, the quality of the writing here isn't better either. There's Vice beating Ikki up physically, but then it's merely about Ikki remembering the time he and Vice spent, and declaring to be Vice's protector, then then fighting back by slashing Vice. And... that's it. It's significantly more flat of a conflict as well as the resolution, compared to the previous Ikki and Vice interactions. What are Vice's thoughts and feelings there? What's in his mind as he beats Ikki up there despite that they're buddies since ep. 13? Even what's the explanation between Vice now having Ikki's head, despite that Vice is recognized as another Ikki even before literally having same head?

And as no way Vice was killed after Ikki slashed him (but it's the moment that had Ikki back as Revice), also what causes Vice to stop his beating of Ikki there and make up with him for the eponymous Revice's debut? I guess this is a prime example (at least to me) of how a tokusatsu won't be complete with the suits or fighting alone, the mere surface, but the characters and stories matter more instead of people fighting in silly colorful costumes, of which the Ikki and Vice conflict here is about the fighting only mostly (and not that much of it too), albeit the character part is highlighted one-sidedly in Ikki, but still won't be enough with his monologue alone.

The show is called Kamen Rider Revice, but the eponymous Rider has never appeared... until now, takes 28 episodes to do so (albeit the super form is called Revice but with an added 'Jack'). And this is the end of the 2nd arc, but so does Olteca (with Seki Hayata getting flowers) who turned out to only acted as a villain of 1 arc. After all, it's not even final form debut yet, Revice is an upgraded super form. so it'd be similar to Build RabbitRabbit & TankTank for Build equivalent (and Jack Revice kinda looked like Build Hazard, with also berserk side effects). But by that Revice's design looks worse I agree, with too flashy and contrasting color scheme. Though I'd say Revice's performance is more impressive than Olteca's to other Riders, I'd also think the thunder gale theme is also quite random, and unrelated to what's already established before, with Revice having prehistoric motif and previous Riders (and George's still the one to give the Thunder Gale ViStamp..). Volcano Rex does have elemental power in fire and ice, but it's prehistoric related in ice age and as per its namesake, volcanoes being a frequent presence in dinosaur-related themes.

This episode features the 3rd user of Demons, which is George. Character-wise here, though I stopped making good assumptions about George since his mostly callous disposal of Hiromi and working with Akaishi even at his 'helpful' moments later (reverting Ikki back after Jack Revice's debut, and the characters like Vice also distrusted him), I guess for this one, George and his concern to the Igarashis (other than refering Sakura as karate girl) is really about him genuinely becoming more good, albeit it's not about him never being bad before, instead it's him developing to be a better person (at least to the Igarashis), likely he did after learning about Igarashi's backstory, or about his conflict with his father (surpassing him and not immediately forgiving him) being about him not being pleased to his father's actions instead of him seeing his father as an obstacle in his goals. It's also good for Masumi's wish for George to not become like him. Other than that, it shows Sakura being fully aligned with Weekend, and offering support to even Masumi or hoping for the Karizakis to make up for the sake of beating Giff.

He had some resemblance to Kuroto before in praising himself or being petty (either conflict to Vice or reaction to outside ViStamp presence), but regarding his father, it's not like Kuroto at all, who framed Masamune for his own benefit. He even learns from Hiromi too, whose Kamen Rider ideals he previously mocked despite being a KR fanboy, to believe more and take action, as being a bystander who just talks big, especially for someone as capable as George (not an average joe who only can be a bystander) would be a waste, more than mocking Hiromi's tenacity to keep fighting as futile. It's likely time for him to finally grasp the true spirit of Kamen Rider franchise, instead of being a superficial KR fanboy; only liking the violence, suit design, and powers, but his actions before being the opposite of KR spirit, manipulating others for his own goal as well as pursuing power without considering morality.

While his alignment may change for good here, he was never an average scientist like he claims, with how he works out and holding his own to Olteca, and it's used to a great effect here, with him using Demons spectacularly, using tricks like webbing Jack Revice around (being the one to resemble Spider-Man the most in fighting), as well as cause physical damage to Olteca (before he regenerates), only being stopped by his Driver's limit.

George may've been impressive against Olteca, but don't know if it's actually Olteca's Phase 4 form (or hell, Giff) being less impressive than what's expected too. It's definitely stronger than Demons with triple Genomix though, as how it beats Holy Live who beats said Demons before. While Olteca does have Giff's regeneration as well as him boasting about it, it may also seem that Olteca had mediocre durability to have attacks from any others including Jeanne cause damage (also parts falling off from Holy Live) to show off the regeneration. Though to be honest, I don't think that Olteca's debut as Demons before had really impressive showings either albeit his Demons is clearly stronger, unless they purposely wanted to make Olteca not much above the heroes with them still being able to push around and fight him off for a bit. Either of Olteca's debut as the bigger fish (Demons, Anomalocaris) wasn't as impressive as the likes of Ark's debut or something.

There's surprisingly a parallel made up between Ikki and Olteca here (albeit it's obvious that Ikki had the most hatred to Olteca before for good reason, burning himself while using Volcano Rex for example, and declaring him as unforgivable with the lines he crossed), with Olteca's fighting scene against George and Igarashis transitioning into Ikki's confrontation with Vice, as well as Olteca trying to pull out not so different remark on Revice and even... the flashbacks of Olteca being together with other Deadman trio in his demise. Though the latter 2 did nothing to make Olteca look better as Ikki and Vice aren't devils (.. but Revice) and thus isn't the same as piece of shit like Olteca merging with Giff, this quite throws the usual Kamen Rider sthick of hero and villain having similar source/type of power, but it shows it doesn't matter what type of power they use, what matters is the morality of the person and how the power is used, power merely enhances the impact of what they do, if they're evil they can cause worldwide damage, if they're good they can save people from big threats. And for the Deadman trio flashbacks, of course it's Olteca calmly stating that his world domination goal failed, seeing his former allies as something to further that goal.

Otherwise, so my theory previously about Olteca's end being near, like someone such as Sid in Gaim, is actually true. He's only a main antagonist wannabe overall. Just that previous irredeemable villains that are wannabes too like Asakura (who also held a kid at gunpoint) or Kitazaki got their demise at the end of the series instead of middle, which leaves me thinking if Olteca's death happened too fast, if there are still more things they can explore regarding him, like his ambiguous nature if he's human or not (in how Vail smells him, or if Vail refers to his sociopathic nature), or also the Deadman trio's feelings (not mourning, mind you) of what their former ally has become/crossed especially Aguilera's decision to team up with him again (or that's saved for next ones).

Granted though, Olteca's threat has diminished lately with his threat depending on what Vail does (leaving or returning), and then Demons with triple Genomixes being overwhelmed by Holy Live, and despite being the first to reach Phase 4 in Anomalocaris Deadman, at the end of the day, he's only a mere human after he's separated from Giff, so it's plausible to assume he's dying soon. Other than that it's great though that they don't redeem Olteca, keeping him being the worst that he is until his death, and his death too was a karmic one, he spent his time sacrificing a bunch of people for his own benefits, then he ended up becoming the final sacrifice for Giff, w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶'̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶S̶c̶i̶s̶s̶o̶r̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶O̶u̶j̶a̶,̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶t̶a̶l̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶R̶y̶u̶k̶i̶.