Magiranger is the one blemish on a year where we were gifted with Kamen Rider Hibiki, Garo, and Ultraman Max de gozarimasu desu. It?s not the worst Sentai I?ve ever tried to watch (Goseieger), but it?s not good in a way that?s even more obvious considering its contemporaries de gozarimasu desu.

As for this episode of W: I do not even slightly remember it. Kirihiko?s sister can definitely rock a trilby, though, and that is not a concept that should exist.

Just got done watching episodes 31 and 32, and, look, I'm not doing this on purpose.

But I really did not like these two episodes for the most part. The Shotaro stuff is great, for sure, but I did not care at all for everything surrounding it.

The catalysts for everything going on are things that I really just found to be stupid. Bito and his romance are things that the show portrays sympathetically when if I anything it just makes think of how stupid everyone involved is.

Where it really got aggravating was how characters note how kind Sokichi was in handling the situation, when I'd argue otherwise. Sokichi outright went "Not my problem" on the whole thing which is not kindness, it's letting his client, someone he was portrayed as being obsessively caring about, go and ruin his own life over something not even remotely worth it. "Hell of a man" my ass.

Meanwhile, when Shotaro tries to spare people's' feelings over the entire scenario, he's regarded as an idiot. It's an incredibly infuriating double standard made even more annoying by how I did not like Bito at all and wanted him to just get lost rather than learn any sort of lesson.

Adding even more to the overarching plot of the show not being the best, Wakana is now back to her old self suddenly, making the whole drug trip ordeal pretty pointless. And if memory serves, the scenes with her here are the point in which she fully turns to the side of Sonozaki's', which makes even less sense. Either she's in her right mind or not, and the show sure as heck isn't about to take responsibility either way.

But, it's not all bad. I did like how these episode very blatantly spell out how Shroud is being manipulative and always has been for anyone who didn't get why she does why she does, and again, Shotaro is wonderful here. His inner strength is on full display throughout this arc, wherein despite everything beating him down, he still does his best to do what he can, and keeps moving forward. That's one of the big lessons of the franchise as a whole, ontop of just being a wonderful character trait regardless.

It's just such a shame that all the negatives really detract from the great scenes these episodes otherwise have. Sokichi singing "Nobody's Perfect" is, on paper, something that's really emotionally powerful. But in the context of the Bito stuff it's a lesson that really falls flat at best and is an incredibly problematic viewpoint to have in regards to active abusers and criminals at worst. Heck, I'd almost forgotten that these episodes actually contain one of my favorite scenes in the show: Philip telling Shotaro that he loves Shotaro for who he is regardless of anything. Whether one reads it as platonic or romantic, it's wonderful.

Just... yeah. I really couldn't get past the negatives on this rewatch. Sorry.

It is honestly both surprising and gratifying that the series would randomly decide to bring up Kirihiko's death at this point in the series. I like how it's not some huge lead-up, or massive twist -- it's just a story about Kirihiko's sister, dropped in from wherever. Feels more natural that way, I think.

This is just the 2nd Place version of the Kirihiko/Shotaro relationship that the producers were too cowardly to pull the trigger on.

Some of this is just Noir Romance, though? Bitou's love for Bell didn't make any sense, but he couldn't stop himself. Even if he'd known she was behind the attack on the armored car, he'd've probably taken the fall for her anyway. At least with Sokichi's attempt at kindness, Bitou could take some solace in protecting Bell, rather than knowing he was a sap, a patsy.

Like, this is just a noir love story, where a good man falls for a bad woman and pays the price for it, but he still fell in love with her. No one's going to argue sense into Bitou, you know?

Yuko even named her cat Kino, which is literally Japanese for Yesterday but also sounds like a totally normal name. I don't recall if this detail was actually mentioned in the episode or just something TV-Nihon put at the top of the screen, but I remember it for how Yuko managed to hide her secret villain identity in plain sight like that. However, the biggest surprise is her relation to Kirihiko and sharing his hopelessly doomed attempt to get involved with Museum. Fitting for someone who makes others repeat yesterday.

Yesterday's ability is crazy for sure and that's why she's my favorite Dopant MOTW. It's dangerous how easily she was able to damage Double's reputation like that. Makes me curious about the limits, like if you put a wall in front of Shoutarou while he's under her spell and he walks in to it, then how does he perceive it? Terui had an opportunity to try this before Shoutarou left the base, but he was too confused by what was happening.

Goseiger.... Do you have beef with Datas' speech pattern as well?

It's mentioned, yeah. The very first scene is Yuuko saying her cat was lost yesterday, and both Shotaro and Akiko are like, "Yesterday was lost... yesterday?" It's a very cute scene that helps ease into the slightly confusing setup of the Dopant's abilities.

It was the first Sentai I watched and I just thought it was really dumb coming in after Power Rangers RPM. I absolutely used to have a decent rant saved up about GoseiPink willing to let her teammates die because she was too busy baking a birthday cake, though.

Oh yeah, that cold open scene is coming back to me now. Clever way to introduce the client as cute and innocuous, while also foreshadowing the Dopant reveal.

What terrible luck that your first Sentai was also your least favorite.

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 34 - “Y’S TRAGEDY - BROTHER AND SISTER”

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Such a perfect episode! Right up until the last two minutes!!!

Before that, though, it’s so good. Beautifully filmed, considerate in its characterization, moody without being maudlin or histrionic, keenly aware of its metaphor… it’s so good. It’s such a smart episode. For most of its runtime.

Like, I can believe they actually got Kirihiko to come back for a scene? It wasn’t strictly necessary – this is a story about memory and letting go of the past, so he didn’t need to physically appear at all – but it’s a nice touch to include a pre-forcible divorce scene where Kirihiko calls his newly-established kid sister and makes sure she’s okay. It just pluses up that side of the story, and I respect the producers going the extra mile for it.

Especially because this episode was already so good without it? The exploration of The Real Yukie is even more charismatic and compelling than the fake Yuuko from last time. She’s completely the woman that Shotaro would fall for – committed to her sense of justice, cunning in her execution of it, and preferential to hats and vests. (I thought that was just for Shotaro’s benefit, but she seriously wears them all the time?) She’s got a real Irene Adler thing going on throughout this, where she’s sort of into the game of manipulating Shotaro, just to see how long she can outsmart him. She’s never 100% honest with him, but she trusts him to see the truth of her regardless.

And then we’ve got Saeko, who builds out the rest of this story about knowing when to let go of the past. While Yukie needs to put her vengeance to rest before it kills her, Saeko needs to kill Yukie to truly put Kirihiko behind her. She’s not exactly mourning Kirihiko, or regretting her role in his death (i.e., killing him), but defeating the vengeance of Kirihiko is another step towards becoming a more fearsome and remorseless villain.

Speaking of, it’s actually pretty great to have Isaka show up as the final boss of this story, instead of Saeko. He’s here as the narrative’s replacement of Kirihiko, a refutation of his humanity and eventual decency. Isaka gets his ass handed to him as a tiny victory for a guy who loved Fuuto, but isn’t around to protect it anymore. A little gift, nothing more.

And then we get the ending.

I don’t know if I’ve ever groaned louder than when Shotaro narrated that Yukie was stricken by Narratively Convenient Amnesia, a heretofore unknown side effect of utilizing the Yesterday Memory. It’s not only such a gigantic cheat, a sloppy way of making sure that Shotaro’s New Crush doesn’t hang around the series for more than a two-parter, but it directly undercuts all of the character growth this entire story has been constructing for her. It’s important that she’s aware of her actions, so she can truly grapple with the weight of Kirihiko’s absence, and what her life looks like after vengeance. She has to choose to let yesterday go. Instead, she’s got amnesia, maybe someday she won’t, coffee gags, credits. It’s so frustrating to have a smart story rush through a stupid ending, and it makes me almost as mad as the rest of the story made me happy.

I hate that this is the last thing I can talk about from this episode, her dumb Narratively Convenient Amnesia. I wanted the ending to be as smart and sad and beautiful as the rest of the story, but WOW was it not. I guess I’ll just have to let it go, in time. Or maybe I’ll hit my head and forget everything that happened. Either or!

—

DIE-A MEMORIES

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-Another gorgeously shot episode. Look at them screencaps!

-Wakana’s fine now, everybody. Fun conclusion to that plot.

-I like how mad at himself Philip is that he didn’t catch Yuuko’s pun pseudonym. I don’t think it’s a good one – Fuwa Yuuko = Who Are You, I really don’t think that’s how those syllables work – but Philip does not love being outsmarted, and that’s a fun shade for him to play.

The first episode involving the fight against Yesterday and subsequent playback is honestly one of my favorite fights in this show. It's such a clever usage of scenery and a Dopant ability that it instantly sticks in my head. Likewise, I already knew the twist before the end of the first episode, mostly because that's one of the things I somehow remembered from W.

These are a really nice pair of episodes to be honest, and honestly I don't mind the ending too much because from how I've seen this show work, introducing Yukie so suddenly like this without any prior build up? She wasn't making it past this two-parter.

But I do like how they at least leave an open door of maybe one day she'll remember. That being said the coffee gag we landed on at the end of the episode, I'll agree, was not really the best. I think if it had ended in a more wistful fashion, I'd call this set of episodes pretty good.

The added Kirihiko scenes are really nice, and honestly just make me more annoyed at later events since this is a rather post-mortem to Kirihiko's story.

Speaking of Kirihiko, I think it's time i finally deliver some sort of thought on Isaka since I feel Isaka fills a similar role what with his rank as a 3rd Party Commander. Which is to say... Terui's really doing all the heavy lifting in regards to anything regarding Weather isn't he? Like, the build up to him was good, clever and that came back in cool ways but... Isaka's kind of just not doing anything for me? Love the Weather Dopant as a design, but the dude is not hitting any kind of button for me to get excited about any of his confrontations.

Yeah, Isaka's problem after his debut is that he just... sort of exists? And that's all? There's his growing relationship with Saeko as a subplot, but as far as actual modern-day villainous acts, we've only really got the stuff he pulled on Wakana, which completely fizzled out as any sort of tension in the narrative. Terui Wants Revenge, and Isaka Is Around -- that's it for these two?

(Some of this is also the larger problem of W's premise not really evolving in any serious way, with zero consistent escalation in either stakes or hostilities, but that's not really Isaka's fault.)

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 35 - “BEYOND R - A MONSTROUS RAIN APPROACHES”

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Part of me wanted to just repost everything I wrote for Episode 31, because this one is basically that one, but for Terui.

Like, this has got to be a living nightmare for Terui, right? A young woman who reminds him of his dead sister, terrorized by Isaka, and Terui is powerless to protect her. Short of anyone asking him questions or the Fuuto P.D. banning detectives from wearing leather, this is as bad as it could possibly get for Terui. He wants revenge on Isaka to assuage the survivor’s guilt he feels, and now he has to watch a young woman get terrorized so bad she becomes an Aztec snake bird god, all while Isaka becomes more powerful in the process.

But where this version of 31/32 pivots is that it’s not at all a story about finding the validity of yourself within a group, or letting your weakness be a strength for others, it’s a Terui story: this one’s about him becoming even more fixated on his goals, to the exclusion of everything else in his life. It is a story of the beneficial aspects of near-psychotic obsession…?

I mean, we’ll see where it goes in the second part, but I honestly don’t mind if this thing just lands on Shotaro’s aphorism about men finding strength within themselves as long as they have someone to protect. It’s good because it’s a more admirable trait of Terui’s, different from his introductory bloodlust. This one’s about Terui wanting to keep someone else from having to suffer, and stopping Isaka for good is just a way of achieving that goal. It turns Terui into a hero, instead of a vigilante, and hopefully that’s okay with Shroud.

While we don’t get more of Shroud’s backstory (beyond hanging out in forests and renting dirtbike courses, totally good clues to provide), we do get Isaka’s, and it’s okay. He’s been a guy hyper-obsessed with gaining power and admiring Dopants, so his backstory is… that he saw a Dopant and admired it so much that he became hyper-obsessed with gaining its power. As revelations go, it’s, y’know, not one, but as we’re clearly in a climactic story for the Weather Dopant, we might as well cross our I’s and dot our T’s. Still, even if it doesn’t fundamentally change the way we look at Isaka or Saeko, at least they’re finally making a move on a definable goal – namely, getting the Terror Memory from Ryubei, somehow at some point.

(I… am using “definable goal” somewhat loosely, it would seem. It’s still a step above randomly providing Gaia Memories to strangers and observing the results!)

Mostly, though, this is a Terui spotlight story, so everything else is either an obstacle he’ll need to overcome (Isaka, himself) or something that exists to burnish his heroic bonafides (Team Double, Nagi). Much like Terui himself, this is an episode that needs an almost obsessive focus to work, and it’s fitting that folks like Shotaro and Philip are left to stand around commenting on Terui’s worldview. If they got more involved, they’d just end up asking him questions, and, well…

—

DIE-A MEMORIES

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-OH HO HO IF IT ISN’T THE TRIAL DIRTBIKE TRACK. I haven’t exactly missed it, but I love how much of an insane closer that shot is for a story of soul-scouring anger and inescapable terror. Shroud might as well have taken him to a roller rink, or a laser tag course. I love the tonal incongruity of it so so much.

-Best gag in the episode is Nagi calling Terui a pervert as a scheme to get out of his grasp. It’d probably work on almost any dude, but it is incredibly effective against a stern dude wearing a full-body red leather outfit. Bonus points for Shotaro and Akiko trying to wriggle out of the angry crowd’s accusations that a cosplay detective and shoe-wielding middle schooler are also perverts!

This brings me back to the Showa era Kamen Riders, the first show and V3 in particular, because I remember the early episodes of those shows had at least one scene where the protagonist would be riding their bikes on a track such as this one iirc. And the opening clip for Elements aka the second Kamen Rider Blade opening theme as well, though that I believe was more of a random dirt area than a proper track.

Mine goes immediately to Amazon and the episode where Tachibana decided that it made perfect sense to teach a naked dude who didn't understand a word of Japanese how to ride a motorcycle.

That episode was amazing in so many ways. My favorite part: Amazon literally picking up his bike and chucking it into the sea. Dude was ahead of his time on the series rejecting bike stunts!

As I don't truck with Showa, my reference point for Kamen Rider dirtbike tracks naturally goes to the Heisei series that's synonymous with both bikes and bike tricks: Hibiki.

So, while it doesn’t fall under any of my alerts, the girl this week was in an idol group with the “desu” girl from the Nightmare two-parter. And that’s all I have casting wise.

Plot wise, I see the show is continuing the theme of prehistoric animal themed Dopants with unpronounceable names (in this case, Quetzalcoatlus). There’s a more general opinion I have, but I’ll save it for next time.

Yuuko's cat is named 'Kinou' which is the Japanese word for 'yesterday', and hilarously gets translated to local language too in my airing. Shotaro apparently have learned a thing or two from Bitou, to finger snap Akiko for underestimating the case, as the cat also had precious memories for the owners (really Akiko, for someone who previously won't make dolls cry?), so Shotaro had something to counter against Akiko's slipper (and appreciate balanced slapstick between men and women). About Wakana reporting about Saeko's event being targeted, Saeko and Isaka are just nonchalant reaction as it's a habit of Saeko's work. It's like Miyabi's challenge in ep. 5-6 of being hated as a politician and that they have to take it to be accomplished, but taken to a dark degree here (not that Miyabi was clean) due to the target being a supervillainess and thus can outright eliminate threats.

Yeah true, don't know what's the deal with Saeko here, brushing off Wakana who tries to pull her and didn't move a single inch in human form. Accel forces W outside and Phillip uses Xtreme to neutralize the Yesterday brand. The Yesterday Dopant arrives, and luckily W retains his Xtreme form, and as a final form, easily gains the upper hand as Yesterday escapes. But Accel stops her as they've figured it out. Yesterday reverts to human form, revealing her true identity (and true name being Yukie Sudo, Kirihiko's little sister) in front of the main cast. Though Shotaro assumes that she wanted revenge to the Museum, apparently what she wants is to become a member of the Museum and surprass her brother. As she turns into Yesterday again to bombard W, Xtreme shows off his power by not just blocking all of them with the shield, he can even prepare his Maximum Drive which slots 4 Gaia Memories uninterrupted. Though funnily (or it's further show-off), he uses the close-ranged Bicker Charge Break instead of the far-ranged Bicker Finalusion.

For this one, I agree that the mockery of Shotaro's detective work is warranted. Shotaro applies Sokichi's teaching to think like someone you're looking for.. of which Shotaro pretends to be a cat here. It's a literal-minded take and just making yourself look like a fool, and Akiko hits him with her slipper for this as Sokichi's advice can only be applied to people. However, Yuuko agrees with Shotaro's approach, to try all the possibilities, of which Akiko, being the sane one for once here, sarcastically remarks that they're a perfect team. After fighting the Yesterday Dopant in the conference hall, Yuuko retrieved Kinou by herself, but still thanked Shotaro. Shotaro warns her to go home for safety as Akiko tries to charge her. Seemingly a typical happy ending and case closed right.... but this is still (sorry Shotaro) half of the episode, not to mention Yuuko claimed about tomorrow being interesting.

After being marked, Shotaro unwittingly mocks Terui due to repeating his words from last day. Akiko is obviously puzzled again by Shotaro's actions, which aren't even sane to begin with last day, as Philip informs her about his situation. When Shotaro jumps from high building previously as W, but now in human form, Akiko had to inform Phillip to henshin to save Shotaro from heights. So this shows that Kamen Riders can take fall from high places, but Yukie might fail here if Akiko doesn't intervene, no one to attack Saeko. Their fight at the end, obviously a final form like Xtreme would prevail by not just blocking all of them with the shield, he can even prepare his Maximum Drive which slots 4 Gaia Memories uninterrupted. Though funnily (or it's further show-off), he uses the close-ranged Bicker Charge Break instead of the far-ranged Bicker Finalusion.

Yeah, I definitely was not planning on talking too much about the specific Memory that Isaka was trying to unlock. I don't want to keep consulting a screencap to make sure I'm spelling it right!

If you're a subbing team handling this episode, you HAVE to translate the cat's name. It's the only way half the jokes in the first scene work!

I think some of this is also, like, Shotaro showing off for Yuuko. I think he knows that he won't find a cat by pretending to be a cat, but Yuuko finds it charming, so he's probably gonna call that a win.

When Yukie confronts Taboo, she discredits his brother as he threw away his opportunity at Museum due to pride, despite having a journal on his computer at Digal, and claims she can do much more at Museum. Yukie displays apparently warmer side when going to her old daycare center, amicably interacting with the landlady including her problems of land development people trying to force the land off them. The flashbacks show Yukie to be anything but hateful for Kirihiko as well, playing together happily, and Kirihiko was the one to tell her to go to Narumi Detective Agency for problems.

And it's eventually revealed Yukie's motive is really to avenge Kirihiko, and her method is letting the opponent's guard down. I think the part veers into more generic part despite at first it attempts to subvert the generic approach (the cast assumes she wants to avenge Kirihiko, which she denies, but it's actually the case). Would like to see a different approach of a (killed) loved ones as a stepping stone to ascend instead of a fuel for revenge (already done multiple times like in Terui and Aya), and/or likely the reaction if she's doing worse than Kirihiko or such.

Yukie's consistently standoffish to Shotaro, despite begrudgingly acknowledging his skills, to brush away even the landlady she was nice too when Shotaro waits for her in the daycare. Shotaro is interacting with the kids himself, teaching them to fly a whirlwind spinner. There's a rare smile from him as the wind blows as well. I guess Shotaro is more good with kids than he thought as in ep. 5-6 and it was more of the case of him not being good to tell (harsh) truths (as he's like that to Akiko too)? The do-gooder antics is something that made Yukie fed up, dismissing his insistence to solve cases as foolish, and exploits that by raining the whole city with Yesterday brands, so W would be busy destroying all of them. Terui also calls out Shotaro for stopping. Terui would still prefer if Shotaro finished off Dopants like Yukie ohere.

W uses Xtreme and its battle analyzing capabilities on Yesterday to free her from the influence of the brand with Prism Break. And here, Weather's hatred to Accel is now mutual, he has a distaste for reminiscing (and Accel's revenge would relate to the past). Xtreme's power is too much even for Weather, as he can shrug off Weather's blasts without the Prism Bicker's shield. Xtreme can deliver energy punches as well. Xtreme uses his kick Maximum Drive, Double Xtreme, which levitates him with a tornado before a dropkick to the target with the green wind. Though the tornado is grander than Joker Extreme, the finisher is less unique than CycloneJoker's, obviously, Xtreme can't split into 2 as there's a white band in the middle, but I'd wish that the tornado isn't just aesthetic.

Well yeah, regardless of her target being Museum, as Akiko pointed out, it's terrible of her to spread Yesterday brands, albeit Shotaro still assumes that she limited herself so that W can intercept all the brand and that it's merely a distraction, but Shotaro's someone who puts his complete faith and trust in any clients regardless of their nature. About Yukie suddenly forgetting about the cast, it is treated as it being figuratively the end of her revenge as her past is wiped clean, but is hoping for her to atone for her crimes when she can regain her past.... again with Shotaro just hoping the best for the clients.

Just finished the Yesterday two-parter, and I actually somewhat agree with you on it being close to perfect.

However, it was not Yukie getting amnesia that annoyed me. There, I get the dramatic irony of her past literally escaping her rather than the other way around. As well as it meaning her memories returning will hit her like a brick wall later on. Like coffee, her fate is more bittersweet than any outright swing one way or another.

No, what more annoyed me was Isaka and Saeko, because it goes back to my problem of Isaka being boringly invincible. Sure, Isaka doesn't go by completely unscathed, but the only reason Saeko lives by the end of all of this is through him. And yeah, I get it, no way was she gonna bite it this early on, but given that we knew nothing about how the Taboo Memory actually worked up to now, why not just say that it has the power to undo brands/curses/rules/whatever term they wanna use? Instead, no, it's all thanks to Doctor Boring and his Magic Science. Which means that the Taboo Memory probably is literally only good for flight and energy blasts, which is lame.

I also called foul and Wakana's' claim that Saeko was looking back on Kirihiko with any sort of fondness or regret. Gonna give a big NO to that one.

But despite that, everything else about the two episodes is good, so I'm not about to say the whole experience was ruined or anything like that.

Sure, but this story made it pretty clear that Yukie wasn't a total sociopath. She definitely killed people -- which the conclusion is smart to point out -- but they were a variety of scumbags and criminals, not innocents. (Except for anyone run over by that one dude who drove his car through a neighborhood?) I'm on Team Double's side, she specifically sprayed those brands in a way that she knew Double could handle.

That is for sure Wakana projecting, yeah. Saeko's only regret is that she can't murder him all over again.

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 36 - “BEYOND R - LEAVE ALL BEHIND”

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Okay episode.

I wish I liked this one more? It doesn’t really do anything wrong, but a lot of its conclusions are either things I felt like landed better before (Terui’s heroic turn in… I want to say Episode 28?) or are things I was never particularly invested in (Saeko’s feelings about her dad). It’s an episode split between the Sonozaki family and Terui, but neither of them completely held my interest.

Let’s talk about Terui first, since this is his Upgrade Form story. Like I mentioned last time, I’m good with them landing this story on Terui’s protective feelings for Nagi outweighing his hatred for Isaka. While Shroud’s here to yet again get it wrong, I don’t feel like this story ever really tried to say that Terui’s motivation was anything other than saving that girl from Isaka. There’s no conflict in Terui, which makes his attempts to tame the Trial Memory come off less like a spiritual awakening and more like a fairly standard training montage. (And, look, I’m just saying: a guy who turns into a motorcycle should’ve been able to run that track on his own power.) It’s nice to see him succeed, and his victory over Isaka is pretty glorious, but this all felt like a semi-perfunctory Time To Close The Book On Isaka story, not anything that required a reexamination of Terui’s psychology. Not exactly the same as Shotaro having to reckon with the power of his weakness, you know?

And then there’s Saeko choosing Isaka over her family, and it’s… shot well? I liked how it all looked, and I like the escalation of tension within the villain group just as the heroes are becoming more powerful, and I like the idea that Isaka is – like Terui – finding a motivation beyond where he started from, but I kind of don’t care a whole lot. Saeko’s scenes with Isaka have always been too one-note for me (and that note is There Are Kids Watching), and I don’t know that she’s ever been portrayed with enough nuance to care about whether she feels like she gets enough respect from her crime-boss father. Isaka, meanwhile, is clearly just counting the 9.8 scenes until he’s offed, so his threats against Ryubei are a nice nod to an overall goal that is basically never ever going to happen. So much of the middle part of this episode feels like it’s killing time until Terui is allowed to leave the track, even if it’s the best version of killing time that I can think of.

It sounds like I hated this episode, but I really didn’t. It’s fine. The debut of Accel Trial is super cool, and this whole story is a gigantic win for the most appealing version of Terui. It just – it never felt like it had any fun twists on it, and so much of the Sonozaki side of things featured the inner lives of characters I was never terribly curious about. It’s a solid episode, but something this important to the character of Accel should’ve probably managed better than “solid”.

—

DIE-A MEMORIES

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-Accel Trial!

-Not many Upgrade Forms are actually slimmer than the Base Form (not counting, uh, all of Kabuto and Ex-Aid?), but I really like it here. It sells Speed in such a simple way, which is very fun. The blue is also an easy flip from Accel’s red. Just a couple clean decisions that result in an attractive suit.

-I love that there’s a yellow mid-form change that doesn’t actually do anything… yet.

Yeah this was a fairly alright two-parter, and again as I mentioned earlier, Terui alongside our guest this time, Nagi, were very much carrying the entirety of this two-parter on their shoulders. Whether it was the revelation that Terui's necklace was a gift from his sister, the fact that he utterly fails and yet his presence is enough to stall out the worst case scenario, or even Nagi's desperate hope that Terui will manage to actually beat the sicko who has made her life a living hell.

Real good stuff.

I've already said my piece on Isaka, and this two-parter didn't really give me any actual nicer things to say about him as a character. Will say I forgot we got a "dream-sequence" of him using the Dopant's wings. That was a silly image I entirely forgot about.

And while I don't really care much for the Sonozaki stuff this time around... there was one bit I really loved. That was where we get a clear shot of only Saeko and Isaka alone as she's shaving him, following Saeko only to pan over with her again and suddenly Ryubei is there despite no signs of him being in or entering the room seconds earlier. It's such a horror movie-esque choice to do and I honestly loved that little shot as a result.

Accel Trial's debut is still as fun as I remember it being. It's a simplistic form but it's effective in how it's portrayed and I'm sure the suit actor appreciates the lighter armor on his upper body.

Also Shroud continues to be amusing to watch, mostly in her consistent repetition of the word "hate", reminds me of another guy actually...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ThyXkarFY

Anyway, I love the little touches with her. Mostly in the scene where Akiko's excited that Terui's going to get a better time and she's flailing around. And she actually touches Shroud who simply shrugs off the touch and actively backs away like "No, stop that".

So like I promised last time, here’s my general thoughts.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that in the “Foundation X” trilogy, as I’ve seen it be called, that compared to others, the Second Riders tend to be stuck in their own subplots that have little to no impact on the main Rider’s war against he resident evil (at least compared to the likes of Cross-Z, who has jsut as much of an enmity with Evol as Build, if not a greater one, and Kusaka, who drives the plot with his one-sided enmity with Takumi pushing quite a few aspects of the plot forward). But out of the three, I like Accel’s storyline the best, mostly because it actually comes to the organic conclusion of Terui defeating his nemesis without giving into his worst aspects (compared with Meteor, whose enmity with Aries was aborted in favour of debuting Cosmic States), and there is some impact on the main plot, as Isaka’s romance with Saeko (which a few watchers either ignored or treated is disingenuous, despite the lack of evidence it’s anything other than a mutual romance) and their subsequent failed attempt at mutiny forces Saeko onto the streets, which will massively change the villains’ dynamic throughout the remaining episodes.

Yeah, as much as I was a little non-plussed to see such a straightforward Terui story, the execution is something I can't really complain about. It's a solid story of unstoppable heroism, leavened with a surprising amount of sweetness from Terui. If you're an Accel fan, I can't imagine that you'd feel disappointed by how he's portrayed over these two episodes.

Trial is blue and has an orange eye. The inetween yellow form has a purple eye. This is even more proof that base Accel should have a green eye.

Congrats on your 6000th post!

That color theory is only a theory though, based on the small amount of the EM spectrum that we can actually perceive. So you can't call that proof.

I get it, complementary colors and all, but I think the vanilla color scheme for Accel is fine the way it is. Besides, we already have enough badass red/red adjacent riders with green eyes like ZX, Garren, Amazon Alpha so I'm happy with what Toei and Bandai gave us.

Weather uses his ability to control the heavy rain so it exclusively targets W, trapping him and presumably could've drown him. Accel got trapped in a stormy cloud that releases lightnings. With 2 Riders immobilized, Weather checks on Nagi, and claims that the port will develop further the more fearful Nagi gets. As Weather mocks Terui's failure to protect, let alone revenge, W eventually turns Xtreme and frees himself from the rain, but Weather escapes. I guess this is a difficulty of 2-in-1 Rider for Xtreme that Xtreme had to absorb Phillip's body and fly to Shotaro's location, which can take some time? Nagi would hiss on Terui's failure despite his efforts as she runs off. If only Xtreme got a chance to show off against Weather in front of Nagi. Now Shroud initially refuses Terui's request of more power as he wasn't as revenge-driven as before, and refers to his failure of beating Isaka. So Isaka's mockery of him protecting was an indicator of Terui growing out of his revenge-driven demeanor.

Other than being scared, Nagi claims that she can't ask anyone for help due to obvious reasons. Still though, Terui refers to Gaia Memory before albeit she never knew the term, but it's a hint that he knows more about it. But it's still better to talk than bottle it up, and luckily she talked to 2 Kamen Riders, and Terui would only thank her to clear it up, even smiling as he presents her his necklace as a good luck charm. Later, Shotaro explains that Terui is similar in that his family was killed by Isaka too, thus he feels obligated to protect similar victims like her. She claims that she pushes others like Terui away for their own good as he'd die if he did so, but still, closing off to other people for their sake that doesn't need to resort to aggressive and hostile methods, it still makes her a jerk and can directly hurt others herself, like the kid or potentially Terui's reputation. Being rude isn't the only way to deal with this problem (of keeping people distant)... and they aren't completely right due to good intentions. Shotaro assures her that Terui is strong exactly due to his determination to protect, which was also Sokichi's teaching.

About Isaka's backstory of searching for a purpose in his life including becoming a doctor and studying biological field, but found it meaningless until he witnessed Terror Dopant's power, taking out several civilians, he's the type who's already depraved from the get go as he's only mesmerized by people being killed in front of him, instead of realizing that a doctor's job to save lives. He had gained many Gaia Memories and Living Connectors, but eventually he'd sought the very Terror Memory itself, and approaching Saeko was his means for that. But Saeko's only relaxed to know his true intentions as she believes Isaka can beat Ryubee. His goal too where he has an oath from 10 years ago to overthrow Ryubee and turn Saeko into the queen. It obviously won't be shown due to the show's target... but both would likely have a sex. Isaka's so intriguing to Saeko that even her cold and ruthless persona are tamed around him.

Nagi aggressively pushes a child away for asking about birds, who Terui helped after. Nice gesture of him for doing a cop's job of being helpful. A bit of reason of Nagi's standoffish behavior is said where she claims those who hang around her will die. Said gag is an absolutely underhanded move though. This highlights unfortunate double standard of gender where men have the default monster status and the people around will mostly believe a woman's claim without taking context into account... including Shotaro and Akiko, who slaps Terui with a slipper before realizing who it is. And this shows a hypocrisy from the girl as well, she claims she wants to prevent others being hurt, yet she slanders anyway, it can make Terui live as someone who got undeserved infamy, like being fired for it.. Shotaro and Akiko suffer the effects of the slander as well for being seen as the "pervert's friend".

I feel like you should be taking this up with Shroud!

Thanks! And oh god.

Sure, but it's still super funny.

The evil Isaka is unable to comprehend the concept of goodness, where Terui is strong due to his desire to protect instead of hatred. Isaka's death of Living Connectors going out of control and devouring him is rather scary for children's show, but even Shotaro, who spares criminals, would feel that it's fitting for him. Previously, Shroud too, to think Terui has to fill himself with revenge and hatred each time to succeed. And Shroud practically ditches Terui as he's no longer as revenge-driven as before, showing that she's ruthless and see others merely as a tool for her own ends, fitting her preference of cold detached traits; ignoring an obvious proof that even if he didn't pass, doesn't change the fact that Terui drastically improved in his lap time here, compared to the previous ones' 12-13s. Progress is still important to take into account too instead of just results alone. Overall, I think it's more about the villains' view on Terui's change rather than Terui's own stuff, and I find many people being like Shroud or Isaka, viewing virtue as weakness and glorifying destructive traits.

When Isaka openly declares that he'll defeat Ryubee, as Ryubee was holding the shaving razor, I was kinda terrified for the next scene here as it can potentially have Ryubee using the razor to mutilate Isaka or something (albeit my airing will probably censor). But I guess human butchering is more scary to show to children than detonating monsters (and W had the Dopants not killed most of the time), so Ryubee just throws it away and doubts Isaka accomplishing that, turning into Terror Dopant instead to melt him. For below, I got things to say about Wakana.

Wakana finally speaks up against Saeko to express her feelings about Isaka that he's only using her, and reminds her about their family business as well as the love provided by her father, but Saeko would also confess that Ryubee never loved her unlike Wakana, and used her as untrustworthy slave, with an evil laugh. She then offers a choice if Wakana is with her or against her. Wakana views Saeko as acting strange and thus is deaf to reason.... like she's always been like this? Like her speaking up here, I'll also do it; honestly, I think since her setup in ep. 13-14, Wakana was kind of just there, mostly rolling along with what Museum does with occassional questioning, with ep. 23-24 as an exception (the other one had her experimented by Isaka). Her refusal to use Claydoll Dopant seems to instead relegate her into more minor roles, the character development she got was mostly used to tolerate Saeko more (her disdain is fully aimed at Isaka here).

A (formerly) revenge driven red secondary Rider dishing out a beatdown against a mad scientist named Isaka who was responsible behind the death of said Rider's loved ones.... where did I heard that before? For the end part, Nagi was able to smile again (and this even extends to Terui) as she explains birds again to kids, of which they thank Shotaro, but now Shotaro admits that Terui is the MVP this time as he directs the kids to him. This is the opposite for the ending of ep. 28 where Shotaro was dismissed in favor of Terui by Lily, now Shotaro directly announces Terui instead. Terui again almost utters his catchphrase of his question refusal... but he's shown to be softer against kids similar to secondary Riders before him as his softer trait (like the kid he helped from Nagi at the beginning), thus he pauses to instead tell them to not ask so many questions at once.

It's traffic light reference (before TaToBa!), it went from red to yellow first, turning him into Accel Booster, yellow version of his base form. He turns into the actual Trial Form shortly after, as the Trial Memory's light turns go. Funnily, it's (CMIIW) blatantly inaccurate that the traffic light on Trial Memory represents the color blue as 'go' instead of green, and thus Accel Trial is colored blue as well. And the slimmer design, indeed it's a drawback, he's a fragile speedster; his brute power is low with his failure against a big rock, but Shroud explains that Trial's effective tactic is making full use of his speed; attacking quickly enough to deal an impressive amount of damage by numbers even if each individual attack is minor, and use evasion to keep from being slaughtered.

I will die on this hill!

I infact, will! And on that note, I should probably talk about the Trial two-parter!

For sure liked part 2 alot better than part 1. Mainly because alot of stuff in the first part felt a bit stretched. The most blatant thing being Tsaka's' first bout.

It's a primary example of what I mean when saying that I find Isaka stupidly and boringly invincible. If trapping Double in a pillar of water and Accel in an electrical storm were things he was always capable of, why did he never do it up to now, other than that our heroes would be long dead and the show would be over?

Part 2, however, was alot more my speed. With Terui himself still trying to hold onto the fires of hatred in his heart(even assuring Shroud that he still seeks revenge), until the dream about his sister is ironically what wakes him up.

Though I will say, this conclusion to Terui's' arc definitely would've landed way stronger if not for how his introductory arc had ended: Showing that as bad as he could get, he'd never go over the edge. It makes the conclusion of these episodes feel less like a hill he overcame and more like a reassurance that there was no chance of any sort of relapse.

But you know what, none of that matters to me and my brain from half a decade ago when I first watched the show. Why? Because it has my second favorite Shroud moment in it.

https://i.imgur.com/8Ev3maI.gif

The sheer "screw this, I'm outta here" energy of this scene never ceases to put a smile on my face. I've said before that I love Shroud, and, intentional or not, find her over the top dramatic flourishes really funny. Heck, even ignoring that scene I made a gif of, part 1 features her somehow having explosives planted on every single rock of the avalanche she causes solely for when Terui inevitably screws up the training course. It's the sort of thing that's so ridiculous I can't help but love it.

So yeah, while there are some complaints, I overall had a good time with these episodes.

Oh, I got it, but it's incredibly funny to me that there's an intermediate form that currently does absolutely nothing.

I do not disagree with Isaka being sort of a nothing lieutenant, but if I squint I can sort of see how his tactics work. Initially, he was way more powerful than the Kamen Riders, but killing them wasn't really his objective (a nice bonus, maybe), so he played around with them a lot more. Fights were more about testing the heroes, since he knew he could kill them at any point. (Also, a few of the heroes' escapes were things that betray Isaka's lack of interest in them - Ryubei calling him in for tea, for example.) Then, as things like Xtreme tilted the balance in the Kamen Riders' favor, he started to realize that his screwing around was only getting his ass kicked. Thus, he's now hitting them with tougher attacks.

That all said, I am mostly just play Devil's Advocate here. I genuinely don't think the show did a great job creating a coherent framework for Isaka's objectives; it's a forgettable mix of Gathering Data and Team Rocket stuff.

It's been a long time since the show originally aired, so I don't remember if there was as much fan demand for Shining Accel as their was for CycloneAccel Extreme. I also don't remember if Bandai ever made one.

Nope! There's the version from the Accel movie (I think?) but not the TV version.

SHOTARO HIDARI HARDBOILED DELUSION DIARY EPISODE 9 - “WHAT IF AKIKO WAS A LITTLE SISTER?”

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It’s an episode that starts off inexplicable, even for a Delusion Diary – Akiko wants to be a little sister RIGHT NOW – and it sort of never really figures itself out. The slow roll-out of Philip as a bespectacled little brother, Terui as a stay-at-home mom, and the Weather Dopant as a possibly-abusive dad are all nicely surprising gags, but they never add up to a full concept. This one had a ton of non-Delusion content, relative to how quickly other episodes launch into Shotaro’s fantasies, and I think it’s because there was sort of no inherent logic to Akiko’s nonsense.

Still, some decent laughs to be had in this one. Akiko’s hyper-specific checklist of what she wants in a big brother was horrifyingly humorous, as was Shotaro’s dismissive vision of Philip as an overlooked little brother. (Casting Terui as a warm, maternal presence… that tracks? I can see it.) Not an idea that had a lot of meat on the bone, but I laughed a few times.

Terui dressed as a mom is a terrifyingly cursed image.

On the opposite end, I started giggling when I saw the Weather Dopant wearing a hat and tie.

They swerved from Philip being the mom, despite him being canonically the most feminine member of the team.

Philip being dressed like my friends is what killed me in this one. I will never not get a giggle out of standard nerd comedy.

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 37 - “VISITOR X - THE BRIDGE OF PROMISES”

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If I have any fondness for Wakana’s character (and I do!), it’s largely because of her scenes with Philip in this episode.

She’s been frustratingly underdeveloped these last couple, uh, dozen episodes? Her arc was hitting an intriguing point of uncertainty back before the Winter Movie, where her friendship with Philip was causing her to question her loyalty to her family. Then… nothing. Terui shows up, which takes time to deal with. Isaka shows up, which takes time to deal with. Saeko’s arc becomes the central story of the Sonozaki family, which relegates Wakana to either a pawn or an exposition prompt, there to ask other characters to explain things to the audience. She wasn’t really about anything, for a good long while.

But I instantly forgot that when she stepped into view on that bridge.

The two of them just have such compelling, natural chemistry. Philip becomes suave and emotionally present. Wakana becomes effervescent and charming. The two of them… it’s not flirting, even though it can easily (and unfortunately) be read that way. It’s more that they feel safe with each other, because they don’t need each other to be anything but themselves. There’s no pressure to fight/commit crime, or a larger family to protect. It’s just two people who care about each other, and that’s the scope of their world. They get to fantasize about a carefree life of emotional support, which they’re largely denied in the real world. (Philip less so, but Shotaro’s partnership is not the same thing as Wakana’s.) And to admit that it’s easier for them to dream when they can escape to being a voice on the phone… so great. Such a thoughtful, sentimental way to frame their bond, in a set of scenes that almost single-handedly make me care about Wakana again.

It’s an episode that does a great job of making all of the Sonozaki family interesting again, actually. Saeko being on the run creates a wild card scenario in the city, as well as exposing Ryuube’s familial bond as being a distant second to the needs of the Museum. It creates additional pressure on Wakana, because she’s being asked to step up at exactly the moment where she’s acutely aware of what reluctance or failure will get her. The Sonozakis get to be even more of a nightmare as they better express the stakes of their story, even if their specific objective continues to be disappointingly vague.

But, hey, at least we also get some additional backstory on Philip, for a big flashing sign that might as well say We Are In Our Final Act Of The Series. The neurology professor that I briefly thought was Narutaki – Neurotaki – pops up to start to lock down details on Raito’s past, which is sure to be massively coincidental that it’s happening in a story so heavily featuring the Sonozakis and Shroud. (Hard to really “speculate” on this plot point. Sorry!) What we get here is thrillingly conveyed and kinetically supported, thanks to the Hopper Dopant assassin lurking on the fringes. It’s just enough info to feel like you’re seeing more of the picture, but not so much that it feels like homework. Neurotaki was one of a half-dozen scientists that helped design the Gaia Memories for the Museum, which included wiping Raito’s memory. Thats what we get, and it’s the perfect nugget of information in an episode that has a ton of table-setting to do.

—

DIE-A MEMORIES

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-Speaking of table-setting! I really love that the Ryuube won’t let a little thing like Saeko’s defection and Isaka’s recent demise keep him from enjoying a typically-ornate family dinner at a preposterously large table. Dude’s got the Habit Memory!

-Didn’t really talk about the Hopper Dopant, who mostly exists to be a cool looking gothic lolita assassin and not, like, a fully-fleshed out character. (Cool outfit and aesthetic, though!) The REAL interesting part is that this episode’s director also got to handle the Hopper Dopant actor’s later TV debut as… well, I’ll let Androzani cover that part. As trivia goes, it’s a real peach.