[Kurona]

Kamen Rider OOO Episode 7




Something really fun about rewatching these shows in a spread-out fashion like this; one episode every few days rather than binging? It really makes you appreciate just how long it took for certain things to actually happen.

Eiji staying and working at Cous Coussier. Absolute status quo. That's just where he stayed and what he did and he has a big secret identity shtick with Chiyoko. Big main part of the show. ... and we're only now getting to it on Episode 7. If you'd asked me before when it happened I would have guessed by the end of episode 2 or 3, but no; Eiji and Ankh have been wandering around for almost 2 months hunting medals and beating yummy! And they still kind of are because Eiji's not actually staying there yet! Chiyoko and a very surprised Hino are trying to convince him, but... wow, y'know? Such a simple thing as a basic setting and OOO completely eschews that. It's great because it allows this to feel so much more natural a development and also allows Chiyoko and Hina to start off as their own characters than as an excuse for Eiji's base of operations. I've had several episodes to enjoy seeing these characters and their interactions play out and especially see Eiji's situation - which is more helpless than he's willing to let on - so it makes you want to see this happen and want to see Eiji accept their offer to move in despite not wanting to impose on them. I really like this style of storytelling where it makes you want to see a certain thing happen rather than make you get used to it as a base part of the show.

There's quite a few firsts in this episode, in fact -- Gamel for the first time is shown in full force and we get introduced to his style of Yummy; we see the rest of the Greeed acting on the same modern technology as Ankh has; and we start to see Gotou develop a bit more. Up until now he's been a largely silent stoic guy just carrying out Kougami's orders, but he's letting his own emotions and opinions and desires show a lot more now as he gets increasingly fed up with both Eiji's seeming ineptitude and Kougami's whims and games. It's an understated part of the show, I feel -- everyone who loves this show will go on and on about Eiji and Ankh, and that's definitely the biggest thing; but I have to show Gotou some love as I adore the relationship he starts having with Eiji as his reluctant helper. It's a fascinating dynamic where someone much more professional is helpless to watch someone far more inexperienced go about it in all the wrong ways.

Most of this is just set-up so I didn't think I'd come away with a lot to say, but this is OOO; of course I found three things to go on about!





Kamen Rider Ghost Episode 3






I'm really starting to notice a running theme here of the A-plots not being a big thing of mine, but what they're being used to say about the characters absolutely is.

I mean, I'm not too fond of the lesson being that Sawa here just needs to ignore corruption and go back to her journalism? Kid's show and hardly the main topic, yeah, but if you're gonna do a story literally talking about how corruption in the corporate and political worlds can not just ruin but actually take peoples' lives due to funneling illegal money? I don't know, I think you're gonna have to take that a little bit more seriously than "journalism will save the day!". Maybe Sawa'll get to be in some other masked rider show that more seriously analyses this topic. Perhaps a couple years from now? ... naaah, sounds fake. They'd never do something like that.

So, what can I take away from this episode that insists the legends of Robin Hood are as real as Musashi and Beethoven (which, c'mon, bit silly; we all know England doesn't actually exist)? The steadily growing confidence of Takeru as a person, Akari's dedication to her closest friend, and Onari hiding his desperate need to help under a bluster of comic relief. Seriously, this time around I'm finding a lot to like in these characters' drive to just do something even when it seems out of reach! Sure, it all conveniently worked out for them, but... Akari getting that little push and help from Sennin doesn't delegitimise all the work she's putting into something she doesn't even believe in purely because she wants to help Takeru; Onari getting a boost in popularity from Little John turning herself in doesn't mitigate the hard work he's doing outside his normal skillset to hurry Takeru back to life; and Takeru... man it's hard not to feel bad for Takeru in this one. The "my dad is also dead" bit might have been a bit weak, but the emotion this actor puts behind it certainly isn't; and continuing on from last episode's bout of depression he's clearly slowly learning to deal with it in his own way and it's not stopping him from reaching out. Despite how I feel about the context of the plot surrounding it, that hug he gave to Sawa and that encouragement he attempts to give her is a pretty beautiful moment and one that makes me respect what's going on with this character. It's subtly present in his fighting scenes, too -- his floating's still very shaky but he's got a lot more control over it than before; he's slowly getting his pep back... he's absolutely still relying on others for help and he has no idea how to use his Damashiis, but the kid's getting there. He's doing alright.



also wow the condor phone shows up way earlier than i remember