[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

His supreme confidence often dances close to the line between "cool and cocky" and "insufferable prick." I like him, personally, but I do so in spite of some very obvious personality flaws.

Those flaws are a lot more prominent in the second episode. There's a forthrightness to Tendou in this episode, where it's his attitude towards the vendors in the premiere, but to nearly everyone he interacts with. It's... it's like he's so disappointed in the world, how it keeps not living up to its potential. When he fights as Kabuto, it's like he's doing it to give humanity one more chance to prove itself worthy of being saved.

When he's talking to Kagami, he's so dismissive of him when he finds out that Kagami is so incurious that he hasn't caught on that ZECT is up to something. It's all first impressions with this dude, which is a ton to live up to.

The thing that makes it work for me is... some of it's the performance, where it's done without any malice (just, like, stating a fact that Kagami is a patsy), but a lot of it is in how Tendou relates to Hiyori. He's so insistent that she understand her own talent. It's that thing from the first episode, where realized potential is a gift to the world, and how important it is to nurture and protect that talent. He's got no time for people who'd squander their gifts, but he adores people who use their genius.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

The Kagami thing is a fair point, though. I think it exists solely so there's a pre-existing connection between him and Hiyori.

Oh, it's totally just for narrative convenience, but that's the problem? It's a thing that makes no sense (currently) that the show needs you to not think too hard about. Seeing something like in the second episode... rough! Hard to accept!

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

More production trivia! The illustrations for this show were created by Mitsuru Karahashi, the actor who played Kaito on Faiz.

Some Kamen Rider Die trivia! I completely thought the murdered candidate was played by the guy who played Kaido. (Also, I can't read the name Kaido without hearing it in Kiba's annoyed tone: "KAIDO".)

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The Clock Up shtick was obviously just a genius idea executed brilliantly, of course; I don't think the biggest Kabuto hater in the world would deny that much. It's a visual style that instantly sets the show apart. You hear those sounds and see those effects and you know without a doubt you're watching Kabuto. A big thing any Rider show needs to do is find a way to give itself a unique identity, and few of them did it as effortlessly as this one.

Are there Kabuto haters? I assume there must be, but the worst reaction I've seen people give this series is Okay But Not My Fave. I'm curious what the haters hate about it, but I figure it's likely to be spoilery stuff.

Clock Up is great. Like the Mirror World stuff from Ryuki, it's a way to break up some otherwise standard fights. (I don't love the evolved monster suits here? Sort of basic?) It uses some pretty appealing effects work to transition into and out of your basic fight scene.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

But once again, I find myself having things to say about the show and not so much the episode.

I'm struggling with this, too. If I had to give it a food metaphor, I'd say that Kabuto is (so far!) a well-prepared dish with sub-par plating. The first episode was solid if unexceptional in its storytelling, and the second one has a weirdly high number of great moments that refuse to cohere into a great episode. It's not doing anything wrong (I don't care about the ZECT stuff, but that's a personal choice thing), but it hasn't harnessed what it's doing right.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Oh, and as for your question, Die... I just can't even get behind your terms here. There's no such thing as "too much" beetle crest, so I don't know why you bothered to ask, and while the sounds are cool, the best part of the transformation is when the armor loosens up right before Tendou flips the switch all the way. It's like the high point of anticipation or something.

I've seen Hyper Kabuto, so we'll circle back to that "no such thing as 'too much' beetle crest" later.

For your switch-flipping answer, you are right about it being the high point of anticipation. What I love about that alarm noise, though, is that it's the start of the anticipation. That sound says a monster is going to get punished and then detonated!

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Originally Posted by Sunred

What I really love about Kabuto's fighting style is that it oozes finesse and swagger like no other. Even the simplest jabs and motions feel efficient and every hits feel like they do some damage. And this is all from a man who just finished playing a high school kid wizard dressed in red and has a phoenix slapped on to his helmet the year prior.

I don't follow the second part, but a big YES to the first part. There's a precision to how Kabuto fights, where he doesn't need to fight hard because he's already won this fight in his mind.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I didn't hear about this until you brought it up (thank youl it's amazing information!), but it turns out it's even better. Tendou was inspired by Inoue.

All I'm hearing is that Inoue is divinely ordained and that sounds about right to me.