[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

No, I wanted to point out that the Gatack Zecter is voiced here by Koji Yusa, a voice actor that you'll be hearing a lot more of this spring when he'll be voicing Urataros in Kamen Rider Den-O.

Thanks! I am terrible about catching Japanese voice actors (I think people had to call out when Ren from Ryuki was a monster on Faiz?), so this is something I'll try and keep in mind. Also, god, it's almost time for Den-O! Couple more weeks of Kabuto, couple weeks off, and then we are on a train to Kobayashi Country! Very exciting... but, honestly, they're all exciting. Despite any evidence to the contrary, I am not that critical when it comes to Kamen Rider! I love it too much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I guess what I'd mostly call out are just all the little things I personally found amusing. I'm a sucker for cutesy talking toy sidekicks in toku, so having the Kabuto Zecter flying around voiced by Tomokazu Seki is just great, and that lecture on all the different Riders with all their personal music tracks playing in such rapid succession was an excellent reminder how much I love TheBee's intense theme. Plus, the lecture itself called attention to Drake's apparent underwater abilities, which made the scuba gear look of his Masked Form suddenly make a lot more sense. See, I even learned something!

One of my favorite gags in the HBV was when the Zecters are going down the list of Riders, and when they get to KickHopper, they're like Eesh Yaguruma What Happened. Even the toys are disappointed in this dude! Maybe his worldview is grounded in something real after all?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

There's a wonderful gravity to him in those final moments, realizing he can't go on the way he's been, and admitting as much to Kagami, because the day he had to get to that point is one of the worst he's ever had. Tendou would have to be insane not to understand that something has to give after what he goes through. Of course he'd come to appreciate the value of having other Riders around after having everything he usually leans on stolen away from him. He can't be the smartest person in the room, because he's surrounded by facts he doesn't understand, and his best friend's dad keeps turning out to be the only person who can outdo him when it comes to evasive answers. He can't even be the measured, confident warrior anymore, because his own Zecter is now running the risk of turning him into a rampaging beast against his own will. Tendou is completely boxed in throughout this story, and I adore it.

There's some well-earned serenity at the end of the episode, with Tendou, with the show, exhaling after how insane the previous twenty-odd minutes were. It's the little way Tendou breaks the ice, mentioning how hungry he is after having a black-out fistfight and then watching his only lead to finding Hiyori get skewered by Worm Widow. It takes this serious episode and deflates it just enough to make room for reconciliation, you know? I really liked that.