[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The idea of your future self showing up in a beige trenchcoat and saying, basically, TATAKAE (because that’s what you do if you wear a beige trenchcoat on a Kamen Rider show, I don’t make the rules)

Ha! Classic April Fools' humor from Die here, as he deliberately says the exact opposite of the truth for comedic effect. I know it's in poor taste to explain a joke, but just in case anyone makes the mistake of taking that post seriously there, rest assured that we're all familiar with the real rules laid down by the most iconic beige trenchcoat-wearing Kamen Rider character:




I mean, come on – a dude in a trenchcoat actually encouraging Riders to fight? Where do you even come up with gags this good, Die?

Anyway, we should probably get back to talking about more serious matters.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 36 - “DREAMS GET A PERFECT 100”

I'm so happy you're finally to the legendary midway Den-O retool! I haven't really mentioned it yet for fear of spoiling something, but yeah, this was a whole thing that happened, and honestly? This might be what makes Den-O my favorite Rider show by Kobayashi. She just laughs in the face of what happened to Hibiki here by effortlessly pivoting the show in this wild new direction while still staying so utterly true to what made it so good to begin with.

Particularly brilliant was the subtle jab of replacing Yuuto's actor – who was of course infamous for his role as the new Kamen Rider Hibiki – with Ryuusei Yokohama, another returning Rider alum, who previously played the much better character of That Guy Who Formed The Basis Of Meteor's Backstory in Fourze. Or, uh, do I mean he would go on to play that guy? Time sure can be confusing!

But still, this is definitely the part of the show where Yuuto hits his stride, and really becomes one of my favorites in the series. I know you don't like spoilers, but I just have to mention that there are some episodes coming up that involve him dressing up as a Sherlock Holmes-esque detective that I can't wait for you to get to. It's super endearing seeing Yuuto's more geeky side come to the surface, and Kobayashi really redefined him into this much more rounded character who even had some leadership potential, which is not something you would've expected a dozen episodes ago.

Again, the changes are big, for sure, but I think they were really all for the better. Like, that new Den-Liner, right? Way cooler, with the whole rainbow motif giving it a striking look, and even having it turn into a big robot to fight giant monsters. I mentioned before I wasn't a huge fan of the mecha action in Den-O, but that only applied to the stuff before the retool. Proper giant robot fights should be at the end of every tokusatsu episode by law, and it's baffling that it took so long for Kamen Rider to realize this.

It speaks to the confidence Kobayashi and the new staff had to realize these changes needed to be made. Kicking Shirakura out from the producer position was a deserved bit of karma, and Takaaki Utsunomiya was also the producer for Wizard, which is of course a beloved fan favorite, and I think that same energy really shines through here as well.

But you know, I'm kinda just rambling at this point, so I should probably call it quits until you get further into this new era for Den-O. I can really imagine you'll have a lot of fun with it!

(this was an excellent way to atone for your failure to make that dragon knight post by the way. kudos)