[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I especially love the midpoint cliffhanger this time, where Tsukasa is separated from Black and ends up in a fight with Black. I can say from experience that the way this episode handles the fanservice totally works without... well, without any particular prior knowledge, at least. I knew BLACK was a big deal, and that was about it originally, and what I think these episodes nail with the returning characters is making them seem cool, even if that's as deep as it goes. Heck, I still barely know Apollo Geist, but just from Decade, I've always thought he was pretty rad. And that double Koutarou transformation is quite the treasure, don't you think? You probably don't need much context to see a Kamen Rider teaming up with his own self and think it's awesome.

I think I'm at a point where I can acknowledge that everything you've said is cool, while also not really caring about it. It's awesome that everyone else -- new and old Black/RX fans alike -- were thrilled at the Showa love this two-parter celebrated, but it just didn't have an impact on me. I mentioned before (I think) that I don't have the receptors in my brain to appreciate Sentai, and it's maybe the same with Showa. These two guys doing their Henshin poses, Rider Kicking monsters... I know that what I'm watching is supposed to be exhilarating, but I don't feel anything special. It's okay? It's still tokusatsu, and that's neat, but I don't care about the characters. They're old, and they're legends, and that's all academic to me. It doesn't impart any joy, seeing them in action again.

This Showa stuff... it feels like going to a birthday party where you don't know the person whose birthday it is. It's full of things that matter to people, but not me. It's hugely important, but I also don't care. I can feign interest, but I'm also checking my watch.

I am so glad that everyone enjoyed these episodes, sometimes to the degree that it made them seek out the source material. It didn't do anything for me, though.