[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

ZATYME: I refuse to call it an ending as there's no closure even in an "The Adventure Continues" sort of way it just feels like it's a part 2 of 3

KAMEN RIDER DIE: It's a complete cliffhanger!
And, worse, since it ends where the series starts, it sort of feels like the entire series is just a prologue for a movie?

It's so frustrating! All the setup was there to give the show an ending, or at least a checkpoint, with Natsumi's dream becoming reality, even a dark ending that has Tsukasa resigning himself to his role as a destroyer and unlocking Violent Emotion, leaving something to resolve in the Movie War. But instead, it's just Natsumi running towards the viewer, explosions and that's all folks. It doesn't leave me with any satisfaction, like that feeling when you eat a meal too fast and forget that you ate it so now you're hungry again. Even with Decade being my first season, I cannot deny or defend how lame this "ending" was and I'm glad Toei learned their lesson for pulling such a mean stunt.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

ZATYME: Kaitou went from a complete asshole rival to Tsukasa's friend and it doesn't feel forced
especially as Kaito did lament that he feels he doesn't have any friends in part one before affirming that he does in Tsukasa at the ending of that part

Kaito becoming Tsukasa's friend doesn't really negate him being a complete a**hole rival though. He still hasn't changed that much, just showing his vulnerable side to Tsukasa. That's probably why he feels like he doesn't have any other friends, since he's seldom honest with anybody.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: Right up front, I'm disappointed that we get Mio instead of Mari. I know why, but Mari is so much better.

Agreed. This version of Mio isn't even likable, since she's evil and gets destroyed with little fanfare.

Wataru "teaming up" with the Fangires isn't even a big deal like they make it out to be, since that's literally the default setting of his world. Of course, Yonemura wasn't head writer then, so maybe he failed to do the research. Actually, Yonemura pretty much failed here in general.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: The stuff with Wataru From Kiva is the same thing to me. I wrote it off in the beginning as being an avatar of Kamen Rider Storytelling, not Wataru-the-person but Wataru-the-narrative, but here it's just nebulous and threatening and contradictory and I give up. I give up trying to find something intelligent within this Destroyer of Worlds bullshit.
So let's finally talk about that series-long plot.

The OG Heisei Riders are such bullies to Tsukasa. Like how World of Negatives Otoya wasn't really Otoya, I'm convinced these guys aren't themselves either. I can't speak for Blade, but there's no way Wataru would oppose someone who fights for co-existence. No way!

Kivaala reviving and brainwashing Yuusuke in to black-eyed Ultimate Kuuga to join the others in killing Decade came totally out of nowhere as well. Why did she do that and how did she do that? It doesn't make any sense!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

ZATYME: yup Decade was flawed from the start as a series
only given 31 episode to ensure Rider and Sentai were offset to help toy sales for both series
only having all of 4 DX roleplay toys with only maybe 2 being worth owning
and having the original writer leave part way due to producers wanting to shoehorn in Showa rider stuff into a Heisei Rider anniversary season for the last 6 episodes
on top of I hate to say it due to liking the 2 parter but the Shinkenger arc should of been removed to help give the actual plot room to breathe

KAMEN RIDER DIE: I feel like the Dark Riders story and the Shinkenger story... they seem like the first things you'd cut, but I really feel like they're two of the best stories about Team Decade? They're about the best parts of this show: the bonds between the characters.

ZATYME: unlike some other people I actually consider the AR riders a genius idea as now they don't have to scuttle any story plans and have the plot be dependent on what actors they can get back

KAMEN RIDER DIE: I really did like the A.R. Riders. I liked the stories being about the feeling of the shows being homaged, rather than a celebration of how popular they were. Excavating things from the shows, rather than just pointing to them.

I also enjoyed the Negatives and Shinkenger arcs for how they developed Tsukasa and Natsumi. While I dislike the Worlds of Black and RX more, I think the most negligible in terms of plot advancement would be the World of Diend. But I know there's probably a few people who would disagree with that, so I'm just speaking hypothetically. Nothing really needed to be cut to make this final arc work, it just needed to be focusing on the show, not what comes after. That's where this story fails.

The concept of alternate worlds is intriguing for sure. I mean, if you can't get Godai back as Kuuga, your best option is to make a New Hero for a New Legacy, which was the whole intention of Kuuga to kickstart the Heisei Rider Era. I like the idea of taking some fanfic what if concepts of different seasons and exploring them from Team Decade's perspective.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I mean, I love this cast. I love Tsukasa's deep, sibling-like bond with Natsumi. I love the way Onodera feels integral to the dynamic while rarely contributing anything measurable. I love Photo Studio Hayao Miyazaki and Kiva-la hanging out, never really losing their good-natured charm and ignorance of the plot. It's an incredibly good cast.

But they can all go straight to hell, because after this story? I am 100% Team DiCade. Give me Tsukasa and Kaitou having a toxic romance across the multiverse forever.

I respect that we disagree about shipping in this show, but you're at least joking about the "they can all go straight to hell" part, right? Natsumikan, Yuusuke, Kivaala and Eijirou are still good characters.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Decade's plot has had a number of central mysteries from the start: who was Tsukasa before he lost his memory? Where did his powers come from?

I think the movie answered those questions simply enough. Both are tied to his backstory with Dai Shocker.

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

I've come to a new appreciation to a lot of the unanswered questions from Decade.

Most of it is a headcanon but... it does make sense when you think about it. I'll get back to that when the time is right however. So expect it in like... idk, 2 or 3 years if I remember? We'll see.

Now before I actually watch this since I just woke up... let's talk about cliffhangers, right?

So basically, no matter how much anyone wants to tell you otherwise. No Kamen Rider series since Decade has ended like this. I don't care what people say about Ex-Aid, Zero-One, etc those wrapped up mostly everything. There were a few teases but those were basically just hooks to tell a Winter Movie story. But something concludes.

Here well... despite not watching it, nothing concludes. Which is where we get the trailer. It's telling in that this is the only time Toei's been able to do this and hasn't been able to say "Okay, see how this ends in theaters!" after this.

As for the trailer itself, nothing of consequence. Because as confirmed by the cast, it was just shot final day of in order to hype up the movie. I doubt a final script was penned by that point. Point is, this is a very unique phenomenon that will never happen again. No matter what people try to joke about in regards to Rider endings.

Looking forward to seeing you try and make sense of this. Good luck.

While EX-Aid and Zero One leave some loose ends hanging for V-Cinemas to resolve, they at least have the courtesy to leave you at a checkpoint, to put it in video game terms. Decade leaves you in the middle of a fight. There's no feeling of progress here, rather it feels like going in reverse from the great conclusion to Tsukasa's world-searching subplot in the movie. Apollo Geist Fangire doesn't even feel like a final boss. He goes down way too easily. He's a joke compared to the original version.