[Fish Sandwich]

Sorry to ressurect a thread two years after the last post, but ever since I talked a bit about the first 13 episodes of the original Kamen Rider and the (excellent) translation they were given for the show's unexpected (and very welcome!) official release over here, I've always meant to get back around to the rest of it at some point.

...I *did* explicitly say it was probably going to be a while before I got back to it.

A lot of things just kinda, came up, you know? When the episodes were first released, I believe I was already firmly committed to making my Kuuga rewatch thread, which was a huge undertaking. I kinda knew I wanted to write about the show as I was watching it, but after making that thread, I felt the need to recharge before taking on any remotely similar project. But hey, the 50th anniversary was coming right up, so maybe that's the perfect timing! Well, it might've been... but while it was a close decision, I ultimately came to the conclusion that it would be more fun to celebrate the 45th Sentai series instead. And the Zenkai Tour was loads of fun for me... but it also left me a little exhausted by the end, once again.

But I'm not throwing in the towel just yet! The 50th anniversary Rider show is still on the air, and if that unsightly Heisei era can refuse to end the way it does, then I don't see why it can't always be time for some Showa love too! I'm not going to have time to do the entire show, mind you, but before Revice ends, I'm squeaking in here to give some thoughts on 13 more episodes of the original series. (Senpai even said it was cool to watch it this way, and there is literally nobody else on the planet whose opinions on classic Kamen Rider I would consider more trustworthy.) So there's still more than plenty of the very first Kamen Rider for me to get around to whenever I'm feeling fired up about it, and I'm okay with that, because that'll probably just make this series more special to me in the long run. (The potentially very, very long run, at this rate.) But however that all plays out, for now, please enjoy this deluxe-sized collection of scattered, uninformed opinions on a milestone in toku history, and better yet, maybe consider enjoying that milestone yourself, if the mood strikes you.

14 - You know, I spent years and years assuming the episode that introduced Rider #2 was like, an origin story? Goes to show just how much of this franchise I've still got left to discover, but that always made so much sense in my brain I could practically picture it. Just have a suspiciously always in-costume Rider #1 discover Shocker's devious plot to get the whole grasshopper thing right this time, only for it to go wrong, pass the torch at the end, and there you go -- it's a whole new show. The reality of episode 14 of the original Kamen Rider, however, is that it just skips straight to being a whole new show. Honestly, it's a heck of a way to bounce back from such an unexpected and major obstacle to producing the series? They took an unfortunate situation and made something positive out of it, which is as true to the Rider spirit as you can get. It's hard to say this with any authority, given both the huge gap I've had between the initial episodes and this, plus my own general inexperience with this show, but Ichimonji's arrival immediately marks a change from the somewhat more moody first stretch. A key part of that is how the man himself gives off the air of being a lot less burdened than Hongou was, helped along by how we're viewing the new lead from an outside perspective here. Following on from the previous few Fujioka-starved episodes, Taki and Tachibana are really the characters we're following, with Ichimonji slotting into the narrative as a somewhat enigmatic and larger-than-life hero who seems totally in control of any situation he's in. It's uh... it's basically Kabuto, 35 years early? Which perhaps demonstrates just how much of Kamen Rider was right there from its infancy. It's weird to even talk about an episode that's so obviously iconic, as though I can say anything unique about the story that gave us concepts as fundamental as the transformation pose. I'm pretty much obligated to worship this one, as a Rider fan, right? And you know, I definitely really dug it! It does a very smooth job shifting the series in a new direction. Presenting the new Kamen Rider as a mysterious figure was a super smart way to get the audience curious about Ichimonji, drawing them into a character that might've pushed them away if they hadn't handled this in the clever way they did. I suppose the immense popularity the show gained during his tenure back in the day says it all. They needed to nail this episode, and they did.

15 - This episode actually gives us a brief glimpse of Ichimonji being remodeled by Shocker... and it leaves it at only that brief glimpse, with Ichimonji promptly waking from the nightmarish memory of his tortured past. Because you know, the show doesn't really want to dwell on that sort of thing at the moment. It'll take some space out to film that scene (they need it for the opening narration!), and it'll use the opportunity to further elaborate that Hongou saved Ichimonji from being brainwashed offscreen, but the character and the episode are both pretty uninterested in bemoaning the cruel fate that created Kamen Rider. For how brief a scene it is, it comes off as a very significant beat in defining Ichimonji's personality. You get to see beyond any doubt that he does still have that anguish inside of him, and you also see how quick he is to tell himself to get over it. It makes for a rather flexible hero going forward, in terms of the kinds of stories you can tell with him, but of course, for all this character analysis I'm doing right now, these last two stories are mostly just about the fun of Rider taking on a cactus man. I kinda feel like that should be one of the great recurring Rider monster motifs, after watching this two-parter? Sabotegron makes for a pretty great initial adversary for Ichimonji. He's got a tactical mind that brings out the espionage flavor of the era in full force. You've gotta love him mailing out giftwrapped bombs to the heroes after his initial defeat. He's got his one gimmick, and he proves it's a good one. He also proves that it's never good to *only* have one gimmick, because the heroes end up using his cactus bombs against him as much as the other way around. That sequence of Taki and Rider tossing explosive cacti into random rooms full of goons is the absolute peak of excitement for this episode. It's already hitting a fever pitch with the thrills of Taki going undercover to infiltrate Shocker's hideout and then getting discovered, but that just takes it to the next level.

16 - Pretty interesting concept for the monster of the week in this one! His initial scene has him gassing a busload of people in a suitably menacing fashion, killing every last one of the helpless civilians... and also himself, because Shocker came up with a design for a monster so powerful that the guy they modified couldn't handle it. This puts us on the road to a showdown that's already pretty neat to begin with -- the new Kamen Rider versus the new Pirasaurus in a battle of the successors -- but the process of getting there turns out to be even more interesting. This episode also introduces Maya and Hurricane Joe, essentially monster coaches who act as the actual antagonists driving the narrative here, which creates space to really focus in on the actual process Shocker goes through of kidnapping some poor pro wrestler, wiping his memories of his precious little brother all for the sake of making the latest goon who's inevitably going to lose to the Rider anyway. It doesn't exactly play out with the tone of some big tragedy (the overall atmosphere is still as light as you'd expect from this era of the series), but I like how much this one gives you pause to think about how horrible Shocker's methods truly are.

17 - In his search for a way to foil Shocker's latest evil scheme, Ichimonji finds himself locked in a deadly struggle against today's opponent, the world-famous wrestler Satan Mask. But exactly what face lies hidden under that sinister mask, and how will a young boy searching for his older brother affect the outcome of the battle? The answers to all of these questions can only be found in one place -- inside the ring! And now! Rider Fight! Ready... Go! ...No wait, I'm thinking of a different show there. But I think you'll understand if I get a little overly excited at the prospect of an episode where the climax has Kamen Rider and the monster literally facing off in a wrestling ring. It's like the whole reason you'd make the wrestler thing a plot point to begin with, but just because it's obvious doesn't mean I don't wanna see it! It's a scene that feels pretty emblematic of the show's new direction, too. Rider making this big heroic entrance into a crowded public place, and getting cheered on by the masses, who also trust him implicitly when he says it's not safe to hang around the area. Again, the tragic aspects of this character are a distant priority right now. That even extends to the ending, where Ichimonji somehow Rider Kicks the monster right out of Pirasaurus, restoring him to his innocent human self, which, again, decades before shows like Double would make that a common thing. Considering the focus on wacky fun wrestling, it's definitely the right choice for this story, tonally, to have things work out for everyone in the end. The only bad guy who dies even does so in that classic indirect karmic sort of way, falling victim to the very gas they were planning on using to slaughter the crowd at the match. Not that the episode is completely toothless, mind you! While the groovy 70's vibes might ruin the impact for modern viewers, the scene where Pirasaurus kills a whole club full of people makes it abundantly clear this show hasn't totally forgotten about its more creepy roots.

18 - This one's a bit slow to start. A lot of the appeal of this show right now is in the chemistry of Ichimonji, Taki, and Tachibana, all working together to stop whatever scheme Shocker has going involving a creative monster of the week, and it takes this episode quite a while to start folding all those elements in. It's around a third of the runtime before Ichimonji and Taki even appear, and a bit longer before any of that power trio are in a scene together. Not helping matters is that this week's fossil starfish monster, Hitodanger, isn't defined that well out of the gate, beyond his hilarious gimmick of always stretching his arms out to look more starfishy. The story does manage to really kick into gear at the halfway mark though, starting with Rider getting tossed off a waterfall. All those things I just complained about quickly stop being issues. Tachibana and Taki meet up to search for Ichimonji, resulting in them getting imprisoned in Shocker's latest hideout, where they discover Ichimonji in the cell too, having deliberately gotten himself caught, and like, that's exactly the kind of fun beat that's key to the show's magic. Ichimonji just totally clowning on the bad guys, lighting their houses on fire, and escaping in the nick of time with his buddies -- it never gets old. Hitodanger's somewhat dull gimmick of being hard (because he's a fossil) also gets a neat enough payoff when his weakness turns out to simply be getting him soggy, which is about the right level of silliness for a pretty silly monster. I can't imagine this one is a favorite for a lot of people, and it certainly isn't for me, but it definitely does a lot to redeem its rather sluggish first act.

19 - Major summer vibes abound as the cast all end up taking a trip out to Hokkaido for one reason or another. With a crab monster spearheading Shocker's plan to set off big undersea explosions that will cause destructive tsunamis, water naturally ends up being the thing that sets this episode apart visually. The stuff is all over the place throughout, and Rider's first big action setpiece is even Ichimonji on his way to Hokkaido, jumping from his own boat to one being operated by some Shocker goons. Later on, he even just drives his motorcycle straight into the water to get to Shocker's obligatory secret base of the week? It's pretty awesome! Kanibubbler is a neat enough monster too, with both deadly foam and a big pinchy claw, giving his power-set just that little bit of extra variety to keep things from getting dull. There's also a fair amount of emphasis placed on how Ichimonji's friends help save the day, culminating in narration from Ichimonji at the end about how he's not doing this alone. ...Again, the dude really didn't get the memo about the whole "tragic hero" thing. But of course, I'm just teasing there; it's a nice way to tie a bow on an all-around solid episode. (I believe this is also the first time Rider #2 takes down the monster with a Rider Punch? I know that's considered a bit of a signature move for the guy, so it seems worth noting.)

20 - Taki is conspicuously absent in this episode! (And looking it up real quick, apparently he'll only have one other absence after this, way toward the end of the series, so this really is an occasion.) Personally, I choose to believe he was deliberately excluded from this story entirely because the dialogue makes frequent references to a waterfall (taki, exactly like the character), and someone was worried viewers would get confused which taki everyone was talking about if he were around. I mean, I'm sure it was just some mundane scheduling thing or whatever, but I think it's more fun to imagine it my way. Putting that anecdote aside, the episode itself still manages to be pretty fun without the guy. There ends up being a pretty great sense of the walls closing in around Ichimonji, especially, with the rest of the show's supporting cast all getting captured and tied up on cheap white crosses. Cross that are also electrified in this case. I can't remember if this is the first time in this show the obligatory Showa crucifixion shtick happened, but it's at least the first time Ichimonji has had to deal with it. And deal with it he does! Just about the most Kamen Rider thing ever happens during this scene, as Rider is watching the torture of his friends play out from behind metal bars. Assured of his victory, the monster of the week demands Rider's surrender, and in response, Rider simply bends the bars open with his bare hands, and steps in to save the day. Absolutely perfect imagery right there for a hero all about freedom. That shot easily deserves to be in basically any montage of clips from the series.

21 - And then Rider just straight up smashes through a concrete wall and then kicks the cell door clean off its hinges to rescue Taki here! Not to mention that he rescues all his friends from getting crucified again. Definitely some familiar elements in this episode, coming off of the last one, but then, it *is* a direct continuation of the previous story. See, the monster from that one, Dokugander, was a caterpillar, and after ending on the threat of his cocoon last time, he emerges here as a monster modeled after his actual namesake, a poison moth. It's a neat gimmick for the bad guy to begin with, but as a way to split a two-parter, it's downright perfect. I mean, cool villains that evolve into newer, more powerful forms would become a massive staple of children's action series in Japan, with Rider itself being no exception, so once again, in some small way, the original Kamen Rider is arguably ahead of its time. Dokugander is pretty rad. You can't go wrong the moth motif, and he makes excellent use of it. Gotta dig his plot to grow a whole bunch more Dokuganders using growth serum developed by some scientist Shocker kidnapped, too. There's also a whole field trip angle to further spice the episode up, with all the action happening in Osaka, complete with the climax playing out around one of its most famous landmarks, Osaka Castle. It's even visible right there in the background when Dokugander explodes, which doesn't manage to be as attention-grabbing as what's happening in the foreground, as Dokugander comes crashing out of the air and into a nearby building... that promptly explodes violently into countless little pieces. I guess the special effects guys were just really fired up to do some miniature work that day, because it kinda seems like overkill! Not that I'm complaining; a literally explosive climax of that caliber only cements how much fun I had with this episode.

22 - More summertime fun as the show puts the spotlight on the water once again. It's a different enough angle from last time, that also maybe goes a bit further with the concept in some ways. Namely, there's lots and lots of swimming going on here. No longer does Rider simply drive his bike into the sea and reach Shocker's base in mere moments; here you get elaborate shots of him swimming under the surface, complete with flippers on his boots. (I'm pretty sure we're supposed to pretend the flippers aren't there.) Instead of just fighting the bad guy on a rocky shoreline during the climax, he's... well, during the climax it's on a rocky shoreline again, but for the fight in the middle, it's Rider and fish monster Amazonha throwing down in waist-deep water, complete with frequent shots from a submerged camera. So as you can maybe gather, the episode is overall a little redundant, and a little not. When all is said and done though, I think it manages to differentiate its setpiece moments more than enough to keep things fresh. There's a pretty standout concept for the underwater base fight in particular, with the villains cutting off the room's oxygen supply, which really ups the stakes in a great way. And hey, even that redundant climax is made less so through having Rider defeat Amazonha by playing possum, which is... oddly cowardly, for a superhero, but still, you don't see that every day!

23 - Hey, and while you're on your summer vacation, perhaps you could visit scenic Sapporo, and take a trip out to the many notable landmarks both within the city, as well as in the surrounding area of Hokkaido! And I mean, this episode really wants you to know how many neat places are in Hokkaido. I honestly feel like I'm missing a ton of context here, between my ignorance of the actual location, and of why Kamen Rider made it a point to film an episode that tries to sell the viewer on that location harder than most Rider shows nowadays try to sell toys. It's all fun and games until a silly kids' show from the 70's has me looking up William S. Clark! There's no denying how distinct it makes the episode visually though. It feels like no more than a scene or two can go by without a new location to take place in, and it all builds up to Rider fighting the monster up in the mountains, with a shot here or there where you can see waaaay out into the distance. Really, if I have any complaint about the episode, it's probably just that Musasabeedle is a tiny bit on the underwhelming side? His flying squirrel powers don't actually get that much use, and Rider makes a chump out of him in the midpoint fight, which really kills a lot of whatever menace he had. (Also, when he explodes, three random kids show up for two shots to celebrate, and promptly exit the episode as abruptly as they appeared. I assume they won a contest to be in the show or something, but again, this episode is quite the mystery to me!)

24 - Kinokomorgue, Kinokomorgue... Oh! I thought I had heard something about this guy in particular lately, and it finally came back to me! When NHK broadcast that special announcing the results of the huge poll they held to celebrate Rider's 50th anniversary, there was a whole tangent the hosts went on prompted by a message they received from someone who said Kinokomorgue scared him so bad as a kid that, to this day, he can't bring himself to eat mushrooms. It was an inexplicably huge amount of time devoted to talking about some random monster from the original show, considering there were 50 years of ground to be covering, so that detour in of itself apparently stuck with me subconsciously. That being said, I can kinda see where that guy was coming from? First of all: Kinokomorgue. Clearly bad news! The first thing in the episode is Shocker busting a vicious criminal out of his darkly lit prison cell and then bathing him in toxic mushroom water for a week straight, which is quite the origin story. His intro makes an excellent first impression, and if you were a kid, watching that guy then go around kidnapping children after paralyzing them with his spores, it's like, yeah, that might cause some trauma! Like most of the monsters that last two episodes, Kinokomorgue is pretty great, and this first part is a ton of fun. I think the biggest highlights for me are the brief bit where Rider fights some goons atop a moving truck, because fighting on moving vehicles is always cool, and the cliffhanger where Ichimonji ends up paralyzed on a table with a buzzsaw slowly closing in on his torso, because classic deathtraps are *also* always cool. (Unless you're that poor guy, in which case leaving on Rider himself falling victim to Kinokomorgue no doubt made the trauma even worse. The wait for the next episode must've been rough.)

25 - Of course, however scary he might be, Kinokomorgue isn't above making the fatal mistake of trying to enjoy the hero's death way too much. You might think the whole buzzsaw shtick was already pushing it, but actively choosing to wake Ichimonji up is just a bad idea, no matter how much you want to hear his screams. Naturally, things backfire horribly for the bad guys, especially with Taki showing up undercover again to free Ichimonji, allowing the two of them to make an exciting escape from a Shocker stronghold, which, again -- never gets old. It's a pretty thrilling way to kick off the second part, with all the action and banter you could ask for. Things slow back down for the middle, as Ichimonji's scientist buddy uses a sample Taki snatched to work out a cure for Kinokomorgue's spores, which have become contagious. With his plans thoroughly crushed, Kinokomorgue refocuses his agenda to the more straightforward goal of defeating Kamen Rider, leading to a climax that largely consists of Kamen Rider running around fighting bad guys with a sword, which is exactly as much swashbuckling fun as it probably sounds like. Even the women of the Tachibana Racing Club get in on the action, and despite the paternalistic grumblings of the other characters, by the end of the episode, they're breaking themselves out of their own restraints to come to the aid of an unconscious Taki and Tachibana. It's not really exceptionally progressive for the era or anything, but still, I commend the episode's effort to make crimefighting a little bit more of an equal opportunity activity.

26 - Colonel Zol! Now we're talking! This guy is one of the most iconic adversaries in Rider history, and even just his debut already shows why. He shows up to whip Shocker's Japanese branch into shape in a way nobody else has, and gets right on putting together a plan to finally take down Rider once and for all. Which, you know, everyone has had a plan for that, but Zol is such an intimidating presence, even without any scary monster costume, that you can almost believe he'll be the one to actually make good on his plans. And as threatening as his own face is, his scheme here involves working his skills as a master of disguise to impersonate Taki in an attempt to destroy Shocker's enemies from within. Pretty exciting stuff! What's potentially a problem there, however, is that this episode also has a regular monster on top of that, Jigoku Thunder, who, in *any* other episode, would be a standout villain. Antlion larvae are pretty dang terrifying in real life, so to have a big dude-sized version of that going around sucking entire cars full of people into huge sandpits? That's an amazing gimmick. The nighttime sequence with him that opens the episode is like something out of a horror movie, even. He's totally great, but his plotline feels almost completely disconnected from the Zol stuff until the very end, where he essentially serves as a mere distraction to allow Zol the chance to escape. So I suppose if I were feeling critical, I could say the episode doesn't quite acheive that feeling of having two great bad guys for the price of one it probably could've, with a tighter narrative. But still, Colonel Zol! It's going to be loads of fun seeing what other dastardly schemes he's going to cook up from here. You know, when I decide to get around to it, anyway!