[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 19 - ?I WON?T STOP - HIS NAME IS ACCEL?

It?s an episode that?s almost entirely about seeing how Terui fits into the dynamic ? mostly by being an unhinged, spiteful lunatic, but in a good way ? but it still manages to craft an intriguing mystery. It?s one that leans heavy on assumptions and circumstantial evidence, which is sort of the perfect case to run alongside Terui?s debut. Team Double gets judged unfairly by Terui, and Terui is afforded an amount of leeway due to his presence and credentials that turn out, by the end, to be a huge miscalculation. Y?know, what with him about to murder a normal human being.

I love how Terui's debut shakes up the feeling of the show, both as a character and a Rider. He's such a bad*ss and easily one of my favorite Secondary Riders. In a way, he's also my first Secondary Rider, since Decade's abundance of Riders meant that Diend never hit the same way as Accel did for me, with Accel being literally second after Double. Despite his cool exterior and impressive detective skills though, he does let his emotions steer him for personal matters, with him acting as judge, jury and executioner to Iceage Dopant, showing that he's a loose cannon with no partner to slam the brake. It's an intriguing contrast to Double for sure. Humorously, the only member of Team Double who Terui actually takes seriously is Akiko.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Before that, though, we get the requisite Showcase Battle for a new Rider or Form, and Accel?s is pretty great. Terui has one of my franchise favorite pronunciations of Henshin (?Hen?? he gives himself a hernia ?...shin!?), and Accel?s design is absolutely gorgeous. The ?A? on the helmet does a lot to tie his design into Double?s, even if Motorcycle Man is not the natural visual partner to Half-and-Half Crimefighter. (Even the Acceldriver misses the letter template of the Lost Driver and Double Driver! It?s just a handlebar!) I love the glossy red of that suit, and Accel has one of the most relentlessly badass victory catchphrases imaginable. (I?ve seen it parsed a bunch of different ways from a variety of subbing groups, but OZC-Live has it as ?Despair is waiting for you on the other side of the finish line.?) The whole sequence of him becoming Accel and demolishing the Dopant is as good as it should be, considering the hype to get to it.

For me, it's Accel's instrumental soundtrack that always gets me excited for his fights. The way it starts abruptly, then slows down a little, then immediately accelerates in to the fast-paced chorus makes it sound menacing, which is probably how the Dopants feel about Terui before he henshins, like they're only a few moments away from getting their a**es kicked. Yeah, Accel has some awesome themes and I haven't even talked about Leave All Behind yet!

Of course, I'm a big fan on the suit as well. While Double has a very simple design that looks like the style of the Showa Era, Accel's red and silver suit has a lot of details, he's armored yet fast at the same time, which is necessary due to him having his own Final Form Ride gimmick (emphasis on Ride). I guess I have to admit I'm biased here though, since I generally love speed types. The way he has to drag his Engine Blade makes it feel even stronger when he hits enemies at such speed. Must be like getting hit by a bullet or something.

Like Androzani mentioned before regarding a problem with those subs, some English words fall victim to being translated in to something totally different in English. For Accel's catchphrase, "goal" becomes "finish line" here. I guess it kind of fits the bike motif more and essentially means the same thing, but nevertheless, it's wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

-Hey, Shroud makes her first appearance. I?m? really hoping I like Shroud better on a rewatch.

Her involvement in the story is directly connected to Terui's quest for revenge, so it makes sense that she'd appear alongside him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Accel's' eye lens should be green.

I have to side with Die on this one. I think the red suit with the blue eye is more fitting for Terui's hot and cold personality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I guess the "Kirihiko is more than just a sneering villain" part, with it emphasized by "both men care about Fuuto" before, sounds like it to me, sounds like painting me as diminishing him as "sunday cartoon villain" or such, but dunno if I also got it wrong and too accusing - it can often happen that to call those not doing something for the sake of malice as bad means diminishing them as "sneering villain" or its synonym.

Well, not exactly a Sunday cartoon villain, but we cannot deny that Kirihiko is a Sunday villain.