[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 4 -- "The Doll and the Pianist"

(For the record, Cat Sidhe also calls Haruto "Wizard" in English once here, as does Phoenix later on in the episode.)

Weird to hear Phoenix of all people call him that.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The initial bout with Cat Sidhe opens up with a good showing of his agile and wild fighting style as he takes on Wizard in Flame Style, but the real fun comes when Haruto turns the tables by busting out Water Style once more, this time debuting the Liquid Ring, effortlessly confounding Cat Sidhe as he nonchalantly lets attacks flow right through him and reshapes his body around the Phantom in all sorts of different holds, like the world's weirdest pro wrestling match.

Cats hate water after all. Liquid is going to be taxing on Wizard's currently strained mana though, as the consequence of this is later shown in the cliffhanger after Bind costs him further. I guess you could say that Wizard can live in the present a little too much, when he should be more conservative with his powers immediately before and after recharging Koyomi.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I also have to call out how fond I am of the way this scene is blocked. Takagi sits facing away from the others, as if trying to ignore them, and Haruto faces off to the side, sitting up on the table rather than the benches, which I think just nicely highlights his general cool factor.

Kind of an impractical "cool" thing to do though, as that body language implies that Haruto is either not listening to Takagi or doesn't care about what's being said. I noticed that Kan Hideyoshi used to do this so often early in Geats that I almost forgot when he was in a scene, so maybe it's something that actors portraying cool guys do until they find a more unique way to express that, as the characters' personalities are still being developed in their minds.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And speaking of people who are very surly right now, Koyomi came all the way out to help! By which I mean to help Haruto, of course. The distinction is pretty important there. She probably took it a little personally earlier when Shunpei mentioned Rinko's excellent support skills during the earlier fight while trying desperately to make casual conversation. Koyomi seems pretty desperate to prove how useful she is to Haruto (being able to see through Phantoms' human guises), and just as importantly, to prove that Rinko and Shunpei *aren't* useful, an attitude best exemplified by the almost performative smile Koyomi flashes while telling Haruto she came because she thought Haruto would have too much trouble on his own -- i.e. "on his own" with Rinko, who's standing right there as Koyomi says this.

Koyomi may look sweet and innocent, even with the mischief behind her smile, but yeah, giving Rinko the cold shoulder like that shows how the team's sudden expansion has caused Koyomi's insecurity to manifest in spitefulness and that needs to be resolved quickly. It's not like her, but that's the whole point. It's good that we get to see her dark side now, so then we can get the healthy version of Koyomi we all know and love.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 5 -- "The Final Match of the Contest"

In the aftermath, Takagi is quick to belittle Haruto for losing the fight, but Haruto is equally quick to see through Takagi when the subject of why he even ran off in the first place comes up. Takagi is so desperate to avoid losing at that contest that he wanted the excuse being attacked by a monster would give him to not play at all, rather than having to face up to whatever happens tomorrow. Haruto strikes a nerve by questioning why a genius-level pianist would be so okay ceding his fate to anyone but himself like that, causing Takagi to call him a loser again, which itself strikes a nerve with Koyomi.

It's an intriguing twist for the first fortnightly Gate, how he actually chooses despair over hope. Believing in hope means opening your heart to the possibility of suffering, so it's easier to take the certainty of despair, knowing that it can never get worse than that. However, that way of thinking is also pointless, as that means it can never get better either. Believing in hope requires true courage, something that Takagi needs to find.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And then from *there*, you might start thinking about Haruto's perspective, and realize that he was also, in that same moment, dealing with his own uncertain future, himself no longer an ordinary human, and you might start thinking about everything *that* means. About how lonely both of these people must've felt. About how that solitude, in true Kamen Rider fashion, is itself a theme throughout the show. About how important it was for the both of them to be able to be lonely together, and the profound connection that created. Maybe you'll think of Morota's love of water contributing so much visually to this end, as Haruto makes the choice to sit down with Koyomi rather than staying dry on the shore -- the choice to share what she's going through alongside her.

It's only possible to know the true meaning of hope by first understanding what it means to feel despair and surviving long enough to see a better future. Without an experience like that, the Sabbat may have claimed Haruto's life. Since his capacity for empathy is usually based on applying his own past experiences to others, this is a case where he can clearly understand Koyomi's despair and help give her just enough hope to keep moving forward like he chose to. This show highlights the nuanced relationship between hope and despair and I think this flashback scene is a good example.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

After all, it's the reactions of the characters to all this that actually move the narrative along. For Takagi, it's as simple as him not having a snide remark to respond with, for once, which tells you all you need to know. For Rinko and Shunpei, it's an opportunity to finally forge a meaningful connection with Koyomi, as three people who have all found hope in meeting Haruto. Rinko makes it clear that they're also ready to accept her for who she is, and even though she tries to play it cool, Koyomi realizes, as they all hold hands, that it might not be so bad to have this warmth in her life.

This is a great scene for how Koyomi receives hope while Haruto isn't even present. Adding to what I said about the Engage Rings, it shows how the Final Hope isn't just Haruto, but also something carried by the Gates he saved, allowing Rinko and Shunpei to renew Koyomi's hope and finally changing her opinion of them and accepting the warmth of their hands. Honestly one of the first big memorable developments for Koyomi and the non-Haruto main characters in general, making the team feel complete.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Add it all up and -- while I don't have a particularly firm ranking for the four Styles -- part of me has always kind of thought Hurricane might secretly be the only one that can top Flame as the coolest? As much as I don't want to acknowledge that?

You should totally acknowledge that, Hurricane Style is awesome both visually and functionally and I'm glad to see how much you also appreciate it! For me, this is how my Style Ranking would be:

1) Hurricane
2) Flame
3) Water
4) Land

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

You're going with 2 episodes review per post, maybe I'd likely cover just one so the reply won't be too much.

By this I gotta put an effort to prevent me getting spoiled by later episode talks, and catch up ASAP, but I don't want to skip any of the episode reviews.

No problem. There's 2 episodes per week, so you have a lot of time to catch up.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Dunno what'd you see as the low standards for heroines, because the likes of Hiyori and Koyomi are generally viewed as the low standards for many people in females.

My low standards would be Asuna, Tsukuyomi and worst of all Sakura. I'll also mention that Mai, Kiriko, Izu and Neon had good potential, but due to plot reasons, they didn't live up to expectations.

I rank Koyomi, Hiyori and Hirose as 4th, 5th and 6th of Heisei respectively.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Wizard, for me, is the point where what I refer to as the Den-O Formula broke down. I don't dislike the show, but it definitely felt like the shows were becoming too same-y. It was time for something like Gaim to come along and shake things up again.

For me, I disliked the reckless way Gaim subverted the formula, so I was glad to see Drive do something familiar and closer to what I expect thematically in Rider. However, I think some shows subvert it in a satisfying way, like Build.