[DreadBringer]

My hands would be full, following 2 watch threads at once now. Also, the other show that is featured on the analysis link of my signature, by akinoame. I'd try to limit what I write here about my own thoughts, though I also hoped that the analysis on my signature would be noticed/read by you too, with you starting over OOO again. They're at least Fish threads' level or more.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER OOO EPISODE 1 - “MEDALS, UNDERWEAR, AND THE MYSTERIOUS ARM”

I wonder sometimes if it’s her expressing the feeling of working on a toku show, where her ideas and a producer’s ideas have to coexist within one narrative, regardless of how often those ideas are mutually embraced. It’s just… it’s you and another person, someone you may not have chosen to partner with, trying to accomplish a goal that’s been set for you. Being an adult means needing to work in concert when you aren’t friends, or even exactly friendly.

Kobayashi's reucrring theme is also about desires. For example, in Ryuki, characters grapple with the wish of becoming the winner of the Rider War. Den-O explores the idea of imaginations becoming reality, while OOO centers on desires, which is quite evident. Additionally, Kobayashi has a notable tendency to change a character's hairstyle and color when they are possessed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s hard not to just talk about Ankh and Eiji, even this early. The beats land instantly – Eiji’s eagerness to defend a disembodied hand from a monster made out of impulses, Ankh’s quick decoding of Eiji’s eagerness to create a patsy that can secure his future, and the low-level animosity that dances with the enthusiasm of defeating a shared foe. The instant chemistry of this series, man! Eiji immediately buys into what’s happening here, to a gloriously absurd degree, which is maybe the only way this premiere episode could fit in a complete adventure, tons of series setup, and the actual full opening title sequence. You can only do that in 20-odd minutes if your hero jumps in with a smile on his face, ready to make some new connections.

It's Eiji in general who has an innate desire to protect others, even those he barely knows. Just meeting someone briefly is enough for him to see them as connected comrades, which aligns with the typical Kamen Rider sensibility seen in most leads of the series. However, early in the show, Eiji's perception is quite naive. He mistakenly believes that the security guards are nice simply because they serve him a drink, when in reality they are thieves who drugged him. Ankh here just happens to be the other show's lead unlike those other people Eiji met. Like Momotaros in Den-O, Ankh is a baddie here too at the start of the show, and by this he perceives Eiji's virtue as a weakness. For the opposite, Eiji also receives help from another important character, Hina.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I love that little idea floating through this episode, that meeting anyone new, experiencing anything new, is an objective good. Kougami being excited for the Greeed’s appearance because it’s something brand-new in the world, Eiji’s willingness to defend a cop he had one conversation with that morning and a mildly terrifying disembodied hand that is maybe mugging him because he’s known them for all of a few minutes and that’s enough for him to want to help them… I love that. I love how Eiji’s simplicity and guilelessness never looks like childishness or stupidity; it’s charmingly direct heroism, full stop.

Kougami would be someone suspicious for seemingly not caring about the casualties, even among his own men. His focus is on celebrating any births, regardless of the individual, whether it's a Greeed or OOO. He would be pleased even if a dangerous villain emerges, such as Kuroto (who was always just a villain on the same page as the heroes since mid Ex-Aid) witnessing the birth of Gamedeus with excitement, as it represents the emergence of a living being.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But it’s the monster story aspects that made this episode pop for me, beyond the promises of the start of an indelible partnership over a year-long serial. The violence was unexpected, for one thing – the Greeed wiping out a platoon of Kougami Mooks (Ridevendor something-or-others; they’re Mooks) while a haunting orchestral version of Happy Birthday plays? That’s some dark stuff, despite the trappings of monster suits and vending machine motorbikes. (I love how the bonkers Kougami gear is, like, the first toku thing this show introduces. Why not!) But the Greeed’s immediate goals of reconstituting their bodies is a nice way of grounding the early battles and minor adversaries that a levelling-up hero needs to interact with. I get what these four villains are trying to do, and giving them all the same We’re Just Getting Started energy as the heroes is more appealing to me than a show where an implacable adversary is cackling from a fortress, waiting for a hero to get 40 episodes of power-ups under its henshin device and make a run at defeating him/her/them. I like that the Greeed are introduced as weak as OOO, you know?

The term "mooks" is typically used to refer to the minor, disposable villains in a story. In contrast, the equivalent term for the minor, disposable heroes is "Red Shirt." In one scene, when Eiji and those around him scream due to Ankh's actions, the next scream appears to be in response to Ankh as well, with the jewelery store displaying various hand displays, but turns out that that the source of the screaming is Uva, who is revealed as the first MOTW in the show. Uva has a Rider-like appearance, characterized by his round eyes.