[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER X KAMEN RIDER FOURZE & OOO: MOVIE WAR MEGA MAX (DIRECTOR’S CUT)

Yeah, I think this one?s a good one. It?s an OOO section that operates at the highest degree of difficulty possible for a post-series project: You gotta bring Ankh back, because that?s the show, but you also gotta do it in a way that honors the bittersweet ending of that show. I think the decisions here were all the correct ones? Letting Ankh?s return and disappearance be a message of hope, to counter the seeming futility, is a very smart move. It?s a chapter in the larger story, not the end of it, so it?s okay to enjoy the moment without letting it be more than that. Unbelievably effective at getting back to the sweet rhythms of Eiji/Ankh/Hina, if only to entice us to pine for more.

This is my first time rewatching this after seeing Core Medal of Resurrection, so I paid special attention to Ankh. For Eiji, it's his first time seeing Ankh after losing him a few months ago, but for Ankh, it's his last time seeing Eiji after losing him 30 years ago. While Ankh mostly acts like himself here, as he's not the type to show his true feelings often, he's clearly desperate to stop Eiji from getting himself killed by Poseidon and I think that hits harder knowing what Ankh knows that Eiji doesn't.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

MY REPORT ON ?KAMEN RIDER X KAMEN RIDER FOURZE & OOO: MOVIE WAR MEGA MAX (DIRECTOR?S CUT)? FOR THE KAMEN RIDER CLUB

Like, the first thing in the Fourze side of this movie is JK not showing up for a big club activity because he?d rather goof around than support the team?s mission, but the resolution to the battle between Fourze and the Mutamid is everyone in the club doing whatever they can to support Gentarou when he needs to process his emotions. The swing in this one, when it goes from vague Community Activities to Support Your Friends, it just activates the KRC for some very fun bits of business. The most exciting part of the movie for me this time was watching the entire KRC rally around Gentarou when he needed to take a breath and mourn Nadeshiko, because the KRC is about friendship, and how that saves the world. This is as much a story about how we help our friends navigate relationships as it is a story about navigating relationships, and it took rewatching the first few Fourzes to help me understand that.

It's an awesome emotional moment for KRC for sure! Honestly, I didn't even notice how JK slacking off at the start of the Fourze fifth of the movie was foreshadowing for how sometimes people need their own space and can't just be told to "get it together", the friendship has to work on equal terms, or it won't work at all. Gentarou's problem, the loss of his first love, isn't something KRC can solve, but they can carry the extra burden to make it lighter for him and that's exactly what they do. It's a clever reversal to see Gentarou be the one who needs help and all the friends he helped repaying the favor like that.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

("The Best Rider Movie", though... that first Heisei Generations, maybe, for partly nostalgic reasons, but I also think it's sort of perfect in the storytelling and pacing? Trio of Deep Sin, for how mature and melancholy it is? REALxTIME, for being a full-on banger? Tough to say!)

HeiGen Dr. Pac-Man is pretty cool for how we get to see Shinnosuke and Haruto (featuring Gaim) show up once more to help the main heroes. I love how Takeru's bravery in the face of death (again) inspired Emu to overcome his fear of death. It also had a great payoff with Emu revivng Takeru in the end.

Trio of Deep Sin sure is unique among the V-Cinemas. While the tone is mature and melancholy, like you said, it still carries a message of hope with how the main 3 Swordsmen confront the deep sins of their pasts. Also, cute dog. Even the Saber haters enjoyed that movie.

RealTime sucks though, IMO.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I'm not sure where I'd rank this movie on my Favorite Rider Films list. It's close to the top in the "Crossovers" category, but I'm pretty sure there are some I still prefer.

Megamax is my second favorite Movie War, just behind Ultimatum! Anyway, since Toei stopped making them after Strongest Chemies, I may as well share my ranking:

1) Movie War Ultimatum
2) Movie War Megamax
3) Heisei Generations Dr. Pac-Man
4) Strongest Chemies
5) OG Movie War
6) Heisei Generations Forever
7) Beyond Generations
8) Movie War Full Throttle
9) Heisei Generations Final
10) Movie War Core
11) Reiwa First Generation
12) Sengoku Movie Battle
13) Super Movie War Genesis
14) Movie Battle Royale