[Fish Sandwich]

Rider Time: Ryuki:

Bringing things full circle for the last appearance Ryuki's going to make in these posts. Again, part of the reason I rewatched Ryuki in the first place was basically to do some exposure therapy with Inoue's take on it, so how did that change my opinion on this? Eh, not that much. It's strange, because as I've rediscovered going back through it, all the Ryuki stuff he wrote before, I either consider legitimately good, or at least a fun guilty pleasure, but there are just too many things I still feel are wrong here for me to feel comfortable calling it anything resembling good. Even if I choose to actively ignore how upset I am about seeing Raia as a traitorous killer, that scene where him and Shibaura stab whatever the new Scissors' name is is one of the most edgelord things Inoue has ever written. The bizarre, pointless symbolism(?) of cutting to shots of the meat they're eating and everything, it's just too weird. Too many things are too weird. I also still can't make sense of how it's meant to fit in with either Ryuki or Zi-O.

The only true closure I've found in this is reconfirming that I'll always have a strange love-hate relationship with Inoue's writing, and that I should just accept it. Sometimes he makes weird things I love, and sometimes he makes OOO's portion of Movie War Core, which, for the record, is infinitely worse than this could ever be. I do feel like I see a bit more where he was going with some of the plot points now (like Shinji mistaking Geiz for Ren and then not getting to participate in the final fight at all being some kind of a passing the torch thing), and maybe there's more to the story than I was giving it credit for, but at the end of the day, it simply isn't something I'm satisfied with. Which makes me feel greedy, you know? Because Toei was not under any obligation to essentially make three more episodes of Ryuki over a decade and a half after the show ended, and I don't like taking that for granted. There are tons of cool things in here. It's neat seeing everybody's Final Vent with fancy modern effects. It's awesome that they used the background music from the original show. It's fun that Inoue threw in little references like Shinji once again mixing up Ren's name. There are things to love here, and one day I think I will eventually make peace with Rider Time: Ryuki, even if only by doing what I do for Episode Final and turning my brain off when I watch it.

Den-O: Final Countdown:

Yeah, obviously, it didn't turn out to be that final after all, but as a potential second finale to Den-O, this movie is quite good. Although the feeling I kept getting watching it was that it didn't feel like Kamen Rider at all. Like it's basically a general action-adventure film where people happen to put on fancy costumes during some of the fight scenes. Not that I'm saying it's bad. It's quite the opposite. Final Countdown puts all the focus on letting the characters be themselves, and because it's Den-O, that's what makes it special. After the very safe, unremarkable Climax Deka, it feels like they really wanted to make sure that Den-O went out on a more interesting note than that. The plot here is properly in-depth, featuring a villain with an actual motivation for once, and a slew of interesting twists on the formula that bring out the best in everybody.

The big thing is that Ryoutarou is explicitly kept separate from the rest of the cast for a huge chunk of the movie, which is something that's never happened before. Since Den-O was a show all about people talking to each other, removing the main character from that equation lets you see the others in a slightly different light, and the angle of having to rescue him from the bad guys lets Momotaros especially show off how tight they are by this point. The cast genuinely feels like they're at the end of their journey in terms of growth, lending that air of finality to the story. The introduction of New Den-O, similarly, acts as a reminder that time keeps on moving forward, while also giving the movie a character who can be inexperienced and do some growing up, providing the bulk of the character development since the heroes from the show have had theirs already. I've actually always been really fond of New Den-O, for reasons I'll be getting into later, but for now, Koutarou's introduction here is solid. He's shown to be pretty arrogant and cocky, and the idea of the new hero showing up to question what's so great about the old guys is once again, a strong concept for the "last" Den-O story. It's not a particularly mind-blowing arc, but he gets humbled and works out his issues by the end of the movie, and it's satisfying.

That's probably the keyword for Final Countdown. Satisfying. It's not exactly the ultimate conclusion to Den-O that's going to tie up every loose end and show you everything you could ever want to see or things you never knew you wanted, but the fairly simple story it tells is strong. Things start off exciting, then slow down for a lot of good character moments, before going all out for a climax that pulls out all the stops. In terms of actually feeling like a movie, it's definitely got Climax Deka beat. Everybody is running around throwing each other through prop walls, there are tons of really long takes with solid choreography, and once Ryoutarou gets in on it, you get to see a Den-O Sentai lineup that tops I'm Born by throwing everybody in there. It's especially awesome getting to see Ryoutarou and Momotaros fight side-by-side. Final Countdown is just a really good time all around, and to this day, it still stands as the last Den-O film with Takeru Satoh, so in that sense, it honestly was a farewell.

Let's Go Kamen Riders:

I don't remember Let's Go Kamen Riders leaving much of an impression on me back when I first watched it, but I have to say, after years and years of countless big crossovers since, this one actually beats a lot of them out and still totally holds up. The story doesn't overcomplicate itself, keeps things upbeat, and moves at a slick pace. Right from the premise it's off to a good start. What if history got messed up and Shocker won? First of all, every other Rider after 1 and 2 cease to exist, which is, again, simple and easy to grasp, but also a cool concept befitting the 40th anniversary. There's an obvious meta logic to it, but it's also entirely conceivable in-universe for that kind of ripple effect to happen. If Shocker is straight up running the whole world since the 70's, imagine if they just found the Arcle, and tossed it in some treasure vault somewhere before Kuuga ever got a chance to use it. Maybe they buy out Smart Brain and BOARD before they develop any of their Rider gear. It's a fun idea to think about, and the movie encourages this thinking by explicitly establishing Shocker had their own Core Medal the whole time anyway.

Now, Shocker can't do crap about Den-O, because those guys aren't affected by changes to the timeline, and just like that, we've got a movie. OOO is here too, since Ankh inadvertently creates the whole mess during a brief team-up gone wrong, and the result is something of a dream team. Den-O is obviously extremely popular, and for reasons I can't entirely describe, OOO feels really suited to starring in a crossover like this. Maybe it's TaToBa's classy, rounded design that fits right in with Showa Riders (go look back at that Ishinomori-inspired picture of him with Rider 1 from the 999th episode if you don't believe me), or maybe it's Eiji's humble, respectful personality that means he has great chemistry with whoever you put him with. Either way, it's a good combo, and it works especially well, because Shouji Yonemura wrote this flick, and he already had experience with both these shows. Between that, and Kobayashi once again being credited with helping on the script, everyone's mannerisms are super on-point, which makes it so much easier to get into the movie. You actually believe it's the same guys from TV, which gives you that all-important anchor.

The only caveat is that it's actually New Den-O plus the Taros, but I don't mind this at all. Like I said, I've always been fond of him, and I honestly didn't mind Toei pushing him as legitimately being the new Den-O like they were for a while. He fit in with the existing characters quite well. Not that it matters that much, as Koutarou isn't a super important part of the overall picture. The story is more about the simple fun of watching everyone try to set things straight, and it does great on that front. You get a good feel for what the Shocker-controlled world is like in the first third of the film. I love hearing news broadcasters starting announcements with "Foolish humans!", which is amazing, and it's neat how Rider 1 and 2 make their first appearance when OOO is in a pinch, only to betray the viewers' expectations by having it turn out that they aren't his friends right now. The progression of the story is interesting, and once it lets loose at the end, it manages to keep topping itself just when you think it can't get any crazier. I don't mind seeing old characters return as suits with bad soundalikes when it's done like this. Especially with the speech Owner gives hyping it up, there's this delightfully straightforward feeling of all these awesome heroes getting together to beat up evil, and seeing every main Rider get their own individual introduction helps a lot to make them feel important. But then it gets even cooler because a random smattering of other Ishinomori characters show up like "what, you thought this just a celebration of Rider?", and then it gets EVEN cooler because everyone's boy Date shows up with every other Rider in tow, and then they all hop on their bikes to form into a giant number 40 in the sky and proceed to do the most epic Rider Break ever put to film.

I haven't seen All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker in a long time, either, which I also remember having a very enjoyable climax, but Let's Go Kamen Riders totally nails the big party atmosphere a movie like this is supposed to have, and while like OOO's as a whole, I took it for granted at the time, it's a lot easier to appreciate the things it does right after so many weirdly downbeat, dull Super Hero Taisen movies with convoluted and nonsensical plots. The only big leaps in logic here involve gags with Momotaros and Ankh that funny because they make no sense, and also that things don't actually go back to normal at the end, which is more of an oversight than anything. It also balances any flaws out with all that Showa love, which wasn't too common at the time. You've got Rider 1 and 2 who, despite only appearing in-suit, are voiced by their original actors, and are presented as being awesome without the need for any modernization whatsoever, which is great. The outdated sets and doofy monsters Shocker has being shown without a hint of irony is like one big middle finger to The First and The Next, and I love it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Movie War Core is both terrible and a really fascinating look into what OOO could have been if it wasn't heavily rewritten during production.

This is true and I probably should've mentioned that. Between what you said and the teasing of the Dinosaur Greed long before he actually ended up appearing in the finished show, a lot of the details in Movie War Core actually DO line up with OOO... just a version of it that never got made. I have to question how late those plans changed that they couldn't alter any of that in time to make the movie though.

Actually, I have to question basically everything I've ever heard about OOO's production. I'd love to see some kind of documentary or something about it, even. It's absolutely fascinating and also a bit scary how many iconic, beloved parts of that show seem to be a complete accident.

I mean, I've praised OOO for having characters so developed they practically write themselves, but whenever I hear that Eiji was going to have a rougher personality before Shuu Watanabe got cast, or what they were planning to do with Ankh, it's like, "holy crap, they literally were writing themselves!".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

But, like, from why they need to be level 1 to separate the bugster from the host, to why they need to clear the games at all if they can use the power ups regardless, to how the stage select thing even works, I just have no idea what the fuck

I can relate. I think if you dig back through the old episode threads for Ex-Aid, most of them probably have a post where I express confusion about the in-universe purpose of the Stage Select.

I still haven't figured it out, but the show was great, so who cares?