[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I somehow managed to forget the whole "don't let go!" bit, but I'm happy to say the "I'm going to live too" ending bit has always been one of the parts of Agito that I remember vividly. Part of it is that honestly, Shouichi is not the guy I go to for heroic speeches, so any time he did one, I found them sort of adorably embarrassing. The more important part is that it's just a really killer moment to end the penultimate episode of your hero show on. So many other Rider shows go for the darkest hour, and leave on that question of "how are things possibly gonna get better next week?", but Agito, true to itself as ever, goes the exact opposite direction, having this big triumphant crescendo, hyping you up just as much by reversing the question, so you're now asking "how hard are the Riders gonna mop the floor with the bad guys next week?".

Yeah, it made for some unusual pacing, but I think it was the right choice. As someone who honestly was not that into the Spooky Man season-long plot by the end, I was happy to treat Defeating The Season-Long Villain And Saving Humanity as, like, a splashy epilogue. This was a show that said everything it needed to say by the penultimate episode. I'm glad they had room for a crowd-pleasing Big Hero episode though. For me, it was the best of both worlds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Wait, not to ruin the moment, but did we forget about this? There probably isn't that much to talk about with it, being a random side thing and all, but did you at least watch it? You're usually extremely thorough about getting everything together to watch (we didn't even have to tell you about the special!), so I'd have trouble believing it skipped your mind.

NOBODY HAD IT AND I LOOKED EVERYWHERE. I wanted to watch it real bad! TV Nihon didn't have it, and Nyaa didn't have it, and those are the two places I definitely do not get Kamen Rider from because I respect the law. If someone knows where to watch it, let me know! I don't mind going back to these threads if there's more stuff I didn't get to talk about! *cough*BuildNewWorldKamenRiderGreaseProbablyThisWeekend*cough* My goodness! The air in here is so dry!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Okay, the dog was Count Zero, yeah, that's a good takeaway from the thread. Amazon had an Emperor Zero already, too, so I don't blame Switchblade for that line of thinking.

But I think the real lesson to be learned here is that we as a fandom need to get together and put a stop to this horrible nightmare reality where Agito and Blade have become "those shows no one talks about". When did this happen? It feels like just yesterday I was writing my Ghost thread, where the two examples I gave of excellent Rider shows were exactly those two. I don't think I even mentioned Kuuga anywhere in there! When I got into Rider, I remember hearing about how awesome Agito was fairly regularly, but apparently now nobody can shut up about Kuuga for long enough to give it the time of day? Kuuga's great too, but it's no wonder it would let someone down after hearing about it like it was the only Rider show you'd ever want to watch.

I propose that going forward, we all attempt to steer conversations about Kamen Rider toward Agito at any given opportunity. Most times, this will be easy. Other times, it will appear difficult, but clever thinking will allow you to get around any potential obstacles. For example:

"Hey, what's your least favorite Rider series?"
"Well, I can tell you it's definitely not Agito. That show slaps!"

See? Easy as can be! Just follow these basic guidelines, and soon enough, we can live in a world where new Rider fans don't have to live ignorant of the greatness that is Agito.

Yeah, it's like, I feel like Kuuga is a show you should watch, but Agito is a show you need to watch. It's so weird, the ways it innovates and the ways it frustrates. I'd much rather watch a flawed gem like Agito, that flies higher and plunges lower (why did Hikawa have an unexplained blindness that only lasted for three episodes before disappearing?!?!) than an established Important Show like Kuuga. Kuuga, I mean, it works for you or it doesn't. Agito can do both in the same episode and I find that fascinating.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

That's funny. I was actually going to tell you before even reading this bit that this is easily my favorite thread you've done so far. The fun you were having with the series was super apparent in every post, and from the very start, you showed a great grasp on the bigger picture of what Agito was "about" before the series even started laying it on thick. We even got epic overarching plot threads like Nijou's eventual redemption and revival as some guy named "Hikawa". If you're worried you weren't explaining yourself well enough, or anything like that, don't be.

Thanks! For me, the writing of these, it's in hopes of sparking a discussion. I'm not trying to do this as, like, performance art. I hope by writing these, I'll get a chance to talk with other fans (like you!) about what they think about the show. Doing a write-up, it's like a first draft of my thoughts. The more I get to talk about it, the more I can refine what I'm saying, explain what I'm thinking, really figure out what the show is doing for me. And, hopefully, get introduced to some different perspectives that make me get more out of the show. With this one.. I didn't feel like I was hearing a lot. When that happens, I don't think "Oh, I must've nailed it, hole in one." I think, "Oh, I must be making no sense, this is all garbage from my brain," or, "I am sure everyone else figured this out almost two decades ago, these are not interesting or insightful or even entertaining." I'm glad that they were interesting for some folks, and maybe even had some entertainment hidden deep in there. (I want to be buried with that Houjou Running Away series of screencaps.) I genuinely enjoy talking about Kamen Rider, so I truly appreciate anyone who chimed in. You are all immortal!