[Fish Sandwich]

EPISODE 11: "Promise"

This episode makes something of a statement right out of the gate with its cold open. Of the six two-parters so far, every one up until now directly involves either an appearance by the Grongi, or one of the main characters. Here, there's a quick mention of the Unidentified Lifeforms in dialogue, but overall, it's noticeably calmer than usual, and involves only characters we've never met. The introduction of Kanzaki sets a tone for this story, that basically throws the mystery cop show element to the sidelines in favor of doubling down on the emotions, showing us a teacher who's starting to feel uncertain of his place in a changing world. He goes digging through some old mementos, until a note from one Yuusuke Godai catches his eye. It mentions that he was moved by words Kanzaki can't remember saying, as well as a promise to be fulfilled at their old school the very next day. Which is some dramatically convenient timing, sure, but stranger things have happened. Kanzaki is clearly having major doubts about his influence on the adults of the future, so he decides to take a gamble on that promise.



He doesn't yet know how well he's chosen. Yuusuke not only remembers the promise he made all those years ago, he's absolutely psyched about it, to the point where he actually did his job at Pole Pole for once the day before. Naturally, he's busy today, but Pops receives an extra set of hands in the form of Nana, who makes her proper debut here (as in, she gets a name) after the brief encounter with Jean earlier. This pretty much completes the show's massive supporting cast roster, but I'd rather take a second to talk about Pops than her right now. I'm loving his shtick of constant ignorance. The way he rambles on and on with the tone of someone who thinks they've got it all figured out, it's great. Mostly because rather than coming off as egotistical, it's more like he's a genuinely well-meaning, if somewhat arrogant person who sees himself as a super dependable friend who everyone can count on, especially when they need advice. Not like that Yuusuke Godai! He's a sweet kid and all, but honestly, he's never around when you need him, you know? A real flake!

Rolling on with the supporting cast, a brief update on Jean's adventure in Nagano reveals Mika is actually there to help with the excavation at Kurogatake too, in an effort to honor her father's work. And that's great. I can't stress enough how awesome it is that Mika doesn't passively exist like the prop she could've easily been. Yuusuke puts all that effort into getting her to realize her potential, and we actually see that happen. She doesn't just disappear after her role of needing to be cheered up is done. What that whole plot was about was Yuusuke trying to make sure Mika knew she had something to contribute to the world just like anyone else. So to show her later, in a much better place mentally, actively working towards finding out what that thing she needs to do is, it's cool in its own right, but it also retroactively lends weight to those initial episodes focused on her.

What's also particularly weighty is the bad guy for this one, Zu-Zain-Da, a literal rampaging rhinoceros who plays rough. Stabbing a truck driver to death with the horn on his head is only the start. The sense of pure aggression throughout his fight scene with Yuusuke here is something else. The way he goes around kicking down fences and throwing things around, there were points where I thought he'd come right through the screen to smash my face into a wall. The action direction here is an A+, and you'll note I said Zain's fight with Yuusuke, and not Kuuga. That's because he's not given the chance to transform for a good while, and as such neither does Zain himself. Narratively, that further proves what I'm saying about how intense this guy is, but on a meta level, it's likely because his human form's actor, Akira Nogami, is a real-life pro wrestler who apparently often goes simply by AKIRA (in all caps). The guy really gives it his all as a being of pure rage, and if you told me Joe Odagiri was only barely acting in some of those scenes, I'd believe it.



Now, Yuusuke was obviously supposed to be somewhere else, if you'll remember, but he's considerate enough to ask Sakurako to go in his place to meet Kanzaki while he gets pummeled by a rhino for the sake of humanity. Sakurako only gets the vaguest possible details, the name and the place, and in a great example of dramatic irony, ends up on the same train as Kanzaki, ultimately following along without realizing who he is. I don't hate it when plots get cute like that, but there's not a lot of immediate impact, as it mostly keeps them in one place while we get a better idea of just how melancholy Kanzaki is feeling, to the point where he says he's going to quit teaching if Yuusuke doesn't show up. Sure, he thinks he's got it bad, but at least Kanzaki doesn't end the episode almost getting impaled by a rhino monster.

THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER

Once again, the thumbs are saved for the second part, but man is it gonna be worth it.

Total thumbs up count: 21+0 = 21

EPISODE 12: "Teacher"



Hey, look, it's another one of my favorite Kamen Rider episodes ever. Also one of the best. I'm going to try and describe to you why I feel that way, but no matter what I come up with, I won't be satisfied I've done a good enough job.

Sakurako finds out who Kanzaki is right away, and the backbone of this episode is them discussing Yuusuke on their way to his old school. They develop a great rapport, bonding over their mutual acquaintance, and it's plain to see how much they've both been affected by having him in their lives. Giving Kanzaki someone to actually talk with this episode allows the story to take the brakes off, in a manner of speaking, getting a lot deeper into his mentality, and why he's decided to stake his entire career on one child remembering a promise he had already forgotten about, until a chance reminder.

During all this, Yuusuke has to stay true to his obligations as Kuuga, managing a narrow escape from Zain with some unexpected, and indirect, help from another Grongi. Their infighting is a subplot in is own right, carried out in just a few quick scenes, all of which are in their native tongue, and it speaks to how excellent this episode is that an entire chunk of it is effectively unintelligible, and still works. It's basically a little optional bonus on top of a completely functional plot. Where this becomes a problem for Yuusuke is that this means Zain is still out there, and he needs to deal with that. This is another occasion where the timestamps have extra meaning, each one acting as a reminder of the ticking clock that is Yuusuke's promise to Kanzaki. For now, he's going think up a way to beat Zain, and a lucky hit during the battle gives him the idea to finally harness his burning right foot when he kicks things. Hm.

Kanzaki and Sakurako arrive at the old school, only to find out it's scheduled to be demolished soon. Kanzaki takes this as yet another sign from the heavens that he, and all the things he's ever believed in, are unwanted relics, but Sakurako takes a page out of Yuusuke's book and suggests hopping the gate to sneak into the place anyway. Inside, we finally get to the true meat of Kanzaki's issues. Him pinning all his hopes on Yuusuke is awfully melodramatic, but based on his words and actions, I get the impression quitting teaching is something he's been thinking about a long time before we first see him. He makes it clear he has some extreme misgivings about the education system that I don't think anyone would form overnight. He laments that everybody seems to have a different idea of what he needs to be teaching children, and, most pressingly of all, that the children themselves don't seem to care about their own futures. The poor guy has no clue what it is he's supposed to be doing, and from that, he fears he might as well be doing nothing, for all the difference it would make to his students.

I'm going out on a limb here, but I feel like a lot of that monologue can be taken as reflecting the thoughts of producer Shigenori Takatera, and presumably Naruhisa Arakawa, too, since he literally wrote the lines. Everything I've heard about Takatera suggests to me he takes the impact children's shows have on their development quite seriously, but, even putting aside the question of why it's the case, I think it's obvious Kuuga as a whole takes that seriously. We have seen, and will continue to see, that this is a series with a deep respect for its target audience. It makes an effort to present more complex scenarios to them, and constantly asks them to question things about hero shows they take for granted. That idea of "What should we be giving the children?", I think Kuuga's staff were asking themselves that as much as Kanzaki was, even if they probably weren't as depressed about it. Making a show for kids, when you care about what you're making, I don't think the position is all that different. The desire to leave the "students" with something positive, the pressure from different groups with competing visions of what your job even is, all that's still there, in a way. When you're in that position, there's nothing you want to know more than that you've contributed something of value.

And Kanzaki has definitely done that, because one of his students was Yuusuke. The guy who, at that very moment, is working hard to think up a new move to use against Zain. As though the (possible) stellar meta commentary wasn't enough, this is yet another episode that demonstrates the value of training and preparation. Kuuga figuring out how he wants to do a kick is great, and I can't stress enough how perfectly timed this all is. The two-parters so far follow a clear pattern of introductions, right? The origin of Mighty Form, then the Try Chaser, then Dragon, Pegasus, and Titan. So what is this one about, now that all the initial toys are already out of the way? This is the origin story for Kuuga's Rider Kick, and if ever there was a payoff to the slower pacing of Kuuga, this is it right here. In the middle of this beautiful story, that perfectly encapsulates what Kuuga is all about, we get not a new piece of merchandise, but the proper reintroduction of a franchise staple, that serves to reinforce, after the introduction of all those new forms, that Mighty still stands on top. It's so dang satisfying. We've been gradually seeing Kuuga build his way up from mere kicks to a proper Kick, and now, after a quarter of the series, we're finally here. Yuusuke didn't even need a new toy to do it. He just had to apply himself, and put in the effort. The resulting fight scene is just a masterpiece, even giving us the first taste of full on trial action with the Try Chaser since its debut. Could this be any more perfect?

The answer is yes, because I haven't mentioned what this fight is overlapping with yet. Back at the school, Sakurako makes a comment about how Yuusuke isn't there because he's using his 2000th skill (which is turning into Kuuga) to do what he can, and this finally gets Kanzaki to recall what the promise actually was. Kanzaki himself is basically the entire reason Yuusuke is the hero he is. It was from his words that Yuusuke learned the significance of the thumbs up gesture. Yuusuke promised him that he would learn 2000 skills by the year 2000. He set Yuusuke on the path to becoming someone who would always persevere for the sake of a smile, and as he gives an impassioned recreation of that speech he's now remembered, the footage is intercut with Yuusuke living by those words, all these years later, by standing up to the Grongi as Kuuga.

Without any doubt, this is one of the most powerful scenes in Rider history. I genuinely get choked up watching it, and can now confirm writing about it has pretty much the same effect. The way it ties the debut of the Mighty Kick and the origin of the thumbs up and the origin of Yuusuke's 2000 skills, I mean, WOW. That's about all I can say. By the time everything is said and done, and Kuuga rides off into the sunset on his bike (!) to fulfill that promise, it's all come together into an absolutely unforgettable two-parter. This is the kind of thing where I see it, and just hope everybody involved with making it is proud of what they've left behind, because, just like Kanzaki, they deserve to be.



THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER

Yeah, you'd better believe the thumbs budget was there for this one. It's an episode worthy of it.








Total thumbs up count: 21+6 = 27