[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Magnugiga

But-but... this means you don't have your eyes "OPEN FOR THE NEXT FAIZ", how dare you!!

Honest to god, I'm going to watch the teaser for Episode 2 after I watch Episode 2. Y'all have got me convinced I'm hurting myself by skipping it, so we'll see. I'm a little disappointed that the slogan isn't ALL FAIZ ON ME or ALL FAIZ OPEN, but I'll try it anyway.

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Originally Posted by Magnugiga

Whoohoo, super glad your first impression was great, this first ep is very much an either-you-love-it-or-you-hate-it thing as I discovered. While I finished this series relatively recently, I actually watched the first episode as a teen and my thought process at that time was basically “sweet, our main rider seems very likable, Shinji-esque, dude… uh he some sort of undead I guess…. that’s also interesting suit design, but maybe it’s just alternate form… uh we murder people now… okay, I guess he’s not the guy.” It hit me way harder upon rewatch, for some reason.

Sometimes I feel like my tolerance for Kamen Rider is just stupidly high? I was really excited to watch this episode because it was brand-new Kamen Rider, and maybe that made me less objective. Like, not that I'm ever claiming to be objective on these things, but I was a not small amount of psyched.

But, I don't know, people kept talking up Faiz in a Hoo Boy kind of way, as in Hoo Boy Wait Until You Get To Faiz, and I didn't find it especially weird or off-putting? So far? The things it's doing with backgrounding Faiz, it's maybe new to Kamen Rider but, like I said, pretty standard in other series. Even the tone doesn't feel a million miles away from parts of Kuuga or Agito. Like, it all still reads as Kamen Rider to me?

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Originally Posted by Magnugiga

That has to be the most depressing first Kamen Rider episode, right. Not just in terms of what happened, but also the way they’re framing it—although I haven’t seen Amazons, is it the similar brand of ‘dark’? I personally loved it; it established a certain mood, an undercurrent of sorrow and longing that’s really the furthest thing I’d normally seek from a toku show, but somehow appealed to me.

My memory of Amazons is that it's substantially more brutal and violent, but not really as dark for the first couple episodes. Like, the supporting cast has some goofballs, and the first big fight happens in the daytime. This has a more... gloomy tone? It's a difference of degrees, but I thought Faiz had a bleaker premiere. I mean, Yuuji's story, jfc...

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Originally Posted by Magnugiga

And yeah, I also liked Mari immediately, just something very endearing and authentic with her ‘no-time-for-the-stupids’ vibe and overall demeanor as you noted. In general, they really did a good job in making the core characters likable and worth the emotional investment, at least to me.

Yeah, like, immediately I was thinking Holy Shit What Is This Girl's Deal, and that's the high-water mark for a new character in a Kamen Rider show. She feels like she's got a whole story ready to tell, and Yuuji's got a tragedy that could launch a half-dozen toku shows. It's a great set up for a series, for me.

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Originally Posted by Magnugiga

Doing well, all things considered. Just had a con-call with my office and things are looking kinda bleak (which I guess is keeping with the thread’s theme here!), but I did what I could and hopefully had taken enough safety precautions to bounce back and help my mates if/when it comes to the worst.

Yeah, my industry (comics retail) has been in a hibernation for the last six weeks, and it'll slowly be restarting in the next couple. We've been doing local drop-offs and mail, with a first week of curbside pickup, and it's all just weird hustling for 25% as much money. Weird times.

It's a great attitude you've got, to be able to prep as much as possible and just wait to see if it's sufficient. A hard thing to keep to, knowing that you can't plan for the unplannable and that you need to be flexible. Hopefully everything'll work out for the best!

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Originally Posted by Magnugiga

On a brighter note, viewing-wise I'm about to wrap up Blade and Hibiki this weekend, then move on to some Netflix shows and a Ryuki re-watch, which I'm very much looking forward to after the recent discussion!

Neat! I'm looking forward to those shows as well! And I hope you still dig Ryuki on the next go-around!