[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by FreshToku

I just want to say that being actually submerged and having to swim in water while in those suits looks like such a giant pain. All I could think about during scenes like that is 'gosh, those poor suit actors'!

Just existing in those suits period seems like a giant pain (the suit actor talk-show from the Fourze bonus materials was eye-opening), but, yeah, then dumping that dude in a tank of water and making him spend a few seconds submerged before breaking through the surface... probably made him miss being on a mountain at 2am!

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Originally Posted by FreshToku

It's been a long while since I've seen this episode, but when you started talking about the final scene of everyone coming into the restaurant, just hanging out as the scene zooms out with the music letting us know all is well... Well, it came back to me in a drum beat because it really encapsulates the kind of good feelings this show left on me.

It's so good!

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

This is another arc that I really like and remember very well. The revisit to the final boss level of Faiz is definitely a highlight. It's not the last time we'll see this place (it's also where Alain's shitty brother hangs out in Ghost, for one), but this and Faiz are still my favorite uses of the location. Not sure I could stand as close to the gigantic hole as Ibuki did, though.

I thought it was weird that, for a show that doesn't hit a lot of the Kamen Rider landmarks, the Ibuki spotlight episodes dip back into that well, if you'll pardon the expression. His debut took us to Kamen Rider Dam and the BOARD base, and this one has its finale set where the Orphnoch King fought Team Faiz. Is it another subtle way of commenting on how Ibuki is the more traditional Kamen Rider lead? Or just a coincidence?

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I kinda love how gross the monster is, too. I'm sure that the stomach thing was at least partially a way to get more practical fighting in, but that thing was still surprisingly brutal for a red Christmas tree with tentacles and acid (oh so much acid).

It's a pretty gross set of episodes, monster-wise. Ibuki gets covered in monster goo and stomach acid in the first part, and then a bunch more in the second. Weird mix of gross-out combat and light comedy in these two!

(Also, is the monster goo white specifically because of how it contrasts with the Oni suits? It really pops off of the dark suits, and these monsters never "bleed" unless it can splatter the Oni.)

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

All the non-combat stuff was good, too. I especially loved Hibiki and Midori bickering like an old married couple and Asumu stumbling into a part-time job at Tachibana's. The bit at the end with Kasumi and Hinaka briefly talking about Ibuki was a highlight, too - the actresses really play well off of each other and you can really buy that they're sisters.

THose two actors have a very lived-in quality to their interactions. I think my favorite bit from that closing scene was Ibuki yanking the notes out of Asumu's hands and not giving them back. It's a very Getting Teased By An Older Brother thing, and Ibuki's the only one to do it to Asumu, and he only does it when Asumu's around Akira. It's like the way Ichiro teases Ibuki when Kasumi's around. These dads like to make potential suitors squirm!

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Not to spoil anything, but I was looking up this week’s guest cast to see if they’ve done anything else and found that the actress playing the housewife actually shows up again in the second half of the show as a researcher. What that says about the difference between the two halves, I’m not sure and cannot day.

I'm not sure who that would be. Was she in 18, or is she coming up in 19?

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Originally Posted by Kurona

This is what Hibiki’s all about and why I’ll always always cherish it. I haven’t been chipping in too much between only having my phone to type and everyone else surprisingly echoing my opinions regardless, but I love that you’ve been able to see in this show what I do. It’s not something for everyone, but if you get it, you get it. It brings a warmth and a homely feel to Kamen Rider like no other.

It's so good at making you feel like these people get along. But not like a family, or like friends, but like coworkers. Folks who get what you're going through because they're going through it, too. It's a kind of teamwork that's also solitary, and you have these shared experiences that give you a shorthand. I don't know if I'm explaining it well! Some of my most rewarding adult friendships have been with coworkers, though, and this show really evokes those feelings.