[Fish Sandwich]

So the Hibiki movie was something I only watched the one time, which is pretty uncommon for me and Rider summer movies. When I say I don't remember much specific about Hibiki, this film epitomizes that. It left pretty much no impact on me whatsoever, and it seemed weird to me that as the first ever Inoue Hibiki thing, I was seeing people who are otherwise not fond of his work on the series say it was a fun flick. I figured there's no better time than now to give it another go, and...

I mean, yes it's fun, but I also feel obligated to resent everything it represents?

Like, the very first thing in the movie is Hibiki riding a motorcycle into an action scene with Asumu in tow. It's basically declaring war on Hibiki as a concept from the first frame, and it never really lets up. All these big characters are amusing, but when I see the Oni from Hibiki posing in front of a f***ing napalm explosion, it's just like "which Sakamoto directed this again?"



But to be fair, how else are you supposed to make The Big Movie Version of a series that based its entire identity on going as small as possible? Leaning into how paradoxical the whole concept is may very well have been the best option, and, again, crucially, it's something it's easy to imagine enjoying in a theater on a nice summer afternoon without thinking about it too much. Definitely far from my favorite Rider movie, but after watching it again, I totally get what people see in it.