[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 7 - “JEALOUSY BOMBER”



Tough one to talk about narratively, since I definitely don’t feel like I’ve got all the info yet. (Yuumi, especially.) There’s some interesting things happening, but I don’t really feel like I’ve got a handle on the story they’re telling yet.

THE BAGGAGE CAR

Visually, though… this episode was an absolute stunner.


It starts with this Ryotaro yawn, big as the screen. He’s not just tired, he’s TIRED. This is an ALL-CAPS episode, where everything is heightened, everything is shouted out as loud as possible… except for what really matters.




These beautifully framed shots of Airi and her telescope, a feeling so massive it stays silent. Hope? Joy? Longing? It’s an episode where the biggest emotions are kept inside, hidden from the world. She wants her brother to find his way, to discover what he’s meant for. But what does she want for herself? What is her passion? This is the first episode to really press on what Airi is all about, and it’s as beautiful in its mystery as you’d expect.


Great staging for this shot, with Momo and Ura on opposite corners of the frame. It’s this gulf of animosity, where the two of them are like boxers before a match starts.



Terrific hero energy in these shots, establishing Hana’s determination and drive.


I just love this transitional shot, as UraRyoTaros heads out for a night of romance. Using these blue lights for the scene change… so smart!


HOW HANDSOME IS THIS MAN?! Too handsome. I cannot have him spiking the lens like this again, it’s going to make me swoon. I dislike swooning! Not a fan!



The lighting in this apartment is so oppressively pink, so distractingly sweet… it’s gorgeous to look at, and an early use of this episode’s main camera trick, this wire/crane shot. Camera up high, static, with a horizontal rotation. It gives a Bird’s Eye View to scenes, appropriate for the story’s Imagin. It also adds a tension to some of the emotional scenes, where we feel like we’re intruding on something private. We aren’t in the scene, like we normally would be. We’re above the scene, prying.



The pink of the room is great for how forced it is, which is the key to understanding Yuumi, this story’s victim, played by Ryuki’s Shimada (and Faiz’s Live-Action Hatsune Miku). She’s a fantastic actor , with this face that’s big and round and sad. The way these two shots use the filtered sunlight for her big smile, and then flip her around for this shadowed fear… great use of light. Yuumi doesn’t really get much dialogue in this episode, but the way she carries herself, the way she’s constantly trying and failing to psyche herself up, the way her entire apartment is designed to trick her into being happy… every scene with her in this space is heartbreaking.



Hilariously shot gag, with Ura and Momo brawling on the floor like children, Owner threatens to kick them off the train, same over-the-shoulder shot but now they’re chummy. Just a solid, classic gag with perfect execution.


The staging of this first MomoRyoTaros scene is intriguing, with all these bikes giving the visual of a cage. Momo is boxed in on all sides in this scene, straining to get some air. It’s the perfect preamble for a big Imagin fight scene.


Back to that overhead camera trick, this time to layout the geography of a monster attack. Not really more to it than that, but I like the extra effort being applied to a simple establishing shot. No small roles, etc etc


First Den-O shot of the episode, and they put him dead center in frame. So great! Instantly turning up the energy in the episode.



Just a stupidly fun fight sequence, with Momo having an absolute blast deflecting the Imagin’s attacks. The whole fight is a winner, from Ryotaro’s gentle scolding of Momo’s excitement, to Momo’s over-the-top joy at getting to test himself in combat, to Momo’s over-the-top despair at the Imagin cutting the fight short. Momo begging an Imagin to come back so he could fight it is maybe the defining moment for that character in my brain right now. He’s nearly beside himself with grief at only getting a portion of a fight. Loved it.



This whole thing with the jealous ex-boyfriend showing up at Milk Dipper… it’s a lot. Even for an episode where the jokes are turned up to 11, this scene turns the performances up to 12. It is almost criminally broad. If there was a prison for Wacky Toku, everyone involved in the production of this episode would probably still be serving time there. But! I love the use of lighting on Miura’s face here. Split-second timing to get this gag to work, and they nailed it.


And then we’re back at Yuumi’s apartment, and I could not be more impressed with this image. She’s in this cotton candy cocoon and she looks like she’s been sentenced to death. There’s an inextinguishable sadness in her, a void that she’s trying to fill with manufactured joy. Can’t stop staring at this.


A real dumb slow-motion punch gag that I laughed real hard at. Starting it with this exaggerated contact and then ending it with an extreme close-up on Airi saying RYO-CHAN and her voice is pitched down from the slowed playback… funny stuff! Very broad! But funny stuff!







This whole interrogation scene… I don’t love the Jealous Ex, honestly. He’s so insanely over-the-top, even for this episode, and the show is scrupulously avoiding giving us any real context for what he’s on about. He’s Angry and Possessive, and it’s hard to see the person inside all of these comedic outbursts. But, man, some clever camera and editing choices here. I don’t know if I love them going so hard on He’s Crazy, but the execution never wavers from its goal.




Great use of that birds-eye camera again, this time literally for a bird’s eye. Them swinging a camera over Den-O to simulate the charging and diving of the Imgin is incredibly kinetic, and works great for the cliffhanger. An exciting final fight for an episode of top-shelf camerawork.

Next time: Maybe I’ll talk about the story some!