[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 28 - “TOO LUCKY, TOO EXCITED, TOO STRANGE”

Which, I don’t know if this is going to work for everyone. If you feel like they did a fake-out here, where the Imagin come back with a handwave and it’s all just a pointless cul-de-sac of a plot, I wouldn’t fight you on it. It’s a problem that comes mostly out of nowhere (Owner’s explanation for why everyone but Momo are getting dissolved is incredibly convoluted, and it feels pretty flimsy even for Time Magic), and it all wraps up due to Feelings. There’s a Ghost episode later in the run where Takeru drops dead and gets resurrected (with a new form?) all in one episode, and this one reminded me of that. It’s not a super-tight plot.

This one worked for me, though. I never thought the Imagin were gone for good. There’s like twenty episodes left! This show isn’t going to lose 75% of its merchandising opportunities with five months left to go! So the tension was less in If, and more in How the Imagin would come back. It being a situation where Ryotaro believed in them enough to allow Momo to ask them to come back, that all totally landed with me.

Because it’s Momo who does it. He answers the phone, he dials them back to life, he defeats the Imagin with their help. It’s a story that ends up being about how Momo needs these weirdos in his life, how it’s not the same without them around. It told me something new about Momo, so I’ll forgive it its imperfect plotting. This ended up being a nice extra climax for the last week’s worth of Den-O movie stuff, which is probably exactly how Momo would prefer it.

An episode of Ghost where Takeru dies and promptly revives with a new form? Can you be more specific?

Kidding, I know which one you're referring to. Even though there's this meta awareness that there's no way this can be the end, what makes it work is showing how the stakes matter for the characters. Takeru didn't just run out of time again, he was killed, something Yurusen previously said was impossible, and now Ryu might lose his afterlife as well. That's a crazy amount of pressure for the other characters who have to find a way to prevent that from happening. It's a very heavy episode and the escalation is abrupt.

The same applies to this episode of Den-O and it does the same thing that Ore Tanjou does by showing Momotaros actually caring and being depressed and it shows something that isn't always apparent, the fact that deep down, he has come to care about his fellow Imagin friends and is now having to deal with those feelings. It's fitting that what is essentially the Imagins' final form, is them literally coming together through Momotaros' sentimentality for a bunch of people who he used to merely tolerate, before it grew in to a very real camaraderie and friendship.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

-Climax Form! I think it’s very fun, and ALL HAIL TAKAIWA. The suit itself is this weird mishmash of heads, with maybe a little too much animation going on, but that dude kills in his performance. Seeing him switch from one Imagin to another inside of a shot, it’s art. He is an artist, and Climax Form is probably his masterpiece.

Agreed! Sato may be great at portraying Ryoutarou and the Imagins in human form, but Takaiwa is just as great at portraying them as Den-O. Very talented guy and I hope he continues to suit up occasionally in the Reiwa Era, either in KR or Sentai, like how he was Ryusoul Black in a flashback scene.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

Man, I can't exclaim enough how much I'm looking forward to Mugen's debut. I only just got to Grateful and yet I'm so impatient to get there!

Our rewatches are pretty close then! I'm currently at the Alain redemption arc and I'm surprised by how my opinion of Makoto has improved since the first time. Like, he's the whole reason Takeru and Alain are even able to consider working together, the bridge between the humans and the Ganma. He's the MVP of the Grateful debut episode for sure!