[Fish Sandwich]

So, before I talk about these episodes, I just want to share that there's a story in the production notes about how, since Decade would be having loads of Riders and thus more Rider Kicks than usual, one of the assistant directors came up with the idea of making a special stand specifically for filming them (basically glorified chairs painted blue or green for chroma keying), and this invention was dubbed the "Fish Stand" (sakana dai), after the nickname Ryuuta Tasaki gave said assistant director, Sakana-kun. None of this means anything, of course, and yet it somehow still feels like fate anyway. This too is all Decade's fault.

I really enjoy these episodes by the way, both originally, not having seen either BLACK, and now, having seen them both. I can appreciate what Yonemura was trying to do, in that it seems like he was, very unexpectedly for this show, trying to make it a direct thematic follow-up to the previous story, looking at in a broad sense as Shinkenger being about Natsumi's growth, and having RX focus on Tsukasa's. There were some bits early on where my feelings were similar to Die's, but as it went along, I found myself coming around to the way it put a spotlight on Tsukasa's vulnerability. (And his romance with Kaitou, but that's a whole other thing.) I'll readily agree the writing doesn't compare to the brilliant touch Kobayashi can lend a script (because of course I would), but on its own merits, I think this is a pair of episodes with solid initiative, and despite fumbling the execution in spots, they still deliver on the fun, which is about as Decade as Decade can be.

I especially love the midpoint cliffhanger this time, where Tsukasa is separated from Black and ends up in a fight with Black. I can say from experience that the way this episode handles the fanservice totally works without... well, without any particular prior knowledge, at least. I knew BLACK was a big deal, and that was about it originally, and what I think these episodes nail with the returning characters is making them seem cool, even if that's as deep as it goes. Heck, I still barely know Apollo Geist, but just from Decade, I've always thought he was pretty rad. And that double Koutarou transformation is quite the treasure, don't you think? You probably don't need much context to see a Kamen Rider teaming up with his own self and think it's awesome.

On the other hand, between Yonemura writing, Kaneda directing, and the origins of haphazardly assembled bad guy super-groups with Dai-Shocker, these episodes kinda ARE like Proto Hero Taisen, just like Switchblade said, so... well, what else can I say, besides that this, too, is all Decade's fault.