[Androzani84]

So, I’ll start by mentioning that this was the first exclusively Rider film I saw. So I have a bit of a soft spot for it.

One thing that actually surprised me (I somehow saw Tsukasa being the bad guy coming) was the grandpa turning into Professor Shinigami. And I’ll also mention that said scene is a lot more focused on in the manga version of this movie, which also doesn’t include the bit where Grandpa turns up later, asking “why do I taste beer and squid?”

(I’ll also point out that this isn’t entirely out of nowhere. A few episodes ago, he was ironing the cape he wears here for a “fancy dress ball”)

I’ll also talk about the big cultural impact of this movie in Japan. The idea of a big movie featuring all the past heroes of a 38 + years old franchise hadn’t been done before (Sentai having 25 Red heroes in Gao v SS notwithstanding). But the success of All Riders, combined with the success of the Ultra Series movie Mega Monster Battle:Ultra Galaxy Legends the Movie (which in addition to featuring every Showa Ultra, plus two Heisei Ultras and two entirely new ones, in addition to having a former Prime Minister on the cast doing voice work), popularised the idea of appealing to the nostalgia crowd, with quite a few old school veterans who hadn’t touched their Toku franchises beyond conventions and occasional cameos in movies suddenly wanted to make return appearances (it’s no coincidence that the next Sentai show to enter development was also a big anniversary show where he heroes transform into their predecessors). It’s a craze that’s had its ups and it’s downs, but overall, I think “hey, if it draws in a crowd, why stop?”