[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER OOO EPISODE 27 - “1000, A MOVIE, AND A MOOK”



A Kamen Rider movie?! Based on Takeshi Hongo’s origin? And released as multiple TV episodes? There’s no way that’ll work.

I think I prefer this type of anniversary celebration, of 1000 episodes -slash- 40 years, for how it takes a different look at the history of Kamen Rider’s success – namely, for how it’s also a history of Shocker et al’s failure. Where another series might point to the legacy of heroic perseverance that’s delivered the world from ruin across multiple generations, a Shocker mook might instead see it as a constant series of humiliating (and escalating) defeats. Hongo’s creation is the original sin of Kamen Rider villainy, the spark that burned down every single evil organization’s dream of global conquest.

Deciding to talk about how one person or group’s constant success could be another person’s constant failure, that’s fun. Doing it all through a bonkers parody of Showa excess, where the main plotline is that Gotou can’t act? That’s amazing. You cannot get me on an OOO story’s side faster than canonically pointing out that Gotou is incredibly boring to watch, and he’s sort of a drag on the fun. (I honest to god can’t tell the difference between Normal Gotou and Bad Actor Gotou, so when the cast started reacting to him like he was a dull obstacle to art, I was like Oh Man They Got My Letter.) There’s a fun running gag to him getting endlessly demoted in the production, where it not only mirrors the last 26 episodes for him, but it also mirrors Shocker’s declining relevance. Much like Gotou, Shocker’s a joke, and this episode is the punchline.

The Shocker Beast! Zero threat, despite the insane Tiger Squid Yummy design. I like that he’s never treated as anything other than a clown, because that’s Shocker. That’s 40 years of being Rider Kicked into cartoonish incompetence. But, like, he keeps showing up. He keeps trying to murder Kamen Riders, even when they’re just Megumi from Ryuki and a tiny friend, who kick his ass for fun. That dedication to doing the work, no matter the outcome… it’s such a fun rebuttal to Maki’s cutting remarks about failure negating intention.

Whole episode’s just a very fun way to talk about how failure is really just a new opportunity to succeed, even if it’s over a 40-year timeline. Even if it’s just trying to find a way to not be the worst actor on a set that includes Chiyoko hamming it up, Ankh being too in his element as a theatrical tyrant, and Eiji not needing to do more than be in his underwear. (How Kougami didn’t get cast as Hongo, I’ll never know.) I like these retrospectives more when they can illuminate something poignant about the history of the franchise, and Let’s Hear It For The Mooks is a pretty great theme.