[Kamen Rider Die]

OOO 10TH BIRTH X BIRTH - BIRTH X SECRET BIRTH STORY



These TTFC things are always so weird. They don’t have to be hampered as much by continuity and canon and whatever, so they can push the boundaries of their storytelling and references to an absurd degree. It’s a fan club offering, so they can get hilariously Deep Cut with it. That said, I’m a little shocked at exactly how weird and how deep they got with their cuts this time out?

Okay, no, for real this time, I’ll talk about the actual special. I loved it? I loved it. I honest-to-God wish that this had been the shape of the actual OOO 10th film: all of your favorite actors, completely goofing around as deranged and ridiculous versions of each other’s characters. Getting to see Assertive Hero Hina, Flirty Partner Greeeds, Flamboyant CEO Date, Respectful Satonaka, Mad Scientist Ankh, Working-Class Ass-Kicker Chiyoko, and I Guess He’s A Pirate Eiji (like Gotou, there’s a point where I stopped trying to make sense of it) run through a comedic superhero narrative is basically all I want out of a nostalgia project like this. Let me have fun, sure, but let me enjoy the actors all having fun. (My favorite piece of apocryphal W reunion content is watching Philip play around with the Fang Memory toy 7 years after the show ended.) I could care less about the continuing narrative of OOO; I care about how much I enjoyed this show.

It’s all hilarious, even if -slash- especially as it degenerates into even more contradictory and inexplicable content. The cause and effect is just there to provide the setup for a new punchline, and it’s so good. Even Gotou is great, since the only way this insanity works is if you have the most dull and unflappable character around to react to it, and his reactions are priceless. And the Birth X armor! With it’s G2 color scheme! Thought it was dumb and out of place in the movie, but it’s perfect here. This is a story where only the most garish and overwrought concepts can flourish, so you absolutely need Birth X to finish off Dino Date. Hideous suit, but used beautifully.

I wish this thing had been four times as long. In my brain, this is the extent of the OOO 10th anniversary media, and it’s the best choice the creative team could’ve made. What a gift.