[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though I also feel it's jarring for Miu to talk about Ryusei's practice last night while he's playing golf as Meteor, it may expose Ryusei's identity, the KRC should keep Ryusei's secret. And Meteor himself also refers to Fourze as Gentaro later in their fight with Virgo.

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER CLUB MEETING – QUIZ: KAMEN RIDER URBAN LEGENDS!! EPISODE 10



I actually watched this ZX special last year, and I still would’ve lost to JK and Tomoko, who were just guessing! (I’d’ve only managed to get the Video Tape question right; biffed the other two.)

It’s a real Tomoko episode, but that could be the case for virtually all of these quizzes if you want it to be. (See also: Miu episodes.) She’s adorable in this one in particular, seemingly invested in the stakes of this quiz, while also being sort of perfectly detached and snarky. Like, this stopped me dead in the beginning of the quiz, and I want to pin a medal on whichever editor caught it:



Just goofing on Ryuusei’s nervous and uncomfortable hosting! I love it! I love that these seven kids are aware of how much Ryuusei hates hosting these quizzes, and he longs for the sweet embrace of death! Or at least fulfilling his contractual obligations to the Toei Corporation! Whichever comes first!

[Androzani84]

I swear, I have to go further back to find my old quizzes to provide the answers. Anyway, the Super-1 answers were C (which Shi_Ranger got right), B (which Die got right) and A (which neither got right).

Anyway, since there?s so little to write questions about in ZX, I figured I?d do something different, and make the quiz focused on Kamen Rider SPIRITS, the manga that expands upon ZX without the limitations of a tv budget.

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.

As for the actual quiz, I have to agree with Gentaro on the video V3 shows off: Where did they get that footage?

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi
D) Tomoko

Thanks for the quiz!

[Switchblade]

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull
D) Baron Fang, but specifically the version that's wearing a tuxedo for no apparent reason.

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.
D) His parents are alive.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.
D) Professor Emoto and he is not okay with it.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

D) Professor Emoto and he is not okay with it.

Good God.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 40 - ?OF VALUES AND PASSION?

I like the little friendship between Tomoko and Emoto. It?s cute, and fragile, in an episode that?s otherwise ridiculous and melodramatic. It?s an oasis of two people finding a little bit of connection amidst cosmic machinations and post-traumatic witch disorder, and I really appreciated that this strange association, of all things, was the way into the reveal that Emoto is Virgo.

I was totally relieved that Emoto saved Tomoko from getting caught by the student council, since Tomoko would be the person most severely traumatized by losing her individuality. Even though Emoto being Virgo is bad, it doesn't change that he's a kind person who would go out of his way to help a student, against Gamou's order to not interfere with Sugiura's regime. Tomoko getting sent to the Dark Nebula is a shocking way to end this 2-parter on a cliffhanger, but Emoto's previous heroism makes me want to believe in him and the possibility that Tomoko will be okay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Like, in nearly any other episode, ?Meteor duels a Horoscope in golf to free the enslaved souls of Amanogawa High? would be the climax of the story, because it?s BY FAR the most memorable and iconic thing to happen here. It?s Meteor! Playing golf for the first time! To defeat a bull-themed fascist! And he wins by using his power-up?s cartoony finisher!!! Instead, this episode drops it in the middle, where Taurus refuses to accept his defeat, and the episode just rolls on to a histrionic climax that?s more about Virgo's warnings than anything else. I can sort of see the episode trying to tie together its various threads this way, turning each resolution into a new problem, but the result just makes each preceding element seem like it was a distraction from the current one; the golf thing didn?t matter, then the Taurus thing didn?t matter, now here?s Virgo.]

Seems like the plot decided Taurus needed one more despicable deed to make his hypocrisy clear, but unfortunately it came at the expense of Meteor who was robbed of the victory he had earned. The rooftop confrontation scene followed soon after anyway, so I was definitely disappointed that poor Ryusei had to go through all that training only to get brainwashed and deprived of what contribution he should've had.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

*I think one of the problems I have with this story, and maybe the ones right before it, is that there's a difference for me between a Zodiart and a Horoscope -- while the Zodiarts are shown as wounded souls being preyed upon by folks like Scorpio and Libra, the Horoscopes are largely presented as making a conscious, albeit misguided, choice. Sugiura is warped by both the Switch (ostensibly) and his love for Sayaka (definitely) but he still serves Gamou and Hayami while enslaving the school. It's neat that Gentarou's typically able to see past Sugiura's poor choices to find the big-hearted kid beneath them, but his actions were still cruel and villainous. I don't know that eventually regretting them should absolve him of whatever enmity the rest of the school may have for him, and it's kind of pushing it for me for Gentarou to forgive him on behalf of the whole school. If he were just a Zodiart, maybe; as a Horoscope? I feel like we are narratively outside the bounds Pobody's Nerfect! Feels like Sugiura should have to earn his enslaved classmates' forgiveness! I am pretty sure we were just in a two-episode story about the value of independence and personal decision-making!!!

I guess a fitting punishment for Sugiura would've been for him to get beat up by those he imposed his rules on, like how Gentarou let Makise get beat up by the girls he attempted to murder? His student council even abducted the cat idol Mina, so he no doubt made a lot of enemies who won't forgive him easily, at least not without Gentarou vouching for him changing his ways. Perhaps it's for the best that the plot managed to get around this dilemma by sending him to the Dark Nebula.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I dunno if this is positive or negative speaking of Nakamura being ok with Sanjo's take about Yuki when it escalated later, where I'm strongly against a character being made uncharacteristically rude or unlikable (as you noted in her response to Erin), which can happen to create comedy, which you may agree as Inoue fan, but against those who didn't have good opinion of a character/series (not talking about Yuki here only, this happens in many instance), it may make one feel like how you feel to the hero characters who rub you the wrong way.

I mean Nakamura might've been okay with it at the time as an occasional comedic OOC thing. Maybe he simply got complacent and didn't realize how far Sanjo would go with it to the point of it becoming the thing Yuki is mostly remembered for. I don't agree with it either as I prefer the more realistic nerdy Yuki, but I think there was merit to her quirky depiction in the Hound Zodiart arc, back when that wasn't her default state so the contrast actually worked for the joke there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Also I didn?t point it out when he first appeared, because I couldn?t come up with a decent enough gag to hint at it, but I?ll just straight up state here that the guy playing Emoto went on to appear in the Geats/Revice movie as Seeker?s dad.

And what a terrible father he was as well, treating Kaima as an expendable company asset rather than a son. Even Irumi was a better parent to Neon since at least she cared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Anyway, since there?s so little to write questions about in ZX, I figured I?d do something different, and make the quiz focused on Kamen Rider SPIRITS, the manga that expands upon ZX without the limitations of a tv budget.

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.

I should probably read up on Spirits at some point in the future. It sounds intriguing, which is more than I can say about the actual ZX special.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I should probably read up on Spirits at some point in the future. It sounds intriguing, which is more than I can say about the actual ZX special.

I don't know about these days, but it definitely is worth checking out because I feel like Spirits gave ZX (pronounced Zecross for those still not sure of how to call him) a resurgence like none other during the 2000s. Heck, I became a fan of ZX thanks to the manga. Muraeda went nuts with it and it was entertaining.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Seems like the plot decided Taurus needed one more despicable deed to make his hypocrisy clear, but unfortunately it came at the expense of Meteor who was robbed of the victory he had earned. The rooftop confrontation scene followed soon after anyway, so I was definitely disappointed that poor Ryusei had to go through all that training only to get brainwashed and deprived of what contribution he should've had.

It's especially weird, because if the story needed Meteor to win while still not defeating Taurus, they already had a perfect way to do it: have them tie. The story was set up to do just that, but Taurus misses his shot through just, like, missing the shot, no larger complication or thematic significance, and then he declares the contest null and void. Why not just have them tie, and then Taurus retains a little bit of the nobility that Gentarou sees in him, while creating a loophole -- contract stuff! -- where Taurus can still just do his villainy as normal? It's a weird choice that fumbles two different plots.

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 41 - “ALL CLUB ACTIVITY CEASES”



You know things are serious when Miu quits.

It’s my favorite part, the Miu stuff, which is maybe no surprise if you remember *gestures to the previous 40 episodes worth of write-ups*. She hasn’t been a lynchpin for the group recently, the way she was in the first half of the series, but if you need to show that the story has definitively and irrevocably shifted into a higher and more dangerous gear, put the spotlight on Miu.

Where Shun can be scared by the terrible glory of bathroom holes, and JK’s just permanently terrified, Miu reacts to Virgo’s threats with the type of unbending steel and smirking resolve that comes from being the best President the KRC ever had, or ever will have. In a series full of heroic declarations, and an episode full of powerful moments of vulnerability, the scene of Miu first telling a murderous Horoscope that they’ve already lost to Fourze without knowing it, and then backing down (with spite and venom) only because an innocent person would be in the crosshairs if Miu fought back… series highlight for me. Miu’s my favorite Rider on this show.

Otherwise, it’s a great first half to this episode, as Tachibana coldly suggests that the KRC pare down to just Fourze, Meteor, and Kengo if they knew what was good for them, and then Virgo threatens JK, Miu, Shun, and Yuuki to quit the KRC if they know what’s good for them. (Surely, this Tachibana Cause and Virgo Effect is something we won’t be talking about in a couple of paragraphs, so just put it out of your mind.)

The whole first half is like the show drifting into horror, from its simpler action-adventure beginnings: nowhere is safe (bathroom dangers!), no one is off-limits (Jun, the guileless cheerleader, is threatened with cosmic holes!), and everything’s way too terrifying for a group of non-powered helpers to be involved with. That shot of Miu and Shun and JK and Yuuki leaving the KRC, with the history of the last year in the background, is such a beautiful way to show both how far these characters have come, and what they’re giving up by walking away now. Even Ohsugi gets a brilliant moment of guidance, forbidding the remaining members of the disbanded team to die, because it’s against the rule he made up. (Not to worry, though: Ohsugi is immediately humiliated in the next scene. There is still some light to be found at Amonogawa!)

Then, with the cast dispersed into Heroic Trio and Probably Filming Stuff For The Summer Movie camps, we transition into a training montage, and I kind of didn’t care as much about this part.

I mean, sure, it’s mostly to eventually reveal to the kids that Virgo is Tachibana, without revealing that Emoto is Virgo is Tachibana, and I think that’s a really cute complication to the somewhat-standard Masked Helper schtick. (Sorry, Kamen Helper; this is Heisei.) To have Tachibana be both an established villain and have Emoto be an established ally in one reveal, that’s really giving the audience a lot to chew on. If we still don’t know the how or why to a lot of the details, we’re at least closer to get some sort of closure to the many various mysteries swirling around our favorite M-BUS driver.

But the training montage itself just feels like it’s killing time, and trying to provide an amount of Suit Action that the plot more or less is not equipped to provide, at least in a configuration that would move the plot along. It’s visually pleasing, in a stunt show -slash- Taisen conclusion way – explosions and wirework at Kamen Rider Quarry – but it feels like not the sort of thing this show needs right this second. (It doesn’t help that Training To Not Need Friendships feels like a non-starter for Gentarou, even if he’s reluctant to ask his friends to endanger themselves to defeat the Horoscopes. Like, this is not a good plan thematically!) It’s slightly goofy, just after Yuuki’s stark terror and Miu’s gritted sacrifice, and I don’t… it sort of feels weird here? Without the show acknowledging how weird it is?

Speaking of weird: Hayami! Yes, we are at the dawn of the Tachibana endgame, so it makes sense that Hayami would be here for it. (wink!) He’s hilariously squirrelly and cowardly here, suddenly unclear on what Gamou’s doing, how it’s going to affect him, and who all is even in the goddamn group he’s been operating alongside the past year, which is a plot development that strains credulity, even if it delivers some fun distractions vis a vis Leo threatening a petrified Libra, which is always a good thing for the show to bring back. Hayami not knowing what exactly he signed up for after enacting a major portion of this plan and now getting the first frosty toes of cold feet is just… like, it feels poorly motivated, at least for its speed and impetus, if not for its result. I am not sure why Hayami is acting like he just joined this group, and it’s bizarre to think he’s been neck-deep in Switch Distro without an inkling of where this was all heading. But he’s a sweaty mess now, which is one my favorite modes for that actor, so I’ll let it play out.

Crazy to think that we’ve only got seven episodes left! Things are picking up speed, and the shape of our endgame is coming into focus! Miu’s got her work cut out for her!