[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Shirou's not even the only Very Special Guest in this episode!

I had to go to the Wiki real quick to find out who I missed, and... there was a second Takeshi Hongo? He was the dude outside the soba shop? I just assumed that was an upcoming Rider, but, no? While I start writing up Episode 14 (spoiler: I hope you like hearing about Hiyori and food), if anyone would care to explain a) why there's a second Takeshi Hongo, and b) what the hell he's doing in this episode of Kabuto, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I had to go to the Wiki real quick to find out who I missed, and... there was a second Takeshi Hongo? He was the dude outside the soba shop? I just assumed that was an upcoming Rider, but, no? While I start writing up Episode 14 (spoiler: I hope you like hearing about Hiyori and food), if anyone would care to explain a) why there's a second Takeshi Hongo, and b) what the hell he's doing in this episode of Kabuto, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Basically, he's the main character of the standard hollywood edgy reboot of a franchise (in this case, obviously, ultraseven) that came out at the same time this episode aired. It's cross-promotion.

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 14



I try to watch these Kamen Rider episodes all in one go. I mean, they're barely twenty minutes, so it's not a big ask. And, for me, I've got not a great memory, so my ability to reference details from an episode when it comes to forming a picture... I can't really wait on that. I've got to watch it all, and then write it up real quick while it's fresh. I can't take breaks.

I took so many breaks during this episode. The ZECT story in this one was such a god-awful snooze. It's so boring that an appearance by Shiro, the most boring part of Ryuki, is the highlight of the plot.

I'll spend a paragraph talking about it, to feel like I'm being somewhat comprehensive in discussing the episode, and then I'm going to move on to the parts of the episode that were poignant, clever, and entertaining. This is a bone-stupid plot, one that requires the audience to either believe Kagami is a secret traitor (for half the episode), or care that Kagami's been obviously framed (for the other half). It's a plot that needs Tendou to refuse to get involved for three-quarters of the runtime, because he could resolve the mystery in about ten seconds. (And does!) It tells us absolutely nothing about anyone involved in it, and it feels like it's just killing time until its action finale. It is so bereft of anything resembling thematic weight or character insight that I found myself longing, longing, for last episode's Yaguruma/Kageyama tension. Here, it's just twists and reveals in place of brains and heart. It's a dumb story about nothing, and it was work to get through it.

But then there's the Hiyori/Tendou plot, and it's the best. It is everything I'm watching Kabuto for, and it was worth sitting through the idiotic ZECT stuff just to be able to experience it.

Hiyori is furious at Kabuto for killing her parents. (...is what she says, but I think it's more that she thinks he let them die? I'm honestly not sure what exactly she's accusing Kabuto of in this subplot. Like, I'm not trying to defend against her accusations, I'm just not sure if she's saying he let her parents die, or if she's saying he literally murdered them.) He walks off without explaining himself, and so Hiyori goes to confront Tendou, the person she suspects of being Kabuto. Tendou says she's wrong, he's not Kabuto, but he does it in such an unconvincing way that she tells him to never show his face around her again. So, of course, the next thing he does is go to La Salle for lunch. And then their story gets so, so good.

Hiyori is someone who has trouble communicating with people. It's hard for her to express her feelings, to get across what she needs from other people. She doesn't have it in her to yell at Tendou, to angrily demand that he get out. She's furious at him, but she doesn't know how to communicate that. He's betrayed her, and she needs him to know that.

So she ruins his meal. She takes a dish he loves and prepares it badly, slapping him in the face with sour flavors. It's clearly intentional, a preview of what every meal at La Salle is going to be like for him now. And then he's out the door, leaving a 1000 yen bill on the table, and vowing to never return.

Hiyori can communicate through her art, and through her cooking. It's where her honesty comes out, where she can express herself to the world. The care and concern she takes when she prepares a dish is a testament to the affection for others that she's buried deep inside. She can't tell people that she wants them to be happy, but she can make them happy through her cooking. Conversely, she can ruin a dish to tell someone that he's her enemy now, that he's ruined their friendship through disrespect and unforgivable actions.

But Tendou's the same way, really. He's generally awful to the people around him, but he loves Juka. He puts so much care and effort into making her meals. There's an expression of the depth of his devotion there, in the breakfasts and lunches that bring her such joy.

So when Hiyori goes to Tendou's house to return the money he left, an angry rebuke of any thought he might have of gaining the upper hand in their feud, she sees how Tendou cares for Juka. She tries some of the lunch he left, and she feels how much he cares. There's all of her suspicions about Tendou, her anger at Kabuto... and then there's this meal, his care, Juka's joy. It's his heart laid bare on the table, divvied up into bowls. It's more honest than he could ever be in person, more valid than any confession or denial.

After a day of finding every restaurant in Tokyo closed, Tendou returns to La Salle a broken man, desperate for a quality meal. He can't make up with Hiyori; that's not who he is. And she can't explain to him what she's learned about him; that's not who she is. But she can make him another plate of rolled cabbage, but delicious this time, and everything between them can be good again. She's accepted his true qualities, and offered her support. He's put himself at her judgment, and felt validated. And they did it all without saying a word to each other.

That is worth 100 stupid ZECT plots.

A QUESTION

It's getting to be actual winter here in Chicago, and that always gets me a little more inclined to watch Kamen Rider. I don't know why, but the summer... I just want to be out of the house more. In the winter, it feels good to settle in and watch TV shows. What about you? In what season do you most enjoy watching Kamen Rider?

[Deepsea]

For today’s question, I only ever seem to get through kamen rider seasons in the summer, so the summer.

[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I had to go to the Wiki real quick to find out who I missed, and... there was a second Takeshi Hongo? He was the dude outside the soba shop? I just assumed that was an upcoming Rider, but, no? While I start writing up Episode 14 (spoiler: I hope you like hearing about Hiyori and food), if anyone would care to explain a) why there's a second Takeshi Hongo, and b) what the hell he's doing in this episode of Kabuto, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

This is the version of Hongo from Kamen Rider The First, a theatrical reboot of the original series that came out at around this time. It’s very, very Inoue. You’d like it.

[Androzani84]

Well I missed my chance to talk about the guest stars (and I don’t think you care for the subtle gag where the dial tone when somebody (I forget who) calls the police is the same one from the Faiz phone. So I’ll mention this is the final acting role for Kanzaki’s actor, before he quit showbiz to run a department store. Which means that in the Ryuki reunion, our antagonist is a cloaked figure in a deep voice who has access to the Odin deck. Who could it be?

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deepsea

For today’s question, I only ever seem to get through kamen rider seasons in the summer, so the summer.

Nothing wrong with that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

Basically, he's the main character of the standard hollywood edgy reboot of a franchise (in this case, obviously, ultraseven) that came out at the same time this episode aired. It's cross-promotion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

This is the version of Hongo from Kamen Rider The First, a theatrical reboot of the original series that came out at around this time. It’s very, very Inoue. You’d like it.

Maybe I'll have to check those out in a few years. Thanks for the info!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Well I missed my chance to talk about the guest stars (and I don’t think you care for the subtle gag where the dial tone when somebody (I forget who) calls the police is the same one from the Faiz phone. So I’ll mention this is the final acting role for Kanzaki’s actor, before he quit showbiz to run a department store. Which means that in the Ryuki reunion, our antagonist is a cloaked figure in a deep voice who has access to the Odin deck. Who could it be?

Ha ha, I didn't catch that Faiz tone. Thanks!

[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

It’s getting to be actual winter here in Chicago, and that always gets me a little more inclined to watch Kamen Rider. I don’t know why, but the summer… I just want to be out of the house more. In the winter, it feels good to settle in and watch TV shows. What about you? In what season do you most enjoy watching Kamen Rider?

Every season, all the time, I'm watching like 9 separate shows right now please god someone help me

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It... I don't think possessive and protective are synonyms? Protective has a connotation of care, of valuing someone or something, and it can be used positively. Possessive is about selfishness, and it's almost always used negatively. You can be protective of someone while still allowing them autonomy and independence, like Tendou has done with Hiyori. (I don't recall Tendou trying to box out any other potential suitors?) Being possessive... that's just not Tendou? That we've seen on this show so far, anyway. It's... it's basically the opposite of how I'd describe Tendou's views of other people?

Yeah no, it's not synonym. Never said they're synonyms (ofc not lumping together the negative equivalent, like you said there "used negatively"!), it's like the analogy where all lions are mammals, but not all mammalsare lions again. Protective doesn't mean, and isn't always possessive, but possessive is being protective in an extreme manner. Tendou's still an elitist though, he puts himself as above others, and that's one of the reasons he doesn't want to join ZECT, and he had tribalism by that concerning him, Juka, and Hiyori. Actually what I said about boxing out others from Hiyori (and Juka) comes from that part, rather than possessiveness if I had to make it clearer. Otherwise Tendou's far too intellectual and egotistical to put himself on the level of anyone else he considers below him. He expects everyone else to live up to unrealistic high standards, which is an automatic social brick wall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I don't 100% understand your question about responsibility issues (I don't remember what I said about them that you're referring to), but I think the show missed out (so far!) by not exploring Kagami's responsibility for abandoning Shadow. His actions were previously framed as him valuing the bond he had with Tendou over the ugly work of being TheBee, but the result for Shadow is that he left them all to twist in the wind while he cozied up to his new friend. That seems like a thing the show could reckon with for a minute!

I'm refering about how the responsibility part as a reason to atone (other than morally ambiguous characters realizing their mistake after so long) and make things right means sometimes to you that they can't function as a person and isn't being healtly emotionally or processing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 14

I’ll spend a paragraph talking about it, to feel like I’m being somewhat comprehensive in discussing the episode, and then I’m going to move on to the parts of the episode that were poignant, clever, and entertaining. This is a bone-stupid plot, one that requires the audience to either believe Kagami is a secret traitor (for half the episode), or care that Kagami’s been obviously framed (for the other half). It’s a plot that needs Tendou to refuse to get involved for three-quarters of the runtime, because he could resolve the mystery in about ten seconds. (And does!) It tells us absolutely nothing about anyone involved in it, and it feels like it’s just killing time until its action finale. It is so bereft of anything resembling thematic weight or character insight that I found myself longing, longing, for last episode’s Yaguruma/Kageyama tension. Here, it’s just twists and reveals in place of brains and heart. It’s a dumb story about nothing, and it was work to get through it.

That's the consequences of having a perfect main character, Tendou's only there to show that he's better than everyone, he only shows at the last minute to truly solve the problem. And he did it in 10 seconds, in comparison to the inferior beings around him who had to work around it. You of course can't take away Tendou's ability suddenly (even when he's seemingly beaten, he still had upper hand like at Yaguruma fight). It did show though, about how Kageyama couldn't able to lead his group completely and mostly taking effort which giving benefit only for his own. And what I thought about the Shiro scene here was that... I mean, he's a Shadow member, yet he acts as a Worm disguising as him in complete surprise as he's a complete civilian? Otherwise, the killing time stuff, well, that's what you get in typical toku (obviously not 100% of it), and the appeal of Kabuto towards some others are Tendou's coolness and superiority.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But then there’s the Hiyori/Tendou plot, and it’s the best. It is everything I’m watching Kabuto for, and it was worth sitting through the idiotic ZECT stuff just to be able to experience it.

I have to say, I have to give you props regarding this analysis of those character (and what Fish talked regarding Hiyori, which was polar opposite of what answer I get when I talked to someone else about Hiyori), which I'd give my consolences about what real life will do to Hiyori later. And tbh, as this scene is fleshing out more about Hiyori and the Kabuto plot regarding her flashbacks, I'd expect what you talk is about that, but actually no (well, considering how most of your take regarding that part of plot is not favorable, it'd be expected too about something else).

Regarding how Hiyori though it's the person with belt letting her parents die or murdered them, I mean, we know that Tendou is Kabuto, Worm exists (some civilians are completely surprised about them disguising), and ZECT exists to combat them. But in-universe, not everyone necessarily knows about those supernatural elements! This would go to non-combative characters like Hiyori, Juka, or Takemiya so far. Hiyori just came across Kabuto and declare vengenace towards him that she saw him having the same belt as the person around her after the meteor incident. Though it got cut shortly as, the belt was located in Tendou's belt, which means Tendou being Kabuto is known quickly. Which would lead to the true test of Tendou's character by unraveling his true nature revolving around food (need more of Tendou's other field of skills though like Yusuke's 2000 skills).

How you perform depends if you're completely sapped of any passion (potentially bad and isn't representative of your talent) which or if you're devoted and high spirited, in a satisfactory mood (showing off your best). And it seems that even if Hiyori is mostly in grumpy mood, Takemiya only stated about Hiyori being mad in this episode. Regarding about how Hiyori cooks her foods, about an expression of the depth of someone's devotion to something, it's more than just about making others or certain someone happy. Other than food, Hiyori can do mistakes in job like being clumsy and zoning out while working, resulting in complaints by customers. Doing your best can come in different forms of reasons, like the joy of proving yourself or challenge, like probably Tendou if it's not regarding Juka such as him fighting off Worms (well, so far, Juka's not brought up about in his Worm fights, except at ep. 4 which is more about Juka's food supply at the cost of poor Kagami).

And for Tendou's character here, it shows that assholes don't necessarily mean malicious. Tendou, while a cold person to others except his beloved, and can make hard and seemingly cruel decisions when he feels the need to like ransacking authority to complete his mission, still had clear line, he's not an evil person. He's grey rather than black. Tendou's an anti-hero, and anti-heroes are good guys (unlike how some people misinterpret the term), they're heroes, just having more negative traits compared to traditional ones. And for him being awful to others but loving Juka, that's a standard trait possessed by most of secondary Riders, which are usually made as anti-heroes. They're not as upstanding as the usually messianic primary Riders, but they're more often than not on their side.

Hiyori rightfully clears up her suspicions about Tendou with his inner warmth, although it's for Juka that time, but unfortunately, this also can lead to boneheaded decisions in other series (and this can be about writing blunder too although people can bash the character and the type of that character instead, and it's frustrating to some other people, including me, because it delves into self-righteousness and hypocritical writing) which is why I'm disillusioned about showing goodness by only selective care (and typically, about those with guaranteed care like family or friends), where an actual bad guy (not Tendou, hence "actual") who shows a warmth towards certain someone is given free pass without consequences, and that the series expected the audience to treat them as good because of that redeeming qualities (the bad guy may also be redeemed after this but with forced writing). Whether a character is hero or antihero, he (or she) should not feel entitled to receive only praises and no criticisms for his/her moral decisions concerning the bad guy, and/or that he/she can never possibly make a morally wrong decision. If those heroes still think that they have 0% moral fault for letting the bad guys though, it's worrying. They should acknowledge that their decision to give bad guy will potentially indirectly bring harm to innocents in future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

It’s getting to be actual winter here in Chicago, and that always gets me a little more inclined to watch Kamen Rider. I don’t know why, but the summer… I just want to be out of the house more. In the winter, it feels good to settle in and watch TV shows. What about you? In what season do you most enjoy watching Kamen Rider?

Lol, the question is ambiguous, season can refer to nature seasons, or which series of Kamen Rider discussed about (individual series like Agito, Blade, Build, etc. are called KR seasons). To answer though, it's irrelevant for me, my country is a tropic one, so there's only 2 seasons between dry and rain, and even then it's not consistent that it can both happen simultaneously. For general though would prefer rain as it won't be too hot.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

Every season, all the time, I'm watching like 9 separate shows right now please god someone help me

can't help you with your poor impulse control, too busy bricking myself into my bedroom with boxes of newly-purchased plastic toys, cask of amontillado-style

That said... do these Kamen Rider shows expire, and no one told me? Pretty sure any of the shows you're watching can, like, wait a month?