[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

And that's how the paper/origami style to the Deadmen kind of are like almost a cocoon in a way. Each Deadman and Phase 2 both share similar legs, though Phase 2 obviously gives a bit of extra details to show evolution. But in a sense it's like the Deadman itself is shedding off the paper exterior now that contract has entered a more tight agreement. So they gain a more humanoid/demonic appearance as opposed to the Phase 1's more exaggerated looks.

That makes sense! Thanks for the description!

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 5 - “WORLD-CHANGING RIDER! WHO’S THE TRAITOR!?”



God, I thought this was just exhausting.

It didn’t come together for me on just about any level. I don’t care about Fenix Wrong and whether or not he’s the Vistamp thief. I don’t care about a pranking YouTuber and his doting grandfather. I don’t care about the wisp of a subplot Sakura is given, that never develops into anything. I don’t care about the less-interesting two-thirds of the Giffamilia showing up for a pointless battle. This one… god, I just didn’t care at all.

Its structure does it no favors, that’s for sure. We’re immediately neck-deep in Fenix drama, despite a) Fenix being nothing more than a SHIELD knock-off that’s primary mandate is to hector and belittle Daiji, and b) our main Fenix character for the story being the guy who gets knocked out in Episode 1 and hasn’t appeared in a substantial scene since. There’s no way into this story for Ikki – the main character of the show, who we actually care about – and not even that much for Daiji, someone we’ve grown to enjoy seeing hectored and belittled. Fenix isn’t anything to value yet, so why should we care if it's under siege from spies and saboteurs? Daiji’s story ostensibly is that a workplace can become a pseudo-family, but there’s no warmth or support in Fenix to see it as anything other than a gigantic hassle for characters we actually want to see succeed.

And the story around all this… it’s not much? Ikki chafes under helping people with their problems, which is unique for a modern-day Rider, but sort of a bummer for an episode that desperately needs a bit of heroism to invest in. I generally like that Ikki’s stories and motivations are so hyper-focused on Protecting Families, but it’s all vaguely unappealing when there’s more story to tell than that. Masao could possibly be a nice way to talk about how heroic motivations take different shapes, and a focus on them to the exclusion of basic empathy is a danger, but Masao isn’t enough of a character to spark a debate around. He’s a prankster who’s allegedly trying to bring attention to corporate malfeasance and mistreatment of workers, but he’s also filming a YouTube prank show where he lets a Deadmans rampage through a lobby? And we have no idea why this means anything to Masao in the first place? He’s just doing murder-pranks, and then realizes that his grandad misses him, the end. It’s a story that never starts anywhere, and never goes anywhere.

Even the fight at the end is this weirdly perfunctory Revice Vs Giffamilia thing, where we know that the kaijin aren’t the culprits, but we have to get through the fight anyway. (Also, the plan to flush out the traitor is both incredibly stupid – everyone in Fenix knows this plan is to flush out the person in Fenix who’s a traitor – and somehow maybe actually effective in its goal. It’s stupid, but kind of commendable in its stupidity.) It’s a fight that’s not furthering the story even a little, since the culprit – Kamen Rider Live or Evil, I don’t know which one is which yet – is just going to show up at the end regardless. It’s boring, just waiting for the conclusion.

I thought this whole episode was so boring, you guys. Sakura’s scene with her mom was halfway okay, and Aguilera being like Wait Is This One Of Our Schemes was cute, but everything else was drawn from a version of this show I desperately want to quit. Nothing was character-based, except for the parts based on a character that’s either mysterious or a red herring or a cipher. I found this to be a grueling installment of Revice, and I hope it never gets worse than this.

[Enchilada645]

This is a weird one-off episode plot, I mostly say that since well... our Deadman Dude for the episode is very thoroughly wrapped up in this singular episode.

It's an episode that wants to push the main plot but still needs a MOTW story to happen/we need to show off the new Genome that's on store shelves. It's main purpose is just to sow the seeds of our new mystery paint Kamen Rider.

There's some fun choreography bits, but it's overall fairly standard. That being said, I do want to talk about designs this episode.

Not Revice Kuuga Genome though, again, most of Revi's genome swaps mostly blend in together and that's mainly because they're the same coloration as his body but mixed up/they only usually change the upper body from what I recall. W's stands out so much purely because they had to nail the two half aesthetic alongside the coattail and big eagle chest piece.

Oh wait, guess I did talk about Kuuga Genome in a roundabout way.

Anyway our new Rider has a cool splatoon paint splatter motif to him, I thought that was cool. And I also dug the Lion Deadman, there's just something about the way the colors work and how the mane looks like a pinwheel that makes me remember him more than the other Phase 1's.

Oh wait, right. That scene with George and the Rubber Chicken. Absolutely random but I have a video saved of that... for what usage? Literally no idea but I needed a video of that saved.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Oh wait, right. That scene with George and the Rubber Chicken. Absolutely random but I have a video saved of that... for what usage? Literally no idea but I needed a video of that saved.

George and Fenix hanging out at Happy Spa should've been so good and weird and fun! Instead, it's barely a scene, and the major thing that happens is that Daiji freaks out and almost shoots George in the face for no reason! I don't like this episode's choices!

(I mean, the reason is possibly that Daiji's lack of sleep is his demon going out and doing weird things, and now he's out of his mind, but I guess we'll find out for sure next episode.)

[Androzani84]

Well, this was the last episode I typed up thoughts for back in the day, so I’m going to have to remember my initial thoughts or just start making my own analysis of the episodes while discussing BTS info.

Quote:

Episode 5: I have to agree with Aguilera when she says the YouTube guy is totally unworthy. And I have to admit, the new guy looks intimidating. Though it remains (for me) to be seen if he’s the guy who got demoted in the first scene (are we sure FENIX’s President isn’t the real bad guy?) or Daiji, who as mentioned, has been going through the kind of insanity that only ends in one becoming a super villain. Also not too keen on the fact that all of Revice’s genomes but 1 are ready to go at a moments notice (remember when Ghost and Zi-O spaced out the search for their form change items?)

From what I’ve seen of the fandom at the time, pretty much everyone believed it was “Failed Henshin Oji-san”, as he was called back then, based on that one scene of Daiji holding up a completely different belt to the new guy’s in episode 3. Which just proves how much people read too much into these things, since I did point out I doubted that would be a regular release when I first saw it in out of context pics.

Anyway, the new guy. More thoughts on him later, but I will say, he is our secondary, despite what you end up thinking later on.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Lion!

Roar! Get on! Wild beasts’ king! Lion! Watch me! This is my… cry!

Ikki: The Lion Genome can give us the power of fire to seriously burn the enemy.

Vice: It’s a super hot Vistamp.

George: Yes, super hot! Just like this guy.

Desire Driver: Kuuga.

Godai: Watch me! This is my… Henshin!

George: Kamen Rider Kuuga. A Rider from ancient times revived in the modern era. With the power of his Arcle, he took on the malicious Unidentified Life-form, Grongi. I hope to create a Rider that surpasses his power someday. But right now, my strongest effort is…

(The door breaks down, revealing the Mysterious Black Rider)

Ikki: You again! How did you get in here? Only FENIX staff have clearance to enter. (The figure starts making gestures with his hands) What’s he doing?

George: Oh, I deliberately omitted a voice filter from his Rider System to avoid any prolonged reveals. But it seems he’s using Japanese Sign Language to enforce one.

Vice: I’ve got the gist of what he’s saying. “Kamen… Rider… Revi… and… Vice…” Hey, that’s me! “Prepare to… truth”. (The figure slaps his face and makes the signal again) No wait, he’s saying “die”. “Prepare to die.” (The figure gives a thumbs up, before signing again) “We… hope… you… enjoy… the… next… piece.” (The figure growls and smashes a vial, causing a poorly rendered explosion, which clears to reveal that everyone now has a face full of soot, except for the figure, who has vanished)

And to give my own production notes, the Mysterious Black Rider not being referred to by name, speaking in a variant of Japanese and creating a PS1 quality explosion are all meant to reference the Grongi.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 5 - “WORLD-CHANGING RIDER! WHO’S THE TRAITOR!?”

Its structure does it no favors, that’s for sure. We’re immediately neck-deep in Fenix drama, despite a) Fenix being nothing more than a SHIELD knock-off that’s primary mandate is to hector and belittle Daiji, and b) our main Fenix character for the story being the guy who gets knocked out in Episode 1 and hasn’t appeared in a substantial scene since. There’s no way into this story for Ikki – the main character of the show, who we actually care about – and not even that much for Daiji, someone we’ve grown to enjoy seeing hectored and belittled. Fenix isn’t anything to value yet, so why should we care if it's under siege from spies and saboteurs? Daiji’s story ostensibly is that a workplace can become a pseudo-family, but there’s no warmth or support in Fenix to see it as anything other than a gigantic hassle for characters we actually want to see succeed.

Kamen Rider Evil's identity heavily leans between 2 of the Fenix members; either it's Hiromi who stole the Lion and Kong ViStamps. Or it's Daiji, who is seen having more pragmatic ways in accomplishing the job such as using the (now-redeemed) Masao as a bait. It probably explains how he's hesitating to henshin into Revice before, and his paranoia seems to be right that he probably won't be able to control his demon either. Though the new scans show Wataru Hyuga in black outfit at that time. George stays shady, though consistent, he's been shown as chaotic person in ep. 1 when Revice appears, but now he's exhibiting insane behavior just like Kuroto or such, wanting to snap the traitor's neck with much joy. About a guy who gets knocked out in episode 1, you refer to Hiromi? In Kinoshita's (the writer) tweet, Hiromi was actually intended to die in episode 1, but the actor's performance impressed to have them keep him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And the story around all this… it’s not much? Ikki chafes under helping people with their problems, which is unique for a modern-day Rider, but sort of a bummer for an episode that desperately needs a bit of heroism to invest in. I generally like that Ikki’s stories and motivations are so hyper-focused on Protecting Families, but it’s all vaguely unappealing when there’s more story to tell than that. Masao could possibly be a nice way to talk about how heroic motivations take different shapes, and a focus on them to the exclusion of basic empathy is a danger, but Masao isn’t enough of a character to spark a debate around. He’s a prankster who’s allegedly trying to bring attention to corporate malfeasance and mistreatment of workers, but he’s also filming a YouTube prank show where he lets a Deadmans rampage through a lobby? And we have no idea why this means anything to Masao in the first place? He’s just doing murder-pranks, and then realizes that his grandad misses him, the end. It’s a story that never starts anywhere, and never goes anywhere.

The victim of the week Masao, is made as an antithesis to the ViStamp featured in this week Lion which has Kuuga motif. Masao is a dark take of Yusuke where both wants to make others smile, but Yusuke actually has proper moral compass to go through it, while Masao isn't, only having the intention. He seemingly only targets slimy bastards with Lion Deadman, which for some people, they can think it'd be good to target deserving ones for murder-prank. Fortunately, Revi had it easy for redeeming him, Masao seems to be someone who doesn't know better (he's so young), instead of a self-righteous radical believer that is much harder to convince, so some explanation would quickly make him realize. As Yukimi says, good intention doesn't matter if they take things too far, which unfortunately a good number of people justifies someone's questionable or outright evil action if they have good intentions, and I've been saying similar thing as Yukimi to them as well. As they also say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Ikki seems to generally use family prioritizing as a way to set others straight. I guess a good implementation of something that can be potentially a bias, where family prioritizing taken in dark take would be them being either apathetic to non-family, or worse, screwing others for the sake of their family. Ikki reprimanding the company executive also shows that one party being at fault doesn't mean the other party is blameless, either have their portion of their blame as well. So apparently Sakura's way of "acting cool" as Ayaka (Imoto) claimed is reacting negatively to almost anything around her and even quite agreeing with Masao's actions (edgelords can also justify someone's dubious actions)... she also really needs Yukimi's guidance just like the other child. She did show genuine concern over Masao's grandpa though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Even the fight at the end is this weirdly perfunctory Revice Vs Giffamilia thing, where we know that the kaijin aren’t the culprits, but we have to get through the fight anyway. (Also, the plan to flush out the traitor is both incredibly stupid – everyone in Fenix knows this plan is to flush out the person in Fenix who’s a traitor – and somehow maybe actually effective in its goal. It’s stupid, but kind of commendable in its stupidity.) It’s a fight that’s not furthering the story even a little, since the culprit – Kamen Rider Live or Evil, I don’t know which one is which yet – is just going to show up at the end regardless. It’s boring, just waiting for the conclusion.

The Deadman uppers is completely detached of human morals, only being concerned about Masao being too weak to be given ViStamps, and only complains about how Masao loses quickly against the Riders. And like usual, some infighting between the Deadman uppers continue with the blame game (Julio primarily). They value ViStamps much more though that Masao attempting to destroy it is enough to bait them.... which leads to them being scapegoats to Ikki. The Lion Genome, it's clawing instead of blunt force which wasn't what Kuuga Mighty was (and for others, Kuuga has weapons), reminding me more of OOO LaToraTah instead... I guess the flaming part is what relates to Kuuga Mighty? The Revice combination, there's a comedy moment of Vice forming a cat instead, but I'd like to see the cat one being used for more than one-off gag. The actual Lion other than having lion movements, it has a roar that can affect physical things as well. Olteca and Julio takes an interest on Evil too before escaping, who had good showing of his power being superior to Revice like the strike that sends Vice bursting through the roof. It'll be probably powercreeped though.

[Layton13]

Yeah, sadly, at least in my opinion, a lot of the things you criticized in this episode, like the flimsy episode plot and the very stupid logic, are here to stay and get far more pronounced.

There are a few one-offs that far outshine this in how badly it's executed.

I'm kinda dying to use a few of your points as a springboard, but I don't want to go overboard; we'll get there, but... yeah.

I actually was very indifferent to this episode back in the day, but boy... The next one will be fun...

Really curious what your opinions on it will be.

[DreamSword]

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Anyway, the new guy. More thoughts on him later, but I will say, he is our secondary, despite what you end up thinking later on.

You can say that, but I've already decided on the Secondary for Revice:

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Fortunately, Revi had it easy for redeeming him, Masao seems to be someone who doesn't know better (he's so young), instead of a self-righteous radical believer that is much harder to convince, so some explanation would quickly make him realize.

I mean, that's one way of putting it! It could also be that the show didn't put in the time or care necessary to make Masao a character worth caring about, so Ikki's demonstration of familial obligation is all it took to reform him. Either or!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Layton13

Yeah, sadly, at least in my opinion, a lot of the things you criticized in this episode, like the flimsy episode plot and the very stupid logic, are here to stay and get far more pronounced.

YAY!

[Daikaijuman54]

I don't really feel like doing any writing today, so I'll just give some bullet point thoughts:

-Revi and Vice are great designs. I love them and their motif and the Genomes are very clever in incorporating the Rider designs without making them outright Rider forms.

-Live X Devil might be my favorite Reiwa Opening. It reminds me of the Pillar Man theme from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

-The First Episode is amazing. Hiroi is a chad. I actually like Vice (except for some of the jokes at the end of Saber). George. Just George.

I'll write a full Saber thoughts at a later date than jump back here.