[Switchblade]

Like I said shortly after this thread began: when Kabuto gets silly, it gets silly.

Honestly, I didn't remember a single moment of this episode. Not that I'm sure I wouldn't have thought it was some kind of crazy fever dream even if I had. Everything about Daisuke's introduction is just so goddamn bizarre in a way that the show hasn't been up to this point. From Daisuke's behavior to all of the weird visual effects, this is a really strange episode. Not always in a bad way, but definitely not always in a good way.

The episode definitely feels a little disjointed in terms of the plot and how Daisuke is eventually forced into Tendou and Kagami's orbit. I definitely can't say that it all works, but it definitely all happened.

Daisuke, for the record, is played by an actor and musician named Kazuki Kato. He would later go on to play Kamen Rider V3 in Kamen Rider The Next, the second and final Showa reboot movie that Toei made in the mid-00s (you'd like it, it's Inoue trying to make a J-Horror film). He landed the role on Kabuto around the time his music career was starting to take off. This lead to some pacing issues for the character, as it created some availability problems.

[Androzani84]

The new Rider’s name does get mentioned… in fact, it’s the only point they use the term “Kamen Rider” rather than “Masked Rider system”. Luckily for you, I forgot the exact episode, so I’m not gonna tell you when it hits.

And now, I’d like to share the comment I made when I first saw this episode (though it was based on my experience of watching Kamen Rider Kiva and Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, so I expect you to be befuddled by it)

Quote:

Before there was Otoya and Canalo, there was this guy

And now back to my semi-regular feature.

Kamen Rider Drake/Kamen Rider V3 (Dragonfly)

As mentioned above, the actor coincidentally got cast in the role of V3 in a Rider horror movie the next year.

* Both prominently surround themselves with female characters (V3 was like, the only Showa series aside from Black RX where the female characters are there from beginning to end. Though I do remember a funny thing from the video game for that series where one of them transforms into the old coot that serves as a mentor to keep the game’s unwritten rule that everyone has to have an untransformed version)

* Both commonly associate with children who aren’t theirs (Do you really think Gon is related to Daisuke?) (V3 had a scout group doing spy work and espionage for him… and their parents knew the kids were doing this work, but not that they were associated with the Rider. One guy compared it to sending the Boy Scouts to fight Al-Jazeera)

Both are the third rider in their setting (Drake is our other tertiary rider for this show and he actually has the suit actor to back up that claim, whereas TheBee changes based on who’s wearing the suit)

As for the question, I’m gonna go out on a limp and say Shoji Yonemura, this show’s main writer. Mostly because no matter how good or bad the scripts are, there’s at least something visually interesting to catch my eye (like in CSHT, which has a 3 second tournament lineup screen with some team lineups and names that actually make a lot of sense)

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ka...20180109165221

Other than that, I’d share your choice.

[Kurona]

Tendou and Kagami definitely fucked

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 11

Okay, so.

There’s a level at which I really loved this episode. The absurdity and specificity of all of the Daisuke and Gon stuff, yeah, 1000%. Him never remembering his pick-up lines so she has to finish them for him, yes. Him not wanting to save a dude, but leaping into action to save a lady, yes. Her clearly and canonically being the brains of the outfit, yes. The first scene of the episode being the two of them making a dying woman look better instead of actually providing any real help to her? So much yes. Their dynamic is exactly the sort of overheated nonsense that I’ve missed in my life. Inoue provides me essential, life-sustaining nutrients, and I’ve missed them from my diet. A delightful episode, from insane beginning to ridiculous ending. (Daisuke is maybe more horrified at his make-up artistry being destroyed than the fact that he’s about to be monster murdered! And he’s so put out by the Zecter!)

Here's the Drake arc that I was talking about earlier. This next set of episodes written by Inoue are what I consider to be peak Kabuto. I think Daisuke is one of the most eccentric characters in KR. I recall my big bro constantly saw me watching these episodes during Daisuke's makeup montages and I had to keep reminding him that it was superhero genre. Tokusatsu must look weird to people outside the community. While the makeup thing is something that can be easily used to identify his character, the reason I like Daisuke is his unlikely friendship with Gon which is very sweet and important for his development since at this point, he's clearly an antihero who is extremely selective about who he cares about.

Also, remember strawberry milk. That's important!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

While this episode was maybe not his best fill-in work (Ryuki 29 and 30, by a mile, maybe my favorite Ryuki episodes full-stop), it’s still terrifically funny and occasionally confounding, so I’m okay saying Inoue Forever. My deep and abiding love for the work of Toshiki Inoue (save a Kuuga story that was probably more the fault of my then-uncultured palate) is well established at this point, and probably not likely to abate any time soon. I can’t imagine anyone else is going to so readily fly the flag for that guy, but what about other artists? Is there any artist (toku or otherwise) that has a blank check from you? Anyone whose work you can’t imagine ever feeling disappointed with?

Hey dude, I've been flying the flag for Inoue way before you even knew about him! I'd also like to mention Yokote Michiko, who recently returned to Super Sentai after 10 years to write the Gekiranger tribute episode of Kiramager.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

it's a shame that the movie exists.

Oh? What didn't you like about Final Judgement?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

And now, I’d like to share the comment I made when I first saw this episode (though it was based on my experience of watching Kamen Rider Kiva and Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, so I expect you to be befuddled by it)

Canalo isn't really a good example though. Unlike Daisuke and Otoya, who are charismatic and loved by girls, he doesn't have that much success. The sad part is that it's not his fault how he behaves. MosaRex was a terrible guardian to him and Oto, giving them their unhealthy obsession with marriage. Bamba isn't trying nearly as hard and yet he's successful in relationships cause he has a lot of dating experience, social skills and he's chill about being single. The moral here is that love can't and shouldn't be rushed.

EDIT: Just realized this is my 300th post. Yay!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Like I said shortly after this thread began: when Kabuto gets silly, it gets silly.

Honestly, I didn't remember a single moment of this episode. Not that I'm sure I wouldn't have thought it was some kind of crazy fever dream even if I had. Everything about Daisuke's introduction is just so goddamn bizarre in a way that the show hasn't been up to this point. From Daisuke's behavior to all of the weird visual effects, this is a really strange episode. Not always in a bad way, but definitely not always in a good way.

The episode definitely feels a little disjointed in terms of the plot and how Daisuke is eventually forced into Tendou and Kagami's orbit. I definitely can't say that it all works, but it definitely all happened.

Yeah, there's some stuff that Inoue gets knocked for (the only non-Worm people on that boat, besides maybe the captain, are the two Rider groups!), but I think the plot flowed pretty smoothly. Nothing that felt too egregious, as far as maneuvering characters went.

And, wow, so many crazy visual touches. There's all of the graphical overlays, the hearts and backdrops and whatnot, but it's even in normal shots and transitions. There's a point where Misaki is waiting to talk to Tendou, and she's sitting on this big plastic duck in a playground, the kind that shakes back and forth, and when she gets up to walk Tendou out of the scene the camera sticks on the duck as it squeaks back and forth into frame. It's this bonkers touch for a character (Misaki) who isn't a joke, heading into a scene that's mostly about subplot stuff. Crazy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

The new Rider’s name does get mentioned… in fact, it’s the only point they use the term “Kamen Rider” rather than “Masked Rider system”. Luckily for you, I forgot the exact episode, so I’m not gonna tell you when it hits.

i'm sorry his name is shoothopper

it's canon now

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

Tendou and Kagami definitely fucked

I would not argue against it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Tokusatsu must look weird to people outside the community.

It can look pretty weird to people inside the community! This was a weird episode even by Kamen Rider standards!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Hey dude, I've been flying the flag for Inoue way before you even knew about him! I'd also like to mention Yokote Michiko, who recently returned to Super Sentai after 10 years to write the Gekiranger tribute episode of Kiramager.

The Inoue fandom is a very big tent, and I'm happy to share it with you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Oh? What didn't you like about Final Judgement?

I don't want to say it ruined Christmas for me, but I watched it on a Christmas and it made me angry and sad.

Mostly, my problems are that the plot was pretty nonsensical (creating Amazons just to eat them is... it's like creating a new Jurassic Park specifically to provide petroleum. There's got to be a better way!), and it backgrounded the Alpha/Omega conflict for an unreasonably long time. I'll tip my hat to any production team gutsy enough to attempt Never Let Me Go But With Kamen Riders, but the whole movie was just a gigantic misfire for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

EDIT: Just realized this is my 300th post. Yay!

Congrats! Thanks for making it on this thread!

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

exceptionally horny

This is actually something I've noticed about Inoue. He seemed to have really wanted to push alot more homosexual themes and ideas in Rider around the mid-2000s. That, or he has a really progressive idea of how platonic relationships can operate. First Yuuji and Takumi, and now Tendo and Kagami. Regardless, either thing is something I definitely support, even if I'm pretty mixed on his writing overall.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 11

Okay, so.

Right upfront, there's not a chance I can say a single thing more interesting or insightful about an Inoue script than Die can. Heck, he probably already has these exact screencaps saved somewhere. Right now, I am Kagami trying to clean the house Tendou already has spotless. But, all the same...

Inoue making the very first scene he ever writes with the main duo be Kagami confessing his love to Tendou after a very emotional experience sticking his stinger in him the night before (This is a literal description of the ending to 10, honest), it's a total power move, to say the least. Barely past the theme song, and Inoue has already willfully detonated the entire premise of the show by making it into one big joke.

There's a sort of confidence to that I have to admire, but it took me a bit of thinking to decide that this is a bit more considered than I had it pegged for at first. Reading Die's thoughts definitely helps. My instinct was to say that this would be like how I feel about Inoue's Ryuki episodes, which is that the main characters become exaggerated parodies of themselves, but much like quite a few of his scripts there, the story gives enough room for seemingly out-of-character behavior to be justified. Sure, Tendou explicitly declaring himself, twice, to be the most perfect human who has ever existed or will ever exist shows a glaring lack of the... relative subtlety Yonemura gives his boasting, but then, when his whole goal is to get Kagami to stop pining after him, it makes sense he'd be even more of a jerk than usual. And for Kagami himself, you know, I can see him feeling a desperate need to have his decision to abandon being TheBee validated after the initial pride of sticking to his principles wore off. So the Tendou/Kagami plot here, I was ready to say it's at best nothing special, but with some consideration, I'm now leaning towards it potentially being nothing special at worst.

The other big reason I figured this was going to another Inoue Ryuki situation for me is that I feel a lot of those episodes worked wonders with the side Riders, and that's very much the case here, too. Daisuke and Gon are two more characters from this show I actually remember feeling a solid connection with, although there's only so much I can say from just this first episode with them. I like Gon because I tend to like most toku kids who are written as adults, and Daisuke is an eccentric, like literally everyone else in this series, but his specific quirks are ones I find endearing. Dude just feels passionate about his craft, you know? I can't hate that in a character. It's telling of how strong an introduction it is when you don't actually get that much detail on them here, and yet it doesn't immediately feel that way, because what is there is executed so flawlessly.

A lot of that, I'd say, is down to Ryuuta Tasaki's excellent direction. I think I said something similar somewhere in Die's Faiz thread, but while Tasaki isn't as inventive or wild as someone like Ishida, he has fantastic intuition when it comes to shooting every little shot to convey exactly what it needs to as well as it can. Ishida excels at atmosphere, while Tasaki excels at clarity. My favorite bit was when Daisuke is disinterestedly laying back on a slide when Gon starts telling him about the nearby hostage situation. Rather than just showing his face reacting to each beat, it's focused on his leg, which goes from lazily hanging over the edge; to firmly planted on the slide, ready to spring into action at the thought of a woman in danger; to right back off the edge when Gon clarifies the hostage is a man. The added emphasis makes the gag at least twice as funny, and smart choices like this are all over the place, such as in how it's shown that Juka is listening in on Tendou and Kagami's conversation later on. Supremely solid work all around.

The question for this episode is one I actually had to put a lot of thought into. With my disposition, I could list a ton of people who I'm always excited to see working on tokusatsu (I will gladly fly the flag for Kobayashi the way Die does for Inoue), so instead, I tried, more strictly, to think of who had the absolute most consistency in quality, and the answer I immediately couldn't stop coming back to was Toshihiko Sahashi. I don't listen to his older stuff and go "you can really tell he hadn't found his footing yet"; I don't listen to his newer stuff and go "you can really tell he's lost that touch"; and I'd struggle to say I truly prefer one of his toku OST's over another. Gingaman, Gaia, Hibiki, Kyoryuger, or whatever else, it's all equally great in my eyes. But then maybe that's just because I'm generally bad at picking favorites? Again, I could've given dozens of equally valid answers to this one!

[Kurona]

I don't know his full body of work, but man; when Arakawa's main writing credits are Kuuga and Kiramager, I think this guy just has the -exact- range of what I look for in Toku. I'll be sad if I find out he made something I didn't like!

[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

I don't know his full body of work, but man; when Arakawa's main writing credits are Kuuga and Kiramager, I think this guy just has the -exact- range of what I look for in Toku. I'll be sad if I find out he made something I didn't like!

His other main works are Abaranger, Dekaranger, Gokaiger, and Akibaranger. He contributed episodes to pretty much every Sentai series from the 90s and 00s, too.

[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Akibaranger

Disregard my last post