[Kurona]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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?

Well...

- Three of them are the currently airing ones. So. Y'know.
- Two of them are my OOO and Ghost rewatch, which I intentionally am trying to watch weekly; matching the release date
- One of them is Tsupro's uploads of Gridman, which do in fact expire after two weeks!
- One of them is Ultraman Tiga, which I would be willing to put off; but soon enough Ultraman's airing a chronicle series about it which would spoil it so I wanna watch it before then
- The last is Abaranger, which I can put off just fine... but im so close to the end cmoooon

[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

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.

Oh, okay, gotcha.

I don't think it's a binary thing? I think there's an amount of responsibility that's mature and honest for Kagami to deal with in regards to his time with Shadow, and it's on a spectrum of Blameless to Martyr. Closer to Blameless (I'm not suggesting he was wrong to abandon a posting that required him to fight his friend, someone he knows is a hero), but there's still some negative aspects to him just cutting Kageyama and team loose. Like, when I quit a job because I couldn't work for the owner anymore, I stayed on for a month to help the next guy transition into my role, just to make sure things ran smoothly for the other employees (and customers). I don't feel like Kagami gave any notice? Seems like a bit of a dick move!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

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.

Sure, but if you have a genius, perfect hero as the star of your show, you need to elevate the plots to account for that. If you have an idiot plot, the solution isn't to have the perfect hero avoid the plot until the very end, the solution is to have a smarter plot.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

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!

Yeah, I get that (Hiyori even describes Kabuto as "a weird guy" she saw today), but it's not clear from her flashbacks and accusations what exactly she thinks happened seven years ago. She keeps saying that Kabuto murdered her parents, but I can't tell if that's a) a poor translation; b) her conflating The Boy In The Belt's inaction and indifference with her parents not surviving; or c) she genuinely thinks that The Boy In The Belt physically beat her her parents to death. I can't tell what her headcanon is for this, is I guess what I'm saying.

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Originally Posted by Kurona

Well...

- Three of them are the currently airing ones. So. Y'know.
- Two of them are my OOO and Ghost rewatch, which I intentionally am trying to watch weekly; matching the release date
- One of them is Tsupro's uploads of Gridman, which do in fact expire after two weeks!
- One of them is Ultraman Tiga, which I would be willing to put off; but soon enough Ultraman's airing a chronicle series about it which would spoil it so I wanna watch it before then
- The last is Abaranger, which I can put off just fine... but im so close to the end cmoooon

That actually doesn't sound too bad, when it's laid out like that. Certainly nothing to feel smothered by, or stressed out in regards to time-management. I mean, that's a little over an episode a day? That's a totally reasonable amount of time to spend each week on toku shows. It's not like you're watching an episode a day, and then spending an hour... writing them... up... oh god that's so much time each week on toku

[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Due to the way this show is written, I'm pretty sure I won't get another chance to ask this question if I don't right now – what in the heck is up with the goofy TheBee tattoos!? It is such a baffling narrative decision that the series is also totally noncommittal about. Like, I'm trying to think of why this was done on a meta level before anything else, and immediately I hit a brick wall. Did they somehow think viewers wouldn't understand who was TheBee at any given time without a little extra hint? Was it some insanely overcomplicated way to remind Kagami of all that was now riding on him/letting Kagayama brag to Yaguruma? And, hey, actually, about Yaguruma! Forget about the creative motivations, because now I'm just going to ask if Yaguruma ever had one of these too. Does it go away when you stop being TheBee? Or, wait, for that matter, does every Zecter do this, or is TheBee just quirky that way? Does Tendou have one? Is the reason Daisuke is so disinterested in being a Rider because he values aesthetics and is sick of his chest randomly glowing with the blinding force of the sun at inopportune moments, completely ruining his style?

Well since anybody with good enough reflexes can just grab a Zecter in midair, the brand might be a helpful way to remind people who's supposed to be that Rider. Like if someone hijacks a Zecter and frames the chosen one for a crime, the chosen one can show their brand as credentials to prove their innocence.

Alternatively, it looks cool I guess? The Bee Zecter is notoriously picky compared to the others and is never satisfied with its user, abandoning them if it detects even the smallest flaw in their corresponding personality trait.

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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.

I second this. I love the modern take on the original 3 Riders. The First is cool and I think The Next does horror even better than Amazons.

After Decade, there's going to be the "Die watches miscellaneous Kamen Rider movies" or whatever thread right? These two movies should definitely go there.

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 14

What's that? Something stupid in a Kamen Rider show that Die didn't like and barely wants to talk about? Sounds like just the job for me! ...especially since Die has seemingly pulled a Kageyama on me when it comes to talking about Hiyori by essentially making my help completely obsolete. I basically can't add anything to a post like that, so, yeah, let's see how much I can talk up a supremely subpar subplot instead, because who else will, right? Actually, that reminds me of something important. I just compared Die to Kageyama, but there's a pretty huge difference there that should be noted – Die is actually good at what he's doing.

Kageyama is just the worst, in so many senses of the word. If you want a theme or an overall takeaway from the ZECT part of this episode, that is it without a doubt. He's a slimy little snot-goblin who takes glee in manipulating people to his own ends to demonstrate his own intelligence, and then in the end still doesn't manage to totally crack the case he's working even with all the underhanded means he readily employs.

It's no wonder I hate this kid when one of his earliest outings in the spotlight goes out of its way to make him look as horrible as possible, centering it around him messing with audience surrogate and designated bad luck magnet Kagami. It's not even so much a matter of me feeling anger on Kagami's behalf; I'm mostly just offended that Kageyama takes such great pride in pulling it off, as though taking advantage of him is any great feat. The ruse at the core of this plotline really isn't that smart, and only some of that seems to be done intentionally. It's far from a defining story for the show... and yet I totally ate it up, because it sort of helped me define what I personally think makes Kabuto stand out?

My secret move here is that the thing that made me like all those silly, overwrought scenes so much is how they made me consider more stuff broadly around the show, which always seems to be where I'm at my most enthusiastic with Kabuto. But you know, the cool sci-fi vibe with aliens making people paranoid about imposters in the midst; Tendou doing Tendou things; extremely standoffish people being jerks to each other; I do like all that stuff!

And this is great episode for Tendou things in particular, even. Him being completely uninterested in the plot because he's looking to grab a meal first, it might be a cheap writing move, sure, but it's also wonderfully in-character for the guy. Him sneaking up on Kageyama to get info on why he's trailing Kagami, hiding his secret identity by putting Kageyama in a hold and sarcastically claiming it's because he's shy, that's just a plain fun superhero bit, and so is his big just-in-time entrance to save the day at the end. I mean, yeah, all of this would've been massively elevated by some proper substance to get you invested in the story, but, for what it was, I still had a great time with it. It absolutely helps if you actively think of it as the B-plot to the Hiyori stuff, though, which is easy for me because Hiyori is always at the top in my eyes anyway.

I'll also take this space to add on to the pile of people recommending Die absolutely check out The First and The Next at some point. They're movies written by Toshiki Inoue that also seem to actively hate the Showa Era; I don't think anyone has ever been more in the target audience.

I was going to struggle to come up with an answer to the question this time because I was overthinking it, but thankfully I can just point at Kurona's, right down to the occasional feeling of being overwhelmed by taking too much on at once. In total honesty, the fact that Ultraman Z is ending basically right after I write this fills me with a huge sense of relief knowing I'll have that much more time each week to dedicate to this rewatch I accidentally committed myself to.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

After Decade, there's going to be the "Die watches miscellaneous Kamen Rider movies" or whatever thread right? These two movies should definitely go there.

I was planning on it being me rewatching all of the Legend Rider appearances in the movies between Decade and Zi-O, so I'm not sure those'd slot in there. (Also, rewatching movies is a lot lighter on my brain, and the Decade and Zi-O write-ups are going to be such big projects that I think I need something lighter between them.) It's going to have to be post-Saber, I think. Mmmmmaybe post-The Show After Saber, depending on how long Decade and Zi-O's projects take.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

What's that? Something stupid in a Kamen Rider show that Die didn't like and barely wants to talk about? Sounds like just the job for me!

First of all, thanks again for the kind words. Much like Hiyori, I can only communicate how much I care for all of you by hopefully making something you'll like.

Second of all, thanks for doing a slight variation on my favorite Fish Sandwich move, the classic Boring Thing Is Actually Sort Of Great Because It's Boring. I utterly, unironically geek out when that rhetorical stance gets brought to bear on something I'd dismissed, so thank you for hyping up Kageyama's weirdo one-note bullshit and that dumb plot. You are always finding something notable in even the most dire stories, and I truly appreciate that viewpoint.

I think the big problem with Kageyama is in the choices the actor is making? They are all the most obvious, off-putting ones he could make. I'm not sure if he couldn't find anything redeemable in Kageyama (I mean, there are things to his character that are positive! Or there were, anyway!) or just didn't want to, but everything in his performance is gross. I've seen genocidal villains in this franchise that elicited more of my good-will than Kageyama manages, and I wish that weren't the case. Like, he's not even of the So Hateable It's Funny model, where his schemes and plans are adorable in their pettiness. He's just awful, and it didn't have to be that way. I feel like the actor took something on the page that could've been more nuanced, more cunning, and just went I Need You All To Hate Him More Than Anything. Too much! It's too awful of a performance.

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

You are always finding something notable in even the most dire stories, and I truly appreciate that viewpoint.

Always happy to help!

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I think the big problem with Kageyama is in the choices the actor is making?

It's especially weird for me, going back to this show after seeing Ultraman Nexus, so I'm now much more familiar with Masato Uchiyama as a likable and eager teenage hero with a subtle hint of angst, which really emphasizes just how abrasive and simple Kageyama is. I definitely agree there was a bit of miscalculation in how exactly he was made unlikable. There's no real grand charisma to him to get you perversely rooting for him, but he's also not pathetic enough to elicit pity or anything. He just exists and is kind of a jerk and that's it, and it's not a great look.

[Switchblade]

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I second this. I love the modern take on the original 3 Riders. The First is cool and I think The Next does horror even better than Amazons.

I'm one of the weirdos who likes The Next more. I have a lot of issues with The First's pacing and all the time spent on the sick kids subplot. The Next is really weird, but narratively tighter. Honestly, I feel like both are cases of Inoue wanting to branch out and do something different, but Toei telling him "No, you have to write Kamen Rider." So he just wrote a romance drama that also happened to have some Kamen Riding in it and a Ringu-style J-Horror that also happened to have some Kamen Riding in it.

Either way, the suits are goddamn fantastic and I'm really bummed that we never got to see updates to the other OG Showa Riders. The movies were weird, but I would have been totally down for Kamen Rider The X, Kamen Rider The Stronger, or Kamen Rider The Man.

[DreamSword]

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I second this. I love the modern take on the original 3 Riders. The First is cool and I think The Next does horror even better than Amazons.

Same. I was sad we never got a Movie Reboot of X and beyond. Absolutely love the suits too and would be super tempted to get Seihous of them.

[Switchblade]

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Same. I was sad we never got a Movie Reboot of X and beyond. Absolutely love the suits too and would be super tempted to get Seihous of them.

They should do Seihous of them, the First/Next Riders were the original Figuarts.

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 15



Hoo boy, is this the first part of a two-parter. I hope you like mysterious motivations and a bunch of twists, because that's what you're getting in this one. Almost impossible to talk about, because some very key things (whatever the deal is with the Worm, Tendou joining ZECT) are left for the next episode to explain and justify. What's here are some very funny gags, and a lot of Kagami. That's not bad, but it means that I can't exactly break this episode down as much as I'd like.

I really did like this episode, though, and mostly for its focus on Kagami. It's an episode that reframes the previous story as Kagami hitting a self-respect rock bottom, and asks how to best help someone who has lost all of their confidence.

Like, it treats the previous (incredibly stupid) ZECT plot as Kagami's breaking point; where the old, weak Kagami needs to figure out how to be strong enough to keep from being victimized again. It suggests that Kagami's ego is something worth protecting, that his confidence has value. He's been kicked around a lot, and his very life was just treated as a joke. He needs to find some way to prove he can cut it in the fast-paced world of monster detonation, and a solo Worm hunt might be just the way to do that.

Although, no, he's not doing it solo. It's a story that's as much about how we support our friends as it is about how we move on from failure, so we definitely need to spend some time on how the rest of the cast is assisting Kagami.

Tendou loudly and repeatedly proclaims that he will not be helping Kagami?€? so, of course, Tendou ends up shadowing Kagami the entire episode. I actually really like how subtle (for an Inoue value of Subtle) the episode is with Tendou's support. Misaki's all like Hey We All Need To Cheer Up Kagami and Tendou's like Cool So We're Just Coddling Him Like A Baby Got It. Public displays of friendship are currently not in Tendou's skillset, so it's not like he was really going to be much emotional support for Kagami. But it's more than that, I think. It's Tendou viewing Kagami's recent failure in the same light as Kagami's dad, and drawing the same conclusion: The only way Kagami gets stronger is by dealing with his failure directly, and trying harder in the future. Giving him an easy win by tagging along on his Worm hunt would just reinforce how much he feels like a pawn, a sidekick. Making him stand on his own two feet and go out and get a win by himself, that's how he starts to feel more confident. But, like, Tendou 100% cares about Kagami, and wants him to succeed, so he stays in the shadows (if you'll pardon the pun) to make sure Kagami gets his win.

Misaki, however, is coming at Kagami's crisis from the opposite angle.

She believes in Kagami, but also thinks he's biting off more than he can chew. He shouldn't have to go get a solo win, because that's not his job. His job is to work with a partner like Misaki, to be a part of a team that doesn't put themselves at risk unnecessarily. In a way, I think she takes Kagami's emotional crisis as a reflection on her, on her inability to protect him in the last story. She let him get put in danger, and she doesn't want it to happen again. He doesn't need to go out and save the world himself, he needs to trust in his team to protect him. He didn't let himself down, ZECT let him down.

(I super loved Misaki chewing out Tadokoro for him not being more livid about Kageyama using Kagami as bait. Tadokoro is clearly checked out in that scene, spending more time thinking about how his 401K is doing, and if he can put off getting that Check Engine light in his car looked at until his next paycheck, than he is his underling berating him for a lack of moral fiber. Just take it up with ZECT HR and stop giving him shit about some interoffice attempted murder, okay, god, thank you.)

So we've got this story about whether we should let our friends process their problems on their own, or try to get them to open up. Tendou is the friendship where we're left alone to get our shit together, and Misaki is the friendship where we're surrounded by people who want us to lean on them. It's a pretty interesting way of exploring Kagami as a character, the ways these two try to support him.

And then there's all of the very Inoue things in this episode: Juka's morning mukbang; Misaki's makeover in La Salle; the way Hiyori is only in it for a couple jokes; Kagami running off crying after Tendou insults him, like the world's most professionally-dressed four year-old; and the entire thing with two old men at the food cart. All great, and very fun. There's maybe some tonal whiplash (like, Kagami is wrecked, opening credits, Juka's morning mukbang), and that detracts a little bit from the stakes for Kagami's story, but it's such fun that I don't really mind it.

(Plus, I could maybe make a case for some of those things supporting Kagami's story if I really tried. Juka's morning mukbang is about how Tendou can offer guidance, but allow Juka to make her own decisions, similar to how he isn't trying to fix Kagami's life for him. Misaki's makeover is about how Tendou and Daisuke are both characters that she'd like to have help Kagami, but Tendou would rather Kagami move forward, and Daisuke is okay with him reverting to his old self. The old men at the food cart are about how difficult it is to protect people from themselves. Kagami running like a petulant child is about Inoue needing a big emotional moment to make a smaller story seem epic. There's no defense or explanation for minimizing Hiyori, though; that's just a top-shelf failure of imagination.)

It's an episode that'll probably feel a lot different after the next part, but I did like what was here. Fun, in a light way, while still feeling like it was saying something about Kagami and his friends. I even liked the scene with his dad (being driven by Goro, a chauffeur on every series he's in) and the monster suit (General Shadow reference?). Not a barn-burner, but a pretty solid episode of Kabuto.

A QUESTION

I'm not sure how probing or introspective I want these questions to get, but this episode got me thinking about friendship, and about emotional support. It's so tricky sometimes, to know the best way to help our friends out when they're having a tough time. I think both Tendou and Misaki are right about what someone might need to feel better, even if they both might not be right about what Kagami needs. So, and feel free to skip this if it's way too baring of the emotions, but how would you prefer your friends help you when you're feeling bad about yourself: by being there for you, or by leaving you alone? I'm definitely more the type to just need some time alone to reset, so maybe Tendou's distance would be what I'm looking for. I'm sure I'd regret experiencing his tough love, though!