[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 5 -- "The Final Match of the Contest"

Despite the setback, Haruto is totally prepared to set aside fancy tricks and get the job done with nothing but a sword, only for the real gravity of the situation to quickly become apparent once he runs out of juice entirely, undoing his transformation and leaving him at the mercy of Cat Sidhe. Fortunately for Haruto, he's only at the mercy at Cat Sidhe, who, true to form, simply takes the opportunity to run away and slack off somewhere.

So the stakes for Wizard would be the mana for its Rider user, where if Haruto runs out from it he'd revert back to human form. He can't henshin forever.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

She tries to walk off in a huff, telling Haruto that it's not worth putting his life on the line for Takagi, but before Haruto can say anything to try and calm her down, he collapses outright.

Seems coincidental for my viewing that the recent OOO episode also talks about if the victim is worth saving. Sorry, but I guess this'd be the bigger dick move for Koyomi to tell Haruto to abandon a victim. Virtuous characters of superhero shows tend to run on how there's no life not worth saving, though Eiji was the one that said it in ep. 4 that it's not his place to decide someone's worth, but it's also a good tips that should be widespread, that one should be able to divide time against those who are worth spending your on, and cut off those who aren't otherwise, for their own well-being. I know it's often brought up about how heroes should be self-sacrificial, but I don't want suffering to be glorified, while not encouraging basing treatment on what they deserve or not.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Those feelings have manifested in some pretty ugly ways throughout these episodes, but put in light of that fear of being abnormal -- of not being good enough -- it's a lot harder to criticize her for that.

It can be generally easier to sympathize in watching a fictional story (though generally this applies more to cool morally grey or villainous fighter characters), as by following a character, we get to know them better in detail, learn about why they act the way they do that helps one emphatize with them better, but for real life, one likely wouldn't know the ones who behave in a poor way better, giving little motivation to sympathize, and many'd (including me at times...) just write off these kind of people as pure monsters, but in actuality perhaps anyone can have their own struggles and reasons to act like that, which makes me wonder what'd be actually deserving of criticism given anyone'd have reasons... outside of actual villains. Of which obviously, Haruto's the one to strive for in how he understands Takagi.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

With Haruto's earlier words as the hint, Koyomi realizes that Takagi is terrified of facing failure tomorrow because he's trying to cling to the success of his past. This too, has value far beyond just these two episodes. Pleasant memories can be a source of hope, and something that drives you forward in life, but with Takagi, we're seeing how it's just as possible for those feelings to become twisted into a much more unhealthy longing to go back, and you'd better believe the line between cherishing a memory and obsessing over it is a topic we'll be revisiting throughout the show.

Dunno what caused Takagi's slump, but a common case of this would be perhaps nostalgia goggles, as it's done through universal experience of life, where I just see it anywhere of people longing for the pleasant memories in their past, making them bitter of the present and lashing out at anything in the present. This to me, causes many double standard judgments to praise something of the past while bashing on something of the present, for the same reasons. I do try to not have this cloud my judgments, and call out these double standards, but as this can be the hot take, I might be the one in the wrong for doing this and by above, not understanding others about nostalgia (being a hell of a drug).

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Knowing all that also makes it very clear how much it must mean to her that Haruto promised to be her hope that day, in spite of her trying to push him away, and that *also* ties together *so* much. Not only the parallel between Koyomi and Takagi, but what Haruto told Rinko earlier about accepting everything about Koyomi, and why she trusts him in particular. In that moment, Koyomi couldn't think of herself as anything but a monster, and yet Haruto treated her with kindness, and gave her a reason to face the uncertainty of the future.

I do understand about being singled out for being abnormal, which is something common in real life that doesn't need something inhuman like a doll to happen, but dunno if at this point, Koyomi had actually suffered due to her abnormal traits, or that her fear was all in the head. I understand having a fear of negative scenarios in the head, I have that all the time. Koyomi processing her abnormal nature this early may give her more time to develop from that, and it gives clear meaning of what Haruto means of accepting everything about her, though often conflicts like this are done in having a character who's prejudiced against other species as a test.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

With Cat Sidhe defeated, there's nothing to get in Takagi's way at the contest... not that it helps him come out on top. No, instead, Takagi wins a more personal victory today, by taking his loss in stride, telling everyone of his intent to get a fresh start studying overseas, and thanking Koyomi for giving him the wake-up call he needed. And as for Koyomi herself? Well, she even finds herself smiling along at Shunpei's usual antics, so it definitely seems she's gained something from all of this too.

It's refreshing to not have Takagi actually win, but still having him losing, continuing his struggle with before, as the lesson is about how he deals with his current predicament. Though obviously he has shown unhealthy coping mechanisms to it before that he grew out from, to some people, telling one to get over it (though both Haruto and Koyomi doesn't do it in an insensitive way) can feel offensive to them, where they don't understand on how it's human to have negative reactions like sadness and disappointment, and that said advice feels like telling them to repress negative feelings, which'd be toxic positivity.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It's quite the heartwarming resolution, and as usual, there's a lot of smaller things going on that make it all that much more impactful. It's not just that Koyomi is smiling; it's also that Haruto is there to notice she is, just like he took note when Wajima told him that morning that Koyomi had been spending the night with Rinko and Shunpei, feeling happy that she's finally making friends. And of course, Haruto gets to communicate all that to the audience without having to say anything directly, which I think contributes a lot of the nuance that helps it all land exactly how it needs to.

Though it's expected that the cast's bond will get stronger in a show like this, I feel that, at this point, Koyomi's just more indifferent rather than hostile against Rinko and Shunpei, which is still a baby step rather than full-on friends. Like, maybe driving away Rinko and Shunpei wouldn't produce as much results, so she stops forcing them what to do. As she said, suit yourself, if they join, then they join, but if they don't, then she wouldn't fret about it.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Koyomi may look sweet and innocent, even with the mischief behind her smile, but yeah, giving Rinko the cold shoulder like that shows how the team's sudden expansion has caused Koyomi's insecurity to manifest in spitefulness and that needs to be resolved quickly. It's not like her, but that's the whole point. It's good that we get to see her dark side now, so then we can get the healthy version of Koyomi we all know and love.

About looking sweet and innocent.... dunno if this just applies to anyone conventionally attractive (there are exceptions but still), of which this phenomenon is refered as 'halo effect', psychological bias in perceiving attractive people more positively - which may relate on how attractive people'd look sweet and innocent.

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

So the stakes for Wizard would be the mana for its Rider user, where if Haruto runs out from it he'd revert back to human form. He can't henshin forever.

Granted, the inherently vague nature of exactly how much energy Haruto has at any given moment means it's not actually something the show regularly relies on for dramatic reasons. It's only even a major factor in this story mostly because of how useful it is to build Koyomi as a character in that specific moment.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

It's refreshing to not have Takagi actually win, but still having him losing, continuing his struggle with before, as the lesson is about how he deals with his current predicament.

Definitely! It's a story that, for both Koyomi and Takagi, is kind of all about being comfortable with the person you are, so not having Takagi suddenly manage a surprise win at the competition is critical for getting that across.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though it's expected that the cast's bond will get stronger in a show like this, I feel that, at this point, Koyomi's just more indifferent rather than hostile against Rinko and Shunpei, which is still a baby step rather than full-on friends.

Which is probably the right choice for only the fifth episode. There's already a difference in the tone of that second "suit yourself", but the show still leaves lots of room for the dynamic to grow, rather than having Koyomi pull a total 180 literally overnight.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 6 -- "To a Beautiful Flower"

This is Manami Kawasaki, who will probably be pretty important to this story, judging by that introduction. She's meeting with one Mr. Kouichi Yamagata, a fairly timid looking dude who's one huge bundle of nerves on this date, as though he himself can't believe his luck. It seems quite a few people are meeting someone nice, as a matter of fact. Wajima's got someone he's so head over heels for he's planning to give her a newly made magic ring as a present, despite Koyomi's protests. Shunpei is gleefully pursuing the aforementioned sudden interest in foreign languages at the recommendation of a woman who was even kind enough to sell him a ton of crash course educational books on the subject... even though Koyomi immediately sees something off about that. Heck, even the donut shop employee has fallen in love, which has Haruto musing that he wouldn't mind meeting someone new himself.

Somehow, it's only Manami who manages to easily attract various males, but other pretty actresses like Koyomi or Rinko didn't do the same, though it's probably also Manami directly interacting with people to ask them out that charms them, not merely her looks.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Speaking of Haruto, he gets looped into the plot in a particularly fun fashion. The familiars are built into the series in large part as a way to take shortcuts with that part of a script, but Koumura rises above the temptation here. Instead, a civilian fleeing from Gnome bumps into Haruto, crushing his latest bag of donuts before he gets a chance to take a bite. It's a nicely comedic scene for the guy on a few levels. The situation itself is pretty amusing, with Haruto basically retreating to the comfort of junk food to distract himself from how lonely and/or bored he's feeling, and his actual reaction is priceless. There's such excessively raw anguish in his voice and on his face, like no tragedy in the world could ever be greater than that of a donut going to waste. It's hilarious in the moment, but it also helps build Haruto into a more rounded character. There have been scenes that break his cool guy image for comedic value since the premiere, but I feel this one demonstrates how he can downright excel in that kind of scenario in a way that hasn't been as obvious up to this point.

At least the donuts are still inside the pack, so it can still be eaten technically, just that it's flatter.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

After entrusting Unicorn with the task of tracking down Gnome, Haruto turns his attention back to Manami and Yamagata, as they all head to Yamagata's lavish estate to discuss what's going on. This is another occasion where, even though the show definitely doesn't expect the viewer to be surprised, the narrative technically keeps it ambiguous who the Gate is, since Haruto himself is initially uncertain. It's mostly a scene to get the plot moving, highlighting Yamagata's wealth, establishing Manami's discomfort with the police as Haruto brings in Rinko to help, and splitting the group into pairs as Manami insists on heading back out, with Haruto coming along as Rinko stays behind with Yamagata. That being said, Koumura's dialogue keeps it from actively feeling mechanical, making room for a bit of banter between Haruto and Rinko, and also going all in on embarrassing Haruto for comedy when it turns out he's not even *slightly* above falling for Manami's charms.

As seemingly a pretty woman asks out Shigeru, which seems too good to be true, I thought Yamagata was nothing, like a nerdy loser or such, but turns out he's rich here. Manami being uncomfortable with cops is the start of her being suspicious.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

He probably thinks he's still playing it cool in his head, but Haruto treats walking along with Manami less like he's there as a bodyguard and more like he just landed a date, even bragging about his awesome wizard powers when asked. To be fair to Haruto, Manami is clearly actively encouraging all this... right up until Haruto mentions he can't use magic to make money, at which point Manami deliberately drops a scarf on the ground so she can slip away while Haruto picks it back up. This is around the point where the meaning of the episode title becomes clear.

The scarf thing is brought up again by Komura in Gavv ep. 17-18, this time, the woman is actually the MOTW in disguise.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It doesn't really come across in translation, but the title of this one is the sort where the viewer is meant to finish a phrase in light of the full context of the narrative. In this case, a Japanese equivalent to the idiom "every rose has its thorn". In contrast to her outward beauty, it turns out Manami is a con artist who has been leading several men along in order to turn a profit. This of course includes Yamagata, who has been tricked into buying a mountain of presumably sketchy health products. On top of being a dramatic twist, this revelation also leads to the big punchline of the whole episode, as it turns out, naturally, that *everyone* who met a nice woman lately actually just met Manami, as her schemes start to crumble around her.

Dunno if this is intentional for the show, but it can seem that Manami is a MOTW Phantom by this, in how it'd be a sound method to drive someone to despair, by thinking that a pretty woman asks them out, only to turn out that it was all fake, which can drain someone's hope. Otherwise, seems con artist tactics are more effective if it's done not in person, but in for example, phone numbers where they can just discard them after their use against one person is done.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The natural greens get traded in for a cold industrial vibe, accented beautifully by the "natural" light shining in from the implied hole above in the form of a spotlight on the star of this performance. Interestingly, the way the show chooses to portray the Land-ness of Land Style in the fight here is not through any magic it uses, but instead in the fact that it's tough enough to let Wizard take on all these Ghouls with nothing but his bare hands. Which he could do in any form if he wanted, but the way it's shot, especially with the liberal use of slow-motion, sells what the scene is going for. It's extremely forceful, and also more steady than normal, without coming off sluggish.

I'd think magic use would make the fight cooler, albeit it makes sense to have Land being a mighty glacier, stat-wise. Wonder if other forms may get this treatment too, about the difference of their stats.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

What I think this plot really accomplishes for the overall series, and why I'm glad it comes this early, is that Manami lets the show make Haruto's style of heroism that much more defined. I like that he still wants to save her, of course, but that's the obvious part. What I think is more specific to what draws me to Wizard is that saving Manami is the only thing Haruto wants in this moment. I love how small the stakes seem, and what that says about how big they actually are. Wizard isn't fighting to save the world, or the city, or the school, or some crowd of people being terrorized -- he's putting everything on the line to save just a single person. In this case, a person who might not be considered "worth" saving, which is the key thing that highlights the beauty of that. There's a nobility to Haruto as Wizard that stands out to me even in a franchise full of noble heroes. The raw visual, as usual, sells this as much as the dialogue. One hand gripping a blade to strike at evil, the other hand placed reassuringly on the shoulder of those who evil would dare harm -- it's like my primordial notion of a hero, embodied by this one character.

I still don't understand here about the claim of Haruto being a standout compared to other noble heroes here, as yes, they'd save unlikable people too, to some people's dismay like them not giving the deserving fate to horrible villains. This isn't something I'd support, but likely people'd not hold it against Haruto or other similar kind of noble heroes if they leave Manami to die, because there's nothing wrong to have a baddie being killed, just like detonating MOTW, so that they won't harm anyone again.

[DreamSword]

So just I tried a plain sugar doughnut for the first time.

And I won't lie, I totally get why Haruto loves these. Surprisingly good!

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

At least the donuts are still inside the pack, so it can still be eaten technically, just that it's flatter.

I suppose that's one way of accepting the present! (Also, there's a lot of cute little touches in Haruto's performance I like in the scene after the fight where everyone heads to Yamagata's house, but now I'm imagining how amusing it would've been if Haruto spent the entire scene eating crushed donut chunks out of that bag the whole time, just to add yet another layer to that gag.)

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I still don't understand here about the claim of Haruto being a standout compared to other noble heroes here, as yes, they'd save unlikable people too

It's a nuance I'm probably going to spend the entire thread struggling to articulate clearly, but part of what I'm getting at in that paragraph is how all that stuff is implicit in Wizard's formula in a way I don't think is necessarily true of most other Rider shows. Most if not all of them also do stories where the hero is shown to help people in ways that go beyond fighting, or extend even to people who less morally upstanding characters (or viewers, I guess!) might write off -- and I love that kind of thing in every Rider show -- but the whole Phantom/Gate dynamic inherently means Wizard stories tend to actively be about that, all the way through, rather than having it be a single narrative thread that may or may not even connect directly to the monster action. So I feel that showing how much Haruto cares about Manami helps emphasize how much he cares about all the Gates he protects, and the overall simple structure of the two-parter in turn helps to emphasize how a Wizard plot, when reduced to its absolute most fundamental elements, comes down to how much worth even a single person's life has.

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

So just I tried a plain sugar doughnut for the first time.

And I won't lie, I totally get why Haruto loves these. Surprisingly good!

So, I can't imagine I'm ever going to get a chance to mention this within one of the actual episode posts, but, even though I might be projecting here, my impression of Haruto's refusal to eat any donut from Hungry that isn't plain sugar has always been that it's a sign how much he respects their craft, rather than the apathy it might look like at first glance?

Like, it's easy to slather enough toppings on a pizza or frosting on a cake and make it seem appetizing, but you know you're dealing with someone truly skilled at what they do when they've perfected the bare essentials so finely that any additional gimmickry seems like a distraction rather than a complement.

...Or maybe Haruto is just a picky eater! Either way, this reminds me that, in spite of everything I just said, I've never actually had a plain sugar donut before. Maybe I should reward myself when I get to the end of the thread or something.

[DreadBringer]

My following replies here can sound killjoy-ish... but I do want to get explanations by this

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Most if not all of them also do stories where the hero is shown to help people in ways that go beyond fighting, or extend even to people who less morally upstanding characters (or viewers, I guess!) might write off -- and I love that kind of thing in every Rider show -- but the whole Phantom/Gate dynamic inherently means Wizard stories tend to actively be about that, all the way through, rather than having it be a single narrative thread that may or may not even connect directly to the monster action.

To people, writing off those kinds of people isn't being less morally upstanding (can be actually more morally upstanding to them), but about being more mentally healthy. Guess to sum up this is about more dealing/helping unlikable victim of the weeks compared to other Rider shows, but dunno if OOO can fit this too (tbh, this is my first time watching both shows), with Yummy being about the extreme version of their desires, that the victim of the weeks tend to be people who can't control their desires, rather greedy and unlikable and at least to Ankh, they're not worth saving.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 7 -- "Buying Memories"

Back at Omokagedo, Shunpei, Wajima, and the donut shop employee are taking the truth particularly poorly, wallowing together in their sadness to the sound of equally melodramatic music, all as Rinko and Koyomi look on with little sympathy.

Though these guys are comic relief characters who the show'd generally treat with contempt, generally yeah, the victims of con artists would get little sympathy from others, because the victim actually does directly take action, so to others, they should've known better, so stupid to fall for obvious bait, their own undoings for their greed/lust/etc. Thus, it's best for con artist victims to never bring up about their conned experience to anyone, as they'd just be looked down upon.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Haruto breaks the news to Yamagata, who isn't all that surprised to find out that Manami was interested in a guy like him for his wealth. Yamagata starts to turn the story towards the "why" of Manami being a con artist, suggesting she has some particular reason she needs the money, and calling attention to the fact she went out of her way to help him when Gnome first attacked, when she could've easily just worried about saving herself.

It's also unknown if the con who deceived Manami's dad would also have similar particular reason to want money though... Yamagata sees the best in Manami here, which is proven right in the end, but, this can be viewed as just him coping and not accepting the fact that Manami is a fake suitor to him. And that, Manami may try to save him as he's the wealthier one so she'd gain more benefit from conning him compared to other average joes.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

An extremely sentimental story about the happier times she had as a child living in that house with her family, how their family lost it all after her father was (rather ironically) deceived by a con, how they promised to live in that house again one day, only for Manami to eventually be left without even a family, and how, in spite of all that, the thought of that house has kept her going amidst the turmoil of her life all this time.

It wasn't brought up in story (at least directly) that now Manami is turning similar into the person who ruined her family's life....

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

When Haruto says he still can't overlook what she's doing, Manami tries to claim that Haruto can't understand the pain of losing your family.

Manami claiming that Haruto can't understand the pain of losing your family is something widespread that is used by many people too to deflect blame and responsibility of their actions and get viewed as being right. Commonly many people do seem to think that tragedy (if not, then it's not bad enough) always, automatically breaks people and they cannot be blamed for it, those who do only haven't been put in similar situation where they'd become bad too. Haruto obviously is about not letting tragedy corrupt him as the role model, but this doesn't seem to be widely acknowledged in fanbase (not only for series like Wizard but also more well-received series as well) that they still only justify villains who turned that way due to tragic events.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And, you know, if that's too subtle, the next thing he says is a big declaration that he's going to protect Manami's hope, followed by transforming into Water Style, dousing the flames and flushing Gnome right out of the building like common waste.

Though dunno how much Manami wants her house intact (it got burned, but the building's still standing), this'd be a no big deal for Haruto as he has Water Style that can extinguish those fire the Gnome sets. I thought this is her house being demolished, but it makes sense that Gnome would do this to drive a Gate to despair.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Gnome can track your scent? Slip the Smell Ring on him and that's no problem! The stench *is* a problem though, so maybe adorably cover your nose with your robe! (Takaiwa's idea, by the way.)

I've been thinking that the Smell Ring would be important when Gnome resorts to hiding underground and talking about Wizard's scent, but turns out the Smell Ring gives problems for Wizard himself too.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

A sort of Rider Rock Drill Kick, if you will. (I'm sure Fourze would approve!)

I like this drill kick better than Fourze, where the kick actually feels different to basic attacks unlike Fourze just driving the existing drill to opponent but from air, and have it being closer to Faiz's type of drill kick. This also makes the kick feel flashier than Flame Style's Rider Kick.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Now knowing the reason she needed money, a sympathetic Yamagata says he's buying the house, not to just give to her (he's not doing this because he's a pushover or anything), but to keep it safe so she can return one day and buy it back properly this time.

I do like that Yamagata being rich plays a more important role here that Yamagata is the one that can solve Manami's problem by having him getting enough money to buy the house from those that want to demolish it.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

And Yamagata's kindness shows Manami that not all rich people are uncaring opportunists who take advantage of the poor. So Manami has learned a lot of important wisdom by the end of this arc, which she can put to good use after she's atoned for her crimes.

It'd still be viewed as something small compared to the damages he has done (even indirectly) by being rich that he denied many others a chance of a fulfilling live by holding the money that could've been crucial to those people that needed it much more if it goes to them instead rather than to someone that doesn't really need it and has more than enough, so one comparatively small good deed is far from enough to pay for the unfair creation that he has created (unintentionally).

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

It's probably due to subs, but the way Manami ends up having to go to jail, one could easily interpret it not as her turning herself in, but that Rinko was going to arrest her despite everything anyway. And even ignoring that, Haruto doesn't bother to tell Manami that there's no need for that, given that Manami has clearly learned her lesson in all this.

And that's not even getting into the real world context of how society tends to treat convicts, reformed or not. But again, not here to dive into morality and whatnot. So like, please don't.

Dunno if I can reply like this to this part, but though I rather agree of no need for punishment to someone that has learned their lesson, I've seen far more complaints that are about the opposite, where they feel the show doesn't punish the convicts enough and let them get away scot-free (what people'd describe scenarios like Manami not going to jail) because of the "doesn't need to be punished because they've learned the lesson" you bring up here, for reformed convicts. If this is done, then to them, the show doesn't treat the crimes with appropriate weight and is being distasteful in how they handle crimes. The ostracizing part of convicts, though can be cruel and that I disagree with it, can seem necessary for the public's safety and prepare for worst case scenarios like them faking being reformed or the only reliable way to discourage other people to commit crimes.

[Annuga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

So, I can't imagine I'm ever going to get a chance to mention this within one of the actual episode posts, but, even though I might be projecting here, my impression of Haruto's refusal to eat any donut from Hungry that isn't plain sugar has always been that it's a sign how much he respects their craft, rather than the apathy it might look like at first glance?

Like, it's easy to slather enough toppings on a pizza or frosting on a cake and make it seem appetizing, but you know you're dealing with someone truly skilled at what they do when they've perfected the bare essentials so finely that any additional gimmickry seems like a distraction rather than a complement.

...Or maybe Haruto is just a picky eater! Either way, this reminds me that, in spite of everything I just said, I've never actually had a plain sugar donut before. Maybe I should reward myself when I get to the end of the thread or something.

It's probably me being cynical but I wonder if it's a reminder of happier times for Haruto. A lot of people when upset can also feel better after eating to varying degrees, so for Haruto, it could also be a comfort food. While he always looks cool, who knows, maybe the stress of handling Gates requires he indulge himself every now and then and the pleasant memories associated with eating the plain sugar doughnuts also serve as a reminder of why he does this? Idk, I might be reading too much into this

[DreamSword]

Y'all have certainly thought alot more about Haruto's' eating habits than I have, that's for sure.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

It wasn't brought up in story (at least directly) that now Manami is turning similar into the person who ruined her family's life....

Even though the story doesn't call any attention to that particular detail afterwards, I think the irony is 100% intentional, considering how light that flashback otherwise is on concrete details.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I like this drill kick better than Fourze, where the kick actually feels different to basic attacks unlike Fourze just driving the existing drill to opponent but from air, and have it being closer to Faiz's type of drill kick. This also makes the kick feel flashier than Flame Style's Rider Kick.

I don't know if I'd put it above Fourze, but admittedly, the actual kick part of the Rider Kick in the premiere was definitely the least interesting thing about it, so the version in this episode does a good job spicing that up without being able to bring the Dragon into the mix.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annuga

It's probably me being cynical but I wonder if it's a reminder of happier times for Haruto. A lot of people when upset can also feel better after eating to varying degrees, so for Haruto, it could also be a comfort food. While he always looks cool, who knows, maybe the stress of handling Gates requires he indulge himself every now and then and the pleasant memories associated with eating the plain sugar doughnuts also serve as a reminder of why he does this? Idk, I might be reading too much into this

This thread is exactly the right place to be putting too much thought into Wizard, so thank you for also sharing your headcanon about why Haruto loves his donuts so much.

I think your idea squares with the facts pretty well? "Eating donuts" is basically the guy's default behavior when he's not fighting Phantoms, so I'd say it's definitely something Haruto finds relaxing. Tying that to pleasant memories from there would be right in the thematic wheelhouse of this show, so even though it's not an idea the show ever establishes, it is very much in line with all the ones it does, and I don't believe anything in Wizard actively contradicts it either? It's got more basis in what's actually on screen than my theory does, at least!

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Y'all have certainly thought alot more about Haruto's' eating habits than I have, that's for sure.

These things happen when a show lives in your head for over a decade!

[Fish Sandwich]

Episode 8 -- "A New Magic Stone"

While it's a rare occasion I feel the need to discuss the brief narration at the start of every episode, it's also a very rare occasion for that narration to explicitly call the main character "Kamen Rider Wizard", which I figure is at least a step or two closer than the narrator saying the show's name in the previews every week to hearing someone is this series say the words "Kamen Rider". Remember, you're lucky enough just to hear "Wizard", after all!

The actual purpose of the narration this time around is merely to highlight that Wizard gets his various magical abilities from magical stones, leading into the episode proper, where Shunpei is immediately geeking out over all the cool rings Wajima has made with those stones. Makes you wonder if magic stones might be important to this story, huh?



Shunpei asks about a ring he doesn't recognize, and Haruto (who is adorably playing with a Garuda toy) tells him he doesn't know what it does either, because he can't get it to work. As a disappointed Shunpei wounds Wajima's pride by dismissing the ring as a dud, Omokagedo receives a rather unusual visitor -- a white Garuda. This results in a comedic sequence of everyone chasing around a camera on a stick trying to capture this unfamiliar familiar to find out what its deal is, complete with an epic duel between Garudas red and white. And by "epic" I mean they just kinda repeatedly bonk into each other accompanied by little *tink* sounds. Again, very adorable, especially with Haruto and Koyomi both cheering their Garuda on. Shunpei brings the battle to an abrupt close when he accidentally captures the wrong Garuda in a net, letting the white one take its leave. It even politely shuts the door behind it (adorably!), which is exceptionally civilized considering the rude treatment it got for doing nothing more than bringing everyone a present!

That present turns out to be none other than a new magic stone. (The title doesn't lie!) Between the strange nature of how it got into the heroes' hands, the way it reacts with that ring Shunpei asked about, and the general air of unease Koyomi feels emanating from it, it definitely seems like there's quite the tale to be told about this rock.



Walking along with Haruto and Rinko later, Shunpei brings up the question of what the white Garuda's deal is, and although he doesn't voice his suspicion out loud, Haruto makes the connection in his head with the White Wizard. Presumably mostly because he's literally the only other wizard Haruto knows, but I like to think it's just that Haruto is paying attention to the visual cues. White Wizard, White Garuda... like, come on, how much more obvious could it be? It's a familiar that suits that guy the way pratfalls suit Shunpei. And Shunpei couldn't even make it through that question without falling over! I don't know if that was in the script or an ad-lib or whatever, but I appreciate him doing his part to liven up the scene. What makes it genuinely amusing isn't so much how randomly it happens, but how quickly it passes by like it never happened at all. The complete lack of reaction from both Haruto and Rinko especially gives the impression this is such a common occurrence they're just numb to it at this point.

It's also probably important to note again that Haruto doesn't tell Shunpei or Rinko any of what he's thinking, to the point of ignoring Shunpei explicitly asking him. This is going to be an extremely personal plot for Haruto, so having that beat in there highlights as early as possible how much he's really not the type to actively open up about what's on his mind. We as the audience are occasionally privileged enough to get some extra insight, so it might be easy to forget, but it's not like Haruto goes around narrating his entire backstory to other people all the time. Even *with* the special privileges that come with being a viewer, we only recently found out he apparently doesn't have a family, too. It all begs the question of how much is going on under the surface of someone that the other characters and audience alike have generally seen only in his role as a stylish and competent hero thus far.

Although before that question receives any answers, we get to see Haruto play that role yet again after a heads up from Garuda about some Ghouls causing trouble.



It's a sequence that's playing the hits, as far as Wizard fights go. The entrance is textbook. You've got Haruto rocking up to the scene by blasting his gun just in time to save the person in danger; you've got him breaking out a tailor-made quip for the situation, roasting the Ghouls for resorting to such overwhelming numbers against a single child.

You've also got Koutarou Nakagawa's background music, which I have *no* idea how I'm only now mentioning. Between the shows he worked on alongside Shuuhei Naruse, and the shows they each handled on their own, the two of them were responsible for a run of Rider soundtracks that began with Decade and kept going strong for five shows straight, all the way to this series. I think the key reason it took so long before anybody else got a turn is that, while the whole point of picking different composers is to get different sounds, the strength of both these guys is how adept they are at adapting their sounds to fit each show, always leaning into some particular genre or style that best suits each particular Rider. For Nakagawa's work on Wizard, that meant an emphasis on extremely operatic tracks, frequently involving a choir chanting along to the dramatic swells of the instruments. It suits the fantasy motif, matches the flashiness of a hero also themed after jewelry, and it makes everything Wizard does feel much more epic and important. I think even just the basic track for fights -- the appropriately titled "It's Showtime" -- is one of the things that'll stick with basically anyone who watches the show.

Even a completely routine scuffle against some Ghouls feels like something greater with that track scoring it, but that's not to downplay how much the show does to make the action itself as entertaining as always. The location is once again on point, being generally just sort of interesting to look at, which is nice, but also directly contributing to the choreography. The verticality is a big factor, making way for Wizard to do cool moves like running up a wall or rolling over the railing to get to a lower level. And that stuff makes it unique, but even the things that aren't unique are things that never get old. It's Wizard spinning all around, it's him dancing with that sword, it's all the mooks politely exploding at the same time so they only have to do the one effect -- the ultimate tokusatsu classic.



Sure, it may only be Ghouls, in this particular case, but aside from being low on battery that one time, when has it ever *not* been like this for Haruto? Bad guys don't win fights against him so much as they occasionally prolong their inevitable defeat by running away scared. You see the way Wizard utterly dominates his foes in battle, and you have to wonder if any Phantom out there actually stands a chance.

Well, as it turns out, Phoenix is itching for the opportunity to prove he's exactly the guy for the job. He's tired of the wizard always getting in the way, and he's fed up with being kept so firmly on the sidelines that Medusa believes there's any scenario where it's preferable to trust a bunch of mooks instead. Phoenix is confident he could easily take down Wizard and drive Gates to despair, but his enthusiasm for the former goal is exactly why Medusa doesn't believe he's suited to the latter. This gets into something I like about the way the narrative is set up that keeps the plots on that smaller scale -- the Phantoms need Gates to be alive for them to feel despair. That means going around attacking large groups of people indiscriminately is generally counterproductive, because it's a waste of time if none of them are Gates, and it's an even bigger waste if one of them *is* a Gate, and they lose their life before having the time to birth a new Phantom. That *also* means any physical violence leveraged against a Gate needs to be handled with due care and finesse, which hardly seems like Phoenix's strong suit. Indeed, the dialogue between the two here, with Phoenix insisting he'll handle things properly "this time", quite strongly implies the reasons Phoenix is on such a tight leash to begin with are a lot more than hypothetical. Medusa is probably right to be cautious, but if Phoenix can't get permission from his boss, he figures maybe he can get it directly from her boss.

While that side of the plot is starting to simmer, there's the more immediate matter of the Gate that's being targeted this time. Since Hiroki Itou is just a kid, Rinko wisely suggests getting in touch with his parents to explain the situation, clearly recognizing how sketchy it would otherwise be for three strangers to suddenly be following this random child around. Which really adds to the irony of the scene's punchline, as Hiroki, uncomfortable with the idea of heading home, shouts that he's being abducted, sprinting away after making sure to kick both Shunpei and Haruto in a particularly sensitive area. (A little kid doing more damage to Haruto than any of those Ghouls managed, which just makes it that much funnier.) This leaves Rinko to give chase... resulting in her getting arrested by a nearby patrolman, in a brilliant inversion of Rinko slapping cuffs on Haruto back in the premiere.



Since this is also Nakazawa's next set of episodes after directing the first three, there's an extra authenticity to how the shots are all recreated too. Not identically, but you still have stuff like the exact same zoom-in as Rinko delivers the same "nande?" that Haruto did. It's the fact that's it's written almost identically that I think really makes it land, however, especially with the same cutaway to Koyomi telling Wajima what just went down in a tone that suggests she's disappointed, but not at all surprised. But it's even funnier the second time because now she's talking about the show's actual cop getting in trouble with the law! It's like peak Rinko on every level!

And what *really* impresses me about all this isn't simply that Koumura seized this opportunity to create a karmic reprise of a gag from an episode she didn't even write, but how it's actually happening for functional reasons first and foremost. The story demands Hiroki not go home, but it still needs his mother to get involved to move forward, so what better way to get all the characters where they need to be than taking everyone down to the police station? Hiroki won't run off, his mom will come get him, and the heroes can clear everything up from there. It's a dang smooth narrative beat, blending together its mechanical value and entertainment factor so thoroughly that they become one and the same, which is always the ideal with these things.

The episode also goes from peak Rinko to peak Shunpei right after that, as the establishing shot of the police station makes explicit that Hiroki's outfit being so similar to Shunpei's is anything but an accident.



No, it's entirely intentional on Nakazawa's part that this story's child guest star dresses exactly like the show's resident oversized child, and just to make sure you can't miss the joke, Shunpei is placed prominently in the foreground, perfectly mirroring Hiroki while the adults do the talking before Hiroki's mother Mikiko walks in.

The story then takes its next big turn, as Haruto suddenly and eagerly calls out to Mikiko by name, and Mikiko quickly recognizes Haruto, expressing amazement at how much he's grown up.

Wait, Haruto knows people!? Like, it'd be weirder if he didn't, obviously, but when basically everything we know about this guy so far begins from that eclipse, it's still sort of a shock to see this anyway. Even Shunpei is struggling to process the idea a bit later at Hungry, speculating away about how the two might be connected as they catch up away from the rest of the group.

Since it's a Hungry scene, there are also some more comedic antics, but for me, the funniest thing is actually just Kraken floating around in the background for a while and then dunking itself into the water after being summoned by Haruto to demonstrate his magical abilities to Mikiko. Or maybe that's more like the cutest thing? Either way, it might seriously be my favorite individual shot in this whole episode? The way Haruto and Mikiko return to their conversation in the foreground while Kraken continues to be a presence despite flying so far off into the background gives the already fairly scenic waterfront location a very active sense of scale that I find really pulls me into the world. The literal extra layer going on encourages you to process the space in three dimensions, so it feels that much more like looking through a window instead of merely looking at an image. I think. This is one of those extremely minor personal things, so I'm not sure how well I'm conveying any of this, but it really is a shot that's always stuck in my head over the years. It may only be 10 seconds of the episode, but I swear, it's a really engrossing 10 seconds!

The much more major thing going on here is the reveal of a formative event for Haruto's character entirely different from the one we already know -- a backstory that shaped the person he is even more than becoming a wizard.



Immediately, it's apparent we're dealing with something quite somber when the first thing we see in the flashback is nothing but darkness and rain overwhelming the screen. There's the slightest levity to be found in knowing that, even as a small child, Haruto already had his love of donuts, as he munches on one in the backseat of a car with his parents, but the scene quickly turns into a grim reminder of exactly the sort of reasons rain and darkness have such strong symbolic associations to begin with, as the poor visibility causes the Souma family to get in an accident.

In the hospital, Haruto himself has made it through relatively unscathed, but his parents were not so fortunate. In what turns out to be their last moments, they use what little strength is left in them to tell Haruto how glad they are he's okay, and that him living on always has been, and always will be, their hope. Haruto manages to find some comfort holding their hands for an all-too-brief instant, before being torn away from his mother and father as they flatline, leaving a young boy alone in the world.



The reason we're finding out about this now is because Mikiko was one of the nurses in that room, so she's relieved to see that same boy, so many years later, having grown into a fine young man in spite of that tragedy. Haruto quickly attributes that simply to the fact that he's his parents' last hope, rather concisely explaining for me the gist of why I think this is such a strong way to build his character. There are a great many things about Haruto that become more meaningful when considered within this context, but the most immediately apparent thing is why he cares so much about always being that "last hope" for people. It was already a cool catchphrase, but now it carries added dramatic weight in light of the revelation of where it all started. It's plain to see how profoundly this event impacted Haruto. It's even right there on his face, in a nicely nuanced bit of acting from Shiraishi. Going into the flashback, he's visibly quite pensive, the memories clearly still weighing heavily on him, but as he turns back towards Mikiko coming out of the flashback to say the line about being their last hope, he does so with a smile on his face. It's a smile that's not a lie, but you can tell Haruto has to work to make that the expression that wins out, which I think tells you a lot about how much messier and complicated Haruto's inner self is compared to what generally shows through on the surface.

Mikiko remarks that she can understand how Haruto's parents must've felt back then now that she's a mother herself, making explicit the next layer of how all these plot elements tie together. On top of busting out the new trick of a guest character who has a preexisting direct connection to a protagonist for the audience to learn about, the story in the present is, like the one in the past, about the relationship a child has with his parents, continuing the existing trend of having Gates that parallel the main characters in some way.

Hiroki's relationship with his mom and dad, however, is a little tense at the moment, with him refusing to go home and saying typical pouty kid lines about how much he doesn't like his parents and doesn't want them around. Shunpei is the one to make the argument for letting Hiroki stay the night at Omokagedo, which kinda shows how, as a big kid, he maybe gets children better than most, but then maybe kinda not, because -- unlike Haruto -- he also comes off blissfully unaware of Hiroki's reaction to Mikiko permitting this, which is clearly not the face of a child who means all the things he's saying.



Not that Shunpei isn't an MVP here anyway, mind you. He seems to singlehandedly take care of Hiroki for the rest of the day, with the punchline being that he immediately conks out at night despite insisting he'll stand guard the whole time. But of course he'd be too tired to stay awake! He was playing games with and making food for and generally giving this kid his undivided attention and affection while everyone else was only ever shown standing around!

Haruto does do his part though, checking in on a restless Hiroki struggling to sleep, confirming his suspicion that he would rather be at his own home, despite the front he's putting on. Hiroki finally gets the chance to vent about why he's so frustrated with his parents, and specifically his dad, who is always so busy with work that he couldn't even remember the specific model kit Hiroki asked for as a birthday gift. So instead I guess he decided to buy an easter egg.



NAKKER the ONE? nakkaazawan? Nakazawa! I get it! Man, and that box has such early 2000's Master Grade Gunpla vibes going on, too. This is like the most needlessly awesome minor prop ever. I'd buy one of those kits in a heartbeat; can't even understand how Hiroki could be upset, really. The only way this isn't better than whatever he actually wanted is if what he wanted was the more recent NAKKER the ONE Ver 2.0 or something. And you know, even then, there's a good chance the visual styling of the older version is more in line with how people remember it looking in the iconic... uh, animation, I assume? Hang on, I'm getting way off track here.

The model isn't that important, at the end of the day! Hiroki says so himself! What he's really upset about is how his dad buying the wrong thing suggests he's not listening to what he says all that closely, and with his mom taking his dad's side over his, he feels like his parents don't care that much about him at all. He offers the fact his mom was willing to let him stay somewhere other than home despite the danger he's in as further evidence of their apathy, which Haruto responds to by showing Hiroki the mountain of concerned text messages about Hiroki he's received from his mother, and pointing out that she trusted Haruto with Hiroki because Haruto is someone she knows, who has the power to protect him. Haruto also tells Hiroki that no parent doesn't care about their child, which might come off as a platitude, but the important thing to note is that it's a platitude out of Haruto's mouth, in this story that shows us his parents worrying only about their son even as their own lives faded away. The value of the line isn't only the text itself, but how it speaks to the strong feelings Haruto has on this subject based on his own experiences. Of course that'd be Haruto's perspective on the matter, and, of course, because saving Gates is more than just blowing up a Phantom, through this conversation, he's able to help Hiroki realize he needs to communicate the actual reasons he's mad, even offering to help him talk to his mother tomorrow.

Although before we see how that turns out, there's the matter of Phoenix and Medusa's meeting with the enigmatic Wiseman. After existing to this point only as a name Medusa likes to throw around to intimidate other Phantoms so they'll get in line, he finally makes his first appearance here. It's an appearance entirely shrouded behind white curtains in his spooky cave lair, but still, an appearance just the same.




I appreciate the theatricality, naturally. Again, up to this point, Phantom talking scenes have all been set in various urban locations, basically any room or corner where people won't notice, so there's a strong contrast even just from that. Makes it more of an occasion that we're finally seeing the big boss for him to have this more elaborate dedicated space all to himself.

Phoenix attempts to make a rational and well-argued case for why he should be out there targeting Gates and fighting ringed wizards, speaking in as professional a manner as you're likely to ever hear from him, but Wiseman immediately starts living up to that name by correctly deducing that Phoenix mostly just wants to go mess stuff up because he's bored. He decides to give Phoenix the chance he craves, with the knowledge that the Gate this time is a child giving him an idea for a plan that will take full advantage of the kind of monster Phoenix is.

And thus, the next day, Phoenix finally introduces himself to the wizard... just after he gets done introducing himself to Mikiko first.



It's suitably jarring how suddenly this all happens. Even with the story stressing over and over how violent Phoenix would be given the opportunity, there's just not much prior precedent in this show for a monster to actually brutalize a person like this, for the reasons I laid out earlier. It's a step beyond even the usual cruelty of the Phantoms so far, and Haruto in turn has a more serious demeanor than usual as he entrusts Hiroki and Mikiko to Shunpei while he prepares to take on this new foe.

What has even less precedent is that, in the biggest shock of them all, Wizard is helpless against Phoenix. The fight begins with the two of them engaging in straightforward swordplay, and immediately, Phoenix is beating Haruto at his own game, with Wizard's usual finesse being no match for the raw power of Phoenix's blade. (Which is appropriately named "Catastrophe", by the way, though that's another name you won't ever hear in dialogue.) There's a quick shot that exemplifies the situation, where Wizard narrowly ducks under a swing, only to look back and see the tree behind him was cleaved clean apart. And then, right after that shot, there's another beat that further exemplifies the situation, where Phoenix hits Wizard's leg as he goes to do one of his usual cool flips, resulting in him falling on his back. Then, just in case it's not clear how bad this is going to end for Wizard, he tries busting out an early finishing move -- the classic tokusatsu warning flag for a hero about to lose. There's a sword-wielding fighter with the power of flames who's going to win this battle, and for the first time, it won't be Haruto.



It's a great fight scene, applying all the usual style of the show to a script that has been thoroughly flipped. Even once Haruto realizes fighting fire with fire isn't going to work, nothing he can think to try will. The obvious solution of using Water Style like with Hellhound won't cut it, and after that fails, Haruto is basically outright panicking.

I haven't mentioned the sounds of the WizarDriver yet. It was probably the noisiest belt in the franchise to that point, taking the idea of magical incantations and turning that into an automated device that's still notable even now for scat singing for the standby sounds, as well as, adorably, saying "Please!" whenever Haruto uses a ring, meaning it's also probably the politest belt. All the chatter was no doubt a bit much for some people, especially back when there was less precedent for it, but, if I was ever opposed to the idea to begin with, I can say for sure the end of this episode made me love those sounds. The beat I always remembered most from this fight is Wizard fruitlessly using the Defend Ring with Land Style, in yet another tactic that worked better against an earlier opponent. (Phoenix is going on more of a rampage than the show's literal bull monster.) There are three uses of the Ring right in a row, and I honestly think the repetition of the sound is critical to the sheer sense of dread it evokes for Phoenix to smash down the walls like they're nothing. Because with sounds that call *that* much attention to themselves, how could they be nothing? It feels viscerally wrong for Wizard to be busting out this many noisy powers this quickly and somehow not accomplishing a thing.

And that's at the heart of what makes this such a strong cliffhanger to end on. Wizard's defeat is frighteningly thorough, and made all the more intense because everything about the show before this tells you not to expect it. It's hard to imagine based on the previous stories that we'd see this Rider, of all Riders, getting tossed into a large body of water by a monster at the end of an episode, no matter how many times it's happened to those other guys. Let alone this early on. But shocking as it may be, that's exactly where things leave off.



Episode 9 -- "The Dragon's Cry"

With how proud a tradition there is at this point of Kamen Riders getting knocked into rivers after suffering major defeats, I have to wonder if the water itself has a negative connotation in people's minds just from being associated with the losses. Because really, in these scenarios, I think rivers are more like unsung heroes in their own right. Time after time, bad guys are content to assume their opponent is done for once they're in the drink, allowing a battered protagonist to be carried downstream to safety in situations where basically nothing else would allow them to escape.



To give Phoenix the credit he's due, however, it's not at all an unreasonable assumption in this case that Haruto is a goner. Wizard exploded like any common monster of the week after going under, for one thing, and the first we see of Haruto here, he's still completely submerged, and unconscious at that. He probably *would've* been done for... if he hadn't been woken up by the Dragon's cry, giving him the strength to get moving again. (The episode title being no less literal than last time, while also working great in that more broad and cool poetic way.) It's the kind of cold open I'm a big fan of, clocking in at a relatively brisk minute and a half, and (re)establishing most of the major story elements in a way that carries forward the momentum built by the previous cliffhanger to keep mounting the tension. A quick scene of Hiroki uses typically strong visual storytelling to emphasize the stakes, with a closing door at the hospital symbolically separating him from his mother, as Mikiko is rushed into the operating room. Meanwhile, as Rinko helps Haruto back onto dry land, that moment with Dragon hints towards how Wizard may be able to turn things around before that separation becomes permanent.

And, as if it wasn't clear enough how much Phoenix is breaking this family apart, the first scene after the opening has him entering the Itou household by gratuitously smashing a window with his bare hands, before leaping onto their coffee table, crushing that NAKKER the ONE box under his foot in the process, which is surely as heinous an act as anything else he's done in these episodes. It seems almost like a victory lap, with Phoenix and Medusa both chilling on the furniture of their latest victims (it's seriously pretty messed up if you think about it!), but this is only a short intermission, which Medusa is quick to remind Phoenix of as she hands him an unseen photo off a nearby shelf.

The heroes get their own intermission at Omokagedo, allowing Haruto the tiniest reprieve to take mental note of the earlier help from the Dragon within him. More than how it helps orient the plot, though, I'd like to emphasize the excellent job this scene does at keeping the pressure on Haruto. He starts the scene still short of breath, actively displaying weakness in a way that isn't typical of his portrayal so far, even as he tries to play it cool as usual. With barely enough time to dry off, let alone actually recover, he's forced back into action after he realizes the horrible truth of why Phoenix attacked Mikiko -- killing Gates may be out of the question for the Phantoms, but forever robbing a young Gate of his parents? What greater despair could a child ever face?

This means Hiroki's father, who was on his way to the hospital, is in danger too, and with that family photo from earlier for reference, Phoenix is able to intercept his car on the way there, casually kicking it off the road in a nice little practical car stunt. It's nice *as* a stunt, anyway. There's obviously nothing nice at all about the sadistic way Phoenix delights in having another excuse to let off some steam.



It's worth mentioning that Hiroki's father is played by none other than suit actor Toshihiro Ogura. It seems clear enough to me that they cast someone with experience doing stunts mostly for this scene, which requires him to get thrown out of the overturned car by Phoenix. The lack of a stunt double makes it that much more brutal. The fact that it's specifically Ogura though -- the suit actor for Medusa -- makes me wonder if they were also consciously trying to add subtext to what's going on here. In that context, suddenly the whole scene reads as a sort of comment on how Phoenix truly feels about bowing to a greater authority, and the danger that comes when other villains aren't keeping him in check.

Wizard comes flying in using Hurricane Style (continuing the in-camera effects with a bit of wirework) , but Phoenix promptly punching him straight out of the air sets the tone for how this fight is going to go, as trying to engage Phoenix in unarmed combat just results in the wirework now pulling Wizard away after he gets kicked onto the ground. Haruto takes the opportunity to play possum for a moment and surprise Phoenix with a quick burst of shots from his gun, which definitely highlights how desperate he is. Even saying he was playing possum is maybe a stretch when the pain and exhaustion are definitely no lie. Wizard can't touch Phoenix, and he already knows that, so he instead chooses to take the miniscule window he's created and busts out the Extend Ring to grab Hiroki's dad and fly out of there. He still makes sure to leave Phoenix with a sarcastic goodbye, but that's the most style Haruto can muster. He's saved a life with this intervention, but it's a short-term victory with Phoenix still out there. The script is still flipped, because now Wizard has been reduced to prolonging his seemingly inevitable defeat by running away. You see the way Phoenix utterly dominates him in battle, and you have to wonder how Wizard could actually stand a chance. Just making it to the hospital takes up what little energy Haruto has left, leaving him slipping into unconsciousness once again.



Phoenix is naturally fuming about having his fun interrupted, and riled up further by Medusa criticizing his work. She also makes sure to point that rage back in the direction of Wizard, though, suggesting that Phoenix go finish up the job now, while his retreating foe is at his weakest. Not like Phoenix needs the hint, of course. He's as eager as ever, and in the very next scene, he's shown walking right in on Hiroki and his sleeping parents at the hospital before the narrative has any time to breathe.

Even more than has already been the case throughout these episodes, Phoenix gets extremely physical in this scene. Within moments, Phoenix viciously throws Hiroki to the ground, and when Haruto comes dashing in to stop him, Phoenix kicks him into the wall outside the room with enough force to put a huge hole in it. The show also leaves just enough to the imagination to make the things you *don't* explicitly see even worse? There's a shot from Haruto's perspective outside the room where Phoenix grabs the end of the bed Mikiko is laying in, which means you can't actually see Mikiko herself, but you *can* see Phoenix casually jerk the entire bed onto its side with one hand, and it's just like... the fact that the connecting tissue between that action and the next shot of Mikiko on the floor is something I end up creating in my head makes me feel almost complicit in the violence? Which makes it feel that much more viscerally gross, which is perfect for the scene. This *should* all feel disturbing, especially when Phoenix picks up both parents by their necks, says his own sarcastic goodbye, and the next two shots are of Haruto and Hiroki reacting in horror as two vague snapping sounds are heard, after which Mikiko's body is shown slumping onto the ground right before her child's eyes. It's all technically done through mere implication, but implications that clear are no less terrifying.

Seriously, it's like a nightmare! Hiroki's parents were just... you know! Haruto has now failed completely, and cementing his failure even further, Hiroki gives in to despair, falling apart as a helpless wizard can do nothing more than watch on, powerless to bring him hope.



Wait, did I say this scene was "like" a nightmare? I meant it actually *is* one, as Haruto is shown waking up at this point. It's obvious something is strange by the time all the guest characters are, you know, dying, but the strength of this misdirection is that it takes that long for it to become obvious to begin with. The specific progression of scenes is especially masterful. The last we see of Haruto before this is him falling asleep, but because there's that scene in reality sandwiched in the middle where Phoenix promises to go do exactly what Haruto dreams of, it sneakily creates the impression that the Phoenix/Medusa scene is the one being followed up on.

I recall being thoroughly fooled myself the first time around, to the point it's maybe one of my favorite parts of the episode. The real value of the trick is less about the surprise itself, and more how that surprise can help you better empathize with Haruto. This was a bad dream right now, but the whole reason it's so believable at first is that it's completely in line with how things have been progressing since Wizard and Phoenix first fought. Whether Phoenix takes one scene to make his way to the hospital or twelve, nothing has happened yet to suggest the outcome will be any different than what Haruto fears. That's why it's great this scene is in here. It's not a bluff for the sake of it, but an opportunity to let us experience -- visually, as ever -- what scares Haruto more than anything.

Ultimately, this whole story is about Haruto confronting his own despair. Facing an adversary so far beyond his ability to stop begins to erode Haruto's self-confidence, and that anxiety becomes overwhelming. He rushes off to check on Hiroki's family, and when he enters the room, the sight of a boy worried about his injured parents is all too familiar. Haruto sees Hiroki's pain, and at the same time, he sees the pain he felt himself, all those years ago.



The parallel does wonders to add to the dramatic weight of the episode. It's this poetic extra dimension where not only is Haruto worried about being unable to save a Gate, he's worried about that Gate being forced to suffer a specific loss he never wants to relive. And he's so close to breaking down by now that part of him is maybe convinced he's already reliving that day, especially as he watches Hiroki's father use a fleeting moment of consciousness solely to express relief that Hiroki is unharmed, just as Haruto's own parents thought of their child before anything else.

The gravity of the situation has Hiroki reflecting on his earlier behavior, now believing this whole mess is his fault for saying he'd be better off without them around. In a nice touch, you can actually see Shunpei reacting to this before anyone, taking a few steps towards Hiroki, only to quickly stop when Haruto suddenly and aggressively snaps that Hiroki is wrong to blame himself. He tries to reassure Hiroki that his parents aren't gone yet and that he can't give up now, but Haruto is making this argument with such raw intensity that it becomes very clear he's mostly talking directly to himself, as he tries desperately to hold it all together. It's an added layer of subtext that can only come across so strongly because the lines between Haruto's past and present have become so blurred in this moment. There's the immediate situation with Phoenix he's talking about, but it's so much deeper than that. When Haruto tells a young boy he can't give up hope because his parents placed their hopes in him, I have to wonder how many other times throughout his life Haruto has told himself those exact words to find the motivation to push on when it seemed impossible. They may well have been what got him through that eclipse, even.

Haruto regains his composure enough to more properly reassure Hiroki that he'll protect his hope before heading out, intent on confronting Phoenix yet again. Rinko chases after him, questioning how he expects to fight when he's still barely taken any time to recover. She's essentially giving a voice to the doubts Haruto already has inside, and this causes his facade to slip once more, snapping at Rinko this time, to point out that fighting is still the only thing he can do right now if he wants to protect people. He's totally boxed in, with two choices that are ultimately the same choice -- fight and lose, or lose by not fighting. Haruto is obviously going to pick the one where he doesn't give up until the very end, but he's completely out of options and time to make that ending a happy one. He's exhausted, in every sense of the word, and at this lowest point, he's finally vulnerable enough to try something new -- Haruto admits how scared he is.



Haruto admits his fear to Rinko, and he admits how much more personal that fear is than just wanting to see Hiroki's family safe. He admits that he's scared of having to watch *anyone* die right before his eyes, and he admits how overwhelming that fear is. The episode has already done a more than adequate job demonstrating all this to the audience, so the significance of this dialogue is specifically that Haruto allows himself to open up to somebody to this degree. He's plainly stating the way he feels deep down, which might give the impression of basic exposition at a glance, but I think a lot of people know all too well that actually speaking those kinds of thoughts out loud can be a struggle on par with the toughest of monsters. It's a powerful moment, partly because the lines themselves are beautifully written, and partly because the direction is so excellent, but also just because of what a contrast it is to the character Haruto has been so far. He lets go of any pretense of still knowing how to move forward, and instead turns to Rinko to ask if she has any ideas. She doesn't know either, but in the middle of that hopeless scenario, Koyomi arrives bearing the completed ring Wajima made from the new stone.

Much like how Wizard and the Phantom he's fighting have reversed their usual roles for this story, Haruto is in many ways put in the same position as the typical Gate. He's been emotionally tormented by a monster who has twisted everything that motivates him into crushing despair, only for someone who cares to come along offering a magic ring, and the glimmer of hope that comes with it.



The moment is fairly downplayed, since at the end of the day this is a simple delivery job for Koyomi, but it's also a major turning point for the whole story, and I appreciate that she's at the center of it all for how that helps reinforce the importance of the relationship between her and Haruto. The ring itself is significant, but so is the fact that Koyomi is here to hand it over despite her previous concern about the stone used to make it. She's not sure this is actually the best thing to do, or even if it's a good thing to do, but it's the only thing she can do, so here she is. It's exactly what Haruto is going through in his own head right now, so I definitely think seeing Koyomi commit to her decision helps him find the resolve to commit to his.

Taking the ring in hand, Haruto hears the Dragon's cry once again, tying the narrative all together as he realizes that new magic stone might give him the edge against Phoenix he needs by drawing out the power of the Phantom that resides within him. Rinko worries that unleashing the full force of such a monster into reality might not end well for Haruto, perhaps also explaining the bad vibes the stone gives Koyomi, but Phoenix has finally arrived at the hospital for real, and that means there's no time left for hesitation. In a cool line that encapsulates his refusal to give up, Haruto tells Rinko that even the slightest chance of victory is a chance he's going to take, and with that hint of his heroic determination starting to return, Haruto is ready to stand against Phoenix.



The two face off in a hallway, which is pretty much the most classic possible venue to make a scene like this as awesome as can be. Hero and villain, staring each other down in a narrow space where the only way forward for either of them is through the other guy. You couldn't ask for a better visual to build the anticipation for the fight to come. It's great as Haruto confidently turns Phoenix's banter right back around on him, and it's even better when the camera follows behind Phoenix as he charges towards an unflinching Haruto, making the transformation that little bit more dynamic in a way that highlights the raw aggression of Wizard's latest enemy.

The battle quickly moves outside with a suitably intense transition that has Wizard and Phoenix come crashing out through a wall, shot in a way that cleverly avoids having to actually destroy a wall while still having the effect be practical. It's a nice level of effort for what is ultimately a minor beat, since the real point is just to get them both out there, where it's easier to stage an elaborate fight. After all, things are sure to get all the more intense once Wizard busts out his shiny new ring! ...Just uh, not in the way Haruto was counting on, as the ring only seems to trigger the belt's "Error!" sound. Evidently, Dragon doesn't feel like helping out. Phoenix wastes no time seizing the advantage, which results in -- among other nasty hits -- Wizard getting drop-kicked into a bench.



In an instant, the tone swings back towards hopelessness. Wizard is right back where he was in his first fight with Phoenix, only now, as underscored by a cutaway to the people relying on him, there aren't going to be any more chances if he loses here. In the truest possible sense, it's do or die for Haruto, and in that desperation, moments away from defeat, all he can do is try the new ring again, calling out to Dragon to give him the power he needs to make it through this. As the suspense builds to a crescendo, the screen fades to black, and Haruto finds himself standing in exactly the place he's been most afraid of this whole time.



Before Haruto can truly confront Phoenix, he must confront himself, and reckon with the trauma of feeling powerless to save his parents. The scene is, first of all, a prime example of Wizard's storytelling being visually-driven. We're seeing Haruto have to look down into the deepest part of his soul, so of course that means visiting his own Underworld. He needs to argue for hope against the voice inside him saying to give in to despair, so of course Dragon is here to personify that voice, taking on Haruto's own appearance so that the imagery tells you implicitly who the argument is really between. It's all the tools the show has established coming together for the most literal possible climax to a story about getting inside the main protagonist's mind, greatly enhancing its impact.

Having Dragon reveal that (very cool) voice also brings him more fully into the narrative as a proper character rather than simply a wild beast. After all, if not for how stubborn Haruto is, he'd be walking around with his face in the outside world by now, like any other Phantom. He'll save Haruto from drowning because it saves them both, but he clearly sees an opportunity here to finally break free of his Gate. To that end, he taunts Haruto about how the memory they're in is the moment of his despair. Haruto, in response, takes a deep breath, and properly resolves his internal conflict by reminding Dragon, and, more importantly, himself, that even though what Dragon says is true, that day is also the day his parents gave him the hope to keep living on. He then asks Dragon once again to lend him his power, only to be cautioned that using that power means being drawn closer to despair. Haruto then resolves the other internal conflict happening by asserting that Dragon's power is also his hope, a thought which amuses the Phantom so much he agrees to lend that power to Haruto.

Twice in a row, so you can't miss it, Haruto calls despair hope, which is essentially the whole point of this episode. Wizard isn't a hero who simply creates hope, but rather, as the opening narration always says, one who changes despair *into* hope. As such, I can't imagine a more fitting backstory for Haruto than suffering such a tragic loss and choosing to remember the love more than the pain. It's finding light by looking *inside* the darkness, and right back to the eclipse, that's also the raw essence of Wizard -- taking a situation that could crush him and making it an ally. That's why he isn't scared by Dragon. There are a few layers to Dragon's warning, but the most important thematically is the simple fact that directly using his power means relying on a Phantom, and a Phantom's power *is* despair itself. But that doesn't matter to Haruto, because as his Underworld exemplifies, the closer he is to despair, the closer he is to hope. He'll just make Dragon an ally too, and use that power to continue showing other Gates on the precipice of despair the same thing he learned when he too was at a point in his life where he couldn't imagine going on any longer -- if you only hold on to hope, what seems like the ending is just the beginning.



...I tried to condense that all as nicely as I could, but the trade-off is that I'm barely getting into all the different angles I could talk about this scene from. On the scale of the episode, I think it's a beautiful twist for the very memory Haruto fears so much to end up being what gives him the courage to overcome that fear. The notion of that memory being his Underworld -- the place that gives him hope -- speaks volumes about his character without even needing words, which always seems to be the struggle when I'm unpacking these things. Even the "argument" I referred to earlier is less about the meager few sentences exchanged, and more about the deep breath Haruto takes before refuting Dragon. The episode is able to use a small amount of space to elegantly explore a surprisingly complex web of ideas, thanks to how smartly those ideas have been built up. That's a skill that eludes me, so for pacing's sake, I'll avoid lingering on this one moment any longer.

Although, as it turns out, the scene itself was actually a single instant being lingered on, as back in the outside world, Phoenix is winding up the same swing he was taking at Wizard when we last saw him. The difference is that now, at last, it's time for Wizard to flip that script back around. The new ring shines with such brilliant light that Phoenix is forced to avert his eyes, and he's then thrown back by a magic circle to add injury to insult. The rapidly rising sense of excitement is furthered by the sounds of Wizard's belt. Prior to the blinding glow, it simply makes the usual "Flame!" noise, which doesn't feel all that special... until a few seconds later, perfectly synced with the magic circle appearing, the politeness of the normal "Please!" is abandoned entirely for a shout of "Dragon!" instead. Haruto ain't asking permission to give out this beatdown. Another one of my favorite little touches in the episode, but the hype only grows as a souped-up transformation effect plays out with an apparition of Dragon bursting forth from the circle to spiral around Wizard, engulfing him in an aura of fire and magical energy, which then splits open in a shape subtly resembling a pair of wings. Everything about that is awesome, but what's even more awesome is what's standing there afterwards -- Wizard's very first power-up form, the aptly named Flame Dragon.



So, first things first, because I'll forget to mention this later -- the enormity of this development is highlighted by two reaction shots from other characters. One is specifically Koyomi, because Rinko and Shunpei are off with Hiroki, which I note for the same reason I noted she's the one who gave Haruto the Flame Dragon Ring. The other, making his first appearance outside of a flashback, is the White Wizard, commenting on Haruto's evolution from a distance in a shot that also wordlessly confirms the white Garuda is indeed his familiar, swiftly tying up that loose end in a way that makes room for all sorts of speculation about events past, present, and future, all at once.

Not like I can focus on that stuff when I can be focusing on Flame Dragon, though. Putting aside the surrounding drama for a moment, the design is doing basically everything right to look like an evolved Flame Style. The robe now being a bright red makes it more ostentatious (which means more heroic). The shoulders are bigger (which means more powerful). Their size makes room for big red gemstones, which balances out the loss of the the previous design for the chest, which now has the stones more subtly incorporated into the new defining feature of a dragon face worked into the outfit. The dragon theme is also present in the new helmet, with very dynamically shaped "eyebrows" that go nicely with the added sharp angles of the robe. I'm pretty sure the awesomeness of Flame Dragon is thus objectively observable, but I must admit how biased my own opinion is when the strong narrative context it debuts in makes the suit next to impossible to dislike.

Even the simple act of Wizard announcing it's showtime, a return to a routine he did not previously have the luxury of performing against Phoenix, is an extraordinary catharsis after all that's had to happen for Haruto to reclaim that certainty. And "catharsis" is the word of the day when it comes to the tone of the episode's final showdown. Wizard comes power walking out of a commercial break, blocks all of Phoenix's strikes with finesse and grace, and then for good measure, kicks *his* feathery butt into a bench this time.



That particular reversal is another on the (long) list of little things I "most" adore about this episode, of course. What especially sells it is the sheer sass conveyed by the following shot of Wizard turning his head off to the side for a second. You can totally feel Haruto realizing just how thoroughly he's got this one in the bag now.

Oh, and as if all this wasn't enough on its own, there's the new insert theme. Power walking out of a commercial break is one thing, but doing it to the sound of Just the Beginning? There couldn't be a more fitting song for the occasion, because the song was literally made for the occasion. It's already a winner just from the cool defiant tone of the title, and the lyrics are like Fujibayashi's poetic book report on the episode, with certain lines even closely reflecting bits of dialogue, all sung directly from Haruto's very personal perspective, as opposed to the previous four themes that were more broadly about Wizard as a superhero. As such, it's a rather definitive character song for the guy, definitely my favorite insert theme from Wizard, and, most importantly right now, a pulse-pounding rocking anthem that shoots the hype levels of this fight through the roof.

I mean, I still remember the first time I was watching this episode, wondering how things could get any better, and shockingly, they somehow do? Phoenix gets back up from his benching and ups the ante by busting out his sword, moving the fight to a new phase as Wizard in turn pulls his sword out. You know what'd be *twice* as cool though? If Wizard were to then immediately reveal he can use the Copy Ring with the sword to have two swords, which everyone knows is the only way to use swords that's even cooler than a reverse grip. Forget the roof, that'd take the hype levels soaring up into the stratosphere! So naturally, that's exactly what Wizard does, resulting in what's probably one of the most famous shots of the entire series? I'm pretty sure if you're into Kamen Rider at all, you've seen a picture of it at least once, even if you haven't watched Wizard. The overflowing awesomeness begs to be shared that way.



So like, I'm always just foaming at the mouth with raw excitement by this point, no matter how many times I watch this scene. Wizard even does the classic Shinken Red behind-the-back block against Phoenix's sword! (The coolest way to block something!) I could point out how that's another strong reminder of the staff's roots and all, but that almost feels like missing the point? You don't need a lick of external context to understand the immense satisfaction of seeing Wizard smack Phoenix around without ever taking a single hit in return. Nor do you need it to enjoy the delicious irony of another reversal, as while in episode 8, Phoenix's flames burned too hot for Wizard, here, Haruto finds the use of the Special Ring from way back at the start of that episode, which works with the new form to give Wizard a Dragon head coming out of his torso that roasts Phoenix until he explodes, ending a spectacular action sequence in spectacular fashion.



With Phoenix defeated, things pick up a few days later with Haruto returning to Omokagedo after a visit to the hospital, sharing the good news that Hiroki's parents are doing well, and that Hiroki was able to sort things out with them. It's a cozy return to a well-earned peace, with the two-parter winding down much as it began, right down to Shunpei wounding Wajima's pride again. The only damper on the chill vibes is the episode's final revelation that, true to his namesake, Phoenix seems to be alive and well in spite of dying. Although, as a viewer, that honestly also sounds like good news, when having him around results in episodes like this.

I guess that means we've reached the end, but -- somehow -- I'm struck by the feeling I still have so much to talk about. Didn't even work in a mention of Phoenix coldly tossing that family photo aside with a hilariously tragic offscreen breaking sound after flipping the car over! For that matter, have I given enough credit to the consistently impressive physicality and personality Jun Watanabe brings throughout as Phoenix's suit actor? Still haven't properly brought up the way Wizard's backstory is a spin on the classic idea of Kamen Rider as a hero born from darkness, either!

But then, if I keep worrying about every last thing I haven't said, or could've said better, I'm never going to get around to the most important thing I've neglected to mention until now -- this is my favorite Wizard two-parter, and 9 in particular is an eternal god-tier favorite among the hundreds of Rider episodes I've seen. Might explain the extra enthusiasm!

The general formula for big power-up debuts in Rider is to make the new toy seem important by making the story surrounding it important to the series and its characters. This results in memorably great episodes for most shows, and Wizard offers here a stunningly definitive example in my eyes. It serves the overall structure as both the end and start of a chapter, featuring a thrillingly threatening major antagonist challenging Wizard for the first time, further highlighting the scale by expanding on Wiseman, the White Wizard, and Dragon, all while spinning a tightly focused introspective story, dense with meaning and purpose, that radically redefines the viewer's understanding of its main protagonist, placed in just the right spot for the show to have a status quo established enough to make the break from it appropriately shocking.

I love how human it makes Haruto, perhaps more than anything. If you'll forgive one last tangent I couldn't work in smoothly, there are a few lines from the theme song that nicely encapsulate the nuance of his character these episodes showcase so well. They go something vaguely like:

Ideals are always so high up above
Before your eyes, yet beyond your reach
But the show isn't going to wait around
Once the curtain rises you've got to play your part to the end

It took me years of listening to the song to get this, but those lines are explaining the relevance of Haruto's entire catchphrase routine. The perfect, stylish hero Wizard is his stage magician persona, and when it's showtime, like in any live performance, any mistake on the way to the finale is a mistake that can't be taken back. The guy behind the mask is the one that lets out that relieved fui~ afterwards. The one who can now chill at home eating donuts after the exhausting but worthwhile work of dazzling another satisfied audience. It's another allusion that's more than just fun, because the comparison it invites suggests the way Haruto keeps his personal life off the stage, as it were. Haruto says it's showtime to reinforce for himself that his problems aren't the ones that matter in that moment. That regardless of what he's feeling on the inside, there's no time to be making excuses.

And that's what makes these ones so compelling -- seeing Haruto struggle under the weight he puts on himself, as those carefully defined walls of his start falling apart. Even after all these words, there's far more I like about these episodes than I've had time to elaborate on, but it's all secondary to the larger reason this story left such a massive impact on me from the first time I saw it. Beforehand, I had very much bought into the mask Haruto projected, and was enjoying the show on that level. Afterwards, after seeing someone *this* cool still having a bad day, still scared of failing, still grappling with personal issues that can't simply be solved forever, it made him way more real than I ever expected, and that let me get into the overall show much more deeply. Loving the episodes is one thing; making me love every single other episode more too is what makes them so hard to top in my mind. Like polishing a gemstone, they help bring out the beauty of the whole series.