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Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Den-O
Hi. My name is Kamen Rider Die, and this is going to be a thread where I watch Kamen Rider Den-O for the first time and talk about the experience. Thanks for checking out at least this post before maybe deciding against continuing!
I always wonder if one of these intro posts is going to be a short one. I've done enough of them (this is... 11?) that they probably don't need a lot of explanation anymore. It's been a year plus of these. But, y'know, here we are at the second paragraph and I'm just talking about nothing, typing for the sake of typing. So, no, I don't believe this intro post will be the Short One. Anyway, hi, yes, welcome to Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Den-O. I've been doing these watch threads for a while now, and I'm working my way up to the present. Started watching Kamen Rider as a franchise with Ex-Aid, then hit the preceding Phase 2 Heisei shows. Ran aground a bit with Ghost, which led me to posting here to try and crowdsource a lifeline. Worked out pretty good (really liked some of that middle section of Ghost), so I kept it up with Build. I was always planning on watching the Phase 2 stuff so I could better appreciate Zi-O... but then I was like Man You Need To Watch Those Phase 1 Shows. So I put off Zi-O for another few years, and went all the way back to Kuuga. Been working up to the present, and here we are at Den-O. I don't really know much about Den-O. My only experience with the concept is when Den-Other Guy would show up in the OOO movie or whatever to get crucified, or when Momotaros showed up in the Ex-Aid tournament movie. The premise I'm not entirely clear on (imagination monsters???), and I don't think I've ever seen anything with Den-Original. I don't really know too much, other than it's considered to be one of the better series creatively, and one that was a massive success commercially. I'm looking forward to watching it. Really, though, I'm looking forward to watching it with you all. I genuinely can't remember what it's like to not have the communal experience of watching a show for the first time in the company of knowledgeable, passionate fans like you find on TokuNation, and I don't plan on finding out any time soon. The thing is, to make the experience a good one for both of us, we need to lay down some quick guidelines. YOU POSTING SPOILERS: DEN-OH NO This is the big Don't. I'm watching this for the first time, and I like to stay as spoiler-free on it as possible. Please don't talk about anything further than the episode I'm on. Like, not even vague hints ("If you liked the episode about Den-O applying for a mortgage, wait'll you see what happens with the Kamen Rider Credit Union!") or series trivia because that gets me expecting things and that is a bummer. I like being as surprised as is possible for someone watching a 14-year old show designed to sell toys to Japanese children, so please try and respect that very normal request. No spoilers, and no spoiler tags (?€˜cause the untagged part gets emailed to me, thanks TokuNation), that'd be great. Oh! And the same goes for anything from Kiva, Decade, and Zi-O up. I'll be watching and writing about all of those shows, so if you can stay away from discussing them on this thread, it would be appreciated. ME POSTING SPOILERS: DEN-OKAY I know, I know, and I'm sorry. This is an upfront warning that I may casually (but not egregiously) spoil things from shows I've watched. I really only do it when something in the current show reminds of something from a show I've already watched. The thing is, that can be minor (the Kabuto boys are like a flipped version of the OOO boys), or it can be major (this death scene reminds me of this other death scene). Please stay away from this thread if you don't want to risk being spoiled on Kuuga through Kabuto, and Double through Build. EXPECTING THIS THREAD TO BE THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED AND/OR GRAMMATICALLY SOUND: DEN-OBVIOUSLY NOT I mean... you've read this far into the post, right? It's going to be like this for the next two months, so be onboard with that. This ain't my job, it's a hobby, and hobbies should be fun. Ergo, I am trying to make this experience fun for me, in every way. I am more concerned with trying to get across my feelings about an episode than I am about making sure I get a name right (assuming I don't just make one up because: see above), and my interests lie more in themes and emotions than in describing fight scenes or caring about new suits. I love being able to crack into stories, and there's a lot in the average Kamen Rider episode I'll want to address, but it won't be everything and it may not be in a manner you'll enjoy/understand. I don't know. Just, forewarned that I'm doing this my way, I guess. YOUR PARTICIPATION: DEN-OOPS I DON'T HAVE A FOURTH ONE FOR THIS BIT BUT YES PLEASE One of the best things that's ever happened to me in a fandom is being able to enjoy Kamen Rider here on the TokuNation boards. It has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of these shows, and it is now an intrinsic part of how I experience Kamen Rider as a franchise. It's not a solo endeavor, it's a team experience, which is hilarious coming from probably the only guy on these boards that doesn't (currently) care about Sentai or Power Rangers. Either way, I like getting to share what I'm getting out of these shows, but I love hearing what other people think about them. If you've got things to say about an episode of Den-O, I'm anxious to hear it. If you'd rather just read along, though, that's cool, too. Just know that this is a space for all of us to talk about Den-O, and I'm just the conductor. Train reference! On that note, I think the Den-O train is about to leave the station. Expect new episode posts daily except for Tuesdays, unless something comes up. I'm using the OZC-Live subs instead of TV-Nihon, but I can switch if that's a mistake. Very excited to start a brand-new Kamen Rider show with everyone, and I'm even more excited to maybe find out what the hell "Den-O" even means. Like, Kamen Rider Blade? Easy! Build? Figured it out! Den-O? Nothing, no clue, no ideas, just dumb jokes. Getting to solve that weird riddle is my fondest hope for Episode 1 of Kamen Rider Den-O. Will it be granted? Let's find out together! https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den00.png |
This thread... has arrived.
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 1: "I'VE ARRIVED!"
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den1a.png I feel like I'm really going to enjoy what this show is about. Even within an episode that's ridiculously jazzy and jazzily ridiculous, there's a melancholy to it. Ryotaro's story so far isn't just about magical trains and hourglass monsters and cute goth girls and street youths. It's about the things we have inside of ourselves, and how important it is to find a balance between what we are, what we want to be, and what we're afraid of becoming. How our demons and angels live inside of us, and our ability to harness them is what defines a good life. Also, just, so much goddamn fun. Everything in this episode has a madcap energy that reminds me of my favorite Phase 2 shows. There's parts of Fourze (weird girl shouting at boy to Henshin already so he can detonate a monster), parts of Ex-Aid (unlucky schlub protagonist), parts of OOO for sure ("helpful" monster who finds themself tied to the fate of the protagonist), but the character of Ryotaro is what makes it all feel like more than just the progenitor of my favorite Kamen Rider tropes. (Just!) He's shy, cowering, in a way that could not be more the opposite of Kabuto's Tendou. Ryotaro is someone who... it's a weird thing, where the show almost goes out of its way to view his reluctance to fight as less cowardly, more placid. You know? He's reluctant to cause a disruption, so he just gets hit a bunch. He's not some monk, he really doesn't want to get pummelled, but he'd rather suffer than speak up. That's a really intriguing twist on what could've been some flailing scaredy-cat. Instead, it all feels like a conscious decision to not fight back. The intentionality of that... you can see the first flash of it in the early Ryotaro Vs Street Youths scene, where he could run away, but instead he stays and gets beat up. There's something with the jingling keychain of Tetsuo, probably, maybe, but Ryotaro opting to take their punishment rather than flee... yeah, I'm fascinated by that idea. It's a fun riff on the Kamen Riders Don't Back Down trope, where the hero takes a heroic beating, but it's reframed as someone who'd rather absorb pain than push back against aggression. The way Ryotaro's contract monster (who I'm going to pretend I don't know is Momotaros, the most readily-available Shinkocchou Seihou figure) becomes the part of him that only wants to fight, that is pure aggression, I love that as an expression of the show's theme. That Ryotaro won't fight for any reason, and his monster doesn't need a reason to fight, and how the conflict in the episode is how they find a way to work together... just a super on-point story for a premiere episode, one that has me excited to follow the hero's journey. Quite a world that's been built for him to journey through, as well! It's an overstuffed episode, maybe (might not've hated them skipping the coffee house scene with Airi and her Airimirers), but the runaway train feel of the pacing was a definite plus. Just a million things and people (Mana from Agito!) that there is basically zero attempt to explain or give context to. I really respect that, actually. It's way smarter to spend the first episode making me care about Kamen Rider Den-O, and then in subsequent episodes explaining what he's fighting against. The mysteries of the hourglass monsters (such a cool visual idea, their split top-and-bottom thing) and the train pass and who the people on the Den-Liner are... that can all come later. I don't need that yet. What I need is a Kamen Rider that grabs my imagination, and this one's managed to do that exceptionally well. There's the melancholy, where Ryotaro feels practically imprisoned by his emotions. There's the great acting, the switches between Normal and Possessed that make for some kinetically unpredictable scenes. There's that Henshin, with Plat Form giving way to Sword Form (the way the lenses come down like a train car before splitting open like a bug's shell!) and an absolutely gorgeous suit. There's Ryotaro's innate goodness, never quite letting his trepidation keep him from doing the right thing. Absolutely fantastic first episode of Kamen Rider Den-O. I am fully on board. https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/deno/den1b.png |
I’ll say this to start. Beginning my regular feature for this thread (I’ve got one planned for Kiva and then I intend to mix a new one with reviving all my old ones for Decade). Presenting, the Den-O VA Information Cubicle.
This time, I’m going to start with the Oni Imagin tailing Ryotaro’s VA. Toshihiko Seki Notable Anime roles: Shurato in Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato, Duo Maxwell in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Legato Bluesummers in Trigun, Rau Le Creuset in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Rey Za Burrel in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Notable dubbing roles: Johnathan Crane/the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, Seth Brundle in The Fly, George Reeves in Hollywoodland, Iceman/Bobby Drake in the X-Men tv series And now for our monster of the week (I’ll say here that all the monster and Rider suits in this show are based on fables or fairy tales, but mostly ones that are known in Japan) Kiyoyuki Yanada Notable Anime roles: Megatron in Transformers: Armada, Andromon in Digimon, Toraichi Tamiya in Oh My Goddess!, Ginji Matsuzaki in Black Lagoon Notable Tokusatsu roles: El of the Water in Kamen Rider Agito, Boss Tau Zant in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger (and its associated movies), Kamen Rider Leangle/Rebirth Spider Undead in Kamen Rider Blade, Land Pollution Minister Yogostein and Prime Minsiter Yogoshimacritein in Engine Sentai Go-Onger (and all other appearances), Supreme Commander Big Bear in Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger. Notable dubbing roles: Ray Arnold in Jurassic Park, Logan/Wolverine in the X-Men films, Depth Charge in Beast Wars. |
OZC, whether it being their Live subs or their Anime subs, is very good with their subs in general, so yeah, go with them whenever possible. They're a very safe bet.
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Something that does catch the viewer immediately off the bat, and what I figured would strike you too; is that after 7 years where Kamen Rider was defined by how moody it was to varying degrees... Den-O is hyped the heck up on sugar and fun. Oh, sure, it's not a binary switch; previous shows had their moments, Den-O has a lot more serious moments than a lot of people remember, and we're especially coming off of Blade, Hibiki and Kabuto here who were all very bizarre shows in different ways; but the whole attitude of Den-O... well, it's a climax from start to finish! It's a great breath of fresh air that might seem a little dated today when basically everything from W onwards is that way, but with the context of the time it's a big change. As for the name - like the last couple series, Den-O is a Japanese name! It's not really spoilers especially as you have watched the first episode already and absorbed all its themes and trappings... and also it's a meaning any Japanese viewer would instantly understand, so I'll go ahead and say that Den-O roughly translates to Electric Train King (Den referring to the type of train they ride on, and the '-O' suffix referring to being a king of the subject). Happy to see you tackle this one! It's an extremely popular series though certainly one I've seen a lot more polarisation of in recent years, and given both your initial reaction and how much you liked Kobayashi's other contributions to Rider (Amazons didn't have a second season, right?), I think it's one you'll have a hell of a time with. It's in my top 5 personally and the type of writer you are, you've already gone ahead and spelled out a lot of reasons why! |
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I love this episode. It does such a fantastic job of establishing the show's main character, his life, and the world that he lives in. We really do get a strong sense of who Ryotaro is and he is basically the anti-Tendou. It's such a great swerve how we spent a year with the charismatic swagger and arrogance of Tendou and then go immediately into this weenie stuck in a tree (Ryotaro is great, but he absolutely comes off as a weenie; I like that you're picking up on some of the motivations behind that). There are some really great moments in this episode, but there are two that I want to specifically highlight. It's short, but I absolutely adore the bizarre surrealism of the scene where Ryotaro tries to walk into a police station, only to end up in a rainbow-skied desert where a train pulls up and Rina Akiyama gives him a cup of coffee. That is such a beautifully weird, dreamlike moment. The other moment I really enjoy is the first fight transformation into Den-O (which is called "Plat Form" because train jokes). In so many of these shows we see the hero transform for the first time and seemingly have immediate knowledge of exactly how to use all of these new powers (looking at you, Tak-kun!). Ryotaro is completely clueless: he nervously shouts out "henshin," needs Hana to fasten the belt for him, and triggers the actual change by accident. And once he's transformed he immediately starts running for cover and throwing random things at the monster. Such a great scene, absolutely love it. There's some stuff I definitely want to talk about with how this show is the model for the Neo Heisei (aka Phase 2) era, but I'm going to wait a few days for that because I think it will be a better point to make once we're a few episodes in. The last thing I'll say for now is that Ryotaro is played by Takeru Satoh. Like Kabuto's Hiro Mizushima, Satoh went on to be a pretty big star in Japan. He is probably my favorite lead actor in any of these shows and a huge part of it is how well he handles the physical challenge of playing multiple characters in one body. He makes the change from Ryotaro to his monster party is immediately obvious in the way he carries himself and it is absolutely believable that this is a completely different character. |
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I mean, this thing has a train as its central motif. They are not subtle about how they're trying to change what a Kamen Rider series can be about! Quote:
But, yeah, this is the stuff I feel like Fourze cribbed for its first Henshin. Having Cute Goth Girl around to yell at him to put the driver on (IT'S A SEAT BELT!), and then telling him to press different buttons on it to activate different functions, that's all pretty reminiscent to me of Yuki's crash course to Gentaro. Quote:
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Anyway, yeah, Den-O is my favorite Kobayashi show even over the two that have the extra weight of being my first Rider shows – one of which is also pretty much an objectively perfect Rider show – so that should tell you something about my level of enthusiasm for this series. I'm very much looking forward to getting into why as we go along. While I actually won't be watching and writing along this time, as you can see from the quote above, I thankfully have a whole bank of pre-written Den-O thoughts to pull from back when I did the same Kobayashi-thon rewatch I occasionally referenced during your thread for Ryuki. So that'll be nice for me! :p One thing I'd like to immediately contribute for now is just that this is another Rider scored by Toshihiko Sahashi, and Den-O's background music is naturally quite distinctive and instantly recognizable. It took me a bit to realize how much I loved it, but it's one of my favorites for sure now. |
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!!! This is not a happy protagonist! He's got some stuff to solve! Quote:
I know, I know, you mean OOO. I've definitely referred to OOO as one of the best seasons for how it's not the best anything, but never bad at anything. Ryuki had some ups and downs for me, so I'm excited to see what Older And Wiser Kobayashi wants to talk about, and how she plans to do that. I'm already very into something here that she revisited in OOO, where the monsters/villains/threats all seem to be drawn from people. The teaser for Episode 2 seems to indicate some OOO-style Therapy Via Monster Detonation, and that's a Phase 2 Heisei thing I'm thrilled to get back to. The whole thing with random monsters wandering into an episode, and then the difficulty of linking the monster to the story thematically... very keen to get a more emotionally-connected threat in these shows. Quote:
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Best Rider weapon ever? The broom Ryotaro picks up while in Plat Form to fight the Bat Imagin.
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Side note I remember watching the first two episodes a bunch of times back in the days. It was a breath of fresh air given how whimsical it was compared to the previous 7 shows. |
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVzj9WKW4AEkk_B.jpg |
Ah, Den-O, the rider show so popular it still has new specials coming out well over a decade later.
It is seriously a lot of fun though, helped by the stellar acting and talents of the main star. It has it's flaws, but I can forgive all of them because it's so genuinely fun to actually watch. |
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Would like to add Ryotaro's actor Takeru Sato went on to be a big time star after Den-O and Rookies, a live action adaptation of a baseball manga that is essencially Coach Carter with baseball. Check out Rookies if you wanna see a heartwarming sports underdog story that happens to have Ryotaro with dreadlocks.
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.....so I have yet to actually read any of this thread (and I am looking forward to it! but not today, haha) but I felt the need to express how much I love that somehow, SOMEHOW, Die chooses the right screencap to summarize the series as a whole in the first episode every time. Every time! :lol
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Oh, and speaking of that screencap, I love the fact that Ryoutarou just rides around on a plain old bike?
It's the same trick that was used in Ryuki, with Shinji's little moped, where I find it really nicely underscores the everyman status of the protagonist that they have something broadly similar to a proper motorcycle, so you can tell they're a Kamen Rider hero if you squint, but with none of the cool factor. I just find it so endearing for some reason. |
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https://challengerscomics.com/images...iz/faizsig.png Quote:
Also, yeah, him riding a bike around is a pretty cute way of having a less powerful version of a Kamen Rider trope. Even his scarf, is, like, adorable? It's this red Kamen Rider Scarf, but it's wrapped tight instead of flying free. Probably a metaphor in there somewhere! |
One thing I feel is important to point out for later is that unlike as far as I can remember, any other Kamen Rider series, the movie is actually woven into the plot of the series. This means that watching the move at exactly the right place within the series is actually quite important.
Other series may, in rare cases, reference the movie, but I can think of none other where the two are pretty inseparable. |
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Episodes 1-26 Momotaros Goes Into Eternity I'm Born - The Movie Episodes 27-44 HBV Singing, Dancing, Big Training Episodes 45-49 Final Stage Imagin Anime ...and then probably do stuff like the Farewell movie and Chou Den-O after Kiva, but before Decade. (So much to do between Kiva and Decade!) Pretty Den-O will probably be after Zero-One, I think. There's some other weird miscellany that I might cover, but that all feels like the major stuff. Let me know if I'm either overlooking something or slotted something in at the wrong time! |
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There's also the Climax Deka movie that takes place after the series but before Final Stage. It's technically a Kiva crossover, but it's about as accurate to Kiva as Movie War Core was to OOO. |
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Maybe I'll just push Final Stage until post-Kiva, with the Farewell movie, and then push Chou Den-O to post-Decade. This Den-O thread is probably going to get resurrected every few months, which I'm okay with. |
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Personally the Crayon Shinchan crossover was my fav.
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Also, Hana just accidentally stepped on this... under her shoes.. but she picked that necklace with her hands right after! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...84360/walk.png |
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Honestly you're not missing out on a whole lot, it was more of a Crayon Shin-chan episode that happened to have Den-O in it and the episode was super short. |
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Kuuga and 555 constantly place in the top 5 on popularity polls is the thing, and then you've got the endless merchandise for Decade, and Ryuki and Blade are cult favourites...
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Ah, Den-O. The series that basically pulled a Kuuga-2 and set the stage for franchise going forwards. Good times.
But yeah, Ryotaro's more 'helpless' nature is a real interesting choice for a protagonist, but I think it works, especially as a contrast to the weirdness of the characters around him, Momotaros especially. There's definitely more to him than just being unable to fight back, he just takes what the world gives him (being a comedy victim) and kinda accepts it. Is that what someone who's constantly being punished with bad luck would? Maybe! Also Den-O's design, once again, great! Despite being red, which is maybe superficially like Kabuto, the silver undersuit helps to make a big visual dvide between them, as does the head design moving to large, red eyes instead of the big H O R N. |
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