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What are you watching? (Kamen Rider Edition)
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06-26-2019, 10:01 PM
#
15421
Fish Sandwich
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
Ryuki 39-40:
Aw yeah, now we're talking! I've gotta be honest, for all the standards Ryuki set for me when it comes to what I want to see in Kamen Rider, bike action is not one of them. Indeed, my obsession with that is purely down to episode 2 of OOO and episode 4 of Kuuga. Mostly that second one though. But I need to move on before I start gushing about the wrong show. The point is, nothing in Ryuki totally satisfies me on that front. The Ride Shooters, I've never been able to get behind. The whole concept of driving into the Mirror World through... Mirror Purgatory, I guess, has always confused me. Like, wouldn't it make way more sense and be a better visual for the Riders to just pop out of the other side immediately? You know, like the Monsters do? Or the Riders later in the show anyway? And then on top of having a pretty ill-defined function in-universe, they're these massive, bulky hunks of junk that were clearly a nightmare to film with, because all they ever do on-screen is drive in a straight line for a few seconds and then stop. It gets to a point where the only thing they're good for is having new Riders dramatically step out of them, and the thing that makes motorcycles cool is NOT supposed to be how comfy the seats look. Now, Darkraider and Dragranzer are definitely a step up, but they still suffer from being way overdesigned for the role of a practical vehicle. But the Psychoroader? Now that's a bike. First of all, it actually gets its own name, so already it's clearly way cooler than the Survive bikes. It can also actually turn. And I mean, it can
*turn*
. Remember how I said Tiger's Final Vent wasn't necessarily cool but was memorable? Well Alternative spinning around like a maniac is infinitely more dumb AND more memorable, so I love it.
I also adore Alternative (Zero) a whole lot. It always baffled me he isn't officially considered a Rider even though as a guy on a bike with an insect motif, he fits the bill more than literally anyone else in the series. Yeah, I know he doesn't consider himself a Rider in-universe, and his powers don't come from Kanzaki's Decks, but so what? Is Chalice not a Kamen Rider, then? So I say screw it, he'll always be a Rider in my heart. The bike alone scores massive points for me (check out how big that opening paragraph ended up being), but on top of that, he looks sweet, has that no-nonsense spiky sword, his Visor has the different voice that's really memorable, the guy under the suit is an interesting character... the list goes on. One of his cards even gives him super speed! I'm all about super speed!
Oh, right, and there were the actual episodes. Which are actually some of my absolute favorite in the show, but unfortunately, I've used up a lot of enthusiasm talking about Alternative already. Like I was saying last time, Shinji is in a pretty tight spot as he's forced to consider whether or not going along with Kagawa's idea to seal Mirror World is a good idea or not, and while he takes a beating or two before he gets there, he ultimately does what he always does, and decides to focusing on saving the lives in front of him above all else. The climax of 40 is one of the best moments of the whole show, involving the biggest Rider gathering since episode 19, with one of Shinji's coolest hero bits ever when he breaks up the action and then blocks an attack from a disgruntled Ouja without even looking at him. And when I say "breaks up the action", I mean rides in on his dragon monster bike blasting other monsters with fireballs. Seriously, I don't know what more you could ask for in an episode.
Den-O 39-40:
Okay, hypothetical people who haven't seen Den-O yet. This is your last chance to go see how Zeronos' situation develops in the natural, well-paced, dramatically engaging way you were meant to, because I've been itching to really get into how much I love his character, and I won't be held responsible for ruining all the surprises.
Alright?
Moving right along then. This is where Zero Form makes its debut, and as such it's also where Yuuto cements his position as one of my favorite secondary Riders ever. Like, the only ones who can even compete are Mach and... well, yeah, there you go. Not to diss the other guys too much. They're all cool. You know, Knight's got a lot going on. Geiz has the distinction of being my favorite guy in Zi-O above Sougo himself, which doesn't happen much for me. But one of the things that I think always defined Kamen Rider going back to its origins, more so than the masks or the bikes even, was the idea that they were heroes who shouldered an immense burden to do what they do.
I don't think that's true of any of them more than it is of Zeronos. The idea of a Rider who's very existence is erased piecemeal every time he transforms, with more and more people forgetting he was ever around to begin with, is
profoundly
horrifying in a way that I don't think can ever be truly matched. But that's not even the half of it. Yuuto was thrust into the role by his own future self. While he almost certainly didn't grasp the full picture of what was going on, he definitely knew the risks, and choose to become Zeronos anyway. That takes serious guts, for one thing, and although his own immaturity means Yuuto keeps most of his deeper feelings under the surface, it's obvious that even despite the good he's doing, he'll never be totally okay with this situation. The sole upside of this arrangement, if you can call it an upside, was that it was his future self's life being erased. Until it wasn't anymore.
The debut of Zero Form kicks Yuuto's plotline into overdrive, and in the process it's one of the most wonderful and unique debuts for a power-up in Rider history. Mostly because it's more like a downgrade than anything. The whole context and atmosphere of him using it are so far removed from the normal way these kinds of episodes go that it's more comparable to Ultimate Kuuga than anything, and that's some dang high praise. It's more of that melancholy that no other show does like Den-O, and the straightforward, very visually expository scene of Zeronos rusting (even the reason he's red now is depressing) is one of the most striking moments of the entire series to me. Not bad for a show that's usually just known as "the funny one".
OOO 39-40:
Firstly, now that Gotou is officially Birth, we get to see how much differently he goes about it than Date. Namely that he's way more practical. Instead of a huge tank, he has a simple, rugged backpack for lugging Cell Medals around, with one always in a little slot he wears on his wrist for convenient access when he needs to transform. He also makes far more effective use of Birth's various weapons than Date did most of the time, which is one of the benefits of actually reading that manual, no doubt. There isn't that much of the show left, but Gotou slides into the role so naturally that I think of him as Birth as much as I do Date. He finally gets to be the cool guy he thought he was at the beginning of the series, and it's awesome. Plus, he gets Satonaka as a sidekick. What's not to love?
Secondly, I like that the plot here revolves around the neighborhood where Cous Coussier is getting a bunch of security cameras put up. It goes back to what I'm always saying about OOO having a developed world. It's cool to be reminded the heroes actually live in a location that's you know, part of society. It's not just one building that effectively exists in a void, even if it's only for these two episodes. It also means Chiyoko gets to do more than usual, and I'm always going to be happy about that.
And thirdly, the focus on the characters here is notably stronger than usual (which is saying a lot), and I can't believe I completely forgot about Ankh's nightmare at the start. It's genuinely a bit unnerving and a great way to give some insight into a character who doesn't always show his emotions outwardly. Other than anger, I mean. He shows that just fine.
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