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mirai-e-jump · 9 months

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Hero Vision Vol.15 (2004/Summer) ft. Kamen Rider Blade Cast Interviews Ryoji Morimoto x Terunosuke Takezai Segment (translations below)

Publication: August 20, 2004 (between episodes 29-30) Ryoji Morimoto (Hajime Aikawa) x Terunosuke Takezai (Kotaro Shirai)

"Currently, It appears that the two of you are not getting along within the drama."

Takezai: Hajime is reluctant to reach out, while Kotaro is. Kotaro wants to protect Amane-chan and Haruka-san, but can't even protect himself, and Hajime is the one to always protect us, which frustrates Kotaro……So now, he's taking it out on Hajime?

Morimoto: When he sees Kotaro like that, I feel that Hajime finds it very interesting.

Takezai: There's a part of Hajime that Kotaro admires, but he won't allow himself to feel that way. It's a complicated feeling.

Morimoto: Hajime is uncertain too. Being around Amane-chan makes his heart feel at ease and warm inside, but he still doesn't understand what it means "to be loved," and he doesn't even understand why he wants to protect her. As his human side develops, so too will the number of his problems, and I think Hajime is going to have a much harder time from now on.

"So, apart from your roles, what do you like about each other?"

Morimoto: He has good intuition, can immediately grasp the situation, and he's also very tolerant and considerate.

Takezai: I don't have anything to say about his performance, other than that I've learned quite alot from him. Usually, you act pretty silly, don't you? And when everyone's together, the tension really rises. But, when it comes to acting, he changes completely. I think, "Is this really the same guy?" The range of emotions, and the way in which he switches between them is amazing. I'm usually very reserved.

"Kotaro's becoming more and more quiet…or rather, it's more like he's becoming serious."

Takezai: There's alot of emotional ups and downs. Every time we get a new script, it's something new. I'm like, "Ah, so this time it's this emotion." I used to play Kotaro, but the range has become so narrow, that now, I'm pretty much playing the role of Terunosuke Takezai.

"Would you ever consider switching roles?"

Morimoto: I don't get to smile much, do I? Kotaro is a really cute guy, and he has a charming smile, I'd like to be able to laugh too.

Takezai: I'd like to try being Chalice. I rarely get to show my emotions. If you think about it, we're the complete opposite in terms of personality.

Morimoto: Yeah. I think Hajime is jealous of Kotaro because they're complete opposites. Hajime wants to smile, but his smile continues to be rather awkward. I want to hurry up and become human…..

Takezai: Then you'd be a monstrous human (laughs).

"What's the most interesting part about Chalice?"

Morimoto: Because I don't have many lines, the lack of dialogue makes it much more difficult to communicate through my eyes and facial expressions. That's why I'm looking forward to seeing how I'll show the process of becoming human.

"Come to think of it, have you been working out recently?"

Morimoto: When I watched 555's movie, there's a shirtless transformation scene, so I was worried that something like that would be in our movie, so I just thought......I don't want to look like a matchstick if I have to take my clothes off (laughs). I do think Hajime is strong, even in his human body.

"What about Takezai's role in the film?"

Takezai: The movie takes place 4 years after the TV show, and I've become a stuck up guy after selling my books and becoming rich……

Morimoto: Kotaro seems to be much more active in the movie.

"Do you ever have time to go out drinking together or just hang out?"

Takezai: Now that you mention it, we've never gone out drinking together once, have we?!

Morimoto: We all go out to eat together, don't we?

"Do you share any common interests, like soccer or motorcycles?"

Morimoto: We do. We both like comedy.

Takezai: I like to laugh. Although, I'm better at being laughed at than at making people laugh.

Morimoto: I'm more of Tsubaki-kuns type.

Takezai: I think you're right

Morimoto: It's better if no one notices me doing it. So I try to do it secretly.

Takezai: There are times where the audio crew picks up on it, and then they'll suddenly start laughing. It makes me happy when they laugh.

Morimoto: I can't help but sometimes joke in front of everyone! Sometimes I do it too much and get pulled aside.

Takezai: Lately, no one comments on your jokes, so you've been forcing them.

Morimoto: I'm like, "…wha, hey!" (laughs).

Takezai: That's…it's alittle bit funny.

"You share a similar hobby, but do you have any differences?"

Takezai: Yeah, I love soccer, but I'm more of an indoor type of person. I recently had 3 weeks off, but during that time, I stayed inside for a whole week. It was tiring, but I do like to just space out at home.

Morimoto: I'm about ready to get out of here! (*he can't imagine being indoors for that long)

"Well then, finally, for you two complete opposites, please give a yell of support to each other."

Takezai: Yell? Support? Don't want to.

Morimoto: No (firmly).

Takezai: With Ryoji around, I can focus on acting with a sense of ease. I trust him.

Morimoto: I'm at ease too. I feel he gives off alot of confidence.

Takezai: The truth is that I have alot of work to do. And yet, everyone says it doesn't look that way…..

Morimoto: I can see you're nervous. Your tongue tends to do this, right? (he licks his lips)

Takezai: Yeah (laughs).

"Well, we're looking forward to it!"

Takezai: Please look forward to watching Chalice this August!

Morimoto: That's right! From now on, the relationships will continue to be very interesting!

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cina-full-moon-xanadium · 10 months

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what is, according to your perspective, an antagonistic organization or entity from modern Kamen Rider shows that closely resembles the f*scist roots of the original SHOCKER?

Admittedly there aren't a lot -- much of the villainy in heisei Kamen Rider comes from more relatable individual human errors than vast organisations to go for clearer cut drama; often relying on things like family members that went too far for what they thought was right for their siblings or children (Ryuki, W, Wizard), people whose dreams spun out of control and had to be shown the errors of their ways (Fourze, Saber), sometimes much more abstract supernatural monsters (Kuuga, Agito, Hibiki) or, uh, whatever the fuck (Den-O, Ex-Aid). This is in fact another big reason why I was desperate for Shin KR to have an overtly fascist enemy because it is something that had been missing from Kamen Rider for a while, and arguably allies had more in common with the kind of shit Ishinomori was writing about than enemies (Kougami Foundation, HIDEN, etc)

In that though, I think Build's Faust and especially the later Nanba Heavy Industries found a good balance between 'human' drama and fascists doing fascist shit; though obviously for a kid's show it did have to simplify like by saying The Gas Made Them Do It, or make Nanba cartoonishly evil. Still was pretty solid for what it was!

I might even argue 555's Smart Brain was a pretty good version of this, as a controlling entity over an entire species with a lot of power and influence. The fact it's not even defeated at the end only strengthens that

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heartvisor · 1 year

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selected machine translated excerpts from interviews with handa kento commemorating faiz's 20th anniversary (re: recording csm faiz gear lines and mister inoue's dialogue writing)

--I heard that many of Mr. Handa's lines from the drama were newly recorded. How did you feel when you reproduced the lines from "Kamen Rider 555" 20 years after its broadcast?

I was more conscious of the tone of the recording than in ver. 1, so I tried to keep it closer to the tone of the broadcast. This time, I was able to see that intention clearly, and I think it shows the strength of the feelings that were put into the work...

--In "555," the entire story was written by screenwriter Inoue Toshiki, who is also currently working on "Avatarou Sentai Donbrothers," and I was impressed by his unique "Inoue-bushi" line delivery that accentuates each character's personality.

When I re-recorded the lines this time, I was struck by how good all the words are. It was when I played Takumi Inui in the movies "Kamen Rider Taisen," "Kamen Rider 3," and "Kamen Rider 4," that I once again felt Inoue-san's impressiveness. In these works, another person wrote the script, and I also speak the lines as Takumi, but those are "Takumi-esque" lines, not the Takumi that comes from Mr. Inoue's head. To that extent, Mr. Inoue's words are unique, and Mr. Inoue is the only person who can express Takumi's character. When I played another Takumi in another work, I reconfirmed the character of Takumi as created by Mr. Inoue.

--In "555," Takumi, Mari, Keitaro, and Kusaka, as well as Yuji, Yuka, and Kaidou from the Orphenoch side, all have their own unique personalities, and the drama is created through their intermingling and clashes. Inoue creates each character's image and expresses them in fascinating lines.

When I read the script at the time of the broadcast, I did not understand the lines well, but now that I am approaching forty years of age, when I recall the lines again, I have a different impression of them. You can read a lot into even the smallest lines. For example, Takumi's line, "Having a dream, what's so great about that!" It's very deep. It's something Takumi says, but he has no dreams, in contrast to Keitarou, who runs a dry cleaning store with big dreams. I once asked Mr. Inoue, "Who is the character you love the most in '555'?" He immediately answered, "Something like that, you; it's Keitarou, of course!" He answered immediately, "Of course, Keitarou! Of course I love him!" That's right. It was Keitarou, not Inui Takumi or Kusaka Masato.

#krfaizblog #not rebloggable because the translation is of questionable quality and so i would feel irresponsible if it circulated at all #but i wanted to put these on my blog since they're interesting! neat complement to any sorts of revisits i'll do later on #krtext

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ikagamma · 2 years

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I have seen a lot of mixed things on Kamen Rider 555, but honestly it is still one of my favorite dramas, and Takumi is an interesting take on a main rider. He is very blunt and appears to be a cold-hearted person at times, but only does this to shield himself from the pain he suffered before becoming Faiz. This episode really cemented Takumi as a rider for me as he had to confront what he really was, and how it should not be a milestone around his neck. This is the episode where he finds his resolve as a Rider, and the show from here really just keeps going up to me as we see him develop more into his own as he tries to stop Smart Brain.

#kamen rider 555 #inui takumi #kamen rider faiz #Open Your Eyes for the Next Faiz

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ryo-maybe · 3 years

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kuya, if you don’t mind me asking!! so far, what’s your most favorite part of your least favorite kamen rider and what’s the least favorite part of your favorite kamen rider(s)?

Haro you would have to try and make any of your questions/trivia/conversations sound anything but engaging, so no, I do not mind at all. Lessee if I can answer this with an equally interesting reply...

Least favorite Kamen Riders: Kiva, Faiz

My favorite part of Kiva: The body swap episode was one I liked, if only because it showcased the superb acting talent involved in imitating Otoya’s mannerisms. Otoya’s antics in general were something I used to look forward to, at least until he came down with a bad, bad case of Inouefication. And, of course, an obligatory mention goes to Matsuda Kenji, who no matter what role he performs in, is always a treat to witness! Even if his character was hardly the most compelling, witnessing the genuine effort and entertainment he put in his performance made up for it.

My favorite part of Faiz: I feel putting Kiva and 555 on the same plane is extremely unfair to the latter, because for all its faults (most of them due to, what do you know, our friend Inoue), there is plenty to enjoy in 555. The suit design and concepts were all top-notch (I love love love the industrial feel of having your transformation trinket be carried inside a briefcase, complete with the instruction manual!), the Orphnochs had some of the best aesthetics as far as mook designs go, the “villainous” trio were very compelling characters regardless of their writing often suffering for the sake of needless drama, and of course, Kusaka. He set the bar for rival Riders and villainous characters in general really, really high, no wonder he was such a beloved character!

Favorite Kamen Riders: Kuuga, Agito, Ryuuki, OOO

My least favorite part about Kuuga: I feel like pointing out the bad CG is frankly unfair considering the context and time frame (and let’s be real, I may as well consider it a charm point of its own). Instead, the only real flaw I can think about is that some characters felt a tad underutilized, along with Daguva feeling like a bit of a Dio-like villain: the myth behind him felt greater than the character itself. Even so, this is me trying really, really hard to be nitpicky, because at the end of the day, every character still fulfilled their thematic purpose perfectly fine, and Daguva being “flat” can just as well be interpreted as an intentional choice with thematic significance I won’t delve into, but perfectly understand. God, it’s like I’m trying really hard and failing to think of any valid criticism of Kuuga, bwhahah! Actually, I think I have a much easier and personal answer for this one: I wasn’t particularly impressed with the performance of the actress who portrayed Yusuke’s sister.

My least favorite part about Agito: HIKAWA JOBBED TOO MUCH. They gave G3 an upgrade and still didn’t let him be anything but a tool to stall for time until Agito or Gills could come in time to save the day, barring exceedingly few instances, which vexed me to no end. Speaking of Gills, his Exceed form is one of the ugliest in the entire franchise. Poor Ryo really got the short end of the stick, especially with that weird deal with his not-girlfriend that lasted for all of two episodes solely to give him more reasons to brood??? At least he got a puppy in the end, so I guess things worked out for him one way or another.

My least favorite part about Ryuuki: Imperer sure was one of the characters of all time. The Rider itself was criminally cool for what was a character with such forgettable writing I remember nothing about him. Scissors had more staying impact by dying like the Mamiest of Tomoes than Imperer had for the entirety of his screentime. Also, obligatory mention to Femme. Wonderful design for the first female Rider who got the most needless fridging ever.

My least favorite part about OOO: Fully equipped Birth looks so goofy lmao. Other than that, I feel like the rate of appearance of certain combos felt a bit skewed, with some barely getting any use while others got used too much.

#haropla

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shewasanamericangirl · 5 years

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kamen rider OOO review

a young man, having dozed off a night on security guard detail, awakens to find an odd red coin engraved with a bird motif. assuming the coin is payment for his work, he goes to change into his civilian clothes and oh fuck there’s a giant hole in the wall.

after a quick police interview revealing that our hero 1. is thoroughly naive and 2. has an unusual fixation with underwear, he puts his clothes on and goes to spend his “payment” in a vending machine and--whoops, dropped the coin under the machine. fortunately, a very strong (and CUTE) young lady is nearby to help lift up the machine...and nearly drops it when they see the monstrous disembodied arm crawling out from beneath! then the arm, who can talk and has a terrible personality, starts giving underwear boy orders. oh yeah, and i totally forgot to mention the opera rendition of “happy birthday” played over a bunch of weird monsters terrorizing civilians as a snappily dressed executive decorates a birthday cake on his office desk.

welcome to the world of kamen rider OOO! (pronounced “ohs”--like cheeri”os”.)

^ oh, the sexual tension.

plot: there’s two other fictional worlds that OOO has brought to mind for me multiple times. the worldbuilding and unique magical elements of OOO combined with a heaping cupful of absurdity and a pinch of homoeroticism reminded me quite a bit of jojo’s bizarre adventure--crazy and ridiculous stuff happens, but it’s built up in such a way that you generally understand enough of what’s going on that it isn’t too confusing. furthermore, the themes of desire, evolution, beginnings, endings, and nihilism bring to mind the dilemmas at play in the shin megami tensei games--many of the platitudes expressed in OOO could’ve easily been quoted from lucifer...and others from smtiv’s white. you’ll want to learn the truths. you’ll want to see what happens next.

characters: despite what ankh may claim, this show is not about him, as evidenced by the fact that its title is not bird greed ankh. he sure is a Character, though. heisei kamen rider is great at giving its viewers morally iffy or outright bastardy characters so unique and interesting that you wind up cheering for as much as if not more than for the heroes, and ankh is a primo example of this.

i love him, but also fuck that guy.

eiji hino definitely fits into the tradition of himbo tokusatsu protagonists. he’s not a complete dumbass so much as he is a pollyanna. like others in said tradition, he’s endearing, and i believe in him. you learn a lot about him over the course of the story, and how you see him closer to the end may surprise you.

the cast is colorful and fun. hina izumi, the super strong girl from earlier, becomes inexorably entwined in this drama of medals and monsters when her beloved older brother shingo winds up possessed. shintaro gotou, a former police officer, now works on behalf of the mysterious kougami foundation with the aim of fighting evil and protecting the innocent--but isn’t so sure how he’s going to do so. akira date, a roguish bad boy doctor and self-professed slave to desire, takes on a very special job to fulfill his goal of earning 100,000,000 yen. more oddballs can be found in service of the kougami foundation as the story continues...

oh, and the greed. or greeed. i’ve seen it both ways. i believe i’ve said a bunch of times before that i like a toku series with good fucking villains--you learn who they are and what drives them, you get how what they’re doing fulfills those goals, and you see how they relate to those around them beyond the customary shit-talking of the heroes. not only that, but the greed are a novel concept with fascinating aesthetics. i greatly enjoyed learning their secrets.

fights: instrumental to every battle is the abilities OOO has access to, which are determined by the medals he has in his possession--ancient coins which act as the DNA of the greed, and grant OOO different animal-themed powers. he equips the cheetah medal, and he can move at great speeds. he equips the hawk medal, and he can see great distances. naturally, such powerful artifacts are in high demand--OOO and the greed are constantly stealing them from each other, meaning what he’s capable of can vary greatly from episode to episode. only being able to switch out different hands is so 1980.

abilities that change again and again throughout the series make for some awesomely unique fights. mix that up with the various greed and the unique monsters they create using the power of human desire--yummies--and the fights don’t get dull.

visuals: the fact that i started watching kamen rider w with @shylax while still watching OOO made me notice something interesting: OOO appears to be the point that neo-heisei kamen rider became the bright shiny lightshow we see today in zi-o. w, while not visually lacking, still has the sort of drab, overcast quality to it that i’ve also noticed in ryuki and decade. i don’t know the technical terms needed to describe this phenomenon more accurately--just that something changed in 2011, and kamen rider really brightened up.

OOO’s suit forms are colorful and bold. many of the characters are associated with color motifs. cous coussier, the eccentric costume cafe that becomes eiji’s base of operations, is constantly switching up its theme and outfits. and as always, toei provides lots of visually striking sets.

music: the unusual opening theme, “anything goes”, will definitely make an impression; i initially found it weird, but damn, it gets me fired up now. strong inserts and moving incidentals are included too. “anything goes”, along with inserts “time judged all” and “reverse re;birth” have their own music videos, the latter two featuring the characters singing.

if you actually read all that, it should come as no surprise that i had a blast watching kamen rider OOO and highly recommend it. kobayashi knocks it out of the goddamn park once again!

as for my next series...i’m looking at a few possibilities. kamen rider 555 is one, as it’s a series @shylax definitely enjoyed. i’m also curious about other yasuko kobayashi series, seeing as they’ve proven great investments of my time so far. i’ve also grown curious about metal hero after seeing the new space sheriff gavan on kyuranger, though i’m at a loss for where i’d start with it. in the meantime, however, i’m going to watch the OOO movies!

#kamen rider ooo #more like #kamen rider 👌👌👌

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pelikinesis · 6 years

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possibly rewatching all of Kamen Rider Faiz/555 again.

and you know, so far I recall that the biggest criticism about the show is how the writer constantly relied on relational drama based almost always on increasingly absurd and conspicuous amounts of non-communication or miscommunication, beyond what is even remotely plausible of any character resembling a human being.

and i suppose one thing i wonder, in regards to those criticisms, is if they come primarily from the standpoint of a Western viewer, or if it’s indeed the case that Japanese audiences have the same observations.

but also, thus far at least (20ish episodes in), i’m actually less bothered by that, then by Smart Brain and Murakami. He’s the new CEO of the biggest and most powerful corporation in the world, plus he’s secretly a superpowered zombie who has the four most powerful superpowered zombies under his employ.

Even accounting for the unmentioned likelihood that, given his apparently underhanded means of becoming the new CEO, and the fact that he clearly has enemies in the corporation, what stretches my suspension of disbelief the most in a show in a series well known for rubber-suited monsters engaging in martial arts fights to sell toys to children, he doesn’t use any of his vast resources to achieve his goals in the way someone who was savvy enough to achieve his position does.

He wants to discover the whereabouts of the old president of Smart Brain, recover the Faiz and Kaixa belts, help propagate the Orphenoch species through outreach to give new members crash courses on murdering people to spread the epidemic(?). Oh, and awaken the Orphenoch King, I guess.

At least two of those things could be accomplished, from his point of view, by literally just kidnapping Mari and Takumi, and early on he already had both of them at his mercy under false pretenses. They actually are tricked into giving him the belt, but Takumi gets it back later, and from then on, his solution is to assign just one of the four most powerful Orphenochs to recover the belt. And Mister J only ever accosts Takumi out in the open, instead of attacking Takumi at Keitaro’s house. And there’s no freaking way Murakami couldn’t have found out where they freaking live.

The other thing is, after Mr. J’s first death or so, the other members offer to help him out, so clearly there’s no honor code among them of “we only do solo jobs” or anything--which could have instead have not only made for a decent explanation, but also could have been an opportunity for Murakami to be like “hey dumbasses, just team up and wail on him at the same time” and for them to be like “but mah honor” and continue the whole “you’re not actually our boss, we’re equals” tension that was introduced early on. And this trend continues throughout the following episodes and that’s the thing that bothers me the most so far.

other criticism is that the ending is weak. i barely remember the ending from my last watchthrough so...yeah, i can believe that. may or may not continue watching.

#kamen rider faiz #kamen rider 555

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save-the-data · 11 months

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KAMEN RIDER 555 | S01E06

Japanese Drama - 2003, 50 episodes

~ Episode List ~ | ~ Japanese Drama Master List ~

#Drama: Kamen Rider 555 #JDrama #Tokusatsu #Kamen Rider #Mystery #Sci-Fi #仮面ライダー555 #Kamen Rider 555 #Handa Kento #Izumi Masayuki #Murakami Kohei #Kamen Rider Faiz

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dangerouscommiesubversive · 2 years

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Damn no one really likes this inoue person writing for don brothers...

I wouldn't say no one at all likes it. If nothing else, I'm cautiously interested, and I know at least a couple of other people are as well. Inoue's a divisive writer, though, and not without good reason!

His work has some serious problems, mainly in its treatment of women (which is generally extremely poor, although I will say that I like his female characters as characters much more than I like those written by a lot of other folks), and in his recent works some pretty notable homophobia. He also heavily favors romance and other inter-personal subplots of the kind I tend to refer to as "human drama" (as opposed to superhero drama), and a lot of people don't enjoy that or think it should be in children's television.

Apart from the issues with his actual writing, there's also the fact that he hasn't headed a Sentai show in 30 years, not since Jetman, and hasn't written much toku at all since 2008, when he was head writer on Kiva. He's shown up to do some specials and individual episodes (most notably the Rider Time ones with the aforementioned homophobia issues), and he did a very weird miniseries for adults called Shougeki Gouraigan in 2013, but for the most part he hasn't been writing toku. It's definitely a strange decision on Toei's part to have this very weird, off-center new Sentai being written by someone who's mostly been out of the game instead of deciding to spring for some new blood like they did with Revice.

Despite all these very valid criticisms, though, I personally really enjoy most of his work--a lot of it has resonated with me pretty deeply, and I like romance. If you're not familiar with him as a writer, I'd encourage you to approach the new show with a relaxed attitude. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't; it's not that big a deal.

(If you're not sure if you're familiar with his previous toku work and you'd like to check to see if it informs your attitude towards Donbrothers, hit the read-more, I'll put in a list of shows he's written.)

Tokusatsu shows and mini-series on which Inoue Toshiki was head writer:

Choujin Sentai Jetman

Choukou Senshi Changerion

Tekkouki Mikazuki

Kamen Rider Agito

Kamen Rider 555

Kamen Rider Hibiki (Episode 30 to end)

Cutie Honey the Live

Kamen Rider Kiva

Shougeki Gouraigan

Kamen Rider Zi-O Rider Time Specials--Kamen Rider Ryuki, Kamen Rider Decade vs Zi-O, Kamen Rider Zi-O vs Decade

This is far from a complete list, though--he wrote fill-in episodes of a lot of shows, most notably 14 episodes of Kamen Rider Ryuki.

Tokusatsu movies written by Inoue Toshiki:

Mechanical Violator Hakaider

Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4

Kamen Rider Ryuki: Episode Final

Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost

Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace

Kamen Rider Hibiki and the Seven War Oni

Kamen Rider the First

Kamen Rider the Next

Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World

Kamen Rider OOO: Nobunaga's Desire (the OOO part of Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider OOO & W featuring Skull: Movie War Core)

Kamen Rider 1 (co-written with Fujioka Hiroshi, who as I recall was so incensed by Ichigou's portrayal in Kamen Rider Taisen that he insisted on co-writing this movie to make sure his character was done right this time)

#anonamouse

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cina-full-moon-xanadium · 2 years

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The thing about Ark-One vs Ark-Scorpion is that I don’t even really mind it as a conclusion to 01 -- it’s a hallmark of Kamen Rider; that kind of drama between two characters who love each other but are forced against each other due to the particulars of the series’ themes and their different answers to issues or what they’ve done to each other... that’s so fundamentally Kamen Rider and what I love about things like Blade or OOO or 555! But it was missing two critical components for me:-

- It was not connected quite as much to the humagear struggle as it should have been. This is kind of weird because on the surface it seems perfectly aligned - a humagear fighting for his people’s liberation vs a human trying his best to help humagears; both hurt by each other as they’ve lost someone they’ve loved - but, just... it never really felt like the humagear plot was really that connected? There’s a few scenes of a protest interlaced but it really feels like Aruto and Horobi’s drama overtook the conflict rather than working alongside it

- I don’t think their relationship was compelling at all. They’ve set up this big final battle between two inevitably connected characters who in a better world would be staunch allies but... you could probably count on one hand the number of interactions they’d had before that? They were never properly paralleled, they just didn’t have an interesting relationship, Horobi’s goals until very recently were controlled by the ark - and that last bit would be fine if it was more clearly defined, but it barely is. There’s just not enough meat on this bone to be drama like say, Blade and Chalice

I can forgive that to a degree with how Covid suddenly cut down what they were able to do, and I’ve always been someone who’s been able to get right down to the intention of it all and love it even if the execution isn’t quite there (Ghost fan!) but I don’t think any of this was properly set up throughout the show, to say nothing of its conclusion.

So for me... this is where 01hers succeeds. Lone Wolf vs MBJR is a crowning achievement that takes everything good about Aruto and Horobi’s battle and applies it to characters who have a more defined relationship, clear goals and tie it into the Humagear liberation. The outcome is tragic and devastating, but only because of how strong these characters are and what it says about what this battle does to you no matter how noble the cause and how beautiful a future you create -- it’s characters who love each other and sacrifice everything for each others’ wishes, and create a future for their people, but who can never come back from that. It’s a heartbreaking story and a beautiful one

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franco-ikari · 3 years

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Shibuya 15(2005): O drama da Toei que é o Matrix japonês

Aqui temos um outro caso de um Drama que é facilmente confundido com um Tokusatsu. Shibuya 15 é produzido pela Toei,tem direção de Ryuuta Tasaki e roteiro de Shouji Yonemura,figuras conhecidas no meio do Tokusatsu em meados dos anos 2000,inclusive Yonemura foi chamado pra criar o roteiro do Kamen Rider Kabuto no ano seguinte.Tem 12 episódios ao todo e foi exibido a madrugada.Isso porque o show faz uso de vários efeitos especiais,sendo todos em CGI.Porém ele não é classificado como um tokusatsu e enm um Late Night e sim um Drama com uso de efeitos especiais.Temos também figuras conhecidas do fã de Tokusatsu como Yuria Haiga(a Mari de Kamen Rider 555),Mitsuru Karahashi(Naoya Kaido de Kamen Rider 555) e Yui Aragaki que se tornou muito famosa no meio do Drama.Aqui temos uma Shibuya virtual onde várias gangues estão lutando entre sí. As Lovegen lideradas por Akagi,Os Palhands liderados por Ryuugou e os Bunkamu liderados por DJ.Akagi estava sendo perseguida até encontrar um garoto chamado Shouta(que aqui é interpretado por uma atriz apesar de ser homem,a Saya Yuki) que não possui memórias de sí. Nessa Shibuya falsa qualquer um que desrespeite as regras é morto por uma espécie de programa chamado Peace que assim como os Agentes de Matrix assumem o corpo de qualquer pessoa(que não são reais) e matam quem é marcado na mão por ele.Então as vitimas aceitando a morte dizem “estou indo” e todos dizem “até logo”.Mas quem se posiciona pra desafiar Peace é uma garota chamada Ema que é a única que se transforma usando um traje onde ela torna seu braço num sabre(esse traje lembra a personagem Iria do anime Zeiram) e ela não faz parte de nenhuma gangue.Ela reconhece o rapaz e o chama de Revu dizendo que ele cumpriu sua promessa de voltar pra ela.Sem entender nada Shouta não sabe o que está falando,ele não tem pistas de sua memória e apenas um papel com o nome Revu escrito nele e “Fuja de Shibuya”. O garoto acaba sendo ajudado por Akagi que o leva a Kengo um tatuador que o alimenta em troca de trabalhar ali. Akagi acaba se apaixonando por Shouta e durante a série ele acaba se lembrando do seu real nome,que é Tsuyoshi. Logo ele acaba descobrindo que as pessoas que são mortas acabam sendo restauradas com um novo nome e personalidade e que ninguém pode sair de Shibuya. E que ele uma vez foi realmente Revu que prometeu a Ema tira-la de Shibuya.Ele acaba descobrindo que Kengo na verdade é um professor de uma escola para delinquentes que tem como objetivo doutrinar delinquentes usando um mundo virtual e que tudo começou quando uma garota cometeu um crime grave sendo usada como parte do experimento.Essa garota era a Ema.

Shibuya 15 faz alusão a crescimento e controle.Os adolescentes de 15 anos são jogados ali onde podem fazer o que quiser e continuar brincando de gangues,porém se desobedecer qualquer regra,eles são reinicializados.A idéia da série é mostrar que os jovens são capazes de decidir seu próprio futuro,ou viver sob controle de alguém.Infelizmente a série não é grande coisa e nem te marca de alguma forma.Ela te prende pelos mistérios da série mais que qualquer coisa.A história mostra mais sobre o trio Akagi,Tsuyoshi e Ema.Porém não sabemos detalhes da vida passada deles,apenas uma pista da relação de Akagi com seus pais que estão hospitalizados.Os demais como DJ ou Ryuugo são só ferramentas de roteiro pra fazer a trama andar e nada mais.Quem conhece o Shouji Yonemura sabe que ele não é nem de longe um roteirista brilhante,embora ele gosta de usar muitas metáforas e coisas subjetivas nas suas obras,mas é consenso que nenhuma série sobre sua batuta tem um grande roteiro e desenvolvimento e aqui ocorre o mesmo com Shibuya 15 que acaba sendo mais uma série esquecida,muito inspirada em Matrix mas sem causar qualquer efeito no público.a atuação da Saya é muito boa,logo você esquece que é uma garota fazendo papel de homem e também quem gosta da Yuria Haiga pode ver ela interpretando uma outra versão dela nesse mundo chamada Miu que é uma lolita gótica toda kawaii(apesar de que um jeito meio maquiavélico) mas dá pra ver que ela sabe interpretar papéis fofos de quiser.Só é recomendado quem tiver curiosidade.As lutas são legais,embora nada de outro mundo e os efeitos decentes pra época.Mas Shibuya 15 não faz nada além disso

#Drama #shibuya 15

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super-zero-time-blog · 6 years

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Super Light Warrior Changéríon: Episodes 1-3 Review

The year is 1996. Toei Co. Ltd., the penny pinching and merchandise driven imaginative studio that graced the world with anime adaptations of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball and tokusatsu hero franchises like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, have found themselves paired up with massive entertainment force Sega (yes, the Sonic the Hedgehog guys) to release a brand new superhero show on the world. The first idea, a planned follow up to the 1995 Keita Amemiya film Mechanical Violator Hakaider (itself a reimagining of the villain from the 70′s Shotaro Ishinomori classic Android Kikaider) falls through. A new idea suddenly comes about from Toei producet Yoshikawa Susumu and suit manufacturer Rainbow Co. Ltd: Create a hero suit made primarily out of transparent parts. With that in mind, a cast and crew are soon brought on to create one of the weirdest tokusatsu series of the 1990′s.

So here we are and here I am and it’s Changéríon (yes the accents are how it’s officially written, it’s meant to be French, I don’t know why) time. Sorry for that long build up! Just figured it’d be what all the cool kids do. Super Light Warrior Changéríon is a doozy of a series, one that has held a cult following in Japan for 20 years after its abrupt end in December of 1996. The show featured a staff of producers (such as Shinichiro Shirakura), directors (such as Takao Nagaishi) and writers (namely head writer Toshiki Inoue) who would go on 4 years later to help revive Kamen Rider for the Heisei era, and in general went on to be remembered for its quirky and surreal nature. Even the show’s star, Takashi Hagino, would go on to be in Kamen Rider (in a very different role as infamous serial killer Takeshi Asakura, a.k.a. Kamen Rider Ouja, in 2002′s Kamen Rider Ryuki) I decided to plunge into this series finally now that English fansubs were out, and I’ve been contemplating how to go about this. For the first installment I figure I’m just going to write up my thoughts briefly on the first three episodes of this 39 episodes series, and I may then expand upon that later and switch the format around a bit at any given time, so here goes!!

A few things to note ahead of time

1. The head writer of this series (and, to my knowledge, the writer of the first four episodes here) is Toshiki Inoue. Inoue is a man known for his love of drama, strange humor, and plots heavily focused on miscommunication. His best known shows include Chojin Sentai Jetman (1991), Kamen Rider Agito (2001), Kamen Rider 555 (2003) some mess called Kamen Rider Kiva (2008) and oh yeah he’s written for anime, included the Death Note anime in 2005. You have likely seen something he has written if you’ve touched an anime. Or maybe not, I don’t know.

2. The suits in this. They are absolutely gorgeous, but they were infamously dangerous.

The Changéríon suit alone had two versions, a 100 kg (~ 200 lb) version for close up shots and a 40kg (~ 80 lb) suit for action scenes. Both were terrifying to those in it. Veteran suit actor Jiro Okamoto commented on the suit being absurdly heavy and fearing he would break it, not to mention that it was so heavy that it hurt his neck. This thing supposedly nearly sent suit actors to the hospital! And yet the action is generally decent despite the struggle in these beasts of a set of suits.

3. The opening, “OVER THE TIMES ~ Beyond The Present~” by MISA. It’s just awesome. It’s really awesome. I mean listen to it. It’s super awesome.

youtube

Aww yeah....

SO! Now that I’ve gotten all of that out of the way, on to the reviews! The format is simple. A summary of the plot first, then my thoughts on it. I’ll see how this works and just go from there.

EPISODE 1: “A Hero!! Me?”

Air Date: April 3, 1996

Bumbling detective Akira Suzumura is hired to investigate a series of missing student reports from a local elementary school. After a night of staking the grounds out, he soon finds himself on a new path after a freak accident and an attack by a monster from the inter-dimensional invaders known as the Darkzeid lead him to unwittingly become the warrior of light: Changéríon! But as he struggles to master his new powers and deal with the mysterious SAIDOC organization, the full threat of Darkzeid begins to awaken.

Changéríon starts out about as weird as you can expect a show like this to with a massive hoop spiralling down a flight of stairs to a narrow Tokyo tunnel and having a creepy 90′s CG entity force its soulless face out towards the camera. It only escalates by going to a dramatic sequence of Akira and his assistant Akemi seemingly armed and ready for a shootout....only for the sequence to be a harmless rescue of a local puppy. This is Inoue at his peak weirdness, something which can really be hit or miss, but it’s strangely all a bunch of baffling moments which click oddly well. Akira isn’t much of a hero in many ways: He’s clumsy, he’s a bit lecherous, selfish and lazy. He doesn’t have much cash and doesn’t even pay part-timers like Akemi well. And yet despite all of this he has his heart in the right place and it’s fun to watch him fumble around in the suit at the episode’s end. It even made me chuckle seeing him “free up” time on a completely empty schedule to help the school find their students. While some scenes do feel disjointed and a bit uncomfortable (including a very uncomfortable joke about pedophilia which struck me as more than a little uncalled for in a show aimed at children), everything is really bonkers and pretty exciting here! It all ends with the main villains being awakened and a budding rivalry between Akira and the former, intended Changéríon candidate, Hayami, as the good folks at SAIDOC quietly wonder “What on earth have we gotten ourselves into with this nut?”

It’s also worth mentioning that this show is a definite turning point for Toei’s production, having been one of their first shows recorded on digital video rather than film, and it’s chock full of now dated CGI and strange, minimalist dark rooms for otherworldy realms. It’s kinda creepy and very uncanny, but I’d say it oddly works in the show’s favor at this point. It’s got an unintentional charm to it. There’s a borderline David Lynch feel to the Darkzeid realm bits, in all honesty. Considering how big of a hit Twin Peaks was during the mid 90′s in Japan, it wouldn’t surprise me if the set designers took at least a smidge of inspiration from the Black Lodge sequences during seasons 1 and 2 of the series. It’s not as traumatic as something you’d see Lynch do, but there’s a similarly sinister atmosphere to it all here with countless bodies wrapped in plastic...like...bags, much like Laura Palmer was.

The combat itself is a bit strangely edited too. Lots of sped up footage and Changéríon seldom kicks (more often getting kicked around instead), which I will assume is due to that hulking suit. But it also gives us one of the most ridiculou(sly satisfying) attacks ever with the Shining Attack. Which...uh...well...

....okay it’s pretty rad, I won’t lie. That’s pretty great. It is. It’ll get used to death in future episodes, but it’s still cool here.

First impression is a good one. It’s like this episode sets the tone for what is to come quite well.

Episode 2: “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Brain”

Air Date: April 10, 1996

The three generals of Darkzeid awaken and enter the human world, with plans to consume humans to satisfy their ravenous appetites. Meanwhile, SAIDOC Chief Munakata explains to Akira about the threat of Darkzeid and their need for his help, only for him to swiftly turn them down and celebrate his newfound superpowers with an unlimited shopping spree. But in the process he not only angers operatives Hayami and Eri, but finds himself in yet another Darkzeid plot as Akemi and Eri are kidnapped by an otherworld monster using posessed shoes. It’s up to Changéríon to save the missing women before they end up on Darkzeid’s lunch menu!

It’s here that we see Inoue throw in another one of his big tropes with character writing: The reluctant hero. This isn’t the first time he’d written that character archetype (another great example of this is Gai Yuki/Black Condor in Jetman) but it’s something he loves to write quite often. In this case, Akira decides to just go hog wild with loans he can’t afford, and it’s actually pretty funny. Buying out restaurants for the day, loading up on shoes for Akemi, and just being a total snot and a cocky jerk until he’s forced to realize that he put his own employee in danger and team up with Hayami....after a bizarre sequence of both of them sneaking into the same Darkzeid shoe store. In drag. And not recognizing each other. In drag. Before fighting it out in front of onlookers. In drag. This is after a scene with the store owner, the monster of the week (with a literal face full of shoes in his monster form, no less) attempts to feed his kidnapped victims with mysterious goop in high heel shoes. There’s no shortage of surreal visuals here and it does get disjointed at points, yet I feel like the story comes to a more coherent point from here.

Despite the goofier antics, there’s still that underlying sinister aura to the Darkzeid generals. Their designs are legitimately creepy and their hushed meetings in dimly lit rooms, murmuring about their need to consume humans and how darkness will consume their own world could easily give a kid nightmares. Even I was amazed at how well the monster suits were pulled off in this show. The villains look like villains, and they’re fittingly mysterious.

In terms of action, Changéríon gets his aptly named Gun Laser, a really nifty weapon with a gimmick I love! Y’see, it runs on disks that he summons from his chest. And the discs spin. Go figure that Sega would manufacture all these toys with a disc gimmick. Not only was it the peak of the CD boom, it also made me chuckle thinking about how they had moved into CDs with the Sega Saturn at around the same time. (Plus the Gun Laser just looks really dang cool!)

We’re getting places now that the initial stage has been set! Slowly but surely, we’re getting places!

Episode 3: “A Bunch of Brides”

Air Date: April 17, 1996

Brides are mysterious disappearing at the altar! Darkzeid is behind this! Akira plans to counter these objections to holy matrimony with the help of Hayami and Akemi...but time and again things keep going south! Can he save the day and stop these foul occurrences? Meanwhile, in a basement lab, Chief Munakata struggles to develop the sidekicks Akira needs in his battle...

If you haven’t figured out that this series is meant to be goofy at this point, I don’t know what to tell you. This is a pretty fluffy and light episode with some good gags strewn throughout. Perhaps the funniest is Akira’s futile attempt at teaching Hayami how to flirt with women. It’s done with the most 90′s montage imaginable and it killed me with how good it was. The follow up is the sequence in the above shot, which I won’t spoil the full context for, but it also got a laugh out of me. There’s slapstick, there’s snark, there’s a simple but weird vibe to this whole episode and it’s totally fine. We’ve gotten into the groove of the show at this point it feels like, and I look forward to where it goes from here. The most interesting element plotwise is seeing Munakata’s struggle to get a set of mysterious robots up and working for Akira to use. It’s made clear that he and his research are mocked by his superiors, who don’t even think that Darkzeid is real, let alone a threat. Poor guy needs more respect! But we’ll see where things go with these machines in the next episode.

With 36 episodes left to go, Super Light Warrior Changéríon is certainly an odd, yet familiar show to me. I can see the early elements of Heisei Kamen Rider at play here with how it’s shot, the eerier villain designs, the quick cuts and kinetic feel to the action and the quirky humor and characters. It’s like seeing a mix of Metal Hero aesthetics with Super Sentai pacing making something of a hybrid that will have a lingering impact. Next time I’ll cover episodes 4-7, or perhaps change up the pace a bit. Expect some cool new robot buddies next time, but other than that I’m as in the dark as everyone else!

Hopefully my rambling didn’t scare you away by now, and we’ll be ready for more adventures to come, soon!

And remember! SOMEBODY LOVES you. And SOMEBODY NEEDS you.

#changerion #ramblin #tokusatsu

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kabutoraiger · 7 years

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Hi! So I just finished Kamen Rider Faiz and ohhhhhhhhh boy what a frustrating show lol This might be the shipper inside of me talking but if Yuuji and Takumi just talked with each other...! And when they actually talked something would happen and I just wanted to table flip...! But it was really fun! I watched it because of some posts on this blog so I just wanted to say thank you!

the thought that i convinced anyone to watch kamen rider 555 is like. one half “oh no” and the other half “just as planned”? that show means a lot to me even if i mostly wish that were not the case.

the “please just communicate” frustration... we’ve all been there. :’/ i think it’s pretty easy to say that Mr Inoue’s Vision was a bit shortsighted for faiz - maybe it seemed like the only way to get anywhere plot-wise was to throw in some illogical drama.

but i’m glad you overall had a good time! (and i’m glad you felt the realness of yuutaku as well... my poor boys...) i spent the end of faiz crying for like a day straight so by comparison you seem to have dealt with it much better lmao

#you should watch the movie if u haven't yet!#replies #Anonymous

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shewasanamericangirl · 5 years

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kamen rider 555 review

kamen rider 555, also known as kamen rider faiz, sure is a show. it’s a show about humanity. about how we decide our sense of right and wrong. about the choices made when we weigh our lives against those of others.

a secret struggle is at hand. people vanish mysteriously, leaving no trace. bizarre grey creatures appear and attack. every now and then, those who have died--or by all means should have died--are seen still up and walking around.

to put the situation far more simply than does it justice, humanity is evolving--and yet, the change isn’t nearly as profound as it appears.

plot: the story of 555 is dense and dynamic. there isn’t filler, there’s no gag episodes, it just keeps moving forward. there were a lot of days while watching it that i only felt up for one half-hour episode, just because so much happened in it. a lot of worldbuilding fits into those 25 hours, and yet i was still left wondering more about how it all works. at the heart of this story are the philosophical and moral themes--and it doesn’t really try to push any aesops on you; it’s up to you how you feel about the choices made and the outcomes thereof.

characters: 555 has a lot of characters, many of which are wonderfully developed and genuine. (kyuranger, i love you, but a huge cast is no excuse for uneven characterization!) there are characters to love and hate intensely, and there are plenty who’ll probably just make you go “meh”. collectively, they are all fundamentally human--a concept this story begs the definition of. my favorite characters are the taciturn takumi inui, the strong-willed mari sonoda, and the softhearted yuji kiba.

visuals: what a very grey world--which is thematically fitting, i guess. even the most sunny and colorful scenes feel clouded. the suits are bold and striking in design. the riders’ transformations are simple, but damn cool. the CGI isn’t great compared to what we’re spoiled with in neo-heisei rider, but 555 doesn’t rely on it to the extent that that gets in the way of enjoying the show.

fights: i suppose if i went back with a fine-toothed comb, i could probably pick out a couple of fights that are skippable, but in general every fight in the story adds to the plot. most of faiz’s powers didn’t particularly make an impression on me. his accel form, though, that was cool--it lets him move at the speed of sound for 10 seconds, allowing him to land many attacks in a very short time. the fights themselves didn’t particularly blow my mind, but this series doesn’t run on cool beatdowns as much as it does on human drama--which the fights are steeped with.

music: i’m listening to the soundtrack right now, actually. the music’s good, but i don’t think much of it’s going to stick with me, to be honest. the opening theme, “justifaiz”, is a jam, but what i really love about it is how meaningful the lyrics are--each episode, i’d find myself reading the translation of them and contemplating how the words relate to the storyline. that one phrase, “the end justifaiz the means”, invokes the machiavellian themes i’ve picked up on in a lot of heisei rider; you could definitely get a lot of material for a machiavellian analysis of 555.

subs: hoping for something a little more viewer-friendly than tv-nihon, i decided to give agony’s 555 subtitle project a shot. i’m not a fan. there’s a lot of typos, and some of the translation choices for nuances such as honorifics and that oh-so-tricky term “senpai” didn’t convey what was being said so well. it was usually clear enough to understand, though the occasional caption did leave me going “uh, what?” i can’t recommend the agony sub.

my tokusatsu reviews often have me gushing with excitement over cheery, silly, brightly-colored series. on finishing kamen rider 555, my feelings were sad and contemplative. much like the desaturated visuals, that’s what’s appropriate for this story. if you’re up for a weighty and meaningful science-fiction tokusatsu that’ll make you think and feel, faiz is an excellent choice.

what defines “humanity”? what makes someone “human” or “inhuman”? what traits does that encompass? you may have clearer answers to those questions after watching kamen rider 555.

out of curiosity, i’ve already gotten a 4-episode jump on my next watch-alone tokusatsu series: mirai sentai timeranger, another yasuko kobayashi season of super sentai. i watched 555 on @shylax‘s recommendation, and timeranger is another favorite of his. i already love sion to bits, and yuuri is the coolest!

#kamen rider 555 #kamen rider faiz

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aleasesrestaurant · 7 years

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Kamen Rider Decade

As my hype BUILDS (:V), I figured I ought to finish watching Decade to get my fix.

What a bad show.

In the words of Kurenai Wataru, “Decade has no story.” >.> I mean, I get what they were going for. “We’ve successfully done 9 Kamen Rider shows in a row without interruption! Let’s celebrate with the tenth!” A celebration of the Heisei era to that point was a great idea. But why did they decide this was the way to do it?

I mean, if they had just gone with a Rider-of-the-week format, a “Hey, kids, it’s Kamen Rider” whatever, with only the barest plot... Well, I mean, that’s kind of what they did. But they didn’t.

Look, the fact is, I don’t get the whole “A. R. Worlds” thing. Yes, they couldn’t get the original actor for Kuuga. But that arc was more or less like the original. Sure, the cop was a lady, which let them capitalize on the bromantic tensions, and she died, which gave Yuusuke a reason to go be a sidekick, but it still felt somewhat like Kuuga.

SO WHY IN THE FUCK IS WATARU A KID? D:<

Seriously! They’ve got actual, for-real Wataru as the wise old man archetype in the first episode! (How the fuck he got that job, I do not know.) They got the original Kenzaki from Blade to show up in the last few episodes! They got the original Kamen Rider Black. Why did they decide to have pretty much every arc, then, take place in a world that was absolutely nothing like the show they were supposed to be celebrating?

And that is only the first of many things that make Decade a garbage fire. The other big one is Tsukasa.

I’ve mentioned before how little I like him. I’ve also mentioned how much I like Diend, and Kaitou is just as much an asshole as Tsukasa. The big difference between them is you’re not meant to be rooting for Kaitou (even if he is the real hero of the show). Kaitou is a dick because he can be; Tsukasa is a dick because he just is one. Like, he literally comes off as a sociopath for at least half the show, and while his overall arc is learning to give a care, I could never quite shake the feeling that, whenever Decade does something heroic, he’s doing it for selfish reasons. God, I hate that guy. I was so happy when he died in the movie, except that I knew he’d be coming back. :|

The supporting cast isn’t much better. Kaitou I’ve already said I love, and I do. Sure, his main power is less outwardly heroic than Decade’s (I mean, summoning guys so you can sit back and have them fight for you versus turning into a guy so you can charge into battle and use his power), but his costume is way better (more on that in a bit), his moves are cooler, his learning to give a care arc happens far more naturally, and he just does not give a shit about anything. Like I said, my absolute favorite scene in all Kamen Rider (so far) is when he shows up in the Den-O movie to literally just make things harder on the Riders. Who does that? XD Daiki Kaitou, that’s who.

Natsumi, meanwhile, is a terrible bore. I never once cared about her. Not even turning into Kiva-la makes her interesting. Kivaara herself was a wicked little shit, and I found myself often wondering why the fuck she was even there. Eijiro was way overdone with the “wacky old guy” persona. That whole thing with him randomly being a member of Dai-Shocker never amounted to anything, either, so I don’t even know why they did it. Narutaki, ugh. Literally the only internal plot in this show is given to us in cryptic messages by a creepy loser in a boater hat. And then in the movie, he’s just randomly a Dai-Shocker guy, too. Like, they really phoned that movie the fuck in. I watched it back when all I had seen was Kiva, and I thought, “Oh, if I watch Decade, maybe this will make sense” but NOPE I WAS WRONG ABOUT THAT

Sigh. They dragged poor Yuusuke into this, didn’t they?

Look, if you’re gonna have a Kamen Rider show celebrating the first nine Heisei Riders, and you’re gonna have one stick around as a secondary Rider, it makes sense to go with the original. And sure, he’s not the original actor, but so what, shit happens. It’s just... His personal plot line, which took up all of four episodes, was good. But then he got majorly nerfed. He was there to be the heart of the team, and more often comic relief. He barely ever turns into Kuuga, and when he does? He gets his ass handed to him. :( They really did wrong by his character, I think, and nothing better explains where this show went bad than that.

Okay, let’s talk about the costume, since I mentioned it. Bright fuschia plus giant cross and ugly shoulder pads with vertical stripes on the helmet and green fucking eyes. Who came up with this garbage? D: And it only gets worse when he attains his ultimate form. Like, Blade King form does almost the same thing, except the cards turn into armor pieces, so you can’t really tell they’re cards. They aren’t just hanging out across the armor, just because. >.< Sweet fuck, that looks stupid! And the funny part is, if you ignore the big card on the forehead, his ultimate helmet actually looks way better than the regular one, and it’s because the eyes fit the color scheme. God, I hate the way Decade looks. Even Diend’s Complete form doesn’t look as bad.

I’m gonna talk about the individual arcs for a bit.

Kuuga Arc: Mentioned this already.

Kiva Arc: Why the fuck is this second? Is it because Kiva was the most recent Rider series, and they were afraid people were going to forget what was going on? Anyway, like I said earlier, I don’t know why they did anything they did with this. It was stupid and I hated it.

Ryuki Arc: I literally do not remember any of this. Oh wait, isn’t this the one with the time-shenanigans asspull at the end? What the fuck. (EDIT: After watching Ryuki, the use of Time Vent makes more sense and feels less like an asspull. Now I can just hate this arc for having jack all to do with the actual show. :V)

Blade Arc: Not the worst, but still weird. I mean, they’re all working for BOARD, which is ever so slightly different, and... Look, all I know is that Todoroki shows up to fuck up a Rider battle, which is hilarious, and since that means Diend isn’t far behind, the show picks up after this.

555 Arc: If there’s ever a “what were they thinking?” moment in the show... I haven’t seen Faiz yet, but even I know “Smart Brain High School” was a dumb idea. That said, it’s not overly bad. Like I said, the show starts to pick up around here. (EDIT: Now that I’ve seen Faiz... I mean, all they did was take the idea that there’s a guy named Takumi who’s an Orphenoch and Faiz. And dreams, I guess. So it’s like, this would be how 555 would play out if it were a high school drama, but... Why? At least I have more appreciation for the Diend/Ryuga fight, as is to be expected.)

Agito Arc: Very dumb. Yuusuke’s arc getting an endpoint was nice, I just wish it had been better. Him and Kaitou fighting to be G3-X was neat, I guess. Nothing else was.

Den-O Arc: Fucking perfection. And, y’know, I watch this and go, “Wow, are the characters in Den-O really like that?” and then I see the movie and it’s like, yeah, that’s exactly what the show is like, they changed nothing.

And, to take a bit of a tangent, the humor in Decade is definitely a low point. It’s similar to Blade, except instead of being a serious show where they went, oh shit, we need to put some funny in here, Decade is meant to be a comedy show, and they just fucking fail at it time and again. That’s why the Den-O arc is so great, not just because it takes the piss out of the characters. That said...

Kabuto Arc: Again, I haven’t seen Kabuto. I imagine when I do, this arc will make zero sense in hindsight. But can I just say this is the best part of Decade? Like, I love Den-O because it injects much-needed humor into the show, but this? Just solid writing! A guy who’s stuck moving super-fast, trying to protect his family not just from monsters, but from an organization who thinks he’s the devil? And then at the end, he gives up his one chance to be normal so he can keep protecting them? My god, this was fantastic. Why couldn’t the rest of Decade be like this? Also, I realized Kabuto probably has my favorite design of any main Rider, his suit is just so slick!

Hibiki Arc: Weird and kinda dumb. Trying to get a guy to stop being lazy and worthless, and then his kid assistant takes over as a Rider? Like, what’s with the kid Riders? At least it has the most ridiculous, epic finishing scene EVER.

Nega World Arc: And things start going downhill. I mean, seeing Otoya was great, and I love when he just negates Decade’s final attack, but most of the focus was on Natsumi, and this is the arc where I finally realized I did not care about her at all.

Diend Arc: For being about my favorite character, this was surprisingly dull.

Sentai Arc: I had zero idea what was going on in any of this. That squid-thing was super-cute, though. I can’t believe its owner is a legitimate Power Ranger, though. Like, who let that guy on the team? And as the super-special extra-colored one, even? I was phenomenally disappointed there were no Zords. I think it’s cool that Diend shows up in their show, though. Also, I do love the part where the monster uses his Driver, that was inspired. Does not make me want to watch Sentai shows.

Black RX Arc: Weird and kind of dull. Again, hard to keep track of, with there being two guys who are the same guy but not. :/ Kind of overly focused on “Hey kids, it’s the actual Kamen Rider Black!” That said, the All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker movie is probably the ultimate highpoint of Decade. (I just wish it fit into continuity a little better.)

Amazon Arc: God, this was bad. Okay, wait, no, I have a lot to say about this.

First, I don’t know what the history of and popular conception of fascism and the Nazis is like in Japan. But holy fuck you guys, what’s with all the Bellamy saluting? c.c Like, problematic much?

Second, the kid and his “I want to be Dai-Shocker except oh no they tried to kill me and now I trust Amazon and also Decade looks like my dad” thing was just... kill me. Ugh. God, it was terrible, so corny and overdone. This arc doesn’t even accomplish anything overall, since Tsukasa throws all his friendship lessons out the window next episode.

But with all that said, this is actually a cutting look at extremism and why people fall into it. <.< Like, I didn’t expect that? Little kid and his sister lost their dad, there’s a hole in their hearts, and then Dai-Shocker shows up and gives them a way to fill that hole, so they dive in whole-hog. That’s real, man, that actually happens. Just, with fewer people-turning-into-monsters.

Final Arc: They got to the end and went, “Shit, we’re out of episodes, what do we do?” “MAKE SHIT UP” The final movie is confusing as hell, as I said, nothing is ever really answered, there’s a lot of ass-pulling. The W part was fun to watch again, it was nice to be reminded what a good Kamen Rider series looks like. Again, continuity is fucked, but it’s all just for that big fight at the end. (I love how it’s very “Okay, you guys beat the final boss, but now here’s the finaler boss” like three separate times.)

And that’s your lot. Decade is crap. I feel fully justified for my earlier dislike of it. Here’s that series ranking list, unchanged from before:

Kiva Kuuga W Blade Agito Decade

I’m going to update the Riders list, though, because I feel I’ve seen enough of Den-O to make a judgment. Also, because I really, really like Skull, even if all he does is show up in one episode to get his ass kicked. Screw keeping it to five Riders:

Diend Den-O Double Chalice Gills Kuuga Skull

Next up is Ryuki, I think, still. <.< My friend and I are trying to work out a weeknight to watch Kamen Rider on. But I’m also gonna start watching Build after it airs, just as soon as I can figure out how!

#kamen rider #review #kamen rider decade

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