The ever loyal wikipedia tells me that Inoue didn’t work on the DCD/ShinKen crossover but rather it was scripted by Kobayashi Yasuko, who wrote the fantastic Shinkenger #6 (yay!) but also wrote DCD‘s Den-o arc (boo!) ~ so, the question is, do I watch this and follow the instinct that originally led me to this show (i.e. yay crossovers! yay meaninglessness!) or do I try and retain some dignity and wait for the return of the show’s lead writer?
Answers on a postcard to Gao @ Turtle Rock.
I have to admit to being at a tokusatsu impasse. I’ve almost considered broadening the horizons of this blog to encompass non-Japanese live action hero shows as I’ve felt so nonplused by the current direction of tokusatsu. Of course, I blame Inoue for this and will not return to DCD until he’s gone home. The trouble with this is that it leaves this blog bereft of regular content.
At the behest of seiji982, I’ve been checking out a couple of episodes of Shinkenger and whilst I can’t find fault with it, save for the hideous designs for the villains (I understand now why Toei kept the villain designs under wrap for so long when pre-series hype was doing the rounds), the series itself just doesn’t move me in any sort of way. Me and sentai just aren’t working out right now…I can’t even be moved to write fic – not even fic with girls (*gasp*).
So what have I been watching that’s heroic, dynamic and full of live action special effects, you might ask? Well, dear reader, not only will I tell you but I will show you:
"Kōmori Otoko!"
I grew up watching a lot of 1940s serials like King of the Rocketmen, Flash Gordon and, of course, Batman, which I presently seven episodes into re-watching. Whilst the series may not count as tokusatsu and is, in fact, hideously racist beyond belief (not just in a ‘Germany and Japan are the bad guys’ but in a vindictive and spiteful fashion…and there’s a couple of pointless shots at India in there as well, despite the fact that India, as a Dominion of the Empire was an *ally* of America) but the writing, when not lowered by propaganda, still beats Inoue’s Faizu re-writes hands down.
So until DCD either gets better or crawls off somewhere to die in a flurry of hideous merchandising, this is where I’m going to say.
I want to tell you that the next post will be soon…but I really don’t know if it will.
Dear internets,
I’m not even writing about this episode as it was, quite possibly, one of the worst things I have ever seen in my life.
Can someone tell me if that bastard Inoue Toshiki is going to continue to write these arcs because, if so, I’m not going to waste my time with them.
The ever helpful Arrow’s revelation that the current arc of DCD is being scribed by my arch-nemesis, Inoue Toshiki explains everything.
Becuase, yeah, thanks for that Inoue, the world was crying out for a rehash of 555: Paradise Lost.
Toei obviously hate me.
[SPOILERS...for Hibiki's World]
I almost don’t want to write about this because I kind of half want to wait for #19 to roll around so I can express a proper opinion on the full storyline and on Ito David as Hibiki. First off, I feel I have to say that I can’t help but feel that maybe the Rider-with-a-monstrous-nature angle has been overplayed a tiny bit in this series so, whilst I can deal with a fatally ill Hibiki, I find the Hibiki-as-yokai/makamou plot to be a bit too much like retreading ground from Kiva’s World and Faizu’s World.
The most striking thing about the episode is the amount of returning actors although this, in a way, highlights sadly those who have not returned. It’s also somewhat sad to think that even if Toei had wanted to get the original cast back, it would have been impossible due to the untimely death of Kanbe Miyuki. Her presence, and indeed the presence of the entire supporting cast of Tachibana’s sweet shop were conspicuous by their absence, as were Hosokawa Shigeki himself and Tochihara Rakuto, who played the original Adachi Asumu.
The young actor playing the ‘new’ Asumu – Koshimizu Kazuki, who I initially mistook for Fukasawa Arashi, who played Wataru in the Kiva arc – does reverse a problem with the mutilated ending Inoue Toshiki supplied for the series (an ending I still, to this day, remain mostly ignorant of) by having Asumu henshin (outside of a daydream). The trouble is the suit worn by Asumu looks very much to be a modified version of the suit worn by that-character-who-shall-not-be-named and, as such, is tarnished by association.
A decided difference between the two Asumus however, is that the new, younger version seems to express a lot of more of his conflicting emotions, often vocalising his frustration in a way that Adachi never would have.
In terms of the storyline, there seems to be more relation here to Inoue’s admittedly enjoyable Hibiki & The Seven War Oni movie, especially with the roles that Zanki and Ibuki occupy in this world and just how close Ibuki’s role is to that of his mischievous daimyo persona from the film. One returning character I failed to mention last time is Todoroki, played by Kawaguchi Shingo. I am a bit uncomfortable with the suggestion of a relationship between Todoroki and Akira, especially since the romance between Todoroki and Hinaka was sacred ground for me – another casualty of Inoue’s poor scripts during the original show’s ‘second season‘. I’m sucking it up because, as with all the other worlds, this is not the original show and a certain amount of story compression is to be expected but, in my heart, I’m still rooting for Todoroki/Hinaka – yet, let’s also keep in mind that this was the same compression that resulted in Zanki playing Todoroki’s theme on his guitar and the makamou no longer appearing in Douji and Hime pairs but rather flying solo in their Kwaidouji/Youhime forms.
Yet despite the return of the cards, there was a distinct lack of singing! Where was the “ohayo!“, where was the “la la la la la la la la ~ la…la…la“?
"Ongaku Rider Decade"
One thing I was pleased to see the return of was the cards announcing characters and moves, a stylistic tenet that the original 30 episode ‘first season’ was criticised needlessly for, however the highlight of the episode was probably the arrival of Momotaros and his fight with Ibuki and Zanki in a genuine Oni vs. oni fight. Likewise, it’s always good to see Yuusuke in armour as Kuuga.
"I am Master of the Wicket!"
Altogether, this was a good episode with a lot of friendly and familiar faces…but I can’t help but still find myself waiting for the return of Hibiki…and I’m still not sure I’m going to see him yet.
In other news, *where* was Danki? (^________________^)
[SPOILERS...for the penultimate world!]
…and we’re back on track, which I’m relieved about as it proves the rule thus far that series that I didn’t care for first time around return with elements that make them much more palatable this time.
I won’t pretend to understand Kabuto but I was impressed with Nirasawa Yasushi’s redesigns of DevilMan characters so it was nice to see them in action during the course of this episode, even if they did come across as being a bit plain – although I think this may be in part due to the fact that the majority of ‘kaijin‘ appeared to be of the lesser class…apparently.
One of the things that impresses me the most is that, despite the set up for the original series being incredibly close to Inoue’s work on Faizu, the approach here is suitably distinct. I still don’t really know what ZECT are doing and the Worms aren’t that different from the Ophenoch but the atmosphere is what makes this better than Faizu. Perhaps though, this arc accounts for why Faizu’s World was such a radical departure from its original series.
Whilst the whole corporation-Rider angle isn’t dwelt on too much for these reasons, what the episode *does* do is provide some awesomely unique fight sequences – again on the Faizu note, the idea of using Faizu’s Axel Form against the super-speedy secondary Riders was fantastic – and some great character moments. The real show stealer is 16 year old Mayu (played by Kanno Rio who appeared in the film Dark Water) who I think might be comparative with the younger sister of Mizushima Hiro‘s character in Kabuto. Considering the fusion of characters in Agito’s World and, in regards to how this episode ends, I’m pretty much sold on the idea of this world’s version of TheBee somehow being comparative with the original Kabuto character.
Don’t quote me on this as I really don’t know how it would work but I do think this could be a possibility.
In other news, it’s nice to see Tsukasa using his Kuuga card again (as opposed to another appearance from Kiva) and it’s also nice to see him learning some lessons about fighting enemies that put him in his place without devaluing his role as the lead character. Likewise, the comedy value of DCD’s Den-o form character/armour cards and their utter uselessness is another nice moment. I also swear this is the only Heisei Rider series that makes the prospect of Rider vs. Rider battles seem actually interesting.
I, of course, am also very pleased to see the return of the RiotTroopers. The ZECT-Troopers are pretty cool but somehow they don’t seem as cool, although I couldn’t for the life of me explain why.
"Encore!"
But more than anything, I’m just relieved to see the pace of previous pre-Den-o arcs restored and for the series to generally be back on top form again.
It seems to be DCD‘s role as a series to fix Inoue Toshiki’s mistakes…and it’s doing a very good job of it too!
[SPOILERS, again, for Chou Den-o...and a bit of DCD and speculation on one aspect of the August DCD movie]
Kiva is the first item on the agenda. That’s what, three, four times outside of his arc now? Again, I have to wonder how much Kiva merchandise Bandai have left over from last year that they hope to shift. I was also surprised to find out that two characters from Kiva are turning up in the new Chou Den-o franchise – it’s really beginning to feel like Kamen Rider has become the testing ground for elements Toei hope to include in their spin-off franchise.
But enough of the complaints, let’s talk about this episode and let’s talk about what was good about it: for starters it was an improvement on the first part of the Den-o arc, secondly, I’m firmly of the opinion that the inclusion of Momotaros as an actual character improves anything. Even if part of the way in which he was used seemed somewhat random to me, I will fully admit that he was one of my favourite things about the original series and, quite possibly, one of my favourite things regarding the entire Heisei era. Kintaros comes a close second but as far as I’m concerned, Momo is the Imajin man.
People who aren’t the man are, obviously, girls and, speaking of which, it’s hard not to see that the actress who plays Kohana has grown a lot since I last saw her in the abysmal Climax Deka. She’s still not a patch on the original Hana but, considering she was a quick-fix for Shiratori Yuriko‘s absence, I wonder what Toei will do when they finally realise that their new girl is now a teenager and unable to play the same Kohana they originally foisted upon the series.
The other girls who primarily do nothing during this story are sadly, Natsumi and Naomi. The latter I didn’t expect much storyline for but I was hoping that the former might get a bit more, especially considering the whole End of the World sequence in the last episode. Perhaps, however, this was asking too much as the second part of Rider World arcs are always crammed with the majority of the action so there was never really much room for her here.
I won’t pretend to understand the whole DenLiner Form card vs. Momotaros Form card in this episode, but I am pleased to see Yuusuke as Kuuga once more and even more pleased to see Kuuga and Momo as a team – even if the Final Attack Ride card for this episode was a bit weird even by DCD‘s standards.
"Don't cross the streams!"
Undeniably though, my favourite aspect of the episode was Diend’s use of the RiotTroopers from Faizu. Mass-produced armour characters are one of my favourite aspects of this kind of show (quick, spot the Gundam fan!) and so it was great to them here – plus, their inclusion amongst Diend’s deck and the appearance of RiderMan in the trailer for All Riders vs. Daishocker (or whatever it’s called), gives me faith that maybe, just maybe, we might get to see an AU version of Tackle in that film.
"I Predict a Riot."
To wrap up, despite being an improvement on the previous episode, I still felt there was a lot lacking in #15. This wasn’t helped by the ‘two-ending’ phenomenon – i.e., having to have an ending for the arc and then having to bolt on a continuation point for the rest of the Onigashima Battleship movie and the necessary DCD cameos in that. I could have done without that.
I am however, believing that things will be back on track next week. I couldn’t stomach the Stronger!lite stylings of the Hibiki killing team of Inoue Toshiki and Yonemura Shoji scripted Kabuto and avoided watching even the opening episode for so long due to feelings of resentment towards Toei. In the opening episode of that series, I found little to convince me to follow the show – I’m hoping that Aikawa Sho (the writer, not *the* actor) will be able to bring the source material alive for me.
If anything though, I’m just pleased to be back in the realms of a storyline without tie-in considerations.
[SPOILERS for the forthcoming Kamen Rider DCD film]
News of DCD‘s film in August has made me both really excited and kind of a bit dejected.
I’m happy because, as seen on this post by a fellow WordPress tokusatsu blogger, Kamen Rider DCD vs. Daishocker is not only going to feature the classic Showa Riders but it’s also going to feature Ichigo and Niigo’s original designs and not the newer versions from Toei’s never-ending love letter to Inoue Toshiki The First franchise. However, I’m also sad as it fundamentally means an end to Decadi which obviously can’t compete with the real thing.
Still, Hibiki AND Stronger in the same film!
…
Speaking of which, I think I might have seen a big glaring spoiler for Hibiki’s World on that journal…and I’m going to do my best now not to think about it as I really want to approach that arc more than any other with an open mind and open heart.
[SPOILERS - I has them]
First off, I stand corrected; it would seem that AshiKAWA Shouichi is in fact a contraction of three Riders, rather than two, being also based in part on Hikawa Makoto, the original G3. This is a brilliant way to utilise the concept of a previous series that is, at its heart, about evolution.
With that out of the way, and having recently re-watched an episode of the original Agito, I have to again say how much I believe this series has done for the material from which it was adapted – especially in this case. The previously mentioned contraction of the three main Riders of the second Heisei show makes for a more streamlined and dramatic story-arc that addresses change and the turmoil it brings in a way that Inoue Toshiki’s original does not. It also proves that you *can* have a Heisei Rider storyline that doesn’t orient itself around the idea of a thousand Riders with a thousand forms.
To be fair to Agito however, the multiple Riders/evolution of humanity plot is well thought out and a better excuse than later shows have for the inclusion of endless additions to the cast.
So, though Agito is arguably one of my least favourite shows ever, I’m pleased with this arc and pleased with the way in which the adaptation was made. Moreover, I’m pleased with what it does for the regular cast of DCD and how much Yuusuke is included in the unfolding of this story. I will admit that I’ve spent most of the episodes since ‘Kiva’s World’ crying out for him to transform into Kuuga once again but here I’m actually pleased that he remained so dedicated to the G3 armour and to Yashiro Ai. Such faith really underlines the difference between him and Kaito.
"No Fear, No Pain!"
One thing I was surprised by was that, what with Ashikawa’s use of multiple forms, there was no appearance of Agito’s more advanced forms. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m *happy* that Agito was simply Agito – I’m just surprised we didn’t receive a run-through of all his modes ala Kiva in episodes #4 – 5…perhaps this is because Bandai don’t have a warehouse load of Agito merchandise from last year that they still hope to shift. (^_^)
And whilst we’re talking about multiple Riders and forms, I think Kaito’s use of Blade settles the question about his use of primary Riders in earlier episodes. I really do believe that he does in fact have alternate versions of the same Riders Tsukasa has cards of…either that or he somehow brought some of those fake Pokémon Rider cards from Hong Kong that you could tell weren’t real because they weren’t shiny…maybe.
"Here we go, Count ZERO!"
In other news, the wonderful – and much disliked by wife – Akiyama Rina was sadly missing from the set up of Agito’s World though, seeing as she seems to be reprising her Den-o role in the next episode (as do possibly all the ‘original’ cast? I wonder how that will figure with the alternate set up of DCD‘s nine worlds and the cameo from NEET!real continuity!Wataru in the first episode) I don’t feel too badly cheated.
What I *do* feel cheated about however is Agito’s Final Form Ride mode…if only because I was going to use a similar idea for a Rider in fanfic this Friday. Damn you Toei for beating me to the point with your own franchise.
"Ride on, Ride on, Machine Tornader!"
Other than that another solid episode and, once again, head and shoulders above the source material.
[SPOILERS...and you know this]
There seems like a lot to talk about in this episode…and I honestly don’t know where to begin so, let’s start off with Daiki. Hat Man still seems capable of summoning secondary Riders, hence the presence of Ryuga (I think? Arrow?) but Daiki also appears to have the ability to summon canonical primary Riders – although, seeing as he was in possession of DCD’s card deck at the time, I’m not entirely certain if this was due to the original cards Tsukasa gained in ‘Kiva’s World’ or if he has his own Kiva related cards. Whatever the case, the end of the episode sees him very enthusiastic about finding what I believe to be Orga‘s belt.
There’s a lot between Daiki and Tsukasa and Daiki and Hat Man that I just didn’t catch, although it all seemed very meaningful and deep. I make no qualms about my lack of understanding here and fully wait for clarification from neighbours, friends…and the release of fansubs from either of the two groups currently working on this (and here, just for the hell of it, is some publicity for the much under-represented Order of Zeronos).
"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
There is likewise some nice scenes addressing the relationship between man and monster and human nature in general, as well as the return of Natsumi’s new zettai ryouiki trend. During all this delving into the human soul and, having had the mixed blessing of revisiting Faizu episode #1 this morning, it strikes me how much more preferable Oogami is to Inui. In the two episodes of this arc, actor Seino Syunsuke brings a humanity to the character that is hard to find amidst all the awkwardness renowned hack Inoue Toshiki weighed the original series down with.
"... and I'll take the truth at any cost."
The final confrontation is suitably dramatic, with three Riders against the Lucky Clover clique. Faizu’s Final Form Ride is again kind of meh, but you can’t win them all and, for the price of this episode, it’s an okay forfeit. I don’t think it will be long before Daiki travels alongside our heroes but for now it’s nice to see him doing the right thing…even if it does further his own agenda. It’s interesting that, at the conclusion of the episode, the Hikari Studio seems cut off from moving through the nine worlds, however the trailer for the next episode proves that to be something of a red herring with a shift into Agito territory and the return of Sato Hiroko.
I’m happy about this because a.) I think Sato is to be respected as a gravure idol, b.) I like the character of Ai in ‘Kuuga’s World’ and b.) Yuusuke gets a seemingly big role in this which further underlines the connexions between Kuuga and Agito.
My one concern is that if this is the world where Yuusuke will find Ai again…does this mean he’ll be leaving the Hikari Studio to stay in ‘Agito’s World’?
I guess we’ll find out next week!
