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World of Segata

Why did DCD not visit Segata Sanshiro’s world?!?

Kamen Rider DCD #31 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS...for the 12/12/09]

TRUFAX.

Asking if I liked DCD #31 isn’t the right question here. What should be asked is, did I like a 24 minute trailer for a forthcoming Kamen Rider W film in December? That is the question.

The answer, by the way, is no. Points out of ten have to be awarded however for the fact that Toei managed to offer up such a inconclusive and lacklustre episode. It’s difficult to highlight the ways in which this episode failed but, for starters, let’s begin with canon!Blade and his utter irrelevance and, whilst we’ve got you on that note, that’s level a similar accusation at the return of canon!Kiva and predict that the same arbitrary logic was responsible for selecting canon!Agito for the All Rider film.

Then let’s talk about Apollo Geist and how it is now impossible to count how many seconds, minutes, hours or days by which he has outstayed his welcome. A character that proved an interesting choice for the Black arc and served as an awesome suggestion of what lay in store for the upcoming movie has now become an irritating and petty character who turns up, achieves nothing and then runs away. His use of Fangrie ‘magic’ to prolong his life would have been interesting if it weren’t for the fact that Toei’s Kiva bias is already very much evident in countless other DCD subplots. The same results, I wish to point out, could have been achieved by Geist becoming an Orphenoch.

Moving on, let’s touch on the actual ‘Rider War’ established in episode #1. Towards the end of this episode, the story begins to take root and for the briefest of moments, I was convinced that we might see some kind of conclusion regarding the long running themes of this series. I feel like an idiot for even hoping for such a thing, and the prospect of this entire storyline being wrapped in a Kamen Rider W film scheduled for December does nothing for me.

So, what did I like about episode #31? Well…in all honesty, I liked Yuusuke’s determination, I liked the fact that Kaito finally seemed to be acting like he was on the same team as the rest of the main cast, and I liked the roles of kid!Wataru and kid!Asumu, even if their presence was abruptly terminated by a desperation to try and tie in the episode with the vague idea of what happened during the series’ opening.

Other than that, there was nothing here to recommend the episode at all, which is damn shame as it promised so much but managed to deliver so little. Even the famed ‘Rider War’ wasn’t really present in the actual ‘conclusion’, save for possibly one scene.

During the course of the original Kuuga, Godai Yuusuke was offered one seemingly insignificant but very important piece of advice: ‘Don’t do a half-arsed job‘. I can’t help but wish Toei had followed that advice when producing Kamen Rider DCD.

All in all episode #31 is a dissapointing end to what could have been the best Hesei series in a long time…but wasn’t.

Kamen Rider DCD #30 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS... for Bride of Dai-Shocker!]

I can’t say I was really taken with this episode. In my heart, regardless of whoever wrote this part of the series, I was always aware that it probably wasn’t going to work for on the same level that the reconstruction of the Heisei Rider shows worked. There’s just too much pointlessness going on and not enough character.

Having said that, I was really pleased to see both young!Wataru from the Kiva arc and new!Asumu appear in this episode. That kind of, for me at least, meant that watching this episode wasn’t a complete bust. I’m not sure if I ‘believe’ in the all-but-off-screen deaths of Akira and Todoroki during this episode (in that, I don’t doubt they happened according to the show, but that there was no reason for them) but what the hell, personal continuity for the win, yeah?

As an aside, have I mentioned how awesome young!Wataru’s eyebrows are? ^^

"Illogical, captain."

So anyway, this episode seems to be mostly about Apollo Geist getting married to not!Mari, getting an out-of-the-blue Fangrie upgrade in order to extend his life…and then wasting our time with pointless battles.

That’s it.

Honestly, nothing else happens.

Perhaps fans of Blade will have a different opinion and will be excited to see canon!Blade returning and almost being in the same scene as his counterpart, but for me I was kind of indifferent. Really it was only the presence of the two younger heroes that really made an impact on me.

I’ll fully admit that there are a lot of nuisances I probably missed and whatnot, but overall the late addition of Apollo Geist as the series’ ‘big bad’ and the determination by Toei to work whatever loose ends or vague ideas they had around this point seems to let the show down. This seems to be a continuing trend for these shows though and I’m beginning to wonder if, in order to judge a Heisei Rider show, it’s not the beginning or the end episodes you need to watch but roughly around episodes #19 – 25 as this seems to be the point where shows often change direction.

Whatever the case, episode #29, lacklustre as it was, has now passed and we’re on course for the final episode.

I wish I was more excited about it. It seems a shame for a show that had such a promising start to end on such a bland note.

WTF?

Someone reassure me that Fujioka Hiroshi is indeed returning as Ichigo in Dai-Shocker and that the wiki page is just speculation and/or lies.

I could have sworn Fujioka was in the early trailers for the film…

Tournament Dai-Shocker?

Watching We Love Rider!!, it occured to me…is All Rider vs. Dai Shocker just going to be live action Tournament Kamen Rider?!?

Kamen Rider DCD #29 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS, all of which you can no doubt guess]

Let’s be honest, readers, this episode could have been better. It wasn’t an especially *bad* episode…but it was slow and very awkward in places. I know it must seem like I’m never happy but I still think Amazon was an odd and very random choice to build these two episodes around. I can’t fault the premise, although some of the finer details escape me, but I like the idea of it…I just wish there had been a little more passion involved in expressing this idea.

But let’s begin at the beginning and, by that, I mean let’s address the clips of the movie seen in the opening. First off: Final Form Ride DCD – I should have seen this one coming but surprisingly I didn’t. I’m assuming that the Diend card Kaito received from Hat Man in this episode will be used in a similar fashion. I kind of like the fact that they’ve held the Final Form Ride for Tsukasa back for this movie and I’m actually looking forward to seeing it. If you’ll forgive me for skipping erratically ahead whilst, at the same time, addressing a point from the previous arc, I will once again say that I think the absence of the Form Rides in these episodes is somewhat sad. The Amazon card used in this episode might well have been called the anti-climax card for all its worth.

Back on track: Hibiki is often compared to Amazon, so it seemed kind of fitting to have Diend summon Ibuki, Todoroki and Zanki against Gorgos. All’s well and good, and then Amazon finally turns up on screen…and I just can’t help but think that Sakamoto Enrique wasn’t the best choice of actor. I mean no disrespect to the young man, but he just doesn’t seem to have that mix of integrity and innocence that Okazaki Tōru managed to pull off in the original series. Perhaps I souldn’t be judging this as I’ve only ever seen a handful of Amazon episodes…but then again Sakamoto is only in two episodes and I’m pretty much convinced that he wasn’t the right guy for the role. Having said that it doesn’t look like he’s going to be in Dai Shocker, which I have mixed feelings about, almost as if, now he has been cast, I want them to make the most of having an actor associated with that suit.

Already some of the things regarding the film are feeling awkward to me and I’mcertainly not looking forward to the return of canon!Agito from the original series. But I won’t let doubt sway me, I’m still holding out for the film to be good which is why, in a couple of minutes, I’m going to watch the We Love Rider! special making of movie.

Motorcycle Emptiness

So, next episode: nothing to say really. I’m never cared too much for the Rider War concept and now, with the seeming inclusion of Apollo Geist, I’m all but convinced that the creative idea had only the vaguest notion of what they were working towards it. I’m willing to bet that the next two episodes will be very different from the ‘flashbacks’ we saw at the beginning of the series.

On a positive note though, is that young!Kiva and Sonoda Mari in the trailer?

JLDCD

Last night I had a dream that Tsukasa joined the Justice League.

Batman brought him into the team and, whilst he didn’t approve of Tsukasa’s attitude, he thought he would be a good addition to the Justice League line up.

Kamen Rider DCD #28 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS - in the jungle, in the jungle, in the - in the - in the jungle]

Let’s get this out of the way first, shall we?

I think that Amazon could have been cast better. I understand why Sakamoto Enrique was chosen and I see the similarities in the portrayal of the character to the original, but I think Toei could have cast this role better. Having said that, my main bone of contention is not in the way that Amazon acts but in the fact that, by merit of the character’s name (Yamamoto Daisuke) I have to accept that this is the canonical Amazon and not just an Ultimate version. If that’s the case…I also have to ask how?

You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby!

…

I also have to ask where is Tachibana Tobei, but that’s not the point.

By now it’s impossible to avoid the impending release of All Riders vs. Dai Shocker, just as it is impossible for me to truly believe that somehow the creative team’s vision of the ‘Rider War’ hasn’t been sketchy all along and the whole series isn’t going to wrap up during the film and not the series. This prospect is both awesome and not at the same time.

So, in order to avoid feeling disheartened, let’s talk about this episode, putting aside problems with Original Series Canon and focusing on what’s good.

First off, Gorgos is hardcore now – at least, I’m assuming that the main villain here is still Gorgos. To be fair, there aren’t many other villains who go flying around in cauldrons, using their multiple faces of hate and rage to facilitate acts of senseless violence against the world…except maybe the Quintessons. The big difference here, and the very thing that makes him hardcore, is that now his armour seems to include the masques of different Riders, giving him the ability to easily match Kuuga in battle. That in itself is a big deal as far as I’m concerned.

Secondly, Kamen Rider 1984 is a great premise, I’m not sure I would have picked Amazon’s storyline to alter in this way as I think some of the more classical Rider themed shows might have done better but, at the same time, none of those other shows would have had the impact that this has. Ichigo, Niigo, V3, Stronger, none of those guys have the youthful naivete of Amazon and whilst they’ve all been assisted by younger characters (I’m think specifically of Ichigo’s sidekicks on their little bicycles here), none of them have the same connexion as Amazon and Masahiko. Seeing Masahiko reduced here to being a member of the Hitler Youth is chilling and effective.

If I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists...

Of course, what with the build up to the film and the fact that Shocker are infinitely more terrifying than a man in a canvas hat, it does mean that the series’ resident villain is at a loose end. Again, I can’t help but feel that his role has never been properly defined. In fact, if we’re going to be honest, a lot of DCD’s originality has suffered since the conclusion of the Hibiki arc. Obviously, I’m going to be easier on these arcs than I am on Inoue’s arcs because, primarily, they feature a more significant connexion with the franchise’s past rather than simply showcasing one man’s pet themes, but that doesn’t mean these episodes should be conceived of as being of the same quality as the earlier arcs.

One thing that I will say in Yonemura Shoji’s favour however is that it’s nice to see Yuusuke as Kuuga once more. If I had one criticism of the Aikawa arcs, it would be that Yuusuke was too quickly sidelined by Diend in places.

In other news: I’m pretty much convinced that the factory scenes in this episode were filmed in the same location as those during the Kiva arc.

Also: is that ZX and Stronger in the next episode…or is it just more hype for the film? Either way, I’m glad ZX has a role…but I think I’m going to have to cave and download that ‘making of’ programme just so I can see some of these suits in action again!

Kamen Rider DCD #27 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS - major ones actually]

There was a lot of unnecessary melodrama in this episode – of course there was also a lot of melodrama for all the right reasons as well. The emotional resonance of Yuusuke losing Natsumi, just as he once lost Ai, should have been really moving but it never quite came across as convincing. Even with the idea that Natsumi may well indeed be dead (until the movie/next episode/next scene/delete as applicable) the facts never quite coalesced into the dramatic moment that should have been on screen before us.

Regardless, there’s also a lot to recommend this episode, so don’t let one misplaced subplot put you off.

A while ago, myself and Mister Watts were talking about the nature of Kaito’s ’summoning’ skills. I never quite managed to work out whether he was creating puppets of the characters based on the details on their cards or if he was actually pulling them out of their respective universes. As of this episode, I’m going to have to say he summons them…otherwise there’s no way this episode can work.

It should be noted that in episode #18, Kaito summons Momotaros who very much, like Black here, exhibits his own personality. It should also be noted that it was Yonemura Shoji who wrote both of these arcs. This may possibly mean that the role of Kaito’s ’summons’ is subjective and open to change depending on each writer.

Whatever the case (and who really cares, I’m sure you’re thinking), in this episode Black teams up with Black RX, Double Rider Kick and all.

Now you see them...

One thing I find myself missing though is the old Final Form Ride sequences, weird and disjointed as they might have been. Having skipped a block of episodes, I haven’t been able to get used to Laminated Card Mode or whatever it’s called and, if I’m honest, having a guy sellotape playing cards to himself and summon an echo of a past Heisei Rider doesn’t have the same kick or originality as two (or three) Riders teaming up for a last ditch attack against an evil foe.

Just saying.

This episode’s final scene with Minami Kotaro (and I’ve just noticed he managed to keep his whole original name as well as the original actor who played him) and Tsukasa is heart warming. It’s the kind of scene I watch these shows for. It’s a scene about heroes.

Now you don't!

So…next episode! I’m really excited! I have a soft spot for Amazon and, even though it definitely looks like a new actor will be playing him, I’m confident that it could still be a lot of fun (as long as Inoue stays out of the picture). It does seem an odd choice though. Considering that DCD is supposed to be ending with #30 or #31, it seems strange to spend two episodes in Amazon’s World before wrapping up the Rider War threads in the last episode or two.

Unless, of course, Toei are planning on running W and DCD concurrently come September.

Either way, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.