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.

Kamen Rider DCD #19 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS...for an episode you've already seen]

My friend Mister Mo really likes Agito. He often claims that Agito has this level of depth and meaning (it doesn’t, by the way, Mister Mo) that other entries in the Kamen Rider franchise just don’t have. Recently, he’s stopped watching DCD because he felt that the Agito’s World arc didn’t capture the true spirit of his favourite series. I can certainly understand where he’s coming from but I’ve also been determined to give Hibiki’s World a fair chance hence why I’ve only just got round to watching DCD #19.

Over the past couple of arcs, it’s felt like the series has been winding down – well, perhaps that’s not as accurate a statement as it should be. Since Den-o’s World, it’s felt like the series has been winding down. I’m not trying to heap the blame solely on the shoulders of episodes #14 – 15 but it does feel like those episodes were a noticeable watershed in how the series has developed and how it will develop now we’ve reached the point where we’re back we started.

To begin at the end, one of my concerns about tomorrow’s episode is that, now we’re back in Natsumi’s World, we’re going to find ourselves with nothing but cameos from less significant secondary Riders in an unchanging world. The clip of the Kiva-esque Rider running amok in the next episode trailer did nothing to disuade my opinion that a.) this might be a possibility and b.) Toei really do have a shedload of Kiva merchandise left to sell. I really hope #20 picks up in some way as such a decision would really kill the momentum of the series.

But let’s not worry about the future, for now let’s live in the present – and speaking of the present, #19 is one of those episodes that, perhaps like Mister Mo when watching Agito’s World, I began to watch whilst doubting the ability of the new medium to interpret the story I loved. Having watched both episodes of Hibiki’s World, I have to say that I don’t think that they fully explored the story of the original series…but they did however take what was at the heart of that series (the relationship between Asumu and Hibiki) and do something new and interesting with it, therefore I can’t complain.

Whilst I was pleased to see the return of some familiar faces and familiar characters, I did find that, just as Asumu had become more expressive, Akira seemed to have become quieter. There’s still determination in the way she carries herself but she’s a lot less abrasive.

I also had a hard time excepting Ito David as ‘a Hibiki’. Even though I knew Hosokawa wasn’t going to return, Ito just didn’t seem like ‘a Hibiki’. There was the suggestion of Hidaka Hitoshi in the way that he acted at times and certainly in the nobility with which he faced death but for the rest of it, I was a lot more comfortable with the new!Asumu assuming the Hibiki role.

"My spirit sleeping somewhere cold."

Daiki’s role in this seemed a bit all over the place – for a while I was convinced he was about to become the villain it was half-suggested he might be upon his arrival in the show.

One of the big problems with this approach is that the franchise keeps throwing out these villainous Riders but still has to make sure there’s a Double Rider sequence in each episode thus the bad guys always seem to resign their morals (or lack thereof) during the final reel before the status quo is once more resumed (‘Don’t think this makes us friends, Rider X,’ growled Rider Y with a flick of his hair from his eyes. Rider X grunted, tightening his hand into a fist, ‘But I know you’re not really bad, Rider Y, one day your heart will turn to the light…even if you have to spend the next 40 episodes fighting me and then teaming up with me at the end of each one!’). Yet, during the course of this episode, it seemed like Daiki become one of the good guys instead. I don’t really have a problem with that.

The final two fights – the first being Asumu!Hibiki vs. Gyuki and the second being multiple Riders vs. Bakegani – were both done well, the former being heartfelt and the latter being suitably epic. I was pleased to see the return of the giant Makamou, even if it took another Ryuki character to bring about their role in the story. It was also nice to see Zanki, Todoroki, Ibuki and Akira all working alongside Diend and DCD to bring about the defeat of the giant crab…

"I said, 'Who's Michael?' 'Who is Michael Jackson?' he said, 'The Michael Jackson - the real Michael Jackson'"

…however, I can’t help but feel that this scene could have been made even better had Danki been included in it.

(joking – although if the next set of episodes are just random secondary Riders there’s always a chance he’ll turn up in Natsumi’s World!)

Now let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Kamen Rider DCD #15 Review (SPOILERS)

[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.

Kamen Rider DCD #4 Review (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS for current untranslated DCD episodes, read at your own caution]

I will admit to being somewhat out of my depth with this episode. I know nothing about Kiva, having seen only about three or four episodes of the show, one of which I feel asleep during whilst watching it in a hotel room. I remember when the series concept was first announced I found it absurd to attempt to mix a Kamen Rider series with Universal Monsters. Perhaps if the show had followed its inspirations a little more closely, it would have won a nostalgia vote from me but as it was, I found it a bit slow and a little dull…which is fine really because I’m sure had I actually liked the show, Toei would have cast Nakamura Yuichi as some important character just to spite me.

All of this is totally beside the point as, what I’m trying to explain is that I knew nothing about Kiva before watching this episode.

First off, I really did find child actor Fukasawa Arashi’s ‘Wataru‘ preferable to the canon Kurenai Wataru played by Seto Koji. I was never quite able to get behind the concept of hikkikomori!Rider so, despite my initial hesitations I’m actually really pleased to see that this character is such a departure from the original source. As the episode progressed, I found myself feeling the same things that I did upon Yuusuke’s introduction – that I would be sad to see this character depart after the end of his arc.

Fortunately for Yuusuke he makes a comeback in this episode, tied to the monster court located within Kiva’s Castle Doran.

"What do you mean Agito totally ripped off my style?"

Due to the fact that Kiva was such a recent series, the set up for this arc seems radically different from what we’ve seen before. Not only is Kiva as a Rider very different, but ‘Kiva’s World’ seems to posit a unique alternative reality where Fangires, fangirls and humans all live in relative peace. Whether that peace is imposed by the Fangires or if all normal humans have now become Fangires I can’t actually tell but whatever the case, everyone is happy and Kiva’s out of favour.

What Kiva *will* get out of bed for, bad reputation or not, is a fight with DCD it seems. Like Kuuga before him, I’m assuming Wataru was given some bad information.

One note on the actual fight sequence, without getting too technical, is that I was interested to see the DCD belt remains even when Tsukasa mimics Kuuga. I don’t know how or why that’s significant but it looks fairly interesting to see ‘Kuuga’ kicking around with a different power source

The episode’s other fight sequence against 555’s Kaixa is less interesting. Taking place in an empty baseball stadium – which I seem to recall being the location of an early fight in Kiva – it’s just more of the Hopper fight really. Pointless second Rider turns up, starts a fight and is scheduled to get beaten/run away at the beginning of episode #5.

Aside from that, DCD is still riding high. Despite the focus on a large number of shows that I’m neither keen on nor interested in, the series is something I’m really looking forwards to every week.

Whilst I still lament the loss of actual cyborg-Riders and billowing scarves, I have to say that this show is, thus far, a really good tokusatsu series and for that it deserves your attention.

As for the kaizo ningen, well, perhaps this V3-inspired villain from Super Den-o & Decade will help address the balance.