Kamen Rider: General Thread

Amazons just had one of it's best episodes, and judging from the regualar quality of the show, that's quite the accomplisment.

edited 29th May '17 1:23:02 PM by SilentlyHonest

Amazons 21 was great, indeed. Seeing what happened to Nanaha and getting another good look on how Iyu used to be is... heartbreaking. Poor everyone involved. Except for Jin.

Speaking of Iyu, the fact that her father used to sing that song whenever he was in a good mood kinda adds up to something. Lately, she's been singing this when coming across places where she used to go, like her home and that little zoo/ranch. Judging by next ep's preview, would that mean she's starting to "feel" nostalgia and Chihiro's "treatment" is working?

Oh god.

What Have I Done? I've made horrible, horrible mistake...

Does anyone remember if I made an Always bet on Black joke during my reviews of Kamen Rider BLACK?

Because if not, I have committed a horrible crime.

<Sees everyone looking at him>

...What?

edited 30th May '17 5:45:04 PM by HandsomeRob

Is there a new ep of Ex-Aid today?

Yes. Maybe RTA is late or something.

(I hope they keep subbing after Ex-Aid... that's an amazing job!)

It's up now.

Holy shit this episode of Amazons... Holy shit.

Spoilers ahead for this weeks ep.

I have thoughts on this episode and Amazons thus far as a whole, but I've never articulated them. So I guess now is as good a time as any.

I was once asked my opinion on Kamen Rider Black, and I responded, "In my mind, I earnestly believe it to be the purest Kamen Rider series." I say that believing that it perfectly sums up the bare essentails of Kamen Rider. You can swap some things around, slap on a new paint job and give him a car instead of a bike, but at the end of the day It's a series about a human or humans who have been tasked by fate to take out an organization or group that seeks to do evil (or at least has it's hands in nefarious deeds) by using powers that stem from the origin of that evil and look cool doing it. Ultimately, it's a forumula that's remained a constant in every Rider series, even though there are outliers (In Ryuki for example, Kenzaki is just one guy with too much power over reality, but is not leading nor is a part of any group, organization, or faction).

I was immediately followed up in that thread I mentioned earlier, where I was asked my opinion, by a guy who posted something along the lines of "Correction; Amazons is Kamen Rider in it's purest form." which I was confused about for two reasons. The first was; How do you correct a question based on your opinion you knob? The second was a little more elaborate and got me thinking about Amazons in how it relates to Kamen Rider as a whole.

It goes without saying that Amazons is very different from any other Rider series we've had before, yes there was an Organization that creates the monsters our Riders fight, and the means of fighting them, but it's very clear that the corperation, is trying to clean up the mess it's made... Or at least that's what we're led to believe. The company is very much not on the up and up and is guilty of so many sins that you can claim that Nozami Pharmaceuticals is not only the evil organization, but the main antagonists of the series, (Who as far as I know get away with all of the evils they've done) What's more, the riders, while they have disagreements, never really go after the company, they never tear the buidling down and destroy all the unethical work they've done. The closest they come to opposing the corperation is destroying Sigma, which was more of a personal stake then taking a stance for justice.4C by comparison can be seen in a more favorable light then Nozami because the only thing they do is kill Amazons and research ways to kill Amazons...(if you ignore creating another Sigma out of a corpse), however in this episode 4C is the organization that is destroyed by a Rider, once again not for justice, but because they can't control themselves.

From the get go, the argument can be made about weather the protagonists are human.This goes for both seasons. All Amazons are artifically human, but as we learn in the show that the two leading ones can lay claim to actually having human DNA. What's more Jin made the choose to become an Amazon, Haruka had to choose to embrace it, but was always an Amazon regardless. Early in Season 2 we see that Chiharu won't even admit to being an Amazon, despite being as this episode reveals, the most important and plot significant Amazon to exist yet. Chirharu's character is most significant because he like his father Jin is woefully intolerant of Amazons, as far opposite to Haruka that a main character can get. While Jin and Haruka have severe ideological differences as well as Haruka having a very strong hatred of Jin and his beliefs, they aren't that different. They are different make no mistake, but neither of them partakes in humans, and both are aware that Amazons that do need to be offed for their own good as well as humanities, and during season one both have clearly had enough of Nozami Pharmaceuticals shit albiet for different reasons. Their divide is like that of methodologies and ultimate goals. Jin being The Punisher to Haruka's Daredevil, both ultimately set out to do the same job but with very different outlooks that cause them to clash. Chiharu's character doesn't fit in that dynamic between the two, despite being tied into them both intrinsically. I said earlier that Chiharu is more Haruka's opposite thenJin is, and this episode finally illustrates that point beautifully. Takayama Jin was more of a father to Haruka then he is to Chiharu. His intervention made Haruka who he is today, allowing out from basically being a domesticated pet, challanging his beliefs and forcing him to grow. Jin should take all the blame regarding any troubles Haruka because he not only enabled his birth by creating the Amazon cells, and create the Driver that allowed him to fight so effectively, but also helped form Haruka's outlook on the world and what he believes. And yes, it is very different from what Jin believes but I don't know many people who believe the same things their parents do after having a chance to live for themselves. Chiharu however, received no such guidance, which is a shame because if anything Haruka proves that such guidance would have gone a long way. The ultimate Irony being that Jin's actualy progeny not only caused the events of season 2, but Jin could have stopped any of this from he hadn't been so adament on killing him well before he was born, and even if he did wait till after birth it would have been well before he emerged. It's possible that he would have been able to at least save Nanoha, but Jins crusade might have caused everyone far more suffering then they would have endured had he just raised his own damn kid.

Chiharu's Asura form is damn impressive, and I know I said Iyu wasn't making it out of this season, but jeez, this is gonna be a Shoot the Shaggy Dog story because I think Chiharu is primed probably gonna be Mercy Killed. This episode really racked up the body count, killing nearly every character in 4C. I will state though, that Chiharu, never eats anyone in 4C that he viciously slaughters, so that totally makes it okay.

Rot In Piss Kanou. You no sold being ripped in half so you can report to your employer and even resigned formally. You were a caricture of a character and your death cheapened this episode, being so over the top it almost made it a comedic moment. Poor execution on that death, there were better ways of doing it.

Haruka's Neo Omega form is very much a call back to Kamen Riders being Cyborg, and aesthetically looks the part more so the any Rider design I've seen before, can't wait to see what he manages to do with it.

Alright. I've seen the latest EX-Aid.

Man, in terms of evil, the Father really does trump the son.

Jeez, this was a hell of a week for both Rider shows.

Ex-Aid 34 clearly shows us that Masamune is tricking Hiro into doing what he wants. And, even if he managed to bring Kiriya back, it might not be a "true" form. There might be a way, though...

Also, the hints to Muteki Gamer were really strong. I believed that, as the name suggested, Emu would have to join forces with Pallad or otherwise seize his power to fully regain his "Genius Gamer" power. Pallad outright saying that, if they joined forces against Cronus, they'd be "muteki" (invincible) and Neo Kuroto working on a special Gashat (and finishing Hyper Muteki by the next episode) just hammered the point home.

As for Amazons 22... I knew hell would break loose, but not like this!

Chihiro's status as a Tragic Hero was just cemented now... if we consider that the source of most of this Season's problems can be traced back to him (if we do not count Jin and, ultimately, Nozama Pharmacy), one can imagine what is going through his head now that he can't deny he is a powerful and dangerous Amazon, has eaten Nanaha and all his efforts to restore Iyu's personality are now compromised. The only thing I don't fully comprehend is: did Chihiro actually molt and the creature we see getting killed in the flashbacks is actually a husk, not Nanaha?

The way I see it, Nozama became a Big Bad that had lost control over the evil it made, and now the protagonist himself became the potential source of a much bigger threat than expected. As for Jin's probable new role in this matter, only time will tell.

You know it occurs to me just now while I'm trying to draw a Lazer Turbo fanart...

Kiriya's spot's been open in the opening this whole time hasn't it? It's gonna fuck me up a little to see him back for this reason now.

Soo in regards to the latest episode of Ex-Aid...

Men I sure as all hell did not expect Kiriya/Lazer to return in the actual show!

I know right. We all figured dead is dead. I mean, sometimes they find a way to bring back a deceased character (and Kiriya has been apparently showing up in the crossover movies) but I doubt anyone thought he'd return in the series proper.

They were giving lots of hints, especially after Neo Kuroto proved that it was possible to cheat death when deleted. But yeah, given the previous rules regarding restoring people who were killed by a Bugster, there was still room for doubt. Not anymore, it seems.

Yeah. I suppose so.

Then again, Kiriya wasn't killed by a buster, so we really thought there was no chance of him coming back. I suppose the only thing left is if this will be permanent or not.

It's very possible that, like Baron Lemon being a thing, Kiriya's resurrection was a change of plans due to popularity. I like Bike gamer level 0 in concept but not in design - the basic black and silver suit again and his humanoid head looks weird without Chambara.

Also, god damn Amazons is heating up. Monster Chihiro is kind of an over-designed mess but I like where this plot is going.

Ex-Aid 34 is up. Haven't watched it yet, but I know there's no Ex-Aid next week because of a golf event I believe.

In the meantime have a completely and totally spoilery preview image of episode 35. only spoilery if you don't know what ex-aid's final form is yet

If you told me a few months ago that we'd end up with Dan and Emu teaming up to beat up Kiriya I wouldn't have believed you. Things are all backwards.

Gotta love how Dan does that "yup that's me" smile every time someone mentions he killed Kiriya though. They've done a good job keeping him a total sociopath even though he's supposedly a good guy.

I'm guessing Kiriya is playing a Long game here, and asked Emu to play along. It's the only reason why they didn't reveal what he said.

It seems pretty obvious to me.

Finally found a PC to watch Amazons 23. And just when you think things can't get any messier, Fuku's sick mother went Amazon... And so did Nanaha. Good to see her alive, even if not for long.

Is there a new ep today?

Nope. Got delayed because of golf.

...

GGGGGGOOOOOOOLLLLLLLFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!

Soo... for those who are interested, there is already some info on what the new series after Ex-Aid will be.

Its called Kamen Rider Build, so far there only seems to be a trademark.

https://himitsusentaiblog.tumblr.com/post/161471538120/kamen-rider-build

But judging by the name I imagine it will have a construction motif.

Soo... Gao Gai Gar-Kamen Rider edition?

edited 19th Jun '17 7:44:42 AM by dood9780

No, it's Gundam Build Fighters WITH KAMEN RIDER

It's either:

• Construction worker;
• Lego-based, or
• Gunpla-based, as noted above.