Kamen Rider Drive Ep 5 - "What is the Steel Thief Gang after?"

[Xtreme RX]

Drive has slowed down... and now I am loving this show! The premise of trying to prevent more attacks on trucks gives the show some breather space, since it's not trying to fit a whole super complex case in 2 episodes. That being said, we have this whole subplot with Rinna going down which makes it a little more intriguing, and at this pace I have reason to believe it will be solved with good pacing.

This was a great episode with some funny villains, great directing and awesome action. Seriously, the action this week was just fantastic. Loved the slap Drive gives the Roimude at the start.

Villains still have me intrigued. Chase is just so badass. Mashin Chasers Spider Viral Core was frickin' righteous. That thing looks awesome. And love the angle the villains are playing at, blaming injustices on the Kamen Rider.

Also, love the Ichigou reference when they talk about Kamen Rider's identity. Type Wild next week, I am positively ecstatic.

 

[cobabooy]

Most enjoyable episode so far. It didn't feature too much tire changes and instead focused on more good action and interesting plot. Hope the show can keep this momentum. However, I think Chase needs more dialogue to build up his rivalry with Drive, so far his silence has made his fights with Drive feel less intensive

 

[Zensrive]

This episode gives me hope. Not much toy-selling going on except on the dump truck and the Wild Type. Machine Chaser able to use the toy cars as weapons give us the first hint that he is a Kamen Rider. The Roidmudes are still mysterious entities, but I think some time in future episodes things will twist around so much our head will hurt: signs that they are inteliigent entities simply in need of existing, they're able to twist a Kamen Rider to their side and acting as an Internal Affair adjudicator. Not to mention a possible third party watching Kamen Rider Drive.
I hope the revelation would at least as epic as Double's revelation of how everything is connected.

 

[mindwarp]

It's kind of a common trope in Japanese cop dramas which have fantasy elements. And even ones with just exceptional cases, and not fantasy. The special division usually is filled with pariahs. It's a variation on the idea of Sherlock Holmes.

The difference here is that so far, the members of the SCU aren't shown to be particularly impressive with their field. Except maybe in the sense that they're the only ones who have an idea of how to approach the threat in the first place.

It's not even just Japanese fantasy/cop dramas that use this trope. Western urban fantasy has as well - the Special Investigations department of the Chicago PD in the Dresden Files books/TV show, for example, where basically getting assigned to there was a punishment for people who had screwed up or got on the wrong side of higher-ups, but didn't deserve to be fired (being assigned to there usually led to people quitting instead). I can actually picture that being why Jun was assigned to be in charge of the SCU (and an easy way to explain why Shinnosuke was sent there, even though we know Belt somehow got him assigned to the SCU in actuality).

I swear, though, the graphics when Shinnosuke puts the pieces together in a case seriously reminds me of Criminal Minds. :thumbs:

 

[Undrave]

I don't know what episode you guys watched but I was BORED!

There's still some mysteries that could be interesting, but considering how many of the mysteries witheld from us so far are like that for no good reasons, I'm not really hopeful it'll be revealed at the proper time. I'm just not feeling this case either.

Plus the fights are just TERRIBLE! There's something about them that feel way too slow and uninteresting. I just zone out when they get going and can't remember squat about them! That's not good!

 

[DemiGomoramon]

I don't know what episode you guys watched but I was BORED!

There's still some mysteries that could be interesting, but considering how many of the mysteries witheld from us so far are like that for no good reasons, I'm not really hopeful it'll be revealed at the proper time. I'm just not feeling this case either.

Plus the fights are just TERRIBLE! There's something about them that feel way too slow and uninteresting. I just zone out when they get going and can't remember squat about them! That's not good!

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

 

[kuroihikari]

It's the stupid toy pauses which kill the fights, really. Fourze was like this at the start too, and as the series started to veer away from introducing new toys, it eventually died down, so I'm hopeful. Drive's transformation sequence is also much clunkier than Fourze's.

Aside from that, the fights in this episode provided 3 pieces of info:
1. Drive's type changes work like Fourze's State changes, they require a certain state of mind.
2. Some of Drive's Tire changes don't work well with Type Speed.
3. Machine Chaser is using the same system as Proto Drive was and thus can use the same Shift Cars that Drive does.

Also, they're keeping Rinna's role quite in the dark. Right now either:
1. She's an SCU member, just so happens to be pulled by Public Safety, who doesn't know about Drive and is curious;
2. She's a plant from Public Safety (why are all dubious Police Divisions called Public Safety? This was also the same thing in SPEC and Wild 7) and is spying on SCU and/or Drive; or
3. She's a red herring and is actually helping Drive in the shadows.

My theory is that Sanjo's doing the collect allies thing again.

 

[Undrave]

forgot to mention it but... what the hell was up with Brain coming out of NOWHERE at the last second to attack Drive?! That felt way out of left field.

It's the stupid toy pauses which kill the fights, really. Fourze was like this at the start too, and as the series started to veer away from introducing new toys, it eventually died down, so I'm hopeful. Drive's transformation sequence is also much clunkier than Fourze's.

Yeah I really hate how he has to turn the ignition EVERY time and you clearly see him do the switch the shift car into its lever form then use it... maybe when they can start doing these off camera it'll be better? and maybe when they start having more memorable BGM. I can't seem to remember any right now! :shakefist

I think at this point I should just pull away and then marathon the show when there's like five or six more episodes out. Maybe I'll get into it better?

 

[kuroihikari]

Drive still keeps me interested, but yeah, viewing it in spurts might help. That's what I do with toku that I can't get hooked on.

 

[Undrave]

Drive still keeps me interested, but yeah, viewing it in spurts might help. That's what I do with toku that I can't get hooked on.

Back in W I did take a break during the Money Dopant arc... that arc was just painful >< and I caught up later, which is good because the Roach dopant arc (HEAVEN'S TORNADO!) wasn't that much better either...

In the end it was worth it, so maybe it's a similar situation.