Kamen Rider Wizard EP 31 - "His Tears"

[Hidden Masta]

Why would he "blind side" Legion from the front rather than from behind? He also could just have breathed fire again. Legion didn't react to the dragon and turned around with his weapon or anything, the dragon just flew straight to his path - and the dragon can fly, but Legion was just jumping, so the dragon should have better aerial control.

Throwing his head in front of Legion's weapon even though he wasn't anywhere close to him seconds before only makes sense if he wanted to block the attack. I really don't see how that can be seen as a failed "blind siding" attempt.

Because he didn't attack Legion form the front or threw his head in front of Legions weapon. He came in from the side(which can be considered a blind spot) and bit Legion. Then while Legion was in his mouth Legion stabbed him. And it failed because...Legion killed him.

 

[NeonZ]

Because he didn't attack Legion form the front or threw his head in front of Legions weapon. He came in from the side(which can be considered a blind spot) and bit Legion.

Huh? No. Rewatch the scene. Dragon's mouth doesn't touch Legion at all. Legion jumps, Dragon suddenly flies from the side, but in front of Legion, doesn't actually touch Legion at all, and then Legion hits him while barely moving his weapon. Even in the next scene, Dragon's mouth still isn't touching Legion. Legion is only attached to Dragon by his weapon.

The only way it can be a failed blind siding attempt is if the dragon somehow didn't steer himself and flew to the wrong place like a total idiot, which likely would be suggested somewhere, rather than happening off screen.

 

[tigerblood]

I think the point here, is that at least part of what was told to us (audience and the characters) are not really the truth. Infinity proved that magic can be achieved not only by falling in despair and surpassing it, but by a strong heart full of kindness. And this type of magic can even give a new life to a Phantom (noticed how Dragon returned with a shining-ish look, a type of glowing aura, in that scene inside Haruto?)
And we have the White Wizard's suspiciuos little phrase, too.

Ok. Hold on.

Wiseman = White
White Wizard = White
Naito's clothes = White1
Dragon = White

White = EVIL

I have a spoilery connection to lay out: [HIDE]Given the movie spoilers... Wiseman held the Sabbat to fuel the Philosopher's stone (which became Koyomi somehow) to become a Wizard which he did. Something unexpected happened in that Haruto survived and too became a Wizard. As the White Wizard, Wiseman has pushed Haruto to grow more powerful so he can farm out the job of powering/charging the Philosopher's Stone again to do thing X.[/HIDE]

Therefore I boldly claim that White Wizard is evil.

 

[Kylen]

Hmm...I have to agree that the signs are pointing towards WW being evil, given his only line this episode was "This will cause problems."

On the other hand: Haru getting so pissed off that he spontaneously reforms dragon, makes a new ring, and freaking ends Legions face. I'm alright with this.

Also love the Infinity belt call. Can't wait for the ring to hit stores (Unless it already has)

 

[Black Fang]

Wizard 31:

- If Haruto's bet was destroyed, why would he still have that buckle on his waist?

- Nitou running around reminds me... why doesn't he have a bike?! Ironic how, with its constant cramming of trinkets into these shows, Bandai doesn't as Toei to throw a bike or even two for all Riders.

- I like Nitou's "You may not, but I do" retort to Legion. Now if only he had said that after riding up to him :shakefist

- How come Phantoms are never called by name by the heroes? Saying 'Legion' might sound more ominous than generic 'Phantom'. Not every Shocker, et al villain was called by their affiliation.

- I'd like to see an image of Wizard Infinity, acting as 'the last hope', to jump down on a Phantom that's attacking people at night. A literal shining trenchcoat knight in the darkness.

- Why would Medusa be so panicked over having Gremlin be her superior?

This episode touches on the idea that Haruto is free to go back to a normal life but decides to keep fighting, but sadly it doesn't do much with it. It just strings a bunch of good ideas together and develops few or none.

Plus it would have been nice to see the stakes raised just a bit with Legion running loose. Instead he's more or less treated like any other Phantom. Almost like they had a plan for him but time/budget/whatever constricted them to two rushed episodes. In fact, why weren't Phantoms like Legion and Beelzebub among the higher-ranked ones that hung around for several episodes? This Infinity arc could then have been Legion's climactic end.

 

[Lynxara]

- How come Phantoms are never called by name by the heroes?

Well, if you watch the show carefully, you may notice that the Phantoms simply do not announce themselves to the Riders the way that Sentai monsters always announce themselves to the hero. I think this is a little nod to the "realistic" era of Rider.

We, the audience, know the Phantoms' names, but only because we see the villains interacting with each other. Wizard and Beast don't know what we know. The heroes only seem to learn the names of particularly long-lasting Phantoms like Phoenix, who have more opportunities to introduce themselves.

- Why would Medusa be so panicked over having Gremlin be her superior?

Well, no villain in these shows likes the idea of someone having more pull with the big boss than they do. Beyond that, though, Medusa's behavior in the Phoenix arc, and the eps leading up to that, give the impression that she suspects Phoenix's death was arranged by Gremlin. She's probably worried that Gremlin will try to get rid of her in the same way, so he's Wiseman's lone servant.

In fact, why weren't Phantoms like Legion and Beelzebub among the higher-ranked ones that hung around for several episodes? This Infinity arc could then have been Legion's climactic end.

I can't imagine Wizard's writing structure supporting runners like this. The few runners the show introduced at its beginning disappear for weeks at a time. I sometimes get the impression that Wizard is struggling with a lot of production problems.

 

[Toku Prime]

- Nitou running around reminds me... why doesn't he have a bike?!

Well in-suit he's the ancient wizard whose powers originated from before motorbikes were invented, and out-of-suit he's a jobless hobo who spends all his money on mayo and hairgell. IRL they've released a Chimera figure that was designed for a Beast figure to ride around on.

- I'd like to see an image of Wizard Infinity, acting as 'the last hope', to jump down on a Phantom that's attacking people at night. A literal shining trenchcoat knight in the darkness.

Sorry, the 'shining in the darkness' gimmick is currently taken by that Garo-In-Name-Only show. Please contact your local Faiz dealership for details of previous Rider models with this feature.

- Why would Medusa be so panicked over having Gremlin be her superior?

Three reasons:
1) She was the right-hand Phantom to Wiseman, a being she's completely devoted to. Now she's been demoted in favour of Sora/Gremlin, and clearly took it as a big rejection from Wiseman.
2) She's pretty convinced that Sora is a threat and now he's in a position that gives him both power and free access to Wiseman.
3) She hates the guy's guts and now she's being forced to be his lackey.

 

[NateRiver]

IRL they've released a Chimera figure that was designed for a Beast figure to ride around on.

That's disproportionate due to the Mantle gimmick.

I've been wondering where the Machine Winger and the WizarSwordGun even come from.The first time the White Wizard met him, Haruto was just given the belt, a few stones, and a free Koyomi.

The Machine Winger's definitely not just some bike Haruto customized at some shop either, since it can interact with Dragon.Haruto couldn't have just used the Connect Ring to get them, since the WW never even told him where they were.

 

[Black Fang]

Well in-suit he's the ancient wizard whose powers originated from before motorbikes were invented, and out-of-suit he's a jobless hobo who spends all his money on mayo and hairgell.

He's not the first Rider whose power originated in pre-automobile days though. Why not a normal bike that turns into a special one a la Machine Tornado, Gills Raider, Shadow Chaser, etc.?

IRL they've released a Chimera figure that was designed for a Beast figure to ride around on.

And yet he's barely done even that in the show.

Sorry, the 'shining in the darkness' gimmick is currently taken by that Garo-In-Name-Only show.

But Garo doesn't have a trenchcoat on top of his armor!

 

[ooo5]

Haruto faces his greatest crisis yet in this awesome episode of Wizard!

- Once again, part two of a Wizard arc saves it after a lackluster part one. As a whole, the Infinity arc certainly isn't the best Ultimate Form arc in Rider, but this episode saves it from being the worst. It helps that we got tremendous performances from each member of the Wizard cast, with special mention to Shunya Shiraishi and Makoto Okunaka, that really elevated the episode. I also really like how the creative team was able to convey the strength of the Main Rider's Ultimate Form without disregarding or weakening the Second Rider's.

- Infinity Styles debut was pretty awesome. And with a proper insert song to boot! It covers all the necessary bases for an Ultimate Form, a cool transformation that separates it from the base transformations, a great fight where it overpowers a previously near-unbeatable foe, some neat abilities, and an overall design that's both awesome and pleasing. Was it as bombastic as Cosmic States' debut? No, but for Wizard it works to its benefit. Cosmic States' debut had it showing off its Switch fusion ability to overwhelm Aries, which looked great, but then it went on to only use its own gimmick one more time before the series ended. Infinities super speed ability is probably much more cost effective, and won't just be phased out like Cosmic's was. As for its finisher... someone call Kintaros/Den-O Axe Form, someone stole his shtick :sweat:. But I at least liked the Crystal Wizardragon that followed the attack. The Axecalibur also isn't the greatest Ultimate Form sword, but I can live with it. I was also very disappointed that there was no "It's Showtime" said once Haruto transformed. All in all though, I feel Infinity had a great debut!

- But at the same time, I honestly can't say I was ever able to feel as pumped or excited about it as I was for past Ultimate Forms. When I ponder as to why, the best answer I can come up with is how I feel Wizard's consecutive debuts of new forms one after another has undermined the importance of debuting a new one now and as a whole the pacing for forms in Wizard has just been, at least in my view, thrown off since the Dragon Forms. It also doesn't help that All Dragon hasn't shown up at all since its debut, though that's to be expected for making the Mid-Season upgrade an all CGI form...

- I'm not really going to disagree with other posters about the whole deus ex machina involved with Infinities debut, but I will say that I'm intrigued with how Infinity is apparently not a part of White Wizard's plan for Haruto's development. Maybe there's a deeper meaning behind the form and what Haruto did with Wizardragon, and that there's more to reviving a persons Phantom than just... magic and willpower :eyebrow:. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

- Medusa's reaction at the end of the episode was just priceless! With Gremlin as Wiseman's new top Phantom, I think Medusa might finally start honestly questioning the decisions of her oh so passive master. Gremlin's new position also implies that he's now officially on the same page as Wiseman, or at least Wiseman seems to think so, and that's it related to how Gremlin identifies as his Gate self rather than his Phantom self. Could the true plot of the Phantoms be restoring their humanity?

- Can't wait next time for Kosuke's best friend, an offer of 100 million yen, and some more action from Infinity!