November - December Tokusatsu of the Month - Kamen Rider
- Thread starter Aoi Kurenai
- Start date
Igadevil
Mr. Kamen Rider
Episode 7 “Death-God Chamelon: Duel! At the Expo Remains”
The beginning of this episode introduces the idea of Kamen Rider's limited energy supply when confined in a tight spot (as air cannot flow through the belt, so his energy level is finite.) That's something that has kind of remained consistent over the years. Damaging/blocking the belt fan has been shown to be effective at stopping or reversing transformation, but only for so long before the Riders figure out some way around it.
I think as time has gone on though (and suit-only appearances become more common) the Riders have basically gotten harder to de-transform though (we can chalk that up to them always getting stronger, whereas this is still Rider 1 in his early days.) I like that Hongô only survives this trap because he thought ahead and Shocker can't afford to bump him off just yet.
I forgot to mention it in episode 5, but I like how Rider 1 & 2 in particular have a tendency topull stuff out of nowhere come up with these clever schemes using tracking devices, fakes, and so on. For as many times as Shocker outsmarts them, they can fire right back.
Shinigami Chameleon is voiced by Sawa Ritsuo, although I vaguely recall learning that at the beginning of episode 6, he had some lines done by a different actor. Not sure about that though. Sawa is one of the titans of Rider monster voice acting with some of the heavy hitters, particularly the main voice of the Ten-Faced Demon in Amazon and Sadondas in the 8 Riders movie (when he doesn't sound like a synthesizer.) He voices the first monster in several series (including Hasami-Jaguar in V3 & Neptune in X) and, over in Return of Ultraman, Knuckle-Seijin (i.e. the guy who totally screwed over Goh.)
I always like the part where Heinrich pulls out his gun and shoots the box, not at all concerned that the bullet might ricochet or anything.
This episode features what may be Kamen Rider's first-ever use of stock music- it plays over the scene where Sunada tells Hongô about just what is in the box. It's not on any of the original series soundtracks, though it sounds like it's by the same composer so I believe it's something from an earlier non-Tokusatsu Toei show. Any clues? I want it baaaaaaad.
Much of this episode takes place in Osaka, particularly at what's left of Expo '70. There's a lot less there now than there was in 1971, but some of it remains. As Wikipedia mentions, you can see Expo '70 in Gamera vs. Jiger, which sorta-stars a younger Hayami Ryô (Kamen Rider X.) The site of the ending battle is actually back over in Tokyo though- I guess that was one helluva long walk!
I love Tachibana's obvious disguise, but I like the obvious disguise trope a lot.
Tachibana also gets beaten up a lot in these early episodes! That always seems to happen when there's a smaller cast. As the cast grows, so do the number of human shields. By the time of Stronger, he's taking bumps like nobody's business. Wait until Taki comes in for the drinking game though.
But that's still a pretty badass speech he has to the bad guys when they find out the box is empty. I love the one dude in the back who is desperately trying not to corpse, which I like to think is because of Kobayashi between takes (he was said to be a very good presence on-set.)
The second big fight scene of the episode is one of the original 13's best action sequences IMHO, with Hongô kicking mass amounts of ass, guys falling off of railings onto unseen giant air cushions, and some riding up stairs action. I can overlook the Cyclone somehow teleporting to the woods before Hongô jumps on it because, dammit, it's cool!
Aside from the proper Henshin pose scene or the riding-on-bike transformation, my favorite way to have a Rider change is them falling off of a building and transforming (somewhat involuntarily) because of the wind flowing into their belt. Admittedly, some of the other guys would be kinda screwed in that, but they could all probably transform their own way and survive the impact (well, Ryuki might have some trouble.)
The final battle of this episode is rightly famous, not just for the fight itself, but the lead-up. Hongô is "dead", the bad guys have the map and hostages, and all seems lost... and then comes one of the best moments in all of Kamen Rider. It's perfect. The camera doesn't show what's in the coffin until everybody else sees it, and then the theme song starts up. It's definitely my favorite moment in the episode.
Spare a thought for poor old Doctor Heinrich, who I assume died from that sword in his arm (hey, people have died over less in Kamen Rider, I can believe that killed him.) You got to admit he's either got some serious guts, or is a serious death wish.
I always love when Rider 1 grabs a sword and starts going nuts slicing and dicing. Even better is when he (or Rider 2) start dual-wielding later on in the series with two swords. Kamen Rider has a long history of great sound effects and it all started here. I like the big heavy noises whenever somebody gets slashed or chopped in back.
I think it's kinda cool that we never see what the treasure really was. It's left up to our imaginations, so it could be something really terrifying or it could be a recipe for cookies. Who knows? And the Rider Chop is pretty wild.
And the ending is totally referenced by the last episode of Agito. Hey, Inoue's daddy wrote this, after all.
Episode 8 “Eerie! The Bee-Woman”
Episode 5 in production order, I believe. And I guess Hongô forgot to return that puppy from last time!
It's notable for having the first female monster, and one of the few actually played by a woman (Iwamoto Yoshiko, who reprises the role later on.)
I've always really liked the Hachi-Onna costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. To be really honest, this is probably the weakest monster design in the original series... and it's still pretty awesome. Ultimately for me it just comes down to liking the bad guys to have full-face masks; I associate the more human/half-face mask with henchmen and I sorta like the idea that the further away from human you become, the stronger you are.
But that said, I like this one, even more than the Movie Wars updated version (despite her having the stinger boobies) for the simple fact that here, her face is painted, which at least gives it a little more weirdness. Something about the headdress looks less plastic-y too.
But a big part of why this character works is how she's played, which is as seriously as any other monster. No getting eaten by dumb CGI globs here. Hachi-Onna is lethal. While later female monsters have more impressive powers and designs, I give a lot of props for using an actress and making her look powerful, even if the fighting this time is less physical than usual and more about swordplay. A knife to the gut slows her down, but doesn't stop her!
Hachi-Onna is voiced by Nunami Terue, who does a bunch of the other female monsters in this and later series, all the way up through Super-1.
The Leader lays down the "failure means death!" law this time. Something I've always found funny is that the Kaijin are threatened with this too, but it's just about almost never carried out. I think the boss secretly likes them too much. Also, look what happened when the Ten-Faced Demon killed his own monsters: one of them turned on him and screwed him over big time! I've always felt that the smartest villains only kill off guys that they can afford to lose, and there's a kind of unspoken respect for certain underlings even if they failed. We see the ultimate form of this much later in the series.
One thing I remember about this episode, for whatever reason, is there's a moment when the film ripped on older prints (including the Laser Discs, remember those?) For the DVD release this was cleaned up, and if you're watching the fansub or a raw encode, you probably won't see it. But it's around the 19:09 mark, where the film jumps slightly. Hey, keep in mind this was the fourth episode of Kamen Rider I watched, probably about a bajillion times as a kid, so that stuck with me.
One of the funkiest bits of this episode is that Shocker henchmen that... well... sound like henchwomen. It's kind of a shame that the Shocker gals didn't appear in this one, so we have these proto-Hibiki Douji guys instead. On the other hand, part of the coolness of the female henchmen from episode 1 & 3 is that Hongô doesn't fight them, and even seems kinda scared of them, so I guess it's better to make brief-but-badass appearances rather than become punching bags.
There isn't much else to say about this one: it's good, I like all the mind control glasses wackiness and the fact that a big chunk of it takes place in a Shocker base. It's kind of a breather between the previous epic two-parter and the upcoming Cobra-Otoko storyline.
It's also, sadly, the last time we'll actually be seeing Fujioka with his own voice for a while.
The beginning of this episode introduces the idea of Kamen Rider's limited energy supply when confined in a tight spot (as air cannot flow through the belt, so his energy level is finite.) That's something that has kind of remained consistent over the years. Damaging/blocking the belt fan has been shown to be effective at stopping or reversing transformation, but only for so long before the Riders figure out some way around it.
I think as time has gone on though (and suit-only appearances become more common) the Riders have basically gotten harder to de-transform though (we can chalk that up to them always getting stronger, whereas this is still Rider 1 in his early days.) I like that Hongô only survives this trap because he thought ahead and Shocker can't afford to bump him off just yet.
I forgot to mention it in episode 5, but I like how Rider 1 & 2 in particular have a tendency to
Shinigami Chameleon is voiced by Sawa Ritsuo, although I vaguely recall learning that at the beginning of episode 6, he had some lines done by a different actor. Not sure about that though. Sawa is one of the titans of Rider monster voice acting with some of the heavy hitters, particularly the main voice of the Ten-Faced Demon in Amazon and Sadondas in the 8 Riders movie (when he doesn't sound like a synthesizer.) He voices the first monster in several series (including Hasami-Jaguar in V3 & Neptune in X) and, over in Return of Ultraman, Knuckle-Seijin (i.e. the guy who totally screwed over Goh.)
I always like the part where Heinrich pulls out his gun and shoots the box, not at all concerned that the bullet might ricochet or anything.
This episode features what may be Kamen Rider's first-ever use of stock music- it plays over the scene where Sunada tells Hongô about just what is in the box. It's not on any of the original series soundtracks, though it sounds like it's by the same composer so I believe it's something from an earlier non-Tokusatsu Toei show. Any clues? I want it baaaaaaad.
Much of this episode takes place in Osaka, particularly at what's left of Expo '70. There's a lot less there now than there was in 1971, but some of it remains. As Wikipedia mentions, you can see Expo '70 in Gamera vs. Jiger, which sorta-stars a younger Hayami Ryô (Kamen Rider X.) The site of the ending battle is actually back over in Tokyo though- I guess that was one helluva long walk!
I love Tachibana's obvious disguise, but I like the obvious disguise trope a lot.
Tachibana also gets beaten up a lot in these early episodes! That always seems to happen when there's a smaller cast. As the cast grows, so do the number of human shields. By the time of Stronger, he's taking bumps like nobody's business. Wait until Taki comes in for the drinking game though.
But that's still a pretty badass speech he has to the bad guys when they find out the box is empty. I love the one dude in the back who is desperately trying not to corpse, which I like to think is because of Kobayashi between takes (he was said to be a very good presence on-set.)
The second big fight scene of the episode is one of the original 13's best action sequences IMHO, with Hongô kicking mass amounts of ass, guys falling off of railings onto unseen giant air cushions, and some riding up stairs action. I can overlook the Cyclone somehow teleporting to the woods before Hongô jumps on it because, dammit, it's cool!
Aside from the proper Henshin pose scene or the riding-on-bike transformation, my favorite way to have a Rider change is them falling off of a building and transforming (somewhat involuntarily) because of the wind flowing into their belt. Admittedly, some of the other guys would be kinda screwed in that, but they could all probably transform their own way and survive the impact (well, Ryuki might have some trouble.)
The final battle of this episode is rightly famous, not just for the fight itself, but the lead-up. Hongô is "dead", the bad guys have the map and hostages, and all seems lost... and then comes one of the best moments in all of Kamen Rider. It's perfect. The camera doesn't show what's in the coffin until everybody else sees it, and then the theme song starts up. It's definitely my favorite moment in the episode.
Spare a thought for poor old Doctor Heinrich, who I assume died from that sword in his arm (hey, people have died over less in Kamen Rider, I can believe that killed him.) You got to admit he's either got some serious guts, or is a serious death wish.
I always love when Rider 1 grabs a sword and starts going nuts slicing and dicing. Even better is when he (or Rider 2) start dual-wielding later on in the series with two swords. Kamen Rider has a long history of great sound effects and it all started here. I like the big heavy noises whenever somebody gets slashed or chopped in back.
I think it's kinda cool that we never see what the treasure really was. It's left up to our imaginations, so it could be something really terrifying or it could be a recipe for cookies. Who knows? And the Rider Chop is pretty wild.
And the ending is totally referenced by the last episode of Agito. Hey, Inoue's daddy wrote this, after all.
Episode 8 “Eerie! The Bee-Woman”
Episode 5 in production order, I believe. And I guess Hongô forgot to return that puppy from last time!
It's notable for having the first female monster, and one of the few actually played by a woman (Iwamoto Yoshiko, who reprises the role later on.)
I've always really liked the Hachi-Onna costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. To be really honest, this is probably the weakest monster design in the original series... and it's still pretty awesome. Ultimately for me it just comes down to liking the bad guys to have full-face masks; I associate the more human/half-face mask with henchmen and I sorta like the idea that the further away from human you become, the stronger you are.
But that said, I like this one, even more than the Movie Wars updated version (despite her having the stinger boobies) for the simple fact that here, her face is painted, which at least gives it a little more weirdness. Something about the headdress looks less plastic-y too.
But a big part of why this character works is how she's played, which is as seriously as any other monster. No getting eaten by dumb CGI globs here. Hachi-Onna is lethal. While later female monsters have more impressive powers and designs, I give a lot of props for using an actress and making her look powerful, even if the fighting this time is less physical than usual and more about swordplay. A knife to the gut slows her down, but doesn't stop her!
Hachi-Onna is voiced by Nunami Terue, who does a bunch of the other female monsters in this and later series, all the way up through Super-1.
The Leader lays down the "failure means death!" law this time. Something I've always found funny is that the Kaijin are threatened with this too, but it's just about almost never carried out. I think the boss secretly likes them too much. Also, look what happened when the Ten-Faced Demon killed his own monsters: one of them turned on him and screwed him over big time! I've always felt that the smartest villains only kill off guys that they can afford to lose, and there's a kind of unspoken respect for certain underlings even if they failed. We see the ultimate form of this much later in the series.
One thing I remember about this episode, for whatever reason, is there's a moment when the film ripped on older prints (including the Laser Discs, remember those?) For the DVD release this was cleaned up, and if you're watching the fansub or a raw encode, you probably won't see it. But it's around the 19:09 mark, where the film jumps slightly. Hey, keep in mind this was the fourth episode of Kamen Rider I watched, probably about a bajillion times as a kid, so that stuck with me.
One of the funkiest bits of this episode is that Shocker henchmen that... well... sound like henchwomen. It's kind of a shame that the Shocker gals didn't appear in this one, so we have these proto-Hibiki Douji guys instead. On the other hand, part of the coolness of the female henchmen from episode 1 & 3 is that Hongô doesn't fight them, and even seems kinda scared of them, so I guess it's better to make brief-but-badass appearances rather than become punching bags.
There isn't much else to say about this one: it's good, I like all the mind control glasses wackiness and the fact that a big chunk of it takes place in a Shocker base. It's kind of a breather between the previous epic two-parter and the upcoming Cobra-Otoko storyline.
It's also, sadly, the last time we'll actually be seeing Fujioka with his own voice for a while.
Aoi Kurenai
Mad Skillz
Episode 5 -
I agree with Iga, I like the way the monster was set up as a genuine threat. I generally think the “less is more” ideal works nicely in this era of sci-fi TV shows, at least the ones made on a lower budget than others. I'm reminded of that tentacle monster thing from the Third Doctor's first episodes in Doctor Who.
The Shocker henchmen thing bothers me for some reason. I think it's cool that they change to fit their general, but I would have enjoyed uniformity to their overall look.
Standard episode overall. It didn't stand out to me as really great, but there were some amusing ideas. Hongo's transformation was one of them. I was pretty confused at first and I'm sure have the audience was, so I'm glad they explained the transformation. It would be cool to have more scenery related transformation sequences.
I also think that Hongo's monologue at the end of every episode feels a little heavy handed at this point. From the stuff he says, you would imagine he's constantly alone with no friends whatsoever.
Will watch more tomorrow, uber tired today.
I agree with Iga, I like the way the monster was set up as a genuine threat. I generally think the “less is more” ideal works nicely in this era of sci-fi TV shows, at least the ones made on a lower budget than others. I'm reminded of that tentacle monster thing from the Third Doctor's first episodes in Doctor Who.
The Shocker henchmen thing bothers me for some reason. I think it's cool that they change to fit their general, but I would have enjoyed uniformity to their overall look.
Standard episode overall. It didn't stand out to me as really great, but there were some amusing ideas. Hongo's transformation was one of them. I was pretty confused at first and I'm sure have the audience was, so I'm glad they explained the transformation. It would be cool to have more scenery related transformation sequences.
I also think that Hongo's monologue at the end of every episode feels a little heavy handed at this point. From the stuff he says, you would imagine he's constantly alone with no friends whatsoever.
Will watch more tomorrow, uber tired today.
Igadevil
Mr. Kamen Rider
^That's one of my favorite aspects of Kamen Rider, that they feel they're always going to be alone because they're different, but the reality is they're constantly surrounded by friends and even, later on, other Riders. I think it's kind of important to not have the Riders always realize that, even if it seems like they're sad-sacking around, because it makes the times when they do all the more powerful (in the first show's case, the last episode has a particularly great moment in regards to that.)
Episode 9 “The Fearsome Cobra-Man”
And now comes the beginning of the end for the first 'arc' of the show. While filming episodes 9~10, Fujioka suffered the accident that left him hospitalized for months and gave way to one of the most ambitious rewrites in television history. But more on that another time. Fujioka still appears in new footage in both of these episodes, but as ADR had not been completed yet, his voice is done by another actor: Naya Rokurô, younger brother of Naya Gorô, the voice of the Shocker Leader. Naya the Lesser can be heard every so often in a few other shows from the 70's (Robot Detective, Chôjin Bibyun) and some more contemporary Sentai, including a monster in Shinkenger.
He doesn't really sound like Fujioka very much, but in a weird sort of way it works. I've sort of grown accustomed to how Rider 1 (and others) have had so many voices over the years, some not sounding like the original actors at all, so it kind of just comes with the territory.
This is the directing debut (in Kamen Rider) of Yamada Minoru, who is another one of the kings. In total, he directed 34 episodes of Kamen Rider, 12 of V3, 2 episodes of X, 4 of Amazon, 5 of Stronger (including the epic finale), 29 of New Kamen Rider, 22 of Super-1, the ZX Special, several Rider movies (including Kamen Rider vs. Shocker) on top of everything else. There's also a lot of Sentai credits into the 80's.
I love all the artwork used to show the inner workings of the cyborgs in the old shows, and especially the made-up coded writing system. I don't know if I'd call it the Shocker language since it's used by later groups, but I don't think it has any kind of official name either.
That is one crazy mode of operation though- the evil dentures power the killer smoke from his hand? Of course! Also there's foaming deaths and I love some foaming deaths.
I've always really liked the Cobra-Otoko costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. After the first two episodes, this is the third one that really has comic roots to it, though I dunno which came first (the comic started just before the show, but given how new installments came out, I'd have to go check if it predated the episode or not.) THE FIRST also owes a little something to the comic version, in regards to the characterization.
But my point is that while I like the comic design for the character, and the revamped FIRST design... yes,, once again my favorite is the TV original. Again, he's got a great face with a lot of personality, and a simple but effective suit. While my all-time favorite snake monster is probably Satan Snake from Super-1 (because he's affilited with the Bigass Sword™) Cobra-Otoko is very high on the list. I like his extendo-arm.
More Shocker cruelty. If you show up to work late, the consequences are dire. Also, this is one of the greatest plans ever, because it ultimately boils down to "let's score some serious bank." Hey, world conquest alone can't pay the bills!
The first big fight scene of this episode is filmed at the Obake Mansion, the world's greatest unfinished building project and site of many, many Tokusatsu showdowns. Alas, it no longer exists. Some day I want to go there anyway, since it's kind of like holy ground.
Touching again on the whole "showing how strong cyborgs are" thing is showcasing some of the lesser-known powers like their heightened senses. I like all that stuff when it's done kind of low-key like in Kamen Rider.
The whole last half of this episode is filmed primarily on and around Sarushima. That is one place I have been, though I need to dig through the photos I took to see if any of them are of actual shot locations or they're all just a load of nonsense. This island close to Yokosuka turns up in several other Rider series all the way up to Blade (episode 2), though the most famous use of it is much later in the original series.
We finally get helmetless Hongô again when Shocker prepares to finish what they started (I like how it's always just one option, depending on the situation. "Should we do the brain surgery? We've got him captured." "Nah, just drop him in a pit. We're running a schedule here.") I like how the Leader also gets pissed off with Cobra-Otoko for losing his dentures. I aspire to some day write the episode where the Great Leader just decides to drive on over to the current outpost and berate everyone in person.
More stock music is used when Tachibana busts in, and again I think it must be from an earlier Toei program or something Kikuchi (the composer) worked on. But seriously, how cool is that escape? Tachibana kicks butt! Also, more thinking ahead with that pendant.
The ending battle is still on Sarushima on the observation tower, which, if you've seen the original series before, you might find familiar. Here you can also see one of the many alternate masks for the Rider costume; on close inspection you'll see it changing quite a lot during the early days. Towards the end of the series and the upgraded costumes, they'd also upgraded techniques for making the 'stunt' and 'hero' masks.
R.I.P. Dummy.
And finally, a monster explodes! It's a small explosion, but he's coming back anyway in...
Episode 10 “Cobra-Man Rises from the Grave”
Soon after this, reviving old monsters becomes like a weekend hobby for Rider villains. There's only a few other times I can think of when a really big deal was made out of just how they resurrected the monsters; often times it's simply "We're back! Now die!" But in the original series, there's a couple (different) methods to how it's done. This is probably the most elaborate, since the goal is to just bring back the most recently-defeated monster and continue Shocker's plan to get alla that gold. And they bring in an evil doctor lady to get the job done.
Now here's where things get a bit complicated. The comic does something similar; Cobra-Otoko is defeated and revived with help from a female scientist working for Shocker. Only there, instead of just being expendable hired help, she herself is a Medusa-like monster, and it turns out her and Cobra-Otoko were lovers.
And their real names? Haruhiko & Miyoko, just like the characters in Kamen Rider THE FIRST! Although unlike that, we don't see them before they became cyborgs so there's nothing with Der Uber Wentz, hospital visits and time-skipping. Though I'd swear the scene with the dog in the movie was a throwback to Dummy last episode, though that's being excessively fanwanky.
An actual little homage though is that in the movie, Snake's helmet sports details where, according to the design sketches, she would of have smaller laser-firing snakes just like the Medusa of the comics. Too bad that never made it to screen.
On TV though, Ayakoji is just around to get the ball rolling and once she's overstepped herself, she finds out just how much of a bad idea it is to work for Shocker. BURN!
Cobra-Otoko, once revived, is mostly the same as he was last time, though I like his new cobra hood. He also can now, as mentioned, burn things. It does kinda look like he's smoking a cigar in those close-up shots.
The Nagasawa plant turns up again when Hongô goes to warn the cop about Shocker's plans. We also get a reaffirmation that Shocker is a secret group, and apparently getting kidnapped and nearly roasted alive by them is not enough to convince you that they exist.
Oh, and I love the foreign boat captain. "Wow, that's broken!" That whole scene is insane, with the boat exploding (more Giant Robo footage) but somehow, everybody seems to have made it off okay. All part of the plan.
The fight scene's a real good one and maybe it's just Yamada's direction, but this seems to be like a template for how fight scenes would become as the series goes on- less of the experimental effects and camera trickery, and more of am emphasis on the suit actors themselves, with the camera just providing dramatic long shots or frantic close-ups.
Also, the pose Rider 1 strikes during the "Rider Fight!" bit is like a prototype of Rider 2's Henshin pose. That's something you don't see often.
I guess it's always been hell being a cop in the Riderverse though.
Episode 9 “The Fearsome Cobra-Man”
And now comes the beginning of the end for the first 'arc' of the show. While filming episodes 9~10, Fujioka suffered the accident that left him hospitalized for months and gave way to one of the most ambitious rewrites in television history. But more on that another time. Fujioka still appears in new footage in both of these episodes, but as ADR had not been completed yet, his voice is done by another actor: Naya Rokurô, younger brother of Naya Gorô, the voice of the Shocker Leader. Naya the Lesser can be heard every so often in a few other shows from the 70's (Robot Detective, Chôjin Bibyun) and some more contemporary Sentai, including a monster in Shinkenger.
He doesn't really sound like Fujioka very much, but in a weird sort of way it works. I've sort of grown accustomed to how Rider 1 (and others) have had so many voices over the years, some not sounding like the original actors at all, so it kind of just comes with the territory.
This is the directing debut (in Kamen Rider) of Yamada Minoru, who is another one of the kings. In total, he directed 34 episodes of Kamen Rider, 12 of V3, 2 episodes of X, 4 of Amazon, 5 of Stronger (including the epic finale), 29 of New Kamen Rider, 22 of Super-1, the ZX Special, several Rider movies (including Kamen Rider vs. Shocker) on top of everything else. There's also a lot of Sentai credits into the 80's.
I love all the artwork used to show the inner workings of the cyborgs in the old shows, and especially the made-up coded writing system. I don't know if I'd call it the Shocker language since it's used by later groups, but I don't think it has any kind of official name either.
That is one crazy mode of operation though- the evil dentures power the killer smoke from his hand? Of course! Also there's foaming deaths and I love some foaming deaths.
I've always really liked the Cobra-Otoko costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. After the first two episodes, this is the third one that really has comic roots to it, though I dunno which came first (the comic started just before the show, but given how new installments came out, I'd have to go check if it predated the episode or not.) THE FIRST also owes a little something to the comic version, in regards to the characterization.
But my point is that while I like the comic design for the character, and the revamped FIRST design... yes,, once again my favorite is the TV original. Again, he's got a great face with a lot of personality, and a simple but effective suit. While my all-time favorite snake monster is probably Satan Snake from Super-1 (because he's affilited with the Bigass Sword™) Cobra-Otoko is very high on the list. I like his extendo-arm.
More Shocker cruelty. If you show up to work late, the consequences are dire. Also, this is one of the greatest plans ever, because it ultimately boils down to "let's score some serious bank." Hey, world conquest alone can't pay the bills!
The first big fight scene of this episode is filmed at the Obake Mansion, the world's greatest unfinished building project and site of many, many Tokusatsu showdowns. Alas, it no longer exists. Some day I want to go there anyway, since it's kind of like holy ground.
Touching again on the whole "showing how strong cyborgs are" thing is showcasing some of the lesser-known powers like their heightened senses. I like all that stuff when it's done kind of low-key like in Kamen Rider.
The whole last half of this episode is filmed primarily on and around Sarushima. That is one place I have been, though I need to dig through the photos I took to see if any of them are of actual shot locations or they're all just a load of nonsense. This island close to Yokosuka turns up in several other Rider series all the way up to Blade (episode 2), though the most famous use of it is much later in the original series.
We finally get helmetless Hongô again when Shocker prepares to finish what they started (I like how it's always just one option, depending on the situation. "Should we do the brain surgery? We've got him captured." "Nah, just drop him in a pit. We're running a schedule here.") I like how the Leader also gets pissed off with Cobra-Otoko for losing his dentures. I aspire to some day write the episode where the Great Leader just decides to drive on over to the current outpost and berate everyone in person.
More stock music is used when Tachibana busts in, and again I think it must be from an earlier Toei program or something Kikuchi (the composer) worked on. But seriously, how cool is that escape? Tachibana kicks butt! Also, more thinking ahead with that pendant.
The ending battle is still on Sarushima on the observation tower, which, if you've seen the original series before, you might find familiar. Here you can also see one of the many alternate masks for the Rider costume; on close inspection you'll see it changing quite a lot during the early days. Towards the end of the series and the upgraded costumes, they'd also upgraded techniques for making the 'stunt' and 'hero' masks.
R.I.P. Dummy.
And finally, a monster explodes! It's a small explosion, but he's coming back anyway in...
Episode 10 “Cobra-Man Rises from the Grave”
Soon after this, reviving old monsters becomes like a weekend hobby for Rider villains. There's only a few other times I can think of when a really big deal was made out of just how they resurrected the monsters; often times it's simply "We're back! Now die!" But in the original series, there's a couple (different) methods to how it's done. This is probably the most elaborate, since the goal is to just bring back the most recently-defeated monster and continue Shocker's plan to get alla that gold. And they bring in an evil doctor lady to get the job done.
Now here's where things get a bit complicated. The comic does something similar; Cobra-Otoko is defeated and revived with help from a female scientist working for Shocker. Only there, instead of just being expendable hired help, she herself is a Medusa-like monster, and it turns out her and Cobra-Otoko were lovers.
And their real names? Haruhiko & Miyoko, just like the characters in Kamen Rider THE FIRST! Although unlike that, we don't see them before they became cyborgs so there's nothing with Der Uber Wentz, hospital visits and time-skipping. Though I'd swear the scene with the dog in the movie was a throwback to Dummy last episode, though that's being excessively fanwanky.
An actual little homage though is that in the movie, Snake's helmet sports details where, according to the design sketches, she would of have smaller laser-firing snakes just like the Medusa of the comics. Too bad that never made it to screen.
On TV though, Ayakoji is just around to get the ball rolling and once she's overstepped herself, she finds out just how much of a bad idea it is to work for Shocker. BURN!
Cobra-Otoko, once revived, is mostly the same as he was last time, though I like his new cobra hood. He also can now, as mentioned, burn things. It does kinda look like he's smoking a cigar in those close-up shots.
The Nagasawa plant turns up again when Hongô goes to warn the cop about Shocker's plans. We also get a reaffirmation that Shocker is a secret group, and apparently getting kidnapped and nearly roasted alive by them is not enough to convince you that they exist.
Oh, and I love the foreign boat captain. "Wow, that's broken!" That whole scene is insane, with the boat exploding (more Giant Robo footage) but somehow, everybody seems to have made it off okay. All part of the plan.
The fight scene's a real good one and maybe it's just Yamada's direction, but this seems to be like a template for how fight scenes would become as the series goes on- less of the experimental effects and camera trickery, and more of am emphasis on the suit actors themselves, with the camera just providing dramatic long shots or frantic close-ups.
Also, the pose Rider 1 strikes during the "Rider Fight!" bit is like a prototype of Rider 2's Henshin pose. That's something you don't see often.
I guess it's always been hell being a cop in the Riderverse though.
Igadevil
Mr. Kamen Rider
Episode 11 “The Vampiric Monster: Gebacondor”
These two episodes are somewhat unique in that I have seen them not only in the original Japanese, but also in an English dub (from Malaysia I believe, though I'm not sure about that.) I've watched some Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro & Kamen Rider BLACK RX from what I assume is the same company, since there's a couple recognizable voices in there. These dubs are notable for 1) some great lines, including the immortal "Damnshit!" and 2) in original Rider's case, adding in Kamen Rider BLACK music at times, which sticks out like a side of beef on a vegetarian pizza. When Ruriko leaves Tachibana in the dust at the end of 11, I kid you not, Black Hole Message fires up. Love and Peace all right!
The dub does have two top-notch lines though:
"I hope that you drink enough of it to become active for our Shakaaaaa!"
"Mister Taki... whatthehell are you doing here?"
Anyway. This is the first of 3 original Rider 1 episodes made entirely post-accident, so Fujioka only appears through stock footage. The rest of the time, it's stand-ins, and you know, it actually works pretty well. Even as a kid I knew that these were the cobbled-together episodes without the main man because 'everybody' did, but I'll admit that had I not known the behind-the-scenes details, I'd probably be fooled. The story cleverly has Hongô take a back seat to the other characters, who remark on his increasing scarcity. There's something almost mythic about Kamen Rider's appearances in these episodes.
Naya's brother is still doing the voice, though he's getting a smaller share of the dialogue. The action here is really powered by Tachibana, Ruriko and, for the first time ever, Taki Kazuya.
Most fans now know of Taki from his appearance in Kamen Rider Spirits, where he puts on a Skullman-influenced costume, grabs a shotgun and becomes a sort of honorary Rider, but the character started out way back at the beginning as just a regular guy (albeit in peak physical condition and with a seemingly superhuman ability to survive everything the show throws at him.) Nowadays, a character like him would almost certainly be second Rider fodder.
But what I think makes Taki unique, and a lot of what makes him really cool, is that he isn't a Rider. In the same way as Ichijô to Kuuga years later, he's the average guy with above-average abilities (and luck.) They're Kamen Rider's best friend. At the same time, the shows acknowledge that they can't win the battles on their own, but they can (and do) help the Riders. Taki saves the Double Riders' necks as often as they save his, though that's all yet to come. At this point, he's just that guy Hongô knows from the races who is getting married.
JAC member Chiba Jirô (younger brother of Sonny) actually tried out for the role of Hongô in the first place, BTW. Even though he didn't become a leading man, he's a great supporting player, as seen in Akumaizer-3 and Robot Detective, or his much smaller but equally-memorable role in Kikaider 01. He's one of my favorite Tokusatsu actors, actually. He may not have the same screen presence as his older brother (but then, not many people do) but he always turns in good work. I also have to talk about his Zubat appearance, though it is a HUGE spoiler for that show, so be aware.
[HIDE]No really, I spoil the ending! [HIDE]While a part of me always felt that Asuka's killer really should have been the cop guy like they teased later in the series, or even more radically, Asuka just faked his own death and was the final villain (though that would have been hard to pull off) the idea of having Chiba turn out to be you-know-who was kind of inspired casting, if only because it's so much against type. I didn't see it coming.[/HIDE][/HIDE]
Not surprisingly, he's kind of our surrogate hero here, getting a lot of screen time. I imagine viewers in 1971 must have been confused. Who was this guy, and why did he seem so capable in the face of danger? They'd get the answer two weeks later. Also getting a lot to do are Tachibana and Ruriko, who stage a fake wedding! By the end of his time on Kamen Rider, I think Tachibana has 'gotten married', 'become' a doctor of multiple fields, discovered his identical twin, opened and closes several cafes, bought a jeep, survived numerous assassination attempts, etc.
This episode has one of the zanier plots, which I think is pretty clearly the result of some frenzied scrambling in light of losing Fujioka. It had to be, since a director wrote it! Shocker comes up with a monster designed solely to kick Kamen Rider's butt, and he's powered by the blood of unmarried virgin girls. Hey, vampire.
I've always really liked the Gebacondor costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. Would you ever think he was a condor based on that design though? I always thought he was some kind of fruit bat, but then we already had the bat guy. On closer inspection you can kinda see what they were going for in an abstract sort of way (and I do mean abstract.) It is a cool design though, and his "creation" scene rocks. I like his gargling voice too. No feathers though, but his henchmen have them!
The church location would later be used in the second episode of V3, which also deals with a church serving as a front for an evil organization. I love how everybody is in on it this time, right down to the old lady playing the organ (which in the dub, had different music that made it sound like she'd magically become an entire orchestra.) Taki beats everybody up of course.
This is also one of two episodes featuring Taki's wife Yôko. There's always been some uncertainty over whether or not this wedding was legit (for reasons we see in episode 13) or just part of a bigger plan to lure out Shocker. Yôko hasn't appeared in Kamen Rider Spirits as far as I know, though according to producer Hirayama, she is indeed the genuine Mrs. Taki and her disappearance from the show has an explanation to it that I'll talk about tomorrow.
If there's one complaint I have, it's that the ending fight is mostly done in slow-mo. It's kinda cool to be able to see how everything really works- it's like a demonstration of how they choreograph a Rider battle- but it's kind of a step down after the exciting stuff Yamada was showing us last time. But this only happens one or two more times in the series and I cut them slack since this episode was more than likely under-running as it is. That's a great location for the fight though.
Also, Gebacondor's death is... different. I like it though, and it's good to see the Cyclone being used in a finisher. I haven't talked about it much, but I love the original Cyclone, with its ozone-destroying exhaust pipes. Definitely one of my favorite bikes.
Taki will sit out the next episode (interstingly, the production and transmission order for these and the next few is unchanged) but he'll be back.
Episode 12 “The Murderous Yamogeras”
The times, they are a-changing. Given that some of the cast will soon be leaving the show, this episode was kind of a gift to Morikawa Chieko- she is practically the star! She's decent in the action scenes for a non-stunt actor (and a character who is, let's not forget, supposed to just be an average person and not a super hero or fighter of any kind.) I wonder if they could get away with a Rider show where the main character is female, though there's still a mystery male Rider backing her up. That's not exactly what I'd do, but what I'd do wouldn't sell very well either (or be able to be made on any kind of reasonable budget.)
Although we've has scientists being targeted by Shocker or people's relatives/families being used as leverage to get what Shocker wants in the show already, this episode basically fine-tunes the ultimate go-to Rider plot: Shocker targets the scientist by using their relatives/family members as leverage to get what Shocker wants. What's amazing to me is how many times this plot line is used, and yet it's always just a little bit different, often times because of what's at stake, what the villains are after, and how the heroes respond. Like, we see this done again in the early 20's and it's a whole different kind of story.
So what's the best way to get your hands on a scientist's experimental death-ray? Kidnap his loved ones of course!
I always love the scientists in Tokusatsu who invent or discover things that might sound like good ideas on paper, but in practice are basically begging to have some evil organization steal them. Death-rays? Check. Radioactive rocks that melt people? Check. An experimental energy source that we'll just use to blow up asteroids? Check.
In this case it's the Dangerlight ray, which turns people and animals into very flat-looking skeletons, and can blow up airplanes and Giant Robo stock footage. In fairness, at least its creator admits it's pretty bad news up front.
Also the wind-up bird toy from episode 10 returns, if you're keeping score.
I've always really liked the Yamogeras costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. As a kid, I thought he was an ant for some reason, but he's the gecko man. I like his mohawk-looking fin and those crazy eyes. The cocooning power is pretty cool, though I'm not sure how biologically accurate that is. But hey, they showed us how it worked in the schematics, so it gets a pass. If you can believe it, Yamogeras is voiced by Mizushima Susumu (no relation to Tendou as far as I know) who also did Cobra-Otoko. Talk about range.
He's notable for being one of the few monsters who is not killed directly by Kamen Rider, but the completed Dangerlight ray with its creator at the trigger. For all the good that did though, since he's back next time along with a few friends.
All in all a pretty good episode considering the title character is even more scarce than last time. Kamen Rider is slowly turning into this enigmatic figure, appearing only for the fights. Obviously they couldn't keep this up forever, so next episode marks the end of an era (of sorts.)
The trailer at the end of the episode is one of my favorites, I was so excited for that one the first time I saw it.
These two episodes are somewhat unique in that I have seen them not only in the original Japanese, but also in an English dub (from Malaysia I believe, though I'm not sure about that.) I've watched some Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro & Kamen Rider BLACK RX from what I assume is the same company, since there's a couple recognizable voices in there. These dubs are notable for 1) some great lines, including the immortal "Damnshit!" and 2) in original Rider's case, adding in Kamen Rider BLACK music at times, which sticks out like a side of beef on a vegetarian pizza. When Ruriko leaves Tachibana in the dust at the end of 11, I kid you not, Black Hole Message fires up. Love and Peace all right!
The dub does have two top-notch lines though:
"I hope that you drink enough of it to become active for our Shakaaaaa!"
"Mister Taki... whatthehell are you doing here?"
Anyway. This is the first of 3 original Rider 1 episodes made entirely post-accident, so Fujioka only appears through stock footage. The rest of the time, it's stand-ins, and you know, it actually works pretty well. Even as a kid I knew that these were the cobbled-together episodes without the main man because 'everybody' did, but I'll admit that had I not known the behind-the-scenes details, I'd probably be fooled. The story cleverly has Hongô take a back seat to the other characters, who remark on his increasing scarcity. There's something almost mythic about Kamen Rider's appearances in these episodes.
Naya's brother is still doing the voice, though he's getting a smaller share of the dialogue. The action here is really powered by Tachibana, Ruriko and, for the first time ever, Taki Kazuya.
Most fans now know of Taki from his appearance in Kamen Rider Spirits, where he puts on a Skullman-influenced costume, grabs a shotgun and becomes a sort of honorary Rider, but the character started out way back at the beginning as just a regular guy (albeit in peak physical condition and with a seemingly superhuman ability to survive everything the show throws at him.) Nowadays, a character like him would almost certainly be second Rider fodder.
But what I think makes Taki unique, and a lot of what makes him really cool, is that he isn't a Rider. In the same way as Ichijô to Kuuga years later, he's the average guy with above-average abilities (and luck.) They're Kamen Rider's best friend. At the same time, the shows acknowledge that they can't win the battles on their own, but they can (and do) help the Riders. Taki saves the Double Riders' necks as often as they save his, though that's all yet to come. At this point, he's just that guy Hongô knows from the races who is getting married.
JAC member Chiba Jirô (younger brother of Sonny) actually tried out for the role of Hongô in the first place, BTW. Even though he didn't become a leading man, he's a great supporting player, as seen in Akumaizer-3 and Robot Detective, or his much smaller but equally-memorable role in Kikaider 01. He's one of my favorite Tokusatsu actors, actually. He may not have the same screen presence as his older brother (but then, not many people do) but he always turns in good work. I also have to talk about his Zubat appearance, though it is a HUGE spoiler for that show, so be aware.
[HIDE]No really, I spoil the ending! [HIDE]While a part of me always felt that Asuka's killer really should have been the cop guy like they teased later in the series, or even more radically, Asuka just faked his own death and was the final villain (though that would have been hard to pull off) the idea of having Chiba turn out to be you-know-who was kind of inspired casting, if only because it's so much against type. I didn't see it coming.[/HIDE][/HIDE]
Not surprisingly, he's kind of our surrogate hero here, getting a lot of screen time. I imagine viewers in 1971 must have been confused. Who was this guy, and why did he seem so capable in the face of danger? They'd get the answer two weeks later. Also getting a lot to do are Tachibana and Ruriko, who stage a fake wedding! By the end of his time on Kamen Rider, I think Tachibana has 'gotten married', 'become' a doctor of multiple fields, discovered his identical twin, opened and closes several cafes, bought a jeep, survived numerous assassination attempts, etc.
This episode has one of the zanier plots, which I think is pretty clearly the result of some frenzied scrambling in light of losing Fujioka. It had to be, since a director wrote it! Shocker comes up with a monster designed solely to kick Kamen Rider's butt, and he's powered by the blood of unmarried virgin girls. Hey, vampire.
I've always really liked the Gebacondor costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. Would you ever think he was a condor based on that design though? I always thought he was some kind of fruit bat, but then we already had the bat guy. On closer inspection you can kinda see what they were going for in an abstract sort of way (and I do mean abstract.) It is a cool design though, and his "creation" scene rocks. I like his gargling voice too. No feathers though, but his henchmen have them!
The church location would later be used in the second episode of V3, which also deals with a church serving as a front for an evil organization. I love how everybody is in on it this time, right down to the old lady playing the organ (which in the dub, had different music that made it sound like she'd magically become an entire orchestra.) Taki beats everybody up of course.
This is also one of two episodes featuring Taki's wife Yôko. There's always been some uncertainty over whether or not this wedding was legit (for reasons we see in episode 13) or just part of a bigger plan to lure out Shocker. Yôko hasn't appeared in Kamen Rider Spirits as far as I know, though according to producer Hirayama, she is indeed the genuine Mrs. Taki and her disappearance from the show has an explanation to it that I'll talk about tomorrow.
If there's one complaint I have, it's that the ending fight is mostly done in slow-mo. It's kinda cool to be able to see how everything really works- it's like a demonstration of how they choreograph a Rider battle- but it's kind of a step down after the exciting stuff Yamada was showing us last time. But this only happens one or two more times in the series and I cut them slack since this episode was more than likely under-running as it is. That's a great location for the fight though.
Also, Gebacondor's death is... different. I like it though, and it's good to see the Cyclone being used in a finisher. I haven't talked about it much, but I love the original Cyclone, with its ozone-destroying exhaust pipes. Definitely one of my favorite bikes.
Taki will sit out the next episode (interstingly, the production and transmission order for these and the next few is unchanged) but he'll be back.
Episode 12 “The Murderous Yamogeras”
The times, they are a-changing. Given that some of the cast will soon be leaving the show, this episode was kind of a gift to Morikawa Chieko- she is practically the star! She's decent in the action scenes for a non-stunt actor (and a character who is, let's not forget, supposed to just be an average person and not a super hero or fighter of any kind.) I wonder if they could get away with a Rider show where the main character is female, though there's still a mystery male Rider backing her up. That's not exactly what I'd do, but what I'd do wouldn't sell very well either (or be able to be made on any kind of reasonable budget.)
Although we've has scientists being targeted by Shocker or people's relatives/families being used as leverage to get what Shocker wants in the show already, this episode basically fine-tunes the ultimate go-to Rider plot: Shocker targets the scientist by using their relatives/family members as leverage to get what Shocker wants. What's amazing to me is how many times this plot line is used, and yet it's always just a little bit different, often times because of what's at stake, what the villains are after, and how the heroes respond. Like, we see this done again in the early 20's and it's a whole different kind of story.
So what's the best way to get your hands on a scientist's experimental death-ray? Kidnap his loved ones of course!
I always love the scientists in Tokusatsu who invent or discover things that might sound like good ideas on paper, but in practice are basically begging to have some evil organization steal them. Death-rays? Check. Radioactive rocks that melt people? Check. An experimental energy source that we'll just use to blow up asteroids? Check.
In this case it's the Dangerlight ray, which turns people and animals into very flat-looking skeletons, and can blow up airplanes and Giant Robo stock footage. In fairness, at least its creator admits it's pretty bad news up front.
Also the wind-up bird toy from episode 10 returns, if you're keeping score.
I've always really liked the Yamogeras costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. As a kid, I thought he was an ant for some reason, but he's the gecko man. I like his mohawk-looking fin and those crazy eyes. The cocooning power is pretty cool, though I'm not sure how biologically accurate that is. But hey, they showed us how it worked in the schematics, so it gets a pass. If you can believe it, Yamogeras is voiced by Mizushima Susumu (no relation to Tendou as far as I know) who also did Cobra-Otoko. Talk about range.
He's notable for being one of the few monsters who is not killed directly by Kamen Rider, but the completed Dangerlight ray with its creator at the trigger. For all the good that did though, since he's back next time along with a few friends.
All in all a pretty good episode considering the title character is even more scarce than last time. Kamen Rider is slowly turning into this enigmatic figure, appearing only for the fights. Obviously they couldn't keep this up forever, so next episode marks the end of an era (of sorts.)
The trailer at the end of the episode is one of my favorites, I was so excited for that one the first time I saw it.
Aoi Kurenai
Mad Skillz
You should totally think about archiving these posts one day, they're really informative and just a lot of fun to read.
--
Episode 6 -
Really good episode this time around, probably my favorite next to the first two up to this point. It's always interesting to see those real world connections being formed and while I've thought that doing something like that would be rather offensive these days, the Nazi crimes were only 20-30 years old around the time of this airing so I have to wonder how it was received.
I did think seeing Shiro, Ruriko, and whatsherface, randomly encounter Sunada on the streets was kind of hilarious. It's one of those odd moments that just feels like it couldn't have been done much better. I'm reminded of that late Kiva episode that has Wataru meeting Mio and then Taiga in the exact same place hours apart.
Shiro's a really fun character and I'm always a little upset at the fact that these older tokusatsu would sometimes just get rid of characters with little explanation.
The second half of the episode was quite a lot of fun. Kidnappings all over the places and escapes and more kidnappings and stuff being stolen, it all happens at such an awesome pace but just doesn't feel too rush at all, I love it. Definitely had a lot of fun with the Great Leader knowing Hongo was in his base and just how much he seemed to revel in the fact because he probably does think he's got him now.
Didn't actually expect Hongo to transform when he fell into the trap the first time, I think that might have been a better cliffhanger, but I like what we got either way. (though I dislike that the preview sort of spoils it) Great way to get the first Rider two-parter going!
Also, I just noticed that the gal who plays Ruriko is that indian lady from those first few episodes of Iron King.
(I'm up to date, NaNoWriMo is just sucking away most of my time)
--
Episode 6 -
Really good episode this time around, probably my favorite next to the first two up to this point. It's always interesting to see those real world connections being formed and while I've thought that doing something like that would be rather offensive these days, the Nazi crimes were only 20-30 years old around the time of this airing so I have to wonder how it was received.
I did think seeing Shiro, Ruriko, and whatsherface, randomly encounter Sunada on the streets was kind of hilarious. It's one of those odd moments that just feels like it couldn't have been done much better. I'm reminded of that late Kiva episode that has Wataru meeting Mio and then Taiga in the exact same place hours apart.
Shiro's a really fun character and I'm always a little upset at the fact that these older tokusatsu would sometimes just get rid of characters with little explanation.
The second half of the episode was quite a lot of fun. Kidnappings all over the places and escapes and more kidnappings and stuff being stolen, it all happens at such an awesome pace but just doesn't feel too rush at all, I love it. Definitely had a lot of fun with the Great Leader knowing Hongo was in his base and just how much he seemed to revel in the fact because he probably does think he's got him now.
Didn't actually expect Hongo to transform when he fell into the trap the first time, I think that might have been a better cliffhanger, but I like what we got either way. (though I dislike that the preview sort of spoils it) Great way to get the first Rider two-parter going!
Also, I just noticed that the gal who plays Ruriko is that indian lady from those first few episodes of Iron King.
(I'm up to date, NaNoWriMo is just sucking away most of my time)
Painted_Outlaw
The new Tendou Souji
I'm just picturing Igadevil being all like "So, today's episode 22 huh?" then, walking over and grabbing the DVD of it off his shelf. :laugh:
Igadevil
Mr. Kamen Rider
Pretty much! That DVD box set was worth every penny. And I will buy the Blu-Ray one when it inevitably comes out (please not for a while Toei, I need to save money. 
)
Episode 13 “Tokageron and the Great Monster Armyâ€
One episode tonight, so this one's gonna be long. Sorry. :sweat:
Before we dive into this one, I need tosteal quote from Wikipedia (I know, I know, but this is actually true and put more succinctly than I could do it: )
Got all that? In other words, if you ever wondered why a lot of shows run for 13, 26, 39 or 52 episodes, there you go. Of course in the case of the original Kamen Rider, something unusual happened.
I've read that Kamen Rider's producer Hirayama Tôru always tried to make the episode 13's on his shows really good ones, so that the audience would still come back next week and ensure that the show was firing full throttle even after 3 months. In this case, it worked. Episode 13 had the highest ratings for the show up to that point. While they did dip slightly for the next few weeks, the lull didn't last very long and from that point on Kamen Rider's continued existence was guaranteed (two other things that helped tremendously came in later in the year: the Calbee Rider Snack, and Terebi-Magazine.)
Also, keep in mind, even on a bad day the original series was pulling numbers that Rider shows now would kill each other for, though there were fewer channels then and the original series aired in prime time. It's kind of funny to consider that we now think of breaking into double digits as this momentous occasion, when a 10.0% back then was where the suits started to get antsy.
The point of all this is that episode 13 was always going to be something special, but probably not this special. It's the end of an era, and while the last two episodes were assembled in a bit of a scramble, this one was made with full awareness of what would come the following week. I mean hell, the trailer at the end basically says it's a new series!
I haven't talked much about Igami Masaru yet, but this is probably a good time to bring him up. Igami is my favorite writer on Kamen Rider, period. Maybe even of all Tokusatsu. That's out of its entire history, from the black and white days up 'til now. He was the closest thing Kamen Rider had to a 'main' writer in the early years, since back then there would generally be far more scenario writers working on a show than there are now. The original series has a whopping 16, and it's years before series become 1-or-2-man/woman shows.
On the original series, Igami handled nearly all the major story lines, including the first three, the Shinigami Chameleon two-parter, and this one. He'll go on to write Rider 2's debut, various villain entrances and exits, plot-changing episodes, the first-ever "evil Rider" story, and of course the grand finale. Plus a few one-offs. As for why he's my favorite, that's partly the quality of his episodes- if I were to make a favorites list, he's written most of them. It's also partly because I think his writing can be both completely honest and cynically aware of itself at the same time.
We get a good example of that in this episode with how much of a blockhead Taki appears to be- one minute it's "this is a man's job" and the next he's getting his ass kicked by rocks. I say "appears to be" because really, he's not just some snoopy meathead with bad luck. There's a reason why he's messing around with Shocker and it's revealed in just the right way. He's with the FBI! Not sure if the FBI actually has jurisdiction in Japan, but what the hell. This becomes an important part of his character and is elaborated on in later episodes.
As this is a Fujioka-less episode (outside of stock footage) it's up to everybody else to up their game. Ruriko has what's sadly going to be her last on-screen appearance, but they gave her a great last speech to go out on, and that look of pure lust she gives Rider 1 at the end is the stuff of legends.
Tachibana helps train our hero to upgrade his Rider Kick into the more powerful Denkô (Lightning) Rider Kick. It's a testament to the quality of this subplot and its eventual payoff that the Denkô Rider Kick is often considered one of Rider 1's signature moves, if not his strongest- and I think it's only ever used here!
Even Shocker has its own story line this week. In a lot of ways this is a very villain-driven episode. They're everywhere. We see the main villain's creation, something that up until now has been hinted at, eluded to or whatnot, but this is different. We get to know Tokageron (briefly) before he becomes Tokageron, when he's just Mr. Asshole Soccer Player. We see some actual scheming. Agents staking out the target, making preparations. It's kind of a like planning a huge bank heist, except in this case it's a nuclear research facility that apparently had Level 10 Barrier cast on it, making it near-impenetrable unless you've got a handy sea mine laying around.
This episode famously resurrects everybody from the past 12 episodes, even Yamogeras (who died last week) and Cobra-Otoko (who's on his third life.) A kind of unintentional detail of the Revived Kaijin Armyâ„¢ is that the monsters are always a bit shoddier than they were before. They're killed a lot more easily, exploding like Pintos and being defeated just by being thrown really hard. The suits look beaten up, tired and worn-down. And I love it! They are essentially zombie-monsters so it makes perfect sense. They all had their 15 minutes in the spotlight and now they're back, but they're so much less than what they once were. This isn't the last revived monster army story line, but it is one of the first.
BTW, if you're keeping score: some monsters have belts this time that didn't originally (Kumo-Otoko & Sasori-Otoko) and Shinigami Chameleon is voiced by Nakamura Bunya, future Marshal Armor in V3. The scene where they all 'come to life' is one of my favorite moments in the episode.
I've always really liked the Tokageron costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. He's really different, coming from an almost completely otherworldly aesthetic than the others. Those scientists blew the bank on this one! Gone are the boots and belt, the human eyes and the human-like figure. He's like a giant monster, but the size of a man. He's like an ancestral forefather to the monsters of Amazon or BLACK and beyond.
And yet, he doesn't look out of place at all, while also being distinctive enough that he stands apart from the crowd. You know he's the boss. Tokageron is one case where I think the still pictures look even better than how he appears in motion, mostly because I think they touched up the costume a bit for later, Rider 2-era appearances.
He's notable for being a monster that almost never physically engages with Kamen Rider, instead kicking things at him (really hard.) Also, you gotta love that Shocker's finest have perfected a weapon able to destroy the barrier, but no monster able to make use of it. The Leader's response to that is perfect.
Tokageron is played (in human form) and voiced by the gravelly-voiced Hotta Shinzo, who now has a long history of playing Tokusatsu villains, including two main bad guys in Ninja Captor. In Kamen Rider, he'd later go on to play Skyrider's nemesis General Monster, and a few years before that, the leader of the ersatz-Delzer Army from the Stronger TV Special, i.e. the guys who think it would be a great idea to attack a Kamen Rider stage show while all 7 real Riders are watching.
Other miscellaneous thoughts:
-The first scene is awesome, cutting at just the right time to a few seconds of black before the title. Chilling stuff.
-I guess Shocker knew they were going to make a lizard guy this week even before making him, since they decorated the base for the occasion.
-The final battle is complete insanity, with Kamen Rider taking on everybody at once and winning. Guys die by falling headfirst into dirt, guys die like bugs, and the sound effects people must have really, really liked that one that sounds like a rubber ducky strangling an accordion, they use is several times in this episode and almost never again after that. I also like how the explosion conveniently kills everybody all in one go!
-Yôko makes her only other appearance in the series here. I mentioned before an explanation for her disappearance, at least off-screen: it's generally believed she went back to the U.S. since Taki didn't want to put her in further danger, but their wedding was legit and not just some FBI plot. I'd say the show supports this since...
[HIDE] he returns to the U.S. at the end, and that's where he apparently was until Kamen Rider Spirits. Hirayama's belief is they settled down and lived more or less normally, and my belief is they probably had a kid eventually. Maybe, I dunno, a daughter. Maybe.[/HIDE]
-Episode 13 is also notable for being the first-ever Kamen Rider movie! Sort of. It was titled "Go Go Kamen Rider" and shown as part of the Summer '71 Toei Manga Matsuri, premiering in mid-July (about three episodes in to Rider 2's run.) Aside from a new title card, and being cropped to fit the wider screen of theaters (or "blowing-up" as they say), there's no significant difference from the broadcast version, but it is historically interesting. If you're going to do a Rider movie marathon though, I'd skip right to Kamen Rider vs. Shocker if you've already seen the original episode.
That brings us to the end of the original 13 episodes, the first 'arc' of the show. My feelings on these early episodes are actually kind of disparate.
On the one hand, did the show get better from here? I think so, in fact I think some of Kamen Rider's best episodes (not just the series, but the entire franchise) come much, much later on near the end. The show doesn't really lose its darker edges, there's still plenty of horrific moments and the weirdness of the early days, but that's also balanced by an increased emphasis on action, a grander scope, and an optimistic feel embodied by our new leading protagonist. A lot of the elements of what we think of as Kamen Rider now will come in over the next few weeks.
On the other, these early episodes? Are still fantastic. Some shows take time to figure out what they want to be, but I think Kamen Rider hit the ground running. Even though it would undergo a few changes along the way, you can still see all the building blocks being laid out here. It's unmistakably Kamen Rider. It's been a while since I revisited the original 13, but they're still as much fun as they ever were, and possibly even more.
)Episode 13 “Tokageron and the Great Monster Armyâ€
One episode tonight, so this one's gonna be long. Sorry. :sweat:
Before we dive into this one, I need to
Got all that? In other words, if you ever wondered why a lot of shows run for 13, 26, 39 or 52 episodes, there you go. Of course in the case of the original Kamen Rider, something unusual happened.
I've read that Kamen Rider's producer Hirayama Tôru always tried to make the episode 13's on his shows really good ones, so that the audience would still come back next week and ensure that the show was firing full throttle even after 3 months. In this case, it worked. Episode 13 had the highest ratings for the show up to that point. While they did dip slightly for the next few weeks, the lull didn't last very long and from that point on Kamen Rider's continued existence was guaranteed (two other things that helped tremendously came in later in the year: the Calbee Rider Snack, and Terebi-Magazine.)
Also, keep in mind, even on a bad day the original series was pulling numbers that Rider shows now would kill each other for, though there were fewer channels then and the original series aired in prime time. It's kind of funny to consider that we now think of breaking into double digits as this momentous occasion, when a 10.0% back then was where the suits started to get antsy.
The point of all this is that episode 13 was always going to be something special, but probably not this special. It's the end of an era, and while the last two episodes were assembled in a bit of a scramble, this one was made with full awareness of what would come the following week. I mean hell, the trailer at the end basically says it's a new series!
I haven't talked much about Igami Masaru yet, but this is probably a good time to bring him up. Igami is my favorite writer on Kamen Rider, period. Maybe even of all Tokusatsu. That's out of its entire history, from the black and white days up 'til now. He was the closest thing Kamen Rider had to a 'main' writer in the early years, since back then there would generally be far more scenario writers working on a show than there are now. The original series has a whopping 16, and it's years before series become 1-or-2-man/woman shows.
On the original series, Igami handled nearly all the major story lines, including the first three, the Shinigami Chameleon two-parter, and this one. He'll go on to write Rider 2's debut, various villain entrances and exits, plot-changing episodes, the first-ever "evil Rider" story, and of course the grand finale. Plus a few one-offs. As for why he's my favorite, that's partly the quality of his episodes- if I were to make a favorites list, he's written most of them. It's also partly because I think his writing can be both completely honest and cynically aware of itself at the same time.
We get a good example of that in this episode with how much of a blockhead Taki appears to be- one minute it's "this is a man's job" and the next he's getting his ass kicked by rocks. I say "appears to be" because really, he's not just some snoopy meathead with bad luck. There's a reason why he's messing around with Shocker and it's revealed in just the right way. He's with the FBI! Not sure if the FBI actually has jurisdiction in Japan, but what the hell. This becomes an important part of his character and is elaborated on in later episodes.
As this is a Fujioka-less episode (outside of stock footage) it's up to everybody else to up their game. Ruriko has what's sadly going to be her last on-screen appearance, but they gave her a great last speech to go out on, and that look of pure lust she gives Rider 1 at the end is the stuff of legends.
Tachibana helps train our hero to upgrade his Rider Kick into the more powerful Denkô (Lightning) Rider Kick. It's a testament to the quality of this subplot and its eventual payoff that the Denkô Rider Kick is often considered one of Rider 1's signature moves, if not his strongest- and I think it's only ever used here!
Even Shocker has its own story line this week. In a lot of ways this is a very villain-driven episode. They're everywhere. We see the main villain's creation, something that up until now has been hinted at, eluded to or whatnot, but this is different. We get to know Tokageron (briefly) before he becomes Tokageron, when he's just Mr. Asshole Soccer Player. We see some actual scheming. Agents staking out the target, making preparations. It's kind of a like planning a huge bank heist, except in this case it's a nuclear research facility that apparently had Level 10 Barrier cast on it, making it near-impenetrable unless you've got a handy sea mine laying around.
This episode famously resurrects everybody from the past 12 episodes, even Yamogeras (who died last week) and Cobra-Otoko (who's on his third life.) A kind of unintentional detail of the Revived Kaijin Armyâ„¢ is that the monsters are always a bit shoddier than they were before. They're killed a lot more easily, exploding like Pintos and being defeated just by being thrown really hard. The suits look beaten up, tired and worn-down. And I love it! They are essentially zombie-monsters so it makes perfect sense. They all had their 15 minutes in the spotlight and now they're back, but they're so much less than what they once were. This isn't the last revived monster army story line, but it is one of the first.
BTW, if you're keeping score: some monsters have belts this time that didn't originally (Kumo-Otoko & Sasori-Otoko) and Shinigami Chameleon is voiced by Nakamura Bunya, future Marshal Armor in V3. The scene where they all 'come to life' is one of my favorite moments in the episode.
I've always really liked the Tokageron costume, though I'll probably say that about every monster for the rest of this show. He's really different, coming from an almost completely otherworldly aesthetic than the others. Those scientists blew the bank on this one! Gone are the boots and belt, the human eyes and the human-like figure. He's like a giant monster, but the size of a man. He's like an ancestral forefather to the monsters of Amazon or BLACK and beyond.
And yet, he doesn't look out of place at all, while also being distinctive enough that he stands apart from the crowd. You know he's the boss. Tokageron is one case where I think the still pictures look even better than how he appears in motion, mostly because I think they touched up the costume a bit for later, Rider 2-era appearances.
He's notable for being a monster that almost never physically engages with Kamen Rider, instead kicking things at him (really hard.) Also, you gotta love that Shocker's finest have perfected a weapon able to destroy the barrier, but no monster able to make use of it. The Leader's response to that is perfect.
Tokageron is played (in human form) and voiced by the gravelly-voiced Hotta Shinzo, who now has a long history of playing Tokusatsu villains, including two main bad guys in Ninja Captor. In Kamen Rider, he'd later go on to play Skyrider's nemesis General Monster, and a few years before that, the leader of the ersatz-Delzer Army from the Stronger TV Special, i.e. the guys who think it would be a great idea to attack a Kamen Rider stage show while all 7 real Riders are watching.
Other miscellaneous thoughts:
-The first scene is awesome, cutting at just the right time to a few seconds of black before the title. Chilling stuff.
-I guess Shocker knew they were going to make a lizard guy this week even before making him, since they decorated the base for the occasion.
-The final battle is complete insanity, with Kamen Rider taking on everybody at once and winning. Guys die by falling headfirst into dirt, guys die like bugs, and the sound effects people must have really, really liked that one that sounds like a rubber ducky strangling an accordion, they use is several times in this episode and almost never again after that. I also like how the explosion conveniently kills everybody all in one go!
-Yôko makes her only other appearance in the series here. I mentioned before an explanation for her disappearance, at least off-screen: it's generally believed she went back to the U.S. since Taki didn't want to put her in further danger, but their wedding was legit and not just some FBI plot. I'd say the show supports this since...
[HIDE] he returns to the U.S. at the end, and that's where he apparently was until Kamen Rider Spirits. Hirayama's belief is they settled down and lived more or less normally, and my belief is they probably had a kid eventually. Maybe, I dunno, a daughter. Maybe.[/HIDE]
-Episode 13 is also notable for being the first-ever Kamen Rider movie! Sort of. It was titled "Go Go Kamen Rider" and shown as part of the Summer '71 Toei Manga Matsuri, premiering in mid-July (about three episodes in to Rider 2's run.) Aside from a new title card, and being cropped to fit the wider screen of theaters (or "blowing-up" as they say), there's no significant difference from the broadcast version, but it is historically interesting. If you're going to do a Rider movie marathon though, I'd skip right to Kamen Rider vs. Shocker if you've already seen the original episode.
That brings us to the end of the original 13 episodes, the first 'arc' of the show. My feelings on these early episodes are actually kind of disparate.
On the one hand, did the show get better from here? I think so, in fact I think some of Kamen Rider's best episodes (not just the series, but the entire franchise) come much, much later on near the end. The show doesn't really lose its darker edges, there's still plenty of horrific moments and the weirdness of the early days, but that's also balanced by an increased emphasis on action, a grander scope, and an optimistic feel embodied by our new leading protagonist. A lot of the elements of what we think of as Kamen Rider now will come in over the next few weeks.
On the other, these early episodes? Are still fantastic. Some shows take time to figure out what they want to be, but I think Kamen Rider hit the ground running. Even though it would undergo a few changes along the way, you can still see all the building blocks being laid out here. It's unmistakably Kamen Rider. It's been a while since I revisited the original 13, but they're still as much fun as they ever were, and possibly even more.
Khaiden
Heroes are forever
Sorry guys, it's a bit hard for me to catch up, I've seen the first 10 so far and will watch 11-13 for the rest of the night, then I'll try to watch 14-15 tomorrow.
Small thoughts so far:
These grunts, now I see are the dumbest kind, and Shocker was just learning to deal with superheroes themselves, because with the mistakes they make, you'd think they would get someone to command things sooner than 26 episodes.
The most particular thing I found re-watching these (and I think I barely touched these episodes since I first watched them years ago, so most of the stuff is almost new to me, well that and now they're subbed) is that Hongo made a habit of interrogating them, a lot, and they would always give him the information he wants. That brainwash needs some perfectioning!
Also, one of Shocker's dumbest moments might be when they left Takeshi and Ruriko to die in the train.
Earlier in the episode they planned to confine him to a closed space, when I saw them in the taxi trap, I thought that was it, and it was really clever, but they make the mistake to get him out of there. And even worse, they think he's finished, so the rails are clean and that's what you conclude? More grunt dumbness.
And boy, the action is lovely, with this whole series not a single episode disappointed me in this department and it's still fun to watch it.
None of the monster suits I had seen I thought of them as weak, not even the Kamakiri or Bee ones, I liked them all, there's something weird about costumes with me, so far so good, the costumes that I think look a bit weak will not come until later, though they're only very few.
Small thoughts so far:
These grunts, now I see are the dumbest kind, and Shocker was just learning to deal with superheroes themselves, because with the mistakes they make, you'd think they would get someone to command things sooner than 26 episodes.
The most particular thing I found re-watching these (and I think I barely touched these episodes since I first watched them years ago, so most of the stuff is almost new to me, well that and now they're subbed) is that Hongo made a habit of interrogating them, a lot, and they would always give him the information he wants. That brainwash needs some perfectioning!
Also, one of Shocker's dumbest moments might be when they left Takeshi and Ruriko to die in the train.
Earlier in the episode they planned to confine him to a closed space, when I saw them in the taxi trap, I thought that was it, and it was really clever, but they make the mistake to get him out of there. And even worse, they think he's finished, so the rails are clean and that's what you conclude? More grunt dumbness.
And boy, the action is lovely, with this whole series not a single episode disappointed me in this department and it's still fun to watch it.
None of the monster suits I had seen I thought of them as weak, not even the Kamakiri or Bee ones, I liked them all, there's something weird about costumes with me, so far so good, the costumes that I think look a bit weak will not come until later, though they're only very few.
I have a raw version with that! I downloaded it waaaaaay back when. I had to go and rewatch it at that mark, but it's there, it's a blink-and-miss.
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