A Kamen Rider Christmas!

As I explained here, after tonight the Blog will be going on a brief hiatus until mid-January, barring any special from-the-frontlines updates as mentioned here. So with that said, here's the final entry of Igadevil's Kamen Rider Blog for 2006, and it's a doozy.

First up, if you've been following the whisperings of Kamen Rider Ryuki being adapted for American TV, well, Henshin Justice Unlimited has something you should see. I'll give some more in-depth comments another time, but I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the trailer. I have no idea how this will turn out in the end, but it at least looks like they're going in the right direction.

Wait! Don't run off just yet though, because it's time for the review you've been waiting for. That's right, it's...

Kamen Rider Episode #39 “The Great Murderer’s Party of Wolf-Man”

I have often described this as the "Best Christmas-themed Episode Of Anything Ever" and while I'll admit a few other Tokusatsu Christmas episodes come pretty close in sheer wackiness, a few things set this one apart from, well, any other Christmas-themed episode of anything. Ever. So let's roll!

A couple of guys in ridiculously huge party hats are on their way home from some good old-fashioned Christmas drinkin', and are smashed beyond belief. When one goes off to, er, relieve himself, his buddy soon realizes that's probably a good idea before they hop on the train home and follows suit. He ends up tripping on the body of his intoxicated friend, who suddenly grows fangs and turns into a werewolf monster. And no, it's not a delusion caused by alcohol. It's a real werewolf monster, and it's @#$%in' biting the guy's neck! You know, typical evening stuff in Tokyo.

At any rate, that's one innocent victim down thanks to Ookami-Otoko. Colonel Zol & some Shocker henchmen show up shortly after, and despite initially attacking them, Wolfie soon gives in when Zol pulls out a sonic dog whistle. Since wolves are canine and all tha- oh, you know what I mean. Before leaving, the good Colonel notices a kid's shoe and doll nearby. Uh-oh, you know where this is leading: some little girl witnessed the whole thing.

Wait! It gets even better. Said little girl (Kumi) is from an orphanage where our heroes also happen to be chillin' because, hey, that's what good guys do. They're helping to decorate the Christmas tree, which leads to one of the best conversations in Kamen Rider ever.

Ichimonji: Hey kiddo, what do you want for Christmas?

Kid: To meet Kamen Rider! Even more than Santa Claus!

Other Kid: Yeah! Kamen Rider!

Ichimonji: Um...

Taki: No problem! We'll make sure Kamen Rider will be here. Right, Ichimonji?

Ichimonji: ...Uh...sure...

Anyways, This being an Ichimonji episode, things are about to go totally crazy pretty soon. To make a long story short, Kumi tells Ichimonji about what she saw, and while understandably skeptical, he doesn't doubt her story. Zol determines who the shoe belongs to, and when Ichimonji & Taki go to investigate the place where the murder happened, he's already there, posing as a cop, telling them to get lost and simultaneously confirming that somebody did indeed see something they shouldn't have. So you know what that means. Someone must DIE!

Ookami-Otoko and some Shocker goons show up to kidnap the girl, but get a fast one pulled on them by the good guys, which leads to a big fight. Rider 2 nearly manages to defeat the blue wolf, but he vanishes, seemingly escaping.

Later, Kumi reveals that, as she heard in the beginning of the episode, the Ookami-Otoko we've seen thus far is merely "an experimental version" created by the "Wolf Virus" as part of Shocker's "Operation Wolf". With no leads beyond that, Taki's FBI buddies help move the plot along by sending a radio transmission that a Shocker bigwig has just arrived in Japan via helicopter, and he has something to do with this "Operation Wolf". So looks like it's time to bust some more heads!

Ichimonji & Taki dispense with subtlety and just launch an all-out attack on Shocker. Our main man has a cool duel with the Nazi-esque Shocker Officer in the helicopter that ends with him throwing the villain's brief case to Taki, knocking out both of the bad guys and leaping to safety right before the chopper explodes!

Inside the briefcase, the guys find a strange costume and an invitation card signed by Zol himself.

Yes, Shocker is having a party and our heroes just invited themselves. Using the invitation card as a means to get past security, Taki sneaks in wearing the creepy costume, and soon finds himself surrounded by others wearing the same garb. Zol is the master of ceremonies, and announces that this party is held in honor of the imminent success of "Operation Wolf". While the rest of the world may be celebrating Christmas, this will be the last Christmas for them ever, cuz Shocker is going to be calling the shots soon.

Zol tells everyone to remove their costumes, and it all becomes clear: these are Zol's fellow ex-Nazis, who went into hiding after the war and became some of the founding Shocker members. Now they're all here under one roof. Of course, Taki doesn't remove his costume, which is the idea- Zol believes it's Ichimonji under the hood, and is pretty unhappy to discover the truth. Taki fights his way out and meets up with Ichimonji, who tells him he's set the place to explode. Because that's how you solve problems with Ichimonji- why bother trying to find an antidote to the Wolf Virus when you can just blow it all the hell up? And that's exactly what they do, trapping all of Zol's Nazi buddies in the ensuing blast.

Zol himself escapes unscathed, and is now majorly ticked. He reveals to Ichimonji that he too is a Kaizô-Ningen: the original Ookami-Otoko, who spreads the virus by his bite, and that he alone can still fulfill the plan. Zol transforms, and a spectacular fight follows. Keep in mind that, while it's practically expected nowadays that major Rider bad guys will have some kind of monster alter-ego, back in 1971 nobody had a clue Zol was anything other than a nasty Shocker ringleader, so there's some extra coolness to the fact that he turns out to be the real monster of the week (the earlier experimental Ookami-Otoko, created by this one's bite, apparently went up in the explosion along with all them other guys.)

Despite having rocket-firing hands and some tricky moves, Ookami-Otoko succumbs to a Rider Punch. Colonel Zol is defeated, "Operation Wolf" is in the can, and a happy ending with all the expected holiday cheer soon follows. Kamen Rider shows up for the Christmas party at the end...

...and hands out, among other things, Kamen Rider toys. Merchandising, Baaaa-by!

So there you go, only in the original Kamen Rider will you find a Christmas-themed episode involving werewolf mutants killing innocent drunkards late at night, Nazis being crushed to death by dirt, and a major villain being defeated after being punched in the face. See why I say this series is my favorite now?

And on that note folks, it's almost time for Christmas Day on my end, so I leave you with warm wishes for a Merry Christmas, A Happy New Year, and the all-new Kaijin Of The Month.

See you in 2007!

Kamen Rider Kabuto Episode #46

Okay, here's the deal. Since tomorrow, being Christmas Eve, will see the probable final update for some time, featuring a Very Special Holiday Review, today's (Saturday) entry will be what would usually come Sunday, the review of this week's episode of Kamen Rider Kabuto. After this one, we've got just 3 more episodes to go (no new episode next week.) I won't be able to review #47 & 48 right after they air, but I plan to go ahead and do them anyway when I get back in mid-January. But I should be able to review the grand finale no problemo.

That said, let's get rolling. This is a fairly *major* episode, so if you don't want to know what happens, stop reading here. In other words, I am the man who stands at the top of all Spoiler Warnings.

Last week, Tsurugi's life was finally starting to look bright until it all came crashing down following a confrontation with Nogi, who has mysteriously returned to life twice, and this time he's split himself into two identical Nogis. Anyways, after getting his butt kicked by the upgraded Cassisworm Clipeus, Tsurugi stumbled towards his intended meeting spot with Misaki for their date, only to let his other side take control- Scorpioworm.

Fortunately, Kagami was also around, and saves Misaki. Tsurugi briefly turns back to human, shocked and confused by his actions. Nogi (well, one of them) shows up, revealing that he is a Worm. Tsurugi (who has been unaware up until now) doesn't believe him, but Nogi fires a beam from his hand which brings out the Scorpioworm once more. Tsurugi's human side manages to regain control once more, and he reverts back to human, howling in anger. Misaki drops the gift (a bracelet) she intended to give him.

Tsurugi realizes the terrible truth: he is the Worm who killed "his" sister. He also killed and replaced the real Tsurugi, but since that time had somehow convinced himself he was the real one all along (from the actual Tsurugi's memories affecting him, as often seems to be the case with the Worms.) Furious, he tears up the scarf he had made for Misaki. Misaki, meanwhile, is ticked off at Kagami, who knew all along that Tsurugi was a Worm, but was unable to bring himself to tell her.

As if things weren't getting depressing enough, Tsurugi next takes his anger out on Jiiya, throwing his Christmas Cake on the floor and storming out.

Man, I'll tell you guys, Tendô getting all weepy about Hiyori chillin' in another dimension with his socially-inept evil twin is a bummer, but seeing Jiiya get sad? I think even Inui Takumi would be moved to tears by that.

At the Bistro, Tendô is all business as usual, taking Tsurugi's true identity in stride. Kagami disagrees with Tendô's "We'll defeat him" mentality, still believing Tsurugi to be a good guy in spite of his Worminess. Misaki merely thinks back to the time when he saved her, like, two episodes or so back.

Tsurugi, despondent, wanders into the sea...

That night, Tendô eats Christmas Cake with Juka and thinks about his *real* sister, Hiyori. Man, I can't wait until Tendô breaks this news to Juka.

With not much else going on at the moment, the Worms decide to start showing up en masse once more, so Kabuto & Gatack rush off to fight them. One of the Nogis drops in on Gatack and transforms into Cassisworm Clipeus. He kicks around Gatack until Tsurugi freakishly appears from the ocean and transforms into Scorpioworm to join in on the Gatack beat-down.

(Were I writing the show, at this point he wouldn't have transformed, but instead have dramatically walked onto the beach and then, at the top of his lungs, shouted "WAGA TOMO, KA-GAAAAAAAAAAAA-MI!")

Since Kagami will not fight his former friend, the Worms send Gatack flying. At a warehouse, Nogi welcomes Tsurugi into the fold as a partner in crime, but Tsurugi holds his sword to the other man's throat. The other Nogi arrives, displeased at this development. Tsurugi has no interest in following anyone else's orders. He insists that Kamishiro Tsurugi is dead, and he has been revived as the strongest Worm. In other words, when he went into the sea, the Tsurugi we know and love died, and his true Worm self is all that's left. The Nogis transform and a fight breaks out, but Tsurugi, as the Scorpioworm, poisons them with some sort of hypnotic chemical and makes them his followers. "I am the man who stands at the top of all Worms" he says.

Tendô meets with Jiiya. The old man begs our hero to "grant his master's wish." Meanwhile, Tsurugi appears before Kagami, who just finished off some Worm grunts. He tells Tsurugi that he believes he can still live as a human, and gives him the present Misaki had dropped earlier. But Tsurugi throws it down and tramples it before punching out Kagami. "I will destroy all Humans!" he states, as the Nogis appear at his side, one holding the Gatack Zecter. Nogi(s) won't be doing any talking for the rest of the episode, as the poison from Scorpioworm has apparently rendered them mute.

Believing the final battle is drawing near, Tsurugi meets with Tendô and demands all the Zecters in exchange for Kagami's life. As this is going on, Tadokoro and Misaki have a conversation about just what Worms and Humans are. Tadokoro states that he truly doesn't know, but to find the answer, they must keep fighting.

Mishima just states a bunch of stuff we already know (WORMS BAD!)

Speaking of which, the Worms are on the move once more, this time towards "Area M4", the designated meeting place where Tendô is supposed to drop off the Zecters in order to save Kagami. Tsurugi has a vision/dream sequence of the Zecters being crushed under a pressing machine. Tendô makes the trade, and true to their word, Tsurugi & the Nogis realeases Kagami.

(I like how the Gatack Zecter, which is sitting right there the whole time, does nothing to help Kagami.) They then stick the Zecters (Kabuto, Gatack, Drake & TheBee) under the press and appear to crush them. Tsurugi states that "From today, the age of the Worms begins." Tons of Worms come crashing through the walls and surround our heroes, but Misaki suddenly appears, and she's brought the cavalry:

Awww yeah. The Zecters, inexplicably fine despite appearing the be crushed moments earlier, fly free, and Kabuto & Gatack transform. Tsurugi also transforms into Sasword, ordering his Worm cronies to attack. A big battle breaks out, with Riders, Zectroopers, Worms and Misaki all fightin' and shootin' each other.

Kabuto & Sasword engage in a one-on-one in Masked Form. Gatack battles the rest of the Worms and one of the Cassisworms. The other one has the misfortune of encountering Yaguruma and Kageyama, who just casually stroll onto the scene. In spite of their insistence on returning to the darkness and forsaking the other Riders' fight, they realize they must once more step into the light, and they break out of their strengthening/restraining vests (I love Kageyama's little "RARGH!" moment here) and transform. Gatack defeats one Cassisworm, and the Double Hoppers use a little teamwork to take out the other one.

Kabuto & Sasword continue fighting, until the main man hits Sasword with a Rider Kick, knocking him out of his transformation. As he tries to stand, Misaki spots the bracelet she bought for him on his wrist. As Tsurugi transforms into Scorpioworm, Misaki realizes something and yells for Tendô to stop. She rushes up towards them in spite of the danger.

As the fight continues, Tsurugi narrates his apology to Misaki, dreaming of how their date would have gone. It's really a pretty sad montage, when you realize what's coming.

Kabuto goes into Hyper Kabuto, and summons the Perfect Zecter, preparing for the final blow. Scorpioworm strikes first, but misses, almost as if on purpose. Kabuto hesitates.

Tsurugi's human self appears from the Scorpioworm, urging Tendô to "fulfill his promise". As Misaki yells for them to stop, Hyper Kabuto does a Maximum Hyper Typhoon, cutting right through Scorpioworm's body. Tsurugi's bracelet rolls down the stairs from the platform they were fighting on.

Yaguruma & Kageyama, both worse for the wear but still living, give each other a high-five before collapsing from their brutal victory.

Misaki tearfully asks Tendô why he went ahead and killed Scorpioworm. He replies that he had made a promise to Tsurugi. In Tsurugi's own words: "I will destroy all Worms". Even, in the end, he was willing to let himself be destroyed to achieve that. When she saw him wearing the bracelet, Misaki believed that there still might be part of the Tsurugi she knew deep down inside. She was right.

At the Kamishiro manor, Tsurugi lies exahausted in a rocking chair. Jiiya quickly enters, asking if he needs anything.

"Is it okay if I go to sleep?" Tsurugi wearily asks.

"Of course. Please don't worry about a thing. Jiiya will always be by your side." his faithful servant replies, clasping his master's hand with his own.

"Thank you, Jiiya."

As his gentle butler and truest friend watches on, Tsurugi's eyes close. His other hand goes limp. And finally, he slips of into an eternal, blissful sleep.

To be continued...