Upcoming Downtime

Alright folks, this will be the final post on this incarnation of Igadevil's Kamen Rider Page.

What's up? Well, as most of you know, I've been having some issues lately with the site, and they look to be impossible to fix with the current hosting service. So, after much consideration, I've decided it's time for a change.

I'll save all the pseudo-philosophical feel-good what-this-site-means-to-me nonsense for when things are actually settled and done, but here's the important stuff:

-I will be migrating the site proper, which right now isn't much more than a redirect to this barely-functioning blogspot address. During that time, said blog will still be around, though externally-hosted images and files (i.e. Rider Break episodes) will go down.

-As such, I'm taking this opportunity to basically start over from scratch with the new site. I'll be reposting a lot of the older articles, going back and updating or correcting errors and such. Same content, but new and improved. The Great Leader article will include the later addendum plus further information (since it's now a few years old) and stuff like that. For episode reviews, there will be a more uniform style, and I'm thinking I may go back and give Kabuto/Den-O/Kiva and some of the movies more proper opinion-based reviews (like with Decade and Kuuga) rather than the episode recaps they started out as, though I'm still considering that. Everything I consider really important/worthwhile will be carried over.

-All the old Rider Break episodes will be re-posted and hopefully appear on the itunes feed again! And, when I finally have some time to sit down and record it, episode 13. I'm using the downtime to upgrade my set-up and finally get that new microphone, so at least I'll now sound "better" I guess?

-Meanwhile, minor stuff, like random images and all that from back in the days when this blog was more 'odds and ends' rather than anything organized, will go in the big 'ol folder of stuff to post on tumblr. Likewise, with news bites and really outdated stuff, I'll keep and maybe compile them or something, but in general I don't think any of it is really that important any more. Site updates that no longer apply, etc. These days, if I want to cover news or recent reveals, I'll do it on twitter or tumblr. Not to mention there's plenty of other sites that usually get the information up well before I do. I'd really like to move IKRP towards a more article/essay & 'hard content' (profiles, data lists, etc.)-based site anyway.

-But it's not all old! There will be plenty of new stuff coming once the new site is up and running. When that'll be, I can't say, but I'm hoping to have everything straightened out in early March so I can get on with all the real important stuff I've been working on for so long. Fingers crossed.

Lastly, thanks to all who have supported me during this time. You guys are the reason I started a website back in 2000; and you guys are the reason it's not going away anytime soon!

It's far from being all over!

Happy Birthday Kamen Rider!

4/3/1971~4/3/2010 and still going strong!

Okay, I suppose I've some explaining to do, about a number of things.

2010 has so far been a mixed couple of months for me, with a lot of the great and exciting mixed in with the not-so-great. Really, at the top of the list is that come this summer, my job for the last 3 years will come to an end. It's one of those things which always had a chance of happening, so it's not a total shock, though it is disappointing because it means time I could be spending on the fun stuff (like this site) has to be spent on things like packing, moving, and finding another job, ideally still in Japan. After all, 3 years in, and I'm still not ready to leave at all.

I won't bore you with the other personal details other than to say that I'm doing alright and have a couple good options open, though of course I can't really breathe easy until I've got something in writing. As a result, I really can't predict how the next few months will go. I'm going to try and spend time updating this site. You've probably noticed a few changes already.

Yes, I keep saying "this site", because that's what it is now. What was formerly "Igadevil's Kamen Rider Page" and "Igadevil's Kamen Rider Blog" are under one roof, which should make updating go a lot faster in a physical sense (update your links!) While it might take some time to iron everything out and get it looking nice, I have a vision for this site which I hope to see completed (or at least nearly-completed) by the end of the year, as 2010 does mark a decade of it (and me) online. "10 Years of Nothing!" is the slogan, by the way.

Anyways, I have been working away all day so I should have something up tomorrow at least, and after that... who knows? There's a lot going on Kamen Rider-wise right now, and I fully wish to get back into the daily routine I used to manage. It won't be easy, but it's worth a shot. Heck, I've been trying it for 10 years already!

Even if there's long stretches of inactivity here (and I'll try not to have those, but you never know how things go) you can follow me over on Twitter (see side bar.) Hey, at least it lets you know I'm doing something!

Until then enjoy Kamen Rider Day folks! Thanks to all of you out there reading this. 2010 has been tough for me so far, but I have a good feeling about the future.

***

Current Status

Sorry that I've been a bit quiet lately, but I have been working away hard on things behind-the-scenes, though unfortunately not much to show for it, yet. As sadly, making a web site is easy and daily blogging is easy, but doing both at the same time in addition to all the other things I've got on my plate at the moment = not so easy. But there will finally be some big things coming at the end of the month, including that thing I meant to finish back in October (!) More soonish, I will have another movie review(s) and do some catching-up on the news of late, and maybe something else. Stay tuned.

In Search of Igadevil!

Sorry guys, I hate to make a habit of this, but the last two months have been pretty terrible as far as getting anything done. I have again been battered down by assorted illnesses. At one point in September it hurt just trying to eat, and you don't need me to tell you how much fun that was. I've been working away like a dog on actual real-life job stuff, and a bit on my various projects (I've really been wanting to do something with the site, finally, but time and energy are scarce these days.)

I've also been spending a lot of time helping out other people with their projects, which unfortunately results in me often having to neglect mine. This isn't anyone's fault, but I am going to need to be a bit less generous with my time if I'm to get anything done. So if you have any favors to ask of me... put them off for now, please. I'm not saying like I'm becoming a hermit or something, but I'm going to need some breathing room in the next few months if I'm to get anything done.

I am right now at one of those crossroads in life, so I have been fairly hesitant about diving into anything big until I have a better idea of where I'll be in the near future, but there are a couple things I want to get the ball rolling on. Alright, that's the hard part out of the way. Here's the important stuff:

I will be talking about W/Double soon, in a "the series so far" fashion (check out the poll over there asking you what you think of the first half-dozen or so episodes!) Needless to say I really need to sit down and watch them again, because most of them are blurring together at this point. I like the main trio and the villains a lot, and the action's good. It's not quite feeling like 2009 is the Year of the W yet, but it's still young.

As for Decade, I'm sort of on the fence there. As the DVDs come out, I will be going back to review the episodes I didn't get to on original broadcast. As for the big final wrap-up thingy... well, it doesn't feel like the show's over! With the upcoming Double/Decade movie, and the recently-released Terebikun DVD adventure (which I'll need to review soon, because it is great) I've still got Decade on the brain. And to be honest, it feels a little weird reading my final Den-O thoughts now after 3 more movies have come out. I'll probably end up doing it in December, when we finally (maybe) know just who the hell Narutaki is.

As far as other things— V3 which I need to get back to, and Kuuga which I need to start, among others— I'm hoping to get going with those. The good news is that, at least for the moment, I'll be having some free time to actually try todo all this stuff. I am literally bursting with ideas all the time, now if I just actually had the time.

In any case, I will be posting the first of something I've been working on later this week. If you own a DX Decadriver, it might be of interest. Also, crossing fingers here, I will have a very special preview of something this Halloween! Anticipate it! Now I must go crawl into bed...

Also, because I randomly checked today: if you haven't seen this yet, you need to.


That, my friends, is an episode of the Toei Spider-Man series (English subtitled and streamed for free online) featuring Miyauchi "V3" Hiroshi, and it is one of my favorite things ever.

***

Catching Up...With Everything!

Holy Cow! I live!

Believe me when I say, I don't plan on these things. I've been bogged down lately in work (on vacation, but that basically means "less busy" rather than "not busy") and suffering from severe writer's block, but I've been planning to get back onto a regular updating schedule with my blog and site. And maaaaaaybe the release of the biggest Rider movie ever will prompt me to do just that. So, sorry if you've been feeling Rider-deficient lately. I am working to get back on track.

I have been following Decade and I will get back to reviewing them starting with the next upcoming episode. I've been going back and rewatching the big chunk in between (#8~27!) and will be posting those in two-episode reviews soon. I'm also finally going to start on Kuuga and restart on V3 next week, after the movie craziness of this weekend. And then there's that damn Den-O movie. Oh God, I hate that movie (I actually like the movie, but writing about it has been a pain.) But I will finish it before it comes out on DVD in October! And then there's that upcoming Kamen Rider W (Double) to discuss.

All that plus more in the near future... I hope I promise!

***

Watch this Space!

Just an update: Hey, I'm not dead! But busy as usual, with a million different things. I am vowing to myself to finally finish the review for Chô Den-O (aka the hardest thing I've ever had to write) this weekend, plus get up the rest of the old movie reviews, and then spend next week on playing catch-up with Decade. And somewhere in there talk about all the new All Riders stuff that everyone else but me has had time to follow.

And yes, there is a new Decade episode this weekend, but I'm doing a little layout rearranging, which is why there's no picture for it yet. There is going to be a preemption later this month, so that'll give me some time to get caught up.

***

"You're wrong, Doctor. I have life again!"

And now (slightly late) I will resume a regular daily posting scedule. Or at least try to.

Also, because I can, some blatant self-advertising:



***

A Special Public Service Announcement

Yaguruma Sô
Bringer of Darkness, Self-proclaimed "IKRB #1 Guest-Host"

So. It has come to this moment at last. The moment which the whole of creation itself has been preparing for.

No, I'm not talking about the upcoming appearance in the Kamen Rider Kiva movie that I'm trying to work out. They dropped the ball by not featuring me in that Climax Dukes or whatever it was called, but there's always the next one right? And barring that, I'm sure I can get in on that Kamen Rider Dragon Thing Night Show. You know, that one. It looks like it will be dark enough after all. And if there's one thing I like, it's the dark. As in darkness. DARK-NESS. Yes. Few things can match it. Kageyama maybe, but don't tell him I said that. Actually wait, seeing as how I told him about 14 times in the last 6 minutes, I guess it's okay. He really is the best, right?

Instant Ramen comes close too. Just the other day, we were sulking around the bridge trying to stay out of view of the light and all the laughing, smiling children of the world, and somehow or another I got on the subject of how much more ass Ramen kicks than Soba. I mean really. Tendork and his lapdog Crapgami might be all about the Yakisoba bread and the place that Todo...Tada...Todoo... whatever his named was ran. Or was it his brother? Doesn't matter, he was workin' there at the end. Spoiler warning btw, but come on. Spoiler warning are for winners. Losers like us, we learn the whole story before the show even starts. Why stay in the dark when you can be enlightened by the tru.... er, I mean, no! Spoilers bad. Stay in the darkness, the blissful ignorance of the shadows. That's where it's at.

Anyway... oh hang on, I was supposed to tell you something, wasn't I? Yes I was. And yes it was to you. You. You who I envy, sitting there, reading this. Or possibly standing, or crouching on your knees because you, like me, are under that bridge, defying the light to reach where no light can possibly reach. Wait... yeah, okay. Wasn't sure if that made any sense. Anyway, you.

I envy you. Not the you that happens to be there right now, not the you that will be there tomorrow or last week or on Tuesday. No, the real you. Because there are two kinds of yous. The you-you and the other you. One of light, one of darkness, and one in between. Wait.... no, I'm right. Two of you. Two. Double. Twins. Like Kageyama and me, only less dark. Because really, does it get any darker than us? We're losers, we are.... but Kageyama is the best. Well, he says I'm the best, but it's really him. But yeah, total losers. No room in the light for us, no time for—

Are you laughing at me?

Good. I thought you were just now. You laugh. Laugh. Go ahead and laugh. It won't save you from the darkness. It won't save any of us. The darkness is eternal, it comes and goes like the wind, covering the—

Oh! Sorry. That's right, Igadevil asked me to bring you this important message (of Darkness:)

"Hi folks. Despite numerous setbacks, unexpected technical issues, a generally hectic past few months and all that, the IKRB will soon be back in full swing. I'll finally get around to my thoughts on Kiva thus far on Friday. Saturday will be... a lot of V3 reviews. Sunday will be Kiva. And after that, I'll be trying a new format for this blog. It's mostly just a refined version of the one I had going for a while, but will hopefully allow me more free time to work on the rest of the site, which is long overdo for an update. I do plan to eventually get back to daily updates on this blog, but for the time being, it'll be a "most of the week"-sort of thing. I'll explain later. Hope you like the new style, it's a bit of an experiment as well. Thanks for all the patience and support. Lots more to come soon!

-Igadevil"

So. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? New reviews, articles, features, etc. I envy him. And the layout. I like that too. Dark. Dark is good. I like the dark. I envy it. And I envy you. But you already knew that, didn't you?

Of course, I'll still be here. If those cameos fall through, I've always got this blogging thing to fall back on. Like a big soft pillow darkness, it's right there, waiting for my head to smack into like a ton of bricks on a puppy. Yeah, I went there.

Where I didn't go, though, was to Heaven. No, I fell into Hell, and saw things you wouldn't believe. Or maybe you would, but you wouldn't want to believe them. I know I didn't.

Wait. I didn't wouldn't want to believe them... so does that mean I did? I'm confused.

Kageyama will know. He really is the best.

(Don't tell him I said that.)

***

Back in Action!

That was then...

...this is now.

After a very shaky period of sporadic, on-off activity since August 2007, I'm proud to say that the IKRB is officially back in business as of January 2008. A new and exciting year awaits, and I have a good feeling that as a year of the rat/mouse, it'll finally be a good year for me and my online efforts.

Thanks for everyone who was supportive for the past couple months. It's the kind, helpful comments and e-mails which motivate me more than anything, so good job there. I can't always respond to questions or e-mails promptly, but I do read them and they are appreciated. When I started up this little page back around 1999 or so (and this blog sometime back in 2006), I was merely a student. Now, I work full time (and live in another country no less), and on top of trying to maintain a social life and spend time on other hobbies, I've continued trying to get this whole Kamen Rider page thing to finally go some where. With a little luck (or as Optimus Prime might say, "A little Energon and a lot of luck"), 2008 will finally be that year.

Here's what's on the plate in the next few weeks:

• The blog is finally back on the schedule of regular, daily updates. For a one-person effort (as opposed to an ensemble operation*) that's a pretty tall order, but then again since I am 1) crazy and 2) a genius, I feel pretty confident in my ability to pull it off. Also, I'll be starting up a new regular weekly schedule next week which I'll elaborate on later, but it will allow the most popular aspects of this blog to really shine. I think it'll go over great.
  
  
• I'm in the process of revamping the site a great deal. Nothing hugely different, but it's been something I've been meaning to do for a while now (since like, November.) In addition to new content, a lot of the older stuff will get spiced up (like the FAQ page... I really need to add a section on "What not to ask me because I don't have time to translate entire books without money being involved" :P ) So far, that's been going pretty well and I hope to make at least one or two significant updates in the next month, and start a series of weekly updates after that. With any luck, I'll achieve my 75% completion goal by the end of the winter.
  
  
• Kamen Rider Sigma fans rejoice, my '08 resolution was to get that story more than halfway done this year. While nothing will happen immediately, at least by February I hope to have it back on track and integrate updates to that with the weekly site updates. It's actually the thing I most look forward to getting updated, because jeez, the best stuff hasn't even been hinted at yet.
  
  
• On that note, the long-delayed second fan art contest will happen, most likely in the spring. Details are still being worked out at the moment but I can say that the number of overall winners will be increased (possibly by A LOT depending on how things fall into place) and prizes this time will include some DX Henshin belts (and even some non-belts... hint hint.)
  
  

That's all I'll say for now. Keep looking forward to it!

***

Resurrection of the IKRB!

Well, that didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.

A number of things, including work, vacation plans, the holidays, and best of all, briefly losing my external hard drive when it just decided to become corrupt one night has sadly kept me from updating or even keeping this blog up to date. The good news, this will all change in a few days. For real this time, I hope.

Stay tuned for more news...

Situation Sorta Critical

As you've probably noticed, updates have become virtually non-existent lately. This is mostly do to the double punch of working full-time (with a lot of other stuff in between working) and the multitudes of updates I've been working on for the rest of the site. It's not at all what I'd like, but that's life sometimes. We're currently looking at some new stuff this weekend, with the rest of December seeing a lot of new updates to IKRP. A little later than I planned, but I can say this much: by the end of the year, there's going to be some big changes in effect.

As for the blog, that'll get back on track this weekend too, with a slightly new standardized format. More details on that later, but suffice to say it will make the daily updates a bit easier on me and more entertaining for you. And that's always good.

If I haven't sait it before, thanks for all the kind words of support & encouragement during these past couple months in particular. Settling into my new life hasn't been terribly difficult, but it has certainly been exhausting and time for hobbies like this has been cut down a lot at times. Thankfully with the holidays and subsequent end of 2007 coming up, I'll have plenty of time to get back on track.

And hey, after many weeks of rumors, speculations and blurry pictures, 2008's Kamen Rider (tentatively called Kiba) has more-or-less been confirmed with this poster shot from either Terebi Kun or Terebi Magazine (I haven't bothered to check with one. Oh and thanks person on HJU who put this up!) More news as it comes!



***

I can't think of a title at the moment

Due to various health, work and general time-management circumstances, I sort of took the last week off from blogging. Hey, it happens. I also wanted to keep the review of Kamen Rider THE NEXT at the top of the page for at least a week.

Regular posting will resume henceforth, with a week of the much-promised reviews. And on a similiar note, you may have noticed not much happening with the site proper lately. No new KOTM, no new Sigma, things decaying here and there, entropy taking hold of the universe, etc. This is mostly due to the fact that I've been having some technical issues to deal with, as well working behind-the-scenes in an effort to make the biggest, bestest (is that even a word?!) update yet, which will mostly likely be... sometime around the end of the month. Yeah, it's a ways off, but hopefully it'll be worth the wait. I'll be adding a lot of new content and rearranging the look and feel of the site into something a bit more 'personal'.

Don't worry, it's not going to change drastically, just become a bit less 'corporate' and more importantly, a bit more complete. This probably means it'll be down for a weekend late in the month, with scant updating in the mean time. But I'll keep going at it on this blog daily, and again, by the end of the month/early December there'll be some exciting new stuff. I'm hoping to have the site at least 50-75% "complete", in terms of the basic Rider/Villains/Combat Tech/etc. stuff. Given my current lack of photo resources, there might not be as many pictures as I'd like, but the groundwork will be there at least. This is all part of the grand masterplan to have IKRP more or less complete by the end of the year.

So stay tuned, it's going to be an exciting ride!

***

New Beginnings

Now that I finally have a regular and fairly fast internet connection, things will be more or less getting back to normal on IKRB (and IKRP for that matter- stay tuned for new updates and such!) There's plenty to talk about, and I'll be getting into all that this week. It's an exciting time to be a Rider fan, with a new movie on the way, tons of stuff coming out, and Den-O proving to be oddly compelling in spite of the fact that it's mostly a bunch of people sitting around drinking coffee. But compelling all the same!

And now, there's not really much else to say, other than that this. Is. Awesome.:

(Artwork from the upcoming second wave of The Masked Rider Expansion for the Rangers Strike TCG.)

***

Ore Futatabi Sanjou!

Hey folks,

As you've probably figured out by now, I've been without regular internet access for the past month and a half or so, and aside from a brief stop-by at HJU, I have been way out of the loop. Early last month I moved to my new place of residence in Fukushima-ken, Japan, and since then have been busy as hell with work, friends, life in general, and all that stuff. I have gotten a chance to see the Den-O movie (which is very good, and which I will review some day) and keep up to date with the TV series and other new stuff via the magazines. But online-wise, I am waaaaaaaaaaaay behind, and will probably be until the end of September when I'm *hopefully* finally getting my speedy new internet connection set up. At the very least, I want to be connected in time for the epic review of NEXTy.

After that, website & blog updates (and Sigma!) will resume in a more or less usual manner. With a little luck, the big update from the end of July will be even bigger, and (barring accidents) will go up as soon as I get my connection. Until then, you'll just have to sit tight and wait out the remainder of what will hopefully someday be known as "Igadevil's Kamen Rider Crisis" but will more likely just be forgotten about, and at least one person out there won't even realize I was ever gone.

In the mean time: The School servers hate e-mail, so I won't be able to respond to mail queries immediately, but if you do have some kind words of support, send them along. It's been hard without an internet connection in a lot of ways (far more than just not being able to update/do Yaguruma impressions), so they'll be appreciated.

Igadevil out for now.