Saraba, in japan that means farewell, we will never see them again or too long after it. Well for Den-o, farewell was more like barely a year. Of course they were coming up on the big 10 year anniversary and with decade, every one of the heisei seasons (Plus two showa seasons, shinkenger, movie riders.) And Den-o not only got the two-parter. but it was also a stealth prequel for yet another movie. That's... okay, it was 10 years of Heisei rider so it was okay. But Toei wanted to milk Den-o since it was extremely, extremely popular. So the year after it was announced 3 new films would be released focused on Zeronos, Chou Den-o and... Diend? Wait really, Diend, why, is it because he starts with a D, this is the weird one. (Since Chou den-o started in Decade it makes sense but still.)
It was like you got new den-o content each following years. Chou Den-o in 2010, they were effectively the main stars of Let's go Kamen Rider, and even if they didn't have much of part to play, You could always expect a taisen appearance. Though after Zerono's played a key role, den-o content kind of went dormant for a bit. Besides Zi-o they have mostly taken a back burner, until the appearance of Pretty Den-o because Reiwa was not going to be free of this. So we will be covering that alongside the Chou den-o series.
Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship
Following the events of Episode 15 in Decade series. A new crisis befalls the Den-liner crew that threat as a group of Oni intend to use the legend of the onigashima to destroy humanity. Their target is Yut- I mean, Yu, a boy with no relation to Yuto, what are you talking about, nothing like that, ha ha, I mean he gets along well with Deneb but still. Who holds the trump stone to bring the warship back. So now we get the standard, den-o plot of ancient japan, evil gangs and bleh.
You know, I never want to use the word cash grab, because a cash grab can be hard to describe, their are definitive cash grabs, Megaman X6 felt like it was meant to cash in on the PS1 base who before next gen technology. A good chunk of license games meant to get people who enjoy the new thing, but sometimes cash grabs can be good, but not in this. The chou Den-o quadrilogy are the most cynical kind of cash grab, that feels like hey this has Den-o on it, so you have to enjoy. Because boy does this movie feel like it was meant to be part of a bigger arc for Den-o that got excised for this movie. Because nothing about the film feels like it is meant to be in film, that its only in film because of name recognition, Their is nothing in the film that stands out, even the eponymous warship looks extremely cheap.
Also lets get the big elephant in the room here, Takeru Satoh's replacement, he's now played by the kid who played the 2000's Ryotaro from the I'm born film and, I wouldn't call him a bad actor, I don't think he is bad, but Ryotaro Nogami is Takeru Satoh, he brought that character to life that would require someone just as good. We don't get much in this film since he is not the main focus, but later, when he is possessed by any of the Taros, it feels wrong, like he doesn't become them like Takeru did, its like a kid trying to impersonate someone. Don't really blame him after all for some reason they needed Ryotaro I don't know why, since again, the taro's could just assume forms normally so this... just feels like trying to recapture the magic here.
I kind of bring up Ryotaro because their is almost nothing to talk about here. Onigashima just feels like a cheaper, less interesting I'm born. Similar uninteresting villains we learn nothing about because theirs nothing interesting. Young version of character that has a bit of arc here regarding family since his ancestor looks just like his mom. And we have a little bit of Climax Deka inside of it thanks to Decade getting a small scene early on and then showing up later to help with some anniversary elements since this was the year of decade... I'm sorry half year, because of toy related stuff. I would talk more and waste your time like this did, but I can just say its not good, their is nothing interesting about the movie. Who cares, if you loved Den-o and the characters you probably already went and watched it and gave money.
CHOU DEN-O RED/BLUE/YELLOW
So I am just compiling all of these because they are barely that deep. So Imagin are still an issue and each film focuses on a different rider from den-o... and Decade since this whole thing is his fault for some reason. But don't worry, Ryotaro and the other Taro's show up if that was your favorite part, but its teenage Ryotaro so he is not as good (no offense to the kid, but he really doesn't do well.) Anyway the Zerono's movie doen't really have much Zerono's and deals with one of those nice guys trying to woo Airi with him be such a 'nice guy. Episode blue focused on New Den-o has Owner completely ruining his character being a ginormous dick during a crisis involving an Imagin. And Finally Episode Yellow focus on Diend as he evades the time police to fix something from the past.
Episode Red is one of the most forgettable pieces of media I have ever seen, not only is the character who is the main focus have very little to say or in it enough to care. Nothing in it does anything. It doesn't change how I see Yuto and Airi, it is sort of retreading the last zerono's card arc from the series. I can tell you I watched the movie and it went out my ear just as fast. Much of the shenanigans feel forced and uninteresting and completely pointless.
Episode Blue on the other hand is frustrating and makes Owner more akin to old grandpa Igasaki in for some reason trying to teach Kotaro to appreciate Teddy. The problem is that, we really have little knowledge of their relationship. Kind of the problem of their late introduction. So we are only meant to gleam that he doesn't appreciate, but kind of an issue when their is a major crisis with Ryotaro down, going on and he decides now to do it. And what follows is a bunch of shenanigans that don't work as well is because Ryotaro took it all in stride despite how awful things got. Kotaro really doesn't and you feel bad for him all the way through. Their is a villain in this imagin trying to help this girl celebrate her birthday with her grandma. But honestly Owner is the real villain here with his stupid, stupid gambit.
Yellow is "the good one" but it is still not very good, I already am not fond of Daiki after taisen, yes this came out beforehand but knowing what he will do is still weighing heavy on my mind. And unlike the previous films, the Den-o crew does feel more in the background to the cops and robbers story here, as Daiki contends with time cop Reiji Kurosaki. A character that tells you Kobayashi didn't write this because the introduction of the G-men raises question of, where were they in the series as the imagin ran rampant. Were they created after the crisis, where have they been all this time. This is why you don't introduce stuff at the last moment because it raises questions not out of interest but frustration.
G-Den-o looks okay. I like the black as a suit and the police siren helm. Not fond of the man-made imagin in Eve, its CG so it doesn't look that good. But it at least looks oka.y compared to... Diend Complete, or Decade complete without the shoulders so now it looks... cheap and more underwhelming. But yeah, they win and the movie... just keeps going, it goes on for another 10 minutes, like we really needed more shennanigans. You remember how Tom Servo in Batwoman near the end was letting out a scream demanding that the film ends instead of spinning its wheel for some reason. That was me, I just wanted this to end, I was so tired of these characters at this point, any good points were gone and I just wanted it to be over. It is the best chou den-o film, but it still is rather meh as things go.
PRETTY DEN-O
Hah... one more, After having an argument with her mother, a young girl named Anna finds herself chased by... shocker Combatmen, eh. Shocker has taken over the denliner and captured the members. She escapes with Momotaros but ends up in 1989, terrified by him she runs off and meets with a girl called melon who is also being chased by shocker for her lottery ticket worth 60 million yen.
I know I have been rather negative across these movies but I can say that we are actually ending on a positive note. Pretty Den-o is good. Nothing groundbreaking, it is very much in that Gridon vs. bravo mini-movie that it really doesn't care about continuity or telling anything major. Its just a nice little adventure that feels oddly fresh for Den-o. Maybe its the fact that it does focus on a different character as the focus. Anna's story is not too unique and hey we are leaning on shocker as the main bad. But at the time this came out. 2020, middle of the pandemic, its a nice distraction from the fact our world was slowly falling apart and nothing would ever be the same again.
So as far as a comfort food kind of movie, Den-o was probably the best thing at the right time for some. And even if I didn't watch this when it came out it was like a breathe of fresh air after chou den-o. Anna despite being like the umptieth child actor in this show. But honestly, she may be a future star since she actually matches Momotaro's personality and body language quite well. Yeah she is not jumping between the different ones but that is fine, this is Momo's story and the others do get their time in the sun with moments of funny. Kind of disappointed that the form she is introduced with is not the one to finish, its Momo in sword form, but I guess it is fine. Not much to say about Pretty Den-o, just sword form with some ribbions on a smaller body, kind of a nice little meeting between cool and adorable. And that is the best way to describe this special, its well balanced. It kind of has something for everyone, won't blow anyone away but you can have something. Yeah, the story is basic, if you know these kind of stories, you probably know who melon is and it is a bit ridiculous that Shocker is using time travel just for 60 million yen that really won't be as useful in 2020. But being something serious doesn't matter. Its dumb fun that is fun, at times funny, and heartwarming. Also the final cameo is actually kind of funny, no joke, I kind of laughed at their appearance. And with that we have looked at everything Den-o related... until they decide to make more content that focuses on them or we get to the like next anniversary and they choose to feature Den-o. But I am done now. And with that its time to move on, unlike Yellow which didnt' want to end.
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