Chou Den-O Trilogy 1: Episode Red released

[takenoko]

So I really liked these trilogies. Red was particular good in that it's the first movie to actually address the ambiguous ending to the TV series. That alone is pretty amazing since people were expecting that stuff in Den-O and Kiva

When a sci-fi/fantasy show can use the rules of its world in an interesting or unique way, then that's really satisfying. Apparently Airi has her memory back (she clearly remembers the original Sakurai at the end of the TV series), so how does she react to the younger Yuuto? Nakamura no longer looks like a teenager the way he did in 2007, he looks like a man now. As people grow, go through experiences, they change and essentially become different people from their past. It's kind of neat to see Den-O address that to some extent

Another thing that I liked was that despite the sillyness that Den-O often entails, the main story about Yuuto and Airi's relationship is kind of a bummer. The guy gets rejected, and it's pretty devastating each time. The first rejection was great, because it came out of nowhere. They're just having coffee, then Airi becomes super serious and then things get kinda silent and awkward the way that it does when it happens in reality. The gravity of the scene and the setup for the problem really impressed me

The second rejection was even better. You think, oh yeah, he's saved the girl, now she'll fall in love with him, but nope. If that happened, then Yuuto would be no better than the underwear guy who's trying to make Airi love him through shallow reasons. And the scene is so subtle too, no words are exchanged, Airi just tilts her head slightly away, yet that's all that's needed to convey the emotion behind the scene

I liked the long shots of Airi riding on the bike with Yuuto. In the zany, effect-filled tokusatsu shows, they often have slow moments where nothing really happens. It kind of reminds me of Kamen Rider the First. I'm really glad that they decided to focus on this character story for this movie. It doesn't have a cheap happy ending. There's hope at the end, but what little of it there was, was completely earned

And the end song is great. Action-ZERO was already one of my favorite Kamen Rider songs, and it works pretty well as a ballad too.

[garfield15]

I'm going to disagree. I...honestly did not think that this was as good as the previous movies. One of the main reasons being that the movie kept on these romantic scenes for like three long minutes like the first one with the three of them standing there or the bike ride at the end. Now, I understand the words being conveyed were important and the moments themselves were strong...but I felt the scenes were just going on too long to the point where I fast-forwarded through some bits.

The MOTW was very entertaining to watch, but he just felt so small of an enemy for an actual movie. Now, I think that is because the actual crazy stuff goes down in later episodes but it felt like this was just an average episode that was elongated into a full movie.

That said, the Taros were still as funny as ever and it's nice to see Toei remembered those two guys whose names I can never remember. We'll see how the next episodes go.

[takenoko]

Yeah, I can see what you mean. But the rest of Den-O is so manic that it was a nice break to me to just sit back and watch a scene that did nothing but set a mood. Maybe I'm getting old, but I feel like that's something that not enough movies do. I almost feel like they could have told this story without the monster (which had one gimmick that immediately got old, and pretty much existed just for the joke when confronted with Climax form)

[Phoenix512]

The actual fighting was just average at best as the movie was really about Yuuto and Airi. At least she does remember what happened to her "Yuuto" and maybe could develop the same feelings towards the current Yuuto but it probably won't be the same. I got to say that Airi's hairstyle in this movie was very well done and fit with the mood of the story. I think this shows off her actress's ability beyond being whimsical and ditzy. I agree with take about the scenes in the coffee house and motorcycle.

I did felt that the enemy Imagin was more for TV than a movie or at least it could be a henchman for a movie villain.

[Go-On Macaroni]

I have to agree with Garfield, the movie could've done without the somber slow-mo and motorcycle strolls. it just felt so boring and almost made me think current Inoue was writing this instead of Koyabashi. The Yuuto/Deneb pair are my favorite part of this series (with the Kotaro pair coming in a close second) and it annoyed me to see them acting like guest stars in what should be their own movie, since it seemed like Momo fighting with that imagin got the most screentime.

Spoiler

One of the scenes I did like though was Deneb narrating that fight scene dramatization.

[PHurricane]

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm thrilled that they finally addressed the Sakurai/Airi/Yuuto issues that were glossed over at the end of the series and the subsequent movies. Even though the audience can assume that their paths will eventually converge (if for no other reason than Hana's continued existence), it was nice to see the writers acknowledge some of the problematic consequences of the Nogami-Sakurai actions to protect time. Non-actions (hmm - Action-Zeroes?) have just as many consequences as actions, and Yuuto doesn't have the same life experiences as Sakurai. It's unreasonable to think that Airi would fall in love with him just because they have the same name, so I wasn't expecting an ending where Airi jumped into Yuuto's arms.

Which leads me to the scene in the Milk Dipper with Yuuto and Airi drinking coffee. I just finished re-watching Yuuto's introduction episodes, and there are a lot of little details during that scene that show how much Yuuto has already matured from his first appearance. Even after the changes that resulted from fighting the Imagins, there are signs that Yuuto is still on the path to becoming at least close to Sakurai. He's just not there yet, and since evidently Airi remembers some stuff (although I'm not sure how much), it'll be that much harder for Yuuto to compete with his old-future self.

"I wonder when you will stop adding sugar, Yuuto." - In any other context, a completely innocent comment. Taken in context of the scene, I thought it ended up being the singular most painful line of the entire movie and sums up Airi's dilemma.

What I didn't like was the mood of the movie. It was all over the place. You had your standard Kamen Rider action scenes, your wacky Den-O confusion scenes, and your tragic love-story/romance scenes. Individually, I'd say they were all pretty good. The action was decent enough (on par with the series, although not the blockbuster stuff you'd expect in a movie), Deneb's narration of the dream-action-sequence and the ensuing conversation on DenLiner will probably go down as one of my favorite scenes in all of Den-O, and the tense emotion of the Yuuto-Airi scenes were really performed superbly. But combining all of those elements together left me with emotional whiplash.

One thing I enjoyed so much about Den-O was how they balanced their more serious issues with humor, but the issues with Yuuto and Airi's relationship are so complicated and tragic that watching their scenes actually became uncomfortable. (And that last long pan of the motorcycle driving along killed me.) I respect that they didn't cheapen those issues and it's a testament to those actors for making those emotional issues so believable, but at the same time it wasn't very much fun to watch.

So, as much as I admire the elements of this movie, it's my least favorite from Den-O so far.

[lonegamer7]

For much of the humor and wackiness from the eps and earlier films, I find this a nice breath of fresh air. How Kobayashi ties up a bit on that thread of Airi and Sakurai/Yuuto, of their awkwardness and that little glimmer of hope, and the lack of conversation during the motorcycle scene.

Poor, poor contract holder. Talk about needing a good couple confidence lessons.

[Lunagel]

I honestly felt at times this was a bit more for the older fans who wanted closure for Airi and Yuuto, since romance has never really been KR's strong suit. That said, it was a pretty funny one, especially Deneb, and nice to get away from the main quartet for a while.

[Arigomi]

This movie begs for an Unstoppable photoshop.

The relationship between Yuuto and Airi confuses me. Even if the original Sakurai is gone, the age difference between Yuuto and Airi is a bit tricky since they are from different time periods. Why does he feel to need to bond with an older version of his destined love?

[Phoenix512]

I think it's all the time he's been around with Airi that he develop the feelings all on his own. It's not because he need to be like his future self to have the relationship.

[Catastrophe]

I love it.

Imagin "Contract Complete"

Holder "No it isn't" *Drivers Off*

[Sloth MD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0_f5fkrCTA

I think this video best sums up my reaction to the guy in the car while he's like: "Next time. Next time."


....Though I do have to say, I honesty forgot this movie existed. D:

[Aeikozz]

Wow.. this was surprisingly good for a Den-O movie. I love that fact they went back and tried to get the relationship back on track.

Those motorcycle scenes really make me think Shenmue when i see them.

on a side note, and I swear i've watched everything Den-O up to red, but can someone please explain to me why Ryotaro Nogami is knocked back in age to about 14 or 15? Did i miss something? A wonderful explanation would be appreciated.

[KamenRiderTenshi]

I love the love story of Yuuto. And I notice the jacket he wore at the end look so much like Kotaro jacket in Kamen Rider Black RX.

And something bothers me, why is Ryoutarou is still in his kid age, isn't the time disruption is over on Den-O and Decade Movie... I understand that they couldn't get the adult actor who play as Ryoutarou, because he is busy and doesn't have enough time schedule fit in for filming day.

[Ash Rudel]

I personally think the slow moments are what made the movie. (Plus how can you not like the scene of them togeter on Zero horn?)

And I also agree how this one really does seem like a throw back to older Den-o fans. Compared to the last few bits of Den-o, this one really did feel like the orignal series.
After all the bad opinions i heard leading up to watching it, I say it did it's job well.

May of been made in 2010, but thats some 2007 Den-o vintage right there.

Also going from Vega from to Deneb on the bike after firing out Altair is just so damn funny to watch.