KRW 48 released

[Leonite Rider]

I enjoyed 48 very much and cried a lot. It was a very touching, meaningful one.



But about the fight I do have some problems and this image tells just right what I want to tell. About the hat. Yeah, I do understand its meaning (greatest Shoutarou's character development ever!) but it doesn't seem... realistic. This pic was posted on HJU. DON'T open this if you don't want your emotion to be somehow... ruined XD.

Spoiler

[ Image ]

Thanks TV-Nihon for the release!

And now I have found my new favourite picture.

[HIDragonstar]

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe this series. Intense, emotional. I can't believe I"m completely breaking down. Its hard enough for me to try and type out this post because I can't stop crying. From seeing Shoutaro and Phillip playing ball on the beach, to Shoutaro gaining his conviction, Saeko's sacrifice and ending with Shoutaro closing her eyes.

I felt so uplifted the moment Shoutaro rescued Wakana without having to transform. It was exciting and cool at the same time.

Then even more emotions, saying goodbye.. and even worse.. when I realized I was right about that book... I had managed to steel myself and thought I was only going to cry, but the letter inside broke me down completely.

I don't think I've ever cried this much for any other Series. The last series that I cried was Blade, and only at the very end of the episode. This one, I've been crying practically for a whole show... (not to mention all the other times.)

I don't know how Ooo is going to try and beat this. This has got to be the BEST Kamen Rider Series I've ever watched. Loved and hated all the characters, felt actually connected with all of them. I really don't want this series to end...

I'll have to say it here.. THANKS TV-NIHON!

[Kilowog]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who shed a tear or two on this episode when Phillip left 0.o

This was such an emotional and action packed episode. I even felt sorry for Saeko, I guess because she was one of my favorite villans during the season.

I wont lie either, W now brings Den-O, my number 1 Kamen Rider favorite down to 2nd place, with all the others well....at a tie (555, Blade, Kiva, Kabuto, Decade, Hibiki....dont make me choose!! lol). I LOVE the costume; reminds me a bit of the old days of me watching Kamen Rider Black and a few eps of the original Kamen Rider put together; a nostalgic feel mind you. The story was excellent, the cast great and I liked the villains a lot.

I will miss W when it ends. Kamen Rider 000 has some BIG shoes to fill!

[PHurricane]

Calling this a good episode is such an understatement. I think it's pretty much an instant classic. The biggest critique I would have of Kamen Rider as a franchise is that so many of its series start off promising, but fizzle out before the end or leave a lot of plot holes/plot threads dangling. This episode? A logical and effective conclusion to the plot that's been building all year long. Even better, it hit home emotionally with how heart-wrenching those final scenes were.

Because, really, the conversation between Shoutarou and Philip during their final moments as Xtreme is amazing in the way it calls to mind the growth of these characters from the first episode (and Begins Night) to the present day. Their old selves...Philip, acting somewhat aloof and borderline condescending (particularly in asking Shoutarou if he's crying) and Shoutarou denying his emotions and taking on the hard-boiled burden of closing the Memory. Their present selves...Shoutarou being a weeping mess at the thought of Philip's dissolving into nothing and being powerless to stop it from happening and Philip making the effort to remain cheerful and aloof while his partner tries to build up the courage to send him off, only to break down in tears himself once the Memory is closed. Back when the Healing Princess shows were airing, I thought the acoustic version of Cyclone Effect was the most soulful of the re-arrangements, but it rose to a whole new level playing underneath that scene. Appropriate lyrics too.

I figured the Lost Driver was Shoutarou's present, so he could still be a Kamen Rider by himself, but the book took me by surprise. That...and the message...would have had me broken down in tears too. Kiriyama's reaction while reading it was stunning. As a children's show it probably wouldn't qualify for any serious drama awards, but that was a seriously award-winning performance.

No one could steal the episode from the leads, particularly Shoutarou, but Saeko came the closest. I thought it was pretty powerful the way her character remained defiant to the very end and chose to go out on her own terms, even though she was aware she was fighting a losing battle for a cause she didn't quite believe in. (If Utopia draws on human hopes and aspirations, I wonder if that's why the fight was so short. For as defiant as she behaved, it also seemed like she had given up to a certain extent without the opportunity to prove to Ryuubee that she was the superior child.) The bells tolling in the background for the confrontation with Utopia, and her final words, set a pretty chilling ambiance. Quite a fitting end for the character.

Kazu ended up a decent final arc villain. Ryuu being set on fire last episode from Utopia's attack was creepy, but Kazu walking and talking while he was on fire was much worse. Great way to kick off the episode and make you wonder exactly how the heroes were going to overcome the obstacles in their path with that wrinkle thrown into the mix. And again, from a writing perspective, it's nice how they're tying everything together by making him a NEVER. Didn't see that coming.

I didn't catch the lack of a book on the next preview, but I like the potential symbolism there. The switch to "This ends it!" as the tag was also neat. And this is probably stretching it, but I wonder if there's even some symbolism to be read from having two-episode arcs for a two-protagonist show that finishes with a one-episode epilogue after one protagonist dies.

Since Den-O did it for their final arc, and more recently Shinkenger for their first two episodes, I'd love to see a Director's Cut of this arc...or at least, deleted scenes. There haven't been any released to this point that I'm aware of, but production photos on the official site seem to indicate that there was a lot of footage shot that didn't make it to airing. You can freeze-frame to see the presents Philip got for the Detective Agency crew (especially the big pink fuzzy slippers for Akiko!), but I'd be curious to see their reactions.

Spoiler

It also looks like a scene was shot where Akiko indeed attacked Utopia with her green slipper, but that was probably cut because it disrupted the dramatic tension of wondering what her fate is between Utopia stalking toward her in the agency and Philip realizing she's the next target.

I'd agree with takenoko that the weakest link in the episode was the explanation for Wakana's decision. I can accept it as a partial explanation for what happened with her over the last dozen episodes, but it wasn't enough. And since this post is long enough already and psychologically analyzing a fictional character is both tediously long and pathetic, I'm going to tuck this behind a spoiler cut.

Spoiler

So, what we got wasn't a flashback per say...more like her subconscious (possibly with Raito's influence, since he popped up afterward) reconstructing what went into her decision to firmly align herself with her father. She actually puts more emphasis on stopping her father's lamentation than the planet's, which jives with one of the first lines of dialogue she has after she takes the reigns of the Museum - she just wants to see her father smile and be happy. It's weak and I would have liked a stronger answer, but I can reluctantly buy it because of the emphasis consistently shown about how important family is to Wakana. The measly semester I spent in psychology makes me think that she's probably got some abandonment issues - her beloved little brother died when she's nine, and then the mother walks out on the whole family shortly after that. She always uses the "-sama" honorific for her father and sister, even though Saeko doesn't seem to have been afraid to physically attack her and made no secret of how much she hated her. She was sarcastic a bit, but she never insults or contradicts her family to their face...or backpedals if it's insinuated she did. Even after Wakana sees Ryuubee reclaim the Taboo memory, signifying that Saeko is dead to the family, Wakana struggled with the concept of losing her sister. It was really only after Saeko started using Nasca, and became a threat to their father's plans, that Wakana threw herself into preparing for the endgame. It's around that point that she stops being "selfish" and throws away her personal dreams if it meant that her remaining family was happy...and willing to stay with her.

Betrayal of the family is again emphasized when finding out Shroud's identity sends her into a murderous tizzy, but to be honest I'm not sure how Raito/Philip fits into this theory. I wonder if that's partially because the character is confused how to respond to him. She says he's nothing more than data, but she still seems a little fond of him. Holdover affection from Philip? Childhood memories of Raito? This is the point where I stop over-thinking that part, throw my hands up in the air and just say she did it all for her father.

Having to extrapolate that much is what makes it such a weak explanation, and it still doesn't explain Wakana's personality shift. She does still have a few warm moments after episode 38, but they're pretty much exclusively with her father. And although she had her fair share of sniping at other characters in the early arcs, and there was evidence that she had enough maliciousness in her to strike back at Saeko unless Raito held her back when they were younger, it did feel like a fast swing in that direction after she found out Philip was Raito.

The best I can come up with is that it's partly her Memory's fault. From the high compatibility that she had with Clay Doll, to how easily the Puppeteer Dopant controlled her, to the dolls that were scattered around her bedroom and the radio booth as decorations, it seems like the "Doll" part was consistently emphasized. Pretty much everyone around her played with her for whatever ulterior purpose they had in mind...and when it came to her father, she was content with that. (Ironic, considering that would mirror Raito's "sin" of not making his own decisions.) So, if she thought she had to act more ruthless in order to keep her dad happy, that's what she did.

[On another tangent - I wonder exactly when Wakana first used Clay Doll. There was commentary during the Bird arc that children both provide better data and can evolve their memories faster than adults. Saeko was pretty much an adult already, at 18, so even if she started using Taboo immediately after Raito died she probably suffered no worse effects than what was seen in the series. However, Wakana was only 9 when Raito died. There's a lot of little clues that hint Wakana's been using her memory for the better part of a decade: Ryuubee confirms to Kazu that he chose Wakana for the Gaia Impact "from the beginning", Saeko calls Clay Doll a "toy" memory only meant for self-protection (although she ends up being wrong about that), and she calls Wakana a spoiled child for getting her memory. That last one could swing either way, either insulting Wakana's maturity during the series or complaining that Wakana was unduly favored for getting a memory when she was so young. Even with a driver, using a Memory when so young has got to affect the psyche.

To that end, I would say that Saeko was also wrong back in episode 37 - Ryuubee didn't love Wakana either. The scenes where it seemed he was protective of her, from Saeko or Isaka, could be construed as anger at the thought of his tool being damaged. And since my tangent is in danger of going on a tangent, I guess the bottom line is that it was a really screwed up family.]

Pointless speculation aside, this was an amazing episode to cap off an amazing series. It's going to have people talking (and teary-eyed) for a while.

[m0lecules]

I never expected that with just the W belt on, Shoutaro can somehow gain super human abilities. And the way he stopped Utopia's attack really proves his cunning ways and that he's not just a half-boiled detective.

[Skiks]

Hey look Kazu got a bit of development! Not only does he have problem emoting it's probably because he's a NEVER/Revived Solider. In the end all he wanted was love apparently but went about it the wrong way by forcing himself on people.
Everyone already mentioned what I was gonna say besides that and yeah this was quiet a tear jerking episode. Phillip and Shoutaro's actors played their parts perfectly.

[kokowaks]

i don't think the belt is giving any super-human ability to shotaro, only a psychic connection with philipp... this goes to show shotaro's win by just being a mere human...

this was epic indeed... to be honest i didn't like the series from the very first episode, with its silly characters and all.. but this last few episode makes me take back all of those... my only qualm is probably why they didn't had this kind of drama early on even if its just the side characters... but then again this episode made me forget those and made W perfect for me...

and while the series presents main guys as the main rider i always saw shotaro as the main kamen rider-lead type, the one who carries most of the drama and emotion... and this episode shows it well... and ends him up as his own rider...

ive never seen this kind of finale(or so atleast) since blade... a classic kamen rider series indeed...

special thanks to the guys who made this series available to us...

[MaskedRideEclipse]

One episode to go!!!!!!
although I think this was the end considering the movie and 000 spoiler only at the end of the show.But i was wrong!!There was another ep,it just the next ep spoiler don't uwse the same BGm as usual..

Anyway,nice ending although there was W(Just Xtreme) and Prism Maximum Drive only at the END of the show,and Shotaro just learn to defend using Sokichi's Hat and then using Prism Bicker against Utopia.

Still can't believe that Utopia just got screwed by 'a man with gadgets' whereas he can beat Accel easily,wonder where goes his 'gravity' ability?

Saeko dies so easily though and why did the one who finds her is Shotaro not Phillip(Raito)?

Gaia Impact,the motives seems the same as Kabuto.

Spoiler

Did the series continued in the movie like DCD?

Appreciation for the TVN and W:

Spoiler

[m4rc0]

I don't know, the episode felt too rushed.

Saeko's death was totally anticlimatic. She was a main villain. She was entitled to a more elaborate end. Also, I didn't want her to die.

I also wanted them to explain better why the planet was crying and why the Gaia Impact would help. It would explain Wakana's change better. And instead of a black background with Earth there, they should've used scenes showing the Earth suffering.

But in the end they covered the hole and the only one remaining was Hidari Shotaro and how he could use Xtreme and beat Terror.

The part in the facility was pretty lame. Accel couldn't handle Utopia's attacks, but Shota could. Taboo couldn't restrain Utopia, but a gadget could. I understand that they wanted to show that Shota can be a hero and stuff but it makes no sense.

The action was lacking for this type of episode too.

The rest was good. They managed to not overdo the parting scene.

Looking forward to the last episode.

Almost forgot: a new finisher.

[NeoStorm]

Well, I'll have to say that this ep was the best one W had, or for any Kamen Rider series I've watched. Saeko died saving the sister she hated over her life.

I was surprised when Akiko and the others got attacked by Utopia to lure the two out, it was truly shocking, yet a bit sad seeing all of Shotaro and Phillip's friends go down one by one. Even the fight between the two was pretty cool I'd say

But the most emotional part for me, was when Phillip and Shotaro finally had to part, I actually cried along with Shotaro, and it truly was hard for him to say goodbye, but it had to be done. Plus it was also touching right when Shotaro finds a Lost Driver and Phillip's book in the box. That was both genius AND totally worth a couple more tears in a way. And I still can't stop crying inside after watching this WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ;~~; I feel your pain Mods and co.

Overall, I'd say Kamen Rider W is probably one of the Best Kamen Rider series I've ever watched, plus the best ending I've seen in a long, LONG time. Thank you TVN for all the hard work, and you definently deserve credit for subbing such an amazing series. This is probably one of the best series you guys have ever subbed. And now I'm dying to see what will happen in the Finale. Either way, I can't wait to see Kamen Rider Joker in his glory aside from the A-Z Movie

[Korcas]

The part in the facility was pretty lame. Accel couldn't handle Utopia's attacks, but Shota could. Taboo couldn't restrain Utopia, but a gadget could. I understand that they wanted to show that Shota can be a hero and stuff but it makes no sense.

You completely missed the point, then. Utopia explained that his powers come from draining the hopes and dreams from people, exactly what he's done with Saeko and Accel, he drained the wills, then defeated them. Shoutaro however, had determination, he had the clear resolve to win, and in case you haven't noticed it, he used the boss' hat to block Utopia's drain when he did attempt to use it. It really made a lot of sense, and it was Shoutaro's final bit of development into the hard boiled detective he always wanted to be.

Utopia underestimated him and got his ass kicked. It cheapens nothing, quite the contrary.

As for the movie, it doesn't continue the story, it's already happened in between episode 44 and 45.

[Phoenix512]

Why you guys sound like this is the last episode because it isn't? You still have one more episode left.

Korcas basically said what I wanted to say for the Shoutarou and Kazu fight except for a gadget has no hope for Utopia to use.

[RiderFan]

i think it'll make the episode make more men cry if the staff also did the karaoke/song part when philip leaves

[AeonRanger]

wait what? this isn't the final episode? makes sense they did show the opening theme and all. so half the members of the sonozaki family die. i kinda wish they'd shown all the forms of W one more time though. I'm convinced that this foundation X is the new Dai Shocker. ohh and what's this phillips present to shotarou was the lost driver can't wait for that and shotarou finally finds out that the books phillip were reading were completly blank, that's the real reason he cried. did anyone else cry? i know i didn't.

[Joe_Mello]

No talking about raws

The symbols used in this episode (the donning of The Hat, the passing of The Book) were quite evocative, and Shota's rescue plan proved once again how inventive the writers can be without resorting to deus ex.

As for Wakana, I guess the story goes that when she had to choose between live as a civilian and life as a Sonozaki, she chose the wrong door. Sad.

Spoiler

http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu25 ... t-Q2xw.jpg

This is nothing compared with the departure scene. Any part of it can be taken wayyyyy out of context.