Kamen Rider OOO – Episodes 6 and 7, or maybe a general rant

Coins and monsters and bikes and mysteries, all within a days work for our homeless hero, Eiji.

So, if you didn’t know already, I’m a huge Kamen Rider fan. Been so for a few years now. I love the oldies and I love the newbies and this year is another Kamen Rider… or should I say, it’s second rider. For some reason, after Decade’s airing, the ” Yearly Rider ” cycle has been broken and twisted into this odd, new Riders begin at the start of the fall season and end in the Summer. I really don’t like it because I enjoyed the Kamen Rider/Sentai tie in during Asahi’s morning kids block, but now a Sentai show has to deal with two riders a year… meeeh. Anyway.

It's nice to see a familiar face 🙂 Sup Neflite

OOO is about this homeless freeter named Eiji who has this carefree attitude about life and a weird affinity towards coins and boxers. Anyway, after a freak accident at his last employer sends him jobless, he goes on through his life without much worry until he’s approached by a talking glove. Ultimately, this glove gives him the ability to be the Kamen Rider OOO and Eiji now spends his time fighting evil and collecting coins all the while trying to be as humble and carefree as possible despite the fact he’s a tool for Ankh, the talking glove now turned into walking living dead Detective, and a secret organization run by a obsessed cake making man.

I’m not really feeling OOO. I watch each episode waiting for something great to happen, but the story just stays at this one pace that really don’t go anywhere other than quickly introducing new gadgets that’ll end up being the new latest toy for Japanese children to beg their parents to buy. I usually give Tokusatsu the 8 episode treatment, because by the 8th episode the tone of the show is usually set, and OOO is teetering between me dropping it or continuing.

The characters aren’t that engaging. Eiji is busy being too optimistic and nice while Ankh is too busy shitting on his parade, sucking down popsicles, and ordering him around. Then we have the sister to the now dead Detective turned Ankh’s puppet, who Eiji befriends due to the whole clusterfuck of the situation. Then there’s our four main baddies who are trying to collect coins and rage havoc while Ankh pisses in their cheerios and takes their coins.

Betting $50 this guy is gonna be our second rider.

I’m probably being a bit too hard on OOO, but after W and Decade, it feels like I’ve been thrown back into 2007 – 2008 where we have fruity characters, a shit load of monsters with eccentric attitudes, and awkward leads who become awkward heroes. But considering Kobayashi is behind this series, it shouldn’t be a shocker. Big casts and eccentric characters seem to be her trademark. Its definitely a key to mass marketing success but I think it takes a lot of integrity from the Kamen Rider franchise which is all about the one versus the big giant terrorist organization.

But going back to episodes 6 and 7, I will admit that episode 7 did give a lead into a promising arc conclusion with episode 8 — Now Ankh’s greed has pretty much landed Eiji and himself in a do or die situation. If the episode 8 preview gave us any indication of a good episode and a taste of whatever conflict will set the stage for the remainder of the series, then I’m all for sticking along and joining Eiji on his little anything goes adventure… But if episode 8 ends up being shit, Eiji can do it on his own with his hipster Apple loving popsicle sucking Ankh.

Product Placment Go! And how does a nearly 1,000 year old demon even know how to use this?