This week’s Retro Ride Review is all about dinosaurs, casinos and Kamen Rider fatherhood, as Nico continues her first time watching through all of Kamen Rider W!
Welcome back to this Friday’s Retro Ride Review. The days getting colder have motivated me to wrap up in my warm blankets and start ticking off my list of unwatched Kamen Rider shows! It is with a heavy heart that I must admit it’s quite a long list.
Since my last article covering the first episode of Kamen Rider W, I’ve felt my obsession for the show growing, for better or for worse, and have been steadily working my way through the next bundle of episodes.
It’s been an excellent handful of television, so I hope you’ll enjoy hearing my first time reactions to each one! Sit back, and enjoy the ride.
Bones, Loans and Parental Groans
Episode 2: The W Search/Those Who Make The City Cry
Episode 2 was a wonderfully brilliant continuation of the last episode and a strong establishment of Shotaro and Philip’s characters. It lived up to the initial excitement the first episode had, solidifying this two parter as my favourite introduction to a Kamen Rider series.
I knew I was in good hands when the recap sequence at the start of the episode was a ‘case review’ of the current investigation, framed with mugshots and photos of prime suspects. Am I embarrassed to say this was one of my favourite parts of the entire episode? Nope!
Shotaro and Philip are smart to have the crime lord’s cat as a suspect. They’re wicked little devils.
This episode was a great insight into Shotaro and who he is as a person. After Togawa, the man behind the Magma Dopant, is dragged away by the giant dinosaur from last episode, his body is soon discovered in the waters of Fuuto City. Marina’s sorrow over the loss of Togawa reminds Shotaro of their childhood together, when the gusty winds of Fuuto sent Marina’s hat flying into the river, with little Shotaro promising that he’ll get it for her; he doesn’t want anyone to cry, not in his city. He laments that he’s failed her again.
Coupled with his white clothes resembling that of his former chief’s, it’s plain to see just how much this city and it’s people means to Sho, and the responsibility he has given himself. He carries a lot on his shoulders, the joys and misfortunes of Fuuto’s people, all the while trying to live up to the legacy of his chief. You can see why being a ‘hard-boiled detective’ is so important to him, or why letting any of his clients down is such a gut punch – for Sho, he’s not only failed the citizens, but also his former chief. I deeply admire Shotaro’s character because of this.
He snoops around the destroyed Windscale building for any more clues, only to be surprise attacked by the dino Dopant. Inserting a Gaia Memory into his camera to ward off the monster, the device turns into a… bat. After last episode, this is no longer a coincidence, and now I’m convinced Sho and Philip are really big DC fans.
Shotaro’s investigation gets a new lead when his informant reveals that Togawa bought his Gaia Memory from a dealer, but he wasn’t alone when making the purchase. We get a better look at this Gaia Memory dealer, Kirihiko, while also learning more about him from the Sonozaki crime family; the head honcho’s daughter, Saeko, confident that this top dealer is worthy of being her husband.
The big reveal of the T-Rex Dopant’s identity: it’s Marina, Shotaro’s client, and the girlfriend of the Magma Dopant. This was genuinely such a good surprise, I remember gasping at this. The drama that follows with Philip declaring Sho doesn’t have the guts to bring Marina in, that all he is is a ‘half-boiled detective’, leading to Shotaro PUNCHING Philip… even more gasping!
It makes the moment when Sho confronts Marina and outs her as the T-Rex Dopant hit even harder. She clings onto him, begging him to not call the cops, but he made up his mind before even arriving, as a whole squad of officers are waiting for Marina. He’s brave enough to make the hard choices, while soft enough to care about the livelihood of the city. He denounces Marina because she made the city cry… and he won’t stand for that.
Can you tell I’m a big Shotaro fan?
One great reunion with Philip and one Heat/Metal beatdown later, Marina is arrested and the trio of Shotaro, Philip, and Akiko officially name themselves ‘The Half-Boiled Detective Agency’… much to Shotaro’s horror. A stellar episode that makes for a perfect two part introduction to the world of Kamen Rider W. After finishing this one, I was officially a fan!
Episodes 3-4: Don’t Touch The M/How To Get To Heaven and Play With a Joker
Kamen Rider W is not afraid to show the true evils of our society: landlords, cats… and gambling.
The detective’s next case is all about the mysterious “Million Colosseo”. Rumours circulate Fuuto City, the half-boiled detectives catching wind of this legendary casino thanks to a radio show Philip is listening to… which just so happens to be hosted by the second daughter of the Sonozaki crime family, Wakana.
Those who gamble at the casino can win fortune untold and those who lose must forfeit their soul to pay up their debts.
Million Colosseo is a fun concept, but the highlight of this particular storyline for me was the focus on Philip’s backstory. Shotaro’s investigation into former attendees of the casino and the mention of the word ‘family’ causes Philip to freeze, clutching his head as the words echo throughout his mind, and falls unconscious.
There’s an interesting transition for when Philip is knocked out, as the scene flickers out almost like a TV being switched off; could this possibly hint that Philip is more machine/program than man?
Both episodes show Philip’s discomfort with the word ‘family’. We get flashes to his youth, running on the beach with his parents but that’s about it. This is the one thing Philip doesn’t have an answer to.
Thankfully, his bonds with both Akiko and Shotaro are the solution he needs for his question. By confronting the Money Dopant, the mastermind behind the phantom casino, Philip finds the resolution he needs: Sho and Akiko are his family. His Keyword has an answer.
I loved seeing more of Philip in these two episodes. He clearly struggles with the trauma of not knowing where he came from, only comforted by the logical answers he has to every conceivable question: so, he must attune to both of these worlds by solving his emotional turmoil through logical thinking.
Can you tell I’m also a big Philip fan?
It’s an engaging mystery carried by the turmoil Philip goes through. My favourite part was the clever thinking Sho and Philip used to outplay the Money Dopant at his own card game – secretly putting on the DoubleDriver so Philip could control Shotaro’s left hand to pick the correct card and win the poker game. Great episodes!
Also, Shotaro is friends with Santa Claus. I’m still confused.
Episodes 5-6: The Girl… A/Papa Is a Kamen Rider and The Price of Lying
Shotaro is a DILF! That means Detective Investigating Leads in Fuuto, by the way.
Perhaps my favourite two episodes of W so far, not just because Cyclone/Trigger is the coolest looking form in a Kamen Rider series by a long shot.
Now an urban legend in Fuuto City, Double is officially declared as a ‘Kamen Rider’ after the events of the Millionaire Colosseo, something Shotaro and Philip both happily geek out about.
Following this, Shotaro and Akiko are hired as a bodyguards for councilwoman Miyabi Kusuhara and her daughter, Asuka, as she tours the city to propose the manufacturing of a second Fuuto Tower. These public spectacles have been met with assassination attempts, however, as Sho soon finds out and leaps into action to protect the Kusuhara mother and daughter. While shielding the two from an unknown attacker, Asuka happily calls Double ‘papa’.
I love how, immediately afterwards, Akiko berates Shotaro for being a deadbeat dad while whacking him with a slipper. Asuka, meanwhile, is utterly convinced that Double is her deceased father; to the point she draws crayon pictures of him with her family. Her mother has fed her this belief that, if she helps with her work on the second Fuuto tower, she will get to see her father again; as long as she has that little soft toy, her father will always be there to protect her.
It utterly melts my heart. There’s a constant struggle within Shotaro, between telling the dark truth or letting this young girl truly believe her father has come back as a superhero, while also fighting off the Anomalocaris Dopant from assassinating Miyubi. He doesn’t want anyone in his city to cry, so he has to keep this secret from Asuka to ensure that.
There’s also a shadow operation happening right under Miyubi’s nose, with newly wedded Kirihiko overseeing Gaia Memory productions at the site Miyubi wants to use as the second Fuuto Tower; hence why they’re trying to take her out.
I was captivated by this particular storyline. There’s an intriguing mystery to where the assassin is attacking from, but at the heart of it all is this naïve girl still believing that her dead father will come back to her.
It ends on a bittersweet note. After eliminating the assassination attempts once and for all, Miyubi has to finally accept she can’t keep this lie going and says to her daughter that she has to let her ‘father’ go; so he may protect the people of Fuuto, not just her.
I’m an emotional mess by the end of it all, doing my best not to sob over Double recreating the head pat for Asuka that her father would always do. I’m charmed by this exploration into life after losing someone special, the ways we cope to deal with the loss and how we ultimately have to let that person go, truly, to move on. Double giving one last wave to Asuka before riding off, as she smiles through her tears and waves goodbye back secured this as one of my favourite Kamen Rider stories. Fantastic episode.
Case Review
Continuing Kamen Rider W has been nothing short of a joyous experience. Each time I feel like the show can’t get any better, it does, and then hits me with a truckload of sincerity and emotion. Episodes 5-6 have been my favourites so far and I wouldn’t be surprised if I find myself tuning back in to watch them again.
Some of my favourite aspects have been the funky jazz percussions underlining the score of each episode, really digging into those smooth, cool detective vibes. Other parts have been the best uses of the mystery trope, where each episode has given us the clues to each investigation before it’s even solved. Shotaro and Akiko chase after the Money Dopant, only to lose him at a bus stop, which later turns out to be how people travel to the Millionaire Colosseo, or how each assassination attempt made on Miyubi was near water; her attacker is later revealed to be a water based Dopant.
Above all else, it’s been a wonderful time getting to know each character better, and find out a little more about who they are – or, in Philip’s case, question who they might actually be. I can feel myself stringing together theories already.
That’s a wrap for this week’s Retro Ride Review of Kamen Rider W! Tune in next Friday for my thoughts on the next few episodes. See you then!
Are you keen to rewatch or start Kamen Rider W? What made you fall in love with the show? Let me know in the comments below!
