Admittedly, Mimihiko/Shilubara has a pretty cool introduction
The film follows the story of a young boy named Yuu who has been forced to move to the countryside with his grandmother from his Tokyo home after the death of his mother and the relocation of his father overseas. He's having a hard time fitting in to his new surroundings because he doesn't believe in the stories of oni who live on a nearby island that his classmates tell, and not to mention he's creeped out by the bugs and dirt that surrounds him.
"Why does no one understand me? WHY?"
One day, he skips school and comes across a group of creatures led by the fearsome Oni Mimihiko. It turns out they are looking for a stone, called the Kirifuda, which happens to belong to Yuu as his only keepsake from his mother. He's chased by the Oni when he is rescued by the Imagin Deneb and Kamen Rider New Den-O. Deneb possesses Yuu and whisks him to safety, where he meets up with a younger Ryoutaro. They explain the situation to Yuu, telling him that the stone once belonged to Mimihiko and his older brother Kuchihiko. Because of a distortion in time, Mimihiko has been transported to modern-day instead of being eradicated like the legends say. He has also gained the ability to transform into the Kamen Rider-like being Shilubara and his brother can transform into Goludora. The two are searching for the stone, which was split apart by an Oni exterminator by an arrow, because it can give them access to a legendary time-traveling battleship hidden on their home island. The DenLiner crew was pursuing the Oni, but the distortions in time forced the Imagin partners to be thrown across time and turned Ryoutaro into a teenager, much like what had happened to Hana in the TV series. The distortions also have seemingly erased Yuuto Sakurai aka Kamen Rider Zeronos from time which is why Deneb is helping out without his master.
"I'm that guy who was created to replace Takeru Satoh as the lead of the Den-O franchise but never got my chance!"
See? The exposition proves I didn't make that plot outline above up.
After being chased by the Oni once again, Yuu uses a ticket given to him by Ryoutaro to gain access to the DenLiner. He agrees to give them the stone but only on the condition that he's allowed to travel with them. Owner warns him of their dangerous adventure in store, but Yuu agrees. With the stone in hand, the DenLiner crew seeks out Ryoutaro's Imagin partners.
Ah yes, the ever important "bag of grubs close-up" scene from the film.
When the crew makes a stop in 1930s Japan, they pick up Urataros, Ryuutaros and Kintaros. Not only that, but they also run into many familiar faces. Including an egocentric white Imagin, three colorful creatures that Kamen Rider Kiva might know, and a photo studio where none other but the destroyer of worlds, Tsukasa Kadoya aka Kamen Rider Decade, lives. They lead them to a mural dating back to 1502 that features a notably out-of-place red Imagin. With their next destination set, the DenLiner travels back to the feudal era to find Momotaros, stop the Oni brothers and make time stable once again.
And yet this scene is better than all of Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva.
Ha! You thought we almost forgot this was a crossover again, didn't you?
So yeah, this film isn't that shabby. It's fairly competent when it needs to be. The film surprisingly doesn't follow any of the DenLiner crew but follows Yuu throughout. We find out why Yuu is our focal point at the very end of the film with some nice payoff that makes sense, but the kid is likable and the actor that plays him, Ruka Sawaki, isn't that bad. The rest of the cast is also serviceable. Owner and Naomi are still fun to watch, and the Imagin are always fun to hang around even though their shtick by this point was starting to get old. Masahiro Inoue gets to have a lot of fun in this film. Not only does he get to play the cocky Tsukasa, but he also gets to take that cockiness to the next level when he gets possessed by both Sieg and Momotaros. He doesn't pull off the multiple personalities nearly as well as Takeru Satoh did (and neither does his replacement in this film, Takuya Mizoguchi, who also played young Ryoutaro in I'm Born! two years prior) but he's obviously having a lot of fun acting zany.
Ha! You thought we almost forgot Momo was supposed to be in this, didn't you? Cuz we didn't. He's kinda the star. Yeah, he shows up over 30 minutes into the movie but we didn't forget. Just took our time. Built him up. Cuz he's popular.
It's okay, Teddy. I like you.
These two are so great.
Of course, the suit acting and voice acting are top notch in a Den-O installment. Considering this is the show that finally made tokusatsu suit actors appreciated, it would be a surprise if Seiji Takaiwa and gang didn't bring their A-game. As for the villains, they're your typical baddies. The reason they're able to transform is sort of glanced over (it's because of time!) but they're fairly menacing. What sets them apart is their bond. These two brothers genuinely care for each other as family as we see near the end of the film in a rather touching scene, and this helps them look better than just your average time-stealing lunatics Yasuko Kobayashi tends to throw out when writing the shows and movies. Negataros they are not.
Dat CG budget.
Kamen Rider Diend. He shows up in this film for literally no reason except to be a colossal dick.
Hmm, blue, purple and yellow Riders. There are blue, purple and yellow Imagin. I wonder where this is going?
The story is fine enough. It's not revolutionary and serves as another excuse for Toei to shoot in feudal Japan, but this time it's at least on location and not just in their typical movie village. There are plotholes of course (if the Oni Island Battleship can travel through time, why do the Oni brothers want the DenLiner?) and there are unnecessary cliches (the entire Toki/Yuu subplot feels tacked on) but at least the story makes sense within Den-O's universe. No one is out of character, and the plot moves along at a decent pace and only drags occasionally. However, the most bothersome thing about this crossover is that it's hardly a crossover. Sure, it does a better job advertising Kamen Rider Decade than Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva The Movie : Climax Detectives did at advertising Kamen Rider Kiva, but Decade's cast is barely in the film. Decade himself only appears in two scenes, doesn't stick around to finish the main villain, and we don't even check up on him during the film's epilogue. He feels like an afterthought, but at least the show is decently represented when it actually remembers that Kamen Rider Decade is in the movie too.
Your money shot, ladies and gentlemen.
Because all Kamen Rider movies need to have CG rollercoaster scenes nowadays.
I must admit, this shot just looks really nice and subtle.
The special effects are not too much more extravagant than your average Den-O episode or movie. There's lots of cool transforming, a few new forms (one for Zeronos and the titular one for Den-O) and a whole lot of CG train on battleship action. Yeah, it sometimes looks a cartoon but it kind of adds to the movie's charm. After all, I've long accepted that Kamen Rider Den-O is just one big cartoon. Toshihiko Sahashi's music is solid as usual. In fact, he introduces a new, more heroic, theme for the DenLiner in this film that actually sounds really nice. It's a tad overused, but it gives the movie a big adventure type of feel which is nice to have since these films tend to feel like nothing but feature-length episodes.
Good old Den-O humor.
If you're a fan of Kamen Rider Den-O, well, you've probably already seen this movie. But if you're just getting into it and you feel intimidated by the fact that Den-O has a starring role in 8 movies, then let it be known that this is not one of the bad Den-O movies. It's worth a gander, even if it may go in your brain one day and be gone the next. It's not 85 minutes you'll regret losing, but you may be wishing for something with a little more substance. If you're like me and were starting to get burned out on the sub-franchise by the time this came out, sitting through may seem like a chore but it's easier to sit through than it seems.
And if you're a Kamen Rider Decade fan but not a Den-O fan? You best sit this one out. Considering that three side characters from Kamen Rider Kiva get almost as much screentime and they weren't even advertised, you shouldn't expect much from Tsukasa's role in this movie. Just watch Kamen Rider Decade The Movie: All Riders Vs. Dai Shocker if you want the movie treatment of Decade and NONE OF HIS OTHER FILMS. No, not even the one that "ends the story".
Of course, since I'm rewatching Decade, that means I'll be getting around to those films soon. And you can expect more installments of Toku Movie Flashback then.
Yippee.
RATING:
3 out of 5
Subtitled version courtesy of TV-Nihon
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