Den-O Marathon FINALE.

[xyzzysqrl]

Den-O 47

Tonight we're doing a three episode marathon-run of Den-O straight to the end, for purposes of getting this series wrapped up. EXCEPT FOR THE MOVIES!

So let's get rolling. ...man, this one starts with a splash-screen of Kintaros and "His strength made them cry". Noooooo. He's gonna diiiiie. *whine*

But first, goofy-ass New Year outfits!

Owner hints that this is his last chance to see the Stationmaster, because THIS WILL BE THE END -- OF THE BATTLE! ...with CREEPY FUCKING TWITCHING. Whoa, Jacob's Ladder flashbacks.

CATCH THE WAVE! ... I can't believe this is the start of the last few times I'm going to see Climax Jump in context...

Stationmaster is so, uhm... ~happy~.

EPIC RICE-EATING CHALLENGE. BLINDFOLDED BATTLE.

It's gonna be the future soon, and things won't always be this way.

Ryuu, stop putting mochi on people's heads. *stare blankly*

And then he paints Momo's head with a big tic-tac-toe mark. I'm gonna MISS you, insane pierced leather trenchcoat dragonboy.

And in the midst of all the news-year happiness, the Imagin are starting to sparkle and fade.

Oh hey, remember the supporting cast? They weren't VERY supporting. But they're back for a few minutes.

Kai viciously shreds a calendar. SYMBOLIS... Wait, no, Kai's just a crunchy fruit and nut bar.

Deneb offers new years wishes to cure Yuuto of shiitake hatred! And also to make Yuuto like shiitake! ...I'm sure Deneb is going to get suplexed for this.

Yuuto and Ryou talk about fighting to protect people even if it costs them their futures. Sudden solemn moment.

Those two pocketwatches are set to different times. I just don't know WHY.

Oh no! Explosions! Kai throws them a ticket! "Is this a trap?" "...duh. We have to go though." Nogami rolls out to protect the past, but not before giving Yuuto the "The past should give us hope" pocketwatch. *sniff*

I still don't quite get why Ryoutaro decided not to let himself be possessed anymore, but I respect his grown, self-developed strength.

Oh, come on, this is just a distraction and you know it.

Meanwhile, in the present, Yuuto shoulder-tackles the fuck out of some Imagin mooks and begins to lay waste to all around him.

Of course. Ryou is held up in the past and can't protect... whoa. Kintaros declares that his contract is complete ("Fighting with him for a year") and steals the Den-O belt to make a Heroic Last Stand in the past. I guess... this is how he goes down. Fighting.

He has no intention of coming back, yep. Good luck, Axe Bear.

Kin of course explains it. They don't -have- a past to go back to, yeah. If Kai gets wiped out, that's it for them.

"Kintaros..." "Dude, hurry or your sister will get killed." GOOD INCENTIVE.

...if it weren't for the fact that he's busy dissolving, I totally believe he could keep fighting for like four years and wrap around to the present day again.

Airi, meanwhile, is facing down Kai. ... as we leave. NEXT EPISODE.

Den-O 48

Woo. Yuuto and Deneb back to back with broadsword and pistols.

Oop. Uh... Airi is down, Kai is... grim and twitching. What.

Momo: "YOU'RE ALL TOO DAMNED EMOTIONAL." *thump out dissolving arms* LET'S KEEP FIGHTING AND WINNING.

Augh. Booby-traps on the motorcycle! Evil Imagin on the train! Urataros is the only one who notices! And he's... going to I hope pretend that he was always a double agent, to fool them.

Epic rice battle continues! Illegal use of lemon!

But back to the train...

Which is derailing, because bomb. Urataros throws them all off the train. ... He IS pretending. He ALWAYS lies. Right?

Kai meanwhile is wandering around looking seriously fucking freaked out over what he saw trying to check out Airi.

...holy shit he PUKED an Imagin.

...How much of what Kai's been doing has been Kai's doing?

Aww. Naomi is having trauma over having been thrown out of the diner car. Hug.

Urataros is ...doing an unneededly GOOD job of acting the traitor.

Ryoutaro meanwhile is boldly making plans to RETAKE THE DENLINER. Fuck this moping, he's going to get his train back. TRUE HERO UNLOSING RIDER!

Urataros: "Ooh, funny thing. Train won't move without the pass. You'll have to get off the train and go get it."

...And... Ryou meets Past Ryou. ...to talk about the NEW BABY she's having with Sakurai. WHAT.

There's the missing memory. There's the hole. There's... Ryou DRESSING UP as his past self to go talk to his sister and get the whole story. HOLY SHIT.

Yuuto and Deneb hold the hospital where Present Airi is. ...and Super Death Kai Imagin is the end boss. The end boss is what Kai THREW UP. I hate you, Kai.

No, Kai, that does not mean Summon Space Vagina.

What the hell did he puke up? It's like an SNK boss. Doesn't move, hits for 75% health.

Oh ...my god. Airi's lost -son- is the Singularity Point, so... If they make Ryou forget, then Kai can't destroy it. Because it doesn't technically exist. This is the most fucked up plan EVER.

But first Red Vs. Blue showdown.

Yep. Urataros was playing them and now "distractS" them while the others leave. He went out as he lived, a lying sack of lies. G'bye, rod turtle.

Sigh. ... Back at the hospital, Deneb is being a GUNTANK and Yuuto is... getting kinda trashed by SuperImagin.

Oh and Kai is about to VAGINA LASER THE WORLD TO DEATH. How much DRAMA do we need for this?

All of it. All the drama.

Den-O 49 -- LAST CLIMAX

We leap right into "This era will disappear." and Yuuto getting trashed.

Momo: "Hey, is he planning to destroy this whole era?" Ryou: "I won't LET him."

Momotaros will at least keep fighting 'til the end.

...heh. Ryou finally give him his wish: "Fight with me until the very end." Fuck yeah.

Ryou doesn't even henshin. He just DECLARES Liner Form and the armor appears.

Yuuto's out of cards, but he's full of HOPE from the past. He's not going to stop fighting just because he's in normal human mode.

...someone really needs to get to the top of the hospital and punch Kai in the head.

So Ryou -does- head to the top! And Kai summons up Super Death Puke Imagin to beat him around. ...so, Ryuutaro charges out to help, of course. This IS gonna end in total party kill. Shit.

...and then Ryoutaro SHOULDER-TACKLES KAI OFF THE BUILDING to stop him. A shame it DIDN'T, that was a great move.

You would think that Ryoutaro and Ryuutaros would be -depressed- after the local surroundings blow up... but instead they smugly confront Kai to point out that HE FAILED. The futue is FINE. The present is FINE. Bwahahaha.

...derp. Of course. The mystery child whose time vanished. HANA.

Wow. Even Kai admits that this was an awesome plan.

Deneb, meanwhile, gives Yuuto a final card that will erase Sakurai forever... but make him able to fight one last time.

...hey! Naomi went back and picked up the Imagin! Breaking the rules, because Owner's away. All four of them, together one last time.

They're -still- going to vanish, but... big, form-swapping, badass, action-heavy fight scene, for the future!

Even Sieg showed up to protect his "family".

Woof: "I like how all through this entire scene, KAI CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT."

FINAL DYNAMIC SPECIAL!

So, with his avatar defeated... they vanish. All the imagin.

Ow. Yuuto's -face-. ...and ...of course. Deneb made him dinner and left a polite note before going out to die.

...Deneb made him a shiitake-filled dinner. That is HEARTBREAKING. AND APPROPRIATE.

....awww... Yuuto's eating it. Shiitake and all.

...oh, they're not dead, just HIDING IN A DITCH. What. How exactly DID they survive?

...Deneb shows up and... .."DON'T ADD SHIITAKE!" ... *big hugs, tears* ...awwww... damn. If you don't get teary-eyed at this, you just don't have a heart.

In a way I feel like all the character development in this show went to Yuuto and Deneb. I certainly care most about them. (So much love.)

It's time for Ryoutarou to get off this train, though.

Deneb and Yuuto are off to start a new life, somewhere in time.

And someday, in the future ... ... We'll watch the movies.

Well. All in all, I have to admit Den-O felt largely like plotless, goofy antics. I really liked it and ... I admit, the ending made me all teary. We'll watch the movie that takes place immediately after the series another night... and save the rest for when we watch Kamen Rider Decade.

...still, I would like to know how the Imagin, y'know, SURVIVED... but wow. That left a MUCH better taste in my mouth than the Ryuki ending, I admit. And I have to giggle at the woof's summary:

Woof: "Start to finish... they cheated Kai. He never even aimed at the right person. TOTAL LOCKDOWN SHUTOUT."


So... what do we watch next in the Toku Show slot? I'm considering Kamen Rider Double (detective antics), or Kamen Rider Kuuga (the first of the New Generation of Riders)... Any suggestions? ...anyone care?