Series Review: Kamen Rider Den-O

Kamen Rider Den-O [2007-2008]

"I... have arrived!"

Ah, Den-O, Den-O, Den-O. How do I even begin to talk about this series? It's the Kamen Rider series that feels the most... the most like a gag anime, and I am saying that with all the love and respect for all the gag anime in the world. I watched Den-O pretty early on, and it's probably the... sixth or seventh show that I completed. And... and it sure is something!

Den-O is easily the biggest success that the Kamen Rider franchise has had in any singular series, considering by the titanic amount of spin-off movies and OVA's that the colourful cast of Den-O has had (to wit, it's got eight movies that stars or co-stars Den-O, a handful of OVA's, and a whole ton of cameos in other crossover movies). Even when the older riders show up in an Ex-Aid or OOO or Gaim or Zi-O special or something, it's always the Den-O cast that gets more dialogue compared to the other riders. Part of it is, admittedly, due to how easy it is to get the Den-O cast going since you technically just need the suit actors and voice actors. It really cannot be stated just how much you can't watch any huge crossover specials without bumping into the pointy-headed loud-mouthed oni that is Momotaros and the rest of the Den-O cast. 

And Den-O is a show that is a lot more light-hearted, but also one with its own unique vibe. It's one that some (like Fourze) argue doesn't "fit" the Kamen Rider aesthetic, but the Kamen Rider franchise is a children's show and a toy advertisement first and foremost... and I certainly had a huge time and a blast watching Den-O. 

The first dozen episodes are a bit more introductory as we're introduced to the cast. Nogami Ryotaro is a very kind-hearted but extremely unlikely man, with his very first appearance involving him getting his bike stuck on top of a tree. Oh yeah, this is that kind of gag anime show. However, a mysterious humanoid oni monster seemingly made out of sand possesses him after talking about granting him a wish, and the appearance of a mysterious girl Hana ends up dragging Ryotaro in a world with time-traveling dream-sand monsters called Imagin, and an enigmatic train with equally enigmatic staff. Ryotaro finds himself to be a 'Singularity Point', a person whose memories exist independently of time and is unaffected to changes in the timeline. Momotaros, meanwhile, is a rogue Imagin, wish-granting monsters that can time-travel. By possessing Ryotaro, Momotaros is able to transform into Den-O (lit. train king/electric king), a Kamen Rider that beats up enemies with loud, energetic boasts and catchphrases and a hovering sword blade. One of the Den-O's, anyway. 

Because, as you can quickly realize by the 'possession' dynamic, Momotaros isn't the only Imagin that gets recruited to the party. Quickly, one after the other, three more Imagin get roped into sharing Ryotaro's body as a Singularity Point and making contracts with him. Three other Imagin get roped into the main cast -- the silver-tongued womanizer Urataros; the traditional scrappy samurai-esque Kintaros; and the sociopathic trigger-happy loon Ryutaros. With his mentor Hana (later recasted and transformed into a younger form, Kohana, due to real-life problems), the enigmatic fried-rice eating Owner, and the chipper coffee-making Naomi (played by the main girl from Agito!), that's the primary crew of the Denliner, the train of time. 

There's also the civilian cast in 2007, which initially seems like they're just there for typical civilian hostage situations or gags, but turns out that Ryotaro's amnesiac sister Airi has something to do with the events that caused all of the Singularity Points and time traveling shenanigans to happen. Around one-third of the way through the series, the prickly time-traveler Sakurai Yuuto and his delightful companion Deneb shows up, and basically fills up the missing part of the main cast. Yuuto, in addition to being a delightful character whose development and defrosting is one of the better parts of the series, also helps to bring in the show's mysteries and plot to a bit of a head. 

(Oh yeah, Ryotaro has a fifth Imagin, the prince-bird Sieg, but he really only shows up for like, four or five episodes.)

And when you talk about how much the Heisei Kamen Riders love their catchphrases... Den-O loves it to a fault. "I have arrived!" "This is the climax!" "This is my secret killer technique!" "Mind if I reel you in?" "My strength has made you cry!" "Mind if I beat you? Can't hear your answer!" "Let me warn you for a start, I am really strong!" It gets annoying initially, then it gets charming, then the show gets some amazing moments where some of these goofy-ass catchphrases become great moments of writing. 

And that's the whole show, really. There is a plot and a mystery behind Yuuto, Airi, the strange double-hatted man, and there's supposed to be a main villain called Kai or some shit, but let's just say that no one really talks about the mystery when they talk about Den-O. It's more of an excuse plot to put the primary six or seven characters through some emotional stories.

The main selling point of the series, more than any other show? Its characters. The sheer strength of the characters and their interactions with each other. And sure, bringing very talented suit actors and voice actors to voice half the cast does mean that a lot of the performances for the five primary Imagin as utterly genuine, particularly in the second half of the series where they've nailed the chemistry of the four bickering Denliner Imagin and the happy Deneb. They feel like a family, they feel like a bunch of friends, and the show's themes of memories sticking with you fits well with the show itself favouring the antics and character interactions of its cast. 

And not to knock the performances of any of the actors -- Nakamura Yuichi's portrayal as Sakurai Yuuto was amazing, and both Shiratori Yuriko and Matsumoto Tamaki's different Hanas make you truly believe that they're the same person. But the lynchpin of a show like this has to be its leading man, Takeru Sato, who not only regularly plays the nebbish, skittish Ryotaro Nogami, but also him as he is possessed by the four Imagin. Sure, it mostly just involves hair gel, hair dye and contact lenses, but all four primary 'possessions' of Ryotaro are utterly distinct, and it sells the fact that the oni man or the turtle man is taking possession of the body. And it might seem gimmicky to you, and it kind of is... but it's also done exceedingly well that I was actually surprise to see how utterly seamless it is. 

The format of Den-O itself as a show also lends itself to its success, I feel. I watched these shows out of order from their broadcast date, but someone pointed it out to me online, and I ended up realizing that Den-O was the first show to properly popularize the "two-parter" system. Monsters being stretched for two episodes is already done in Hibiki and Kabuto, but this is probably the one that ensures that each two-parter has it's own story separate from the 'bigger picture'. Each major story is told with a single monster type across two episodes, each of them being a self-contained story. It allows solid character arcs for all of our characters, making it have a more episodic-anime feel. To wit, nearly every single Heisei show after Den-O other than the explosively popular Gaim copied the format. The two-parter format acts as a detriment to some of Den-O's successors (its most immediate one, Kiva, suffered terribly for trying to shoehorn Den-O's formula in a show where it doesn't really work) but it works amazingly for Den-O in making sure that the focus of the show, and the audience, is its characters. 

And while the episodes might be standalone and doofy, just like Fourze, the characters themselves grow closer to each other. Momotaros, Urataros and Yuuto all defrost and drop a lot of their jackass facade over the series; Ryutaros matures; and most importantly Ryotaro Nogami himself grows from a little spineless chew-toy of the universe into someone that is ready to stand up as something more than just a vessel for the four badasses in the train, leading to a great focus on the super form they call the 'Liner Form'. I absolutely love it when a 'power-up' doesn't just turn into a toy advert on how this is so much more powerful than the previous form, but actually represents a huge turn in the character's own personal growth. 

And... yes, there's a plot. There's a plot that I honestly don't feel guilty for saying that it's kind of shit. The Yuuto/Airi/Mystery Man mystery is dragged out for so long and at one point it just becomes obvious. So is Hana's identity, and the reveal is at least handled decently well. Kai as an antagonist doesn't feel threatening at all, and the master plan doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You just shrug and accept all the monologues about Junction Points and Singularity Points and the train tracks of time and deleted futures and whatnot, because what you really here for is to see if Ryotaro, Hana, Yuuto and the Imagin get out of it okay. And... and it's a very kiddy show, and of course they do, but the earnest acting, the great scripting and the great music all do an amazing job at making this a great time.

Speaking of which... the music! I seldom mention the music in Kamen Rider beyond 'hey it's good' or 'hey this one is a banger', but Den-O has an amazing way of having different genres of music correspond to the four main Imagin, all of which fit very well with their personalities. It's simple as hell, but at the same time it's also done so well and builds up the mood for these main characters well. And, of course, the fact that you actually start caring for these characters ends up being central to the show's theme of "memories is time" and all that jazz. It's very cheesy, but, again, the show's earnestness makes it work. 

The action scenes are pretty fun. It's over-the-top with loud catchphrases and Momotaros yelling "hissatsu" and "KURAIMAKKUSU" every other moment, but it's lovable, and the Den-O suit and its transforming armour parts that facilitates the four basic forms is actually very fun to look at while being pretty simple. Unfortunately, and especially early on, the show does try to have a bizarre CGI battle to have the Denliner's bizarre carriages pull out weird weapons against a giant monster. This sort of gets dropped but not really, and I've never been a fan of it because of how awkward it looks. Although... it's par the course, and the utter ridiculousness of how they play "the cockpit of the train has a motorbike attached to it as a steering wheel" bit just so that they can call this a Kamen Rider show is delightful.

And... that's Den-O. It's a fun show. It's a silly show. The time travel is more of an excuse plot to pit the good guys against the bad guys, and the anime logic sometimes do get silly (like what bad luck does to Ryotaro; Airi's devil-witch cooking; Deneb's candies; Ryutaros's ability to summon break-dancers out of thin air) but the show is so, so lovable on its entirety that it really isn't hard to see why it's so popular, and why the marketing team and future writers for subsequent Rider series try to capitalize on any excuse to show the fun adventures of the Den-O cast. 

A great show, despite the fact that all of the spinoffs are a bit more questionable. It's not a show that's going to explain everything about its plot (and its attempts to suck) but it's one with a pretty suit, a lot of great developments for the characters, and such a great mood. I recommend Den-O and Fourze to anyone who's just feeling down, or need some sort of a palate cleanser after the more depressing or the more terribly-edited Rider shows. No wonder the franchise itself jumps on every opportunity to give the Denliner cast a bit of a role any time they can. They just bring joy and energy to the screen! It's easy to pinpoint what makes Den-O great -- the journey and the time-tripping ride itself.