First Impressions of Kamen Rider OOO (Part 2)

Hey guys. Sorry about the delay on the second part but I’ve been extra busy with the Magiranger video review. It should be uploaded by the time you read this. Go to thegeekfighters.com and check it out. Where were we? Oh yea.

So, what did we learn about the new series last time? We learned that the big bad oni are made of coins/medallions, a drifter with an affinity for boxer shorts is being followed by a disembodied hand, Ankh, and that now our drifter friend Eiji is now a Kamen Rider by circumstance. Kamen Rider OOO did all right for his first fight but what new challenges await our hero? Let’s find out.

(SPOILER ALERT for Episode 2)

Green Peace is really going out of their way
to clean up the Earth.

So our Thing wannabe Ankh has possessed the body of a dying detective and even ripped off Long from Gekiranger’s haircut so yea. And before you make the connection it is NOT the guy who played Long. Everyone (including Yours Truly) has made that mistake but hey, nobody’s perfect. Eiji asks if the detective is okay but Ankh is distracted when a hundred of robotic birds steal the medals from him. Ankh is furious and our mysterious biker friend from before looks on. It seems our friend in the red suit has a stockpile of medals, much like Gaia Memory. A little more foreboding…please.

That reminds me, I forgot to say anything about the song last time. It’s not so bad. It kind of reminds me of my ska days from long ago but I’m not used to a Rider theme being so upbeat. I’m sure it’ll be better when I’ve heard the whole thing. So when Ankh, when not stealing a tasty treat, is expositing about the Core Medals to Eiji and telling him the detective will die if he’s not attached to him after awhile. Seems the Yummy are made of Cell Medals which aren’t as valuable or stable as Core Medals. Yea I don’t get it either.

Meanwhile our Bulk and Skull wannabes from earlier are visited by the Greeed and a new Yummy is released from one of them, I hope these guys don’t become recurring characters, and the rest of the Greeed exposit stuff too. Bored now!! Eiji gets another call on the cell phone he swiped from the detective Ankh possessed. Eiji realizes its Hina, the girl with the freak strength from earlier after getting a pic text from her. Hina is applying for work at some coffee shop/restaurant that will likely become the established meeting place for all characters eventually. Her new boss is um…a cosplayer. Yea, I’m not making this up. We’ve officially descended into madness here folks when the fans are seeping into the media they watch!!

Welcome to Hell. Don't do drugs, kids.

Anyway, Hina gets a call that her brother is missing but never mind that, the Yummy is on the attack, eating money to take on a full form. Ankh hears the Yummy (somehow) and knows it’s attacking. When they finally track it down, Ankh refuses to let Eiji become OOO until the Yummy takes a full form and that way he can obtain medals that way. No full form = no medals. Seems the source of medals is human greed and the more it eats the stronger it gets. That is going to wreck Japan’s economy if that keeps up.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kougami (the guy in red) is going nuts with cake frosting and making an evil speech. Man, what a nut bar. Anyway the Yummy becomes a giant bug (it happens) and Ankh is still refusing to cough up the OOO Driver since he wants it to get bigger and kill more people. Man, this guy makes Momotaros look like a Red Cross worker. Rager would love this guy.

"Yep, I'm a dick-weed. Get used to it."

Eiji AGAIN gets a call from Hina, hoping her brother will pick up as he is still missing. Eiji of course feels bad for Hina and gets a flashback to something bad happening with I’m assuming him crying as a kid. (I hate ominous foreshadowing). Eiji decides to save people on his own, henshined or not. He of course falls off the side of the building but luckily Ankh hand saves him. He decides to stop being a prick and hands over the OOO Driver but Eiji makes him promise to let him transform whenever he wants. So he agrees and Eiji henshins just in time to avoid becoming a red stain on the pavement. Oh but we have a visitor, the mystery biker from before. He gives him a “birthday present”. A cool new sword and a vending machine bike just like his. Wow, the man in red must be bipolar or something. First he’s against him now he’s giving him presents. This is a strange show…

Somewhere, a metrosexual protagonist from a
Final Fantasy game is missing his sword...

So our mystery friend uses a bunch of soda cans that turn into octobots which make a bridge for OOO to drive up and slay the oni while Ankh gobbles up the medals. Our hero puts in the medals into his new sword and uses a cool cutting attack to finish off the giant bug. After that impressive battle, Eiji decides to fake a text to Hina’s cell phone saying that her brother is on a covert mission and sends a pic of his new look (with Ankh possessing him). Seems Eiji dodged a bullet right? Wrong!! Ankh bumps into someone, while wondering why the humans want Cell Medals, and wouldn’t you know it. It’s HINA!!! What are the odds??? Eiji sees this and knows his plan went balls up while Ankh goes in for the kill.

Don't Hug the Reaper!!!

So that was the second episode of Kamen Rider OOO. I’ve got to say it’s not as epic as W but it’s not very impressive on it’s own. I haven’t totally given up on it…yet. Besides, I’m the Toku guy. I don’t just give up on a show just because I hate it (since I can and will review this one day). I am kind of interested to see what new medals OOO will obtain and if the Greeed will ever reclaim their Core Medals. The Ankh possessing a human thing has got me intrigued the most. It’s kind of a throwback to Den-O but the difference is the oni isn’t possessing the main character but rather a random stranger who has family and a life, how will Ankh affect all this?? Time will tell.

Well, that’s my thoughts on Kamen Rider OOO, and until the next big event in Tokusatsu this is your friendly neighborhood EZ Rider. Later.