Kamen Rider G (2009)

 
 "Have a taste of my mix of evil and justice flavors!"

 KAMEN RIDER G

 SYNOPSIS
 In 2009, following a series of terrorist attacks, a group known as Shade was create to counter the increasing threat of terrorism. Shade, however, exceeded their mandate, kidnapping and brainwashing people and experimenting on them to turn them into super-soliders. One of their victims was a sommelier named Goro, who was brainwashed and transformed into Shade's Operative No. 5. Finally, Shade was shut down and its leader imprisoned.

 The remaining members of Shade seize the TV Asahi building, demanding the release of their leader. Hijacking a TV show about wine, Goro encounters Eri, his former fiancee, who recognises him at once, though he has no memory of her. Eri urges Goro to try the wine she'd left on stage, which was the same wine he served her when he proposed marriage. The taste of the wine reawakens his memory of her and undoes Shade's brainwashing and he immediately turns against his former teammates and does pretty well, until they reveal they can transform into monsters (actually re-purposed Worm costumes from Kamen Rider Kabuto) The lead Shade agent, Oda, now revealed as the Phylloxera Worm, throws Goro off the TV Asahi building and kidnaps Eri, escaping by helicopter.

 Goro lands on his feet, smashing the letter "G" into the ground, stands up, transforms into Kamen Rider G and blasts his symbol into the building behind him. Giving chase on his motorcycle as Oda rains missiles down on him, he rescues Eri by jumping his motorcycle through the helicopter, and as Oda transforms into the Phylloxera Worm again, they begin their final battle.

 Momentarily beaten down, Goro is visited by Kamen Rider Decade, who declares he is the only one who can save the world from the threat of Shade, and to further boost his spirits, summons all of the Heisei Riders to cheer him on. Newly emboldened, Goro destroys the Phylloxera Worm with his final attack.

 Declaring he will save the world before returning to Eri, Goro declares himself the lonely warrior of Love--Kamen Rider G. Meanwhile, from his prison cell, Shade's leader, Seizan Tokugawa plans revenge against Goro . . .

 ANALYSIS
 Given that it's played so completely straight, you might not initially "get" that Kamen Rider G is an affectionate parody of Kamen Rider, but it is. Made by the Kamen Rider production team for a segment on the noted Japanese boy band SMAP's variety show (wherein they provide a running MST3K-style commentary) as they were ramping up for Kamen Rider Decade (Decade appears before his first episode, actually) it features amazing stunt work, frenetic action (it's only 18 minutes long, so there's a lot to pack in) and an interesting blend of Showa and Heisei Rider tropes, all played with deadpan seriousness, which is, removed from the usual Rider context, sorta funny.

 Though it's not really interested in poking fun at Rider tropes as such (and the idea of a Rider who gains power from wine isn't as absurd given that Kamen Rider Gaim has people becoming superpowered because of falling otherdimensional fruits) but that's not why it's interesting. As I watched it, I started focusing less on the action and more on the running commentary, which started with a few wry observations, but soon quieted down because the commentators started getting into and getting excited by the action and the stunts and the appearance of the Heisei Riders, which I suppose shows you that no matter how old you are, there's something about this that can hook you.

 As a skit, it's pretty good. As a celebration of the Heisei Rider's 10th anniversary, it's also good.

 But it's not really that funny. In among all the stunts and action, there aren't many jokes, except if you're working in the Airplane! mode where playing everything deadly serious IS the joke, and even then, there's not the light touch that counterpoints the serious that makes it funny. Compared with the Super Sentai parody series, Akibaranger, which ran close to this time-frame, which is completely off the wall, sets everything up for parody and culminates in repeated shattering of the fourth wall, it's pretty basic.

 But it's not bad, and brief, affectionate parody that doesn't overstay it's welcome (Seriously, it's 18 minutes and over before you know it) has its virtues.
 
 NEXT WEEK
 Well, here we are at the finish--sort of. Next week is the final regular review of Kamen Rider here at the TI until Kamen Rider Gaim concludes at the end of September. We have covered darn near every series every period available to me, and there's only one more to go:

 Jo Shigeru joins the secret sinister organisation Black Satan to gain revenge for his friend and mentor, and the transform him into a cyborg. But Jo knows Black Satan actually killed his friend, and he's conned them into moulding him into a weapon of retribution.

 Join us in seven, when the heaven cries, out, the earth cries out, the people cry out and we look at Kamen Rider Stronger: