Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva:
Climax Deka ~No Spoilers~
► Review from 4/12/2008
This is the non-spoiler version of the review for Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka. If you don't want to know
the plot... this is the one you want.
Okay then?
I want to begin this review by addressing a little disservice which has, to my knowledge, thus far gone uncorrected.
Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka is not, in fact, the first time two Riders have had a crossover in the Heisei era. And
no, I’m not talking about the Hyper Battle thing with Agito & Ryuki.
I’m talking about Kamen Rider World. You know, the one with Giant Shadow Moon. It’s made in 1994, it counts! I guess if you
wanted to be really fickle, you could say the 3D RX thingy is really the first, since it came out in April 1989 (after the start of the
Heisei era), but does it really count if someone is teaming up with themselves? And themselves again two more times? I dunno.
But ZO & J did it, so let’s give it up for them.
In fact, in a lot of ways, Climax Deka mirrors that little crossover a lot; two Riders from two until-now separate stories cross
paths, it doesn’t quite make a whole lot of sense, and it’s tons of fun.
Announced out of nowhere just a month or two ago, this movie was originally going to be a direct-to-video special that then got
bumped up to a full-fledged feature by popular demand, and I think it’s safe to say the world’s a better place for it.
The first thing you should know about this movie is that despite the title, it really is Kamen Rider Den-O: The Movie 2. It’s Den-
O’s movie through and through, from the OP credits (done in the style of the TV series) all through to the ending, which manages
to be irreverent, silly, and heartwarming all in one go as Den-O often was. It's not really spoiling anything to say that Kiva is in it,
and he’s important, but he’s ultimately making a guest appearance. It's definitely a Den-O adventure.
This movie literally cruises on by. At just a little over an hour, it doesn’t waste a moment. As a result, exposition is fairly scant and
there’s a lot of unanswered questions, but most of this stuff will only come to mind after seeing the film. And really, how much of it
actually matters to enjoying the movie? Considering the basic premise of Den-O (and Kamen Rider as a whole) there’s only so
much sense these things can make. It's kind of hard to elaborate without spoilers, so you'll just have to see it for yourself.
So putting that out of the way, how does it do as a well unto itself?
I’d say I’m very tempted to put Climax Deka in my top 5 Rider movies, period. It is, in a lot of ways, closer to the older Shôwa
movies than it is to the more contemporary films in that the main selling point of the film is about the fact that it’s got a guest Rider,
although the main difference here from the older films is that it’s the past Rider who is the star; that’s a first. The movie could have
been Kamen Rider Kiva & Kamen Rider Den-O: Take a Bite out of Crime, but Den-O is the top-biller. And Zeronos is right
behind him! In fact, Kiva/Wataru is third in the credits, which further underlines the point.
Okay, so how’s it do as a Den-O movie then? In a lot of ways, it has the feeling of a class reunion where almost everybody you
wanted to see shows up; many familiar Den-O characters are back, and they’re doing what they do best. All the famous catch
phrases are said, the little details are here. There might be one or two things missing... but overall I'd say it's pretty satisfying.
As for the rest; Ryôtarô’s pretty much in line with what we saw at the end of the series, a much braver and more confidant (if still
somewhat sheepish) hero than when he started. I think Satô could pretty much play the character in his sleep by now, given how
much he had to handle in the series itself. He still does all the Imagin personalities like it was second nature, although I would guess
this wasn’t filmed too long after the series wrapped, so he hasn’t lost the touch yet (and given Den-O’s popularity, it’s a wonder if
he ever will, if there’s ever more movies/specials on the way.) Yuuto's back too, and as good as ever.
The Imagin… come on, you know part of the reason this was made was so that we could get more of them (I expect an all-
Imagin spin-off some day now.) They’re all as loveable as you remember them. Even Ryuutaros, who was trying to watch early
on in the series, and mellowed over time, is now a more likable but no less anarchic character as he was at the end of the series.
Of course, Deneb got the biggest laughs from me, but the character is pretty much perfection; Deneb could team up with pretty
much any character in the Kamen Rider universe and it’d be brilliant.
And one thing this movie really did was make characters I otherwise felt ambivalent towards, or liked, but not in an “I’m-dying-to-
see-them-come-back” sort of way… actually pretty nice to have back. Owner = Hilarious and finally clicking with everything else
around him. Airi = Welcome for once, and she gets a really nice scene with a particular character I know many have been waiting
to see. Ozaki & Miura = Surprisingly funny in this! And then there’s Kohana, a character I’d say I’ve just been “eh” on. While
I’m not one of those who regards the loss of adult Hana as a blow that crippled the show forever (although the handling of it could’
ve been a little better), Kohana was never anything to get really excited about to me. The actress did a good job in the show, and
it’s nice that she was somewhat significant in the end. Here though… well, she’s completely superfluous, but so is the whole movie
in a sense, which is why she fits in so well. She gets some great scenes.
On the Kiva side of things, well, it’s pretty much what you’re expecting. Wataru is there, Shizuka at his side, and one other
particular Kiva character makes a brief appearance. Don't worry, they'll all be back this summer.
So how about those new characters, huh? Suzuki, a detective who has a pretty significant role, is both amusing and sympathetic
when we learn more about him. He reminds me a lot of Kabuto’s Kagami for some reason, although a bit more restrained, if that
makes any sense. Kuroki, a villainous ganster, is one mean mutha’, but never so much that he’s more than a camp crook as was
oft to happen in Den-O (which, I’d like to remind you, continued the trend in Kamen Rider lately of having crime in Japan be at an
all time high.) He's quite fun to behold.
Negataros is a character that I’m sure got hyped a lot prior to the film; I mean look at the whole concept of him! For a guy that’s
basically a walking custom figure of a costume, looks cool, and even Nega Den-O (a repaint lover’s dream come true) looks cool
with his purple hues and added detailing. As for his character, he's pretty neat, and in line with the other villains of the series.
As for the monsters aside from Negataros: there's some old, some new, and some unexpected. It's not a unabated monster mash,
but there's some cool ones and I was genuinely surprised by the inclusion of some of them.
As for the other minor characters, they’re all pretty good, although understandably overshadowed by the main cast. Of special
note is one particular returning face from a previous Rider series, in a brief but significant cameo. I’m glad that they went though
the trouble to get who they did for an important part like this, that’s the kind of thing I wish they did more.
Moving on to the action; there’s plenty of it. There’s a lot of little fights here and there and the final battle is truly epic, with lots of
people running around and hitting each other all at once. As for the effects, they were mostly pretty good. There are one or two
shots which I’d describe as “a little overly ambitious”, but they won't ruin anything unless you're incredibly picky. The music, as far
as I could tell is all right out of the shows (both Den-O & Kiva), and a couple of familiar songs pop up. And there's also the best
ever use of “Climax Jump HIPHOP ver.”.
So overall, I’d say it was a pretty solid movie. I feel this is certainly one you need to see for yourself to get the actual feel of. It
really is one of the wackiest (and hands-down funniest) Rider movies of all. I’m tempted to call it the “8 Riders for the 21st
Century”, although that might be a bit extreme. After all, there weren’t any aliens attacking a space station. But you can’t have
everything.
What there is, however, is a really great ride for Rider fans, especially if they love Den-O. It’s great to have the old gang back for
one last go (if this is the last one) and throwing in Kiva is a nice little nod to the future. It’s a lot like being reunited with old friends,
and I have no shame in admitting I got a little misty-eyed during the OP (because really, I honestly never thought I’d actually be
able to see a Rider crossover movie in theaters, and have I ever mentioned how something about that version of the song just
clicks with me?) It’s one I’ll go back to see another time or two before it close, before the inevitable wait for the DVD release.
And I’m hoping that this’ll become an annual event now, as if there’s one thing this movie proved, it’s that Rider crossovers = still
works as well as it ever has. Especially this format, of making the starring Rider the previous year’s, thus allowing for one more
adventure with last year’s Rider before we let go again. Unless, like with Den-O apparently, the climax never ends!
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