Igadevi's Japan Trip 2004~Kamen Rider Super Live '04

Truth be told, I was originally supposed to leave Japan on August 16th. But seeing as how that's the worst time to travel (Obon,
or the Lantern Festival, comes right around then and it is one of the biggest holidays), and I found out in mid-July that there was
going to be this big Kamen Rider stage show hitting all the major cities (Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, etc.), I figured I could
postpone my return until the 21st (and am I glad I did, for many, many reasons.) Anyways, on August 17th, 2004, I went to
Osaka to catch the big show, Kamen Rider Super Live 2004, featuring Kamen Rider Blade. There was tons of Rider
merchandise on sale before and after the show, and even some cool freebies. There was also an exclusive program that you could
buy, which doubled as the ticket to getting to meet some Riders after the show was over! While I had seen at least two other
stage shows before hand, nothing could prepare me for this one, which pulled out all the stops (due to being a full-scale
production.) Unfortunately, you couldn't take photos or video during the show (for the actors' sake, and because they needed
periods of darkness to change the sets, plus camera flashes would probably have messed up some of the visual effects.) But I do
have some pictures from the meet & greet session after the show, as well as a bunch of scans.

The plot was actually pretty cool considering it was only a stage show, and like the other Blade stage show I saw this one had all
the right sound effects, music, and definitely the right voices for the Riders (or at least *very* good impersonations.) The
costumes were also pretty cool, and there were a lot of them. In addition to Blade, Garren, Leangle & Chalice, there was Faiz,
Kaixa, Ryuki, Rider 1, V3, Stronger, several of the above in alternate forms, a bunch of Undead, and the new villains created for
the show, the Four Knights of Alcana, ancient evil dudes who use Tarot Cards similar to the Blade gang's Rouze Cards. These
latter guys are after this girl who is the reincarnation of their sacrificial priestess or something like that. Whatever, it's basically an
excuse to have some Riders kicking butt together!

As I said, all the stops were pulled out, and there were quite a lot of cool special effects. Especially when it came to the Undead
sealing scenes, which were accomplished with smoke, lights, and reflective cards the Riders held; and when the combo attacks
were used, the cards were projected behind them in a sort-of attempt at doing what we see on the show. In addition to this, there
were explosions, motorcycle stunts, a full-size Ride Shooter (for when Ryuki inexplicably arrives out of nowhere to help out), a
giant puppet monster thing for the finale, and some other cool visuals, particularly a giant spinning fan thing to herald Rider 1's
off-stage Henshin.

As mentioned, old as well as new Riders appeared, and it was cool to hear some classic songs as well as newer ones. Both Ryuki
& Faiz got to upgrade to Ryuki Survive & Faiz Blaster at some point, and the show also featured Blade's Jack Form. Kaixa, as
odd as it was to see him, was cool. V3 & Stronger were awesome, and got to pull out some classic moves (and Stronger even
got his little intro speech!) And Rider 1...what can I say about him? He saves everybody's butt big time, in what was arguably the
best scene in the show. I just wish Rider 2 had been there, but then I guess they wouldn't have needed anyone else then! Chalice
also saves everyone at the end, but not until it becomes apparent he's really on the good guys' side. Even though these were
probably low-end stunt guys, they put their all into the characters, and Ryuki especially had all the right mannerisms down. It was
also funny to see him start going ballistic in true Shinji style in the middle of a fight.

I don't think I'm spoiling too much in saying a happy ending was inevitable, although at one point things looked pretty grim, when
the bad guys seal some of the Riders into cards and turn into evil versions of them! The final battle pits all the Riders against the
giant puppet thing (which is the leader of the Alcana guys transformed) and you better believe there's an "Everyone Rider Kick"
moment.

After the show was over, those who bought the program could go down and shake hands with the Blade crew. Yeah, I was a
little disappointed the others weren't there, but some Riders are better than no Riders! Chalice & Garren either couldn't see squat
or were tired out from all the action, as they stayed kneeling, but I was impressed by Leangle, who rose up to greet me (well, as
best as he could, anyway.) And Blade was busy handing out bottles of Oronamin C, a popular energy drink that sponsors both
Kamen Rider as well as these stage shows. I still have that bottle, in fact.

All in all it was a pretty cool experience, and next time I'm going to try for one of the outdoor stage shows with tons of Riders
(and sometimes other heroes) running around, as those are supposed to be insane!

*Many thanks to my friend Noriko who took these over my shoulder. Yeah, that's the back of my head in most of those pictures.