Kamen Rider Sigma Episode #6 Production Notes *Updated and Revised as
of
- Between the 2004 version and 2007 version you’ve just read, this episode went through a number or major changes, the first being the title. The original title this episode was written under was “The 32 Secrets of Sigma”, an obvious nod to the title for episode #4 of Kamen Rider V3. I scaled it back to “The Secret of Sigma” to give it some intrigue, but as you can see I changed it to simply “Ambivalence”. So what’s the deal?
In rewriting the episode, I felt that the “secret powers” Sigma exhibits, while originally derived from V3’s 26 Secrets (which I’ll explain as come to each of them), would be much more interesting if they were both 1) unnamed and 2) unintentional. As it turns out, the source of these powers isn’t something the Triple Riders intentionally put in, but rather a very small incidental detail that will lead into a subplot that developed between 2004 and now. And of course, this will eventually see more exposition as the series goes on. In a way, it’s sort of reflective of the changing nature of Sigma herself, in that while she originally began as a “female Rider 1/2/V3”, she has ended up (both in actuality and in the series storyline) as something very different. I’ll say this much: Sigma does have many unique abilities yet to be shown, and the powers exhibited in this episode are the initial hints of these.
So what exactly does the new title mean then? I’ll leave that for you to decide, although I know which character it specifically refers to (and I’m not telling… yet.)
- Having Maya dwell on the fact that the Geier Kaijin were once human was an interesting little twist, inspired by an early subplot from Kamen Rider Faiz. Contrary to popular belief, this is actually a bit of a break in tradition. In the older Rider series, there really isn’t much agonizing over the nature of the Kaijin, mainly because they are intentionally portrayed as being totally evil and unsympathetic (and thus in my opinion, very good) villains, having lost (often by choice, or having already lost) the aspects that still make them human.
I did a spin on this, by not only having Maya question her motives for fighting at one point, but reaffirming how the Kaijin of groups such as Shocker, Gelshocker, Destron, etc., and now Geier, really aren’t all innocents who have been forced to become cyborgs against their will like some of the Riders were (and, for the most part, the Kaijin aren’t, and the exceptions usually get to change back to normal at the end.) The truth is they really are vicious, evil, monsters! Yôsetsu-Shimauma exemplifies this point by having been an awful person both before and after she became what she is. While this doesn’t mean there have never been any early Rider Kaijin that really were good people wronged by the bad guys, the vast majority are anything but. As for Kugigan-Harinezumi, well, he’s an example of a different take on the idea, but I’ll get back to him later.
- Of course, Maya wondering about her own nature as “a monster” (or being different) is something almost all the Kamen Riders have had to deal with at some point, in some way.
- Sigma’s little “Henshin Belt blast” is a nod to V3's “Reverse Double Typhoon”. The idea of Sigma having three Typhoons in her belt dates back to 2001, and owes some inspiration to Kamen Rider Agito’s Henshin Belt “Altering” (which also sports a central “Typhoon” and two smaller ones.)
- As readers familiar with V3's variation will probably figure out, the expulsion of energy from the belt used up the remainder of Sigma’s energy, and thus is the reason why she changed back during the fight (having already been weakened from her thrashing from Yôsetsu-Shimauma as well.) Although I don’t state it in the story, there is no real time limit for her transformation back after doing something like this (unlike V3, who had to wait 3 hours after pulling a Reverse Double Typhoon) but there is a period where regaining energy is required (and perhaps this in part explains Maya’s sudden hunger. Then again, that could just be Maya herself!)
- Maya gets “arrested”! A similar thing happened to Godai in Kamen Rider Kuuga early on, and of course it was another diversion to get him out of deeper trouble. Other Riders have gotten arrested, or even thrown in jail (Ichimonji must have a record a mile long seeing as how many times it’s happened to him) so it’s another one of what I like to call the “True Rider Traditions” that had to go in somewhere.
- While Kôhei may at first seem to be acting like a jerk, I thought it made for another good way to further his character, by showing that he’s willing to defy regulations for Maya’s sake. In other words, he sometimes breaks the law himself, and is not above underhanded maneuvers (as seen last episode) to help others. I really love his “Just the usual uncooperative potential witness” quote.
- “Kôhei, I’m going to kill you” : Maya will be saying this a lot.
- Dôitashimashite = “You’re Welcome”/ “Don’t Mention It”
- The events of this whole series thus far has really taken only about a week!
- Maya goes through a lot of reflecting in this episode. Yes, she did pretty much figure out what to do as of episode #4— but these last two episodes introduce a few curve balls, so I thought having Maya think it over (and, as seen later, do some things she regrets) would be good for building the character. The first 6 episodes of Kamen Rider Sigma are really about building up Maya’s character and going deeper into her thoughts, because once #7 rolls around… well, you’ll see…
- “Maybe I’m not even like Hongô-senpai and the others…” : Some very subtle foreshadowing.
- Ohayô = A shortened version of Ohayô Gozaimasu (“Good Morning”)
- Saitama is one of
the many prefectures of
- Maya calls Kôhei “Kôhei-kun” almost nonstop, but there are two cases where she intentionally drops the suffix, similar to how he refers to her as “Maya”, “Ryûsaki-san” and even “Ryûsaki”.
- Kôhei’s big discussion with Maya is some more character-building, and one of my favorite scenes in the episode. There are some nice subtle touches thrown in, especially in regards to Kamen Rider Sigma. Obviously, Kôhei has it figured out by this point, but he holds off on outright admitting it, and even plays dumb, for his own reasons. There’s also some more subtle foreshadowing, pay special attention to the “Just so as long as it doesn’t completely blind you to what is right” line.
- Hara Heta = Slang for “I’m Hungry”, equivalent to “I’m Starving!”.
- The Japan Red Cross Medical Center is a real place, located in Shibuya!
- A another little in-joke in this episode is that Doctor Sasaki’s first name is “Nobuhiko” while his first son’s is “Ichirô” and his wife’s is “Reiko”. Kikaida fans should be able to figure out the reference. Yeah, I know I goofed with Shinichi, but hey— I can only put in so many outside references at once!
- “Western-style breakfast” is simply used to differentiate it from the more traditional Japanese breakfast, which is quite different than what Maya eats here.
- One of the original quirks I thought up for Maya way back when would be her ridiculous appetite. It’s actually not all that unrealistic, as it’s partially based on my own experience.
- Kôhei takes yet another chance to tease Maya about her imagined feelings for him, though as you can probably tell by now he’s the one with the stronger feelings. As for Maya… well, once again, we’ll see. (^_^)
- While I’m sure the artwork will eventually speak for itself, I make a number of references to Yôsetsu-Shimauma being… er, bigger than Maya, which was the lead of some playful resentment last episode. Kôhei (and even Mikoto) also take note of the Kaijin’s features this time. It of course culminates in the “I’m still real where it counts” joke at the end.
- The first Sigma vs. Yôsetsu-Shimauma & Kugigan-Harinezumi battle is one of my favorite fight scenes yet, because of the mix of dialogue and action, as well as some just really cool imagery.
- Sigma’s “Nothing they hadn’t already done themselves” line is rather chilling when you think about it long enough.
- Sennuki = “Corkscrew”
- “Oops! Looks like wearing that silly scarf is going to be the death of you after all, Sigma! Should have taken after your more recent predecessors!” : a bit of self-parodying. While the newer Riders after BLACK have dropped the concept of wearing scarves (save for Another Agito and the FIRSTy Riders), I decided to have Sigma wear one because of her origin, plus it just made the whole character design look better. That it proves to be a handicap here shows the downside to wearing one! Although fear not, scarf fans— it proves to be a great asset later down the line.
- How does Sigma survive Kugigan-Harinezumi’s barrage of nails? The effect that occurs is a little difficult to describe, but I basically think of it working like the nails just disintegrate upon impact, leading to the ripples of energy across her body like some sort of force field skin almost. So why doesn’t Sigma make use of this technique later, or why didn’t she use it before?
I feel force fields that don’t require intentional activation by the user are usually a gimmick best saved for villains (like the Daleks in recent Doctor Who— that’s actually pretty close to what I imagine going on here) so in Sigma’s case, I think of it as a sort of defense mechanism caused by residual energy brought about by transforming again after having expelled every ounce of energy last time. It’s sort of like drinking every last drop in a bottle and then filling it up past maximum again, which gives you some runoff. So in other words, while Sigma can’t do this trick every time, she was lucky in that it did happen when it did, or she’d be full of holes right now. This little moment is also a nod to another V3 Secret, “Special Hardened Muscles”, which our hero uses to deflect bullets!
- “Omelet” is the name of Kôhei’s parrot, who we’ll eventually get to meet.
- Maya not realizing Kôhei’s sarcasm happened in episode #4 as well, with Mikoto and Kôhei.
- Maya reaffirms her mission statement and echoes Tachibana’s words last episode. Don’t worry, this is the last time (for a while) Maya will have any sort of a crisis over being Kamen Rider Sigma!
- We get an interesting look at what is of course another conversation between Kôhei and Shishi, but this time from Maya’s point of view outside the bar.
- This episode had thus far been almost dominated by Maya & Kôhei, so bringing Mikoto in here at last helped to tie her storyline into theirs.
- “Leave it to Geier to do things the hard way” : There is some truth to this statement as well— watch a classic Rider episode, and just count how many ways the bad guys put 110% into what they do, be it building an entire base under a scientist’s house just to kidnap him, or forming a complex multi-part plan with an end result that is usually pretty simple, like “Blow up the Oil Refinery”. That’s yet another reason why I love classic Rider villains!
- Ja ne = Informal parting, like “Bye!” or “Later!”
- I really wanted Maya to feel bad about just leaving her friends behind like that, and at one point I was even just going to have all three of them go along together. But, the path I took made things more interesting, and it would be more like Maya to not want Mikoto and Kôhei get mixed up anymore in this as well. The ironic twist, of course, is that they do anyway.
- Some references to Shocker & Gelshocker are made here, and they’re significant. Kôhei mentions that he read about a “Shocker File”, and as he alluded in episode #4, someone has been keeping track of the Kamen Riders after all, though how much they know and how in-depth they’ve gone is still a mystery.
- Kôhei says “the American FBI”, which sounds a little weird, since the FBI is distinctly American anyway. But it’s Kôhei, remember?
- Kôhei goofing up Mikoto’s family name was actually a typo I made, but it fit so perfectly I left it in. I like the comedic antics between these two, and Mikoto’s rather twisted joy at being marked for death!
- I also love Mikoto and Kôhei’s different reactions to Yôsetsu-Shimauma & Kugigan-Harinezumi.
- The “SOUL Foundation” sees its first mention here. Pay attention to this name, as they’re going to be important soon (like, next episode.) Kôhei mentions having head of it before, but where?
- The identity of Kugigan-Harinezumi: Hoo boy, this is a story. While I’d like to say I had always planned for things to work out like this, in truth it was an eleventh-hour addition made in the rewriting of episode #5, as I never did really like the original story of Ichirô, who was killed by Geier, albeit all off-screen. It felt like, for such a significant character with arguably some of the most dialogue of any Kaijin yet, Kugigan-Harinezumi had to be someone important. So I thought, why not make him Ichirô? A hint was dropped in episode #5, and it seemed good.
Then of course I got to rewriting/retooling #6, and there simply wasn’t enough time to really develop this subplot with everything else going on. So I took a slightly different path and established that while Kugigan-Harinezumi is Ichirô in form, as far as personalities go, they’re very different, although the Kaijin retains occasional flashes or memory or feeling, which is then quickly suppressed.
- In relation to this, the monster mentions “Rejection”, which is of course alluding to the concept introduced in Kamen Rider THE FIRST of the body rejecting the cybernetic/chemical/genetic enhancements made to it. Kugigan-Harinezumi’s form of Rejection is slightly different in that it is a mental condition, leading in part to his somewhat split personality; he can be Ichirô when he wants to be, but at times he slips as up as he did both last time and in this episode.
- Ultimately, I felt the decision to make Ichirô be Kugigan-Harinezumi paid off, as it tied into the larger themes of this episode, especially with the debate between Sigma & Yôsetsu-Shimauma. Also, it led to two really great moments coming up…
- The first of these is Kôhei’s little speech. I really like this part, and his mention of “carved away by a knife” is wonderfully ironic, as while Kôhei doesn’t know quite how Geier Kaijin are made (through cybernetic surgery) his analogy still hits it exactly.
- Kisama = A very, very impolite way of saying “You”, that will probably
get you punched in the face if you use it in
- Sigma smashes through the wall! An obvious nod to Skyrider’s “Rider Break”, which gets a very welcome return on Kamen Rider Blade as well!
- Sigma mentions what the other box on her belt does. Truth be told, until the rewriting of episodes #5 & 6, I had no idea myself!
- “She’s a Kamen Rider— and that means she’s the ally of humanity and the enemy of Geier!” : One of my favorite lines from this episode, of course inspired by the words of Ichimonji Hayato.
- “I don’t care.” : And here we go. All I can say is I really hope readers read this line and were like “Damn!”, because that’s the reaction I have reading it over. As I have mentioned before, Sigma has a dark streak to her that comes out from time to time, and this is definitely one of those times. While she is undeniably the heroine of the story, there will be moments like this that hopefully make you feel a little uncomfortable— I like to always keep the audience feeling just a little bit unsafe!
- The big fight at the end was conceived as being a bit like the battle between Kamen Rider V3, TV-Bae and Ika-Fire in Kamen Rider V3 episode #4. I do love Sigma’s little jokes here, which are more scathing than usual— this is what happens when she starts getting really ticked off!
- I had meant to use the idea of Kugigan-Harinezumi just being able to turn around and use his quills in the previous episode, but stuck it into the final fight to add some suspense.
- Kyûshin = Centripetal
- The Sigma Kyûshin Kick is introduced in this episode, and of course it’s a nod to V3's “V3 Enshin (Centrifugal) Kick”.
- The ending of this episode goes by quickly (I had already hit 30-something pages by this point, so it was time to wrap things up) but a lot of stuff happens very quickly. Who are those guys in the black van? What are they doing with the Sasaki family? And just who the mysterious woman at the end? At least one of these questions will be answered next episode…
- The little scene with Maya, Mikoto and Junko at the end serves as a bit of comic relief after a fairly intense episode, and along with the above note, sets things up for next time.
"Dragon Fang Rider Kick!!"
~Igadevil
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