Kamen Rider Sigma Episode #8 Production Notes *Updated and Revised as
of
- Seriously the title of this episode really makes no sense when you really think about it, but once again, it sounds cool and foreboding, doesn’t it?
- The surprise twist at the beginning of this episode is just the first of many. Back in 2004, I had planned to save most of the wackiness seen here for episode #9 (including the BIG shocker at the end) but due to time constraints, I decided to just jump headlong into things here. Jump forward to 2007, and I basically kept everything more or less the same, with a few grammatical changes and some streamlining of the plot.
- Rêdagan = “Radar Gun”
- I decided to opt for “Cheetah” rather than some clunky-sounding Romaji, because you know what it’s supposed to be (kind of like how I prefer “Hasami-Jaguar” to “Hasami-Jyagaa”.) I sort of went against that with Rêdagan, but I felt I had to have some Japanese in the name at least, for consistency.
- The “Big Cat, Little Cat” thing actually came from Transformers: Beast Wars, in which Cheetor and Tigertron go by those respective nicknames with each other.
- The first half of this episode is mostly plot exposition and set-up, whereas the second half is action-driven. Some standout moments in my mind during the first part are Maya’s two dream sequences, which I’ll get to soon.
- A bit of comic relief in an otherwise dark episode is Maya’s grim, solemn mood about… missing dinner.
- Kôhei really goes nuts during this episode, which made sense since he not once speaks to Maya! His increasingly desperate obsession is played mostly for laughs, but there is a serious undertone to it which will see development later in the series.
- The dream sequences. No description is given of what is going on, so I’ll leave it up to the readers to analyze and dissect theses. Believe me, they will come back some day.
- “Oh please, it’s not like you don’t make it obvious.” : Sort of a half-truth regarding all the Kamen Riders (Jô Shigeru especially, but not like he needs to worry about it!)
- “I mean, how was I to know the guy wanted to marry me, you know?” : A reference to Kamen Rider V3 episode #12. You know, the one where Drill-Mogura wanted to marry Junko?
- Mikoto’s interest in Kanagawa: Could this be leading somewhere?
- We learn Shishi’s first name! A further hint at who he might be.
- Kôhei is taken off the case again! Of course this time, there is a much darker purpose behind it.
- Maya’s second dream sheds more light, and raises many more questions.
- I found it really funny to have Kyôko spend all this time sneaking around to get into SOUL’s complex, whereas Maya just appears out of nowhere.
-Maya gets a painful reminder about Rider 1, Rider 2 & V3, in what is a little tease to keep in mind for the future.
- Maya calls Risa “Blondie”!
- The big surprise twist involving SOUL owes some inspiration to Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4, as well as just about any Rider series sequence that involves a massacre of scientists thanks to some out-of-control monster.
- Kugigan-Harinezumi & Yôsetsu-Shimauma return! You should have seen it coming after their vague demise in episode #6; recall that other monsters such as Hasami-Jaguar (in Kamen Rider V3 episode #2) have faked their own deaths. In this case though, the monsters were defeated, but not destroyed entirely, which is why SOUL is able to patch them up. But you probably wonder: Why didn’t Geier just do it themselves? Also, who were those guys at the end of episode #6? Were they with SOUL, or someone else?
- Sharp-eyed fans may have discerned that Risa’s last name: “Seul” is the French word for, fittingly enough, “Soul”.
- Things take a nasty turn after the half-way point. This is probably the most violent episode yet, and arguably one of the darkest. Trust me, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
- The rest of the episode is just one shocking revelation after another, sandwiched between fight scenes. Maya getting really angry is a shadow of things to come.
- The whole sequence with Kôhei came about because I really didn’t like the way his relationship with the senior officers was heading. It felt a little too cold and impersonal, especially in regards to Senior Officer #2. So I thought, why not mix things up and have him turn out to be a Geier Kaijin, and kill the other two? It certainly makes for a shocking moment.
- I like having Kôhei just nearly curse. This is done more for comedic than dramatic effect, actually!
- “A knife with a vulture’s head-shaped ornament at the end of the handle” : Inspired, of course, by the bird head-shaped ornaments on the Shocker weapons.
- Hitode = “Starfish”
- Bakudan = “Bomb”, “Explosive”
- Shuriken = “Throwing Star”
- Kasoku = “Acceleration”
- And of course, the shocking twist at the end: The introduction of Kamen Rider Lilith!
"Dragon Fang Rider Kick!!"
~Igadevil
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