Yup, using the same post title... because it doesn't feels right to just change the title eventhough I had good reason... So here it is, the final part of blog trilogy...

Actually, finished watching the conclusion part for OOO, but had to re-watch it again just now, because I need extra time (due to my extremmely mellow mood) to comprehend the situation, and to draw an understanding of what finally happened. IMHO, it doesn't conclude much, and just like many other Japanese stories, it ended in a hanging state. But I do get the morale, well... kinda, and I'm going to share it now

Continuing from the previous episode (33), Episode 34 opened with Eiji running amock trying to look for Date & Gotou that was kidnapped by Owl Yummy. Ankh approached Yuuichi, confronting the fact that he was the Yummy's host. He demanded to know Yuuichi's desire that have grown the Yummy, and forced him to spill it out (Cazali did the same before). Apparently his TRUE desire is...

 

 

Ankh felt that his desire is strange and stupid. Yuuichi confused, wondered why Ankh felt like that...

Eiji appeared and Ankh revealed the truth to him and Hina, eventhough Yuuichi begged him not to. Oh My GOD! I couldn't imagine how Eiji would react, but then...

Eiji took Yuuichi to help him look for the others, but Ankh, confused with Eiji's behavior to cover Yuuichi's action, stopped him...

And apparently Eiji was not as lame as I assumed. He DID consider Yuuichi as friends.

He even remembered the time they went to a theme park together, and it was one of Yuuichi's best moment in his life.

Thanks to Yuuichi's memory, they went to the Green House and discover the others, and confronted the Yummy. It was then revealed that Cazali had warned Yuuichi that Ankh was only using Eiji for his personal needs.

With that thought, the Owl Yummy took Ankh away as hostage. Apparently, that was Cazali's intentions after all. Eiji, Date and Gotou ran to help Ankh, but Yuuichi stopped Eiji. He told Eiji to leave Ankh alone because he was just using him. He was the reason that Eiji jeopardizing himself for such fight.

Yuuichi also told him how he has changed from the old days. But Eiji said that he didn't change, that this time is just the same as the time when he was always coming for Yuuichi in High School...

Ankh managed to send a Hopper Candroid to alert Eiji his location. Yuuichi arrived in his car to carry Eiji to the location. On the road, Yuuichi confessed his initial true feeling about Eiji, and how he then finally sees him as his best friend.

Yuuichi: Y'know, I hated it when you came to my house. "Why is he bothering me? I want to be alone. Give me a break"
Eiji: I guess I was meddling, huh?
Yuuichi: Oh, it was worse than that! You talked about dream and stuff with that earnest smile... It was too bright for me...

Eiji apologized, he simply wanted so much to change the world, and that back then he was only thinking one thing...

Yuuichi asked the reason why Eiji helped Ankh, because he feels that Ankh was just using him.
And Eiji confessed his true reason of becoming Ankh's partner, as well as agreeing to become Kamen Rider OOO.

The situation was fierced because Eiji only has 2 medals in his hand (thanks to Yuuichi) but Eiji managed to summon the power of PuToTyra and went berserk to defeat the Yummy, and drove Cazali and Lost Ankh away. Cazali's intention to fuse the two Ankh together has failed. However the berserk OOO started to attack Yuuichi. Ankh distracted him, to chase him instead, and so they faced each other. Desperate to wake Eiji from the berserk combo, Ankh confessed his true feelings about Eiji.

Ankh: I don't care what happens to you, but know this! I will be restored, no matter what! And I need your help to do that!

A strong clash between them, released Eiji from the combo. Although depowered by the combo, Eiji managed to speak about his faith for Ankh, before he passed out.

Yuuichi looked sadly at the way Eiji relied on and trusted Ankh that much, and walk away silently.

...

Okay, so what I didn't really get, and the thing that I'm curious the most to know is what happened to Yuuichi afterward. But unlike previous episodes where the focused character has a proper conclusion (whether what they will do next, or where they will go after), this question is never answered. Really feel bad for Yuuichi because of that... He was actually a nice guy with a nice intention but in the wrong way.

So what I can get from these two episodes is these (and mind you, that this is from my point of view, so if you don't agree, it's okay haha)
1. In high school Eiji entered Yuuichi's life, breaking his solitude barrier. But Eiji did that because he just wanted to make EVERYONE happy. Yup, everyone... meaning that Eiji is the type that sees everyone the same. Is it wrong? Nope it is not... but when you deal with a certain typical counterpart like...
2. Yuuichi. The guy who on the other hand, saw that action differently. The result is that he really wanted (yes... that's the correct verb) Eiji to be his best friend. Why? Because only to Eiji that he managed to open up. Quite similar to the character Homura from Puella Magica Madoka.
3. Yuuichi grew with a purpose to be big, and wanted to return the favor, so that this time Eiji can rely on him back. He actually cares for Eiji, because he doesn't want Eiji to get hurt, he even wanted to make Eiji's dream come true. He IS doing what a best friend would do... but does Eiji sees him the same? I think Eiji sees him just the same as his other friends... T.T A one-sided best friend?
4. Ankh, DOES not see Eiji as friend, because he doesn't believe in friendship. However, Eiji seems to trust Ankh more than Yuuichi, why? Because Ankh and Eiji has MUTUAL NEEDS. Not in a "A Friend in NEED is a Friend indeed" way, but because they are both using each other to fulfill their needs.
5. The relationship between Ankh and Eiji is pure mutual self interest. This put Eiji in different when compared to last year's epic Kamen Rider show, where the bond of TRUE friendship between Shoutaro and Philip/Raito as Kamen Rider W was very very strong, eventhough fans called it bromance-like.

Yup... that's my deduction of the OOO's storyline. And how can I deduct like that? Well, let me just say that I've seen a lot of those kind of circumstances in the 29 years I have passed. Personal experience? Maybe yes, maybe no... If you really want to know, then just check out my numerous ramblings about Friendship in this blog -_-;

So there it is, as I noted last week, all 2 shows plus Suite Precure all shared the common theme. I think it's rare, and I don't know if its coincidence or something that TOEI definitely planned, but there are lessons that we can obtain from these 3 shows.

So finally, to wrap up this trilogy post... let's review together the types of FRIEND that the 8 characters in the spotlight from the 3 shows reflect... I'll start off with Suite, then Gokai and then finally OOO.

1. SIREN

If it wasnt't due to the effects of brainwashing, Siren was actually a very caring friend. She knew Hummy's potential, trained her so much to get her right, wanted her to grow up and not rely on her so much, and even sacrificed her own chance of winning the contest by giving Hummy her music scroll. Unfortunately, Siren was weak to negative persuasion and her faith and friendship to Hummy was turned into jealosy and hate. She gave herself to evil. Nevertheless, deep down she still cherised her friendship, the proof? She kept the music scroll after all these years, and she was always looking at the moon longing for her best friend. She believed in Hummy, but at the same time her heart was too fragile, because unlike her best friend, she never had warm attention since she was born...
2. HUMMY

This cat is an airhead, as Siren called him. Why? Because she was so sincere and clumsy that she never realized any negative effects she caused to others. She was also easy to be fooled, because she also never noticed negative purpose in others action toward her. If Hummy were able to use better logic in herself, she wouldn't be that easy to be tricked by Diva, and thus her friendship with Siren wouldn't have turned into pure rivalry. Above all that sincerety though, comes also another part of sincerety that showed the best side of Hummy. She believed in Siren so much, she had faith in Siren so much. In her heart, Siren is NEVER a bad guy, and no matter what has happened she still consider Siren as her best friend, and wanted to live her dream with Siren. I guess sincerety works as a double edge sword for Hummy...
3. JOE GIBKEN

Eventhough he hid his emotion so good, that he always prefer to be the tsundere, loner, cool guy that seemed like he never needed anyone else, Joe actually cared so much for friendship. His heart was touched by Cid eversince Cid stood up for him, and they grew together not only as best friend, but as brothers. Joe looked up for Cid so much. That's why he was so crushed and devastated upon learning that Cid was turned into a mindless cyborg Barizorg. He tried so much, with all his might to rescue his friend. Beside Cid, the same thing happened with Marveloud. He valued Marvelous action when he decided to risque his own life to destroy the chain in Joe's neck, and accepted the offer to live Marvelous dream. Joe's an awesome friend indeed, because he stood up for Marvelous to guard his back.

4. CID BAMMICK

Eventhough we didn't get too much background story about this character, but Cid proved himself as a very worthy brother that Joe looked up to. He stood up for Joe's sake, trained him well, guided the lost kid, and ultimately sacrificed himself to deliver victory in Joe's escape. If Cid would have been able to escape together with Joe, they would made an awesome duo because they trusted each other so deep. Despite his appearance now as Barizorg, there were hints that Cid never actually lose his memories. Barizorg seemed to remember Joe as he warned his general to be careful with Joe. Beside that, when confronting Joe alone (when he begged Barizorg to return to Cid), Barizorg held back and hesitated that he didn't even try to kill his enemy. Is that a sign that he still actually cared for Joe? We'll see to it later on.

5. CAPTAIN MARVELOUS

After he received the ranger key chest, he saw Joe's running away from his chasers, and that was the moment that Marvelous knew that he wanted Joe on his side. It was a fated meeting, their meeting was fate, and how Marvelous connected with Joe was by fate as well. I mean, they were complete strangers when they first met, but at such instant moment, trust and faith grew between them. I guess it was friendship at first sight, huh? Eventhough he was a badass, that seemed to only care about himself, he risqued his own life unplugging the chain from Joe's neck. He even shared his dream to Joe, and asked him to help him. Furthermore, when Joe ran away to face Barizorg, without even has a slight of doubt, Marvelous believed so much Joe will return to guard his back. The power of faith ran through Marvelous, for he showed us how he trusted and believed in his best friend so much.
6. EIJI HINO

Eiji wanted to save the world, and that includes saving others and making them happy. The term Others means everyone, nonetheless, so it goes to some guy he ran to at a convenient store, a thief who tricked him, some guy that helped him to go to Thailand, a girl who longed for her brother, some high school friend who locked himself away from others, and even an ancient Greed monster that only wanted to restore his original body. Eiji is the type that is nice to everyone, but I don't think he has closer friends than that. All in Eiji's mind was helping others, and knowing that he has the power to do that as Kamen Rider OOO, he used Ankh to use him. Ankh, Hina, Yuuichi, Date, Gotou.... everyone is the same level for him. A Friend. Period.
7. ANKH

As a greed that came from ancient time, Ankh's goal was only to revive his full self, and to consume all the power to his own. Unfortunately, he was awakened with a glitch, that he needed to use Eiji to help him reach that goal of his. While he doesn't care for Eiji, or what happened to him... He does care if Eiji overused himself using the combo, because it will jeopardizing his use as a medal container. Suffice to say, Ankh doesn't value friendship, but he values Eiji simply because he needs his help, because he needs Eiji's power. Where else can he find a stupid guy who is willing to sacrifice himself for others.
8. YUUICHI KITAMURA

Everything changed to this social hermit, when Eiji broke his barrier of solitude in high school. Yuuichi didn't care of others, and just wanted to be alone, but Eiji kept on coming to his house with bright smile. I guess with all the attention, Yuuichi ended up opening his heart to Eiji, and started seeing him differently, and eventually cared so much for Eiji that he wanted to live up Eiji's dream as he build up his. I think it was obvious that Eiji was his only friend, the only friend in his eyes that he could trust, that's why he claimed Eiji as his best friend, eventhough I'm quite sure he didn't feel that Eiji saw him the same way, ever. As I said earlier, Eiji is everyone's friend, he's everyone's best friend, that's why Yuuichi's big desire is to have a 'true' friendship with Eiji. He wanted Eiji to acknowledge him back, so that this friendship is not a one-sided.

There they are, and as I said earlier... all of these come from my point of view, my perspective.

As we can see, there are different types of friend that these guys showed:
A fragile heart that longed for a reunion with her best friend. A sincere heart that believed her best friend with all her faith. A loner who valued the sake of his comrade and his brother-like friend that willing to give his life for them. A guy who looked up and cared to protect his best friend as an older brother. A laid-back guy who actually have great trust and faith for his friend that he met by fate. A guy who is everyone's friend and see them all equally. A guy who build his 'friendship' to fulfill his goal and need. And finally, an outcast who wished to be acknowledged by someone he cared so much just so he was sure that he actually have a true friend. 

And what kind of relationship that these guys showed us?
A broken childhood best friend (Siren-Hummy). A brother-like best friend (Cid-Joe). Best friend by fate (Joe-Marvelous). Friends for need /Yup, not IN need (Eiji-Ankh). Finally, One-sided best friend (Yuuichi-Eiji).

So, the BIG questions are...
1. Which one of them do YOU see yourself?
2. Which one of them do you prefer to be YOUR best friend, if you have the gift to choose?
3. Which one of them do you feel UNWORTHY to be called a friend, nor a best friend?
4. How do you see the term BEST FRIEND upon viewing the sample these characters showed? Which one is the best?

The answers to them all, lies within your heart...
You can share them if you want, or just keep it for yourself... but what's best is the lesson we have learnt from them all, so we can be a better person, be a better friend, and to finally be a true Best Friend for others...

Oh and remember, it takes two or more to build a true friendship. It doesn't work only one way, it has to go two ways in return... Just a little note to help you remember the basic foundation of a friendship.
Peace yo 

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I just noticed that, in last week airings (May 8th, 2011), the 2 tokusatsu titles by TOEI shared one common theme... and it's about?

None other than FRIENDSHIP...

The 12th episode of Gokaiger brought us to the conclusion of Joe's past struggle. In the previous week, (episode 11 aired on May 1st) the audience were left in a cliffhanger after Joe's discovering that his senior, his sempai, the one person that he look up to, and also his best friend... has been turned into the cyborg Barizorg to serve Toiles Gils. This one Gokai Galleon member, who seemed emotionless from the 1st episode - a.k.a the team Loner - finally showed tears and desperation.

Several episode before, we were shown of how Joe Gibken train himself in the forest to defeat the warlord, but it didn't show all out. The 11th episode showed us how devastated he was, upon discovering the truth about Barizorg. Barizorg was once his most trusted person, who helped him when he was a Zangyack soldier. He even taught Joe his sword style, and helped Joe escaped from the troop. Cid was not just a friend, he was Joe's best friend, he was like his own brother.

Episode 12 continued the story, with Joe leaving his Gokai team to 'save' Barizorg. The two faced each others in a duel, with Joe continously crying as he wanted Barizorg to remember his past as Cid.

It made me cried, watching Joe tried to save his old friend was heart wrenching indeed.

Oh, did I mention that in Episode 11 Marvelous injured himself to block Barizorg attack to Joe? Well, the wounded Marvelous shared his 'meeting' with Joe to the rest of the team. It turned out, that Joe was the first member that he recruited after he received the Gokai power from Akaranger.

The scene was touching, Joe was running away from the Zangyack with a chain in his neck. Cid helped Joe escaped but was left behing. As he was surrounded by Gormins, Marvelous appeared and helped him. They battled as a partner, guarding each other back to back. Joe told Marvelous that he didn't have any cash to pay him, but Marvelous' answer was so touching.

Marvelous: Looks like you could use a hand?
Joe: The Space Pirate... I don't have any cash to pay you back with...
Marvelous: Didn't want any.

After they battled out the Gormins, Marvelous risk his life to take off the electric chain from Joe's neck. As they were lying together, as the result of electrocuted... Marvelous spoke his heart to Joe.

Marvelous: I have a dream. I'm going to get my hands on the greatest treasure of the universe.

This is how the the two started the whole team. Ahim even felt jealous for them. And not just Ahim, even I felt jealous hahaha. This is the reason, why Marvelous was so CONFIDENT that Joe will return. Because he has faith in Joe, he believed in him, and he knew that Joe would maintain his trust and his loyalty. Meanwhile, at the same time, Joe, lying on the ground after Barizorg defeated him, recalled his past when Marvelous handed him his Mobirates (Henshin device). Joe went back to fight with his friends...

WOW... I never expect to discover this kind of relationship between Marvelous and Joe. But there it is, and in a very touching way indeed...

On to the next show.

In the 33rd episode of Kamen Rider OOO, after a fierce battle where he went bersert in PuToTyra combo... Eiji Hino received an invitation to an theme park from someone who claimed himself as his best friend in High School (Shinyuu). His name was Yuuichi Kitamura. The bad part, is that Eiji himself didn't remember who Yuuichi was... Ouucch T.T.

So Eiji went to the park, along with Ankh, Date, Gotou and Hina. And still, even when Yuuichi was near him, he still didn't remember... (And to think that Yuuichi even consider this guy as his best friend?? Ooouuch for Yuuichi)

Yuuichi explains that he was a very introvert person, the class shut-in, he was a Hikikomori during that time. Eiji was the one person who always bringing him notes and all. Finally, yes FINALLY Eiji remembered about this person... (Duh Eiji... Duh Duh Duh! Are you a B-Type Eiji? Apparently so... Duh... Duh... Duh... >.<).

Pardon for my annoyed feeling for such an 'awesome' friend Eiji was, but this kind of person just made me want to... ... ... Duh, anyway... Yuuichi has become a successful Internet Businessman, and he's building the whole theme park. Yuuichi then revealed that Eiji was a popular guy at school, and he helped Yuuichi in his period of reclusiveness (A Recluse perhaps?). Eiji shared his dream to Yuuichi (and Eiji forgot all about this as well by the way... DUUH!!!), and somehow that changed Yuuichi mindset, and made him wanted to work to achieve their dreams. Date then asked Eiji and the others to try out the park, and Yuuichi went away.

The situation became out of hand, when Lost Ankh appeared and extracted a Yummy out of Yuuichi. A Yummy that was born from Yuuichi desire, and what was his desire? This might sound silly, but it's real, even Cazali told him that his desire was interesting. His desire was...

 
Yes, to pay back for the friendship that Eiji shared to him. He wanted to help Eiji back. Such a noble desire indeed right? But it is still a desire, and the strength of it grew the Yummy into a fully mature Owl Yummy. But Yuuichi did bad things in order to fulfill his desire, he trapped Hina and the others. He asked Eiji to work with him, so that Eiji can fulfil his dream to build a children's aid organization that Eiji has been telling him everyday in high school. He feels that the others, especially Ankh is just using Eiji.

And (Stupid) Eiji has to went overboard by asking for Yuuichi's reason...

And even has to wonder if they are really best friend..... Aaarrghhh... I think I just lost my respect to Eiji here -_-  because Yuuichi sincerely consider Eiji as his best friend. Yuuichi then helped Eiji to find Hina who was lost (by his own doing, of course). Yuuichi trapped Ankh because he felt that Ankh's presence is an annoyance for his friendship with Eiji. He asked Ankh to leave Eiji alone, because he doesn't know him (and to be honest, I'm with Yuuichi here, because all these time Ankh actually only USING Eiji to get his core medals).

Eiji went with Yuuichi to find Hina, and had to fight the Owl Yummy. He almost went berserk in PuToTyra, but Ankh appeared on time to replace it with SaGoZou combo. Without able to destroy the Yummy, Eiji falls down after using the combo. Yuuichi helped him, and looks very shocked upon seeing Ankh walking towards him, because Ankh knew the truth...

Well, the episode was finished like that, and the conclusion to it will be on the 34th episode next week. With that in mind, I will continue my blog next week after watching the conclusion for the OOO's one. The one that will be entitled: Best Friend, Manipulation and Relationship.
Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see it...     

So, to be continued for now...
Peace yo...

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