Double Release: Kamen Rider Stronger 29 and 30!

Kamen Rider Stronger episodes 29 and 30:
29 - [MKV] [Script] [AVI] [MKV Torrent] [AVI Torrent]
30 - [MKV] [Script] [AVI] [MKV Torrent] [AVI Torrent]

Let's get the formalities out of the way first.
So, this is a first.  Links to a Stronger release posted directly to KITsubs?  Well, things are changing a little (very little) with Stronger.  Basically, we realized that we're REALLY close to finishing the series along with Midnight Crew Subs.  So we decided to make our little joint project official, and kick it into high gear.  So none of the technical aspects of the releases are changing.  Just expect to see them properly linked, with v2s of older releases coming in the future.

Now, for the episodes...  These are BIG episodes.  Like, milestone episodes for the entire Kamen Rider franchise, let alone for the series.  As Stronger continues to fight his way through the ranks of the Delza Army's officers, their warriors grow more and more desperate.  After Wild Eagle's defeat, Staff Officer Steel has taken charge in the assault on Stronger.  But lurking in the shadows, the demonic witch Doctor Kate sees an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

The rest... well, we'll discuss that after the cut.  Only read this AFTER you've watched the episodes.  Spoilers abound.  You've been warned:

Episode 30 brings us the final appearance of Tackle. She loses her life in the battle with Doctor Kate, in a desperate final attack. Sounds familiar. But when you see it in action, you realize just how different the episode feels. not just for Stronger, or for Kamen Rider, but for death scenes in general. This episode had weight. It had impact, an emotional connection that we rarely see in death scenes. this wasn't rushed, or brushed over in an attempt to revitalize a flailing series. They brought a top notch director, great photography, their best stunts, acting, soundtrack... and they blended it all together for one of the best episodes in the entire series. And the final shot, with Shigeru holding Yuriko's lifeless body, is one that has resonated with fans for decades.

A lot of the impact from this scene comes from the fact that Tachibana is the emotional center of the final moment. Shigeru is kept in the dark about Tackle's condition, so we see the scene through Tachibana's eyes. As an audience, we're connected to him already. He's the human, the outsider looking in. but he's also the heart of the original Showa series (pre-Skyrider.) He's been there since the beginning, and if anybody knows the weight of the Rider's sorrowful battle, it's him. Seeing his reaction to Tackle's death is heart wrenching in a way that only a fictional geek-centric character death can be. It has a weight to it that you didn't expect. It sneaks up on you, and it makes you realize how much you liked this character.

Yuriko herself was an immensely likeable character. She was a strong female hero, something we're not used to in a Kamen Rider series. And for the time, she was a lot more powerful and effective than we were used to seeing from our female heroes. Very rarely was her gender at the forefront of her character. She was a loyal sidekick, and a companion. But she was a fighter in her own right, and she was never treated as a weaker half of a team. Only through her near-death state was she worried about dragging Stronger down.
This was a time before toy sales dictated characters in these shows. We'll never see another character like Tackle in a Rider series. I'm sure of that. A strong female presence in the show that can keep pace with the main character, that can create a team that almost outshines the character who shares his name with the title of the show. It says a lot that the ending theme of Stronger didn't change after Tackle's death. She's as much a part of "Kamen Rider Stronger" as Shigeru. She is half of a team that makes the show what it is. It's yet another aspect of Stronger that sets it apart from the rest of the franchise, and one of the most appealing aspects of the show.
It saddens me, as a long time fan of Kamen Rider, that all we've taken from these episodes is "female Riders put up a decent fight and then die." It's the character trope that has developed from these episodes. The notion that a female Rider should be such a rare treat is a preposterous one, but it's one that we have unfortunately had to accept. Tackle was a character before she was a woman, and she was a hero. That alone makes her unique.

And finally, we have Shigeru's place in this story. A Kamen Rider's battle is one of loneliness, and sorrow. This is what defines the original Riders. A hero who loses everything, even his own humanity, yet still he presses on. His battle is to prevent this sorrow from consuming any more lives. And they bare that burden. No longer able to connect with their humanity, but wanting nothing more than to protect it.
But Shigeru was different. He had a companion. Someone at his same level that he could confide in, depend on, and relate to. And to have her die for the sake of the same battle that he fought was almost more sorrowful than if he'd never had her before. Instead of playing like a cheap character-development for Stronger, Tackle's death was a tragedy for these characters. Stronger took that sorrow, and he consumed it. He lets it become a part of his battle, not a reason to give up.

These are things that one should take for granted in a good story. Unfortunately, it has become so rare in this day and age that we look back on these episodes with a fondness and a tear in our eye. It's one thing to cry for the loss of a fictional character, but my tears are more brought about by the loss of stories with impact. Characters that I care about, and heroes that make us feel like we can do anything.

I've saved a special place at the end of this (very long) rumination on the impact of Tackle's death to talk about her portrayal by Kyoko Okada. More so than any of the Riders, she embodied Tackle. She didn't have the benefit of a suit actor to play her in-costume persona. She was Yuriko, and she was Tackle. And her portrayal of the character was one of a kind. She was strong, she was cocky, she was dependable, and she was heroic. She was everything a hero should be. And the fact that she is no longer with us only makes her death scene in the series all the more poignant. She was a rare talent in the Tokusatsu world, and she has been sorely missed.