Kamen Rider OOO: 10th Core Medal Resurrection (2022)

Eiji deserved a life with Ankh and Hina. And therapy.

Why make fans wait then years to screw them over like this?
Whilst I agree that Eiji was in character, it is vastly out of character for Ankh, Hina, and Shingo to let Eiji kill himself when they could have prevented it.
Suicide is not the way for someone to find peace at all., it is a symptom, not a solution. And it’s an awful end for Eiji who was traumatised and suffering ptsd when this started, only to finally find someone who understood him and friends who became family.
Then to lose his other half (I don’t ship Ankh and Eiji romantically in the series but their appearances in between and this movie have shifted my opinion) and spend 10 years trying to bring him back… and what? Leave Ankh alive whilst Eiji dies? I hated it. Actually and vehemently hated it. As some Japanese reviewers have said “the lights came up at the end of the film and it was silent. Like there was no hope left.”
Toei, Eiji deserved better. Ankh and Hina deserved better. And your fans did too.

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Long Awaited Reunion... Except It Is Not.

I'd have to start this review saying that there will be major spoiler in this review, if you're looking at reviews trying to decide if you should watch the movie, my recommendation is for you to watch it. It is a good movie overall, I have a few complaints here and there, but you can tell how much love and effort all actors and actresses put into this one. There are some fun moments, plenty of throwbacks and even plenty of flashbacks that might make you want to go back and rewatch OOO. For a long time fan, this movie deliver many right things and nostalgia. You can expect to see character's growth and for some, their arc's conclusion.

For those who have watched the movie or don't mind spoilers, here we go.
Story 6.0/10:
The story is okay. It is not great, it actually has a lot of plot holes and wasted potentials, but it wasn't bad either. It's one of those movies that can be better if they would extend half an hour into the story, going back and explain a few plot points. Like how did the OOO King get revived, and why is he revived? I'd assumed that he's the one who has revived the rest of the Greed as well, but then why did he only revived 4 of them without Ankh? Is the King human, or is he now also a Greed when he lost control last time? They could also have shown us how they made Goda and how Goda found Eiji and took over his body. Did Goda escape from the lab where Kougami created the metals and flew into Eiji like the purple metals did? They can also expand on why everyone's okay with Ankh taking over Shingo's body again. Is Shingo badly injured again? Or does Ankh able to hold his whole body after Goda defeated the King? Yeah, the story kind of leave you with a lot of questions unanswered, and unless they make another movie/ media to answer that, I don't think we will ever have any answers to them.

The story is not all negative though, it is simple with a lot of focus on Ankh and Eiji, especially showcasing how much Ankh has grown to become more human. I get and like the idea about Ankh getting revived and now he wants to find, protect, and bring back Eiji. At the same time they need to eliminate the threat (the OOO King) and bring back peace. In true Ankh's fashion, he wants to make use of Goda (like a pawn) to achieve both goals. It is a very good drive for a character, I like it.

I also like Goda's drive in the story. As a Greed born out of Eiji's desires, and last time we've established that Eiji's desire is to have power, so that he can use those power to protect others. Goda have a similar goal too. Well, he wants power, but he certainly doesn't care about protecting others. He also has this strange attachment towards Ankh, which I wonder if it's born out of Eiji's desire to revive Ankh.

Anyway, yeah, the story is basic enough, we have our heroes having their plans, but they plan was hijacked by some asshole in the middle, and now they have to go up against the asshole so that they can restore the original plan and have a happy ending.

Except that this is a story set in an apocalyptic world and happy ending is not on the plate.

Look, I am okay with killing off characters, even if they are the main character. If it is a good death, well done! I am just not sure if I am 100% behind Eiji's death. I mean, it is rather in-character for him to sacrifice himself to save the little girl, it also bring his character's arc to a full circle - he lost his will to live and became a wanderer because he couldn't save a little girl he became friend with, now, he gets to finally save this little girl he became friend with after returning to Japan (this is shown in one of the prologue episode). I can see it being a fulfilling moment for Eiji, like he is able to reach someone who needs his help.

His death is also the key to Ankh's revival, I get it. It's that, "a life for a life" thing they were going for. Eiji uses his last wish (which is often known as the strongest desire a person could have) to revive Ankh and Ankh is back! Eiji got both his greatest desires came true, but that kind of make him a martyr.

Like, I am pretty sure Ankh would rather Eiji lives a full, happy life. Like in the original series, Ankh told Eiji that the hand Eiji needs to reach out to isn't his anymore, but Eiji continues to search and reach for Ankh's hand, and eventually sacrificing himself to achieve that.

I have very mixed feeling with the ending, perhaps I need more time to process the death of one of my favorite Rider. So yeah, I am giving it a solid 6 out of 10, counting all the plot holes and frustrations. Oh, and the fact that the treated the side characters are all just wallflowers there for nostalgic effects. I mean, they only have an hour. I'd personally like to have a longer movie so that we can see more plot points getting fleshed out and the side characters getting more things to do.


Acting/Cast 9.0/10:
They brought back almost all the original casts. I mean, we missed Dr. Maki and his creepy doll. Apart from that, all the important casts we had in the original came back and it is pretty awesome! I sincerely screamed when I see all the Greeds in their human form, because yeah, I didn't expect that.

Shu and Ryon, both are the movie's main focus, killed it! Apart from that, Hina had some moments, Gotou and Date had their moments, Kougami had his moments... And the rest of the casts (Satonaka, Chiyoko, the Greeds apart from Uva) are all there for a few scenes. These are what I mentioned about wasted potential.

So Shu played 2 roles here, Eiji and Goda. When he was Goda pretending to be Eiji, it was just PERFECT! Like, he sounds and look like Eiji, big cheerful smiles and all but there's something off about him; it's just perfect! When he was Goda, there was another seiyuu who's doing voice over, it was off but it is okay. Like I am pretty crept out by Goda which simply means that Shu was a great actor who was able to convinced me that he wasn't Eiji (the big brother-like idiot who only want to save everyone) anymore.

Ryon just play Ankh here mostly, like we had a scene in the start where he was Shingo, and then Ankh took over. I might be a bit bias here because Ankh is my favorite character throughout the whole KR franchise, but he is FABULOUS. I love how after revival, he is showing more emotions, especially when he found out what Eiji had to do to bring him back - that scene broke me T_T But yes, Miura Ryosuke is an amazing actor and he has not disappoint.

Hina, Date, and Gotou are all amazing, it is great seeing everyone back after 10 years. I just wish that they give more screen time to all these characters and the actors/ actresses to show us what they've got.


Music 7.0/10:
Music was alright, they've included a lot of music from the original series and it just bring back nostalgia. The new version of "Anything Goes" is melancholy and fits the ending. Nothing negative on this one, apart from the fact that they didn't add in Time Judge All during the Tajador Eternity transformation?


Rewatch Value 6.5/10:
I personally think there's rewatch value, especially if you watch this movie after the series, follow it with the Movie War Mega Max. I think future Ankh appear in the movie is from 2050 or something, so with this movie, we understand Ankh's expression when he saw Eiji once again after all these years.

But yeah, personally, while I think there's rewatch value to this movie, I also think I will need a break and allow myself to process Eiji's death first.


Overall 7.0/10:
So yeah, there we have it! Overall, 7.0 out of 10. It is not a bad movie and most who're bashing it probably hate the ending - and it is a very bittersweet ending just like how the series had left us 10 years ago, only this time it is reversed; It is not a great movie either because of all those plot holes and unanswered questions. But if you can look past those, like most of us do a lot of KR movies, this will be something you can enjoy and spend a few boxes of tissues on.

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