Two men and 1 horse

Part 1: Kento Handa (Takumi Inui) and Yuria Haga (Mari Sonoda)
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First of all, could you tell us about the background behind the planning of Kamen Rider 555?
Shirakura: Until the previous work, Kamen Rider Ryuki, I didn't think that the Kamen Rider series would continue as it has now. Following Moero!! Robocon, we aired Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Agito, but that time slot was originally the broadcast time slot for Metal Heroes. So at the time, I was thinking "we'll continue Kamen Rider for at least one more series, and then go back to Metal Heroes or Kabutack-type series". However, Ryuki became a hit, and I thought "maybe we should continue the Kamen Rider series in the future", so we created 555. So, with a focus on going back to basics, we set up a modern enemy organization called Smart Brain to replace Shocker, and the Kamen Rider side also became centered around "a very strong single protagonist".
Tasaki: It's true that at the time, I had a feeling that "this series will probably continue", something I hadn't felt up until Ryuki.
I think 555 had many aspects that set the standard for subsequent works, such as the close-up action direction of the item's gimmick.
Tasaki: 555 feels like a further evolution of Ryuki's directing of (focusing the camera on) setting the card and unleashing the special move.
Shirakura: It feels good to see the process of replacing the Mission Memory every time. I think that's a clever piece of direction.
How did you come up with the idea of creating a drama that transcends the good and evil with the three Kamen Riders and the three Orphnochs?
Shirakura: During a discussion with (Toshiki) Inoue-dai-sensei about "returning to basics", he said it was common knowledge that "the original first Kamen Rider was originally one of the Shocker monsters, but that isn't really portrayed in the series". He felt that the relationship between the many Shocker monsters and Kamen Rider, who's a grasshopper man, should've been depicted more in the drama. However, when Dai-sensei said "I'm going to write three Orphnochs as the other main characters", I thought "Are you sure you can do that?" (laughs)
Tasaki: Agito and Ryuki didn't really depict the story of kaijin, they were simply treated as monsters. Therefore, 555, which depicts the story of the monster side, was breaking new ground, and I personally looked forward to each script written by Inoue-san.
In the second half of 555, it was revealed that Takumi Inui was also an Orphnoch.
Tasaki: The first time we revealed this was in Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost, but the scene where Takumi transforms into the Wolf Orphnoch elicited actual screams of surprise from the audience. Even though the first Kamen Rider was also a cyborg of Shocker. I felt that the basics of Kamen Rider were forgotten because of the illusion that "justice is right and evil is wrong".
Shirakura: It was decided from the beginning that Takumi would be an Orphnoch, and hints were shown many times in the series from around the time Keitarou appeared. We made basic settings such as "only Orphnochs can use the (Faiz) transformation belt", and from my point of view, I was thinking "is it okay to spoil things like this?". But the people watching at the time didn't seem to notice much. Even in an interview back then, when I said "it was decided from the start", people didn't believe me and were asking me "Are you sure?" (laughs)
Tasaki: We were actually surprised that people were so surprised (laughs).
A large number of fans also participated as extras in Paradise Lost.
Shirakura: We decided that with 10,000 people, we could fill Saitama Super Arena, so we recruited extras from the general public. Before 555, we had to send round-trip postcards to apply for extras, but if we had to collect such a large number of extras, it would have taken a huge amount of money to send back the replies. But around the time of 555, I realized that I could use the Internet for recruitment. However, at that time there were no cloud servers like there are today, so we built our own powerful server within Toei.
Tasaki: The server often went down every time the broadcast ended, so I thought it would be difficult if there were a flood of applications.
Shirakura: We received over 90,000 applications and 11,000 people participated, despite the harsh condition of "9-hour endurance filming". Since that many people would gather at Saitama Super Arena, we went around to the nearby shops and other places to say hello in advance. We even asked JR (Japan Railways Group) if they could increase the number of trains, but they turned down the extra service (laughs).
Wasn't it difficult to shoot with such a large number of people?
Shirakura: We shot scenes that required a large number of people in the morning, assuming that some people might not be able to endure the long filming or might get bored and leave halfway through the shoot. However, most of them stayed until the end.
Tasaki: I think the announcement that there would be a greeting from the cast at the end was also effective. During filming, we had two cameramen enter the audience seats and take documentary-style shots of the extras' expressions. The result was an uplifting video reminiscent of the documentary film Festival of Nations about the Berlin Olympics.
The final episode of the TV series ended with the King of Orphnoch not completely destroyed, and a development that hinted at Takumi's death. Was this flow decided from the beginning?
Shirakura: It was decided from the beginning that Takumi would be an Orphnoch, so I didn't think of an ending where he would "wipe out the Orphnochs and everyone is happy". I think that in Dai-sensei's mind, the moment the character Keitarou Kikuchi was born, he was determined to make him the goal (of the story). Keitarou is an ordinary person among the Kamen Rider heroes, the heroine Mari, and the three Orphnochs. Depicting the story of "the most ordinary person being the greatest" with such depth that it's like completely devoid of mediocrity is Dai-sensei's aesthetic, and what makes him amazing.
In this issue, we also spoke to Kento Handa and Yuria Haga. What were your impressions of them back then?
Shirakura: Handa-kun was only 18 years old at the time, but he already was very dignified. Before filming started, he was still living in Kobe, so he came to Shinjuku and we met. As we walked through the streets of Shinjuku, he explained to me "That's the ○○ Building, and that's the XX Building, and it has such a history". When I asked him "You know a lot, have you already been here many times?", he replied "this is my first time in Shinjuku", which surprised me (laughs). Even back then, I was a huge building fanatic.
Tasaki: Yuria-chan has a huge fear of heights, and she was also afraid of going up to places even a little high. I remember it very well because I have never seen anyone else so afraid of heights.
Both of them said "Back then, Director Tasaki didn't get mad at us".
Tasaki: I certainly don't remember being angry at them. But the reason they don't think they've been scolded is because that time Go Ayano (Aki Sawada/Spider Orphnoch) was scolded by director (Hidenori) Ishida has become so famous that they probably were simply thinking "we're not getting scolded that much" (laughs).
Shirakura: In order to train his actors, Ishida-san is acting like he is "flying into a rage" in a very easy-to-understand way. But Director Tasaki doesn't get angry easily, so maybe they just didn't notice (laughs). In fact, when Director Tasaki's language becomes more polite on set, it's proof that he's angry. Something like "the director is ending his sentences with -desu! He's infuriated!!!" (laughs).
Tasaki: They were still teenagers at the time, so there was no point in getting angry at them. But I often got angry at (Mitsuru) Karahashi (Naoya Kaido). He's the type of person who wants to be scolded (laughs).
Toshiki Inoue also appeared in the final episode as a construction site supervisor.
Tasaki: He had an aura that ordinary people don't have, and he was good at acting. But we've had to do several retakes. When he appeared on Avatarou Sentai Donbrothers, he talked about his memories of appearing on 555.
Shirakura: He said "It's tough being an actor because you have to wait a long time" (laughs). He also said "Directors are on set longer than that, so you'd get even more bored, right?", so if he hadn't had that experience on set back then, he might have said "I want to be a director, too!" one day (laughs).
Now, let me ask you about the new work Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained. What was the background behind this project?
Shirakura: It all started when I heard that Handa-kun, Haga-san, and (Kouhei) Murakami-kun wanted to do it. If they wanted to do it, there was no doubt that they would appear. What's more, Director Tasaki and Dai-sensei were both working on Donbrothers, so I didn't have to gather all the staff (laughs). After Donbrothers ended, I directly said (to Dai Sensei) "Next is 555!" However, I was worried about what would happen if he still had a Donbrothers feel in him, and that Takumi Inui became like Tarou Momoi (laughs). However, he flipped the switch perfectly and wrote a story that was truly 555-like. In fact, I might have had more of Donbrothers left in me (laughs).
Tasaki: No, this work was made possible because Shirakura-san had 555 in him. Personally, I went into Paradise Regained following the flow from Donbrothers, and I was able to get into the process smoothly because I was able to speak frankly with Inoue-san.
What were you conscious of as it was a sequel to a TV series?
Shirakura: Our goal is to create a work that satisfies those who have been fans since the beginning, while also being worth watching for those who have only recently discovered 555. Handa-kun and other cast members, as well as the people who watched the show on TV at the time, have aged 20 years. I also wanted to give meaning to that time. As long as it's a filmed work, there's no point in simply having a reunion. "xx years anniversary" or "the cast wants to do it" might be triggers, but they alone are not reasons to move forward with a project. In this case, it also has a meaning as a one-off work called Paradise Regained.
Tasaki: I thought about whether to make it an "encore after the final chapter", or an "entrance to a new chapter" like Kamen Rider OOO 10th: Resurrection Core Medal. Having said that, it's also boring to make people who watch it get it too early. I tried to make sure that the story unfolded in a certain way so that by the time you watched it to the end, you would know in which category this story falls into.
Shirakura: 555 is originally a story about boys and girls whose future as humans was cut off and who become Orphnochs, and boys and girls who continue to live through life without becoming Orphnochs. But now, 20 years later, they are no longer boys and girls. That's why this sequel to 555 wasn't just a rehash, but became a story about adults.
Tasaki: The "story of boys and girls" depicted in 555 is played by Rena (Kuruma) and the other new characters. Though writing them in was also to declare that "Takumi and co. are no longer boys and girls", thanks to them, the 555 identity was maintained.
The Faiz Phone and Faiz Driver have also been updated to match the times.
Shirakura: I've been told by various people, including Bandai, that if I were to make 555 now, the transformation item would be a smartphone. In that case, I felt like I had do a new 555 work before a brand-new Kamen Rider who transforms with a smartphone came out on Sundays (laughs).
Did Shirakura-san give any specific orders?
Shirakura: I left the story to Dai-sensei, so my orders were for the structure of the story. How to depict the 20 years. And I don't mean how many years after the story is set, but how to incorporate the fact that the actors and audience are 20 years older compared to back then.
How do you feel about the cast compared to 20 years ago?
Tasaki: As expected, everyone has grown, and each character has matured inside them like wine. That Handa-kun and co. took the initiative and said they wanted to do it means that they must have allowed Takumi, Mari, and Masato to live with them for the past 20 years. So when it came to preparing their roles, we didn't have much to ask them, and they were able to play the aged Takumi, Mari, and Masato in their own unique way. Karahashi also did some strange things behind the scenes, like making the T-shirts and aprons for the costumes himself (laughs).
Were any of the young cast members who appeared in this work fans of 555 back then?
Shirakura: Rui Yanagawa, who plays Hisao, has been watching the show since he was a child. He said that Delta was his favorite Kamen Rider.
Tasaki: You have to really like 555 to be a Delta fan (laughs).
Shirakura: Also, he wasn't a cast member, but there happened to be another drama being filmed nearby at the time of filming, and the actor who played the lead role in that drama came to watch. When I asked him about it, he said he was a big fan of 555 and was thrilled to see the real Takumi and Mari (laughs).
Why do you think 555 continues to be so popular?
Tasaki: I don't know why, because each work is like my own child to me.
Shirakura: I think the character of Takumi Inui, played by Kento Handa, was very appealing. And every character in the show was acting weird, either intentionally or unconsciously. In the first place, it's weird to write 555 and read it as Faiz (laughs). Despite these strange aspects, Bandai created extremely stylish toy packaging, made a special light-emitting suit made for filming, and was extremely particular about the opening video. I don't think this work would have been made under normal circumstances (laughs). There was a moment when I suddenly calmed down and thought "is this really going to be okay?" But when I saw the scene in the opening where Takumi started walking away after getting his hair cut by Mari, I felt the extraordinary aura of the main character. That's when I became confident that "this is going to work!!!"
Lastly, please give a message to the fans who are waiting for the new movie.
Tasaki: In addition to the cast and staff from the TV series, Action Director Sanshirou Wada and Kota Nakamura, who was in charge of filming extras for Paradise Lost as a camera assistant at the time, were in charge of cinematography. New powers have also been added. This is a work filmed by such members, so please look forward to it.
Shirakura: Rather than "please go watch", I want to say "you have to go watch". And the more you love 555, the more you may be unable to see the screen due to tears. I too lost the ability to see halfway through watching it. However, it was made so that you can enjoy it even if you don't know 555. I would be happy if you could watch the TV series or Paradise Lost after watching this movie.

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Hey Y’all,
This sub has been invaluable for my yard renovation so thought I’d seek any feedback before I throw seed this weekend. New-to-me home had a front yard filled with weeds and a gopher mines. Have exterminated the gophers (mostly voles) and tilled up their mines, but still getting a visitor or two. They have only gone through the new topsoil in recent visits which is a relief for easy near term repairs. Neighbor gave me the OK to go for the gophers in their yard; house adjacent to them appears to be the big issue. Just put down some pellet deterrent which I hope will help during next steps. Glyphosate’d the weeds three weeks ago, pulled out what I could and tilled hard pack soil. Brought in 10 CuYd of amended topsoil, native soil is rocky and silty. Still waiting on soil test results. New soil was spread uniformly and used the balance to regrade the hillside. No weeds have popped through just yet. Planning to:

1. Spray Tenacity. Was going to do this right before laying seed.
   
2. Lightly rake and lay seed- Tall Fescue with a small mix of Bluegrass from Ryan Knorr. Says 8-10lb per 1000sqft, was going to aim for the high end of the range.
   
3. Spray Gravity SL PGS. I’d seed sooner but this doesn’t arrive until Friday.
   
4. Apply Scott’s Turfbuilder Starter fertilizer. Interested in feedback/alternatives here. Was going to go light on this since I’m using a plant growth regulator.
   
5. Top dress with Peat Moss with roller spreader.
   

Not looking for a perfect yard here, just success. Seed germination test in the house has looked good with soil from the yard. Sprinkler setup is looking good, it spays against the house some which soaks that area a little too much but it’ll have to do. One spot looking a little dry but should be able to correct that tomorrow.
TIA
KP