The biggest mystery of Rise...
So I was writing Dimensional Decay earlier and trying to figure out whether Donnie’s belt is part of his battle shell or its own separate thing to add as a plot.
I still don’t know the answer.
This fucking thing is magic.
In Mascot Melee, he switches from the flight shell to the spider shell, and the belt stays on, but it doesn’t go over the shell.
From the purple jacket, and these shots are literally frames apart, his belt very clearly comes off with the battle shell.
So apparently it is attached.
Also from the purple jacket sequence (during his dream) again, these shots are only frames apart. In one, the belt goes over his shell, and in the very next, it doesn’t.
At this point, continuity has completely left the building.
From Insane in the Mama Train, when he self destructs the battle shells, his belt is gone too.
So that’s another point in favour of it being attached to the battle shell.
Also from Insane in the Mama Train and End Game, the first shot is right before they put on the Hamato outfits. No belt. Clean waist. Nothing there.
Then the second shot is when they tear the outfits off, and suddenly the belt is back.
Not gradually revealed. Not unclipped. Not shown being put back on. It just exists again.
From the movie, when his battle shell breaks, the belt breaks with it.
Which heavily implies the belt isn’t just something he wears under or over the shell, it’s structurally integrated into it. Like it’s physically part of the battle shell system itself.
Also from the movie, when he takes the battle shell off in the Technodrome, the belt comes off with it.
And when he’s first pulled out of the Technodrome afterward, it’s still off.
That sequence pretty clearly treats the belt as a component of the battle shell, not an independent accessory. It behaves like it’s mechanically integrated. Remove the shell, remove the belt. Leave the shell behind, leave the belt behind. Simple, right?
Because somehow, somefuckinghow, it magically appears while he’s restrained.
During the time he’s been restrained, it wasn’t there. Then suddenly it is going all the way around his shell. And then, in the very next moment, it’s still there… but not all the way around.
No explanation. No transition. No continuity logic. It just exists and reshapes itself at will.
Let’s lay it all out clearly, we've got
Scenes where the belt comes off with the battle shell.
Scenes where it stays on while shells swap out.
Frames where it’s over the shell, then instantly not.
An instance where it vanishes before a costume change, then reappears afterward.
Another instance where the character is literally immobile, starts without the belt, and ends up with it on.
At this point, the belt is operating on its own dimensional physics. It obeys no rules, respects no continuity, and refuses all logic. It simply materializes wherever it damn well feels like.
In other words, Donnie’s belt isn’t part of the shell. It isn’t separate. It isn’t even consistent. It’s its own chaotic character.
So yeah, my question was never answered.
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