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09-22-2019, 04:52 AM | #131 |
Veteran Member
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09-22-2019, 11:36 AM | #132 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Good to know! Also infuriating to have to know! Thanks!
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09-22-2019, 11:41 AM | #133 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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I think I can let ridiculous spellings like Para-DX or Cross-Z slide when we get things like this sometimes. |
09-22-2019, 12:05 PM | #134 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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And then on top of love and evolution, it's also one letter away from 'evil'. It means so many things!
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09-22-2019, 01:08 PM | #135 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
I had no idea. I mean I made that joke to myself especially since Spongebob did it before, but I had no idea it was an actually acknowledged thing. This is the worst thing ever but it is also amazing? On top of being short for evolution, his name is the opposite of the ideal of love and peace our heroes are always fighting for.
I think I can let ridiculous spellings like Para-DX or Cross-Z slide when we get things like this sometimes. Quote:
"Hey, Soichi." "No, call me 'Stalk'." "Okay, Stalk." "No, call me 'Blood Stalk'." "Bl--? Fine, Blood Stalk." "No, call me 'Evolt'." "That... what? Evolt? Fucking... Evolt. Got it, Evolt." "No, call me 'Kamen Rider Evolt'." "Kamen Ri--?! Unbelievable. Jesus. Whatever. Kamen Rider Evolt." "Kamen Rider Evol. The 't' is silent." "...I hate you." "Ciao, bitch!" *transteam puff of smoke*
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09-22-2019, 01:44 PM | #136 |
Dai Shogun
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 7,536
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09-22-2019, 08:00 PM | #137 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER BUILD EPISODES 34 - 35
A barnburner of an episode, here. Instead of the typical two or three stories that get a check-in, or some larger threads that need developing, this one's a big ol' Banjou spotlight episode. Taking away Sento for an episode and giving the reins to Banjou (why in the world Grease would let Banjou be the one in charge is utterly beyond me) gives us a different type of Build episode, and it's weirdly one that shows just why Sento is such a fun Rider to watch. Banjou's a dumb guy, and he's easily led by Evol(t). He's not a planner or a plotter, so all he can do is acquiesce to Evol(t)'s demands and hope to beat him in a fight. That would probably not be Sento's play. Sento's a genius, and he's got a rare Rider ability to figure out a solution besides facing an opponent head-on. He can think around a problem, not just through it. That makes for Build stories that have some fun surprises to them, ways the heroes don't just fight harder but fight smarter. This, though, was just Banjou trying his best, for better or worse. It's an incredibly straightforward Rider story that gains points in propulsive action and deadly stakes, but loses points in a lack of twists and (to me) not doing that much with the dramatic potential of the story. For example, Evol(t)'s strategy, of riling Banjou up enough until they can combine, was visually impressive, but dramatically only adequate. The flames during the nighttime portion of the fight (how, uh... how long was Grease just lying there?) looked awesome, and made the fight feel appropriately apocalyptic. The problem, for me, was that Evol(t) was trying this "we're not so different, you and I" villain thing, trying to cloud Banjou's thoughts, and it's just, has Evol(t) not met Banjou? Does he think Banjou's smart enough to dismiss his humanity in favor of a different paradigm? Does he think Banjou can even spell "paradigm"? How this cunning dude thought that musclebrained Banjou could be manipulated philosophically, I don't get it. All he had to do was threaten Sento and he was good to go. The emotional taunting through the fight, it just felt unnecessary to me. Gilding the lily. Great fight, though, and a killer cliffhanger as Evol(t) seems to be fully in control of Banjou. There's even a cool new helmet for Kamen Rider Evol(t) Phase 2! I'm not sure dragons work that great with an astronomy motif, but I'm also not sure Evol(t) cares what I think. There're times I feel like this series is 90% about people telling the real story this time about something. I'm a fan of the narrative trick in principle, where you can give just enough information to move the story forward, while leaving room to surprise the audience later. It's just, this is the fourth or fifth time we've gotten The Truth About Mars, and at least three of those are from Hipster Dad. It's more convoluted each time it's told, as it has to line up with all the various versions that've already been put forward. I kind-of don't care anymore what happened on Mars! Anyway, hi. Sorry. This episode. This one's another very plot-driven episode, with not a lot of character development or choices. It's a Big Picture one. There's a little bit of character business during the Build/Evol(t) throwdown, but even that's a retread of Sento's "science is as good or bad as the intentions behind it" speech that we've had a couple three times already. Mostly it's another one where Evol(t) has a plan, and he acts on it, while the heroes react to it. It's maybe a little rushed? There's a ton of time in the beginning devoted to Evol(t) connecting all of the Martian dots, then Sento wakes up, calls Rogue, they all get abducted, big fight at Pandora Tower Field, the end. There's plenty of time spent on plot stuff and Evol(t), but a potentially huge scene like Build recruiting Rogue is only a minute or so until Bad Hair Banjou shows up to start the endgame. Wasteful! I'm not sure why they didn't drop one of those Nanba scenes or something and let a big moment like Rogue Joins The Team play out. Bonkers. Confusing decision. At least the final fight was good? It was! It was so good! I really like Evol(t) Dragon(z) as a suit. It's imposing without being over-the-top, the color scheme is great, the collar is great, the dragon helmet maybe works great, the suit actor has full rotation of his shoulders... it's a real winner, I think. And, yeah, the fight itself was a winner. It's very cleanly choreographed, with fun moves against each opponent coherently conveyed, some great Holy Shit moments like punching Rogue and Grease over the Sky Wall, but the fake out with Banjou's plea for mercy? Loved it. I was wondering why they'd only used the Evol(t) voice all episode, when Hipster Dad would usually use his own voice, but that's why. If Evol(t) uses Banjou's voice through the episode, it wouldn't play as though Banjou was resisting, because he's been talking like that all episode. If they save it, the audience buys it, Build buys it, and then Evol(t) wins. I love it. I love Evol(t) as a season-long villain. His plan has a billion discrete phases to it, and requires tricking a hundred different people over a multiple-decade period, but he does it all with so much confidence and style, I'm almost rooting for him. And I'm a human! And that dude hates humans! Like, a lot!
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09-26-2019, 06:29 PM | #138 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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KAMEN RIDER BUILD EPISODES 36 - 37
It's been a few days. Where were we? Oh, right -- the end of the world. Build, for better or worse, has had a few points where it seemed like the story could be over. Emotionally, episode 22 felt like it said everything that needed to be said. It felt like a series finale on every axis. But it wasn't, it was barely the midpoint of the series. What came after has been strong, but it's definitely felt to me like almost an epilogue. It doesn't help that a lot of the villainy that's driving the plot recently is of a somewhat amorphous shape. Seito wants to rule the world while Evol(t) wants to destroy it, and while that's definitely villainous (I mean, I live in the world, it's where I watch Kamen Rider, it'd suck if that couldn't happen anymore) it's also kind-of generic and hard to feel that connected to, despite giving it the face of Banjou or having Sento reiterate his personal responsibility for the war. The villain plots are just sort-of there for me, nothing to get too thrilled about. Luckily, everything else is thrilling. I've compared my relationship with Kamen Rider to pizza before (even bad Kamen Rider is still Kamen Rider, and thus pretty good), so let me go to the pizza metaphor well once more. The villain plots are like the crust on a pizza: a base that's necessary for construction, but rarely the thing that you're most interested in. It's better if it tastes good, but it's more important that everything else tastes good. And this is a pretty delicious episode! It's great to see Rogue integrated more fully in the line-up, and the scene with him and Grease was exactly what I want out of a Kamen Rider fight scene: it's visually enjoyable while still telling me something about the characters. Grease needs to feel some closure over Rogue's actions while making sure Rogue can contribute to the fight, while Rogue needs to address his past mistakes and figure out what he's even fighting for now. It's a well-done scene between two characters I hope get more to do together. The concluding Evol(t)/Build fight is an episode highlight. Sento's got yet another fake-out up his sleeve, staying one step ahead of the unstoppable plotter. I appreciated that, while the show was absolutely going to have Sento try to sacrifice himself to stop Evol(t) and save the world, the characters get to push back a bit through Misora. The "Misora yells at Sento to stop trying to kill himself" scene wasn't exactly the most poignant or best delivered, but I liked that it existed and that it had a decent list of reasons Sento was being an awful friend. Sometimes it needs to be said! It's hard for a friend to watch another friend almost blow themselves up but instead give a more powerful form to an extinction-level supervillain, y'know? We've all been there. Is this the ideal episode of Kamen Rider? Does it have absolutely everything it takes to satisfy the average Kamen Rider viewer? Let's check! GOOD EPISODIC STORY - The Sento/Evol(t) stuff is terrific. It's a clear, immediate, personal goal for the characters to free Sento from Evol(t)'s clutches, and it's edge-of-your-seat storytelling. Sento/Evol(t) is a grinning asshole, convinced he holds all the cards. Team Build has lost their best strategist, leaving only an underpowered Grease, a depowered Cross-Z, and a devastated Rogue. Not exactly an all-star team! But the method through which Team No Build has to fight anyway, to figure out what they're fighting for and what it'll take to win, it all feels vital and it all feels earned. A great beginning, middle, and end to this story. CONNECTION TO SERIES ARC - The Evol Trigger is the power up du jour, and so much of the story is about what it'll do once Evol(t) gets it working. After a few feints, the Trigger's up and running by the end, and it feels suitably apocalyptic. HUMOR - Banjou's henshin anxiety in the beginning is laugh-out-loud funny, and the show (as always) does a great job of not forcing the humor. Jokes just land, like Rogue's admission that the only reason he ran a lab was nepotism, or Evol(t)'s general dismissal of every single Rider. Not an all-out side-splitting episode, but plenty of humor around the edges. DRAMA - Banjou has to ask for the help of the man who murdered his girlfriend! And then that murderer reminds Banjou that he's responsible for Banjou's girlfriend's death! Like he forgot! And Grease just has to sit there while it's happening! Heavy stuff, handled deftly, no surprise. And, of course, this episode is another entry in But Why Heroism, checking in with Rogue's development. It's a good Tragic Rider twist on "patriotism", separating his need to fix a country he broke from Grease's need to protect his vulnerable country. It's maybe a small thing, but I appreciated the distinction. More than the Grease/Rogue stuff, though, there's Banjou's, like, Will To Henshin, as he regains his Rider status as Great Cross-Z. There's not much to say about his motivation, since "wants to protect the people he cares about" has been his stated motivation for, uh, the last twenty-something episodes, but I loved his pre-henshin fight against Evol(t) because it highlighted and rewarded his skill set for solving problems: Just Keep Punching. He literally punched his way to victory. No high-minded strategy, no belief in the power of friendship, Just Keep Punching. Fantastic. Standing O. FIGHTS - Um, hell yes. Grease versus the Hell Bros, Rogue versus the Hell Bros, Rogue and Grease teaming-up (badly, but still!) against Evol(t), Banjou versus Evol(t), so much good fights in this one. I love that set (it's been in every show, most recent for me in the Ex-Aid: Lazer vs Genm movie), it's got so many fun areas to get good shots. Great action in this episode! NEW SUITS AND/OR FORM CHANGES - ha ha ha YOU BET. Starting off the episode with Evol Rabbit, rolling out Great Cross-Z, and ending up with Evol(t)'s final form, this episode doled out bad-ass new suits like they all of a sudden needed space in the Kamen Rider suit closet. All three are based around the Evol design, which is an incredibly flexible template. Some of it's the streamlined nature of the suit, how it's not crazy and bulky like a lot of villain suits, but I think a lot of it is the color scheme. That blue/red/gold is striking, and it easily supports variations based on Stalk (red), Build (red and blue), and Cross-Z (blue and gold). The suits all look good and visually identify what body Evol(t) is in today. Great Cross-Z plusses up a suit I was never that thrilled with, giving it some of Evol's astronomy flourishes and using the darker red to make the suit pop a bit more. It's a great visual signifier of both Evol(t) and Banjou. I don't really love the "final form" for Evol(t) (they didn't name it in the show yet, I don't want to go looking for its name in case of spoilers), but I barely got a chance to see it. I also, rudely, barely got a chance to see Great Cross-Z, my favorite Banjou suit so far. I may have actually said "OH, COME ON" out loud when he switched to Magma. How dare. Anyway, Great Cross-Z looks great, Evol Rabbit was a treat, and I'll probably get used to Evol's final form. Tons of good new suits in this episode. THE ENDING - A jaw-droppingly good twist ending. They saved the wrong Build. It's Takumi that came out of the Evol Trigger, not Sento. So, so, good. A lot of what's been working for me the last few episodes is how the emphasis on the characters for most of the series is paying dividends as they keep shaking up the team. My favorite part of the first few episodes, and the thing that told me this show was going to work, was how much I wanted to see every combination of characters. This arc, this phase, is applying that to the whole show, the whole premise. It helps that the actors can pull off any variation of their character that the writer comes up with, but it's also the hard work of character-building that makes any change fascinating. A very, very exciting ending. Yeah, I don't know, this episode really had it all for me. I don't think it's the best episode the series has done, but everything in it is so good. Very interested to see how far the show can take this.
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09-27-2019, 01:52 AM | #139 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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Much as I like Evolt, I agree that there isn't much or any depth to him and all the appeal of him as a villain comes in his charisma and spectacle. I don't think it's a big problem when all the good character stuff is made up for by the heroes though.
Everyone is just at their best, and honestly it's hard to think of a moment across the entire series when they aren't, but Sento being out of commission for a few episodes gives even more highlight to the other riders. Seeing Rogue and Grease coming together after all fistfighting out their differences just feels right somehow. Of course, Banjou stole the scene by forcefully powering himself up and then beating on Evol like a chump. I distinctly remember feeling myself shake in excitement when he turned into Great Cross-Z the first time, and as someone who loves Magma, watching him just beating on Evol was probably the most hype I got since episode 22. Granted, we don't get to take in this victory for very long since he gets his Black Hole form like thirty seconds later... |
09-27-2019, 09:43 AM | #140 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
But, man, that charisma! That spectacle! The fact that when Banjou learns he can't henshin, Evol)t) just goes, "Sucks to be you"! Like, I don't think it's style over substance, because there so many great character scenes with Hipster Dad/Stalk/Evol(t) and the cast, but that spectacle and charisma definitely obscures some plotting deficiencies. Quote:
Everyone is just at their best, and honestly it's hard to think of a moment across the entire series when they aren't, but Sento being out of commission for a few episodes gives even more highlight to the other riders. Seeing Rogue and Grease coming together after all fistfighting out their differences just feels right somehow.
Quote:
Of course, Banjou stole the scene by forcefully powering himself up and then beating on Evol like a chump. I distinctly remember feeling myself shake in excitement when he turned into Great Cross-Z the first time, and as someone who loves Magma, watching him just beating on Evol was probably the most hype I got since episode 22. Granted, we don't get to take in this victory for very long since he gets his Black Hole form like thirty seconds later...
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