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No one can resist the overwhelming curiosity about finding out how bad the back half of Hibiki is. I guess this is what makes us human.
...Maybe I could engineer a scenario where I lie to a new fan. Tell them there are only 29 episodes, send them a copy of the show with all the next episode previews removed, etc. Somehow I feel like this sort of behavior would make me a villain of the week in a Kamen Rider episode about how you shouldn't tell lies to try and spare someone from the painful reality though. :lolol |
Honestly, I wouldn't say that the second half of Hibiki stands out that much from other shows. Most riders in the thirtieth episodes enter the mode: “we are stalling for time until the final arc.” For me personally, the second half of Revice will still be worse.
I also appreciate the moral: "sometimes your interests may change and that's okay." If only because it is not mentioned so often. |
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I've finished up Kamen Rider Gaim, with only the stage shows and the Gridon & Bravo specials left to watch.
And overall, my final thoughts on the show are just that it is very okay. While I understand the how and why of what made the show so popular and influential, it just never managed to connect with me emotionally. It's certainly structured well, it's just never a show that hit as strongly as many of the other seasons I love. And I think a big reason for that is also a big reason as to why I could never be fully invested in Ghost: I spent alot more time analyzing the show rather than watching it due to just how (in)famous the season is in the eyes of the fandom. The key difference being that with Ghost I felt that those who really hated it and those who really loved it both had valid points, with Gaim? I feel like both sides of the extreme really don't have any sort of point at all. Most complaints I've read I feel are nonsense, and most gushing about the show feels hypocritical when compared to many other seasons. For example, one critique I've read is "Sagara only helps Kota." And while sure, Sagara's' claims that he's neutral is total crap, he actually pushes alot more people forward than just Kota. He outright perpetuates the Beat Riders competition, he informs Ryoma about the Golden Fruit, and he directly traps Mai into her role as the Lady of the Beginnings. While he's full of it in claiming he's only a watcher, Kota isn't the "only" one he influences. Meanwhile, on the complimentary side of things, many people praise Gaim for being "the darkest story in Rider/toku." Which, as someone who's now seen most of Rider and plenty of other toku, is a laughable claim. Most Phase 1 stuff is way darker than Gaim alone, let alone outside series like GARO. In terms of characters, I felt the cast overall was fairly likable by the end. Even Micchy who, while is far and away not at all a good person, does have a satisfactory character arc that I felt no huge complaints with. Mai still remains my favorite even if she does end up shafted. But in terms of Riders I do gotta give it to Kaito. Even if his views can be seen as contradictory at times, he's always entertaining to watch, and the idea of the Secondary Rider becoming the final boss by the end is in itself really cool. And that's about all I got, I think. Overall Gaim to me is just a decently fun watch, and there's nothing really wrong with that. I give it a solid 3/6, and the song I now associate with it is "Way Down We Go" by Mandrazo. Next time I feel like Rider, well, this one's not up to me. The friend I usually watch these shows with really wants to revisit Drive, so that's next. From what I understand it's apparently the worst Rider show ever until it hits the halfway mark, or something. Sounds interesting. |
Funny you should be (re)watching Drive not too long after I finished the series as well as its movies and specials. I honestly don’t hate the first half of the show at all mainly because of the characters and the cases that our heroes have to solve as well as a very good balance between comedy and drama. It felt very reminiscent of W to me and it helps that I already love that series to begin with. Although, Drive does have the same writer(s) as that series which may or may not have helped in that regard.
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Rather ironic given how much of a cynical nihilist Urobochi himself is, all things considered. Not saying you're required to actually like any of that, of course. Just my perspective on it. |
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As for the stop, this is the basis of my complaints against Mai. She could have given the fruit to Kouta before their final fight and, with the power of God, Gaim could have easily calmed down his unlucky friend. Maybe not with the power that was originally conceived (because in the crossover with Drive it`s not the most outstanding villain who defeats him in a couple of minutes), but with the power that is shown in later crossovers - no problem. As an option: send Kaito to an uninhabited planet, where he can demonstrate his strength as much as he likes without harming anyone. Of course, knowing his stubbornness, Kaito would sooner or later get out and gain super strength to continue the fight, but to quote another show: https://i.ibb.co/DDDbtmw/We-already-be-dead.png An unexpected thought: if this option was used and the riders worked like Ultraman, Evolt would be an evolved Baron. |
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I think the greatest testament to Gaim's enduring popularity is how consistently it can spark these sorts of passionate debates about what aspects are good/bad and what the intention behind the story is. Other Rider shows are arguably more complex or open-ended, but I'd argue nothing quite gets people talking like asking "Is (insert anyone from Gaim) a good character?" :lol
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Tooting. It's funny that the much-debated Geats was forgotten so quickly that his last two films weren't even mentioned (I saw Jamato Awakening, but I'm too lazy to write a review). And only PunkJack fans (of whom I am slightly afraid) demand his appearance in Outsiders. |
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Even as satire, I'm sure writing this was agony for you. Quote:
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If Revice counts with no bike, then Drive counts with a car.
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Geats Extra Gazer Ca va, Enter! This prequel reveals why Niram objected so strongly to Suel wanting to use Tsumuri as a replacement goddess, in addition to his love of reality and food. Miiru, the navigator between Mitsume and Tsumuri, taught him to appreciate the uniqueness of people and eras they come from. We can see this visually represented in Miiru's choice of fashion, being a kimono appropriate for the Sengoku period where they're hosting the DGP. The interactions between Miiru and Niram are cute and wholesome, so even though this is a prequel and the tragic outcome is inevitable, it does a good job framing protagonist Niram as a sympathetic hero and Nemel as a despicable villain. While Niram in the show would still endanger many lives for the sake of his ideal reality, he does take the principles he learned from Miiru seriously as he passes them to Tsumuri, which certainly makes him a better person than most of the future people. Jyamato Awakening Go-On Green is here as well! His partner was a cop, but now he gets murdered by a Jyamato disguised as a cop instead. I saw the true identity of God Jyamato coming as soon as they started talking about natural born Jyama-human hybrids. It's like the Skynet causal loop, in that it's neither only Jyamato nor only humans responsible for the dystopian future, but rather both of their kinds. By the end, the source of the world's destruction has been de-escalated, which apparently solves the future people's problem. So they're only affected by linear causality when it suits them? During Neon's stream, she complains about her prince not being around when she needs him. Dammit, Kyuun letting her down again! He needs to get his act together. Even Beroba shows up to "support" Michinaga. While this movie looked like it would focus on the main 5 Riders sans Win (who's totally absent), it's mostly a Buffa movie with Michinaga getting the most focus. Makes sense that the Jyama God would get the most scenes with God Jyamato and of course he gets the Extra Final Form. Ace also gets an important part, both his present and future selves. Neon and Keiwa participate in fights and Sara guides civilians to safety, but they're otherwise irrelevant to the plot. I can gladly say that the action in both of these was spectacular for sure, with dynamic camera angles and impressive stunts accompanied by a soundtrack that fits the mood. Including a few good out-of-suit fight scenes as well, from Niram showing us his skill with the sword once more, to Neon doing a cool flip and tackle on a Jyamato. Overall, I enjoyed both of the stories, for how they gave due development to Michinaga and Niram. Out of the Riders in this show, I think it was good that they got the focus, as Michinaga kind of fell behind in the final arc and Niram was such an intriguing mystery to delve in to. Would've been nice to see Win though, but I guess we're used to him getting neglected. |
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Neon definitely needs her special, because she is the only one left without a large buckle. And she didn't even use Beat Fantasy together. I haven't watched the Niram special yet, but I missed the opportunity to call it: "Kamen Rider Gazer. Realization of Realism of Realistic Reality". |
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At this point, I consider any characters that do not appear in Outsiders lucky. Appearing in Outsiders means the character (and series) will be butchered. I pray to God every night so that any characters from Black, Agito, and Gaim will never make an appearance in Outsiders. |
Watched the Geats VCin compliation over the last couple of days. The Gazer special is fine, a cute 20 minute diversion about a character I have no strong feelings over, classic TTFC exclusive content.
Jyamato Awakening was interesting. Geats' handling of the Jyamato in-show was weird, as it always took a backseat to DGP internal problems and Future Guys, so to revisit it in the final Geats release and try to take it seriously is already an interesting move. I feel it could've used more room to breathe, given its going over similar ground to past VCins (shades of the Humans/Humagears can't co-exist in 01, and that had in-show setup to derive from), but it is nice to see Michinaga complete his character arc into a much less misathropic guy, and the story is still serviceable, if not novel. Action is a good as ever, Dooms Geats was probably unnecessary except to add stakes, overall a solid ender for a show that people get real weird over performatively hating. |
Watched Shin Kamen Rider again, this time with subtitles (first time was in a Japanese theater).
The story was a lot more enjoyable for obvious reasons, and while I'm still not really a fan of the anthology-esque approach that this took, I thought it pulled it off much better than Shin Ultraman (which I did not really enjoy). My biggest issue is still the overuse of bad CGI in fight scenes. The Bat, Wasp, Ichimonji, and motorcycle tunnel fights were all really hard to enjoy because it felt like I was watching nothing. The Spider, Chameleon, and Butterfly fights, however, were awesome, and I really wish they took the more practical approach for everything. Overall, I have mixed feelings. There's almost as many things that I didn't enjoy as there are things that I enjoyed, so I'd give it a 6/10, maybe 6.5 My ranking of the Shin films goes: 1. Shin Godzilla 2. Shin Evangelion 3. Shin Kamen Rider 4. Shin Ultraman I'm a bit bummed because Godzilla and Evangelion set the bar really high, so I was stoked to see what they did with Ultraman and Kamen Rider. Unfortunately I found myself disappointed in both. I just didn't enjoy the anthology approach, thought that they felt gimmicky, and didn't enjoy some of the decisions that the production team made. |
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I am now slowly but surely getting through Hibiki.
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I am now a little over a quarter through Kamen Rider Hibiki and the show is starting to grow on me.
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I watched the crossover between Gotchard and Geats. Well, now I have a new favorite crossover movie. I didn't expect that I would like this film so much. I’ll start, however, with a complaint: the farewell at the warehouse is very crumpled. After such an adventure, a party suggested itself, sort of like in the finale of Saber and Revice. Yes, even with the same Ikki last year, Ace sat in a cafe, but did not say goodbye and ran away after the fight. Also, Minato was not even in the third plan, but somewhere at the level of an extra. But there is a moment in the film where he and Tsumuri find themselves alone, they could at least talk about their common love for the color black.
But everything else is great. For once, the characters not only fight together, but also communicate. Moreover, showing character, and not: "It must be hard to be a doctor? “Yes, it’s better than a ghost.” Even their motorcycles communicate, which, thanks to the movie budget, received their moment of fame. Yes, this is not the level of Megamax and Ultimatum, but at least something. Still, I must note that the characters of the main characters were elevated to the grotesque. Hotaro's childishness has been turned up to the maximum and he behaves like a five-year-old. Ace, in turn, is more reminiscent of Michinaga from the beginning of Geats. But this does not spoil the overall impression and is fully compensated by interesting interactions and exciting adventures. X-Wizard is a good anti-villain who basically did a DGP with X-Chemies and even a parody of the Geats ending as a reward. Thanks to the features of Chemies, catching them is not reduced to the banal: “beat the monster, get a gimmick,” and therefore, in addition to beautiful fights, we also get unusual use of abilities and various tricks. It's a pity Ace didn't see how Spanner lured the lion with a bull, he would have appreciated it. Also, because half the film is dedicated to the X-Chemies, they are treated as characters and therefore Star Gotchard, despite his ridiculous appearance, actually has emotional weight. Also, the Chemies toys are incredibly cute and I'm sure even those who are not familiar with the show will buy them. So Gotchard is not in danger of commercial failure. Although the show is already safe, considering that judging by the unboxings on YouTube, collectors are buying tons of cards. Next up is Inspector Kugimiya. I guessed that the alchemist would find a way to counter Ace's divine abilities. I didn't guess that he would be the Gamemaster, but what the film presented was even better. Ace's longtime DGP opponent has learned alchemy to get his revenge! This immediately puts him at the top of Geats' list of villains, if only because of his persistence. Also, his final form is cool, but too similar to Geats, which is why several times during the rush of the battle it seemed to me that Hotaro was hitting Ace. Majade's debut turned out to be cool, both in the film and in the show. Although now I feel bad for Jeanne. I remember Revice was criticized for paying too much attention to her. Here, Rinne literally turns into the main character of her own special within the film. However, I don’t mind, although this part had the most mistakes, both technical and caused by too crumpled narration. Overall, the film looks like Gotchard's presentation for those who have seen Geats. They explain to the audience about alchemy, Chemies, Malgamov, and demonstrate what the main caste is like. In principle, you can watch it without having seen a single episode of Gotchard at all and not get confused in anything. It's also typical Gotchard in style: lots of fun, emotional moments, the incredible becoming real, and a simple but correct moral. It's even more funny that in this film we learned more about Ace's past than in his own show. And without the logic-breaking blunders typical of Geatsu, who even in Gazer’s haste managed to shoot himself in the foot, showing that Ace could not participate in the DGP in the Sengoku era, because that DGP did not happen, and the next one began in our time. But I digress... I was actually surprised that Ace showed more emotion with the plush toy than with his mother, but let's chalk that up to the other writers. Besides, the toy is wonderful. To sum it up, this is not a perfect film, but it is a very good one. Kind, bright, exciting, funny, educational, well shot and written. Everyone watch. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ztQZQAdAp2c/maxresdefault.jpg |
I watched the Gotchard Hyper Battle and Strongest Chemies yesterday.
Always good to see a body swap plot where the actors properly act as each other. Looks like Matsumoto had a lot of fun portraying Houtarou with the expressive body language that we don't often see from Rinne. Hopefully those people who were claiming she was a bad actor can realize now that this is clearly a trait of the character. I like how Inphoenix and Firemars are symbolic of Houtarou and Rinne being more alike than different despite their opposite temperaments, with both Chemies being fire elemental and Level 5, which is the average of 1 and 9. For anybody surprised about Majade's fighting style, there's a useful part here where Houtarou accidentally snoops through Rinne's bag and learns that she had been revising superhero books in preparation for her debut in the show. Cool how Rinne's studiousness also makes her a strong fighter! Quote:
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Family seems to be a theme of the movie, as Houtarou's motivation for returning to the real world was to apologize to Tamami for being too harsh on her. Reminds me of Ryusoulger VS Lupinranger VS Patranger, where Koh (whose actor is even named Ichinose H.) regrets arguing with Tyramigo after the latter is abducted. I enjoyed both of these movies and I think it's a good moral that even though we may argue with our loved ones sometimes, it's always important to make up with them after. Don't leave it until it's too late. EDIT: This is my 2100th post! :D |
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Also, I would also like to point out that the film mentions Renge's fear of ghosts, which will later play into the show. And, of course, a reference to Sukeban Deka. I haven't watched Yoko Minamino's season yet, but I understand enough of the specific plot developments of this franchise to appreciate it. Quote:
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