TFW2005
Hisstank
Thundercats
TokuNation
Toyark
Home
News
Garo
Godzilla
Kamen Rider
Metal Heroes
Power Rangers
Super Sentai
Ultraman
All News Categories
Forum
News & Rumors
Power Rangers
Kamen Rider
Super Sentai
Other Toku Series
Toys and Collectables
Marketplace
Creative
Galleries
Companies
Bandai Japan
Tamashii Nations
Saban Brands
Bandai America
Toei
Characters
Kamen Rider Ghost
Kamen Rider Specter
Kamen Rider Necrom
Mighty Morphin Green Ranger
Dino Charge Red Ranger
Toylines
S.H. Figuarts
S.H. MonsterArts
DX Mecha
Megazords
Legacy
Shows
Kamen Rider Ghost
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger
Power Rangers Dino Supercharge
Power Rangers Movie 2017
TokuNation.com
>
TokuNation
Integration
User Name
Remember Me?
Password
Rules
Register
Community
Today's Posts
Search
Community Links
Members List
Search Forums
Show Threads
Show Posts
Advanced Search
Go to Page...
Thread
:
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Kabuto
View Single Post
12-03-2020, 03:30 PM
#
2
Kamen Rider Die
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 01
SOME GOOD
I like Tendou. He's an interesting protagonist (I'm assuming!) so far. His introduction is all about his zen nature, his clarity of purpose, his ability to focus on his own responsibility rather than the actions of others. It's a neat idea, him being all about the achievement of personal excellence as an inherent good for society.
I like it mostly because we see a couple shadings of it here that don't... he doesn't come across as The Best Dude always, and I think that's fun to develop? There's a kindness to him (the scene with his sister), an aloofness to him (the scene with Kagami), and even a judgmental aspect to him (snapping at the vendors for not doing their job, basically his whole Henshin). There's a complexity there that feels like a nice counter to Hibiki's more straight-forward personality. Tendou feels like a character I'm barely scratching the surface of, while still feeling like I'm rooting for him. Pretty good first appearance!
--
It helps that this episode just
looks
gorgeous. There's a great use of light through Tendou's various scenes, keeping him illuminated to a degree that I don't really doubt his divinity. He's frequently
bathed
in light: the living room of his house has windows everywhere; the garage might as well be on the surface of the sun; and that Henshin scene is him practically
enveloped
in sunlight.
The camera tricks deployed to sell the Worms' Clock Up abilities are
always always
fun. It's nothing that needs CG, which is why I adore it. It's just body doubles and edits, but characters suddenly appearing in new places is... I'm just a fan of it? It's such a great Oh Shit technique, and I never get tired of it. Some guy is halfway down a block, the camera pans around, and now he's behind the POV character? That's the sort of stuff I love to see, how a show can create atmosphere and tension through practical effects.
The rest of the episode looks like a million bucks, too. Not a very showy set of camera moves or anything, but coherent edits and perfect angles and great blocking and solid tracking
and and and
. Incredibly professional work that may not match the lyrical quality of Hibiki's opening, but has a technical precision that feels like a leap forward.
--
Which is good, because the action in this episode is of a much larger scale than Hibiki's One Guy Versus Two Guys thing. There are dozens of Zectroopers (with their Riderman gauntlets!) and multiple Worms (who turn into spiders, because Kamen Rider Premiere), and that's before you even get to the Kamen Rider showing up at the end. The first fight reminded me a lot of the Amazons premiere, where the tactical nature gets full focus, setting up the organization that'll support/contrast with the more singular nature of the title hero. It's a neat way to set up the stakes, to see a well-armed, well-trained crew of elite killers just get
demolished
by the lowest-level monsters. The Zectroopers aren't chumps, but they sure get chumped out in a hurry.
But that's a) still fun to watch, and b) super helpful to make Kabuto's somewhat brief fight at the end still deliver. He's in a Husky Kabuto suit, so he's clearly not even at full strength/speed yet, but he beats the Worm with clever actions rather than brute force. The trick of bouncing his targeting lasers (?) off of mirror shards to locate the Worm,
man
. Man! I love it. I love it because it undercuts some of the Chosen One stuff I'd normally dislike by showcasing how
prepared
Tendou is to be Kabuto. He's someone whose entire existence has been about this role, and that dedication pays off. It's not a huge fight, but it's a smart fight, and I maybe prefer that?
--
Overall, just a smart episode with how it's telling its story. The opening has an otherworldly sadness to it, full of pain and portent. Then you move into a nightmarish sequence of being killed and replaced by a doppelganger. Then there's a paramilitary raid. Then a moment of danger, resolved with bizarre humor and nonchalance. Then familial warmth. Then training, then action, then heroism. Every scene flows into the next with focus, with care. Nothing feels unnecessary, or irrelevant, even as you're certain that some small touches will take on greater importance later. It's a very watchable premiere.
SOME LESS GOOD
Although it could stand to be more
fun?
There's only one scene that even vaguely approaches Funny, and that's the Tendou introduction. Even that's, like... I didn't
laugh
at it, you know? I admired the playfulness of it, but that's the most I felt. Everything else is very dour, very serious. It's cool if that's the direction the production team wanted to go in, but I'm not sure I'm going to love that. I definitely want my Kamen Rider to be more bonkers, more wacky, and that doesn't feel like what Kabuto is? I don't know. Maybe there'll be more lightness, more comedy down the line. This one was a very dark premiere, and those aren't going to be my favorite.
--
As a whole episode... I don't think it does anything wrong, and any complaints I'd have are going to be of the It's Not What I Ordered But I'll Still Eat It variety, but this wasn't a blast to watch. It's technically proficient, and solidly written, but all of the ZECT stuff is not what I watch Kamen Rider for. I can get through it, and it doesn't ruin the show for me, but Organizational Kamen Rider is not really my favorite template. Personal preference, for sure, but that's not where my enjoyment lies.
A QUESTION
Hoping to spur some direct discussion off of these episodes, so we're going to try some episode-specific questions for y'all. Kicking things off,
how do we feel about not seeing the full Rider suit in the first episode?
Feels chancy to me, and slightly misguided. I think the bare minimum a Rider show should deliver is the Rider's base suit in Episode 1. At a minimum! (I'd actually prefer it if the suit showed up before the final scene, but I get that that's maybe asking a lot.) Are you okay with only getting Husky Kabuto in this one?
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on
KamenRiderDie.com
!
Last edited by Kamen Rider Die; 08-26-2023 at
06:00 PM
..
Kamen Rider Die
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Kamen Rider Die
Find More Posts by Kamen Rider Die
TokuNation News & Rumors
Alternative Cut of "Day Of The Dumpster" Released
Shodo SUPER Kyoryuger Teaser
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN
SH Figuarts BoonBoomger Red
Hasbro Licenses Power Rangers Toys to Playmates Toys
More New Posts
Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger Episode 8- "Runaway & Divide!" Discussion
How is Everyone Today- New
Fixing Kamen Rider Revice story (maybe movies and spin-offs)
Ultraman Discussion Thread
Thunderstrike's Wants
DreamSword Watches Unfamiliar Toku: Part 1 - GARO
What are you watching? (Kamen Rider Edition)
S.H. Figuarts (Toku Related) Thread
Kamen Rider Gotchard Episode 34- "Only One! All Roads Lead To Gorgeousness!"
Kamen Rider Gotchard Episode 33- "Legend Rider? 100 Years Too Early!" Discussion
Current Poll
How Would You Rate This Episode?
Excellent!
Good
Average
OK
Poor...
»
View Poll Results
»
Comment On This Poll
»
This Poll Has 0 Replies
Search Forums
»
Advanced Search
All times are GMT -5. The time now is
08:52 AM
.
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Powered by
vBadvanced
CMPS