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03-23-2020, 03:44 AM | #15761 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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I've decided to finish Drive now. I initially dropped it early on while it was airing, and watching it again, I can't for the life of me see why. I've gotten back to where I dropped it, episode 6, and I'm enjoying myself quite a lot. My only real qualm is the nonstop introduction of new shift cars, but that wouldn't really bother me enough to stop watching a show.
Thinking about it, it might honestly have just been burnout, as I watched Decade through Gaim as they aired, with multiple of the Sentai as well, along with watching some older series, both KR and Sentai, at the same time, so I think I was just henshin hero'd out by the time Drive came along. That said, Drive is fairly fun. I like the dynamic between Shinnosuke and Belt-San. They have some fun banter. The lead woman, Kiriko, is hit or miss for me. I'm only 6 episodes in, and when she's good, she's a fairly solid character, but when she's icy for no reason, it's hard to like her.
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03-24-2020, 01:15 AM | #15762 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,409
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Fourze 37-38
This is probably the last arc of the show that I really remembered clearly and it is pretty much all because of Yuuki. Way back when the show was originally airing I made a thread on here to gauge people's thoughts on Yuuki - like, dislike, liked now dislike, etc. I fell into the "liked now dislike" camp. This is a really rough arc for Yuuki. I did my running gag about her going crazy during most of this rewatch and it was all in build-up to these episodes. At the start of the show Yuuki was Gentarou's really hyper but well-meaning friend. But now? Now she's wearing the Hayabusa puppet everywhere, praying to a rocket while wearing a headdress, and flailing and wailing all over the place. I think it's supposed to be cute. It isn't. I used to listen to the Henshin Justice podcast around the time Fourze was airing (back when said podcast still existed). One of the regular guests had this theory about Yuuki that I've always liked. He proposed that Yuuki has spent too much time standing near Gentarou when he transformed and her brain has been getting increasingly damaged by cosmic rays. I liked that theory because it was funny and it really tracks with how badly the character went off the rails. Now, the rest of these episodes aren't bad. I actually like them a lot. Elleen is one of the more memorable and likable guest characters. Part of that is that she is 100% right when she says Yuuki is a terrible choice for an astronaut. I wouldn't trust her to be in charge of the kiddie rocket ride outside of the grocery station, much less a real space flight (she will miss most of the Fourze/Wizard Movie War, in fact, because she crashes a space ship and is presumed dead). I also like Elleen because she has a good story that puts her in a strong conflict with Gentarou. I really love their final showdown and it's quietly tragic that she forgets everything that happened (although it would totally pay off if she shoved Yuuki off another cliff). So from here on out we're mostly going to be in territory that I've long forgotten. I saw the trailer for 39 and it does look a little familiar, but I really don't remember what the story is around the Taurus Horoscope. Looking forward to finding out. Seriously, though, Yuuki is the worst. I mean, not Onari bad, not no one is Onari bad. At least Yuuki's cringey comic relief ties into the plot and isn't just random bullshit. |
03-25-2020, 11:46 AM | #15763 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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Holy shit. This Nira character in Drive is literally a complete monster.
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03-25-2020, 02:59 PM | #15764 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
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Yeah, I remember those episodes! For me Drive was kind of average for most of it's run and then when it got into the last 20 episodes or so it suddenly got really exciting.
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03-25-2020, 05:31 PM | #15765 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,825
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Oh, Nira. What an absolute scumbag.
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03-25-2020, 07:54 PM | #15766 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,409
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I love that guy. He is such a great villain. I really liked how he seemed like another quirky Drive character, but the more you get to know about him the more you realize just how awful he was. His beef with Shinnosuke was very personal, which made all of his actions feel so much crueler. Definitely one of my all-time favorite Rider villains.
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03-25-2020, 08:51 PM | #15767 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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Like, wow, just when I thought 001's plan was cruel, and when he was gone Nira would just fade into the background, I sure was wrong. He came back full force and proved himself to just be straight up evil.
Quote:
I love that guy. He is such a great villain. I really liked how he seemed like another quirky Drive character, but the more you get to know about him the more you realize just how awful he was. His beef with Shinnosuke was very personal, which made all of his actions feel so much crueler. Definitely one of my all-time favorite Rider villains.
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03-26-2020, 01:22 AM | #15768 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,409
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Quote:
Like, wow, just when I thought 001's plan was cruel, and when he was gone Nira would just fade into the background, I sure was wrong. He came back full force and proved himself to just be straight up evil.
What made him work so well was just how petty he was over the whole thing, too. Why did he do what he did 12 years ago? Because someone else was better than him, and had the audacity to be a nice guy. Why did he try to kill the girl? To make Shinnosuke's father's sacrifice pointless. And why does he torment Shinnosuke? Just because he can. |
03-27-2020, 12:16 AM | #15769 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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Finished Drive, sans some of the movies/specials, because this show has way too fucking many
All in all, it was alright. It didn't blow me away, but I found it to be fairly enjoyable. I do feel that there were places where it just slowed to a crawl, primarily the first half of the series. While not bad, there were times where I definitely made myself keep watching. Around the point where Freeze gets axed though, is where it really picks up. I do enjoy how the show made a good point that the monsters weren't evil just because, since Nira and Banno were pretty much the absolute worst. From then on, it was really intense and quite fun to watch, me desperately curious as to what would happen next. While not in the top of the Neo-Heisei series, it's definitely an all around solid series, with a great cast that managed to balance the goofy without being annoying.
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03-27-2020, 01:14 AM | #15770 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,409
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Quote:
Finished Drive, sans some of the movies/specials, because this show has way too fucking many
All in all, it was alright. It didn't blow me away, but I found it to be fairly enjoyable. I do feel that there were places where it just slowed to a crawl, primarily the first half of the series. While not bad, there were times where I definitely made myself keep watching. Around the point where Freeze gets axed though, is where it really picks up. I do enjoy how the show made a good point that the monsters weren't evil just because, since Nira and Banno were pretty much the absolute worst. From then on, it was really intense and quite fun to watch, me desperately curious as to what would happen next. While not in the top of the Neo-Heisei series, it's definitely an all around solid series, with a great cast that managed to balance the goofy without being annoying. On an unrelated note, I'm halfway into the Taurus arc on Fourze and I mostly remember what it was about now. |
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