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06-24-2021, 07:58 PM | #671 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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He has a VERY distinct look to him that I just can't pin down
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06-24-2021, 09:53 PM | #672 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 38 - "ERLKING: A MOTHER-SON REUNION”
INOUE FOREVER. This one had it all, man. Heartbreaking drama! Hilarious comedy! Secret siblings! Rider team-ups! New Zealand-born actor Kerry Bishe revealing herself to be not only King of the Fangires, but also some sort of dark Kiva! I paid for the entire seat, but I only used the edge! It's not one that's expressly about anything (I mean, beyond the regular Kiva themes of parents passing their traumas down to their children, or how difficult it can be to find identity in the world your parents built, or the ways systems ignore feelings in favor of results) but WHO CARES when there's so much to enjoy in this episode. I almost don't know where to start, since this episode was packed with incident. I guess maybe we can start with the confirmation that Maya is Wataru's mother? And the revelation that this confirmation also means that Taiga is Wataru's half-brother? It's something that had been rattling around in the back of my head for the last couple days, the connection of Taiga to Maya and (possibly) Wataru to Maya, and the transitive property leading me to Secret Siblings. It's a tough idea to even grapple with, since it comes maybe four seconds after Wataru and Maya meet for the first time since she left him as a child. (Like, I really hope the show at least nods in the direction of an adult who was responsible for a maybe six year-old Wataru. Jiro didn't show up until last week! Shizuka was maybe four months old! Unless Shizuka is some sort of immortal pre-teen? Is she from some weird pixie race? Have I ruined Episode 39 by mistake?!) But it's a firehose of reveals in this episode, so why not keep adding stakes and connections to this plot? It's maybe the most I've been into the final act of a series arc in... god, a long while. Blade, maybe? Everything in this story is personal-sized, everything feels intimately connected to Wataru. Whether it's his family, or his romance, or his species, or his claim to the Fangire throne, every new reveal adds more complications for Wataru. Everything seems designed to unsteady Wataru, and that makes every episode more exciting than the last. And while the Taiga/Wataru Secret Sibling thing doesn't really get a lot of room to be explored this episode, Maya's ill-fated Bring Your Sons To Work Day reunions are fantastic. Fantastic. While every plot point spokes off of Wataru's character, it's really an episode to look at Maya. We get to see her feelings of superiority in 1986, as she taunts King with her infidelity. We get to see her joy at a visit from Taiga in 2008, even as he's disgusted by her fall from grace. We get to see her horror at Wataru's joyful reappearance, since everything she's done for the last god-knows-how-long was to keep him safe, and he has made them all incredibly unsafe. And then we get to see her in 199X, tearfully telling her son that he has to live by himself in his dead (?) father's house, and that he needs to forget about her for his own safety. It's an emotional roller-coaster, and Maya nails every hairpin turn. There's this flirtatious teasing in her scene with King that could not be further from her chastened regret in the cave, which couldn't be further away from her raw anguish under the surface of firm instruction that she shows to Wataru as she leaves him for years. This is an episode that is asking an actor to basically carry multiple huge reveal scenes on her goddamn back, and she never falters. It's intense performance after intense performance, and it was a gift to watch. The thing is, this was also the episode where Nago maybe became the series MVP for comedy? He's killer in this, as much a bravura performance in comedy as Maya had in drama. The basic idea, that Nago wants to coach Kengo because that makes Nago feel powerful again, it's fine. It's the sort of story we've seen play out before, most recently when Nago discovered that Wataru was Kiva. If Nago can't have glory, he will make do with reflected glory. (I know that Nago's saying he wants to be Kengo's coach, but this type of plot has real That's My Son stage-dad sort of vibes to it. It reads as a type of controlling parent, which keeps it firmly inside Kiva's discussions on parenting and imparting lessons.) So Nago trying to make Kengo subservient to him, sure, that tracks. But Nago showing up with matching t-shirts that spell out Nago-san in numbers (complete with IXA Knuckle at the waist and IXA helmet on the back!), and then badly coaching Kengo while IXA defeats a Fangire? Both of those scenes are brilliant, Top-5 Kiva Scenes material. It's HBV level good, you guys. (The gag of Nago coaching Kengo to do one thing, and then Kengo doing the exact opposite thing, I lost it.) There's a maniacal dedication to Nago's character that is only now allowed to be played for intentional laughs. He's completely pathetic here, and it's the most I've ever liked him. The facial expressions! They are all so good! This whole episode worked for me, and it worked gangbusters. All of the big reveals had unpredictable payloads (Maya tries to embrace the evil son and pushes away the good son!), nearly every character had a thrilling moment (Weird Uncle Jiro trying to slap some sense into Wataru! Yuri realizing that it's never going to work between her and Otoya!), and so many scenes had unnecessarily beautiful establishing shots. (You don't need to have a skywriter spelling out 2008 when it's a scene with Wataru and Mio! That's the only year they're ever in! Also, I can't believe Maya was given a 2008-vintage wine! That is maybe more inhumane than her disfigurement!) It's a truly exceptional episode, befitting its status as one of the most pivotal in the series. I'm really loving this show right now. Inoue forever. p.s. If I'd been watching this show last year, I absolutely would've paid $43 for a Nago-san shirt from Premium Bandai. Easy. No hesitation.
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06-24-2021, 11:52 PM | #673 |
New Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Evanston IL.
Posts: 95
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Brotherly Love.
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06-25-2021, 12:01 AM | #674 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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06-25-2021, 12:09 AM | #675 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 37 - “TRIANGLE: BEHEAD THE KING”
I’m a sucker for romances. To almost the same degree I can’t get on board with CGI monstrosities, I can’t say no to a well-crafted romance. And this is one! I know it’s not for everyone. It’s teen melodrama and love triangles and hidden identities and all of that. I know there’re people who’d prefer Kamen Rider in general - and Inoue in particular - stay away from romance. But, god, not me. Not in general, and certainly not here. Quote:
For Wataru being beaten up by monsters, I know you'd think it's valid within the story but, why would he de-henshin into his human form, oh right neither Mio or Taiga know that Wataru is Kiva. It took this long but it's finally shown about Wataru fighting in his human form against monsters. For selfish, the romantic person would be selfish in my eyes if they ignore others in favor of the person they love, or if they do bad things to other people (not their love interest) for the sake of their love (a.k.a, acting on jealous impulse without empathy or worse, yandere), etc. Quote:
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Mio’s finding some neat shades on the Damsel In Distress, even as she’s getting knocked out at a rate that should’ve generated a hundred Emperor Forms. (It’s mostly just so she can be conveniently unable to see different Henshins, but that doesn’t feel like it’ll be necessary after this episode!) More than anyone else in the love triangle, there are huge consequences for Mio’s choices, and not just for her sake.
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(I don’t 100% know what the deal is with the Kanvat Sword yet, but I like this read on it. King ‘86 being a dude who hates love is such an on-the-nose potential Final Boss for a show about the power of love that I’m thrilled. I dig how blatant it’s being about what themes it’s trying to explore.)
All this, and an absolutely insane scene of an unhinged Nago covering the IXA Knuckle in thumbtacks to humiliate Kengo? A prank that ends with Kengo socking him in the jaw again? I am loving Kiva right now, and I am willing to admit it. Wataru would be proud!
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The most complete non-wiki encyclopedias for Kamen Rider series (currently only found Ryuki and OOO's). Last edited by DreadBringer; 06-25-2021 at 12:13 AM.. |
06-25-2021, 01:19 AM | #676 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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I appreciate how Taiga sprung this reunion on Wataru, and then his whole attitude was Here's Mom, She Sucks. For a show that's largely (but not exclusively) about family, this whole reunion went about like I'd've expected for an Inoue show.
I'm saying my window closed! The preorder ended last July, and I'm not that crazy about buying aftermarket clothing. Quote:
For Zanvat Sword being able to be pulled after he accepts his feelings for Mio.... so the item is deliberately done as usable via your romance state. I also think that I like the sliding gimmick, I kinda like about mechanic that'd be seen in toys, but is actually a deadly stuff of unleashing the swords' power more, though I'd like for the finisher to be more flashy for the weapon's position.
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It's pretty much just this. There's the larger narrative use of her getting knocked out so she doesn't learn Wataru's identity as Kiva, but even after that, the show has her running around in her human form while the boys Henshin into superheroes. It's tacky.
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06-25-2021, 02:47 AM | #677 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,546
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So to start off, we get a melancholy remix of an already melancholy song, changing it from a plea to remember someone to a pea by someone to be remembered: Rainy Rose Queen Edit (which I actually discovered prior to the regular version, for reasons that I won’t go into here)
This episode’s Fact Fangire-le features one who’s been around for a while with some none the wiser. Kamen Rider Kiva True name: Wataru Kurenai (紅 渡 Kurenai Wataru) Human identity: N/A Class: Hybrid Rank: Illegitimate Prince Actor: Koji Seto And now for the actual monster (and yes, that VA’s name is written the same was as Zangetsu’s given name, making his name literally “tiger noble”) Mantis Fangire True name: The Deads' Miscalculation equals The 4:36 Lie (亡者の誤算=4時36分の嘘 Mōja no Gosan wa Yoji Sanjūroppun no Uso) Human identity: N/A Class: Insect Rank: Pawn Actor: Tora Take (Voice) But enough of the Return of the Jedi s stuff and cannon fodder, this episode’s real highlight (for me) is the debut of Kiva of Darkness (闇のキバ Yami no Kiba), who is unique in that his official romanised name Dark Kiva (ークキバ Dāku Kiba) is not actually canon. Which is why I always go with the first name when discussing him (or I would if he ever came up in discussions). I just love the visual of him appearing against an ethereal green version of Kiva’s emblem. And then there’s Nago’s antics, which actually got the dialogue remixed into a song on an album (its mostly Don’t Lose Yourself, with dialogue from Nago added). He’s basically riding his decrease in badassery for all its worth. |
06-25-2021, 06:36 PM | #678 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Alright, now that Dark Kiva is on the show, it's time to break out another TETRA-FANG album for his theme song... and then three more theme songs after that, because for reasons I'll get into as we go along, today is basically going to be the Checkmate Four Super Special. You ought to be grateful!
First up on the list is, as mentioned, King's theme, Exterminate Time, which is of course a grammatically incorrect (and yet so cool!) translation of Kivat II's catchphrase when he transforms. There's only so much I can really say about this one? It's got about the kind of heavy-ish rock sound you'd expect from a big villain, and all the lyrics are just an elaborate way to say that if you ever see the King AS Dark Kiva, you're basically already dead. They say it very pretty though! Although curiously, while I see some places list Fujibayashi as the lyricist (incorrectly???), I've also seen it credited instead to "USK Kohno", a stylized version of Yuusuke Kouno, who has had a fair bit of other involvement with Rider music, including being a part of the whole Wind Wave internet radio thing during Double? But I only barely know what I'm talking about here, and we're getting into a completely different show, so let's just move on to the next Kiva song. Bishop's theme, Eternity Blood, is a little special for a few reasons. It's the only one of these four songs to even ~kinda~ get used in the show, as a version of that gothic piano intro gets played by Bishop himself, as seen in this episode, hence why I wanted to share this song too. The other big notable thing about Eternity Blood is that Shuuhei Naruse handled all the major facets of its creation, from the composition and arrangement (which is common) to even the lyrics (which is not). You may remember Naruse as the guy who plays the keyboard in TETRA-FANG to begin with, which explains a lot about that gothic piano intro. Like, this whole song might just have been an excuse to make him look cool. As for the song's relevance to Bishop as a character... uh, is it awkward if I admit here I don't remember a whole lot about Bishop? What I get from the song is "mysterious dark schemer unflinchingly dedicated to forwarding the everlasting glory of his kind" which sounds pretty accurate to what I've seen of the guy skimming back through the show! I mean, I at least know for sure overseeing everyone else is literally his role in Fangire society, so... moving on! Rook's theme, Lightning to Heaven, is here too because it's directly connected to Exterminate Time. Both because it has the same lyricist (I'm pretty sure) that song has, and because like, they're literally connected. The outro of Lightning to Heaven leads straight into the intro of Exterminate Time, in what I'm sure is a very cool trick when listening to the album. (Obviously I've botched the order, on the other hand!) This is an apparent reference to a move in chess called "castling" that involves moving the king and a rook at the same time, a bit of trivia I've always loved because, I mean, I say Kiva tried extra hard with the music, and I feel like this needless detail is one of the strongest single pieces of evidence of that. Rook is a pretty simple character to get a grasp on in his own right, so naturally the song is another real aggressive one, with lyrics that basically run down the checklist of things he does in the show. He's a relentless predator and this is all a big game on a time limit for him. You know the drill. Not that the "lightning" or the "heaven" were as glorious as that title makes them sound, but then, it's the song's job to talk the guy up. Last up is Queen's theme, Rainy Rose, which is here because A) I've already come this far! and B)it's also easily my favorite of the bunch. I DID say I'm a sucker for the melancholic tracks, after all. Rainy Rose is just such a *pretty* song, you know? There's nothing else from Kiva quite like it, and I've long adored that distinct sound that's at once sorrowful and yet strangely soothing. And hey, maybe this one is pretty relevant to this episode after all, what with its huge focus on Maya's life across the years. Rainy Rose has some extremely colorful lyrics, with a lot of metaphor going on, and it's kind of why I have an easy time buying that Fujibayashi didn't write Rook and King's themes, because Rainy Rose is so much more along the lines of what I expect from her words. The song basically seems to be describing Maya by 2008 – this almost forgotten relic living a lonely life after having paid the price for her love. These other songs talk the Checkmate Four up, but Rainy Rose is so much grander than that. It truly feels like a mournful tribute to Maya, singing about her story as though it were the single most tragic thing that ever happened; at once unbearably sad as well as beautifully poignant. I mean, I'm sure I'm hyping it up way too much, but while I don't think I have the same love for Maya that Die does, I might just love her song that way! Really goes to show what I've been saying about how well Kiva's songs encapsulate the characters. ... Oh, and there was an episode of Kiva, too! Sorry I made you wait through all that to get here, Die! Yeah, this one is pretty fun, for sure. I'd be lying if I said I remembered anything from it more than I remembered 753 though. And from this point on, he will always be 753. For better of for worse, his antics here forever cemented a major change in his portrayal. It's for the better. 753 is hilarious. It's this strange alternative to character development, where Nago becomes exactly 0% more self-aware, but the way the show portrays that trait undergoes an arc, where his more straightforward growth as a person coincides with his singlemindedness becoming more amusing than frustrating. This chapter of Nago's life has always felt to me like him becoming the character he was always meant to be. (Him imitating the Ixa Riser saying "ra-i-ji-n-gu" followed by the actual thing the next second is my personal favorite bit of comedic timing in this one, by the way.) Something I didn't remember that I caught looking back through was the bit where Maya compares Taiga throttling her to how King used to in '86. Not only does it come with another super smooth transition (Tasaki was the director for 38/39, if you didn't have your suspicions already), but it's a nice way to highlight that Taiga has a very different sort of father from his half-brother, and an entirely different set of chains that maybe need some breaking ASAP. Another one of the reasons I'm not huge into Saga is that Taiga is sort of a complicated character who can be hard to feel sympathetic towards and yet equally difficult to treat as a typical cool villain, but part of me does appreciate what the show does with him.
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06-25-2021, 08:19 PM | #679 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
But enough of the Return of the Jedi s stuff and cannon fodder, this episode’s real highlight (for me) is the debut of Kiva of Darkness (闇のキバ Yami no Kiba), who is unique in that his official romanised name Dark Kiva (ークキバ Dāku Kiba) is not actually canon. Which is why I always go with the first name when discussing him (or I would if he ever came up in discussions). I just love the visual of him appearing against an ethereal green version of Kiva’s emblem.
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Yeah, this one is pretty fun, for sure. I'd be lying if I said I remembered anything from it more than I remembered 753 though. And from this point on, he will always be 753. For better of for worse, his antics here forever cemented a major change in his portrayal. It's for the better. 753 is hilarious. It's this strange alternative to character development, where Nago becomes exactly 0% more self-aware, but the way the show portrays that trait undergoes an arc, where his more straightforward growth as a person coincides with his singlemindedness becoming more amusing than frustrating. This chapter of Nago's life has always felt to me like him becoming the character he was always meant to be. (Him imitating the Ixa Riser saying "ra-i-ji-n-gu" followed by the actual thing the next second is my personal favorite bit of comedic timing in this one, by the way.)
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Something I didn't remember that I caught looking back through was the bit where Maya compares Taiga throttling her to how King used to in '86. Not only does it come with another super smooth transition (Tasaki was the director for 38/39, if you didn't have your suspicions already), but it's a nice way to highlight that Taiga has a very different sort of father from his half-brother, and an entirely different set of chains that maybe need some breaking ASAP. Another one of the reasons I'm not huge into Saga is that Taiga is sort of a complicated character who can be hard to feel sympathetic towards and yet equally difficult to treat as a typical cool villain, but part of me does appreciate what the show does with him.
So he's got this perspective that's built around duty and narcissism in equal measure, and the show is taking that apart with all of the show's themes: familial obligation, the power of love, carving out your own purpose from the raw materials of your family's profession. The exact same things that have been building up Wataru are tearing down Taiga, and I find that paradox incredibly compelling.
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06-25-2021, 08:52 PM | #680 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Just when I think I can't love Episode 39 more than I already do (they are both highlighting Wataru's hard-fought idealism and basically strangling it), they pull this thing out of their pocket:
BEST! SHOTS! Unbelievable. To use the same setup for both scenes, as the two people closest to Wataru have completely misread him and are letting him down in the most horrifying ways imaginable... I love this so much. This is one my favorite compositions in the entire franchise. I am going to remember these two shots for a hundred years.
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