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01-31-2020, 11:39 PM | #151 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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MASKED RIDER AGITO EPISODES 30 - 31
Hey, let's spend a story with the tenth-best hardcore band in the Tokyo area, Mana & The Mutants! I really like what this show's done with the Mana character. She started off as a fairly stock Girl With An Inappropriate Crush, but the show quickly moved her out of that role, in favor of a younger sibling sort of space. Eventually, thankfully, the show's slowly evolved her into an ally, a support system for Shouichi that has a stake in his battles. This story did a great job levelling up Mana's character, as well as Mana's role in the story, and it leveraged a half-season of hard work with her character to make it a great story, to boot. Mana's a fairly upbeat girl, so it's doubly effective for this story to put her through the wringer. I mean, you make a character like Hikawa or the forever-dead Ryou have a hard time, it probably doesn't mean as much to viewers. You make Mana put up with Mean Girls, kidnappings, and a possible inadvertent role in her father's death... it's rough, you know? It's rough to watch her get chewed up by the world. It's also an incredibly effective way of establishing the stakes of the story, because I'm 100% invested in Mana. I want her to live, to be happy, so a story that threatens her physical and emotional well-being, it's a story that's already done half the work. And to have those threats be things like The Mutants or Truegami, it takes those at-times nebulous threats and makes them immediate and visceral. It's a great use of a character I like, and some antagonists I don't really get yet. The Mutants come into focus a bit more from this story, though. Not all the way, their various personalities and outlooks don't totally cohere (that glasses girl Mutant is the worst), but enough for this story to land its beats. I mean, once I was like, "Oh, they're all mutants, like from the X-Men,” it was easier to go along with their story. You know, Hated And Feared, etc etc. Their powers are an evolution that puts them above humanity, but it makes them a target. Because of that, they can really only trust each other. Truegami may have pulled some strings to get Main Mutant to kidnap Mana, but he really does think she's better off with them. They're a bunch of weirdos, and they don't really like each other, but there's value in them sticking together. It's an understandable motivation from a character that I was not really getting before. It's also, uh, the theme of the show, so, yeah, definitely going to work well with these other characters at this point in the show. The idea of needing a place where you feel you belong has been a recurring theme in Agito. Shouichi talked about it before, and Mana reminds him of it when she says that she's staying with the Mutants. (I kind-of wish she hadn't explicitly stated the themes of the show when talking to Shouichi, but what can you do.) It's nice to have that exploration of Found Family fall on Mana. As a teenager, she's at a point in her life where she's trying to define herself outside things like school and family, so a weird Mutant cult that gaslights her into thinking she's a danger to every non-Mutant around her seems like exactly the kind of emotionally true but irrational decision a teenager might make. It seems reasonable to me, anyway. I get how she took a journey over this story, scared of her growing power and looking for people that understood her. The show maybe botched the last 3% of its story, though. I don't get how the Main Mutant died? His whole power was healing himself. We'd seen him heal himself after other Unknown attacks. This one, he just... doesn't? And then he dies? It feels like a plot contrivance to me. He had to die so Mana could unlock her power, but there's no way he could've died, so the show just goes Okay But He Died Anyway. It's a cheat, is what I'm saying. If they'd had a line of dialogue explaining why this fight was different, I'm good with it. But they didn't, so it feels forced to me. I'm not that mad about it, really, since Main Mutant and the rest, Truegami, were just a way to tell a story about Mana. Even Main Mutant's dying speech was a way to land some of the story's points about homes, about families, and how those ideals escaped him and he hopes they don't escape Mana. It was a nice story, a solid exploration of the show's themes, a good way to make Mana more central in the series' conflicts, a face to the idea of the Mutants as a group worth caring about, and maybe even a way to bring back Gills. Who is still dead!
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02-01-2020, 04:28 PM | #152 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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MASKED RIDER AGITO EPISODES 32 - 33
These episodes are a great mix of emotional storytelling and big plot reveals, but it's really one episode of one followed by one episode of the other. I really enjoyed the first part, centering its story on a teenage girl's need to balance her commitments to others with her need to grow as a person... as well as making a huge deal about just how badly the men in Mana's life understand her. Okay, not Shouichi. As always, Shouichi is generous with his feelings, trying to get Mana to see not only her options, but the support she has waiting for her. That emotional honesty, it's super refreshing to see. It's such a core part of this show's identity. It also reinforces that it's not up to Shouichi or anyone else to make Mana come home, she has to feel comfortable with that on her own. It's a very brave choice, for the show to have Mana's decision-making be such a prominent part of the story, to let her keep her agency, and it really elevated this story for me. Like that last two-parter, this one's about her needing to navigate her own feelings, and Shouichi's support-without-advising, that's a good way to have him involved in what's really Mana's story. I mean, the other way in to Mana's story, Hikawa and Uncle being lunatics, that was golden. Having Hikawa and Uncle just be hilariously awful at understanding how to emotionally support a teenage girl, so perfect. Trapping them on a little boat to work through their anger, their fear, their regrets... it was a very, very funny way to cover all of the ground they needed to in order to wrap up the Mana Leaves Home plotline. I would watch a thousand episodes of Uncle and Hikawa trying to understand teenage girls. A hundred thousand episodes. But it can't all be two grown men knowing exactly what value of glassware a teenage girl would be. (If only!) No, we're entering the final phase of Masked Rider Agito, so this one's a packed episode, full of reveals and returns and revelations and, sadly, retreats. Truegami lays out a bunch of the Mutants story, linking together the idea that all Mutants may eventually evolve into Agitos, and the Unknown are trying to stop it by killing them all off. Spooky Man (is anyone from the police trying to put him on trial for the murder he confessed to months earlier?) gives a bit more clarity to his motivations. If I'm understanding him correctly (ha ha, probably not!) he wants to empower the Unknown to wipe out the Mutants, leaving some of humanity intact? I think? There'll probably be a few more Spooky Man speeches to come, so hopefully that'll nail it down for me. Overall, the mega-arc stuff feels like it's coming together. I get a little bit more of what each side wants, anyway. There's not a lot with most of our other characters, Team G3-X and Houjou, Uncle, Taiichi, because the bulk of this one's about Shouichi having to face the monster that killed his previous self. As a show, Agito doesn't really treat the fights as very difficult for its title hero. Rarely does a monster get the better of Agito, and if it does, the next fight puts it away without too much hassle. Unlike Kuuga, we've yet to see a Rising-style upgrade to deal with the Unknown. Agito just, like, fights and wins. He may need a hand if multiple enemies show up, and occasionally he needs his bike to henshin, but it's never a big part of the story, how to defeat the Unknown. Just kick 'em 'til they explode. Kamen Rider 101. So it's huge to have Shouichi terrified at the sight of Manta Unknown, to flee in fear of his life. (I honestly can't tell what animal it's supposed to be, so I'm going with Manta Unknown.) That primal terror, it's not the hilarious physical comedy of Houjou's escape from the third-weakest Unknown. (Series high-point, maybe?) It's a statement of severity, an acknowledgement that, for all intents and purposes, this monster already killed Shouichi once. It takes what could feel like a stall, an episode-long wait for a rematch as Shouichi does his best to ignore his fear, and gives it a sickening inevitability. The monster that ended him once is back for more. Shouichi was lucky to get a second chance at life. How many other people can say that? OH SHIT GILLS IS BACK AND HE'S HERE TO FIGHT WITH AGITO IT'S HAPPENING IT'S ALL FINALLY HAPPENING
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02-01-2020, 09:37 PM | #153 |
Master Procrastinator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 367
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And I'm back, as promised, to point out what you missed before, since the necessary reveals have now been made and I won't be spoiling anything.
Remember why they said Hikawa couldn't use G3-X? Because people are imperfect and the AI expects the user to make the perfect/optimal moves? Well, it's not because HIKAWA was flawed, it's because HUMANITY is. People just aren't advanced enough to make the optimal flawless moves. But Shouichi could use the suit with no problems whatsoever, so what does that tell you about him? |
02-01-2020, 10:03 PM | #154 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
And I'm back, as promised, to point out what you missed before, since the necessary reveals have now been made and I won't be spoiling anything.
Remember why they said Hikawa couldn't use G3-X? Because people are imperfect and the AI expects the user to make the perfect/optimal moves? Well, it's not because HIKAWA was flawed, it's because HUMANITY is. People just aren't advanced enough to make the optimal flawless moves. But Shouichi could use the suit with no problems whatsoever, so what does that tell you about him? I think I like it better when it's more character-focused, that SHOUICHI was just better than HIKAWA, that he was better equipped to be a part of something than Hikawa was. Shouichi is fluid, accepting. He's Drift Compatible with everyone, a universal donor. Hikawa is clumsy, unyielding. He only knows how to push, he doesn't know how to let go. I don't know, I'm not saying your read is wrong (it's almost definitely more right than mine!), but I just like my read better.
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02-01-2020, 10:08 PM | #155 |
Master Procrastinator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 367
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Quote:
I think I like it better when it's more character-focused, that SHOUICHI was just better than HIKAWA, that he was better equipped to be a part of something than Hikawa was. Shouichi is fluid, accepting. He's Drift Compatible with everyone, a universal donor. Hikawa is clumsy, unyielding. He only knows how to push, he doesn't know how to let go. I don't know, I'm not saying your read is wrong (it's almost definitely more right than mine!), but I just like my read better.
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02-01-2020, 10:14 PM | #156 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
Still! Thanks for cluing me in!
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02-01-2020, 10:19 PM | #157 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Yeah, like I said, I don't doubt that was actually a very subpar set of episodes. Also, I went and watched some of 28 again, and let me tell you, after seing the 10 or so seconds of Agito doing a Rider Kick from the previous episode at the start, I completely understand what you mean about the nauseating camerawork.
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02-01-2020, 10:23 PM | #158 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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MASKED RIDER AGITO EPISODES 34 - 35
It's getting more difficult to try and talk about these in two episode chunks. There's this weird Agito thing where an episode ends on a cliffhanger that is immediately resolved in the first two minutes of the next episode. It makes it so that these stop feeling like discrete stories, and more like individual segments of larger, more amorphous stories. Like, all of 34 and the first few minutes of 35 is paying off a story that started maybe ten episodes earlier, and then the last three-quarters of 35 sets up a new story with a brand-new (but heavily-referenced) character. I don't know, it feels like going forward I'm just going to talk about these episode by episode? It feels like that's where the show is heading, pacing-wise. This time out, though, yeah, three big things to talk about. First, it's the resolution to all of the Shouichi/Ryou/Mana stuff that's been roiling for the last dozen episodes or so. It's very, very satisfying to see Shouichi and Ryou finally talk as Riders, to see them find common ground, to feel like they're finally in the same story together. (I mean, Hikawa's there, too, but boy does this story just have not a lot of time for him.) It feels like a huge change in the storytelling on this show, as more and more threads start to come together. Everyone's getting to know everyone else, folks are sharing information to fill in the larger picture, and there's this feeling of, like... fulfillment? Like all this anticipation is finally being paid off and rewarded. It's something I've been looking forward to, and while the interactions between Ryou and Shouichi are relatively low-key (they don't even really fight together yet, which is how Riders say hello to each other), it's still nice to see them in scenes together that don't need to contrive a weird escape for one of them. Also, hey, Agito finally gets a new form! Bulging, fiery, slightly creepy Super Imaginative Chogokin Agito. I don't... yeah, I don't love S.I.C. Agito. Gills does a good job of marrying Primal and Animalistic to a Rider suit-aesthetic, but S.I.C. Agito, it just... it feels very "eXtreme", you know? Like it was designed by a very aggressive preteen, anxious to show how powerful his O.C. is by making him Agito, but jacked up and grosser. I mean, sure, it communicates Angry Shouichi, so good job there, but I find it a little laughable in how crude it is. Not my favorite suit! I sort-of feel the same way about Another Agito, which, hey, he's here now! While I've never watched Masked Rider Agito before, I have watched Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, which means I did watch the Gorider specials, which means I've met Another Agito before. (Those Gorider specials are really terrific. I love the ending so much. It's just, like, great problem-solving to defeat the villain. That doesn't happen a lot in Kamen Rider finales! That feels problematic!) So, yeah, when a cool-as-hell surgeon rolls up and takes charge with his intense demeanor, it's like, Oh, Another Agito. As soon as we see him and the Mutant kid is all Hey Where's Kino, it's a very 2+2 situation to know he'll be showing up to henshin his way into saving the (weirdly way easier to beat up) Gills and the Mutant kid. Which leads into the next episode, which makes talking about these two at a time feel ineffective, which is why these things are going to be one at a time for a little bit, probably. Anyway, these two episodes! It was great to see the whole main cast interact in one story for a minute, to see them all pulling in the same direction. It sort-of stinks that the very next plot is a brand-new Mysterious Rider who's coming from outside the story. (Like, Another Agito completely takes over the back two-thirds of episode 35. It felt like a backdoor pilot for his spin-off.) Still, I like where the cast is at this point in the series (Another Agito excepted, at least until I see how he fits) and I like that there's a lot more emphasis on drawing things together and resolving long-running mysteries. These two episodes, across two different stories, really did a solid job transitioning into the final act.
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02-01-2020, 10:29 PM | #159 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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I'm guessing that the original beginning of episode 26, informing us that all of 26 and 27 were supposed to have taken place on the deck of the Akatsuki-gou, that scene got cut for time.
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02-01-2020, 10:30 PM | #160 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Wait, shoot, I totally forgot!
I hope you haven't started 36 yet, because Agito done this really weird thing where they aired a special in between 35 and 36; and it's actually not a throwaway clip show or anything -- it's actually important to the plot, they gain something super important and it's really just another episode of the show. Kamen Rider Agito Special: A New Transformation. Watch that first!
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