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01-21-2021, 10:38 AM | #701 |
Standing By
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 41
My favorite exchange in the episode is a really quick Tendou/Kagami one, and I think it gets to the heart of how those two see the world differently. Tendou sees the world as a series of manipulations that can be turned to his advantage. Everyone wants something, which he can leverage to get what he wants. People keeping secrets isn’t breaking the rules, it’s how the game is played. Finding out that Kagami has been manipulated gets him saying Yes And, not reacting with commiseration or anger. (It helps that Tendou was also hiding some of this from Kagami!) Now that Kagami knows the truth, Tendou thinks he should accept it and find a way to use it to his advantage. The mission is still the mission. For Kagami, why you do something means as much as what you do. Success isn’t just about achieving, it’s about finding a reason to achieve. To learn that everything he’s done, every choice he’s made, has been orchestrated by ZECT to get him to this point… it’s like nothing he’s done has mattered. He’s achieved nothing. Worse, the people he looked up to, respected, they’re the ones who took it all away from him. He’s got all this power, but any use of it feels fraudulent. The Rider who was defined by his Very Big Feelings, now he only feels betrayed. It’s a fun idea, seeing how a dispirited and disillusioned Kagami processes his betrayal, but a lot of the execution is him sort of acting like a baby? I’m not saying he’s wrong to feel upset at someone like Tadokoro, or especially at Outrageous, but what’s presented is him basically throwing tantrums, and it wears a little thin. It’s like, I was on Kagami’s side! And then by his final scene, I said out loud, “Quit being such a baby.” I don’t usually talk to these episodes! But that performance really brought it out of me! Tendo is more complex than Kagami but he also has better understanding of the world around him, how it affects him and how he affects it, so he doesn't see any need to worry about things outside of his control. For him, being the chosen one is an honor he earned through his own strength and he has faith in the path of heaven to guide him towards the outcome he believes is right, regardless of how frequently that plays someone else's tune (hmm, tune, red shoes, could be some symbolism here). Quote:
Quote:
A QUESTION
Tadokoro’s big reveal here was both surprising, and something I sort of didn’t care about. I have some vague questions I’m not sure if the show plans on answering (Is Tadokoro’s entire family Natives? Did he kill the real Tadokoro at some point and take his place?), but it didn’t really make me reconsider Tadokoro as a character or anything. It did make me wonder if I’d missed a ton of clues along the way, so I’m curious if y’all were as surprised as I was when you watched this episode. When did you figure out Tadokoro was a Native? Quote:
Sometimes it's really bittersweet, where you feel like your time with a show is running out. (Faiz and Ryuki? I think those were ones where it was tough to leave those casts behind.) Sometimes it's a thing I'm just sort of ready to be done talking about it. Not because I don't like it, but because I feel emptied out by the process. (Kuuga and Hibiki, those are two where I remember feeling like Hi I Don't Want To Talk About This Show For A While.)
Just like humans, Natives aren't inherently good or evil. They're people with individual life and motives. So Hiyori's parents were just bad people, especially since they not only orphaned Tendo but abandoned him as well. Those that started ZECT aren't exactly good either since they brought humanity in to the crossfire between them and the later Worms to force an enemy of my enemy situation. The later Worms are more generally evil, with exceptions being those like Tsurugi and Rena due to the strong personalities of the people they mimicked.
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01-21-2021, 01:23 PM | #702 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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The first part of that, it's Tendou as a tactician, trying to turn an opponent's strategy against them. The second part... some of it is Tendou not having a ton of patience for Kagami's Very Big Feelings (those two are closer than ever, but Tendou's got limits), but some of it is Tendou's absolute focus on goals. It's, again, it's the difference in how Tendou and Kagami see what they're doing. For Tendou, the ends justify the means, so the means are hardly worth analyzing. For Kagami, and impure act leads to an impure result. Not really, but I appreciate your enthusiasm! (I could've seen the shot wrong, but I thought Worm Widower kicked Hyper Kabuto so hard that he reverted to regular Kabuto?) He's an interesting new villain, and he's got that Late-Stage OP AF energy, but without having a better idea of what he's about, and specifically not feeling like I understand the Worms' goals/strategies... I don't really have a lot of mental bandwidth I want to devote to him? Maybe next time! Oh, I really liked that Hibiki stuff, don't get me wrong! (Not so much the plot specifics, but I like that second half of the show a bunch.) I was trying to say that I was so mentally drained by the end of it, putting maybe too much thought and emotion into it, that I was exhausted by the end.
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01-21-2021, 01:37 PM | #703 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,422
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Yeah, did not love this episode. Both the exposition and emotional elements felt really clunky and awkward. I'm not sure how much of it is the translation and how much is the original dialogue, but there are definitely some pieces that feel like the show thought it was explaining things better than it actually was. I'd also probably be more invested in Kagami's blow up with his dad if they'd had more than two scenes together before now (and if Kagami's dad hadn't been basically wearing a T-shirt that said "I'm the bad guy" all season).
With that said, I think I'm picking up on an issue that Kabuto's been running into for awhile now, especially with Yonemura's episodes (and this is benefiting from having already watched 42). The show seems to be prioritizing follow-through over set-up. This is at least the third or fourth time now where the first part of a story has some issues that don't work really well but are needed in order for the second part to turn out really strong. Yonemura kind of feels like a pilot who's got real bad issues with taking off smoothly but can practically land on a dime (the haunted school arc being a rare inversion). As for the Tadokoro reveal, I definitely didn't see that one coming. It does create some real plot holes with the Black Knife arc, but I feel like that's one storyline where I don't mind if it doesn't completely gel with the rest of the show because it is so goddamn bonkers. |
01-21-2021, 01:54 PM | #704 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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That aside, I really did like the scene with Kagami and his dad? The one constant through the series has been that Outrageous legitimately cares about his son. For all of the bizarre dances and biblical sacrifices, Outrageous always came across as someone who wanted a better life for his son than he was able to provide for him. Confessing that Kagami is a pawn in a cosmic struggle... it really seems like that hurt him? I think that part worked okay. Quote:
The show seems to be prioritizing follow-through over set-up. This is at least the third or fourth time now where the first part of a story has some issues that don't work really well but are needed in order for the second part to turn out really strong. Yonemura kind of feels like a pilot who's got real bad issues with taking off smoothly but can practically land on a dime (the haunted school arc being a rare inversion).
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01-21-2021, 06:27 PM | #705 |
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I don't remember feeling any kind of way about most of Kabuto's endgame (and usually I like the endgame!), so most of my feelings about it now can be summed up by me pointing at the thread and saying Yes, Yes, That, That. But! There is one thing about this episode that I both remembered vividly and that I will continue to love forever: Tsurugi looking at the bowl of natto, and saying - with a completely straight face - "Hang on, this is rotten."
...this encapsulates my feelings about natto perfectly. It's supposed to demonstrate how weird he is and how he's sooooo disconnected from Normal People, but he is not wrong, natto is The Worst, burn it, burn all of it, Tsurugi, you sweet summer child, you may be a hot mess most of the time but you are 100% correct in your reaction to this terrible terrible food. |
01-21-2021, 07:05 PM | #706 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Quote:
I don't remember feeling any kind of way about most of Kabuto's endgame (and usually I like the endgame!), so most of my feelings about it now can be summed up by me pointing at the thread and saying Yes, Yes, That, That. But! There is one thing about this episode that I both remembered vividly and that I will continue to love forever: Tsurugi looking at the bowl of natto, and saying - with a completely straight face - "Hang on, this is rotten."
...this encapsulates my feelings about natto perfectly. It's supposed to demonstrate how weird he is and how he's sooooo disconnected from Normal People, but he is not wrong, natto is The Worst, burn it, burn all of it, Tsurugi, you sweet summer child, you may be a hot mess most of the time but you are 100% correct in your reaction to this terrible terrible food.
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01-21-2021, 07:09 PM | #707 |
I have a problematic type
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The point where Tsurugi sees cubes of tofu ("T-- tufu?") and is like Oh This Is Something You Pour Sugar On was... I honestly can't tell if it's too far with that guy. He's on a level that is so far past cartoonish that it's hard to calibrate him against normal storytelling decisions. Like, he could say in the next episode that he'd never heard of milk and I'd be like Oh Jiiya You Coddled This Boy.
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01-21-2021, 07:28 PM | #708 |
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Here’s the question that just occurred to me: how much of this is actually Tsurugi and how much is the Worm that copied him? It’s entirely possible that the real Tsurugi knew what different types of food are, but it was so far below the surface thoughts and knowledge that it didn’t copy over.
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01-21-2021, 08:34 PM | #709 |
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Not a bad episode of Kabuto, but another one I've maybe got some negative memories tied up in? Mind you, at this point, I only have a slightly better clue what's going to happen next in this show than Die does. My recollection of Kabuto's final stretch is basically nothing but that anecdote about the fence from 37 over and over again. A ton of vague feelings assigned to the faintest remaining images of plot points and scenes. For Kabuto's final act, two of the things I remember are being kinda fed up with Kagami, and a whole lot of Native Nonsense, which I cared for about as little. I have no idea if either of those things will even apply past this one episode. It would not be the first time my memory of Kabuto has failed me. Like, you think I'd probably remember Tadokoro turning out to be a Native, right? Which characters are and are not space aliens seems like information you'd retain, but hey, the guy could've fooled me twice, and did! Tadokoro had all these lines in the first half of the show stressing his absolute loyalty to ZECT, and making it clear that, despite Die's infinitely more amusing read of him as a perpetually frustrated salaryman type just trying to make ends meet, he had a lot more knowledge of the organization than he let on, and a much bigger stake in it as well. Clearly something personal to him. It never once occurred to me during this rewatch this was the reveal they go with. I half expected it turn out he's got some kind of mob debt scenario going on with ZECT to keep his family restaurant open or whatever. It could've been anything, is the point. We get a new Worm villain here too, and I mean, he's just some random guy to me. I know that monster suit okay – super tough purple guy from the end of the show – but that's the extent of it. So this whole episode is essentially one big mystery to me, and I can't speak too much to where this is all heading. My overall opinion on it is basically where Die's is at, in that it feels needed, but not exactly fun, taken on its own. Kagami's Big Feelings get ~maybe~ a little too big (although more on that later), the Worm/Native thing is a bit too nebulous to be invested in right now, and Tsurugi is the best part, which is one thing my memories have not been wrong about. There's honestly not a whole lot I even have to say about the script. (I did find it hilarious that Kabuto is only allowed to finally use Hyper Clock Up again now that he's up against a foe who makes it completely useless though.) But, hey, who needs to talk about the writing when this is an episode directed by Ishida? This is by no means his prettiest work, but I'll make the argument that it's still pretty great in its own way. There are glimpses of the sort of exaggerated, bold style he likes so much here, but all around, this episode varies between dispassionate and outright messy. Crucially, I think this is done to match the mood and tone of the scenes, and that's the sort of thing I like about Ishida. He is extremely aggressive about it in this case though, and I could see it turning some people off, because it admittedly isn't the greatest to look at in places. But it's like, on the other hand, you are right there in that mess with the characters, and I think it helps a lot to convey Kagami's deteriorating state of mind in particular. You see, if you look at the Tsurugi subplot, it's all fairly normal and even quite gorgeous in places, and that's how I know the way the other side of the story was shot wasn't an accident. It's all in these simple little tricks throughout. When Kagami and his dad are having a conversation, the camera angles start at a distance and just keep gradually getting closer and closer and closer to the two of them, building the intimacy up to the point it's right in their faces as their chat becomes more and more emotional, culminating in Kagami bursting out of the room fighting back tears, unable to accept his father's attempts to reassure him. Right after that, he's discussing all the secret history he's now privy to with Tendou and Misaki, and the camera is no longer stable and measured, but actively uneasy, constantly wavering in even the simplest shot. It's all of the stress Kagami is feeling embodied visually. The world itself just won't seem to stand still anymore. Kagami feels isolated at this point, getting no real sympathy from anyone, and that's reflected when Tadokoro joins the group for their next scene, where Kagami is always kept apart from everyone in some way. Either he's not showing his face when everybody else is, or they're not in focus at the same time, or they just plain aren't in the same frame as each other. Individually, none of these touches would be particularly impressive, but it adds up to something a lot smarter, and thinking about the direction makes me get more on board with Kagami's usual intense emotional state towards the end than I thought I would be at first. When you think about how shaken he is by everything that's happened, and how he was very clearly staking his absolute last bit of faith on good ol' trustworthy Tadokoro, only to immediately have it betrayed again, it's honestly sort of understandable he kinda loses it? Like, I thought before I was writing this that I agreed with Die that Kagami's temper tantrums wear thin, but everything about the direction of the episode is telling me this is well beyond just a regular bad day for Kagami, and now it's sort of stopped bothering me? I think this is another post that turned out pretty messy (matches the episode, I guess!), but at least I was able to give a sort of real-time demonstration of one of the biggest joys of doing these things – when taking the extra time to digest what you just watched leaves you seeing a bunch of new things in it you never would have thought about otherwise. Still far from a favorite episode of the show for me, but I think I can appreciate what it's going for way better now.
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01-21-2021, 09:08 PM | #710 |
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 42
Pretty much an across the board failure for me. Big picture plot didn't make much sense, the details didn't make much sense, and the emotional work was repetitive and largely unearned. Not as frustrating as some other bad episodes (I wasn't mad at the end of this one), but I thought this episode was just a complete miss. The big picture flaw for me was, what is even going on with the whole hostage plot? Goro's like We Don't Negotiate With Terrorists. Kagami's furious that his dad is going to trade the remaining Anti-Mimic missile for the captured Natives, including Tadokoro. Tendou specifically tells Kagami that he thinks Outrageous picked Kagami as negotiator because he wouldn't hand over the missile. Goro's ready to obliterate the handoff site, including numerous ZECT agents, to keep Worm Widower from getting that missile. WHY?! Why is everyone acting like this remaining missile is worth a dozen hostages? Why is Kagami so furious about handing it over? Who cares if Worm Widower has it? They've already made three missiles. ZECT specifically said they could make more with more funding. Why can't they replace it? If they can't replace it, what good is it even going to do in a war against the Worms? It can uncover at most a few dozen Worms. That doesn't seem that long-term useful? And if they can't make more, why does Kagami destroy it to save three people? It's not even a weapon that does Worm Widower any good! It's only useful for discovering Worms! And depriving ZECT of it barely saves a dozen Worms, all of which end up getting killed in this episode trying to obtain the missile. I do not even slightly understand how the missile is both so valuable that it's not worth handing over, and so worthless that Kagami can use it up. The stakes of this entire plot make absolutely no sense. The emotional stuff, the whole reason most of this plot was happening, that almost entirely didn't work for me. I am a sucker for stories about makeshift father-son relationships, so you gotta shank it pretty bad for me to find fault in the Tadokoro/Kagami plotline. But this episode managed it! I could understand some of Kagami's anger at Tadokoro last episode, but what's in this one just seems incredibly petty and vindictive. Tadokoro was revealed to be a Native, and Kagami is now like I Hate Him Forever. Why? For lying to him? Well, he is being held hostage by the Worms, so I'd hope you could muster a little bit of forgiveness for a man you've admired for years. Is he this repulsed by Tadokoro because he's a Native? If so, why? Hiyori's a Native, and that didn't seem so horrifying to Kagami. I just... this whole episode needs to be about Kagami reconciling with Tadokoro, and I don't at all understand what the problem even is. I don't understand why Kagami has to be convinced to go save him. That is monstrous, and it makes zero sense to me. (Jesus, maybe I am mad at this episode!) The rest of Kagami's story is filled with unearned emotional payoffs (I barely understand what the hell Kagami is feeling or doing in this episode, so his heartwarming reunion with Outrageous was just one more Fine Why Not moment in an episode full of them) and repetitive lessons (Misaki has to remind Kagami that they work better as a team), and I didn't like any of it. The writing for this episode... it's atrocious? The plot is nonsensical when it's not disappointing, and literally none of the main character's actions ring true at all. It's bad! It's real bad! Tendou largely emerges unscathed from this one, mostly working to remind Tsurugi and Kagami to stop having judgment about others and accept them for who they are. It's fine, him grumpily dispensing morals and trying not to get dragged into their childish displays. He's barely utilized in this one, ceding most of the ground to Kagami's dilemma, so his few scenes are just supportive. He doesn't get the horrible treatment this story gives Kagami, at least! That just leaves the KickPunchSwordHopper story, which was a bit of a letdown. It goes a little too broad in its comedy, so much so that umbrellas appear out of nowhere and cartoon sound effects play when people fall from great heights. Even for a story with Tsurugi, Yaguruma, and Kageyama, it is a tad unsubtle. (Quick thing I noticed: Kageyama's shirt is red, which I feel like is a Kamen Rider #2 reference? With him as Yaguruma's sidekick/partner?) It's funny enough, with Yaguruma trying to battle Tendou, only for Tendou to completely forget. Tsurugi in a black tuxedo, because he's BAD, is a cute touch. I'd hoped for something with some more clever moves on it, but it's fully a comedy subplot. Yeah, besides some disappointing-but-not-bad KickPunchSwordHopper stuff, I thought this one was a rather astonishing failure. Just a dumb idea, executed poorly. Not really much in this one anybody should feel proud of! A QUESTION Worm Widower gets blown up by Kabuto, looking for all the world like he was as tired of this episode as I was and just wanted to be done with it. Like, I guess he forgot he could stop time and dodge Kabuto's finisher? And then he's in the ending, I guess? What the hell is even happening in that final scene?
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