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01-18-2021, 08:20 PM | #671 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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I struggled a lot to pick a screencap for this one, largely because I was so spoiled for choice. You see, when everyone's favorite capricious wind blows into town, he tends to bring two people with him – one is Toshiki Inoue, and the other is Ryuuta Tasaki. And these episodes having the director they do should explain why the visual storytelling here is off the charts. I mean, just look at how Yaguruma's hand is literally blocking the source of light in the shot as he's telling Kageyama to embrace darkness. That's not even all that's great about it, either. Not only is this moment further punctuated by a sound effect as he moves his arm, but the very next shot is the shadow of his hand being cast across Kageyama's face. So much attention to detail for such a minor, kinda redundant scene with the Hoppers. What did I tell you guys? Clarity. It's still the name of the game here. Oh, and, while I'm on the subject of Yaguruma and Kageyama: for the record, they're also introduced here munching on some Brothers Ramen, so this episode is not to be missed if you want to know the origins of a meal so iconic, their original Figuarts seriously came with the bowls as accessories. But really, you also just shouldn't miss that great Tasaki direction again. So many wonderful touches as always. That hilarious gag Die mentioned with Gon questioning why they haven't called an ambulance for the unconscious woman on the ground? Made all the funnier by her audio being distant and even getting interrupted by Daisuke's internal monologuing about how beautiful Rena is, effortlessly stressing how much Daisuke is off in his own world, and reminding the audience that they aren't expected to take him too seriously. You know, in case you didn't already get that from his reaction upon noticing Rena collapsing in the first place. This episode has a real knack for communicating the story without extraneous dialogue, and the wordless moments following Daisuke wishing to meet the world's beautiful woman – the sudden noise of something hitting the ground offscreen, followed by Daisuke's gleeful smile when he sees what's going on – really sum it up perfectly. The same is true of the careful set dressing in both Hiyori and especially Rena's apartment, with the latter having details as impressively precise as a calendar still on July and August, around when the Worm we know as Rena made her debut on the show. (This episode aired in October, by the way.) It's like nearly every scene in the episode uses the visuals to supplement and/or reinforce what's going on, and the result is what's already a quite good script becoming so much richer in the execution. It's really no wonder this one got Die thinking so much. And yeah, it is a good script! I'm of course deeply biased because it's one that's spending a lot of time reminding the audience how much you should miss Hiyori, but I mean, it's got other plots about other characters I'm not inherently going to be all over, too! Like, uh... Tsurugi. ...And Dasiuke and Gon... Okay, so now that I think about it, maybe when it heavily features leans on literally all my favorite characters at once, it's far from a shocker I'd think the plot was good. Die can tell you about that better than I can, anyway. It's funny and it's dramatic and it's smart and it's, well, it's most of what he likes in an Inoue episode, minus a Houjou. They seriously might've made this one specifically for us, guys! The only thing I'd really have to add to the discussion of the writing is how much I enjoyed Tendou's stereotypical dad outburst at the thought of Juka having a crush. I tend to enjoy Tendou more when the show is leaning into how weird and unknowable he is, which is often at odds with how much Inoue seems to enjoy showing him to be less above it all than he seems, but the delivery of the gag here is so perfect it handily overcomes both that, and its own admittedly generic nature. What made it land especially well for me is the very end, when the misunderstanding is cleared up. Tendou calmly sits back down in his chair, resuming his normal relaxed posture and dignified tone of voice in a way so conspicuous and forced it only highlights how poor a job he just did trying to play it cool. It's kind of exactly the moment I was asking for in the last episodes, in a way. I'd never want to see Tendou getting this flustered around Kagami, for example, but having Juka completely destroy his high-and-mighty act without even meaning to fits those characters. And, hey, stereotypical or not, Tendou being very worried about a stranger hanging around his little sister is yet one more thing that ties right back into one of the central plot points. Just one more sign of how focused an episode this is, I suppose. If I had to complain about one thing, it's definitely the continued absence of Clock Up making the fight scenes feel so much more generic. Like, it is deeply ironic that the insert song called "Lord of the Speed" debuted mere episodes before everybody stopped going fast, and it's hard not to be bummed out by that. To turn that back around into praise though, the show is still making sure to give the Masked Forms a surprisingly reasonable amount of screentime, all things considered. They're not exactly the focus of fight scenes anymore, but I'm happy to see the Riders throwing even a punch or two with them this late in the game. Plus, with Gatack still doing his weird wrestling moves, it's not like all the identity is gone from this show's action. It's funny to think how much his first few episodes tired to make his thing rapidly slicing monsters up when Kagami barely remembers he even has those swords now. Awesome episode, all around. You can probably tell how scattered my thoughts are this time, but seriously, it's only because I could talk about basically any random element and have something nice to say. Oh, and on that note, I do like Dark Kabuto's suit, by the way. That was legitimately one of the first Kamen Rider designs I ever saw, actually. Like, before Kabuto himself, even. It left a pretty good first impression, especially when I'm such a sucker for evil repaints of heroes.
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01-18-2021, 09:00 PM | #672 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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If I had to complain about one thing, it's definitely the continued absence of Clock Up making the fight scenes feel so much more generic. Like, it is deeply ironic that the insert song called "Lord of the Speed" debuted mere episodes before everybody stopped going fast, and it's hard not to be bummed out by that. To turn that back around into praise though, the show is still making sure to give the Masked Forms a surprisingly reasonable amount of screentime, all things considered. They're not exactly the focus of fight scenes anymore, but I'm happy to see the Riders throwing even a punch or two with them this late in the game. Plus, with Gatack still doing his weird wrestling moves, it's not like all the identity is gone from this show's action. It's funny to think how much his first few episodes tired to make his thing rapidly slicing monsters up when Kagami barely remembers he even has those swords now.
But, yeah, Clock Up doesn't seem like a thing anymore! That's a bummer. I'd love to hear why they stopped using it, even though I'd assume the answer was just Too Expensive. Like, maybe cut some of your extraneous cast, rather than the series-defining special effect? (Although, shit, this show doesn't seem to have a dime to pay for Goro or Kagami Outrageous lately...)
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01-18-2021, 09:48 PM | #673 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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But, yeah, Clock Up doesn't seem like a thing anymore! That's a bummer. I'd love to hear why they stopped using it, even though I'd assume the answer was just Too Expensive. Like, maybe cut some of your extraneous cast, rather than the series-defining special effect?
Admittedly, I think part of the issue is that the show wants to avoid how busted Hyper Clock Up is, hence the Perfect Zecter's awkward introduction where Tendou takes a dare that's apparently still standing to not win fights that way, but nothing about this feels like an ideal solution. I can see plenty of reasons things ended up this way, but it's still sad all the same.
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01-18-2021, 11:12 PM | #674 |
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Sneak preview for Episode 40's post:
INOUE FOREVER
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01-19-2021, 12:20 AM | #675 |
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 40
Inoue Forever. It's stupid, how well he's able to distill the themes of this show into both a rollcking adventure replete with magical kitchen tools and flavor as a declaration of self; and a harrowing journey of one woman's final days, the terminal velocity of a dream. How does he do it?! Because, god, yeah, it's just like that Dark Chef two-parter: literally everything Kabuto's about, it's in here. But it's also everything Inoue ever wants to talk about, because he's honestly just that good? Like, right away we get Daisuke assuring Reina that she's not a Worm, or a Worm who thinks she's Reina. She's just.. her. Reina is Reina. It's an obsession with Inoue, the ways people measure themselves against others, chafe under expectations, fret about how others see them, worry about the parts of themselves they don't understand. He literally did an entire series about a Rider learning to stop judging himself. (Two, if you want to say that was a theme of Agito, which I wouldn't fight you on.) His answer to those stresses is always the same, and it's self-acceptance. Don't worry about how the world sees you. Don't think of yourself as too much something or not enough something else. You're you, and that doesn't need to be qualified. It's... this episode is so minor. The threats are largely psychological, not physical. It's monopolized by this sweet relationship between Daisuke and Reina, how he doesn't even give a shit if she's actually a Worm. The only person in jeopardy is the memory of Reina. But it feels massive. It feels like a series finale. And it's only really about how we learn to live with ourselves, which is maybe the most important lesson there is to learn. So many things in this story that could feel vestigial, or a distraction, are just different parts of the same journey. All of the stuff with Tendou missing Hiyori, it's echoed in Daisuke's scenes with Reina. Daisuke even says lines from some of Hiyori's most famous scenes, telling Reina that she can do it, that he's by her side. It's two stories that are about how it doesn't matter what someone is, the negative parts, the things they hate about themselves. If you really care about them, you'll find some way to support them, work to help them care about themselves. Hiyori being a Native, Reina being a Worm... none of that really matters. What matters is how you feel about them. And that's really all this episode is trying to do, which I love. There's almost no plot to speak of. A bunch of little incidents create some dynamic action scenes, but the only objective is to let Reina have a moment of self-expression before Worm Widow snuffs her out for good, and then the reveal that Worm Widow can't even really get rid of Reina. That idea, that we can never really close off those parts of ourselves, it even comes through in the slightly-wacky Yaguruma plot, taking the place of last episode's tonally incongruent but thematically relevant Tsurugi plot. Here, it's Yaguruma seeing some sadness in Reina, something he thinks of as Who He Is, but he quickly finds himself reverting to TheBee-style Yaguruma heroism in the need to defend her. It's goofy, with him totally forgetting that he's Sponsored By Whoever Makes Leather Pants now and not some corporate do-gooder; and it's poetic, because the arc of it is just the all-time repeating story of Yaguruma Is Full Of Shit And Kageyama Starts To Despise Him, but now in leather pants; but it still lands because it's looped into this theme of not being able to ignore who we are, with Yaguruma still craving the love and self-respect he'd claimed to despise. Much like Reina's never gone for good, Yaguruma is still the egotistical hero somewhere underneath all of that S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders cosplay. But Reina is gone for good, at the end. She gets her chance to sing on stage, partially. Worm Widow takes over in the middle, but keeps singing anyway. She can't even really explain why, but Daisuke already knows. It's Reina, still in there, always. But she doesn't deserve to be buried alive, and even Worm Widow knows that. She fights Daisuke, hoping to end the pressure to recognize Reina's memory. She loses, because she probably didn't want to win anymore. She's trapped with two half-lives, and she can't put them together in a way that makes sense to her. She's pushed away a part of her she needs to survive, and the loss of it is too much. She finds some acceptance, though, at the very end. Reina's feelings for Daisuke, giving her some solace for her final moments, become a window into an existence that surprises her. And then that window closes. It's a tragedy, something Inoue excels at. He writes some beautifully flawed characters. Monsters who want to be heroes. Heroes who want to be monsters. People fighting for their voices to be heard. Ending an episode with a hero fighting a monster so a person's voice could be heard by the monster, because every hero and monster are just parts inside people who want their voices to be heard... INOUE FOREVER. A QUESTION The Tsurugi stuff in this episode, that's something I have a hard time finding room for, thematically. It's funny, though, with him fully onboard with his two favorite people dating. I don't mind it myself, Kagami and Misaki. I think they've got some pretty solid chemistry. What about you? Do you think Kagami and Misaki would make a good couple?
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01-19-2021, 12:22 AM | #676 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Also, this stupidly beautiful and sad episode had THE BEST GODDAMN SCREENCAP, and I couldn't add it to that post because it would've felt wrong, but I'll be damned if it goes unheralded:
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01-19-2021, 12:42 AM | #677 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Also also, while Fish and I seem to have settled into an Inoue-episode routine of me flipping out over the writing and Fish flipping out over the direction, please know that I honest-to-god could've gone with another Look At Every Beautiful Shot post and completely ignored the writing. This episode is that goddamn good. I didn't, both because I already did one of those this series, and also because I know Fish will flip out over the direction and I'd hate to deprive you all of that. All I do is give!
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01-19-2021, 02:21 AM | #678 |
I have a problematic type
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If there's one thing Inoue loves almost as much as sociopathic antiheroes, it's an artist whose gift is tragically taken from them. This is a rarer case of the soul being lost, as opposed to a crippling injury, but you can really feel Inoue pouring everything into this episode's pathos. And it works, it totally works. Reina feels so much more fleshed out here then she has in all the episodes leading up to this, but at the same time I think that having her as a long-term threat made the story a lot more powerful then it would have been with just a MotW. It's a really strong story and it lands as a powerful farewell to Reina (and maybe Daisuke - I honestly don't remember if he shows up again after this).
I'm not sure I would have noticed it if I hadn't been rewatching these shows alongside you, but the fight between Daisuke and Reina pulls a lot of the same tricks that Faiz did in the fight between Takumi and Kaido's teacher. I should probably feel like it's derivative (lord knows that the third time he used this trick, in Movie War Core with the ballerina, did), but damn if it still doesn't work. Great episode. Fish will almost certainly be pleased to see that it has both Hiyori AND Clock Up in it. |
01-19-2021, 04:12 AM | #679 |
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You’ve basically said a lot of what I would’ve said.
So once more, I’ll discuss changes from the show in the video game, since this is another episode they changed up for the players. Tendou defeats Worm Widow instead of Daisuke. And I’ll also mention that the game also gives every rider beyond the main three of Kabuto, Gatack and Drake their own bikes. All are simply repaints of Drake’s bike except for Dark Kabuto’s, which is a repaint of the obvious choice. |
01-19-2021, 08:17 AM | #680 |
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Oh and I forgot to talk about this, in ep. 39, there's a scene about Tendou losing his shit over Juka potentially gaining love. That's what I meant for Tendou being overprotective, like for Hiyori in early part of the series when Daisuke hits on her. Daisuke may be someone who deserved to get that treatment from Tendou, but Tendou's just overprotective on her, because this is his response regarding Juka (and she only got a call, not even knowing how's her "boyfriend" if it's the case).
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 40
Like, right away we get Daisuke assuring Reina that she’s not a Worm, or a Worm who thinks she’s Reina. She’s just.. her. Reina is Reina. It’s an obsession with Inoue, the ways people measure themselves against others, chafe under expectations, fret about how others see them, worry about the parts of themselves they don’t understand. He literally did an entire series about a Rider learning to stop judging himself. (Two, if you want to say that was a theme of Agito, which I wouldn’t fight you on.) His answer to those stresses is always the same, and it’s self-acceptance. Don’t worry about how the world sees you. Don’t think of yourself as too much something or not enough something else. You’re you, and that doesn’t need to be qualified. It’s… this episode is so minor. The threats are largely psychological, not physical. It’s monopolized by this sweet relationship between Daisuke and Reina, how he doesn’t even give a shit if she’s actually a Worm. The only person in jeopardy is the memory of Reina. But it feels massive. It feels like a series finale. And it’s only really about how we learn to live with ourselves, which is maybe the most important lesson there is to learn. Quote:
So many things in this story that could feel vestigial, or a distraction, are just different parts of the same journey. All of the stuff with Tendou missing Hiyori, it’s echoed in Daisuke’s scenes with Reina. Daisuke even says lines from some of Hiyori’s most famous scenes, telling Reina that she can do it, that he’s by her side. It’s two stories that are about how it doesn’t matter what someone is, the negative parts, the things they hate about themselves. If you really care about them, you’ll find some way to support them, work to help them care about themselves. Hiyori being a Native, Reina being a Worm… none of that really matters. What matters is how you feel about them.
And that’s really all this episode is trying to do, which I love. There’s almost no plot to speak of. A bunch of little incidents create some dynamic action scenes, but the only objective is to let Reina have a moment of self-expression before Worm Widow snuffs her out for good, and then the reveal that Worm Widow can’t even really get rid of Reina. Quote:
That idea, that we can never really close off those parts of ourselves, it even comes through in the slightly-wacky Yaguruma plot, taking the place of last episode’s tonally incongruent but thematically relevant Tsurugi plot. Here, it’s Yaguruma seeing some sadness in Reina, something he thinks of as Who He Is, but he quickly finds himself reverting to TheBee-style Yaguruma heroism in the need to defend her. It’s goofy, with him totally forgetting that he’s Sponsored By Whoever Makes Leather Pants now and not some corporate do-gooder; and it’s poetic, because the arc of it is just the all-time repeating story of Yaguruma Is Full Of Shit And Kageyama Starts To Despise Him, but now in leather pants; but it still lands because it’s looped into this theme of not being able to ignore who we are, with Yaguruma still craving the love and self-respect he’d claimed to despise. Much like Reina’s never gone for good, Yaguruma is still the egotistical hero somewhere underneath all of that S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders cosplay.
Quote:
But Reina is gone for good, at the end. She gets her chance to sing on stage, partially. Worm Widow takes over in the middle, but keeps singing anyway. She can’t even really explain why, but Daisuke already knows. It’s Reina, still in there, always. But she doesn’t deserve to be buried alive, and even Worm Widow knows that. She fights Daisuke, hoping to end the pressure to recognize Reina’s memory. She loses, because she probably didn’t want to win anymore. She’s trapped with two half-lives, and she can’t put them together in a way that makes sense to her. She’s pushed away a part of her she needs to survive, and the loss of it is too much. She finds some acceptance, though, at the very end. Reina's feelings for Daisuke, giving her some solace for her final moments, become a window into an existence that surprises her. And then that window closes.
Quote:
It’s a tragedy, something Inoue excels at. He writes some beautifully flawed characters. Monsters who want to be heroes. Heroes who want to be monsters. People fighting for their voices to be heard. Ending an episode with a hero fighting a monster so a person’s voice could be heard by the monster, because every hero and monster are just parts inside people who want their voices to be heard...
It's not merely looking at the value beneath them, but rationalizing and justifying those acts as right, downplays or cuts off anything bad regarding it, asking to exclusively look at the valuable part of those people, relying on sympathetic POV centered about them (as they're major characters) a,nd give them free pass solely due to that side. It's disastrous to only exclusively look at the good side, and be ignorant to the bad side. What I implement for seeing values behind those people (and there are other Rider series too which teaches that someone's selfishness isn't exactly bad, but a product of the environment they were brought up in, and sometimes you need that desire to survive) is that, it influence what kind of treatment (including things like punishment, advice, etc.) we should give to them, that excessive punishhment is wrong, you can't inflict that to anyone, like resorting to murder for anything. But those that actually did bad thing should be corrected and guided, not being overlooked or given free pass because "he had valid reasons for doing it so he's nothing bad". Also, as I want fair treatment to anything, no double standards (for audience too to let them realize here), what I want to see is flawed character writing which is not about morally ambiguous ones, but being fully good with ordinary flaws and hindrances. Quote:
A QUESTION
The Tsurugi stuff in this episode, that’s something I have a hard time finding room for, thematically. It’s funny, though, with him fully onboard with his two favorite people dating. I don’t mind it myself, Kagami and Misaki. I think they’ve got some pretty solid chemistry. What about you? Do you think Kagami and Misaki would make a good couple? Yeah, this shot also amazes me, leaving me with jawdrop, with the kid actually saving Daisuke from superpowered fighters in the Riders.
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