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03-21-2024, 05:41 PM | #451 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Not really? It was a pretty thorough summation of the events of the episode. Thanks!
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03-21-2024, 10:06 PM | #452 |
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KAMEN RIDER W FOREVER: A TO Z WITH 26 EXPLOSIVE SKETCHES
These were a blast. I never watched these the first time around with W, since I didn’t have any context for what they even were back when I was new at this, and I can’t believe I’ve robbed myself of so much enjoyment for so long. My biggest complaint about recent Rider shows is that they stopped doing fun, fourth wall-breaking stuff like Net-Movies. There’s a lot of warmth to be found in these comedic peeks behind the curtain, even if they’re all just promotional content for a summer film. Let’s see how W approached the brief tradition! Pairing Akiko with Shroud helps to create my favorite version of Shroud, where her low-level cruelty and abusive approach to instruction finds an indefatigable opponent/pupil. Shroud constantly posing trick questions, just to berate her student, is so perfect that I can’t rightly call these shorts non-canonical. This is the most pure realization of Shroud’s weirdness that I’ve ever seen. My least favorite of these shorts. The UFO one is cute (I assume the UFO Dopant returned to Earth in 15 years to help Gotchard defeat the Hades Sisters) but the rest of them are okay, nothing special. It’s all a little too much Wacky Costumes, and it misses some of the digressive humor that makes the other shorts sparkle. My favorite of these shorts, and maybe my favorite W thing, full stop. This whole thing is Peak Kirihiko – long-suffering Wife Guy who doesn’t see how pathetic he is. Seeing him get progressively more destroyed by his in-laws, his son, his wife’s new suitors, and eventually his wife – all while retaining the classy dedication to his family and city that has made him so beloved/pitied – is the absolute best use of a deceased character. This was the Kamen Rider Nazca content I wanted, and it is glorious. These were cute, for an “Isaka pervs all over a variety of Dopant suits” value of “cute”. The actor completely commits to being a lecherous creep for Dopants, and the sketches have a decent amount of fun with such a restrictive premise. Not the most memorable of the bunch, but always good for a laugh. I love stuff like this. My favorite of the Fourze Net-Movies is the one where the kids do a Showa game show, and this is a quicker version of that. (This is a bit more indebted to the previous year’s Decade game show, where everyone jokingly-but-not-really yelled at Masahiro Inoue for sleeping too much on set.) Shotaro has legit drawing chops, while Akiko and Philip find clever ways to work within their skillset. Terui, meanwhile, is completely hopeless. The best note was Watcherman pointing out that even when Terui’s drawing wasn’t bad, it was somehow still hilarious. I love seeing the actors be 35% in-character, while slightly embarrassing themselves. It’s such a nice way to feel around the end of a series, you know?
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03-21-2024, 10:22 PM | #453 |
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My favorites are definitely the ones where the cast plays Pictionary together. I'm just a sucker for those shorts. Just like my favorite bonus material for Wizard was the short where the cast all LARPed together.
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03-21-2024, 10:32 PM | #454 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
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So in general. These were alright? The last Net Movies I mostly remember are the Decade Net Movies and the Zi-O Supplementary Material shorts. And these... don't really hit as high as these do? They've got some highlights sure but these were fairly average tbh.
So let's discuss these in order from least liked to best liked imo. 5. Professor Jinno and Assistant Makura's Gaia Memory Research: Absolutely my least favorite of the bunch. The two actors feel very drone-ish and stiff in how they act in this. While the idea of looking at odder Gaia Memories is a neat concept, this doesn't really do much for me. 4. Kirihiko's Room - The Talk Revenge: Not really a fan of this one? Though it's not as bad I remembered for sure. I feel like they make Kirihiko a bit too petty and insensitive in regards to certain stuff. Plus the running gag of people just constantly attacking him in various ways? Not fun the further that went tbh. I appreciate them bringing the actor back, but they could've used him better even if there are some highlights. The best part is the Futo-Kun Segment since that's mostly wholesome up until the end where we have to fill the "Kirihiko suffering" quota which made me roll my eyes. 3. Dopant Medical Practitioner - Shinkuro Isaka: I surprisingly enjoyed this one since Isaka got to ham it up a bit more than usual. It's mostly standard stuff carried by his actor and the gags but even then it's only so much of a step up from the prior two. Though this one mostly takes the spot up this high for actively like... calling on a criticism I mentioned forever go? Like we finally get an actual in-depth explanation for how the Dummy Memory and Dummy Dopant function. I can retract my remark about how he knew about Sokichi and Skull now! Honestly the most enlightening bit in the entire Net Movies and the fact that we ended on that is incredible. 2. When I, Shroud Opened a Kamen Rider Academy... Student Akiko: We started off real strong in how these were ordered since this was the first of the set. There's not much to say but there's a delightful insanity to how Shroud works here and it's fun to see her and Akiko bounce off each other. I completely forgot about this one when remembering these so this was fun to rewitness. The trick questions and Akiko eventually turning the tables on Shroud were honestly great. 1. Artistic Taste Battle in the Narumi Detective Office: It's just the actors screwing around, drawing, and having some fun Dopant guest appearances alongside bringing back up past foods from the W TV Show. And I honestly loved every second of it. Real fun and I loved seeing everyone's artistic talent at work, even if some weren't as good as others (they were still hilarious thhough). Also it was a fun twist on how the last of those was basically a punishment to the ones who won given the food they received as a reward. Though the funniest one was everyone receiving popcorn from the Gene Dopant while Terui (the loser) received caltrops/spikes as his reward. Fun callback to that bit in the Gene Arc! |
03-21-2024, 10:55 PM | #455 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Quote:
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It's just the actors screwing around, drawing, and having some fun Dopant guest appearances alongside bringing back up past foods from the W TV Show. And I honestly loved every second of it. Real fun and I loved seeing everyone's artistic talent at work, even if some weren't as good as others (they were still hilarious thhough).
Also it was a fun twist on how the last of those was basically a punishment to the ones who won given the food they received as a reward. Though the funniest one was everyone receiving popcorn from the Gene Dopant while Terui (the loser) received caltrops/spikes as his reward. Fun callback to that bit in the Gene Arc!
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03-22-2024, 01:08 AM | #456 |
I have a problematic type
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My one issue with these videos is that the way they were released, alphabetical order, is not the way they must have originally aired. I don't mind spoilers for the drawing game, but I really think the Kirihiko bits would have been fun to see in chronological order.
I'd also like to say that the part of me that finds old Super Dave Osborne bits funny got a huge kick out of the Smilodon Dopant beating the hell out of an obvious prop Kirihiko. |
03-22-2024, 03:59 AM | #457 |
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Honestly, I agree that Kirihiko becoming the love child of Mr. Rogers and Jerry Springer is the highlight of this. Though I’m probably going to get controversial and say my least favourite set of segments were the drawing ones. Mostly because there wasn’t really much comedy beyond whether you think most of the pictures presented are funny or not.
However, I will also speak up for the Gaia Me pry Research segments, mostly because that type of humour is pretty common over here in the UK. And he narrator making these two goofs sound like the most despicable criminals to walk the Earth is just a cherry on top. Last edited by Androzani84; 03-22-2024 at 05:50 AM.. |
03-22-2024, 10:11 AM | #458 |
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03-22-2024, 10:10 PM | #459 |
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originally posted on December 2nd, 2021, as part of “Kamen Rider Die rewatches Legend Rider projects (and more!)”
KAMEN RIDER W FOREVER: A TO Z/THE GAIA MEMORIES OF FATE Oh man, is this my favorite Kamen Rider movie? I honestly didn't think it was, before now. I remember it being solid. I remember thinking Foundation X was a weirdly inert overarching menace for several movies to come, and they got their dull start here. (Just, like, the boring pragmatism of funding a dozen different World Domination mad science schemes. I want a global terror initiative that commits!) I remember Eternal, of course, and his strangely theatrical group of zombie soldiers. But, like, that's it? Quality-wise, I didn't remember it being any better or worse than any other summer movie. And, okay, maybe it's the intensely lowered standards of the Phase 1 films and their nebulous continuity and their frequent poorly deployed themes and their air of exhaustion and their inability to find time for the entire cast of the series they're spinning off from and their etc., but I thought this film was just about perfect? I honestly don't know what I could find fault with. Thematically, it's doing some interesting stuff with the topic/keyword of Memory. Philip is the lead for the emotional part of the narrative, since his identity is wrapped up in his amnesia. His disconnection stems from his belief that his past holds the answers to his sense of self, so a story that forces him to set aside what his memories have to offer in favor of a present surrounded by people who care for him, that's going to be an excellent dilemma to base a W movie on. Like, this movie is about the value of Memories and memories, and how the lack thereof can't keep you from being a hero. Structurally, the movie sort of hands off from Philip in the first half to Shotaro in the second half, which I really enjoyed. This isn't really Shotaro's story, so his involvement gains intensity from Philip's absence. With Philip captured, the movie pivots slightly to a more straightforward Assault On The Villains' Base plot, and it's here that I really dug the film. It's... pacing these things is hard. Any number of these movies have bungled their story by coming out of the gate strong, padding out the middle, and then trying to land an emotional punch in the climax. It doesn't work great, since the audience (or maybe just me) has lost patience with the thinness of the narrative. Here, it's the Kamen Rider W team as a multi-act motion picture story. There's all of Philip's cerebral empathy – the puzzle-solving interest in human connection – and then Shotaro's two-fisted heart-on-his-sleeve problem-solving. Whenever you start to get tired of one, the other tags in. It makes for a viewing experience that never wears out its welcome. Even the parts I might've found a little too deus ex machiny, I find them charming now? Stuff like Skull providing the crucial Lost Driver to Shotaro, or the town of Fuuto lifting Double up with a gust of wind; it all reads as Magical Realism to me now, not some hacky writing or regrettable plot hole. Skull's appearance is the theme of Memory, the power we imbue it with, and ways it can help us better protect our present. In a story freighted with the importance of Memories/memories, why shouldn't the memory of Skull be a weapon for our heroes to call on? And the town of Fuuto – maybe literally the town of Fuuto – protecting its hero long enough for its hero to protect the town, man, that's just an A+ ending. I can't even slightly get mad at an ending that corny. That's a refutation of Eternal's villainous philosophy of Inhumanity As Freedom, the separation from community as a pathway to power. Here, it's Double's commitment to the townspeople that provides a route to victory. And Eternal as a villain! The trope of Evil Version Of The Hero, like, always works. Trope for a reason. The way Daidou needles at Philip's insecurity, and then laughs at Philip's connection to humanity, it gives the superhero side of this movie a lot to work with. Daidou's scheme is born out of the same outsider frustration Philip has, the same need to find a connection, but Daidou gleefully solves it with citywide terror and a giant laser. The premise of this one totally delivers, which is a very low bar that not every Kamen Rider film clears! Eternal just looks awesome, too. The sideways E on his forehead to play off of Double's W antenna. The cape, the holsters, the knife; all boss as hell. The whole movie looks great, honestly. I love how they suspend the Hardboilder in the air for a couple shots, to make Shotaro and Double's attacks look insanely epic. All of the weird lieutenant villains feel distinct and have memorable fights with multiple heroes. AND THE FIGHTS ARE ALL SO GOOD. This thing just looks phenomenal. Absolutely everything you love about the action of Kamen Rider W, but bigger and faster and cooler. Plus, like, everyone you love from the series (who's still alive at this point) gets at least a few minutes of screentime. Saeko! Saeko acts as a clearly-filmed-separately Greek Chorus! But there's also a half-dozen characters I smiled at remembering (that AKB48 gag!), a cool moment for Shotaro and Terui to acknowledge each other's commitment to justice in a manly way, and an entire subplot where Akiko is horny and Terui treats her like a little sister. (I have never loved their "romance", and that didn't change today.) Just, like, everyone's in this. Everyone. Even a brand-new Kamen Rider! Yep, first OOO appearance, and the continuation of the Early-Bird guest appearance Double inaugurated in the Dai Shocker film. Pretty much the same thing here, but we get Actual Eiji instead of just the suit and some ADR. It's cute! It's OOO showing off his Henshin, a form change, and a finisher, which I think is the high water mark for this sort of thing. I dig it, mostly because A NEW KAMEN RIDER DEBUTS is the icing on the cake, rather than the reward for putting up with nonsense. It's a bonus. The whole movie around it is so fun, so entertaining, that it almost felt greedy to me when Eiji showed up. I already loved this thing! You don't need to give me a gift when I'm neck-deep in gifts! And what a gift this movie was. I didn't remember much from it before, but now I'll never forget it. (I will 100% forget it. My brain's like a sieve for this franchise! I will have forgotten this movie by next week.) — DIE-A MEMORIES (aka The New Stuff) -Still real good! Still an incredibly fun film that never loses its way, which is some of the highest praise I can throw at a Kamen Rider film. -The big difference for me on this viewing, obviously, is being in the midst of a full W rewatch. It didn’t fundamentally change the experience – this thing is just a solid film, no matter your level of knowledge – but it did make me enjoy certain elements more. I love how the crowd scenes are populated with previous Dopant Dilemma victims: the magician family, Jimmy and his fan/girlfriend, the zoo guide, that little girl who clearly has still not been told that her father is dead and is also not Double. It’s neat to see them all again, and seeing them will on Double to defeat Eternal. It gives the resolution of the film a bit more specificity, which is cool. -All of the Shroud stuff here played a little dumber for me, though? Philip’s insistence on Maria being Shroud… it sort of can’t possibly work after the last couple episodes of the show? We know too much about Shroud’s backstory, alongside her many interactions with both Philip and Terui, for her to possibly be Special Agent Maria S. Cranberry. (THAT NAME.) In general, I’d be okay waving that all off as The Movie Takes Place A Few Episodes Prior, but the show specifically has the Foundation X guy pick up the T2 Memories in Episode 44, so the Shroud revelations have all definitely occurred. It’s not a deal-breaker or anything, but it just makes Philip’s bizarre fixation on Maria a little more bizarre than before. -As a newly-christened Akiko/Terui shipper (#Akcel), it pains me to say that Terui still treats Akiko like a little sister in this one, which is a bummer. That little hair tousle thing he does to her – infantilizing! Weird to do to a girl you’re dating, man! Other than that, I like their chemistry here. I like that Terui gets them tickets to a clearly romantic thing, and then tries to play it off like he didn’t know that. I like that he takes a beat – TWICE – to apologize that he has to go save the city instead of take her out on a date. Everything between them is great in this movie, except that little kid sister hair tousle thing he does to her. Quit it! -TA. TO. BA. TaToBa TA-TO-BA.
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03-22-2024, 10:58 PM | #460 |
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Desu
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