|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
02-28-2024, 11:19 PM | #311 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
SHOTARO HIDARI HARDBOILED DELUSION DIARY EPISODE 8 - “WHAT IF AKIKO WAS A HOUSEWIFE?”
It is very funny to me that we have a Delusion Diary on the topic of Akiko getting married, with only 17 episodes left to go in the series, and a) Shotaro never considers the possibility of Akiko getting married to Terui, and b) Terui doesn’t show a preference towards Akiko getting married in the future. Kind of hard to feel like the show always planned on Akiko and Terui getting together, if this is how the concept first got handled. But it’s non-canonical, and still very charming. Since it’s covering the last four episodes, it starts off as a gritty crime drama before devolving into a slapstick samurai duel. It’s one of those Delusion Diaries where Shotaro is 100% along for the ride, sputtering ineffectually at diegetic stagehands and mysteriously-resurrecting husbands. His reactions to every increasingly bizarre turn are matched by everyone else’s commitment to playing their nonsense as straightforward as possible. It’s exceptionally funny, even for the type of ridiculous idiocy these shorts traditionally get up to. (Akiko suddenly having a revolver!!!) So, yeah, solid short! Just sort of surprising that there’s no sense of Terui-interest – in either direction – during a story about Akiko being married. (PROGRAMMING NOTE: My next week starts off incredibly packed, so I’m jumping ahead on this one because Monday night is almost definitely going to be a night off. Thanks for your understanding!)
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
02-28-2024, 11:49 PM | #312 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,572
|
I enjoy how even two episodes later, Shotaro's delusions are not safe from him binging an old-style Samurai show from the Nightmare Arc.
|
02-29-2024, 12:01 AM | #313 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Shotaro's delusions have some real Thank God I'm The Only Normal Person Here energy, which feels so utterly dead-on to his character that I'm always a little reluctant to cite these specials as being non-canonical.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
02-29-2024, 02:15 AM | #314 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,411
|
Quote:
Quote:
-I really like the suit. Making the middle section a prismatic silver keeps the prominence on the Cyclone and Joker sections, while still providing a new color palette to play with. And I love how it uses Ws and Xs throughout the suit, in subtle ways: the W shoulderpads (not too big, even!), the X wrist and ankle guards, the way the W on the forehead splits into a W on top and then an X overall. It?s great, unobtrusive theming.
Quote:
-Not a huge fan of Prism Bicker, though. I like the addition of a sword and shield, but that shield is so goddamn dinky. If it was even 25% bigger, I?d probably love it. As it is, it feels like nearly any blast is going to overpower it. It's like he's wielding the DX version, instead of the CSM version. Bigger Bicker, thanks!
|
02-29-2024, 07:10 PM | #315 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
|
Quote:
KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 32 - “THE B BROUGHT BY THE WIND - NOW, AMIDST THE RADIANCE”
It’s honestly a fair topic of discussion, despite loving the character and performance. Philip’s the powerhouse of the team, after all, with his search engine brain and super-genius tech skills. Hell, the strongest Double form for the first 31 episodes was the one Philip piloted, not Shotaro. Add in the fact that the series-long Sonozaki plot lands entirely on Philip’s back, and it’s clear that Shotaro is the least necessary member of the partnership. Quote:
And even within the narrative… like, he’s maybe holding Philip back? And he’s maybe less good at this than Terui might be? It’s an ugly thought, but it’s hard not to be persuaded over the last two episodes that Shotaro is a delightful clown at best, and a bumbling amateur at worst – certainly no one that should be in the crosshairs of murderous Dopants and scheming criminals.
Quote:
But, of course, that’s the point of this whole story. Shotaro’s here because he’s the guy that isn’t a superpowered genius; he’s here to add humanity to Philip’s god-level view of things. Shotaro’s value is in his empathy and commitment, two things born from his lack of innate value or strength. He has to work for his place in things, which means he’s never going to settle for what he’s currently capable of. His weakness isn’t in his lack of power, it’s in his lack of confidence. He folds because he doesn’t see his own worth, and recognizing his contribution is the final hurdle he needs to clear to meet Philip’s newfound evolution.
Quote:
And then there’s the Dopant story, which maybe loses some nuance in its escalation into There Are Two Of Them fight scenes and pyrotechnics (Zone Dopant is such a cool design), but still allows for a spectacular coda to Shotaro’s investigation by having him try and salvage Bitou’s faith in Bell – by getting her to confess and apologize, rather than Shotaro going to Bitou and breaking his heart – with the same amount of kindness that Sokichi practiced. It’s a conclusion to that plot that’s all about Shotaro being 100% the guy he thinks he’s pretending to be, which is as sweet a win as I think that guy could get.
Quote:
DIE-A MEMORIES
-CycloneJokerXtreme! -First off, I wonder if the Xtreme name came from the theme song, or the other way around. Like, did the song get commissioned, and the producers were like We Should Do An Xtreme Upgrade, or was Xtreme already planned and they had the songwriters focus on that? -I really like the suit. Making the middle section a prismatic silver keeps the prominence on the Cyclone and Joker sections, while still providing a new color palette to play with. And I love how it uses Ws and Xs throughout the suit, in subtle ways: the W shoulderpads (not too big, even!), the X wrist and ankle guards, the way the W on the forehead splits into a W on top and then an X overall. It’s great, unobtrusive theming. -Not a huge fan of Prism Bicker, though. I like the addition of a sword and shield, but that shield is so goddamn dinky. If it was even 25% bigger, I’d probably love it. As it is, it feels like nearly any blast is going to overpower it. It's like he's wielding the DX version, instead of the CSM version. Bigger Bicker, thanks! Quote:
Shoutarou is the man with the courage to ride with the devil.
He may not be a genius like Phillip, or hard-boiled like Terui, or even decisive like Akiko, but that courage is all he needs to turn weakness in to strength. That's a quality Shroud doesn't understand and Shoutarou himself doesn't fully appreciate either, but that's the reason why he's the only person who can truly be Double's left half. If Phillip's gotten stronger, it's only cause Shoutarou believed in him. Shoutarou took a gamble on the devil on Begins Night and got a true partner out of it. A leap of faith, just like how he solves cases with his hunches. Now Phillip believes in him with a hunch, so of course the solution to their power imbalance was for Shoutarou to believe in himself as well.
__________________
The most complete non-wiki encyclopedias for Kamen Rider series (currently only found Ryuki and OOO's). Last edited by DreadBringer; 02-29-2024 at 07:13 PM.. |
02-29-2024, 07:46 PM | #316 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
Ha ha, the "fanbase" can say what they want, but I'd give Akiko the nod over Shotaro. She's the Chief!
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
02-29-2024, 09:04 PM | #317 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,825
|
This is like 25% relevant, but allow me to present Tomoko Fourze in the Shoutarou cosplay.
__________________
Check out my occasional ramblings! https://akibamusings.blogspot.com/
|
02-29-2024, 09:10 PM | #318 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
02-29-2024, 10:23 PM | #319 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 33 - “Y’S TRAGEDY - THE WOMAN IN SEARCH OF YESTERDAY”
Remember Kirihiko? It’s kind of amazing to think of how little has changed since he was killed. An episode like this should feel like dredging up the forgotten past, but instead it feels like you could’ve done it the episode after Kirihiko got, uh, forcibly divorced. Isaka’s no factor in this one. Terui’s here, but only really in an Additional Kamen Rider way, not in any sense that affects the trajectory of the mystery. Wakana’s pissy about Saeko, which is a thing from practically the debut episode. And Shotaro is in full-on Cosplay Detective mode, ready to play up his deductive skills for a pretty girl. The show hasn’t really budged an inch since Kirihiko left, which is either a testament to Shotaro honoring Kirihiko’s memory by preserving Fuuto in amber (or at least the amber light of a sunset), or it’s this show not really having distinct phases of aesthetic/structural design. You choose! But here’s Kirihiko’s sister, arriving in Fuuto to trick Shotaro into trying to murder Saeko, and all for reasons that demand a second part to this mystery. What looked at first like a simple story about revenge, actually turns into… a try-out for the Museum? I don’t really understand the Why yet (Yuuko is actually a fake identity designed to manipulate Shotaro, so it’s hard to say if what Yukie actually wants is to be a Museum officer), and the How is equally mystifying – why doesn’t Saeko get out of the way of the attack? There’s showing strength by not canceling an event after a threat, and then there’s standing there while a Maximum Drive is being targeted at your face. I can see why Yukie would assume taking out a top Museum lieutenant could be a power move, but why does Saeko just stand there? Weird sequence. I did like the episode overall, though. Yuuko and Shotaro have instant, charming chemistry – the two of them playing as cats was really sweet. The low-hanging fruit is pointing out that OF COURSE Shotaro would fall for a woman who wears a hat well, but he really seems to enjoy her willingness to embrace absurdity in the pursuit of an objective. She’s fun, in the same dumb, embarrassing ways that he’s fun. They’d’ve made a fun couple, if she actually existed. Really, though, this isn’t an episode for delving into Yuuko/Yukie’s relationship with her late brother, or with her employment goals. It’s an episode for a pretty appealing action sequence… or is that two action sequences? The gimmick of running the fight back a second time, with Shotaro accidentally going on a rampage, is incredibly fun to watch. Keeping all the same choreography and dialogue is disconcerting, with a kind of hilarious inevitability that gets more tense as it goes along. As far as Dopant powers go, this is one of the most compelling and cinematic. Not sure what Yuuko/Yukie’s whole deal is yet, but I like her strategy! It’s honestly smarter than Isaka’s stuff so far! So, yeah, pretty fun episode for the Dopant scheme, but a little weird how much Kirihiko’s sister appearing doesn’t feel like a call back to a show twenty episodes in the rearview. I guess Team Double’s stability should be praised? — DIE-A MEMORIES -A lot of very lovely images in this one, so naturally it was an Ishida episode. Take a look at those two screencaps, and then add in the rooftop gangster scene, all the cat search stuff, and the entire attack on Saeko’s conference. Amazing! -I definitely, definitely remembered this setup – that Yuuko was Kirihiko’s sister – so the eventual reveal was not as much of a bombshell for me as it was for Shotaro. That’s about all I remember, though, so next episode should hopefully be a bit more surprising to me.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
03-01-2024, 06:37 AM | #320 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,548
|
I think I really liked this two parter, probably because the idea that Kirihiko was mostly forgotten after his death didn’t fully sit with me. It’s nice to see someone cared enough to avenge his death. Even if their method seems needlessly complicated.
And I’m commenting, so you know I’m ringing the… Sentai-lert! Specifically, our guest character Yukie is played by Kaoru Hirata, who previosuly held the supporting role of Yuka Yamazaki in Mahou Sentai Magiranger (the one 2005 show Seitchblade has a full-on sitcom arch nemesis sitch with). |
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN |
SH Figuarts BoonBoomger Red |
Hasbro Licenses Power Rangers Toys to Playmates Toys |
Discotek Media Licenses Mobile Cop Jiban |
What's going on with CSM? |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:40 AM.
|