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03-01-2021, 10:58 PM | #251 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 11 - "MADNESS, DELUSION, KASUMI FLOWERS”
I've watched Kamen Rider Ryuki, a show that was explicitly about Riders trying to kill each other. I've watched Kamen Rider Blade, a show that was about overcoming failure, headlined by some of the most self-sabotaging Riders in the franchise. I've watched Kamen Rider Ghost, where every new Rider needed to pass through the emotional catharsis of trying to kill Kamen Rider Ghost. I started with Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, a show about four men fighting to jump on the same grenade. Is this the most dysfunctional cast in the franchise, though? They really are pretty hopeless in this one. It ain't exactly a Final Boss-level adversary they're up against, but thanks to our cast firing on absolutely no cylinders, the team is doing pretty awful. Between Kintaros barging in every time he overhears something that even rhymes with the word Cry and Kasumi trying to grow up way too fast, we've got a Den-O episode that's largely about getting in your own way. And I'm good with that! For a series that's mostly about how we balance the various parts of ourselves in order to be the best versions of ourselves, characters like Kintaros need to be out of whack. We need to see the heroes as barely functional in the early going, if their journey to Can Exist In Society is to mean anything. I'm definitely okay with them having an adventure that is built around them screwing it up for themselves, especially when the stakes are so low-rent. I mean, I know there's a 12-year old girl in some sort of danger, but the haplessness of our heroes just makes it all seem pretty pathetic. Like, one of the things was a girl shoots a squirtgun full of ink at Kasumi's outfit? It's some light shenanigans, and it fits the tone of Kintaros overenthusiasm, but it keeps the stakes from ever feeling that weighty. Like, I sort of don't care about this little girl and her weird problems with a prankster/imagination monster from the end of time? Even the stuff with her dad... there's just not much to go on? Saving all of the parts of Kasumi's story that explain her as a person for the second part, it just makes her so uncompelling of a guest star. She's not sweet enough to be charming, and she's not mean enough to be funny. She's just this bland girl who is crying on the inside, and there's not enough specificity to her performance (or the writing or direction) to make that pop. It's fine, as far as setting a story in motion, but it's nothing to really dig into. The Kintaros stuff was really great, though. Him constantly jumping in and screwing things up, Momo's inability to vent enough of his rage at Kintaros'... everything (he even hates how Kintaros sleeps!), it's all pretty fun to watch. Seeing how Kintaros fits into the group as poorly as everyone else does, it just makes it clear how much this group of disaster-prone misfits need each other. For an episode that's wall-to-wall Team Den-O Is Real Bad At This, it was the most I've maybe ever rooted for these dopes to pull out a victory? I love an underdog, and this cast are the biggest underdogs I've ever seen in Kamen Rider. THE BAGGAGE CAR -Still, it is practically criminal that an episode about the world of modeling didn't once comment on how absolutely gorgeous Hana is. How was that not a way into this narrative? Why are we telling this story through Ryotaro's incredibly terrible bodyguarding (like, why keep him on staff after he gets trampled by preteen girls?!) when Hana is there, looking that good? Bonkers. -I've mentioned it before, but I love how excited Momotaros gets when he's able to fight a monster. It's always fun to watch people nerd out about their passions, and the unrestrained glee Momo gets when he's brawling in Sword Form is some real hashtag goals stuff. -What was up with the bizarrely long The Premise Of The Show opening on this one? It's nice that it's done by Momo, but I felt like someone stitched an HBV on the front of this episode. It goes on forever. Not a great way to begin a story!
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03-02-2021, 03:27 AM | #252 |
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I’m guessing that last point is because this is the first episode under a different writer… namely, Yonemura.
And a bit of a weird application of my usual feature. Keiichi Sonobe. This one was a bit of a weird one. I couldn’t find any really notable roles for him, so I’ll just link to the Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiichi_Sonobe Also, I’m surprised you didn’t recognise this week’s contractor, considering you could tell episode 3’s was Sid. |
03-02-2021, 05:32 AM | #253 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
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As Androzani pointed out, this is one of the (vanishingly few) episodes of Den-O written by its singular guest writer, Shouji Yonemura, though it's worth noting that Kobayashi is still credited as the dialogue editor for all of his episodes, something pretty unusual for Rider that I think speaks to how much this show values its tight banter.
This is also another episode that's having some fun with its title, as in Japanese it's "Bousou・Mousou・Kasumisou".
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03-02-2021, 10:34 AM | #254 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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As Androzani pointed out, this is one of the (vanishingly few) episodes of Den-O written by its singular guest writer, Shouji Yonemura, though it's worth noting that Kobayashi is still credited as the dialogue editor for all of his episodes, something pretty unusual for Rider that I think speaks to how much this show values its tight banter.
This is also another episode that's having some fun with its title, as in Japanese it's "Bousou・Mousou・Kasumisou". Like (and I know it's unfair to tag a show for the guest writer's work), the plot on this story is pretty thin. For a mystery story, it's super lazy about maintaining a sense of peril, and the ostensible victim elicits almost no sympathy. But the show just springs to life when it's everyone hanging out on the DenLiner, and that's a problem I'm seeing more and more of on this show? With a growing cast of unique personalities, just checking in with them can eat up time. When you're also having a blast writing series-defining comedic bits for them, it doesn't leave you a lot of canvas to build out a solid mystery or monster plot. I mean, what's here is still good enough, and it's miles better than some previous A Monster Shows Up Out Of Nowhere For No Discernable Reason To Do Murders plots, but I feel like I can already see the writer(s) choosing to spend more time on the fun hangout stuff, and less on the structural elements for a story. I'm probably not explaining this great (it's early, and some impatient customer sent a 4am email that pissed me off when I woke up and saw it), but it feels like the show is prioritizing the instantly enjoyable hangout stuff over the hard work of creating compelling two-episode stories for that comedy to exist in.
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03-02-2021, 10:48 AM | #255 |
Standing By
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But the show just springs to life when it's everyone hanging out on the DenLiner, and that's a problem I'm seeing more and more of on this show? With a growing cast of unique personalities, just checking in with them can eat up time. When you're also having a blast writing series-defining comedic bits for them, it doesn't leave you a lot of canvas to build out a solid mystery or monster plot.
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03-02-2021, 11:22 AM | #256 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,426
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I wasn't really looking forward to this arc. One of the reasons why I rarely get into Sentai is that I feel it relies on too many stock plots and situations that you keep seeing again and again, year after year. This episode's A plot is one that feels like that. I've seen this exact story before in tokusatsu and I know that I'll see it again. I don't have a lot of time for idol and manager stories.
That said, I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. Part of that is that we get our first exposure to Kintaros's trigger phrase (and things that sound close enough that why the hell not?) and I'm always down for some Kintaros well-intentioned bumbling destruction. Mostly, though, I just think that Kasumi is really well realized as a character. They got an actress that can make the character sympathetic and engaging, which does a lot to help carry this story. And yeah, her dad does look really familiar and it's bugging me (albeit not enough to just google it). |
03-02-2021, 03:20 PM | #257 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 11 - “MADNESS, DELUSION, KASUMI FLOWERS”
They really are pretty hopeless in this one. It ain’t exactly a Final Boss-level adversary they’re up against, but thanks to our cast firing on absolutely no cylinders, the team is doing pretty awful. Between Kintaros barging in every time he overhears something that even rhymes with the word Cry and Kasumi trying to grow up way too fast, we’ve got a Den-O episode that’s largely about getting in your own way. And I’m good with that! For a series that’s mostly about how we balance the various parts of ourselves in order to be the best versions of ourselves, characters like Kintaros need to be out of whack. We need to see the heroes as barely functional in the early going, if their journey to Can Exist In Society is to mean anything. I’m definitely okay with them having an adventure that is built around them screwing it up for themselves, especially when the stakes are so low-rent. Quote:
Even the stuff with her dad… there’s just not much to go on? Saving all of the parts of Kasumi’s story that explain her as a person for the second part, it just makes her so uncompelling of a guest star. She’s not sweet enough to be charming, and she’s not mean enough to be funny. She’s just this bland girl who is crying on the inside, and there’s not enough specificity to her performance (or the writing or direction) to make that pop. It’s fine, as far as setting a story in motion, but it’s nothing to really dig into.
Quote:
THE BAGGAGE CAR
-Still, it is practically criminal that an episode about the world of modeling didn’t once comment on how absolutely gorgeous Hana is. How was that not a way into this narrative? Why are we telling this story through Ryotaro’s incredibly terrible bodyguarding (like, why keep him on staff after he gets trampled by preteen girls?!) when Hana is there, looking that good? Bonkers.
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03-02-2021, 09:15 PM | #258 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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I wasn't really looking forward to this arc. One of the reasons why I rarely get into Sentai is that I feel it relies on too many stock plots and situations that you keep seeing again and again, year after year. This episode's A plot is one that feels like that. I've seen this exact story before in tokusatsu and I know that I'll see it again. I don't have a lot of time for idol and manager stories.
That said, I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. Part of that is that we get our first exposure to Kintaros's trigger phrase (and things that sound close enough that why the hell not?) and I'm always down for some Kintaros well-intentioned bumbling destruction. Mostly, though, I just think that Kasumi is really well realized as a character. They got an actress that can make the character sympathetic and engaging, which does a lot to help carry this story. And yeah, her dad does look really familiar and it's bugging me (albeit not enough to just google it). It feels like a bizarre exclusion!
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03-02-2021, 10:46 PM | #259 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
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I don't know that Kasumi worked for me! A little too bland, in that her sadness is kept so under wraps that I wasn't connecting with the character. She didn't win me over in the first installment, but I'm glad it all landed better with you than you were anticipating.
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03-02-2021, 11:03 PM | #260 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Location: Chicago, IL
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I just maybe wish she was weirder, or meaner, or something-er, because I feel like her normalcy works against the tone of the rest of the episode. Everyone else is in some wacky slapstick investigation that they are bungling hard, and she's just trying to keep her shit together and not feel haunted by her father's rejection? I guess we'll see how the finale plays out tomorrow!
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