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09-15-2019, 07:12 AM | #41 |
Master Procrastinator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 367
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Final does end up having some BIG consequences in the main show further down the line and teases some other things that play into another major plot thing, so it does in the end matter a great deal.
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09-15-2019, 07:45 AM | #42 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Yeah, okay.You can try and be modest about it, but one day we're all going to have to accept the obvious truth here. As for Heisei Generations Final, I actually had the True Ending problem with the title, where I expected more of an upgrade from the first than it was. In retrospect, I think it's a fairly strong "sidegrade" that trades some of the bombastic fun of the original for a slightly more in-depth plot and probably better use of the returning Riders (I'm not totally sure on that one, but obviously, you know, Ankh). I disagree that you could just slap Ryuuga's arc on any secondary Rider and have it work as well. There are similar characters out there for sure (Beast is a good example), but Love & Peace, you're going to find is a major component of Build's themes as it goes along, and I think doing a little compressed version of his development from the show that gets to specifically contrast him against some of the most selfless Riders out there (and I mean, even by the usual standards, guys like Takeru and Eiji really like helping people) was a great idea. It's simple and a bit trite in its delivery, but I think it's specifically appropriate for Cross-Z, and having a clear throughline and character arc is unfortunately not something we can take for granted in a Rider movie, so I'll give Final some credit for trying. Also, and this might just be because I haven't seen that movie in longer, but I don't remember a thing about Dr. Pac-Man, and I do about Bikaiser, for what it's worth. He- er, they were really fun, and the evil plan at play was memorable. I mean, taking parallel worlds and smashing them together is some devious s***. You'd have to be a real jerk to wanna do something like that.
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09-15-2019, 09:53 AM | #43 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,082
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FINAL is my favourite of the three Heisei Generation movies, but I'll admit large part of it is because I specifically love Build, Ex-Aid and OOO soooo much (Fourze's entrance was pretty great and nostalgic too, though). The one shot of Muteki and Sparkling next to each other with an explosion behind them, I remember saying aloud to myself 'heck yeah kamen rider' or something to that effect. Although it's also funny because I'm pretty sure that was over once Ex-Aid turned invincible and Build could have just sat back from then on.
Speaking of, I'm wondering what you think of the suits and designs so far? Cross-Z remains a big favourite of mine even now, but maybe you found a surprise favourite in Night Rogue or like, GorillaCleaner? One of my favorite suit aesthetics is W, so Build is definitely in my sweet spot. The main Build designs, I just love that shit. Weird combos, the mixing and matching, I enjoy that a lot more than full-suit form changes. I haven't mentioned it (I keep forgetting!) but I LOVE that the Build/Cross-Z henshin comes in on injection kit runners. It's so blatantly "go buy this toy" that, god, it kills me. Hilarious. This franchise is great. So, yeah, Build is good, Cross-Z hasn't quite done it for me yet, and I really like the militaristic tones to the transteam suits like Rogue and Stalk. I think my favorites are probably the base Build suit, Hawkgatling, and Blood Stalk. Quote:
When I first watched the original Heisei Generations, I saw a few comments saying that the next one wasn’t as preferable, so I went to watch it afterwards and thought “they were right”. The fights are less inspired, the legend riders seem shoehorned in (though that might be because I’d only seen Gaim and Ghost in any serious capacity beforehand, but still) and the villain’s one memorable trait is the word “funky”. The most I see people talking about it other than the returning legends was Build’s Ex-Aid form just being Ex-Aid’s suit with the Build Driver (“Hey Build, Decade called. He wants his gimmick back”). Thankfully, I got a lot more out of the next Heisei Generations, so I hope you do too.
You're right about shoehorned in Legend Riders. That was something I loved about Dr. Pac-Man, how the movie took a few scenes to set up why Drive was there, and had him and Wizard do more than just show up to fight. They were working the case, and then they intersected with Ghost and Ex-Aid. This one, it's just Fourze flying in from off-screen, OOO walking by, Gaim looking into the sky and showing up... it's a bit like there's this enthusiasm from the producers, and they're so excited to get those Legend Riders on the screen, that they can't slow it down a beat or two. But, devil's advocate, I absolutely pumped my fist when I heard RoCkEt ON and Fourze comes blasting through a hole in the wall. It feels so rude to be, like, Do It Better. Quote:
I'm a big fan of the Final because of it's Banjou focus - honestly, not understanding nuance feels like his deal in the early part of the show, so accepting being a hero *just* because it's good, especially considering developments in the show itself, hits home. Plus, it has Gaim for realsies. And Ankh!
And yeah, Bikaiser is kind of a let down, but at least his design is sick. Quote:
Bikaiser was a bit more memorable to me because of the whole same-guy-in-parallel-worlds thing, and that they were so different. Also that one of them was absolutely nuts. It's very simple but it's fun enough and serves its purpose.
Dr. Pac-Man, though... I actually dislike that he has such a connection to Ex-Aid's overall story, because that makes it feel like something I'm watching because I have to rather than something I want to, and it doesn't even have that many emotional moments come from it? He's still a super dull villain, just with the added caveat that Oh, I Did Something In Your Backstory. I had the same problem with W x Decade but at least Begins Night was really, really good...
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09-15-2019, 09:55 AM | #44 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Yay!
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09-15-2019, 11:39 AM | #45 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Quote:
Quote:
As for Heisei Generations Final, I actually had the True Ending problem with the title, where I expected more of an upgrade from the first than it was. In retrospect, I think it's a fairly strong "sidegrade" that trades some of the bombastic fun of the original for a slightly more in-depth plot and probably better use of the returning Riders (I'm not totally sure on that one, but obviously, you know, Ankh).
Quote:
I disagree that you could just slap Ryuuga's arc on any secondary Rider and have it work as well. There are similar characters out there for sure (Beast is a good example), but Love & Peace, you're going to find is a major component of Build's themes as it goes along, and I think doing a little compressed version of his development from the show that gets to specifically contrast him against some of the most selfless Riders out there (and I mean, even by the usual standards, guys like Takeru and Eiji really like helping people) was a great idea.
It's simple and a bit trite in its delivery, but I think it's specifically appropriate for Cross-Z, and having a clear throughline and character arc is unfortunately not something we can take for granted in a Rider movie, so I'll give Final some credit for trying. Quote:
Also, and this might just be because I haven't seen that movie in longer, but I don't remember a thing about Dr. Pac-Man, and I do about Bikaiser, for what it's worth. He- er, they were really fun, and the evil plan at play was memorable.
I mean, taking parallel worlds and smashing them together is some devious s***. You'd have to be a real jerk to wanna do something like that.
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09-15-2019, 12:10 PM | #46 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Dr. Pac-Man had a daughter?!
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09-15-2019, 12:14 PM | #47 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,082
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09-15-2019, 10:48 PM | #48 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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KAMEN RIDER BUILD EPISODES 15 - 16
Weird two-parter, this one. I mean, it's great. It's so well done. It's just, like, two very different episodes telling one story. So, obviously, after the game-changing reveal of Hipster Dad as Blood Stalk, the entire status quo of the show has to change. Can't just hang out in the basement doing sciences when the government knows your deal and you know the government's deal. What I was not anticipating was the show just going balls out, with Night Rogue immediately storming the cafe and Sento immediately saying, "Oh yeah, we completely know who you are, Military Adam Driver. Time's up!" That is a show that doesn't feel like they've got to save up big moments, which is great as a viewer. I don't have to deal with weeks of "Oh no, is this the moment that Build slips up and reveals what he knows to Military Adam Driver?" It's just, the audience knows, so it's way better if the characters all know, too. Plus, like, the gloves are off, so the show can just launch into open conflict between characters who have nothing to lose. We get plans, schemes, fights, and a real back-and-forth in the first part, when Rogue gets defeated and his daddy shows up to yell at him. (Is there a more humiliating loss in franchise history? Not one that I've seen!) Just a rousingly entertaining episode, with a propulsive burn when other shows would spend time regrouping. It was so thrilling, that I sort-of couldn't believe they ended the episode with the reveal that Sento is Takumi. Now, I don't think this was a huge surprise. (I mean, especially after the Heisei Generations Final movie, where Sento straight-up remembers something that happened to Takumi.) Like the Blood Stalk reveal, I don't care so much about the reveal itself. Unlike the Blood Stalk reveal, I don't care about the "why" or the "how". (It's a pretty basic reprogramming of a mutineer, and the specifics of how Stalk did it are, eh, whatever. A little convoluted, but mostly irrelevant. They close the loopholes, though, as far as I could see.) What I care about is what happens next. Turns out, what happens next is Sento, Banjou and Misora talking through their feelings in a refreshingly direct, adult way. I mean, even the fight between Cross-Z and Build isn't choreographed to be Awesome, it's choreographed to show that Banjou feels things viscerally, and demonstratively, while Sento internalizes, shuts down. Banjou thinks with his fists, and that's how he works through his emotions. Sento just dwells on it until he can't even function. Luckily, Misora's there to balance the two. She can call each of them on their bullshit in a blunt but caring way. She can tell Sento that he isn't Takumi, that he's Sento: a self-aggrandizing brainiac who is also a self-sacrificing hero. (She tells Banjou that he's really stupid, which: fair!) She pulls the team together, which feels like it might be her Act 2 role. I'll miss the sleepy asshole, but this version of Misora is pretty compelling. (Quick parenthetical shout-out to the way the Build as a series, including the winter movie, really dials back on the melodrama, keeping the emotion in scenes more subdued and close to realistic. Misora's goodbye to Hipster Dad, the way that she doesn't cry until he leaves, it's just a dagger in the heart. It reminded a bit of one of my favorite moments from Heisei Generations Final, which, of course, is about Ankh. When Ankh comes back, you can see in Eiji's eyes that this moment is huge for him. After six long years, after circling the globe, his friend is back. He wants to cry. He wants to reach out to him. But, this is Ankh. You can't do that to Ankh. So Eiji has to pretend it's no big deal, another day at the OOOffice, just saying hi to a coworker who hasn't been around in a while. But in his eyes, it's all there. There's very few Kamen Rider Build anythings so far that are shirt-rending melodramatic outbursts. Just solid acting. Pleasant change of pace!) After about two-thirds of an episode that's darker than usual and full of exposition (that "Blood Stalk reprograms Takumi and frames Banjou" scene feels like it goes on forever), it all comes together with an absolutely kick-ass (and ass-kicking) finale, featuring the full version of the theme song. It was appropriately epic, solidifying a brilliant start to the second act. This two-parter had a ton of moves in it, emotionally, and it was such a blast. I'm pretty sure I liked this about twice as much as I liked Heisei Generations Final, and I liked Heisei Generations Final. But Build! This show! It's so goddamn good! p.s. you guys that bears game tonight i mean that last minute holy hell
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09-16-2019, 06:59 AM | #49 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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So right now what I'm gathering is that, uh, yeah; Build really fucking good!
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09-16-2019, 01:24 PM | #50 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,082
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You're exactly right, I have discovered something unique in Kamen Rider fandom! I don't know that I'd call myself a hero, but since you offered, thanks!
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