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01-11-2021, 12:55 PM | #581 |
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I can see that take and it's true that Tendo is in a different place compared to the start, so I guess it kind of makes sense to show that worst case scenario. It just all seems a little off to me. Hiyori gets "put on a bus" so her actress can recover and then this guy immediately takes her place. It doesn't seem like a great exchange to me. I think the concept of a "fallen Tendo" is actually fine and allows me to appreciate Tendo more, but Yonemura's extreme writing style is a problem.
Hopefully there's some other stuff for you to enjoy around the edges of Yaguruma's edginess?
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01-11-2021, 01:16 PM | #582 |
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I mean, I can see that, too! We are in a very... heightened place with this show. Tsurugi is getting to be Pure Comedy at this point (even though I'm sure his darkest days are ahead of him), and Yaguruma coming in as An Anarchy Symbol Carved On A Desk If It Was A Man is... it is not a show that is too concerned with nuance and subtlety, you know? If you're looking at Yaguruma as a trade for Hiyori, yeah, it's going to be frustrating.
Hopefully there's some other stuff for you to enjoy around the edges of Yaguruma's edginess? Regarding what else I enjoy about Yaguruma, well, honestly, I voiced my lack of investment in him even before he was edgy, in The Bee's debut arc, so he's probably just not a character I can relate to. You make a good point that he kind of fits with the narrative in a very unsubtle way, but it's not for me.
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01-11-2021, 06:42 PM | #583 |
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Well, the show is down a Hiyori for the time being, but at least it got me a Yaguruma to make up for it. It's too bad I kinda hate this loser then? I'm aware a lot of it is on me for shamelessly buying into Yaguruma's own hype back when he first appeared, but, to answer my own rhetorical question from when he left the show back in 13 – I genuinely didn't want to see him with an even bigger chip on his shoulder. Kamen Rider KickHopper just makes me sad on so many levels. It's downright... unsightly to have Yaguruma trying this hard to try so little, and despite him being one of my favorite characters in the show, this new era he's entering into has never been a part of why. He's always been TheBee in my heart, but, of course, that's just how I remember it. It'll be fun seeing if I maybe enjoy Yaguruma's new and edgy persona more this time around, because I've always been acutely aware I don't actually have any good reasons to hate KickHopper? First of all, on the meta level, there are some genuinely cool things about him. You can't beat a Kamen Rider with a grasshopper motif in my book, and that aggressively classic design has rightfully become a classic of its own. Love the old school droopy eyes, and the pronounced teardrop lines under them even fits Yaguruma's current state of mind, giving a meaningful reason for that retro throwback to be there. KickHopper's suit actor is also the first major Rider role for Hisanori Ooiwa after being Zanki's second actor back in Hibiki. Ooiwa would start going by Eitoku around a year later, and quickly rose to become one of the definitive suit actors for secondary Riders. He's always low-key been one of my favorites right behind Takaiwa himself, with a similar talent for body language, and I think that's readily apparent even all the way back here, with the first Rider he got to mold for himself. I've recently come up with a theory that the key to expressive acting when you can't show your face is knowing how to use your neck instead, and he's got that game locked down here. You can even see a bit of it in the screencap I chose! (This is also a good spot to mention how great it is that Yaguruma hangs his head in shame and literally sighs when transforming, but I feel that might be the director at work. More on that in a bit.) So all that knowledge has me feeling more hyped about KickHopper already, but, just on a plotting level, I mean, there's nothing wrong with him? Like, I remember not being enthusiastic about Yaguruma's return, but, on the other hand, I remember Yaguruma's return rather vividly, and I think that says a lot with how much I don't remember about Kabuto. But, yeah, my favorite prim and proper elite Rider coming back after 20 episodes as some emo dude dragging his boot spurs on the ground to kick sparks up certainly leaves an impression! I also can't hate how random his appearance is. It's classically brazen Kabuto style plotting. I like Die's read of how his reappearance factors into everything going on, although I don't know how much I believe it myself. At any rate, Yaguruma's back, and he's someone to keep an eye on. Especially if you're a therapist; the poor guy seems more than a little unsteady right now... The episode that happens before those last three minutes is quite good, by the way! While I'm inherently not fond of losing Hiyori, I do like that this episode is all about how much it sucks losing Hiyori. Considering a lot of the plot right now is being generated by real world production issues, it's honestly handled pretty smoothly. It feels natural enough, and it lets the show do some very fun things with Tendou, having him be a big supervillain in that way only his unique characterization as a lead allows. Doing it all after showing him openly weeping at the very start adds some depth through contrast, as well, keeping things from feeling too shallow. Carrying that strong plot along is more crisp direction from Tasaki, who delivers as always. The whole ZECT training exercise that introduces Renge is shot in a super clean, fun manner, and there are so many smart little touches that were probably his ideas throughout. Staying on the subject of Renge, there's a bit at the very end where Mishima runs his fingers through her hair like a total creep while getting a status update on Tendou from her. It's this great way to visually communicate that Mishima essentially thinks of her like a pet he happens to be particularly fond of, and really stands in contrast to Kageyama, who he actively avoids making eye contact with now, as though Kageyama were a stray dog way too eager to be taken in by someone. Which is, uh, pretty much exactly what Kageyama is by this point. Hm. Crazy fun episode, and also a packed one. Even between this post and Die's, there's a ton we've only barely touched on.
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01-11-2021, 06:56 PM | #584 |
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The episode that happens before those last three minutes is quite good, by the way! While I'm inherently not fond of losing Hiyori, I do like that this episode is all about how much it sucks losing Hiyori. Considering a lot of the plot right now is being generated by real world production issues, it's honestly handled pretty smoothly. It feels natural enough, and it lets the show do some very fun things with Tendou, having him be a big supervillain in that way only his unique characterization as a lead allows. Doing it all after showing him openly weeping at the very start adds some depth through contrast, as well, keeping things from feeling too shallow.
(I just... maybe I just have a soft spot for the Returning Rider conceit? Lazer from Ex-Aid was my favorite Rider on that show, and he's gone for pretty much the same amount of time Yaguruma was. I honestly didn't think we'd ever see Yaguruma again, just like I was too much of a Rider Rookie to assume Lazer would return. It's a trope that really works on me, I guess!) There's some real addition by subtraction in 33, where Hiyori's absence really turns up the heat on Tendou and Kagami in meaningful ways. Hiyori not being there, is like, the only thing worth thinking about, despite the fact that she's not even in every episode of this show. (Inoue!) It's a super tense way to start the final act of the show. I thought the plotting and pacing of this one was pretty commendable. You've got huge turns with Tendou, but they all feel motivated and acknowledged. Nothing's just like Here's The New Status Quo, you know? There's a ton of smart,quick connective tissue to all of the insane new developments.
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01-11-2021, 08:02 PM | #585 |
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At any rate, I'm very much into the idea of us having polar opposite takes here, with me being a hardcore fan of early-series Yaguruma, while you've only fallen head over heels for him in his second debut, because of course we have polar opposite takes on a thing. Quote:
I just... maybe I just have a soft spot for the Returning Rider conceit?
(Another interesting thing to note here about how our experiences differ is that I knew before I even started the show that Yaguruma was TheBee before leaving and coming back as the much more angsty and popular KickHopper, so ~maybe~ the hype let me down or something? I don't think that's how I really rolled, even back then, and this is all so foggy by now I'm grasping at straws, but it's a theory. I'll also clarify, despite using the word "hate", I don't think I ever outright despised KickHopper, either; he just didn't leave me feeling that great.) Quote:
Hiyori not being there, is like, the only thing worth thinking about
...But yeah, very well structured episode all around. Oh, and the subject of stock music coming up a little bit ago reminded me of something that I doubt anybody but me was even curious about. It was driving me nuts what Kagami's ringtone on his cell phone was – I was wondering if it was a song pulled from an old Rider show as a subtle anniversary tribute or something, but it turns out it was just a snippet of a piece of stock music made to sound like a generic Showa style hero theme. Bit of a missed opportunity, if you ask me.
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01-11-2021, 08:34 PM | #586 |
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(Another interesting thing to note here about how our experiences differ is that I knew before I even started the show that Yaguruma was TheBee before leaving and coming back as the much more angsty and popular KickHopper, so ~maybe~ the hype let me down or something? I don't think that's how I really rolled, even back then, and this is all so foggy by now I'm grasping at straws, but it's a theory. I'll also clarify, despite using the word "hate", I don't think I ever outright despised KickHopper, either; he just didn't leave me feeling that great.)
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01-11-2021, 10:07 PM | #587 |
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 34
So, just to get it out of the way: Yes, I cackled like a lunatic at all of Yaguruma's appearances. It is such a parody of the tortured anti-hero, so committed to being Baby's First Nihilist, that I literally can't see any flaws in it. Art is subjective, and folks are going to have different experiences than mine, but I genuinely cannot fathom being anything less than in the bag for Yaguruma and his Yaguruminations. Literally every time that dude opens his mouth, it's a goldmine. It helps that all of his shit with Kageyama, haunting him like The Ghost Of Failures Yet To Come, it's super tied into this episode's theme: If You Feed A Starving Person, They Will Love You. It's not a subtle theme, since both Renge and Tsurugi call it out at some point in the episode. It's treated literally by Tsurugi, since his ability to understand the common people (weird shout-out to a then-11-year old Pulp song, but not the weirdest thing in this episode) is tied up in Juka offering him the Official Snack Of Kamen Rider, takoyaki. Having someone feed him, it forms a connection. It lets him know he's not alone, that someone sees him and cares about him. That's pretty much how it works for Renge, who finally eats something other than her Sengoku Rice or whatever, and feels a connection with Tendou. And, some of it's that, the literal feeding of Renge, but it's also Tendou making her feel like a person who can help. She's not just a weapon, or a tool, she's someone who can make a positive difference in someone else's life. Feeding that part of her soul, creating space for her to feel heroic... it's a very Tendou thing to do? It's here that I introduce a counterpoint to that flowery view of Tendou, though. This episode does a lot to walk back Tendou's villainy in 33, giving him opportunities to be vulnerable, and to choose to save people instead of furthering his goals. He is way less of an asshole in this one. But. There's a broadness to some of his vulnerability that makes me think he's manipulating Renge. Tendou needs the Hyper Zecter, and he knows Goro has it. He also knows there is absolutely no way Goro is going to trade him the Hyper Zecter for all of the other Zecters. It's a proposal that Goro is going to laugh at, the end. But that meeting is necessary, because it allows Tendou to show how hungry he is for the Hyper Zecter, right in front of Renge. It also slowly breaks down her resistance, slowly opens the door to her having a desire outside of ZECT. Tendou becomes a kindred spirit, someone who wants her to be happy in a way that Goro doesn't, and if he wants the Hyper Zecter... I mean, isn't it the least she can do? So, yeah, I think Tendou is manipulating her. He knows that she's the only one who can grab the Zecter from under Goro's nose; he just needs to exert enough pressure to get her to choose him over ZECT. By feeding her, literally and figuratively, he gets her to do what he wants. (That said! He also wants her to not be Goro's lapdog because that's a horrible thing to live as! It can be two things!) And that darker aspect of feeding someone, the dependency it can cause, brings us back to Yaguruma and Kageyama. Kageyama, who... boy. Even for someone who thinks Kageyama is TheWorst, this episode was maybe too much. But Kageyama is being drawn into Yaguruma's orbit again, and that means Too Much is the lowest setting. Yaguruma comes off like a cult leader, offering the debased and dejected Kageyama a new future as... I mean, I assume PunchHopper, but we'll probably find out for sure in a couple days. As it is, Yaguruma's mostly offering rain-soaked nega-affirmations, where Kageyama's only hope for a continued existence is by giving up on whatever shreds of self-respect he's hidden away. Fun stuff! Speaking of fun stuff! Tsurugi! So fun! It's for sure the brighter interpretation of this episode's theme, more about connection and empathy than control and A Successories Poster But The Picture Is From The Music Video Of Johnny Cash's Cover Of "Hurt” By Nine Inch Nails. It's a plot where Tsurugi trades his foppish couture for the tiny clothes of a child, loses a sword fight with a flute, and nearly dies of starvation in an afternoon. It is indescribably charming, a full-throated embrace of simple pleasures and low-stakes nonsense. It's still 100% tied into this episode's theme, so much so that Tsurugi outright tells us what this episode was about, but it comes at it in the sweetest way. If Yaguruma is the pessimism that we're all starving for meaning that can never be sated, Tsurugi is the optimism that we just need to share what we've got and no one needs to go hungry. A QUESTION An easy toss-up this time: Who has the more embarrassing outfit in this episode, Yaguruma or Tsurugi?
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01-11-2021, 11:12 PM | #588 |
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I really love Hyper Form's proper debut. It's another one of those things I've always vividly remembered from Kabuto. When I think of the single moment that most defines Tendou to me, it's always been the one where he declares that he's already taken ahold of the future, and summons his own big power-up from beyond the reaches of time itself, mere moments after it was just blown up by the villains. The line itself is just kind of a cool hero thing to say, and also parallels his speech from when he originally got the Kabuto Zecter back in the premiere, which I had forgotten about. The context of the scene, though, the unapologetic nature of setting up this dilemma of Mishima destroying the Hyper Zecter only to immediately use such a "cheap" way of getting out of it, I think – for better or for worse – it's about as Tendou as Tendou is ever written. I have to say, I've always been a fan in this case. The following fight itself isn't particularly memorable in terms of choreography, but it's still set up in an awesome way on a writing level, illustrating the nature of Hyper Clock Up's ability to travel through time both very obviously through having Kagami get un-murdered, and in a super neat subtle bookend with Renge looking up at the roof after Tendou disappears in front of her, implying she literally saw him having already won the fight the instant after he left. Mind-bending stuff, right there! Toei set out to make the strongest Rider ever with Kabuto, and it's pretty telling of how successful that was that most of his competition is other people who have his powers... which is why the real secret is that Kabuto isn't the strongest; Tendou himself is. Remember, the time travel itself is far less impressive than the weaponized narrative convenience he uses to achieve it. The actual amazing action happens in the lead-up to this, by the way, with another Tasaki-directed sequence of Kabuto Casting Off while falling down the side of a building, but this time it's significantly more elaborate, with him jumping after Renge to save her life, passing up a chance at the Hyper Zecter to do so. Like so many effects-heavy sequences in this show, I'm shocked how nice it still looks. There's a lot of great things to say about this episode in general, and I think Die covered a lot of them already. Tsurugi wearing the clothes of a small child is also the defining moment for his character to me, for the record. He's so earnestly trying to humble himself, never realizing how much he's embarrassing himself, and this episode that ends with him saying he'll be a manservant to his own manservant really cements his growth from arrogant jerk to lovable weirdo. With Hiyori being gone-but-not-forgotten for now, Tsurugi was by far the character in this stretch of the show I was most emotionally invested in. The man is a precious ray of sunshine. There's also one other memorable thing about this episode I don't think the English-speaking fandom will be very aware of? Which means I get to do this again! Learning Unmeino- the Easy Way! (#1 of 1) The episode prior to this one debuted the show's second ending theme, LORD OF THE SPEED, which has the distinction of being sung in-character by Kagami's actor, Yuuki Satou. Despite being an image song for Kagami, it's just the general-use insert theme, which means it doesn't always get used for when Gatack is doing something cool. And in this case, the second ever use of it in the series, it starts playing while he's dying a horrible death in a fiery explosion, entirely so Tendou can show off his new powers. Not only is this the second time Yonemura has killed Kagami to demonstrate the use of Hyper Clock Up, following the movie, but this time his own theme song is playing, and rather memorably, the lyrics only start up right after he bites the dust. This, among other things, led to tons and tons of jokes being made about Gatack's pathetic status, in a bit of déjÃ* vu for a stag beetle secondary Rider. Well, I mean, at least everyone agrees Gatack IS the secondary, so Kagami's got that much going for him. But on top of frequent Leangle-esque jokes about his status as the "God of Battle (*chuckle*)", those first two words of Lord of the Speed's lyrics, unmei no, have become the blanket title for a series of jokes associated with the song. I'm only broadly familiar with this stuff, but basically, the two main gags seem to be playing Lord of the Speed over footage of random characters exploding, and just as often, a flood of comments on videos involving the song mimicking Kagami's "UWAAAAAAA!!!" as he's about to detonate. That's the gist of what I know, so to close things out, I'll allow Kagami to demonstrate an example of the phenomenon in action.
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01-11-2021, 11:14 PM | #589 |
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Not to me? Her wandering off is something that happens because of a psychic phenomenon, so I'm not feeling generous enough to say that it makes Hiyori a story driver. She's not even recognizably Hiyori at that point in the story.
And her running off because Worm Widow is telling her They're All Going To Laugh At You... I mean, if we're going to refer to that as Hiyori being in control of her story, we have lowered the bar pretty low. The problem for me with both of those examples are that it becomes more about other people's agendas, other plots. Worm Widow's scene is about her manipulating Hiyori, not Hiyori responding to manipulation. (It's also under a minute long, so let's keep that in mind.) Hiyori going to see Another Tendou at the end isn't some huge decision, it's a weird plot thing that happens because of a psychic phenomenon. BTW, can you give your thoughts about this one? Quote:
I don't think that Tendou's motivation is about parent death based from here. From what I catch, Tendou is someone who cares the most for family members, that being Juka, for what's shown (and well... Hiyori as from this part), and previously, Tendou also loses his cool, swears personal vengenace, and even acting recklessly to Worms that targeted Juka (proclaiming that they won't get away) and endangered Hiyori, as for ep. 26. So I think the flashback here, Tendou shows similar characteristics of that, Tendou being enraged for harm to his family, where Worms that targeted and killed his parents are what Tendou hates the most, just like the Worm that endangered Juka and Hiyori. The flashback I think isn't meant to change Tendou's motivation, it's meant to show Hiyori's origin as a Worm.
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 33
The smartest thing it does, at least for a guy like me who did not love the last episode, is that it makes a lot of the last episode’s details… less important. They’re still there (Hiyori being a Worm is sort of crucial to Tendou’s dilemma), but they’re not really key to understanding the stakes. The stakes are Hiyori Is Missing, and that’s all that matters. How she’s missing, the last few minutes of 32, it’s not really a big part of this episode? We’re a week past that for the characters, with the shock worn off and everyone trying to figure out their next move. It’s laid out perfectly in that first Misaki/Kagami scene, where she’s wondering why the most impetuous member of the cast has been moping around for the last seven days while one of his best friends is missing. The answer is that she’s missing because of a situation no one understands, and there’s really nothing anyone can do yet. Kagami’s left to wait until an opportunity presents itself, but he’s not going to take action just for the sake of taking action. Quote:
The everybody feels trapped would make more pragmatic character like Tendou do riskier choice, but for characters who is more moral to everyone, it'll give them hesitation, dilemma for what to do that both choices can lead to disastrous outcome, and I like that here, Tendou's plan is considered as terrible, some audience would encourage Tendou's way, ignoring if it's terrible or not, while bashing those that hesitates. Quote:
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A QUESTION
And, of course, we have Tsurugi. Did you really think that, for an episode where Everybody Feels Trapped And No One Is Making Good Decisions, that we’d avoid talking about Tsurugi? He has a banner storyline in this one, where he sells the Sasword Zecter to Tendou in order to rebuild his family fortune. It’s monumentally short-sighted, both because he’ll need that to defeat the Worms, and because if he tries to fight Worms without it, he’s almost definitely going to have a Worm Tantrum. Luckily, Tsurugi has access to the mighty Discalibur (love that name, love that name), the Discabil family’s legendary sword… except Jiiya already sold it, leaving only the hilt in the sheath. (The scene of Tsurugi assuming that the sword must be invisible is… I don’t want to make a Priceless pun, but it is so good you guys.) Jiiya ends up rebuying Discalibur, at the expense of all the money Tsurugi made selling the Sasword Zecter, plus Jiiya’s paycheck. It’s a boondoggle of epic proportions, proving that Tsurugi is the man who stands at the top of losing money. Or is he? What’s something collectible you’ve sold that you’ve ended up rebuying later?
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01-11-2021, 11:28 PM | #590 |
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Tsurugi's outfit in this episode is one of the elements of Kabuto that stuck with me years after watching the show. It's not a new joke - Tsurugi is woefully inept at personing - but the execution of it is just goddamn brilliant. I will never get tired of that tiny yellow hat with the chin strap and little backpack and Tsurugi's assumption that he looks perfectly normal in them.
As for the main plot, it is so perfectly Kabuto that Renge's Road to Damascus moment comes through food. For a show that is ostensibly about guys in bug armor fighting shapeshifting aliens, there is a such a strong commitment to all of these underlying themes about food. It's like this is what Mai thought street dancing was to Gaim. There are some points here where I feel like the show could have easily gone into parody territory, but I think it really did work to build this part of the story around yet another food thing. And we got the full (second) debut of Hyper Kabuto, which looks exactly like it did in the movie and in the last several episodes where it cameoed. And there's nothing at all ridiculous about it being destroyed but then replaced by its own future version - that's just science. And finally, more delightful scenes of Kageyama's life sucking. On the one hand, it does feel a little sudden for him to seem almost addicted to TheBee, but at the same time I can totally buy that this is a guy whose sole identity was tied into the prestige and rank that he got from being a Kamen Rider. It's clear that no one actually respected him, so I can see why he's so desperate to get the power back. Of course, a guy like him doesn't know what going to hell truly is... |
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