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08-16-2022, 03:44 PM | #821 |
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Now that you mention it, we got a double Rider Kick with Aruto and Jin too.
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08-16-2022, 03:49 PM | #822 |
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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 38 - “I AM 1000% YOUR FRIEND”
I get that it’s probably not going to work for everyone. It’s a bold swing to follow last episode’s casual suggestion of multiple homicides with this episode’s attempt to resolve Gai’s childhood trauma. Gai’s seemed an absolutely irredeemable character, and I get it if this turn comes far too late (or far too random) to be convincing. Quote:
For me, it worked perfectly. I love the mundanity of it all: how Gai was a kid with a shitty dad, and he couldn’t process those feelings of inadequacy, so he pushed himself to be a hyper-competent asshole. He had this one friend, an AI from Hiden Intelligence, and the loss of it became this psychic wound that warped him in the weirdest ways. His hatred of AI was the absence of a friend; his desire to take over Hiden was a chance for a connection to something that used to make him feel worthwhile; his push to grow its profits at any cost was proof that his affection for Thouser was reciprocal, and valuable. It’s all sort of pathetic, but it’s a recognizable kind of pathetic.
Because horrible people don’t come from nowhere, and that’s worth acknowledging. Gai’s a terrible human being, but there were things from his past that made this terrible outcome feel right to him. It's everything this show's been talking about with intolerance and hatred, how they have a root cause rather than an innate presence. This isn’t an episode about forgiving Gai; this is an episode about understanding him, and maybe seeing if there’s anything to be salvaged. Quote:
I will always give the benefit of the doubt to a Kamen Rider episode that wants to try and rehabilitate someone rather than destroy them. I love stories that don’t ask what punishment someone deserves, but what forgiveness they might earn. Bestoying just a bit of grace on Gai is worth doing if there’s a chance he could work to redeem himself. It’s not wiping the slate clean or anything – I’m not even sure if Gai could ever make up for all of the people and Humagears he harmed – but it’s allowing for the scales to be brought closer to balance.
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08-16-2022, 08:11 PM | #823 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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This was the last episode to be completed before COVID hit. From here on in, the writers had to truncate their plans significantly (Takahashi has gone on record saying it would?ve just been a retread of Ex-Aid, with Aruto slowly getting all the secondary villains redeemed to join him in fighting the Ark if they?d had the full 51 episodes they?d planned for).
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And I might as well get this out of the way now(even if it's early) but that really how I feel about Zero-One as whole I'm not sure where it falls for me. It not the worst thing in the world but I don't love it either. I wish I loved it because I see so many people both on here and other places love it so much. And I'm honestly jealous that I can't feel the same. And maybe that's my biggest dissapointment? Myself for not feeling the same as the others. That maybe I'm just not seeing what others are seeing?
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What I don't like was how the show portrayed the Ark as an omnipotent future-calculating machine by manipulating... Aruto and Ikazuchi. The two characters who, unfortunately, might be not the best one in the brain. Aruto, of course, put his heart more to action than his thought and don't forget how Ikazuchi was easily puppeteered by Mestubojinrai without even realizing it. Obviously manipulating both of them were too easy, so to have the Ark HAD to explicitly said they were gullible was disappointing.
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While you have talked about horrible people not coming from nowhere before, but, didn't you say that people don't change 180? I'd think Gai's "redemption" here is a case of changing 180, after the series tried to write him as someone who'd stoop at any low to achieve something consciously without ever considering of others, even those that work closely with him, he just suddenly realizes what he did is wrong here.
And, two, that's the thing about redemption: it's an incredibly long process, and not guaranteed to end to anyone's satisfaction. It... I mean, we are in a Kamen Rider discussion thread, not a philosophy thread, so I'm not gonna write a few thousand words on my beliefs regarding human morality and societal judgment, but Gai's not instantly Good just because he feels bad about his past actions. That's not how redeption works. It's not up to Gai if he's been redeemed, it's up to everyone but Gai. All he can do is try to be better than he was yesterday, and try to atone to the people he harmed. Finally, I think the show is absolutely leaving it up to the viewers to decide how much forgiveness they want to offer Gai's character. I don't think anyone's saying Gai Is A Hero And You Have To Love Him And Forget About His Villainy. You don't! Gai can still try to be better without anyone's forgiveness or support! His self-improvement is not dependent on anyone else's authorization! Things are allowed to be complicated!
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08-17-2022, 09:03 AM | #824 |
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Well, one, I'd argue that Gai hasn't changed 180 degrees, he just has some newfound clarity about how his actions have prevented him from finding any happiness or contentment, and is working towards a better outcome. He's still an egotistical asshole, and he needs a lot of guidance in figuring out what the right course of action is. He's only started a path, not finished his rehabilitation.
Not to mention he had dim view of humanity overall too, other than him, it gotta be like educating an extreme misantrophe. It's not about other's reaction (which is done well btw), characters or audience, but the mere part of Gai admitting he's wrong and genuinely trying to be better. I thought it's 180 that he can immediately admit he's wrong and, for me personally, he completely abandoned his negative traits here? (not being asshole anymore, more below) Quote:
KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 39 - “UNPREDICTABLE OUTCOME”
If this’d just been an episode about Gai going on an apology tour, it’d still be a fantastic episode. His egotism and narcissism haven’t dimmed in the light of his newfound dog-based emotional healing, which is the best decision this show has ever and could ever make. Gai’s the worst kind of less-awful dipshit, where the move from Genocidal Capitalist to Just Sort Of An Asshole has him so in awe of his capacity for change that he needs everyone to know about his arduous journey of self-discovery. His revelations are saccharine and generic, but since they happened to him, he’s convinced they’re fascinating and unique. (When he tells Aruto that he’s the embodiment of Grampa Hiden’s dream!!!) He’s funnier as a changed man than he ever was scary as a villain, and I am eating his nonsense up. Quote:
I love how Gai’s bid for redemption becomes 1000% less funny when Aruto’s involved. There’s weight behind Aruto’s anger, and it’s the weight of an entire series cleaning up Gai’s messes. Gai just being like I’m Happy Now is… I was going to say “it’s nice, but”, except it’s not even nice to Aruto. He ended up fixing Gai, kind of accidentally (when he saved the VPs from Hiden Intelligence, he was mostly just happy to have Gai out of his hair), but that doesn’t even start to make up for the shit Gai pulled. He created a humanity-hating satellite that is currently trying to exterminate humanity! Who cares about his goddamn dog! (I do. Forever.) Aruto’s righteous in his fury at Gai, demanding that Gai stop praising himself for his growth and start actively making a positive difference in the lives of people he’d hurt. And, yeah, bow better! 90 degrees!
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Even the Ikazuchi stuff is just another facet of the theme of Progress, where his second Singularity is immediately mistrusted by Jin, but welcomed by Aruto. This entire episode’s hero plot is about how the only way to beat Ark is to collaborate in ways it can’t predict: by leveraging Raiden’s return, or by teaming up with Kamen Rider Thouser. Ark can’t predict that people would change or grow. His view of others is as tools, as something that can be easily quantified and harnessed. People becoming better than they were yesterday – more humble, more considerate, more generous – literally doesn’t compute for the Ark. The Ark’s strength is in the predictable.
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08-17-2022, 11:43 PM | #825 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Oh, I just mean that he's still sort of a pain to be around. He's an asshole in the more pedestrian sense, where you definitely don't want to be stuck talking to him at a party. He's still pretty stuck-up, even if it's in a less insulting way.
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08-17-2022, 11:47 PM | #826 |
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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 40 - “TOWARD MY DREAM AND MY DREAM”
This is one where I sort of don’t know if the ends justify the means? I really liked where this episode ended. Beyond the catharsis of seeing Aruto humiliate the Ark via some absolutely jaw-dropping action choreography (I’m particularly a fan of using a bunch of Zero-Two doubles to pop in and out of frame, to make Aruto feel impossibly fast), I love how this ending reinforces the series-long notion of interconnected fates. Aruto’s argument in favor of human/Humagear coexistence is that things like happiness, or success, or contentment aren't – if you’ll pardon the expression – zero-sum things. Someone else doesn’t necessarily succeed at someone else's expense; we can all succeed together. Aruto empowers Izu to be better, which in turn empowers Aruto to be strong enough to defeat the Ark. We can win by helping others win. I love that message. But the road to get there? Man, I don’t know. The first ten minutes of this episode had me riveted. I 1000% bought into the idea that the Ark murdered Aruto. I was like, Holy Shit. What a bold turn, to leave Aruto’s dream in the hands of the people who looked up to him! What a great demonstration of this show’s themes and theories! And, god, Izu’s performance! Heartbreaking and vulnerable, it got me entirely on this show’s side. Until they murdered the rest of the cast, and I was like Oh It’s Just A Dream. The stakes basically evaporated, and I was just biding my time until the twist was revealed. Which somehow got worse, as the twist was that Aruto was psychologically torturing Izu (who consented?) until she hit her Singularity Point and coughed up an upgrade that could beat the Ark. It’s… boy, I don’t love it? It takes something enormously affecting, like Izu crying over the body of her dead friend, and turns into some sort of Heroic Prank, and that’s a kind of a horrible way to evolve the core relationship of this show. It shortcuts it in ways that may help the heroes succeed today, but at the cost of a more honest and thoughtful story. Still, that ending! I do like that ending. Bonus points for Izu being super mad at Aruto. Me too, Izu! Me too! — KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 09: KAMEN RIDER ZERO-TWO Much like the episode that introduces it, I’m sort of torn on this suit. I generally like it. I think it cleanly communicates Upgrade Zero-One form, even if it doesn’t really nail Designed With Izu. The decrease in COLOR and increase in red and silver keep the suit itself firmly ensconced in the Zero-One aesthetic, and the blocks of color are pleasant to look at. (I know the red gloves and Two of it all are Showa references, but I don’t truck with Showa. Feel free to gush over that aspect if you’d like.) There’re some in-universe aspects to the new Driver that I feel like are too over-thought – I’m not sure we needed to define the central emblem as a link between Aruto’s family, considering this suit already has to shoulder the thematic weight of humans and Humagears working in unison on a dream – but the Driver itself is solid in design. Which, yeah, that’s sort of my whole thing about this suit: I don’t know if it’s hitting all of the beats it wants to, but I like looking at it enough to not really care. Befitting a new Aruto form, this figure really goes all out. Well-placed stickers help shape the colors of the legs, while paint and molded plastic cover the torso and head. This is a figure where you can definitely see the budget being dumped into it. A little conflicted about some of the story elements around this suit, but it’s still awfully pretty.
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08-17-2022, 11:59 PM | #827 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
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And so we get to my favorite suit in Zero-One. There's a reason I've had it as my main icon and as the holder of "Zero" out of all the other Zero's in Toku. I just really love the suit in that it represents a clear upgrade from Shining Hopper specifically. Cause like, both Assault and Metal Cluster were Ark related inventions. The fact that we basically went back to the beginning, all the way back to base Zero-One aesthetic was really nice. I love it as an evolution to Zero-One's design, and this starts the Reiwa Trend of wanting to slim down/make the Final Forms a bit more simple in terms of look.
And I think they managed it pretty well. A lot of people were sour on it when it first dropped and I get why, but I still love it. Also it has an energy scarf? Like duh, if you remember me gushing about Ichigata then of course I'm going to love it! Anyway to get the nitty gritty of how we got to this point out of the way. Yeah I totally see why you wouldn't like the method of how we got there. Even I'm not the happiest about it, but I do feel like Izu being rightfully angry about it helps offset it by just a bit. But like, desperate times call for desperate measures, you know? So let's talk about Zero-Two's debut fight and how wonderfully it's setup and choreographed. Just the very beginning where you think it's going to be a repeat of Shining Hopper, Aruto gets one up on Ark and but then Ark manages to predict things and declare the form as useless. But nope, Zero-Two "Nothing Personel's" Ark and immediately start's laying the smackdown. This specific moment is one I love, you can just feel the raw intensity in Aruto's counters. And I love the idea of 02's "headspace" being represented by floating 02 numeric code which of course does not exist in standard 01010 code and further exemplifies how Zero-Two can just break any conceived system or planning. Points to the very practical "We have two suits, we're going to utilize both of them and sound effects to show how fast Zero-Two is" where you just have Zero-Two exit the frame before coming in from another not even missing a beat. Also Zero-Two Big Bang is a really cool callout and it was nice to see Ark just so thoroughly defeated. We've had them match and overwhelm the Ark before, but just barely and usually with multiple people. This time it was just one Rider with the hopes and dreams of Humagears and Humans. If you cant' tell I really loved this episode and consider Zero-Two to have a place among my favorite Final Form Debut's. |
08-18-2022, 01:33 AM | #828 |
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I love the Zero-Two suit. The pops of silver and red really add a lot to a design that was already one of the better base suits. Even better, it's an upgrade that manages to stay as sleek and stylish as the base suit. I will always appreciate a design that doesn't go overboard with stacking on more armor, accessories, and miscellaneous pieces of flair.
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08-18-2022, 02:56 AM | #829 |
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If it’s not clear by now, I’m in this more for the belt jingles than the suits, but dear god, I did not love 02’s jingle at all.
Zero-TwoRose: road to (Glory Has to) lead to (Growing path to) Change 1 to 2! Kamen rider zero-two. It’s Never Over! (Admittedly, I like the idea that the belt sounds change when a hidden button is pressed, but I think later products used that conceit better). Also, I’m not keen on the in-universe origin being Is just… pooping it out of her ear. Especially since it seems way sillier than the usual 3D printing method. And since Aruto was able to create this, I’ve got a joke prepared, by the same guy as my last meme. |
08-18-2022, 04:47 AM | #830 |
Reiei
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We're at that point now. I'll get these out of the way, Zero-Two is a fantastic debut, I love use of practical effects and just how overall minimal in VFX it is, it's a stark contrast to a certain sword-based rider's final form debut next year who goes to the other extreme side of the spectrum in dashing colors. Zero-Two is an amazing suit, it was weird at first how it was simple initially in the magazine leaks, but I fell in love with it immediately. I pre-ordered the SHF already!
NOW, we're here, THIS was something I want to share going forward from this point of the show here on out. https://www.facebook.com/bakanki/pos...ubNwrwSPQvYgYl These are short doujins done by @10pperance on Twitter, please follow them, they're an amazing artist. They've done some great in-between stories for Zero-One, this one in particular would be right after Zero-Two's debut fight. It's absolutely adorable and their work is one of the shining gems of this series. |
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