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07-26-2020, 05:33 PM | #11 |
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Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,301
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It grows on you the 02 suit. When I watched the raw, I really thought they killed gai off in an unexpected underwhelming way as a way to spite him as the creator of the arc. Then he shot both fuwa and yaiba, then turn out they live. I was really expecting this was uprise explosive serious repercussion judging from first fee minutes. They caught be off guard and then it's back to the cliche tropes.
Like db super and alot more japan will never go back to 80-90s dark plot about accepting deaths of heroes in the most tragic way possible. 02 debut felt lackluster it's like an upgrade faster harder shining for arc. Still no azu or answer to who brought jin back online. He was made to be the chosen one, but he's as disposable as the rest ? Now horobi randomly will sketch side maybe because of jin. A lot of switch side without development. Suddenly aruto might be friend with the arc in the finales like gamou and fourze. |
07-26-2020, 06:20 PM | #12 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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My in the moment response to this one was hugely positive. I think this episode was fantastic at using emotions to sort of pave over the bits of plotting that aren't all there at times. The way the Zero-Two Driver and Key were created is the perfect example... is what I would say if I didn't realize as I was writing this that the Ark has the ability to print out weapons after getting a body, and the whole explanation here is that Zea essentially exists within Izu now, so...
The point is, even if there was some major contradiction to established series rules, the meaning of those scenes isn't in what's literally happening. Zero-Two is born when a human and HumaGear join hands to leap towards their dreams. It's that simple. The visuals are telling the story in that moment, and it's all the more powerful a scene for it, in my opinion. And that's kind of the story with the whole plot, for me. Sure, Ark-Zero showing up to murder Aruto with finger lasers is completely uncharacteristic, obviously the entire main cast was not going to drop dead, yadda yadda yadda... but that kind of thing is how the show rolls, and I accept that as long as I feel there's a greater purpose being served, and that was very much the case here. The debut episode of a final form is generally meant to be a penultimate statement on the overall themes of the series, and as such, choosing to specifically focus the narrative on Izu was without doubt the best decision. It just could not have been anyone else, even Aruto himself. I don't think I ever put this down in writing, but back when the show started, I was crazy excited about the potential of her character. I was hoping for basically the best character development of a Rider heroine ever, with a gradual but massive shift in personality as she became more and more indistinguishable from a human through her experiences with Aruto. In my mind, she was always the key to the entire story. The growth she's had ended up being a lot more subtle than I was maybe hoping for. I was going so far in my head as to expect her to stop defining herself as an assistant entirely, while the direction the show went in ended up emphasizing how assisting Aruto is now a genuine desire for her rather than a predetermined purpose. The more episodes go by, and the more time I've had to think about, I really love what the show has done with her over time despite, and maybe even because of the downplayed approach. The main thing was, I needed Izu to really start showing different emotions by the end. All of this is to say, seeing her crying here, and all the sadness surrounding it, had all the impact I could've hoped for. It felt completely earned. The situation is simulated, but the tears are as real as can be. I loved that. Aruto's part in all this is pretty good too, and I especially liked getting to see all the brainstorming he did to create Zero-Two, which, delightfully, has just about nothing to do with the technical specifics like a discount Sento, and everything to do with what he wants Zero-Two to represent, with a bunch of crossed-out rejected names on top, and that big triangle dominating the bottom showing how dreams, hearts, and technology all support each other. It's all exactly the kind of stuff Aruto would be thinking about, you know? Heavier on the raw passion than the step-by-step logic. If I could critique one thing in all this, it'd be to echo what FreshToku said about involving Zea in any capacity muddling the theme of surpassing predictions and not needing to be reliant on his legacy anymore. I don't necessarily need Aruto to build the Zero-Two Driver in a cave with a box of scraps, but the less old hands involved, the better. Still, points for not having Gai involved in the slightest, which gives me newfound hope his redemption arc isn't just happening because it's convenient for the other plot threads. But again, this is very much an episode where the problems just sorta melt away for me. At the end of the day it gets us to a real cool fight scene as usual, bolstered by Shoujirou Nakazawa's gift for clean and concise direction, with his typical smooth use of slow-motion to emphasize a moment, such as Zero-Two sliding by Ark-Zero's right hook as the fight begins. Plus, it does that thing the big climax fights always do where the little mechanical overlay or whatever appears over Aruto's foot as he leaps into action, which is always nice to see. And a second insert theme! How about that? I don't think it tops the existing one, but literally nothing can, so second place is nothing to be ashamed of here. Plus, and I know literally nobody else cares, but I legitimately love how slick the font for Zero-Two's finishing moves is. It's a perfect match to the sharp lines of the suit itself. And as you can tell from my points of praise getting that minor, I'm kind of out of things I really want to say about this episode, but I absolutely think it was another real good one. There was an absurd amount of time we had to build up expectations for Zero-Two's debut, but, at least for me, I'd say it lived up to them.
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07-26-2020, 08:46 PM | #13 |
Fangirl-Type Humagear
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 703
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I'm trying to come up with something intelligent to say, but after watching that episode my thoughts are mostly just screaming "oh nooooo Izu TT_TT" and "WOW THAT WAS SO COOL!!!" over and over.
Uh... oh, I like how both Aruto and Ark are fighting for specific visions of the future and how that's mirrored by their use of predictions in battle. It's not blatant symbolism like 02 being created by both Aruto and Izu, but it's a neat little bit of thematic consistency. That fight was all about the future. Also, I'm sure it was to save on CGI, but I thought it was kinda cool how 02 didn't have any fancy special effects when he switched places, he just ducked out of frame and came back in somewhere else. |
07-26-2020, 09:05 PM | #14 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 169
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The first half of the episode is really in term of actings and cinematographies. But the cut off from simulation to reality is abrupt. It's like everything play out EXACTLY as simulated by Zea, down to Ark-Zero using laser pointer to kill Aruto. How strong is a Humagear's calculation power?
Zero-Two design is cool though. Somehow make me think of modernized Showa instead of Heisei weird designs post-Decade. |
07-27-2020, 09:11 AM | #15 |
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,533
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Really wish I had something more profound to say here, but Fish really summed up my thoughts perfectly.
This was a damn good episode IMO. Probably one of my favorite Final Form debuts ever. Even though the "deaths" were not real and I sorta caught on once Yua died (I assumed Zero-Two would be another "resurrection" form and Gai's sudden death was for pure shock), because it was essentially told from Izu's perspective, I went through the emotions along with her and that's what was really important there. It's also a subtle thing, but I liked how Aruto still apologized for what he put Izu through, despite none of it being real....because despite that, what Izu felt WAS real. Sure, it didn't become some huge moral dilemma (nor did it really need to become one), but lesser Rider shows would have glanced over it entirely.
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07-27-2020, 07:40 PM | #16 |
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 169
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Quote:
Really wish I had something more profound to say here, but Fish really summed up my thoughts perfectly.
This was a damn good episode IMO. Probably one of my favorite Final Form debuts ever. Even though the "deaths" were not real and I sorta caught on once Yua died (I assumed Zero-Two would be another "resurrection" form and Gai's sudden death was for pure shock), because it was essentially told from Izu's perspective, I went through the emotions along with her and that's what was really important there. It's also a subtle thing, but I liked how Aruto still apologized for what he put Izu through, despite none of it being real....because despite that, what Izu felt WAS real. Sure, it didn't become some huge moral dilemma (nor did it really need to become one), but lesser Rider shows would have glanced over it entirely. |
07-28-2020, 02:22 AM | #17 |
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07-28-2020, 07:47 AM | #18 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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So funny thing - when Aruto died, I though something to myself along the lines of "Wow, this is when they get their buddy Zi-O to come back and rewind time to fix the problems." And then it almost looked like Izu had learned to rewind time. I mean, of course it was all a simulation (I don't think that's intended to be a twist, it's been mentioned enough times with the Ark), but I found it amusing.
But yeah, 02 debut. Not sure I thoght it was *amazing*, but it's still a solid episode where Izu has a chance to show her development and personality, Aruto gets to progress past his grandfather's legacy, and we get to see Gai get shot. Seriously, though, that's pretty brutal, how they all get taken down so quickly. Aruto actually had me shocked for a moment. 02 is cool in how simplistic it is, and the producers must love that CGI budget being saved, but idk, I almost wish it did have some fancy trick. But I guess it doesn't need it. This isn't just 01 with another gimmick added on top, this is a new start. A second beginning. A second beginning that can outpredict the Ark's predictions.
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07-28-2020, 11:11 AM | #19 |
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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As one twitter user pointed out, this is the second time the opportunity to bring 001 into the series has been ignored.
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07-28-2020, 11:43 AM | #20 |
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: World of Ataru
Posts: 857
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I think it because the 001 suit was scrapped to make Ikazuchi
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