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12-05-2020, 10:36 AM | #191 |
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This is another episode I have little to say anything about (a lot of those lately). All I can say is that Gridknight’s original conception was that in the midst of the og show, Digifer would steal Gridman’s data and use it to create his own evil counterpart who would be a recurring boss for a few episodes, before turning good. I’m guessing they didn’t go through with it due to the low episode count (and the fact they didn’t expect the show to be a real hit, so they kept the story simple).
Though I do love that our monster starts off as a rather low quality mascot costume before turning into a creepier “true form”. That may be because I’m a sucker for these types of plots when used in Super Sentai (Carranger, Boukenger and Kyoryuger come to mind). |
12-05-2020, 04:09 PM | #192 |
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Uh, interesting. A shame Gridknight wasn't in the old show, but it's understandable. Makes me wonder who'd become him in Syber-Squad. My guess would be Malcolm.
And yeah, the Surprise Kaiju was pretty cool, though the part about it being "Akane's' heart" was odd to me. If I were to give it a generous interpretation, I guess it's meant to represent her desire to change, via putting her negative emotions into a Kaiju for the Alliance to kill?
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12-06-2020, 07:30 AM | #193 |
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There’s probably a better thread to put this in, but this is more convenient. Our first look at Dynazenon
He seems to borrow from King Gridman/Phorno for the design. |
12-06-2020, 06:42 PM | #194 |
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!!!
Drago is back! WOO!!
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12-06-2020, 08:04 PM | #195 |
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Episode 11: Decisive Battle The knife in the opening turns bloody too, nice attention to detail there. What's not a nice attention to detail is how out of character the Neon Genesis group is in this entire sequence that carries over from last episode. In every episode prior, someone couldn't so much as smell one of Yuta's' farts without the Junior High Squad jumping into knife them. But here? Eh, Akane's allowed within stabbing distance of Yuta and free to smash JUNK. Whatever. This is the episode where things gets real, and even though it tries really hard to be a huge dramatic turn, certain problems I have with it keep me from investing into it fully. So I guess be forewarned that there's gonna be alot of complaining in this post. That said! And let me make this clear here and now... I did still overall like this episode. I just feel it has some issues. So like I did with one specific episode of the GARO anime, I'm gonna try to do a sort of good-cop-bad-cop thing, where I go back and forth. The intro to this episode was already a Bad Thing, so let's go with a Good Thing! Surprising literally none of you my first Good Thing is Anti. I really dug how he presented himself all throughout the episode, saying that he wants to repay the group for their good will towards him despite everything. And his interaction with Sho, while not perfect, was handled great, really showcasing growth with both characters in terms of how they spoke and presented themselves. That said... Bad Thing: A small change made from the SimulDub version Granted, the context of the scene I'm about to talk about is preserved between both versions, but I liked how the First Draft did it better. Here in the revised script, the conversation is (more or less) like so: Sho: "I represent the people. Those that you smash under your feet whenever you fight!" Anti: "I can't focus on the battle if I watch where I'm moving." However, in the SimulDub, the conversation went as follows: Sho: "Do you have any idea how many people you trampled under your feet whenever you went out to fight!?" Anti: "Well I can't very well kill my target if I watch where I step, now can I?" To me, the first draft just had that extra bit of personality to make the entire sequence pop. It's not a MAJOR deal, but it's still something I feel should've been left as it was. This does however bring me to... Good Thing: Character Moments(mostly) Following up with Sho, I really liked how the entire situation has made him second guess himself and how he's acted throughout the entire course of the show. He begins to realize that he really has been nothing more than "the friend" in the entire thing, and even begins to feel worthless due to never having anything major to contribute. Ontop of that, he begins to see some of the harsh realities when it comes to fighting Kaiju, something that hadn't sunk into him back in the second episode. Something tells me he'd like Kuuga. As for Yuta, well, after speaking to Gridman in the same space that Sam would be in whenever he turned into Servo, it turns out that Yuta and Gridman was practically one in the same. This entire time, Gridman was actually possessing Yuta as a means of being able to access Akane's' virtual world. I actually liked this twist alot, as there was plenty of foreshadowing leading up to it(remember a certain line I pointed out in episode 2?), and speaking from the angle of a Syber-Squad fan, it was cool to see Servo becoming Sam for once, so to speak. Also major props to Rikka's' mom for just kinda rolling with all of the craziness going on around her. This lady has nerves of steel. Bad Thing: Akane and Rikka Rikka proclaims that Akane has crossed the line, and then immediately turns around and tells Akane that she's Akane's' friend and wants to exist solely for that purpose. Also Akane was totally justified in stabbing Yuta according to Gridman. NEXT. Good Thing: The Battle itself. As per usual with this show, the fight sequence against the army of previous Kaiju was a joy to watch. I especially liked the sequence where Gridknight is fighting in the background as the Junior High Squad races to go fix JUNK. Ontop of that Gridknight gets a cool sword! And I found it extremely fitting that the fight ends not with Gridman, but with Anti slicing the Puppeteer Kaiju, his own creation, clean in two, showing that he's not bound by the strings of Akane anymore. Great stuff. Oh and speaking of Akane she gets turned into a Kaiju, but not before Alexis delivers one of the best lines in the show. "Sorry to end this pointless chat." Thank you Alexis, thank you.
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Last edited by DreamSword; 05-29-2021 at 10:27 AM.. |
12-07-2020, 03:30 AM | #196 |
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It’s funny that the Tsubaraya series that explores the consequences of monster battles in more realistic depth than the norm is a) the one set in a virtual reality (where you’d think any damage could be fixed with a reboot) and b) the one co-produced with Studio Trigger (who has produced some fairly comical big hitters).
And I finally have a lot more to talk about on the references front. * The graphics card used to repair Junk is almost identical to the one used to originally create it in the first episode of Gridman. * The large army of revived Kaiju recalls the photo novel The Demon King’s Counterattack, which was a rough adaptation of the plot for the unproduced follow up, Gridman Sigma. In the novel, big bad Neo Khan Digifer, brother to the deceased original, revived his aniki’s monster Gilarus, Stealgun, Shinobilar and Neo Metallus and combined them with monsters of his own (Magma Girag, Glavas, Mad Texas, Gorgoberos and Devilight). Fittingly, both armies are defeated by Gridman and a similar hero who used to be a villain (Gridknight in the anime, Gridman Sigma in the photo novel) |
12-07-2020, 05:31 AM | #197 |
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It is a fun bit of dramatic irony isn't it? Because while the audience has certainly figured it out by now, our characters most definitely haven't, with a possible exception of Gridman now that his memory is back.
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12-07-2020, 08:57 PM | #198 |
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Episode 12: Awakening Expect alot of screenshots for this one, because alot goes on in this episode. And this is another case where I feel I need to be upfront about things. Remember when I said that very rarely do I find endings to stories perfect? SSSS.Gridman, unfortunately, has an example of an ending that I feel is pretty bungled. I don't think it's out and out bad per se, but there's alot of aspects to this episode that I feel just don't work out. It does have some good stuff going for it though, and I'll be sure to highlight those aspects as I go along. For example, I really liked Alexis in this episode! Although I don't really think the show wanted me to for various reasons, one of those being his turning Akane into a Kaiju. From a meta/writing perspective(note: I am by no means a professional writer), it's actually kinda funny, because we start off with a scene where Rikka accuses Alexis of turning Akane vile, to which Alexis merely replies "Yeah I didn't have have to do anything, she was already like that." And all Rikka can think to say to that is "Well then we'll change her!" Which says to me that the writers themselves couldn't think of a proper way to justify everything that Akane has done, and thus try to double down on her being "saved" ontop of the way previous episodes tried to frame her as sympathetic. But that's not what's important here. What's important is that Alexis delivers my favorite line in the entire show. One that elevates the dub to being superior to the sub. So what exactly does he say? He refers to humans as "meat things." If you're confused, "meat thing" is what Kilokahn from Syber-Squad would often refer to humans as, especially whenever he was trying to belittle Malcolm. And me? I highly appreciate that FUNimation went out of their way to work that reference in, and in a rather natural way too! That, ontop of their making Alexis' actor do a Tim Curry impression, really shows that they wanted to pay ode to the US version in their own way, and I love it. Meanwhile, we get a scene that comes really close to working, but then doesn't. As Sho is wallowing in self-pity, Gridman and Rikka come to convince him to help out in the final battle, in his own way. Sho comments that he's been useless this entire time as he's never helped in a direct way, to which then he's reminded: Moral support and being a true friend are every bit as valid, and he should feel proud of that. The issue is that it's Rikka who tells him this and not Gridman. Seriously, what a way to botch what would've been an otherwise fantastic moment! One of Sho's' primary reasons for his state of mind was that because Yuta was Gridman, he felt his friendship was running hallow. How awesome would it have been for Gridman himself to say "No Sho, I can tell Yuta cared every bit for you as you did him, and you're my friend as well." But nope! Gridman is focused solely on the mission and Rikka is the one who has to insist that Yuta and Sho are friends, because you know, that's genuine! Ugh. So how's Anti holding up in all this? Well, he's the one to take on Kaiju Akane, but the entire thing is framed as him attempting to save her rather than defeat her. And knee jerk reactions might make one think "Why should he even care? He has every right to want her dead." Which, yeah, but personally, I like to think that it's meant to show that's he's grown and pushed past all of that. Being the bigger man, in other words, and proving that he won't be as vile as Akane was. It works! But then it leads to the worst moment in the show. I'm (half) kidding by the way. While it would've been great to see Anti be a part of the final battle, I understand in a narrative sense why he's not. Alexis then absorbs Akane, achieving his final form. Gridman is ready though. He links the hearts of the entire Gridman Alliance, which results in... The Samurizer! And the stat screen from the old show! We of course here learn that the "SSSS" in the title refers to in the context of this show: "Special Signature to Save a Soul." Which, yeah, I dig it, since we as the audience all know what it actually means, haha. Keep in mind, I was already hype at this point, but what happened next made me go off the wall the first time I saw it. Not only does Gridman get his classic design back, Not Only does the original theme song start to blare in the background, NOT ONLY does the ensuing fight come straight out of DBZ, but the grand finale, using the Fixer Beam as the finisher??? Oh man, that was absolutely AMAZING. Sure, it's all for "saving Akane" and trying to net her more sympathy points, but man, the whole sequence is so high energy and such a great tribute to the old shows that I can't help but love it. Oh right, there's also that other thing in this show that made everyone lose their mind, but I didn't much care for. Yeah, the two holding hands in the opening? That was Akane and Rikka the whole time. And boy does this fall flat. Don't get me wrong, I understand that LGBT representation is important, and I do understand that this doesn't totally come out of nowhere, but here's the problem: These two have barely interacted up to now, and what little they have hasn't really made any sense. Sure, there's been sexual tension on Akane's' part, and yeah, Rikka never showed any interest in guys up to now, but like, so? The two straight up barely talk and then come the last leg of the show suddenly the two act like they've been together for like 12 years. I neglected to mention it in the write-up to last episode, because I wanted to save it for here to emphasize this show's' problem with informed attributes. Here's a conversation the two have: Akane: "You know all of this could've been avoided had you just killed me sooner, right?" Rikka: "Why are you always going on about that??" When this is straight up the first time Akane has even said anything like that. And again, this is all with the greater context that Akane actually has any redeeming qualities to begin with(she doesn't). Heck, while it's certainly one-sided, had Yuta ended up with Rikka instead, atleast there's a more firm basis for it. Here? LGBT representation is nice and all, but is it too much to ask that it also be written well? I know I'm getting on a touchy subject here but I hope you all can see where I'm coming from. But hey, as an Ace man, maybe I just don't 'get' this whole love ordeal. After all that, we're treated to a scene inside of the same room that Servo was often seen in during Syber-Squad, where Gridman explains that while yes, he was in possession of Yuta, Yuta's' feelings were so strong that alot of his personality still shined through, like his love for Rikka. Sho also gives a nice speech about how next time Gridman arrives, if he has to take hold of someone he should take Sho instead, that way Sho won't have to say goodbye. It's all a really nice scene. Good stuff. Then we get to, as far as I'm concerned, what is the REAL ending scene of this entire show. Anti and the Kaiju Girl. Turns out Kaiju Girl is actually the daughter of the Virus that Sydney made in Syber-Squad; The only Mega Virus that Sam as Servo didn't destroy and instead let roam through the digital world. I never expected a follow up on that and I am so glad this show bothered to do so. As for Anti, well... I couldn't think of a better shot to end the show on. ... Oh, and then there's this live-action sequence of Akane waking up in the real world that everyone lost their mind over, but more just left me confused and wondering how the heck the pass holder managed to materialize and become physical. Honestly by the end I'm just left wondering: Who did Akane kill before the first episode, and what promise did Yuta make to Rikka before Gridman showed up? FINAL THOUGHTS POST COMES TOMORROW
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Last edited by DreamSword; 05-26-2021 at 07:27 PM.. |
12-07-2020, 09:11 PM | #199 |
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Not to steal Androzani's bit, but my favorite thing in this entire episode was that the background music during Akane and Rikka's final conversation is an instrumental remix of OG Gridman's ending theme, "If I Got to Know You More", which struck me as a really great shout out, because the original song, lyrics and all, sort of weirdly fits the scene perfectly?
I don't know if I'll end up giving my thoughts on the show as a whole, but I will say, I have a massive soft spot for this finale. All those massive writing flaws you mentioned are there, for sure, but I had been dealing with that for 11 episodes already, so the good stuff was what was left to shine through for me.
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12-07-2020, 09:13 PM | #200 |
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Ooooh it's Anosillus, that's fun. Kinda funny because that episode just went up on the Ultraman youtube last Friday. It's fate, I think!
Bit random to have, but... hey, why not let the spirit of music from some random keyboard be the key to victory?
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