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07-01-2023, 06:18 PM | #17501 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 21 & 22: A Misguidance Counseling Session & Kicking Your True Nature
Pretty simple two-parter this time round! We get introduced to Sonada's replacement while she's on holiday / permanent retirement in the dark dimension, and while I have no idea if we'll ever see Gentaro's new homeroom teacher again, it's a good one-and-done. I can relate to her problem pretty well, having a passion that I'm not sure I could ever make into a long term sustainable carer, and while Gentarou's advice of "You don't have to sacrifice either, you can do both" is a little simplistic... he's Gentarou. Man's not known for his brains. And I do like the switch of the student helping the teacher figure their path in life. Good lesson for the kids at home about how, no, just because somene is older than you, maybe even your authority figure, they're not done learning themselves. The mystery at play here is fine. It only takes a vague knowledge of toku tropes to realise someone else is the Switcher and there's only been one other new character introduced, and the explanation for why someone would try and frame new teacher is a little flimsy, but hey, new Zodiarts!
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07-01-2023, 08:01 PM | #17502 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,426
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Man, I miss the days when you could rely on Nao Nagasawa showing up in something pretty much every year.
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07-05-2023, 07:57 PM | #17503 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 23 & 24: Teaming Up With Swans & The Motivation For Heroism
Something I touched on a couple of times in early episodes, where the Kamen Rider Club members to be were the main focus and the Zodiarts were secondary, was the weird tension between the need for them to be a murderous villain, and the fact they often ended up being the more sympathetic one. It wasn't a major flaw, and the show has counterbalanced by making more recent Zodiarts either obvious bullies, or being groomed for evil by Principal Tachibana, but it's interesting to see the idea pop up again here. Can a Zodiart be good? In this case, it's literal heroism on the line. The episode doesn't stop there. It also decides to take on cult behaviour (Yuki's kinda into it, oh no) with the Ugly Duckling Club. Maybe it's just me reading Star Trek discourse lately, but you could definitely make a commentary on fans of franchises like Kamen Rider holding up their ideals of heroism and doing good while really just wanting to feel part of something "good". Through that lens, the episode does not look good for the fandom, with the club very quickly going from a supportive group looking to Cygnus to inspiration, to a weirdly worshipful exercise group, to forcibly turning Cygnus evil because they can't cope without an idol. It's a bit rushed, and I feel the episode might have been stronger had it chosen to focus more on either just the cult stuff - as Tomoko says, it's very similar to 'her' debut episode - or the Fight Club esque Cygnus story, but it still manages to land both pretty well. Speaking of Tomoko, we have a story that matches her with Ryusei, and they make for a fun duo. Ryusei is still in his "hiding everything" mode, but it's fun to have him bounce off the club's spookiest member. Ryusei is obviously very tired at having to deal with the club's eccentricities, but clearly he's growing fond of them. Or maybe, despite seeing it as growing soft, he's not heartless enough to let innocent people die for his own sake of justice, no matter how annoying they might be. Speaking of annoying, Cancer! It's refereshing having a villain the heroes can have banter with, given they know his identity, but while he's physically strong here, he does never feel like a real threat in the same way Scorpio did, or Virgo still kinda does. But that's fine, sometimes we need a comedy villain. Another strong 2-parter for Fourze to be honest. Nice to see some diving into whether or not switchers are going to inherently use their powers for evil (answer: yes, because society), and some good laughs with Tomoko and the gang.
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07-06-2023, 12:59 AM | #17504 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 1,947
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Watched Kamen Rider Geats: What the hell?! Desire Grand Prix Full of Men! I'm Ouja! Well, so far this HBV is my favorite of the Geats. Funny and, in some places, very self-critical. Sure, it's strange to watch this in the late stages of the show, gone into full Greek tragedy, but this little video is a little uplifting. Also, it seems to me that it is a reason to cross out Buffa from the candidates for the V-cinema, given that he is the main character here, even if his character reminds him of himself from the crossover than the main show.
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07-13-2023, 01:41 PM | #17505 |
Henshin Heaven
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Inside a Hyper Battle Video, help.
Posts: 1,243
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I had fallen behind in Geats but caught up to episode 42 today.
Ages and ages ago in an early episode thread for the series I had speculated about Keiwa having a villainous turn and it seems I was spot on. However, I don't really *like* how this and many other aspects of the show are being handled. I think the pacing is all wrong and the show just doesn't do enough to get me invested in the cast? Combine that with the borderline incomprehensible worldbuilding and it just isn't proving to be a great experience for me. There are flashes of something great here! I like Michinaga feeling the need to kill civilians because there isn't a better option (even if I think his various shifts from villain to hero to get here have been contrived) and there's some good suits. Like, no lie, I ended up laughing at Sara's death scene because of how abrupt and silly the framing felt, which is a bad sign. Definitely a Ghost-esque experience where I'm entertained but not in a good way.
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07-13-2023, 02:42 PM | #17506 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 1,947
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Quote:
As for the main characters, for the most part the problem here is how they are shown. I mean, I recently watched a PunkJack special. At the same time, I myself consider this rider a plot device, and not a character, but it was in his special that I worried about him. Because reasons, reactions and emotions were shown. There were feelings. In the Geats show, on the contrary, the characters either open up and go to the background, or in the case of the MC, they simply give out about 25% of the desired reaction. Well, if the hero is not worried, then the viewer, in principle, has nothing to worry about. But these are just my vague impressions. |
07-13-2023, 04:26 PM | #17507 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,426
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I've fallen a few weeks behind on Geats. Part of that is because I'm sticking with the slowest fansubs, but mostly it's because I'm just really uninterested in a Darth Tycoon arc. Keiwa was already my least favorite of the four main characters and this is not making me care about him more.
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07-13-2023, 04:46 PM | #17508 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,108
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Quote:
I've fallen a few weeks behind on Geats. Part of that is because I'm sticking with the slowest fansubs, but mostly it's because I'm just really uninterested in a Darth Tycoon arc. Keiwa was already my least favorite of the four main characters and this is not making me care about him more.
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07-13-2023, 06:41 PM | #17509 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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I'm having the opposite experinence tbh - I fell behind on Geats in the early 30's because I wasn't really feeling the whole Ace searches for his mum arc, but this latest one I'm having a good time with. Keiwa's plot... yeah, it's a little contrived, but I don't feel it's stupidly out of character or anything? I'm not sure how it sits with the rest of the show, nor how we'll get from here to the big ending I'm assuming is coming, but for now, I'm happy.
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07-17-2023, 05:40 PM | #17510 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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Kamen Rider Fourze Episodes 25 & 26 - The Problem With Graduating & A Sublime Slow Dance
Things change in life. People move away, start new journeys of their own. It's not awful to hang on to the past, but you can't cling to it like a safety blanket, refusing to move on because the future is scary and what you have now is good. I mean, it probably is! But you've got to take the leap. Shun has been hung to dry over Mio for quite a few episodes now. But Mio is still caught up over his betrayal all the way back when, and honestly doesn't need a relationship in her life right now. She's Queen of the Kamen Rider Club, why would she deign to have a boyfriend? She wants to celebrate the memory of her time at Amonagawa High School with the piece of trash. I like that Shun and Mio don't instantly get back together here, despite all his pushing. It's a basic "I want my beloved to be happy" ending, where Shun trades his own happiness for Mio's, but that's enough of a reward for him. The plot about the returning switchers appearing to go villainous again, that's a bit weaker. Maybe if they'd shown up since, it would have more resonance, but I get what they're going for thematically. All about looking back at the past and moving on to better pastures. Interesting that two of the Switchers have connections to Tomoko and Mio, but then there's Draco, who spent his time being a generic bully to Kengo and his buddy when he quit to Magnet States, who I guess is just here because the actor is around. Nitpicks aside though, this is a good one. Nice to focus on two characters who've been lurking in the background for a while, and the Switcher plot is very solid.
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