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04-23-2020, 09:26 PM | #101 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
In 2000, fanboards (ie places like this) are just starting out, so you're pre-all that. I'm far too young to remember it, but you'd probably still be relying on alt.whatever groups in the West, and something similar in Japan. Completely different Internet to what we're used to today.
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04-24-2020, 12:03 AM | #102 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 104
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Quote:
In 2000, fanboards (ie places like this) are just starting out, so you're pre-all that. I'm far too young to remember it, but you'd probably still be relying on alt.whatever groups in the West, and something similar in Japan. Completely different Internet to what we're used to today.
During the time of Ryuki (the last time I watched KR show through TV) though, access to bootleg CDs and Internet has become way more common. I remember the first ever online recap I read was on Ryuki, and the person actually wrote it in a narrative novel style, even taking the liberty to describe imaginary character thoughts in a given scene. It's borderline fanfic territory, but I enjoyed reading that and was impressed by the dedication. |
04-24-2020, 04:41 AM | #103 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Quote:
Yeah, and when Kuuga was aired at my country (same year it was aired in Japan, just behind by several months), dial-up modem was a luxury that most kids watching the show had no access to anyway. You keep up the old-fashioned way: watch the show from Mon to Fri at around 6pm-ish, and if you miss an episode, you'd just ask a classmate to break it down for you (everyone was into Kuuga at the time) the next day.
During the time of Ryuki (the last time I watched KR show through TV) though, access to bootleg CDs and Internet has become way more common. I remember the first ever online recap I read was on Ryuki, and the person actually wrote it in a narrative novel style, even taking the liberty to describe imaginary character thoughts in a given scene. It's borderline fanfic territory, but I enjoyed reading that and was impressed by the dedication.
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04-24-2020, 03:44 PM | #104 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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EPISODE 18: "Loss"
This is the third episode of the series written by Inoue, and it's considerably more tight than his last two attempts, which lends some credence to my theory he had to rush that two-parter out the door. This one, on the other hand, is a very good episode that, crucially, has a clear focus, and little to no fat. Right from the cold open, it's clear how much better this one is going to go. Yuusuke is outside Pole Pole, practicing his musical talent banging on a random assortment of trash cans and buckets, when Nana comes out to admire the show. He explains he's going to perform for the kids at Minori's school later, and that he hopes it makes them happy, to which, Nana, who of course is Yuusuke's number one fangirl, replies that anyone would be happy around Yuusuke. So, right away, Inoue is making better use of the supporting characters, and that line from Nana, that really is the heart of the story here. How much Yuusuke's presence means to everyone. It's something that consistently rings throughout the episode, such as the very first scene after the opening, where Ichijou calls Sakruako to ask about the Gouram (which gets its name here), and Sakurako assumes he was trying to get in touch with Yuusuke. Because why wouldn't he be, right? Ichijou's always asking him for help. Then right after that, we see Enokida trying to figure out how the Gouram works, and of course, who should come up in the conversation, but Yuusuke? The lack of fluff in this episode is seriously impressive. Shortly thereafter, Ichijou shows why Sakurako made the assumption she did by calling up Yuusuke to deal with the latest Unidentified Lifeform. He rides on over, and transforms to fight, with computer-generated visuals that look they stepped right out of a PS2! It's fun to joke, but I don't really mean that as an insult. I actually wanted to point this transformation out specifically because it seems like the CG model they were using has gradually started blending better into scenes over time. It's a quick effect you don't get a lot of time to look at anyway, which is good, but for a show in 2000 being pumped out weekly, I don't think this is particularly awful CG. Anyway, the battle goes well enough for Kuuga at first, but when Me-Ginoga-De, a monstrous mushroom with poisonous powers, decides to take a bite out of him, things go from good to bad real quick. Within seconds, Kuuga is gasping for air and having convulsions, weakened to the point he reverts to Growing Form, in another one of the guest appearances the show was kind enough to keep giving it long after its purpose was served. I always loved that. This is where the plot gets serious. It broke formula by having the fight scene in the middle instead of at the end, and it quickly becomes apparent why that is. Yuusuke spends the rest of the runtime hospitalized. Which means Tsubaki has to ditch another date to come help out. Actually, I want to talk about that scene for a second. It's always been the single biggest scene I think of whenever I think of what's great about Kuuga's supporting cast. It's the fact that they all have lives. They have properly fleshed out personalities with wants and desires beyond the function they serve in helping Yuusuke and Ichijou, and what Inoue did with Tsubaki, introducing this whole ladies' man aspect to him on top of his serious side and existing mad scientist tendencies, is like the epitome of that. The idea that basically every time Ichijou needs him for something, he has this whole social life outside of work he has to drop. The weird compliments he gives to his date. I love all that stuff. It's why Tsubaki is my favorite. Because I see scenes like this, and I can go on to picture this whole daily routine of Tsubaki trying to pick up chicks with nothing but his good looks, and probably a whole array of black comedy coroner-themed catcalls that rarely, if ever, have the intended effect. Just going around getting slapped by women for saying s*** like "Hey baby, are you a corpse? Because I sure would love to examine you thoroughly." Is any of that canon? Absolutely not, but the stuff that is canon gives me room to fill in those blanks, and that's a testament to how good the show's characterization is. Anyways, the rest of the episode naturally deals with everyone reacting to this sudden crisis, and it's more good characterization all around. One thing I especially appreciated about this episode was all the good callbacks to previous events, which, again, suggests to me Inoue had really been studying up. The charms the kids at the preschool gave to Yuusuke for his birthday back in episode 10 are featured heavily. Minori echoes the dialogue from the same episode about her and Yuusuke doing what they can in their respective places. There's even a bit in there where Sugita takes a second to lament the death of one of the guys from the scene in episode 4 where Kuuga narrowly saved him from Mebio! How crazy is that?! It's super solid drama, and all fits nicely around that central point of what a big inspiration and help Yuusuke has been to the people in his life. The climax for the episode is an awesome sequence of the police, armed with gas masks and gas bullets, trying to take on Ginoga on their own. It doesn't go great, but they win major points for effort. Compared to how they were at the start, it's seriously impressive how long they manage to put up a good fight. Just as well, too, because things aren't looking great for Yuusuke at the hospital. Especially once his heart stops beating. Uh oh. THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER A neat twist this time, as Ichijou sums up Yuusuke's impact with a thumbs up. Total thumbs up count: 30+1 = 31 EPISODE 19: "Artifact" Now, somewhat bizarrely, despite this being a direct continuation from last episode, we're now back to Arakawa as the writer, with Ishida taking over from Takao Nagaishi on directing duties. On the writing end, you'd never notice, which either proves how good a job Inoue did, or how much Arakawa's series composition credit means. On the directing end, however, I think it's a clear step up. Lots of pretty visuals as usual, including Ishida's latest creative spin on shooting a Grongi scene, standing them all in front of a huge neon sign and messing with the focus and the frame rate. But what was consistently most impressive about his direction this episode was the audio. There was a lot of spectacular use of ambient noise to enhance the atmosphere, with an especially big highlight being the scene where Tsubaki is calling Ichijou to inform him of Yuusuke's death, switching between a cold silence where Tsubaki is, and ominous sirens with Ichijou. Oh, yeah, and Yuusuke's dead, by the way. Nobody's very happy about that when they get the news. Heck, Tsubaki isn't very happy being the one to give people the news. But despite not being happy, some of them aren't all that worried. In particular, Sakurako threw herself into her work to discover a line of ancient text that actually seems to suggest Kuuga dying is less of a problem than you'd imagine. So right there, the episode get its free pass on the fake death of the protagonist. It's a good way to handle the resurrection in a way that doesn't feel cheap. The mystery of the stone in Kuuga's belt has been a plot thread since the start of the series, so doing this plot here and now, it feels like a pretty natural escalation to see it pull off this remarkable feat. It deepens that mystery by starting to show you how much power the stone possesses, all the more so when there's a different line of text Sakurako deciphers suggesting the best thing to do while Kuuga's dead is nothing at all. Which hopefully doesn't mean it was a bad idea for Tsubaki to try defibrillating Yuusuke, but, eh, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. There's honestly not much to really say about the plot beyond this. It's an episode that succeeds largely on that strong atmosphere, with the story only having a few real beats between "Kuuga is dead", and "Kuuga is back". Much of it is a more dour version of last episode, with the cast just reacting to what's going on. It probably doesn't sound very good put like that, like the plot is too thin, but I don't think it's something you'd really notice actually watching the episode. It does too great a job pulling you into the story for that. Besides, it's only natural that Kamen Rider Kuuga would grind to a halt when Kuuga himself is dead, right? Like, if there were ever an episode to slow things down this much, this would be it. And when Kuuga finally does make his return, it's worth the wait. Right when it turns out the gas bullets aren't working on Ginoga anymore, and everything seems hopeless for the police, he shows back up to save the day. In Growing Form. I cannot tell you how much I love this. Nobody would question it if Yuusuke showed up in Mighty Form. It doesn't make a big difference to the emotional beat the narrative is hitting. But they put in the thought to say that Yuusuke isn't at full strength after just waking up from being dead for half a day. They put in the effort to establish Ginoga is more frail than your average Grongi. So why not take advantage of that perfect opportunity to give Growing Form its time in the spotlight? It's such a cool scene, and the way Kuuga has to do a Rider Kick three times before it works is insanely memorable. The only bad thing I can say about it is that I have to immediately retract my statement about the CG getting better, because oh man, does Kuuga flashing Ichijou that thumbs up at the end look conspicuous. Ishida is usually great at using a quick blurry camera shake or some other trick to disguise the suit actor not being in the same place as Odagiri, so I really have no clue why they decided to take this approach here. On the bright side, the episode ends with Kuuga giving Ichijou a thumbs up! How can you go wrong? THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER Something of a callback to episode 4 this time. Total thumbs up count: 31+2 = 33 EPISODE 20: "Smile" This episode serves as a stand-alone epilogue to the previous two, presumably to even the numbers back up after the recap episode, and while at first it seems obvious that this should've been the one out of the three handled by a different writer and director, watching through it, I totally get why Arakawa and Ishida would want to apply their talents to this one, because it's probably the best out of this whole little trilogy. Things get off to a great start when the episode opens with Yuusuke, out of nowhere, telling Ichijou he wants to start saying "super transformation" when he changes forms. It feels like an exchange produced as a result of a conversation between the sponsors and the staff that probably ended with the staff saying "okay, but we still aren't saying Kamen Rider in the series!" But while I question the way this idea made it into the show on a meta level, I don't question how the scene uses this goofy idea of Yuusuke's to highlight how happy Ichijou is to have him back, even having to hold up a hand to hide a smile that might ruin his stoic image. It's a real sweet moment, and at a hair under 40 seconds, this cold open does in fact tell you what the premise of the episode is. Yuusuke is back, and everyone, including him, is extremely happy to be alive right now. All that doom and gloom from last week is done with, and we're moving forward. This time, instead of seeing all the supporting characters be sad, we see them just hanging out with Yuusuke. There are some particular highlights on that front. First off, there's a fist bump between Yuusuke and Jean I just have to mention. Because of course my boy Jean is the only one cool enough to get a fist bump from Yuusuke. Second is Yuusuke getting checked out by Tsubaki, a scene that serves the functional purpose of further highlighting the mysterious nature of the stone in Kuuga's belt, but becomes hilarious when one of Yuusuke's usual attempts to ward off Tsubaki getting a little too close for comfort turns into an impromptu arm wrestling match that lets Odagiri show he can mug like nobody's business. There's also a visit to Sakurako that explains the stone is called the Amadam, but, really, the arm wrestling match is where it's at. It's not just the comedy that's on point this episode though, even if Yuusuke's impression of Ichijou is killer. A lot of these scenes do a good job building the characters. Yuusuke finally getting to pay that visit to the preschool is great for how it reinforces that cheering kids up is far more of a passion for him than fighting monsters, which, admittedly, isn't a revelation, but these scenes are always really heartwarming, and the show spaces them out well so that they don't get old. The best character bit in this whole episode though has got to be Ichijou and Yuusuke having a conversation about their parents. It highlights the similarity in their backstory of being raised largely by their mothers after losing their fathers at a young age, adding yet more truth to Ichijou's assertion that they're similar people from way back in episode 6. Despite the subject matter, there's a lighthearted tone to the whole conversation that fits with the episode's theme of everyone getting along and being happy. Except for the Grongi, who have a minor role here being angry, which, big surprise. I mostly just want to mention it since it's yet another weird Ishida Grongi scene, and those are always a treat, no matter the length. This one plays with the focus and the lighting to the point where it looks like if you had a nightmare about being abducted by aliens or something. It's super creepy, and I love it. There is still a monster for this episode, though. It turns out Ginoga's exploded bits can actually regenerate into clones, which is bad news for everyone. Especially viewers with sensitive stomachs. I don't know who made the props for this episode, but they are nasty. Just, weird bubbling masses and severed hands and stuff. Gross. I was practically cheering when Yuusuke decides to take a blowtorch to the blob in the lab. The world is better off without that thing. Burn it, Yuusuke! Burn it to the ground! Having been made aware of the situation, Yuusuke heads out on the Try Chaser (which, for the record, gets a new control panel here after the last one was smashed in the recap episode) to deal with a clone that's more or less grown into a proper monster. It's a real feel good climax, ending things with some more trial action, and a good old fashioned Rider Kick. So things get a little disgusting for a bit, but the episode brings it back to that uplifting atmosphere when all is said and done, with more banter between Yuusuke and Ichijou, as well as a hint that something has changed about Kuuga, wrapping up this storyline, and setting the stage for the next. This episode is great. I wouldn't recommend watching it while eating (!), but it's a supremely enjoyable conclusion to a trilogy of episodes that each have something to offer. THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER Appropriate for the upbeat mood, this one takes a bit more out of the thumbs budget than usual lately. Total thumbs up count: 33+3 = 36
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 04-08-2023 at 05:57 AM.. |
04-24-2020, 06:30 PM | #105 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Gosh, I really enjoyed reading that post. I wish I had something more substantive to say, but all I've got is that I really enjoyed reading that post. Really outstanding work.
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Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
04-24-2020, 06:49 PM | #106 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,406
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Episodes like these make me really miss practical effects in live-action shows.
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04-24-2020, 07:03 PM | #107 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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I kind of feel bad looking back on my initial watches of Rider seasons, because I'm so... engrossed in the material, so ready to take everything at face value, so suspending of my disbelief; that unless something is shockingly bad like that Kuuga Growing animation, I just accept it and don't think much of it. What I'm talking about is phenomenal prop/set design, or stunts that must have been incredibly risky or difficult to do and shoot; I just take them as part of the thing I'm watching rather than being able to admire and appreciate that effort.
Case in point, I do not remember that bubbling mass Godai blowtorches looking that real, holy hell! That-- that's straight out of The Thing or something, what the heck?! That's amazing! I hate it but, you know, I'm supposed to hate it! Good job on making me hate it, that's disgusting!
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04-25-2020, 12:52 AM | #108 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 104
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Very enjoyable and nostalgic to read, as always. That whole thing about Goudai dying was very much a Big Deal back then, half of us truly believed that's really it for him and that Ichijou's gonna take over. Of course, by the end of it, everyone's like "well what do you expect, of course I knew he's not going to die, he's the main character for god's sake!"
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Ryuki was aired in 2004, so we're two years behind on that I believe. |
04-26-2020, 01:16 PM | #109 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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Anyways, the rest of the episode naturally deals with everyone reacting to this sudden crisis, and it's more good characterization all around. One thing I especially appreciated about this episode was all the good callbacks to previous events, which, again, suggests to me Inoue had really been studying up.
Quote:
Now, somewhat bizarrely, despite this being a direct continuation from last episode, we're now back to Arakawa as the writer, with Ishida taking over from Takao Nagaishi on directing duties. On the writing end, you'd never notice, which either proves how good a job Inoue did, or how much Arakawa's series composition credit means. On the directing end, however, I think it's a clear step up. Lots of pretty visuals as usual, including Ishida's latest creative spin on shooting a Grongi scene, standing them all in front of a huge neon sign and messing with the focus and the frame rate. But what was consistently most impressive about his direction this episode was the audio. There was a lot of spectacular use of ambient noise to enhance the atmosphere, with an especially big highlight being the scene where Tsubaki is calling Ichijou to inform him of Yuusuke's death, switching between a cold silence where Tsubaki is, and ominous sirens with Ichijou.
Oh, yeah, and Yuusuke's dead, by the way. Quote:
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There is still a monster for this episode, though. It turns out Ginogo's exploded bits can actually regenerate into clones, which is bad news for everyone. Especially viewers with sensitive stomachs. I don't know who made the props for this episode, but they are nasty. Just, weird bubbling masses and severed hands and stuff. Gross. I was practically cheering when Yuusuke decides to take a blowtorch to the blob in the lab. The world is better off without that thing. Burn it, Yuusuke! Burn it to the ground!
No one hasn't found the solution of the cloning yet and Kuuga just killing him the usual way? They should do something with the blob (which starts off as very small), like burning it above? Were they burning it then spraying it with water like the scene previously kill it for good? |
04-26-2020, 02:41 PM | #110 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
Kuuga does two kicks that don't "stick", basically, and then for the third one, he takes a second to... concentrate, I guess, which turns the little gems on his ankles red, like in Mighty Form (I think the new So-Do figure is even literally including extra stickers for this?), implying that while he wasn't able to use the form itself, that last kick had all the same power, and thus was able to destroy Ginoga. I don't think it was supposed to be simply about the kicks adding up.
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