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04-25-2023, 07:12 PM | #141 |
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This is hands down the best episode of Revice so far. I loved almost every second of it.
Handling and reaching out to someone with low self-esteem is tricky business, especially if you aren't actually genuine in learning where they're coming from. Likewise, saying something and actually believing in or following through with it are two entirely different things. Both of these factors at play are the primary cause of the rift between Ikki and Daiji. Who are family is absolutely affects us, intentional or not, and Daiji grew up feeling lesser in comparison to Ikki. Breaking out on his own, joining Fenix, becoming a hero of justice, this was all his dream. But when push came to shove, he couldn't do it. And unfortunately for Ikki, who was there to pick up the Driver right afterward? It's alot easier to make someone else an enemy rather than look inward and acknowledge your mistakes. All through the show so far, Daiji has been projecting his own ideals and and desires onto Ikki -- Pressuring him into signing the Fenix contract, calling him out on his lack of heroics, and trying to get a Driver to call his own any chance he can as a way to feel superior. It was all of this pressure, both internal and external, building up over time that eventually gave birth to Kagero. It's notable that Kagero calls Daiji pathetic given that, as the other side Daiji, it shows that Daiji himself deep down acknowledges that he's not entirely in the right here, but his feelings of lashing out have grown out of control. Why look inward when you can pin the blame on someone else? Daiji, however, isn't a monster. Just like many people do, Kagero can claim that Daiji wants Ikki dead, and sure, Daiji can have aggressive thoughts like that, but when it comes down to it, he does still love his brother. On the flipside is Ikki, whose primary character flaw is his shortsightedness. But perhaps even more pressingly than that in this instance is how he serves a doting older brother to Daiji -- whether Ikki realizes it or not. He can constantly say he wants to save Daiji, but him instantly believing Kagero's' words, that Daiji is long gone, shows that his faith was only skin deep. Ontop of that, Ikki doesn't realize that by constantly shouting that Daiji is in need of rescue, he's also saying that Daiji is incapable of helping himself, which in turn can only make Daiji's' low self-esteem kick in even harder. The day is not saved by Daiji becoming Live or giving Daiji exactly what Ikki has, it's instead done so by Ikki, for the first time in the show, having a genuine heart to heart with Daiji, and telling him the exact message that Daiji needs to hear, basically amounting to "You're better than you think you are." It's an expression of genuine care and love, and one that hits Daiji right where it needs too, inspiring him to stand tall and make the effort to move forward. He makes a breakthrough is handling the negative feelings that have literally trapped him inside of own head. Live is the reward for improving, not the cause of the improvement in and of itself. It's all wonderfully grounded and intricate character work that really helped this arc to stick the landing, and I loved it. It's an episode(heck, an entire character arc) all about balancing your emotions and being careful in how you handle someone who's emotionally unstable, which is actually a rather adult lesson for kids and one that I respect, especially since I personally haven't seen many shows that so much as even talk about self-esteem issues. Wonderful episode, and it makes me overall very excited to see where Revice goes from here on out. No Line Texts this time, as both basically read as "Let's do what's best for Daiji."
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Last edited by DreamSword; 04-25-2023 at 07:16 PM.. |
04-25-2023, 08:27 PM | #142 |
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Location: Chicago, IL
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Thanks for the insightful post, DreamSword! I don't know that I think it overcomes the ways the episode sort of avoids confronting the negative aspects of boosting Daiji by giving him the thing he went crazy not having, but I appreciate how much it resonated with you. It's nice to hear positive things about this show in the thread!
On that note... Things are veering a little farther from the individual episodes than I like. A lot of the discussion over the last day has stopped being about the Kagerou storyline, and Episode 10 specifically, and into a larger condemnation of the Revice series. That's not exactly what this thread's supposed to be? Beyond starting to become spoilery in its takedown of the larger series structure, it's also sort of a bummer to read about. If you've got specific thoughts on an episode, pro or con, I always want to hear them! Especially if I don't agree with them! I love getting to see a show through someone else's eyes. But if the choice of topic is Revice Is Bad... no thanks? The main thing is -- and this maybe gets missed in posts that criticize elements of the show I feel less enthused about -- I like this show. I like every Kamen Rider show, you guys. I like Revice: I think it's a fun show with a unique hook, and I think it's finding itself in some kind of clever ways. Maybe I won't like it that much by the end, but I'm genuinely enjoying it right this second. I am happy to debate a scene or an episode, but I am not ready to pass judgment on the series as a whole. We can definitely discuss that later in June. I love hearing from you folks! I love knowing that you've got strong feelings about this show! But please, let's keep it to an episodic discussion about the material, and not sweeping judgments about the series. Thanks! See you tomorrow for Episode 11!
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04-25-2023, 11:11 PM | #143 |
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Apologies. I was trying to keep my criticism applicable to the episode at hand, while still kinda universal to the series.
Gonna try and keep it more contained again.
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04-26-2023, 05:27 AM | #144 |
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Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Belgium
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Well... I usually just read comments here and what your experience are on these shows.
I think I'm in the minority there because I loved Revice even when it went downhill a bit, like, excuse me to say that, almost every Rider series since the Neo Heisei Era. But I'm not going to spoil anything. I don't remember what happens in what episodes but I remember most of the series, but from what I'm seeing you are during the Kagerou arc, and what you basically have to understand, and as subtle as it is to us westerners, is that Ikki does have a shift in his behavior during that episode. After all this time, he was only after protecting his little brother, by being overprotective, he kinda diminishes Daiji's effort to find himself, to find his own strenght. Vice being most of the series the voice of reason, makes him understand that yes, he wants to protect Daiji, but his own faith in Daiji is taking a dive in not just trusting the guy to deal with it. In the End, Ikki finally shows that he is trusting Daiji in telling Kagerou that Daiji is strong. AND THAT, was the actual help that Daiji needed, someone trusting him in his strength. Either way, I'll just say this, Revice made me feel alive, I liked that show very much and I like where they put most of the emotion in the show.. I liked it that much that I tried 3 episodes of Geats and dropped it. |
04-26-2023, 09:34 AM | #145 |
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Quote:
Thanks so much for the alternate viewpoint, though! I'm also a Revice fan, and it's neat to hear what other fans got out of this arc. Oh, gosh, I was very much the opposite. Geats is easily my favorite Reiwa show, and possibly my favorite Kamen Rider show period. Sorry to hear it didn't work for you!
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04-26-2023, 11:38 PM | #146 |
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KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 11 - “WHY DOES THE UNBEATABLE SAKURA NEED POWER?”
The Igarashi Brothers spend an episode dynamically mopping up Deadmans with a synchronicity that borders on the superhuman, and it’s wonderful to see. Very exciting to watch Live and Revi (and Vice) get gigantic fight scenes where they use combo tactics to detonate monsters. Okay, with that out of the way, let me talk about the main thing worth addressing in this episode: Sakura. Sakura’s one of my favorite characters on Revice, mostly for how incongruently she’s fit into the narrative thus far. Much like Daiji’s great for his laundry list of psychological defects, Sakura’s teenage prickliness and barely-restrained aggression makes every one of her scenes fascinating to watch. She’s coiled at almost all times, appropriately, like a cobra. There’s a restlessness that seems natural for a girl her age, but it’s turned up a few notches too high. She doesn’t fit in this family, and I don’t mean that in an emotional way. They all love her, and she loves them. But she needs more than that, and she can’t articulate what. It’s the core of her story in this episode, the belief that more power is the answer, even when she doesn’t know or understand the question. She’s someone looking desperately for a purpose, and she’s lost herself in a life that’s thus far avoided the necessary engagement to secure it. She trains, relentlessly, but that’s inherently a hollow pursuit. Training for what? Becoming stronger why? Since she was a little girl, she’s seen Being Stronger as a goal in and of itself, with a clarity that would give Ren from Saber pause. But now that she’s becoming an adult, she’s learning that strength only matters if it’s in the application of a greater cause. I appreciated the show treating her like a child, despite generally losing my temper with shows that treat male characters as unstoppable beacons of moral justice whose resolve and self-sacrifice are only questioned to be proven unimpeachable, while women are things (not people) to protect and patronize. Some of it is for my favorite Sakura expression – wide-eyed, stunned, paralyzed with fury – but a lot of it is for a clear division between the adult cast-members and the youngest Igarashi. They’re wrong to hold Sakura back, but it’s right for these characters to hold her back. In much the same way that Ikki struggles with being overprotective because he's always been the oldest kid, and Daiji struggles with defining himself outside his brother’s shadow because he's the middle sibling, Sakura’s frustration and desire for power spill directly out of how powerless a large family can make the youngest child feel. The way this show uses relatable family dynamics to quickly and precisely shape its cast is great, and Sakura’s stifling but well-meaning family is a perfect foil for a young woman who is determined to test her own boundaries. Also, Aguilera. The thing that made Diend great (stay with me here) is that his actor, seemingly all by himself, decided that he and Decade were constantly flirting with each other. It’s barely on the page; it is almost entirely in the performance. It’s the same thing with Aguilera here, who brings a romantic charge to any scene that even hints at Sakura’s existence, even when it could read through dialogue as menacing or bored or jokey or whatever. Find you someone who looks at you the way Aguilera looks at Sakura. I could watch those two Fight As A Metaphor for an entire episode and never get sick of it. Aguilera’s a temptation in a lot of ways, but she’s mainly here to get Sakura to understand that her power as a human fighter is irrelevant in a world of demon-powered superheroes and Cinco de Monsters. If she wants to have her family actually hear her, she’s going to have to meet them on their level. She’s going to have to become a Kamen Rider. It helps that she’s got a Vistamp and a Driver (the Ushijimas, most likely: a bunch of suspicious weirdos living in an empty house), but neither of them help her become a hero. She’s looking for power, but she lacks a purpose. She’s missing a definition to her resolve. She might find it in the next episode, when we meet her inner demon. When we meet my favorite character in Revice, at long last.
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04-27-2023, 12:30 AM | #147 |
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I have a lot to say about Sakura and this story in particular, but I do need its second half for it.
So, yeah, tomorrow. That said, the Phase 1 this episode may be one of my least favorite suits ever xD It literally looks like someone threw a trashbag over an existing suit, painted it purple and glued leftovers to it xD Every time I look at it, I can’t but laugh. XD
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04-27-2023, 01:32 AM | #148 |
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Now we're really getting into the part where the show starts taking off for me. Sakura is absolutely my favorite of the Igarashi siblings and probably my favorite character on the entire show. Finally getting her out into the spotlight absolutely kicks the show up to another level.
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04-27-2023, 03:00 AM | #149 |
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So fun fact: the three monsters our heroes destroy in the opening scene are all reused from the character designer’s previous series, Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisastsu Sentai Patranger. Whereas before, they were based on a snake, a butterfly and a dinosaur (I forget the specific species), here they’re identified as the Kurage (Jellyfish), Harinezumi (Echidna) and Omo (Parrot) Deadmen.
And we come to my favourite monster in the whole show, the Planarian Deadman, in both phases. While it never got a DX toy, if it had got one, it would’ve been based off Kamen Rider Chaser. Talking of supporting Rider Vistamps, Hiromi is shown with a Condor Vistamp, which is just the Eagle Vistamp painted black. You get three guesses who this one is based off and the first two don’t count. And let’s actually get to this episode’s feature, focusing on the toy that came out the day before the episode aired (continuing the theme of antagonists’ belts appearing in-show 6-7 weeks before they get released as DX toys) Daiji: It’s Daiji and… (Awkward silence) Huh, guess I’m alone for this one. George: Kind of a necessity when you’re a solo act. Anyway, proceed. Daiji: Okay. On today’s Stamp Navi, we’ll be looking at my first Vistamp. Bat! Slash! Cut! Shot! Acrobat! Kaboom! Bat! Daiji: Oh, so this machine allows you to simulate unleashing the full power of a stamp that the Revice Driver unleashes. (We take a look at the Machine, which is mostly black, with some silver pipes and a grey slot to place the Vistamp in). How impressive. George: Indeed. But the true power of the Bat Vistamp is unlocked when used with your belt. Two SiDriver. George: But in order to demonstrate… (he clouts Daiji on the head with a mallet, causing the latter to arise as Kagerou) Now then, if you’d transform. K-Daiji: Much obliged. (He transforms the Two SiDriver) Blade! (K-Daiji then inserts the Bat Vistamp and transforms) Vs Up! Madness, Hopeless, Darkness! (Bat) Haha, Kamen Rider Evil! George: The jet-black warrior transformed from the devil "Kagerou" living in Daiji Igarashi, that is the Kamen Rider Evil Bat Genome. The basic Bat Genome has a very high synchronisation rate with the stealth characteristics of the Evil System, and it sneaks up to targets without sound by making full use of its flight ability and high tranquillity. It's just a dark hero who burys from darkness to darkness with the evil sword in his hand. K-Daiji: That’s right. My power is derived from this fool’s negative feelings charging up the Evil System in this belt. But right now, I’m so week even a hammer could defeat me. (Sure enough, George hits him with a hammer, turning him back to regular Daiji) Daiji: Why does my head hurt? George: Explanations later, now transform. Daiji: (confused) Ok. (He picks up the Two SiDriver, looking confused as to why it’s in Blade mode and transforms it) Gun! (Daiji inserts the Bat Vistamp) Daiji: Henshin! Vs Up! Precious, Trust us, Just is! (Bat) Kamen Rider Live! George: Another form in which the Two SiDriver demonstrated its true value ... that is Kamen Rider Live Bat Genome. The platinum warrior who landed on the battlefield with light seems to embody the philosophy of justice. Prove your way of life with a fighting style that combines live gunfire and brilliant body skills! Daiji: Erm, thanks for the advice. But that doesn’t explain my abilities that well. George: Just as the Evil System grows in power from your darkness, your light will likewise charge the Live System’s power by draining your inner demon. Daiji: That’s nice to know. (He then collapse from all the trauma his head has endured) George: Huh. I guess I hope you enjoy the next instalment. And that Daiji here makes a swift recovery. Production notes: Wheras most of the Legend Riders get loving write ups based on my context of them, almost the power-ups and supporting Riders in Revice get descriptions copy-pasted and translated from a similar feature on the official Kamen Rider website, which is why the prose may be awkward in them. (Though unlike said website, I’m not going to be repeating Stamps, or leaving you waiting until the show is over halfway finished to feature Demons) |
04-27-2023, 07:21 AM | #150 |
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I'll save my full thoughts for the next episode.
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