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09-19-2019, 05:34 PM | #91 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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Quote:
And of course, the direction in both 21 and 22 is just flawless thanks to Kazuya Kamihoriuchi. I think both those episodes show more than anything else he's done just how much attention to detail he brings outside of the action scenes, where other directors would probably put less care in. Every shot feels so carefully considered, and I'm pretty sure the production schedule for a show like Kamen Rider does not give you a lot of time to spend thinking about it.
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09-19-2019, 06:36 PM | #92 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
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The other thing that's amazing about these two episodes is how minimalist they are. Kamen Rider is a very maximalist series: bright colors, fast pace, intense music, constant noises and explosions. (I mean, Stalk and Rogue end their henshins with literal fireworks.) So for the series to slow it down, use longer takes, drop out the music, limit the action, limit the dialogue, it sends a message that This Story Is Important. Amazons would use some of the same tricks to separate it from the younger-audience series, generally to good effect. (I mean, Season 1 more than Season 2, if memory serves.)
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09-19-2019, 07:49 PM | #93 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Quote:
Yeah, most Kamen Rider dialogue scenes are of your standard TV "over/over/two-shot" variety. Get the footage, get it fast, find the scene in the edit bay. So much of the drama in 21 and 22 (mostly 21) feels like someone reading the script and figuring out beforehand the best way to frame the information, to use different setups to achieve different emotional goals. It's really accomplished work.
The other thing that's amazing about these two episodes is how minimalist they are. Kamen Rider is a very maximalist series: bright colors, fast pace, intense music, constant noises and explosions. (I mean, Stalk and Rogue end their henshins with literal fireworks.) So for the series to slow it down, use longer takes, drop out the music, limit the action, limit the dialogue, it sends a message that This Story Is Important. Amazons would use some of the same tricks to separate it from the younger-audience series, generally to good effect. (I mean, Season 1 more than Season 2, if memory serves.) |
09-19-2019, 08:50 PM | #94 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Yeah, god, concurrent with W, maybe? Pretty much right after Ex-Aid, I think. That first season I really dug, and I think Jin Takayama (in that season only) is one of my favorite secondary Riders.
The first season I thought was fun and (at the time, compared to Ex-Aid and W) different, the second season made a lot of weird narrative choices and bet heavy on some iffy twists but still had its moments, and that movie was an insult. But, like, even the movie had the balls to say "You know what? Never Let Me Go is a touching exploration of the way society views the underclasses as less than human and 'others' them to feel less guilty about their exploitation, and it's also about the ways humanity finds joy and connection in even the darkest circumstances, but you know what it doesn't have? Kamen Riders. We can finally correct that oversight!" Amazons I remember being an intensely weird experience, and maybe a fundamentally flawed exercise (What If Kamen Rider But Dark, whatever), but there were some real interesting ideas and performances in there.
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09-19-2019, 10:58 PM | #95 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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KAMEN RIDER BUILD EPISODES 23 - 25
After the thrilling climax of the Hokuto War arc, we are now thrust straight into the Seito War arc. That makes what I was hoping would feel like a fresh start, instead, come off a little samey. Not bad, really, but a little perfunctory. It's a bit of a shame. I was really curious how the events of the last few episodes would change the show's portrayal of Sento, but that's lost a bit in an episode that's a lot more devoted to Grease and the Hokuto Dwindling Crows, to somewhat lackluster results. The Hell Bros introduction is good, and I always liked that Bikaiser suit, but the conflict just doesn't feel that vital. Which is weird, because so much of the last few episodes was built around those characters and one of their deaths, but here it's just Okay, Whatever. I think it's down to Blue Crow's death being something perpetrated by Sento, and we care about Sento, and he cares about what he did. Here, a villain kills a comedic antagonist, so... alright? Grease is mad, but it doesn't feel like a loss. It's just a standard Now It's Personal motivator. It doesn't really feel like we learn anything new about Grease or the (now) Hokuto One Crow, which leads to a feeling like this whole episode was a time-filling table-setter. Or maybe it's just giving us a bit of a rest before Seito's Kamen Rider shows up? Hey, it's Kamen Rider Rogue! Military Adam Driver is back, and, with an episode where he's not only the heavy but also the spotlight, I'm still trying to come to terms with the show's evolution of the character. There's some necessary monologuing at the end, where Rogue lays out that he wants to crush Touto so he can rebuild it better than before. It's interesting, the thought that he hasn't changed his thinking so much as he's now ignoring any moral obstacles. He's wanted to Make Touto Great Again for the last ten years, and he's let that commitment cost him everything. There is now nothing he won't do to achieve the power necessary to rule, because that's the only thing he cares about. I can see where the show is going with that. It's just, it feels a little basic? Crushed, nothing-left-to-lose Rogue feels way less interesting to me than scheming, smarmy Rogue. I sort-of liked before how you could tell that Rogue viewed his goals as reasonable, as a clear good. Now he's just a no-holds-barred megalomaniac, threatening but not clever, and I'm not that impressed. That suit is eye-popping, though, with a hilariously villainous henshin. If they're going to go all-in on Rogue as villain, at least he's stylish about it. The only other bit in this episode, beyond some foreshadowing, is Grease and the Hokuto One Crow officially joining Team Build. I mean, it was sort-of inevitable. Grease was too awesome to stay an antagonist for long. All of the Miifan stuff, as well as his rivalry with Banjou, it's great. It's a great addition to the comedic possibilities of an already hilarious show. I'm glad that a darkening show still finds room for jokes and gags. Man, I gotta say, these last few episodes are not making much of an impression on me. I'll watch them, and then go to write something up and I barely remember the first half of the episode. They're solid chapters in a sprawling sci-fi war story, but they're not doing as great as discrete units of storytelling. Like, the end of this episode, the fight with Rogue? Awesome. Well choreographed, with some great stunts and really excellent progression through the fight. It feels huge. Rogue comes off as an unstoppable villain, every hero Rider comes off great, and Black Hazard is a terrifying monster of a Rider. The cliffhanger ending, I mean, if it wasn't late and I wasn't tired, that'd get me to do one more episode. But before that? What the hell happened before that? Okay, I double-checked. Before the awesome, climactic fight, it's the Sky Wall stuff with Misora, some Mars backstory from Hipster Dad and Misora, and the warehouse fight with the Hell Bros that exposes the Seito spy. It's all decent storytelling, but it's not very flashy, there aren't any fun twists or flourishes, and it's not about anything. It's moving a story forward, but it isn't telling a story. Does that make sense? Overall, I'm worried that the Seito War arc just isn't different enough from the Hokuto War arc and, if anything, is a step down. Rogue and the Hell Bros just aren't nearly as interesting as Grease and the Crows. (R.I.P. Hokuto One Crow.) Everything else just feels like it's telling the same story the show's been telling for the last 10 episodes. The fights are still good and I care about the characters, but this is a show that seems more concerned about moving around pieces than making me care about the game. also put sawa in the credits you cowards
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09-19-2019, 11:30 PM | #96 |
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Location: Oregon
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Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of people agree that the second half of Build isn't quite as good as the first. It's still pretty fantastic, just not 10/10 anymore
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09-19-2019, 11:37 PM | #97 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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I can see why. The first chunk, everything's fresh and new and SO MANY FORM CHANGES. The final chunk, it's huge twists and real deaths and a year's worth of themes reaching their crescendo. The middle chunk, uh... let's focus on the secondary Riders? Maybe that'll fill time? The only show I can think of that had a great middle chunk is probably Ex-Aid, specifically because they had so many secondary Riders to focus on. (EDITED TO ADD: Also, Ghost. Jesus, I just watched that goddamn show and I already forgot about it whoops I'm doing great at this.) I mean, I don't think most shows middles sucked or anything (well, Wizard), they're just not where the best material is. Still, yeah, there's still stuff to get excited about here.
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09-20-2019, 02:02 AM | #98 |
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Location: Oregon
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I won't spoil anything, but Build's ending is definitely better than it's middle. It goes in some really crazy directions
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09-20-2019, 05:15 AM | #99 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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I remember having much the same reaction to you at the Crow's death. Aoba, uh, yeah; centerpiece to arguably the best Kamen Rider episode there's ever been, absolutely incredible and extremely well-handed. But when Kiba guarded Grease and pretty much instantly died and there's not much of an emotional core around that...? It mostly feels like they just wanted to get him out of there as quickly as possible.
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09-20-2019, 06:21 AM | #100 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 318
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It's just, it feels a little basic?
Build on the other hand doesn't really do that. I personally loved the start of Build and hold it in very high regards, and as some of the best material Kamen Rider has to offer and with the shift into the war ark I was not as invested but still interested where this would go. And with basically continuing the same ark instead of doing something new and the emotional beats not landing for me I grew disinterested something that only grew as the season went on and I have the feeling it all comes down to that basicness. I love digging into characters heads and when I found a Rider that delivers on that front, like Haruto Soma I grow a new appreciation for the show, but here? It's just very basic, which in and of itself wouldn't be a problem if they did anything interesting with it, but they don't and that just disappointed me. Quote:
It's all decent storytelling, but it's not very flashy, there aren't any fun twists or flourishes, and it's not about anything. It's moving a story forward, but it isn't telling a story.
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