|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
10-19-2019, 06:43 PM | #11 |
WONDER RIDER
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,713
|
Fun fact: that church you see in episode 2 (the one where Kuuga does that transformation sequence) was not an actual church: it was a scratch-built set specifically made to be burnt down just for that henshin scene alone.
|
10-19-2019, 06:45 PM | #12 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
|
Man, this might end up being tricky for me. Not only am I some kind of anomaly that's never, ever been able to see things as "dated" the way other people do (look at the CG for RabbitDragon in Build's finale and tell me again how far we've come), but the pre-Decade Heisei shows aren't even something I would consider that old to begin with.
I've always thought of them as soap operas with the occasional monster fight, and if you're familiar with the kind of... let's say "rugged" production style TV soap operas have, looking at them that way might help explain a lot. It's not just pure age; they also looked slightly behind the curve even at the time. Which is probably why you seem to be under the impression a show that started in late January of 2000 is from 1999. I don't want to be too argumentative about this, but this might be something of a hurdle for both of us. I'm glad you're (more or less) enjoying it, either way.
__________________
|
10-19-2019, 07:03 PM | #13 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
Quote:
Man, this might end up being tricky for me. Not only am I some kind of anomaly that's never, ever been able to see things as "dated" the way other people do (look at the CG for RabbitDragon in Build's finale and tell me again how far we've come), but the pre-Decade Heisei shows aren't even something I would consider that old to begin with.
I've always thought of them as soap operas with the occasional monster fight, and if you're familiar with the kind of... let's say "rugged" production style TV soap operas have, looking at them that way might help explain a lot. It's not just pure age; they also looked slightly behind the curve even at the time. Which is probably why you seem to be under the impression a show that started in late January of 2000 is from 1999. I don't want to be too argumentative about this, but this might be something of a hurdle for both of us. I'm glad you're (more or less) enjoying it, either way. I see your point, about the soap opera approach. It shares that languid pace, the way scenes and shots go on just a little too long. I'm definitely used to a modern "more is more" aesthetic, where the editing is crisper, the stories are denser, the lights and sounds and all of it just pummels the senses. Kuuga, it's, like, quaint? It's a quaint show about a police detective who watches a motorcycle man fight monsters.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
10-19-2019, 07:23 PM | #14 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
|
See, now you're starting to understand.
__________________
|
10-19-2019, 09:28 PM | #15 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
MASKED RIDER KUUGA EPISODES 5 - 6
Pretty good two-parter! Nothing earth-shattering, but I'm really starting to get a handle on what Kuuga is as a show. I joked about it being "a quaint show about a police detective who watches a motorcycle man fight monsters", but, uh, that's almost exactly what it is? It's still weird how unintegral Godai feels to the show. (Less the monster fights, obviously.) I was a little frustrated at first at how reactive he was, and how much that reminded me of the dynamic on Wizard, where the well-adjusted, upbeat hero mostly sat around and waited for monsters to attack. But now, after six episodes, I'm not getting as much of a Wizard vibe. I mean, I am, but not nearly as much as I'm getting an Amazons vibe. Amazons had a primary Rider, Haruka, who felt way more like a background player than a series lead. Most of the story was driven by Jin, or by the Nozama Peston Service. Haruka was great in a fight, but most of the rest of the story happened around him, not because of him. Kuuga has that same feel, where Ichijou spends most of this story tracking down clues, talking to information sources, putting together the mystery, and Sakurako is the one who not only changes and grows as a result of the story, but who cracks the language barrier and tells Godai how to defeat This Story's Monster. Godai spends the majority of this story in Kuuga form, or sleeping. It's... y'know, it's definitely a story choice! Not one I'd make, necessarily, but it's the one that Kuuga made. That said, absolute honesty, I'm not sure how upset I am at it. With this story, I started to look at it as, not Masked Rider Kuuga, but Guest-Starring Masked Rider Kuuga. It's not a story about heroic Godai, defending the city against evil monsters. It's a story about street-smart Ichijou and book-smart Sakurako, getting to the bottom of an ancient mystery. And, sometimes, when things get too intense, that wacky Godai transforms into Masked Rider Kuuga to take care of the monsters. He's not what the story's about though. It's about a detective and a scholar, putting aside their fears and skepticism to protect the world. (Also there is sometimes a motorcycle man who explodes monsters.) When I look at it that way, where Masked Rider Kuuga is the bonus in an X-Files-ish Japanese procedural, I kind-of like it a lot more? It's like, I'm recalibrating my expectations for what this show is actually doing. It's not, uh, what I would prefer they do, but I'm liking this Guest-Starring Masked Rider Kuuga version a bit more now.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! Last edited by Kamen Rider Die; 03-20-2023 at 10:46 PM.. |
10-19-2019, 10:19 PM | #16 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 104
|
That's a nice interpretation and I feel that expectation recalibration ('Character Drama feat. Kamen Rider') applies to a lot of Phase I Heisei shows. I'm watching Faiz atm, and the Kamen Rider stuff feels even more like an afterthought, haha. They're just different, for better and for worse, and could be really jarring for viewers more accustomed to the back half of the era.
I re-watched Kuuga a couple years back, and despite the obvious stuff that don't age well as well as severe lack of fun factor, it struck me just how charming the character interaction it could be and how the set of villains could generate the sort of horror and tension that the villains from Phase II Heisei could only dream of. It takes a while to get to the really good part, though. |
10-19-2019, 10:36 PM | #17 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
That's a nice interpretation and I feel that expectation recalibration ('Character Drama feat. Kamen Rider') applies to a lot of Phase I Heisei shows. I'm watching Faiz atm, and the Kamen Rider stuff feels even more like an afterthought, haha. They're just different, for better and for worse, and could be really jarring for viewers more accustomed to the back half of the era.
I re-watched Kuuga a couple years back, and despite the obvious stuff that don't age well as well as severe lack of fun factor, it struck me just how charming the character interaction it could be and how the set of villains could generate the sort of horror and tension that the villains from Phase II Heisei could only dream of. It takes a while to get to the really good part, though. And, yeah, it definitely keeps the horror vibe going with its villains. I just finished Build, and for all its serious stakes and deep wells of emotion, Evolt was a HILARIOUS villain. That dude was a chatterbox when it came to kicking Rider ass, and he just oozed charisma. The monsters on Kuuga, they feel distant, unknowable. They are killing people, they don't crack wise, they don't taunt Godai (or, they do, but he can't understand them, which means the audience can't understand them), they don't have anything we can relate to, even as it looks like they have some hierarchy or community. It feels at times like "What If Roidmudes, But Terror", with how alike-but-different they feel from the human cast. (Shooting the villain meetups in that aquarium hallway is, obviously, also what makes me think of Roidmudes. Or was that set from OOO? Or has every Kamen Rider villain group met in that aquarium hallway?) I don't know that it's bad that it's not fun, since that clearly isn't the goal. I'd maybe like it better if it was conceived as a more light-hearted show, but it wasn't, and the sci-fi/horror approach has its merits, too. Apples and oranges, I guess.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
10-19-2019, 11:22 PM | #18 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,410
|
I'm really curious to know which version of this you're watching. Are the Grongi being subbed into English or not?
|
10-19-2019, 11:28 PM | #19 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
OH GOD DAMN IT is there a version where their dialogue is translated?!
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! Last edited by Kamen Rider Die; 10-19-2019 at 11:31 PM.. |
10-20-2019, 12:16 AM | #20 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
|
The subs with the translated Grongi stuff is cute, but more as a trivia-filled second watch so you're constantly going 'oh so that is what they were saying'. I feel like your first time through the show, it's only appropriate to watch the show as it originally was, with us only being able to guess or estimate what they could be saying (which granted is rarely much more elaborate than 'i sure do love killing people')
|
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
SH Figuarts BoonBoomger Red |
Hasbro Licenses Power Rangers Toys to Playmates Toys |
Discotek Media Licenses Mobile Cop Jiban |
What's going on with CSM? |
Ultraman Arc Trailer |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:20 PM.
|