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06-13-2019, 09:44 PM | #15391 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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I don't know how much it has to do with nostalgia, but the Ride Vendor might be my second-favourite bike in the franchise. It's got a really nice design and being a literal vending machine is just amazing.
Absolute favourite is probably due to nostalgia and happens to be from Ryuki, though I think it'll probably be commented on by Fish Sandwich when they get there. |
06-14-2019, 08:14 PM | #15392 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Ryuki 17-18:
Episode 17 has a lot of team building going on for Shinji and Tezuka, while also following up on Ren's wavering resolve, something Tezuka's predictions (which, of course, are always right) said are going to end badly, which, since I wasn't clear about that last time, is actually the reason he's been following Ren around. It's a good time as always, and since it's an episode by Kobayashi, Ryuki even gets to do a cool thing where he kinda kicks off of Raia to get up to a Monster. It's not the absolute most awesome moment he's had, but I feel the need to stress that the action scenes when she's writing almost always have at least one bit like this. It's not even just that I want to see Shinji look cool (though that's definitely part of it), it's that having the hero use quick thinking and guile to turn the tables on a powerful opponent is a central part of any interesting superhero fight, and this show almost always nails that. Episode 18 debuts our third new Rider in a really short span, but I think I'll save talking about him for next time. What's most interesting here is that it's the first time we actually get to see Shirou recruiting somebody, which is inherently super neat. There's also a truly epic example of dramatic irony where Kitaoka makes an offhand sarcastic remark wondering if there wasn't anyone less ill-mannered available to be a Rider after meeting Gai for the first time. Oh, man, if only he knew. Den-O 17-18: These episodes lean more heavily into the drama than any Den-O arc yet and are also completely amazing. The overarching plot finally starts moving after spending a considerable amount of time barely budging, and in the process we also see the growth of the main characters starting to take root. Ryoutarou proves to be more proactive than he's given credit for (which means, among other things, more Plat Form, guaranteeing this arc gets a thumbs up from me), and it becomes evident how much the Imagin have actually started to care about him. Especially Momotaros, who's really a total sweetheart even by this point. I struggle with how to accurately get across how excellent this arc is, because so much of it is in little moments and details I don't want to sit here listing. It just loses so much merely being described, you know? Talking about the comedy especially is pretty much pointless, when it would take me so much longer to attempt to explain why something is funny than it would to just watch the gag and laugh. OOO 17-18: Firstly, describing why Birth is so awesome is no trouble at all. He's part of that really cool little era we unfortunately seem to be out of now where secondary Riders were specifically designed to contrast with the leads more than they compared, with a neat, pared down version of the series' main gimmick to boot. Now, as I've established, OOO kicks the s*** out of other shows when it comes to making gimmicks work, so of course, the relationship between OOO and Birth is insanely strong in that regard. Cell Medals were an established part of the show from the beginning, so having them be Birth's power source versus Core Medals is as natural as it gets. It also fits the obvious high tech bent of his design that after 800 years of scientific progress, it's possible to have a belt that can get comparable power to OOO out of way less. But of course, OOO gives off more of a mystical vibe to his powers anyway, so the contrast also works that way. There's a lot of believability to Birth's existence within the setting. You see stuff like his weapons that are magnetized to attract Medals, and it just all makes sense. Secondly, the guy under the suit ain't too shabby himself. I think it's pretty indisputable that Date is a huge fan favorite. I mean, it's literally a fact that certain elements of OOO's plot were reworked because people liked him. And it's not hard to see why. He's cool enough on his own merits even today, but I'll refer you back to my point a few posts ago about having a huge chip on your shoulder and a grudge against the main character getting you a belt. At the time especially, nobody else, besides maybe Ibuki I guess, was anything like this guy. He's lighthearted. He's chill. He's nice. He doesn't hate OOO's guts for some contrived reason. Yet, thanks to the nuanced characterization of this show, there's still drama to be had between him and Eiji, because they're two completely different kinds of nice guy, and that's before mentioning the whole issue of Ankh also being after Medals. Birth and OOO also have THE worst teamwork in battles. It's honestly kind of stressful how often their attacks nearly hit each other because they never bother to coordinate at all. It's actually pretty clever. I feel like this is the "realistic" version of what a new Rider showing up would be like, you know? I don't think any other show has bothered to show Riders that have to learn how to deal with each other's presence on such a basic level like this before or since. And thirdly, the Yummy this arc has the gimmick of splitting into two Yummies midway through the first episode. Which is a super smart card for the show to play right here, because that means there's an extra Yummy that's allowed to actually die before the second part, giving Birth a chance to show his skills without undercutting the moment with the usual routine of the monster suddenly escaping. OOO also gets to do his Rider Kick one more time, although I still don't feel totally satisfied, because it was in combination with Birth's finisher.
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06-15-2019, 04:44 PM | #15393 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Ryuki 19-20:
Gai's master plan comes together here, and I have to give him some credit, it IS way more fun to have half a dozen Riders in one room than the usual two or three. Unfortunately for him though, he just can't compete with Ouja when it comes to being a total sack of crap. I also have to give credit to Kanzaki, because the battle between the Riders DOES get way more heated the second this guy shows up. Which sucks for... well, all the other Riders (except Gai, who was ironically pretty happy about it), but as someone watching the show? I mean, does anybody who's seen it not like Ouja? Asakura is the perfect anti-Shinji to spice up the plot at this point. Just when it starts to seem like things are looking up a bit with Ren almost mellowing out and Tezuka showing up, here comes this complete madman who for the next stretch of the show will cause Shinji to question his entire goal as a Rider while smacking around just about everyone in the process. He's a big deal, and you couldn't ask for a better villain. Den-O 19-20: Let me say this to start! Zeronos is one of my favorite secondary Riders out there, so I couldn't be happier about being back at this point in Den-O. It's already started to hit its stride, but now that Yuuto's here there's no looking back. Also, Yuuto showing up means Deneb showing up. I rest my case. The plot here does a great job at the usual routine of building a new status quo now that there's new main characters. Yuuto looks down on Ryoutarou for obvious reasons, but it's interesting to note that by this point in the story, Ryoutarou has a personal stake in things, and is clearly starting to become more assertive, even if just a little. Yuuto himself is also in a bit more of a glass house than he realizes, too. Sure, on the surface he seems like your fairly typical jerky, too cool rival type, but this is Den-O, so the truth is a little more nuanced than that. You can kind of tell from stuff like the way he throws childish temper tantrums around Deneb that his behavior is less due to any legitimate gripes he might have, and more to do with the fact that's he's secretly a little on the immature side. Deneb is even characterized as something of a doting parent to drive this home. It's a great dynamic, and the best part is, none of this is even the reason I love Zeronos. I'll get to all the other stuff that's great about him as it comes up. OOO 19-20: Firstly, TaJaDor is freakin' awesome. As far as form debuts go this actually isn't the most impressive set of episodes ever, but make no mistake, they're more than up to OOO's high standards. Naturally there's some extra significance to a Combo made with Ankh's own Medals, and the story capitalizes on that well enough. You get to see how turbulent the partnership he and Eiji have is, but it also highlights that, at the very least, neither of them doubts the other's dedication to their respective goals. Secondly, Date formally takes Gotou under his wing here, and if Shinji and Tezuka are a legendary duo, than I lack the words to describe what a great team these two make. And thirdly, how great is Time Judged All? I mean, this probably could've been worked into the first point, but still. It's awesome, and it stands out even compared to OOO's other insert songs, which are no slouches to begin with.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 06-15-2019 at 04:47 PM.. |
06-16-2019, 05:28 PM | #15394 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Ryuki 21-22:
A lot of things are going on at once in these episodes. Ren finally snaps out of the funk he's been in for a while, Shinji learns something that causes him to question the morality of stopping the Riders from fighting, and Kanzaki tries to get Tezuka to be a little more cooperative. This is an extremely interesting stretch of the show. It puts Shinji in more difficult position then he's ever been in, while also teasing the idea of him losing the only real ally he has. I didn't know a thing about Ryuki's plot going in originally, so I remember being legitimately worried about that last bit. I was probably just really gullible or something, but it goes to show how completely absorbing I found this show. It trains you with Scissors and Zolda to assume other Riders are all jerks, so everything about Tezuka immediately screamed "too good to be true". I figured there had to be some cruel twist at some point, especially since the two Riders after him are also huge jerks. But no, for a fifth of the entire series now, he's been there, and he's been reliable, and that's why he's my favorite. He brings something to the show that nobody else can. Den-O 21-22: Ryutaros decided to save me the trouble of having to summarize the plot this time: These are hands down some of my favorite episodes of the show. The actual showdown between Zeronos and Den-O Gun Form in the middle is the obvious reason why. It's classic. The choreography is super tense and frenetic, AND a significant chunk of it involves bike action. In a fight between my two favorite characters. It's like they made this just for me! It sticks out in my mind like crazy to this day when I think of Den-O (or cool Rider fight scenes in general), but seeing the episodes again, it certainly helps that they're supported by such a great plot. So to speak, anyway. I mean, the actual Monster of the Week stuff this time is there and it's fine, but what I mean by "great plot" is all the extremely well done, chracter-driven drama that's really at the center here. We're still feeling out Yuuto's character, with lots of details about him established but not explained, like the limited number of times he can become Zeronos, creating all kinds of interesting roads for future drama without forgetting to have moments to show off his actual personality too, like him only deciding to "waste" a transformation to fight Den-O after Ryutaros' careless fighting style starts running the risk of hurting Hana. Ryutaros himself is also amazing here. It's the craziest he's been at since his debut, but what makes him endearing to me is the show's commitment to writing him as an actual child. He's not quite capable of genuine malice the same way he's not quite capable of understanding why running around shooting at people is a big deal. He's also somewhat lacking in authority figures who can correct his misbehavior. It's three-dimensional, you know? Look at how violent his crayon drawings are, he's clearly rather troubled. Fortunately, Ryoutarou, awesome guy that he is, actually decides to take responsibility for the brat here, refusing to make excuses to Yuuto for not having Ryutaros under control, and trying more than anyone else usually does to explain why the way he acts is a problem. I honestly forgot how much Ryoutarou had grown by this point in the show. I'm not even halfway through, and he already feels totally different from how he did at the start. On an unrelated note, one other revelation I've had going back to this show is that it's unfortunate so many of the episode titles involve very slick, natural sounding wordplay that you'd have to be some kind of super genius to translate without losing the joke. OOO 21-22: Firstly, it's Nobuhiro Mouri's turn to write an arc, and he comes out of the gate pretty strong. The plot here has a very memorable twist to it, with the premise being a Yummy born of a desire to do good. Or rather, to beat up people who do bad. There are quite a few layers to why this one works. More than anything, I think it's actually quite clever to show how weird and creepy it would be to directly apply the logic of fictional heroes and villains to stuff like random litterers on the street. It stays very true to OOO's thematic spirit that desire is never quite black and white, and Mouri shows a strong grasp on the characters while he's at it. Eiji's guile, and his unique brand of optimism, are on full display here, once again showing that he's way, WAY more intellectual than the average goodhearted hero. Gotou's character arc also makes enough genuine progress to disqualify these episodes from being filler, so they're a win any way you wanna look at it. Secondly, The Grasshopper Yummy is a great mythology gag. Showa references of any kind are more than welcome to me, but the thematic callback to Kamen Rider's origins as a story about a monster who becomes a hero is awesome, and just on that alone, he's the most memorable monster in the whole show to me. And thirdly, the way the Medals are used here struck me as extremely elegant. Mouri got stuck writing at a point in the show where OOO has barely any toys to play with (TaJaDor is literally his only Combo right now), but he uses that to his advantage. There's a great gag where Eiji is asking Ankh for different Medals during in the middle of a fight only to react dejectedly when told they don't have what he wants, which almost seems kind of meta. But good use is made of what it is available, including some individual use of the red Medals. Special mention goes to Condor getting used specifically because Eiji lost his only Grasshopper Medal earlier in the episode. Kicking things slightly harder isn't a particularly interesting power compared to OOO's usual fare, so using it in the context of a sort of last resort actually makes it still stick out and seem cool.
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06-17-2019, 10:21 AM | #15395 |
Avatar by: @autorun__exe
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Amsterdam
Posts: 409
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So I'm watching Kabuto and loving it. But I need to talk about episodes 21 - 22 and how absolutely stunning they were.
When people joked that Kagami is the main character of Kabuto they really weren't kidding. Everything that he strived for in 20 episodes before culminated in this two parter, and I loved every moment of it. Kagami's sheer determination of wanting to protect this kid, making him try and tame a Zecter that absolutely bodied him and yet eventually managed to transform into Gatack was amazing. And sure the kid being a worm was something that could've been seen from a mile away but the ending wasn't something I saw coming in the slightest. I was fully expecting Kagami's first fight to end with Kabuto ending it due to Kagami being unable to kill the worm. But no, he shows him a Moonbow and tries to hand him his telescope before being denied and delivering a Rider Kick. the Worm then sacrificing himself for Kagami is while kind of cliche for Kamen Rider nowdays is something that really does show the Worms do possess the memories of the ones they copied. Seriously that two parter is fucking good. |
06-17-2019, 08:16 PM | #15396 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Ryuki 23-24:
Episode 23 hit me like a truck the first time I watched it, and it definitely holds up on a repeat viewing. Shinji shouting Tezuka's name toward the end is burned into my memory quite thoroughly, and the proper reveal of Raia's backstory further cemented his place as my favorite Rider in the whole show. Episode 24 begins yet another trip into the Inoue Zone, which means, you guessed it, an ineffectual Shinji (which is fine because he's going through some crap right now), some good laughs, and more focus on the ORE Journal crew. In this case, Reiko (who, for the record, I've always really liked) decides to get the scoop on Asakura from the man himself. You can probably guess this isn't going to end well. This is the first time Inoue gets to play with Ouja, and, perhaps because his character is a perfect fit for Inoue's darker habits, it's the first episode of his where I felt a significant disconnect from the other episodes. Asakura goes on a brief rant about eating mud at one point that just doesn't seem like something Kobayashi would ever write. Namely because it lacks all subtlety. That's not always a bad thing, though. Den-O 23-24: I've never considered myself a huge fan of Sieg, so going back to these episodes I was taken aback by how great they are. They tell a really complete, self-contained little story that stands on its own far more than the usual Monster of the Week plots Den-O has, that are clearly just there to prop up the other parts of the show before anything else. Here, the tale of this strange bird monster and the baby he calls his brother is very much the focus, and that's definitely a good thing. The pacing is impeccable, and Den-O's insanely strong characterization mixed with its also quite remarkable attention to detail elevate it a considerable degree. Once again, there are too many individual moments to list them all, but they add up to an extremely entertaining set of episodes. Ryoutarou getting interrogated by the police is definitely a big highlight, but what I'm more getting at is all the ~really~ tiny bits and pieces Den-O always remembers to get in there. Stuff like Ryutaros turning his head away from Yuuto when he walks by like a pouting child, that show the characters behaving in a consistent and characterful way even when it has nothing to do with what's actually going on. Every single scene on the Den-Liner especially is staged in such an elaborate, well thought out way that goes so far beyond the requirements of the story that it's almost baffling. Episode 24 also has yet another healthy dose of screentime for Plat Form, which I know isn't any kind of objective reason for liking an arc, but I'm telling you guys, any time it gets to do something, the arc is good. OOO 23-24: Firstly, the show digs into Date's backstory for the first time here, in the process adding a lot of depth to a character who could've been mistaken for someone more shallow to this point. One of my favorite scenes is actually in 23 when him and Eiji are just getting some oden. It's emblematic of (part of) what makes OOO great, because in the middle of a show where the most insane, unrealistic crap happens constantly (the arc straight up ends with Eiji using his octopus legs to drill a hole through a giant sea monster), we also get this very natural conversation between our two heroes that informs us a lot of their characters in a pretty short amount of time, in particular showing that Date sort of sees through Eiji in a way that nobody else, including Eiji himself, really does. Secondly, the Victim of the Week here suffers from abuse to such a comical extent it's honestly hard not to root for her even when she's going a little crazy. And thirdly, even after the token apology it would later get, I'm honestly still a little upset all these years later that Shout Out doesn't play during ShaUTa's debut. They had a perfect streak going! Why make a sweet insert song for every Combo and then NOT use one?! Wait, were you guys all just joking? Because I consider this a fact on the same level as Asumu obviously being the focus of Hibiki. It's a huge part of the reason Tendou is characterized the way he is. Gattack was basically Cross-Z before it was cool.
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06-17-2019, 10:38 PM | #15397 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,327
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Sieg is easily my favorite Imagin just because he's so different from how all the other Imagin are handled, the train crew included. An amnesiac prince who can't even remember what the wish he fulfilled was, let alone who was actually his host. It helps his character really stand out, and his brief form change insanely memorable (And my favorite Den-O form).
And I may joke about Kagami, but I honestly do feel he's the main character of Kabuto. The first half of the story is literally structured around him, and even when the story places a greater emphasis on Tendou (Rather than Kagami's interactions with Tendou), he's still arguably the focal point of the series.
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06-18-2019, 08:27 PM | #15398 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
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Ryuki 25-26:
Remember when I said being unsubtle isn't always a bad thing? Well, Inoue has the honor of writing what is, far and away, the most abhorrent thing Asakura does in the entire series, which is saying something. It's so brutal I almost felt physically ill watching the episode knowing what was about to go down. It's a super impactful moment and completely destroys whatever sympathy you might have towards Ouja in a way that really crystallizes his role in the show. There's absolutely no way you can spin him as any kind of anti-hero. He's as much of a monster as the actual Monsters. The only thing going against the episode is that everybody is arguably taking stupid pills for it to happen, but that's Inoue for you. Once things are back to normal in 26, everybody gets right back on track, naturally. Like, it was actually jarring how much smarter everyone suddenly was again. One part I really loved was when Kitaoka and Shinji go chasing after a guy who was threatening Kitaoka over a trial to protect him from a Mirror Monster. Any hopes of our favorite Super Lawyer acting selfless are dashed when he says he's only doing this because it would look suspicious if the guy mysteriously disappears on the way back from his house. He also later muses that he should just come up with an alibi instead after the endeavor proves to be more trouble than he expected, so you know he's not pulling a Ren and only pretending not to care. It's up to Shinji to do all the caring, getting out of the rut he's been stuck in by deciding to double down on protecting people instead of racking his head about the Rider battle. It's a great episode for him, because there genuinely hasn't been a lot of Rider on Monster action since Ouja showed up, and consequently it feels super refreshing to see Shinji back in his element. He also gets his first smart hero moment in a good while too. One of the funniest gags in the whole show happens when Zolda starts loaning Ryuki his cards (because Kitaoka has a busted arm), only for Shinji (who was understandably excited about having sweet shoulder cannons) to be let down when it turns out that the gear still just goes to Zolda. He gets a bit upset about Kitaoka using him as glorified vending machine, but then shuts up mid-sentence because the idea of using Zolda's contract Monster as a shield pops into his head. Not super impressive, but it once again shows that Shinji can and does use his brain when he fights. The episode also finds an excuse to bring up that he makes good gyoza again, which I was definitely not expecting to see after the one time that was shown in 13, but that's how you know Kobayashi doesn't mess around. Den-O 25-26: These episodes do a great job of ironing out the relationship between Ryoutarou and Yuuto. Compared to the standards at the time, they were hardly bitter rivals or anything (the obligatory Rider on Rider fight was entirely on Ryutaros, which I always thought was a clever workaround), but they definitely don't like each other as people all that much. Ryoutarou is pretty skeptical that Yuuto is who he claims to be, and Yuuto of course thinks Ryoutarou is an unreliable wimp. By the end of this arc, that's started to turn around, after they each see a different side of each other. It definitely helps Ryoutarou's case especially that he's been run so ragged he's going around with a limp for most of the episode again, and still manages to get the job done. He's seriously made of iron or something. What's that? Why was he so beat up? Well, finding that out requires a different kind of ticket than usual, according to Owner at the end of 26, although perplexingly, we're actually going to be waiting until after 27 to take that trip. Also, I'm pretty sure episode 25 didn't actually have Den-O anywhere in it. Just Zeronos. I mean, sometimes I complain about episodes of Kamen Rider that don't have the base form, but that's taking it to the next level. At least they balance it out with some more Plat Form in 26. OOO 25-26: Firstly, this is the most engaging Victim of the Week plot in the show so far. A story about a boxer forced into retirement due to all the injuries he's accumulated through his fights is pretty heavy and interesting on its own, but then OOO decides to kick it up a notch by drawing a direct parallel to the way Eiji has been constantly ignoring his own health due to his compulsive need to help people, even as he's constantly falling over from using Combos and in bandages from getting beat up by monsters. It's honestly quite impressive how much the comparison lands, and I appreciate the way the very real world problem of punch drunk syndrome is explicitly the focal point. It emphasizes the idea that Eiji is a "real" person who absolutely can not keep doing what he does without paying the price. It's easy to see these things in a show and just think "wow, that's guy's cool and heroic", like I've been doing with Ryoutarou constantly, so I appreciate how bold it was of OOO to reframe that and instead show how having that kind of determination can actually be really, really scary. This idea isn't something the show will just forget about after (or before!) this point, either. Secondly, Eiji's messed up relationship with Ankh is the other focus here, and I actually think it's portrayed even better than in TaJaDor's debut. Ankh gets to look way more suspicious than usual, and when Eiji shows faith that he isn't doing anything too sketchy, it's pointedly NOT because he thinks Ankh is some kind of good person. Instead he comes to that conclusion based entirely on what he logically knows or can assume about how Ankh operates, which is probably the best summation of their dynamic yet. And thirdly, it's really freakin' amazing that a show that goes out of its way to subvert stereotypical saccharine storytelling like this still manages to be legitimately upbeat and fun.
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06-19-2019, 09:18 PM | #15399 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Ryuki 27-28:
Two pretty memorable episodes this time. One features an audience surrogate child getting scared straight by Ren after he sees him transform and decides being a Kamen Rider sounds cool. It's a pretty on the nose plot, but Ryuki is a perfect show to do something like this in. It's also written by Kobayashi, which means, you guessed it, Shinji's gyoza comes up again! Apparently that's more of a subplot than I remember. Oh, and it also means the episode is in safe hands and delivered in a way that really sells it. I love how Ren's plan to fake getting beat up by a monster gets interrupted by him genuinely getting beat up by other Riders. All around, it's a great reminder that the fight between the Riders isn't fun and games for those taking part in it. But man is it ever fun for the spectators! The other episode is the one where Odin shows up to make a small correction, which I'm pretty sure is one of the most famous bits of Ryuki? I don't know how to go about proving that, though. Just like how Shinji doesn't know how to go about preventing the same tragedies from repeating even when given a chance to stop them. The whole Time Vent plot was an extremely clever twist on the normal concept of a recap episode, showing the events of the series up to this point play out again in a fashion that reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode or something. The whole context of the episode is that Shinji is completely powerless and can't even remember he remembers what's going to happen most of the time, which is kind of horrifying, and gives things a very different atmosphere than the usual clip show where people sit there reminiscing about things in a laid-back manner. Actually, I keep comparing it to a clip show, but I'm not even sure that's fair. It might just be a total coincidence the episode functions as a summary of the story, because I have to imagine restaging a bunch of old scenes again probably ruins the low-effort part that usually motivates such things, even if most of the Rider action is recycled. At any rate, I love this episode to bits because it's one I think of whenever I think of how captivating this show was to me at the time (and obviously still is). It seriously felt like anything could happen by this point. Den-O 27: So, in case I need to explain this to anyone, Den-O made the choice to have episodes of the TV show directly set up the usual summer movie, which, to this day, hasn't been done before or since. Sure, plenty of them nowadays do have a specific place in the show's canon (W even acknowledged it in-series), but Den-O is still one of a kind in having a direct prologue episode that aired a day after (yes, after) the film came out. It literally goes right up to the start of the movie, then ends with what is essentially a trailer. Part of me doesn't like this whole idea because it feels like such shameless promotion, but then, the whole point of Kamen Rider is shameless promotion, so what's the big deal, right? The episode itself is also crazy sharp. The amount of energy it has and the way it all flows together into one big entertaining romp is peak Den-O to the point where even without an ending, it manages to stand on its own. I can't stress that enough. Watching it made me realize all over again just how much Den-O had found its groove by this point. This show is on a roll, and it ain't stopping anytime soon. OOO 27-28: Firstly, how cool is it that OOO was the show that got the honor of airing Kamen Rider's 1000th episode? The show is already riding high anyway, and then a golden opportunity to throw a huge party like this comes along. It's perfect. Secondly, Shouji Yonemura got the honor of writing this arc, and judging by what he wrote, I think he was pretty jacked about that. And thirdly, these episodes are completely insane. Ankh is desperately trying to pretend things are still normal, but even he gets caught up in the wild meta antics of Kougami's efforts to make the ultimate Kamen Rider fan film. He's not screwing around, either. You will never be as hardcore of a Rider fan as Kougami. He can watch every Rider show ever at the same time and his ideas for the movie are all heavily inspired directly by the OG show, so you can tell he respects the roots. Mixed in with this crazy premise is the equally crazy premise of a Shocker grunt that wants to prove the glory of all the mooks in Rider history by defeating OOO, and the end result is a pretty spectacular two-part celebration of the franchise that knows not to take things too seriously.
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06-20-2019, 12:01 AM | #15400 |
King of the Rolex
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Digital World
Posts: 452
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Quote:
Den-O 27: So, in case I need to explain this to anyone, Den-O made the choice to have episodes of the TV show directly set up the usual summer movie, which, to this day, hasn't been done before or since. Sure, plenty of them nowadays do have a specific place in the show's canon (W even acknowledged it in-series), but Den-O is still one of a kind in having a direct prologue episode that aired a day after (yes, after) the film came out. It literally goes right up to the start of the movie, then ends with what is essentially a trailer. Part of me doesn't like this whole idea because it feels like such shameless promotion, but then, the whole point of Kamen Rider is shameless promotion, so what's the big deal, right? The episode itself is also crazy sharp. The amount of energy it has and the way it all flows together into one big entertaining romp is peak Den-O to the point where even without an ending, it manages to stand on its own. I can't stress that enough. Watching it made me realize all over again just how much Den-O had found its groove by this point. This show is on a roll, and it ain't stopping anytime soon. |
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