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12-04-2020, 02:17 PM | #41 |
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 01
I like Tendou. He’s an interesting protagonist (I’m assuming!) so far. His introduction is all about his zen nature, his clarity of purpose, his ability to focus on his own responsibility rather than the actions of others. It’s a neat idea, him being all about the achievement of personal excellence as an inherent good for society. Quote:
Overall, just a smart episode with how it’s telling its story. The opening has an otherworldly sadness to it, full of pain and portent. Then you move into a nightmarish sequence of being killed and replaced by a doppelganger. Then there’s a paramilitary raid. Then a moment of danger, resolved with bizarre humor and nonchalance. Then familial warmth. Then training, then action, then heroism. Every scene flows into the next with focus, with care. Nothing feels unnecessary, or irrelevant, even as you’re certain that some small touches will take on greater importance later. It’s a very watchable premiere.
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Although it could stand to be more fun? There’s only one scene that even vaguely approaches Funny, and that’s the Tendou introduction. Even that’s, like… I didn’t laugh at it, you know? I admired the playfulness of it, but that’s the most I felt. Everything else is very dour, very serious. It’s cool if that’s the direction the production team wanted to go in, but I’m not sure I’m going to love that. I definitely want my Kamen Rider to be more bonkers, more wacky, and that doesn’t feel like what Kabuto is? I don’t know. Maybe there’ll be more lightness, more comedy down the line. This one was a very dark premiere, and those aren’t going to be my favorite.
As a whole episode… I don’t think it does anything wrong, and any complaints I’d have are going to be of the It’s Not What I Ordered But I’ll Still Eat It variety, but this wasn’t a blast to watch. It’s technically proficient, and solidly written, but all of the ZECT stuff is not what I watch Kamen Rider for. I can get through it, and it doesn’t ruin the show for me, but Organizational Kamen Rider is not really my favorite template. Personal preference, for sure, but that’s not where my enjoyment lies. And I'm also saying that, I guess that, to organizational template, you prefer the daily life showings? Well, that's what I prefer too, something that I like within Kamen Rider, and it's exemplified on its intros with the human focus. Some other tokus which are formulaic do take places mostly on their headquarters only. But I do feel that, the hanging base on phase 2 Riders also have that feel, with the headquarters being littered with more science fiction stuff anywhere such as CR or Nascita, compared to the homely main headquarters in the phase 1. Quote:
Hoping to spur some direct discussion off of these episodes, so we’re going to try some episode-specific questions for y’all. Kicking things off, how do we feel about not seeing the full Rider suit in the first episode? Feels chancy to me, and slightly misguided. I think the bare minimum a Rider show should deliver is the Rider’s base suit in Episode 1. At a minimum! (I’d actually prefer it if the suit showed up before the final scene, but I get that that’s maybe asking a lot.) Are you okay with only getting Husky Kabuto in this one?
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12-04-2020, 02:42 PM | #42 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Like about being less light-hearted, addressing darker themes at times can be good, evoking feelings in a sense of despair, grittiness, realism. And obviously, either (anything obviously, which is why not judging by lack of an aspect alone) works only if used right, and no unnecessary utilization. Like for some, comedy can feel, trivializing or downgrading the emotional content (it still depends on context, if it's the audience or the series' mistake in this take). Though yeah, Kabuto is likely, the more serious tone, except when the crazy spectacle can be so ridiculous that it actually brings laughter.
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12-04-2020, 03:44 PM | #43 |
I have a problematic type
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Again, from the Blade post, don't judge the superhero program solely by comedy, something that you said you would not feel comfortable. Like about being less light-hearted, addressing darker themes at times can be good, evoking feelings in a sense of despair, grittiness, realism. And obviously, either (anything obviously, which is why not judging by lack of an aspect alone) works only if used right, and no unnecessary utilization. Like for some, comedy can feel, trivializing or downgrading the emotional content (it still depends on context, if it's the audience or the series' mistake in this take). Though yeah, Kabuto is likely, the more serious tone, except when the crazy spectacle can be so ridiculous that it actually brings laughter.
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12-04-2020, 04:04 PM | #44 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 02
CLOCK UP First episode with the Kabuto suit, and I think it's a winner. I wasn't crazy about the beetle horn (or whatever) on the helmet when I'd see it in pictures, or on figures. Not a bug guy! But in motion, with all of the bells and whistles, I think it really works. The process of moving from Husky Kabuto to Kabuto, the CHANGE BEETLE stuff, it's fun to watch. Moreover, it's this nice thematic link to the molting of the Worms, this concept of something more powerful bursting out of its casing. What was a slow and bulky fighter is now lithe and speedy. And it really is a slim suit. I'm sure it's not any smaller than the older suits (and the dude inside probably didn't get any smaller from the first few Heisei shows), but there's an... elongated nature to it that I think helps the illusion of slimness. That beetle horn makes the helmet more of an oval, and the physicality of the character is more closed-in, creating a thinner silhouette: arms at the sides, legs together. A pillar to heaven. -- Okay, I talked about the suit, I hope you're all happy, now it's time to talk about what I cared most about from this episode... the depressed teenage girl! I'm a sucker for melodrama, so you know that I loved that scene of Hiyori sketching a world of comfort and connection while peering out over the destruction of Shibuya. It's shot beautifully, with these tight close-ups on Hiyori as she tries to lose herself in the fantasy she's created. It's a great introduction to her character. She's someone who has a wound that's become her whole world. She's her trauma, all the time. Seeing someone like that try to find their way back to happiness... I love those stories? I love how Tendou is blunt with her, telling her that her greatness isn't something to diminish or excuse. That story, yeah, it's the one I most want to see explored on this show. -- It's just, she's currently a pretty minor character compared to Kagami, who I'm realizing now I maybe didn't talk that much about last time? He's a terrific foil/partner to Tendou. Tendou is all confidence, directness, judgement. But Kagami... he's sort of lame? He's frustrated, confused, desperate to prove himself. He has a nervous, excitable energy to him. It's not the barely disguised self-loathing we've seen in other would-be Riders, it's something more... it's like the opposite to Tendou's story in the first episode. Tendou knew he was destined for greatness, but he didn't know what. With Kagami, he knows what he wants but he doesn't feel like the universe is acknowledging that. It's a tough role, but I think the actor does a great job with it. It never veers too far into Kagami being a jerk or a clown. He's not great at his job right now, but he wants to get better. He believes in the mission of an organization that may not believe in him. Easy dude to care about. -- I like that opening song! Lyrically, it's tough for me to follow, but the beat is fantastic. It's the right mixture of propulsive and rhythmic. Plenty catchy, and absolutely suited for a show about speed. CLOCK OVER I love the scenes set there, and I like what it brings out of the characters, but... holy shit, another restaurant?! I know, it's a Kamen Rider staple, but it feels so random to have it appear in this episode. The show already has the massive ZECT org to deal with, and the various machinations therein, so suddenly having this little French bistro where folks can hang out... I don't know, it feels like it's dropped in from a different show? It feels like it's from a version of Kabuto where ZECT doesn't exist. And Kagami having this as a part-time job? He needs a part-time job at a bistro while he's working for a highly-militarized secret organization devoted to eradicating monstrous doppelgangers who defy the laws of physics? I... what?! It feels so forced, and unrealistic. Yes, I am suggesting that the only unrealistic part of the show about speed monsters from space and the superheroes who fight them is that the secret agent works part-time at a bistro, but that's where I'm at with this. I can get on board with every other aspect, but this shoehorned restaurant thing... too far! And I like the scenes in the restaurant! They are great! But the version of the show set up in Episode 1 just can't make the restaurant stuff in Episode 2 feel cohesive. -- It doesn't help that there are so many characters and plots to service? Or, maybe it's not so many (it's really just Tendou, ZECT, and the restaurant), but that each of them feels so bloated, so full of ingredients. ZECT's got a half-dozen unique characters in it, Tendou's got scenes with just his sister, and the restaurant has two or three characters of its own. Unlike last episode's efficiency, this one feels crammed with too much to focus on, and it leads to an episode that I liked in parts without feeling too thrilled by the whole. It just doesn't come together in a way that worked for me. It felt like a checklist of scenes and characters, rather than a clear, singular story. -- And, y'know, still not super into ZECT! It's a mysterious organization of nebulous authority (Kagami's like Wait Do We Get To Kill People and Misaki's like Shrug Emoji), and the only part of it I'm really invested in is Kagami. (The bit where he's only excited about recruiting Tendou so that he can boss someone around!) His role, his belief, that's fun to watch and think about. The machinery of ZECT, what they're really up to... ehhhhhh. I'm hopeful that the reveal will be entertaining, but I haven't spent a single second being curious about them. It's very boilerplate right now, and there's nothing that feels weird or intriguing. Dudes in shadows making threatening proclamations, troubling moral ambiguity in the name of safety, a group of monsters that have a grudge against humanity's protectors, etc etc etc. It's fine. It's stock. But, I don't watch shows about superheroes for Stock and Fine, you know? A QUESTION Kabuto's suit! His full CHANGE BEETLE Henshin! I dug it. How do you feel about the debut of Kabuto's base suit? Is that beetle crest too much? (I like how it comes up out of the chest and locks in.) Color work for you? (I think the red carapace as chest armor really pops.) What do you think is the best part of the Henshin, and why is it the alarm klaxon that goes off just before Tendou inserts the Zecter?
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12-04-2020, 04:10 PM | #45 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
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The horn is what makes Kabuto Kabuto! It makes the suit come together in the same way Gaim's sword crest or Agito's horns do; he just looks naked without it -- and I love what they do with it specifically in relation to the Masked form. First of all, as said; without the horn that form despite the massive armour just doesn't look finished without it and that's such a cool idea. Second, I really like how it goes from a visor - which is arguably more 'realistic' and robotic - to going to two eyes with the horn, which 'realistically' would probably just impede vision, but damn if it isn't cool. Which on the whole is a nice dynamic the two forms have going on -- the main suit is stylish and streamlined and awesome, while the Masked form trades that in for a lot more practicality. It's great!
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12-04-2020, 04:14 PM | #46 |
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Second, I really like how it goes from a visor - which is arguably more 'realistic' and robotic - to going to two eyes with the horn, which 'realistically' would probably just impede vision, but damn if it isn't cool. Which on the whole is a nice dynamic the two forms have going on -- the main suit is stylish and streamlined and awesome, while the Masked form trades that in for a lot more practicality. It's great!
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12-04-2020, 04:20 PM | #47 |
Showa Girl
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There's a great physicality to it, right?
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12-04-2020, 04:46 PM | #48 |
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Kabuto’s suit is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen.
And now, this thread’s first example of casting trivia. Two of the ZECT members debuting here, Yaguruma and Kageyama, are both fairly prominent actors in Tokusatsu, and I’m not just talking about the wealth of video game appearances and role reprisals they made after this show. Yaguruma’s actor, Hidenori Tokuyama, would later go on to star as Hiroto Suto/Go-On Gold in Engine Sentai Go-Onger (still one of my favourite Sentai shows), while Kageyama’s actor Masato Uchiyama was previously the Orphenoch of the fortnight when the villains stole both the Faiz and Kaixa belts from Takumi and Kusaka, and since then, he was temporarily the protagonist of Ultraman Nexus (since that show’s gimmick is that whenever the protagonist gets a new form, he chooses a new human partner to bond with just prior. Uchiyama’s character got the pre-final form, Nexus Junis Blue). |
12-04-2020, 04:55 PM | #49 |
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I'd tottally buy Kagami working another job. I think adds to his character that this secret agent tasked with fighting against aliens also needs another job to help pay the bills. It fits with his current ranking within Zect as overall from his convo with his superior that he not that high rank.
Conversly I like Zect and I guess overall organizations. I think it fit within Kamen Rider. Though really I would be find with practically anything with Rider tbh.
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12-04-2020, 04:56 PM | #50 |
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I loved the whole masked form rider form stuff. Like I said before we have had instances where the pre-debut form was introduced with Kuuga (and Ryuki) so at the time it was fine. Also it made more sense given that he is based off an insect so even if it was a gimmick didn't really bother me. Looking back now it was also a nice reference to(though I am not certain it is the intention) a Ishinomori classic manga/tokusatsu hero called Inazuman, who at first is a cocoon-like form called Sanagiman(Sanagi is Japanese for cocoon) and later breaks from it to be his Inazuman form. As for the rider form suit, one of the most sleek and coolest designs to this day. This is the part of Kabuto as a show that I love despite some of the flaws, really nice clear gimmicks with timeless designs. It was the perfect recipe for an anniversary rider show and nice back-to-basics approach after the experiment that was Hibiki.
Man, I remember just rewinding and watching the clock-up scene multiple times when I first saw it. Could not believe they just took bullet time and made it work for them. That was just insane. And the rider kick? IT DEFINED TENDOU. That roundhouse kick was just so fresh considering all the previous rider kicks were just battlecry-heavy jumping kicks. The 1-2-3 gimmick was cool too cause it felt like him unlocking safety switches. Again, another example where the gimmick worked very well for the show, and this show had no collectibles. Last edited by Sunred; 12-04-2020 at 04:58 PM.. |
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