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07-15-2020, 06:10 PM | #71 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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Kenzaki's just some guy, you know?
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07-15-2020, 06:19 PM | #72 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Genius barb... you mean Hirose? Also if you describe as "character-driven-plot-oriented"..... would that mean it's absolute best for every party? Where other than learning about the characters with the reactions, you get to also learn the nature of BOARD. Also yeah I'm not the one who prefers either plot or character as long as it's not formulaic, but probably the character overstuffing in previous episode actually makes it easy to get on them here (though Riders aren't highlighted here).
I think the way I'd describe what about the plotting worked for me is... it's like a thing happened, and then the story was about how everyone felt about that thing. The emphasis of the narrative isn't the thing, it's the reaction to the thing. It leverages plot and incident to illuminate character. Quote:
I do think that I no longer have anything to say regarding Kenzaki's dilemma, where it's detailed by others with him having self-depreciation in his acts. Other than heroism, there's also something regarding him and people where he gets betrayed, many times according to him, and by that, personal issues Kenzaki have is that he's colder and more aloof than the standard Rider protagonists, not having friends, and it's also hard for him to comprehend that someone actually actually cares about him too as evident by his confusion when meeting Kotaro or Hirose's concern.... So yeah, probably it's more of his inner issues for him brushing off Kotaro, though still Kotaro wasn't exactly introducing himself in a comforting manner before, but they get along quickly here (but Kotaro still treats Kenzaki as subject!). Also, for him easily getting attached to other people and wanting to protect, you haven't gotten into what makes him that yet.
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With I'm also adopting the hot take Switchblade described above, yeah, I also love Chalice's suit. Easily my favorite among Blade's... though I have to say in an unpopular opinion, I'm not into Blade's design that much. But Chalice is my favorite not only from being different but also in general of Rider designs.
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I'm glad the show started clicking with you so quickly, Die. You're already starting to see why I think the choices the premiere made were so worth it. Blade essentially starts with the rug already pulled out from under all the characters. They're immediately put in a way more emotionally intense situation than usual for the start of a story, and that means development starts happening fast.
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He's pretty great, for being pretty crap. Quote:
Plus, and you're never going to mention this, so I will, it's where the show first uses its initial insert theme, Kakusei (which translates to "Awakening"), and that's one of my favorite Rider songs ever. I'd honestly put it right up there with good ol' BELIEVE YOURSELF. It's so hard not to get pumped listening to it, and the lyrics are astonishingly fine-tuned to the themes of this stretch of the show, being all about pushing past doubts and confusion to realize your greater potential. Heck, just think about what Kenzaki's arc in this episode was, and then think about how the first two lines of the second verse are something like "If you believe betrayal is waiting around every corner, you'll never be able to move forward". It's great stuff.
Of course, before I knew a lick of Japanese, I mostly just liked it for how it goes "You Keep It Real~" at the end of so many awesome fight scenes. It's like... punctuation, or something? I guess there's no deep reason behind that. It's just cool, okay?! Quote:
I noticed that, occasionally, folks were having a tough time figuring out where we were in a series in these threads. I mean, I don't really do a review-style post. There's not much of an episode synopsis, and I'll frequently spend a bunch of time digging into character motivations and theories rather than talking about What Actually Happened. To keep things a little more accessible, I thought I could add a tiny This Time On Kamen Rider Blade to the top of each episode post. Hopefully it'll help people understand which episode we're on? I don't know. If nothing else, it's fun to try and describe each episode in as few words as possible. Along those lines, I thought I could toss a Next Time On Kamen Rider Blade thing at the bottom, for symmetry. (And maybe build excitement?) That means watching the previews for the next episode, and... it's not the end of the world? I haven't seen anything yet that's felt like I'm cheating myself. It's not a big deal, as it turns out?
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07-15-2020, 06:48 PM | #73 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Actually, while we're on the subject of Chalice's awesomeness factor, can I just take a second to mention one of my favorite things about him has always been the fact they specifically chose to make the heart-themed Rider the emotionally distant, mysterious cool guy? Like, man, way to break down those stereotypes, Blade. Quote:
Along those lines, I thought I could toss a Next Time On Kamen Rider Blade thing at the bottom, for symmetry. (And maybe build excitement?) That means watching the previews for the next episode, and... it's not the end of the world? I haven't seen anything yet that's felt like I'm cheating myself. It's not a big deal, as it turns out?
Yeah, I used to be the same way with episode previews, but I got over it right around the time I realized I had to wait 7 whole days in between episodes of Gaim, which suddenly made me understand the appeal. Nowadays I think there's kind of a whole art in its own right to putting together a good episode preview. Really clever ones can even deliberately take something out of context to mislead the viewer without exactly lying about what happens, either. EDIT: I also just realized the BGM I linked is actually a slightly different track than the one used in episode 2, but that only proves my point about Chalice having a super consistent musical motif.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 07-15-2020 at 06:54 PM.. |
07-15-2020, 06:53 PM | #74 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
Actually, while we're on the subject of Chalice's awesomeness factor, can I just take a second to mention one of my favorite things about him has always been the fact they specifically chose to make the heart-themed Rider the emotionally distant, mysterious cool guy? Like, man, way to break down those stereotypes, Blade.
Sometimes they twist up on your assumptions about the significance of the iconography, and sometimes they just lean the hell in.
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Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
07-15-2020, 08:00 PM | #75 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Is calling Tachibana the diamond in the rough way too obvious?
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07-15-2020, 08:27 PM | #76 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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All you really need to know about Tachibana-san is that he is
a) A Traitor b) The red one Chalice's design is probably my favourite of the suits we have, but tbh, they've all grown on my immensely. Chailce wins because of the hearts theme, I think. Garren is a close second, partly because meme, and partly because "Red Diamond leather stag beetle gunslinger" is just a cool design. Blade's body is neat, but the head, idk, something about it, as others have mentioned, is a weird one. As for Kenzaki being the best, he really is pretty trusting. He barely knows Kotaro, and here he is, being best buddies with him (after his old best buddy betrayed him, but still). Hajime is very purposefully mysterious at this point, and I probably didn't warm to him fully till a point in the future I'll mention, but ya gotta build intrigue somehow. Especially since you seem to be going into this with far less foreknowledge than I had, so this is dramatic tension 100%. As for Kakusei... Well, it's no [CENSORED FUTURE INSERT THEME]. Or [OTHER CENSORED INSERT THEME], but it's alright. Chalice's little guitar riff is sick, though. Threatening, but not evil, as such. More just symbolising 'danger'.
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07-15-2020, 08:32 PM | #77 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,481
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Ahh so he is a char.
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07-15-2020, 10:16 PM | #78 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,422
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Quote:
So, yeah, here's the thing.
I noticed that, occasionally, folks were having a tough time figuring out where we were in a series in these threads. I mean, I don't really do a review-style post. There's not much of an episode synopsis, and I'll frequently spend a bunch of time digging into character motivations and theories rather than talking about What Actually Happened. To keep things a little more accessible, I thought I could add a tiny This Time On Kamen Rider Blade to the top of each episode post. Hopefully it'll help people understand which episode we're on? I don't know. If nothing else, it's fun to try and describe each episode in as few words as possible. Along those lines, I thought I could toss a Next Time On Kamen Rider Blade thing at the bottom, for symmetry. (And maybe build excitement?) That means watching the previews for the next episode, and... it's not the end of the world? I haven't seen anything yet that's felt like I'm cheating myself. It's not a big deal, as it turns out? Oh, which indirectly reminds me of something I was going to mention at the start of the thread. We're back to movies that don't give away massive plot points with Blade, so you don't have to worry about us all jumping you if you watch it when it would have originally come out. |
07-15-2020, 11:43 PM | #79 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 03
This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Garren and Blade team-up to take down a Reindeer Monster in the few spare moments that aren't taken up by exposition! Also, I think this is the episode where the Fourze Net-Movie pulled its Garren footage from! The thing I really liked about last episode was how the show created space to let the characters bounce off of each other, organic ways to define what Kamen Rider Blade was going to be like. Things were happening, but it was more important who they were happening to. This one, though. This one. It's just so. Much. Exposition. Every scene was filling in a blank, or offering a theory, or shading in a mystery. We've got the history of the Rider System, the origins and motivations of the Undead, the Chalice/Amane's Dad stuff, what BOARD was up to, and the ticking clock of the disintegrating Riders. To quote Episode 1's post, it's a lot. There's a few interesting moments, for sure. The scene where Amane's like Gee Hajime Maybe You're Not Human, it's clunky and on-the-nose, but there's a very sweet way Hajime deflects this very astute analysis with a goofy performance. It's fun to watch, and he's got a solid rapport with Amane. (VERY CONSPICUOUSLY SOLID RAPPORT, DON'T YOU THINK - Yes, show, I got it.) And, I really like how tense and prickly the friendship is between Kenzaki and Kotaro. It's a bit Build, isn't it? Kenzaki is Banjou, the hot-headed screw-up. Kotaro is Sento, the very excitable brainiac who can't stop saying insulting things to Kenzaki. I really love the runner of Kotaro just out loud suggesting that BOARD picked a terrible candidate to be Blade. I mean, accurate, but so mean! But there's just so much of this episode given over to monologues filling in details that, y'know, I was not dying to have revealed just yet? Certainly not at the cost of enjoying these characters. I would've been okay with one or two of these things getting saved for later, if it meant that we could come to these crises more naturally. Because, man, some clunky scenes in this one! Folks can't stop saying all of their histories out loud! That goddamn doctor friend of Tachibana just talking to herself, laying out her history with Tachibana! Who ever has dryly recited personal facts to themselves while doing a puzzle?! And even Amane is just like I Am Talking A Lot About My Dad For A Kid Who Was Just Established As Not Talking About Her Dad. If you're going to spend so much of your episode saying your life story out loud, find a more organic (or, god forbid, fun) way of doing it! Don't just vomit it all out every spare second of the conversation! And I sort-of want to give a pass to the Tachibana/Kenzaki scene at the end. It's what the whole series has been building up to since the end of the premiere (so, about 40 minutes), and, again, there's a few interesting moments! I love how hard it is for Kenzaki to stay mad at Tachibana. Most of the scene is disappointingly one-note, with Kenzaki screaming at Tachibana and Tachibana trying to ignore him. But there's this flash of sadness on Kenzaki at one point, and he stops screaming accusations long enough to try talking with Tachibana. He tells him he doesn't want to fight. You can see it in his body language, that he's looking for a reason to forgive Tachibana's betrayal. But he quickly puts on his Serious Face and gets back into the interrogation. It's this neat look at how Kenzaki awkwardly wears the role of Kamen Rider, how at heart he's a very sweet boy, but he's in a story that needs him to be a strong hero. And Tachibana's incredulity at how massively off-base Kenzaki's view of things is, I thought that was a nice beat. But it's just more information, in another episode that's neck-deep in information. It's Tachibana laying out the stakes of the show, not really sharing a scene with Kenzaki. The whole episode feels like that, where the joy is (I guess?) supposed to be from having more of the show's mystery filled in. But, that's not what I'm watching for? There's funny little moments (Kotaro's ridiculous car), but they feel like floating islands in a sea of exposition. I... this one felt like a step back to me. Liked it more than the first one, since I'm more invested in the characters. But I liked it less than the second, because they spent most of their time relaying information to one another instead of connecting as characters. Didn't really do it for me, this one. Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Moth Monster fights! Forest battles! And an investigation into a photograph that is probably going to have some more exposition attached to it!
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Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! Last edited by Kamen Rider Die; 08-10-2023 at 11:48 AM.. |
07-16-2020, 01:18 AM | #80 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,422
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When I first watched Blade I was a little disappointed that the show was going back to the "Belt is killing the Rider" well just a few weeks after Kusaka got dusted. This show does its own spin on it, though, which will play out over this first major arc.
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