|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
01-30-2024, 08:07 PM | #121 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
|
Quote:
KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 13 - “Q ON THE RADIO - PRINCESS UNDER FIRE”
Some of that, of course, is because of Wakana’s interactions with Shotaro and Philip. She completely doesn’t remember Shotaro from earlier in the season, which punctures his ego in exactly the right way. He basically immediately falls out of love with her, because he always needs to be seen as A Cool Guy – he even does his internal narration back to her as a pick-up line! (Also funny is that Wakana seems to have already forgotten that Akiko was her wacky maid a couple weeks back, and I think I love that script oversight -slash- genius narrative decision.) But Philip, that’s the interesting part. She respects Philip, and Philip consistently has her back. He never doubts the need to protect her from the Violence Dopant, and he never takes the bait of Shotaro’s badmouthing. Between Shotaro’s uncharacteristic ambivalence to saving a beautiful woman, and Philip’s uncharacteristic insistence on working this case, Wakana’s presence shakes up the W format in really entertaining ways. This is a fun shake of the cast and W format, but this is also something frequently happens in people that I disagree with (sorry not sorry this may ruin your entertainment source here though). I think it's sad fact that, in general, power and abilities are appreciated over virtue, as shown by the difference of the perception of Shotaro and Philip, as ability is cool. but subtlety is underrated. It's easier to get mad at peoples' obvious weakness than it is to stand up and defend them and the hidden strengths. And for Philip's fascination, if often happens where audiences being fascinated with scumbag characters that can show soft side on occassion, deeming them as "multi-faceted and complex", and, often that they seem to think it's the only right way to write characters, and harp on any characters that aren't like that, particularly the goody types, who, yes, often mocked for being not deep and nuanced. Quote:
And, like… a lot of it is the performances. Everyone’s doing their best work this episode, perfectly nailing exactly what the script requires of them: Wakana turns on a dime in most scenes, switching between Performative Innocence for dopey dudes and Petulant Menace for anyone stupid enough to get in her way; Kirihiko is always colossally out of his depth, while giving off an unearned air of superiority; Saeko is Just Trying To Help, but generally trying to ruin Wakana’s happiness for sport; Shotaro is crestfallen that a woman he didn’t know is different than he imagined, which is a perfect trait for a half-boiled detective; and Philip mixes his usual genius focus with a rare bit of pride in his results, since they seem to make Wakana happy. Everyone in this is great, to a startling degree – like, this is only the 13th episode! They should still be a little rough around the edges!
Quote:
Ultra-lert!
The late Shion Nakamaru, who appears here as Wakana’s radio host rival had two major appearances as antagonists in the Ultra Series. Specifically, the ill-fated Riko Saida/Dark Faust in Ultraman Nexus and Alien Pedan Harlan in Ultra Galaxy: Mega Monster Battle.
__________________
The most complete non-wiki encyclopedias for Kamen Rider series (currently only found Ryuki and OOO's). |
01-30-2024, 09:08 PM | #122 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
Yeah, this is also a favourite two-parter of mine, partially for putting the focus on Wakana, but also because after 12 episodes of instant reveals, obvious suspects or a lack of real buildup, we have an actual mystery, complete with our bad guy using a voice changer so it?s not immediately obvious.
Quote:
Quote:
I think it's sad fact that, in general, power and abilities are appreciated over virtue, as shown by the difference of the perception of Shotaro and Philip, as ability is cool. but subtlety is underrated. It's easier to get mad at peoples' obvious weakness than it is to stand up and defend them and the hidden strengths.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
01-30-2024, 11:19 PM | #123 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 14 - “Q ON THE RADIO - LIVE BROADCAST AT THE RIOT”
And that’s the end of Act 1! It’s a solid conclusion to the first chunk of Double, all the introductory beats. The only really unresolved conflict at this point in the show is Philip’s backstory, so it’s nice to get a two-parter that introduces the deep, inexplicable connection between Wakana and Philip, while also making it all but stated to Double that the Sonozakis are up to no good. There’s almost nothing else you could do that would feel like the show was accelerating its storytelling (*wink*), and the result is a two-parter that tells you the questions you should be asking, while teasing the answers to come. (It is, honestly, weird to me how little Shotaro has any particular arc or goal at this point in the series. Akiko’s curious about her father’s absence, and Philip’s got his whole character description to worry about… but Shotaro’s just, like, hanging around. He’s solving mysteries, and helping his friends, and protecting Fuuto, but there’s only his Begins Night trauma to color that all in. It’s not like the show would work great with both halves of Double dealing with season-long mysteries, but it’s maybe helping me understand more why the Shotaro-heavy episode was such a miss for me.) I really dug this episode, especially for how visually dynamic the show got for all of the Philip/Wakana stuff. When they’re having their cute moment in the doorway, the lights drop out, and we’re on a stage – the reality of the moment is traded in for performance and theatricality. It’s all heightened and metaphorical. Philip’s connection to Wakana is borne from something more primal and unshakeable, so it makes sense for those moments to become iconic inside the episode. Show didn’t need to get that smart, but I’m glad it did. And, y’know, it’s not just beautifully-shot imagery and thoughtful examinations of human connection – we also get a bonkers Dopant mystery that involves both a Lovestruck Patsy and a Femme Fatale, because this show is now going for broke on its noir tropes. The Motoko scene near the end is hysterical for how quickly she goes from perfectly inconspicuous to screaming about her intricately plotted vengeance. It’s like the episode realized that it had a whole Dopant fight to finish (not my fave, too much CG) and an epilogue with Philip and Wakana, so she just WENT CRAZY, the end. (That flashback! Over the top, even for the show with both a Santa Claus and a cat monster!) Still, it’s a layered objective that kept the plot moving at a reliably fun clip for two entire episodes, so I’m not that mad at some finish line shortcuts. Fun mystery! But the meat of this one is all Philip and Wakana, including my favorite beat in the whole story. Philip has the opportunity to find out every secret Wakana’s hiding through his access to the Gaia Library… but he doesn’t take it. Philip’s whole thing is insatiable curiosity, to an absurd degree (HEAVEN’S TORNADO), but he decides against it for Wakana. He’d rather get to know her, rather than learn her history from a book. He’s seeing the advantage of human connection, thanks to Shotaro’s influence. As far as ways to signal the end of an Act, that kind of character growth is ideal. Great end to a great episode, and a great first chunk of episodes. — DIE-A MEMORIES -Forgot to mention this last time, but I really enjoyed how all of the stops on Wakana’s sweets tour are from previous Double cases. I like when shows like this can check back in on past victims/culprits. (Yuuko kinda blurs the line!) Fourze obviously did it best with its summer movie, but I’m okay with a show this early in its run calling back a few clients. -I genuinely don’t remember if I’d pieced the Wakana/Philip stuff together the first time I’d watched W. It seems insane to think I hadn’t – this episode all but shouts out the secret of their connection – but I may just be remembering it through the lens of future knowledge. Feels pretty overt, though.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
01-31-2024, 12:41 AM | #124 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,601
|
Honestly a really enjoyable two-parter and probably a standout of all the episodes thus far.
There's a fun layered mystery where it definitely feels obvious, it's the manager. But also you have these striking scenes of the radio host co-worker and you're made to look at her as a suspect. Turns out they were both in on it, even if one forced the other into it. It's just a real fun set of Wakana centric episodes where we get to dive into her lifestyle more and really dig into her character. Her interactions with Philip are definitely a highlight and it's fun to see a few wrinkles being thrown in this early. Hindsight is definitely a contributing factor I feel on "Wow these scenes are very blatant foreshadowing" but also I can't remember how I felt about the bits and pieces we get back when I first watched. One scene I was surprised to see was Wakana actually transforming in front of the lady who tried to ruin her only to walk away. And I was like "Oh how are we going to solve the fact that she knows about-oh hi Kirihiko! Oh... oh this is how...". It's fun coming back to a show years after it airs cause small scenes like these catch me off guard despite knowing the broad strokes. Likewise, it's always fun to see how they slowly work in the Movie Wars tie ins when you forget the more subtle ones. I remembered the obvious bits of Akiko asking about her dad around the time of Sweets. Or the hilarious scene of Masquerade just failing against Claydoll. But i forgot about the brief Skull imagery during the rumor segment of the first episode. |
01-31-2024, 09:01 PM | #125 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
|
Quote:
Well, Shotaro isn't looked down on because Philip's abilities are cooler or more useful -- he's looked down on because he's a cosplay detective that can't stop trying to sound cool. It's probably not as entertaining for the other characters as it is for the viewers!
Quote:
KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 14 - “Q ON THE RADIO - LIVE BROADCAST AT THE RIOT”
It’s a solid conclusion to the first chunk of Double, all the introductory beats. The only really unresolved conflict at this point in the show is Philip’s backstory, so it’s nice to get a two-parter that introduces the deep, inexplicable connection between Wakana and Philip, while also making it all but stated to Double that the Sonozakis are up to no good. There’s almost nothing else you could do that would feel like the show was accelerating its storytelling (*wink*), and the result is a two-parter that tells you the questions you should be asking, while teasing the answers to come. Quote:
(It is, honestly, weird to me how little Shotaro has any particular arc or goal at this point in the series. Akiko’s curious about her father’s absence, and Philip’s got his whole character description to worry about… but Shotaro’s just, like, hanging around. He’s solving mysteries, and helping his friends, and protecting Fuuto, but there’s only his Begins Night trauma to color that all in. It’s not like the show would work great with both halves of Double dealing with season-long mysteries, but it’s maybe helping me understand more why the Shotaro-heavy episode was such a miss for me.)
Quote:
I really dug this episode, especially for how visually dynamic the show got for all of the Philip/Wakana stuff. When they’re having their cute moment in the doorway, the lights drop out, and we’re on a stage – the reality of the moment is traded in for performance and theatricality. It’s all heightened and metaphorical. Philip’s connection to Wakana is borne from something more primal and unshakeable, so it makes sense for those moments to become iconic inside the episode. Show didn’t need to get that smart, but I’m glad it did.
Quote:
And, y’know, it’s not just beautifully-shot imagery and thoughtful examinations of human connection – we also get a bonkers Dopant mystery that involves both a Lovestruck Patsy and a Femme Fatale, because this show is now going for broke on its noir tropes. The Motoko scene near the end is hysterical for how quickly she goes from perfectly inconspicuous to screaming about her intricately plotted vengeance. It’s like the episode realized that it had a whole Dopant fight to finish (not my fave, too much CG) and an epilogue with Philip and Wakana, so she just WENT CRAZY, the end. (That flashback! Over the top, even for the show with both a Santa Claus and a cat monster!) Still, it’s a layered objective that kept the plot moving at a reliably fun clip for two entire episodes, so I’m not that mad at some finish line shortcuts. Fun mystery!
Quote:
But the meat of this one is all Philip and Wakana, including my favorite beat in the whole story. Philip has the opportunity to find out every secret Wakana’s hiding through his access to the Gaia Library… but he doesn’t take it. Philip’s whole thing is insatiable curiosity, to an absurd degree (HEAVEN’S TORNADO), but he decides against it for Wakana. He’d rather get to know her, rather than learn her history from a book. He’s seeing the advantage of human connection, thanks to Shotaro’s influence. As far as ways to signal the end of an Act, that kind of character growth is ideal. Great end to a great episode, and a great first chunk of episodes.
__________________
The most complete non-wiki encyclopedias for Kamen Rider series (currently only found Ryuki and OOO's). Last edited by DreadBringer; 01-31-2024 at 11:05 PM.. |
02-01-2024, 12:10 AM | #126 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
One scene I was surprised to see was Wakana actually transforming in front of the lady who tried to ruin her only to walk away. And I was like "Oh how are we going to solve the fact that she knows about-oh hi Kirihiko! Oh... oh this is how...". It's fun coming back to a show years after it airs cause small scenes like these catch me off guard despite knowing the broad strokes.
Quote:
I know about Shotaro being a tryhard, but I think the half-boiled insults usually refer to Shotaro's emotional side to consider about the others' well-being which made him hesitate or putting trust on clients, this one would be about the moral decisions, where Philip mocks him over consistently. Being genius is an obvious strength, clearly bringing something to table with their knowledge, rather than this half-boiled stuff only carrying hidden strength on special occurence to people's eyes.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
02-01-2024, 01:14 PM | #127 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,113
|
Quote:
Sentai-lert
The artist dude is played by Koji, who under his full name Koji Suzuehara had the supporting role of Hayate/GingaGreen in Seijuu Sentai Gingaman (which I?d recommend by the way, which considering my love/hate relationship with the writer and producer, is saying something). Quote:
Shotaro calls out Akiko quickly apologizes this time when Shotaro calls her out for putting the client into danger. She seemingly accepts a room of improvement that she opens up that she's jealous to Shotaro as she only vaguely remember her father. This part iirc does seem to be a start when Akiko stops throwing her chief position to other suggestions. She still can't keep it to herself that she openly reveals that she's a detective that pretends to be a maid (with Shotaro flabbergastered at this), and assumes the fat Shirotsuka as the culprit, due to her having an appetite to sweets. This is a shallow judgment to base it on appearence, as Shirotsuka herself said. Only dumb luck saves the day as Sasaki is disgusted by Akiko's pastry and wants to take revenge as Sweets Dopant against Akiko. Her moment to smash the Sweets Dopant with a chair is badass though with W seeing the projections of Sokichi in her), at the end, Shotaro acknowledges Akiko's strength and that he's the one that needs to toughen up.
Quote:
KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 14 - ?Q ON THE RADIO - LIVE BROADCAST AT THE RIOT?
But the meat of this one is all Philip and Wakana, including my favorite beat in the whole story. Philip has the opportunity to find out every secret Wakana?s hiding through his access to the Gaia Library? but he doesn?t take it. Philip?s whole thing is insatiable curiosity, to an absurd degree (HEAVEN?S TORNADO), but he decides against it for Wakana. He?d rather get to know her, rather than learn her history from a book. He?s seeing the advantage of human connection, thanks to Shotaro?s influence. As far as ways to signal the end of an Act, that kind of character growth is ideal. Great end to a great episode, and a great first chunk of episodes. Quote:
One scene I was surprised to see was Wakana actually transforming in front of the lady who tried to ruin her only to walk away. And I was like "Oh how are we going to solve the fact that she knows about-oh hi Kirihiko! Oh... oh this is how...". It's fun coming back to a show years after it airs cause small scenes like these catch me off guard despite knowing the broad strokes.
__________________
心 と 刃 |
02-01-2024, 07:25 PM | #128 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,581
|
Quote:
Fun fact about Koji, it recently was revealed in Yasuhisa Furuhara's youtube channel when he interviewed Gao Red that Gao Red and Ginga Green were in a band together pre-super sentai. Kaneko who played Gao Red never mentioned if they went mainstream or even the indie scene but he started watching Gingaman at the time since his former bandmate was the green ranger and he seemed to have enjoyed it when it aired. Also, Maehara who played Ginga Red was a customer when Kaneko was working at something called a cafe bar, which apparently was popular during the 90s in Japan.
__________________
Last edited by Sunred; 02-01-2024 at 07:28 PM.. |
02-01-2024, 08:55 PM | #129 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
Phillip seems like the kind of guy who would accidentally spoil himself about anything he's interested in, so it's pretty impressive for him to have access to information about Wakana and restrain himself from looking at it. While the information might be extremely valuable to know in advance, forgoing the opportunity means that he's able to reduce his personal bias, which is an important quality for a detective. Before looking for more clues, it's wise to analyze the clues you already have first and start forming a hunch, so I like how Phillip is starting to become more intuitive like Shoutarou and looking for value in the unknown.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
02-02-2024, 12:34 AM | #130 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
KAMEN RIDER W: BEGINS NIGHT
I think I enjoyed this overall, despite not really loving a lot of the details. As a basic story, I like that it’s about the danger of letting grief turn into guilt. That’s a perfect noir story to tell, especially when applied to Shotaro’s fairly reasonable feelings of culpability in Sokichi’s death/”death”. Shotaro’s motivation has always been to earn Sokichi’s respect and/or admiration, and not only can that never happen, but now Shotaro will always feels like he let down the man he most respected. Telling a story where Shotaro has to learn to let go of that guilt and trust in his own decisions – which is what turns him into the man Sokichi always wanted him to be – is great little noir narrative. It’s a story full of guilt, grit, and eventually gratitude. It’s also a story that bends over backwards to make everything you like about Double into A Sokichi Joint. Like, I am fine with Shotaro (and, by proxy, Kamen Rider W) endlessly valorizing Sokichi. He works as an impossible ideal to strive towards, and that’s an okay piece of character backstory. But this movie works double-time (not sorry) to make Sokichi not just a piece of Shotaro’s backstory, but: -the first Kamen Rider in this narrative -the originator of Double's catchphrase -the guy who named Philip -the motivation for Philip to be a Kamen Rider It’s a lot! It’s arguably too much! For a middle section of the narrative that’s all about making your own decisions and stepping out of people’s shadows, holy shit does this thing just sign Sokichi’s name to everything that put this show into motion! It retroactively makes a bunch of stuff in Act 1 less cool to me, and that’s a bummer. (It also sort of boggles the mind that this movie decides to shove Skull into Begins Night, which is super weird. The movie tries to get around the question of Why Didn’t Sokichi Just Use Skull To Survive The Gunmen by adding in a personal code where he only uses Skull to fight Dopants, but it feels a little flimsy. He’s still going to have the Sonozaki Family trying to kill him! Taboo’s still floating around! Also, I don’t love the feral FangJoker form debuting here; feels out of place in the narrative.) But, y’know, I did like the story being told, even if Sokichi always makes me roll my eyes. (Not my guy!) There’s some genuine sweetness to Shotaro throwing his entire life away because “Sokichi” showed up and told him he sucked, which is 1000% the half-boiled hero we know and love. The mystery is a neat one, and the action is – if not up to the grandiosity of the Decade section of Movie War 2010 – an improvement over the standard W fight scenes. (I don’t love saying it, but that Sokichi fight scene in the machinery room is iconic.) It’s an entertaining movie that’d be a great movie if it didn’t try so hard to prop up the legend of Sokichi. It was okay when he was just Shotaro’s Work Dad who taught him to love hats and detective fiction! That was plenty! — ONORE DIE-A MEMORIES -The Decade part of this team-up movie is still real weird, man. I absolutely adore the way it wants to culminate Tsukasa’s story in a touching recollection of all the ways he pissed people off over a year, but all of the Super Shocker stuff feels tonally dissonant. (Read the full write-up here!) -The Crisis Fortress battle is laughably incongruent to the Kamen Rider W section of this movie, and basically comes off like a bonus Legend Riders stunt show. Fun to look at, but Double’s plot in this one ended way before Decade teamed up with him. -Accel shows up in the end! Neat!
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Memorial Edition GoPhone Announced |
Kakuranger: 30 Years After |
ToyRise RyuKenDo |
Alternative Cut of "Day Of The Dumpster" Released |
Shodo SUPER Kyoryuger Teaser |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:47 AM.
|