Decided to take a break and watch Kamen Rider Blade: Missing Ace today.

Yes, well. The fights were pretty cool, and the wonderful thing about Kamen Rider is that, like pizza, even when it's bad it's still pretty good, but, uhm . . .thinking about the plot for this movie makes my skull hurt.

It really seems like a lot of the problems that happen in this movie could have been solved by BOARD having a better HR department, or failing that, having a vetting process for Riders that goes a bit further than "If we ask you if you're a Joker and you say "no," you're hired!"

But I guess Tachibana needed that part of the budget for his bitchin' sunglasses.

OOOs Nine:

I guess a big part of the reason I can't get into OOO is Kuuga. In Fourze the villain of the week plots work in their light heartedness because of the setting and the people that populate it. OOO however isn't set in a high school and isn't about a bunch of hormonal children, so there is no excuse for why everything in this show feels so watered down and censored.

When a Kuuga villain had a taste for destruction, many would die and we'd be reminded repeatedly of it and as much as I hate the way Kuuga rubbed my face in it, it was easier to get invested in that, than caring that one of the Yummy is setting off explosions seemingly with no one getting hurt in them.

That said, episode nine was not a bad one. Now I know what is behind Eiji's convictions, I have heaps more respect for him as a Rider, and the new combo form was really awesome, especially after how lacklustre the first one was. Although the first one had the flashier Scanning Charge.

Dr. Maki is fucking CREEPY though.

Just wait until you learn Dr. Maki's backstory. O-O

Oh God I am not gonna like this am I...

Let's just say once his cat's out of the bag you wo't be calling OOO "watered down" or "censored."

On that note, I don't consider it "censoring" to not show widespread death in these shows. It's having taste. It's so cheap and easy to just have the villains kill people to show that they're "fo serious, yo." It reminds me how fanfic writers take stuff like Transformers and put tons of human death in them so they can be "edgy" and "mature." It's just tacky and ill-fitting. I'm not saying death shouldn't be present, because it can have a lot of narrative weight, (OOO had those Ridevendor guys all killed in the first ep, too) but showing civilians cut down in droves just makes me roll my eyes and say "Oh alright you have you're fun, I'm going to go watch the grown-ups tell their story now with characters and conflict instead of shock value." Granted this is mostly from the last Ryuki ep where the guy got eaten by his monster with gross sound effects that was utterly ridiculous and laughably forced. It's the same way people say a series is mature because once in a while the main character will have some jam on their lip.

Also from a narrative standpoint this widespread death also deminishes the effectiveness of the hero if he only saves a few of teh victims, liek in Agito where at leats one, sometimes two people always die before Agito even gets off his ass to help. Granted this could make for an interesting story of the rider feeling remorse for not being able to save everyone even though they couldn't possibly, but they hardly ever do. Agito never once even showed a bit of sympathy or even acknowledged the dozens of dead people. It made him seem really cold and incompetant. The only person who died that he was upset over was his sister, and she committed suicide. Meanwhile innocent people are being bumped off and he's planting his stupid tomatos. Why even botehr killing all these people if it does nothing but make the bad guy look bad... which was already apparent.

I think I still have some pent-up Agito "the masterpiece rider series" rage left.

Oh I agree 100% edgy and grimdark is balls and most of the time Kuuga was too damn depressing for its own good. Super Sentai is better than Power Rangers apparently because they put a bit of jam on the characters lips and the translators embellish swear words into the dialogue.

Plus the fact that Godai had thousands of people die under his watch over the course of the series kinda undermined his whole characters point and only made him look like a callous asshole that he only showed maybe three or four times over the course of the series any kind of response to how much he was failing.

BUT

There is something to be said for threatening villains who prove just how damn threatening they are. There was no hyperbole about the villains in Kuuga, they really did kill off thousands of people.

Crappy fight sequences aside I always felt a sense of intensity and danger in the battles because the villains had really proven how powerful and evil they were and the unrelenting nature of the brutality gave me a sense that no one was ever safe.

I never really feel like Os is going to lose because the villains have yet to establish themselves as any kind of threat. That and the fact that the show basically says Os is the most powerful thing in the universe and Eiji seems to be able to pick up his powers almost immediately.

If anything Happy Birthday has functioned as a better villain so far than the Greed have.

The problem with showing the villains performing mass killings is that the hero feels completely unsympathetic when he only starts to react with anger/sadness when the one person dies in front of him.

Show off a hundred people dying? Hero shrugs and keeps fighting.
One cute lady dies in his arms? NOW IT'S SUPER SERIAL TIME!

^Exactly. The super-serious kill all the people mentality breaks the realism by making the hero seem in denial when he finally responds to death or mortality.

The Greed are not my favourite villains, but I understand the position their put in when you consider that they are meant to be a bit more... I dunno if the word is sympathetic, but more like how Transformers has the Decepticons be characters who overcome their own kind of adversity but still fight the heros and be villains. The Greed are meant to be characters, not just hooded villains cackling in the dark.

If I can say one good thing about the musical medals bit, it made the villains much more interesting as they started bending the rules.

So Fourze 14 was the first episode I was sorta disappointed with.

Scorpio was pretty badass but the choice to do the Supernova thing entirely in CGI was a really bad choice, all of its fights looked like the climactic battle at the end a Syfy Original movie and no one wants to intentionally make their fight look like that. Plus, it did the Kuuga thing of 'if your finishing move doesn't work, just do it again' style of send off which is epic in how underwhelming it is. I guess at least she isn't dead, so she has the chance for a cooler send off in the future.

Plus, although she managed to take down three members of the team, including Fourze himself, it then just pulled the medical Switch out of its ass and that was the end of that. Couldn't they have paced this out better? Because in the end it just felt cheap.

Oh well, at least Libra seems cool.

I think you really need to get over this CGI thing dude. Toku has nowhere near the budget of Western productions and every so often something is gonna be done in CGI that would be nearly impossible otherwise. Its unfortunate that it doesn't look better but all things considered they do the best with what they do.

Hell the 20th Century Boys trilogy was/is the most expensive film project in Japanese history and their CGI isn't much better.

I just don't understand why they don't just use suits, low budget films have been using animatronics and practical effects for about forty years, they could have made Supernova looked better...and for cheaper if they just used a suit and built some animatronic pieces for it.

CGI is just lazy, especially when it looks this shittastic.

Because an animatronic would probably be slow, lifeless and equally unbelievable. The trade off for using slightly below-par CGI is you can actually have speed and motion in the creations.

Have you seen what they can do with animatronics? I'd be happy if they at least had a suit and just animated it for stunts and stuff they couldn't achieve with such a bulky suit but doing the ENTIRE thing in CGI just looks like garbage. And it is inexcusable, they have other options, but they choose the easiest and most creatively dead ones since they don't even animate it well, it looks like CGI from the early nineties rendered over the top of the film stock and has so few frames of animation it looks like a screengrab.

Of course I have. But you're expecting them to pour a huge animatronic budget into a show primarily aimed at small children which mostly garners its budget from toy sales?

In a situation like that, CGI is always going to win out.

No, I'm expecting them to create basic animatronics like limbs and stuff that can move for close ups with limited movement ranges, then a suit for when they show the entire creature and then CGI for when they try and do it with stuff that the wirework can't handle.

Animatronics and suit making can get expensive to make a suit that'll only be used for one episode and wouldn't have very many parts that can be salvaged to create another suit.

Then again, I don't know much about making suits and such.

If suits is how they've done it since the 70s, then I think they can manage in two thousand and whatever Fourze was made.

Fourze also does fifty times more than the 70's shows.

I just think, if in the 80s a bunch of teens with a camera were able to shoot their supernatural movie with a bit ingenuity then there is no excuse not to do the same. There are some films from the 80s which still look fantastic now and are appreciated because everything on the screen is actually there. If that was a viable option for Z-grade films of thirty years ago then surely it is just common sense to be used now.

That is why I can never understand why CGI this shit looking has so many defenders and people tell me to let it go. Maybe people just need to watch more stuff.

Nothing you said made sense just now.

Toku doesn't have big budgets. Toku doesn't have a lot of time to produce the series. Toku doesn't have the resources available to do all the things western productions can. Not even close. On top of that, they are a vehicle for toys and other product, and need to be action-y and quick and bright to appeal to children that like that kind of fast action.

Toku uses bad CGI. Get over it. Your constant berating of this unavoidable reality in the face of reason is a detriment to your character. It's something they have to do, it's something they all do. Even the non-CGI effects are bad and you don't complain about that. How many bad shots of green-screened characters are in every episode? Hell, in Ryuki Kamen Rider Knight had his finisher where his CGI monster turns into a cape and then into a drill as he kicks and enemy, wheras Ryuki just has CGI Dragredder snake around him as he does a kick. Honestly, Ryuki looks better because Knight is so horribly composed into the shot and the greenscreen is so awful. The CGI is hardly the worst visual effect in Kamen Rider or Super Sentai.

This a thousand times over. Its not a case of people "needing to watch more stuff" at all.

And what, the indie filmmakers of the 80s had huge budgets? Of course not, they used their imagination, they put in effort to create the effect with whatever they had. That is why they are remembered. It just looks like Kamen Rider doesn't want to put in effort, it writes big dramatic set pieces then cuts as many corners as it can in creating them.

I don't complain about the practical effects because it's all there, someone had to build that, they had to plan it and test it and put in heart, imagination and brains into making it work. I may despise the Megazord sections in Power Rangers for example but I will always ALWAYS appreciate dudes in boxes flattening cardboard cities, over cheap and static animation some dude did on his laptop lazily edited over the footage, because yeah the Megazord stuff may look crap but someone actually went away and built all of that, it would have taken planning, imagination, time and a love for what you do to make it all work and that to me is the most important thing.

Really Locke? You're saying this...
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...0h50m54s76.png

...is better than this...
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...09m58s88-1.png

Really?

Yeah I am.

"Apples and Oranges" hardly seems to cover it.

Kamen Rider is for kids, produced IN IT'S ENTIRETY in under a year. A 49 episode series, plus the two movies that need to

And what, CGI modellers just stick their thumbs up there asses and the computer does everything?

Do you even know how CGI works? It's not as easy as you think.

Guess what Kamen Rider also does?

Jeez, it's like you're completely oblivious to all the practical effects ALREADY IN THE SHOW. Like, do you think the entire show is CGI or something? Kamen Rider is 80% practical effects, with CGI picking up the slack for the stuff they don't have time or money to produce because they spent it all making the suits and stuff already in the show.

Whatever this magical astounding indie 80's film you've yet to mention is, I doubt it had to do half the shit Kamen Rider has to in half the time any kind of film has.

Really? A shitty-looking doll in front of a patch of grass?

Action League Now is more convincing than that.

I'm perfectly aware of the limitations of a Japanese production, but just putting say Kuuga beside OOO you can see the leaps and bounds they've come in suit designs, wire work and so on and so forth so it's clear they can improve their special effects even on strict budgets. I just wish they stuck with that, because while the practical effects, wirework and suits constantly progress the CGI sadly doesn't... hell CGI is barely there is ten billion dollar (hyperbole) budget movies so what chance does Toku have?

I'm glad they still rely largely on practical effects but CGI seems to be taking over more and more, there are obviously things that just can't be achieved without CGI and in those cases I'm cool with that, I love the kind of things Fourze, OOO, Wizard etc can do that Kuuga just couldn't but there is so much that Rider was doing practically just a few years ago that now they rely on CGI for because I guess it requires less effort and I just find that disappointing.

I know what goes into making CGI animation but with how bad it looks in this show, I can't imagine much effort was put into it.

The models themselves woud've taken a while to make. You can't just have a computer whip that up on automatic.

And you still don't seem to get the point: The reason they can't use practical effects for everything is because they spent so much money on making the practical effects look as good as they do.

Again, do you not realise this is a fifty episode production done in under the span of a year? They could not possibly use practical effects for everything, and they can't afford better CGI because they blew all the money making said practical effects.

Your arguement is completely flawed and hollow. Nothing you say jives with the reality of the situation: Effects cost money, no matter what they are. I don't even get what you're saying. The CGI looks bad, I get that, but you're saying their lazy for using it? What about the fucking Fourze suit and it's many forms and attachements? Is that lazy?

They do not have the money for good CGI. That is fact, undisputable. Thus your complaining is fruitless and makes you seem incapable of realising clearly understable evidence.

I guess that is why they are barely animated and so poorly rendered.

I thought they reused the suits and what have you though? But I've never really thought about what would happen to the quality of the practical effects, if they tried to do more of them, to be fair.

I'd just like a better balance, is all really, I understand the purpose of CGI but I find it in later seasons to be gratuitous.

My argument is practical effects are cheaper and look better there are no cons. CGI looks shittier and is more expensive, there is no positive. Pretty much all of Fourze's attachments are practical. They just animate the finishing moves which doesn't look so bad when localised but looks pretty horrendous when they animate his entire body.

Anyway OOO Ten. That was more like it! A sense of danger, tension and desperation for both halves of the episode, Eiji especially has been getting super badass! I hope the series keeps up its more serious side, I like that side to it a lot better.

Although I have to ask, why didn't he go Os and use the Cheetah Medal when removing the bombs?

This is far too black and white.

It depends on what's being realised when it comes to cost. Practical effects aren't always cheaper, in fact that's why CGI is used at all. BTW, weren't you the one who said CGI is lazy? Is it lazy or expensive? Can't be both, man.

I have no idea, I always wondered that as well. He didn't lose it to my knowledge.

Amazon episode 20.

:cry

ChuuChuu~

Yeah it is rather but it's a Kamen Rider discussion I didn't expect to get such a backlash for not liking shit CGI :lol CGI is expensive if done properly, lazy if it's done how it is in Kamen Rider.

It was weird as well because Eiji specifically asked for Cheetah in the previous scene which isn't his primary leg Medal, then he almost ended up killing everyone because he didn't use it.

Blade 9

I like how they can add the powers they get from Undead cards into their bikes as well. Pretty cool. But now Kenzaki just informed 'mission control' the truth about Hajime...And if Koutaro knows then it's just a matter of time before the whole town knows...Nice of the girl to remind Kenzaki of what his duty is as a hero. Can't let his hatred of Hajime muck up that!

The scene with girl grieving over her dead mother and Tachibana just standing there staring down the Undead who killed her was pretty intense, even if that Zebra Undead looks insanely goofy. Him deciding to fight on anyway even with his fear was pretty cool.

Shades' is pretty badass too. I can't tell what his Undead form is, but it looks cool. Wonder how he plans to upgrade Garren though.

I'm with Locke on the special effects thing. The 70s shows may look really silly in hindsight, but without having CGI as a crutch they had to do a lot interesting and creative things to get the look they wanted. The shows were, in general, a lot more innovative in that way than what we get now.

Oh my God thank you! I thought I was lost out at sea for a while there :lol

Blade 10

Aka the episode n which Tachibana finally gets to kick ass. But at what cost...?! Possibly his hair? I dunno what that stuff that feel from his head was. I guess Undead scientists can genetically remove fear. Oh and of course they planted some mind control stuff in his head.

So Hajime's feeling of guilt is what drove him to stay with Amane and her mother after he ended up accidentally(?) killing her father. Probably more to it still, but interesting to know.

Episode 15 was a return to form for Fourze, Libra is badass and so was the monster of the week, who was just nuts. 'Man that building is in the way of my view, I'll destroy it.'

I really like the mythos of the show now (I wasn't so hot on the whole Switchers thing at the beginning), even if I'm not entirely sure what Last One actually does. Although why didn't Perseus change forms though if Scorpion did?

So we have three Satellites now, can't wait to see the rest! I guess the show finally has a plot now, rather than just Gen saving people, befriending things, the Kamen Rider Club business.

Oh yeah. Those weird ass plants. Those always had me scratching my head in Blade :lol

And Perseus is a Zodiarts, while Scorpion is a Horoscope. It's a lot more than just a higher rank, coming with a completely unique switch. Last One just separates the body from the mind, making them 100% monster (A "Remove your limitations" sort of thing).

Oh I assumed that Perseus became a Horoscope at the end, with the whole Flashback thing and stuff. That was confusing then.

Last One doesn't seem to visible do anything though. If anything since Last One is basically a verbal announcement they are about to get killed, they seem stronger before that button press.

I personally have no problem with CGI. Lord of the Rings would not have been possible without it. Yes, I know, Toku doesn't get the budgets for CGI, but sometimes, their effects look bad. Take for example the ALl Dragon versus Phoenix in Wizard. When they were in the forest it looked down right terrible. I mean really terrible.

That does not mean practical effects automatically get a pass. I love practical effects just like everyone else, but sometimes CGI can just do things better. HOWEVER, I don't like it when they use CGI for things that could have easily been done without it. Look at RyuuSeiOh in DaiRanger. That thing is down right amazing and must have taken A LOT of work to do. Nevertheless, it looks great and shows the work they did. Then you go to something like the mechs in Goseiger and it looks lazy and rendered half-ass as if it was done in a few minutes.

Other things that do not need to be CGI are the sparks and explosions. I really hate it when the suits spark in CGI sparks because there is no need for it. Is it really that hard to just use what they did back in the 70s and 80s for sparks? Same goes for explosions.

CGI should be used to enhance something not be used just to be lazy.

THIS. This is exactly what my point was.

You shouldn't use CGI for EVERYTHING. We've had wirework for about sixty years now. We've had the tech to make fantastic practical effects work for at least forty.

So then why do they CGI in the motorbikes? Or replace suit actors doing stunts with CGI animated versions of them doing the stunts? Why even have suit actors if 90% of what they are doing is animated? Why do they completely replace weapons and attacks with CGI? So and so on. Half of Fourze's fighting looks like an early PS2 game cutscene and the physical stunts and props are of such greater quality it's actually painful as it jumps between the two.

For all my complaints with Kuuga at least that had actual stunts, the motorbike stuff in that show was just fantastic.