[Magnugiga]

I had some misgivings about Black when I rewatched it couple of years ago, but it's undeniable that the first episode's aces. Also, my favorite ED song ever from a KR show (*not that there are many competitors for that), so incredibly nostalgic and hit different when you've finished with the show.

Finally got to continue my Ryuki rewatch and I gotta say, the period from episode 31 to 40 was my least favorite portion of the show. Megumi's fine in her introduction filler episode, but not really a fan of her being integrated into the recurring cast. It kinda threw off the previously established rock solid chemistry of the ORE Journal crew, most notably by dragging Shimada from the subtly hilarious character tics into full-blown loud slapstick territory that's not really my cup of tea. The Asakura/little girl sub-plot didn't really land for me, as did the Tiger/Alternatives (at least initially). But mostly it's the Yui/Shiro mystery, which at this point has become too one-note and depressing for how much it's just Yui being in distress.

(also it just dawned on me since I'm watching both shows simultaneously, but Koyomi's role in Wizard is pretty much just a rehash of Yui's, isn't it? Very similar premise in "an older male figure can't let go of female family member, set up convoluted machinations that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to everyone else", which doesn't work well at all over the course of 50-odd episodes when that female character spend all her time just awaiting impending doom while being kept in the dark the whole time)

There are enough high points in this stretch to make up for them, tho. Tiger's design is a complete beaut, one of the most effective and badass Rider design ever, especially with the claws out. I didn't really get Toujou until after Imperer's entrance, but I ended up liking him as a character. Most of all, the Shinji/Ren stuff during this period just worked really well for me.

It's kinda funny, there were times when I used to dislike both of them, although not simultaneously. In my first watch when I favored Ren, I thought Shinji was an annoying pushover dork; in my second watch when I favored Shinji, I thought Ren was a cringey edgelord; this time, I really do love both of them. Their character arcs just beautifully dovetailed with each other, and the debut scene of Ryuki Survive encapsulated how important these two's symbiosis is to the show as a whole.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

As a controversial opinion though, I would TOTALLY have a person who had never seen Kuuga before watch with the Grongi subtitles. I think understanding what they are saying actually makes the mystery more intriguing by giving you a bit more info to go on, and you get a better grasp on the relationships between the individual Grongi. Even back when the show first aired I'm sure fans translated it as the episodes aired and discussed it, so its hardly something that I think needs to be some massive secret!

While I'm sure this has been discussed to death already elsewhere, I still feel the need to beg to differ Personally, it's really not about the what of they're talking about, it's the fact that I didn't know what they're really talking about that really made the scenes. I kinda liken it to the experience of watching horror movies; the less idea of the what's and why's, the more of a threat the monster/ghost/whatever feels.

So yeah, not understanding the convo invoked a specific kind of atmosphere the way the showrunners intended to, and made the scenes worked really well for me the first time I watched Kuuga. Regardless, I'm not going to tell people either that the ideal experience of watching Kuuga is by not having that Grongi sub, different preference and all. It may not work out as well in this era too, when information about that is readily available in the Net.