[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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.

"Doesn't come across as The Best Dude"? wtf?!?! He's literally perfect. The speech about him ruling over everything and being chosen one isn't a hyperbole. Now with him being another asshole protagonist, and moreover, hypercompetent one, I'm afraid (and that it already happened) that it further reinforces where nice people are incompetent, scumbags are competent (where for Hibiki comparison here, you can be one and competent too, but unfortunately people may be irritated and irrationally label them as "mary sue" or "gary stu"). And well, I evaluate people more on how they would act to those that they're less likely to be nice tbh, so in this case, a stranger like Kagami. So he's an asshole; it can happen but it's less common for even those like them to be rude to family member (and in worse case, became actual villain for their sake).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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.

Something that puts Kabuto way ahead of other series is yeah, the visuals. Kabuto prioritizes coolness and spectacle. If it's for action, Kabuto is one of the series that does it best in flashiness. The "well-armed, well-trained crew" are red shirts here, actually dunno, you expect them to be elite killers, but I already expect them even before facing worms as fodders to them somehow. Because the more quantity the less quality... usually ("red-shirt" is the inverse of mooks). Again, Tendou is literally perfect, he can do everything, one of them being defeating Worms with lasers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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.

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.

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.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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?

There's other series that doesn't give full suit at episode 1, like Kuuga with Growing Form, and Ryuki with Blank Form. And the total opposite is Blade with the characters already certified Riders doing their job.