[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

What about the debut of Hyper Kabuto though, that was pretty awesome right? What do you think of the suit and the ability to fly and move so fast that time goes backwards?

I liked it, but it's almost impossible for me to appreciate it in the context of a story I can't invest in. I'm very much looking forward to being able to talk about it when it debuts on the TV series, though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Wow, you laughed at Hiyori's death?

Yes. Hard. Her death was something that already didn't really work (she doesn't get to do anything in the movie beyond act as a concept for Tendou and Kagami to protect, so her dying from Narratively Convenient Illness isn't doing anything for the story), and then they dressed her up in a wedding dress, and then everyone's humming her childhood song of God Bless America (?????), and then it all just keeps going into Grim Determination as two skinny men walk along a beach... It takes a scene that doesn't work, piles on elements that are insane, and then stays on the scene way longer than they should've. I was dying watching it, just like Hiyori.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Replace "Kabuto" with "Hibiki" and I feel like we had this exact same conversation about that movie except our roles were reversed. I find it humorous that you critique God Speed Love for the characters acting like different people but not Hibiki's movie where the characters were literally different people. Can you identify anything specific to God Speed Love that elaborates on why it didn't work for you by comparison?

I can try? (Although, keep in mind: I don't really think the Hibiki movie worked either, if I recall.)

I think the main difference, and the thing that buys a lot of Let's See Where This Goes from me, is that the story in Hibiki was fun? It's an AU set in a totally different world with totally different characters, but it has an energy to it, a playfulness, that GSL just doesn't have at all, outside a death scene or two. There's a cast of fun characters, and a bunch of good gags. Hard to get too grumpy when I'm being entertained.

Plus, the story in Hibiki has more to care about? Kabuki alone is a hell of a villain, and that dude's story is incredibly compelling. By comparison, who is there to get invested in from this movie, as far as villains go? What is there about ZECT's plan that even makes sense, let alone allows for introspection or pathos?

Finally, while I didn't care about the formation of Takeshi like Kurona did, that's at least something of value for the main narrative. Here, you can maybe argue that this is a prequel to the main series, but it's really hard to see how that Tendou/Hiyori scene lines up with Hiyori's TV flashbacks. Beyond that, it's neither addressing the themes of the series (something Hibiki is also guilty of) nor adding to our understanding of the characters. (For me, anyway; I know that you and Fish found something of worth in the new versions of our old favorites, but it didn't work for me at all.)