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02-22-2021, 09:39 AM | #111 |
Standing By
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One of the things that annoys me with Den-O is when people write Ryotaro off as a wimpy loser. This episode is one example of why I think that argument is bunkum. Ryotaro can't fight, that's true. He's never going to be taking on waves of mooks with his martial arts skills. It's not fair to call him weak, though. Where Ryotaro really shines is in the strength of his resolve.
It takes a lot of guts to go into a fight like this episode's without a real chance of winning. But Ryotaro does it just to prove a point. He does it because he's willing to take a beating in order to convince Momotaros that he was wrong and that this partnership isn't going to be just a case of Momo taking his body for joyrides whenever he wants. It's a good way to earn the respect of someone who values strength. This subtle confident trait that Ryoutarou has is probably what the outwardly confident and confrontational Momotaros relates to and admires and it's Ryoutarou asserting that trait that allows Momotaros to see him as more than just a timid and feeble pushover and closer to an equal, even though Momotaros is still a very selfish and narcissistic person, albeit in a comedic way. It's the opposite for Ryoutarou, who doesn't put much worth in himself but always sees the worth in others. Momotaros' "I'm sorry!" was audibly frustrated and reluctant but he probably wouldn't have said it at all if he didn't respect Ryoutarou's devotion to getting beat up enough to at least concede that he deserved an apology for all the trouble he was caused. Momotaros has an honorable side as well and between that and just how awesome he is, I think there's a lot of reasons why so many people love the character.
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02-22-2021, 11:40 AM | #112 |
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 4 - “GET OUT, DEMON! I’M SERIOUS.”
It’s cute! It’s a very cute story. I mean, there’s still a bummer of a final note about the indifference of the universe and the idea of failure and success being largely meaningless terms, alongside an episode-length look at the ways we conflate material wealth with happiness at the risk of our ability to deal with setbacks, but, y’know… a cute story about partnerships! Quote:
THE BAGGAGE CAR
-And then there’s the resolution to the whole story, where… it’s bleak? It’s a little bleak, and I liked it. Yamagoshi’s past has been altered, so he makes it to his big audition, but it doesn’t matter. His band fails the audition, they break up, and Yamagoshi is still hawking his CDs for 500 yen. He doesn’t have the regret of If I Only Had The Money, so he’s a little more content, but he’s not much better off than he was before he ran into Team Den-O. It’s a humbling moment for Ryotaro and Hana, that they couldn’t really save Yamagoshi, but it’s viewed as an encouraging outcome by Owner. See, if time can’t be altered, that means Den-O will always win. The Imagins’ mission to destroy the past will always fail. It’s not great for Yamagoshi, but it’s okay for the universe, and maybe that’s enough? Quote:
-Another weird tangent of a trip to Milk Dipper, which covers for its vaguely inessential feeling by giving Airi a non-Airimirer to play off of for a change. (Zero Airimirers this episode! WE DID IT!) Her scene with Hana was pleasant enough, even if the best part was the cutaway to Naomi’s mad scientist barista skills. It’s just, everything about these little Airinterludes feels so inconsequential, and they’re the first thing I’d cut if it meant more time with our core trio. Not a single one of these scenes has felt additive to what’s going on, even ones like this that are actually nicely poetic! Just, man, they feel like diversions.
Quote:
One of the things that annoys me with Den-O is when people write Ryotaro off as a wimpy loser. This episode is one example of why I think that argument is bunkum. Ryotaro can't fight, that's true. He's never going to be taking on waves of mooks with his martial arts skills. It's not fair to call him weak, though. Where Ryotaro really shines is in the strength of his resolve.
It takes a lot of guts to go into a fight like this episode's without a real chance of winning. But Ryotaro does it just to prove a point. He does it because he's willing to take a beating in order to convince Momotaros that he was wrong and that this partnership isn't going to be just a case of Momo taking his body for joyrides whenever he wants. It's a good way to earn the respect of someone who values strength.
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02-22-2021, 12:55 PM | #113 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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I'm with Fish in considering this just 'the' Den-O arc. I must have seen this, lik, 6 years ago, and it just sums up the show's mission statement in one. Sure, maybe you can't change the big things in time, but you can do small things, and even those small changes can make all the difference. Pre-Sid may not have got that big break, but he no longer has the guilt weighing him down, and that's something. Momotaros is still a hothead, but he's starting to gain the most begrudging respect for this kid he's bonded with. And Ryotaro... yeah, he may not be the most physical, but that doesn't make him not strong. A good, precious boy.
And that's above and beyond how this series continues to drill into the Momotaros/Ryotaro partnership as a metaphor for how we can best channel our emotions into helpful and renewable ways... yeah, pretty solid story! Quote:
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Well, Yamagoshi isn't much better yeah, the outcome is still similar even if Yamagoshi got his chance. But, while the outcome is probably bleak and not much better off, the act redeems Yamagoshi. In this time, he'd focused on developing his skills, instead of gaining money (through any means), so Yamagoshi isn't a criminal anymore. They didn't save Yamagoshi, but they redeemed Yamagoshi from becoming a criminal. That shouldn't be overlooked, Yamagoshi is still underachieving, but he's not a scumbag anymore, and probably, the act can save him from being hunted by police for doing crimes.
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I thought this scene should be the wholesome slice-of-life interaction that you'd normally praise for other Rider series, for just someone coming to a place for a coffee, and talk about them being both related to a certain person. But well yeah. Now I wanna ask though, as Ryotaro was injured in previous episode, do you think that doctor or hospital treatment for Ryotaro would be a better replacement than Airi treating him? It'd be the same for me, just Ryotaro getting treatment for his body pains.
And, no, I don't think Ryotaro needed a doctor. Momotaros and Hana were referring to Ryotaro's "injuries" as being more that he's completely out of shape and totally unprepared for strenuous activity. Some rest and probably some pre-fight stretching is all that kid needed.
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02-22-2021, 02:39 PM | #114 |
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Due to his years of injuries and bad luck, Ryotaro can bounce back from anything with a few hours nap and cup of Airi's "Ganbatte!" coffee.
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02-22-2021, 02:46 PM | #115 |
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Unfortunately, his nap now leads to Momotaros committing some light vigilantism and/or monster detonation, so the benefits are largely negated. Luckily, he's only got the one Imagin hijacking his body, as proven by the opening credits sequence!
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02-22-2021, 03:06 PM | #116 |
I have a problematic type
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Although, you did take a piss at Mihara in Faiz though? (which is like people bashing Ryotaro as loser) He's the character that likely resembles the audience the most, that he doesn't want to fight and wants to stay away from the bizzare Rider stuff surrounding him and live normally.
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02-22-2021, 03:07 PM | #117 |
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I don't rag on Mihara for his "I don't want to be here" thing - that's actually highly relatable, especially in a series like Faiz and especially especially if you're one of the ever dwindling number of Ryusei School (Go Meteors!) kids who hasn't died yet. I rag on Mihara because he is easily the most forgettable Kamen Rider of all time and he's only marginally less useless than Beast in a fight.
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02-22-2021, 03:08 PM | #118 |
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Well… let’s just say there’s a reason the belt has 4 buttons on it.
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02-22-2021, 03:16 PM | #119 |
Warrior of Delusions!
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Speaking of the opening titles, am I misremembering, or did the subtitling of the theme song change in the early episodes? I can't remember exactly how, or even if it did, and it's bugging me.
The belt may may have four buttons, but those are just for Den-O Owner form, Hana form, and Naomi form, trust me.
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02-22-2021, 03:20 PM | #120 |
Warrior of Delusions!
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I don't rag on Mihara for his "I don't want to be here" thing - that's actually highly relatable, especially in a series like Faiz and especially especially if you're one of the ever dwindling number of Ryusei School (Go Meteors!) kids who hasn't died yet. I rag on Mihara because he is easily the most forgettable Kamen Rider of all time and he's only marginally less useless than Beast in a fight.
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