[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think Yaguruma is interesting as a concept but poorly executed. Where Tendo represents individual perfection, Yaguruma represents perfection in teamwork, referencing how every bee has a role in the hive. However, he's just a poser, which means everything he says is actually pretentious and he doesn't have the will to keep his principles. A wasp in bee's clothing. Except that wasp's buzz is worse than its sting.

I'll have a lot more to complain about this guy later.

Are you laughing at him?

[Androzani84]

I think a fun fact is that Hidenori Tokuyama is the one actor who was in both B-Fighter Kabuto and Kamen Rider Kabuto (no, Seiji Taikawa doesn’t count). I don’t know much about the former show (beyond the bad guys being based off extinct species, the big bad is voiced by Calveras from Sailor Moon R, the old B-Fighters make a couple of appearances before losing their powers when their mentor dies, both sides have a Megazord at their disposal and there’s a cadre of supposedly foreign heroes (only one of them is even non-Asian) who show up in the mid season to hand out upgrades).

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODES 07 & 08

Okay, fine; Die doesn't want to just sit there gesturing at the episodes, I'll do it for him. This is Ishida's next pair of episodes, so of course there's a whole lot to say for the direction, with that sunset showdown in 8 being particularly memorable. However, it's this bit of staging when Tendou and Yaguruma are waiting for Hiyori to try their respective dishes in 7 that impressed me more than anything in the entire duology. Yaguruma took his tie off so it wouldn't get in his way while cooking, so naturally he starts putting it back on once he's done and going to sit down. And for the next minute or so, in one long take, he just keeps working at it, folding it with great care, pulling on everything just the right way, messing with his collar until everything is in the exact alignment it should be...

I mean, don't get me wrong, this isn't worth noting by itself; I'm sure a huge amount of people would consider themselves lucky to only need a minute or two to get a tie on right, even. But it's all in the context. Like I said last time, what you have the actors doing in a given scene in a show is a conscious choice, and Yaguruma's constant activity here, the way he's so concerned with making sure the image he projects to the world has no flaws, it's in stark contrast to the way Tendou sits calmly in place the entire time, and it tells you so much about the two of them as characters, and which one arguably has a better grasp on the whole Perfect Harmony thing.

Sure enough, these are episodes I'd rave about. Some of my favorites from back in the day, and a story arc I immediately think of when I think of parts of Kabuto I actually do feel pretty strongly toward. I see Die's point about them not having anything surprising enough going on, but I've never been the kind to criticize something for nailing the fundamentals this hard. It's an almost definitive early 2000's rival Rider introduction, with the usual great direction I've already talked about, and Yonemura's writing firing on all cylinders, with the show's usual melodrama and surrealist comedy mixed together in a way that could only be described as perfectly harmonious. Of course, going by Tendou's critique of Yaguruma's cooking, being blended so well nothing stands out might explain why Die wasn't impressed...

All the same, I really do love these ones, and especially how they handle Yaguruma's character. I love how legitimately cool and likable the show makes him upfront. His team of gold-striped ZECTroopers (always loved those suits) are shown to actually get results because he bothers to keep them properly organized with real formations and everything, we're shown he genuinely cares about the people working under him, and even once he starts losing his cool, it's less about him secretly being evil or something lame and instead about his inability to deal with failure of any kind. He's his own worst enemy in a way, and the fact that the conflict between Kabuto and TheBee comes down to dramatically clashing personalities is as Heisei Rider as Heisei Rider gets. These episodes are awesome. Predictable, yes, but it's the execution that makes it all work.

Oh, and about the Bee/Wasp situation: I believe it's because the Japanese word hachi refers to them interchangeably.

As for the question this time... beating a stranger in an honor duel? Like just any random normal person off the street who I hypothetically happen to have beef with? Because if that's the case, I figure Kamen Rider Trivia Quiz has gotta be a guaranteed victory for me nine times out of ten, right? Sunset or no, if my opponent has never even heard of the topic of the hour, I'd have to try not to win!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And for the next minute or so, in one long take, he just keeps working at it, folding it with great care, pulling on everything just the right way, messing with his collar until everything is in the exact alignment it should be...

So, at first, I was going to point out that this representation of Yaguruma's philosophy sort of falls apart, since he does all that... and then forgets to roll his sleeves back down before putting on his suit jacket.

(As someone who wears a suit to work and frequently needs to remove a jacket and roll up sleeves to do some manual labor, my eye is pretty well-trained for that physicality.)

But, while I think it's an error, I also think it's maybe the cherry on top of that analogy, since Yaguruma is incredibly meticulous, and yet he always seems to miss one key detail. Everything that goes wrong for him in these two episodes is from him getting it 99% right to Tendou's 105% right. Yaguruma would be the hero of any show but Tendou's, and it seems like that's driving him crazy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

As for the question this time... beating a stranger in an honor duel? Like just any random normal person off the street who I hypothetically happen to have beef with? Because if that's the case, I figure Kamen Rider Trivia Quiz has gotta be a guaranteed victory for me nine times out of ten, right? Sunset or no, if my opponent has never even heard of the topic of the hour, I'd have to try not to win!

I'd bet on you in any Kamen Rider trivia contest, for sure, but I think you'd be more of a shoe-in for a Being Contrary showdown. I envision it a lot like a Name That Tune situation, where a moderator makes a statement and then you and an opponent declare how many topics you could use in a contrary argument. Whoever names the most, and provides them, wins. You would be unstoppable!

[KaiserBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

(As someone who wears a suit to work and frequently needs to remove a jacket and roll up sleeves to do some manual labor, my eye is pretty well-trained for that physicality.)

You must be the dapperest and most well-dressed comic book store operator in town if you dress that nicely for work!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaiserBlue

You must be the dapperest and most well-dressed comic book store operator in town if you dress that nicely for work!

I'd like to think so! As we always say when people call out our suits and ties, "It's the least we can do." We take our jobs seriously!

[KaiserBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I'd like to think so! As we always say when people call out our suits and ties, "It's the least we can do." We take our jobs seriously!

Shows how much you love your job from how much you dress up for it. Your customers must love it.

True class, Die. Trust class.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaiserBlue

Shows how much you love your job from how much you dress up for it. Your customers must love it.

True class, Die. Trust class.

Thanks! That's very kind of you to say. Over the years, I'd say that 75% love it, 5% think it's super weird, and 20% think it's super weird but eventually grow to love it.

(The only downside is running into customers when I'm not at work, and immediately getting Why Aren't You In A Suit, like it's something that can only be removed by eldritch magic or divine judgment. I dress up for work! Like most people! I dress casually when I'm not at work! Like most people! It's not my favorite interaction if I'm being honest.)

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

(The only downside is running into customers when I'm not at work, and immediately getting Why Aren't You In A Suit, like it's something that can only be removed by eldritch magic or divine judgment. I dress up for work! Like most people! I dress casually when I'm not at work! Like most people! It's not my favorite interaction if I'm being honest.)

you mean you don't walk around dressed as a bird man constantly that's pretty weird bro

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I'd bet on you in any Kamen Rider trivia contest, for sure, but I think you'd be more of a shoe-in for a Being Contrary showdown.

Sorry Die, but I just can't agree with this idea at all.