[MarsHottentot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Poppy Takoyaki?

But seriously, her name's Asuna. The costume is clearly the "disguise", at least on a meta level.



Given episode 3 has a moment where a little kid totally shuts her down when she tries to do something wacky, that might be completely intentional.

Yeah, I picked up on that immediately with her first appearance. It's either terrible acting (unlikely, as she's fine as Asuna) or it's an intentional move. We'll find out eventually, if the writing holds up!

[rybackmonster]

Ex-Aid is kind of boring to me. The kid who is acting as Emu is just bad. There isn't a character I enjoy so far, Hiiro looked like a character I might enjoy but his personality isn't that great. I hate that level up thing. It's just too much Gaim alike already I wanted something new not this. There is also too much characters already. Anyone else agree or disagree?

[GoseiWonder]

The digital girl is named Poppy Pipopapo.

[barnstenchfartface]

I don't really see how there's too many characters. There's really only like...5 or 6 that we're really seeing much of right now. Then Parad and Graphite, who so far are still just mysterious villains being mysterious. That's not really too many. It's about standard I'd think.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rybackmonster

Anyone else agree or disagree?

I'm digging Ex-Aid so far but I'm actually right there with you on not finding the characters too interesting. I like Emu and the other guys are fine, but they're not very engaging yet.

Which is the key word here: yet. Ex-Aid has been doing a whole lot of setup compared to most shows, I expect once Lazer debuts next episode the show will actually "start" with episode 5. Until then I'm not going to hold anything against it too much.

[SPLIT LIP]

Yeah, Ex-Aid is boring. It is Gaim-ish but lacking the charm and creativity. The video game theme is just... eyeroll inducing. Thing is, games don't work as a theme because games are a medium. They are something that is themed, not a very good theme themselves. So that's why you end up with really cringey fake video game titles that are generic and half-assed. Plus, video games becoming real is a pretty old concept and nothing is really done with it that's very original, and having your rider theme based around something ficticious and harmless as games, where everything is fake by their nature, kinda sucks any sense of conflict out of it. At least Gaim had them based on actual warriors of different eras and not just the fruit thing. Plus the costumes themselves are so awful.

And yeah, the main guy is a total flatline acting-wise. It's pretty hard to watch.

[Powerman293]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPLIT LIP

Yeah, Ex-Aid is boring. It is Gaim-ish but lacking the charm and creativity. The video game theme is just... eyeroll inducing. Thing is, games don't work as a theme because games are a medium. They are something that is themed, not a very good theme themselves. So that's why you end up with really cringey fake video game titles that are generic and half-assed. Plus, video games becoming real is a pretty old concept and nothing is really done with it that's very original, and having your rider theme based around something ficticious and harmless as games, where everything is fake by their nature, kinda sucks any sense of conflict out of it. At least Gaim had them based on actual warriors of different eras and not just the fruit thing. Plus the costumes themselves are so awful.

And yeah, the main guy is a total flatline acting-wise. It's pretty hard to watch.

As someone who's a big fan of videogames, I find the aesthetic to be fine. While games are a medium, they are certain elements to lots of games that do certainly unify different aesthetics, genres and tones that the Riders do have. Such as the chest plate health bar, the Gashats, the weapons.

The fake videogame titles are cheesy, but really, is it anymore cheesy then something from a Rider show that's aired on TV since Kuuga? Ryuki's powerup weapon had to eat his Survive card. OOO had a singing belt that mashed together parts of animal names to make Combo names. Gaim had fruit fall on their heads.

While the videogames becoming real concept is old, Rider hasn't tackled it before though, just to give the show a little trust/merit.

Regarding the videogame theme even ruining the whole tension of the show, I disagree. If Ex-aid can ramp up throughout the series, I think the idea can work. In fact, I feel like the opposite could happen to create tension. That because the Bugsters and Riders being based on fictitious and fake things, that bringing that same sort of exercise of capabilities of a game into the real world, a place with consequences and impact, could create tension. I mean, look at Snipe in episode 3, taking away Emu's Gashat. Already we see how gaming mentality that causes no one harm in game or online can profoundly impact people's lives in the real world.

[Kiwami]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rybackmonster

Ex-Aid is kind of boring to me. The kid who is acting as Emu is just bad. There isn't a character I enjoy so far, Hiiro looked like a character I might enjoy but his personality isn't that great. I hate that level up thing. It's just too much Gaim alike already I wanted something new not this. There is also too much characters already. Anyone else agree or disagree?

I disagree.

I don't think the actor is bad but to be fair I have a terrible track record of recognizing bad acting in Toku.

I enjoy all the characters so far and I'm glad we're getting them early. Especially since all of them are protagonists or deuteragonists to a degree, which means we don’t have a bunch of people doing nothing and wasting everybody’s time like all these useless characters from Ghost. You know who I mean.

And it's not only like Gaim, it's more like every Rider war - esque show ever. It reminds me a lot of Ryuki too and I like that. Although the pace is a lot faster, like it was in Gaim.

For me it's a fun show, not more, not less. It remains to be seen if it’s really good or not.

[SPLIT LIP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powerman293

The fake videogame titles are cheesy, but really, is it anymore cheesy then something from a Rider show that's aired on TV since Kuuga? Ryuki's powerup weapon had to eat his Survive card. OOO had a singing belt that mashed together parts of animal names to make Combo names. Gaim had fruit fall on their heads.

Actually, it is cheesier than all that, since those concepts were all made-up by rider. But the attempt and subsequent failure to make up convincing video game names and aesthetics is stupid, as it undercuts the entire theme of the rider stuff.

Plus, again, hideous, hideous outfits don't help sell the idea.

[Kiwami]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPLIT LIP

convincing video game names

Such as?

"Bang Bang Shooting" is the only one which I think is a bit too silly, but the rest are ordinary video game names which could exist. Don’t know what's so "cringey" about them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPLIT LIP

Plus, again, hideous, hideous outfits don't help sell the idea.

Personal preference. I didn’t like them at first either, but I think they work.