[Paladin]

Rinne's life is in danger and Houtaro is nowhere to be seen...

[Zolda]

Glion says @ 03:10 that if Gaelya's plan succeeds, then Atropos will end up in a fate worse than death. Glion then reveals to Fuga that Gaelya is planning to transmute Atropos into Chimera, the ultimate life form that's said to be a senseless killing machine that will destroy everything in Houtarou's world, and Rinne is the material for the transmutation process, since she's the human Atropos was based on 10 years ago as Fuga concludes. This is weird. How can Glion know Gaelya's plan? Did they collude behind the scene? The story has never shown nor hinting at their collusion, so how can Glion know the details and final goal of Gaelya's plan? Don't know! The writers probably just wanted the story to happen, so they didn't account for this type of logical anomalies. Like I hypothesized in episode 46 thread, the writers are rushing the story, and this anomaly is one of the several signs. This is what you'll get if you rush your story in the last 5 episodes.

What's the Chimera? The story has never mentioned, shown, nor hinted at the existence of a weapon of mass destruction created from the combination of a homunculus and its human model. It suddenly mentioned in episode 47 and this episode. What's so special about Rinne and Atropos that their amalgamation will result in the creation of a weapon of mass destruction? Don't know! It's episode 48 already, and the writers are still messing with the internal logic of the story? This is one more evidence of the writers rushing Gotchard's story in the last 5 episodes due to how vapid the previous 45 episodes are. Where have they been in the previous 45 episodes? I did mention the possibility of the existence of a chimera creature in episode 41 thread here and episode 42 thread here, but not this kind of chimera.

Glion pleads to Fuga @ 03:54 to help him save Atropos. Although Fuga is initially suspicious of Glion's plan, he concludes that he and Glion must join forces to save Rinne and Atropos. Glion and Fuga arrive at Gaelya's hideout @ 05:31, but how can they know where the location is, since no one on both their sides has leaked the info to at least one of them? Did Clotho (or Hijiri) leak the info to Glion (or to Fuga and Houtarou et al)? Don't know! Characters having crucial informations (that they're not supposed to have) at crucial moments simply because the writers need them to have it so that the story can progress is one of the signs of plot manipulation.

It's then revealed that Gaelya has been waiting for them to come with the aim of trapping them in a death game of the alchemy version of Russian roulette. They must play the death game until one of them dies, or else Gaelya will turn Rinne and Atropos into the Chimera. This is weird. Glion had absorbed Germain's power, so he's equal to Gaelya and Gigist. Glion can at least fight back against Gaelya's threat. If Glion is equal to Gaelya, then how come he easily give in to Gaelya's cheap threat? If Gaelya can restrain Atropos and imprison her inside a Chemy Card, then why can't Glion simply undo her tricks? Aren't they supposed to be equal, thus are able to veto/negate each other's alchemical tricks? Don't know! Glion then says a weird thing @ 06:28, where he says that it should be easy for Gaelya to kill him and Fuga. Gaelya can definitely kill Fuga (a mere human) very easily, but how can Gaelya kill Glion who absorbed Germain's power? Glion should be equal to Gaelya (or Gigist) since each of them have 33% of the power of the Philosopher's Stone. So why does Glion say that it should be easy for Gaelya to kill him? Don't know! Glion then dumps several flashback info regarding his works with Fuga in the past. This infodump serves as a way to dispense to the viewers the backstories of both Glion and Fuga, two characters who are barely explored. This infodump is another sign of the writers rushing the story in the last 5 episodes. The dialogue between Glion and Fuga in this scene confirms that Glion is indeed a homunculus, since the first time it was stated by Germain in episode 40 @ 01:39. Sooooo, Glion's past has been revealed via two instances of infodump, not via one or two important scenes. These infodumps are the perfect opposite of the age old principle of "show, don't tell" in creative writing.

Houtarou arrives at Gaelya's hideout in the same manner like Glion and Fuga did several moments ago. Sabisaac informs Houtarou that there should be a dimensional portal nearby, aaaaannnnnddddd... A huge mirror is conveniently placed there, by Gaelya, of course. This mirror allows Houtarou to conveniently see into (and later also enter) the dimension where Gaelya kidnaps Glion and Fuga to. What a stupid God! I chuckled when I saw this scene. I immediately sensed from the very first sight that this mirror would somehow allow Houtarou to enter Gaelya's pocket dimension and ultimately sabotage her plan. Gaelya's flow of (faulty) reasoning very likely goes like this: "I'm a God-level villain but I decide to make a very very very stupid decision at a plot-crucial moment so that the hero can come and sabotage my plan. I'm a God-level villain but I'm also very dumb and even dumber than normal humans because the writers make me so. If I'm rational and not stupid then it's impossible for the hero to defeat me in this episode. If I'm not dumbed down and dragged down to the level of a stupid human then it's virtually impossible for the hero who is a mere human to defeat a God-level villain like me."

Gaelya says @ 09:39 that the only objects that are allowed to enter the duel arena (her pocket dimension) are those that are needed to decide the winner of the alchemy Russian roulette death game. She says that that's one of the rules she creates as the master of her pocket dimension, so it's impossible for Houtarou to enter it. Houtarou is seemingly struggling to even use Nijigon's power to enter the mirror portal for several moments. Gaelya commands Glion and Fuga to resume the death game, and when Glion pulls the trigger, a bullet is discharged, so it looks like a sure shot. And then a miracle happens... That bullet transforms itself into several butterflies. In the worst of the worst kinds of asspull I've ever seen, it's revealed that the gun held by Glion is actually KR Gotchard BulletChouchou in Wild form that first appeared in episode 5. This asspull is basically Yuuya Takahashi's favorite method of performing the worst kind of asspull taken directly from his creative writing masterclass. This asspull is soooooooooooooooooo laughably, hilariously bad because it severely violates logic and common sense. How can Gaelya not notice that something (KR Gotchard BulletChouchou in Wild form) has entered her dimensional portal, while she's casually sitting in front of it? How can Gaelya (and also Glion and Fuga) not realize that the gun in the duel arena has been replaced by a fake gun? How can Glion not realize that the gun in his hand has been replaced by a fake gun? If the real gun has been replaced by a fake gun (KR Gotchard BulletChouchou in Wild form) then where's the real gun, which is never seen again after this asspull happens? How can Gaelya not know that the gun is fake? Isn't Gaelya the only one who can place the gun into Glion's or Fuga's hands? DON'T KNOW!!! I understand that the idea is to make Houtarou look smart, but Akiko Inoue did it in the worst way possible by making Gaelya look stupid beyond belief.

Akiko Inoue has demonstrated that she's as much a bad writer as Hiroki Uchida is. I thought that Hiroki Uchida is the only Achilles' heel in the writing of KR Gotchard's story, but it turns out this story has two Achilles' heels. I thought that the only writer in this story who embraces Yuuyaism is Hiroki Uchida, but as it's shown today, I was proven to be sooooooooooooo wrong. It turns out that Akiko Inoue also embraces Yuuyaism. Q: What's worse than a Yuuya Takahashi clone? A: Two Yuuya Takahashi clones! No wonder Gotchard story is so bad, although I must admit that it hasn't (yet) reached the same level of atrociousness as (God forbid) Geats did. Congratulations, Gotchard producers and writers! *facepalm

And yes, Gaelya's plan is sabotaged by Houtarou due to her sheer, God-level stupidity. Fuga runs to Rinne, and Glion runs to Atropos. Glion is seemingly happy to see Atropos unharmed, but then reveals his true intention by modifying Gaelya insignia on Atropos' and Rinne's hands into his insignia. He reveals @ 12:01 that with only less than 10 minutes remaining, Rinne will still die and Atropos will still be transformed into Chimera. Glion says that his intention of treasuring Atropos all this time is to ultimately see Fuga's face in despair due to Rinne's death. The difference between Gaelya's Chimera and Glion's is that Glion's Chimera will use Rinne's power not to destroy the world, but to turn the world into gold. Glion then reveals to Atropos @ 12:50 that he's never loved Atropos. I was joking when I hypothesized in episode 43 thread here that Glion probably whispered "I've never loved you" to Mami. Who knew that Glion would say the same exact sentence, albeit to a different character? It seems like Akiko Inoue copied my joke idea and applied it in this episode, haha. Perhaps what Glion actually whispered to Mami was "I've never loved Atropos. To me, she's only a tool to make my El Dorado obsession come true." Oh, and I've just realized that the name Mami sounds like the word mommy, which might've implied that Mami is indeed The Sisters' "mother", haha.

The scene where Glion reveals his plan to sabotage Gaelya's Chimera creation plan has several logical anomalies:
- How can Glion know that Gaelya's insignia on Atropos' and Rinne's hands will expire in less than 10 minutes that allow him to modify them into his insignia before it's too late? If he doesn't know Gaelya's plan then there a possibility that he'll fail his sabotage plan. How can he know that Gaelya's insignia can be modified into his in the first place? Is it simply because he has Germain's power? Don't know!
- If Gaelya can create a Chimera, then doesn't it mean that Glion also has similar ability, like Gaelya who also has the power of Golem creation like Glion/Germain does? Why hasn't the Chimera creation plan occured in Glion's mind? Does he not know about that ability? Don't know!
- Like I mentioned in the second paragraph above regarding Gaelya's plan to amalgamate Atropos and Rinne into a Chimera that is a weapon of mass destruction, what makes Glion confident that Rinne and Atropos have something so special that their amalgamation will result in the creation of a Chimera that can transmute Houtarou's world into a world of gold aka the El Dorado of his obsession? The story has almost never mentioned, shown, nor implied anything special about Rinne and or Atropos that will allow them to manipulate the laws of alchemy. It feels like Rinne and Atropos are special with almost no explanation. They're special because the story needs them to be special. And moreover, hasn't it already established that the infinite power of gold creation is solely owned by the Unholy Trinity due to them being the ones who created alchemy in the first place, not owned by an asspull creature called Chimera? Hasn't it already established that Glion will have the infinite power of gold creation once he claimed 100% of the power of Philosopher's Stone? Don't know! This story often modifies its own internal logic and rules just because the writers need them to be modified at specific moments to create sub-plots with twists, which should be called asspulls.
- How can Gaelya, who still has 33% of the power of the Philosopher's Stone, be restrained by KR Gotchard Steamliner? If Gaelya weren't restrained, then she'd very likely revert Glion's modification of the insignia on Atropos' and Rinne's hands. If Gaelya weren't restrained, then this scene would ultimately be filled with a Gaelya vs Glion fight over who has the sole ownership of the Chimera. Then how can Gaelya do virtually nothing when Glion modified her insiginia into his? Why doesn't Gaelya's do nothing when she has the chance to revert Glion's insignia into hers from @ 14:12-14:58? Why does Gaelya's decide to kill Rinne instead @ 14:58? Is Gaelya's decision to kill Rinne is simply because Rinne says that she'll fight until her death to defend her belief of becoming an alchemist to make everyone smile? Don't know! Gaelya's decisions almost always make very little sense! Once again, this is a proof that God-level villains can only be defeated by the heroes not by making the heroes smart, but by making the God-level villains posses no logic, rationality, and common sense. I elaborated how a God-level villain is one of the main symptoms of a crappy writing in the episode 43 thread here.

As expected, Atropos has a change of heart after she finds out that Glion's never loved her, and also when she sees Rinne's life is threatened. She blocks Gaelya's beam of Avada Kedavra spell to protect Rinne and ultimately sacrifices her life. Once again, this scene has a logical anomaly. How can Gaelya's beam of Avada Kedavra spell be blocked by Atropos, a mere homunculus? Is Gaelya so pathetically weak that Atropos is even able to block her attack? Don't know! The writers and producers just wanted to story to happen (and end as quickly as possible), so they probably said, "Screw logical anomalies! Who cares about logical consistency and common sense? Who cares about the weekly analysis made by the schmuck Zolda over at Tokunation? Just end this story already!" Atropos reveals in her last dying moment that she thought that she was always jealous of Rinne because Rinne was loved by Fuga, but what she's really wanted is a friend like Rinne. Well, surprise surprise. The next several scenes of Rinne transmuting Atropos' golden alchemical toy (I'm not sure what it's called, haha) into a new henshin Ring, upgrades her Gotchardriver from Alchemist Driver into a new repainted variant called Majesty Driver (yay, easy money for Bandai!), transmutes the Unicon and The Sun RCC's into their upgraded Twilight forms, transforms into KR Twilight Majade, and ultimately kicks Gaelya's butt are as common as other similar scenes in this franchise. As I hypothesized last week, Atropos does cease to exist, and her memories are combined with Rinne's. Oh, and those that often blame Rinne's actor's lackluster performance for how flat Rinne's character is should see the scene of Atropos' death, and also the scenes from Class 3G spin-off. Those scenes show that the flatness in Rinne's character is not the fault of the actor, but the fault of the writers and producers.

Gaelya is defeated, and her portion of the Philosopher's Stone is seemingly absorbed by Glion, until the frame pans to Glion's left about 8 meters away, and suddenly reveals that Gigist has been there all along! This is another example taken from Yuuya Takahashi's asspull/"Gotcha!" moment 101 masterclass. The writers direct the viewer's initial attention and expectation by making the camera focus on an important character during a defining, plot-crucial moment, and then subvert the viewer's attention and expectation (in the cheapest, laziest way possible) by making the camera abruptly pan to a second important character at a close proximity that appears out of nowhere and sabotages the first important character's plan at the very very very last moment. How the frak can Glion (and also Fuga, Rinne, and Houtarou) not realize that Gigist has been standing there all along? How the frak does everyone in the scene miss the elephant in the room, when Gigist is always a big, tall, weirdly-shaped guy in a very eye-catching black-gold-silver attire? Gigist does have a teleportation ability, like the other members of the Unholy Trinity do, so he may be conveniently using it at the crucial moment to snatch half of Gaelya's portion of the Philosopher's Stone from Glion. And not even Glion is able to sense Gigist presence there, even only 8 meters away? This asspull raises several crucial questions:
- If Gigist is actually willing to play that dirty by using his teleportation ability to snatch the trophy from the apparent winner (Glion) at the very last moment, then why hasn't he used it to sneak behind Glion's back and then suddenly stabs him in the back?
- Why hasn't he used it to stab Gaelya in the back as well?
- Why hasn't he used it to snatch Nijigon from Houtarou's possession? Houtarou/Nijigon also has teleportation ability, but he has never used it as an offensive tactic, so Gigist should be able to abuse his teleportation ability to defeat Houtarou and reclaim Nijigon.
- In a war, the element of surprise is the most crucial key to victory, so if a character has an unfair advantage that grants him with the power of surprise and is actually willing to abuse that advantage to gain the upper hand and destroy his enemies, then why hasn't he used it already? Why make the war last longer when you can end it now?
- The answer: Don't know!
Like I've said above, a villain with perfect, God-level powers can only be defeated by his own stupidity, which begs the question of why even bother to grant God-level powers to a stupid character in the first place. Germain met his demise because of his stupidity, so is Gaelya as shown in this episode. Will Gigist also be destroyed by his own stupidity in the next episode? I see a 80-90% probability that he will. Glion will likely meet similar fate in the final episode.

Minato, Kyouka, and Lachesis are totally absent in this episode. If Minato were present in this episode, then he'd likely be able to do something about Gaelya's insignia on Rinne's hand. He'd at least be able to lessen the damage. Alas, he's made to be conveniently absent in this episode by the writers. I've even just realized that Minato is absent while I'm typing this very paragraph, haha.

Next week:

Is it Clotho who is still using the Dreadriver to fight Gigist? She must be out of her mind since KR Dread is basically the most obsolete Rider at this point. I think Clotho is the most underdeveloped among the Sisters. It's like the curse of the middle child, where even the writers have forgotten about her. Well, not that the other Sisters (Atropos and Lachesis) have been developed well.

Spanner will also get a new repaint/kitbash form called KR Valvarad Kurogane. It seems like he's able to reforge his Gotchardriver and upgrade it into a new variant solely by using on his own ability as an alchemist and not relying on the black flame power anymore, which I think will return to Gigist. Another possibility is that the black flame power doesn't return to Gigist, but Spanner will transmute his black flame power into a white flame power. Spanner using his own ability and or a white flame power is very likely hinted at by the bright color of KR Valvarad Kurogane and Spanner's own words during the preview section @ 22:59 where he says before transforming that this is the radiant light given to him by Houtarou. Kinda funny how the form is named Kurogane/black steel but is actually very brightly colored. And as usual, the other Riders will very likely be sidelined in this episode, haha. The 3 Riders will rejoin for the final battle in episode 50.

I wonder whether the whole convoluted mystery regarding Houtarou's dad will be resolved in this episode, which was written by Keiichi Hasegawa. I've always wondered who was the writer that has the idea of obscuring Houtarou's dad identity as a plot point, yet never had the time to develop it. It's already 48(!) episodes, and the mystery surrounding Houtarou's dad is still virtually untouched and undeveloped. I think I'll find the answer when the solution is finally shown on screen. The one who resolves it is definitely the one who wrote it in the first place. I think it won't be resolved in this episode, but in the final episode, which was written by Hiroki Uchida. I see a 70-80% probability that it was written by Hiroki Uchida. Maybe I'm just too stupid to be a "sophisticated" writer like Yuuya Takahashi or Hiroki Uchida, but I'm not sure how anyone can resolve that. TLDR: I'm bracing myself for the ultimate, cheapest, laziest Gotcha! moment in this story that will likely appear in the final episode. At least I'm prepared! Haha.

[DreadBringer]

Not that if Geryon actually helps the heroes to get Atropos back, it'd mean he's not evil, because he'd not extend his treatment to Atropos to anyone else, but it's also not surprising if Geryon never truly loved Atropos but instead wanted to use her to turn the world into gold. Geryon's apparent heart to heart with Fuga only leads to him trying to spite Fuga by having Rinne sacrificed to turn Atropos into Chimera.

Obviously, this makes it easier for Atropos to turn a new leaf, as she no longer have ties to Geryon. Now Clotho's also certain as she learns about Atropos' death as her plans to reunite her family will not come to fruition. For some reason, it seems that Rinne may not feel as much anguish over the death of her actual friend, compared to her main bully, Atropos' death.

Like previous lead female Rider Na-Go, Majade's final form is obtained by reaching out to someone who has been terrible to them, leading to a realization of their wrongdoings shortly after they fall apart (being arrested and abandoned by his underlings, being lied to by Geryon). This process involves the person acting as a stepping stone for the final form items, though Atropos perished unlike Kousei, who merely gets severely injured.

In Twilight Majade's fight, it reminds me of Zi-O... for her challenging the future to defy Gaelijah's destiny and shape her own (of which obviously it symbolizes Rinne being against the rigidity of the rules, character-wise, though her quotes also feel like Na-Go's before against Beroba to talk about letting people live their lives) like Zi-O II seeing the future, and also how it's a moon-themed female Rider used by a female with long dark hair and (mostly) cool/composed demeanor. Also, being able to predict 1 person but not 2 at once reminds me of Yugioh stuff again, about Yugi and Atem countering Pegasus' Millennium Eye with mind shuffle.

[Mesnick]

Wonderful episode. Seeing Spanner at Fuuga was unexpected, but essentially logical. Unlike Hotaro and his friends, Spanner lives according to the principles of the older generation, when a loner puts an unbearable load on his shoulders. Hotaro also demonstrates intelligence by using the rules of Galejah against herself. Again, as I already mentioned when Majade used Eclipse: smart use of existing forms is much cooler than the emergence of a new one. And let only someone declare that Wild Forms are useless and unnecessary.
The duel organized by Galejakh was very dynamic and emotional. As for why she didn’t see her failure, I have several options:
- limited prophetic abilities;
- she did not look at Hotaro’s fate and therefore did not take into account his intervention;
- she herself accidentally changed fate by explaining to Hotaro the rules of her dimension;
- I simply didn’t want to spoil the ending for myself.
Geryon also confirmed a long-known truth: sociopaths are masters at pretending to be normal people. And yes, all the cuteness with Atropos was for the sake of winning her loyalty. And so he enlisted the support of Fuuga only in order to create the Chimera himself. Well, unlike her creator father, Atropos keeps her word.
And about the most interesting thing. Rinne received a power-up that suits her much better than the igniter. And I really like that they decided to do without new Chemies. Yes, Rinne has seven more forms in the future, but it would be strange if she managed to make friends with the new Chemies while sitting in captivity with Atropos. But the Dark Ring from the Golden Octahedron of Atropos is a completely different matter. Yes, in its idea, Twilight Majade is very close to the recent LiveEvil, but, in my opinion, it looks better, and its debut was more emotional. Build also comes to mind with its Sento/Katsuragi dynamic.
Giving the hero an additional personality living inside him is a very questionable decision, but I think that neither the writers nor Rinne simply wanted to part with Atropos. But in general, turning into a mixed character, as in the case of Lachesis, is a more mentally healthy option. Although, it is clear that no one wants to say goodbye to their favorite hero for the sake of a new character with the same face.
Galejah lost, but Geryon and Gigistus shared her strength, so the main difficulties were yet to come. The next episode will be dedicated to the fight between Spanner and Gigist, whose clash has been prepared for quite a long time. And in the finale, it looks like there will be a battle between Houtarou and Geryon with the power of the Three-Eyed Demon. Unfortunately, this means the absence of a pleasant epilogue or its being crumpled. Still, two episodes would have been enough for Legend.
P.S. Clotho's role is rather unenviable in this episode. Her remark about Lachesis is easy enough to miss, so what should have been tragic becomes ridiculous. Still, it was worth giving her one more scene in order to avoid such an effect.
P.P.S. Just think, there are only two episodes left until the finale. How quickly time flew by!

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

For some reason, it seems that Rinne may not feel as much anguish over the death of her actual friend, compared to her main bully, Atropos' death.

Is there any evidence for this other than IMHO? That is, the closest analogues in the show are the false death of Fuuga and Houtarou in an egg. The situations were not proportionate, and during them Rinne looked as unhappy as possible.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Is there any evidence for this other than IMHO? That is, the closest analogues in the show are the false death of Fuuga and Houtarou in an egg. The situations were not proportionate, and during them Rinne looked as unhappy as possible.

Oh right, an actual example. No one fucking said she's not sad during Fuga's (apparent) death, but Rinne doesn't break down as much for them as she did for Atropos namely in her skyward scream and more open crying she didn't deliver for those 2.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Oh right, an actual example. No one fucking said she's not sad during Fuga's (apparent) death, but Rinne doesn't break down as much for them as she did for Atropos namely in her skyward scream and more open crying she didn't deliver for those 2.

Because these are not similar situations. In the case of Fuga, the circumstances were: his death was seen by Houtarou and confirmed by Atropos. But at the same time, the first is not confident, and the second is doing everything to throw Rinne off balance. Also, Fuga at this time is a generally recognized traitor, and Rinne is much more closed and stingy with emotions. Plus, Fuga himself appears soon enough, gives daughter a ring and promises to return. In the case of Hotaro in the egg, the situation is even more ambiguous, because while the egg is intact nothing is really clear. And in both of these cases, Rinne was either completely off-screen, or at least on the sidelines. But the situation with Atropos happened right before her eyes and Dark Sister died in her arms and protecting her.
But even without the circumstances of protection and friendship/enmity relationships, personal presence implies a stronger emotional reaction.A person will scream louder if a stranger is hit by a car two steps away from him than if he learns over the phone about the death of his beloved grandmother. Yes, for such an example, even the topic of death is not important. The instant reaction to a scorch from match will be brighter than to a burning house seen in the distance.
In general, a person?s true attitude is characterized not by the brightness of emotions, but by its duration. When you lose someone really important, you grieve for a long time, and not necessarily intensely. But in any case, Rinne will not forget about Atropos, because the Dark Sister is now in her head(or, at least, in her ring). Instant reactions are practically reflexive and therefore can say practically nothing about a person's true mood.
By the way, JK Rowling wrote about something similar in Harry Potter. When Dumbledore's death had a greater impact on Harry than his godfather's death, because there was a body left behind. This is also the reason why all kinds of explosions, dispersal and other methods of disappearing the dead in tokusatsu help reduce the age rating.
P.S. I also suddenly remembered that Kitazaki, aka Dragon Orphenoch, never rejoiced in a single battle with riders as much as he did in killing hooligans in the park. Does this mean that his true calling is to deal with street bullies?

[Sh Ranger]

Interesting how Gaelijah's fraction of the Philosopher's Stone was divided in to two 33/200 fragments, allowing both of her rivals to increase their power equally. I'd assumed it was split 33:33:33:1, but this has now been disproved, which makes me wonder if there's more to the Dark Kings' lore than we were told.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Houtarou is seemingly struggling to even use Nijigon's power to enter the mirror portal for several moments.

The key to solving this trick starts with noticing that Houtarou isn't actually in the frame when Nijigon uses his Rainbow Breath. Most likely, this was not a legitimate attempt to enter, but rather a diversion, smoke and mirrors, if you will. Gotchard BulletChoucho is already inside the dimension at this point and he uses this opportunity to switch out with the real gun in Geryon's hand. The arrogant Gaelijah laughs at how Houtarou struggles against his fate, while taking her eyes off the fate of her Russian Roulette.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Once again, this scene has a logical anomaly. How can Gaelya's beam of Avada Kedavra spell be blocked by Atropos, a mere homunculus? Is Gaelya so pathetically weak that Atropos is even able to block her attack?

If Lily can intercept a killing curse from the strongest Dark Wizard, then of course it should be possible for Atropos as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

I think Clotho is the most underdeveloped among the Sisters. It's like the curse of the middle child, where even the writers have forgotten about her. Well, not that the other Sisters (Atropos and Lachesis) have been developed well.

I disagree. Clotho's arc is about her desire to protect her family bond and her growing desperation to serve any Dark King who offers to help her, even at the cost of her sense of identity. The tragedy is that she's the only one who doesn't want anything to change, but is forced to adapt on her own when the source of her happiness is stolen, which probably makes her the easiest to relate to. Now that Atropos is dead, it means Clotho has failed and we will see how she deals with that loss. You predicted that Clotho would be killed first and honestly, I'm relieved that you were wrong about that. However, I predicted that it would be Lachesis' death to drive a wedge between Clotho and Atropos, so turns out we were both wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Not that if Geryon actually helps the heroes to get Atropos back, it'd mean he's not evil, because he'd not extend his treatment to Atropos to anyone else, but it's also not surprising if Geryon never truly loved Atropos but instead wanted to use her to turn the world into gold. Geryon's apparent heart to heart with Fuga only leads to him trying to spite Fuga by having Rinne sacrificed to turn Atropos into Chimera.

Geryon has really gone too far this time! His love for Atropos was his only redeeming quality and now even that turned out to be a lie, which he confirms to her in such a nonchalant and faux-affectionate way. Maybe he created her with the intention of obtaining familial love, but when he still couldn't feel anything, it only fueled his jealousy and spite towards Fuuga. What a great villain, he's despicable and yet his unwavering determination demands respect. I have to praise Kamakari for his vivid portrayal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

In Twilight Majade's fight, it reminds me of Zi-O... for her challenging the future to defy Gaelijah's destiny and shape her own (of which obviously it symbolizes Rinne being against the rigidity of the rules, character-wise, though her quotes also feel like Na-Go's before against Beroba to talk about letting people live their lives) like Zi-O II seeing the future, and also how it's a moon-themed female Rider used by a female with long dark hair and (mostly) cool/composed demeanor. Also, being able to predict 1 person but not 2 at once reminds me of Yugioh stuff again, about Yugi and Atem countering Pegasus' Millennium Eye with mind shuffle.

Ironically, Zi-O II's suit parts are used for Valvarad not-kuroi-at-all Kurogane instead. Kind of annoying that whenever Majade gets something, Valvarad immediately gets something as well. Talk about stealing thunder.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

And about the most interesting thing. Rinne received a power-up that suits her much better than the igniter. And I really like that they decided to do without new Chemies. Yes, Rinne has seven more forms in the future, but it would be strange if she managed to make friends with the new Chemies while sitting in captivity with Atropos. But the Dark Ring from the Golden Octahedron of Atropos is a completely different matter. Yes, in its idea, Twilight Majade is very close to the recent LiveEvil, but, in my opinion, it looks better, and its debut was more emotional. Build also comes to mind with its Sento/Katsuragi dynamic.

The suit looks much better in action and certainly superior to Evilytylive in both design and plot, but I think it's a little goofy that Atropos' haircut of all things was integrated in the design of Twilight Majade. What about something more unique about Atropos, like her round decorated skirt or two-toned lipstick?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Because these are not similar situations. In the case of Fuga, the circumstances were: his death was seen by Houtarou and confirmed by Atropos. But at the same time, the first is not confident, and the second is doing everything to throw Rinne off balance. Also, Fuga at this time is a generally recognized traitor, and Rinne is much more closed and stingy with emotions. Plus, Fuga himself appears soon enough, gives daughter a ring and promises to return. In the case of Hotaro in the egg, the situation is even more ambiguous, because while the egg is intact nothing is really clear. And in both of these cases, Rinne was either completely off-screen, or at least on the sidelines. But the situation with Atropos happened right before her eyes and Dark Sister died in her arms and protecting her.

Yeah, I agree that the variable in Rinne's increasingly emotional reactions to loved ones' deaths is her state in character development. When Houtarou tells her about Fuuga's apparent death, she's literally ready to just die, so she doesn't bother with emotions. Apathy is the strongest despair. Throughout the show, Rinne becomes more resolute in her ability to change the future, in contrast to her parallel Gaelijah who accepts the future exactly as she sees it. Gaelijah is the same as the Rinne from Episode 4, so she dies when fate is no longer on her side, since she hasn't the strength of will to oppose it.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Ironically, Zi-O II's suit parts are used for Valvarad not-kuroi-at-all Kurogane instead. Kind of annoying that whenever Majade gets something, Valvarad immediately gets something as well. Talk about stealing thunder.

Yes, here is another case where the secondary rider is determined only by Toei's pointer. But, we must pay tribute, there are only two candidates for this role, and not three or more. But maybe Gavv will change the situation? Valen looks very confident, and almost nothing has been heard about the tertiary, so it may turn out to be a completely unambiguous secondary.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I disagree. Clotho's arc is about her desire to protect her family bond and her growing desperation to serve any Dark King who offers to help her, even at the cost of her sense of identity. The tragedy is that she's the only one who doesn't want anything to change, but is forced to adapt on her own when the source of her happiness is stolen, which probably makes her the easiest to relate to. Now that Atropos is dead, it means Clotho has failed and we will see how she deals with that loss. You predicted that Clotho would be killed first and honestly, I'm relieved that you were wrong about that. However, I predicted that it would be Lachesis' death to drive a wedge between Clotho and Atropos, so turns out we were both wrong.

Quote:

Yeah, I agree that the variable in Rinne's increasingly emotional reactions to loved ones' deaths is her state in character development. When Houtarou tells her about Fuuga's apparent death, she's literally ready to just die, so she doesn't bother with emotions. Apathy is the strongest despair. Throughout the show, Rinne becomes more resolute in her ability to change the future, in contrast to her parallel Gaelijah who accepts the future exactly as she sees it. Gaelijah is the same as the Rinne from Episode 4, so she dies when fate is no longer on her side, since she hasn't the strength of will to oppose it.

I actually really like how both the Sisters and the Kings are dark reflections of the three riders, but created in very different ways. The sisters are related to the riders by their positive qualities, which could not develop due to the discord and tyranny of Geryon. At the same time, Kings are rather the principles that the heroes follow are inverted and brought to the point of ruthless absurdity. It's very clever and shows a lot of care in developing the characters.