[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

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.

Just like Asakura regarding his younger brother Akira in Ryuki. Still, don't know then how many times bad guys should be given second, third, fourth chances, and so forth, before deeming them as lost causes, particularly because it'd just look bad on them or heroic ideals, if they become indirectly complicit of enabling their further crimes. Unwavering determination seems respectable, but depraved people having them is why I think determination shouldn't be depicted as a heroic/moral trait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

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.

So you're more talking about ep. 4, I thought it referred to the ep. 26 one, when Kamen Rider Fuga debuted. Obviously, the ep. 4 one, Rinne still held some bitterness towards her dad for being apparent traitor so she got mixed reactions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

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?

For this though, I'd think not like Kitazaki doesn't find fun in dealing with hooligans/street bullies.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

So you're more talking about ep. 4, I thought it referred to the ep. 26 one, when Kamen Rider Fuga debuted.

But Wind in the 26th is an artificial body. Rinne doesn`t even have much time for suffering there.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

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.

That's a good explanation! Furthermore, while the Dark Sisters become more human through their interactions with the Riders, the Dark Kings have already forsaken their humanity. Even Geryon can be considered an evil parallel to Fuuga as a father and mentor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Just like Asakura regarding his younger brother Akira in Ryuki. Still, don't know then how many times bad guys should be given second, third, fourth chances, and so forth, before deeming them as lost causes, particularly because it'd just look bad on them or heroic ideals, if they become indirectly complicit of enabling their further crimes. Unwavering determination seems respectable, but depraved people having them is why I think determination shouldn't be depicted as a heroic/moral trait.

Geryon was already a bad person, but we had no reason to doubt his love for Atropos until now. He has proven himself to be a threat even to his closest ally, so I think he's passed the point of giving him the benefit of the doubt. I only respect his determination as a useful trait, not that I'm justifying his actions or anything like that.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Geryon was already a bad person, but we had no reason to doubt his love for Atropos until now. He has proven himself to be a threat even to his closest ally, so I think he's passed the point of giving him the benefit of the doubt. I only respect his determination as a useful trait, not that I'm justifying his actions or anything like that.

There was a villain who was a threat to their closest ally.... and generally only that. Also from the same show, Tojo/Tiger from Ryuki. For that one, he's still anti-villainous (so benefit of the doubt is there) to have good intentions and act on twisted belief of heroism, and he instinctively saved civilians from a truck by the time of his death.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

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.

I'm aware of the fact that Nijigon is used as diversion. The stupid thing is that Gaelya's casually sitting in front of the portal. Even if Nijigon is used as diversion, how the frak can she, a God(!), not notice a foreign object entering the portal right before her eyes? It's not that KR Gotchard BulletChouchou can turn microscopic or transparent at will. It's not that there's another portal. It's not that Gaelya is actually paying attention to Nijigon's diversion attacks. If I'm wide awake and sitting right in front of the only open window in a closed room and I fail to see a bird entering the window then the only logical conclusion is that I must be blind and or ridiculously drunk/absent minded. What's stupider than Gaelya not noticing a foreign object entering the portal is that Glion and Fuga also do not notice it. That laughably bad asspull scene succeeds in making 3 characters turn into total idiots in one fell swoop. A very impressive feat by Akiko Inoue!

If KR Gotchard BulletChouchou (which manages to sneak into the portal) replaces the gun in Glion's hand with himself then it means Glion is making the second mistake. First, he doesn't notice a foreign object entering the portal, and now, he doesn't realize that the very gun he's holding is replaced by a fake gun. Glion is also supposed to be a God, but he fails at sensing Houtarou's sleight of hand trick? Yep, Glion is now injected with the second dose of Akiko Inoue's stupid serum. Like I've said in my first post: Except Houtarou/KR Gotchard BulletChouchou who is made to look smart, everyone else (Gaelya, Glion, and Fuga) involved in this asspull scene are made to look stupid. Akiko Inoue made Houtarou look smart by making Gaelya, Glion, and Fuga look stupid.

There are several other crucial logical anomalies in that asspull scene like I mentioned in my first post, such as:
- Glion not being able to defend himself against Gaelya's threat despite having an equal power as hers, and
- Where the frak are the original gun and bullet? Those objects disappear without a trace since that asspull scene occurs. If the original gun and bullet are transmuted from Glion's & Fuga's Rings, then it's impossible for those objects to vanish from the crime scene because Glion & Fuga can't do alchemy tricks without them. Perhaps Glion gained the ability to perform alchemy without wearing his Ring since he absorbed Germain and became a 33% God, but Fuga is still a human so he should be unable to do alchemy without his Ring. But the very weird thing is that from the scene @ 10:58 onward (after KR Gotchard, Gaelya, Fuga, and Glion come out of Gaelya's pocket dimension) Glion's & Fuga's Rings are somehow already magically returned to their fingers as if the previous Russian roulette scene never happened. See this scene @ 11.02? Glion's and Fuga's Rings are already magically returned to their fingers.

Yep, as Gai Amatsu would say: It's 1000% asspull. Sooooo, where are the original gun and bullet between @ 09:55-10:58, Ms. Inoue?

My main point of criticism is that the asspulls in this episode are so ridiculously blatant and heavy-handed that the only impression this episode gave me was that Akiko Inoue might be secretly attempting to out-Yuuya Yuuya Takahashi, haha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

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

Likening Gaelya to Voldemort is the prime example of likening apple to orange. Gaelya is a God, while Voldemort was still a mere mortal human, albeit a very skilled wizard. Gaelya and the other members of the Unholy Trinity were the creators of alchemy and everything inside Houtarou's world, while Voldemort was only a user of magic, not a creator of magic. If the attack toward Rinne is made by the normal Glion (before he absorbed Germain's power) then Atropos being able to block it would make much more sense. But Gaelya is a God, not a mere powerful, skilled alchemist. Only a pathetic, weak God attacks a target and gets blocked, but only manages to kill the blocker, not the target. The Door of Darkness? Nope, more like the Door of Dumbness, since all members of the Unholy Trinity (and Glion) have been shown to be stupid beyond belief.

Voldemort was basically the evil version of Fuga, so in Harry Potter there was no God-level villain. In Harry Potter, all the villains and heroes were wizards/witches that were mortal humans, so their mistakes were part of their nature as humans. In fact, Voldemort himself admitted that love is the most powerful magic that he was aware of but didn't account for. None of their tricks were even remotely close to what a God-level character can do. That's why none of the conflicts in Harry Potter violated logic, rationality, and common sense.

Like I said in my first post, this is one of the proofs why making a God-level villain is a very dangerous idea that's often abused by hack writers. A God-level villain will only initially create a fake, shallow excitement, but later it will very likely turn my story into an irrational, illogical mess, especially if I need the God-level villain to be defeated by the heroes. I'm saying for the umpteenth time that a God-level villain can only be defeated by his own stupidity, which means that what I'm ultimately screwing up is not only the villain, but also the heroes. By making the God-level villain defeated by his own stupidity it means that my heroes' victory is an easy, unearned victory handed to them on a silver platter by me, the writer. In essence, it's identical to a rigged competition. The winner in a rigged competition is not the true champion, but a fake champion put on the podium by the corrupt committee of the competition. Germain and Gaelya have been shown to be the examples of God-level villains defeated by their own stupidity. Gigist and Glion will very likely meet the same fate of being stupid Gods. "I'm a God but I'm stupid." = Crappy writing 101.