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01-30-2023, 09:38 PM | #461 |
I have a problematic type
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Meanwhile, this is the first time I think I've heard that there was a Saber cartoon.
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01-30-2023, 10:22 PM | #462 |
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KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 17 - “THE ANCIENT MESSENGER, IS HE LIGHT OR SHADOW?”
I don’t know if it’s a legitimate complaint or just this show’s rhythms creating unreasonable expectations within me (or just straight-up Stockholm Syndrome), but… a little surprised at this episode’s more considered pacing? After last episode’s massive battle between Saber and the Sword of Logos, everyone retreats to their corners to lick their wounds and brood over this uncomfortable new dynamic. Touma and Mei are helping Yuri acclimate to the world after a millennium's absence, while the Sword of Logos swordsmen are taking orders from their totally on-the-level boss in a darkened chamber at the South Pole. (That is, hysterically, the exact same set from the Northern Base, but with a dearth of furniture and an abundance of foreboding atmosphere.) There’s a cloud hanging over both camps this episode, which is a level of parity that I sort of wasn’t expecting? Rintaro, especially, is adamant that while he may not believe Touma’s claims about the SoL, he also doesn’t believe the SoL’s claims about Touma. (Basically, everyone but Ren are like Pump The Brakes, while Ren is screaming like a lunatic the entire time.) It makes the situation a lot more nebulous, as the show tries to make this a situation where – Reika aside, probably – everyone’s trying to operate in good faith, despite being at opposing positions. But! That’s, like, one scene. This episode spends way more time on integrating Yuri’s ancient swordsman into the ranks, as well as rolling out its new Monster of the Week template. One of those is a good use of time! One of those is not! Yuri is the big success, which is probably no surprise. His combination of inquisitive nature and unwavering sense of righteousness make for a fun story to run alongside Touma’s overflowing empathy and current ethical confusion. Yuri’s a guy that doesn’t understand the world, but is certain his old ways don’t need reexamination. Bubble tea’s interesting to him! Sacrificing humans to stave off Megid schemes is less interesting to him. It’s like the thing about him not liking the comic book hero. (Which, I’ve seen Figuarts, I know where that gag is going.) He’s all about stories as a way to confirm his own morality, not as a way to widen his perspective. When something challenges his preconceived notions, he disregards the new information as somewhere between Hilarious and Heresy. That’s going to put him into conflict with Touma during the best of times, but it’s certainly going to cause tension when Touma’s juggling fractured friendships and newly-victimized humans. The gimmick of humans being turned into Megids… eh. I like that they’re not just monsters to be detonated, and that there’s more complicated fighting because of it, but this isn’t a story that’s telling me anything about Yuki’s hopes or dreams or fears or whatever. This isn’t the Ridewatches of Zi-O or the mid-season emotional breakdowns of the Humagears on Zero-One; this is just some unlucky bystander getting forcibly turned into a monster. Beyond the hapless victim being someone Touma and Mei know, there’s really nothing special to this change in the routine. Touma wants to save Yuki, but Touma would want to save anyone. It doesn’t really matter who the victim is, which feels like a waste of potential storytelling avenues. Hopefully that gets better in the future. Even though I definitely wanted to spend more time on the SoL/Touma conflict (why didn’t they just wait at the bookshop and ambush him there?), I really like the smaller dynamic of Touma, Mei, and Yuri. They make for a fun, almost Day 1 version of the cast. It’s charming, even if it maybe needed to be a bit more intense. Can’t believe I’m ragging on this show for not moving faster! There’s no pleasing Kamen Rider fans! — EVERY LITTLE MEANS TRUST Mei couldn’t deal with this right now. The last few hours had been insane. She and Touma had been out to do some light shopping for a housecleaning party she was definitely going to slack off on – she’d already devised a pretty slick scheme to trick Rintaro into doing her share of the cleaning as a gift, letting him experience the wonders of Homo Sapiens’ rituals first-hand – before it all fell apart. They were attacked by their friends, branded traitors, and barely survived. It was only the intervention of a man named Yuri, who turned into a sword, that they were able to escape. After all that, they needed to hunker down and figure things out. Touma had suggested the bookstore, but Mei was concerned that the Sword of Logos doorway inside the shop might be too dangerous to head straight for. Mei had suggested the magazine offices, but Touma was afraid of anyone else being put in danger because of him. (There had been a few minutes of Touma’s verbal self-flagellation in the aftermath of Yuri’s arrival, where Touma had berated himself for Mei’s near-miss from Kenzan’s blades, but Mei put a stop to that quickly. She was going to be by Touma’s side throughout this entire adventure, and the consequences were for her and her alone to deal with.) While Mei was stumped for another location, Touma thought of one last place to rest. “Well, hello there, Miss Mei,” Nachi said as she entered the building’s lobby. Dammit. She’d gotten briefly separated from Touma in the battle’s aftermath, trying to follow Yuri before he vanished. Touma was closer to Mochizuki Tower, so he’d gotten to the building first. She’d hoped they’d get there at the same time, so she could avoid the awkward conversation with Nachi that she knew was coming. No such luck. “Hey, Nachi,” she said with a fake smile. She kept moving through the lobby. “Touma’s just up on the roof, right? I’ll just–” “Whoa, hey, missy! Slow down a little!” Nachi moved from his chair to the stairwell door, and held it shut as Mei pressed on the bar. “We’ve gotta have a little chat, before you head up and see your friend.” “Chat?” Mei was a little surprised at his tone. Nachi had previously been warm and genial. Now he was… Mei didn’t think she’d like where this went. “Chat about what?” “Well… golly, this is tough to say. You know that me and the boys think the world of you, after them eclairs you picked up for us, and that Touma fella’s a real good joe.” Nachi was scratching the back of his head, and was looking more at the floor than Mei’s face. “It’s just… the Sword of Logos says who can and can’t use the Brooding Roof, what with their lease and all, and they let us know that Touma’s been declared a traitor from the guild, and you’re his Plus 1, and…” “Oh! Uh…” Mei was backing up slightly, ready to make for the lobby’s door. Was Nachi going to turn them in? Should she run? Nachi could see the panic rising on her face. “Now, I ain’t told anyone y’all are here,” he said with his hands raised, voice calm and even. “I figure what’s between you and them is between you and them. They wanna do something about any unapproved activities? That’s none of my business, and it ain’t what I get paid for. I work for the building, not them. The Sword of Logos is a bunch of people, and – beyond doing my job on their behalf – I get to decide how I treat those people.” “Wow. Okay. Wh– what are you saying exactly?” Mei hoped this was a good sign, but with Nachi’s typical introspective flourishes, she wasn’t 100% sure what he was telling her. “Well, I’m saying that your friend Touma’s up on the roof, and y’all were never here,” Nachi said with a conspiratorial wink. “Now go cheer that tall fella up some.”
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01-30-2023, 10:43 PM | #463 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
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Yeah when it comes to the pacing of how things work, there's a modest different between the 2020 Episodes and the 2021 Episodes. Which I can only assume amounts to Covid Restrictions lifting and... toy sales. So as you might have noticed, Saber Quarter 1 had an insane amount of toys for a Kamen Rider Season. The transformation devices/weapons, the extra books, the buckles, the upgrades, etc!
One of these days I might do a chart on how I handled Q1 up until the point I've published online in my story but for now, uh... I've spread it out a fair bit and mixed things up a lot. Meanwhile for Q2, two episodes in... and we've only got the Kougouken Saikou as a toy release if I recall. Literally that's it. Which is insane to think about given what we settled into for the past 15 or so episodes. I'll admit, as someone who has to get to the Human Hybrid Megid stuff... it's a bit hard of a balancing act in terms of figuring out how to make them emotionally impactful. While Yuki kind of works because she's a work buddy, there definitely feels like there could be more. Loving the new status quo though for Touma, Yuri's a fun character and his dynamic definitely freshens things up a bit. As for the story, nice to see the building crew again! It's just a fun behind the scenes look at this random roof everyone broods at. Helps bring a fun unexpected flavor to the world. |
01-30-2023, 11:42 PM | #464 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Quote:
I'll admit, as someone who has to get to the Human Hybrid Megid stuff... it's a bit hard of a balancing act in terms of figuring out how to make them emotionally impactful. While Yuki kind of works because she's a work buddy, there definitely feels like there could be more.
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01-31-2023, 12:02 AM | #465 |
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I'll admit I was also quite surprised by this pacing, for Saber to put the main betrayal plot to the side and instead focusing on developing Yuri and the MOTW, that surprises me quite a bit. Yuri is just a great character, and I love the idea of actually giving the MOTW some development, it was honestly probably my favorite part of the first arc of Zero-One, because even knowing that the Humagear of the episode would almost certainly become a Magia, the character development they got really shined.
However, I won't lie, I didn't care for Yuki (I only just noticed the pun, whyyyyyyy Toei) all that much, she's fine, but she doesn't get to do much, hopefully by next episode, her character will get some more development. Besides that, this was a fine episode, I like it slowing down the pacing a notch, but the MOTW plot definitley feels unneccasary when compared to the over-arching betrayal plotline, but it's alright enough, a pretty good episode even if I did have a few complaints about it. |
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01-31-2023, 12:04 AM | #466 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Quote:
I'll admit I was also quite surprised by this pacing, for Saber to put the main betrayal plot to the side and instead focusing on developing Yuri and the MOTW, that surprises me quite a bit. Yuri is just a great character, and I love the idea of actually giving the MOTW some development, it was honestly probably my favorite part of the first arc of Zero-One, because even knowing that the Humagear of the episode would almost certainly become a Magia, the character development they got really shined.
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01-31-2023, 02:01 AM | #467 |
I have a problematic type
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Posts: 10,410
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Quote:
Even though I definitely wanted to spend more time on the SoL/Touma conflict (why didn?t they just wait at the bookshop and ambush him there?), I really like the smaller dynamic of Touma, Mei, and Yuri. They make for a fun, almost Day 1 version of the cast. It?s charming, even if it maybe needed to be a bit more intense. Can?t believe I?m ragging on this show for not moving faster! There?s no pleasing Kamen Rider fans!
Does it suck that everybody else has to be stuck in a small room with Reika while these three get to have adventures together? Yes.* But it's a trade that absolutely pays off. *Except for Ren. |
01-31-2023, 10:42 AM | #468 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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This is exactly why I love this part of the show. After spending the first half dozen episodes throwing new characters at us left, right, and center, we're at a point where the show dials it back and really focuses on just this core group of Touma, Yuri, and Mei. It works in part because it gives the characters room to breathe and develop when they aren't part of a massive ensemble. It also works because Yuri and Mei are both goddamn delightful, both in isolation and together. This is when I really fell in love with Mei (not how she's not getting shot into the air, Team Rocket style, anymore) and Yuri is just fantastic as this fish out of water who's constantly amazed by modern innovations.
I don't know if I'd've liked that better, honestly? A lot of what makes the Touma/Yuri/Mei stuff work is that this is, like, a rebound swordsman for Touma. The SoL is still out there, and absolutely nothing's settled, so Yuri comes of like a pleasant distraction. If this had just been, like, Episode 7, I don't know if it would work as well. (And that's even getting away from the larger discussion about the necessity of the first act's Everyone Becomes Great Friends speedrun narrative, in order to make the second act's dissolution make any sense.)
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01-31-2023, 03:02 PM | #469 |
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KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 17 - “THE ANCIENT MESSENGER, IS HE LIGHT OR SHADOW?”
After last episode’s massive battle between Saber and the Sword of Logos, everyone retreats to their corners to lick their wounds and brood over this uncomfortable new dynamic. Touma and Mei are helping Yuri acclimate to the world after a millennium's absence, while the Sword of Logos swordsmen are taking orders from their totally on-the-level boss in a darkened chamber at the South Pole. (That is, hysterically, the exact same set from the Northern Base, but with a dearth of furniture and an abundance of foreboding atmosphere.) There’s a cloud hanging over both camps this episode, which is a level of parity that I sort of wasn’t expecting? Rintaro, especially, is adamant that while he may not believe Touma’s claims about the SoL, he also doesn’t believe the SoL’s claims about Touma. (Basically, everyone but Ren are like Pump The Brakes, while Ren is screaming like a lunatic the entire time.) It makes the situation a lot more nebulous, as the show tries to make this a situation where – Reika aside, probably – everyone’s trying to operate in good faith, despite being at opposing positions. Quote:
Yuri is the big success, which is probably no surprise. His combination of inquisitive nature and unwavering sense of righteousness make for a fun story to run alongside Touma’s overflowing empathy and current ethical confusion. Yuri’s a guy that doesn’t understand the world, but is certain his old ways don’t need reexamination. Bubble tea’s interesting to him! Sacrificing humans to stave off Megid schemes is less interesting to him.
Quote:
The gimmick of humans being turned into Megids… eh. I like that they’re not just monsters to be detonated, and that there’s more complicated fighting because of it, but this isn’t a story that’s telling me anything about Yuki’s hopes or dreams or fears or whatever. This isn’t the Ridewatches of Zi-O or the mid-season emotional breakdowns of the Humagears on Zero-One; this is just some unlucky bystander getting forcibly turned into a monster. Beyond the hapless victim being someone Touma and Mei know, there’s really nothing special to this change in the routine. Touma wants to save Yuki, but Touma would want to save anyone. It doesn’t really matter who the victim is, which feels like a waste of potential storytelling avenues. Hopefully that gets better in the future.
Quote:
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01-31-2023, 03:05 PM | #470 |
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