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07-23-2022, 08:02 AM | #1 |
Have Zord, Will Travel
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: MI
Posts: 5,719
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Hakura is captured as Shinichi encounters a man claiming to be his predecessor as Saru Brother...
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07-23-2022, 10:28 PM | #2 |
Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 685
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So we finally find out how Don Murasame does his Avatar Changes: He strums his sword and presses the trigger... and somehow the sword changes him into the ranger he wants..?
Anyway, I thought this ep was good. We haven't really gotten a dedicated "day in the life of _" ep for Shinichi yet, and it's hilarious to see that even without the rest of the crew he's still encountering into all sorts of hijinks while he goes about his day. |
07-24-2022, 08:36 AM | #3 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,091
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Quote:
That leg sweep by Don Torabolt though, awesome move! Quote:
Apparently, being a Donbrother isn't special at all in this world, with approximately 5000 others like Marina and Shirai being former companions. I wonder what all those people were thinking when they saw the "Dragon Fires" on TV last week. However, staying a Donbrother is special and something Tarou considers worthy of praise, since the only iteration of the team he knows is the one that's currently active and choosing to fight alongside him. Sonoza abducting Kitou to force her to write a manga to bring out his emotions was a humorous subplot. Of course Kitou goes along with it, since it appeals to her ego as a self-proclaimed genius author when someone needs her talent. Sonoza's attempts at emoting physically is just as crazy as his attempt at expressing emotion!
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07-25-2022, 01:12 PM | #4 |
Precure enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Amongst the Cosmos
Posts: 304
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Quote:
Shinichi's an interesting fellow, in that he works best as a supporting character to another's actions rather than trying to get anything "direct" out of him by making him the focus. This episode highlights his unique perspective on life excellently, and doesn't betray the core of the character by focusing on the shenagians that the Characters of the Week bring, rather attempting to squeeze out some backstory or put some new twist that'll change our perspective of him. Shinichi Saruhara is simply Shinichi Saruhara, and that's why we like him! |
07-25-2022, 05:27 PM | #5 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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There are two particularly iconic episodes of Kamen Rider Blade written by Inoue that come to mind here, and the resemblance is so striking that the staff blog was even way ahead of me on bringing it up. And if you don't know, you've gotta understand here -- there is nothing in the world quite like the magic of Inoue's mid-series gag episodes of early/mid 2000's Rider shows. Pretty much all of those things are treasures, with Blade's standing at the peak, so the thought that all this time later, I get to have a new episode of a toku show that's even kind of like that is ridiculously exciting. It's also just plain ridiculous, of course, but that's what we're all here for, right? It's maybe telling of just how insane good ol' "Ultimate Form! Special Turbo!" was that this episode of Donbrothers -- of Donbrothers, no less -- actually feels sort of tame by comparison, but the broad strokes here? All these super tense cooking people living their own oddly well-developed melodramatic lives, and one of our heroes getting roped into that madness because he happens to look like one of those guest characters? It's not identical, but it's definitely familiar enough to get me feeling right at home! It sort of goes without saying, I'd imagine, but I found myself very much enjoying the absurd noodle mafia antics this story is framed around. (Like, using noodles to tie someone up? That's *amazing*.) I think I enjoyed the legitimate drama underlying all that even more though. The thing about this plot is that on top of being the usual silly fun, it's also pretty dang well-considered in terms of how it focuses in on Shinichi's character. There's clearly a deliberate decision to avoid actually directly fleshing out his character, instead building up that guest cast around him, and using that contrast to say things about the Saru Brother we know in a more subtle sort of way. I think it works great. Just on a broad level, all these noodle guys are clearly so burdened in a way that makes a very compelling case for Shinichi's way of life, when you stop and think about it. They need money and things and more money and more things, and that's funny to watch while also looking very stressful. I'm reasonably sure it isn't possible to fill up your stomach on imaginary food, but the ideal of Shinichi's minimalism shines here, and maybe for the first time in a while, since he's let Tarou get him riled up so much lately. And along those same lines, Shirai specifically makes for a really nice foil. He very much comes off as just some random guy off the street, not at all malicious but not particularly noble either, and it's the reality of that which is this episode's secret weapon. (If I can use the word "reality" in relation to Donbrothers.) The idea that there were literal thousands of reject Donbrothers who simply didn't care enough to selflessly fight monsters is... like, I can't help but use the word "genius" here? It's exactly the kind of detail a writer like Inoue would toss in there, on so many levels. I can only sort of describe it, but the key points are that it's funny to think about such unheroic "heroes" being out there like Shirai, and how that makes the actual heroes of the show seem that much more special. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- these people are all nuts, but they're surprisingly kindhearted nuts. Even Tarou thinks they're worthy of praise! (Which was a nice moment to show his character development is sticking, by the way.) So yeah, fantastic stuff as always. I think they did an excellent job here refocusing in on the appeal of Shinichi as a character, created a fun bunch of guests to do that with, and even threw some nice bonuses in on the side while they were at it. I could've easily watched much, much more of Haruka's attempts to get back into being an author... which means next time will probably be right up my alley, huh? (Also, I find it hilarious that apparently dark Jirou has just been wandering around the city since last episode. Nobody else even spares him a thought the entire time.)
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 07-25-2022 at 05:34 PM.. |
07-26-2022, 06:49 AM | #6 |
本当のクロスセイバー
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Himitsu
Posts: 168
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This is my first time posting my opinion on a Donbrothers' thread. You see, all of the members of Donbrothers are so lovable in their own way. I love every one of them, from Taro's strict earnestness, Kijino with his relatable daily life, Inuzuka and his weird love and search for Natsumi, Jiro who can be seen as endearing and creepy at the same times and Haruka who I would not argue if anyone say she's your favorite character. Saruhara, on the other hand... He might be my favorite character in this distinct and quirky cast written by Inoue.
I will keep this short because Fish and the others have said it much better. I always feel Saruhara is such an enigma to begin with. If you read the Toei web, they basically compare Saruhara to a cloud who just follows the direction that he was put in. When he is with Haruka, you could see him as a big brother and mentor for the girl and when he is with Taro, there's some kind of slight annoyance that he mildly expresses whenever Taro is against him. In this episode, where he faced his own predecessor, it's always a curious guess to see how he will accommodate himself in the situation. It's not surprising to see that Saruhara acts even more of an adult and mentor to Shirai who is older and a former Saru Brother. My favorite scene in this episode was when the two of them were talking in the rain and I must applause Shirai's actor to be able to put such a good act in contrast of Saruhara's more carefree attitude. You could just see Shirai has much more weight in his life compared to Saruhara, despite Saruhara is risking his life to fight monsters. One thing that I also love is there's no a single mention of Shirai wanting to get back being Saru Brother, a big contrast during Haruka and Marina's ep back then. I think the message of this ep would be ruined if either Shirai wanted to get back as Saru Brother or something crazy like Saruhara propose to relent his position to Shirai. A simple question from Saruhara of 'Why do you need answer? Why people search for answer?' might be the most impactful line, not just in Donbrothers but in Toku also. I suddenly remembered that one scene in Ultraman Saga where Alien Bat asked why Zero and the other Ultraman always want to protect human. Same can be said for Rider and Super Sentai. And to that point, is an answer really important. There's something beautiful that sometimes some things that's really obvious doesn't really need a clear answer. Just do what you want and what you think is right. That end scene where Shirai treated Saruhara with an imaginary ramen was the perfect end and a chery on top of a cake. At the start of the series, I always wonder why people refer Saruhara as 'Professor'. After this episode, no wonder people called him like that. Saruhara basically solved someone's life problem even without his power as Saru Brother. You see Professor is not just a simple title. When you are given a huge problem but you can solve it in the best way possible and make it work the best in society, I think someone like that deserves to be called Professor.
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07-26-2022, 07:04 AM | #7 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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Something really tickles me about the fact that the cola-themed idol is a recurring background character.
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07-26-2022, 08:46 AM | #8 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,091
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Quote:
This is my first time posting my opinion on a Donbrothers' thread. You see, all of the members of Donbrothers are so lovable in their own way. I love every one of them, from Taro's strict earnestness, Kijino with his relatable daily life, Inuzuka and his weird love and search for Natsumi, Jiro who can be seen as endearing and creepy at the same times and Haruka who I would not argue if anyone say she's your favorite character. Saruhara, on the other hand... He might be my favorite character in this distinct and quirky cast written by Inoue.
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07-30-2022, 08:02 PM | #9 |
Kaiju or Hero?
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Even I Don't Know Anymore.
Posts: 1,397
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Late, but I loved this episode regardless.
(I did see the latest episode of Revice, but I honestly don't have any interesting to really discuss on it. Not a bad episode, but nothing I have much to say) I love how it started with a Showa style Film, which ultimately plays a role in the story, given Shirai played in it, and tried to get a Ramen sauce recipe in order to start his own Ramen franchise with little effort, much like his SaruBrother career. And we also get Shinichi's daily life, which is both bizarre and hilarious (I think I had his imagination as a kid), very fun character, especially when he put Shirai and the Ramen Boss into his desert setting. Also, for a moment, during the fight, I thought the video skipped ahead when Don Onitaijin appeared. And Haruka getting kidnapped just because one of the Nooto liked her Manga, then forced her into writing more. Speaking of which... Next Episode: "Daikaijuman! You and Haruka need to start drawing your Manga!" |
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