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07-14-2022, 07:10 PM | #361 |
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Another good episode, I do like how Gai wants to win fairly, as he wants to prove the ZAIA spec
is, of course, 1000% better than the HumaGears, it's a nice bit of development that shows that even if he is a manipulative business man, he still wants to beat Aruto in a fair way. Even if it is just to prove that he is a better at running a business than Aruto. Also Thousand Break is really cool. |
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07-14-2022, 07:35 PM | #362 |
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It was kind of nice how, despite losing the first match, Aruto was still able to make a point and help humans and Humagear come to appreciate each other and gain a new understanding. Even if it means he's starting off this job competition with a loss. But at least it's not an entirely bad note to end this on.
(Also, yeah, we're really back to Kamen Rider two-parters!) Poor Yua. Loses the moral high ground and loses the duel to Fuwa. Although Fuwa finally loses to Thouser, so... Thouser collecting powers and using them against their user like he's evil Mega Man (so Bass, huh). Can I just say how much I appreciate the fact that we're still getting new Kaijin suits? Like, yeah, they're reusing the Magia now but we're also getting humans transforming into Kajin and still getting new suits. And I like how the Raiders feel different from the Magia in terms of design and function since they're humans, not Humagears, behind them...while still looking really cool. |
07-14-2022, 07:47 PM | #363 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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I remember watching this episode, and my feelings being like... this is a *fantastic* direction for Zero-One, it's a lot of great stuff that the job angle allows that the franchise can't usually dip into in a very different way, but it does have some pacing issues and it does go on a little too long -- and doesn't have a great way to wrap in the actual Kamen Rider fighting. But despite that and what's going on with Yua, overall a great success in my mind especially when paralleled with Fuwa's stuff.
Which without spoiling too much is kind of my feelings on the job competition arc as a whole? A lot of people really dislike it, and I get their reasons and I certainly have my criticisms - which'll become clear the more episodes of this we get - but overall I think these succeed at what they set out to do and it's left us with very interesting, unique storylines that Rider isn't able to usually do. Big fan of all this, basically!
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07-14-2022, 07:58 PM | #364 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,570
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Some compliments to this episode I have to say is that I really love our new monster design?
Like making humans become Magia in a sense with our new monster type, the Raider, is really cool. Except they become very pseudo-rider esque compared to the Magia since like... it's very obvious the legs on Mr. Buffalo are very familiar repainted legs. Also interesting how the buckle is at an angle... feel like I've seen that somewhere before... Oh and I will say I do like the whole Humagear succumbing to malice because people suck aspect. I thought that was a neat way at evolving the conflict. Other than that I mean, it's a good set of episodes... I just wish this arc was more than this set of episodes? This is really all I can say without spoiling but um, I'll explain more when we're like deeper in. Like I get what this arc sets out to do and it has some genuinely good moments in it... stay tuned for a couple of episodes later where I hope you talk about a certain scene I really liked. But um... watching this from week to week certainly wears on you after a while. And that's something I need to stress whenever I talk about my distaste for like, the basic structure of how this arc in its entirety goes. Solid setup, really good ending, nice moments... just I don't like the presentation for the most part. Also hey if you like the drama aspects and the fights don't resonate much then don't worry, that was seemingly the only thing on their minds to where if I recall, they felt it was a chore trying to put fights into the episodes! And I get that like the human side is part of Tokusatsu and I love a lot of out of suit moments, but like... if you can't fit in the cool costumes and monsters easily or naturally... what's the point? You've definitely got it good being able to partially binge this by watching it daily, I tell you what. |
07-14-2022, 08:19 PM | #365 |
Kaiju or Hero?
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Even I Don't Know Anymore.
Posts: 1,397
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Ah, the Zaia Arc! Everyone's favorite.
Now, it was inevitable. Aruto's company facing off against a more advanced, more experienced president, with the perfect counter to Hiden's Humagears, the Zaia Spec. It's an interesting dilemma between these two concepts, one being A.I. powered robots, the other giving humanity access to anything in the world right in front of their face (heh. Also, it's basically smartphones for you face). So, the setup for this conflict is an interesting angle. Now what about the man himself? Gai Amatsu, a man who sees Aruto and sees only disappointment, how the descendant of a person he respected and admired is just an inexperienced clown who continues to persist in clinging to his grandfather's legacy, namely the Humagears, despite after the Metsuboujinrai incident. A man, who is a perfectionist, through and through, 1000%. That's the initial impression he leaves, an unlikable rival trying to one-up our protagonist, which doesn't quite land that way for me, but he's not someone I despise with a passion, as much as they try to make him. Heck, given how much we like to quote his "1000%" thing, I think that tells you enough about our general opinion of him. And Thouser... My gosh, is that suit good. Just the right amount of gaudy and threatening, and paired with the perfect theme, seriously, Zero-One's soundtrack has some good ones! You need authorization to transform? Well, Thouser is sponsored! Presented by ZAIA. And even the finisher takes a moment to sponsor ZAIA Enterprise. Nothing like listening to an ad when you're getting blown to bits. But overall, this was indeed, a nice episode, where both sides have their go, and despite the drama, respect each other's work. Even if the first round goes to ZAIA, it's nice how Aruto isn't bugged by it. Wow, I spent way too long on this one! I really am becoming a grandpa! |
07-14-2022, 08:29 PM | #366 |
Precure enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Amongst the Cosmos
Posts: 304
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Episode 18!
-Poor Sakuyo, being tricked by Tachibana... I do like nobody ever brought of a point of "Well, She's an AI, she could've calculated that the branch threw the symmentry (or something) off, ruining the image! Should've known better, the victory still counts." Like , AI ultimately are suspectible to being influenced/decieved by what they learn, and incidents from using AI where human decision-making could easily prevent the error. But at the same time, the same could be easily said about humans, can't it? -Tachibana...At first I thought his freakout over Sakuyo's talent was the little over the top, but then I remembered: flower arrangement is this man's everything. His family has probably worked for generations developing their philsophy and skill in this subject, and no doubt it's a source of pride for the man. For Sakuyo to so easily match the Grand Master, who's essentially the culmination of his family and the schools' effort.....it's surely frightening. Which is why the story wrapping back to Sakuyo learning from the Tachibana school's teachings is so sastifying to me. Using AI can help us all reach new heights, but only if there's a foundation to bulid upon, given by humanity. Tachibana's craft is not irrevalant nor outdated, it's *essential* to the process that will help Sakuyo and everyone push the art forward. -The fight in the parking lot....Yeah, cool fight and all, but the only reaction it really got out of me is Gai calling Fuwa a "stray dog", lol. I feel like the show *wants* me to feel troubled at Yua's position at ZAIA and the two fighting, but like.....I don't know, there's just not enough Emotion there for the whole "Oh no, Yua's working the bad guys!" plot to work for me? (Especially wild since Fuwa's arguably the second emotive person in the show.) Like, we've known Yua's been doing shady shit since (arguably) her debut as Valykrie, so there's no "beteryal" of the audience's trust. And Fuwa...just takes in all in stride? Yua up to no good? He's gonna turn her ass in, and isn't afraid to get rough to achieve this. They're comrades working on the battlefield during Yua's time at AIMS, but there's no real relationship there other than "dysfunctional coworkers", so there's not much to work with here? -Mystery Person has descended, giving us a new spin on the MOTW! If Magia are born of AI's hatred of humankind, then surely man's hatred of AI can birth an equally terrifying monster. I like all the warped perspectives and whatnot they use to highlight their presence, it's really cool! -The "eternally 24, actually 45" bit is sooooo damn good. |
07-14-2022, 08:58 PM | #367 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
Another good episode, I do like how Gai wants to win fairly, as he wants to prove the ZAIA spec
is, of course, 1000% better than the HumaGears, it's a nice bit of development that shows that even if he is a manipulative business man, he still wants to beat Aruto in a fair way. Even if it is just to prove that he is a better at running a business than Aruto. Quote:
It was kind of nice how, despite losing the first match, Aruto was still able to make a point and help humans and Humagear come to appreciate each other and gain a new understanding. Even if it means he's starting off this job competition with a loss. But at least it's not an entirely bad note to end this on.
Quote:
I remember watching this episode, and my feelings being like... this is a *fantastic* direction for Zero-One, it's a lot of great stuff that the job angle allows that the franchise can't usually dip into in a very different way, but it does have some pacing issues and it does go on a little too long -- and doesn't have a great way to wrap in the actual Kamen Rider fighting. But despite that and what's going on with Yua, overall a great success in my mind especially when paralleled with Fuwa's stuff.
Quote:
Also hey if you like the drama aspects and the fights don't resonate much then don't worry, that was seemingly the only thing on their minds to where if I recall, they felt it was a chore trying to put fights into the episodes! And I get that like the human side is part of Tokusatsu and I love a lot of out of suit moments, but like... if you can't fit in the cool costumes and monsters easily or naturally... what's the point?
Quote:
Quote:
The fight in the parking lot....Yeah, cool fight and all, but the only reaction it really got out of me is Gai calling Fuwa a "stray dog", lol. I feel like the show *wants* me to feel troubled at Yua's position at ZAIA and the two fighting, but like.....I don't know, there's just not enough Emotion there for the whole "Oh no, Yua's working the bad guys!" plot to work for me? (Especially wild since Fuwa's arguably the second emotive person in the show.) Like, we've known Yua's been doing shady shit since (arguably) her debut as Valykrie, so there's no "beteryal" of the audience's trust. And Fuwa...just takes in all in stride? Yua up to no good? He's gonna turn her ass in, and isn't afraid to get rough to achieve this. They're comrades working on the battlefield during Yua's time at AIMS, but there's no real relationship there other than "dysfunctional coworkers", so there's not much to work with here?
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07-15-2022, 02:41 AM | #368 |
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,546
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So here we meet the Raiders, who just as the Magia are simplified, slightly armoured versions of the MetsubouJinrai Riders, are simplified, slightly armoured versions of the A.I.M.S Riders (you can make out Vulcan’s crotch on the Curshing Buffalo Raider).
On thing that didn’t get brought up last time. The actress playing Sakuya was previously in a two-parter from Fourze (the one with JK’s singing career getting pumped by his old rocker buddy becoming a Horoscope). And for what it’s worth, I think she did a good job of keeping the character sympathetic. And since I mentioned Crushing Buffalo, I am required to do this. Progrise: Powerful Rush! Crushing Buffalo! This charge attack will send you flying. And this time, I guessed the Legend Rider that would be remixed from this. And what do you know, I was right. Awakening the Soul! TripleFlashing Agito! A warrior fighting for the human race. |
07-15-2022, 08:08 AM | #369 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,396
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The Raid Riser is a really important and great addition to the story, I feel, as it shows that Humans are also susceptible to the Ark's' influence and helps to avoid the implication that Humagears are always the bad guys.
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07-15-2022, 12:26 PM | #370 |
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Posts: 1,290
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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 18 - “THESE ARE MY ARRANGED FLOWERS”
It’s a little hard to make this sound like a fun episode? Describing it in detail makes it sound both minor (it’s just about some guy learning to treat technology as another point of view, rather than an adversary) and sort of formulaic (Thouser continues to no-sell everything and be an unbeatable bad-ass 24/7). The beauty of this episode is in the delicateness of the struggle, not the bombastic tokusatsu shenanigans. It succeeds because the fear of losing our humanity due to the increasingly inescapable technology of the near-future is a relatable one: what’s the point of humanity if technology can replace even our artists? Having a message where the teaching of art to computers gets us seeing art in new, better ways, or in finding our new aspects of our humanity within that process… I don’t know, I thought that was a compelling idea to dig into. Quote:
And, like, it doesn’t even matter if the Humagear lost the contest, because Aruto won the argument. I like that resolution so, so much. I like a story with a moral victory, even at the cost of the actual victory. I’m going to remember that handshake between the human and the Humagear way more than I’m going to remember almost anything else from this episode. It’s a sweet resolution to a sweet story.
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Really, the only bum note for me was the big superhero battle in the middle of the episode? As fun as it was to see Valkyrie and Vulcan have a little duel, the placement of it in the story felt utterly arbitrary. Fuwa thinks that Yua and ZAIA have reactivated Horobi, based on literally no evidence I can recall, and Yua gets unnecessarily shifty and combative. They start fighting, and then Gai shows up to illustrate that even Vulcan’s most powerful form is no match for the narrative power of no-selling, so Thouser wipes the floor with yet another character. Nothing in this fight furthers any particular plotline (Fuwa just goes back to Horobi Lecter with information from a different climax he was not even present for), and it feels so blatantly Thouser-centric that I’m wondering if this show is actually sponsored by ZAIA Enterprise. Thouser’s cool! I get it! I don’t need individual fights of him demolishing every single member of the cast!
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So you've made it to the start of the dreaded Job Competition arc. I'll totally have a lot to complain about as you progress, but I'll start by mentioning that this wasn't actually Takahashi's choice. No, instead, it was producer Ohmori Takahito who decided this would be a good idea. Based on ratings, he might've been right, as more kids tuned in every week to watch Aruto and Gai wage this proxy tournament between HumaGears and AR-enhanced humans. Critically though, it's often considered to be the worst part of Zero One and a chore to get through. And this is all before you-know-what screwed with the production.
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