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04-11-2020, 11:16 AM | #41 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Ah, it's not really about unpopular opinions -- on Die's Kuuga thread, he consistently expressed a lot of dislike for Jean. So it was just funny to me seeing Die and Fish having contrasting opinions so many times in a row
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04-11-2020, 12:35 PM | #42 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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Quote:
Quote:
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 04-06-2023 at 05:35 PM.. |
04-11-2020, 01:50 PM | #43 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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Also can we talk about Yuusuke commiting a crime?
Refering to the "I might be the newest rival to/of Fish, alongside any number of past posters who've ground their teeth at some stance he took!" part, specifically the bolded part. Fish is claimed to be the one with questionable taste, but in this one, Die's the one on minority (Ryuki 28). Last edited by DreadBringer; 04-11-2020 at 04:22 PM.. |
04-12-2020, 04:55 PM | #44 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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EPISODE 7: "Grief"
These two episodes mark Hidenori Ishida's return as director, and as such, I have a lot of nice things to say about the visuals again. He starts getting clever with the Grongi, making the colors and lighting in their scenes as distorted and unnatural as possible to create an uneasy atmosphere. He does a cool POV shot of the monster flying above the city looking for its next victim. And then there's just plain nice looking scenes, like Ichijou and Sugita at the firing range. There are some minor bits worth talking about here before I get into the meat of the plot. Sakurako gives Yuusuke the lowdown on the Linto writing system -- the first time both that name and the Grongi's are confirmed in the series -- and in doing so, she gives more inquisitive viewers enough information to figure out that the three characters that close out every episode are actually just a Linto version of つづく, the "to be continued" message anyone who's watched enough Japanese television is probably familiar with. So that's neat. We also start rounding out the ever-expanding recurring cast with the introductions of Sasayama and her not at all subtle crush on Ichijou, as well as Enokida, another massively helpful member of the team, who makes a strong first impression repeatedly swatting Yuusuke's hand away when he tries to touch things without asking. The actual plot, it's partially about Ichijou investigating Me-Badjisu-Ba's murders, which is a particularly fun set of scenes. There's strong tension as a montage of Badjisu (that's the bee one by the way) killing people uses the series' usual timestamps to great effect, popping up after the kill, grabbing your attention, and getting you to realize that he's going through people alarmingly fast. Where it also shines, in my opinion, is, once more, just in the mundanity of some of the scenes. I think this is the first time we get Ichijou just walking around a classic cop show crime scene, but the basic, procedural nature of the scene becomes so much more interesting when these ordinary cops are trying to figure out a supernatural murder carried out in a way no human could possibly accomplish. The atmosphere is wonderful. The other part of the plot is about Mika Natsume, the daughter of the professor who was killed when the Grongi first woke up. If you remember, we actually first saw her back in episode 2, where her grief over this was the thing that made Yuusuke commit to fighting as Kuuga. So in a way, they've already got a connection going, and I love that the show had the idea to take that character from a single scene and further explore that concept. It really starts to show you why Yuusuke is such a hero. The second her and her mother come in to ask Sakurako what to do with a piece of evidence that might help track down Unidentified Lifeform #0, Mika is what Yuusuke is way more interested in. He immediately takes note of how depressed she is, and tries to cheer her up by making conversation. This is a sweet gesture on his part, but it doesn't work out so well, especially with Jean coming in and f***ing everything up with yet another horribly timed comment. Him excitedly pointing out the rock Mika and her mother brought them could make him famous does NOT do a whole lot to reassure a child who's convinced nobody is thinking about her. So Jean's bad at reading the room, for sure, and when Mika storms out of it, Yuusuke takes it pretty hard. And I mean, he looks devastated. A single person being sad sends Yuusuke into total shock for a moment, and that's what makes him a great protagonist. Still, he's got his duties as Kuuga, and naturally ends up in a fight with Badjisu. Another fight set to awesome jazz music, too. Stuff like this is why Toshihiko Sahashi is my favorite Rider composer. Apparently Kuuga's producer, Shigenori Takatera, specifically requested Sahashi do something different from the epic orchestral sounds he had used for the Sentai series he scored up to that point, and I kind of get the impression he took that to heart, because Kuuga mixes loads of different styles together, and it's all great. What's a little less great is Yuusuke's performance in the fight, which has him accidentally unlocking yet another new power he doesn't know how to use, this time in green: Pegasus Form. The episode ends with him experiencing total sensory overload from his newfound ability to see and hear for miles. Which causes him to fall from a great height. Again. It's not easy being Yuusuke. THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER Yeah, they definitely blew the thumbs budget for a while on that last episode. This is the first time there hasn't been at least a token thumbs up. Total thumbs up count: 17+0 = 17 EPISODE 8: "Archer" So, how's Yuusuke doing at the start of this one? Right. Not great! The whole sensory overload sequence has some more great direction. My favorite touch being how it uses a sped-up shot of clouds rolling by to give the impression of the sort of raging river of information Yuusuke is trying to process. It then pays it off when he reverts back to Growing Form, and we see that shot again, this time snapping back to normal speed, the huge contrast doing a great job expressing the relief, and maybe even exhaustion, that he must be feeling at that moment. Tsubaki informs Yuusuke he won't be able to transform again for at least two hours thanks to all the stress put on his body, but that turns out not to be much of an issue for him. As soon as he's informed that Mika has run off, leaving a phone call suggesting she might kill herself, Yuusuke kinda has something he'd rather be doing anyway. I don't remember these episodes leaving a bigger than usual impression on me at the time, but going back, I have to say, I love this two-parter. It is such a pure, beautiful expression of what I think makes for a truly great superhero story. Putting the monsters and the fighting to the side for a while to show Yuusuke is heroic not through violence, but through his dedication to supporting a lonely teenage girl going through bereavement. His actions speak just as loudly as his words here. Moments like him stopping by at the university for literally no other reason than assuring Mika's mother he'll make she sure's okay. The fact that instead of searching all over the place, we see him driving along the coastline, presumably having deduced from her defensive response to him pointing out the shells on her necklace last episode that they held some sentimental value. And they do, having been given to Mika by her father when she was younger. I can't help but feel there's something really powerful in all that. Mika's whole issue is that she feels like nobody cares about her, but all throughout these episodes, Yuusuke is constantly showing how much he's paying attention to her. He wants to be there for her more than anything, something subtly made a point of by Yuusuke missing an important warning from Ichijou over the Try Chaser's radio while it's parked off near the road. He couldn't care less about Kuuga right now. I'm extremely ignorant when it comes to matters of mental health, so please forgive me if I'm way off base here, but as far as I know, the way Yuusuke talks to Mika is an almost textbook example of how to properly handle a situation like that, too. It's as much in what he doesn't say as in what he does. The other characters make the mistake of trying to refute Mika's arguments that nobody cares, which, no matter how right they are, is only going to sound to Mika like they're trying to pass the buck. Like she's being told it's not valid to feel the way she does. Yuusuke never does anything like that. His naturally straightforward attitude means he's focused simply on making her feel like she has a friend, and when he does directly broach the subject, it's just to tell her that her life has value, and the people who care about her want her to be happy. He doesn't tell her to get over it. There's no judgment. No blame being assigned or excuses being made. Just a young girl going through hardship receiving the attention she deserves, from a man whose greatest strength will always be his kindness. And even with the fight scene afterwards, I think this episode makes it abundantly clear that there are ways to save lives that don't ever involve making a fist. THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER This is a pretty tense episode, but sure enough, Yuusuke's there to bring the positivity. Total thumbs up count: 17+2 = 19
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 04-06-2023 at 05:37 PM.. |
04-12-2020, 05:05 PM | #45 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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All of what you said about these episodes is, as always; very poignant, very considered, and very heartfelt. You have a fantastic command of words and perhaps a better eye for detail, and despite how ignorant you may feel of mental health; I think you have a better grasp on it than most people and honestly through your analysis alone you yourself are considering psychology even if you don't think about it that way.
Which is why I feel slightly bad that my addition here is that starting with this episode, I found the visual of Kuuga holding a straight-up handgun so goddamn funny that I started screencapping every single instance of it happening. Enjoy the first batch!
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04-12-2020, 05:12 PM | #46 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Aww, this is a sweet point to make. And such a good line!
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Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
04-12-2020, 05:31 PM | #47 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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I remember you being not very thrilled by the plotline with Mika when you watched it, and that in particular never sat right with me for some reason. When your thread ended, I rewatched this arc on a whim for the first time in years, and was so struck by how wildly different my take on it was, I think that was the moment I knew I wanted to get those opinions out there. To anyone enjoying this thread right now, well, first of all, thank you so much, but second, you have these two episodes to thank for it even existing.
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04-12-2020, 05:37 PM | #48 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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I remember you being not very thrilled by the plotline with Mika when you watched it, and that in particular never sat right with me for some reason. When your thread ended, I rewatched this arc on a whim for the first time in years, and was so struck by how wildly different my take on it was, I think that was the moment I knew I wanted to get those opinions out there. To anyone enjoying this thread right now, well, first of all, thank you so much, but second, you have these two episodes to thank for it even existing.
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Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
04-12-2020, 06:03 PM | #49 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,448
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Episode 8 is what turned Yusuke into my favorite Kamen Rider protag. It was very poignant, and it stills make me wish that I was as good with people as he was. And hey, isn't that part of the point of every Kamen Rider? To be someone that we can look up to?
Also Kurona, don't feel bad. "Imagine Kamen Rider, with a gun!" IS really funny. |
04-12-2020, 06:16 PM | #50 |
Warrior of Delusions!
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Other people: *Deep discussions of Kamen Rider and its underlying themes and messages on important topics*
Me: Bugman go kick hehe
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Check out my occasional ramblings! https://akibamusings.blogspot.com/
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