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02-13-2024, 03:28 PM | #211 |
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First up is our main guest Aya Kujo, portrayed by Ayumi Kinoshita, who previously portrayed a police detective with an amount of English dialogue in Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger and a girl looking for revenge who has a disguised identity in Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds. It?s not the last time we?ll be seeing her in these Phase 2 rewatches either.
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02-13-2024, 03:54 PM | #212 |
Standing By
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Fun Fact: Watanabe Aoto (Tombo-Ohger) also has a crush on Kinoshita from when he watched Dekaranger as a kid. Quote:
Umeko is not an ESPer. She cannot read their thoughts.
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02-13-2024, 08:01 PM | #213 |
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Masquerade seems to be the easiest-owned Gaia Memory and the most mass-produced, but it's all quantity, the power-up is a letdown of only changing your head, so much that a gun can put them down too as Aya did. They're not even safe from the body being actually destroyed (as shown in Accel's Dynamic Ace Maximum Drive, 3 slashes that form the letter A)... but that'd mean a main Rider killed several humans? At least the numbers should still distract Accel enough for Himuro to escape, his death was unrelated as it's him encountering Triceratops Dopant.
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KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 21 - “THE RETURN OF T - THAT MELODY DOESN’T SUIT A LADY”
It doesn’t help that we spend a ton of time to set up Detective Kujo’s backstory, lost love, and cast of victims in the first half of this episode. (For a story that feels like it’s going to tip too much into The Terui Show, this one goes all in on The Kujo Show.) It’s all sort of bland, and not exactly distracting – it’s pretty apparent from Kujo’s first appearance, right after the Triceratops Dopant splits, that she’s the mystery murderer. Everything after that just feels like it’s delaying the inevitable, and it doesn’t help this episode’s deliberate pacing. Tons of info to set up the motivation of a two-episode character, and it just doesn’t feel like time well spent. Quote:
It’s not a total waste, though. The action’s strong, Mick shows up, Terui and Kujo have genuinely good chemistry, and I absolutely love that Shotaro’s way in to this story is that he just wants to humble Terui, the end. There’s some fun around the edges of this one, but the ratio of Fun to Kujo’s Life Story is way out of whack. At least they didn’t drag out the reveal of her being the Dopant past the cliffhanger?
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DIE-A MEMORIES
-Like, I swear it’s not just me remembering how this one goes – it is SO OBVIOUS that Kujo’s the Dopant, and it made me roll my eyes when Shotaro’s like The Most Likely Suspect Is The Dead Man, Not The Alive Woman Who Spent Two Minutes Angrily Defending His Honor.
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02-13-2024, 08:55 PM | #214 |
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Shotaro and Makura have finally found common ground: the ongoing humiliation of existing in Terui's shadow.
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02-13-2024, 11:13 PM | #215 |
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KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 22 - “THE RETURN OF T - THE UNDYING MAN”
Sure, it wasn’t a very good episode; and sure, it featured a ridiculous character turn and a garish conclusion where Accel gets a new toy for no real reason; but here’s the good news: at least no one involved learned anything. Boy, this one was just a complete misfire for me. While the first part wasn’t great, at least it was trying to say something about Terui’s crusade through the arrival of Kujo. Terui’s warped his life to get vengeance for the dead, and Kujo’s doing the exact same thing. The tension of that, and the ways Terui both appreciates Kujo’s dedication while feeling alarmed by their similarities… I mean, it’s going to be fun to see that get paid off, at least. How does this show condemn Kujo’s vendetta while allowing Terui to work daily for his fateful confrontation with his family’s killer? HA HA, who knows, because this episode sidelines Terui for a huge chunk of it, and then pivots Kujo’s vengeance towards a vague supervillain plot, complete with her going to work for the very organization she swore to destroy. Terui never articulates a better difference between their parallel outlooks than My Vengeance Is The Okay Kind, and Shotaro’s primacy in this episode robs the story of whatever spark it had in the first part. We just have Shotaro being half-boiled, and paying the price for it. Nothing that teaches anyone anything, at all. It’s maddening, because it renders any time spent with Kujo as moot, since she just goes crazy in the end. Saeko explicitly states that overuse of Gaia Memories renders the user into a crazed monster, so we’re not even allowed the narrative weight of Kujo choosing her own fate. Nope, she’s a drugged lunatic, and that’s that. (I mean, you could say that she chose to use the Memory, and that was her downfall, but that wasn’t at all the story we were in for 75% of the story’s runtime.) Why bother with her tragic background, if she doesn’t give a shit about it in the climax, and there’s no epilogue where she reflects on it? Why make her complicated, just to flatten her out to Cackling Psychopath at the finale? And that finale… boy, not my fave! Terui shows up just to be the grim executioner of the woman he barely shared a single scene with in this episode, and any empathy you might hope for from Team Double is left to Terui’s judgment. But then there’s a new cannon attachment for Accel? And he blows up the giant version of the Triceratops Dopant? And that’s how we end this story of regret and rage? It just… it all feels like a massive waste of time. Kujo’s only value in the larger narrative is what she reflects of Terui, so it’s frustrating to see this pivot to a much less nuanced story of Shotaro being a well-meaning sap. (He just immediately assumes Kujo’s turning herself in, and does not investigate it at all! Wow! Great follow-through, bud!) There’s… there’s nothing here, which is such a weird thing to say after so much time spent on Kujo. Terui might as well have offed a random Dopant, and Shotaro just sort of shrugs everything off as an unfortunate but unpredictable outcome. And this wasn’t even a Shotaro story in the first place! I really didn’t care for this conclusion. No thanks! Moving on! — DIE-A MEMORIES -I hate that Shroud appearance! So much! Completely dumb! -There’s a minor thing that happens in the background that I want to mention. As Terui leaves the police headquarters, he passes by what looks like a man scuffling with a guard. I’m 99% positive that the man is Shotaro, but it’s never followed up on in this episode. (According to Jinno, Shotaro already came and left.) I… feel like this comes up in a later episode, but I can’t remember when or why. If you do, please don’t tell me just yet!
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02-13-2024, 11:32 PM | #216 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
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This was definitely a two-parter. At least we got the cool Triceratops Dopant suit, which unfortunately gets sidelined for a giant CG monstrosity in the show and in Memory of Heroez. I forgot the giant form was in Memory of Heroez and thought Triceratops just wasn't in the game at all. They really should've just stuck with the standard suit.
Also we get a new bike attachment I guess? I forgot how sudden most of Terui's stuff is thanks to Shroud who made me laugh at how she just, appeared, this episode. At least Fang had an episode of build-up before actual use. That being said, I did basically remember that our guest police woman was our Dopant near immediately. She just appears way too conveniently after Triceratops runs off that I wonder if I was even shocked at the conclusion of the first part of this episode. Also I forgot how kill happy Ryu is. The dude just goes straight back to executioner mode and the odd part is like... we're not addressing that? No for some reason Shotaro's hung up about Aya's morality or something and not... Terui was going to just kill someone. Like even Philip was alright with it and like, "Guys, you just had a conversation around something similar when you first met Terui, like what?" Next is... I completely forgot how stupidly twisted Aya's goal becomes? When she went to threaten Saeko and I saw it play out I'm like "Oh right she's basically going full in on being a corrupt cop, get on Museum's good side and her plan is to basically take out all of the heads when the time is right but she goes crazy". And the show goes nope and instead says "Yeah no she's decided the city is the problem cause of overdosing on Triceratops". Shame I didn't jive too much with this one outside some fun little scenes and interactions (Makura's antics with the Narumi Detective Trio was great) but man I wish the Triceratops suit had been used in a better story. |
02-13-2024, 11:37 PM | #217 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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This was definitely a two-parter. At least we got the cool Triceratops Dopant suit, which unfortunately gets sidelined for a giant CG monstrosity in the show and in Memory of Heroez. I forgot the giant form was in Memory of Heroez and thought Triceratops just wasn't in the game at all. They really should've just stuck with the standard suit.
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02-14-2024, 04:00 AM | #218 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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As for the conclusion, I basically read somewhere that it completed a parallel between Accel and Double that the first two Dopants we see them face are one with elemental powers (Magma/Iceage) and a dinosaur themed one that transformed into a "one-winged angel" form (T-Rex/Triceratops). Also, Terui gets a tank attachment. Just how is Shroud funding his equipment? |
02-14-2024, 07:35 AM | #219 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,534
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Either she's a major shareholder of Windscale or good old Kickstarter.
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Last edited by Sunred; 02-14-2024 at 07:50 AM.. |
02-14-2024, 08:32 PM | #220 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 22 - “THE RETURN OF T - THE UNDYING MAN”
Boy, this one was just a complete misfire for me. While the first part wasn’t great, at least it was trying to say something about Terui’s crusade through the arrival of Kujo. Terui’s warped his life to get vengeance for the dead, and Kujo’s doing the exact same thing. The tension of that, and the ways Terui both appreciates Kujo’s dedication while feeling alarmed by their similarities… I mean, it’s going to be fun to see that get paid off, at least. How does this show condemn Kujo’s vendetta while allowing Terui to work daily for his fateful confrontation with his family’s killer? Quote:
HA HA, who knows, because this episode sidelines Terui for a huge chunk of it, and then pivots Kujo’s vengeance towards a vague supervillain plot, complete with her going to work for the very organization she swore to destroy. Terui never articulates a better difference between their parallel outlooks than My Vengeance Is The Okay Kind, and Shotaro’s primacy in this episode robs the story of whatever spark it had in the first part. We just have Shotaro being half-boiled, and paying the price for it. Nothing that teaches anyone anything, at all.
Quote:
It’s maddening, because it renders any time spent with Kujo as moot, since she just goes crazy in the end. Saeko explicitly states that overuse of Gaia Memories renders the user into a crazed monster, so we’re not even allowed the narrative weight of Kujo choosing her own fate. Nope, she’s a drugged lunatic, and that’s that. (I mean, you could say that she chose to use the Memory, and that was her downfall, but that wasn’t at all the story we were in for 75% of the story’s runtime.) Why bother with her tragic background, if she doesn’t give a shit about it in the climax, and there’s no epilogue where she reflects on it? Why make her complicated, just to flatten her out to Cackling Psychopath at the finale?
Quote:
It just… it all feels like a massive waste of time. Kujo’s only value in the larger narrative is what she reflects of Terui, so it’s frustrating to see this pivot to a much less nuanced story of Shotaro being a well-meaning sap. (He just immediately assumes Kujo’s turning herself in, and does not investigate it at all! Wow! Great follow-through, bud!) There’s… there’s nothing here, which is such a weird thing to say after so much time spent on Kujo. Terui might as well have offed a random Dopant, and Shotaro just sort of shrugs everything off as an unfortunate but unpredictable outcome. And this wasn’t even a Shotaro story in the first place!
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