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08-24-2020, 08:31 PM | #761 |
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Mutsuki: "Maybe me beating up a copy of myself is a sign of some psychosis? A sign not all is well with me, that perhaps I'm still being affected by the spider inside my soul, and I should seek some form of therapy?"
All the other Riders: "Time for some well-needed catharsis."
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08-24-2020, 08:35 PM | #762 |
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Mutsuki's' smug self probably thought more along the lines of "I'm the strongest Rider, ergo if I beat a copy of myself, that definitely proves that I'm the strongest of the strongest."
I am not looking forward to the next episode.
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08-24-2020, 09:13 PM | #763 |
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KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 41
This time on Kamen Rider Blade: The Sealing Stone is now a thing we have to talk about! Tennouji brought Riders into this world, he can take them out of this world! And you’re tearing Mutsuki apart, Nozomi! There’s a lot of stuff in this episode, but there’s also some very deft character work happening. Can you guess which one I want to spend more time talking about! Let’s go through the plot stuff first, since I imagine that’s where more people are going to have memories from this episode. The opening is really trying to center us in an It’s Time For Revelations mode, with every single Undead fighting in the previous Battle Fight from 10,000 years ago. (I really love the idea that this Battle Fight has been going on the better part of a year with no winner, while it looks like the last one took about an afternoon to have humanity win. Except, man, I did not see shirtless Hajime running around! I needed an insert shot of Human Undead whaling on monsters from eternity!) Tiger Queen drops her opponent, and then the Sealing Stone (definitely not the Monolith, this one twists, how dare you impugn Tiger Queen’s culture) arrives to seal the monster into a trading card. Y’know, I don’t mind the Sealing Stone. It’s not more impractical than anything else in this series, and it’s got a presence that feels appropriately religious. The big thing about Tiger Queen that I like is how important Battle Fight is to her. She wants to win, she wants a Planet Of Tigers, but there’s a holiness to Battle Fight that makes her frustrated and insulted by the Riders running around. Battle Fight is for the Undead. The Riders aren’t just interlopers, they’re blasphemers. Which probably makes the revelation that this particular Battle Fight was engineered (or at least profited from) by Tennouji sort-of devastating to her. This is a Battle Fight that only the Riders or the Joker can win. She’s got no chance, and literally every other Undead is just a pawn. It’s a huge change in the show’s status quo, and I sort-of love it? I’m not crazy about Tennouji or whatever his scheme is yet, mostly because I don’t know what he’s trying to do. If it’s something that has thematic resonance, I’m all for it. Until then, I’m going to try not to dwell on it. The idea that the Undead have been manipulated, though, that’s an idea with some weight to it. I’ve really enjoyed the parts of this show where the Undead feel less like inevitable antagonists or rampaging monsters, and more as individual characters. They may share a goal (save a Shima or two), but how they approach that goal, how they articulate what that goal means to them, I find that fascinating. I love a group of villains who have personalities, conflicts, levels. (Hi, I came in through Ex-Aid, can you tell.) Creating a scenario where the monsters can feel betrayed, and the show takes that idea and gives it pathos, holy shit. Doing something where I’m invested in how a monster from eternity feels about her culture and beliefs being appropriated and manipulated by humanity… I think my heart grew two sizes. I loved the Tiger Queen character already, and now this. It’s an idea far more appealing to me than whatever U.N.D.A.D. was up to, so this episode was working out great for me on those points alone. (Also, boy, thematically? A plot where the pursuit of power is exposed as fraudulent and irrelevant? That is a very big Blade theme! Really really love that the Undead are getting in on it!) But then they made it all about Mutsuki as well, and… it is not my birthday, but this all felt like a gift. Mutsuki’s a tricky one, because he’s at this Not A Hero, Not Yet A Villain stage. He’s childish, and naive, and selfish, and cowardly, and petulant, and whiny, and and and. He’s not been much use to the plot, because he doesn’t seem to want anything tangible. He wants to be stronger, but there’s no clear pathway for him to achieve that. He keeps waiting for it to fall into his lap, like his goddamn belt did. (There’s a perfect example of this behavior in the beginning of the episode. Mutsuki is thinking aloud, and he mentions that since Blade and Chalice just got cool power-ups, he must be next. Like they’re being doled out in a sequence! I mean, he’s a kid who saw Kenzaki literally get handed his Rouse Absorber, so it’s not like he’s totally off-base.) Mutsuki’s plots lately are defined by him getting beaten up, tricked, insulted, and disregarded. It’s clear that the show is trying to get at something about Mutsuki, what with the increased screentime with him and Tiger Queen, but it’s not really clear what. It’s still not totally clear by the end of this one, but I love the questions it’s asking. Nozomi’s back, and she’s looking for Mutsuki, and that’s almost all I needed. I like her dogged perseverance. I like the way she clearly only sees the old version of Mutsuki no matter which Sam Raimi Spider-Man film that Mutsuki is cosplaying from. I like how Mutsuki can’t ever seem to stop caring about her. It’s this relatable, human core to his character, something that dozens of weird episodes where he’s a joke can’t quite extinguish. The broad strokes of this one are fairly routine. Nozomi wants Mutsuki to be normal, Mutsuki wants to get stronger, there are fights. Nothing in the early parts is a surprise, but it’s still a lot of fun. Nozomi just BEING VERY LOUD ABOUT THE FOOD SHE BROUGHT MUTSUKI as a way of distracting both of them from the very serious fight he was in, absolutely precious. Her breaking through a barricaded door to chase after him, delightful. But the part where Mutsuki is so adamant about not being Old Mutsuki that he terrifies her, that’s a stellar moment. There’s this beat, after he Henshins, where his shoulders slump a bit. It’s him wondering if he’s got it in him to break Nozomi the way this would break her. To make her see him as a monster so he can give himself over to the darkness inside him. It’s so small, but the suit actor for Leangle nails it. Everything after that is theatrical, garish. He wants her to run in fear, he wants her to forget about Mutsuki and only see Leangle. It’s a great, great scene. But it wasn’t really surprising, for what it was trying to do. And then Mutsuki rescues Tiger Queen, taking her to a waterside bench at sunset to eat handmade treats and just talk. It was phenomenal, and I had no idea what would happen next. If I was making a list of things I love in Kamen Rider stories, scenes like this would be in my Top 5. Like, it’s all them sharing their feelings, their fears, getting to really address what their plots have been about. It’s not just random fluff, it’s integral. Even better, it’s got room for a viewer to interpret what’s going on. The details in this part, again, really fun. Mutsuki’s been clutching Nozomi’s bag of food, symbolic of him holding onto that bit of humanity without really knowing why. He wants to know if Tiger Queen thinks he’s as weak as she said he was, and she tells him that there’s a light still inside him. That should be good news, and I think Tiger Queen admires it, but Mutsuki still sees it as what’s stopping him from getting stronger. But he’s got this food, and it’s been a long day, so they both start eating. Tiger Queen thinks it’s delicious, and Mutsuki says that Nozomi always makes delicious food. And she looks at him, for a second. And then she stands up, punches him in the face, and runs off to confront Tennouji. I don’t 100% understand why she did that, but I’m okay not knowing. (There’s a reasonable chance we find out definitively in the next episode, and I’m good either way.) There’s a chance it’s her feeling comfortable with Mutsuki, sharing a snack at dusk, and just hating herself for it. She’s a deadly hunter and now she’s eating snacks with a human? Is this what she wants? To end up as weak as Mutsuki? Or, there’s a chance that she feels protective of Mutsuki, despite his many (many!) flaws. He’s a nice boy who likes a nice girl, and all of this shit that’s happened to him is covering that up. Better to deck him so she can escape his guardianship, then go confront the asshole behind everything that’s happened to both of them. Like, I can see it both ways, and I love a scene that’s constructed to do that. If you want to read it as her despising Mutsuki, valid. If you want to read it as her caring a bit for Mutsuki as a pseudo-mentor, equally valid. Just a really interesting character exploration, filled out with some big plot reveals. I thought this episode totally delivered. Very strong installment. Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: The return of the Scissors Undead! Tiger Queen is back in the spotlight! And Mutsuki is possessed by an Undead, but this time it’s a for real problem apparently!
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08-25-2020, 12:02 AM | #764 |
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I think the recent Kenzaki/Hajime stuff is different, because Hajime clearly is trying to control himself. Hajime's situation is an illness, while the U.N.D.A.D. stuff is more of this weird A Dad Couldn't Possibly Be Mean assumption that, one, we as the audience know is 100% wrong, and two, nearly every interaction these dudes have had with him has been about manipulation and betrayal. There's a lot of them trying to salvage a situation that is way outside their expertise, and also definitely not their problem to solve by themselves.
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It just seemed like a problem of hers that the show had left in the past, something that she worked hard to overcome. Her fighting now... it's like Kenzaki, where I think it's more about Helping People and, additionally Supporting Her Friends than her own personal guilt or what have you.
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Like, so much of the finale of this episode hinges on Hirose’s feelings about what’s going on and… I mean, there’s stuff in there I can find to enjoy. Her grieving at the end, it’s not her grieving some stupid robot that was programmed to protect her and either was immediately reprogrammed to not do that, or wasn’t reprogrammed but just never got around to it.
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And... Tiger Undead in reality spends half of her screentime on the show with the corrupted Mutsuki, with him even offering her food, or saving him here. And ironically, for his corruption, having Tiger Undead by his side is one of the things that keeps Mutsuki from fall totally to Spider Undead's grasp. And don't be tempted... like shipping them, Mutsuki already has Nozomi, and she's also the other factor within that.
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08-25-2020, 05:01 AM | #765 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
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Hoo boy, this episode. If you liked it, ignore me, I'll just kill the mood, but here we go.
This is the episode that made me not just hate Mutsuki, but nearly made me give up on the later parts of Blade during my first watch. First off, Nozomi is way too good for him. Either as a friend or a girlfriend, it's absolutely ridiculous what she goes through for someone who, frankly, isn't anywhere near worth it. Second, we are around 30 episodes in with this constant pedantic, petty, whiny, absolutely droning bullcrap that is Mutsuki's' character arc. And to make it even worse, by this point it's made clear that the Spider Undead has very little influence over the guy, making his actions even worse. His body language, the dialogue from other characters, and his outright lack of traits he had when fully possessed in the early episodes say it all. He's outright mentally(and physically!) abusive towards someone who's supposed to be someone he cares about and is an all around terrible person, and he outright embraces it because he thinks it makes him cool and "tragic." Again, after 30 episodes of this going nowhere and the show giving me frankly no reason to root for this guy(infact, quite the opposite), I got fed up, and I stopped caring. I know it likely wasn't their intent, but by this point is really came off to me like the show was going "Hey, if someone you know is actively being horrible to you, just wait it out! They'll come around eventually!" Which is, you know, bad advice. It got the point that I honestly wanted Hikaru to not just punch him, but keep punching him and take the Leangle belt for herself. I've dealt with people like Mutsuki in real life; People who partake in destructive behavior(to themselves and others) solely so they can be(for lack of a better term) "edgy." And hey, if that's what the 2nd writer of Blade was going for with Mutsuki, mission-friggen-accomplished. This guy's' arc really should've ended with Shima.
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Last edited by DreamSword; 08-25-2020 at 08:10 PM.. |
08-25-2020, 07:06 AM | #766 |
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And we’re back with the RIC. And we’ve got some big ones today.
Evolution Giraffa An immortal creature who is the ancestor of the giraffa weevil (which is a thing, trust me). A powerful Undead who takes the Battle Fight and its traditions seriously, he desires to eradicate humanity to avenge his loss in the previous Battle Fight. He is armed with a pair of two-bladed swords and is immune to the effects of Rouse Cards. His human form is known as Kanai. * Suit: Diamond (♦) * Category: King (K) * Effect name: EVOLUTION * Card name: Evolution Giraffa (エボリューション・ギラファ Eboryūshon Girafa) * Consumption points: EP +4000 Titan. Titan (Mr. Titan)/One-Eyed Titan (タイタン/一つ目タイタン Taitan/Hitotsume Taitan, 1-13): A high-ranking officer of Black Satan. He and General Shadow are rivals. He can assume a human form, turn his scarf into fire in a technique called the Fire Ball Scarf, use a large revolver called the Titan Destruction Gun, and can heat up his body from 80,000 to 240,000 degrees Celsius. He was thrown into the sea by Stronger and destroyed. However, Black Satan performs a ritual that revives Titan into Hundred-Eyed Titan (百目タイタン Hyakume Taitan, 17-23). This form is thirty times more powerful, reta - Wait, this is the wrong guy. Titan (ティターン Titān), or better known as the Titan Undead is a synthetic Undead created from the Scorpion Undead (right-half) and Chameleon Undead (left) being fused by Hiroshi Tennoji into one monster that had access to their attributes and two Undead Buckles on its belt. I already talked about the Scorpion card when Leangle debuted, so here’s the Chameleon. Thief Chameleon. The Chameleon Undead (カメレオンアンデッド Kamereon Andeddo) is an Undead whose capable of changing itself into the appearance of anyone he sees, complete with their abilities. * Suit: Heart * Category: 10 * Ability Name: THIEF * Card Name: Thief Chameleon (シーフ・カメレオン Shīfu Kamereon) * Consumption Points: FP 1600 And since no-ones mentioned it, I’ll mention that Kanai is played by Akira Kubodera, fresh from starring as one of the villains in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. You probably recognise him as the doctor that diagnosed Akira Date with a brain thing. (But then again, you probably don’t, since that was a bit part). |
08-25-2020, 07:23 AM | #767 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
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Tiger Undead mvp of the whole series, glad you agree.
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08-25-2020, 02:02 PM | #768 |
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She has been a really, really fun character and I always love seeing her scenes.
Mutsuki is one of those characters that I tend to appreciate as a character - interacting with similar people in real life is often a net negative experience, and he's the type of person I try not to maintain any sort of relationship with. But as a character, he's just so much fun to watch. Watching the story knock him down a peg and then another peg and then another peg as he continually does not get it and keeps doing the same shit over and over again without getting any sort of positive result only for the story to kick him in the balls again is satisfying. Though I do also want him to actually experience some character growth and figure out that he's been super shitty to a lot of people, most notably Nozomi. (I would also say Tachibana, but Tachibana sort of has it coming.) |
08-25-2020, 07:39 PM | #769 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Boy, you spend a workday without reliable internet access (it was up for maybe 15 non-consecutive minutes) and there's so much Kamen Rider to talk about! Let's see what we've got!
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Then, I wonder again, what if her in the past, was actually just the same as what you think now, still helping people/supporting her friends, just that it was revealed coincidentally her family is related to Undead's invasion, unlike what you declare of her just acting as extension of her family? If her family is related to the root of problems, what actually should be done to make that part not seem alien to you, but obviously, her dealing with the problem that is caused by her family (fighting Undeads)?
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It's simple actually, Yoshito originally programs Trial B to protect Hirose, and transfered all his memories into Trial B, but Tennoji then reprograms Trial B to serve Tennoji's own sinister needs, to monitor the fixed Undead battle and remove potential threats. Here Trial B suddenly remembers his original programming and acts on that. Do Hirose get actually to know about that flashback though (Trial B didn't seem to strong enough to narrate)? It seems just like about her emotional ties to her father that Trial B does final good act with his original programming.
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Second, we are around 30 episodes in with this constant pedantic, petty, whiny, absolutely droning bullcrap that is Mutsuki's' character arc. And to make it even worse, by this point it's made clear that the Spider Undead has very little influence over the guy, making his actions even worse. His body language, the dialogue from other characters, and his outright lack of traits he had when fully possessed in the early episodes say it all.
He's outright mentally(and physically!) abusive towards someone who's supposed to be someone he cares about and is an all around terrible person, and he outright embraces it because he thinks it makes him cool and "tragic." Again, after 30 episodes of this going nowhere and the show giving me frankly no reason to root for this guy(infact, quite the opposite), I got fed up, and I stopped caring. I know it likely wasn't their intent, but by this point is really came off to me like the show was going "Hey, if someone you know is actively being horrible to you, just wait it out! They'll come around eventually!" Which is, you know, bad advice. But that's why I really liked this episode? It feels like Mutsuki seeing his place in the narrative for maybe the first time, and trying to address it. He's so insistent on being strong that he's easily the weakest character on the show, with him terrifying his closest friend. One of the big themes on Blade is how power shouldn't be pursued, only cautiously accepted. Mutsuki gets to be the worst version of himself as a result of pursuing power, and he hasn't even gained anything from it. What does he think about that? What would he do differently? I like the show taking a couple episodes to focus on the most aimless character after dozens of aimless episodes. It's maybe not worth the trip for every viewer, but I haven't gotten sick of his story yet. Quote:
And since no-ones mentioned it, I’ll mention that Kanai is played by Akira Kubodera, fresh from starring as one of the villains in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. You probably recognise him as the doctor that diagnosed Akira Date with a brain thing. (But then again, you probably don’t, since that was a bit part).
It's either her or those guys who put banana filling in takoyaki. Quote:
Mutsuki is one of those characters that I tend to appreciate as a character - interacting with similar people in real life is often a net negative experience, and he's the type of person I try not to maintain any sort of relationship with. But as a character, he's just so much fun to watch.
Watching the story knock him down a peg and then another peg and then another peg as he continually does not get it and keeps doing the same shit over and over again without getting any sort of positive result only for the story to kick him in the balls again is satisfying. Though I do also want him to actually experience some character growth and figure out that he's been super shitty to a lot of people, most notably Nozomi. (I would also say Tachibana, but Tachibana sort of has it coming.) The thing I'm curious about is how people really don't seem to like Mutsuki, while I'd argue that Tachibana is more frustrating and unlikable? Mutsuki is a moody teeanger who no one likes, but he's been (unless I've forgotten something, and not counting Shima's sacrifice) pretty harmless? I mean, sure, he kidnapped Amane, but she doesn't seem that upset about it. Tachibana, however, has nearly caused the deaths of multiple people on the show, multiple times. Why does Tachibana seem to get a freer pass? Is it because he feels bad about it? That actually makes it worse to me!
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08-25-2020, 08:03 PM | #770 |
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I think it might to help to imagine what Nozomi's going through. She doesn't know how far gone Mutsuki is, because no one tells her anything. All she knows is that the nice boy that she's been friends with for years is suddenly going through something, and she has no idea what. He'll disappear for weeks at a time, sometimes reappearing in a bad mood, and none of this makes any sense to her. A lot of her story is her trying to understand Mutsuki from next to no information. She just thinks her friend is struggling with something, and she desperately wants to help. From the viewer's perspective, yeah, Mutsuki probably doesn't deserve someone like her. But from her perspective, he clearly needs her help.
I know that might be asking alot for a kid's' show but man. Quote:
And, y'know, that's fair! I would never argue that the show is trying very hard to make Mutsuki a sympathetic character. He's very dedicated to Becoming Stronger in a way that is, at best, laughable. There's not a lot of moments where Mutsuki feels like a character worth caring about.
But that's why I really liked this episode? It feels like Mutsuki seeing his place in the narrative for maybe the first time, and trying to address it. He's so insistent on being strong that he's easily the weakest character on the show, with him terrifying his closest friend. One of the big themes on Blade is how power shouldn't be pursued, only cautiously accepted. Mutsuki gets to be the worst version of himself as a result of pursuing power, and he hasn't even gained anything from it. What does he think about that? What would he do differently? I like the show taking a couple episodes to focus on the most aimless character after dozens of aimless episodes. It's maybe not worth the trip for every viewer, but I haven't gotten sick of his story yet. Quote:
The thing I'm curious about is how people really don't seem to like Mutsuki, while I'd argue that Tachibana is more frustrating and unlikable? Mutsuki is a moody teeanger who no one likes, but he's been (unless I've forgotten something, and not counting Shima's sacrifice) pretty harmless? I mean, sure, he kidnapped Amane, but she doesn't seem that upset about it. Tachibana, however, has nearly caused the deaths of multiple people on the show, multiple times. Why does Tachibana seem to get a freer pass? Is it because he feels bad about it? That actually makes it worse to me!
Mutsuki also has most certainly not been harmless. Granted, he didn't cause any direct deaths, IIRC, but ever since "embracing darkness" he's actively been a hindrance to, well, everyone. And all while the other characters talk about how they feel sorry for him. Though granted, maybe that was due to Turn-Up Scrubs, because I could definitely see the other characters simply saying they more pitied him than anything. When it comes to pitting the two against eachother, I do end up liking Tachibana more, mainly because I actually rather liked his arc during the first half of the show, and felt it came to a proper close. I looked forward to him being a proper supporting character there on, buuuut then we got this, which I already went over. There's a couple other moments too, but again, spoilers. The memes also do alot to help in terms of entertainment factor. Mutsuki's just boring at best and aggravating at worst. So yeah, I really wouldn't be able to blame anyone who didn't like Tachibana, but for me, he had enough going for him to not totally hate him, just more hate where his story ended up going.
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