[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by name

so much so that someone had the decency to compile all of the engrish from this episode into a bite sized video!

"Come on. Come OOONNN!!!"

[DreamSword]

Episode 19: The Quiet Life!

Mari is just consistently the absolute worst.

So instead of at all talking about her, I'm going to instead focus on everything else going on in this episode.

The driving question behind the episode being "If a hero was actually successful and did bring about world peace, how exactly would that work? And would it even last?" If you just want answer, it's: "Not very entertaining, and Sort of" in that order.

What's brilliant is that up until the very end, this entire thing is framed like an epilogue episode too. Almost everyone in the cast has gone their separate ways to further their own personal lives and careers now that there's no more world ending threats to fight. Media outlets are struggling to find any sensationalist news to spread. And Masayoshi? Well, he's back to being a model/actor.

But while the world might be at peace(to the point that there's currently an election for a World President), people's' personal lives and endeavors don't just stop. This is where the episode takes a focused look at Goto, who's returning to his old hometown to meet up with his girlfriend. Without getting too much into it, Goto has his own deep rooted issues that he's dealing with, and the very real world evils of humanity have long lasting effects.

What I found so interesting about the entire scenario is that, for all of his heroics, this situation is one that Masayoshi is no good in. He cares deeply for Goto as a friend, but he's no psychologist and it's not like he has the power to bring Goto's' girlfriend back. It's the sort of thing that all of us with intimate friendships have to tackle some day: Can we even hope to do as much for the friends we care so deeply about as they do for us? Are we any good as friends if we can't help our found family out in their weakest moments? It's tough stuff!

But as Masayoshi walks home, pondering over all of these things, he runs into Sawada, one of the teenagers he preached to way back in episode 1.

...And Sawada just set off a bomb inside of an apartment complex.

The evil forces of outer space might be dealt with, but the darkness within the people of society never fades.

[Name]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 19: The Quiet Life!But as Masayoshi walks home, pondering over all of these things, he runs into Sawada, one of the teenagers he preached to way back in episode 1.

...And Sawada just set off a bomb inside of an apartment complex.

[DreamSword]

Episode 20: Boy from the Past!

Wanna know what one of the scariest things in the world is?

A stalker. And worse than that, a very creepy, obsessed, and possessive one who knows how to gaslight.

Such is the case of Haiji Sawada and the main focus of this episode. He's a big fan of Samurai Flamenco, see? And all he wants is to be as important to Flamenco as Flamenco is to him.

Adding onto the real world evils inherent in what a seemingly normal person can do, the crimes he commits are ones that anyone could pull off. Hitting someone with a truck, pushing someone down the stairs, poisoning food, and making others question their own grip on reality.

But perhaps more poignant than that is that in all of this, the show still finds a way to continue talking about people's' relation to the media they consume. Sawada represents those who become obsessed to the point of falling into the darkness. As well as how many people, rather than embracing a story or character for what they are, focus on trying to force those things into their own self-image of perfection.

As such, he very much serves as a counter to the age old stance of "there's no such thing as a bad fan." To which the question then becomes, well, what about people like this? People who cause both physical and emotional harm in the name of the thing they claim to love so much?

Masayoshi might be an expert in combating the evils of the physical world, but he's not at all prepared for battles of the mind, as as such, it only makes sense for this to be the final foe he needs to face in the grand story of Samurai Flamenco as a whole.

[DreamSword]

Episode 21: Teaching Love!

There's a reason few people use the term "getting high on life" anymore.

Not just because it's old, but because, like with anything that gives you any sort of high, you run the risk of becoming addicted to it.

Heck, wanna know what "being woke" used to mean when the phrase first started circulating the internet? It was a way to express learning "the truth" or knowing what many others don't.

However, the phrase soon turned into a mocking one because, while learning an idea that stands out from the norm can be a liberating feeling, that same feeling can also cause those to experience it to not stop to actually think about or otherwise investigate what they've read or heard.

Such is the danger in the type of person Sawada is. He's someone who's lived his whole life on autopilot, but the moment he actually found genuine passion for something in his life, he became obsessive of it until he ended up being a serious danger to those around him. While it's a bit of an extreme example, it's something many of us have experienced on a smaller scale.

Meanwhile, on the part of Masayoshi, a big part of this ordeal is one of self discovery. This whole time he's been helping others with their problems, and living his life with superheroes as his guide. But really, like with many a classic hero, he himself has not grown all that much. In reality, stagnation can be soul crushing, and if Masayoshi wants to keep being his best self, then he also needs to take the time to look inward rather than outward for once.

To end this off, there's something that I wanna give this episode some major props for: Talking about how love comes in many forms, not just in a romantic way. Many other shows, superhero ones included, would just simplify it as being romantically interested in someone, and at first, it seems like Samurai Flamenco is gonna do it too, but no. They instead acknowledge love of various different kinds, even noting how Masayoshi's' passion for superheroes stems from a form of love. It was really nice to see!

Next up is the final episode and uh, I won't spoil what the title of it is yet, but let's just say that it is very, very Flamenco.

[Name]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 20: Boy from the Past!Wanna know what one of the scariest things in the world is?

A stalker. And worse than that, a very creepy, obsessed, and possessive one who knows how to gaslight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 21: Teaching Love!
Such is the danger in the type of person Sawada is. He's someone who's live his whole life on autopilot, but the moment he actually found genuine passion for something in his life, he became obsessive of it until he ended up being a serious danger to those around him.

[DreamSword]

Episode 22: Samurai Flamenco, Naked!

Bet you never expected a title like that to belong to arguably the most dramatic episode in the entire show.

Also, I think this episode might actually be my favorite in the entire show?

This hits every bit as hard as the (in)famous ending of Roseanne did for me, in that it managed to recontextualize the entire last arc that the show has done and spin it into something higher than it was. And in a very believable way too!

Essentially, the reveal here is that the entire last arc of Samurai Flamenco, while still very much about the themes and ideas already established, also serves as a meta play/commentary on not just the endings of superhero media in general, but also how, if a hero is popular enough, their tale WILL get rebooted.

Because see, now that the story of Samurai Flamenco is over, Sawada wants HIS version of Flamenco. His obsession is to the point of him gunning for a suicide pact in an attempt to turn the Samurai into an anti-hero known as Samurai Flamenco Darkness, which makes complete and total sense for the mindset of an edgy teenager like Sawada is.

This serves as some really fun meta play too, given that almost every superhero ever has gone through a darker and edgier reboot of some kind. The Dark Age of comic books, the 2017 Power Rangers film, Kamen Rider Black Sun, the list goes on. And both in real life and in the universe of Flamenco, very rarely does anyone want that, let alone it turn out well. And very rarely do the people who vouch for such things actually know what it is that they're asking for.

It's a tense situation, and all of Masayoshi's' traditional tactics are of no use here, but while doing his best to talk down both Goto and Sawada, Masayoshi realizes something. The best way to get Sawada to see reality is to destroy the very image of Samurai Flamenco that Sawada has built up in his head. And how exactly does he do that, you might ask? By confronting Sawada not as Samurai Flamenco, but as Masayoshi Hazama.

He achieves this by getting naked.

What better way to destroy the image of perfection and remove any and all ounces of dramatic darkness than by being in the most ridiculous and vulnerable state you can possibly be in, right? It's certainly enough to shake Sawada, to the point that he has zero idea of how to handle this. Despite all of the grand posturing and the claims that he'll be Flamenco's' one and only, Sawada for the first time actually meets his object of worship, and it is not at all the grandiose picture he'd built up in his mind over the past year. Even hearing that despite everything, Masa still cares about him shakes Sawada to his core.

And ontop of that, Sawada's' super romanticized idea of being one with Samurai Flamenco is no match against the genuine companionship that Masayoshi and Goto have built up over time. It's not some super dramatic embrace, or a melding of minds where the two are perfectly in sync. No. Real friendship involves alot of talking, alot of bickering, alot of clashing of viewpoints and ideals, and finally and most importantly, alot of forgiveness. All things that Sawada has never experienced and would know nothing about. And it's this absolute mundane aspect of everyday life that defeats Sawada. Not some super powerful attack, just two grown men trying to reconcile their differences.

When all is said and done, things continue to play out as you'd expect an epilogue of a toku show to, but when it comes to our two leads, well, there's an interesting bit of ambiguity to the entire thing. Fans are rather split on what the whole thing means in terms of character development: Did Masayoshi finally find love in Goto and was genuine in his marriage proposal? Or did he just make the offer out of a naive desire to bring Goto happiness after all that had happened? Has Goto finally accepted that his girlfriend is gone and that there's nothing he can do, or did he regress in an example of how old habits die hard? Are the two best friends, or have they become lovers during the brief time that's been skipped? I think this entire element only enhances the story, personally.

As for me, well, my interpretation ties into what I brought up earlier: I think that the ending is meant to be an example on how superhero media is handled in general. Yes, superhero stories will always exist as long as there are people to tell those stories. Some will be darker, some will be wildly different than their source material, but in the end, alot of times, superhero stories tend to find ways to return to their roots and overall stay true to their status quo. And I personally believe that That is what the final shots of the show are meant to entail: Masayoshi and Goto have certainly grown from the experiences they've gone through together, but in the end, there are just aspects to themselves that can never be shaken. Goto will always find texting an easier way to express his emotions than talking, and Masayoshi will always do what he can to uphold justice in whatever way he can.

Overall this was an absolutely fantastic way to end the show off, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Name]

...



"what the hell is this gay marriage stuff i want my dark hero"

I'm not going to go too into it. This thread has been... Sufficient in breaking down what Flamenco guns for, even if much of the insanity needs to be seen and not heard. I will leave with this though: Flamenco is, to this point, still one of a kind in my book. I don't believe there is anything like it(at this time) and it's a damn shame it never caught on. Multi-Track drifting with the anime of the decade.

_____________


Now for some behind the scenes of this thread! I've been pushing Flamenco ever since this thread started. And I certainly shilled it around the time it came out too. What convinced him to do this write up? Memes and shitposts. They're very accurate to the series as a whole, actually.







I kid you not. These were ESSENTIAL in getting him to watch this.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Name

I kid you not. These were ESSENTIAL in getting him to watch this.

listen

[Name]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

listen