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08-24-2016, 12:20 AM | #1 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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...and I think I finally made peace with it! It's still got tons of (sometimes crippling) flaws, and I'd hardly consider it one of the best, or even that good, but it's very unique and I feel like it finally clicked with me in a way where I can look past all that and say that I like it, the same way I do with everything else. This was actually brought on by some of the discussion I had on here a month or two ago when I started posting regularly again, and Gaim now holds the distinction of being the only Kamen Rider show I've rewatched in full. I'll probably rectify that by watching Wizard again soon, but don't expect a whole thread about that.
Gaim is a show that pretty much blew everybody's minds every week and for the longest time I was part of that everybody. It's the secret to why it managed to do what no other Kamen Rider show has ever done and actually agitate me. I got so used to expecting perfection every week that once the flaws started mounting up to the point where I couldn't just pretend they weren't there anymore it was kind of a harsh dose of reality. This rewatch really helped me recconnect with why I loved it so much in the first place but on the same token hitting some of those last couple episodes reminded me why that love turned to hate just as quickly. The best thing a show can do to get in my good graces is have a strong endgame. It doesn't matter how much you messed up on the journey there if you pull it together for the finale because that's the note you leave on. It's what sticks in your mind stronger than anything else and with Gaim the last stretch is its most uneven set of episodes. Gaim was also something of a milestone for me as I finally finished playing catch-up on the Heisei Riders while it was airing, watching Kiva during its earlier episodes, and finishing off with Hibiki during its middle. I mention this because I think both of those shows had a big effect on how I percieved Gaim as it moved along. Gaim is part of the reason I can't be too hard on Kiva, and Hibiki is part of the reason I'm so hard on Gaim. What follows is one of my trademark "dude, shut up already!" novel posts detailing some of my major thoughts on Gaim, and it's possibly my noveliest ever! I basically wrote an entire, extremely amateurish, kind of unorganized, essay. This thread may seem a bit redundant, but first off, this is kind of a big deal to me so please just indulge me a bit, and second, I'm about to put forth a whole lotta points and I didn't wanna derail the entire "What are you watching" thread with my nonsense. Oh, and also this thread will have *ahem* !UNMARKED SPOILERS! This probably goes without saying but it's a thread about having watched Gaim all the way through so if you haven't, you've got no one to blame but yourself when someone in here mentions the epiosde where Kouta breaks the fourth wall to complain to Urobuchi about how crappy the writing got. That didn't actually happen but I wish it did. Also you probably shouldn't be here in the first place. Just go watch the show instead. It's pretty cool. Maybe. Certainly worth your time. You may wanna take the rest of the post in multiple sittings... I might have accidentally written an entire essay here, but I really wanted to get all my thoughts on Gaim out at once and in one place while they're fresh, and give everyone the whole picture (more or less) of how I see it, so you can all compare and contrast your opinions. I'd love to hear if you think I was dead on or dead wrong with any of stuff I wrote here, or if you never thought of something the way I see it. This is a show that had a pretty profound effect on me and a lot of other people, as evidenced by how many of us just can't seem to shut up about it, so this is sort of my attempt at closure. -- Starting with my thoughts on the main characters, since they're kind of important: Kouta AKA Gaim - One of the biggest things that surprised me rewatching the show is how much better Kouta came off than I remembered. Most of my opinions on Gaim are more or less the same even now but I feel a little bad I was so hard on Kouta for so long. His characterization has tons of problems, and part of my newfound ability to view him in a more positive light involves shifting blame for some of those complaints onto other characters, but there are some genuinely strong moments that shine through, and watching it again, that moment at the end of episode 46 where Kouta says that "even someone like me was able to become someone new," came off a little less hollow. I maintain he doesn't actually change that much, but he does have a clear arc of being a confused kid who finds the resolve to stand up for what he believes in. For the longest time, my problem with that was how the show seemed to repeat those exact same two beats of "Kouta loses confidence in his cause" and "Kouta regains confidence in his cause" over and over but this isn't actually a problem in of itself. His beliefs are challenged and every time he regains that determination, it's a little stronger than it was before, that's fine. My real complaints about him have to do with how some of those cycles worked better than others. The prime negative example to give is when he fights Zangetsu Shin in episode 29. Having recently made nice with Takatora, he's confused why he would want to fight, and flashes back to Kaito's words in the previous episode about how overly trusting he is, before dramatically declaring his faith in his friends is why he's come so far in the first place. He then kicks the crap out of Zangetsu while Toki no Hana plays in the background. Only one problem with this. Zangetsu is Micchi. He's giving a dramatic speech about trusting his friends while one of those friends is trying to murder him. What Kouta says isn't wrong, and given the framing of the scene, what with the insert song and everything, he's clearly supposed to be right, but that's hugely undermined by the obvious irony at play. Confused moments like that are a dime a dozen in Gaim, and it really hurts the show's ability to convey what it wants to say. I also felt he lacks agency in his decisions, and while I hold to that to a degree, there are several moments where he does distinctly make a choice entirely on his own, and those tend to be the biggest decisions he makes. Watching episode 40 again was the big turning point where I really remembered how much I loved Gaim for the first time in years. Even though I liked it the first time around, I had begun to consider it just another crappy example of those two beats in retrospect. I really missed the point here. The moment where he turns around from Yuuya to attack the Overlords isn't just another example of him regaining his lost faith, it's the point where he finally casts aside the last shreds of doubt he still had and resolves to protect the people he cares about no matter badly it affects him. It's one of the best scenes of the whole show, and a dang good episode. It also connects to another favorite of mine, episode 5, where before hopping in to help Micchi he tells Mai the reason he's willing to transform again is because he's fighting for himself, which is the same thing he tells Redue. This goes back to the "stronger than it was before" part. In that episode, he decides to help Micchi even if it means getting dragged back into the mystery of the Inves Game because it's what he wants. In episode 40, he decides to save the world even if it means he can't save himself because it's what he wants. It's more subtle than a coming of age kind of story maybe should be, but there is a clear difference between Kouta at the start and Kouta at the end, and while he's still just an okay protagonist in my book, I can remember very clearly now why he was on the fast track to becoming my favorite Rider protagonist ever for a while. Kaito AKA Baron - Oh Kaito. I wanna like you so bad man. You're so almost interesting it hurts because you're also probably the second worst written character in the whole show. I mean it. This jerk completely threw off my ability to understand what the show was going for with how nonsensical and contradictory his stupid life philosophy is. I still have no idea how dancing is ever a display of strength. It's a big deal they messed him up so bad too because while he isn't any more the focus of the show than anyone else, he's the guy who won't shut up about strength and power. This is a huge problem because those two things, and the distinction between them, are THE theme of the whole show. Way more so than growing up is. I think it's very telling my favorite portrayal of Kaito is in stuff like episode 37 or Kamen Rider Wars where he's basically just a punchline, because I swear Kaito was supposed to be a joke sometimes, and when the show wants me to take him too seriously, things get bad. I think after rewatching the show I understand way better what they were trying to do with him, but I don't think they did anywhere near as good a job as they needed to. I feel working backwards is the best way to go here. This is where I start doing that blame shifting thing I mentioned with Kouta, and also where I start digging into the ending of the show a bit. So at the climax of episode 46, Kouta kills Kaito. There's a whole lot I wanna mention about that episode and everything around it, but for now I'll just say this. For so long I held Kouta responsible for copping out on his beliefs by doing this, but now I get what they were doing. It's supposed to be the tragedy of Kaito's character that he dies, not a failure on Kouta's part. He's someone who's so thoroughly convinced of his own beliefs in how the world works it becomes true for him. In a show that's all about change, he's the one character who can't, and that, more than anything else, is why he dies. It may sound cool and dramatic written down like that, but I think this gets way too muddled in the actual show. I could talk so much more about Kaito (and for that matter, most of this stuff) but it'll get incoherent really fast so I'll just leave off here for now. Basically, he's one of the show's biggest problems, when he should be one of its biggest strengths. Mitsuzane AKA Ryugen AKA also Zangetsu for like 15 episodes - Poor Micchi is also a mixed bag, but he's probably my favorite of the main four Riders in Gaim. He's responsible for both some of the most genuinely clever dialogue in the show and some of its more mishandled moments. He's the character in the show with the most easily visible changes, and in my opinion is also the only character who could be considered "deep". His arc ties into the coming of age theme of the show as he desperately tries to protect his status quo, and is driven crazy by the futility of trying to avoid facing the complexities of the world. The way his dialogue indirectly says things about him is the closest Gaim gets to being subtle. It's really great how whenever he tries to get Kouta in on keeping secrets, he phrases the argument in terms of how it affects Mai, making it clear he's talking to himself as much as he is Kouta. This comes to a head when Kouta tells Mai everything and she gets Team Gaim to try and tell Zawame about Yggdrassil. He gets furious at Kouta for "making Mai sad" even though she's fine, but this isn't just him being delusional. He's actually pissed at Kouta for robbing him of the ability to hang out with his friends and act like everything is normal, and "Mai" is a symbol of that peace to him. That slap from Mai sends him over the edge because it's the point he feels completely rejected by everyone and everything he cares about. He tried so hard to protect that part of his life and it all blows up in his face. I feel his characterization goes downhill after that point, because the show forgets to highlight his sympathetic side for a while, making him sometimes come off like a generic cartoon villain who just really hates that stupid Kouta kid. Things pick back up when he starts hallucinating Takatora though. It's less subtle than the layered dialogue from the first half of the show but you get a much clearer idea of just how much Micchi hates himself by that point, since everything "Takatora" says is just a reflection of the truths he's trying to pretend he doesn't realize. His redemption is also handled pretty well in my eyes. His final fight with Kouta is a strong showing for the both of their characters, and unlike the actual climax, feels like a real culmination of the themes of the show. By that point the crux of his character was how isolated he feels from everything he used to care about, and how he feels there's no going back on what he's done, so when Kouta takes that hit to stop the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed from killing Micchi, that's the turning point for him. He realizes that, even after all the crap he's pulled, there's still someone out there who cares about him that much, and if Kouta can still care about him, maybe he can still care about himself. It makes every misstep up to that point worth it and I'm glad a character I liked so much got the best resolution to his character arc out of anyone. Takatora AKA Zangetsu - Takatora is easily the most minor of the main four Riders but he's an enjoyable character nonetheless. I actually can't think of much to say about him that isn't extremely obvious, and I think pretty much everyone likes him so... I was going to complain about how his character development is kind of stunted, but it occurred to me that was very much deliberate. He never quite changes because he needs to be a certain way for Kouta's speech in the epilogue of episode 46 to work, so while this sacrifices the character a bit, it's in service of the themes, and as such I can't be too mad about it. He also shows he's finally learned his lesson about being a good brother during that scene by simply chuckling when Kouta asks if he's willing to go back to Micchi, as though the idea he wouldn't is ridiculous. Mai AKA She is too a main character! - I love Mai. Like, she's the only one here I have nothing bad to say about. She's basically an entire season's supporting cast all distilled into a single completely awesome character. She's the only one in the show who isn't a total dumba**. I've seen her get some hate, mostly in light of her role in the final episodes and I think it's entirely undeserved. Of course, her role in those episodes is totally stupid, and I'll get to that, but that's the plot sucking, not the character. Some people took offense at how she gets reduced to an almost literal trophy for Kouta and Kaito to fight over, but I'm hard-pressed to call her portrayal sexist or anything given she's actually Urobuchi's favorite mouthpiece. She's always the voice of reason, reflecting how the audience is supposed to feel, and gets some of my favorite scenes in the whole show telling everybody what their problems are. The scene where Kouta tells her he killed Yuuya expecting her to freak out and instead she just hugs him and tells him he doesn't have to deal with his problems by himself anymore is one of the most heartwarming things I've ever seen in Kamen Rider. Early on, she also has a conversation with Kaito and actually tries to explain to him that his definition of "strength" isn't an absolute truth, starting a series of scenes throughout the show where she explains why Kaito is kind of a moron that never amount to anything, what with Kaito being Kaito. Sometimes she doesn't even need to make a big speech about it, like when she sums up Roshuo's whole problem in one sentence by responding to him saying he doesn't trust anyone by going "That explains why this castle is so empty." Like, wow. Mic. Dropped. Moving right along, here's some more unironically nice things I have to say about the show... - The first real scene of the show (see below) is great. It's sort of copied from Kuuga with the whole "showing your protagonist helping out a kid to show how nice he is" thing but there's more to it than that. Kouta's speech about "taking life on like a game" is genius because it instantly connects the lower stakes Inves Game stuff with the saving the world stuff later in the show, before the show's even really started. - Similarly, the first episode has a bit where while talking to Akira about wanting to be an adult, he says he wants to "transform" explicitly using the word henshin in spite of how awkward it sounds. I think the whole coming of age part of the story fell a little flat here and there, but this is great set-up that connects directly to him imploring Takatora to "transform" in the second to last episode, among other things. Even if the execution wasn't always great, I really like how they tried to make the idea of "transforming" a thematic part of the show as well as being "the thing Kamen Riders do". Other shows obviously have character arcs and I'm pretty sure some show I can't remember used the word like that once or twice, but Gaim made it hang over the whole series from day one. - The main four Riders are all explicitly set up to as three-way foils to one another. Just for example, Takatora and Kouta both really want to save humanity, but Takatora is more willing to take the easy way out. Kouta and Kaito are both extremely driven, but their goals are very different. Micchi and Kaito both have some flexible morals, but Kaito has a sense of fair play. It just goes on and on like that, and it's the biggest reason they remain very clearly THE four Riders, even when they're not interacting for long stretches. - The acting is just so dang good. I've mentioned this before but it's still true so I'm repeating it here. Special mention goes to Mahiro Takasugi, who does an unbelievably believable job portraying Micchi's total mental breakdown and subsequent redemption. Those tears feel so real... - The fight scenes are another thing I've seen even people who like the show be down on and I'm not sure why. It's less fancy than other Rider shows (especially compared to Wizard right before it) but I think that was a deliberate decision to make it more visceral. They feel like dudes in clunky armor swinging weapons around, and that fits with the style of the show. It's not even like the choreography had less effort put in. Some of the scenes get pretty elaborate. - The pacing of the show, of course, moves at a nice clip. I feel they could have lingered on some plot lines longer but for the most part I never felt they should have. It was a great choice to have the show start out slower and build up momentum, because it gets us great stuff like Kouta goofing around with his Driver in episode 2. You're given time to start caring about the characters and the world before they dive head first into the plot twists. ...and here's where I really tear into it. Feel extremely free to contest my points here, it's why I made this thread. I would love nothing more than to read one of your posts and go "ohhhh, now I get it", but I'm pretty confident in saying these parts hurt the show bad. - The first first scene represents a massive catch 22 for the show. It's necessary because it assures you the show is going to get way heavier than it looks eventually, but the show's efforts to reconcile it with the actual plot, which was clearly not planned out in explicit detail and evolved as it was written, were f***ing disastrous. The whole idea of Mai as the "Maiden of Fate" is also part of this. They were obviously supposed to the same person from the start, but I doubt Urobuchi had any clue why she talked in extremely vague nonsense. The real reason why is because if she doesn't say anything specific, he doesn't have to commit to any plot details, but when it came time to explain the in-show reason, I think he panicked and we were left with sudden and nonsensical time-travel rules. If they had done anything to somehow set this up, or just explained it more thoroughly, I might buy that she can send warnings through time but that they come out weird, but as it is, it just seems extremely transparent. This is my single biggest complaint with Gaim's endgame and I have literally the exact same grievances with how time travel apparently got her stuck in an alternate universe that conveniently resembles the aforementioned prologue. These are all just cheap tricks to A. get around the fact you just gave the only competent person on the show the powers of a god, and B. add a sense of urgency to Kouta and Kaito's final showdown, because if they didn't you might wonder why they don't just calm down and talk things out for five seconds. It's all really just shameful. The show was merely kind of sloppy up to this point but as soon as Roshuo gives her that d*** apple everything just starts falling apart so quickly. I cannot tell you how much the show would improve in my eyes if this crap played out differently. This one plot point is the genesis of me starting to hate Gaim in the first place, so I'm particularly grumpy about it. - I hate Sagara. Like, he's the only one here I have nothing good to say about. He's basically a million bad Star Trek episodes worth of amoral omnipotent aliens who are mostly just arrogant a**holes rolled into one gigantic piece of s***. Remember how I called Kaito the second worst written character? You can guess who number one is. I don't even feel I can properly get into it so I won't try. I'll touch on a little bit of it when I talk about the last episodes, though. Basically, he's an idiot. For the grand finale of sorts, I'm just going to walk through some thoughts on the last couple episodes one at a time, because I really have no clue how else to talk about them. They're some of the most crazy television I've ever seen. It's insane. I'm really curious to see if anyone else can even understand what I'm about to say, because I've never seen anyone express these opinions, and I've never had a TV show affect me like this. I'll clarify upfront that I don't think any of these episodes are bad, but they rub me the wrong way all the same. Episode 42 - "Mitsuzane's Last Transformation!" ? That title is just straight up lying, isn't it? I don't even know how that could be metaphorically true. Anyway, after two pretty strong episodes preceding it, this is where the show moves into 5 of the most emotionally draining episodes of a TV show I've ever watched. I'm usually all for traumatizing little kids, but these episodes start to have such an oppressive atmosphere it's no longer fun to watch. Like, I get that it has to be serious, and that things are ramping up for the end, but I should not feel more depressed than the characters are. This particular one, I don't actually have to much to say about, as it mostly just sets up the soul crushing sadness to come. The melancholic and/or foreboding music a lot these scenes have does not help. Episode 43 - The start of this episode features the resolution of Micchi and Kouta's last fight, and, as I've mentioned, it's a real highlight. Unfortunately, things go downhill from here. Micchi's newfound resolve to be a better person immediately hits a pretty big snag when he gets back to Ryouma and realizes trusting the amoral crazy guy to perform heart surgery was not a good idea. He's not even that kind of doctor. Ryouma then proceeds to absolutely beat the s*** out of Micchi, giving you your first taste of the tone these last couple episodes take. It's painful to watch. The dude is kicked 4 times (I counted) and then strangled until he's left a crying mess on the floor, all while being lectured on how much of a f***-up he is. This is what I mean about this stuff. It's so hard to remember what a fun ride this show was when my freshest memories of it are s*** like this. This is why I forgot so much of the love I had for the show up to that point. Being dark and dramatic is fine, but there's something wrong when I find the entirety of Amazons to be less stressful to sit through. Sure, that show has blood and gore, but its tone is at least consistent and it's balanced out way better than these episodes are. The show quickly compounds the problem by making Ryouma's comeuppance just as strangely hyperviolent. Kaito becomes an Overlord and ends up ripping his belt off before having some vines slap him across the face and then punching him into a wall so hard it leaves a body shaped crater. Thankfully, Gaim tends to portray its characters with superhuman endurance even when they aren't transformed so Ryouma's actually still alive after this. That is until he trips over the edge of the roof they're on and falls to his death. I'm honestly amazed the show had the tact to both cut away before he hits the ground AND not play some kind of *splat* sound effect. I swear I don't usually complain about stuff like this but something about these episodes is just so wrong to me. They almost feel like a completely different show. Episode 44 - This is when the show starts to really get into the stuff with Mai I already detailed my hate for up above, so I won't be bringing up any of that here. I will say the scene where she talks to Kouta is actually the single biggest indicator of his growth in the whole show, and otherwise a generally nice exchange. This episode is also where Kaito starts his plans for world domination in earnest. I still love how Oren and Jounouchi instantly stand up to him with zero fear. Really shows why I think the B-team Riders steal the show so much. Speaking of which... Episode 45 - Zack does some stuff and it's pretty cool. We also get more completely heartwrenching uber-drama when Kouta finally eats one of Helheim's fruit. While crying. While his sister watches in horror. While sad piano music plays. I'm not actually complaining about this one because Kouta gets some more great character building dialogue out of it, and I love whenever he interacts with Akira, but it's still another example of how overboard I feel they went. It'd be great if it was only the most depressing part of the episode but the show is basically wall-to-wall misery as soon as the Overlords die and I think it might've been a good idea to balance that out a bit more than they did. Like, even that stuff with Zack, I like that too but we're watching a guy try to assassinate his friend(?) by planting a bomb right under his nose. Holy crap! Isn't that a little heavy for a kids show? I respect the hell out of Gaim for being this daring but I really feel it's a double-edged sword. There's a point where you've gotta ask yourself "have I gone too far?" and I think when Urobuchi asks himself that the answer is always "I haven't gone far enough". I don't like to play into the stereotype of him as some kind of ultimate troll because I think the simple truth of it is that he's just another writer, for better and for worse, but man is it easy to understand how he got that reputation watching some of these scenes. The episode ends with the beginning of Kouta and Kaito's final fight. First they have some dialogue where Kaito says that people can never attain true strength as long as they have compassion. This is extremely important, so remember that. They then have a 3 minute fight scene set to the entirety of Ranbu Escalation. It's great that they wanted to make their final battle such a spectacle, and it's certainly not a scene you'll ever forget, but I feel this is an example of how Gaim could be more style than substance. Why do those Inves even need to be there? The audience can't tell them apart, and it comes down to a one-on-one fight anyway. Episode 46 - Oh boy, here we go. This is the main event right here, people. The first 15 minutes of this episode are something else. Some of the most avant-garde Kamen Rider I've ever seen. Needless to say, I did not see any of this coming and I don't think anybody else did either. Kaito and Kouta continue their fight, which cuts back and forth between the "real" them and the "prologue" them doing the same choreography, and just when Kaito seems to have Kouta on the ropes, Kouta blocks an attack from Kaito's sword, grabbing it with one hand and breaking it in half with the other. This'll be a bit of an aside but I just want to take you through my thought process as I was watching it the first time back in 2014. At this point, I was actually still more or less in love with Gaim, even after my problems with the last couple episodes, and in those precious few seconds between this moment and what happens next, I wondered if this was going to be some brilliant symbolic thing where, like, Kouta destroys his enemy's weapon, and that represents his commitment to stopping all the fighting. Was he about to give a dramatic speech finally convincing Kaito what an idiot he is? Unveil some secret plan the audience didn't know about? That might sound really stupid, and in retrospect what does happen makes way more sense than any of that, but in that moment, I had no clue how any of this was going to end. So imagine my surprise when Kouta proceeds to take the broken tip of Kaito's sword and shank him in the chest with it. Not just some half-a**ed stab either. He drives the thing into his stomach for 10 whole seconds (I counted) while both of them scream, Kaito in pain, and Kouta in a mix of emotions I can't describe but man Gaku Sano is a great actor. This completely melted my brain. Not in a good way, either. I had absolutely no clue what to make of this, and basically just sat there in disbelief for the rest of the episode. It took me days of thinking about it afterward to realize I hated it, and that was the start of me looking back on Gaim not with fondness, but with a sense of disappointment and betrayal. I know that's really melodramatic, but I don't know how else to put it. It's an experience I've never had with any other show, Kamen Rider or otherwise. This is also what caused me to miss the point of the next part so badly. Kouta rushes over to Kaito as he's dying and they have one last conversation. For so long I thought pretty much every word that's said is completely stupid, but now I see what they were going for. This is why I told you to remember their dialogue at the end of episode 45. Kaito asks Kouta how he can be so strong, and he gives some kind of pretentious sounding but straightforward answers. The important part is that he's crying as he says all this, and when Kaito asks him why, Kouta replies he doesn't care, even if it makes him weak. That he'll keep going even as he's crying. Kaito's final words upon hearing this are to tell Kouta that he is "truly strong", before finally dying. I started to dig into this when I talked about Kaito but I'll say it in detail now. This is a way better ending than I gave it credit for. Kouta proves himself strong enough to be willing to kill Kaito if it means saving the world, and yet demonstrates he hasn't lost his compassion by (among other things) crying about it. In doing this, he effectively proves Kaito's views wrong, and that's why those last words from him are so significant. By calling Kouta truly strong, he's acknowledging he was mistaken, and giving Kouta his blessing to follow his vision of the future. I used to think this climax blatantly violated the point of the show but it's way more in line with the themes of it than I thought. I still have a lot of problems with Gaim's endgame (I'm about to get to some of them), but I'm so happy to say this part doesn't suck. It's the biggest reason I was finally able to forgive Gaim. Moving right on, Mai and Kouta finally reunite, and she grants him the golden fruit. Just after that happens, Sagara shows up. This part is still a total mystery to me. I know I hate Sagara, but I'm not sure how the show expects me to feel about him, and the way this scene plays out is why. First he gives a little rant about how Helheim just exists to encourage evolution or whatever and I guess he totally believes it? Kouta sort of calls him out on this, but he's not very adamant and since Mai doesn't hop in I can't help but feel I'm expected to just go along with this too. He then asks how Kouta wants to bring about the end of the old world, showing how much of a f***ing moron he is. 46 episodes into the show and he still doesn't get it? Kouta, of course, declines to do that, and instead opens up a massive Crack which tosses every part of Helheim on Earth onto some random alien planet. This is such a surreal thing to see in Kamen Rider. Back in 2014, this combined with how messed up Kouta stabbing Kaito was to basically make me feel like I was having a bad drug trip. He says as he's doing this he plans to make a new world from scratch instead of destroying the old one. This is a stunningly obvious and simple solution, but according to Sagara this is somehow harder for some reason? From my point of view that just skips a step, and Kouta instantly points out that a lack of existing materials to work with is of little consequence when you're literally a god who can just make crap out of thin air. Sagara wishes them luck and they head off to go make Paradise or whatever. If the show cut to the epilogue part here, I would be so much happier, but the next 15 seconds, even now, really get under my skin. It's comparable to Faiz's ending in my book. Sagara gives a speech likening Kouta and Mai to Adam and Eve, which is bad enough because that's basically Symbolism 101 and I think the show thought this was way more clever than it was. The part that really frustrates me is that as he says this, he's walking along on a different planet with humanoid aliens in the background (again, super out of place in Kamen Rider) as a new golden fruit grows on a tree, and that's the last we see of him. What?! Is this your happy ending? I don't want anyone else to have to put up with this s***! Am I supposed to brush that off because they're aliens? This is such a short scene but it completely throws off the rest of the ending. It's weird, it's stupid, it's pretentious, and I don't like it. What I do like, however, is the entire rest of the episode. It's great stuff. I've gone on and on enough about this one episode and I've touched on parts of it already so I'll focus on the last scene with Micchi and Takatora in the hospital. It's beautiful. Their faces communicate so much without saying a word. The rush of emotions as Micchi realizes Takatora is waking up, and the way Takatora makes it clear he forgives Micchi by greeting him with a smile. It's the perfect example of why I feel Gaim has the best acting of any Toku show out there. Episode 47 - I was horribly wrong about thinking this was a great epilogue. It's actually a perfect one. Every single element of it is perfectly set up to bring closure to the show. Even the title, "Transform! And Face the Future...", connects directly to episode 1's title "Transform! An Orange From the Sky!?", while also setting up how the episode emphasizes the growth of all the characters, going back to what I mentioned about the show making the word "transform" a thematic element. I could go scene by scene saying what I like, since pretty much every moment is important in some way, but I think I've rambled enough already. It's amazing. I liked this episode even when I hated Gaim and now that I like Gaim I love this episode. So many great moments. So many nice resolutions to character arcs. So much summing up of the themes. The five episodes before this were pretty rough in my mind but this is basically 22 minutes of pure bliss. -- Still with me? Then let me just say thanks for reading through all that, you have some real endurance, and I hope you got something out the experience or even found my ramblings interesting. If nothing else, I'd like this thread to serve as a reminder that it's never too late to change your outlook for the better. You can transform your opinion! If you can't forgive something from the perspective you have, then you can try and find a new point of view. I need you to teach that to Micchi, Takatora... By your own example.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 08-24-2016 at 09:06 PM.. |
08-24-2016, 12:32 AM | #2 |
TN's Resident Gunpla Nut
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 8,955
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Personally, I think Gaim's only weak point are the lack luster crossover episodes and movie tie tins. That and the fact that they seemed to never know what to do with him in the movies.
Watching it now that it's all out is probably beneficial, as the show took frequent breaks that made it aggravating at times to sit through on a week to week basis. |
08-24-2016, 08:10 AM | #3 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,563
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What is this a thesis paper?
Real talk good to see someone give something a second chance and manage to find some good. It is not easy to pull off something like this so my sincere kudos to you.
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08-24-2016, 08:39 AM | #4 |
Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 686
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Glad that you've made your peace with it.
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08-24-2016, 09:55 AM | #5 |
1000% CEO
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 319
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I'm giving Gaim another chance myself when I shelved it a few months ago. Only made it to around episode 14 at that time.
This time, I'm getting into it and really enjoying it. |
08-24-2016, 12:09 PM | #6 |
Filthy SU/FE Trash
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 572
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really my issue with Kaito is You can essentially replace his dialogue with that of the average Shonen anime Rival and You'd pretty much lose nothing
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08-24-2016, 07:19 PM | #7 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Naw, if it were a thesis paper I'd be talking about how Helheim is a coded metaphor for Communism or something like that. I just take this stuff way too seriously.
I left this out of those summaries because believe it or not I was trying to be brief, but there's a moment in episode 43 where Kaito says something like "The only truth I recognize... is in my fists!". I complain about the last act of Gaim needing more levity but with lines like that maybe it has enough already.
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08-24-2016, 07:27 PM | #8 |
KNIGHT OF SPADE
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 360
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I thought I wrote a lot... Dang. I actually read all of that. I thought about skimming it but I'm glad I didn't. So I really love Gaim to death, but the points you brought up are valid. I might want to do a rewatch...
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08-24-2016, 07:35 PM | #9 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
If you do rewatch it, it'll probably go quickly. Gaim pratically sent me into withdrawal between episodes watching it at the time so it was cool to be able to watch it at my own pace this time around.
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08-24-2016, 09:27 PM | #10 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Manila
Posts: 129
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Gaim was the first Rider series I watched in its entirety. It blew me away, and I proceeded to watch Den-O afterwards, which I also liked a lot, though I still preferred Gaim. (Den-O's conflicts aren't very strong though the friendships are sweet.)
And then I watched Fourze, and while Fourze never quite hits the heights of spectacular delight that Gaim did (and while Gaim still has the better designs, which was what made me want to watch it in the first place), I began to feel like I was sort of liking Fourze the most out of the three I've seen. I wasn't sure what to make of this, but I suspect it had to do with how the friendship theme played out better here than in Den-O. As for why I was liking it better than Gaim despite Fourze not being as ambitious and literally awesome, I think your post clarified a lot for me. Fourze is simply more consistent in quality and thematics. I never felt "betrayed" as you did when you first watched Gaim, and I don't think your post changed my mind about it. But that's mostly because I already felt a subtle reevaluation took place. What you did here however was clarify and confirm some of my suspicions about my own views of the show. For that, my thanks! |
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