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#21 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,849
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See, I always remember the scene with the empty Rabbit bottle, this had completely slipped my mind. Which is a shame, because now I remember, it's very good.
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#22 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,481
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Oh I only just realized this, but Build (and Ex-aid) didn't have some big CGI form/weapon. I'm thinking of things like the Powerdizer, Dragon from Wizard, Suika arms, Time Mazin, and Mammoth Breaker. It just stands out to me because those have been pretty common since like kiva, I think the only other series I can think off post Den-o that lacks one is OOO and Decade (if you can count Decade).
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#23 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Quote:
Oh I only just realized this, but Build (and Ex-aid) didn't have some big CGI form/weapon. I'm thinking of things like the Powerdizer, Dragon from Wizard, Suika arms, Time Mazin, and Mammoth Breaker. It just stands out to me because those have been pretty common since like kiva, I think the only other series I can think off post Den-o that lacks one is OOO and Decade (if you can count Decade).
For Ex-Aid and Build, I theorise they just weren't able to justify it in the budget; maybe the Ghost and Drive ones didn't sell as well as they would have liked. With Zi-O and Zero-One though, the toylines are in a much smaller scale and that includes the big CGI mechs, so they became much more justifiable financially.
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#24 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,849
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Maybe they just realised that nothing could live up to the greatness that was Captain Ghost and the Iguana Ghostriker?
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#25 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,407
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Quote:
My favorite final forms are the ones that come with a built-in drawback. Stuff like Ultimate Kuuga, King Form Blade, or PuToTyra where using the form carries inherit risks and dangers. It ups the drama and makes it harder to just spam the final form for the rest of the series (looking at you, Kiva).
Hell, considering I just finished Build, I think the Hazard Trigger was a great power up due to him losing himself. Even when he manages to extend the amount of time, it's only about 30 seconds before he loses himself at max. Also, considering Final Forms that take all the powers, I think Drive was the worst case, since Type Tridoron not only had all the shift cars, but it could also combine certain ones. It was, literally, objectively superior to everything else Drive could do that the only viable reason to not use Type Tridoron was solely because someone was inside the damn car...
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#26 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,508
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Here comes a thought.
What do you think Kamen Rider is about these days? (Like, what do you think. You don’t need proof from some producer’s interview or whatever, just your own thoughts. Not to get all Death Of The Author, but once the show gets made it ceases to matter what the intent was in production. You can decide what you think a piece of art is saying to you. Similarly, no wrong answers. An opinion can’t be wrong!) So, and I’m not a Showa dude, it seems like the popular answer is Fighting Darkness With Darkness. Right? Shocker takes a man, turns him into a monster, but that monster uses his power to protect instead of harm. He’s the monster that destroys monsters. He harnesses his misfortune and becomes a hero. And, that’s still a prominent part of the franchise. I just, I don’t think that’s what I get out of Kamen Rider. For me, the theme I’m seeing is The Value Of Empathy In A World Of Violence. More and more of Kamen Rider seems to be about finding connections, taking the time to understand monsters, to try and reform people who do wrong. Secondary Riders need to be brought into the fold, tensions in the group need to be resolved, villains need to be reached out to, etc. A lot of the storytelling is given over to the idea that fighting isn’t always the answer, that hearing someone out nearly always has value. And, I think the Value Of Empathy theme, it’s not a clean break from the Fighting Darkness theme, but an evolution of it. It’s about how much more nuanced the storytelling has gotten, the sense that teaching children to Fight Evil isn’t a fair lesson, isn’t conducive to a healthy society. That it’s more heroic to try and find the good in bad people, to show them how to be good, than it is to just fight bad people. Not everyone needs to be Rider Kicked, and you can’t know that until you try to understand them. The Fighting Darkness With Darkness theme, it’s about a hero who uses his pain to destroy the source of pain. But that’s not really how pain works. It’s not something that can be punched or kicked, it’s something that needs time, support, understanding. The Value Of Empathy theme, it’s about recognizing that everyone’s in pain, and that by recognizing that we can try and deal with our pain together. That we aren’t heroes and monsters, but people who need each other to be our best selves. I’d cite some examples, but they might be spoiler-y. (But: Drive, Ghost, Ex-Aid, Agito, Double, Fourze, Build) Plus, this is just what I’ve been getting out of Kamen Rider, not necessarily a bulletproof theory. If you don’t see it this way, that’s totally cool. I do want to know what everyone is getting out of Kamen Rider as a franchise, though. What do you think Kamen Rider’s about these days? |
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#27 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,948
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I think it's less about "Fighting Darkness With Darkness" and more about "Being A Shining Light In The Darkness." Because despite everything each Rider goes through, despite their origin, despite them all being directly tied to those they face in one form or another, they always strive to make things better for everyone they possibly can.
Wherein that touches upon another theme, which is something anyone who's seen the first Pokemon movie will probably remember(even though I'm hella paraphrasing). "It's not what life gives you that matters, it's what you do with it." |
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#28 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,481
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I want to say the "human lives matter more then peace and justice" quote is still very relevant to kamen rider, but uh, I haven't watched enough rider to fully back that up.
Edit: Oh also I feel like there's something about how empathy is a tool in your belt (heh) not your only option. For people like Dr Banno, Evolt, or Dan Senior, they have to be stripped of power or stopped no matter the cost. Edit 2: Okay definately not "No matter the cost," but like it's not saying punching the fascist is bad.
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![]() Last edited by Deepsea; 04-07-2020 at 09:59 PM.. |
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#29 |
Echoing Oni
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,606
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Right now? Like this very point in time? I'd say it's about seeing how much shit a bad villain can get away with before completely ruining the entire series.
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#30 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,508
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Quote:
I think it's less about "Fighting Darkness With Darkness" and more about "Being A Shining Light In The Darkness." Because despite everything each Rider goes through, despite their origin, despite them all being directly tied to those they face in one form or another, they always strive to make things better for everyone they possibly can.
Wherein that touches upon another theme, which is something anyone who's seen the first Pokemon movie will probably remember(even though I'm hella paraphrasing). "It's not what life gives you that matters, it's what you do with it." Quote:
I want to say the "human lives matter more then peace and justice" quote is still very relevant to kamen rider, but uh, I haven't watched enough rider to fully back that up.
Edit: Oh also I feel like there's something about how empathy is a tool in your belt (heh) not your only option. For people like Dr Banno, Evolt, or Dan Senior, they have to be stripped of power or stopped no matter the cost. Edit 2: Okay definately not "No matter the cost," but like it's not saying punching the fascist is bad. That's a tricky theme to get right! |
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