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05-29-2023, 02:27 PM | #381 |
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REVICE LEGACY: KAMEN RIDER VAIL - EPISODE 4
It’s a lot of plot business in this one, trying to lay out the bizarre NOAH-related cause and effect of Genta’s backstory, and it sort of mostly works? I always got the impression that his death and resurrection was what lead to his memory loss, but somehow he retained those memories enough to know who his parents were, which is why NOAH had them murdered by Vail: to give Genta a thing to avenge. It’s just… it’s a little weird, timing-wise. If Genta lost his memories before/during his experimentation, which makes the most sense, why would he even know his parents enough to understand who was being murdered in front of him? And if he lost his memories afterwards… what does he only remember just enough details from his Narratively Convenient Amnesia to be traumatized by his parents’ murder? And why does he lose his memories at all? It’s a very, very weird plot point, and I don’t think this episode completely squares that circle. Quote:
What it does do, however, is reveal that Vail was the killer in question, and that part is really well done. It’s not surprising, but it doesn’t really have to be. It just needs to both expose Genta’s addiction to using vengeance as a way of excusing his propensity for violence, and it needs to give Genta nowhere to hide from his monstrous nature. Vail acts as a more malevolent Vice; there’s a sense of both companionship and liberation in his cruelty, and he genuinely seems to want to give Genta the life he secretly desires. Vail’s the thing in Genta that fears domestication, and longs for the self-obliteration of life as Kamen Rider Vail. It’s ugly, but it definitely comes from someplace in Genta.
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The Vail stuff, along with the cute Genta/Yukimi scene, really worked for me this time out. NOAH, meanwhile, continues to be the perfect prequel organization for Revice: just the most relentlessly incompetent sociopaths, assuming that myriad failures – ranging from homicide to genocide – will eventually result in something that will validate their jobs. (Also, “Nest Of Anti-Human”? YIKES. Terrible!) All these mysterious organizations of nebulous authority are such a drag, but the character-based storytelling continues to impress. Excited for the finale!
About Vail's slaughter of the NOAH soldiers which actually shocked Yukimi, as well as Yukimi pleading Genta to stop beating up a soldier to death... so that'd mean Genta as Vail didn't actually kill the soldiers in Part 3 before? Despite the soldiers being thrown like a ragdoll from a Rider's blows. And then again Buu-san already shot several soldiers before to protect the main couple, so soldiers being killed aren't a new thing, unless it's not meant to show a similar outcome, but Vail's bloodthirsty nature instead. Actually I do have some questions about how Buu-san can actually contradict himself in his job as a spy in NOAH. Like, if it's a named major character like Masumi, Buu-san gives him a chance to remind him to redeem himself, but other nameless soldiers who are probably doing less damage than Masumi, they're killed without reasoning, but I mean talking them out first outside combat like Masumi. Quote:
Right, Ikki shouldn't let Olteca have his way. Ending someone's suffering only works if it doesn't bring suffering to others. If he tries and fails to help him see the error of his ways, then ultimately he should defeat him to prevent him from committing further crimes, although preferably without bringing unnecessary hatred in to it, as heroes are still supposed to be examples of the morals they preach. Pay evil unto evil isn't good enough.
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Well I already admitted my mistake of forgetting about the Heaven and Hell game victims, so it's not that I've forgotten Olteca's victims either. However, I think there's an important difference between justice and self-indulgence. Ikki having limits is probably another flaw manifesting from his egotism, that he calls himself the Ultimate Busybody, but he can't live up to that title, compared to Takeru who actually surpasses him in compassion.
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05-29-2023, 11:02 PM | #382 |
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Actually I do have some questions about how Buu-san can actually contradict himself in his job as a spy in NOAH. Like, if it's a named major character like Masumi, Buu-san gives him a chance to remind him to redeem himself, but other nameless soldiers who are probably doing less damage than Masumi, they're killed without reasoning, but I mean talking them out first outside combat like Masumi.
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05-29-2023, 11:37 PM | #383 |
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REVICE LEGACY: KAMEN RIDER VAIL - EPISODE 5
It’s… it’s not a great ending, is it. There’s wonderful narrative value in Genta facing off against the darkness inside himself, and Yukimi being the one to pull him back from the abyss of that conflict. This was a story about how loneliness makes us think we don’t deserve happiness, and the reward that comes from putting ourselves out there and fighting for connections. Vail’s the part of Genta that thinks self-sufficiency is the only valuable trait, so it’s nice to get a victory in the shape of Yukimi’s hugs. That whole section of things, including Genta finding the strength within himself to (essentially) defeat his own strength – great. Very fun, and a nice capper to this series. But then we have to get these characters to exactly how we found them in Revice, and we apparently have to do it within a single scene. If there’s a key failure to this finale, it’s that. There’s no reason why we have to go from Grim Warrior to Goofy Husband within this episode. Genta can conclude his business with Vail, and we can infer that years of being a husband and father uncorked the goofiness inside him, and he became the vlogging papa that we all know and love. Instead, it happens via yet more Narratively Convenient Amnesia, and that’s such a bummer. It’s too much, too fast, and it makes Genta’s growth seem less like the natural consequence of his decision to embrace happiness and family, and more like he got another bump on the head that turned him into a different guy. And like… there’s a kernel of an idea in there that I like. Vail was the darkness inside Genta that steered him toward isolation and revenge, but now that weight is gone from him. Maybe he’d’ve been a dork without Vail! Sure! But not only does this all happen too fast, but it also resets all of the growth and sacrifice that Genta spent an episode fighting for. This Genta didn’t make those choices; this Genta didn’t even choose Yukimi, which is the entire point of this series. She’s just like I’m Your Wife and he’s like Oh Okay. It– it’s sort of a weird thing for Yukimi to do? They didn’t get married and he forgot; she’s deciding that they're married now. This is not technically a thing Genta consented to under any of his previous amnesias! And he might not be okay with it in any of his future amnesias! It’s a little creepy! And that’s sort of what I’m left with, after five episodes of a largely inessential but fairly welcome flashback series. This was a too-convoluted backstory I never asked for, but the characters in the present are so fantastic that I kept finding things to enjoy. Absolutely did not stick the landing for me (those last few minutes! No thanks!), but I appreciate Revice realizing that Genta and Yukimi deserved a romantic origin. I guess I’ll take what I can get!
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05-30-2023, 02:19 AM | #384 |
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I’d say some reasons why I didn’t like the whole thing partially because of this one episode, but you basically did it for me. The idea that Yukimi’s been date-raping an amnesiac for 25 years… no, just no. And also, how the hell does their fake marriage hold up to scrutiny, given there’s no wedding rings, no wedding photos, no certificate… Oh, and I don’t like how abruptly Yukimi fell in love with a guy after one day, in which she was kidnapped and nearly killed just for association with him.
And as for the overall Vail thing… yeah, I’m not sure why this was a necessary thing. Most of it is basically reiterating what was said in the show, and what wasn’t didn’t have much substance to it. And the budget clearly hampered whatever vision was behind all of this, given we only get one monster costume (aside from making Vail the Carnage to Vice’s Venom), the montage of Junpei’s suffering looks less like a montage, and more like one fight that was very sloppily edited. Also, despite the sound mixer’s intentions, using bull noises instead of Kiai does not make the combatants seem demonic. It just kills the mood. And on a lighter note, more casting trivia, besides Yukimi being Chameleon Green, leaving us 5 for 5 on Sentai ladies in Revice. The guy playing Junpei later appeared in the Futo PI stageshow as Shotaro (they’ve got a variant of the CSM Joker Memory with his dialogue coming with the DVD) The guy playing Karizaki is Daichi, the protagonist of Ultraman X. And the guy playing Arigiyama (a name I only remember thanks to TV Tropes labelling him the third most evil character in Revice, after Olteca and Vail, and someone on Twitter being surprised he pulled out a gun instead of a Driver) is the Douji/Black Douji/Super Douji/the Man/voice of the Hime from Hibiki, Bishop from Kiva and Legion from Wizard. |
05-30-2023, 09:17 AM | #385 |
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REVICE LEGACY: KAMEN RIDER VAIL - EPISODE 5
If there’s a key failure to this finale, it’s that. There’s no reason why we have to go from Grim Warrior to Goofy Husband within this episode. Genta can conclude his business with Vail, and we can infer that years of being a husband and father uncorked the goofiness inside him, and he became the vlogging papa that we all know and love. Instead, it happens via yet more Narratively Convenient Amnesia, and that’s such a bummer. It’s too much, too fast, and it makes Genta’s growth seem less like the natural consequence of his decision to embrace happiness and family, and more like he got another bump on the head that turned him into a different guy. Quote:
And like… there’s a kernel of an idea in there that I like. Vail was the darkness inside Genta that steered him toward isolation and revenge, but now that weight is gone from him. Maybe he’d’ve been a dork without Vail! Sure! But not only does this all happen too fast, but it also resets all of the growth and sacrifice that Genta spent an episode fighting for. This Genta didn’t make those choices; this Genta didn’t even choose Yukimi, which is the entire point of this series. She’s just like I’m Your Wife and he’s like Oh Okay. It– it’s sort of a weird thing for Yukimi to do? They didn’t get married and he forgot; she’s deciding that they're married now. This is not technically a thing Genta consented to under any of his previous amnesias! And he might not be okay with it in any of his future amnesias! It’s a little creepy!
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And that’s sort of what I’m left with, after five episodes of a largely inessential but fairly welcome flashback series. This was a too-convoluted backstory I never asked for, but the characters in the present are so fantastic that I kept finding things to enjoy. Absolutely did not stick the landing for me (those last few minutes! No thanks!), but I appreciate Revice realizing that Genta and Yukimi deserved a romantic origin. I guess I’ll take what I can get!
Agariyama met his end here as expected, but it was more brief than I thought, Agariyama just carries himself a gun to confront Vail, which predictably, had Vail just impaling him with his arm. I thought as someone in military who had several scientists (more shown here than Masumi) under his control, he'd have some trump card to deal with Vail, either supernatural devices like ViStamp or even military vehicles like tank, but no. That'd still mean Agariyama isn't a coward type to face Vail like that however, not that him being brave would reduce his wrongdoings.
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05-30-2023, 11:15 AM | #386 |
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It's very much a problem of this tiny, barely-an-hour thing trying to move us from meeting at the end of the first episode, to married by the end of the fifth episode, but not skipping any time. If the producers wanted to show the scope of this relationship in anything approaching the reality and groundedness of the modern-day version, they probably shouldn't've tried to do the whole thing over a long afternoon, where the second half of the date was imprisonment and imminent execution. And thanks for the casting trivia! Should've recognized that one dude from Hibiki, for sure. Quote:
After Genta chooses to live a fulfilling live (if he survived), Vail seems to be running out of ideas on what to do, likely the first time, he just tried to persuade Genta to rule the world together with him... as if Genta ever had a wish to rule the world lmao. That's Vail's weakest manipulation yet in the series so far, but it seems that Vail also has similar views on demons against humans, to think they'd be instantly tempted by stock villainous goals.
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05-31-2023, 11:07 PM | #387 |
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KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 29 - “CRANK-IN! MEMORIES OF HIROMI!”
Hiromi’s alive, apparently! And he has amnesia, because this is Kamen Rider Revice, a show whose sign reading It Has Been X Days Since Our Last Narratively Convenient Amnesia is constantly being reset to zero! So we’ve got to bring him back to the team the only way our heroes know how: A good old-fashioned CLIP SHOW! It’s basically an HBV, but with a little extra epilogue for the last arc around the edges. As hard as I laughed at the many brilliant gags, the part I liked best was how it all became a goofy blow-off for the Igarashi siblings, right before they split off into slightly-siloed storylines. Daiji’s got to reform/destroy Fenix, Sakura’s got to take her next steps with Weekend, and Ikki’s got to keep Happy Spa safe for them all to come back to someday. Sure, as Ikki notes, they’ll never be too far away from each other – they’re still family, and still teammates in the fight against Giff – but this does all have that sunset-lit feeling of a completed chapter, even if this group doesn’t really strike me as readers. It’s See You Soon, rather than Goodbye, but it still conjures up a wistful feeling. Beyond that, it’s just incredibly funny? The basic idea, that the Igarashis and George decide to make a recap video to get Hirmoi to take up arms again, is sublime in its manic energy. (I like that they mostly pivoted away from Remind Hiromi How Cool He Is into just recapping the last 28 episodes, since there’s literally no way to edit previously-aired footage enough to make Hiromi look like a successful Kamen Rider.) The way each attempt at a video reflected the editor’s biases and failings made even dull original footage (or frustrating reminders of stuff I don’t care about) into entertaining explorations of the first half of Revice: Vice, turning his video slowly but surely into a hype video for him and Ikki; Daiji, making a somber and serious tribute to Hiromi that eventually becomes a vehicle for Daiji’s rage and resentment toward George/Fenix/Whomever; and George, mostly making a workout video so he can show off his physique and minorly flirt with Hiromi. Each segment is just recapping stuff we already knew, but the way it’s recapped kept cracking me up. It’s easily the best version of this show’s story to date. Nothing bad to say about this one! All the old information was presented in a fun way, the “new” information (Giff at Fenix, Ikki disappearing from a photo) was either easily predicted or technically old information that just hadn’t been brought up in a while, and the use of all of this reminiscing as a way to give the Igarashis a feeling of closure was really sweet. It’s so fun, that I forgot until this sentence how angry I got at Hiromi having this show’s 11th or 12th case of amnesia! JESUS CHRIST! Everyone on this show should be wearing helmets at all times!
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06-01-2023, 01:03 AM | #388 |
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It’s a good thing Hiromi got amnesia after he found out the whole conspiracy with Akaishi helping Giff. Otherwise the heroes would stop him. And also, it allows for some catch-up for what’s been going on. Fittingly, it aired 11 years to the day after OOO’s own movie making episode. (And 51 years to the day of the very first Kamen Rider episode, but that probably wasn’t on anyone’s mind during filming)
And we get an in-universe explanation for George’s sudden character shift from shady wild card to stern ally of justice. But… I’ll let this screen cap of so eone’s comment sun up people’s thoughts on this. And I’ll also reveal the IRL reason: the writer thought a fan of superheroes could never turn out evil. Evidently he never saw the wealth of movies and shows where the big bad is a fan of superheroes. It’s not even a Western only thing, as an Ultraman show with a very similar premise to Revice (the heroes are siblings, the backstory goes back hundreds of years, the gimmick items are based off past heroes, but the forms themselves aren’t, the younger sister of the three siblings forms a friendship with the main female villain) had a fanboy of Ultras as the villain Ultraman Orb Dark Black Schwarz Noir… granted, he was an obnoxious caricature of people who hate newer instalments for not being like the older ones. And finally, we get two new villain costumes in the form of Giff’s true appearance and the Gifftarian (TRUE). The former isn’t very popular, being called things ranging from “a low level Shinkenger monster” to “a Giff Jr in a pimp outfit”. As for the latter… One guy I know said he preferred them to the OG Gifftarians, but I still prefer the originals, since the new colours just look gaudy. And with no actual skit planned for this episode, I’ll sign off here (regular service will resume on Saturday) |
06-01-2023, 10:58 AM | #389 |
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The first is that I can see George reappraising his own morality in light of Daddy's reappearance. It's possible that George wouldn't necessarily have a huge, emotional reckoning with his own actions from the recent past, but maybe just wants to seem a little less horrible than his dad was at his age. It doesn't all have to be He's A Bad Guy vs He's A Good Guy; George can take incremental steps away from being a self-centered asshole without invalidating all of his past crimes. The second reason is that there's basically nowhere in this story for a guy that's an evil mad scientist that doesn't care about the people he hurts along the way. If he hangs around with the heroes, it makes them look like oblivious dopes at best, complicit hypocrites at worst. If he defects to the villains, it's just, like, The End. This isn't a setup where George can be a rancid prick with no consequences. That would be Faiz.
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06-01-2023, 02:31 PM | #390 |
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KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 29 - “CRANK-IN! MEMORIES OF HIROMI!”
Hiromi’s alive, apparently! And he has amnesia, because this is Kamen Rider Revice, a show whose sign reading It Has Been X Days Since Our Last Narratively Convenient Amnesia is constantly being reset to zero! So we’ve got to bring him back to the team the only way our heroes know how: A good old-fashioned CLIP SHOW! It’s basically an HBV, but with a little extra epilogue for the last arc around the edges. As hard as I laughed at the many brilliant gags, the part I liked best was how it all became a goofy blow-off for the Igarashi siblings, right before they split off into slightly-siloed storylines. Daiji’s got to reform/destroy Fenix, Sakura’s got to take her next steps with Weekend, and Ikki’s got to keep Happy Spa safe for them all to come back to someday. Sure, as Ikki notes, they’ll never be too far away from each other – they’re still family, and still teammates in the fight against Giff – but this does all have that sunset-lit feeling of a completed chapter, even if this group doesn’t really strike me as readers. It’s See You Soon, rather than Goodbye, but it still conjures up a wistful feeling. Quote:
The basic idea, that the Igarashis and George decide to make a recap video to get Hirmoi to take up arms again, is sublime in its manic energy. (I like that they mostly pivoted away from Remind Hiromi How Cool He Is into just recapping the last 28 episodes, since there’s literally no way to edit previously-aired footage enough to make Hiromi look like a successful Kamen Rider.) The way each attempt at a video reflected the editor’s biases and failings made even dull original footage (or frustrating reminders of stuff I don’t care about) into entertaining explorations of the first half of Revice: Vice, turning his video slowly but surely into a hype video for him and Ikki; Daiji, making a somber and serious tribute to Hiromi that eventually becomes a vehicle for Daiji’s rage and resentment toward George/Fenix/Whomever; and George, mostly making a workout video so he can show off his physique and minorly flirt with Hiromi. Each segment is just recapping stuff we already knew, but the way it’s recapped kept cracking me up. It’s easily the best version of this show’s story to date.
Said director who is claimed to force George under his order, Akaishi, seems to be set up as the main antagonist here (or at least, further confirming he's evil) along with Giff.... or that he's the main antagonist to carry the story with Giff acting as unseen superior that he recapped the previous Deadman's feats to.... Akaishi seems to at least value Olteca as a companion that he genuinely mourns his death albeit he's still feeling uplifted due to Daiji as the replacement. This seems to show that Akaishi isn't as much of a bastard as Olteca. Quote:
Nothing bad to say about this one! All the old information was presented in a fun way, the “new” information (Giff at Fenix, Ikki disappearing from a photo) was either easily predicted or technically old information that just hadn’t been brought up in a while, and the use of all of this reminiscing as a way to give the Igarashis a feeling of closure was really sweet. It’s so fun, that I forgot until this sentence how angry I got at Hiromi having this show’s 11th or 12th case of amnesia! JESUS CHRIST! Everyone on this show should be wearing helmets at all times!
Sakura's a physically tough girl (who still wants to seek more as stated here by joining Weekend) and she's also the harsh, stiff, and temperamental type though not perpetually (in reverse she's patient to Tamaki as usual after his turn), and it shines through in her stint as a director here, which'd put her above her older brothers and George, being someone controlling and mean to the crew. Though the other crews was really wacky and genuinely making it hard for them to complete the movie, so it's not fully unwarranted, albeit she's like this too to less severe mistakes like Ikki's directing. Tamaki returns to his comic relief role, and an even bigger sobbing mess compared to before with Aguilera missing. Not to rag on Tamaki's predicament or overall life, but after previously having a more composed role, honestly, this got a bit repetitive now and that Tamaki seems to be unnecessary character/presence now, with the series likely don't know what to do with him but have to make him appear, from a previously one of the right-hand of the major villain, to assuming a role similar to Genta (pre-Vail reveal).
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