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06-02-2023, 10:36 PM | #401 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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I mean, nearly every show has a reference to a mother as a memory, or a ghost, or a flashback. Aruto's mom shows up in a flashback memory (!) in the Reiwa First Gen movie, but it's nothing I'd consider especially relevant to the narrative, or even anything that treats her as a character. And that's one of the more sensitive and respectful depictions of motherhood in Kamen Rider!
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06-02-2023, 11:24 PM | #402 |
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DEAR GAGA - PAGE 2
The thing that’s great about Hiromi is that he loses. He’s a terrible Kamen Rider, if we’re going off of metrics like Monsters Detonated or Times A Character Wasn’t Thrown Off Of A Cliff. He’s mostly a chump as a superhero; he’s marginally better as a commander, if you ignore the various traitors above and below him in the hierarchy of Fenix, or the crashed helicarriers, or the terrorist cult members who escaped justice under his watch. He’s introduced as the guy who failed so spectacularly that Ikki – a genial spa employee – needed to become a Kamen Rider, and he never really improved from there. But the point of him as a character isn’t to succeed, or to treat the possibility for success as the only condition for action. The point of him is to dedicate his life to protecting people, even if it’s a lost cause. Getting beaten isn’t failure, it’s a sign that he’s willing to suffer for his ideals. It’s all there in his (hilariously) sacrificial catchphrase, where he’s willing to lay down his life to protect anything and everything that’s in danger: he knows he could be beaten or killed, but it’s still worth it if it might save a life. That version of Hiromi gets to be in a story worthy of him in Dear Gaga, which is one of the best pieces of Revice storytelling I’ve seen yet. It’s minor in its scope – the heroism is pretty much just Hiromi staying by his mother’s side for her final days – but sweeping in its sensitivity and humanity. It’s not a story that rehabilitates Hiromi’s character, so much as it recontextualizes his role as punching bag/scapegoat/laughingstock. He’s weak, emotionally and physically, but as long as he’s willing to risk it all for people in need, he’s still a hero. Him failing is besides the point; him continuously laying down his life for people in danger is what’s important. It’s really charming, this emotionally vulnerable story about a guy who constantly comes up short, but finds dignity in never backing down. He’d forgotten that, in his running away from Fenix, but remembered it in his role as a son. Not everyone can be saved, and those that can be saved might not be saved by him. But he’ll never stop trying to protect people. Even at the cost of his life. I’m glad this series has a loser like Hiromi in it.
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06-02-2023, 11:33 PM | #403 |
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I havent watched revice thus havent seen Dear Gaga, but from the way you describe Hiiromi, I relate to him viscerally. I feel like I'm struggling a lot to do basic things, but to know that trying, even if I fail, is something to be proud of. Today, I think I'm pretty okay.
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06-02-2023, 11:42 PM | #404 |
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Quote:
I havent watched revice thus havent seen Dear Gaga, but from the way you describe Hiiromi, I relate to him viscerally. I feel like I'm struggling a lot to do basic things, but to know that trying, even if I fail, is something to be proud of. Today, I think I'm pretty okay.
It's okay to get beat, or to need a minute to collect ourselves after a setback. What makes Hiromi heroic is that he still puts himself at risk for his ideals, no matter what. If you're willing to get back up, you're already a hero.
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06-03-2023, 02:42 AM | #405 |
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So fun fact, Hiromi coming from Miyagi was based on his actor also coming from that prefecture, but by coincidence, that’s also where Shotaro Ishinomori came from (which I probably mentioned the first time he brought up his Gaga, but whatever)
Also, we kind of get an answer to my age question. The flashbacks use the same actress in a wig (which is about as convincing as Mark Wahlberg’s high school graduation photo just being him in a baseball cap), meaning she was probably in her 40s. Also, does Hiromi plan to walk all the way back to Tokyo from Miyagi? Is that why he takes so long to reappear in the main show (as the characters who get these kinds of spin-offs are wont to do)? |
06-03-2023, 10:10 AM | #406 |
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He will lay down his life to avoid paying the fare for a taxi to take him back to Fenix HQ!
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06-03-2023, 02:50 PM | #407 |
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Hiromi seeing a minor obstacle to face
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06-03-2023, 03:08 PM | #408 |
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Hiromi is largely excluded from Fenix planning sessions due to his constant suggestion that Step 1 for any operation should be funeral services for him.
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06-03-2023, 05:40 PM | #409 |
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I don't know when I've ever been down on a show for incorporating a mom in a sizable way? I mean, for one, there are very few 'mom role' characters over the last 23 years of Kamen Rider. For another, I'm pretty sure I frequently declared Asumu's mom from Hibiki (Asumum) as one of my favorite characters from that series? Finally, I've been annoyingly vocal about how much I loved the Build HBV for its messaging on the importance of honoring maternal guidance. I generally enjoy mom characters on these shows?
Quote:
DEAR GAGA - PAGE 2
He’s a terrible Kamen Rider, if we’re going off of metrics like Monsters Detonated or Times A Character Wasn’t Thrown Off Of A Cliff. He’s mostly a chump as a superhero; he’s marginally better as a commander, if you ignore the various traitors above and below him in the hierarchy of Fenix, or the crashed helicarriers, or the terrorist cult members who escaped justice under his watch. He’s introduced as the guy who failed so spectacularly that Ikki – a genial spa employee – needed to become a Kamen Rider, and he never really improved from there. But the point of him as a character isn’t to succeed, or to treat the possibility for success as the only condition for action. The point of him is to dedicate his life to protecting people, even if it’s a lost cause. Getting beaten isn’t failure, it’s a sign that he’s willing to suffer for his ideals. It’s all there in his (hilariously) sacrificial catchphrase, where he’s willing to lay down his life to protect anything and everything that’s in danger: he knows he could be beaten or killed, but it’s still worth it if it might save a life. Quote:
That version of Hiromi gets to be in a story worthy of him in Dear Gaga, which is one of the best pieces of Revice storytelling I’ve seen yet. It’s minor in its scope – the heroism is pretty much just Hiromi staying by his mother’s side for her final days – but sweeping in its sensitivity and humanity. It’s not a story that rehabilitates Hiromi’s character, so much as it recontextualizes his role as punching bag/scapegoat/laughingstock. He’s weak, emotionally and physically, but as long as he’s willing to risk it all for people in need, he’s still a hero. Him failing is besides the point; him continuously laying down his life for people in danger is what’s important.
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06-03-2023, 05:53 PM | #410 |
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I feel that though as you've said before, sacrifice first, ask questions later is something bad and detrimental for Hiromi or any hero upholding that, I don't think that Hiromi's learning about it here, that his father dying in an attempt to save civilians is treated as something that needs to be completely emulated, which'd mean Hiromi stays on this self-destructive path.
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