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01-23-2022, 03:20 PM | #11 |
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I have to admit this particular episode felt a bit out of nowhere to me. I'm happy that Hiromi is getting some much needed focus, but suddenly introducing two of his squadmates out of nowhere, having one of them be a triple agent and the other actually trying to save Hiromi in spite of his antagonism? I can't get invested that fast, sorry! I also found Ikki's perceptiveness in this episode kind of shocking, since it isn't what I really associate with him. It all just felt a little weird to me.
I do like a lot of the plot going on however. The Demons Driver slowly eating Hiromi alive and the implication that it was originally designed for someone else intrigues me. I know people are saying his actor isn't done filming yet, but I don't think that necessarily means Hiromi himself is out of the woods, since I can imagine him getting consumed by the Demons Driver, resulting in the demon in it being unleashed and taking on his form. Beyond that, we have the implication that Fenix isn't exactly a heroic organization (no surprise there) and a really good scene between Sakura and Aguilera. So I liked aspects of this episode, but not the main plot itself!
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01-23-2022, 04:07 PM | #12 |
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Heh, so I?m not the only one telling myself that it was actually clever of him that he actually saw through that double crossing so called friend.
I really don?t want to see all this build up resulting in Hiromi?s death, there might be something else. Also, the Organization not being actually totally white is a given, the opening kind of gives it away. I like George as a character because you never know what he has in store. |
01-23-2022, 07:24 PM | #13 |
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Quote:
Heh, so I?m not the only one telling myself that it was actually clever of him that he actually saw through that double crossing so called friend.
I really don?t want to see all this build up resulting in Hiromi?s death, there might be something else. Also, the Organization not being actually totally white is a given, the opening kind of gives it away. I like George as a character because you never know what he has in store. |
01-26-2022, 04:00 PM | #14 |
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So finally, it's shown what's the drawback of Hiromi being able to fight as a Rider all this time, despite that he was unable to henshin as Revice. The Fenix part on this episode is still a setup though turns out, just a reveal from Chigusa.
Still a pretty prominent focus on Hiromi though (not Fenix yet), compared to how his characterization can be seen as going nowhere before, probably can fix that a bit at least. I do expect this from the preview before that it touches upon more of Fenix (but still a set up). There was more of Hiromi and Wakabayashi's relationship with the latter encouraging him despite of Hiromi being the weakest (expected this too, with Hiromi's "loser"/underdog portrayal before being Commander here), and not in an overly harsh way. It's not only outside strength that matters but also the inside as well, and by that Hiromi would still have merits if he'd not quit despite failing and being the weakest. Though yeah, continuing to struggle through failures aren't necessarily heroic traits, because it can be also about villains who kept scheming despite multiple failures, like Masamune in Ex-Aid, or many examples in ineffectual villains list. Hiromi's goal is to become a hero which continues from his comedic backstory telling before, and he's being a severe workaholic on that. What I want for series is honestly to make a point that heroic deeds isn't only about fighting bad guys, but it can be done via many more morally good trait and deeds in addition to “saving people”, as a hero should be heroic not only in fighting but in daily lives as well. If Hiromi can't be a hero by fighting as Kamen Rider in his condition of his life force being devoured by the demon in Demons Driver, then the series making him doing good deeds that doesn't involve fighting. Ironically though 80-year old Hiromi resisting against Olteca would just make him even more badass. 2 of Hiromi's friends, firstly, I think Tatsuhiko Tabuchi further shows that to care for other people you shouldn't resort into standoffish and hostile methods, it still makes him a jerk and his behavior here made things worse, in usual miscommunication way. Of course, Tatsuhiko acting as if he looked down on Hiromi (to prevent him using Demons Driver) would just make Hiromi view him as rowdy underling and assert his Commander position to him instead of learning what Tatsuhiko means, or Hiromi suspecting Tatsuhiko as traitor later. The better way is to be actually straightforward in their approach to others, it's not that being rude is the only way, of which that approach can be too glorified honestly. Which is done by Tatsuhiko simply explaining that Hiromi had side effects from using Demons Driver, of which there'd be no suspicion anymore that way. Hiromi does refer to Tatsuhiko as awkward though. I too thought that Tatsuhiko was going to become Giftarian, another one of ruined (sorta with Tatsuhiko's behavior) but potentially mended friendship lost by Olteca after Yosuke. Then, Chigusa Yamagiri. With her 'tomboy' approach of having short hair as well as head-on combatant (also being better than Hiromi in flashback), I thought her subversion at first was that she had gentler and more docile demeanor than what's expected of her exterior, in her interactions to Hiromi, Tatsuhiko, and also Ikki and Daiji, urging to prevent Hiromi pushing too far. But the subversion is actually about her being a twist villain so far, with her actually being on Deadman's side instead of playing double agent. So she's someone good at faking a personality too. And she utilizes actual handguns... that'd be something that can be censored on more kid-friendly programs (while those doesn't censor more fantasy guns). Now she reminded me a bit of W's Aya Kujo. A short-haired member of an authority force, established as a companion of a major Rider, with a flashback of them sparring, which turns out to be scheming villainesses. With the revealed status of Chigusa done at the end, I guess like Fenix' true nature, it'd be something I have to wait further. But I'm now guessing if Fenix is actually that horrific where Chigusa would rather side with Deadmans, or that it's the actual Chigusa being hypocrite that learning something bad about Fenix made her snap and not realizing that she did something worse by working with Deadmans. The newfound feud between Hiromi and George showed George being shady again after his portrayal before, just laughing over the Demons Driver and what Hiromi wanted to know regarding it, as well as his schemes with Akaishi before and Akaishi being smug again. I guess despite of how most of Fenix' members are noble, Fenix' higher ups alone would make it actual bad organization and all the underlings are all misguided. Her plan of getting Ikki and Daiji involved was about isolating Hiromi from Revice so that Olteca can target Hiromi without Revice on the way. But while they got played like a fiddle at first, Daiji did make good points when dealing with the workaholic Hiromi, to make a point that if Hiromi is dead, he can't save anyone. Again while you gotta be ready to throw away your life, you should try to resort into other (non-pragmatic) methods to save the day than self-sacrificing, because other than succeeding that time, you'd have a chance to do more in later parts when you survived. And Daiji's way of dealing with Hiromi is relatively more harsh (but not mean-spirited) compared to Ikki's, with Daiji raising his voice more as well as also chastising Ikki too for... not being enough busybody. It's good for Ikki to do that though, to understand what Hiromi wants to do But other than that, Ikki's the one that showed his competency again with him deducing Chigusa's plot, knowing that her sentences can have different meanings or contexts. But, there goes about "believing in others" then in this part, here Ikki shows the opposite approach of that to solve the problem, being appropriately suspicious of the real traitor and interpreting her words negatively (actual).Though his faith on Vice was repaid before when he finally agreed to let Vice taste the Igarashis' foods, of which Yukimi still held some grudge for him for understandable reasons. So Yukimi did learn about what did Vice try to do, and it explains of Yukimi cheering him less enthusiastically in ep. 16 before (the one where Yukimi accidentally kicked Lovekov). Other than the comedic bits, I wonder if Genta is actually stupid to focus on his cavity, or that he purposely hid the truth of him literally having no heart. Sakura now acts more cordial to Julio compared to previous episode, likely due to him further mourning after losing Yosuke. With Julio now insisting for her to call her Tamaki, like when he infiltrated the dojo before, but now to genuinely interact with her and asking for her favor instead of ulterior motives. He's completely tame like before when interacting with Sakura, and also without the over-the-top expressions he did when he infiltrated the dojo. As usual he'd want to ensure Aguilera's well being, but I wonder if right now he redeemed with him claiming he's not Sakura's enemy anymore (created unlikely bond from his inflitration before), or he's only like that to Sakura, or that he had to lay down due to him not having power now, considering he was a threat with his (upgraded) powers before. I also wonder if Tamaki would stay major character after this. Sakura's next scene with Aguilera, I guess it's expected to me that, Aguilera would react that way as she had twisted worldview. Aguilera's "care" for Sakura isn't something to be romanticized. To her, being a person she likes means you'll be used as a sacrifice for Giff. When Sakura actually provides her with an actual sensible care to try to have her live as normal human, Aguilera would just throw tantrums and cut ties with Sakura. Also Aguilera being no match for Jeanne in the fight here. Albeit yeah, what Aguilera wants is to bring Giff back, and that'd be an evil scheme, so I'd like to see how Sakura would express her disapproval for that later. Not much appearence for Olteca other than his schemes revolving Hiromi's friends, but there's another horror with him sending an unseen Giftarian to Revi and Vice, so he had claimed yet another bodycount. His “on the side of justice” talk is something I look forward too, but it's another Fenix reveal that is still a setup here. Quote:
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I dunno why people forget that Aguilera still has her same scheme as usual of reviving Giff (and would likely create chaos there... after all it'd elevate Aguilera to be the top dog again). And what Aguilera wants is only Giff, not being saved or living like normal human. That should be about stopping Aguilera's schemes as usual.
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01-27-2022, 12:56 AM | #15 |
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I gotta say I'm liking how even though the Igarashis are (currently) firmly on the same side, they have wildly different approaches to handling situations.
Daiji is easily the most pragmatic of the trio, the one most likely to think logically and the one least likely to have any moral hangups about fighting the villains, but it comes from a place of wanting a situation solved as quickly as possible so the threat to innocent lives is minimized. Sakura, on the other hand, has been surprisingly diplomatic, the one who most often finds herself trying to talk things out first and forge alliances. Part of it is because of her dynamic with 2 of the 3 main Deadmans, but it also makes sense when you consider that the whole reason she became a Rider in the first place wasn't just to save innocent lives, but to redeem someone. And Ikki is somewhere in-between, throwing himself headfirst into a situation with the right intentions, but still willing to step aside a bit and consider the perspectives of other people. A big chunk of Ikki's arc throughout this season has been learning when to step aside and trust in people's ability to save themselves. It's what he's had to do with both of his siblings after all, and it's also the reason why he doesn't attempt to stop Hiromi in this episode. It's a really good dynamic and it's the reason why Rider trios always work so damn well.
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01-27-2022, 04:47 PM | #16 |
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Quote:
Her plan of getting Ikki and Daiji involved was about isolating Hiromi from Revice so that Olteca can target Hiromi without Revice on the way. But while they got played like a fiddle at first, Daiji did make good points when dealing with the workaholic Hiromi, to make a point that if Hiromi is dead, he can't save anyone. Again while you gotta be ready to throw away your life, you should try to resort into other (non-pragmatic) methods to save the day than self-sacrificing, because other than succeeding that time, you'd have a chance to do more in later parts when you survived. And Daiji's way of dealing with Hiromi is relatively more harsh (but not mean-spirited) compared to Ikki's, with Daiji raising his voice more as well as also chastising Ikki too for... not being enough busybody. It's good for Ikki to do that though, to understand what Hiromi wants to do But other than that, Ikki's the one that showed his competency again with him deducing Chigusa's plot, knowing that her sentences can have different meanings or contexts. But, there goes about "believing in others" then in this part, here Ikki shows the opposite approach of that to solve the problem, being appropriately suspicious of the real traitor and interpreting her words negatively (actual).
Of course, even though he doesn't try and discourage Hiromi, Ikki's busybody behavior is still effective, as his sharp perception allows him to save Tatsuhiko from becoming Giftarian's lunch. I think this is the second time since Episode 6 that shows how observant Ikki can be, when his biases aren't getting in the way. There's like two extremes of competency to him and it depends entirely on how much he can emotionally detach himself from the problem and think about it critically. The ego is both his best friend and his worst enemy, kind of like Vice. Quote:
Probably Tatsuhiko learned at the end, but don't think he was a good friend to Hiromi before. He's the kind of those that acts antagonistic (for good intention) that is seen on several secondary Riders, of which that approach (justified too much I think) doesn't only make you a jerk but also can cause miscommunication.
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Ironically, Kagerou appeared due to Ikki's busybodiness, but now Kagerou appeared due to Ikki not being enough busybody. But dunno, so far, the arguments between Daiji (not Kagerou) and Ikki all came from something outside of Daiji's insecurity towards Ikki. At ep. 4 he argued with Ikki due to him not taking his Rider obligations seriously enough, and at this episode he argued due to Hiromi's well-being. Both which aren't related to his envy.
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