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03-06-2021, 02:26 AM | #301 |
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I feel like Kasumi's dad is worse, though, for two reasons.
First, Kasumi's dad is horrible in a more banal, pointless way. He's just cruel for stupid plot reasons, something literally any adult would look at and go Wait This Is Too Far. The fact that he psychologically damages his daughter and then spends a year stalking her because he regrets his actions but never tries to reconcile with her... it's all so dumb. At least with Banno, his horribleness has a meatier goal, and he's fully aware of what he's doing. Kasumi's dad (I genuinely don't even want to learn his name, that's how much better than him she is) is just breaking something and then spending a year staring at it and feeling bad. Maybe fix it! Or something! Second, the minor stakes (one ruined relationship) are actually more terrifying than something that can only exist in the world of tokusatsu. It's like the flipside of how the Yuumi/Tomoya story worked because it was about something most people will experience at some point in their lives. This story has a parent/child relationship where everyone can see themselves in at least one role, so the consequences land harder. When the thing that sets that plot into motion is so needless and ridiculous, it feels more terrible than some evil mastermind trying to turn people into robots or whatever. Quote:
And this creates the Refuge in Audacity effect: Making an immoral action more unrealistic and ridiculous can make it seem less unsettling and tragic and make it funnier instead, like more abstract action such "a guy is trying to Take Over the World, let's go stop him!", where the more realistic ones can seem personally more hatable because their actions call up things that the audience might have had happen to them. But personal feelings can't and should never be used to judge which is worse or better (as person). Storytelling devices may be able to seem depersonalize the villainy, like how the countless victims are those the audiences don't know (cuz a million is a statistic) or them being aware of what they're doing, but it doesn't diminish the bad traits they've done, and those can't be dismissed or forgotten. Kasumi's dad is probably a worse character, but jerks in personal life are by no means worse than a genocidal madman, person-wise regardless of personal feelings. Quote:
KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 13 - “‘KAY, CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
I like the new kid! I’d probably like him more if some of the mystery hadn’t been spoiled, but I still like him! There’s clearly a story happening with the Park Grandpa and one of the Youths, where we’re going to talk about how different generations relate to each other or something like that. It’s only hinted at in this one (where the Youth was formerly a good kid who cared about animals), but I’m sure the next installment will provide more details to unpack that story. As it is, not much to say about it. Luckily, there’s a new resident in Ryotaro’s body, and he’s pretty fun. I don’t… I feel like I don’t really have anything to say about this episode? (I just took a few minute break between paragraphs, something I don’t usually do when writing these up.) Like, it’s a fun episode. It’s full of dancing and shouting and I’m starting to realize there’s really not much more? Like, there are maybe five actual scenes in this episode and they are long. Real long. Not the usual long takes or scenes where there’s tons of information coming at you, but scenes where it’s like We Are Still Trying To Hypnotize Ryotaro and The New Guy Has A Dance Routine and The Imagin Fight Over Ryotaro’s Body and The Park Is Full Of Animals. They’re good scenes and all, but this isn’t exactly a swiftly-told story. It’s full of scenes where you get the point, and then they just do another minute or so of it. It’s very thin, this one. There’s a thing that happens, Ryotaro gets possessed by a new Imagin and the crew tries to figure out why, but that’s the entire story. There aren’t really any additional levels to it yet, no subtle twists or surprise turns. There’s a mystery, but that’s not really a complete story. This one’s all set-up, and not much more than that. It’s like a fifteen-minute story stretched out to a half-hour. It’s fun, though. Well, maybe not “fun”, that makes it sound more satisfying or memorable than I found it. It’s… entertaining? I guess? It’s nice to see a story so full of crazy monsters, and having Ryotaro in danger is a good escalation at this point in the series. But, like, man, not much to talk about from it? Hopefully the story part of the story will be more apparent in the second installment! Other than that, this episode probably also talks about how there's an appropriate response, and there's also disproportionate response. The park keeper may not want those punks (and Ryutaros later takes them in charge!) causing a ruckus in the park, but doesn't mean that he wants anyone to do that to be exterminated, which is Imagin's idea of granting what's supposed to be the park keeper's wish. Quote:
THE BAGGAGE CAR
-I do like the physicality of Gun Form. There’s this playfulness to it that sells Kid Imagin. All that bobbing and weaving, the dips and struts, it’s very fun to watch. A great new form for Den-O -Airi! Has some new memories I guess! And a pocketwatch! And a mysterious man from her past that is likely Pocketwatchman from the various Den-O fight scenes! That’s about all I have to say about this mystery! -Sorry this post’s so short? I just found it really… like, what is the entertaining version of Bland? Because that’s what this one was. Technically a weak outing (I’m already sick of talking about it), despite it having some fun ideas and new characters. It’s just, god, it is so unnecessarily drawn-out. I feel like I just watched half an episode at half-speed.
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03-06-2021, 05:44 AM | #302 |
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03-06-2021, 11:32 AM | #303 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Like, I think Naomi expected a more ridiculous job than she got, and only now is her dream coming true. Quote:
My biggest issue, though? So I'm all for the cute puppy living, but if the entire premise was that it died because they couldn't get to the vet in time, how did throwing a massive Kamen Rider battle with two-monster train fight into the mix mean they got to the vet faster? That's always bugged me about this one.
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Gun Form is also something that I like better for physicality, into the V-shaped head. Also I like the pun on the weapon name; Ryuvolver. Also, the term is probably not bland but, repetitive. The new thing in this one is probably about how the Taros probably start to cooperate for common goals, which is Ryotaro's own good, against Ryutaros.
And, yeah, the Imagins have previously worked together a little on helping Ryotaro defeat a monster, but this is the first time where they're deciding on their own to cooperate with each other. (14 actually does a bigger piece on this, but it starts in 13.) You can see them starting to think of Ryotaro as more than just a really nice house. They're worried about him as a nice boy, and they're protective of him as a member of the team. It's some good character development! Those parts worked well!
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03-06-2021, 02:09 PM | #304 |
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I get where you're coming from, but especially if it's set pre-Kuuga that doesn't make sense to me. In the 80s and 90s if there was one rule for tokusatsu (especially Metal Heroes) it was "If you see a dog, it is going to die." They were the standard sacrificial victim to prove how cruel the MotW was.
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03-06-2021, 02:12 PM | #305 |
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I get where you're coming from, but especially if it's set pre-Kuuga that doesn't make sense to me. In the 80s and 90s if there was one rule for tokusatsu (especially Metal Heroes) it was "If you see a dog, it is going to die." They were the standard sacrificial victim to prove how cruel the MotW was.
--oh.
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03-06-2021, 03:37 PM | #306 |
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 14 - “DANCE WITH THE DRAGON”
I’m pretty sure I’ve said before how much I appreciate the way this series makes more out of the monster plots. It’s never just A Monster Jumps Out And People Scream. (I mean, it does, and they do, but it’s never just that.) There’s a plan the monster is trying to enact, and a guest star that the plan centers around. It creates a more robust story for the hero to interact with, a sense that there are legitimate stakes to what’s occurring. Someone’s hopes and dreams are in the balance, and the hero is making a concrete change for the better. The flipside of that expectation from a Den-O story is that when the monster plot is as thin as it in this story, when the characters are this two-dimensional and blank, it’s incredibly difficult for me to invest enough in the story to care what the hero is trying to do. Quote:
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THE BAGGAGE CAR
-Not to keep shitting on this episode, but having Airi remember something huge, and then having her forget it by the end of the story so the audience is kept in the dark is such a dick move. Such a bait and switch. Just lazy, lazy writing. -Best scene in the entire story was probably Momo giving a Team Imagin pep-talk that devolved into insults and recriminations. It’s that mix of teamwork and simmering resentments that is maybe why I love watching these characters hang out. For all the flaws in this story, the stuff with Momo, Ura, and Kin always worked.
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03-06-2021, 04:00 PM | #307 |
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There was basically zero chance that Kamen Rider Den-O was going to end this story with that dog still being dead. They'd sooner kill that kid than leave that dog dead.
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03-06-2021, 04:10 PM | #308 |
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 15 - "BATH JACK PANIC”
Oh, man, best episode. Just a perfect episode. Literally everything I want in a Den-O story: a sympathetic victim, a series of unfortunate events that culminate in the comedy version of tension, another sympathetic victim, multiple form changes, a frustrated Momo, a cunning Ura, a blundering Kin, a gleefully violent Ryu, a Hana who bristles at being underestimated to the degree that she basically resolves the plot, a crucial Airi appearance that shines so much sunlight into this story that I might need to see a dermatologist, and it's wrapped up in a compelling story about the unhealthiness of living in resentment rather than making a change for the better. Like, it's such a pleasant story, you know? It's some typical Den-O comedy-of-errors setup, where Ryotaro's unluckiness gets him from Shopping In A Market straight to A Hostage Situation within about thirty seconds. And that's delightful, for sure. But it's the way this weird story keeps ballooning out into more empathy, more understanding, that really had me captivated. It's for sure my favorite mode of Kamen Rider, when someone who's making a dumb choice in their life isn't treated like a villain to defeat, but a person to be helped. Even though the bike thief took multiple people hostage, there's a need to hear him out when he's confessing that things just got away from him. When the bath house hostage becomes the next hostage taker (!), everyone's still like How Do We Help This Guy So This Doesn't Happen Again. It could come off as the show not taking the stakes seriously, but it feels to me like it's just how a hero should work. Monsters need to be detonated, people need to be helped. That's it. That's the formula. And it's a good one! I could watch a million episodes about Kamen Rider casts working together to figure out how to get someone back on the right track (sorry), which is a thing that bothered me a lot about the last two stories. 13/14 didn't have a human interest story at all, really, and 11/12 put all of the improvement on the victim, not the perpetrator. Here, it's two guys who are clearly making rash decisions that they instantly regret, and it's up to our heroes to improve their fates. Getting to see basically the entire cast coming together to juggle this bizarre set of circumstances and potentially save several lives... yes? Forever, please? It helps that this particular story has so many fun moves to it. The hostage-taking happens incredibly fast, and then it's just one insane turn after another as Hana and Airi get involved, Ryotaro keeps leaving and returning, the Imagin try and contribute to various levels of effectiveness (Ura: Very! Kin and Ryu: Not So Very!), and the whole episode keeps the plates spinning perfectly. I cannot believe how packed this episode was! It's like night and day from the last two slogs of episodes. This thing was dynamic and clever, from first to last. Breathtaking in its humor, its empathy, and its craftsmanship. A massively entertaining return to form. THE BAGGAGE CAR -Killer editing in this. There're these rapid cuts as the bike thief is scoping out the bath house for any other hostages that race through a boring Here's The Geography Of This Space necessity, and keep the energy high. So much of this story is about never letting the viewer feel complacent in the plot (that's why folks keep wandering into and out of it), which the editing helps sell. Great direction, but brilliant editing. -One of the best sources of humor in this episode were the little background gags the actors would pull. I will stan hard for any Momo/Hana fight scene, but even I was distracted by the cute shot of Naomi and Ura spinning their chairs in the background. -Best Airi episode for me, I think. It's the comedic twist on her kindness from 7/8, where she's sweetly oblivious to whatever danger might be occurring. (The bit where she's walking into a scene of a man pointing a gun at Hana and she just goes Oh Hana's Here Hi Hana! Best underplayed reaction for comedic effect ever!) There's just the power to her tranquility that takes a tense situation of men making terrible choices and transforms it into a scene of everyone enjoying lunch together. Insane! Could never work on another show, but I bought it 1000% here. -I feel like this is the first time we got more personalized Henshins for Kin and Ura? Kin, for sure? He's got this new music (I think?), and a completely different sumo pose. I like it! I like them each having a different idea of what it means to change into Den-O.
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03-06-2021, 04:49 PM | #309 |
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So this is Yonemura's third episode of the series, and I'll readily and wholeheartedly agree that it's quite great – a huge improvement over his last effort.
It's also Ishida's third episode of Den-O, which explains why it's dripping with perfectly constructed atmosphere from beginning to end, massively enhancing everything the script is trying to accomplish – as is almost always the case with his efforts.
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03-06-2021, 04:54 PM | #310 |
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Well, given that I’ve sworn not to identify any of the face actors in this thread, for this episode, I’ll exploit a loophole and point out the live actor for this episode appeared in the episode my thread reviewed two days ago. http://www.tokunation.com/showthread.php?t=96971
But I will directly tell you about our Imagin VA for this week. And he’s fairly prolific. Yōhei Tadano Notable Anime roles: Giuliano Flip in BNA: Brand New Animal, Ochanomizu-hakase in Go Astro Boy Go!, Kudou in Great Pretender, Leslie in Hime-sama Goyojin, Shigemori Sumimura in Kekkaishi, Darjeeling Aspoirot in Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katori no Nazotoki File, Miyagi in Megalobox, Milking in Milky Panic twelve, Kōji Noto in Psycho Pass, Sebastian in Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS Notable dubbing roles: Nudis Vulko in Aquaman, Ian Hawke in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Stannis Baratheon in Game of Thrones, Earl Unger in Home Alone 3, Hot Rod in Transformers: The Last Knight, Yoda in the Star Wars franchise (from 2014 onwards), Rick in Rick and Morty, King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph, Heinz Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb. |
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