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06-15-2021, 02:55 AM | #581 |
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Well I promised I’d resurrect one of my running gags specifically for this episode and I am nothing if not a man of my word.
In this episode, Rook uses the IXA Knuckle and if you’re not convinced his Sazer-Tawlon, he does the Earth Tribe Gransazer pose. Yuri meanwhile, seems to be doing the Flame Tribe Gransazer pose. And Otoya breaks with the others by doing the Ichigo/Ryuki pose. With that out of the way, this is the last we see of the Rook (obvs). There is an S.I.C story where he comes back as a Sabbath, but it’s non-canonical. I feel that Abel only existed so Wataru would have something to do in this episode (beyond his pit crew selling DVDs). And, for my second promise, here’s Mio’s Fangire data. Pearlshell Fangire II True name: A Dress like an Isolation Cell (独房のようなドレス Dokubō no yō na Doresu) Human identity: Mio Suzuki Class: Aqua Rank: Queen Actor: Yuria Haga, Naoko Kamio (suit actress in Fangire form) Next time, we get what is probably the best exchange in this show and get to the roots of the king. |
06-15-2021, 04:21 AM | #582 |
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KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 30 - “CURTAIN RISING: KIVA’S IDENTITY”
Not really a ton to say about this one, because of that. It’s mostly addressing the same things as last episode (Yuri/Megumi vs Rook/Men Who Try To Put Them In The Corner; Kengo’s thematically relevant loss of identity via inability to perform his craft; Shizuka vs Mio), but now with the addition of Nago’s attempt to uncover Wataru’s secret. It’s a lot of fun content that is also, narratively, more of the same. While I really liked it, any analysis would just be me rephrasing any praise from 29. It’s good, but it isn’t really resolving anything from last time. (Well, it does resolve the Shizuka/Mio stuff, and it’s okay-to-good. Like a bunch of problematic storylines on Kiva, it ends better than it started, but it’d’ve been better had it never started. Shizuka expresses the appropriate amount of contrition for her wacky scheme to save Wataru from a presumed-toxic relationship, and she resolidifies herself as Wataru’s Best Mom. Episode 29 bugged the hell out of me on Shizuka’s behalf, but she was well-served in this one.) Quote:
For one, I sort of don’t like how little Kiva Emperor fights. It’s a form that spent the first few appearances with a one-minute Henshin that led to a quick finisher. It’s not a form that Kiva has been brawling with, up until recently. It’s mostly just felt like some additional stock footage to have to sit through before Kiva’s new finisher.
With this episode, it’s more of the main action form, and it’s… fine? It has roughly the same physicality as the base form, and it doesn’t really come with a new weapon or additional power, so it all just feels like Regular Kiva Fights But Gold And Takaiwa Won’t Die. It’s a very lateral move, Takaiwa’s survival notwithstanding. I feel like it maybe needs a weapon? I don’t know. You look at Rising IXA, and it’s got that MouthPhoneGun (did not check the wiki), so it gives IXA double the weaponry to take on Fangires. It’s a clear upgrade, and that’s before we get into the brutal finisher. With Emperor Form, it’s just Gold Kiva, and it plays as weirdly underpowered. Quote:
But these last couple episodes, the fights have been great. Mostly it’s because the parallel nature of them makes the fights feel eternal, continuous through the decades. When Megumi and Yuri are doing the exact same moves to fight Rook, it’s a fight that feels monumental and personal. The fights become an extension of their commitment and connection. It’s the ass-kicking version of the bit where Wataru and Otoya play the same song on their violins, decades apart, because Yuri and Megumi kick ass. That’s what their passion is, that's their art. They are warriors, and they’re the most related when they’re sparring with a Fangire.
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And then there’s the massive 10-combatant, two-timeline brawl that ends this episode. If this middle part of the storyline never had anything more than this fight, I think I’d’ve still enjoyed it. A lot of it is just your basic Rook Is Unstoppable stuff, but crowding that out with Jiro, IXA, Rising IXA, Riki, Ramon, Megumi, Kiva Emperor, and a completely separate Fangire (a cowboy who is killing magicians, which is unbelievably only a minor story in this three-parter) makes it all feel like a buffet of non-stop excitement. The actual fight may be basic (there aren’t any moves that really stick out in my mind) but we’re so firmly into Quantity Over Quality territory that I don’t really mind.
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06-15-2021, 08:51 AM | #583 |
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Oh man, them both using IXA - their family's weapon - is so integral to the climax of their story that I can't think Otoya And Nago Bravely Shoulder The Burden was ever ever ever on the table. There've been some dodgy decisions made for both women by the men in/making the show (the way Yuri is laughing triumphantly with Jiro there!), but you don't have an ending to this story without Yuri and Megumi using IXA to defeat Rook.
Maybe you misunderstand why Yuri is so happy here? Her quest for revenge was a burden that made her feel guilty for being happy, perceiving it as a betrayal of the obligation she made to her mother. She's not sadistically laughing that Rook's dead for 22 years, she's laughing cause she can finally give herself a chance to be happy and balance her life as a soldier with her new life with Otoya. I'm honestly surprised and curious how you can see this beautifully heartwarming scene with Yuri expressing her most genuine happiness in years as she runs towards her friends in celebration as a "dodgy decision". Don't you think that she deserves to have a life outside of fighting? Doesn't she deserve to enjoy a little moment of happiness after denying herself that experience for so long? Quote:
As some other folks noted, it probably also has something to do with Nago's crush on Maya. By being able to find something redeemable in one Fangire (i.e. that face), it allowed him to think that there could be another Fangire out there worth sparing. Luckily, it was that skinny kid he grew to tolerate!
Also, man, Nago's got some revisionist-ass history going on in that scene with Wataru at Mal d'Amour. He's like (and maybe it's just the translation) Oh I Always Heard There Was A Chance That Kiva Could Be An Enemy But Now I Know Better, and it's like, a chance?! Nago has never in his life been anything less than absolutely certain, so for him to be like A Lot Of People Were Saying It, like, come on. He can't ever admit that he's wrong! Even when it shows his magnanimity! NAGO! Maybe that's why it seemed so insignificant and small at the time, since the real payoff to that is here, as Nago reasons that Kiva might actually an okay guy since it's Wataru. Sure, if Wataru betrays that trust, then Nago won't hesitate to kill him, but for now they can be friends and partners in fighting Fangires. Usually, I think it would be a narrative letdown to have the conflict resolved so easily (like my minor complaint about Akira's and Mochida's 1 episode-long conflict in Hibiki), but after understanding that Nago is a changed man, I had to feel kind of a fool for expecting anything else and it made me see him in a better light.
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06-15-2021, 11:29 AM | #584 |
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This was a little thing, but it's worth calling out. Yuri does the Knuckle activation the way Otoya does it, and Megumi does the activation the way Nago does it. It's specific to the IXA of its era. I really appreciated that touch.
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So yeah, this part reminds of when series with many Riders had most of the Riders gathered there for fights against each other, but for this, it applies to every fighter but not all them are Riders. But... Kiva Emperor is actually overpowered like usual final form, and Rook isn't the final boss of this story, there will be a real proof about why the final fight is made that way, due to the overpoweredness of it.
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Why shouldn't Yuri be laughing triumphantly with Jirou though? Remember, Rook is their mutual arch enemy, he killed Yuri's mother and Jirou's clan so it makes sense that they would both be happy about finally getting their revenge. It's not just Jirou who Yuri is laughing with either, there's also her bf Otoya, as well as Ramon and Riki. It was a team effort and I think Yuri appreciates that after being alone in her personal struggle for so long, they finally conceded to let her be their comrade and equal and gave her the honor of using IXA to deal the coup de grace to Rook. All she needed was that little bit of validation from them, to realize that her revenge wasn't the most important thing in her life, but the life that she can enjoy freely from now on and her friends are a part of that, cause they believed in her and rooted for her success.
Maybe you misunderstand why Yuri is so happy here? Her quest for revenge was a burden that made her feel guilty for being happy, perceiving it as a betrayal of the obligation she made to her mother. She's not sadistically laughing that Rook's dead for 22 years, she's laughing cause she can finally give herself a chance to be happy and balance her life as a soldier with her new life with Otoya. I'm honestly surprised and curious how you can see this beautifully heartwarming scene with Yuri expressing her most genuine happiness in years as she runs towards her friends in celebration as a "dodgy decision". Don't you think that she deserves to have a life outside of fighting? Doesn't she deserve to enjoy a little moment of happiness after denying herself that experience for so long? But, yeah, I am totally okay with Yuri celebrating her hard-fought victory with everyone else. It's a very nice moment for her, and I wish it wasn't tainted by Jiro being a part of it. Quote:
Maybe that's why it seemed so insignificant and small at the time, since the real payoff to that is here, as Nago reasons that Kiva might actually an okay guy since it's Wataru. Sure, if Wataru betrays that trust, then Nago won't hesitate to kill him, but for now they can be friends and partners in fighting Fangires. Usually, I think it would be a narrative letdown to have the conflict resolved so easily (like my minor complaint about Akira's and Mochida's 1 episode-long conflict in Hibiki), but after understanding that Nago is a changed man, I had to feel kind of a fool for expecting anything else and it made me see him in a better light.
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06-15-2021, 01:13 PM | #585 |
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It's not that she's happy (I like Yuri being happy with her choices!), it's that she's happy around Jiro, and that's a problem. Jiro's the guy who kidnapped her and threatened to breed her just a few weeks prior. For her to be all Forgive And Forget when that guy did nothing to redeem himself after his, frankly, irredeemable transgressions? To see her laughing with the guy who vowed to assault her? That's a massive miscalculation, and it was a decision that it feels like the show didn't think through all the way.
But, yeah, I am totally okay with Yuri celebrating her hard-fought victory with everyone else. It's a very nice moment for her, and I wish it wasn't tainted by Jiro being a part of it. I think one of the morals of this episode is about how holding on to grudges and letting hatred fester can have a toxic effect on a person. Yuri shows an admirable amount of maturity and wisdom by being able to forgive and forget. By doing that, she was able to share her burden with the others and that's probably why Otoya decided she was mentally prepared to finally use IXA. I don't know if any of this can convince you. Maybe we just have to agree to disagree here? Quote:
I wonder if some of it also isn't that Kiva's way more powerful than Wataru, so molding and shaping Wataru suddenly becomes more appealing than before (or than acting as a mentor to Kengo). Like, I think Nago is in a real Not All Fangires mindset, but some of his turnaround on Kiva might be less that Wataru's a sweet boy, and more that Nago now can direct Kiva to serve Nago's purposes.
Poor Kengo though. Rhino Fangire didn't crush his dream, but it still got crushed anyway. Maybe he should try and focus on his singing talent? I haven't talked much about the 2008 side of the fight, since I thought Yuri's was more emotional, but I will praise Megumi for destroying Rook using Burst Mode, showing once more how superfluous Rising is.
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06-15-2021, 01:42 PM | #586 |
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So you think Jirou needed an arc like Alain where he sees the error of his ways and resolves to become a better person? I guess that might have made the scene work better. However, it's probably okay for that to be water under the bridge after 7 episodes. Even though he didn't do much to redeem himself, he did ultimately accept Yuri's feelings for Otoya and spare their lives, so he does have some heart deep down.
I think one of the morals of this episode is about how holding on to grudges and letting hatred fester can have a toxic effect on a person. Yuri shows an admirable amount of maturity and wisdom by being able to forgive and forget. By doing that, she was able to share her burden with the others and that's probably why Otoya decided she was mentally prepared to finally use IXA. I don't know if any of this can convince you. Maybe we just have to agree to disagree here? I'll just add that: -I was using "Forgive and Forget" sarcastically, since the show never gives Yuri a scene to confront Jiro. It's the narrative opting to ignore a terrible action, and that's way worse to me than if they'd contrived some redemption arc for Jiro or some forced acceptance from Yuri. -I feel like saying that Yuri needing to not hold a grudge against Jiro is a stretch? For one, it continues to make the resolution dependent on Yuri changing to accommodate her attacker, which, no. The other problem is that I'm not sure I'm seeing a lot in this story that's about letting go of anything, since it's largely about a bunch of men telling Yuri and Megumi what their motivations are and getting them pretty much entirely wrong. And they said Megumi wasn't good enough to be IXA! She's the best IXA they've had yet!
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06-15-2021, 02:24 PM | #587 |
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KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 31 - “APPLAUSE: A MOTHER-DEDICATED TRANSFORMATION”
There’s a simplicity to the Megumi and Yuri story here that I really love. It’s a three-parter devoted to exploring why they each fight, and the answer is simple: because they’re warriors. Quote:
The rest of the episode is… I mean, god, who cares? It’s the concluding episode in a Yuri/Megumi three-parter where they both Henshin into IXA and defeat Rook! Why even have other plots! Plus, what’s here are mostly bits and pieces, nothing that really even adds up to a full idea. Taiga is King, but we only see him in silhouette, so we’re denied his movie-star good looks. Mio is (grudgingly) taking her place as Queen, and ends the episode by fighting Kiva. Kengo sees Nago warmly offer to train Wataru and coldly tell Wataru that he never liked Kengo to begin with, because oh man did anyone think Nago was going to end up doing Kengo any favors.
That tiny amount of soul-demolishing actually leads to a neat Shima bit, where Shima tells Kengo - who is crying in the rain and cursing his fate - that eventually he’s going to stop crying, so he better figure what he’s going to do when that happens. It’s a characteristically pragmatic and paternal piece of advice from Shima. It’s letting Kengo know that, yeah, losing your dream, your best friend, and your teacher? That is a group of things worth crying over! It’s okay to feel angry and sad about those things! But you will eventually stop crying, and you’ll need to have a plan of action. It’s my favorite type of Kamen Rider life lesson, where all feelings are valid, but you still need to exist in the world. Getting up after life knocks you down is the first step towards making things better, but you can take your time getting up. I really appreciate that lesson.
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06-15-2021, 05:00 PM | #588 |
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This was one of the episodes I remembered the most, given it was the big moment where both Yuri and Megumi got to be IXA. It was a good finale for Rook as a villain, too, although I find it a bit dumb that such a brawny dude died from a shoulder injury.
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06-15-2021, 05:20 PM | #589 |
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Why is that/?
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06-15-2021, 05:22 PM | #590 |
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Just about the easiest choice in the world for me this time, as it absolutely couldn't be anything other than Feel the same.
A song that apparently exists specifically because the actors for Yuri (Yuu Takahashi) and Megumi (Nana Yanagisawa) wanted to perform a duet together, everything I could possibly say about it is pretty much summed up perfectly by that title alone. Unlike the vague longing and uncertainty that defines Wataru's relationship with his dad, the Asou family has a very specific connection that's been passed down through the years, and there's a confidence to that which the song reflects nicely. It's just kind of a base-level Kiva character song, but keep in mind how high the average for Kiva is when I say that. Definitely a treat for fans of Yuri and Megumi! And I mean, s***, after watching this one, a lot of people were probably fans of Yuri and Megumi? Kiva's treatment of these characters has its ups and downs, but it did right by them at maybe the most important possible moment, resulting an episode with a level of fiery intensity that surpasses the very sun Megumi is standing in front of in Ixa's stock footage, as her mother declares in the past how her very soul will rise up to destroy Rook no matter how many times he comes back. GAAAAH this is a good one! I had really forgotten just how awesome it was before going back to it, and it's another occasion where I was straight up rewatching huge chunks of the episode because of how attention-grabbing it is. It's really got it all, and I especially love how Rook is defeated in the past with a smart plan, which is a plus in any superhero story, but even better here, because it's entirely Yuri's plan. Quote:
Also, man, Nago's got some revisionist-ass history going on in that scene with Wataru at Mal d'Amour. He's like (and maybe it's just the translation) Oh I Always Heard There Was A Chance That Kiva Could Be An Enemy But Now I Know Better, and it's like, a chance?! Nago has never in his life been anything less than absolutely certain, so for him to be like A Lot Of People Were Saying It, like, come on. He can't ever admit that he's wrong! Even when it shows his magnanimity! NAGO!
Well, I mean, he used to be a bit more serious, but especially with the benefit of knowing how the show progresses, I can see why Inoue resolved his rivalry with Kiva in such a surprisingly cleanly fashion. The story is maybe well past the point where Nago's whole Van Helsing shtick is useful to drive Wataru's growth, so redefining their relationship like this freshens things up and allows Nago to be more in the loop going forward, lest he end up like poor Shizuka.
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