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01-24-2022, 11:15 AM | #361 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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Well, I imagine it's not much of a coincidence he hasn't been seen for a decade
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01-24-2022, 11:17 AM | #362 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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There were no more Kamen Rider worlds left to conquer! That's the only reason!
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01-24-2022, 11:58 AM | #363 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,546
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So I’ll be honest. On its own, I think this episode is okay. But I like how Ghost proper actually ties it in and makes it the actual appearance of the Newton Eyecon (the first in a tradition of bringing out one item from the next toyline at the end of the current one, which got followed by the Shakariki Sports Gashat, the Gorilla and Diamond Fullbottles, the Build Ridewatch, the Flying Falcon Progrise Key, the Peter Fantasista Wonder Ridebook and the Megalodon Vistamp).
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01-24-2022, 07:34 PM | #364 |
New Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 71
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It was good storytelling! Possibly helped along by less corporate oversight! (and did not make me late for work, haha) I also now appreciate how it tied into the Ghost series without watching Ghost again for it. Some mixed feelings about Ghost, I have them.
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01-24-2022, 08:21 PM | #365 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
But anyway, yeah, certainly a lot to commend about this one, especially considering it was the only episode of Drive that Nobuhiro Mouri wrote. I think my personal absolute favorite thing about it is how it sets up the idea of Shinnosuke getting that one last miracle chance at transforming into Drive, only to have him make the choice to reject it. I'm not sure I can properly get across how immensely satisfying the lines "Even if I can't transform... Even if Mr. Belt is gone... I'm still a cop, and a Kamen Rider!" were and are to me. First of all, "This man is a cop and a Kamen Rider!" was the show's tagline, so it's calling back to something that was a key part of the series from its very first ads, let alone the first episodes. And, going back to my whole personal connection to Drive, those trailers had me extremely excited for the show before it even started. So that was cool to see referenced in the finale. More importantly, that whole sentiment that it isn't a toy belt that truly makes Shinnosuke a Rider, that's something I always love seeing in superhero stories. It goes back to how many climactic episodes of Power Rangers I've seen that put the Rangers in a position where they still have to be heroes without, you know, Power, and I just think that's a great way to get to the core of what really makes characters of this sort inspirational. In Shinnosuke's particular case here, one of the things I loved about him from the start was how his initial arc is all about him finding his drive to press forward in life again after getting stuck in a depressive rut, which I'm sure is an extremely relatable thing for a lot of people, and leaving the whole show on that last message from Belt-san – that it's never too late to get back up and Start Your Engine – I've always felt that was an extremely poignant resolution. (And coming after an episode that already had one of those, too! Drive really is something else!)
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01-24-2022, 10:38 PM | #366 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Quote:
But I like how Ghost proper actually ties it in and makes it the actual appearance of the Newton Eyecon (the first in a tradition of bringing out one item from the next toyline at the end of the current one, which got followed by the Shakariki Sports Gashat, the Gorilla and Diamond Fullbottles, the Build Ridewatch, the Flying Falcon Progrise Key, the Peter Fantasista Wonder Ridebook and the Megalodon Vistamp).
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In Shinnosuke's particular case here, one of the things I loved about him from the start was how his initial arc is all about him finding his drive to press forward in life again after getting stuck in a depressive rut, which I'm sure is an extremely relatable thing for a lot of people, and leaving the whole show on that last message from Belt-san ? that it's never too late to get back up and Start Your Engine ? I've always felt that was an extremely poignant resolution. (And coming after an episode that already had one of those, too! Drive really is something else!)
Good episode.
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01-24-2022, 11:49 PM | #367 |
Reiei
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 3,691
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But having watched Ghost and finding some appreciation for it, I do have to agree everything that's said here. Does also remind that, in my opinion, Shinnosuke is still one of the few protagonists in Rider that feel "complete". |
01-25-2022, 12:08 AM | #368 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Truth be told I was mean to this episode when it originally aired. Because at the time I was 13-14 years old and I wasn't at the right mindset to see the new hero. So, the entire episode just read to me as "How dare the new hero who definitely doesn't look as cool as the old hero style on him!"
But having watched Ghost and finding some appreciation for it, I do have to agree everything that's said here. But, in the aftermath, it's like... it's like Takeru and Yurusen showed up to help Shinnosuke move? They're just seeing him off, not trying to rush him out the door. I don't know. I was a lot warmer to this thing now than I was originally.
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01-27-2022, 07:20 PM | #369 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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Location: Chicago, IL
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KAMEN RIDER X KAMEN RIDER GHOST & DRIVE: SUPER MOVIE WAR GENESIS
Hard to believe a Ghost/Drive movie this inept and lazy came from a writer who a) never wrote anything for Ghost; b) never wrote anything for Drive; c) never wrote anything for Kamen Rider before; and d) never wrote anything for Kamen Rider after. It’s the laziness that’s the worst part, I think. Ineptitude… I mean, it’s a crossover movie. Most of them are fairly inept. But the amount of stuff in here that no one even tries to justify is what keeps me from trying to find the good in it. There’s such a blatant disregard for the audience’s intelligence (and time!) that I’m honestly shocked. I disliked this movie the first time I saw it, and I think I might actually hate it now. Like, they find Mister Belt in the bushes. What is that? What even is the point of that, beyond getting Shinnosuke back in a superhero suit with zero effort? It not only undercuts the end of the TV series, but they don’t… they don’t even do anything with the return of Mister Belt. Shinnosuke’s like Yay Team and Mister Belt’s like I Don’t Know You, and that’s all we get in the couple exchanges that bother to acknowledge their intensely personal bond. And then, for the finale, Krim’s just like I Knew I’d Be Needed For This Winter Crossover Movie But Also Goodbye Again Forever. It’s… someone worked on a Kamen Rider Drive series. They worked so hard to craft a compelling emotional arc for Shinnosuke, and a compelling emotional arc for Mister Belt, and a set of consequences that helped solidify their achievements and heroism. And then this movie’s like Nah. All of the Drive stuff is pointless, except for maybe the Shinnosuke/Kiriko stuff, and even that’s weirdly diminished and compromised. The charisma of the actors helps the final hallway scene land, but it’s sort of shocking to have one of the most mature romances in Kamen Rider not really bother with a lot of dialogue for their engagement and wedding. And then there’s Team Roidmude coming back as one-note evil henchmen, Chase coming back as a hero just to die in front of Go again, the funny-but-irrelevant-and-also-very-long Kamen Rider Jun stuff… it’s weirdly insulting, as a Drive fan. I’d rather have never seen these characters again, if this is all I’m going to get. The Ghost cast doesn’t fare much better. There’s a whole subplot about Rinna and Akari teaming-up to build a Wormhole Machine to rescue Shinnosuke and Takeru from the past… that just ends with Takeru’s dad using his magic powers (?) to open a wormhole and send them home. That’s how most of the movie is, plot-wise. Characters spend a bunch of time on something, and then it didn’t matter anyway. Stuff just keeps randomly occurring until the end credits roll. That stuff’s mostly centered around Takeru’s feelings for his dad, and that’s another part of the movie that just didn’t work for me. Takeru, especially at this stage in his journey, is a difficult protagonist. He’s whiny, mopey, impulsive, and tough to work with. Those attributes are by design, so that’s okay. But it means that you have to carefully calibrate the show around Takeru to make him a hero worth rooting for. He doesn’t have the easy charisma of Shinnosuke, or the humor of Shotaro, or the magnetic energy of Kouta. He’s a bratty teenager who wants to be a hero, and that’s off-putting for a lot of fans. But if you put Takeru into a show that’s trying to shape him out of those habits, and surround him with a cast that challenges him to be better, you get something really special. So, of course, this movie splits Takeru off from his supporting cast almost immediately, and gives him a plot where he contemplates obliterating the future by changing the past, while filling in the gaps with him screaming at his past self to Get In The Belt, Takeru. He’s massively unlikable here. The only Takeru scenes that worked for me are the one in the beginning, where he’s fighting the Ganma at the temple, and the one at the end, where he’s goofing around with Akari and Onari. The second one, in particular, is so good. It strikes this balance between Takeru as a callow teen, grumpy that he doesn’t have anything tangible to show for his time-traveling adventure, and the would-be hero who’s never going to stop trying. Everything else is just Takeru screaming at Younger Takeru to stop being such a whiny brat who doesn’t appreciate his taciturn father and pointless hardships. (It’s maybe okay to just have hot water? In 2005?) And, man, the whole delayed I Knew You Were My Son All Along… no thanks? Dumb trope, and one that just ends making Takeru’s dad seem like a bit of a jerk. Takeru's dad waits until he's dying to tell his teenaged son that he's proud of him? Thanks for turning the emotional catharsis Takeru desperately craves into just another trauma! Also! What in the hell is the plot of this movie, even?! Takeru’s dad uses his magic powers (?) to bring both his son and a random bystander into the past? For no apparent reason? And then sends them back to the present after they don’t defeat the villain? As he’s dying? I sincerely, top to bottom, do not understand what the plot of this movie is. I don’t understand who’s responsible for setting the plot in motion, and I don’t understand how any of it links together. Worse, it ends up making every character in it look bad, creating a sub-par version of two shows I genuinely enjoyed. It’s relentlessly lazy, and tonally chaotic. The middle section drags, and the ending is a generic fight at Kamen Rider Quarry (which is now right next to Daitenku Temple). The early promise of Ghost and Drive teaming up to take down a Ganma Robber is tossed aside for a muddled story about Not Dwelling On Your Problems (or, as shown here, Action Is More Important Than Analysis, definitely an emotionally-responsible way of dealing with traumatic events), and a scene where a pre-adolescent boy is handed a sword and told to fight monsters. That da Vinci Ganma design is an all-time great, though. Best movie suit, probably.
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01-27-2022, 07:43 PM | #370 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,825
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Ah, Movie Wars Genesis. On the one hand, they finally overcame the weird three-act structure. On the other hand... everything else.
I haven't seen this since it first came out, nor do I really want to, but the bit that stuck with me is Chase randomly coming back out of nowhere. My first Rider movie was the OOO/Fourze movie war, and Ankh coming back there... even though I'd never seen the show, I felt it was a big deal. I could feel the bond shining through in the writing. Here, though? Chase just walks in from off-screen, and is dead again because uhhhh his actor's contract covers the movie war. I don't like calling writing lazy, it feels like an easy catch-all excuse for everything, but in this case, knowing now this is the writer's only Rider contribution, it does feel they didn't do their homework.
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