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04-06-2020, 07:27 PM | #11 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,435
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04-07-2020, 01:06 AM | #12 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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I have nothing insightful to offer other than reading your thoughts have always been really great and fun in it's own right.
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04-07-2020, 01:43 AM | #13 |
Most-hated user. Kill him
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Imaginationland
Posts: 1,813
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This thread is super successful and beloved more than my idiotic thread
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04-07-2020, 04:27 AM | #14 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Hey, don't beat yourself up about it like that. I've never gotten into GARO (and that's probably true of a lot of people on this forum), but I thought it was great you were doing that thread. The more people who want to talk at length about toku shows they're watching, the better in my book.
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04-07-2020, 09:03 AM | #15 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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I don't know what will you do to these kind of responses compared to Die's ones, but let's do this too.
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The series opens with a hero from an bygone era battling the forces of evil, before being placed into a long slumber. Despite moments of clarity, most of the shots have a grainy filter placed over them which makes them appear... almost like an old TV show.
So there you have it. In just under 50 seconds, Kuuga has already gotten you up to speed on both its premise, and the real-world significance of its existence, all without saying a word. Immediately, it's apparent how seriously the people making this show were taking things. I'd imagine the director, Hidenori Ishida, deserves credit for the genius use of the filter. Kuuga's main writer, Naruhisa Arakawa, actually specifically recommended him for the job in part because of an incident the first time they worked together where Ishida apparently questioned Arakawa intensely on a line in the script to get a better idea of how to shoot the scene. Again, the show's staff wasn't messing around. Quote:
That goes for Arakawa himself, too. After a brief scene establishing a research team has found Kuuga's tomb, we get to meet our hero for the next 49 episodes, and let me tell you, it's perfect. It endears the audience to Yuusuke right away with a heroic act, and the talking to the audience thing. (Thanks again, Ishida!) It also fills you in on a bit of his backstory and life philosophy, shows off his carefree personality with the juggling bit, introduces his signature thumbs up gesture, and even gets to work building some of the series' central themes.
And other than that Godai can be a... troll?! Like keep climbing out of window to visit Sakurako, while also wearing a scary mask for a prank (before Sakurako gets thrown in Gurongi stuff!). Also with him pranking an officer with "look up there" diversion. Quote:
Kuuga goes to child-scaringly great lengths to show how destructive the Grongi are, and that scene where Yuusuke, witnessing the carnage around him as the sound fades out, replaced with a heartbeat to emphasize the tension, it's great stuff. Yuusuke's mostly been a pretty goofy dude the whole episode, so giving him that big where he decides to take action, it starts to demonstrate why he's deserving of being the show's hero.
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The rest of the episode from that point on is just him throwing down with Zu-Gumun-Ba. Anyway, Gumun is just a great monster. Starting off this new era of Rider by directly paralleling the motif of the original series' first baddie is a touch of respect towards the classics I love, plus, his design is cool, and the episode makes great use of his spidery abilities. He's really got Kuuga on the ropes here. In what will prove to be merely one of a long series of bold choices the show makes, Yuusuke is barely scraping by in his first fight, and wearing the wrong costume, to boot. Kuuga's Growing Form is strong enough to push a police van around without trouble, and tough enough to take several hits without getting turned to paste, but compared to even a low-level Grongi like Gumun, it's just not a lot of power.
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The best Yuusuke can manage when all is said and done is fending him off with some help from Ichijou. Despite taking the gamble of having an incomplete Kuuga fail to finish off the villain, the episode still makes the ending feel triumphant, with Kuuga flashing a thumbs up to Ichijou before departing against the sunset, all set to an epic remix of the theme song.
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From there we get the fallout of Yuusuke's first outing as Kuuga. Surely, such a life-changing encounter, such a terrifying experience, would leave Yuusuke with a lot to think about. And maybe it does, but first things first, he's waking up from a nice nap and having a good breakfast. Yuusuke's laid-back nature and underplayed reactions are a huge part of what makes his character such a delight, and another aspect of Kuuga that was treading some new ground at the time. The trick is that the show also knows how far to go with it. Sakurako is here to bring up the normal questions and concerns you'd expect, so Yuusuke isn't really allowed to ever be willfully ignorant. Even more than that, he's not ignorant, and this scene provides a great glimpse into that. Yuusuke casually mentions how he didn't like the "feeling" of being Kuuga, and when Sakurako asks what feeling he means, the show provides a sharp answer.
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Yuusuke can have fun scenes with Ichijou where he immediately makes it clear he's not bothering with the secret identity shtick, and seems more concerned with the sound the belt made when it merged with him than all the danger he's in, because we know from moments like this there's more to him than that.
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Although he's definitely not leaving a great impression on Ichijou! This episode hinges on their conflicting outlooks. A later conversation with Sakurako hammers home what Yuusuke's problem is, in case it wasn't clear yet. He hates violence. The action itself is disgusting to him, even if the end result is preventing further violence. But the only thing he hates more than violence is seeing people suffer, and he finds the resolve to put those feelings aside after seeing the daughter of the professor who lead the research team at the ruins crying over his untimely death at the hands of the Grongi.
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The rest of the episode is pretty much gravy after that. The fight moves out of the church and into um, I think it's a broken down roller coaster or something? Whatever it is, it's another unique and interesting location for the ending showdown to happen, especially with Gumun getting in on the fun for a brief tag team, before the fight changes yet again, with the sun coming up (we know from the handy timestamps Ichijou got to the church right before morning), scaring away Gooma, and leaving Kuuga to make up for last week by finally finishing his first monster. With kind of a weak kick sort of move? And for some reason, his foot is smoking afterwards? It's probably nothing. If I could be the tiniest bit critical, the digital effect of Gumun exploding looks ~not great~, to say the least, but on the other hand, not doing practical explosions means the fights don't all have to end in a quarry, and they can put severed bits of the body flying through the air, so, you know, all I'm saying is this approach came with some benefits, too.
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04-07-2020, 05:42 PM | #16 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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I know this is a franchise trademark, but I find it hilarious that Godai opts for a henshin pose, instead of just punching the monster while simultaneously transforming into Kuuga.
I've always thought of the transformation pose as a meditative thing. Yuusuke's first transformation, it's total fight or flight. He's just lashing out at Gumun mostly out of the fear of being killed. The second episode, he's making a conscious decision to become Kuuga for the first time. He's not doing it half-hearted like Ichijou worries about. That's why he turns into Mighty Form instead of Growing. Because he's focused. What the pose is, in my mind, is basically Yuusuke taking a second to find a sort of inner clarity. To empty his mind of everything, except the desire to do what he must to protect people's smiles. No fear, no pain, right? I don't think the show is trying to directly imply that, but that's always been my take on it. Either way, it's still my absolute favorite Rider transformation pose.
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04-08-2020, 02:47 AM | #17 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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Quote:
I've always thought of the transformation pose as a meditative thing. Yuusuke's first transformation, it's total fight or flight. He's just lashing out at Gumun mostly out of the fear of being killed. The second episode, he's making a conscious decision to become Kuuga for the first time. He's not doing it half-hearted like Ichijou worries about. That's why he turns into Mighty Form instead of Growing. Because he's focused. What the pose is, in my mind, is basically Yuusuke taking a second to find a sort of inner clarity. To empty his mind of everything, except the desire to do what he must to protect people's smiles. No fear, no pain, right?
I don't think the show is trying to directly imply that, but that's always been my take on it. Either way, it's still my absolute favorite Rider transformation pose. I guess I want these ones to be answered too though; Gurongi's pseudo weakness are guns that they aren't harmed, but has a penchant to be distracted to those who shoot them? What did the monster do to the corpse that it's identified as missing? And (for a minor thing, dunno if you can); About Yuusuke pretty much staying in a restaurant without being kicked out (and where did Sakurako wait)? |
04-08-2020, 12:23 PM | #18 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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I guess I want these ones to be answered too though; Gurongi's pseudo weakness are guns that they aren't harmed, but has a penchant to be distracted to those who shoot them? What did the monster do to the corpse that it's identified as missing? And (for a minor thing, dunno if you can); About Yuusuke pretty much staying in a restaurant without being kicked out (and where did Sakurako wait)?
- The Grongi are constantly angry and violent, so going to kill someone shooting at them with a handgun is probably as reflexive for them as swatting at a mosquito for the average person. - Whatever the monster did, it probably wasn't very pleasant! - I went and checked that scene, and there actually is a banner outside the restaurant when Ichijou and Yuusuke are talking (you can see a little bit of it in the picture I used for the Thumbs Up Counting Corner for that episode) advertising a wine fair that reads "24H 輸入ワインフェア!", so apparently it really is open 24 hours. It'd still take some serious dedication to customer service to just let a guy pass out in a booth for half a day (maybe Sakurako smooth talked a waiter offscreen or something?) , but it looks like the show made sure to subtly fill that potential plot hole. Evidently, Kuuga is a lot better with details than me, too. I'll try my best to answer when you have questions like this, but please don't take it personally if I don't respond. It just means I have no clue myself.
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04-08-2020, 12:54 PM | #19 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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I mean, as someone who has a big customer-service-facing aspect to his job, I sort-of get why they'd just let Godai sleep? If someone's not really in the way, and they aren't a nuisance, it's more trouble to try and get them to leave (what if they cause a scene, disturbing other customers?) than to just let them leave on their own. It's a balance of effort versus reward. Plus, if it's a random employee they just might not give a shit. Never attribute to decisiveness that which is adequately explained by apathy, you know?
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04-08-2020, 01:27 PM | #20 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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Quote:
I don't think I'm as good as Die when it comes to noticing minor details, so I don't think my answers will be very interesting, but:
- The Grongi are constantly angry and violent, so going to kill someone shooting at them with a handgun is probably as reflexive for them as swatting at a mosquito for the average person. - Whatever the monster did, it probably wasn't very pleasant! - I went and checked that scene, and there actually is a banner outside the restaurant when Ichijou and Yuusuke are talking (you can see a little bit of it in the picture I used for the Thumbs Up Counting Corner for that episode) advertising a wine fair that reads "24H 輸入ワインフェア!", so apparently it really is open 24 hours. It'd still take some serious dedication to customer service to just let a guy pass out in a booth for half a day (maybe Sakurako smooth talked a waiter offscreen or something?) , but it looks like the show made sure to subtly fill that potential plot hole. Evidently, Kuuga is a lot better with details than me, too. I'll try my best to answer when you have questions like this, but please don't take it personally if I don't respond. It just means I have no clue myself. |
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