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05-22-2021, 02:48 PM | #291 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Second of all, I am seriously reevaluating my inherent Kengo bias. I will freely admit that it has been a long time (~11.5 years) since I first watched Kiva and I really don't remember why the character annoyed me so much back then. This episode has definitely put me on the "Kengo is a good dude and a good friend" train.
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The biggest thing for me in this episode is the Otoya stuff. Probably the best part of Kiva is Otoya's journey from 1980s Japanese Jean-Ralphio into... well, what he becomes by the end of the series. Picking up the Ixa Knuckle here is a big step in that process. And yes, his creepy obsession with Yuri is still his primary motivation, but he's acting out of legitimate concern for her safety now and not just romantic jealousy.
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Eventually, yeah, just not in that shot. It's a reversal of that earlier scene. This time Jirou's coming in and taunting Otoya, while Otoya gets more incensed, until Otoya beats the crap out of him. It's a very cathartic scene!
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05-22-2021, 04:42 PM | #292 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 14 - "POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE: THE SHOCKING PURPLE EYE”
Middle chapter of a three-parter! Was not completely expecting that! It's more the Otoya part that doesn't really wrap up this episode. The Wataru part... I mean, it mostly does, depending on how weird things get with him trying to explain I Detonated A Monster Who Was Fleecing You And Wanted To Feast On Your Dreams Of Stardom to Kengo in 15. That's either going to be a whole additional episode, or something that's blown-off before the opening credits. Inoue! Tough to predict sometimes! I liked the Wataru story, incidentally. It's not a very robust part of the narrative (it's basically just Shizuka getting Megumi to tell Wataru that Kengo's getting fleeced and may have his dreams of stardom devoured by a decorative vampire monster), but the emotion behind the final fight with the Rhino Fangire was nice. We've seen plenty of fights where Kiva was competent, and a couple where he was reluctant, but I think this is the first one where he was righteous. He's not just defeating a monster; he's punishing an evildoer. That side of Wataru... I mean, obviously, not something you want to see all the time (he's a very sweet boy!), but it's like Otoya's new strain of self-sacrifice and quiet heroism: it's adding dimensionality to a character that you could feel like you've already seen all the sides of. It's an episode that wasn't really twisty in plot, but had a few surprising character turns. Like Otoya not blowing the whistle (or Whistlestle) on Jirou! Took me a minute to figure out why he wouldn't just show up at Mal d'Amour and go This Man Is A Clawolve, but I think I get it. (Well, the main reason why he doesn't say anything is to prolong this story, but I think there's some narrative cover for the decision, as well.) Otoya is trying to protect Yuri from Jirou, and that's heroic, but it's still Otoya being heroic. There's a top layer of heroism now, but everything underneath that is still The Worst. He doesn't want to, like, tattle on Jirou. That's cheap, and unmanly. It's cowardly. (It's also exactly what Jirou does.) Otoya wants to defeat Jirou, to end his threat against Yuri with his own hands. He also needs to do it in secret, because this, strangely, isn't about showing off for Yuri. It's about keeping her from harm, but a patronizing A Woman Shouldn't Bear This Pain type of harm. He's toxically masculine, in his need to shield Yuri from painful knowledge. It's more bullshit paternalism, but it's also exactly the sort of bullshit paternalism that Otoya would reflexively go for. It makes for an episode that just, like... delivers. Nothing was a huge surprise, but the fundamentals were rock solid. It's another episode where the visuals are insanely good (there's this shot of Jirou lounging on the roof of Monster Squad Massage that is disgustingly clever), the humor is whip-smart (Otoya's answering machine greeting!!!), and the character relationships are specific and engaging (Shima and Megumi trying to, like, manage Nago's fragile but bottomless ego). It's still a middle installment, though, so I don't really have a ton to comment on, really. It's weird to see Kengo spurn Wataru, but there's some impatience in Kengo that was bound to bristle against Wataru's sweetness at some point. There's Nago's new Ixcavator, or whatever, but I think my feelings towards CGI monstrosities are abundantly clear by now. And then there's Kiva's new purple Whistlestle, which turns him into Titan Form With A Hammer. (I liked it, but: it's literally just Titan Form With A Hammer.) Good stuff, all of it (well, Ixcavator), but nothing I have a lot to say about. I feel like I'm underselling this episode! I really did like it. It's progressing multiple storylines, but it's just harder to comment on them when you're in the middle of them. (I also want to order dinner now.) Good episode, though! Delightful to watch!
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05-22-2021, 05:33 PM | #293 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,096
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I mean, that's the least I expect from any Den-O content. Sure, it's nice to have a deep and meaningful story with development for the main characters, but a movie where the Denliner crew are cops, Momotaros has a cool bike chase scene, Ryutaros goes nuts arresting anybody who looks suspicious, Urataros uses his deception to help Yuto, Kintaros has a cool fight scene and Kohana beats a bunch of people up on her own? Virtually every character is doing something cool here. So I'll take it! The movie is indulgent comedy that gives the Denliner crew the excuse to experience all those espionage and detective tropes for the first time, which they have an awesome time doing, with even Ryoutarou getting in to it at the end. I think the reason why people may not like this movie is due to taking it too seriously and not appreciating it for what it is, just a cute adventure. I understand that not being invested in Suzuki's story is going to get in the way of that. It's mostly a simplified version of Wataru's story, but I thought it was good enough. Quote:
But it is not a third the runtime, it’s over an hour, and there’s a shocking amount of nothing to the plot. All of the setup for the cop stuff happens offscreen, as does everything related to Negataros. It’s no backstory and no character. Negataros’s scheme is vague to the point of self-parody (he recruits people by saying Hey Do You Want To Join An Evil Organization), but he’s missing the very specific flavor Kai gave the same schtick. Which, Negataros’s shtick is one hundred percent Kai’s schtick. The next villain the Den-O crew faces after defeating Kai is just palette-swapped Momo doing Kai’s dialogue! It’s uninspired.
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Random tangent, I wonder what a crossover of Otoya and Yuri with the Toei tokusatsu heroes of 1986 would be like. Exhibit A we got Flashman, a group of spandex-clad former human abductees-turned-heroes from outer space and exhibit B we got Spielvan and Diana, an extradimensional armored warrior couple. I was hoping there would be a scene where they would play one of these shows off on the background randomly as a nod to the year but sadly they missed that mark. Heck, Inoue worked on select episodes of Flashman so double shame.
But yeah, a crossover between Team 86, my favorite 80s Sentai and my favorite Metal Hero? I've been wanting that before you even mentioned it! Maybe I'll make a fanfic of that one day.
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05-22-2021, 05:38 PM | #294 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
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And here we are with the final of the arm monsters, Dogga the Frankenstein (alias Riki, and I’m sure of this this time). I’ll reveal now that all three are named for onomatopoeia (garulu is the howl of a wolf, basha is the sound of something hitting the water and dogga is the sound of being punched).
And next time, my Gransazer comment from earlier will become all too apt. |
05-22-2021, 05:59 PM | #295 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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The movie is indulgent comedy that gives the Denliner crew the excuse to experience all those espionage and detective tropes for the first time, which they have an awesome time doing, with even Ryoutarou getting in to it at the end.
I think the reason why people may not like this movie is due to taking it too seriously and not appreciating it for what it is, just a cute adventure. I understand that not being invested in Suzuki's story is going to get in the way of that. It's mostly a simplified version of Wataru's story, but I thought it was good enough. Quote:
I don't think Negataros and Kai are that similar, other than getting bored easily. Where Kai is apathetic and sick of everything, Negataros is motivated in the pursuit of his clear goal. It's like he took inspiration from the Showa style bad guys and decided, "I want to do that but better." Negataros' whole generic evil organization is totally to be a parody but that's pretty appropriate for a movie that parodies the cop comedy genre. It's just another part of the fun of the movie. He's also the first Dark Rider to debut after his heroic counterpart's show is over.
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And here we are with the final of the arm monsters, Dogga the Frankenstein (alias Riki, and I’m sure of this this time). I’ll reveal now that all three are named for onomatopoeia (garulu is the howl of a wolf, basha is the sound of something hitting the water and dogga is the sound of being punched).
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05-22-2021, 09:47 PM | #296 |
New Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Evanston IL.
Posts: 95
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And here we are with the final of the arm monsters, Dogga the Frankenstein (alias Riki, and I’m sure of this this time). I’ll reveal now that all three are named for onomatopoeia (garulu is the howl of a wolf, basha is the sound of something hitting the water and dogga is the sound of being punched).
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05-23-2021, 12:07 AM | #297 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,523
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Flashman be comparing Otoya and Yuri to Spielvan and Diana. And music showdown between Otoya and Lie Kopflen. Violin vs Pipe Organ of Horrors. lolol
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Last edited by Sunred; 05-23-2021 at 12:10 AM.. |
05-23-2021, 01:23 AM | #298 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,416
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I assume that the Dogga Hammer and Powered Ixer were part of a new wave of toys, which is why they both debut here. I'll save my comments on the Ixer for when it actually does something. I do like Dogga form, even if I agree that it's just Titan Form with a hammer. I appreciate a good slow but steady beatdown, though, as we saw with the Kintaros fight in Climax Deka.
I have to say that I was kinda disappointed with this one. Not that it was bad, because it wasn't, but because my favorite moment played out differently than I remembered. The way I remembered Yuri's phone call with Shima was that Otoya had randomly created a massive street dance in the background. I hadn't realized at the time that the dancers were already there and he just joined in. Still adorable, but less perfectly random and bizarre. |
05-23-2021, 04:13 AM | #299 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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And now that Dogga Form is finally here, so is its theme!
Again, terrible at describing these things, but I like that it manages to be aggressive in a different way than Garulu's BGM. Something I guess I could say about the form itself, too? I mean, Garulu probably should be my favorite Arms Monster form hands down when it fits three of the descriptors that most guarantee I'll like a thing (those being "blue", "fast", and "is a dog"), but, aside from all three of them just being equally cool to begin with, something about the way Dogga Form is held off on for so long combined with the timing of its use in the story make it especially memorable to me. Like, Wataru is swinging that hammer around for Kengo, man! It stands out a bit, despite not being a particularly elaborate fight scene. EDIT: Also I just realized the soundtrack spells Dogga as "Dokkaa" for some reason. Huh.
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05-23-2021, 04:41 AM | #300 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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Dogga Form rocks and is probably my favourtie of all the archetypical "strong and slow" form changes in the franchise. I really like the added bits of armour, that first slow walk it does while dragging behind its weapon sells it imposing power way really welll, and that massive fist-shaped hammer that opens up, and also drops down an even bigger fist made of energy on the enemy to crush them into a million pieces? Best thing in the world.
Oh yeah, and IXA is pretty cool too honestly. I think I like the 86's closed visor slightly more than the 08's classic bug eyes, but 08's IXACalbur is maybe one of the coolest weapons? Its a submachine gun that turns into a sword, which isn't that unique or anything, but its pretty wonderfully elegant how it manages to be a weaponised cross in both modes. |
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