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09-26-2021, 04:35 PM | #331 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Probably not a huge surprise to say that I love this tribute. I go back and forth a lot between this and Agito's as my favorite from the Nine Worlds portion of Decade. Having so much of the original cast back is a huge plus, but the big thing for me is that it feels like the proper conclusion that Hibiki never got. I doubt the original show would have gone in this specific direction, but thematically it feels like an appropriate ending for the story: Asumu becoming a man by inheriting Hibiki's spirit. It's really emotionally satisfying in a way that most Decade arcs aren't (Tsukasa's barely even in part two; the show really wants this to be about Hibiki, Asumu, and Kaito).
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What can I say that hasn't been said yet? This arc is an absolute masterpiece! And I hadn't seen Hibiki yet, besides the first two Toei threw onto their YouTube channel!
The Hibiki arc might have been picked last since the Oni Riders were the most out-of-place Riders of the early Heisei shows, that or they wanted the nine worlds arc go out with a bang. And as we've all been gushing about the Final Attack Rider Hibiki, I can tell you 1000%, that was the greatest scene I've ever borne witness to. When Decade jumped onto the Crab King and started drumming, I thought that was cool with Hibiki's motif, but when the other Oni Riders joined in, it broke the flipping scale. I do plan to watch Hibiki down the line (Yes, the whole thing), especially since I loved the first two episodes. Hard not to after the musical number at the start and all, and Hibiki himself is reminds me of Gai Kurenai from Ultraman Orb, who I absolutely enjoyed. And at that moment (the Hibiki Arc), I was sold to Kamen Rider for good.
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09-26-2021, 08:23 PM | #332 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER DECADE EPISODE 20 - "THE DARK RIDERS OF THE NEGATIVE WORLD”
I really like the attempt to not only spotlight Team Decade (well, Tsukasa and Natsumi; sorry, Onodera), as well as a kind of Be Careful What You Wish For storyline, but... an unfortunately dull episode! There isn't much in the way of homages or tributes this time out. The Dark Riders are just henchmen, without anything in the way of a twist or hook. They're no different than a Narutaki summon. Otoya is back from Kiva, and he's... I'm not sure what they're saying with him. He seems (at this point) to be a representation of Evil Riders: the imposing and regal Dark Kiva armor he wore to his death, a trickster guide on the path to Hell. It's just, no? No, that's not what Otoya is about? There're any number of other Evil Riders that could more directly fill that role (King or Saga, from Kiva alone), and Otoya's use seems to be either for the surprise twist, or just the excitement factor of a beloved/”beloved” character's return. (I mean, yeah, it is great to see Otoya. He immediately tries to charge three strangers for an unrequested performance!) It doesn't feel like it's saying anything with Otoya, though. He was never ever that guy? It feels weird to have him as the adversary for this story. But, it's a whole story about feeling weird? There's an immediate sense of impending doom, right from the opening scene. Tsukasa feels uneasy about the lackluster finale to his epic journey, and wonders what it was all even for if this was how it ended. Onodera is typically incurious, and willing to take any W he can find, but that lack of curiosity just amplifies how strange this victory even is. Team Decade finished their quest, and their reward is merely returning home. I like how, even before the Dark Riders show up and the monsters are everywhere, there's this sense that literally the worst reward for Tsukasa is to settle down. The whole shoot is overcast, which is a happy accident, since it makes every normal thing feel extra gloomy. It's like Tsukasa got this world, and he immediately made it frown. All the gifts and rewards and accolades, he doesn't care. He can't be bothered to do more than acknowledge that what Onodera thinks is good fortune is the least Tsukasa deserves. None of it's making him happy. This is what he always said would complete him, and he's more disappointed than ever. It's a fun look at Tsukasa's evolving worldview. He got a world handed to him, but it's only one world, so he's bored to tears. He got used to the adventure of traveling, and now settling down looks like a prison. There's no danger, or mystery. It's just free meals and gift-wrapped companies. He doesn't like to be this comfortable. And he also doesn't like having a world that accepts him so readily. He'd always said he wanted to find a world where he fits, and now he's finding out what that really means. In the real world, no one "fits". You alternately make a space for yourself, or you change your shape for others. Everyone's life is some combination of those things. We acclimate, we accommodate, we agitate. Fitting, it's not real. It's a fake world, where Tsukasa just fits. It's an escape from trying to grow. Which is sort of where Natsumi's story is for this episode, and this is where I got the most bored. Tsukasa's story is intriguing both from a dramatic angle (we've been watching Tsukasa grow over the last 19 episodes), and from a comedic angle (he's so blase about all of his good luck, and it's driving Onodera crazy). With Natsumi, we are getting a ton of new backstory out of basically nowhere. We have not gotten a sense of Natsumi's life before Episode 1 of Decade (I mean, she might as well have the same amnesia or whatever as Tsukasa), and now we get a gigantic info dump about her high school friends, their We Don't Feel Like We Fit In Club (thematic!), and the encroaching danger they pose in the present for Natsumi. It's a ton of slightly charming flashbacks that get substantially less charming as the show keeps coming back to them. It just starts to drag, despite its promising attempt to flesh out Natsumi's pre-Decade life and dig into the fear of growing up and moving on. Overall, this wasn't a bad episode or anything. After the highs of the Hibiki arc, especially that finale, we were probably due for a story where the production team could catch its breath. Starting off the next phase of the story with something that interrogated Tsukasa's desires and expanded our understanding of Natsumi's motivations is a totally smart move. The execution, though, was a little stretched out. Too many flashbacks, and not enough incident. Hopefully the concluding chapter does these ideas justice.
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09-26-2021, 11:51 PM | #333 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,418
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And here we go. Welcome to the back third of Decade or, as I like to call it, the "oh shit, now what?" phase of the show. With all of the tributes done and the original head writer long gone, this is where things start getting really interesting. There's some good stuff still ahead, but there are also a lot of signs that things were very much being made up on the fly.
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09-27-2021, 06:16 AM | #334 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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So since Die didn't team up with anyone for this one... is he the evil Rider?
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Check out my occasional ramblings! https://akibamusings.blogspot.com/
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09-27-2021, 06:40 AM | #335 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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Here we are at the beginning of four episodes of pure, unadulterated Inoue. As one person on Twitter put it, he’s about to enter his “not giving a damn” phase. He has a reputation and he knows it by now, so he goes along with it.
As for the episode itself, I do like the idea that the one world where Decade fits in is the one that’s objectively the worst he’s been to so far. And in a nice touch, Ryuga and Dark Kabuto have the same henshin poses as Dark Shinji and the Other Souji, while Orga lacks a pose because Kiba never had one. |
09-27-2021, 10:22 AM | #336 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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And here we go. Welcome to the back third of Decade or, as I like to call it, the "oh shit, now what?" phase of the show. With all of the tributes done and the original head writer long gone, this is where things start getting really interesting. There's some good stuff still ahead, but there are also a lot of signs that things were very much being made up on the fly.
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(Also! AkibaSilver doesn't need to be told this, since they'll be back to chat about an upcoming two-parter, but there will be more collaborators for some of the upcoming stories! Some returning faces, at least one new face. I'm doing the best I can!) Also, his hair wasn't great in this story? Just sort of badly styled. Even his hair is giving up this time out!
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09-27-2021, 11:13 AM | #337 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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Wrong Inoue.
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09-27-2021, 11:14 AM | #338 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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Fair enough! Everything you wrote screamed TSUKASA to me, so I just assumed it was that one. Sorry for the mistake!
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09-27-2021, 12:51 PM | #339 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,098
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The World of Hibiki was an enjoyable end to a journey and compensation for all the missed opportunities in the show. The style of the first 29 episodes is back, there's some Kuuga action, returning actors everywhere, Akira gets to become a full-fledged Oni even though it's just the Ibuki suit, Shounen (I guess every version of Asumu gets this nickname) gets to inherit Hibiki from Depressed Banba Soukichi (credit to Kurona for that nickname) and like everybody else said, the final battle against the Bakegani is awesome! Even Die who dislikes the giant Makamou fights was impressed by that. I also enjoyed how the Ongekido schools were more like public organizations with a cool samurai aesthetic, in contrast to Takeshi being a front for the Oni's secret operations. As expected, the Ibuki school was my favorite. My only complaint is that I disapprove of Akira/Todoroki, since there was more connection between Shounen and Akira in the show.
Hibiki is 15/19 in my Heisei Rider Ranking and would be higher if not for the missed opportunities caused by the staff change and Yonemura not really understanding the tone for the two episodes he wrote. Nevertheless, I still think fondly of watching the show, mostly in those first 29 episodes, although I am one of the few who thought Kiriya was a good addition. The World of Hibiki was an intriguing look in to what could have been, if the show followed the original vision. Quote:
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KAMEN RIDER DECADE EPISODE 20 - “THE DARK RIDERS OF THE NEGATIVE WORLD”
Otoya is back from Kiva, and he’s… I’m not sure what they’re saying with him. He seems (at this point) to be a representation of Evil Riders: the imposing and regal Dark Kiva armor he wore to his death, a trickster guide on the path to Hell. It’s just, no? No, that’s not what Otoya is about? There’re any number of other Evil Riders that could more directly fill that role (King or Saga, from Kiva alone), and Otoya’s use seems to be either for the surprise twist, or just the excitement factor of a beloved/”beloved” character’s return. (I mean, yeah, it is great to see Otoya. He immediately tries to charge three strangers for an unrequested performance!) It doesn’t feel like it’s saying anything with Otoya, though. He was never ever that guy? It feels weird to have him as the adversary for this story. Quote:
And he also doesn’t like having a world that accepts him so readily. He’d always said he wanted to find a world where he fits, and now he’s finding out what that really means. In the real world, no one "fits". You alternately make a space for yourself, or you change your shape for others. Everyone’s life is some combination of those things. We acclimate, we accommodate, we agitate. Fitting, it’s not real. It’s a fake world, where Tsukasa just fits. It’s an escape from trying to grow.
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and now we get a gigantic info dump about her high school friends, their We Don’t Feel Like We Fit In Club (thematic!), and the encroaching danger they pose in the present for Natsumi. It’s a ton of slightly charming flashbacks that get substantially less charming as the show keeps coming back to them. It just starts to drag, despite its promising attempt to flesh out Natsumi’s pre-Decade life and dig into the fear of growing up and moving on.
Well Tsukasa was the 10000th customer in that restaurant and this is your 4000th post, so you're still the Tsukasa. Congrats!
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09-27-2021, 03:06 PM | #340 |
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I know this because I’m still actively communications with her through ff.net PMs, email, Discord and Slack |
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