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10-22-2021, 06:23 PM | #571 |
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All in all, Decade was definitely the turning point for the franchise. Like I said before, the show being only half a year long because of business, mostly sales, reasons shifted the shows to start in late summer and autumn-ish allowing it to avoid direct competition against super sentai. The phase 2 of Heisei was in full throttle with the beginning of Kamen Rider W and the show established the basis for the collectibles which later solidified and was executed properly with Double. This show to me was like a growing pain that just had to be done for the franchise to head towards new directions and goals, and like its slogan it destroyed all to start anew. It's quite metaphorical come to think of it and while the show is imperfect it had moments of great fan service and fun episodes and ideas here and there. It was truly a wild journey through the decade as we welcomed the next decade circa 2009.
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10-22-2021, 10:53 PM | #572 |
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KAMEN RIDER X KAMEN RIDER W & DECADE: MOVIE WAR 2010
I've seen this movie before, but I didn't understand it back then. It was when I was watching W, naturally. I started with Ex-Aid, did the first season of Amazons (since it was on Amazon Prime), and then decided to go all the way back to W. I'd planned to just watch Heisei Phase 2 going forward, and then stay current, but obviously plans changed. At the time, though, I'd only seen a handful of non-Ex-Aid, non-Amazons episodes. I knew W, but Decade was brand-new to me. The Decade part of Movie War 2010 didn't really connect with me back then. I didn't understand nearly any of it, but I wanted to. Around the point where I was writing up Ghost for the boards, I was realizing I'd need to go back and watch Phase 1, if I wanted Zi-O to make sense. That meant, eventually, finding out what the deal was with all that tantalizing stuff from Movie War 2010: What was the deal with Decade? Why was he turning other Kamen Riders into cards? Was that where his powers came from? What was Tackle's deal? Why did everyone get reincarnated again? Was there really a series where a Kamen Rider murdered other Kamen Riders?! It has been a multi-year, multi-series journey to get to this moment, when it all finally makes sense. Or. Yeah, boy, this was a huge let-down for someone who wanted to understand the motivations for characters, and the answer behind the many mysteries it dangled in front of a past version of Kamen Rider Die. Decade, in this movie, is mostly the Violent Emotion version, acting like a complete asshole for very little established reason. It's waved off as He's Been Through A Lot, but it's still a huge change from where the TV series left everyone. You remember the end of the TV series, right? The two-parter that's all about how Tsukasa will do anything to protect his friends, even if the universe is collapsing around them? Well, here's a movie where Tsukasa dares his friends to murder him. The idea that Decade can murder Riders, thereby turning into power-ups, is a weird non-established take on Decade's powers. That was never a thing? In 31 episodes? Here, it seems to be the main avenue for both saving the Riders and empowering Decade. It's unclear (like most other details in this movie) if these are additional cards, considering Tsukasa spent thirty-one episodes of television creating his card collection by making friends with other Riders, but whatever. I have been biting my tongue, but I have spent the last four episodes (and one Showa-themed movie) of Kamen Rider Decade shouting WHEN DO THEY GET TO THE TACKLE FACTORY at my television. From the movie, and her prominence in that movie, and her death in that movie, I always assumed she was a character with deep significance to Decade. Ha ha, nope! Brand-new (version of a Showa) character, here to get shit on by the universe. I guess it's to indicate how dead inside Tsukasa is by this point in the story, but it's actually pretty funny to have Tsukasa treat Tackle like an unwanted pest, and then have the gall to yell at Kaitou that Tackle deserves to be treated with kindness because she's unwanted by the universe. I don't know if Tsukasa has the moral high ground here? He treats Tackle shabbily, and yet she still spends her last words praising his kindness. Hard to believe they attempted that death scene with a brand-new character. Bonkers. The main thrust of this Decade story is to finally resolve the whole Destroyer of Worlds thing, and I don't know that that part makes any more sense to me than it did 18 series ago. It's the start of what would be several Tsukasa Acted Like A Villain For The Bulk Of The Story To Save The World plots, and it always feels lazy to me. There's literally no reason he couldn't've told Team Decade about any of this, how he was resetting the lives of the Riders he defeated. I'm sure Kaitou, at the very least, would've been down to helpfully terrorize the multiverse with Tsukasa. (Kaitou is always down. He's down bad.) If... if that's what he's doing? Wataru's explanation at the end, I think I understand what he's saying? The Riders that were killed can now live on forever, because people know their stories. I get the thematic version of this explanation, where a ton of kids too young for the original runs may seek out Phase 1 and Showa series. (I spoke to a number of fans who did just that!) But the, like, mechanics of what's happening... I don't understand? I always thought this would end with one unified world. I thought we'd have a world where everyone coexisted; a world without separation and suspicion. Instead, everything is just put back where it was when Tsukasa left each world? "People" remember the stories, but, like, who? Which people? What the hell is Wataru talking about? I never want to rob a show of a metaphorical reading of its plot, but this thing didn't even bother with a literal reading. It's a terrible continuation of the TV show. It invents a ton of new elements, spends a stupid amount of time on a laughably pointless Showa scheme by Super Shocker, and coasts on a ton of unearned pride in its storytelling. It's, structurally, awful. But, like the TV series ending, it lands some moments so hard, so well, that I can't write it off completely. The idea of Tsukasa being willed back into existence by his friends, given life because they all created a story about him... I love it. I love it so much that I'm honest-to-god tearing up as I type this. It's the perfect ending to this part of Tsukasa's story. It's a moment -- in isolation from so much about this movie that runs the gamut from Unnecessary to Aggravating -- that I will literally never forget. It's poignant, and beautiful, and the best reward for caring about this cast in spite of a high amount of bad storytelling. It's a moment that is buried in a stupid film. A film so stupid it barely deserves an idea this goddamn good. And it's not even just that? It's got clever touches in plenty of unexpected places. I like how the movie finally resolves the prophecy/threat of Natsumi as the one to stop Decade. I mean, Kiva-la. I knew that was a movie debut, and I knew it was The Girl From Decade (even without context and only having seen three other series, I could recognize which one was The Girl From Decade), but it means so much more now. Seeing Natsumi not just take up arms to end Decade's reign of terror, but be the one who understands that Tsukasa's redemption and refuge comes from his friends? I wish this movie had just stuck to that story. The cleanliness of it! The centering of the Natsumi/Tsukasa relationship as Tsukasa's anchor, it's a decision that gets what the show did well. It gets the strength of the Kamen Rider Decade series. And that's why, yeah, I liked this movie more this time. It's not for the answers I was awaiting; those all sucked. It's for the middle section, where a colossal asshole somehow creates friendships so strong that his friends write him a chance at a new chapter. It's this belief in experiences being worthwhile even if they don't work out the way you wanted. It's the knowledge that the stories we love never really end, as long as we remember them. It's not the end of Kamen Rider Decade. It's never the end of Kamen Rider Decade.
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10-22-2021, 11:45 PM | #573 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
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Posts: 10,506
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Because Narutaki.
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10-23-2021, 02:01 AM | #574 |
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,546
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Well if you want to see what world Tackle came from, there’s an S.I.C story I can share with you anytime.
And now, for what I do best: random trivia. Blade’s grunts in his fight are provided by the OG actor because… they’d already booked him for the movie they had to scrap and couldn’t think of a new role for him in a movie that wasn’t called ‘All Riders vs Decade”. Narutaki’s Nazi-esque disguise here is meant to be Colonel Zol, the first secondary main villain not just in Rider, but in Tokusatsu itself. Though it’s not meant to be a reveal, since all he does here is wear a costume. A different S.I.C story to the one I mentioned above has him assume the guise again, turning into the monster form that the OG version had, Golden Wolfman, leading to this line from Yusuke. “I saw a guy on a tv show who turned into something like that. He kinda looked like Tsukasa” And for the rest of the casting trivia, New Takumi is the only AR rider who’s actor they couldn’t bring back for the movie (instead, he’s voiced by the same impersonator doing either Skyrider or Super-1). And the Bee Woman (an incarnation of Rider’s first female monster) is played by Nao Oikawa, fresh off a stint as the female villain in the previous year’s Sentai (and just before she reassumed that role for THEIR yearly crossover. As for thoughts on the film. It’s mostly rule of cool, but sometimes, that’s all I need. |
10-23-2021, 09:54 AM | #575 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
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Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,393
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10-23-2021, 01:25 PM | #576 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
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KAMEN RIDER DIE: Instead... like, the goddamn BRASS BALLS it took to do a moral about Shitty Endings Can't Change A Good Journey, in a story with an intensely shitty ending.
It's a kind of critical aikido, where complaining about all of the series-long flaws that cripple this two-parter is also missing the entire point of the two-parter. The madder you get, the more valid the story's point becomes. I hate it so much! ZATYME: yup they legitimately went "the journey is more important than the ending.... oh and be sure to catch the TRUE ending of the show only in theaters this Christmas!!!!" there is a reason that the following movie wars have the retuning casts plot be a post script story and not you know the ENDING of their show KAMEN RIDER DIE: Like, honestly, I love the idea that Photo Studio Hayao Miyazaki lays out here. I never felt like Decade The Series needed a resolution. The opposite, actually! I liked the feeling that it'd never end for these kids, the post-Nine Heisei Worlds thing where they just keep having adventures forever. So trying to get Tsukasa to realize that a reward or whatever is irrelevant when it's literally The Friends He Made Along The Way that matters, I do love that. Quote:
ZATYME: it kind of did
it showed that he was truly hurt by Kazuma and Wataru not wanting to join forces with him to defeat Dai-Shocker showing that he truly does view the riders he helped out as his friends and the fact that they rather continue fighting on the slight chance of survival instead of what (decade and crew think) will actually solve the problem has to hurt and even if they view him as their enemy he'll still fight in what he thinks is their best interests and when Asumu and Wataru attack him he doesn't bother defending himself KAMEN RIDER DIE: I still think the Inoue episodes best defined Tsukasa's But Why Heroism, where it's about protecting people's journeys, allowing them to find a place they fit in, just like Tsukasa is trying to do for himself. With this story, it sort of zeroes in more on Tsukasa's isolation, and how his lack of a world to protect means he'll risk anything to protect his friends because they're his world. Quote:
ZATYME: Kaitou went from a complete asshole rival to Tsukasa's friend and it doesn't feel forced
especially as Kaito did lament that he feels he doesn't have any friends in part one before affirming that he does in Tsukasa at the ending of that part KAMEN RIDER DIE: When he shoots the Apollo Geist Formally Requests That You Join Him For Not A Trap invitation after Tsukasa says he's going to go even if it's a trap, and Kaitou is tearfully telling Tsukasa that he basically can't lose what he's found in his relationship with Tsukasa, I was as energized as I've ever been on this show. Kaitou's... the actor is so good. He's probably the best actor in the cast, and he imbues this weird treasure-hunting Terrible Boyfriend with so much pathos and regret. I loved that moment more than maybe anything else in the run of this show. Holy shit. Quote:
ZATYME: I feel like there the morals of those arcs are the reasons that they were chosen for this story
KAMEN RIDER DIE: Absolutely. ZATYME: as Blades was about fighting for your friends and Kazuma remembering that speech was why he and Garren went and helped Tsukasa out in the end KAMEN RIDER DIE: And, really, these three A.R. Riders all brought out the best in the Team Decade Riders. Wataru was the one who connected with Onodera in his first mission with the team. Kenzaki was the one Tsukasa was closest to, the one he got most invested in helping. And Asumu was the character Kaitou inadvertently developed a friendship with. Of all of the A.R. Riders, these three mean something to our Riders. Quote:
KAMEN RIDER DIE: I get why he's here. If you need to sell Tsukasa on the idea that sometimes Riders need to abandon everyone they care about to protect both the world and the people they care about, Kenzaki is the best character to try and sell that message.
I can see the edges of how that could work in this story, but, man, I don't think this story got there! ZATYME: he did become suicidal and wanted to die in that one novel and didn't care about the apocalypses that would happen if he did die and there was only one Joker left KAMEN RIDER DIE: He zero percent tries to convince Tsukasa! When he is the one most capable of doing so! ZATYME: I think he had to be introduced a bit earlier or lean into the fact that Decade fucked up in a previous arc KAMEN RIDER DIE: Or just create a little room for Kenzaki to appeal to Tsukasa's guilt and fear. The ending could still be everyone choosing their friendship over the safety of isolation, but there could be a little bit more weight to the counter-argument. Quote:
ZATYME: that it isn't something that come out of nowhere in the final episode
to show that our heroes failed due to something contrived that Tsukasa screwed up due to the type of person he is KAMEN RIDER DIE: It's definitely there in the start. The visitation Tsukasa gets from Wataru explicitly tells him to destroy the other worlds. But there's an explanation that what comes from that destruction is a fresh start. It's a metaphor for how stories should end, to allow new stories to be told. It's about never getting so wrapped up in your past that you can't open yourself up to new possibilities. It's a thousand percent the lesson Tsukasa will learn as the series progresses. Here, it's all I TOLD YOU TO KILL, and no one's trying to explain why that might not be a bad thing. It's reframing something subjective into just another villainous threat. Quote:
ZATYME: they should of from the Dark rider arc onward played with the idea of maybe Tsukasa is going about it the wrong way and maybe he's an actual threat and problem instead of just having it all shoved into Narutaki a joke of a character who we NEVER learn the shtick of an the final 2 episodes of the show
it honestly has the same problem as the 2020 Digimon Adventure reboot the show is so obsessed with showing off the budget in action scenes to help appeal to kids and sell merchandise that it never slows down and properly explains what's going on with the main plot until the final few episodes and still has trouble explaining stuff due to waiting until the end of the show to explain what's going on
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10-23-2021, 01:57 PM | #577 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
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Quote:
For this one, it's more convincing that Kaitou's declaration of Tsukasa's rival (the one who got to beat him) is more of a banter, as Kaitou visibly cracked before when stopping Tsukasa on his way, shooting off something in his hand, though still, being straightforward is a more optimal approach than pretending to be a jerk.
I'm not sure I'd say it was the "proper" way, just that it makes more sense in this story to filter the various imperiled worlds through one Rider. Blade's fears and desperation stand in for an entire world's desire to survive at all costs. It's more economical, storytelling-wise.
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10-23-2021, 02:05 PM | #578 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER DECADE - SERIES WRAP-UP
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the premiere episode for Only Murders In The Building. It was only alright, despite the high production values and stellar cast. It's one of those comedies where everyone's sad, and that just wasn't what I was looking for. It didn't really connect with me, except for on one very specific level. The show is about three people (Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, Martin Short) who live in the same apartment building in Manhattan. They don't really know each other. They aren't friends. They pass by one another and avoid eye contact, anxious about getting drawn into someone else's life. The twist is that they're all super-fans of the same true crime podcast. There's a scene, midway through the first episode, that's the most relatable thing in the world to me. The characters have all needed to leave their building due to a fire alarm, but it's in the midst of the most recent episode of the podcast they follow. Steve Martin's character sets up his laptop and notebook and theories at a table in a nearby restaurant. Martin Short's character stops by, and Steve Martin visibly grimaces. He doesn't want to deal with Martin Short, and he certainly doesn't want to deal with him when there's a new podcast episode to dissect. But then Martin Short recognizes the notes and theories and his eyes light up. He blurts out a recent theory, and then Steve Martin's eyes light up. They start gushing to each other about new clues, and popular theories, and questions that've puzzled them for weeks. When Selena Gomez ends up in the same restaurant, she's stand-offish... until she sees they're superfans like her. Suddenly, they're speaking the same language. There's an immediate, deep connection. That's every fandom, isn't it? The ideal version of it? We're all different people, but there's this one thing we have in common, and that opens a door. Making a connection in the world is nearly impossible, but if you meet a Kamen Rider fan, you've met a friend. It's a rare commonality, a part of yourself you can immediately see in that other person. The differences melt away in the heat of that one similar passion. It's empathy, transmitted via fandom. I think that's why Kamen Rider Decade ended up working for me, despite the many storytelling choices I regret/resent. It's a show that's implicitly and explicitly about the power of fandom to unite people. There's a read on Tsukasa's travels where he keeps meeting Kamen Riders, keeps meeting people different from him that share one thing, and that one thing is an unbreakable bond. But there's also the end of the show, where the A.R. Riders' literal fandom for Tsukasa is enough to bring him back to life. This was a show that created almost nothing worthwhile as a series arc, a depressing waste of mysteries and teases, but still managed to tell the best Kamen Rider story there is to tell. It's a celebration not of Kamen Rider as a franchise, a way to trot out old characters for nostalgia's sake; but a celebration of Kamen Rider fans, and the ways these finite stories unite for an infinite experience. Watching Tsukasa spend a couple episodes in one story, then moving on? That's us. That's all of us. We throw ourselves into a show for weeks, months, a year, and then we move on to Saber, to Revice, to whatever comes next. And when we've explored every corner of the franchise, made every friend there is to make? Then we get to go back and revisit them, see if we've changed enough to add more dimensions to that relationship. And the enjoyment of a fandom is so much larger than the product Toei puts out, or the product Bandai puts out. It's here, on forums and chat rooms and social media. I wanted to do this project with other fans as a fun gimmick, a way of commenting on Decade's parade of guest stars. I never realized how much it would feel integral to my enjoyment of Decade, how clear it'd make the show's intentions. It's there in the finale of the TV series, where Tsukasa and his friends all bond over their shared experience as Team Decade. That's... that's these threads? That's this experience for me. The quality of the show is almost irrelevant, because sharing it with all of you is what's valuable. Tsukasa doesn't care if the world's going to end, because his friends are with him. I don't care if I've got to watch Showa tributes, because all of you are with me. That celebration of the ways fandom unites people... that's what makes it hard for me to understand the people who claim that Kamen Rider Decade didn't have its own story. Honestly, the story of Kamen Rider Decade -- four people find common ground and friendship through the exploration of Kamen Rider stories -- is probably the part of this show I'm going to remember best. Team Decade is fantastic. They're all different types of fans, with different motivations and backgrounds, but they cared about these stories. The differences added value to each other's perspectives, the same way it does it here. You can watch these shows for the action, the drama, the effects, the humor, the themes, the songs, whatever; as long as you care about them, we've all got your back. I started watching Kamen Rider series by myself. Kamen Rider Decade was a show about why it's more rewarding to watch them with other people.
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10-23-2021, 02:37 PM | #579 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,481
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Quote:
KAMEN RIDER DECADE - SERIES WRAP-UP
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the premiere episode for Only Murders In The Building. It was only alright, despite the high production values and stellar cast. It’s one of those comedies where everyone’s sad, and that just wasn’t what I was looking for. It didn’t really connect with me, except for on one very specific level. The show is about three people (Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, Martin Short) who live in the same apartment building in Manhattan. They don’t really know each other. They aren’t friends. They pass by one another and avoid eye contact, anxious about getting drawn into someone else’s life. The twist is that they’re all super-fans of the same true crime podcast. There’s a scene, midway through the first episode, that’s the most relatable thing in the world to me. The characters have all needed to leave their building due to a fire alarm, but it’s in the midst of the most recent episode of the podcast they follow. Steve Martin’s character sets up his laptop and notebook and theories at a table in a nearby restaurant. Martin Short’s character stops by, and Steve Martin visibly grimaces. He doesn’t want to deal with Martin Short, and he certainly doesn’t want to deal with him when there’s a new podcast episode to dissect. But then Martin Short recognizes the notes and theories and his eyes light up. He blurts out a recent theory, and then Steve Martin’s eyes light up. They start gushing to each other about new clues, and popular theories, and questions that’ve puzzled them for weeks. When Selena Gomez ends up in the same restaurant, she’s stand-offish… until she sees they’re superfans like her. Suddenly, they’re speaking the same language. There’s an immediate, deep connection. That’s every fandom, isn’t it? The ideal version of it? We’re all different people, but there’s this one thing we have in common, and that opens a door. Making a connection in the world is nearly impossible, but if you meet a Kamen Rider fan, you’ve met a friend. It’s a rare commonality, a part of yourself you can immediately see in that other person. The differences melt away in the heat of that one similar passion. It’s empathy, transmitted via fandom. I think that’s why Kamen Rider Decade ended up working for me, despite the many storytelling choices I regret/resent. It’s a show that’s implicitly and explicitly about the power of fandom to unite people. There’s a read on Tsukasa’s travels where he keeps meeting Kamen Riders, keeps meeting people different from him that share one thing, and that one thing is an unbreakable bond. But there’s also the end of the show, where the A.R. Riders’ literal fandom for Tsukasa is enough to bring him back to life. This was a show that created almost nothing worthwhile as a series arc, a depressing waste of mysteries and teases, but still managed to tell the best Kamen Rider story there is to tell. It’s a celebration not of Kamen Rider as a franchise, a way to trot out old characters for nostalgia’s sake; but a celebration of Kamen Rider fans, and the ways these finite stories unite for an infinite experience. Watching Tsukasa spend a couple episodes in one story, then moving on? That’s us. That’s all of us. We throw ourselves into a show for weeks, months, a year, and then we move on to Saber, to Revice, to whatever comes next. And when we’ve explored every corner of the franchise, made every friend there is to make? Then we get to go back and revisit them, see if we’ve changed enough to add more dimensions to that relationship. And the enjoyment of a fandom is so much larger than the product Toei puts out, or the product Bandai puts out. It’s here, on forums and chat rooms and social media. I wanted to do this project with other fans as a fun gimmick, a way of commenting on Decade’s parade of guest stars. I never realized how much it would feel integral to my enjoyment of Decade, how clear it’d make the show’s intentions. It’s there in the finale of the TV series, where Tsukasa and his friends all bond over their shared experience as Team Decade. That’s… that’s these threads? That’s this experience for me. The quality of the show is almost irrelevant, because sharing it with all of you is what’s valuable. Tsukasa doesn’t care if the world’s going to end, because his friends are with him. I don’t care if I’ve got to watch Showa tributes, because all of you are with me. That celebration of the ways fandom unites people… that’s what makes it hard for me to understand the people who claim that Kamen Rider Decade didn’t have its own story. Honestly, the story of Kamen Rider Decade -- four people find common ground and friendship through the exploration of Kamen Rider stories -- is probably the part of this show I’m going to remember best. Team Decade is fantastic. They’re all different types of fans, with different motivations and backgrounds, but they cared about these stories. The differences added value to each other’s perspectives, the same way it does it here. You can watch these shows for the action, the drama, the effects, the humor, the themes, the songs, whatever; as long as you care about them, we’ve all got your back. I started watching Kamen Rider series by myself. Kamen Rider Decade was a show about why it’s more rewarding to watch them with other people. Also related: the ideas for adapt one of these threads into a video essay is still on my table.
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10-23-2021, 04:15 PM | #580 |
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For the finale's episode guide, Shirakura made the observation that the kanji for "celebration" (祝) looks extremely similar to the one for "curse" (呪). Decade is a series that commemorates 10 years of Heisei Rider shows by bringing them all together, but the very act of making a Heisei Rider series about that is also actively defying one of the fundamental aspects of Heisei Rider shows, which is how each one is its own standalone story, entirely unique from the rest.
"Decade is both a celebration, as well as a curse." It's readily apparent how little ends up making sense about the overarching plot of Decade on a literal level, but while it's hard to speak to exactly how much of that was a deliberate creative choice versus the production not coming together smoothly, it's hard to deny that the broad strokes of the series' mythology end up working perfectly viewed from a meta lens. Exactly like "Kenzaki" says, the worlds only starting fusing because Decade was born. They're going to be destroyed because that is the plot of Kamen Rider Decade. In a way, Narutaki had it exactly right the whole time. Tsukasa's adventures break the existing boundaries of what Kamen Rider is. Established conventions change, and familiar concepts become distorted. Even the very notion that this was a celebration for the Heisei era specifically, or the expectations viewers would have of a finale – they all end destroyed by Decade, because at the end of it all, Tsukasa truly is the destroyer of worlds. By destroying everything, Decade connects everything. And through those connections, brand new things can be created. ...Warts and all, I see Decade as something of a linchpin for the whole Heisei era of Kamen Rider. It was this huge turning point combined with everything Double ended up doing right after, where a bunch of new traditions originated, and whether because of fame or infamy (once again exactly like the character in-universe!), its legacy has managed to endure. "Decade's story starts here" being the note Decade ended on honestly hits way harder, this far down the line, knowing exactly how right Tsukasa was about that. It was a really dumb move, of course, to end things the way they did. I got into the fandom early enough for the wounds to still be pretty fresh for a lot of people. "Diend shoots Decade in the face" might legitimately have been one of the first things I knew about Decade at all. I saw the ending described and couldn't believe anyone would ever end their show on a cliffhanger that odd. (I might have even hunted down a clip of it on YouTube before I ever watched OOO or anything? Hard to remember at this point.) And then you find out there's a movie boasting about being the true ending to the show, and, yeah, that seems a little slimy! For what its worth, apparently Shirakura also insists the movie wasn't planned at first, while the series looping back to the start in the end was, at least according to this interview, so take that for what you will. It's an insane couple of episodes, and a crazy movie, but I do like a lot of aspects of them, the same way Die seemed to. It's especially fun going back with the context of Super Hero Taisen, because I'm very much appreciating how much Diend was blatantly a favorite character for Yonemura. From writing his very first scene in the Blade episodes, to the implied depth in the Hibiki episodes, and all through his development in the final stretch of the show, it now seems evident to me he fell for Kaitou the way Kaitou fell for Tsukasa. I mean, I could even see this guy shoving Diend into another series completely just for a shot at writing him some more, you know? And to be fair, like I said a bit back in the thread, I've kinda fallen for Kaitou over time too! Both his actors are giving strong performances in and out of suit, and thanks to Yonemura, they really did get some great material to work with at points. (Maybe way less thanks to Inoue, but at least we got (^ U ^) out of those episodes.) Diend is maybe the thing from Decade that my opinion has most evolved on since originally watching it. Because honestly, this show is pretty much exactly how I remember it? Frustratingly incoherent, unbelievably stupid, strangely poignant, impossibly thrilling, and an all around beautiful mess of other such contradictions. But that's all what makes it Decade – what makes it special – and I can't help but love it for what it is, rather than worry about what it isn't. I might not have learned all that much compared to, well, exactly one other show I tried this with (Kabuto ended up being a weirdly special experience!), but it was certainly fun to come back to it all one more time, exactly like all the other shows I've gone back to watch the past couple years.
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