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03-24-2024, 09:31 AM | #481 |
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originally posted on December 2nd, 2021, as part of ?Kamen Rider Die rewatches Legend Rider projects (and more!)?
KAMEN RIDER W FOREVER: A TO Z/THE GAIA MEMORIES OF FATE -The big difference for me on this viewing, obviously, is being in the midst of a full W rewatch. It didn?t fundamentally change the experience ? this thing is just a solid film, no matter your level of knowledge ? but it did make me enjoy certain elements more. I love how the crowd scenes are populated with previous Dopant Dilemma victims: the magician family, Jimmy and his fan/girlfriend, the zoo guide, that little girl who clearly has still not been told that her father is dead and is also not Double. It?s neat to see them all again, and seeing them will on Double to defeat Eternal. It gives the resolution of the film a bit more specificity, which is cool. Quote:
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Uh, very late this year; so late, in fact, that it's January 2025. I'll touch more on this in a month, but I'm currently planning on "Kamen Rider Die watches A SUPER SENTAI" to start in late August, and then OOO in January. Two a year for me, especially as the early Phase 2 stuff has enough content for three months.
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If I may I would like to suggest one of the following below as your first sentai show. Reasoning being these are what I like to consider introductory.
Timeranger Gaoranger Hurricanger Abaranger Dekaranger Magiranger Shinkenger Gokaiger Kyoryuger ToQger Zyuohger Kiramager As much as I want to recommend Donbrothers and Kingohger those are such curveballs in comparison I recommend you watch one of those after watching one of the above. Turboranger Fiveman Jetman Ohranger GoGo V Timeranger Gaoranger Abaranger Dekaranger Boukenger Gekiranger Go-Onger Goseiger Gobusters Zyuohger Ryusoulger Kiramager Zenkaiger The ones I added are in bold. I omitted Showa, as I know Die "doesn't truck" with that. I also omitted Gokaiger, as that show is full of spoilers for previous Sentai and therefore unsuitable for introduction IMO, although I acknowledge that some people like Kurona did start with it. I put Gobusters and Ryusoulger in there as well, despite them being kind of subversive, as they still mostly follow the typical Sentai formula.
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03-24-2024, 11:06 AM | #482 |
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And thanks for the additional recommendations!
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03-24-2024, 02:36 PM | #483 |
I have a problematic type
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If we're offering pointless recommendations, then I say skip every official Sentai and just watch Akibaranger.
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03-24-2024, 05:50 PM | #484 |
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KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 45 - “WHAT K DEMANDS – THE DEVIL’S TAIL”
It’s a good penultimate story for a noir mystery superhero series, even if it robs the show of the fun, looser vibes of a traditional Dopant Dilemma. (I mean, this thing kicks off with Team Double Is Hired By Lady Indiana Jones, so it still left a little room to goof around.) There’s a safety in the status quo, and what comes next can only alter it. Maybe it’s okay if Philip never learns the truth about his past, and can just make up something that lets him feel safe? Maybe it’s okay if Shotaro just protects Fuuto around the edges, rather than confront Ryuube and risk everything? Maybe it’s okay if Kyoko doesn’t open the Evil Tail box, and convinces herself that the admired museum curator isn’t a USB drug metaphor kingpin and global supervillain? We’re in a noir mystery, and that means the truth is frequently more dangerous than a lie. Quote:
Which is exactly what happens, right down the line. Every answer we’re given puts our cast in greater jeopardy, but they’re not all equal in narrative weight. For one, I don’t love the revelation that Shotaro has been subconsciously avoiding a confrontation with Ryuube because of the Terror Memory’s evil fear powers. While it’s fine if that’s the case, we already had a perfectly good explanation for why Shotaro didn’t launch an assault on the Sonozaki compound: he’d immediately be killed. The various Museum lieutenants in residence were generally enough to make a frontal assault foolish, and the Terror Dopant was exponentially more powerful. Frankly, the thought of attacking Ryuube has never even come up in the show past their first run-in, and that’s because it was obviously a non-starter. To say that Shotaro’s been avoiding that dude because he’s petrified… like, maybe the series could’ve included a single scene of everyone being in favor of fighting Ryuube, and Shotaro being against it? Maybe once?
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But the revelation that Philip is just the Earth’s memory of Raito… I like that better? Beyond being a wrinkle that doesn’t ask us to square some weird circle, it makes the Sonozaki family’s utilization of Raito into something a bit more sensible. Ryuube didn’t see Raito as anything more than a tool, because Raito was already dead; what came back was a glorified Gaia Memory, so who cares? In retrospect, Wakana’s between-scenes dismissal of Philip makes a sort of sense – if Ryuube told her the truth about Philip, she’d probably also see him as less than human. (It’s a stretch, though. Doesn’t exactly redeem Wakana’s abrupt turn, even if it maybe sketches out a rationalization for it.) Also, man, to drop this thing directly after the movie where Team Double fights a reanimated child that was just like Raito? Brilliant.
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We’re in a story that’s largely about setting up the final pieces for the finale three-parter, as well as tying up whatever loose ends remain for our year-long narrative, but the episode allows most of that exposition and revelation to come alongside a few good fights (Mick! Twice!) and a substantial atmosphere of dread. Nothing’s dispensed in a dry or analytical way; it’s all bombshells, straight through.
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DIE-A MEMORIES
-Kyoko is a fun character, and I’m glad that it’s not the easy gag of Shotaro lusting after the pretty new client. They got friction, and not the possibly-romantic kind. Kyoko just immediately gets on Shotaro’s nerves, as two pulp archetypes are bound to do. As even super fast Accel Trial was unable to keep up with the present Smilodon, Philip shows his non-pragmatic intellect again to point out that their mistake is fighting Smilodon as he's a human... and with CycloneMetal, W decides to instead pet Smilodon, with flashbacks of Ryubee doing it, using Metal Shaft in place of a spoon, which worked, thus leaving Smilodon open to CycloneMetal's Maximum Drive with a Stag Beetle, Metal Stag Break, creating a projection of a mandible with a green wind to bind Smilodon, breaking Smilodon's driver and reverting him back to Mick. Philip explains further that Mick's pose is when he got a special food to eat, and assures him that he won't become a Dopant anymore. Still wonder if an animal becoming one would have their Dopant actions in control (thus making Mick an evil animal), at least Smilodon was sentient enough to track down Evil Tail before.
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03-24-2024, 07:16 PM | #485 |
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It does not! Most museum curators wear normal clothes! She's dressed like Indiana Jones! That's the joke!
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03-24-2024, 08:25 PM | #486 |
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KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 46 - “WHAT K DEMANDS – THE LAST SUPPER”
Not… not great? Not a great episode? It’s anticlimactic, which shouldn’t’ve come as a surprise, considering there are three more episodes left to go in this series. But this is the end for Ryuube, and the Museum, and it’s all sort of rushed and unfulfilling. The Museum side of things is just Wakana and Ryuube, and Wakana doesn’t participate in the battle at all. The Terror Dopant has a fistfight with Double, and loses like they trotted out the Terror suit for a background fight at the quarry in a crossover film. (It’s, like, under a minute.) The overall plan was just Wakana Will Be A God Somehow, and it’s as vague in its aspirations as the Gathering Data phase of dispensing Gaia Memories was. None of it really comes across as worth 45 episodes of build-up, and it somehow carries less weight than several of the Dopant Dilemmas. There’s some meat on this thing, largely from how irredeemable the Sonozakis ended up being. (Shotaro’s like Maybe There Was Some Humanity To Ryuube, a scene after he’s gleefully immolating himself while screaming that he regrets nothing he did.) Philip needs to save his family, but even after destroying their Gaia Memories, there’s nothing to celebrate. The only thing that Philip can depend on is Shotaro, and Shotaro is the only one who treats him like a human being. The emphasis of that bond – yet another invocation of Riding With The Devil – is where this episode finds whatever footing it can. It’s good, for that stuff. And yet… boy, I laughed a lot in the first half of this episode. Whoever decided that Shotaro’s portrayal of bone-deep fear and trauma should be expressed by him screaming like a lunatic at phones and Makura? I would really have gone a different way with it. It cracked me up, every single time, and I feel like that’s not the intended response from the audience. Going out on a limb here. It sabotages at least half of this story, because it never once feels like it’s an observed character trait or relatable human experience, it’s just ACTING as loud as possible. We’ve gone from Shotaro Will Have To Face His Fears all the way to Shotaro Needs To Be Committed Forever with absolutely zero progression. It gets the point across that Shotaro is going to be no help to anyone, sure, but it is relentlessly funny to watch. Again, I might’ve suggested portraying it a different way! This one was basically a miss for me. All that time spent getting us to a confrontation between Double and the Museum, and it’s Double pushing the Terror suit around by a lake while Accel flies through the air, shooting a CG creature from mythology. It feels… hollow, I guess. Like it didn’t really cost our heroes anything, which is sort of the opposite of how you want such a longstanding foe’s demise to feel. Ryuube’s plan was the usual Power For The Sake Of Power thing, and the final moments of it were as much of a shrug as the rest of his year-long stratagem. If it had some minor pathos for being so much trauma for such a pointless goal, I guess that’s something. Beyond that, let’s see where the final three go. — DIE-A MEMORIES -Shotaro’s various looks of fear throughout the first half of this episode – I can’t decide if they’re his worst acting (for drama) or his best acting (for humor). Unforgettable, though, either way. -Boy, it is all coming back to me, the feeling of not liking how this show ended. If memory serves, we’ve got a Foundation X two-parter that never grabbed me emotionally, and a Wakana finale that I think got something out of me, but this Museum two-parter… ugh. What a fumble. -Shroud would not miss a dinner where could walk out on her family all over again.
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03-24-2024, 08:55 PM | #487 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
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These were an enjoyable two episodes, though of course there's only so much climax you can fit into them due to the wrinkle of Foundation X and things not being over just yet. Since we've been made aware of since the early 40s that while Museum distributes Gaia Memories, there's still someone above providing the funding and making their own.
I don't have too much to say but I did find this a fitting end for Ryubei. It really says something that the most he's able to do is posture at the end of it all. He can't back it up without extra abilities, and when those prove ineffective or are being dealt with elsewhere, he completely loses all threat. There's also something very entrancing about a delusional old man walking into his burning mansion and dancing with old memories, unable to let go of the past despite being one of the reasons that past is gone. It's a bit sad that Nazca R just kind of goes out like that, but it was a fun night fight. We got to show off Claydoll's LEDs again which is neat. That being said Smilodon/Mick's exit was rather entertaining, watching Philip being able to wrangle him and Terui's exasperation at them fighting a cat all this time, priceless. I don't think I found Shotaro's yelling constantly hilarious though tbh. This is kind of just Terror amplifying anxiety and fear to new untold heights? Like, I've seen lower levels of what I've seen Shotaro do before in different situations. So it kind of unnerved me more than anything even if it did get to be a bit much at times. That being said I'm surprised Shroud's exit wasn't really in these episodes? I could've sworn her stuff got wrapped up here but I guess not? I do like how she does give Philip that push and really pushes what she learned in the Old Arc that Shotaro is the Trump Card. I also let out an audible chuckle when Saeko fell to her knees outside the gate to the burning mansion and during that pan we see that Shroud is also just there watching in the background. As for Shotaro overcoming his fear thanks to Philip's "final words", I think I'll talk about that later given what I recall coming up. But it was nice to see them take advantage of Philip's 'physical' state and use it to turn the tables on Museum. But yeah we're uh basically at the end main series, kind of crazy to think about that. |
03-24-2024, 09:00 PM | #488 |
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It was! I like the clever twist of Shotaro using the Double Driver (and Xtreme) to pull Philip back to physicality.
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03-25-2024, 12:45 AM | #489 |
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Only because to me it feels like another curveball. Trust me, I was contemplating it for my suggestions but ultimately felt it would be worth watching after something more standard. Heck, I had to restrain myself to not recommend old school shows like Liveman and Zyuranger so Die doesn't feel overwhelmed.
With that said, please consider Carranger if you could, Kamen Rider Die.
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03-25-2024, 07:18 PM | #490 |
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KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 46 - “WHAT K DEMANDS – THE LAST SUPPER”
It’s anticlimactic, which shouldn’t’ve come as a surprise, considering there are three more episodes left to go in this series. But this is the end for Ryuube, and the Museum, and it’s all sort of rushed and unfulfilling. The Museum side of things is just Wakana and Ryuube, and Wakana doesn’t participate in the battle at all. The Terror Dopant has a fistfight with Double, and loses like they trotted out the Terror suit for a background fight at the quarry in a crossover film. (It’s, like, under a minute.) The overall plan was just Wakana Will Be A God Somehow, and it’s as vague in its aspirations as the Gathering Data phase of dispensing Gaia Memories was. None of it really comes across as worth 45 episodes of build-up, and it somehow carries less weight than several of the Dopant Dilemmas. Quote:
There’s some meat on this thing, largely from how irredeemable the Sonozakis ended up being. (Shotaro’s like Maybe There Was Some Humanity To Ryuube, a scene after he’s gleefully immolating himself while screaming that he regrets nothing he did.) Philip needs to save his family, but even after destroying their Gaia Memories, there’s nothing to celebrate. The only thing that Philip can depend on is Shotaro, and Shotaro is the only one who treats him like a human being. The emphasis of that bond – yet another invocation of Riding With The Devil – is where this episode finds whatever footing it can. It’s good, for that stuff.
After Ryubee's defeat, he goes back to his crumbling mansion, while seeing a projection of Wakana, which means there's a sliver of hope in his plans, so he'd stay there and die without regrets (no, the Museum stuff hasn't ended, with Kazu taking Wakana's body as well), while also remembering his time with his family. I guess the Gaia Memory influence slightly wears off of him, which is what Shotaro (claims to, but the other cast agrees on the claim) made up to Kyouko to make her feel better later. But he's still clearly insane though currently, other than just letting himself die, but is also deluded that he moves as if he's dancing with his daughter albeit there's none. I'd say Ryubee does have good acting that he feels charismatic and intimidating (non-Terror) fitting of a mob boss, and has an interesting driving motive related to his Museum business, but would like for his work on the plan to be displayed more, or talk more about extinction, rather than mostly just revealing about others playing into his hands, albeit this episode had a bit of more explanation, as well as, similar to Kirihiko before, would see more of his well-intentioned plan being tested by others, where it was only by Phillip's vague reasoning and Shotaro's Evil Tail scene here (Ryubee only had 1 objection line of denying Shotaro's claim of what he caught about Evil Tail). Quote:
And yet… boy, I laughed a lot in the first half of this episode. Whoever decided that Shotaro’s portrayal of bone-deep fear and trauma should be expressed by him screaming like a lunatic at phones and Makura? I would really have gone a different way with it. It cracked me up, every single time, and I feel like that’s not the intended response from the audience. Going out on a limb here. It sabotages at least half of this story, because it never once feels like it’s an observed character trait or relatable human experience, it’s just ACTING as loud as possible. We’ve gone from Shotaro Will Have To Face His Fears all the way to Shotaro Needs To Be Committed Forever with absolutely zero progression. It gets the point across that Shotaro is going to be no help to anyone, sure, but it is relentlessly funny to watch. Again, I might’ve suggested portraying it a different way!
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This one was basically a miss for me. All that time spent getting us to a confrontation between Double and the Museum, and it’s Double pushing the Terror suit around by a lake while Accel flies through the air, shooting a CG creature from mythology. It feels… hollow, I guess. Like it didn’t really cost our heroes anything, which is sort of the opposite of how you want such a longstanding foe’s demise to feel. Ryuube’s plan was the usual Power For The Sake Of Power thing, and the final moments of it were as much of a shrug as the rest of his year-long stratagem. If it had some minor pathos for being so much trauma for such a pointless goal, I guess that’s something. Beyond that, let’s see where the final three go.
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