|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
11-27-2021, 12:31 PM | #461 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Episode 14: Soul Moon Pictured above: Vega from the Street Fighter series. This was an episode that many in the US have seen done before, but it was done effectively, and as such I have no complaints. The overall moral of the episode is the age old "It's the inside that counts" lesson, which, I think is something many people even today still need to learn. And again, it's not like the lesson itself was delivered terribly. I also approve of the episode being rather simplistic here, as this episode is also our introduction into the second arc of the anime. Seimei is gone now, and her departure clearly has a lasting effect on Raiko and Kintoki. Plus, the titular Crimson Moon finally makes its appearance. In exchange for Seimei, Zaruba is now a part of the regular cast again. Interestingly enough though, no mention of there being a specific pact with him and Raiko like there was with Leon in the previous anime. And speaking of things missing, the James Bond-esque self-destructing letters from the Watchdog Center also seems to be gone. Something else that I definitely appreciated was the how dynamic the action sequence was this time around. The Crimson Moon showing up and making the Horror of the week stronger kinda demanded it, and even besides the length, sequence itself with all of the masks, while certainly on the nose in terms of the overall message of the episode, made for a really cool visual and I really dug the entire thing. And lastly, we have a new OP and ED! In terms of visuals, these ones are definitely alot more dynamic than the first set that we got. In terms of the songs themselves, I'd say they're about even in terms of quality? Not bad, but nothing I'd say is super fantastic either. Overall, I liked this episode. I felt it served as a good intro into our next big arc, and I think it nailed beauty in simplicity. Good stuff.
__________________
|
12-02-2021, 06:30 PM | #462 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Episode 15: Worst That title is accurate because holy crap is this episode awful! It's also the sort of thing where I feel like I need to put some sort of warning up front. Not the typical content warnings that other websites use, though. No, because see, this episode decided it wanted to have commentary on gender politics and the nature of affairs/cheating, which in turn makes it really difficult and uncomfortable for me to talk about. So I'll just say it here, if I at any point cross some sort of line or show any kind of misunderstanding in my reflections of the episode in this post, feel free to call me out. I'm an ace man, I don't deal with romance, and I sure as hell am not any sort of expert in this kind of ordeal. With that out of the way, what is this episode even about? Well, they decided to make an episode centered entirely around Masamune, the aristocrat who's spent the entire anime doing nothing but cheating on his wife and making advances on young girls. A very shallow character, but one that was never portrayed as funny, or in the right, or even as a remotely good person. When the latest attempt at cheating on his wife goes south, Masamune's' wife decides she's had enough and starts putting her foot down about how their household is ran. In response, Izumi(the informant Raiko and co use every now and then) hires Raiko and Kintoki to spy on Masamune in an attempt to keep him out of trouble while she tries to find a way to get Masamune to stop being an awful husband. Now, with how frustrating I've already noted this episode to be, you might already have an idea of what exactly goes on here; The idea that the episode goes out of its way to glorify Masamune and portray his wife as the bad guy. But what this so weird is that you'd only be half right. This episode doesn't make anyone look good. Not Masamune, not his wife, not men, not women. It's so wishy-washy and inept that I honestly can't even tell what the hell this episode was trying to do other than be a giant waste of time. Because here's the thing that gets me. This episode outright acknowledges that what Masamune does is wrong. He should be faithful to his wife. He shouldn't cheat on her and he should stop sexually harassing women. But then it flips around and says "Oh, all men get like that because of the way women treat them" Which, as a man, is really backhanded and makes me feel awful, thanks. But then the episode flips around AGAIN to say "No, Masamune is incapable of change or improvement, and now that his wife is gone hes back to being an incredibly awful person regardless." Just... what is even the idea here? This episode says men cheating and being creeps are wrong, but then turns and goes "It wouldn't happen if women handled men better. But it is okay if women cheat though. Also if a man hits on them it's their fault." Just... what in the world!? Did I miss something in all of this? I... man, this was easily the worst episode across the entire franchise so far. Even ignoring the hugely problematic "message" it has, there's no action to speak of, the moments played for laughs so are not funny, and the entire experience was just incredibly uncomfortable for me. Heck, in terms of plot, the only thing that progressed was Izumi agreeing to do research on the Crimson Moon. And again, even on a character basis it fails because Masamune doesn't at all grow as a person or redeem himself, and every other character only looks worse due to the nature and execution of the entire scenario. It's the type of garbage I'd've expected out of Blassreiter, not this, a show I've been liking! Overall, this episode is an absolute waste of time, and you're better off skipping it entirely. Total crap.
__________________
|
12-03-2021, 02:41 PM | #463 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Episode 16: Sinister Evil Thankfully this episode was alot better than the previous one. And wouldn'tcha know it? It's a Hakamadare episode! This one being about his relationship with Yasumasa, his brother. It's the sort of episode though where there really isn't much else to say except that I liked it. Everything the episode done is very simple, straightforward, and to the point. And as I've said many times before, there's nothing wrong with that. As for the "plot" of the episode itself, it's mainly about how the Crimson Moon seems to be turning more people into Horrors, and how the head of the police became corrupted. Interesting twist though in that while we are rooting for Hakamadare, Hakamadare himself is actually guilty of many of the crimes listed. Sure, in the end, said police chief did infact kill alot of people and was practicing police brutality, but he wasn't actually guilty for any of the thefts or murders of the aristocrats who became Horrors, yet they're pinned on him anyway. It's the fact that he himself is a Horror and that Hakamadare is acting as Robin Hood that the audience roots for who they do. Outside of that, the scenes between Hakamadare and Yasumasa are sweet in their own right, and highlight their own philosophies on justice. However, my favorite scene in the whole episode is actually a very quick and minor one between Hakamadare and Raiko, wherein Hakamadare straight up tells Raiko that he doesn't give a crap about the show's' overarcing plot and is more focused on his own personal quest. It was neat. All in all, a fine episode. Certainly much better than the previous one.
__________________
|
12-09-2021, 01:15 PM | #464 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Episode 17: Extinguished Star Seimei is back, and with her, a giant leap forward in the plot. This one was unique in that, while alot happens, alot also kinda doesn't happen? It's hard for me to explain, exactly. There's alot of exposition, and this episode is very much a lead-in to the climax of the anime overall. Which is weird to say, considering there's 7 episodes left to go. There's also alot of internal character drama going on, with Seimei especially. But like, talking in terms of events, specifically? Not a whole whole lot. As such, I can really only go over what all was revealed here, and give my impressions as to how these reveals were pulled off. The short version? Not bad, and definitely makes me interested as to how this is all gonna go. First off, it's revealed that the Crimson Moon is infact an ancient alchemic seal placed upon an ancient Horror called Rudra, known as one of the strongest Horrors ever, to the point that's more referred to as a catastrophic disaster rather than as a simple Horror. This seal was created by Seimei's' ancestors, and Ashiya Doma recently was able to crack it open somehow. Seimei meanwhile has been struggling with the darkness that seal absorbed from Raiko, which has been slowly eating away at her and giving constant feelings of depression and anxiety. This too, was a part of Doma's' plan, as he wished to create his own powerful Horror using Seimei as a vessel. I definitely liked the character drama aspects of all of this, even if the build up this exact plan could've been handled and showcased alot better. As I've said before, it helps that Seimei has proven to be a rather likable character throughout the show. And lastly, and probably the weakest part in all of this, we get a small insight into Xehanort's' motivation: A big reason as to why he wants to destroy the world is to get revenge on Michinaga, the corrupt lord of the Light Palace. Which is really odd to me considering Xehanort directly cooperated with Michinaga early on in the show. I'm sure we'll be given more detail later on, but as of right now, that's pretty weak, and Xehanort was better off as a simply for the evil type of guy. But hey, maybe it'll improve, and if nothing else perhaps tie into the commentary on corrupt officials that this show has had so far. Outside of that, there's the usual affair here when it comes to Crimson Moon: Weak action scenes with alot of exposition. Although said exposition did feel alot more natural this time around, and the fight between Seimei and Xehanort wasn't bad. All in all, a pretty solid build up episode to lead us into the final act of the anime.
__________________
|
12-10-2021, 09:46 PM | #465 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Episode 18: Frenzy Man, funny how a budget episode can have some of the most striking visuals! I'm not trying to be mean here when I say "budget episode" by the way, because this one very much is; There's a ton of tricks used here to save on animation. And yet, this episode also makes sure to have every shot count. And even more importantly than that, it makes sure to have everything that's going on actually be interesting and important to the characters. Seimei being converted into a vessel for Rudra, Yorinobu becoming the new head of the police, the reval of what lies at the core of the Light Palace... it's all very cool stuff that kept my attention all throughout the episode. Seimei now being a tool for Xehanort of course being the big emotional crux here. And again, they made sure to have the bits that required a little bit more budget to animate actually count! Dark Seimei's' spells of course being the one one. They all look very cool; Being inverted versions of the magic that Seimei normally uses. I really dug how the corrupted Shikigami all look like blood sucking butterflies, given Seimei's' phobia of them. Very strong character moments all throughout too. Such as Kintoki trying to bear the burden for Raiko, and Raiko, despite his internal suffering, trying to do what he knows is the right thing in this situation. It's very telling that while he still defends himself against Seimei, and knows there's not much of an option outside of killing her, he still hesitates and is only able to keep his guard up thanks to the occasional shout from Zaruba. And speaking of characters, man, very happy to see that Kaguya wasn't just some bit character that the show forgot about! Her being a reincarnated spirit of the moon who's able to seal Horrors away was a nice surprise, and her being able to casually dispel Rudra's' magic was really awesome to see after how threatening it proved to be. I hope the trend of past characters coming back continues because I love stuff like that, as it shows a heroes' actions having a direct payoff. All in all a rather nice episode! Can't complain.
__________________
|
12-10-2021, 10:59 PM | #466 |
CYCLONERISE
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 9
|
Quote:
Giganto-post incoming. You have been warned.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON SSSS.GRIDMAN I am a simpleton. Whenever I experience a story, especially for the first time, I tend to just take everything it gives me at face value. I tend not to think too much about it. Things I tend to more focus on and thus attach myself to are the characters presented, as well as the general atmosphere that the story in question is gunning for. I'm a sucker for stuff like that. It's the reason why alot of details that many others would find blatant tend to go over my head. I remember in Fish's'(best) Kuuga thread, there were many details and moments everyone loved and went into loving detail about, meanwhile I was just all "uhhh yeah that was certainly cool I guess." Heck, Kurona's current coverage of OOO and Die's' coverage of Blade also did this to me(he totally ate that puzzle piece). Want me to go further? Well, you know all of the analysis I've done in regards to Anti throughout this entire rewatch? Yeah I totally missed like half of that on my first watch through this show. The Puppeteer Kaiju, which very blatantly symbolizes Anti's' own feelings of being a puppet? TOTALLY went over my dumb-dumb brain on my first watch. But despite that, Anti was and still is my favorite character in this show, and the thing I'd say I attached to the most throughout the show's' entire run. A great character goes a long way. I guess what I'm trying to get at here is that I can deal with alot of stuff; I'm really patient with stories as long as they give me a single reason to keep caring. Whether it be a character I really love and/or relate to, great comedic timing, an intense atmosphere, great action scenes... I tend not to ask for alot. And I most certainly was not asking for alot when I tuned into SSSS.Gridman for the first time, and I still don't. The only thing I expected going in was a reboot that kept the general spirit of Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, and, well, it's not a 1/1 exact comparison by any stretch, but I got it! I feel the need to tell you all this because, well, I feel like I kinda gave the wrong impression with my write-ups on the second half of this show. Let me make this clear here and now: I DO like this show! I had alot of fun rewatching it! It's just that, two years later, with this rewatch, I noticed alot more flaws than I had before, and I felt the need to point them out, as a way of showing that yes, I was infact paying attention and not simply trying to shill a show to you all. The whole point of these posts I make isn't just advertising, it's also discussion. With all that out of the way, I am going to present and break down what I feel are the biggest aspects that this show has to offer, and give my thoughts on what I felt worked, and what didn't. I'll try my best to end on an overall positive note, as per usual, but we'll see how this goes(you might've noticed by now I just kinda type my thoughts as they come to me in some inane ramble). So with that said, and I know you all are more than likely sick of hearing me complain about it, let's start off with what is, without a shadow of a doubt, the single biggest factor of SSSS.Gridman, and what I feel will be one of the key factors in determining whether or not the average viewer will come out liking this show. Akane Shinjo I didn't like her the first time around, and this time, I did my best to try and analyze and understand what exactly the writers were trying to get across in terms of who is essentially the central character of this story. And I will warn you all here and now, I am by NO MEANS any sort of expert on mental health, and I am trying my very best to be respectful about it here. If I end up crossing some sort of line, I deeply apologize in advance. The best I could come up with is the writers wanted to create a character who is their own worst enemy. Someone so caught up in and trapped in their own shell that they bring harm to themselves as well as those around them, to the point that they become depressed and potentially suicidal. Unfortunately for them, it all falls short once you factor in that not only does Akane have no redeeming qualities to get the audience attached to her, but every character in the shows talks about how wonderful she is, with nothing at all to show for it. Not only that, but despite the show's' insistence that Alexis must be the one who made her the way she is, there is exactly no evidence to support such, which in turn makes Alexis, despite being the main villain, the most honest person in the entire show. Ontop of that, she's a murderer. One who laughs with glee and sees absolutely nothing wrong with killing those off who inconvenience her. The best the show does to try and justify this(as if you even could), is to try and make every past interaction that she killed over "deeper" in some context. The one that is the most blatant is actually in the very first episode: Killing Tonkawa and the Volleyball Club over them accidentally smashing the Special Dog she tries to give to Yuta. What the show is basically saying is "You see it's totally understandable that she'd kill over that because it stopped her from getting closer to the boy she fell in love with!" Call me a heartless douchebag, but, no. Screw that and screw any sort of excuse you try and give her. Again, even when it seems like Akane is finally about to admit to her own faults, here come the other characters, even those who should know better, to say "No Akane, you're better than that! It's all Alexis' fault! You're the best person ever!" It'd be one thing if the show simply let life slap Akane down hard, but it doesn't, instead insisting that people like her are actually really good if you just give them a chance. Yeah, tell someone like Yusuke he should've just given someone like Daguva a hug and see how far that gets you. Heck, the overall lesson the show seems to want to preach(and thus the one Akane learns) is that you shouldn't stay cooped up in your shell and you should give life a chance, because there's alot of wonderful things out there for you to experience. ...A lesson Akane only "learns" via being cooped up in her own shell. Cool. Add onto all of that that she's an abusive mother towards Anti and stabbed Yuta in cold blood, and I have no sympathy for this girl. I don't even have to look very far to present ways that this was done better, because this franchise right off the bat provides two: Anti and Malcolm. Anti's' redemption works because he actually gets slapped down multiple times, ontop of him discovering the hard way that life is more than any one single-minded goal. Unlike Akane, his story actually SHOWS the ins and outs of his everyday life, and how just a small bit of kindness goes a long way in getting him to reconsider things. He also never makes any excuses for his behavior, and actively WORKS to try and redeem himself. Meanwhile with Akane, we get NOTHING on what made her the way she is, other than the other characters INSISTING that it must be Alexis, despite all evidence to the contrary. And when confronted on all the terrible things she's done, most of her responses amount to "Well I'm a God/bad person so I can do whatever, deal with it." Meanwhile Malcolm, while certainly petty, also has a much better handled redemption arc. Sure, many of the plots of Syber-Squad were started over some petty squabble that Malcolm had with the kids at school, but here's some key factors: 1. Malcolm never meant to out and out kill anyone. All of his plots were, at best, a super annoying inconvenience. And those that were actually super dangerous? Kilokahn's' doing. Almost every episode and ruthless kill in this anime however? All on Akane, and she did it with glee. 2. Malcolm has far more and far better interactions with the rest of the cast, making his feelings alot more apparent and clear-cut. There are multiple times were he tries to put in an honest effort at fitting in, but his own attitude problems(as someone who has autistic friends, he comes across as someone with severe Asperger's'), alongside his own social awkwardness, means he doesn't have an easy time connecting with anyone, and he's often ridiculed for it. Akane meanwhile, has none of that. Malcolm actually tried. Akane does not. 3. Malcolm is actually out and out betrayed. All throughout the show, he does his best to actually bond with Kilokahn, multiple times actually! Kilokahn of course has none of it, but heck, come the Finale, Malcolm genuinely asks "Kilokahn... aren't we friends?' And everything goes downhill from there. Meanwhile Akane and Alexis have dinner together like... once, and that's about it. I guess him complimenting her sculpting work went a long way? Pretty lame in comparison though. And the last bit of all of this is, well, my own personal experience. I hate to admit it, but growing up, I shared a handful of traits with Akane. I too grew up a socially awkward shut-in nerd(Hell, I'm almost 28 and in many ways I still am), I too would often pass off something awkward I'd just said as a joke just to avoid being judged, and I too have had many an episode of severe anxiety. But what separates me and Akane, and keeps me from feeling any sympathy for her, is that I know my own past experience, and I never let them turn me into someone who actively wants anyone who so much as accidentally bumps into me dead. The bottom line is that we know absolutely NOTHING ABOUT Akane's' past(or even Akane herself really), which in turns leads to another major problem this show has... Informed Attributes Outside Akane, I'd say this is probably the biggest flaw that this show has. Characters will often comment about certain traits that some other character is supposed to have, but it's either never followed up on or was never presented in the first place. I've pointed out several of them throughout the write-ups, so I won't go over them all again, but some highlights include Sho being called the jerk despite Rikka being the one who was being unreasonable at the time, Rikka insisting that she never wanted to help in any of the Kaiju battles despite her very much being more than willing to do so, and the Neon Genesis Junior High Students coming to the conclusion that they and Gridman all used to be a single entity because... um... reasons??? I understand that you can only convey so much in twelve episodes, but that highlights another thing that bothers me. Pacing Now, I'm not about to say the pacing is out and out bad(trust me I've seen way worse), but it definitely has some issues. Now, maybe it's just me, but the show really does feel like it was originally supposed to be a few episodes longer but then it got cut down. And heck, I could also easily see this being another "just me" thing, but... I honestly feel like, with the way the overall story flows, that this show was designed to be binged. The show very much wants you to get on this high and to carry that feeling all thoughout its run. In some ways though, this actually does work in its favor, because of its... Atmosphere That first episode's' atmosphere is absolutely fantastic and I will not hear otherwise. If there's one thing this show knows how to do well(atleast most of the time), it's create a mood. From the deep air of mystery in the first episode to the excellent comedic moments almost every character has, it knows how to blend imagery, music, and events to create a world that does truly feel alive, and one that you could easily immerse yourself in. Heck, speaking of world building, the truckload of foreshadowing done in the first couple of episodes shows that the team very much did have a roadmap of how they wanted the story to go, it's just that, well, getting to the destination itself was a little bumpy. But I've pretty much already covered why that is. The various references are also done extremely well in this aspect. None of them are at all distracting and are instead used to enhance the overall experience, and serve as a nice treat to those who can recognize them. They very much serve a narrative purpose. Whether or not the grandiose moments totally work there within is of course up to the viewer(the various lingering plot threads certainly don't help), but where the atmosphere MOST DEFINITELY gets pulled off the best is in this show's'... Action Scenes Almost every single action sequence in this show, big or small, is an absolute joy to watch. The animation, the choreography, the sound effects, and the flow, are all done absolutely fantastic here, and where it most definitely shines the brightest are in the first fight with Initial Gridman, and in the final battle with Gridman and Alexis. That first battle shows such a love and care in terms of recreating an old school Toku battle. From the fact that Gridman moves really slow to how the Kaiju looks and moves like someone in a rubber suit, you could really feel the animation team paying homage to that past era. And as for that final battle? No joke, that is one of the THE MOST hype final battles that I've ever seen in an TV show, and believe me, I've seen alot. The animation team totally fired off on that moment, and MAN did it pay off! I just wish that such a moment could've also been done for what I feel is the biggest takeaway from this entire thing... Anti Yeah you all knew this was coming. The show already had enough good going for it to keep me hooked, but Anti was the primary reason I looked forward to every episode. And I am by no means saying I find every other character to be bad or lackluster(other than Akane), it's just that man, props to whoever on the writing staff handled everything related to Anti. Anti is a character who has it all. Plentiful character development, a great voice actor(Stephen Fu, for those who don't know), wonderful character design, great action scenes, hilarious comedic timing... there's basically nothing I don't love about this guy. To put it into Kamen Rider terms, he's basically everything I feel a Secondary Rider should be. Not that they all have to be pulled off the exact same way, but in terms of sheer quality? Oh yeah. He's a wonderful look into what would happen were a Boss Monster suddenly given a conscience and life of their own, as well as just how hallow a single-minded existence can actually be. Keeping up with the Kamen Rider comparisons, I find him to be alot like Ankh in that respect(another character I love). Overall SSSS.Gridman is a show where it's very clear alot of love and attention went into its making, it's just unfortunate that sometimes(heck, alot of times), passion projects don't turn out perfect. Personally, I found enough in this show to keep me entertained and overall enjoying my experience, but I'm also very willing to admit that it has some issues that many won't(and shouldn't) ignore. So let me end this all by (Studio)Triggering you all with one last bit of trivia about me. I actually can't stand Studio Trigger's' works most of the time. Kill La Kill? Didn't like it. TTGL? Absolutely HATED it. The only other show of theirs I liked before this was Inferno Cop. So to me? SSSS.Gridman was a HUGE step up for them in terms of, well, everything! Which also had me going on it easier than what other critics might. SSSS.Gridman has great animation, great callbacks, great action, a great understanding of atmosphere, and a great character. It's a show I wholeheartedly enjoy despite its shortcomings, I'm looking forward to season 2, and I hope anyone who's willing to give the show a chance finds something to love about it too. My final rating for this anime is a 5/6.
__________________
|
12-11-2021, 08:38 PM | #467 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Quote:
Hello, was just reading through the thread and decided to reply. To me, looks like the majority of your problems with the anime were from how the dub translated things, as I could gather you watched the dub. I watched the dub and the sub, and the latter makes it more clear that Akane wasn't already evil as you stated in your thoughts on episode 12, though instead just lonely, and that Alexis used Akane's loneliness to his advantage. Also, Rikka and Akane, though they poke towards yuri tropes, are by no means supposed to be in love. The interpretation that makes the most thematic sense, and that the creators have hinted at being true, is that Rikka is a manfiestation of Akane in the real world. A normal girl with a few but not many friends. Not only does real world Akane sort of resemble Rikka, Rikka's earbuds and school uniform are seen in the room, paired with Akane's stuff. It also explains why Gridman chose to dwell in Yuuta. Everyone else, as per Akane's programming, loved her as she appeared in the anime, her fake, ideal self. Yuuta had eyes for Rikka, the "real Akane". This interpretation, to me, makes the most thematic sense. Akane was based less on Malcolm, and more so on Malcolm's Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Todo, who was petty, easily angered, and, again, petty, petty, petty, though, later on in the series, was revealed to be lonely, and even helped the Gridman crew defeat Kahn Digifer(Kilokahn) in the end, much like Malcolm. Akane's knife is the same one Takeshi used in the original Gridman. A lot of context is left out, yes, but is shown in the Gridman voice drama, which is only in Japanese, but is subbed. The Neon Genesis Junior High Squad were Hyper Agents who unknowingly merged with pieces of Gridman. Also, everyone loves Akane because that's exactly what she wanted. She literally programmed everyone to love her. Rikka's arc is about choosing to be Akane's friend because she wants to be Akane's friend, at least in the sub, and about how she knows her flaws and wants to help her.
I was aware of most of these. Alot of it comes down to how much leeway the viewer is willing to give Akane and how much they're willing to downplay the lives of the people of the city. Is Akane lonely? Yes. Was Alexis an influence on her? Also yes. But that doesn't change that fact that she killed people for petty reasons while laughing about it. Speaking for me personally, there's only so much leeway I can grant Akane here. Should she seek to be better and repent for her actions? Yes. Do I just instantly forgive her because of her negative emotions like everyone else in the show does, even those who logcially shouldn't have the "programmed to like her" excuse? No. We are never shown Alexis out and out forcing Akane into anything up until the very end, and there's literally no reason to doubt Alexis when he says that Akane was already the way she was when he found her. Does he get alot of enjoyment out of her Kaiju attacks? Yes. Did he ever once threaten her into making one, or force a Kaiju to come alive when she didn't want it? Again, not up until the very end of the show. It also doesn't help that, programs or not, the people of the the city are still treated as actually living beings with their own thoughts and feelings, with Dynazenon only going on to hammer this in even more. If they weren't, there'd be no reason to care about any of the characters in this show. I see why some like Akane and her arc. Me personally though? Not a fan.
__________________
Last edited by DreamSword; 12-12-2021 at 04:18 AM.. |
12-16-2021, 07:42 PM | #468 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Episode 19: Vessel No matter how jagged your path is, you'll always come back to the role. This is another episode where I feel there's not really much I can say about it other than the fact that I liked it? It's an episode focused almost entirely on dialogue and exposition, with alot of the emotional weight coming from Raiko struggling over the decision of whether or not killing Seimei would be the right thing to do. The origins of Kaguya and Xehanort are also revealed. Kaguya being a Mado Tool designed to seal Rudra, and Xehanort being Michinaga's' twin brother, cast out of the royal family at birth. Thus, we also finally learned what Xehanort's' primary motivation is: Making the entire world feel as hopelessly empty as he does. I feel like the scene between Xehanort and Michinaga was the one I was into the most, as if the episode wanted to it could have really dived deep into the sort of the things the two bring up there. How those who are self-righteous can be every bit as bad as those who embrace villainy, how being a Horror isn't just simply a result of being malicious, and the duality of man. The show never really cares to dive super deep into those things, and granted, it doesn't need to, but I definitely found it interesting that it bothered to bring them up in the first place. Meanwhile because I care about the majority of the cast of this show, Raiko's' internal struggle over the burden that the Watchdog Center has placed on him definitely kept me engaged, and with Hakamadare now on the scene, it'll be interesting to see how he goes about things as well. All in all, a good episode. Nothing super duper intrinsic or exciting, but one that felt necessary and kept my attention. Good stuff.
__________________
Last edited by DreamSword; 12-17-2021 at 08:29 AM.. |
12-17-2021, 05:49 AM | #469 |
fencer of gold
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 231
|
that's one of the interesting things about garo as a whole: no matter how rotten or evil some humans are in this franchise makai knights and priests are forbidden from doing anything to them as long as they remain human-no matter how much they would want to punish them
__________________
|
12-17-2021, 08:34 AM | #470 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
|
Quote:
that's one of the interesting things about garo as a whole: no matter how rotten or evil some humans are in this franchise makai knights and priests are forbidden from doing anything to them as long as they remain human-no matter how much they would want to punish them
__________________
|
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Kakuranger: 30 Years After |
ToyRise RyuKenDo |
Alternative Cut of "Day Of The Dumpster" Released |
Shodo SUPER Kyoryuger Teaser |
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:45 AM.
|