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07-11-2022, 07:59 PM | #341 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE: IS’S LECTURE ROOM EPISODE 1
I did not know ahead of time that this was not set in the world of Zero-One! Sorry! But, hey, I spent time watching it, so let’s at least try and get a night’s post out of it. It’s very charming. I’m a huge sucker for these sort of The Actors Film Some Bonus Content On Lunch Breaks extras, like the Fourze Net-Movies and such. It’s everyone in costume, but they’re clearly just goofing around because it’s for a Blu-ray bonus feature or a Toei Fan Club upload. The framework of this one is Izu giving Aruto a lecture so he can be a better president, but the reality is Izu’s actor trying to help Aruto’s actor through a quiz that he is utterly hopeless at. It’s not really Zero-One content, despite the trappings. And yet, it’s 1000% Zero-One content? Watching these two kids team up to succeed – or, more accurately, watching the girl who plays Izu bend over backwards to help the idiot boy who plays Aruto – is as hilariously heartwarming as any Aruto/Izu story. They seem to have, sadly for maybe both of them, a very similar dynamic in real life as they do on the show. This Aruto kid seems to be about zero percent faking in his inability to read the context clues of a quote to determine the missing words, and Izu has to try and construct a hint that’s simple enough for him to finally win without being full-on cheating. If they piped in some Digital Noises over her movements and poses, I honestly would think I was watching a weirdly low-budget episode of Zero-One. This maybe wasn’t technically a Zero-One episode (again: sorry, didn’t know), but it hit most of the buttons I want Zero-One to hit. The Aruto/Izu relationship is so central to the series that it makes me both incredibly happy and slightly concerned that it seems to have rubbed off on the actors. This was a lot of fun!
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07-11-2022, 11:48 PM | #342 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
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Am I mistaken or wasn't Aruto's actor (Fumiya Takahashi) one of the youngest Main Rider actors?
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07-12-2022, 05:50 AM | #343 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,411
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He was. He was 18 at the time filming started.
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07-12-2022, 11:00 AM | #344 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,098
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Quote:
Quote:
I never remember which of these movies is which, so I had to go look it up. Yeah, I don't remember liking that Ghost/Drive movie too much, but I think I like this one less? That movie was stupid, but this one felt like it fundamentally didn't understand the point of Zero-One, and didn't much care about the purpose of Zi-O. Bigger sins in Reiwa First Gen, to me.
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07-13-2022, 11:40 PM | #345 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 17 - “I’M THE TRUE PRESIDENT KAMEN RIDER”
Not a ton of time, but let’s see what there is to say about this episode. It’s a great premise, the whole Job Battle thing. It allows for a neat little Humagear/humanity story, while being in service to the larger ZAIA plot. And the stakes… I mean, it’s just to let Gai feel like a smug prick, which is sort of amazing? There’s the larger threat of ZAIA taking over Hiden, or whatever is going on with Ark, but this story is fundamentally about feeding Gai’s ego, front to back. On that level, it’s great? Gai’s thing is that he absolutely cannot conceive of any way in which he’s less than Aruto, which makes Aruto’s digs (like noting that ZAIASPEC sales haven’t gone up 1000 percent, only 700-something) such a delight. Gai takes himself a thousand percent seriously, so he’s a natural foil to a stand-up comedian. Beyond the corporate trappings and the weird backstory with Grandad Hiden and whatever, there’s a natural friction between these two people that works so well in every scene. I could watch Gai smirk and Aruto snark pretty much all day. The actual meat of the story was nicely low-key, trading in a gentleness that I love to see. The central conflict is a fun one, where Gai is pushing human augmentation, while Aruto stumps for Humagears. It’s an interesting idea, because ZAIA’s feels like the more humane approach: it’s about centering human achievement, rather than dumping humanity’s hard work off to robots. But it actually comes off colder here than the use of Humagears, because it’s all about rigid math. ZAIASPEC is a multiplier, and nothing more. The Humagears, however, are about collaborating to create something unexpected, and the wonder of that partnership. ZAIASPEC is science, but Humagears are art. Putting those two things in opposition makes for a fun story. And then there’s Thouser! Gai finally gets his Kamen Rider debut, and it’s as gaudy and ostentatious as you might’ve expected, but turned up to 1000. His driver uses two Zetsumerise Keys. The costume is gold and silver. Every belt jingle has a little “ZAIA Enterprises” tag, which is *chef’s kiss*. His whole debut is just no-selling Zero-One’s offense, which is disappointingly pedestrian (every single Q2 Rider gets the same type of debut!), but the weird psychodrama of his take on Kamen Rider more than makes up for the standard elements. He’s nothing special, so he needs to be shouting how special he is all the time. It’s great. I liked this episode quite a bit. Not everything landed, mind you (Yua! Give Yua something better to do!), but the bones of this story were remarkably sturdy. Good stuff! — KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 05: KAMEN RIDER THOUSER Good suit, too! The gold and silver, as noted previously, are perfectly flamboyant. The multiple horns coming in to form a crown for the helmet, also ridiculously on the nose. Some tiny bits of purple to add even more regal highlights. And we can’t forget his signature weapon, the hysterically named Thousand Jacker, which gives him superior Jacking ability, enough to even Jack a thousand times. (He’s very excited to let people know about his Jacking!) It’s the suit of someone who needs you to know how special he is, at all times, forever. The figure is also fairly premium? Very few stickers to this guy, which is absurd. Nearly all of one particular color could’ve been stickers (all the silver or gray, for instance), but it’s not. A few accent pieces for the legs and forearms, but that’s it. Painted pretty much from head to toe, which is practically unheard of for a non-P-Bandai release. But Thouser’s gotta look a thousand percent better than the rest of the wave, so I guess we know where the paint budget went for AI 05. Great little figure, honestly. I’m amazed at how much Bandai put into it on the paint side, and the end result is appropriately swanky. Happy with how this Gai turned out!
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07-13-2022, 11:47 PM | #346 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,578
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Speaking of bones of the story, I hope you enjoy the bare bones mechanics of how this story and the next half of the story works. I really hope you do. *ominous/joyous music depending, check back in several episodes*
Thouser's cool though, kinda wish he had Blue Eyes though. Also I'm saying it now, the ZAIA Spec is the absolute worst P-Bandai item I've ever seen, even worse than Banjou's dirty shirt. |
07-14-2022, 02:40 AM | #347 |
New Member
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 89
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First thread of yours I've caught, I myself don't really like Thouser's suit, but maybe that's just because I'm not a big fan of gold or silver, so it being a combination of both kinda puts it down a bit for me. The episode itself was quite good, and I really liked Aruto getting on Gai's nerves, before that brutal beatdown by Thouser.
Last edited by Nokination; 07-14-2022 at 03:18 AM.. |
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07-14-2022, 02:44 AM | #348 |
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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Okay, the most I can say about the actual episode is that the reason the first competition is flower arranging is because the rpoducer’s mother is a florist and knows a few others.
Now then, Gai proved to have such an over the top ego that someone on Facebook decided to create a role play account for him (while other people did RP accounts for Aruto and Horobi, neither of them were as funny) and started posting edited memes from the show around this time. And, I can get back to doing this, after a short absence. Progrise: When the Five Horns Cross, the Golden Soldier Thouser is Born! Presented by ZAIA! And this is another of the few keys I own, thanks to the Memorial AIMS and ZAIA set. Last edited by Androzani84; 07-14-2022 at 04:34 AM.. |
07-14-2022, 03:38 AM | #349 |
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Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,290
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Quote:
KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 17 - “I’M THE TRUE PRESIDENT KAMEN RIDER”
On that level, it’s great? Gai’s thing is that he absolutely cannot conceive of any way in which he’s less than Aruto, which makes Aruto’s digs (like noting that ZAIASPEC sales haven’t gone up 1000 percent, only 700-something) such a delight. Gai takes himself a thousand percent seriously, so he’s a natural foil to a stand-up comedian. Beyond the corporate trappings and the weird backstory with Grandad Hiden and whatever, there’s a natural friction between these two people that works so well in every scene. I could watch Gai smirk and Aruto snark pretty much all day. Quote:
The actual meat of the story was nicely low-key, trading in a gentleness that I love to see. The central conflict is a fun one, where Gai is pushing human augmentation, while Aruto stumps for Humagears. It’s an interesting idea, because ZAIA’s feels like the more humane approach: it’s about centering human achievement, rather than dumping humanity’s hard work off to robots. But it actually comes off colder here than the use of Humagears, because it’s all about rigid math. ZAIASPEC is a multiplier, and nothing more. The Humagears, however, are about collaborating to create something unexpected, and the wonder of that partnership. ZAIASPEC is science, but Humagears are art. Putting those two things in opposition makes for a fun story.
Quote:
And then there’s Thouser! Gai finally gets his Kamen Rider debut, and it’s as gaudy and ostentatious as you might’ve expected, but turned up to 1000. His driver uses two Zetsumerise Keys. The costume is gold and silver. Every belt jingle has a little “ZAIA Enterprises” tag, which is *chef’s kiss*. His whole debut is just no-selling Zero-One’s offense, which is disappointingly pedestrian (every single Q2 Rider gets the same type of debut!), but the weird psychodrama of his take on Kamen Rider more than makes up for the standard elements. He’s nothing special, so he needs to be shouting how special he is all the time. It’s great.
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07-14-2022, 03:56 AM | #350 |
Reiei
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 3,691
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Now that this episode is here, I must reiterate that I'm a huge Gai fan. I adore his actor, I was in love with the suit the moment we saw catalog leaks of it, I was always looking forward to Gai's debut as a Kamen Rider this was such a long time coming. I love the suit's royal aesthetic, I love the symmetrical belt that looks like a satellite, I love his weapon, I love that the undersuit is basically a recolor of Zero-One with a ton of armor on top of it, I love that lore-wise it technically can do everything Zero-One's currently strongest form can do, but focuses on it just being an absolute tank instead of speed. I love his soundtrack, just being a showcase of complete dominance. Nachi Sakuragi does a great portrayal of Gai and I think it'd be really hard to find someone else who can say "1000%" as eloquently as he can. The original design of Thouser did not have a black face, the mask was all silver with blue eyes, but I think them changing it to black and purple helped give it its status as a villain rider, without making it look too evil. Bit of a personal tangent, but Thouser would actually be my second ever P-Bandai purchase. The first was Jin Flying Falcon, whom I picked over Horobi because I really liked episode 16, what a mistake that was! I've actually sold half of my Zero-One stuff, but Thouser (and Valkyrie, and Zero-One) remained. |
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