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02-07-2013, 12:20 AM | #1 |
Stronger Than You
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First of all, let me say this. Entertainment is a subjective point. A game that's heralded as one of the greatest of all time you could find to be poor and boring. A movie that's derided as terrible, even for bad movie standards, you could enjoy and love. There is nothing that I can do to stop anyone from liking Decade.
That said, Decade is terrible, and while I won't stop any of you from liking it, I will stop anyone from calling it "Good." Now then, let's get started (Please note: I am not watching the movies.) The story. Kamen Rider Decade is about the titular character, Tsukasa, as he travels through the various Rider universes, soon revealed to be alternate universes to what we saw in past series. In each world he is assigned an unknown task which will, in some way, aide that universe's Rider's current issue. On his journey, he's joined by Natsumi, an annoyed friend who puts up with his arrogant antics, assuming Tsukasa has a heart of gold (And soon develops feelings for him) and Yuusuke Onodera, the AU version of Kamen Rider Kuuga. Though he's not the powerhouse that the original was, he makes up for that in his ability to bond with anyone. They are later met with Kaito Daiki, also known as Diend, a phantom thief who travels to the various worlds for treasures to steal, and the only one to know anything of Tsukasa's past. Stalked by the mysterious Narutaki, Decade travels between worlds, questioning his own life, and whether he's the destroyer Narutaki claims him to be. Now, this all sounds interesting, right? And looks like it could set up an awesome show, right? Well, don't bother. I just told you everything. Nothing is further expanded on or explored again. This is the biggest flaw in Decade's story. It sets up so much, from Tsukasa's amnesia, to Kaito claiming to know of his past, to Narutaki himself. But it's all set up to events that never occur. We never learn of Tsukasa's past, we never learn anything about Narutaki, and Kaito's knowledge flip flops from episode to episode. Decade's story never gets resolution, hindering any ability to get invested in the series, as the AU Riders will receive more focus for the first 20 episodes, and the remaining 11 all focus on other characters or aspects in various worlds. Basically, there is no story. Decade has a plot, but there is no story to go with it. And then there's the ending. There are two endings to pick from for the series, the first is a sequel bait for the movie to pick up, involving Diend shooting Decade in the face, which is followed by clips from a movie that never happens, the second is a rehash of the Rider War scene, ending with everyone dead, Decade floating in the air, and Natsumi saying "Decade." Implying the series ended there, with everything destroyed and everyone dead. Decade's ending is probably the worst, first setting up a movie that never got made in the first place, and after parents complained about having to take kids to a movie just to finish the show, then replacing the ending with the Rider War scene in a gigantic "Fuck you" to anyone who liked these characters (As the implication was that they were the originals, not the AU). The characters. Tsukasa Kadoya, Kamen Rider Decade. An asshole that makes Tendou look lovable. It's claimed he would do the right thing at the end of the day, but the series makes it clear this is not the case, having to be dragged and forced to go help a character or advance the arc. He insults others in a condescending manner that is completely serious (Evidenced in Blade world, where Yuusuke misunderstood his insults as "Tough love", despite the show lacking any form of subtlety to prove that's not the case). He sees himself as above everyone else and perfect and, unlike Tendou, he doesn't have the skills to back it up. Nastumi, the eventual Kamen Rider Kivala (But not in the actual series). A character who spends the first 3rd of the series either standing around looking awkwardly or forcing Tsukasa to do the right thing, and the remainder of the series just saying "Tsukasa-kun" a lot or pointlessly defending his assholeness for no reason other than the fact that she has a crush on him. She really has no bearings, spending episodes more as a set piece than an actual character. Her motivations are vague, and it seems her only real use in the latter portion of the series was to flash back/forward to the Rider War scene. Onodera Yuusuke, Kamen Rider Kuuga (AU). He is the nicest guy ever, bonding with the AU riders Decade would rather just ignore, he pretty much single handedly saved Kiva, Blade, Agito, and Ryuki, not through fighting, but through his actions and words. Tsukasa didn't deserve a damn one of the speeches he gave out when it was Yuusuke who did all the work. He fell out of prominence when Diend showed up, unfortunately. The only problem with Onodera was that he decided to side with Decade, choosing to save his life and let his entire world die Kaito Daiki, Kamen Rider Diend. Guis. Guis. He's super cool and he has all the powers and he can summon other riders and he can move at super speed and he can steal everything and he can kill monsters easily and he can shoot to henshin and he can beat up decade and he's the only one who knows about the past. Yeah, I don't like Diend. They character shill him out way too much, and it leads to a character that's boring to watch. His knowledge of the past is never expanded upon and takes up too much time. His power is dumb and he's blatantly overpowered, reaching the point that it's inconveivable why he ever loses at any point. The other characters are...Okay. Eijiro, Natsumi's grandfather, was nice, keeping the camera studio/home nice and clean, making sure that the heroes always have a home to come back to. The AU Riders ranged from nice to dull. The worlds they came from were very creative takes on the original, and they were filled with interesting variations on the original cast. Narutaki receives no explanation or back story, and Kivala just kind of...Exists. The designs There were only 5 original designs in this series, 6 if you count Chinomanako-Diend as a separate design. I do not like the Decade design. The head being split like cards doesn't mesh well with me, the X design across the chest was interesting, but I, personally, am not a fan of asymmetry in my Rider designs. The rest of the suit uses too much white for me to my liking. Decade complete is ugly. The cards across the chest are an eyesore and I don't like the prominence of silver, completely overtaking most of the magenta and white. Diend's suit is stupid. Abyss's is alright, keeping the Ryuki aesthetic well. It's a bit overdesigned for the simplistic nature of Ryuki, but it's not too bad. Paradoxa Undead...Eh, not that big a fan. In the end, Decade is a series that sets up possible stories and plots, but completely refuses to resolve them, and that's where my anger comes from, ultimately. I'll get angry seeing powerhouses like Kabuto or Agito fall to Decade, yes, but it's not really enough for me to decry the entire series for. No, it's the story. It feels like everything that had happened. Tsukasa befriending the 9 Riders, saving world after world, was all for nil. The AU Riders all die during a struggle for dominance or just vanish due to the world merging, Tsukasa apparently accepts that he's a destroyer and goes on a rampage, choosing to kill all the Riders despite the previous 30 episodes showing that his general actions are to the contrary, and the non-ending means that there is no possible resolution. The movies pick up from a completely different point, and it's all ultimately meaningless. The series starts a climax, and before anything can further be explained or occur, it flashes "THE END" across the screen, flips off the viewer, and leaves. That's why I hate Decade so much, knowing that around 15 hours was wasted to reach an ending that doesn't respect the viewer. The most common argument to this is "It's not about the destination, but the journey getting there." To which I say, fine. The journey had it's fun points, but it's not a journey I ever wish to go on again.
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Last edited by Matrixbeast; 02-07-2013 at 12:48 AM.. |
02-07-2013, 12:34 AM | #2 |
Mild-Mannered Reporter
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You forgot to add the part about the theme sucking.
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02-07-2013, 12:36 AM | #3 |
Stronger Than You
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I skipped it 9 times out of 10, so I really didn't pay it much mind.
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02-07-2013, 12:41 AM | #4 |
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Ok...that took a while to read. So, you said that "we never find out anything about Tsukasa's past" In All Riders vs. Dai Shocker...we get some. We find out that he has a sister whom he abandoned to I assume go be the ruler of Shocker/Dai Shocker. We also find out that he was a jerk since he was a kid. However, if All Riders is non-cannon...then there goes my argument. It was a good read though.
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02-07-2013, 12:47 AM | #5 |
Stronger Than You
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Quote:
Ok...that took a while to read. So, you said that "we never find out anything about Tsukasa's past" In All Riders vs. Dai Shocker...we get some. We find out that he has a sister whom he abandoned to I assume go be the ruler of Shocker/Dai Shocker. We also find out that he was a jerk since he was a kid. However, if All Riders is non-cannon...then there goes my argument. It was a good read though.
I need to add a point that I'm not watching the movies.
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02-07-2013, 12:52 AM | #6 |
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Quote:
Personally, I like Decade. I know you are going to devour my soul for this, but I thought it was good. There were a lot of great ideas, and for a children's show, they were executed a little above decently (the movies included, of course). Last edited by KRX; 03-02-2013 at 02:18 PM.. |
02-07-2013, 12:53 AM | #7 |
さあ, 海賊の時間だ!!
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Wow okay. I had fun watching Decade, but your whole essay there is all the reasons I didn't like it. So as a show it's pretty bad. I do like some of the characters, but they have their pitfalls.
The one thing that I do really like is the DecaDriver and all the sound effects. The card thing I don't have a problem with either.
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02-07-2013, 01:23 AM | #8 |
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I see. So Matrix, I have to ask you something. Do you think that Decade could have been good?
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02-07-2013, 01:26 AM | #9 |
Stronger Than You
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Quote:
But anything that's bad could have been good.
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02-07-2013, 02:03 AM | #10 |
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Good point.
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