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01-22-2021, 07:27 PM | #721 |
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So in case anyone is curious what grasshopper the Hell Brothers are modeled after google acrida cinerea.
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01-22-2021, 10:31 PM | #722 |
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KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 43
I don't know why it's easier for me to talk about what an episode's about than what it's in it. Like, character motivations and themes, I find that kind of thing really engaging, real fun to discuss. Plot machinations and fight scenes... I mean, I'm glad for them, they can be exciting to watch, but talking about them? Not that into it! So, yeah, this one. There's a Tendou arc that I find really appealing, and then a ton of plot stuff that has some small character beats and a lot of things that would just be me saying And Then This Happened. It's an endgame arc, maybe the real start of the endgame arc, so we're getting a lot of escalation out of basically nowhere. Worms are running rampant, pushing towards Area Z, where ZECT is developing the Rider System. ZECTroopers are being overrun, and Worm Widower is absorbing and redirecting every finisher a Rider uses against him. It's just Worm O'Clock on this show, and it's okay. I like the tension of it, a little. Tadokoro in particular is great at selling that gritted-teeth resolve you want in an Under Siege plotline. But it's still just an army of faceless monsters being led by a high-kicking cipher, and that's not got a lot I can occupy my mind with. It's all surface pleasures: quick action and explosions, spiced up with some neat subdivided shots. (Those multi-angled frames try their best at making repetitive battle scenes feel unique and dangerous, so I'm all for their use.) But it's... I mean, there are multiple fights where Worm Widower just wanders off after absorbing and redirecting a Rider's finish, and that makes these fights feel like a bit of a shrug. If I cared more about the Worms as an enemy, or Worm Widower as a general, I'd probably care more about those fights. As it is, they're okay. Just okay. But this episode formally introduces Another Tendou, and that stuff is great. The performance is so intriguing. The actor's voice goes up a bit, giving Another Tendou a sense of childlike innocence that runs in opposition to Tendou's world-weary superiority. Another Tendou is as clever as Tendou, but his aesthetic is all Guileless Joy, so his villainy is done with a cheerful smile. He's so happy to tell Tendou's friends that he's going to find and kill him. Hell, he's happy to tell Tendou that he's going to kill him. He's just... like, bubbly, and it's as unnerving as it is refreshing. He's not a glowering monster or closed-off psychopath. He's a brother (?) who wants to protect his sister (?), and he's excited to get a chance to do that. (For the record, I have no idea if I'm supposed to be reading the relationship between Hiyori and Another Tendou as familial or romantic. I'm going with familial, but, uh... Kamen Rider shows can really blur that line!) It's an inversion of Tendou's attitude, where his need to rescue Hiyori has got him scared and defeated. The only way he can think of to rescue Hiyori is to follow Another Tendou (the same way Another Tendou found Tendou by following Kagami) back to the Heightened Contrast Dimension, and that'll only happen when Tendou is defeated. So Tendou's just like Welp Time To Die I Guess, and it makes for the episode's smartest choices. There's a brief scene of Tendou and Juka, with him teaching her to cook, and I found it impossibly charming. I got a little choked up, with Tendou trying to impart one last gift to his sister before he's gone for good. The idea of Tendou's Last Day On Earth... fun note for this episode. It's the Kagami pep-talk that kills, though. Kabuto's trying to take a dive to Dark Kabuto, and it's going great/terribly. Tendou's been Rider Kicked and is about to be finished off, but Kagami arrives to save him/ruin everything. Tendou's furious that he won't be able to sacrifice himself, which means no one can save Hiyori. And Kagami is even more furious at Tendou. Kagami doesn't really get this angry at Tendou often, and it usually means Tendou has massively screwed-up. And boy, has he here. At the time when Hiyori most needs Tendou's help, he's going to get himself killed to do it? This is his strategy? This is his power? Kagami always measured himself against Tendou because Tendou would always find a way to win, find a way to save everyone. So Tendou needs to get up, save himself, and then go save Hiyori. It is, as pep-talks go, one for the ages. I also think it's part of Tendou's plan? Like, Tendou tells Renge what he's up to, and then tells Renge to not tell Kagami unless Tendou dies. Renge immediately tells Kagami. I have to think some part of Tendou knew that would happen (Renge and Kagami are not that tough to predict!), and was hoping for this outcome. He wanted, he needed Kagami's Very Big Feelings to get him back on track, and because it's Tendou, he needed to manipulate Kagami into delivering that speech. I mean, Tendou 100% was ready to sacrifice himself to rescue Hiyori, but he was hoping Kagami would show up to talk him out of it. That's my read. Moot point, because the end of the episode has Hiyori showing up, confident and assertive, to tell Tendou that she's going to live in the Heightened Contrast Dimension with Another Tendou, kthxbye. Bit of a twist! We'll have to see where that goes! A QUESTION Not a lot with Yaguruma and Kageyama this week, but I was amazed at Tadokoro's weird blend of optimism and desperation as he offered them (both?) the chance to lead Shadow as TheBee. Yaguruma immediately turns him down, happy to be able to ruin someone's day, while Kageyama practically has his eyes bug out like he's in a cartoon. That dude is so thirsty. Anyway, if these two dopes aren't going to be TheBee, what remaining non-Rider cast member should next be TheBee? And if not Misaki, why did you opt to choose poorly?
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01-22-2021, 11:21 PM | #723 |
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One of the things that I really appreciated about the episode is how much it respects its characters. Another Tendou shows up and no one gets fooled. This is a show about shapeshifting alien mimics and nobody goes through a mistaken identity plot here. Even Tsurugi, who has the social awareness of a lima bean, is immediately all "oh yeah, that boy's a Worm." Refreshingly smart supporting cast for a doppelganger plot.
And I definitely agree about Hiro Mizushima's performance as Another Tendou. It really does feel like a different character and he does an impressive job of playing off of himself in their interactions. Also, Hiyori is here and she actually had some lines this time. It definitely feels weird to have her back. She's been gone so long and she's acting so differently that it's really difficult to read her as the same character. I'd be curious to see how this would have played out if the actress hadn't stepped away from the series. I do like how Hiyori's absence has been driving Tendou to more reckless behavior, but I've also missed having her around. Finally, is it just me ore would anybody else like more context on Tendou's grandmother. I would love to know what was going on that prompted some of these "I am the center of the world..." bon mots. |
01-22-2021, 11:34 PM | #724 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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One of the things that I really appreciated about the episode is how much it respects its characters. Another Tendou shows up and no one gets fooled. This is a show about shapeshifting alien mimics and nobody goes through a mistaken identity plot here. Even Tsurugi, who has the social awareness of a lima bean, is immediately all "oh yeah, that boy's a Worm." Refreshingly smart supporting cast for a doppelganger plot.
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Also, Hiyori is here and she actually had some lines this time. It definitely feels weird to have her back. She's been gone so long and she's acting so differently that it's really difficult to read her as the same character. I'd be curious to see how this would have played out if the actress hadn't stepped away from the series. I do like how Hiyori's absence has been driving Tendou to more reckless behavior, but I've also missed having her around.
My headcanon has been that Tendou's grandmother is Jiiya, and neither of them think it's worth mentioning. I mean, Jiiya comes from a family of greats, Jiiya's known to raise children who think of themselves as masters of the world... pretty sure this is going to all get explicated in 49, but you read it here first.
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01-23-2021, 04:35 AM | #725 |
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I’m gonna steal a trick from Fish and semi-gush about the director. This is the debut for one Takayuki Shibisaki (who was previously the production member used as the file photo for Sabaki in the previous season). He later went on to be the main director for three Sentai shows (Go-Busters, Zyuohger and Kyuranger) and two Rider shows (Drive and Saber). He also directed the movie for OOO, the two Taisen movies where the Sentai characters are only there for the giant robot battle and both Heisei endgame arcs (the intended one in Build and the eventual one in Zi-O). Not sure if it shows here, but his style likes to focus on impressive visual effects with lots of CG (for instance, Kamen Rider Taisen’s opening scene has a battle involving Kabuto mid-Cast Off, Stronger, an airborne Skyrider, a Jumbo Mode J, Gai’s in Suika Arms and Fourze using the Rocket Module).
As for the episode, I also liked how the other Souji has a higher voice than Tendou. It makes him sound pretty creepy. |
01-23-2021, 06:13 AM | #726 |
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Dark Kabuto is essentially a Bizarro Kabuto with a slight pinch of Mike Myers or Jason Vorhees come to think of it. Say Die, how about Kabizarro for Dark Kabuto?
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01-23-2021, 08:47 AM | #727 |
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Was that when he ran off crying? I honestly can't remember why I said that, so I can't really compare it to what I was saying for 41. What I'll say about how he behaves here is that he comes off less as wounded, and more as a brat. Multiple people are trying to console him, and he's just getting grumpier and grumpier. It's not fun to watch!
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The emotional stuff, the whole reason most of this plot was happening, that almost entirely didn’t work for me. I am a sucker for stories about makeshift father-son relationships, so you gotta shank it pretty bad for me to find fault in the Tadokoro/Kagami plotline.
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The rest of Kagami’s story is filled with unearned emotional payoffs (I barely understand what the hell Kagami is feeling or doing in this episode, so his heartwarming reunion with Outrageous was just one more Fine Why Not moment in an episode full of them) and repetitive lessons (Misaki has to remind Kagami that they work better as a team), and I didn’t like any of it. The writing for this episode… it’s atrocious? The plot is nonsensical when it’s not disappointing, and literally none of the main character’s actions ring true at all. It’s bad! It’s real bad!
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Tendou largely emerges unscathed from this one, mostly working to remind Tsurugi and Kagami to stop having judgment about others and accept them for who they are. It’s fine, him grumpily dispensing morals and trying not to get dragged into their childish displays. He’s barely utilized in this one, ceding most of the ground to Kagami’s dilemma, so his few scenes are just supportive. He doesn’t get the horrible treatment this story gives Kagami, at least!
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A QUESTION
Worm Widower gets blown up by Kabuto, looking for all the world like he was as tired of this episode as I was and just wanted to be done with it. Like, I guess he forgot he could stop time and dodge Kabuto’s finisher? And then he’s in the ending, I guess? What the hell is even happening in that final scene?
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01-23-2021, 09:45 AM | #728 |
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I have no memory of this episode at ALL
Very positive feelings about Tendo vs. Other Tendo, v positive feelings about everything Tendo + Kagami, Misaki clearly needs TheBee Zecter (tho the Next Time On previews have already shown us what's going to happen there)... Despite the escalation apparently coming out of nowhere (so it's not just me that had that feeling? I thought I missed some exposition or something), I had a pretty good time with this one. One tiny thing that I loved is Renge's continued and constant misinterpretation of the name of a dish into something Utterly Ridiculous. It's such a minor gag, but it's so consistent and I find it funnier every time. Does Tendo not give her specific instructions?? Does she just ignore them entirely??? How does this happen? |
01-23-2021, 12:15 PM | #729 |
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You might think that because of my blatant obsession with Hiyori, I'd have at least some memory of this one, but you'd be wrong if you did. I mean, I remember the concept of Dark Kabuto showing up, and that's the extent of it. It's another time where I can't even tell you if I hated these ones or loved them or whatever else. It's a total blank slate for me on a rewatch. And while I can't give any fun personal history with the episode, I did rather like it! As has been mentioned, these episodes mark the directorial debut of Takayuki Shibasaki, who had been one of the assistant directors on Rider going back to Kuuga, even getting personally recommended by Nobuhiro Suzumura to succeed him as chief assistant director during Faiz. Like most directors who were working on Rider two decades ago, he's still on it all this time later, and it's not hard to see why when this episode so clearly displays the passionate ambition of someone who wants to leave a good first impression. The vaguely comic book style split screens are clearly the big party trick here, and they're surprisingly natural in their use, despite being so unlike the usual way the show is filmed. For those scenes of the big Worm attacks, I think it's actually serving a practical purpose, too, allowing the show to condense what would ordinarily be a much more dull process of showing the attack followed by talky reactions from Misaki and Tadokoro into one quick thing, speeding along to the more interesting parts. And there are a lot of interesting parts to this episode. It's likely that much of this is just the actors all being so comfortable in their roles by the end of the series, but everyone turns in some pretty strong performances here, with the highlight being Mizushima playing Daguv— er, Dark Kabuto! He's playing Dark Kabuto! But it's a pretty shockingly close character he landed on for Tendou's evil counterpart, right down to prominently wearing white clothes. Maybe I like him so much just because he reminds me of Kuuga, but I thought he was a ton of fun, and brought a lot of great character moments out of the genuine article. I don't have much to say there that Die didn't, so allow me to do the And Then This Happened work for him by mentioning how much I loved the twin Kabuto action in this one. There is a ~lovely~ amount of focus given to the Masked Forms here that made me extremely happy to see. It's outright used to visually signify Tendou's arc, only Casting Off for the first time 19 minutes in, after Kagami has talked him out of his funk. Like he's literally throwing off his baggage. That is exactly the kind of smart use of toy gimmicks I like to see, and the action itself is awesome too. Much as I appreciate the continued prominence of Masked Form, I like that the show is still making space for Kabuto to just do his basic, very simple and controlled fighting style. Hyper Form is cool, and after seeing its epic cannon mode last episode, I'll begrudgingly admit the Perfect Zecter is too, but their scenes lack the characterful understatement that defines Tendou so well, and it's harder to get into that when it's the only thing Kabuto does in an episode. Heck, I even really enjoyed the brief scenes with Gatack and Sasword. Nothing too complex or interesting to say for them, I suppose, but I don't hate the whole cheesy concept of a monster who can match and mimic the techniques of the Ri— hey, wait a second! Dark Kabuto is just Daguva, and purple guy is just Gadoru! How many other things are they taking from Kuuga? Man, no wonder this one is such a winner for me! Anyway, yeah, purple guy doing a Rider Kick being like, the biggest deal for some reason, that was great. I'm a sucker for everything going on there, right down to getting to see Sasword fighting at night again, which feels weirdly nostalgic at this point. It's just a fun episode that feels good to watch? There's heavy endgame drama all over the place, but it doesn't have the sort of suffocating sense of the tension being cranked way up that often comes with that. It IS more tense, but the nature of Dark Kabuto's personality especially still lends it a kind of looseness that fits the show very well. It's dramatic without being overbearingly so, and I loved that balance.
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01-23-2021, 01:02 PM | #730 |
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Anyway, fun stuff. Quote:
But! Who am I to refuse a punny portmanteau? (I spent most of last episode kicking myself for not calling the second Tendou "TenDos" back when he first appeared, but it's a name that really only works if you say it out loud. Dose, not Does or Dooes.) So let's see what we've got for Kabuto's dark reflection: -Dark Kabuto -Kabizarro -KabutOHNO -Happy Kabuto -Kabutwo If anyone has a good alternative, let me hear it! Quote:
If I'm being generous to this episode (in a way it hasn't earned from me), I could say that Kagami's regression is a result of him feeling frustrated and let down by his dads, and that causing him to be less empathetic to his enemies. He's not really feeling like he wants to make himself vulnerable right now, you know? Quote:
I wonder if you just criticize this part's comedy because of all the flaws above, or it being genuine limit of comedy. Yaguruma claims about hellish tofu here... what'd it meant? Dunno if it's kind of a poisonous tofu... something that tastes so strong that it's disadvantageous to the eater like Ichiro's... (or if it's really true as a plan for Yaguruma to bring Tendou down from the inside).
To the Hell Tofu thing, that's just Yaguruma going hard on his branding. His whole thing is working incredibly hard to make it look like he doesn't care, so him boasting of a tofu recipe that the Devil himself created to torture sinners with flavor that made babies cry in terror or whatever, that's just a nod towards how much of an act Yaguruma is always putting on. Quote:
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One tiny thing that I loved is Renge's continued and constant misinterpretation of the name of a dish into something Utterly Ridiculous. It's such a minor gag, but it's so consistent and I find it funnier every time. Does Tendo not give her specific instructions?? Does she just ignore them entirely??? How does this happen?
Also, Renge's complete inability to get an order right works to explain why La Salle is always so empty since Hiyori left. Only Tsurugi is happy to eat the garbage Renge hauls out of the kitchen! Quote:
It's outright used to visually signify Tendou's arc, only Casting Off for the first time 19 minutes in, after Kagami has talked him out of his funk. Like he's literally throwing off his baggage. That is exactly the kind of smart use of toy gimmicks I like to see, and the action itself is awesome too.
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