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04-04-2021, 03:07 PM | #631 |
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Having Yuuto be the one to make that clear to Ryuta, not by a big speech, but just by his presence. Ryuta sees Yuuto as the one who is winning with Airi, and Yuuto is the one who’s lost the most. But he doesn’t let that destroy him. He accepts it, and moves on. If Yuuto can do that, maybe it’s time for Ryuta to do the same.
I mean, the first thing Ryutaros does after accepting that Airi isn’t his sister is that he apologizes for everything he did over these two episodes, so, like, maybe it’s going to be okay! It’s hard, but so is growing up. With this story, the show is getting at a concept that its younger viewers can most relate to, which is a neat thing for these shows to do occasionally. Growing up means accepting that the world doesn’t just exist to make us happy, and that sometimes we’re going to have to deal with not getting everything we want. It sucks! It’s not fun. But it’s part of growing up, and we all have to do it. Quote:
I mean, unless you’re Den-Parado, who is living his best villain life. I cannot for the life of me imagine how someone could dislike this performance. He is not afraid of these do-gooders at all! Even a little! They’re amusing when they’re frustrated, and boring when they’ve got some spine. His first face-to-face showdown is him shrugging at some questions and laughing at others. He isn’t here to monologue or exposit. He’s here to finish his task and enjoy himself, in that order. Getting rid of the Riders is a step in that direction, but it’s not like he’s trying to torture them or anything. To put it in train terms, they’re all just on parallel tracks. He doesn’t care about what they’re doing.
I kinda loved that swing between Den-Parado’s blitheness and Ryuta’s grudging acceptance. It’s this throughline of a feeling of equanimity, where all we can do is accept things and move on. It’s another Den-O story where no one really wins, despite two rescued Liners and a detonated monster. Ryuta’s humbled, Den-Parado is barely inconvenienced, and the train just keeps rolling along. Sometimes the victory is small, personal. Being that slight bit more able to handle our emotions, or get by with what we’ve got. Walking away from disappointment. That’s nothing heroic, maybe, but it’s part of getting better as people. Quote:
THE BAGGAGE CAR
-Okay, how the hell do Yuuto and Ryutaros end up back in the present?! They were both at the train platform in the future, they’re fighting Den-Parado and the Lion Imagin (and Dance Dance Ryutalution) on a roof, and then Ryutaros is running to Milk Dipper. At what point did they leave the future and get back to the present? And how did they manage that without either the DenLiner or the ZeroLiner? I genuinely can’t see how they managed it, so please fill me in on this plot point. Quote:
-Having the majority of the train line exposition occur as Owner and Manager have a rice-eating contest (with timer!) was far-and-away the smartest version of that scene. It’s a lot of vague Time Nonsense, where we’re still just like Ooooh Mysterious Train Line, but it all being conducted over thrilling rice-eating maneuvers forgives a lot of its sins.
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04-04-2021, 03:12 PM | #632 |
I have a problematic type
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04-04-2021, 03:59 PM | #633 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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This is where the Airi scenes sort of let me down, since Airi is treated like an achievement, not an actual person. I can see what the show is going for, maybe, in how Ryuta and Yuuto have to become better if they're going to be worthy of Airi... but, like, that seems to leave Airi's preference out of the equation?
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04-04-2021, 09:35 PM | #634 |
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KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 39 - “THE RIDER DISAPPEARS AS WELL”
Spent a couple minutes trying to figure out why I found this Yuuto episode so dull. I mean, I like Yuuto? I like the idea of Yuuto trying to get on with his life instead of pining over Airi? I like the idea of Yuuto trying to get on with his life instead of pining over Airi by going to a grocery store and wrestling Deneb because Deneb won’t stop putting Mushrooms in Yuuto’s food? That kind of storytelling is all over this episode, tons of little goofy-ass gags: the bit in the beginning where Momotaros is so psyched to get a chance at using Sword Form again to thrash some low-level Imagin that he forgets that he’s supposed to be demonstrating proper swordfighting technique to Ryotaro, so he asks the Imagin and Ryotaro to forget all of Momo’s exuberance and start over with a serious fight; Owner does spoon-flipping tricks, and then misses one, so he runs alongside the DenLiner for exercise; Yuuto kicks an empty bottle that hits Ryotaro in the face ten seconds later, dumping both of them down a hill; just so much fun nonsense in this episode. But then it’s Den-Parado’s scheme to get rid of Zeronos (if this show doesn’t want me to keep thinking of him as Parado, it needs to not put Kai in menacingly gleeful nighttime rooftop conversations with the episode’s monster-suited monster), and… I mean, it’s a bit much. Kind of checked out at that point. It’s just got a real Kicking Yuuto When He’s Down feeling to it, and I wasn’t into it. Yuuto’s already had his past obliterated, leaving him only a handful of people who’ll even remember him when he dies. He had just started to try and reconstruct his life, so here’s this episode to obliterate him as a student in the 90s. It feels unnecessary, stakes-wise. It’s like trying to steal something right before someone throws it away. Even killing Yuuto (or “killing” Yuuto) feels like salt in the wound for a guy who was already vanishing from existence before he was literally vanishing from existence. Like, man! Just let him have one dinner before you try to complicate his reality again! There’s a point the show is making with all of this Yuuto miserablism, which is why I feel like I’ll enjoy the next instalment better. Den-Parado responds to Ryotaro’s angry hero threats with a simple question: why shouldn’t some pasts be changed? What if the changes could be better? The proof of his argument is at the end of the episode, when Ryotaro returns to a Milk Dipper that’s no longer astronomy-themed and Airimirer-infested, but one that’s a flowery library full of women. And, look, I don’t know if the show’s trying to say Kai Was Right at the end of this one (I feel like Ryotaro’s devastated reaction says Nope), but seeing all the Airimirers swept away and replaced with a more welcoming, more energetic cafe? I will trade Yuuto for that! Den-Parado was right! Give Deneb a good home and do not rescue Yuuto’s past! And, yeah, I think the show is giving this new reality the slightest veneer of Better. Airi’s happiness isn’t worth nothing to Ryotaro, so seeing her no longer tortured and conflicted over Sakurai’s variable existence, that’s going to be something he won’t just want to destroy. There’s some obvious surface benefits to Sakurai not ever being in her life, even if the show’ll inevitably come down on the side of Please Get Along With Yuuto’s Existence. I respect the lead-in with things feeling objectively better, though. Fun twist on an altered reality. But the getting there! Not as much fun, even if I’m always glad to take a field trip back to the quarry. (Not that much quarry work this series! Bit of a bummer.) It’s just more shit the cosmos is piling on Yuuto, and Ryotaro’s righteous indignation isn’t enough to overcome how tired that plot is starting to feel. Yuuto, and the viewers, deserve better. THE BAGGAGE CAR -I like the implication that the other Imagins never brought Den-Parado up to Ryotaro because Kai’s a dick and they hate him. He’s just some pushy jerk in their brains and they’re like No Thanks? That’s an appropriately character-driven reason for why there was this Big Bad that absolutely no one thought to mention before. He sucks! That’s it! -Den-Parado, obviously, does not suck. One of my favorite villain moves is when the villain forces a hero to break off a threat to go save some poor soul that the villain just put in jeopardy. He does it to both Ryotaro and Yuuto in this episode, and it’s great. It’s Den-Parado reminding the heroes of how far ahead of them he is, as well as how almost none of this matters to him. It’s Ryotaro saying that every life should be protected, and Den-Parado answering him with a shrug. He’s such a great adversary for Ryotaro. -Deneb bowing in apology to the soda he almost drank at the grocery store is adorable. -I can’t believe that I ended up with a bunny-themed Imagin on Easter!
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04-04-2021, 09:49 PM | #635 |
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Oh hey, I’ll read the post in detail in a bit but this is where my stop was during my first trip with den-o. I watched up to 38, but never got to this for some reason.
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04-05-2021, 02:43 AM | #636 |
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I’ll mention the rabbit Imagin is voiced by the same guy who voiced the tortoise one a while back. There’s a lot of reused VAs in these last few episodes, so I’m not feeling entirely bad about not being able to update you while I’m in the process of moving house.
I have three main takeaways from this two-parter, one of which I’ll mention after next episode, the other will be a few episodes down the line and the last when you (eventually) get to the Cho Den-O movies. |
04-05-2021, 03:59 PM | #637 |
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I don't know. It's definitely a part of the show that is not the easiest to enjoy. Quote:
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04-05-2021, 05:36 PM | #638 |
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It perfectly illustrates what I love so much about the nature of Ryoutarou's character growth, which is how understated it is. He clenches his fist in anger and everything, but the words he says as still as soft as ever. Just a simple "I won't ever accept that", and at a volume only slightly higher than usual. Combined with the body language Takaiwa gives Liner Form, I've always found it fascinating how Den-O conveys the idea that Ryoutarou has learned to be more assertive and confident in himself by this point without any of his older traits ever really going away. It's a very particular take on the typical hero arc I find stands out.
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04-05-2021, 06:42 PM | #639 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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It perfectly illustrates what I love so much about the nature of Ryoutarou's character growth, which is how understated it is. He clenches his fist in anger and everything, but the words he says as still as soft as ever. Just a simple "I won't ever accept that", and at a volume only slightly higher than usual. Combined with the body language Takaiwa gives Liner Form, I've always found it fascinating how Den-O conveys the idea that Ryoutarou has learned to be more assertive and confident in himself by this point without any of his older traits ever really going away. It's a very particular take on the typical hero arc I find stands out.
Fun development for that kid!
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04-05-2021, 07:53 PM | #640 |
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I'm trying to give Kai a reappraisal this time through, mostly because of Ultraman Orb. In the past I was always put off by his over-bearing goofiness, but it isn't bothering me as much this time. It's possible that some of the more contemporary comic relief has increased my tolerance, but so far I'm getting into him a lot more. The "what does my face look like" thing still gets kinda old, but I'm having more fun with viewing him as more of a puckish villain. I got a big charge out of him just randomly showing up while Ryotaro is just walking around. Also, I have to give him real props for having the cojones to say "Hey, this is a time travel show! Let's just kill Yuuto in the past to prove a point!"
It helps going back through the whole era, too, and realizing that it's been several shows now since we had a major villain that had a dynamic presence as a character. We've had characters that were dynamic but not threatening (Mishima), threatening but not dynamic (boss man from Blade), and enigmatic but not... anything (Hibiki). I'm down for having a villain who feels like he's engaged with the story again, even if the answer to "what is my face?" is usually "punchably obnoxious." |
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