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05-07-2022, 08:39 AM | #1 |
Have Zord, Will Travel
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: MI
Posts: 5,730
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Haruka has earned enough Points to leave the DonBrothers. Is this the end of her story?
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05-08-2022, 02:38 PM | #2 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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I feel like Haruka calling out Marina's backstory as corny in the same breath she admits there's nothing wrong with that really gets to the core of... well, of a couple things, maybe. First of all, something tells me that exact phrase is one Inoue tells himself all the time when coming up with his oft-melodramatic scripts, and I kinda dig the sentiment? You can have these beats in your story that are really obvious, maybe even downright cliche, and sometimes, that can all be for the best. And that's maybe this episode in a nutshell. Sure, there's the other side to Inoue's writing, where everything is crazy and wild, and there's some of that here too, of course. I really enjoy moments that are almost winking at the viewer, like how Haruka needs so little convincing to make this monkey's paw wish that even the normally stoic Kaito is visibly taken aback. (Or Haruka mentioning how exciting the idea of romance in a Sentai is, a line that would be innocuous if it were anyone but the guy behind Jetman writing it.) But the meat and potatoes of this story, at the end of the day, are entirely predictable. After all, even *I* knew how this one was going to go just from the preview, and I'm pretty easy to fool! For me to predict a story ahead of time that correctly, it'd have to be some insanely hackneyed narrative everyone's seen a million times before. This episode is trite, and that's okay. No, really. I had massively high expectations for this one based on what I was expecting to see, and I couldn't be happier to have gotten exactly what I wanted. Haruka is hands down the character in this show I'm most invested in, and this is exactly the kind of plot that demonstrates why. I think I mentioned a few times talking about those first couple episodes how much I liked the way the show was letting Haruka have these little moments to start defining her own sense of heroism, and this week is one BIG moment of that. A story that offers her a way out of being Oni Sister, and then asks why she would decide, for herself, to choose that life again anyway. And it's great! Again, this is ultimately a very straightforward episode, so I probably don't need to bother trying to digest it for anyone, but seriously, I loved every second of it. The weird atmosphere of there being this "other" version of the Donbrothers; all the emotions Haruka was going through; how solid Marina was as a guest character; the visceral catharsis of Haruka taking back her place on the team and finally using that big club from the opening to smack around some bad guys with renewed vigor... Every second! (Especially the club! I've been waiting to see that thing, and it was honestly more of an event to me than any amount of Robotaro Gears could ever be.) This is pretty much a perfect episode of Donbrothers for me, what can I say? Since day one, Haruka has been a deeply engaging protagonist with a lot of layers, and pretty much any episode specifically focused around her is probably always going to be a winner for me because of that alone. That's even the other thing I was talking about up in that very first sentence. I love that Haruka is enough of a jaded young person to internally snark at someone pouring out their heart to her, and I also love how that doesn't get in the way of her immediately recognizing how precious that backstory still is. The whole episode is essentially this clash between Haruka's egotistical self-centered side and the equally fundamental compassion she has for others, and that alone, I mean, of course that can carry 20+ minutes. I think my absolute favorite thing in the entire episode was even just that final internal monologue right before Haruka decides to give up her life again. It's super telling that in this show where everyone -- Haruka most of all -- is constantly thinking in the form of very theatrical rants about their lives, in that scene we see her dealing with this mess of overlapping thoughts that are all arguing with each other. Like, she's human, you know? That what it all comes down to. That's usually the kind of scene where you *would* have a character cleanly and concisely explain their thought process for the viewer's benefit, but that just isn't good enough for Donbrothers, because people are rarely that simple. Plus, according to the usual behind the scenes blog thingy, all those thoughts were things Haruka's actor Kohaku Shida came up with herself at director Ryuuta Tasaki's behest. And let me tell you, reading that really rubbed in for me both how much Shida is doing a darn good job with this role, and how glad I always am to have Tasaki directing something. I mean, having such a great script is one thing, but when you've got people this talented bringing that vision to life on top of that, it's like... like... I swear there's some Japanese idiom to describe exactly this sort of scenario, but it's escaping me at the moment. ...Ah well. Maybe I'll remember it later.
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05-09-2022, 07:57 AM | #3 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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DonOniTaijin already in the opening way too early!? It looks amazing though, and I won't miss DonZenkaiOh which was always both a leftover and a placeholder anyway.
Haruka rules! This episode is a really great spotlight for her, though the fact that she goes as far to say she's quitting manga for good makes me wonder if this isn't the 'end' if a character arc coming too early? Some of my favourite parts about her is how she's snarky and conniving when it comes to wanting to build her manga career back up over being a superhero. While I like the idea of her finding new resolve for the latter, I'd be disappointed if this means that the former is now firmly a thing of the past. |
05-09-2022, 09:12 AM | #4 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,301
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It makes the first mecha a place holder since it’s rarely utilized and it uses a ton of stock footage moves. It took yellow 10 episodes for her to gain her signature weapon as well as upgrade suit mecha.
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05-09-2022, 11:08 AM | #5 |
Suprise Gamma Future
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,852
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Seriously great episode! Haruka thinking of her former teammates (without really knowing who some of them are) while at brunch with her boyfriend (who she now knows is someone who would leave her in a moment's notice) really drives home the found family vibe of this show.
I would have really found it brilliant if Haruka was completely replaced in the opening. But I will settle for using footage of the new yellow in her typical cut-in. I am super curious as to how children are taking this show. It's so nuanced and character driven in a way a lot of previous sentai have not been. On a somewhat related note, having seen Everything Everywhere All At Once recently, the concept of seeing a life you could've had is such a fascinating narrative. Choosing a life with more struggle because of a heroic responsibility and finding the strength to endure a hardship in secret... grade A toku stuff right here! I am also in agreement with Fish here. OniSister's club was a satisfying payoff moment! If she were given the club from the onset of the series, it simply would not fit her fighting style nor character ambitions. The Japanese kanabō is a boisterous weapon that really must be wielded with the utmost confidence. The kind of confidence Haruka has been gaining over the past couple episodes. At times it reminded me of ToQ 3gou's Shingou Hammer fighting style, but the added pizazz of the spike missiles and fireworks finisher really gives us that oft-praised super-hero moment of Spider-Man learning to swing through the streets of New York or Iron Man flying for the first time. DonMomotaro has yet to receive his equivalent moment, and he likely never will; lending more credence to the idea that Haruka is the true main character. And I love that.
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Last edited by ShiShiLeo; 05-09-2022 at 11:29 AM.. |
05-09-2022, 05:46 PM | #6 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
Quote:
I am super curious as to how children are taking this show. It's so nuanced and character driven in a way a lot of previous sentai have not been.
This is just my guess, of course, but I believe at the end of the day, as long as the show still involves a decent amount of fun colorful action somewhere in there, even really little kids will go along with more "proper" drama than you might expect. They'll either grasp the story better than you'd give them credit for, or it won't matter to them either way because they're just waiting for the action anyway, even when watching something easier to understand.
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05-10-2022, 10:55 AM | #7 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 151
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You know i am very grateful Donbrothers have Chara focus like this because i feel like its been lost for a while.. but man this Episode is beautiful...
I think internal conflict and chara focus like this is what makes me enjoy Sentai... also This might be First but i Never really feeling so Hyoe for Sentai Mech damn Onitaijin looks beautiful.. i think the lack of Mech battle makes it more Hype when we eventually see one As for this Episode this is trully "becareful what you wish for" situation but with more spice like " is it trully my fault?" Situation, i think that moment when she question it is the peak of this episode... The Robotaro form is seriously beautiful even tho it is inoue writing which always ignoring "Where the hell you get that", but man its been a while since we seen "cool" design for power up like this I guess limiting to 3 Physical suit kinda help it Don't forget that Robotaro Finisher so beautiful and Hype too Can't wait how juuto will end up |
05-13-2022, 12:26 PM | #8 |
Standing By
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 2,108
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I joked last time about Kitou going to NASA, but from a meta perspective, I predicted that this would only be a temporary thing from the lack of Oni kanji in the surname, "Maeda". It does contain the kanji for "before" though, which is exactly how the end of the episode turns out, with Kitou reclaiming her role as Onisister and alleged plagiarist to spare Marina a fate she wasn't mentally cut out for.
This is the first time we've seen someone quit Donbrothers, but it makes me wonder if this kind of thing has happened before. Maybe some ex-Sarubrother or Inubrother is living a normal life now, without worrying about the person who replaced them. That's something that would make Kitou's sacrifice even more heroic, willingly going back to that life so nobody else has to, like some kind of Kamen Rider or something! Now we know the plagiarism thing is somehow a direct result of being drafted for Donbrothers, at least in the Onisisters' case, possibly as an incentive to do their jobs. We still don't know how the lives of Kijino, Saruhara and Inuzuka are affected though. From what I understand, Kijino's work life always sucked and Saruhara's just a cloud that moves through the sky with the wind, as he says. So I'm interested to learn to more about the circumstances of Inuzuka's willingness to be a fugitive. Maybe NatsuMiho (cool portmanteau, right?) has something to with Kijino and Inuzuka being drafted. A pirate who enjoys manga, huh. Is Kaizokuki based on Gokaiger, or actually Twokaizer? Don Momotarou's line about how, "nobody likes a glory hog", is the most hypocritical thing he's said so far!
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