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Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I have to say, the "previously on" cold opener theme is incredibly manly and melodramatic. I want it for a ringtone or maybe my alarm clock.

EDIT: Also, I love how out of proportion the swell of the "hoouh hah" motif is to the severity of the situations currently at play. As dance crews fight for the right not to get Served, the music swells to convey the sheer heroic gravitas of it all. Truly, these young men are champions of destiny.

I'm fast becoming hooked on this show.

Runa fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Nov 16, 2013

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Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I'm loving these Nut Rider antics and sure do hope they stick around. Ornac is a clever bit of localization and joke preservation, though I can understand if people are taken aback by it, being a character name change and all.

Wasn't sure how I felt about Pierre at first, but having the flamboyant camp stereotype also be a decorated military vet and bona fide fight junkie did a lot to win me over.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Caphi posted:

The Bat Inves featured in this episode is the same one that was at the end of the last episode attacking a different dude. I'm pretty sure the implication is that Kouta and Mitsy's guesses are right and both dudes just got mauled.

Well we don't actually have a hard chronology on when, exactly, that scene with the worker staring at the fruit takes place. The way the scene was shot, and the worker's actions, implied something more sinister than just "oh he's about to be mauled."

Speaking of which, I wonder what happened to Yuuya anyway.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

It's true that post-Decade, KR's been pretty light-hearted and kid-friendly, and Gaim seems to be perfectly willing to keep with the trend. Though if all the Norse cosmology namedropping has some significance beyond the usual empty references, then the fact that fruits, Lockseeds, and Inves come from Helheim, the realm of the dead, might mean something in the long run. That's a big if, though.

Urobuchi Gen made a living on dark twists and gut-punching pathos and I wouldn't be surprised if he had something like that lined up for Gaim, too. Especially since the twist of, "Inves are people, we're killing people!" would only put it just about on par with Showa Era shows for dark subject matter, and it's not too far from one of the tamer plot twists in his recent work. He's on record as wanting to skew closer to Kuuga and Ryuki, though admittedly how far he would be allowed to isn't really in his hands.

I imagine for Toei's current marketing strategy he might be a bit of a double-edged sword.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

SpazmasterX posted:

Check out what someone spotted behind the sponsor bumper after the opening:

There were some arguments on other forums about how this was just distortion from the reflection, but considering how opening itself played with reflections it's an interesting thing to notice.

EDIT:

Burkion posted:

Gaim has had a very anime-esque style plot to it from the get go, which a lot of people have noticed. I find it interesting that Gen is getting flack for it from his producer.

I'd think the animesque plot structure is to Gaim's credit and would certainly not want to see it changed. Things are moving along at a refreshing clip and changing from that might cause it to lose momentum. Another KR retooled in mid-run would be a shame.

Runa fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Dec 14, 2013

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Burkion posted:

No, no, I stand with Lyre on this one.

It doesn't, and absolutely NOTHING, outside of the stupid melodrama of Gaim crying in his loving bedroom when he got pushed too hard, suggested it would be serious or dramatic. In fact the last few episodes have done everything to beat the idea that it's going to be goofy Loony Toons bullshit as hard as it can.

Hopefully the show can survive the shift to serious because that really does look like it's the heading place, but I'm afraid of the massive amounts of whiplash that will follow if the show doesn't pick a loving format. But then I've already mentioned this earlier in the thread. We'll see.

Whoa, nelly. Didn't think anybody felt that strongly about Gaim's tone. And I'm someone who expressed mild disappointment in Kabuto's inconsistencies.

I don't really know what to say, the publicity was pretty upfront about Gaim being written by the guy who wrote Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero.

Arguably, you could say that the show started off too lighthearted, since everybody who knew about Urobuchi Gen's previous work was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Invess disease plot idea even sounds a bit like Gen's reusing one of his ideas from Blassreiter. They've been not-that-subtly implying that Invess might be people for a while, too, so it's not as though there was absolutely no hint of anything more serious or sinister going on. The recent reveal that these people involved in this childish game arranged by the Yggdrasil corporation are actually nothing more than guinea pigs in a potentially unethical human experiment makes perfect sense, insofar as it establishes a justification for why a shady corporation would even consider handing out their superhero-making hardware in the first place (and it's not as though it weren't plainly obvious, but it's nice to let it out in the open). There's been a steady ramping up of stakes, both in the dance crew rivalries and the Yggdrasil situation. Comedy's still there for relief but it's tied to individual personalities. A scene will have comedy because of comedically-inclined characters, not because the situation itself is forcing levity on everyone else.

Besides, just because the subject matter is going to get a bit dark doesn't mean the show won't be largely optimistic. This is dance crew fruit samurai rider we're talking about, here. I'd be surprised if it turned out to be brutally gut-wrenching the way Gen's most famous works are, but in the odd chance this is one of those stories we can at least have some measure of confidence that it'll be told well.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I kind of felt Hase's actor couldn't quite hit the right level of expressiveness here, I think he was overacting after his loss where a bit more choking up and hesitation at the realization of his powerlessness would've hit harder, especially because it would've been at odds with what little we've seen of him as a brash one-note second-string Rider. But that's just my take on his performance. Though whether his arc is "falls victim to temptation by joining the villains and getting a new belt" and not "falls victim to temptation by biting the forbidden fruit and possibly becoming a monster" is up for grabs, judging by the preview. It would be a shame if his character arc were cut short when he's finally got an interesting angle to latch on to.

Kouta's actor has shown a pretty solid range of expression and he can really sell a scene, goofy and serious alike. I'm also rather impressed by Kouta's choreography as Armored Rider Gaim. His transformations becoming more dynamic and less "staged" as his dawning sense of heroism grows has been a nice touch. While other Riders still rely on more stolid poses to transform, Kouta flips on his belt with a running start and jumps off of overpasses to let his Orange catch him in midair. He also does dynamic mid-fight mode changes, incorporating the quirks of his transformation as attacks and defenses. He's stopped being some kid playing a goofy game and has started on the path of being a hero, and I like how his character arc has been progressing thus far. It feels like a natural progression for him. At the start it was hard to really buy Kouta, the cocky and dubiously reliable ex-street dancer as a hero, but as poo poo gets ever more real he starts stepping up his game. He might have some emotional dependency on being "the hero" (this is an idea Urobuchi has explored before), but that only gives more room to add texture to his character.

Despite how impressed I am with Kouta, Micchy consistently steals any scene he's in, both because of his actor's performance and because of his own strength as a character. His motivations and internal conflicts are the most interesting on a surface level, and the dynamics between him and Kouta are providing a good chunk of the show's heart right now. Not just through their bonds as friends and confidants, but also through the tensions starting to surface between them. It's been a recurring sentiment in the threat that Micchy seems to be quite a few people's favorite character for reasons already stated, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. If he were to defect to his brother, that would break my heart. And I can foresee this becoming a possibility once his secret's outed to his brother and he's given an offer he can't refuse, possibly to protect his friends--Kouta included.

This might sound dreadfully serious for Dance Crew Fruit Rider's lighthearted first ten episodes, but if the remaining forty or so maintain the now imminent serious tone shift, it wouldn't be at all out of place in what looks like will be the majority of the series, barring unwelcome meddling from on high in Toho.

As an aside, I do like how Mai and Kaito's little heart to hearts have gone and given them something interesting to do, Mai especially--though taking the edge off of Baron does wonders for his likeability. I can definitely see the two of them becoming a couple, with their relationship adding more substance to their characters.

EDIT: I was bound to let an appropriate typo slip in.

Runa fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Jan 7, 2014

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Justin_Brett posted:

Think anything will come from Gridon's training with Oren, if it does turn out to be actual training? Could be interesting if Hase gets another driver somehow and comes gunning for revenge: which one of them wanted to get stronger more?

Hase's got more at stake at the moment while it looks like Jounouchi's probably going to be languishing in the comic relief box for a little while longer.

Only when he completes a five-layer marjolaine topped with an acorn mont blanc will his training finally be complete.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Potsticker posted:

Are you being intentionally obtuse? I wasn't questioning if it was Riders fighting Riders. I was questioning your proclamation about the show giving us an "Endless Rider War."

Technically, it's up to the show to live up to those promises, since Kouta was the one who called the events to come an "endless war" during his end-of-Ep. 11 narration about things getting more serious and having to grow up.

But really, this was an incredibly silly thing to nitpick.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Man, the wait for episode 14 is already killing me. I'm glad this was saved for after the hiatus, even if the real reasons were a matter of toy scheduling.

Those poor kids are going to keep losing the PR war now that Yggdrasil has teamed up with ~Charmant~.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

Oh my god I should not read youtube comments, people arguing that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was better than Double. :cripes:

Well, it's just one person and everyone seems to agree he's an idiot.

(Bulk and Skull are pretty great though.)

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Remember Hase.

Also, I don't think Micchy took that revelation about Yuuya too well.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Still going strong, and while the entire episode was essentially dedicated to Kouta's now developed sense of responsibility and burgeoning thirst for justice, the scene with DJ Sagara stands out as a solid establishment of his character and his quality.

Micchy's keeping things close to his chest, though, and I can't wait for Takatora to have a brotherly talk with him next week. I won't be surprised if he drifts even further away from Kouta, since it looks like he's going to be given a reveal he can't ignore. Also, really looking forward to the upcoming INVES CRIME SPREE.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Apparently, the OST was released last month. Boy howdy.

I can't get over how good the music in this show is.

EDIT: Seriously

Runa fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Jan 29, 2014

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Thurm posted:

If Gaim followed the structure of the previous series I'd agree but with the fast pacing it has and that Urobuchi has apparently split the story into four story arcs I won't be suprised if the revelation is the climax of this arc.

I sure hope that cliff tease doesn't hang around too long, I'm not a big fan of mystery boxes.

Also can't wait to see more silly Flash Gordon hoverbikes. And for the debut of those Jonny Quest hover-podiums from the toy scans.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I can't wait for episode 20 and getting a real explanation. The next episode's title was, uh, a bit of a giveaway though.

Once the real situation gets explained, I'm hoping we get to see more agency among the free riders and an end goal beyond "what the hell, Yggdrasil?" At the moment Yggdrasil is just playing around with these kids, mostly for Professor Ryoma's benefit. Soon, though, these kids will have to make real decisions about themselves and their goals like the adults do and not just lash out against a situation they don't really understand. The show likes to remind us of its growing up theme, mostly in the context of preaching at these kids who don't yet actually know what the hell is really going on. Like, you know, kids basically.

I'm looking forward to a fully-informed Kouta taking a stand as an adult morally opposing other adults, not just a kid rebelling against nebulous villainy.

An adult wearing an orange-lemon smoothie outfit, yes, but an adult nonetheless.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

The Leper Colon V posted:

What good's being an adult if you don't get to decide what you wear?

Who says he didn't?

:sun:

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Yggdrasil's standing order to pin everything on the beat riders comes off as extra scummy now.

We've seen Law and Chaos, now how 'bout Neutral? I'd like to see Sagara pop in and give an extra word now that more Riders know what's up. If Ryoma is backing Kaito, and Takatora has Micchy firmly on his side, then surely the dubious DJ's silent investments in Kouta's performance has got to mean something beyond simple amusement. Right?

Actually, no, don't answer that.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Potsticker's got a point about the show's flaws, but it says a lot about the writing that people are willing to overlook them. Also I've never seen a toku stage show before and it's kind of adorable.

ZenMasterBullshit posted:

Kouta himself will probably be the lone Neutral path guy. He's the only one that seems to believe in some sort of collective good in humanity. Sagara is very obviously our Lucifer stand what with the enigmatic approaches and the constantly giving Kouta more power.

I like the cut of your jib.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Well now we know why the Energy Riders all seem to be a bit samey, Energy lockseeds are just color modes for the Jinba mix!

Though what effect Cherry has is up in the air since we don't even know what Lemon does other than make Gaim stronger.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Kouta straight up jacking the Peach Energy lockseed was great. What kind of chump needs to actually defeat Robot Masters to steal their powers, anyway?

Also, this is how you write a story of an impending extinction event and the desperate measures people take to survive. Solid stuff. I'm lookin' at you, Kabuto.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

When Kachidoki Arms was announced in the magscans, I thought, "Wow, this suit looks kind of busy and overdone."

But that intro?

:drat:

poo poo is awesome. A little presentation goes a long way, and I bet it's toys are going to sell gangbusters.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

The lack of a proper new episode this week is as good a reason as any to get my friends start watching the Gaim backlog.

The fruit, dancing, and obviously arbitrary Inves Game really threw them off at the start. Though at least one of them now thinks Bravo is the best character.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I'll leave my earlier comment as a mistake of wording rather than as a statement of disagreement.



(It's me, I'm the nincompoop.)

Runa
Feb 13, 2011


Aesir released this just as my friend and I finished our impromptu 8-episode marathon from 15 to 23. He was skeptical at first, like a lot of people, but after poo poo started going down he just couldn't stop watching. This is really great timing, and completely accidental.

He's been theorizing about the energy lockseeds and I, personally, think they're all analogous to Kuuga's color forms. Lemon is Red/Mighty, Cherry is Blue/Dragon, and spoilered for recent reveals and speculation, Peach is Green/Pegasus, and Melon is probably Purple/Titan.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Rei_ posted:

This is your reminder that since it's debut appearance two episodes and a crossover special ago, Kachidoki Arms has more victories under its belt than all of Barons forms combined.

Christ, Jojo isn't even speaking a human tongue in this poo poo and I still find him a much more interesting character than Kaito.

Also I self-identify as this kid on the right whenever Micchy is talking. http://i.cubeupload.com/tpj3EJ.png

Honestly, I feel kinda bad for Kaito. He needs to get his poo poo together and pull his head out of his rear end, but I feel he has the potential to be a much better sidekick for Kouta than Micchy was. Especially because Micchy has become a ruthless, corrupt little bastard while Kaito's tryhard too-cool-for-school attitude was always funny to me, but has become an endearing sort of funny since he's just trying so drat hard not to get left behind. He's a depressed kid trying to be cool, and failing, and though he talks a tough game he's not as bad as he likes to think he is. Again, once his head's out of his rear end, all will be okay.

I hope he gets an upgrade soon.

Maybe if the Overlords are sufficiently bored, the red one might toss him a bone the way Sagara did for Kouta.

It's not even a "oh he's so angsty and dreamy" sort of thing, it's a "c'mon kid, get it together, you can do it" thing.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I want to add that while Kaito's acts like a complete rear end and tries to make people think he is, he's shown himself to be a fundamentally decent guy when the chips are down. And unlike Micchy, he's earnest enough not to try to have his cake and eat it too. Basically, Kaito is neither truly an rear end nor a nice guy.

He's a Nice rear end.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Blaze Dragon posted:

[snipped to avoid CIA document thread syndrome]

Neato on the first thing!

But having rewatched the series thanks to my friend wanting to binge on it with me, while Kaito clearly claims he wants to abandon the world, whenever the chips are down he keeps going back to do the right thing. Either helping his friends or even former rivals he now de facto treats as friends. He hasn't yet shown that he's willing to cross the lines that, say, Micchy is happily tiptoeing around. He's a giant poser, everyone can see it, and Ryouma at least seems interested in seeing if he really can walk the walk. When Kaito made his declaration for Chaos in the lab, everyone was laughing at him, and you get the feeling they don't take his declaration very seriously. Things could change in the future, like how Micchy turned out, but at the moment Kaito is just a sorry-rear end kid who wants people to acknowledge him.

He wouldn't be so angry or disillusioned with a "world full of deceit" if he didn't actually care enough deep down to be angry about it. He's just being a stupid kid about his anger.

Also I thought Sagara-as-Overlord was sort of a given at this point. The guy can make lockseeds stronger than anything Yggdrasil has seen and clearly knows more about Helheim that even Ryouma does. Also, hah, holographic Sagara-with-scarf talking not-Grongi with the other Overlords.


Xelkelvos posted:

Based on the new Overlord, I'm guessing that there'll be an Overlord to correspond to the main Armor types and maybe some invess types as well. The Red overlord parallels to Baron's type, the Green one parallels Ryugen due to the Chinese motifs and additionally to the Green Inves for the same motifs. There'll likely be a Blue one that should parallel the Gaim/Zangetsu armor and the Blue invess.


Edit:If they're following the Invess colors, then Sagara would be Blue, particularly since Gaim is also Blue, though his main lockseeds are Orange

He might be blue and white.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Great episode all around, especially since more people are starting to get an inkling of the bigger picture.

And Oren, if you see a delicious-looking fruit, please don't eat it.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Micchy has become the most hateable villain in the show. Kid's come a long way.

Even Kaito's all What The gently caress over it, and he was about to try (and fail) to kick Kouta's rear end himself!

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

You guys'll never believe where wheat comes from. :haw:

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Rei_ posted:

Plus it puts Gaim and Baron together as Citrus Rider 1 and 2 which i think is pretty funny.

That reminds me.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

The only thing I can recall from this most recent episode of Kikaider is that Kouta did an old-fashioned Rider Kick without his armor on.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Rei_ posted:

Kiwami's kinda...idk. I'd like it without all the fruit on the chest. Otherwise it looks kinda cool?

Basically. The chest is kind of a lazy way to get the fruit salad motif going. Otherwise it's rather slim and almost sleek, for a feudal armor thing.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Don't worry about Sid, guys. He just has to tend to some...







... PRESSING matters.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

If it weren't for the fact that the chestplate is the laziest depiction of a fruit salad I've ever seen, I honestly like Kiwami Arms the most out of any of Kouta's forms.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Killer Queen posted:

Kiwami Arms is, by far, the dumbest looking suit in the series, especially after how superb Kachidoki's baller design is. But I'm okay with it because the fight in this week's episode was amazing. Kiwami can be as silly looking as it wants if it has powers and choreography that sweet. Plus I like the cape, even if the suit itself is junk. Baron Lemon Arms is so cool too. Every new form been looking more stylized and svelte as the show progresses, so it's a little lame to have the final form look like an overly plastic busy mess.

Kiwami Arms is busy, just not in the way people seem to think it is. I'm half defending it with a bit of a backhanded compliment, here, but bear with me.

Thanks to how poorly-integrated the motif is with the actual, physical design of the suit, people tend to think it's less sleek than it physically is. While Kiwami Arms is very much the least stylized suit of armor of the bunch, this is because it's literally just semi-realistic light armor compared to everyone else's fantastical, heavier-looking plates. But some people seem to think Kiwami is somehow bulkier than Kachidoki, or at least mistaken make comments to that effect when they're really talking about how slapdash the integration between Kiwami's detailing and physical design is.

In terms of physical streamlinedness, the quality of being "svelte," Kiwami Arms is literally the most svelte suit in the series. If you were to take its cape off and put it into a wind tunnel, it would have the least amount of wind resistance of any suit seen in Gaim thus far.

In contrast, Kachidoki Arms is really bulky looking and from what we've seen of it all the big wobbly bits hanging off of it don't look easy to choreograph around without some CG help, part of which is made up for by the fact that its main weapon is a gun. By contrast, Kiwami is in the most literal, physical terms the sleekest and most restrained suit Kouta has. And it's also the only suit that actually resembles a real suit of armor in its basic design. The fruit decals and level of detail make it look a lot busier than it is. I would say that just putting some fruit on a chestplate is the laziest way to get a fruit salad basket motif across, and that in terms of physical design it's uninspired. But there's no way that Kiwami Arms is less svelte and more plastic than Kachidoki Arms, the bulkiest and most plastic-covered suit Kouta's ever worn.

What you can say about Kiwami Arms is that its lack of stylization and design emphasis on ease-of-movement rather than creating impressive or iconic silhouettes like the other Riders means it's paradoxically the plainest and most boring suit in the show if you were to spraypaint over its detailing so that it were a single, flat color and texture. As it's literally just a suit of pseudo-realistic armor with some bits changed, it doesn't have any lines or details that suggest a coherent, sweeping design whole.

To put another way, Turn A Gundam is one of the most sleek and streamlined Gundam designs but a lot of people don't find it appealing on a basic level precisely because of its excessively futurist and idiosyncratic (moustachioed) take on that franchise's core property (the idea of the Gundam itself). Meanwhile, modern Gundam designs lean more and more towards big bulky backpacks with extra bits that imply sleekness and speed thanks to their lines and shapes but in actuality it's all a bunch of extra cruft on top of the core Gundam design. If Kiwami is Turn A, being streamlined and sleek but rubbing people the wrong way on a fundamental level thanks to a jarring disconnect in design progression from its predecessors, then Kachidoki is Unicorn Full Armor in that it's really busy and ludicrous with excessive additions to the core "Gaim" design if you stop think about it, but you're not given time to think about it and it fits a more logical progression based on what came before it.

Granted, if Kiwami was designed in a logical progression in terms of bulkiness from Orange Arms -> Jinba Assorted Mixed Smoothies -> Kachidoki Arms -> hypothetical "other Kiwami", it would be a GP-03 Dendrobium.

Put yet another way again, Kiwami is like buying an Aston Martin One-77 and then airbrushing a mural of a wizard on the hood so it matches your uncle's van. :iiaca:

Runa fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Jun 3, 2014

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Darth Walrus posted:

Not sure where Redyue fits into that theory, though. She's apparently female

Wait, what?

Of all the things to be surprised by.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Thurm posted:

And apparently ep 37 is another movie tie-in. :argh:

This is the price we pay for dancing with Toei.

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Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Pyroi posted:

And, of course, Kaito doesn't even get a free powerup from all of that.

That would mean the random Hyperbolic Soccer Chamber would have relevance to the actual story, and we can't have that now can we?

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