Gaim 1 reaction
Oct. 13th, 2013 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameIf you're reading this off DW, my R-Kotaro icon is ridiculously appropriate.
Finally had a chance to sit down and watch the first episode of Kamen Rider Gaim, and I'm already impressed. Kouta is a good character to start--he's probably the Rider I can sympathize with the most. While his motivation to stand on his own and become an adult goes over the heads of the target audience, it reaches out to us, the 20-something/30-something fans still watching toku and feeling like we're lost somewhere in the world. The nostalgia generation. The ones who know they have to be adults but don't want to give up what they love for the sake of growing up.
Kaito Kumon is going to wind up with probably half a dozen nicknames throughout this show because he's such a prick. So far, I'm calling him New Kaito and Bananaman (because the latter rolls off the tongue so well). I'm really hoping he doesn't go the route of, say, Kusaka, and really ends up more like Kitaoka or somebody--kind of a dick, but ultimately a good guy.
Speaking of Kitaoka, or rather someone connected to him, Goro! Again, I'm not going to remember the name of Tomohisa Yuge's character this season, but this time, he's kind of like Power Rangers' Ernie--both from MMPR and Megaforce, except that he's much more in the loop so far than either one of them. Basically, Goro's what I wanted MMPR Ernie to be. And I kind of had to laugh when he said that he appreciated that the Lock Seeds and Inves (I apologize ahead of time for the many times I'm sure I'll call them Invids) allow people to settle their differences without fighting. Someone's still not over the first Rider War. Wonder if he's going to get to be a full-time Rider this year, after Ryuki and Kabuto kept teasing us. Would be interesting, considering Cid the Lock Seed Dealer keeps showing up at the Juice Bar.
Setting so far--I like the fictional city, and I get the feeling it's an Yggdrasil project? Given how much they seem to run it. Yggdrasil is giving off all the Smart Brain vibes that make me wary, but who knows? The Kougami Foundation turned out to be benevolent. The idea that Team Gaim and TeamBananaman Baron are being sponsored by people's votes is interesting, along with the implication that the Riders represent their dance teams--they're only called Gaim and Baron because that's what their team names are. I like that.
Overall, looks very interesting. I still don't know yet what's going on, but with what I've heard about Gen Urobutchi and the running tributes to Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, and 555, I've got some idea where they may head, but they might just pull a total subversion. Looking forward to the next one.
Finally had a chance to sit down and watch the first episode of Kamen Rider Gaim, and I'm already impressed. Kouta is a good character to start--he's probably the Rider I can sympathize with the most. While his motivation to stand on his own and become an adult goes over the heads of the target audience, it reaches out to us, the 20-something/30-something fans still watching toku and feeling like we're lost somewhere in the world. The nostalgia generation. The ones who know they have to be adults but don't want to give up what they love for the sake of growing up.
Kaito Kumon is going to wind up with probably half a dozen nicknames throughout this show because he's such a prick. So far, I'm calling him New Kaito and Bananaman (because the latter rolls off the tongue so well). I'm really hoping he doesn't go the route of, say, Kusaka, and really ends up more like Kitaoka or somebody--kind of a dick, but ultimately a good guy.
Speaking of Kitaoka, or rather someone connected to him, Goro! Again, I'm not going to remember the name of Tomohisa Yuge's character this season, but this time, he's kind of like Power Rangers' Ernie--both from MMPR and Megaforce, except that he's much more in the loop so far than either one of them. Basically, Goro's what I wanted MMPR Ernie to be. And I kind of had to laugh when he said that he appreciated that the Lock Seeds and Inves (I apologize ahead of time for the many times I'm sure I'll call them Invids) allow people to settle their differences without fighting. Someone's still not over the first Rider War. Wonder if he's going to get to be a full-time Rider this year, after Ryuki and Kabuto kept teasing us. Would be interesting, considering Cid the Lock Seed Dealer keeps showing up at the Juice Bar.
Setting so far--I like the fictional city, and I get the feeling it's an Yggdrasil project? Given how much they seem to run it. Yggdrasil is giving off all the Smart Brain vibes that make me wary, but who knows? The Kougami Foundation turned out to be benevolent. The idea that Team Gaim and Team
Overall, looks very interesting. I still don't know yet what's going on, but with what I've heard about Gen Urobutchi and the running tributes to Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, and 555, I've got some idea where they may head, but they might just pull a total subversion. Looking forward to the next one.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-14 01:21 am (UTC)Anyway, there's also a strong Madoka vibe coming off the episode too for me. First, there's the opening scene with the Fruit Rider War. Second, there's when Blonde!Umi shows up during the first fight and gives the ominous speech of ominousness ending with "Until you die the world in your color" or such. The single best detail of that scene for me is when Kouta says "If that's what it takes to protect you", Blonde!Umi has an expression that is the pure, undiluted version of "Dear god, you are an idiot."
In an interview, Urobochi said the first two episodes are supposed to be more stereotypical Rider plot to set people up for the big twist in Episode 3, where the story will kick in truly. Mind you, anyone who knows Urobochi and the infamousness of Episode 3 in several of his series is expecting this, so I'm half tempted to expect nothing major will occur in episode three, and a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given...
(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-14 01:25 am (UTC)And this is my first experience with Urobutchi, so I'm interested to see how things go.