Absolute Conspiracy
Jan. 17th, 2021 12:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameSo The Absolute Conspiracy has literally one episode left, and we're still on the "gathering forces" part, and I'm...really thinking this should have been a lot earlier.
Like...I'm glad we got a Ribut origin story, and seeing Belial and Tregear being recruited by the bad guys before they got possessed by their respective demons is pretty interesting. But I feel like there's a horrible wasted opportunity there. See, we've seen Belial and Tregear as villains already. This is how we know them. Getting to see their backstories was good in theory, but I honestly felt like I'm enjoying them a little less.
Showing Belial as always having been a problem, with him straight-up committing a war crime in front of his best friend by killing enemy combatants who had surrendered to them--that makes me wonder why Ken didn't do anything about it beforehand. And on top of Belial looking at Marie and deciding, "Ah, a woman of high-status with easy access to amazing weapons that grant super-modes. Yes, I think I'll marry her one day, regardless of how either of us feels. I just deserve that." Like...why the fuck did you still hang out with this guy, Ken? If Belial's story had been given 3 parts to develop, maybe we could have worked in with Ken also deciding, "You know what? Enough. Stop being a dick, stop thinking you deserve everything just because you're strong, and you know what? I'm going to hold you accountable for all the horrible shit you did." And THEN go into Belial deciding to go after the Plasma Spark. Or even have it be that he has to get recruited by the good guys--something I'll get into in a bit.
Tregear...I wasn't as sympathetic to him as others were, I think? I understand that yes, there is a further sense of alienation because he's an introverted, depressed young man with a super-sunny extrovert as his best friend. I get that. Gender aside, that's kind of how I've felt multiple times throughout my life. Which I think makes me angrier about him turning his back on Taro. Because the problem ceased being about how he felt inadequate and became him setting up Taro and Hikari on pedestals that they could never live up to--and that is a problem on Tregear's part, not theirs. Tregear lost faith in the light because his mentor, Hikari, could turn to darkness. And at every turn when Taro tried to help him--mind you, not always the most adept at it, but his heart was absolutely in the right place--Tregear didn't see beyond his own problems. Taro praised an invention Tregear didn't have faith in. Taro tried to bring him to investigate a weird energy signature, then tried to protect him when they were ambushed. Tregear's doubts were preyed on by an attack, yes. But when his best friend was injured and calling for help, he walked away. Because some new shiny dude came by and offered him a chance to change his fate. So...that's it? It feels less like a fall and betrayal of a friend than it is that Tregear was just as self-centered as Belial, but less openly a dick about it.
Again, part of the problem is the pacing. Ribut's portion was the only one that was given the room it needed to grow. But now we get into Zero's portion and here's where I'm feeling like I won't be entirely satisfied. We spend the first one with the 6 Ultra Brothers going to face Belial and Tregear and getting their asses kicked. That was pretty damn cool to see. Zero comes in to save them, but then Tartarus defeats him. Father of Ultra then tasks Zero with traveling to other universes to recruit a team that will be able to undo the damage that Tartarus has done. So, in part 2, what do we see?
Zero has only recruited Grigio and Joneus, from the end of part 1. And he asked Ribut and Andro Melos to investigate. And Taro figures it's only a matter of time before Zero asks the Tri-Squad, so he instructs them to go train. Sure enough, Grigio recruits Fuma as soon as she arrives on O-50.
Let me put it to you like this. Imagine Seven is asking his son how it went:
Seven: Zero, did you do like Father of Ultra asked and travel to the other universes to recruit a team?
Zero: Sure did. I got Grigio.
Seven: Ah. So did you ask Geed?
Zero: No.
Seven: Well, since Belial's here, that makes sense. We don't need to re-traumatize the boy. What about Orb? We've trained him ourselves, so we know he's capable, and all of the Ultra Brothers like him.
Zero: Nope.
Seven: ...Okay, yeah, Gai can be a difficult person to find, especially if there's a chance Juggler might be up to something. What about your and Leo's other proteges, Ginga and Victory?
Zero: No.
Seven: X?
Zero: 'Fraid not?
Seven: So just Grigio? Not even Rosso or Blu?
Zero: Just Grigio.
Seven: ...Son, you're fired.
Really, with most of their team coming from their universe, it's ridiculous having Zero do recruitment. Instead, we probably should have seen Father of Ultra putting Ribut in charge and telling him that if there's anyone from outside their universe that he thinks would work on the team, ask Zero to go get them. That way, it looks like they put someone competent in charge.
Or as I alluded to before, something that might have been more interesting and would have helped with the issues with Belial and Tregear is...telling Zero to go back in time and recruit them before their falls. After all, Shining lets him manipulate time, and this would be the perfect plot to take advantage of it. Have Ribut and Melos go and recruit everyone within their universe, while Zero handles time and space. Let Zero be the one who has to watch Belial's crimes, show him so pissed off as he has to hold his tongue because he can't affect the timeline any more than he already is, let him seethe in anger as he knows he has to work alongside his worst enemy because they need him. Let him stand there and have to realize that no, Belial was always headed the way he was, and he's so sorry that this is the legacy Geed has to deal with. Illustrate the differences between Zero and Belial in starkness.
And hell, maybe even have Zero bring Taiga, Titas, and Fuma along too to get Tregear because they know him the best. Show them having to reconcile this vision of him with the manipulative bastard they knew. Maybe actually address the trauma the he inflicted on them, especially with how he just creeped on Taiga. Let Taiga see his dad during his dorky younger days. Show them all wanting to prevent the horrors they know will come, but with Titas and Fuma also trying to keep Taiga in check because they know that he won't be born if they fix any of this.
From there, go to the Ultra Brothers fighting Tartarus himself, with Zero and the others arriving just in time, but Zero still gets his ass kicked. Let that be another issue, where Belial scoffs at him and starts thinking maybe that brat doesn't deserve all the power he has, if it wasn't enough to defeat one guy. And oh, little Zoffy's all grown up now, with Star Marks, and he's also losing like this? Push Belial toward the darkness. Have awkwardness with Taro really wanting to fix things with Tregear, but the time travel is putting more distance between them. Have Zero decide to go pick up Grigio next, and hey, bring Fuma since he's from O-50, maybe it'd be good for her to meet someone else besides Orb who got their powers from Asshole Mountain (with Taiga and Titas laughing their asses off because they know Fuma is going to make an absolute fool of himself). Split off with Taiga going to Mebius for training (and meeting Zett), and Titas deciding to check in with Joneus because he heard about an attack on U40 and he was worried. Let Titas be the one to recruit his mentor, it would be sweet.
Just...as it stands, this Ultra Galaxy Fight is still entertaining, but it doesn't feel like the cohesive movie that New Generation Heroes.
Like...I'm glad we got a Ribut origin story, and seeing Belial and Tregear being recruited by the bad guys before they got possessed by their respective demons is pretty interesting. But I feel like there's a horrible wasted opportunity there. See, we've seen Belial and Tregear as villains already. This is how we know them. Getting to see their backstories was good in theory, but I honestly felt like I'm enjoying them a little less.
Showing Belial as always having been a problem, with him straight-up committing a war crime in front of his best friend by killing enemy combatants who had surrendered to them--that makes me wonder why Ken didn't do anything about it beforehand. And on top of Belial looking at Marie and deciding, "Ah, a woman of high-status with easy access to amazing weapons that grant super-modes. Yes, I think I'll marry her one day, regardless of how either of us feels. I just deserve that." Like...why the fuck did you still hang out with this guy, Ken? If Belial's story had been given 3 parts to develop, maybe we could have worked in with Ken also deciding, "You know what? Enough. Stop being a dick, stop thinking you deserve everything just because you're strong, and you know what? I'm going to hold you accountable for all the horrible shit you did." And THEN go into Belial deciding to go after the Plasma Spark. Or even have it be that he has to get recruited by the good guys--something I'll get into in a bit.
Tregear...I wasn't as sympathetic to him as others were, I think? I understand that yes, there is a further sense of alienation because he's an introverted, depressed young man with a super-sunny extrovert as his best friend. I get that. Gender aside, that's kind of how I've felt multiple times throughout my life. Which I think makes me angrier about him turning his back on Taro. Because the problem ceased being about how he felt inadequate and became him setting up Taro and Hikari on pedestals that they could never live up to--and that is a problem on Tregear's part, not theirs. Tregear lost faith in the light because his mentor, Hikari, could turn to darkness. And at every turn when Taro tried to help him--mind you, not always the most adept at it, but his heart was absolutely in the right place--Tregear didn't see beyond his own problems. Taro praised an invention Tregear didn't have faith in. Taro tried to bring him to investigate a weird energy signature, then tried to protect him when they were ambushed. Tregear's doubts were preyed on by an attack, yes. But when his best friend was injured and calling for help, he walked away. Because some new shiny dude came by and offered him a chance to change his fate. So...that's it? It feels less like a fall and betrayal of a friend than it is that Tregear was just as self-centered as Belial, but less openly a dick about it.
Again, part of the problem is the pacing. Ribut's portion was the only one that was given the room it needed to grow. But now we get into Zero's portion and here's where I'm feeling like I won't be entirely satisfied. We spend the first one with the 6 Ultra Brothers going to face Belial and Tregear and getting their asses kicked. That was pretty damn cool to see. Zero comes in to save them, but then Tartarus defeats him. Father of Ultra then tasks Zero with traveling to other universes to recruit a team that will be able to undo the damage that Tartarus has done. So, in part 2, what do we see?
Zero has only recruited Grigio and Joneus, from the end of part 1. And he asked Ribut and Andro Melos to investigate. And Taro figures it's only a matter of time before Zero asks the Tri-Squad, so he instructs them to go train. Sure enough, Grigio recruits Fuma as soon as she arrives on O-50.
Let me put it to you like this. Imagine Seven is asking his son how it went:
Seven: Zero, did you do like Father of Ultra asked and travel to the other universes to recruit a team?
Zero: Sure did. I got Grigio.
Seven: Ah. So did you ask Geed?
Zero: No.
Seven: Well, since Belial's here, that makes sense. We don't need to re-traumatize the boy. What about Orb? We've trained him ourselves, so we know he's capable, and all of the Ultra Brothers like him.
Zero: Nope.
Seven: ...Okay, yeah, Gai can be a difficult person to find, especially if there's a chance Juggler might be up to something. What about your and Leo's other proteges, Ginga and Victory?
Zero: No.
Seven: X?
Zero: 'Fraid not?
Seven: So just Grigio? Not even Rosso or Blu?
Zero: Just Grigio.
Seven: ...Son, you're fired.
Really, with most of their team coming from their universe, it's ridiculous having Zero do recruitment. Instead, we probably should have seen Father of Ultra putting Ribut in charge and telling him that if there's anyone from outside their universe that he thinks would work on the team, ask Zero to go get them. That way, it looks like they put someone competent in charge.
Or as I alluded to before, something that might have been more interesting and would have helped with the issues with Belial and Tregear is...telling Zero to go back in time and recruit them before their falls. After all, Shining lets him manipulate time, and this would be the perfect plot to take advantage of it. Have Ribut and Melos go and recruit everyone within their universe, while Zero handles time and space. Let Zero be the one who has to watch Belial's crimes, show him so pissed off as he has to hold his tongue because he can't affect the timeline any more than he already is, let him seethe in anger as he knows he has to work alongside his worst enemy because they need him. Let him stand there and have to realize that no, Belial was always headed the way he was, and he's so sorry that this is the legacy Geed has to deal with. Illustrate the differences between Zero and Belial in starkness.
And hell, maybe even have Zero bring Taiga, Titas, and Fuma along too to get Tregear because they know him the best. Show them having to reconcile this vision of him with the manipulative bastard they knew. Maybe actually address the trauma the he inflicted on them, especially with how he just creeped on Taiga. Let Taiga see his dad during his dorky younger days. Show them all wanting to prevent the horrors they know will come, but with Titas and Fuma also trying to keep Taiga in check because they know that he won't be born if they fix any of this.
From there, go to the Ultra Brothers fighting Tartarus himself, with Zero and the others arriving just in time, but Zero still gets his ass kicked. Let that be another issue, where Belial scoffs at him and starts thinking maybe that brat doesn't deserve all the power he has, if it wasn't enough to defeat one guy. And oh, little Zoffy's all grown up now, with Star Marks, and he's also losing like this? Push Belial toward the darkness. Have awkwardness with Taro really wanting to fix things with Tregear, but the time travel is putting more distance between them. Have Zero decide to go pick up Grigio next, and hey, bring Fuma since he's from O-50, maybe it'd be good for her to meet someone else besides Orb who got their powers from Asshole Mountain (with Taiga and Titas laughing their asses off because they know Fuma is going to make an absolute fool of himself). Split off with Taiga going to Mebius for training (and meeting Zett), and Titas deciding to check in with Joneus because he heard about an attack on U40 and he was worried. Let Titas be the one to recruit his mentor, it would be sweet.
Just...as it stands, this Ultra Galaxy Fight is still entertaining, but it doesn't feel like the cohesive movie that New Generation Heroes.