Otakuism

Story:

Wataru Kurenai is a hikikomori with an incredible power and duty: the ability to transform into Kamen Rider Kiva and fight the blood-sucking Fangaia. The Fangaia first appeared 22 years ago in 1986, when Wataru’s father Otoya Kurenai first fought them before disappearing. Both heroes are joined in their efforts by an elite Fangaia Hunter organization, with Yuri Aso assisting Otoya in 1986 and her daughter Megumi helping Wataru in 2008. With the mysterious power of Kiva and the secrets of twenty years ago, Wataru fights to protect mankind from the Fangaia.

Impressions:

Kamen Rider Kiva is the newest Kamen Rider series for 2008, following after the very successful Den-O. After watching the first couple of episodes, I’m already loving this series immensely. The main “gimmick” of Kiva is that it takes place in two time periods: Wataru in 2008 and Kurenai in 1986. It’s a very cool idea, actually, and allows for some unique ways to develop the plot. I can’t wait to see how this plays out later when the two timelines must connect. It also helps that Wataru and Kurenai are such polar opposites of each other. Wataru is a hikikomori, a coward, and the weirdest rider ever. Yes, even weirder than Tendou and Ryoutarou. He spends most of the first episode collecting fish skeletons, albeit for making a violin color. Kurenai on the other hand is the ultimate eighties playboy. He’s constantly hitting on Yuri and wears garish leopard print jackets and gold chains. They both know how to kick ass, though.

I absolutely love Kiva’s design; it’s just so badass with the muscles and chains. Looks great in fight scenes, too. For Kiva I’ve noticed the fight scenes to be a bit more physical than Kabuto and Den-O, with a lot of thrown around cars, motorcycle fights, and explosions. Definitely better than Den-O’s haphazard fighting style. The finisher Darkness Moon Break is also awesome, with great visuals to match. The Fangaia designs are pretty cool and unique, all containing a stain glass motif with the usual animal one. There’s a liberal use of CG in the series, but if you’ve watched a lot of tokusatsu then it’s all pretty standard fare. Even CastleDran, a dragon/castle that is the most blatant piece of CG in the show, looks pretty good. It’s probably the most outrageous element of Kiva so far, but oddly fitting. Kiva’s feeling is a lot different than Den-O’s, for which I’m thankful, but has all the elements to be a really great kamen rider show. I can hardly wait for the next episode now. It looks like it’ll be a good year.

Time to show off the nice OP. Why does it takes these OP’s three months before a full single is released? I need a full version now, dammit.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me: eleven HYPER CLOCK UP’s, ten EVERYTHING FOR BIG FIRE’s, nine SKULL MAN’s, eight SYNAPSE ATTACK’s, seven GARO’s, six OH GAWDS YUNO IS MOE!, five ZERO!, four VOLTEKKA!, three PRIMAL SCREAMS OF HOT BLOODED FURY!, two(million) RONs!, and one GIGA DRILL BREAKER!

This is the eleventh post in a series as I look at the twelve best anime moments of the year from shows I watched. Key there being watched, as a few of these moments are going to be from some pretty old stuff, but I think they’re damn good enough to talk about at any time. This is a joint ABC blogging project with other contributions from Roxas, CCYoshi, Orion, Owen S, Xerox, Nekoron, Martin, Michael Huang, usagijen, and Moogy. Yeah, there’s a lot of us. And if you haven’t seen Kamen Rider Kabuto then go watch it now, as this post contains some ending spoilers.

Tsurugi is one of the few characters in Kabuto that actually grows as the series progresses. Sure, most of his growth is masked by his many crazy and surreal antics, but there is growth. He goes from an arrogant aristocrat to a hard-working guy that respects the rights of others. His relationship with Misaki really shows this, because at first he just treats her as an object worthy of him owning, but later on he treats her as a women to be met on her own terms. Even though he’s mainly the comedy relief of the show, he’s probably the most human of all the Kabuto characters. And as with any Kamen Rider show, the good character is happy he has to die.

Tsurugi’s death isn’t the greatest or saddest ever, but there is a poignancy to it. Tsurugi is just about to have his first date with Misaki when his Worm form takes over and begins wreaking havoc. Discovering his true Worm form Tsurugi decides to become the top of the Worms, even defeating the powerful Reiji Nogi. Tendou is forced to kill Tsurugi, but not because Tsurugi is trying to kill him but because he must keep his promise with Tsurugi: defeat all Worms. Tsurugi tragically ensures the defeat of the Worm in his own death, lamenting the fact he never got that first date with Misaki. The final shot of Tsurugi, passing away with his loyal butler Jiiya by his side, is definitely worth remembering.

One the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: seven GARO’s, six OH GAWDS YUNO IS MOE!, five ZERO!, four VOLTEKKA!, three PRIMAL SCREAMS OF HOT BLOODED FURY!, two(million) RONs!, and one GIGA DRILL BREAKER!

This is the seventh post in a series as I look at the twelve best anime moments of the year from shows I watched. Key there being watched, as a few of these moments are going to be from some pretty old stuff, but I think they’re damn good enough to talk about at any time. This is a joint ABC blogging project with other contributions from Roxas, CCYoshi, Orion, Owen S, Xerox, Nekoron, Martin, Michael Huang, usagijen, and Moogy. Yeah, there’s a lot of us. And if you haven’t seen GARO then go watch it now, as this post contains some ending spoilers.

I like GARO a lot, both because it’s a great action story and because it introduced me to the wonderful world of tokusatsu. It does have a pretty simple story, normal good vs. evil that’s been repeated ad nauseam, but with good characters and a lot of great action scenes. Almost every episode of GARO has a memorable action scene, but my favorite is from the final episode with the showdown between Kouga and Kiba. Both are fighting on a metal ring that’s hurtling towards the ground above Tokyo. It’s an intense fifteen minute smackdown. My favorite part is at the end when Kouga uses the strength of all the men who have borne the title of GARO as inspiration to deliver the final blow. It’s manly, melodramatic, and slightly cheesy, but I love it. I think it’s just as important that a show make me feel raw emotions like that as making me think. Which is why I love GARO.

Tentatively known as either Kamen Rider Blood/Vlad or Kiba, depending on whose translation you follow. Show will have a horror theme with this Kamen Rider rumored to get a vampire form, werewolf form, fishman form, and I think a frankenstein form. What little we can see of the design now looks awesome to me. Way better than Den-O’s boxy suits and clunky designs. You just know the chain leg is going to make for an awesome Rider Kick. Here’s another pic; not as detailed, but I like the posing.

Story:

Seven Years ago a catastrophic meteor hit the earth and dried up all the oceans. Even worse than that, the meteor brought with it the Worm, aliens bent on destroying the human race. To fight the Worm ZECT and the Masked Rider System were created. But now there is dissent among the ZECT ranks as Neo-ZECT has formed to rebel against ZECT’s control. Into this volatile environment enters Tendou Souji aka. Kamen Rider Kabuto, offering himself to the highest bidder. And behind the war of the Riders the secret plans of ZECT begin to unfold…

Impressions:

God Speed Love is basically the TV series in a nutshell: great action and characters with a poorly thought out plot. First what I liked about the movie. Like I said the fight scenes are great, from the opening melee between six different Riders to Kabuto’s and Gatack’s final stand against Caucasus. Also since this is a movie set in an alternate universe you get to see a lot of the characters die, which adds a ruthless elements to the fights. The new riders serve their purposes and looks stylish while kicking some ass. Gotta love Kurosaki’s obsession with roses and that silly box hat he wears. Sure you’re the strongest rider. For an enjoyable superfluous element the ZECT cape uniforms were badass and I liked how female uniforms had switched to miniskirts. Very nice. Wish that had been in the TV series.

Now for the few things I didn’t like. One is that the movie completely sidelines the Worm, the supposed main enemy, until the very end of the movie where some weak plot twists are used to try and make them relevant again. Before that we have all this stupid ZECT vs. Neo-ZECT fighting, which doesn’t even make that much sense. The only reason Neo-ZECT wants to rebel is that they hate being controlled. Admittedly ZECT can be pretty evil, but some fleshing out of Neo-ZECT would of been nice. It also doesn’t make much sense that an organization with only two Riders would pose a threat to ZECT, but whatever.

For a personal pet peeve, later in the movie there’s an orbital elevator Kabuto, Ketaros, and Gatack are on. While fighting both Kabuto and Ketaros fall off into the atmosphere. Kabuto survives fine while Ketaros dies. How the hell did Tendou survive reentry? He was on fire the whole time! And then Gatack’s back on earth the next minute with no explanation how he got down. I know random scene changes are a common element, but this was just silly. Hard to take the movie seriously after that. Tendou’s various emotional breakdowns were also funny. I swear the guy showed more emotions in this movie then he did in the whole show. If you enjoyed the TV show then you’ll most likely enjoy the movie since they’re just so similar. Just remember that it’s Kabuto, so turn you brain off and enjoy.

Story:

Seven Years ago a meteorite hit Shibuya, bringing with it the mysterious and deadly Worm — aliens who kill humans and assume their identities. To fight them ZECT was formed and armed with the Mask Rider System, humanities greatest weapon against the Worm. Tendou Souji is the self-proclaimed ruler of all and possessor of the Kabuto Zecter, even though he is not a part of ZECT. Kagami Arata is a lower member of ZECT with a burning passion to destory all Worm after one killed his little brother. Him and Tendou form a begrudging friendship and fight together to protect the world from the Worm, along with several other friends, Riders, and unlikely allies.

Impressions:

If you’ve ever wanted to start watching Kamen Rider, then Kabuto is a great place to start. It’s a fun and wild ride that rarely loses pace, which is a big thing for a 49 episode series. The characters are all interesting and each have their own little quirks to set them apart and make you care for them, whether it be Kagami’s reactions, Tendou’s arrogance, or Gon’s cuteness. The story is also pretty good, but starts to fall apart by the end. A few plotholes remain, some questions are given half-assed answers, and some developments just leave you saying “what?” Fortunately the characters are still there to help things along.

From a cinematic viewpoint Kabuto is perfect. Several episodes can reach a quality that makes you forget you’re watching just a tv show. There’s a liberal use of CG, but hardly ever obtrusive to take away from the viewing experience (unlike, say, recent efforts by Heroes to show foreign locations). The fight scenes are all choreographed to be dynamic and exciting to watch. While not as technical as GARO’s fights, they’re a step well above Den-O’s pathetic battles. Some great finishing attacks also help things. Tendou really does become overpowered by the end of the show, but things still look very cool.

In the end Kabuto is still a show made for kids, so the good bit of drama is often balanced by some really wacky humor. A lot of it is kind of “wtf? Why am I laughing at this?” but it’s still amusing in its own way. Kabuto should be a definite watch for any Kamen Rider or Tokusatsu fan, or those looking to get into the genre. It’s not deep but it doesn’t have to be; it’s a fun ride straight to the end. For some long term goals I’m now either going to watch Dancougar, the original one from the eighties, or the Gaiking remake, depening on if I can find Dancougar’s torrent. I’ll also be following TV-Nihon’s rerelease of Kamen Rider 555 for my KR fix. Loving it from episode 1 already.

Reiji Nogi is one badass Worm. The guy oozes awesomeness. He carries a cane for no reason and beats people up with it. He defeats Gatack barehanded without even transforming, and he doesn’t even need to lift a finger to defeat Hyper Kabuto. He can stop time, too, which is always useful. And when you kill him, he just comes back in a stronger form and pissed as hell. The guy is also fashionable; manages to wear a trench coat and not look like a matrix reject. Plain badass.

Oh, right, it’s been a while since I last talked about Kamen Rider Kabuto. A long while actually. A lot has happened since then. KaGAmi became Gatack and got incredibly GAR all of a sudden. Tsurugi became a hilarious comedy character. Daisuke got framed for murder and killed his Worm lover, the whole while leaving me to wonder why he never uses his gun. Yaguruma reappeared as a Mad Max reject and was FUKAWESOME for one episode as Kick Hopper. Later episodes saw him team up with his gay lover Kageyama as Punch Hopper and things kind of went downhill from there. Now they spend their time fighting occasional worms and wallowing in their emoness. Turned out Hiyori was a worm, but the good kind of worm. She also got sent to the end of time, leaving Tendou sad he didn’t have a chance to rape his little sister. Speaking of Tendou, he got the Hyper Kabuto Zecter, so now he has mad time travel hax powers, which he uses every episode. He also got the Perfect Zecter that allows him to kill any worm instantaneously, which he also uses every episode.

The story has been good so far, mixing some seriously good drama with weird comedy. It hasn’t really felt like there’s been any overt fillers, unlike Den-O, and the fillers there were were pretty hilarious aka. the Iron Chef parody episodes. The characters have all managed to grow and be awesome in their own right, especially KaGAmi. Special mention also to Tadokoro for being the most awesome non-Rider character. The guy takes on an insane badass like Reiji just to protect his underlings. Just give the guy TheBee Zecter already. The only two complaints I have is that Tendou is way too overpowered. He uses Hyper Form every episode and the Perfect Zecter. We’re not even told where the Perfect Zecter came from! Yaguruma and Kageyama also annoy me. They were awesome when they first appeared, but now they’re just whiny distractions. The writers really have no idea what to do with them. Only have a little ways to go now to finish. I’ve heard the ending isn’t the best in the world, but I’ll probably enjoy it if it can provide some good action.