So I have to say I'm a bit annoyed with this episode. We go into the back half of it with everyone setting up for an awesome brawl: all the Bugsters, all the Riders (including the girls!), a fight to the finish, all in a cool, picturesque location. And the fight is going great with a lot of action, flashy effects, Dan pulling off another one of his cornball ressurections, and Emu finally giving Lovelica the snipping he deserves.
And then Dan Sr. shows up, and the awesome brawl is brought to a screeching halt.
Back when we first saw Dan Sr. some 20 episodes ago, the fact that they cast someone for such a trivial role seemed like a pretty good tip-off that he was meant for something bigger. So I'm not surprised that he's back. However to see that he's the true mastermind behind all of this is very much surprising, as until now Dan's dickery has all come off as very intentional. It's for that reason that I don't know how to feel about this. Dan Sr. being the mastermind means that a lot of Dan's evil agency has been taken from him; he
had to do all of those evil things, because that was the plan Dan Sr. set into motion. Which isn't to say that Dan is redeemed (he's still an S-rank dick), but I think it does make him a less impressive character? Now he's just somebody's tool, rather than being a big bad in his own right.
Meanwhile Hiiro's father is back... and immediately makes a pain of himself. I'm glad to have the actor back (it's kind of weird having the kids running the CR), but I am surprised to see that he was so fond of Saki. Since she primarily exists to give the characters backstories for Zero Day, her relationship with her boyfriend's father isn't something I was ever expecting to see expounded upon.
Though I am now
very confused about KR Chronicle now. Dan wanted to make the ultimate game - a game that was real (and that he got to control). The Bugsters wanted to make a tool to exterminate the humans. But why did Dan Sr. want to make it? And who/what is Gamedeus? Also, I second Poppy's chagrin at Dan just having to go and make a game that's impossible to beat...
In any case, while I'm peeved that Chronos interrupted a very good fight, I must admit that he got a very cool introduction. This show doesn't film at night very often, so when they do it has an impact. And visually the crew knocked it out of the park there, as it looked amazing. However I'm disappointed that Chronos is an Ex-Aid body modification. For Genm it made sense, especially given the relationship between Dan and Emu. However for a game character that seems to have no relation to Mighty Action X, it just feels lazy. Either Chronos isn't meant to be around for very long or the costume department dropped the ball here.
In terms of production though, all of the cinematography for the episode was well done. The final fight, night shots leading to the final fight, the overhead shots on the first fight, and even a nice, subtle use of wire-fu early on when Brave and Snipe jumped to the top of the buildings to fight the Bugsters. I also really liked the intentional contrast when the 4 Riders were walking up for the final fight: the three doctors in white, and then Dan in black. Also, I believe this is the first time since Zero Day that Taiga has shown up to a fight in a lab coat? In which case I guess that's a flag that we're nearing the end of his redemption arc?
Finally, I noticed that one of the dials on Chronos's clock had what looked to be the symbols for all of the major weapons. There's no way in heck that's a coincidence, so now I'm left to wonder what it means. Does he have the power of all of the riders?
Unrelated: I like how they've subverted the usual "hero belt" and "villain belt" concepts. The Gamer Driver is the hero belt, but then Parado is running around using it as well. And the Bug Visor is the villain belt, but Poppy is running around using it for good. Which belt is which still matters, but it's an interesting departure from the usual straight-laced separation of the two.
Kurokage X wrote:what is it with Genm Presidents being evil, first there's Kuroto, then there's Lovrica, R.I.P Lovrica, and now Masamune, now revealed to be Cronus
I've said it once and I'll say it again: the Ministry of Health needs to shut down Genm Corp. It's so obviously evil that it's getting painful.
takenoko wrote:I dunno how I feel about Chronos or Masamune (that's his name?) or Gamdeus. I sort of like what we have here, and am afraid these new elements are going to ruin it. We've already had the main bad guy role flip from Kuroto to Parado, and now it's going to his dad? It just seems like 3 is a bit much.
Agreed in full. We'll see how it goes. But since we're not "done" with the Bugsters yet, bringing on another Big Bad feels premature.
It's nice to see Asuna back. I get so tired of her Poppy outfit. She looks way better as a normal human.
Also agreed. To the actress's credit, she plays the hell out of Poppy, completely nailing the genki girl aspects. However too much genki can be grating. Asuna is a nice break from the hyper aspects of Poppy, and because it lets the actress take things down a notch and play a more balanced, human role. And yeah, it outright lets us see more of her as well, as she's no longer under 5 pounds of makeup and clothes.
Zerato wrote:Catastrophe wrote:Why the hell do they shoehorn Graphite as Snipes rival when he killed Hiros girlfriend?
It isn't shoehorned when you look at all the context clues we've been given throughout the series. Graphite is the only Bugster that Taiga couldn't beat back when he was with CR. Because he couldn't beat him, Saki died. His failure to beat Graphite and save Saki is what caused the downward spiral that lead Taiga to be who he is now. Both Taiga and Hiiro have ties with Graphite, but in completely different ways. Hiiro wants justice for the death of his girlfriend, Taiga has a personal vendetta against the guy that ruined his life.
Bingo. Graphite killed Hiiro's girlfriend, but he's also the reason Taiga lost his doctor's license.