The embarrassing part is that this IS slow for me.
So. Usual blah, blah, blah, Kamen Rider Kabuto ep 18, with SPOILERS for the episode listed at the very least (and very likely into the 30s and possibly the whole series), I don't plan these things in advance, we'll see from there.
Kamen Rider Kabuto episode 18: You know what I sort of love about the beginning of this episode? The previous one ended on such a cliffhanger, with Daisuke firing off a Rider Shooting and Tendou starting up a Rider Kick and it's this really tense, dramatic moment, this huge cliffhanger! Then the next episode starts and within about 20 seconds of the new footage, the fight is over, because Tendou has disappeared. How infuriating would that have been if you were watching week to week? I love it. XD
The next scene is Tendou telling Kagami, Misaki, and Hiyori that ZECT has kidnapped Gon and I love the scene for a lot of reasons. I love that Hiyori actually comes out of her shell enough to be really worried over Gon (for all that this is a very male-oriented show, the relationships between the girls are actually really sweet) and, man, Tendou's still not wearing any sleeves. I approve. *__*b It's also a very sweet scene because Tendou reassures Hiyori that it's not her fault, he's very big brotherly towards her, which I love to see. Hiyori sinks to the floor and says that Gon is the same as her, while Tendou looks faintly upset.
I don't think this is what they were going for, I think Tendou really has channeled everything of himself into this role he's built up, the man who walks the path to the heavens and all that, so he doesn't really think of himself this way, but in a way he's an orphan like them as well. He grew up with his grandmother, of course, but he still lost his parents when he was three and knows the pain of losing them, knows what it's like to feel like there's no one in the world for him. I love that he never blames Hiyori or tries to take away from her love for her own parents, despite that they killed Tendou's mom and dad.
Anyway, I forgive Daisuke for a lot because he's willing to do so much to save Gon when it looks like she'll really be taken away, because there's no way he can just abandon her to ZECT. When she apologizes for always being in his way and he shakes his head that that's not it at all and the music goes... yeah, I get a little ;___;-faced. ....it's that time of the month, shut up, I'm allowed. >:F
Kageyama is interesting in this scene as well, because he's obviously listening and... I'm not sure if they really intended anything, but even the first time through, I thought I caught a moment of... something like wistfulness or loneliness on Kageyama's face. Like, part of him still wished that someone would go that far for him, too. I don't think they necessarily intended that, it could have just as easily been read as, "Jeez, get a room, you guys." or listening in as a way to use it even more against Daisuke. But. The way he interupts the touching moment like he can't stand to listen to this anymore and the way he later joins Yaguruma and is so loyal, despite that he could probably have just hared off with the Zecter/belt, makes me think maybe he did kind of want that.
After that, time's up, so Tendou's finishing his meal with Juka and Daisuke calls him out to fight. Tendou goes to meet him and is, once again, wearing a shirt and vest that show off his arms and, seriously, that's kind of a lot right in a row. (Though, I think maybe his clothes in this episode are the same ones he wore in episode 17, going back to look at caps. But the scene on the docks is definitely a different outfit.) ....I may be tempted to make a timeline of Tendou's clothes and to match them up to where his relationship with certain people is at the time. Because it's been awhile since Tendou was all, "We're not friends." and he's just recently made kind of a lot of effort for Kagami to a) save his life from Kageyama's bait plot and b) to get him his confidence back, sohe's kind of entering the HEY KAGAMI MAYBE YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING SOON *DRESSES PROVACTIVELY* stage, I think. (Well, I could buy that he's still consciously repressing, like, pft, feelings for stupid people, no matter how interesting they might be, mean nothing, while his subconscious is going, "HEY, MAYBE IF I DRESS LIKE A RENTBOY, MAYBE THEN KAGAMI WILL MAKE A MOVE ON ME." But I could also buy that he's doing it on purpose, too.)
Possibly I spend too much time staring at Tendou's belt line (WHAT. HE WEARS SOME GIANT ASS BELT BUCKLES, STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.) but it always sort of made me wonder where the hell the Rider belts came from. You never see the guys putting them on, but you saw that all the time in Den-O and Kiva. Instead, one minute Tendou has this sparkly fashionable belt and the next the Rider Belt is just there.
So they start fighting and a minute later, little bitch joins in the fight, too. They gang up on Kabuto, knocking him into the water and I kind of love this sequence because it's so very clearly green screened for the way nothing moves like it naturally would underwater. It also makes no sense, there wasn't even any explosion or rippling of the water on the surface, just some blue flashing lights? From the suits that have been able to destroy chunks of buildings? Lol.
I also like that Tendou's prediction comes true here, too. He implies that Daisuke's pretty dumb if he thinks that ZECT will let it end with Kabuto's defeat and, sure enough, the very next scene is Kageyama says, eh, I don't remember making a deal like that. Which would irritate me more, but Daisuke's shown a very strong trend to not exactly be the sharpest pencil in the box or to think things through. And I wonder why Daisuke doesn't just fight Kageyama here, then break down the door, but I'll forgive the show for that because the scene where he presses his hand up against hers through the glass and the music plays in the background and he says its his fault for letting go of her hand. *wibbles* ;___;
After that, Kagami confronts Tadokoro-san about ZECT kidnapping a little girl to use her as a pawn and is he okay with that!? Tadokoro-san says, "No matter what ZECT does... I'm sure there's a hidden meaning behind it. That's all I can say." The first time through I thought there probably was something more hidden behind that, they pretty much state right out that there is, but it could have also been read as someone who just believed very strongly in the people he worked for. But knowing what I know now... I wonder how much of that really was Tadokoro-san's inability to say something because he had to protect himself, too. How much did he actually know, being Native himself? How much was he kept in the dark about? How much did he believe, how much did he secretly hate? Given how much he helps them, it seems like he disagrees strongly with the way the Native ran ZECT, but he didn't want to openly defy them because he believed in the ultimate mission.
And I know that I should find this storyline with Daisuke and Yuriko's mom to be totally cliche, especially the way they were obviously hiding the picture of her little girl at first and Daisuke never saw the picture, but I can't help really liking it anyway. It was somehow quietly touching. Maybe it's because I really liked Yuriko's mom, she seemed nice. I don't even mind the way they obscured the picture at first, because that whole scene is kind of shakey, just enough like the camera was swaying a little, and it actually sort of works for me because they're obviously drunk and wobbly in that scene.
I know. Appreciating the camera work in a silly toku series, wtf! XD
After that, Tendou is still in the sleeveless vest and I love that he brought everyone to help save Gon, including Hiyori. I love how she's starting to reach out here, how much she trusts Tendou to help save her, even if she still thinks he might be that boy that killed her parents. I also love that Tendou makes things twice as difficult and complicated for them because he doesn't want sleeping drugs put into the food, because food must be cherished! Seriously, how many times does Kagami think to himself, "It is a very good thing that I like him a lot, otherwise I would not put up with this shit."? Seriously, in the background, while Tendou says, "During meals an angel descends." if you watch Kagami in the background, he rolls his eyes SO HARD. It's SO HILARIOUS.
Seriously, it's a good thing Tendou's hot or Kagami would not put up with this shit.
The reunion hug when Daisuke goes to unlock Gon while Hiyori watches is still one of the sweetest things ever. ;__;♥ I also like that the show remembers that Hiyori doesn't really have any idea about the Worm or the Riders, so she's not sure why Gon was targetted and asked if she was still a target or whatever. Tendou says, yeah, it's possible that she may be targetted again, unless she goes back to her original life, so he has a bunch of miso soup bowls ready. With any other series, I might have rolled my eyes at the way that played out, but Tendou is always thinking ahead like that.
I love how sweet Tendou is to Gon and how much of a GIANT NERD he is when Daisuke says, come to think of it, I had miso like that yesterday. And, actually, I REALLY LOVE that touch, like it makes sense that Daisuke had tasted it because the reporter probably took him to her favorite restaurant. And, now that I think about it, Gon was running out of the room the first time that Daisuke was interviewed by her, she never saw Gon's face. The show doesn't make a huge deal out of it, so when you look back, it's kind of a surprise to realize that they kind of knew what they were doing the whole time.
I mean, even if they have the violin-screeching Worm show up and it was one giant coincidence that Daisuke was interviewed by Yuriko's mother, I can still appreciate how much thought they put into the whole way it unfolded. The scene where Daisuke watches Gon start to remember a little, where her mom grabs her and runs, his hand slipping away from Gon's... wah, I really do love this storyline. I even really kind of like the fight, where both TheBee and Drake are fighting against each other and both of them fighting against the Worm at the same time.
So, not letting ZECT continue to think he's dead (since last time Kageyama saw him, he was supposedly exploding underwater), Tendou shows up in a short-sleeved top over a t-shirt this time and, okay, he wears it really well, but still. Plaid, Tendou? Really? But I'm okay with it because it half-looks like it came out of Kagami's closet, shut up, I'm enjoying laughing at the idea. XD I do love the scene, though, because you can hear Tendou's voice, but you don't see him coming up the ramp until he's changed into Kabuto form, so Kageyama still doesn't know what he looks like. We all just politely look the other way that Mizushima Hiro has a really distinctive (and hot) voice when it comes to internal logic for the show.
I also still totally cackle at the way both Kabuto and Drake used Clock Up against TheBee, the way Daisuke does a Rider Shooting, so Kageyama does Clock Up to avoid it and ducks behind Drake, then Tendou does Clock Up to do a Rider Kick to punt it back in the other direction, so then Daisuke does Clock Up... to have it hit Kageyame smack in the face. Even if I don't think that should have quite worked (Clock Up usually lasts longer than that, right?) it made me LOL, so I love it. Also, the little bitch deserved it. I also love Drake in Clock Up to catch Gon's tears as she cries at remembering her mom, saying goodbye in his own way while she can't see him and just. *wibbles*
I don't know how much truth there is to the whole idea of amnesiacs forgetting everything they did after they lost their memory when their original memory came back--I'd never heard of that before watching it in Utahime, where I dismissed it as fodder for angst or something they might have believed back in the 50s, but if it's shown up in two seperate shows...--and I think it's kind of overdramatic, but. I'll admit to some wibbling when Daisuke sees Yuriko and she doesn't recognize him. When he starts to say how cute she is and can't finish his sentence, I just... *sniffles a little* (They are going to be so OTP when Gon gets older.)
The episode ends with a scorpion crawling along the city and I kind of lol at how DRAMATIC it is. The first time I saw it, I thought some new big bad was coming. LITTLE DID I KNOW. XDDD I didn't think Tsurugi was introduced this soon, but my sense of timing is all screwed to hell with this show, obviously. XD
And, of course, more Arashi stuff. Spoilers for anything listed under the cut:
→ VS ARASHI #15 [2008.07.19]
→ Shounen Club Premium [2008.07.20] Stage Report + One Love + My Answer + Move Your Body
♥ - VS ARASHI #15 [2008.07.19] - I kind of had an idea of what this episode would contain even before I started watching it, so maybe that made it easier for me? At the same time, I kept all the conversation from yesterday in mind, so that affected my viewing of this episode, too.
It starts out kind of wince-worthy (if in a funny way) because Aiba looks like he's getting smacked pretty hard by the black balls in Catching Bridge and you'd think, pft, that's nothing, I'm sure Matsujun hits way harder, but it looks like they really are kind of painful and I swear one tries to go straight for Aiba's very favorite body part. ;___; He doesn't do that great at the game and I kind of want to bop him on the head to tell him to take his jacket off because that probably would have helped a lot. And... did they give the two girls a handicap again? The pink ones are worth 60 and the yellow worth 20? .... *kind of hates a little* I know Japan thinks it's trying to be nice to the girls and I can't say for certain that I wouldn't accept that handicap on a show, too, but as a viewer it kind of makes me hate the way women are treated on this show. Seriously, you don't need a peen to catch a ball that's gently lobbed at you. Which is reflected in a score of 760 for this one goddamned game alone.
I did kind of love Rolling Coin Tower, just for whatever Jun was apologizing for (and, seriously, the look on his face when he looks directly into the camera made me kind of want to duck under the desk for a minute there .__.) and then Jun totally sees that the tower is wobbling when it comes by him and he just waits and sure enough a moment later it falls over and they get the extra 100 points. Nino's little victory run in the background was SO ADORABLE, too.
But then I forgive the show a little for the Catching Bridge because Ohno does a double catch on Falling Pipes with his hand kind of between the red and the gold, but they give him the gold one. Okay, VS ARASHI, I won't give up on you just yet, I guess. *wary* And I have to admit that Ohno did really good here--not that I don't love it when Ohno does well, mind!, more that I don't get why he's their go-to guy when he hadn't really done that well at this game since the first episode--and I'm glad they chose him. Especially when he walks back towards the rest of the group like a king being embraced by his loving subjects. ILUOHNO. <3
And what makes Sho's mad dash around Arashi when he's trying to run for the game funny to me is that... well, if Sho's frustration with being bullied and doubted over his sports ability were real, if we were actually able to see any of it, Arashi themselves would see it ten times more than we do just by watching the broadcasted version. Arashi themselves know Sho way, way better than we do and if they're still giving him shit about it, then I have to think that everything is fine. Even if I wouldn't blame Sho for being frustrated with the audience constantly getting in on the act. But Sho himself is still the one who starts things by trying to run off, when he didn't have to do that. If it bothered him that much, he'd just stop doing it and Arashi would redirect their attention to another target--they haven't bullied Ohno in, like, five whole minutes or made Jun turn into a squishy pile of fashion accessories, they could easily just drop the Sho bullying if they wanted, you know? And there's no way Nino wouldn't notice and get all bitchy defensive of him if Sho needed it, he's totally capable of saying, "Ehhh, well, if it's so easy WHY DON'T YOU GUYS COME UP HERE AND TRY IT THEN?" in a funny way to redirect the flow of the conversation and Nino would, he's the clingy moodmaker of the room and Sho is his BFF. I have to believe that of course he'd notice. <3
Besides, you can totally tell they're all trying not to crack up laughing when Sho does his fake pout after only getting 50 points (which is actually a pretty decent score) and they're doing it because it's amusing. Seriously, Aiba's kind of losing it and Jun's thisclose to cracking up and Sho's having trouble keeping his straight face and it's kind of great. XD
And, well, okay, I have to forgive the show a little (even if I don't really want to) for the double points on Catching Bridge because the two girls still lost even with the extra handicap. orz As much as I disliked that part, though, it's nice to see Arashi finally working well on these games and scoring the points they should. It's also nice to see them fucking with the guests by yanking their prizes away in a totally cute and teasing way.
So, overall. Not my favorite episode, but still worth watching.
♥ - Shounen Club Premium [2008.07.20] Stage Report + One Love + My Answer + Move Your Body - Watching this collection of videos was really fun... well, except for the part where I'm climbing the walls trying to wait for the Dome Tour DVD, which won't be out for aaaaaaages. *cries* It's nice to see new concert clips but it kind of makes the wait even more painful because I want to see the whole thing. They looked really smoking hot during the press conference/interview bit, I love the outfits and I love the hair, even Jun's messy half-permed thing, which really grew on me. Or maybe I'm just willing to be generous because he finally got rid of it the latest Himitsu. :D
Okay, I saved the One Love performance for last because I knew about that one and I knew I was probably going to flail pretty hard and take a whole bunch of caps, but I didn't expect to love the other performances as much as I did. Move Your Body was actually kind of fantastic, I loved the dancing and I loved the song and it's actually-- Jun was actually-- not entirely bad during his parts! Like, ilu a lot Matsumoto, but singing is not your thing, yet he's been doing really well in the last year or so, finding songs that fit him a lot better. It's nice to see Arashi actually moving around again, after all the One Love performances that have hardly had them moving, and it's such a fast, high-energy dance, I love it. *__* I do really love their current songs and all, but I have missed this from Arashi. The entire time I was watching this, I-- I kind of-- I think I might be starting to like Arashi for the music. Just a little bit. orz
Next was My Answer and WOW MATSUMOTO. JUST WHEN I THINK YOU CAN'T OUT GAY YOURSELF IN THE CLOTHES DEPARTMENT, YOU PROVE ME WRONG. That-- That is a pretty spectacular shirt right there. And it's even more... uh... impressive... in full color, wow. The performance/song itself is really fun and upbeat and Arashi continues to actually move around and dance and I'm still really charmed by this. Also, do not think I DID NOT NOTICE THE FANSERVICE. It took me a few tries to go back and watch the Ohno/Sho foot bump while Nino's singing in the front because I got a little distracted with the Aiba/Jun one. Like. I know it's part of the choreography and it doesn't mean anything because Ohno/Sho over there are mirroring it. But the tinhat fangirl heart doesn't want to hear your stupid logic, not when it's an Aiba/Jun matchup in One Love, too.
Overall, I think Move Your Body was more fun, but part of that might have been the clothes, because these were kind of lol and Sho looked pretty smoking hot and it was really light and fun, but. They are not the clothes I would have chosen. The Sho/Ohno interaction in this performance was fun, but still not enough to top Move Your Body for sheer *___* reaction from me. Though, I think I'd probably want to listen to this song more often than the others.
But totally One Love was my favorite performance. Of course it would be, it starts out with Jun making sure everything is fucking perfect for their big gay wedding and Aiba's running late and Sho and Nino are practicing the choreography and kind of goofing off and the stage set looks gorgeous. Jun looks like he's just ~*beaming*~ throughout the entire thing and dancing around more than the others and it's like he's the happiest person ever on the day of their big gay wedding to each other and seriously, Matsumoto. If you're going to look over at Aiba during the part where you cross arms with each other (while Sho and Nino do the same on the other side and actually manage to look where they're supposed to) and have a lovesick idiot expression on your face, you deserve the fic that gets written about you.
When I first saw caps of this I thought the capper had just managed to catch an interesting frame where Jun happened to glance over. Then I saw a second set of caps and Jun was still beaming at Aiba like a lovesick idiot. And then I watched. And, no. No, Jun really is kind of STARING at Aiba with this beautiful look on his face. And, seriously, when they're practically holding hands in the choreography, I just-- You guys deserve your fandom. Never change. ♥
(Not that I blame Jun. God, Aiba's hot in that white suit. *___*)
Kamen Rider Kabuto episode 18: You know what I sort of love about the beginning of this episode? The previous one ended on such a cliffhanger, with Daisuke firing off a Rider Shooting and Tendou starting up a Rider Kick and it's this really tense, dramatic moment, this huge cliffhanger! Then the next episode starts and within about 20 seconds of the new footage, the fight is over, because Tendou has disappeared. How infuriating would that have been if you were watching week to week? I love it. XD
The next scene is Tendou telling Kagami, Misaki, and Hiyori that ZECT has kidnapped Gon and I love the scene for a lot of reasons. I love that Hiyori actually comes out of her shell enough to be really worried over Gon (for all that this is a very male-oriented show, the relationships between the girls are actually really sweet) and, man, Tendou's still not wearing any sleeves. I approve. *__*b It's also a very sweet scene because Tendou reassures Hiyori that it's not her fault, he's very big brotherly towards her, which I love to see. Hiyori sinks to the floor and says that Gon is the same as her, while Tendou looks faintly upset.
I don't think this is what they were going for, I think Tendou really has channeled everything of himself into this role he's built up, the man who walks the path to the heavens and all that, so he doesn't really think of himself this way, but in a way he's an orphan like them as well. He grew up with his grandmother, of course, but he still lost his parents when he was three and knows the pain of losing them, knows what it's like to feel like there's no one in the world for him. I love that he never blames Hiyori or tries to take away from her love for her own parents, despite that they killed Tendou's mom and dad.
Anyway, I forgive Daisuke for a lot because he's willing to do so much to save Gon when it looks like she'll really be taken away, because there's no way he can just abandon her to ZECT. When she apologizes for always being in his way and he shakes his head that that's not it at all and the music goes... yeah, I get a little ;___;-faced. ....it's that time of the month, shut up, I'm allowed. >:F
Kageyama is interesting in this scene as well, because he's obviously listening and... I'm not sure if they really intended anything, but even the first time through, I thought I caught a moment of... something like wistfulness or loneliness on Kageyama's face. Like, part of him still wished that someone would go that far for him, too. I don't think they necessarily intended that, it could have just as easily been read as, "Jeez, get a room, you guys." or listening in as a way to use it even more against Daisuke. But. The way he interupts the touching moment like he can't stand to listen to this anymore and the way he later joins Yaguruma and is so loyal, despite that he could probably have just hared off with the Zecter/belt, makes me think maybe he did kind of want that.
After that, time's up, so Tendou's finishing his meal with Juka and Daisuke calls him out to fight. Tendou goes to meet him and is, once again, wearing a shirt and vest that show off his arms and, seriously, that's kind of a lot right in a row. (Though, I think maybe his clothes in this episode are the same ones he wore in episode 17, going back to look at caps. But the scene on the docks is definitely a different outfit.) ....I may be tempted to make a timeline of Tendou's clothes and to match them up to where his relationship with certain people is at the time. Because it's been awhile since Tendou was all, "We're not friends." and he's just recently made kind of a lot of effort for Kagami to a) save his life from Kageyama's bait plot and b) to get him his confidence back, sohe's kind of entering the HEY KAGAMI MAYBE YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING SOON *DRESSES PROVACTIVELY* stage, I think. (Well, I could buy that he's still consciously repressing, like, pft, feelings for stupid people, no matter how interesting they might be, mean nothing, while his subconscious is going, "HEY, MAYBE IF I DRESS LIKE A RENTBOY, MAYBE THEN KAGAMI WILL MAKE A MOVE ON ME." But I could also buy that he's doing it on purpose, too.)
Possibly I spend too much time staring at Tendou's belt line (WHAT. HE WEARS SOME GIANT ASS BELT BUCKLES, STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.) but it always sort of made me wonder where the hell the Rider belts came from. You never see the guys putting them on, but you saw that all the time in Den-O and Kiva. Instead, one minute Tendou has this sparkly fashionable belt and the next the Rider Belt is just there.
So they start fighting and a minute later, little bitch joins in the fight, too. They gang up on Kabuto, knocking him into the water and I kind of love this sequence because it's so very clearly green screened for the way nothing moves like it naturally would underwater. It also makes no sense, there wasn't even any explosion or rippling of the water on the surface, just some blue flashing lights? From the suits that have been able to destroy chunks of buildings? Lol.
I also like that Tendou's prediction comes true here, too. He implies that Daisuke's pretty dumb if he thinks that ZECT will let it end with Kabuto's defeat and, sure enough, the very next scene is Kageyama says, eh, I don't remember making a deal like that. Which would irritate me more, but Daisuke's shown a very strong trend to not exactly be the sharpest pencil in the box or to think things through. And I wonder why Daisuke doesn't just fight Kageyama here, then break down the door, but I'll forgive the show for that because the scene where he presses his hand up against hers through the glass and the music plays in the background and he says its his fault for letting go of her hand. *wibbles* ;___;
After that, Kagami confronts Tadokoro-san about ZECT kidnapping a little girl to use her as a pawn and is he okay with that!? Tadokoro-san says, "No matter what ZECT does... I'm sure there's a hidden meaning behind it. That's all I can say." The first time through I thought there probably was something more hidden behind that, they pretty much state right out that there is, but it could have also been read as someone who just believed very strongly in the people he worked for. But knowing what I know now... I wonder how much of that really was Tadokoro-san's inability to say something because he had to protect himself, too. How much did he actually know, being Native himself? How much was he kept in the dark about? How much did he believe, how much did he secretly hate? Given how much he helps them, it seems like he disagrees strongly with the way the Native ran ZECT, but he didn't want to openly defy them because he believed in the ultimate mission.
And I know that I should find this storyline with Daisuke and Yuriko's mom to be totally cliche, especially the way they were obviously hiding the picture of her little girl at first and Daisuke never saw the picture, but I can't help really liking it anyway. It was somehow quietly touching. Maybe it's because I really liked Yuriko's mom, she seemed nice. I don't even mind the way they obscured the picture at first, because that whole scene is kind of shakey, just enough like the camera was swaying a little, and it actually sort of works for me because they're obviously drunk and wobbly in that scene.
I know. Appreciating the camera work in a silly toku series, wtf! XD
After that, Tendou is still in the sleeveless vest and I love that he brought everyone to help save Gon, including Hiyori. I love how she's starting to reach out here, how much she trusts Tendou to help save her, even if she still thinks he might be that boy that killed her parents. I also love that Tendou makes things twice as difficult and complicated for them because he doesn't want sleeping drugs put into the food, because food must be cherished! Seriously, how many times does Kagami think to himself, "It is a very good thing that I like him a lot, otherwise I would not put up with this shit."? Seriously, in the background, while Tendou says, "During meals an angel descends." if you watch Kagami in the background, he rolls his eyes SO HARD. It's SO HILARIOUS.
Seriously, it's a good thing Tendou's hot or Kagami would not put up with this shit.
The reunion hug when Daisuke goes to unlock Gon while Hiyori watches is still one of the sweetest things ever. ;__;♥ I also like that the show remembers that Hiyori doesn't really have any idea about the Worm or the Riders, so she's not sure why Gon was targetted and asked if she was still a target or whatever. Tendou says, yeah, it's possible that she may be targetted again, unless she goes back to her original life, so he has a bunch of miso soup bowls ready. With any other series, I might have rolled my eyes at the way that played out, but Tendou is always thinking ahead like that.
I love how sweet Tendou is to Gon and how much of a GIANT NERD he is when Daisuke says, come to think of it, I had miso like that yesterday. And, actually, I REALLY LOVE that touch, like it makes sense that Daisuke had tasted it because the reporter probably took him to her favorite restaurant. And, now that I think about it, Gon was running out of the room the first time that Daisuke was interviewed by her, she never saw Gon's face. The show doesn't make a huge deal out of it, so when you look back, it's kind of a surprise to realize that they kind of knew what they were doing the whole time.
I mean, even if they have the violin-screeching Worm show up and it was one giant coincidence that Daisuke was interviewed by Yuriko's mother, I can still appreciate how much thought they put into the whole way it unfolded. The scene where Daisuke watches Gon start to remember a little, where her mom grabs her and runs, his hand slipping away from Gon's... wah, I really do love this storyline. I even really kind of like the fight, where both TheBee and Drake are fighting against each other and both of them fighting against the Worm at the same time.
So, not letting ZECT continue to think he's dead (since last time Kageyama saw him, he was supposedly exploding underwater), Tendou shows up in a short-sleeved top over a t-shirt this time and, okay, he wears it really well, but still. Plaid, Tendou? Really? But I'm okay with it because it half-looks like it came out of Kagami's closet, shut up, I'm enjoying laughing at the idea. XD I do love the scene, though, because you can hear Tendou's voice, but you don't see him coming up the ramp until he's changed into Kabuto form, so Kageyama still doesn't know what he looks like. We all just politely look the other way that Mizushima Hiro has a really distinctive (and hot) voice when it comes to internal logic for the show.
I also still totally cackle at the way both Kabuto and Drake used Clock Up against TheBee, the way Daisuke does a Rider Shooting, so Kageyama does Clock Up to avoid it and ducks behind Drake, then Tendou does Clock Up to do a Rider Kick to punt it back in the other direction, so then Daisuke does Clock Up... to have it hit Kageyame smack in the face. Even if I don't think that should have quite worked (Clock Up usually lasts longer than that, right?) it made me LOL, so I love it. Also, the little bitch deserved it. I also love Drake in Clock Up to catch Gon's tears as she cries at remembering her mom, saying goodbye in his own way while she can't see him and just. *wibbles*
I don't know how much truth there is to the whole idea of amnesiacs forgetting everything they did after they lost their memory when their original memory came back--I'd never heard of that before watching it in Utahime, where I dismissed it as fodder for angst or something they might have believed back in the 50s, but if it's shown up in two seperate shows...--and I think it's kind of overdramatic, but. I'll admit to some wibbling when Daisuke sees Yuriko and she doesn't recognize him. When he starts to say how cute she is and can't finish his sentence, I just... *sniffles a little* (They are going to be so OTP when Gon gets older.)
The episode ends with a scorpion crawling along the city and I kind of lol at how DRAMATIC it is. The first time I saw it, I thought some new big bad was coming. LITTLE DID I KNOW. XDDD I didn't think Tsurugi was introduced this soon, but my sense of timing is all screwed to hell with this show, obviously. XD
And, of course, more Arashi stuff. Spoilers for anything listed under the cut:
→ VS ARASHI #15 [2008.07.19]
→ Shounen Club Premium [2008.07.20] Stage Report + One Love + My Answer + Move Your Body
♥ - VS ARASHI #15 [2008.07.19] - I kind of had an idea of what this episode would contain even before I started watching it, so maybe that made it easier for me? At the same time, I kept all the conversation from yesterday in mind, so that affected my viewing of this episode, too.
It starts out kind of wince-worthy (if in a funny way) because Aiba looks like he's getting smacked pretty hard by the black balls in Catching Bridge and you'd think, pft, that's nothing, I'm sure Matsujun hits way harder, but it looks like they really are kind of painful and I swear one tries to go straight for Aiba's very favorite body part. ;___; He doesn't do that great at the game and I kind of want to bop him on the head to tell him to take his jacket off because that probably would have helped a lot. And... did they give the two girls a handicap again? The pink ones are worth 60 and the yellow worth 20? .... *kind of hates a little* I know Japan thinks it's trying to be nice to the girls and I can't say for certain that I wouldn't accept that handicap on a show, too, but as a viewer it kind of makes me hate the way women are treated on this show. Seriously, you don't need a peen to catch a ball that's gently lobbed at you. Which is reflected in a score of 760 for this one goddamned game alone.
I did kind of love Rolling Coin Tower, just for whatever Jun was apologizing for (and, seriously, the look on his face when he looks directly into the camera made me kind of want to duck under the desk for a minute there .__.) and then Jun totally sees that the tower is wobbling when it comes by him and he just waits and sure enough a moment later it falls over and they get the extra 100 points. Nino's little victory run in the background was SO ADORABLE, too.
But then I forgive the show a little for the Catching Bridge because Ohno does a double catch on Falling Pipes with his hand kind of between the red and the gold, but they give him the gold one. Okay, VS ARASHI, I won't give up on you just yet, I guess. *wary* And I have to admit that Ohno did really good here--not that I don't love it when Ohno does well, mind!, more that I don't get why he's their go-to guy when he hadn't really done that well at this game since the first episode--and I'm glad they chose him. Especially when he walks back towards the rest of the group like a king being embraced by his loving subjects. ILUOHNO. <3
And what makes Sho's mad dash around Arashi when he's trying to run for the game funny to me is that... well, if Sho's frustration with being bullied and doubted over his sports ability were real, if we were actually able to see any of it, Arashi themselves would see it ten times more than we do just by watching the broadcasted version. Arashi themselves know Sho way, way better than we do and if they're still giving him shit about it, then I have to think that everything is fine. Even if I wouldn't blame Sho for being frustrated with the audience constantly getting in on the act. But Sho himself is still the one who starts things by trying to run off, when he didn't have to do that. If it bothered him that much, he'd just stop doing it and Arashi would redirect their attention to another target--they haven't bullied Ohno in, like, five whole minutes or made Jun turn into a squishy pile of fashion accessories, they could easily just drop the Sho bullying if they wanted, you know? And there's no way Nino wouldn't notice and get all bitchy defensive of him if Sho needed it, he's totally capable of saying, "Ehhh, well, if it's so easy WHY DON'T YOU GUYS COME UP HERE AND TRY IT THEN?" in a funny way to redirect the flow of the conversation and Nino would, he's the clingy moodmaker of the room and Sho is his BFF. I have to believe that of course he'd notice. <3
Besides, you can totally tell they're all trying not to crack up laughing when Sho does his fake pout after only getting 50 points (which is actually a pretty decent score) and they're doing it because it's amusing. Seriously, Aiba's kind of losing it and Jun's thisclose to cracking up and Sho's having trouble keeping his straight face and it's kind of great. XD
And, well, okay, I have to forgive the show a little (even if I don't really want to) for the double points on Catching Bridge because the two girls still lost even with the extra handicap. orz As much as I disliked that part, though, it's nice to see Arashi finally working well on these games and scoring the points they should. It's also nice to see them fucking with the guests by yanking their prizes away in a totally cute and teasing way.
So, overall. Not my favorite episode, but still worth watching.
♥ - Shounen Club Premium [2008.07.20] Stage Report + One Love + My Answer + Move Your Body - Watching this collection of videos was really fun... well, except for the part where I'm climbing the walls trying to wait for the Dome Tour DVD, which won't be out for aaaaaaages. *cries* It's nice to see new concert clips but it kind of makes the wait even more painful because I want to see the whole thing. They looked really smoking hot during the press conference/interview bit, I love the outfits and I love the hair, even Jun's messy half-permed thing, which really grew on me. Or maybe I'm just willing to be generous because he finally got rid of it the latest Himitsu. :D
Okay, I saved the One Love performance for last because I knew about that one and I knew I was probably going to flail pretty hard and take a whole bunch of caps, but I didn't expect to love the other performances as much as I did. Move Your Body was actually kind of fantastic, I loved the dancing and I loved the song and it's actually-- Jun was actually-- not entirely bad during his parts! Like, ilu a lot Matsumoto, but singing is not your thing, yet he's been doing really well in the last year or so, finding songs that fit him a lot better. It's nice to see Arashi actually moving around again, after all the One Love performances that have hardly had them moving, and it's such a fast, high-energy dance, I love it. *__* I do really love their current songs and all, but I have missed this from Arashi. The entire time I was watching this, I-- I kind of-- I think I might be starting to like Arashi for the music. Just a little bit. orz
Next was My Answer and WOW MATSUMOTO. JUST WHEN I THINK YOU CAN'T OUT GAY YOURSELF IN THE CLOTHES DEPARTMENT, YOU PROVE ME WRONG. That-- That is a pretty spectacular shirt right there. And it's even more... uh... impressive... in full color, wow. The performance/song itself is really fun and upbeat and Arashi continues to actually move around and dance and I'm still really charmed by this. Also, do not think I DID NOT NOTICE THE FANSERVICE. It took me a few tries to go back and watch the Ohno/Sho foot bump while Nino's singing in the front because I got a little distracted with the Aiba/Jun one. Like. I know it's part of the choreography and it doesn't mean anything because Ohno/Sho over there are mirroring it. But the tinhat fangirl heart doesn't want to hear your stupid logic, not when it's an Aiba/Jun matchup in One Love, too.
Overall, I think Move Your Body was more fun, but part of that might have been the clothes, because these were kind of lol and Sho looked pretty smoking hot and it was really light and fun, but. They are not the clothes I would have chosen. The Sho/Ohno interaction in this performance was fun, but still not enough to top Move Your Body for sheer *___* reaction from me. Though, I think I'd probably want to listen to this song more often than the others.
But totally One Love was my favorite performance. Of course it would be, it starts out with Jun making sure everything is fucking perfect for their big gay wedding and Aiba's running late and Sho and Nino are practicing the choreography and kind of goofing off and the stage set looks gorgeous. Jun looks like he's just ~*beaming*~ throughout the entire thing and dancing around more than the others and it's like he's the happiest person ever on the day of their big gay wedding to each other and seriously, Matsumoto. If you're going to look over at Aiba during the part where you cross arms with each other (while Sho and Nino do the same on the other side and actually manage to look where they're supposed to) and have a lovesick idiot expression on your face, you deserve the fic that gets written about you.
When I first saw caps of this I thought the capper had just managed to catch an interesting frame where Jun happened to glance over. Then I saw a second set of caps and Jun was still beaming at Aiba like a lovesick idiot. And then I watched. And, no. No, Jun really is kind of STARING at Aiba with this beautiful look on his face. And, seriously, when they're practically holding hands in the choreography, I just-- You guys deserve your fandom. Never change. ♥
(Not that I blame Jun. God, Aiba's hot in that white suit. *___*)