Finishing Kamen Rider Den-O and My Music Wondering
Den-O is done (well, mostly, since I still haven't seen the movie or the HBV), and I still don't really know what to think of the show as a whole. It has some good episodes, some very hilarious laugh-out-loud moments, but, for the most part, I'm pretty indifferent to it. Sad that my opinions stay more or less the same since seeing the first episode (though I now believe Takeru Sato is a versatile actor; his portrayals of different roles impress me), because I did cherish the hope that they might have undergone a favorable change after more episodes roll around.
(Just a little disclaimer: I (mostly) haven't read other people's thoughts, so if some of what I write here seem familiar, it is most likely not intentional. And not being caught up on Den-O related posts/comments is also an excuse I'll hide behind if I ask silly questions/make nonsense comments here.)
Well, I still don't know who Sakurai-san's actor is, but, as I mentioned in an earlier entry, I'm past caring for that. My thought, as well as I can articulate it, is that it makes absolutely no difference what he looks like. His function in the show does not depend on his looks (though I suppose he should be outwardly pleasant to the eyes, at least). At any rate, for whatever reason, the show producers apparently agree that showing Sakurai-san's face is unnecessary.
Ura turns traitor? I didn't expect it, but I'm not worried at all. Yes, I have blind faith in children's shows. That good always triumphs over evil. My having such an absolute belief sometimes works against me, I think, because that, for me, very much lessens the tension in Ura and Momo's...confrontation scene. I KNOW things will turn out right in the end, so I cannot be upset, no matter how bad things seem at the moment.
I can't help thinking that Kai's actor exaggerates his acting and facial expressions more than necessary, especially in the final episode. In contrast, there is one brief shot of him looking completely serious (and keeping his mouth shut), probably in an episode before the final, that I think I like more than all of his other scenes combined. And, for some reason (since he is, to put it kindly, my least favorite character--an opinion probably not shared by many people), I actually approve of Kai's final plan to just wipe out the era. It is simple; there is no more elaborated plan of trying to get to and/or harm someone first.
I guess I'm a little disappointed that there are no real surprises revealed in the final episodes. Or perhaps I have gotten too lucky at predicting stuff. Either way, despite my fondness for some of the characters, there are still some distances between me and them (I think I probably explained my feeling a little bit better in this entry), so I don't really have anything to hold on to and be sad about.
As a side note, though, I sort of miss an Imagine-possessed!Ryotaro (don't even recall when I last saw any Imagine using his body), mostly because I think Ryo doesn't seem to have any fashion sense. (Yeah, so I'm shallow.)
So I suppose Hana will be traveling with the Imagins to destination unknown. It would be nice if she and they do drop by to visit with Ryotaro from time to time, though.
I'm not very clear whether Airi still has her old memory. But I take it that she no longer does because that (the fact that she does not remember) causes her baby to not exist in this timeline in the first place.
As for Ryotaro, I'm even more unclear about his memory. True, he knows of Hana now, but I notice that he continues to refer to her as "Hana-san" so I'm not sure whether he still remembers who she really is.
Yuuto and Deneb are most likely continuing their stay on ZeroLiner, since Sakurai-san disappears. Drifting around like that is probably rather boring, so I wonder what else they might be up to (doesn't matter whether fanfic-wise or canon-wise, such as in Specials).
And that's about all I have on Den-O for now. While I am glad I stay with the show until the end, I prefer things to be a little more serious overall, I suppose. Still, for those who haven't seen it, do give Den-O a try if you like comedy, and if you think you can trust my recommendation despite my rather lukewarm feeling on the show itself.
This is so irrelevant a comment, but since I just watched Kiva 1 again, the song in the beginning of the scene at the cafe(?) where Megumi is busy terrorizing interrogating Wataru is MIRAGE by AAA (well, not hundred percent sure of the name, but it is one of those scarily upbeat AAA songs nevertheless). Yeah, I'm quite sure that little fact has already been mentioned elsewhere. I'm slow to identify it because I only recently have that song stuck in my head from listening to it endlessly for the better part of the last few days.
On a related note, I'm curious as to how it is decided which specific songs/musical pieces get played in certain scenes in tokusatsu shows. And if it is a fairly popular (and current) song, some ballpark of the amount paid for the song's use. Of course, I suppose the amount probably varies depending on whether it's just for one scene, or for regular usage such as an OP like CLIMAX JUMP.
(Just a little disclaimer: I (mostly) haven't read other people's thoughts, so if some of what I write here seem familiar, it is most likely not intentional. And not being caught up on Den-O related posts/comments is also an excuse I'll hide behind if I ask silly questions/make nonsense comments here.)
Well, I still don't know who Sakurai-san's actor is, but, as I mentioned in an earlier entry, I'm past caring for that. My thought, as well as I can articulate it, is that it makes absolutely no difference what he looks like. His function in the show does not depend on his looks (though I suppose he should be outwardly pleasant to the eyes, at least). At any rate, for whatever reason, the show producers apparently agree that showing Sakurai-san's face is unnecessary.
Ura turns traitor? I didn't expect it, but I'm not worried at all. Yes, I have blind faith in children's shows. That good always triumphs over evil. My having such an absolute belief sometimes works against me, I think, because that, for me, very much lessens the tension in Ura and Momo's...confrontation scene. I KNOW things will turn out right in the end, so I cannot be upset, no matter how bad things seem at the moment.
I can't help thinking that Kai's actor exaggerates his acting and facial expressions more than necessary, especially in the final episode. In contrast, there is one brief shot of him looking completely serious (and keeping his mouth shut), probably in an episode before the final, that I think I like more than all of his other scenes combined. And, for some reason (since he is, to put it kindly, my least favorite character--an opinion probably not shared by many people), I actually approve of Kai's final plan to just wipe out the era. It is simple; there is no more elaborated plan of trying to get to and/or harm someone first.
I guess I'm a little disappointed that there are no real surprises revealed in the final episodes. Or perhaps I have gotten too lucky at predicting stuff. Either way, despite my fondness for some of the characters, there are still some distances between me and them (I think I probably explained my feeling a little bit better in this entry), so I don't really have anything to hold on to and be sad about.
As a side note, though, I sort of miss an Imagine-possessed!Ryotaro (don't even recall when I last saw any Imagine using his body), mostly because I think Ryo doesn't seem to have any fashion sense. (Yeah, so I'm shallow.)
So I suppose Hana will be traveling with the Imagins to destination unknown. It would be nice if she and they do drop by to visit with Ryotaro from time to time, though.
I'm not very clear whether Airi still has her old memory. But I take it that she no longer does because that (the fact that she does not remember) causes her baby to not exist in this timeline in the first place.
As for Ryotaro, I'm even more unclear about his memory. True, he knows of Hana now, but I notice that he continues to refer to her as "Hana-san" so I'm not sure whether he still remembers who she really is.
Yuuto and Deneb are most likely continuing their stay on ZeroLiner, since Sakurai-san disappears. Drifting around like that is probably rather boring, so I wonder what else they might be up to (doesn't matter whether fanfic-wise or canon-wise, such as in Specials).
And that's about all I have on Den-O for now. While I am glad I stay with the show until the end, I prefer things to be a little more serious overall, I suppose. Still, for those who haven't seen it, do give Den-O a try if you like comedy, and if you think you can trust my recommendation despite my rather lukewarm feeling on the show itself.
This is so irrelevant a comment, but since I just watched Kiva 1 again, the song in the beginning of the scene at the cafe(?) where Megumi is busy terrorizing interrogating Wataru is MIRAGE by AAA (well, not hundred percent sure of the name, but it is one of those scarily upbeat AAA songs nevertheless). Yeah, I'm quite sure that little fact has already been mentioned elsewhere. I'm slow to identify it because I only recently have that song stuck in my head from listening to it endlessly for the better part of the last few days.
On a related note, I'm curious as to how it is decided which specific songs/musical pieces get played in certain scenes in tokusatsu shows. And if it is a fairly popular (and current) song, some ballpark of the amount paid for the song's use. Of course, I suppose the amount probably varies depending on whether it's just for one scene, or for regular usage such as an OP like CLIMAX JUMP.