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crimsonblazw · 4 years

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Zero-one is the perfect start to a new generation

artist credit:https://twitter.com/r5WitWG0y8Poz0K/status/1300385462972866560?s=20

Introduction

Kamen rider Zero-one concluded last week and I believe it to be a very strong first entry into the Reiwa era of Kamen rider. On the surface it's back to basics with a grasshopper themed main character and simple animal motifs for his forms and the other riders while the major motif of the season centers around Artificial intelligence and the concepts of free will,dreams,and empathy.

At first glance you'd have several preconceived notions about the series,but there is FAR more than meets the eye.

Story and themes

Structurally this season of KR is made up of bigger arcs (four in total) which break down into smaller two episode arcs that make up the week to week episodes which allowed the show to maximize the monster of the week formula while the main story progresses at it's own pace (the best way to do KR in my opinion), this pairs well with one of Zero-one's biggest strengths; world building.

Each two episode arc explores the humagears' place in society and they're overall relationship with humans leading to a diverse range of dynamics that get explored over the course of the show with very few stones left unturned.

In general the thesis of the show is built on the beliefs of the humagears' creator Hiden Korenosuke,that humagears will help humanity achieve the their dreams.

At first you can take this literally given humagears can be thought of as "tools" for day to day life when in reality they where meant to grow along with humans (in other words reach singularity) and use their own passions and dreams to elevate those of humans and vice versa,the significance being that humans by nature are empathetic and social beings who have only made it so far as a species due to our ability to care for one another, humagears are meant to help humanity achieve our full potential faster.

The challenges this idea faces is a society that not only wants humagears and humans alike to become nothing more than "beasts of burden" for the upper class but also it's mirror opposite;the potential malice and selfishness that ultimately destroys lives and dreams,all of this being synonymous with the classic fiction trope or A.I. and robots representing the inhumane treatment of the common person.

Characters

While the overall show and it's smaller stories make up the backbone of the show the main characters are the heart, having arcs that represent the exact message the themes of the show are trying to communicate.

Aruto Hiden/Zero-one- Our main character. He has the staple good heart of a main rider with a strong belief in the power of dreams.

His arc is flat in order to inspire the other characters around him and further their own growth while having his own convictions tested the challenges of the show. He's very endearing and seeing how he overcomes every obstacle (even when it's crushing him) is the mark of a good main rider.

Izu-Aruto's humagear partner. It's easy to dismiss Izu's growth but her change is present but subtle. She goes from following Korenosuke's initial directives to making her own decisions,she starts off confused by Aruto's jokes but begins repeating them,and she goes from being Aruto's secretary to being his family. The evolution of her and Aruto's relationship is heartwarming and gives them on the best male/female lead dynamic in the franchise.

Fuwa/Vulcan-He starts as a staunch humagear hating foil to Aruto and a rather typical secondary rider. But after discovering his entire mindset has been "crafted" by those who want to control him his arc blossoms into a great story of a man taking back control of his life and rejecting the false and toxic ideals forced on to him, resulting in arguably the best arc in the show.

Yua/Valkyrie- While her arc can be easy to miss she represents those who unintentionally surrender their personhood to those above them while believing they retain their independence. Despite some lacking screentime she does recognize her worth and atonomy and reclaims her life (not unlike her partner Fuwa) and I hope future female riders follow her example (but with more screentime).

Horobi and Jin- Our two initial villains and the heads of the humagear terrorist cell Metsubojinrai.net.

Horobi begins as a steadfast believer in his "master" the Ark and shares it's beliefs in the extermination of humanity, beliefs he tries to pass to his "son" Jin who has concerns about their violent and forceful methods before becoming indoctrinated.

As the show goes on Jin begins to develop his own beliefs separate from Horobi while Horobi begins to experience a crisis of faith. They're dynamic is unique in KR and their arc is a perfect representation of the kinds of toxic concepts that can be passed down from parent to child but with time can be unlearned.

Gai/Thouser- One of the two major villains in the show. In many ways he's a more serious version of Dan from Ex-aid, his main position in this story being a stand-in for the greedy ruling class who will destroy as many lives as they want so long as they get what they want.

He's genuinely impressive in terms of how well calculated his plan is and absolutely loathsome for the fact he essentially caused everything wrong in the series. His eventual "redemption" is VERY hard to swallow but for food or ill does fit with the shows themes of overcoming our worst aspects and also doesn't bend over backwards to make him sympathetic.

Naki/Raiden-the other two members of Metsubojinrai.net. Wish they had gotten more screentime, especially since Naki seemed like a character that would have been cool to see more of. I do like them still and think it's cool they got their own happy endings.

The final arc

This deserves it's own section. The final arc is one of the most bold and interesting final arcs in the franchise and in my opinion is the best one since Drive.

The asset that really makes this part of the show work is the "final boss" the Ark. Despite seeming like a generic "evil entity" final boss commonly seen in toku the Ark is a methodical and truly evil being.

The Ark represents the darkest parts of human existence, mainly that our compassion/love can be easily turned into malice when the hardships of the world take it's tole on us.

Going deeper the ark's "philosophy" can also be seen as a parallel to those who think humanity is better off destroyed because of humans alleged inherent cruelty,not realizing that not only are humans not inherently cruel but that mindset is at most a trauma based response to the hardships of the world or a hypocritical mindset that give those who think it a free pass to be malicious and hateful while thinking they're "enlightened" for recognizing the alleged folly of man.

The Ark utilizes these concepts in it's final plan when it manipulates Aruto and Horobi take each other to their lowest points by having them kill each other's most treasured person,the duel between the two fueling human/humagear tension to the point of war,and it did this all without being around for most of it.

Aruto is so besides himself with grief that he essentially abandons his dream,I think what stood out to me was Fuwa attempting to stop Aruto and pointing out that Aruto is where he used to be,full of rage and hatred that can only be overcome with someone else showing you genuine empathy, which is what Fuwa is attempting to give to Aruto as a parallel to when Aruto did it for him.

The final battle is not only between Horobi and Aruto but between Malice and empathy. And in the end the two breaking down and recognizing each other's pain with Aruto winning but sparing Horobi is the final "test" of what fully realized empathy is.

Outro

2020 has been rough. I think more than ever we see what's wrong with the world and what we need to do to fix it. Whether it was intentional or not Zero-one was the rider I think we needed right now.

In a society that doesn't value empathy ,unity,or dreams we have to elevate each other and hold on to our passions and dreams for the future.

Thanks for reading ! Please like and share ! And feel free to share your thoughts. Keep your eyes peeled for future posts! Best wishes friend

#kamen rider #zero one #toku #tokusatsu #hiden aruto #izu #fuwa isamu #yaiba yua #horobi #jin #gai amatsu #the ark #humagears #kamen rider vulcan #kamen rider valkyrie #metsubojinrai #review

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shauta · 4 years

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alright i think im awake enough to talk about my thots on zero-one from break up to episode 44 so spoilers after the cut in case you havent caught up or youre planning on watching it

so first i guess i should mention the presidential specials, which were just 2 glorified recap episodes that also introduced azu (finally) and the creation of the ark-one key. they are what they are and i get having to just shove it into recap episodes that were released during the point where it was still pretty risky to have actors do anything outside of their homes so i dont really feel much toward them

to the actual point of this, episodes 36-41 i would call good for the most part, there are some things that had to get sidelined due to covid, like fuwa and yua’s whole thing having to be condensed into a scene or two of them talking to Ai, the therapy robot, but it was still alright all things considered and i cant blame them too much since something like this during the airing of rider has never really happened. in regards to the thousman’s redemption, it kinda felt like a mix of covid interference and general not knowing how to properly give such a horrible man any kind of redemption. like, i’ll admit, his backstory about his robot dog named thouser (hilarious) almost got me until he pulled the “youre the only motherfucker that can handle me” with Sony’s New Product Placement Toy, which made it wrap around from being almost decent to funny in a bad kind of way. also the thing with him committing fucking humagear crimes being born from a love of hiden intelligence was so damn stupid, like are they telling me he couldnt have done the things he did out of like jealousy or some blind belief that hiden’s dreams are foolish or something?? fuck man, that was just really dumb. also how much did sony pay to have them shove so much goddamn footage of aibo into that episode

ark zero’s introduction was pretty cool, with him just outright fucking possessing horobi and, at first, making his body move unnaturally until he transformed. that was kinda sick. i feel like the cut to yua being outright terrified of ark would have had more impact had she done more stuff in the show, but i think thats genuinely a good way to show how strong/scary a new enemy can be. im also so glad that naki got their own suit and shit, since i remember us hoping that they would at least use the assault wolf key, but kamen rider naki is just so much cooler. thanks so fucking much kamen rider zero-one

also with ark when aruto just lost to him and got scared that maybe his ideals werent totally right, since in his ideal dream world it is technically possible for an ai to become as corrupted like satellite ark and him having to reaffirm what he believes in after fukuoze comes to him and is like “i need shesta back so we can kick gai out” was good imo. i liked that episode. also the episode where izu ran through multiple simulations was kinda fucked but it ended with her being able to make shit appear in her hands so good for her :)

then with the last of the ark zero shit, horobi uhhhh. hes there. he realizes that maybe sometimes it good to make choices for yourself, i guess. the teamup with him and zero-two was really cool, though. liked that and i liked raiden working with subaru again to take down ark. mostly a good episode if you like the fact that horobi will never change.

i think ive said everything i want to about the episodes i liked so now its time to talk about episodes 42-44, or where zero-one just takes a nosedive into confusing choices that i believe are genuinely bad. to start of with, izu dies. i would feel something about this moment if kamen rider didnt pull this shit all the goddamn time and also if i wasnt at least 50% confident that takahashi is gonna bring her back in some form during the finale like he did with poppy ex-aid. also this is the catalyst that makes aruto turn into ark-one, ditching zero-two after like. two episodes. incredible. this is dumb as hell, im not gonna try to pretend it isnt, because it is far too late in the show for this to happen, even with covid fucking up schedules. there is no reason for aruto to just ditch his morals and become the ultimate evil of zero-one because izu died. this isnt what she would want you moran!! and like, i get it, kind of. they wanted to show that not even good boy aruto, our heroic protagonist, is immune to having malicious feelings. i get killing off izu so aruto can feel malice towards horobi. turning him into ark-one is just dumb imo and they should have done something like his malice being what summons the ark again, but either in a shiny new body, or him using azu, i guess. either way theres no need for aruto to become ark-one.

this part is just nitpicky but during the ark-one fights where it would cut away to ark-one in total darkness, i think it could have been utilized better. like him dodging the shots and attacking everyone else while cutting to those shots would have been really good... had horobi also been visible during the shots they cut to when he was fighting him. like, theres some good potential for symbolism (? i dont really remember film terms too well but i do know what im talking about) here where he just doesnt see anything, except for horobi, who he wants to kill as revenge for izu. it couldve been cool even though this whole thing was really dumb imo!! but it kinda just ended up being a bit confusing in the end.

speaking of dumb shit, i think the fuwa and aruto fight in 44 was wasted in the end. orthoros vulcan is a dope recolor of assault wolf and it had retractable naki claws, so it at least gets points for that. but aruto transforms into zero-two for the first time in 2 episodes which doesnt make sense at first glance since hes ark-one now, but i think they were intending for this fight to be a callback to when zero-one and vulcan were first fighting, which is actually really cool if they meant for it to be this. which i believe so but you never know. anyway this fight was wasted because it doesnt seem to do much?? unless right at the start of 45 aruto’s gonna be like “nah, im not actually gonna fight you, since nobody wants that” but even then, going up to horobi and risking a full on war of humagears against humans is still stupid. why would he do that if he learned from his fight with fuwa. also this would have been a cool moment for fuwa to turn aruto’s catchphrase against him!! it would have been so fucking sick for fuwa at one point to say something like “theres only one person who can save you, and that’s me!” like fuck!!!!! that would be so cool!!!!! im genuinely upset this didnt happen im not even joking

i think this post went off the rails because i never learn that i cant extensively talk about kamen rider or other interests without becoming incredible incoherent so im ending the post here. thanks if you were able to actually read through this mess and also i do think for the most part kamen rider zero-one is a season worth watching. just maybe not the last 4 episodes.

#canned beef #i really thought i was gonna get away with writing something anybody other than me could understand lmao #next time i plan to do this please shut it down immediately unless i can get like. an editor or some shit

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toku-explained · 4 years

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The Terrorist leader and the President

Versus Road: The first thing to note is we finally have a seemingly full explanation of the flashbacks. But we know it's not the last time Kuon has had to do that for Hoshiai. We also learn, via Hoshiai protecting Kuon, that if you can get back into the arena after being knocked out you are safe. Hyuuga is taking a greater interest in Kanata and Amou now. Whatever Azami did is clearly affecting Kuon now, making him more willing to kill, and he may have a point, though he and Hoshiai would still rather not be murderers. As Amou gets ideas of challenging the Horrors, the count gets brought down to 10, before Amou actually tries it. And we get shown that Azami has been controlling the Horrors, keeping them from getting too murder happy. And once she's corrupted Kuon's perception of Hoshiai enough, well....holy shit. Hoshiai was not a Horror yet. It was happening, but his actions prove it was not complete. I think the only other time this has really happened was in one of the later episodes of the original Garo. There have been close calls, Sigma, Hakana both come to mind, but those were both due to long-term exposure to pieces of legendary Horrors, and were going to become Horrors, rather than possession. Hoshiai manages to give Kuon a few last words. We're 8 players left, half the series to go, and Kuon is the only player we can even remotely safely give the armour. Full context on the flashback as the credit play.

Zero-One: Okay, good, they establish immediately that Horobi throwing himself of the attack meant by Jin was parental instinct, as he's confused by it, rather than just acting according to the Ark's Will. So congratulations Horobi, it took you 3/4s of the series, but you finally acted as a parent. And Fuwa is able to get through to Naki, cutting off the control, at least for the moment. Amatsu immediately goes in with damage control, though for the most part he is honest, the fact is he hasn't done anything to actually prevent the ZAIA Specs being hacked, if Naki is controlled again they're done. Fuwa is...a normal person. And holy shit, Horobi looks like he's actually considering what Aruto says. If Horobi can be convinced to think for himself, that might solve everything. Naki coming in and hacking the Gigers and the AIMS soldiers. Horobi doesn't align with Aruto, but he doesn't outright dismiss his dream, and even thinks to himself it might be possible. And at last, for the first time, all 4 members of MetsubouJinrai.net are united once more.

Kiramager: So we're seeing the team start to develop their own Kiramnentality more now. It's interesting Shiguru kept all the fan letters given his obvious discomfort with her affection. I do love that the Mashin all called him out on his non-rejection of her as well. And I am amazed that joke with the hot dog paid off, well played. And King Express isn't guaranteed to work, we now know. And Sayo masterfully handling Iyo at the end, because she's the best.

We're not getting much in the way of new story for Super Hero Time for at least 3 weeks, Zero-One at least seems to be getting some plot in. And next week's episode of VR, which wasn't in the cards at the start of the series, looks like it's just going to be cast discussion of where we're at. Versus Road is definitely all filmed though, so don't worry about that being cut short. So unless there's some major new info in Zero-One next time, I'll be back with an update in 2 weeks.

#toku explained #garo #kamen rider zero one #mashin sentai kirameiger

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venus-says · 4 years

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Kamen Rider Zero-One Episodes 34-35

What a beautiful family reunion.

Is for times like that I wish I had stuck to my original plan and done a podcast out of this blog just so I could do my best (that would still be very bad) Cardi B impression to say "shit is getting real" because this written down doesn't have the same effect. But, DAMN SHIT IS GETTING REAL.

We're only up to episode 35, this in a Corona-less world would mean we would have at least more 10 episodes of this before the ending, which is a pretty lengthy road, but I'm already feeling like we're entering the end game. The time for (not so) funny jokes is almost over, we're getting into serious business here and I'M EXCITED THE HELL OUT OF IT. I've been feeling too positive about Zero-one recently, this is a weird feeling, I don't know how to handle this.

Watching these two episodes was kinda like watching one of those JRPGs where the combat happens in a board like a strategy game, you know? It was putting everything in place for the ending to begin. We had Gai ready to follow his armament agenda, Naki is now out of Fuwa's brain, Horobi got Ikazuchi's data and now metsuboujinrai is complete again. The miniatures are on the board just waiting for the roll of the die to start moving towards their objectives, and from what we saw in this episode they're going to go all out.

As I mentioned in my previous post the low point of this episode was the "Humagear of the week" plot, given that at least this time it was somewhat connected with the plot, but I still think it didn't add much. But it was nice they setting up the parallel between Horobi and the farmer Dad (and then later on with Aruto), it was a bit on the nose and pretty obvious what they were trying to accomplish, but since they were successful (at least on my eyes) I think it's okay.

My favorite thing about these episodes was definitely Fuwa and Naki's split.

I was concerned seeing Yua teaming up with metsuboujinrai, but I'm glad apparently this was a one-time-only thing, and it makes sense that she agreed on taking Naki out of Fuwa's brain because even if they were in peace there would always have a possibility of Fuwa being hijacked again, so it would be both helpful to her allies and it would also serve as a way to try to compensate for what she has done and move on. And this split was very beneficial to the show because I LOVE NAKI and I'm glad to see them integrated with the cast. I love how OP they are, and I love how bloodlust for ZAIA and Gai they seem to be, when I saw them stopping the entirety of Gai's army without a sweat I was jumping in my chair. And I hope that there will have consequences after they messed with the ZAIA specs and put everyone in berserk, if we come back and Gai/ZAIA don't get backlash out of this I'll call bs. But the best thing for sure of this split was seeing Naki and Fuwa interacting, and Naki telling Fuwa's real past and it being "pedestrian and tedious" and having Fuwa being made fun out of it. I love that moment. XD

But these episodes weren't just for that, I think what they did here was something similar to what they've done with Naki in the model episode by planting a seed that would lead to a new awakening for Horobi related to his background as a Father-type Humagear trying to prepare the ground for a possible redemption later on which I think I'd like to see. But it appears that the show wants to make metsuboujinrai be the final villains and not Gai so I think this will lead to a path of a lot of destruction that will probably eventually mean neither of the 4 generals will get to live alongside the good guys. Which is sad because Jin, Naki, and Horobi, all seemed to have been doing some progression that could be used as a plot point and a justification for their redemption but it felt like all this progress was lost once they decided to get the gang together again.

But even taking that into consideration I'm really looking forward to what this arc will deliver to us in the future. I'M FINALLY CAUGHT UP!!! YES! And I managed to do it before the show began airing again, yes! I'm considering if I should cover the specials that aired in the past few weeks, I thought they were just recaps but I saw people saying there was some new stuff in there, but I don't know how much of that is true or not. Let me know if you all would be interested in that, and also let me know what are your thoughts on this set of episodes. I think that's all for me, folks. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thanks so much for reading, and until the next time. Bye~

#Kamen Rider Zero One #kamen rider

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firebirdsdaughter · 3 years

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…

… Okay, I swear to the gods, if I have to sit through more Izu-based manpain or whatever…

It’s not Fumiya at all, but I have to admit I heard the drama-saturated ‘Izu…’ in the trailer and just… 🙄

To be fair… I don’t think we got it that much in the actual show, but I think the last arc just… Sapped any sympathy I might’ve had. And let’s be real, the fact that the trailer is taunting me w/ what looks like Horobi and Fuwa w/in ten feet of each other means I will sit through it, I just…

I’ve driven this into the ground, so I see no point in going into detail here, but I just do not see the difference between this allegedly ‘new’ Izu and the ‘old’ one. None of her memories changed her, she was just ‘everything as master Aruto wishes’ right to the end. Trying to make ‘drama’ out of her being ‘different’ is immediately gonna have me rolling my eyes. Nothing was lost, get over yourself, show. Aruto didn’t suffer anymore consequences than Gai did. (actually no, no: I’m going to call myself on that. He did see someone he cared about, albeit in a kind problematic way, ‘die’ and blow up, that’s more consequences for just bad decision making than Gai got for active malice)

And I’m… I’m gonna say it.

I’m tired of Aruto and Izu.

Additionally, I just, personally, do not see the appeal. They were literally… One of the most boring relationships in the show to me. And they were like… Always together in show. Like, I know that he’s the mc and she’s the ‘main girl,’ but… Would it have killed the writers to let them fully develop bonds w/ other characters? Izu it esp bothers me bc it just fed into the ‘only exists to serve Aruto’ thing. I wanted to see her interact w/ Fuwa and Yua, get proper development via Jin and Horobi, kinda curious about her and Naki, just a bit. (it’s showing that I had more interest in Izu than Aruto, isn’t it…)

But no, she essentially only appeared hovering at Aruto’s elbow, ready to serve him, and it… Irritated me. They didn’t feel like a real relationship? Bc Aruto was just all ‘Izu’s so perfect, she’s such an angel just like a HumaGear should be!’ and Izu was all just ‘my life revolves around Aruto-shachou!’

Like, there were some sneezes towards more rounded relationships for them in the start, but at the end… They literally had no relationships w/ anyone but the… Kinda ‘huh’ one w/ each other. And that’s, like, a) not healthy, for either of them, esp for Izu, but for either of them, and b)… Really… Boring. For lack of a better word. I found both characters much more engaging (setting aside other stuff) when… They were interacting w/ other people. I want to see them (esp Izu) be allowed to have relationships w/ other people that they actually, like, are invested in.

Fuwa and Horobi are getting shot at by a jet. Jin’s getting the damn jet dropped on him while saving Fuwa (I might’ve said he deserved it in another conversation but I didn’t mean it like that). Naki’s having a wonderfully photogenic day while sitting in the rubble looking rather sad. Ikazuch might only have one scene in the whole movie. Yua’s fighting an army on her own. There’s plenty of other people in danger and getting hurt. I don’t think we need more of Aruto whining and moaning and raging and going nutty again bc something something Izu.

And even putting aside my issues w/ the way their relationship was presented, the fact that I can’t sympathise w/ melodrama about Izu ‘dying’ bc she’s exactly the same, nothing was lost… The ‘designated damsel’ is a really tired trope, imo. Again, the manpain. Why is Izu’s only function to stand around gazing lovingly at Aruto and then to ‘get hurt’ and make him ‘rage,’ as an anon I am still working on summarised it, pretty much. Like… I know people were throwing the ‘sexy leg lamp’ at Yua (which I disagree w/, I think she fared slightly better than that), but that same ask I’ve yet to post pointed out that, ultimately, Izu was the sexy leg lamp, and I was like ‘oh my gods, you’re right.’ She started out pretty well, but in the end, even her ‘contribution’ was… Adoring Aruto like she was programmed to do? But I’m digressing into details again.

My point is that, even setting aside all my other issues w/ how they were portrayed, the bare bones trope of ‘girl who literally is only there to be the ‘pure angel’ and then get hurt to upset the hero for drama’ is tired. And they already played that card, and really badly. Now, if I thought this was going to be Izu taking responsibility for her part in the incident that led to her getting blown up, or even Aruto learning to take responsibility (or, admittedly, just… Anyone recognising their responsibility in that incident, rather than trying to pretend it was all Horobi’s fault, bc that was a case of everyone having a piece of the fault), then I might be swayed… But I find it highly unlikely (admittedly, like I’ve said before, I consider Izu and Horobi the least responsible for what happened, they should never have been left alone together, he was volatile and she did not have the wherewithal to properly talk him off the ledge, someone w/ emotional maturity should have gotten in there).

So it’s like… A perfect storm. I know I’m preaching to a choir and calling water wet to be complaining about this kind of overused sexism in KR, but… W/ the addition of how poorly handled it was at the end of the show and the way both characters were treated… It just increases my frustration and annoyance tenfold.

I just… I really hope we’re not rehashing for… Oh, gods, for a third time. Bc this happened w/ Baby Jin, too. Bc you know, it’s the five year old’s fault the homicidal satellite that brainwashed his father gave him weapons. -_-

And the worst part is, bc Eden’s human, what do you wanna bet he’s gonna be getting away w/ it.

#Firebird Negativity #PLEASE #enough #I beg #we don't need a THIRD go of Aruto's 'pet AI' to be really harsh getting 'hurt' and him going nutty over it #esp after how badly it was written the first two times #also just #tired of this trope #tired of Izu ONLY existing to serve Aruto #tired of Aruto only caring about Izu #tired of Izu drama #tired of Aruto's Izu manpain #I liked him better when he got mad for other people's sake too…#those two need a break from each other honestly

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firebirdsdaughter · 4 years

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39 + Horobi/Fuwa (Horobi is apparently able to cry now?)

39 = Kissing tears from the other’s face.

Apparently, Horobi can cry.

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The silence was deafening.

There were no loud sobs, or even whimpers. In fact, Fuwa couldn’t even tell if the HumaGear was breathing—well, technically he wasn’t, but Vulcan couldn’t see even the slight movement of the mimic breathing programmed into every HumaGear. No, Horobi was just… Sitting there on the ground, staring at nothing like he had been in the basement, just this time with tears running down his face.

Though… Were those even tears, technically? Fuwa wasn’t sure—he certainly had no idea how they would work if they were. This was truly a place he never would have imagined being, kneeling on the floor beside the HumaGear who was involved in Daybreak, watching him cry—and he still wasn’t entirely following the course of events that had lead them there. But he’d also never expected to find that same HumaGear… Attractive, wasn’t expecting the sight of him in tears to feel like a knife to the lungs, but here he was.

… He really wished Horobi would say something. Make a sound. Move. Anything. But the HumaGear had been silent ever since he’d gotten them out of the open and away from both Amatsu and Williamson; just dropped back to the floor once more, the tears still coming.

He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously, swallowing, which sounded to him unbearably loud in the quiet filling the room. “… I’m sorry.” No reaction. “… You alright?” The question felt weak, especially after the meltdown he had just witnessed—and still, the HumaGear said nothing.

Vulcan swallowed, biting his lip and taking a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do. Gentleness had never been his forte—Yaiba was one thing, a predictable human. But Horobi was an enigma (a very… Alluring enigma) to start with, and after losing Jin… But he couldn’t just sit there and watch the HumaGear weep.

Moving slowly, he gently set a hand on Horobi’s shoulder—and received a surprise when, without so much as glancing up, the HumaGear tilted sideways into him with a soft, almost… Relieved sigh. Emboldened a bit, Vulcan cautiously slipped his arm around Horobi’s shoulders, tugging him closer, ever so slightly, and heard another small sound. The HumaGear moved finally, one hand crawling up to grab a handful of Fuwa’s shirt, holding on tightly.

Vulcan’s heart sped up, leaping into his throat, multiple emotions coursing through him at once. Horobi shifted nearer, motions slow, as if being drawn in in some sort of trance, like the one Fuwa felt like he was falling into. The world was shrinking down to just them, just the thin body in his arms—this close to each other, he could feel Horobi trembling, huddling against him. Like the proximity was comforting—if that was true…

Seized by a sudden urge of either confidence or idiocy, Vulcan hesitantly reached out, slipping his fingers under Horobi’s chin. Reminding himself repeatedly that he was holding something fragile, he slowly raised his hand, gently tilting the HumaGear’s face upward, turning it slightly toward him. They’d been this close before—but that time he had been clenching handfuls of Horobi’s collar, fuming while the HumaGear stared back at him with contempt and disgust. This was… The bare agony in Horobi’s features made his heart ache, but… There was also something… Deeper. Different.

Their foreheads touched before Vulcan realised he was leaning further forward, and he faltered there anxiously—but the HumaGear didn’t move away at all. In fact, he seemed to… Relax.

Experimentally, Fuwa let his thumb slip upward to trail delicately along the curve of Horobi’s lower lip. A different kind of shiver ran through the HumaGear, and Vulcan felt a light tug on his shirt. The tears were still running down Horobi’s cheeks, and his eyes were even red, as if they had blood vessels, but the look in them… The HumaGear wasn’t trying to pull away, the opposite, even, and he didn’t seem to mind how Fuwa was still holding his chin. “Horobi…?” His voice was less than a whisper, trying to ask so much with only one word. Horobi looked so overwhelmingly delicate and broken, the urge to keep holding him, comfort him, to… To love him was incredibly powerful. But at the same time…

Very slightly, the HumaGear nodded, and Vulcan felt another hand latch onto his clothes, pulling, Horobi settling into his hold. Pleading filled the wide, soulful eyes, fixed on his. His heart went even faster, hammering against his ribs—but it didn’t matter.

With the same deliberate care, he closed the rest of the distance between them, pressing his lips to the HumaGear’s. Horobi moulded into the kiss with a small whimper, lips parting, clutching and pulling at Vulcan’s clothes like he was trying to crawl right into Fuwa’s ribcage. He was weak and and sluggish, but was definitely kissing back eagerly, the trembling slowly fading away. Vulcan wrapped around him as best he could, the hand on the HumaGear’s chin slipping around to hold the back of his head, pulling him deeper.

As Horobi finally relaxed completely, Fuwa began to move. His lips trailed off the HumaGear’s, moving across his cheek. Slowly, he traced upward, following the trail of the tears, kissing them away, watching Horobi’s eyes close. They were, indeed, water, though not salt water, and the mystery of where they were actually coming from had completely vanished from his mind by the time he reached the arch of the HumaGear’s cheek. Gingerly, he brushed his lips over Horobi’s eyelid, and the small, but genuinely delighted sound that he got in return spurred him to do the same with the other eye before moving back down that cheek to wipe the rest of the tears away with more kisses.

The HumaGear did nothing but cling to him until Fuwa’s mouth found his again, and then they were kissing again in that soft, tender way that Vulcan would never have expected from Horobi. He’d always… Imagined (dreamed, corrected a little voice in the back of his mind that sounded obnoxiously like Naki) that the HumaGear would be as fierce and demanding in intimacy as he was in everything else—then again, perhaps he would have been… If his entire world hadn’t just shattered again.

Fuwa felt guilt clawing at his stomach for his part in everything that had happened, a thought passed through his mind that he didn’t deserve to be here, holding Horobi in his arms and kissing those perfect lips while the HumaGear clung to him as if for dear life. But then Horobi whimpered again, sounding slightly less pitiful, and that idea faded away again, lost in just how beautiful the moment was, how wonderful it was to kiss him, the relief that the HumaGear didn’t seem to be crying anymore.

Letting his eyes close, losing himself in the kiss, his last truly coherent thought was that this was, truly, the last place he every thought he’d be.

And yet, right now, there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kisses for sad robot dad. TT^TT

Yay! Got one done!

I have others! And I will work on them!

But I am going to start the process of going to bed, bc I have been ridiculously exhausted for the last few days.

send me a number and a pairing and I will (very slowly) write a thing

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firebirdsdaughter · 4 years

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…

… Today on ‘Are we watching the same show?’…

I have literally just a comment saying Gai in now one of the ‘saddest’ characters in KR, un-ironically, bc of this ep, and then another saying that they’ve forgiven him bc ‘locking up part of what you love is painful.’

…

……

………

PEOPLE DIED.

He shot Naki.

He was horrible to Yua and ordered her to kill Fuwa, and maybe had those two other AIMS guys killed (or where they the ones that came back?).

He had Fuwa kidnapped (?) from his family and implanted w/ false, traumatising memories.

Which also shows he understood perfectly well that the Daybreak Incident was horrible and painful and traumatising and would permanently scar anyone involved.

He knowingly, deliberately created the Ark.

God knows what else he did.

He shot Naki.

HOW MANY DIFFERENT WAYS DO I HAVE TO REMIND YOU PEOPLE DIED????

This isn’t Tomoya from Ultraman Ginga. I hated what Parad’s arc in Ex-Aid, and it was better than this, bc at least Parad had some of a point about videogame characters being made to die, even if it didn’t actually really apply to him. Parad’s brain also worked completely differently than a humans and while I think the bungled it, part of the point was making him understand human emotion.

Gai is completely human. Gai is forty-five. He’s not some innocent young kid who’s under pressure from his father to get good grades anymore. He had plenty of time to have other experiences and to learn. They had plenty of time to introduce him having something deeper than basic pettiness much earlier. They choose to make him do all that stuff w/ no sign or remorse, but suddenly he’s being forgiven bc it’s ‘painful’??? I’m sorry, but I refuse to believe you can get through life acting like Amatsu Gai and never have anyone call you out on it ever. There’s no way. There would have been something that would eventually have led to some kind of intervention.

No. I do not forgive Gai. I refuse to accept ‘oh, he was just a sad little sheltered boy.’ This is like trying to claim Nanba took the Nanba Children in out of the goodness of his heart, that he did everything he did bc ‘he was just a lonely man who wanted a family.’ This is like trying to force sympathy onto Banno. This is why I didn’t watch the Build follow up film bc it tried to do something slightly like this to Evolt, who, while he is an alien who clearly is operating off a completely different card deck and also has the ‘brain works in a different way’ thing, was equally as awful. They’re trying to pull a Sonozaki Ryuubei or Sonozaki Saeko. But w/ Ryuubei, it was made clear he was completely deluding himself and was completely mentally imbalanced by that point, and Saeko they steadily, slowly introduced her issues early and just built upon them (even as early as the first ep when Wakana arrives late to dinner). Saeko was a murderer and an abuser, and they managed to make me feel pity for her bc of how Ryuubei was presented. I also felt pity for Ryuubei, too, bc they showed him to be a complex man from the start, and so the reveal of his descent into crazed obsession was more believable. Had Saeko lived, she would have needed to go to prison at the least, but I was pretty sure early on she wasn’t going to make it anyway. Ryuubei there was no way he’d be taken alive.

Slapping the ‘had a bad childhood/demanding parents’ card on someone does not automatically make them sympathetic. W/ Kuroto, Masamune was like, a scale up from his insanity, so it made sense that he had attributed to causing Kuroto. What we now know of Gai’s past does not justify… This.

Like, let’s take a look at Gentoku. Despite the fact that they established at the start, about the light effecting people’s minds, Gentoku goes through a massive knocking down a peg, multiple pegs, for his crimes. He’s in the same situation as Fuwa and Yua under Nanba, w/ the added edge of him having convinced himself the only way he can make up for what he did is try to do what he can to fulfil his father’s dream of reuniting the country. He kills Akaba, but refuses to kill noncombatants. Then, when he realises that Nanba intends to kill his father, he goes and throws himself on the heroes’ mercy and literally begs them for help, and they agree bc they want to save his father, too—but, in the end, his father dies in his arms. But even after all this, Gentoku still doesn’t forgive himself. He’s the one regularly bringing up his crimes regularly. When Ryuuga goes to him looking for help, he looks him right in the eye and literally says ‘I killed your girlfriend.’ When Katsuragi throws a fit at him, he just accepts it, acknowledges everything. Doesn’t try to make excuses, even though he knows he has the ‘reason’ of the Box fucking up his brain. Even though he’s also suffered massively. He never forgets. Despite the fact that he’s incredibly tragic, he never tries to garner sympathy for himself. He recognised everything he did wrong.

And the two most important things about all of these? One is that there were early hints about there being more to the characters than just being cruel or doing terrible things (not quite as much w/ Kuroto, but it was kinda there? I don’t have specific examples), there was build up for these developments and reveals. Another was that there was someone trying to do something significantly worse appearing in the running. For Gentoku it was Nanba and then Evolt’s plans, for Kuroto is was Parad and then Masamune, for Saeko it became the Foundation X dude.

Gai has never shown any signs of remorse or a more human side. I would also hesitate to call the Ark ‘worse’ than him, she’s just better at what she’s doing. They both use their ‘underlings’ as tools, resort to mind control, cruelty, and abuse. The Ark wants to wipe out humans, while Gai wants to wipe out HumaGear. They could have made it work w/ the Ark overpowering him and Gai crawling back in and being forced to beg for help, or choose between helping stop the Ark proper and giving everything up or something worse. Do what they did w/ Kuroto, imprison him, but keep him as a resource. This just feels like ‘oh, crap, better pin a sob story on the human villain bc we need to make the satellite he drove homicidal and then the HumaGear that she, as a result of learning from Gai, put forcibly under mind control for more than a decade, stripped of all chances at possibly reaching singularity, all awareness of free will from seem ‘worse’!’

It just feels forced. There’s no other way around it.

#Firebird Negativity #Firebird Opinions #there are ways to make people sympathise for characters who have done terrible things #for me Saeko's plot bloody nailed it #I felt bad for her but she was a TERRIBLE person #if she'd survived she would have needed to be imprisoned at the least #Gai has NONE of the tics #he's never shown ANY sign of any humanity #never been ANY sign of ANY of this #and there's no need for it #none of the feeling to 'escalation'#it's just 'quick gotta try to make the Ark look 'worse''#'quick flip it to the nonhuman villains can't let a human stay evil!'#-_-#forgive Gai #his life was so 'painful'#gtfo #his sob story does NOT justify all this #PEOPLE DIED

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firebirdsdaughter · 4 years

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What’s hilarious [read: ridiculous] to me…

… Is that Horobi and Yua actually follow a fairly parallel path in their responses to their situations (I had a whole realisation about how Horobi-Fuwa-Naki-Yua are a four way parallel today; Horobi-Fuwa are parallels and Naki-Yua are parallels, but then their actions crisscross parallel). But there’s a massive double standard in how the two characters are reacted to… Despite the fact that Yua is a fully mentally matured and developed human adult and Horobi is an AI that has been hacked and brainwashed for the past decade in a way that forcibly stunted his development.

Yua was in a horrid and toxic work environment w/ an abusive boss. Now, admittedly, Gai kept a large amount of his worse deeds from her and to a point one could justify it as her thinking she’s acting for the greater good… Until we get to the part where it becomes abundantly clear she knows very well that what they’re doing is at the least morally questionable… But doesn’t try to defect at all, even to the point of insisting it’s of her own free will. Yes, she had a chip in her head, too, but given her reactions to him torturing Fuwa, she doesn’t seem to have known he could do that, and she didn’t know about Naki, nor did she have an AI drone in her mind. Now this is not to blame Yua—in fact, the point is that she was a victim in a bad situation. Her struggle to get out of there was fairly realistic given her situation. But she had the experience to know that what they were doing was wrong. That makes it tragic in it’s own way, yes, that she was under extreme stress and very conflicted, but she was aware of that. She was a fully developed adult. She deliberately pursued Izu w/ the intention of destroying her, and would have had Gai not said the wrong thing and set Fuwa off. And Izu was frightened and trying to run away. She resists Fuwa’s repeated attempts to snap her out of it.

Rightly so, people noted Yua’s situation, were upset for her and felt bad for her. When there were jackasses saying she should die, people called it out as bad. People were cheering for her to get away from Gai. People were happy when she did. And this includes me. I blocked people I saw shitting on Yua and saying she should die bc what the fuck, guys, she was in a seriously messed up situation.

Once free of Gai, Yua is uncertain what to do and decides to try and ‘make up’ for something she feels responsible for in a rather questionable way. She ends up helping the Ark rise and wreak havoc. Still people recognise that she couldn’t have known that would happen. Poor Yua’s been through a lot.

Meanwhile, Horobi is hacked and brainwashed by the Ark twelve years ago. She uses him to cause Daybreak. He is an AI being controlled by a larger AI designed to control HumaGear like him. Unlike and adult human being pressured and manipulated, he is literally incapable of thinking outside the Ark’s will. The Ark has complete control. Even if he did have any experience to compare w/ before, the Ark erases it. He has no frame of reference besides the Ark, no development of any kind to evaluate his situation w/. Even when Jin becomes important to him, everything is through the lens of the Ark, the Ark is more than a god to him. The brainwashing is so deep that even when disconnected for a bit, he can’t be anything besides blindly devoted. Talks about how the Ark is absolute. When confronted w/ something that causes uncertainty, he goes into a full on mental breakdown—literally, should have been a first clue that emotions were never going to come easy for him.

Eventually, he does end up w/ enough experience to just start to begin to break free. Manages to act completely on his own for the first time in his life—not an instinct that the Ark swooped in to take advantage of, he gets to go through w/ it on his own. And he’s floored. He literally cannot fathom why his body moved on its own, as far as he can tell. Can’t understand the fact that he wanted to do something. This is recognised as a big deal (one of the only times anyone tries to actually talk him out of things, in fact, unlike Yua, where there was a lot of effort). Horobi begins to wonder about things outside the Ark’s will, about himself, which he’s never considered before… Only to have it turn out his son was plotting to have the Ark possess him and then kill him to kill her. This completely upends any development he had. He’s re-hacked and rendered as largely a drone when not being possessed.

Finally, someone decides to put effort into him (kinda…) again. And, in a situation that heavily parallels Yua, he ends up finding it in him to break free of the Ark. Only… Again, a lot like Yua, it’s not a clean break. He’s still stuck w/ the past, the conditioning, and the effects of what happened. Additionally, as later becomes clear, his struggling w/ feeling emotions, which he has been carefully conditioned to reject and have no experience w/, for the first time. He’s mentally unstable and volatile. Now, in the show, what happens is the result of Azu/the Ark’s manipulations and people making poor decisions (and I do think you can make an argument for the fact that the Ark was intentionally keeping Horobi from feeling/having any experience w/ emotions to make him even more of a wreck later on), and poking a very volatile bear (well, a highly traumatised child soldier AI who has no fucking clue what emotions are to the point it feels like an outside being controlling him somehow), he lashes out, and Izu calmly stands there and deliberately takes a hit she very clearly sees coming. General chaos ensues. From Horobi’s perspective, the thing he’s been trained to think will get rid of the uncertainty and emotions etc. not only doesn’t work, but it makes him feel worse, and bc he has no other way he knows how to respond, he becomes more aggressive in rejecting those feelings. And then Jin dies, and he completely breaks down.

The reaction he gets? People calling him evil and horrible and saying he should die. That e’s choosing to do these things. People who talk about how Yua can’t really be held accountable, how she was coerced, look at a literal brainwash victim and say he choose to do those things.

Now, obviously, there are differences, which resulted in the different out comes—obviously the whole, one is a fully developed human adult and the other one is an AI. One was externally conditioned, the other, again, literally brainwashed. One had someone fighting to convince them to break free of their situation on a regular basis, repeatedly, constantly, the other didn’t. Yua was always going to have an easier break than Horobi, bc she had more mental and emotional maturity, but bc of that, esp in regards to actions done whilst under the ‘control’ of others, she has more responsibility for her actions bc she was capable of identifying them as wrong.

Now, of course, both situations are bad for the people involved. Both of them are victims.

But the issue is that people seem to be all over how Yua was a victim, Yua was mistreated… While attacking Horobi (and being upset about Izu dying is one thing, although, again, the person really responsible for that was Azu/th ark(well, Gai for creating her), Horobi was pretty much used as a weapon there, but this is for stuff he did while mind controlled).

And I used Yua just bc she and Horobi had the most parallel responses to their situations. The same goes for being able to see Fuwa as a victim, or Naki (so if Naki is the one who gave Horobi the ZetsumeRise Keys, does that make them responsible for Operation MaGear, or bc they gave Horobi the ForceRiser and said to use it on Jin, are they responsible for that? Bc that’s the logic of blaming Horobi for Daybreak), or Raiden, or even Aruto for that time he got hijacked via MCH. Any of the hacked HumaGear who were turned into MaGear.

Just… The concept of seeing how all of those people are victims in the situation… But blaming Horobi? Like… Not being interested in Horobi is one thing. Obviously, no on is going to be as madly in love w/ him as I am. It’s the act of not recognising him as being a victim while recognising everyone in similar situations as victims. It’s saying he was responsible for Daybreak, treating him like the Ark’s will was his (I’m literally having flashbacks to comments calling Horobi’s whole death ‘Horobi’s plan,’ even though by that point we literally knew the Ark was an entity that existed). Like… They literally confirmed it in show as not being that. Horobi is a mind control victim. What someone’s personal opinion of the character outside of that is another matter. But the fact is that he was mind controlled by the Ark and that the things he did under her control cannot be objectively called things he chose to do. Whether someone thinks he would have chosen them if he weren’t mind controlled… Esp given how all his actions of own choice were about protecting Jin, I personally disagree. But the show has been very explicit that he was mind controlled, and that he had no clue how to handle emotions (to the point he didn’t even seem to know what they are), so being able to understand that all those other people, esp the ones who went through similar things, are victims… But Horobi’s to blame for what he did? That’s just ridiculous.

And don’t even get me started on how anyone could ever see Gai as being a bigger victim than Horobi.

#Firebird Negativity #sorry #I'm not actually in a bad mood really #I just had to get that off my chest #bc it baffles me how people can see how Yua's situation was bad and tragic and she was a victim #but shitting on Horobi #and then saying GAI is more of a victim/tragic…#literally I stand by my view that they somehow switched the 'cores' of Gai and Horobi's storylines #and it's FRUSTRATING #but also blaming Horobi for stuff like Daybreak…#hey remember when Aruto literally called Gai the 'one responsible for the Ark' and I'm pretty sure said that for Daybreak too…#bc that happened #bc GAI CAUSED DAYBREAK

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firebirdsdaughter · 4 years

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Over Analysis ‘The Gawas will be the Death of Me’ Stage 1: The (1st) Fight

Okay. So. This is gonna be a long post, so I will condense it immediately. Are we ready?

Who am I kidding. Absolutely not.

Warning: rambling be below this point.

We start out w/ Hiden Manufacturing being blown up. Not much to say here other than Fuwa being fond big brother is sweet, Yua looks awfully chill for standing in the ruins of an exploded building, and Jin is doing his best Ankh impression (Nakagawa, honey, I love you, but there is only one Ankh). Until Aruto says:

Jin is surprised a complete stranger is showing more concern for his family than he has been.

I know I complain about Aruto’s characterisation a lot, but I liked this (enough that I think it should have been what Jin brought up when talking to MBR). Ignoring, for the moment, my other issues and pretending that this friendship developed how it could have, this would be a really great scene, esp considering the stuff Jin did previously. Aruto wanting to save the other three in contrast to Jin’s decision to just sacrifice them would be an interesting thing. I wish we got more on it, honestly. It was one of the ways they could have developed from each other. Either way, this comment has an effect on Jin, and when shit starts exploding, he takes off on his own.

MetsuBouRai, meanwhile, are brooding about the MBJR base bc the Ark isn’t talking to them. Raiden’s angry, Naki is dejected, but Horobi is just… Sitting there. Watching, I believe, the same thing Yua is watching on her phone during this stuff, going by the animation.

Naki says this, but it cuts to each of them. Horobi’s head actually turns slightly, while Raiden looks morose for a moment before laughing bitterly and taking out his frustration on that mind hacking helmet (which breaks yet again). Raiden’s always been the most expressive of the three, but Horobi’s reaction also feels import bc of how long he’s been under the Ark’s control, brainwashed into believing that the Ark was the path to saving HumaGear. He’s never once been able to consider the Ark might turn on them or abandon them. Naki and Raiden haven’t been under so long, so while they’re still hacked, they don’t have the same mindless devotion. Naki can question and Raiden can be mocking. But this feels very much like a ‘wait, what?’ moment for Horobi.

… That his conditioning has to immediately reject, insisting that the Ark will come back for them, is really going to save HumaGear. Oh, sweetie.

*I know that the show (? Or at least most sub groups) are referring to the Ark as ‘he,’ I’m just stubborn and like saying ‘she.’ Being voiced by Charden Flamberg won’t stop me.

Jin shows up, announcing, ‘you’re wrong’ and that the Ark can’t be trusted (when did we stop saying ‘the’ Ark?), and it looks like he didn’t stop to shower or anything en route. Come to think… How would he repair that suit? Anyway, he spends the majority of this scene looking right at Horobi, who…

… Doesn’t react. It’s Naki who says something. Jin and Horobi just… Stare at each other. Raiden looks like he thinks he’s interrupting. Lots of tension here. It’s up in the air whether Horobi doesn’t know how to react, or if he actually can’t in the state he’s in at this point. The Ark’s being going at how he processes situations w/ a chainsaw for years, he may be completely unable to figure out how to respond.

Horobi doesn’t even move… Until Jin starts apologising. I don’t we ever saw Baby Jin apologising for anything? Not even when he didn’t get the Mammoth Key back. All three of them seem confused by the apology, but it’s enough to get Horobi out of his game of statue. Obviously he doesn’t think raising the Ark is something to apologise for bc of his enforced loyalty to her. But he doesn’t seem to consider Jin to have to done anything worth apologising for.

As for Jin, this is a moment that makes me inclined to buy that he’s realised he fucked up. I would have appreciated going into that a little more, bc wtf dude, that plan was a clusterfuck even aside from the whole ‘murder my dad for being brainwashed,’ but this ep heavily indicated he realises what he did. And boy is he paying for it.

Jin talks about the plan to destroy the Ark, then goes very quiet and walks up level w/ Horobi, and the shot closes in on the two of them again. It takes him a second to actually look at Horobi… My guess is bc he knows what he’ll see.

… And the award for an absolutely terrible plan goes to… But in all seriousness, Nakagawa Daisuke, everyone, the kid can act. The way he says it, and how he kinda seems to be wavering on his feet, gives the impression he’s just barely keeping it together. I’ve debated about him saying this point blank like this, and on one hand, ouch, on the other… Given my interpretation that Horobi views lying as a human thing and absolutely detests it… Jin might be hoping being straight up w/ him will work better. Or maybe he’s hoping to gauge Horobi’s reaction, bc rather heartbreakingly…

… Horobi doesn’t seem bothered in the slightest. In the hopes of keeping images to a minimum, I didn’t include another thing I noticed while going through—Naki doesn’t look back to Horobi until he starts talking, but just seconds before Horobi speaks, Raiden’s gaze switches to him, w/ that kinda concerned look. Just before he talks, Horobi’s head also turns like he’s glancing at the other two, but it’s hard to tell, he’s out of focus (oh, so painfully much), which is actually a little interesting considering he’s being totally calm about his son saying he was trying to kill him. Is it bc the idea of the Ark failing never occurred to him? Or… Does he have so little self worth that he’s completely indifferent to the idea of his death? To me… Probably both. Horobi has lived his entire life for other people, has been brainwashed into a tool of the Ark—and we see what happens when he wavers or tries to be something else later in this ep. While the idea that the Ark would betray them has never been able to occur to him, he’s shown multiple times to be completely calm about the possibility of dying, and this is Jin saying he was going to kill him. But Horobi doesn’t even seem surprised. He just accepts it.

Which I have to feel like is the reaction Jin expected. Why he was so reluctant to look up, bc he knew Horobi would just be… Blank. Bc he knows what the Ark has taken from Horobi, and now he’s actually facing the fact that he made it worse.

When you tell your dad you were planning to kill him and he doesn’t even care. But seriously. He doesn’t even remark on it. Horobi doesn’t care about his own life to the point Jin can point blank say he was planning to kill him and Horobi won’t even blink, much less get upset. Jin’s guilt here, to me, likely isn’t just ‘I helped the Ark rise and now everything is shit,’ but also facing the fact that he’s… ‘Re-reduced’ Horobi to being the Ark’s mere puppet again, esp right after Horobi was actually starting to have some clarity. Gotta wonder if he’s flashing back to that ‘why did I do that?’ moment in episode 35?

I made a comment about Horobi being out of focus when talking about Jin planning to kill him… He comes abruptly into focus when Jin brings up Aruto. Is this about Soreo’s data? Aruto talking about him wanting to be Jin’s father? I have opinions about the way Aruto is talked about in this scene and the things Jin chooses to bring up, and mainly… I just thought this was curious. And… Sunagawa has a very nice profile, so sue me. ^^; (you have no idea how many of these shots just turned into ‘I think this shot is cool! I may share some at the end of this).

When Jin says Aruto can defeat the Ark, Horobi isn’t happy. But he… Looks around weirdly while talking? Starts out looking at Jin, then looks down like he does when he’s thinking, then back up at Jin by the end.

… I have nothing else for this. What? An excuse to use more pictures of Sunagawa? … Leave me alone!

Look at Nakagawa hunching again. Is that to fit everyone in the shot, or is he just doing that?

Jin persists and Horobi… Shouts. And then he doesn’t just shout, he dives forward and grabs Jin’s collar. It’s hard to see in my crappy screen shot, but Jin seems surprised by this, and w/ good reason, Horobi’s not usually emotional. I believe this is only the second time we’ve ever heard him shout… And both times were at Jin about humans. Trying to reject what he possibly sees as their growing influence over his son.

… I wonder. What makes him so desperate to make Jin stop in this moment? Their dynamic may have shifted w/ Jin’s revival, but Jin’s still the person… Well, second to the Ark, he’s the person w/ the most influence over Horobi. Aruto and Fuwa both made slight headway, but when it comes down to it, Jin is Horobi’s, well, singularity point. Why react this way? Even at this point, neither Naki or Raiden were jumping at it. Did the Ark’s engrained influence just want to reject the words, some personal experience w/ humans. Is it the words themselves, or the fact that they’re coming out of Jin? It’s more emotion than he showed on the subject of his own death. Honestly, maybe more emotion than he’s ever shown. Is he rejecting blasphemy against the Ark… Or what he perceives as human influence and control over his son?

But then something interesting happens.

At first, Horobi is clearly furious—but then…

… The Ark… Abruptly stops hacking? Not… Technically weird, but pretty suspicious considering that immediately after…

… Horobi abruptly… Goes back to being passive. He even lets go of Jin’s suit. Did the Ark do something? Giving direct orders or not, he’s still connected. Or did he just not know what to do once he got in there? He and Jin stare at each other for a moment. Did his soft spot for Jin kick back in?

He keeps this much calmer attitude, and is even still looking down when he speaks again.

Who are you trying to convince and why, Horobi?

Jin has apparently forgotten how ‘hacking’ works. Being right on the second point doesn’t excuse the first one, sweetie.

Is it important that it’s just them in this shot? I’d like to think so. My theory is that this whole scenario actually stole something very personal from them that’s never going to really come back, the chance to be a proper family, for Jin to grow up as a child and for Horobi to actually be a proper father. Is the implication that they are ‘HumaGears’ to each other? Until pried from my cold dead hands (break my fingers, Takahashi, break them, I dare you), my interpretation is that Horobi’s actions next time are centred around wanting a world where Jin will be completely safe (someone please tell him there’s no such thing, bc there isn’t, before it gets him killed), that while the goal is safety and peace for all HumaGear… It’s his personal motivation to do it for Jin.

Either way… Putting aside the question of whether Jin is actually as free as he seems to think he is… I was waiting for him to say this to Horobi. Bc hell yes, Horobi deserves to be free of the Ark, and Jin should know that better than anyone. She had Horobi under closer control than anyone else, bc she wanted/needed him to manipulate Jin. He was her tool to move her pawn. And that’s fucked his mental state to hell and back.

Horobi isn’t even able to respond to the concept of ‘free,’ It’s Naki who steps in again.

Jin keeps going, and eventually brings up dreams. I don’t know if that specifically has to do w/ Horobi’s reaction… In my theory, assuming he actually remembered a bit about his past, I can def see ‘our own dreams’ setting of ‘Ark bells’ and making him compulsively reject the notion.

Interestingly, he turns slightly to face the corner before speaking further.

… Well don’t that just sound robotic. ‘Brainwash victim’ alarums go off again.

Jin has another small somber moment. This one feels less ‘messy emotions/wracked w/ guilt’ and more just… Sad. Regretful, too, but not the same exactly? This isn’t so much ‘what have I done?’ anymore as ‘I did this.’

He failed to try at all before. That’s not me being mean, that’s me saying I think that’s what’s going through his head. He might not be thrilled about fighting Horobi as Horobi, but bc he let them down before, he has to power through.

Naki: Do you think they’ll notice if we back towards the door?

Raiden: Trust me, I’m thinking about it.

They fight and Jin loses. Horobi’s got experience, a positively self-destructive lack of self preservation, and I do think Jin was holding back. Making himself fight Horobi as the Ark is one thing, he can just tell himself it’s the Ark, probably easier to be like ‘Horobi can’t be saved’ like that, too (even though Jin bloody reconnected them), but fighting Horobi as Horobi… That’s something else. Esp w/ the knowledge that Horobi is so blankly devoted to the Ark right now bc of something he did.

Jin kinda tries to shuffle away as Horobi approaches… I don’t blame him, that’s Takaiwa Seiji. Don’t fuck w/ Takaiwa Seiji.

Horobi says… But then just stands there, perfectly still, giving no indication that he intends to move, for another ten whole seconds (yes, I counted). He says that, but then doesn’t do anything. Almost like he’s hit a wall. And he has, hasn’t he? The Ark’s influence over him wants to erase anyone who defies it… But Horobi himself has shown multiple times that his actual instinct is to protect Jin. So what does he do when he has a chance to destroy someone vocally against the Ark, but… It’s Jin? He freezes, apparently.

Jin looks up at him like this, kinda pleadingly, and I like the idea that he’s looking… Essentially, for his father. Hesitation, feeling. Any reaction. But while I do see Horobi freezing as a sign of his inability to follow through w/ the threat… It also shows he has no idea how to follow that up. He can’t get beyond the instinctive ‘don’t do this.’ So he just starts playing statue again. That’s gotta be rough for Jin to see, esp w/ the knowledge that he contributed to rendering Horobi this messed up. Again.

When he sees nothing, he looks away again. Maybe trying to gather nerve in the face of the nigh zombie-like state he’s seeing his father in. We cut a few times between him and Horobi as he starts talking, between Jin being more emotional, and Horobi’s continually blank countenance.

Jin doesn’t look back up until he asks if killing him is something Horobi wants. This expression doesn’t read hopeful either way. Does he want Horobi to indicate it’s not, bc he wants his father to still care about him, or does he want Horobi to be upset that he tried to kill him, to show some sign of self worth/preservation? Hard to know, but it’s definitely pleading again.

Naturally, the first words that come to Horobi’s mind. And, yes, it is. The Ark wants detractors to disappear. But in this situation… That conflicts w/ what Horobi himself truly wants. And he reacts. He’s directly confront ed w/ a contradiction, w/ the realisation that the Ark’s will hasn’t completely replaced his own. He’s conditioned to follow the Ark’s will no matter what, he doesn’t want to kill Jin. He’s in disagreement w/ the Ark’s will. Big no no. What he’s saying ‘no’ to is a little unclear, but I like thinking that he’s realising he doesn’t want what the Ark would want. It’s also interesting how the focus shifts from him to Naki and Raiden. Presumably, they are effected by seeing Horobi be uncertain about the Ark’s will, and that contributes to everyone’s reactions.

I love Jin’s reaction to Horobi lowering the bow. He makes this emotional little sound, and watches the bow for a moment before looking anxiously up at Horobi—looking for a reaction again, if there’s anything more. But Horobi’s just… In a daze. I still don’t know if Jin is relieved by this, or if he was hoping Horobi would be personally angry at him. Kind of puts me in mind of a moment from Prince of Persia where Dastan tells his brother that the dagger rewinds time and then stabs himself, and when his brother uses it and tells Dastan he died right in front of him, Dastan’s reaction is a breathless ‘you used it!’ from the relief that his brother cared/trusted him enough. Jin’s reaction kind of makes me think of that, amazement and relief and even kind of gladness that he matters enough to Horobi that this would actually cause his father to waver from his brainwashing. Which, while really sweet and a testament to what Jin genuinely means to Horobi, is also heart breaking and shows off just what the Ark (and thus Gai, by creating it) took from them, that this is how we see that Jin is important to Horobi. It should just be bc he’s his dad, bc hugs and family times. But the Ark took that from them. It shows that Horobi cares about Jin, but it’s also glaring show of what they lost/missed out on bc of the Ark.

There’s also something else about Jin’s reaction if you look closely at his hands.

His right hand shifts, lifting up slightly, like his first instinct was to reach out to Horobi, try to solidify whatever’s happening—but in the end, he doesn’t commit, and…

Horobi wanders off, in some sort of confused trance. We don’t see his face at all here.

It’s been pointed out to me that these two are always reaching out to each other and never quite making it, and… Accurate. Feels like yet another example of just how badly they’ve been fucked over and what was taken from them. I just really hope they finally get to connect before… Whatever happens.

#Kamen Rider Zero-One #Kamen Rider Zero One #Zero-One Spoilers #Zero One Spoilers #my precious evil stoic scorpion dad #Zero-One Over Analysis #The Gawas will be the Death of Me #there's probably so much more I can say that escaped my brain #but I started feeling really sick part way through this #still do so #we'll take it easy #Binary Retro Rider

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venus-says · 4 years

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Kamen Rider Zero-One Episode 29

Dreaming of becoming yourself.

From all of the shows I cover that are still airing Zero-One was probably the one I was needing a break the most because it was the one that took more energy out of me since it was a wide rollercoaster when it came to me liking or not the episodes. So this break was very much needed.

And while I can't attest that the mindset in which you watch something can affect your enjoyment of said something or not (since I'm not a scientist), I can say that my experience watching Zero-One now, two months after I last watched the show, was much more enjoyable than before. I still saw the flaws, and the things I didn't like before are still there and I still don't like them, but in comparison with months ago, I walked away from this episode with a lighter heart.

But enough of personal babble, let's talk about the episode itself.

I gotta say, I was gladly surprised by this episode. I was expecting that some bullshit would happen and everything would be fine at the end and I would just completely hate the results of this, but what happened was completely the opposite! Hiden did lose the referendum, Gai is really in control of Hiden now, Aruto did come out of this with a meaningful loss under his belt. Not even in my wildest dreams I thought that this could happen, and you know what? This was pretty good.

Even though the side we're supposed to sympathize with came in a bad position at the end, it somehow felt pretty rewarding as the end of an arc? I don't know how to put it, but I think this was really needed, and if the arc had ended in any other way it just wouldn't work. I think what I like the most is that in the end this didn't come up after a fight? Like, Zero-One and Thouser did fight in the last episode and that was what lead to Hiden losing, but in this episode, the main fight we had wasn't to determine the end or change the results of the competition, and maybe I'm being crazy here, but I do think that this makes it more emotional. Because this wasn't a thing Aruto's powers could solve for him so it hits harder I feel.

I'm also very glad that this dreadful arc is over and we can move on, hopefully to something nicer.

But the main thing of this episode for me wasn't even the macro, the bigger plot. It was the micro, with Fuwa and Yua, this episode was all theirs and I hope we'll get either some DVD specials or a movie for them in the future because they're definitely way more interesting characters than Aruto and Gai. I still call bs in this thing of Fuwa having brain chip, I still think this was something that didn't have enough amount of foreshadowing for me to buy it when it was dropped. But in the way this was used in this episode, it was pretty good so I'm fine with it, for now.

Talking first about Yua, throughout this entire arc she was put in the backseat, she pretty much did nothing other than being a keychain charm for Gai, and it was really frustrating seeing the show give us signs that there was something that they wanted to do with her but never actually going ahead and doing. I feel like what we saw in this episode was more or less the same, I mean the things she was confronted with and the struggles she had weren't much different from what had already been shown before in this arc, but I feel like they're finally ready to move on with it and things are actually about to happen.

Do I think it did take too long? Yes, I do. But I'm glad we're at least finally going there (apparently). From the preview, it doesn't seem like it will be happening right away since it's the beginning of a new arc and they'll probably take this first episode to lay down the new status quo and this will end up being delayed even further, but in an effort of trying to be more positive, I'll just take it and wait for it with an open heart.

Fuwa is an interesting case, while I didn't like the reveal, I admit that I really enjoyed seeing the chip on his brain messing up with him, being either by Gai's control or Jin's hacking, and I'm curious to see what will come out of this in this last arc because it seems that Jin wants to kill Fuwa to free Naki, while Horobi is saying that The Ark wants Fuwa alive so there's an interesting conflict there that I'm eager to see.

I'm also curious about they adopting the dream thing for Fuwa, because this was dropped back in the episode where Jin returns and it didn't appear again so I thought they would discard it because on my eyes the thing about finding yourself fits more with him, especially now with the reveal that he has been a puppet all the time. But I like that they merged both as being the thing that will become his motivation, the thing where he draws his power and will to fight from. I'm here for this, I wanna see this guy go through a journey to find himself and be happy, he deserves it. (who would've thought I'd be here rooting for Fuwa, the me from 8 months ago would be shocked by it).

The last thing to talk about now is Rampage Vulcan. As power-up, I gotta say I'm pretty tired of the upgrade that allows the user to gather the power of all gimmicky toys of the season, but I like that this time around this is happening to the secondary rider and not the main one, and I also like the suit design despite looking a bit too busy in a few parts. I'm just disappointed that this is another power-up that Gai just handed to his enemies like if he was giving candy to kids in Halloween, like, for a guy that thinks so highly of himself he does some pretty dumb shit, not gonna lie, Gai has sunk down very deep in my concept.

And I think that's it, I'm glad I could come back to this series without being salty for once. What did you think of the end of this arc? Let me know in the comments down below. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading, and until the next time, see-ya~

#Kamen Rider Zero One #kamen rider

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firebirdsdaughter · 4 years

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RANT

The entirety of my tag rant.

I’m not normally this… I dunno what the word would be. Invested? Emotional? I know it’s just a show (and none of this is directed at anyone, I mean, Toei doesn’t give a shit what I think), but…

The thing is that, like Ryusoulger, the show and esp the Horobi and Fuwa dynamic (and Horobi and Jin) helped me get through a really shitty time for me, emotionally. They got me through… possibly some of the closest I’ve ever gotten to being suicidal, depression-wise, a seat they share w/ OOO (and Ankh and Eiji’s relationship) and Boukenger my freshman spring semester of college.

I am not actively suicidal. I have never been actively suicidal. I am very… Well, proud’s not the right word, but it’s the closest I got—proud of that.

But I spent a long spell of unemployment and then being cooped up in the house on furlough absolutely losing my mind. I felt like shit and a failure and I was scared, and mad at everything. I couldn’t get in touch w/ my therapist. Ryusoulger and then Horobi and Fuwa (and often Horobi and Jin) helped alleviate that. Helped get me through the week w/out going insane. I got to completely set everything aside and smile for a bit. I got inspired to write again after having lost interest for a bit. Even just the few-second basement eps came to be so important to me. I was so invested in these two characters and their relationship, it was like, everything I loved about that type of set up, everything.

To see it so completely… Shoved aside and forgotten like that… It’s… It’s really painful. It feels like a judgement on me, like the universe is mocking me for liking something. And if I had been equally as interested in the thing that was wedged in its place, things might be different, but instead I felt nothing for Fuwa and Naki. What started as bland indifference, however, turned to a psychosomatic reaction as suddenly took over everywhere to the point that it was night impossible to stay in my corner bc my corner no longer existed. I suddenly didn’t feel like I had anything to talk to people about anymore. Even now, I know of like, one and a half people I feel like I talk to about Horobi and Fuwa. There was a lot of going on about why Naki and Fuwa were ‘better’ to the point I had to mute or even unfollow bc I was just… Having too severe a psychological reaction. And the fact that it’s literally the canon content itself behaving in this way too just makes it all the more agonising.

And again, this isn’t at anyone. I’m just explaining why I have such an intense reaction, and this is only all spilling out bc I am tired as FUCK and I may delete it later. I’m literally such a mess I’m crying right now. But I want to stop hiding in a corner grumbling to myself.

I know there’s a tag that says ‘I want to be able to say ‘I don’t ship something’ w/out feeling like I have to justify myself’ and that’s exactly what I’m doing, trying to justify myself, but like, proving my point, I guess. I’m at a point w/ my anxiety and paranoia that I feel like I have to go on a whole rambling explanation of my depression and anxiety and coping mechanisms just to say ‘I disagree, I don’t ship this/enjoy it, I don’t understand why it’s so popular’ w/ something (which is also an example of my psychosis bc I am constantly terrified I’m making people angry).

So fine. I don’t enjoy Naki and Fuwa. I think I could have, if things had been written differently. Interesting concept, Nakayama’s a legend, Okada’s a great actor, Fuwa’s my other favourite character, Naki’s actually fourth on my character list bc I am quote fond of the bits of them we got to see, I named the car I use after them, mbjr were always more interesting to me than the heroes excepting Fuwa.

But as it ended up being written, I do not enjoy it at all, and it actually gives me a psychosomatic reaction (which is, admittedly, not uncommon for me w/ notps, I will admit). The fact is, Horobi and Fuwa were not just the exact kind of dynamic I am interested in, but they also got me through some rough shit, and are still getting me through it, and so yes, I am going to be very emotional that this relationship that was very important to me got completely dropped for this relationship that not only does not interest me at all but has things that make me very uncomfortable w/ it, and I am going to have a reaction to it, and I don’t care that it’s popular or that Toei is pushing it, I disagree, I do not think it’s strong enough to warrant all the hype and attention, and it makes me feel unwell, and I should not feel like I’m somehow offending the entire internet for disagreeing. There are people out there victim blaming Horobi for the Ark and Gai’s actions w/out worrying about this stuff, if they can do that, I can bloody say I don’t like a popular pairing and I think it was poorly written and poorly developed and should not have been wedged in instead of another relationship which to me was much more interesting and meaningful and powerful and I should not feel bad for liking different things and bloody go off.

There just was not enough to make me feel at all connected. Esp not for it to be equated w/ 02. Draft horse pack on a shetland pony. And I am tired enough that I refuse to feel bad for this at the moment. I’m tired of feeling bad about all the people I know I drove away and who don’t want to talk to me bc I happened to not like the popular thing or bc I was vocal about my feelings.

I’m sure I’ll feel hella guilty and delete this all later but fuck it right now I’m running on four hours of sleep for ten hours and I don’t care anymore.

#Firebird Personal #Mention of Suicidal Tendencies #which I do not have could never do that to my sister #Rant #Fuwa and Naki Negativity #I'm tired #will probably delete later #gods how many people jumped ship bc I was getting emotional about a tv show #I'm so tired #tired of being lonely #I'm working five days in a row and it's exhausting I'm burning out #I can barely focus enough to do other stuff #hardly sleep #fuck guys I feel like shit I'm sorry #I'm just… so tired and angry right now #and lonely

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