WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.840 This is MJ. I'm an author, I'm an artist, I'm 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.620 an analyzer. You can find all my work at MJMonios 00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:05.719 .com. Welcome to Writer Tears, where I'm going 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:08.980 to give you my honest opinion of everything Kamen 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:11.099 Rider, basically. So I want to talk about Kamen 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:13.820 Rider Zets Episode 1 first. The premiere, I watched 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:16.460 it, and I'm very excited, first of all, that 00:00:16.460 --> 00:00:18.079 Toei is doing this, that Bandai is doing this, 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:20.019 that they're all working together to globalize 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:22.399 Kamen Rider like Ultraman has been doing. Ultraman 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:24.620 did a great job, except for some reason with 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:27.199 this latest one. What's it called again? I haven't 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:28.239 watched in a couple weeks because I've been super 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:30.440 busy. I move. There's been all sorts of chaos. 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:35.140 The Meteor one. Omega. Omega. There's no dub. 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.079 Where's the dub? The dub's coming, but it's not 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:39.799 here yet, and I don't understand why. I'd definitely 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:41.799 be watching it week to week. Well, I'd be a lot 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:43.000 more likely to watch it week to week if there 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.759 was a dub, and I'd be a lot more thrilled about 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.409 it. Zets if it had a dub as well, but maybe they're 00:00:48.409 --> 00:00:51.289 going to do the subtitle, uh, you know, simulcast 00:00:51.289 --> 00:00:53.270 release type of deal first. And then if that 00:00:53.270 --> 00:00:55.350 tracks well, maybe next year I'll get my Kiva 00:00:55.350 --> 00:00:57.909 dub, um, or my Kiva sequel dub. I'd take a Kiva 00:00:57.909 --> 00:01:03.070 sequel like that, man. Anyway. Um, so yeah, big 00:01:03.070 --> 00:01:05.129 pop of water. I want it set in the future. Nevermind. 00:01:05.209 --> 00:01:07.189 I'm talking about that right now. Um, but yeah, 00:01:07.269 --> 00:01:09.909 so, uh, Zets episode one, I gotta be honest. 00:01:10.010 --> 00:01:12.370 I didn't like it that much. Um, all the visuals 00:01:12.370 --> 00:01:15.950 are great. Uh, it deals with dreams and maybe 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:17.829 even Dreams Within Dreams, which I find interesting. 00:01:19.290 --> 00:01:20.969 Like, again, all the visuals are slick. That 00:01:20.969 --> 00:01:23.650 opening where he's acting or he's actually dreaming 00:01:23.650 --> 00:01:25.409 before his sister wakes him up by yelling at 00:01:25.409 --> 00:01:27.150 him and hitting him with a ladle was all great. 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:28.950 It was all serious. The tone was, like, dark. 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:31.890 And, like, I mean dark for tokusatsu, dark for 00:01:31.890 --> 00:01:33.829 kid shows. I don't want, like, I've never watched 00:01:33.829 --> 00:01:36.469 Game of Thrones. I've never read a book. It sounds 00:01:36.469 --> 00:01:38.090 nasty and gross to me, and, like, I have no interest 00:01:38.090 --> 00:01:41.150 in that. I like, you know, children's fiction. 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:45.620 I do. I don't know why, but I do. I kind of grew 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:48.519 up with Power Rangers. I saw the Guyver VHS's 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:51.480 in Suncoast video when I was, I don't know how 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:53.200 old, but I watched the movie on Sci -Fi Channel 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.359 2, the live action one, number two with David 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.959 Hayter, Guyver Dark Hero, and I liked it. It 00:01:57.959 --> 00:01:59.620 was cool. It was exciting to me. At the time, 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:01.640 I also got way into horror movies and blood and 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:03.079 guts and gore, but I didn't really need that. 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:06.459 The story is enough. Shonen stories are exciting 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:07.959 enough. Yu -Gi -Oh! There's no actual fighting. 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:09.860 It's all card battles. That stuff is thrilling. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:12.479 So I love when you can get really high -stakes 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:15.550 drama and intense action. without people actually 00:02:15.550 --> 00:02:17.330 having to die. Like, that's just nice, because 00:02:17.330 --> 00:02:20.110 people dying is sad. It sucks in real life. And, 00:02:20.129 --> 00:02:22.430 you know, in Kamen Rider, we get to see people 00:02:22.430 --> 00:02:23.610 in rubber suits fight each other and whatnot, 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:25.849 and that's, like, it's just enough. It's just 00:02:25.849 --> 00:02:28.110 dark enough. It's just cool enough. It's, like, 00:02:28.150 --> 00:02:29.650 introspective enough that Kamen Rider draws me, 00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:30.969 and it's, like, kind of the perfect thing for 00:02:30.969 --> 00:02:34.879 me. I like Dragon Knight okay. I probably liked 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.199 a lot of Seasons of Power Rangers more than I 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:37.759 liked Dragon Knight, but I wanted to like Dragon 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:39.080 Knight a lot because I like Kamen Rider, I love 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:40.759 the visual, I love the aesthetic, I love the 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:42.939 idea of the power source coming from evil, which 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:46.500 we're not really getting yet in this show. Zetsu's 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:48.719 done something really bold with its opening where 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:50.560 it's not really giving you a lot of information. 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:53.439 It almost feels like we're being dropped into 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:56.099 the middle of the story, but he's not established 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:59.479 as the writer yet. He is becoming the writer 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.379 in this one. But some of the storytelling is... 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:05.259 kind of seeding the fact that something bigger 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:08.659 is going on. Yuya Takahashi is the head writer 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:11.280 for this. I want to say that I know for sure 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:14.900 that Yuya Takahashi wrote Ex -Aid, which I almost 00:03:14.900 --> 00:03:16.060 didn't watch, but I did, and it's one of the 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.460 best Kamen Rider shows ever, and Zero -One, which 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:21.379 I really enjoyed a lot. I think he also wrote 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:25.000 the weird Pokemon train grasshopper alchemist 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.500 thing. Gashard, maybe? I don't know if he wrote 00:03:28.500 --> 00:03:30.520 that one or not, but for sure, those two, X -Aid, 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:36.259 Game Doctor 1, and Zero One with the AI. And 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:39.360 anyway, I liked both of those shows a lot. X 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.039 -Aid is actually fantastic. It's amazing. In 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:43.439 fact, even though it doesn't seem like it would 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:48.080 be. And it has an interesting blend of storytelling 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:50.199 in it, as the Zero One. Zero One was affected 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:52.800 by COVID, though, so I'm trying to kind of filter 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:56.319 my thoughts about this show through that. There 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:58.139 was, like, a long tail. I don't know if you call 00:03:58.139 --> 00:04:00.159 it a long tail. There was, like, background prologue 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.039 stuff that you didn't know happened in X -Aid 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:04.599 until a third through, halfway through. Even 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:05.979 towards the end, you find out even more stuff 00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:08.439 about things going back into the past for it. 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:10.819 For Zero One, it's kind of similar, where, like, 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:12.099 things were happening in the background, things 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:14.000 happened in the past. It got seeded back years 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.740 ago, and now it's happening here, which I guess 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:18.319 is consistent, like, with the way Kuga did it, 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.839 because all this stuff with the Linto Rinto Grongi 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:24.870 stuff happened a long, long time ago. land far 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:29.490 away, in the land of the rising sun. I'm detecting, 00:04:29.670 --> 00:04:31.350 I mean, I'm not a detective, I'm not Batman. 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:34.129 They pointed it out that there's been this string 00:04:34.129 --> 00:04:37.790 of accidents that has happened where Baku has 00:04:37.790 --> 00:04:39.790 tried to do things to help people, and he's ended 00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:41.410 up severely injured. He was struck by lightning, 00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:43.649 but he survived. His sister said the gods have 00:04:43.649 --> 00:04:44.949 abandoned you, but I mean, it doesn't seem like 00:04:44.949 --> 00:04:45.970 the gods have abandoned him, because he should 00:04:45.970 --> 00:04:47.949 have been dead if they'd abandoned him. But he 00:04:47.949 --> 00:04:50.199 got struck by lightning. I don't remember what 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:51.519 the other two things were, but I took screenshots. 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:52.899 There's three distinct things that happened to 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:54.560 him that were crazy things that should have killed 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.980 him. And somehow he survived. And apparently 00:04:56.980 --> 00:04:58.360 each of them was attached to him. Oh, he got 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:00.959 hit by a meteor. And one other thing. So these, 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:04.899 that made me wonder, what is the long tail, if 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:06.560 we're going to call it that, seeding this story 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:08.259 from a long time ago, from the time he was in, 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:10.199 I don't know, the time he was like 11 years old. 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:12.560 I don't know. Was that middle school? Anyway, 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:15.279 like, what is this that's going on with him? 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:18.579 What does it have to do with the rest of the 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:21.019 story? Is he a Kamen Rider because something 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:23.800 happened to him when he was 11 years old? Sounds 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:28.180 familiar. Sorry, I'm not throwing shade at Exit. 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:30.379 I'm just appreciating the fact that I know Takashi's 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:33.120 work a little bit. So is that what's going on? 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:34.259 Something happened to him when he was a kid? 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:37.100 He encountered a nightmare and somehow he had 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:39.819 the potential to become a hero in that? Maybe 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:42.579 he even... I'm not going to say he's an otaku 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:44.420 with arrested development, but he's way into, 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:46.060 like, he doesn't have a job yet. He's older than 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:49.199 his sister. She's, like, taking care of the household, 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:50.939 and he's supposed to be paying for bills and 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:52.319 have a job and things like that, and he just 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:53.800 doesn't really have a job because he wants a 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:56.500 job where he can help someone or be a secret 00:05:56.500 --> 00:05:59.519 agent. By the way, I'm thinking Rin and Kiriyama, 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:01.660 you know, tipped his hat so that this guy, I 00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:03.259 don't know the actor's name, could snap his fingers 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:05.589 and try to be a cool guy. It's a joke because 00:06:05.589 --> 00:06:08.449 this guy likes Double. That was his main commentator 00:06:08.449 --> 00:06:10.470 when he was a kid. And that was played by Ren 00:06:10.470 --> 00:06:13.430 Kiriyama, I think, who was a big fan of... Minami 00:06:13.430 --> 00:06:16.050 Kotaro, who played Kamen Rider Black. So there's 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:18.230 like a little chain from Black to Double to now 00:06:18.230 --> 00:06:22.569 Zets. And even, it's funny, interesting, like 00:06:22.569 --> 00:06:24.389 a little bit of trivia, because those were all 00:06:24.389 --> 00:06:27.529 like fresh start type of Kamen Riders, and Zets 00:06:27.529 --> 00:06:29.569 is definitely made to be a fresh start Kamen 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:31.269 Rider, an entry point for people into the franchise, 00:06:31.350 --> 00:06:33.290 into the series, which is great. You know, I'm 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:34.370 fine with that, but it's just, it's a really 00:06:34.370 --> 00:06:36.829 interesting idea that you would have, well, maybe 00:06:36.829 --> 00:06:38.990 they did it on purpose. I don't know anything 00:06:38.990 --> 00:06:42.129 about Minami Kotaro, but Tetsuro Kurata, I don't 00:06:42.129 --> 00:06:44.069 know if he was like, a big fan of the original 00:06:44.069 --> 00:06:45.829 Kamen Rider or Sky Rider or anything like that. 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:47.230 And that's part of the reason they picked him 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:49.189 or not. It could have just been because, I mean, 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:54.870 he's, you know, he's cool. Anyway, so I don't 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:56.670 know. If there's definitely something going back 00:06:56.670 --> 00:06:57.990 there, and I wouldn't say it's Arrested Development 00:06:57.990 --> 00:07:00.709 that he's into Agent Zero, but there's the Agent 00:07:00.709 --> 00:07:02.529 Zero movies, I think is what it is, that he's 00:07:02.529 --> 00:07:05.350 really into. And he likes them a lot, so he dreams 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:07.790 about being like this guy. Kind of like an Otaku 00:07:07.790 --> 00:07:09.310 might dream about being like a Kamen Rider or 00:07:09.310 --> 00:07:12.170 a Takeshi Hongo or whoever. Or a Minami Kotaro, 00:07:12.230 --> 00:07:15.050 even. You might even dress up like him and, you 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:17.449 know, wear his jacket and meet him at a fan convention 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:22.029 and convince him to pose with you. And anyway, 00:07:22.129 --> 00:07:24.589 I just find it really interesting that... We 00:07:24.589 --> 00:07:26.209 have the potential for this story to have been 00:07:26.209 --> 00:07:29.649 seeded from far in the past, and I don't know 00:07:29.649 --> 00:07:31.310 for a fact that that's what's going on, but it 00:07:31.310 --> 00:07:34.269 feels like it is what's going on, and regardless 00:07:34.269 --> 00:07:38.129 of whether it is or not, it's... I mean, not 00:07:38.129 --> 00:07:40.089 regardless of whether it is or not, it's an interesting 00:07:40.089 --> 00:07:43.529 thing I see could be going on in the show, and 00:07:43.529 --> 00:07:47.009 I'm not sure exactly why that's the case or why 00:07:47.009 --> 00:07:51.269 that's happening, and it's not something against 00:07:51.269 --> 00:07:53.889 the show at all. It's just kind of a curious... 00:07:54.290 --> 00:07:56.170 you know detail I noticed that this might be 00:07:56.170 --> 00:08:01.870 part of the scenario and That's great. I don't 00:08:01.870 --> 00:08:03.949 I mean I'm happy with that to be the case but 00:08:03.949 --> 00:08:06.290 the rest of what's going on with the show I'm 00:08:06.290 --> 00:08:09.009 is not so great and I'm not as happy with because 00:08:09.009 --> 00:08:13.990 we see this awesome opening with With Baku having 00:08:13.990 --> 00:08:16.889 this section zero type dream or sorry agent zero 00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:20.569 type dream and He gets to be this awesome agent, 00:08:20.629 --> 00:08:23.519 which by the way, I like the little A little 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.759 cute nod to the fact that he's using less than 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:29.740 lethal rounds because a gummy bullet or rubber 00:08:29.740 --> 00:08:31.839 bullet shoots off this, bounces off this guy's 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:33.559 forehead, which was a pretty funny little moment. 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:41.080 But anyway, he, you know, it starts off with 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:43.320 this dream, and that dream seems to be irrelevant, 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.990 maybe, but... Then again there seems like they're 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:49.070 trying to make there be a theme about dreams 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:51.009 or dreaming in the show and he talks about how 00:08:51.009 --> 00:08:53.590 nobody gets to decide what his dream is for him 00:08:53.590 --> 00:08:56.509 and I don't really know what that means and The 00:08:56.509 --> 00:08:59.169 fact that he's not working towards his dream 00:08:59.169 --> 00:09:03.789 In the beginning of the show or when we used 00:09:03.789 --> 00:09:05.809 to get to see him in his real life it makes it 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:08.470 feel weak and it makes it feel not so great and 00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:11.289 I get it that he's got to have a character arc 00:09:11.289 --> 00:09:12.809 built in there for him. So he's got to be starting 00:09:12.809 --> 00:09:15.070 in a lower place before he ascends to this higher 00:09:15.070 --> 00:09:16.850 place where we can really appreciate his growth, 00:09:16.909 --> 00:09:18.990 appreciate his journey and appreciate how far 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:20.730 he's come. But I just, I don't know. I don't 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:22.850 feel like it. I don't think this theme or this 00:09:22.850 --> 00:09:27.230 scenario for him to grow is going to grow on 00:09:27.230 --> 00:09:31.149 me. I don't think it'll impress me. I don't know. 00:09:31.169 --> 00:09:33.029 And we don't, we don't always need characters 00:09:33.029 --> 00:09:35.250 to grow. They can be static characters and they 00:09:35.250 --> 00:09:39.090 can change the world around them. Like, I love 00:09:39.090 --> 00:09:41.149 Forza. I'm thinking Gintaro. Does he actually 00:09:41.149 --> 00:09:42.649 change, or does he change the world around him? 00:09:42.669 --> 00:09:44.149 He definitely changes the world around him, and 00:09:44.149 --> 00:09:46.450 he might change a little bit himself, but he's 00:09:46.450 --> 00:09:48.809 all about learning to change the people around 00:09:48.809 --> 00:09:50.610 him, if he's learning anything, really, because 00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:54.210 he eventually becomes a teacher. His story starts 00:09:54.210 --> 00:09:55.490 in high school, and then he eventually becomes 00:09:55.490 --> 00:09:57.690 a teacher, and he's trying to teach kids to be 00:09:57.690 --> 00:10:00.850 their best selves, which is exactly what he was 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:02.690 doing with other students at his school. He was 00:10:02.690 --> 00:10:05.730 a student there with teachers, with the main... 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.720 bad guy of the show. It's all very consistent 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:10.320 with him, and there's not a lot of growth or 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:11.440 change for him. You don't need that, depending 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:14.519 on the type of character. And I don't know if 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:19.120 I wasn't hoping for Takeshi Hongo again. I mean, 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:22.299 I'm honestly, again, I'm being honest, I'm always 00:10:22.299 --> 00:10:26.700 hoping for Takeshi Hongo to come back. And yeah, 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:29.340 they just, that's not what they're doing here. 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:31.159 They're starting him off kind of as a loser. 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:32.740 He tries to rescue a girl from getting kidnapped, 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:35.539 which is great. He gets hit by a car. very Yu 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:37.740 Yu Hakusho, which I find interesting. I don't 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:40.919 remember if X -Aid or Zero One had any Yu Yu 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:46.519 Hakusho vibes or parallels in them, but Yu Yu 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:49.259 Hakusho, interestingly enough, actually has, 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:52.659 which was not made by Shotaro Ishinomori, has 00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:56.700 a link back to Mutant Sabu by Shotaro Ishinomori, 00:10:56.779 --> 00:10:59.200 where a guy dressed very much, well, Yusuke dresses 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:02.970 very much like the main character of Mutant Sabu, 00:11:03.009 --> 00:11:05.009 whose name is Sabu, who gets into an accident. 00:11:05.070 --> 00:11:08.049 He gets hit by a car, and that kind of... Or 00:11:08.049 --> 00:11:09.309 almost gets hit by a car? No, I think he does 00:11:09.309 --> 00:11:11.289 get hit by a car. Anyway, it's very interesting 00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:13.289 how reminiscent it is of that. And then we have 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:16.830 stuff with Baku going on here, kind of echoing 00:11:16.830 --> 00:11:18.889 what happened in Yu Hakusho, but ultimately in 00:11:18.889 --> 00:11:23.129 Mutant Sabu. I don't know. I haven't talked a 00:11:23.129 --> 00:11:25.629 lot about the monster designs or the action or 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:27.590 anything like that because I really care about 00:11:27.590 --> 00:11:29.669 the story and I really care about being drawn 00:11:29.669 --> 00:11:31.669 into the narrative and the structure of the story 00:11:31.669 --> 00:11:34.730 and how good it is. And X -Aid's one of the greatest 00:11:34.730 --> 00:11:37.370 stories ever told, somehow, even though it's 00:11:37.370 --> 00:11:42.190 about video game doctor guys. And Zero -One's 00:11:42.190 --> 00:11:44.490 pretty good. Zero -One has some very cool things 00:11:44.490 --> 00:11:48.850 going on inside of it. But definitely rank X8 00:11:48.850 --> 00:11:51.370 above it. But this right now, I don't know. It's 00:11:51.370 --> 00:11:53.110 like a weak start. I feel like X8 had a much 00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:56.450 stronger start. It was much more action -oriented. 00:11:56.570 --> 00:11:58.490 I think honestly wasting like a third of the 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:00.970 episode or half the episode on Baku's dream that 00:12:00.970 --> 00:12:04.429 seems to be irrelevant is part of the problem. 00:12:04.750 --> 00:12:07.779 And then like when he's... in the hospital dying, 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:09.159 he's having the dream, he's having the nightmare, 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:10.860 whatever, and the nightmare guy is trying to 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:12.259 kill him, which, by the way, I love that he dreams 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:14.259 about being a guy who shoots people, and the 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:15.700 nightmare monster that attacks him is a gun. 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:20.840 Like, there's something... I'll be honest, I 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.820 like guns, okay? In fact, there's one that I 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:25.200 want that looks a little bit like what he has, 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.220 except it's better to brown him. What is it? 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:32.440 Bookmark? Oh, it's beautiful. Anyway, but I like... 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:33.740 There's something very satisfying about the fact 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:36.659 that the first monster he faces is this... gun 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:40.639 monster with a chamber, like a gun chamber, a 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.139 cylinder in his face of like an old revolver. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.059 There's something very satisfying about that, 00:12:46.179 --> 00:12:48.120 and I like it a lot. I don't really know what 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:50.259 the meaning is behind it, and I feel, again, 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:52.700 like we're starting, we're not starting really 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:54.860 in Meteor S, we're starting like, I don't know, 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:56.899 some portion down the line, and I don't know 00:12:56.899 --> 00:12:59.059 how far down the line we're starting, and I don't 00:12:59.059 --> 00:13:01.639 know why we're starting there, and it's just 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:03.120 one of the things that frustrates me about it. 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:07.370 So, yeah, I feel very dubious about it. overall 00:13:07.370 --> 00:13:09.669 like it has a great exterior look to it if you 00:13:09.669 --> 00:13:11.870 just glance at it it's like fantastic uh character 00:13:11.870 --> 00:13:14.590 or you know costume design and things like that 00:13:14.590 --> 00:13:16.769 the set design is pretty good too i like the 00:13:16.769 --> 00:13:19.169 uh you know paranormal detective guy like he 00:13:19.169 --> 00:13:20.730 seems i get really good vibes from him and the 00:13:20.730 --> 00:13:22.549 lady too coming in maybe she's more skeptical 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:24.669 maybe she's not i can't tell but like i can see 00:13:24.669 --> 00:13:27.549 their dynamic being fun um because he does say 00:13:27.549 --> 00:13:29.409 you know that he believes in the nightmares and 00:13:29.409 --> 00:13:30.769 she doesn't he's trying to convince her sort 00:13:30.769 --> 00:13:34.090 of um So that dynamic could be fun, and I think 00:13:34.090 --> 00:13:36.070 they're going to be enjoyable to watch. But I 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:37.470 don't know yet how they're going to tie into 00:13:37.470 --> 00:13:40.110 Baku's story. And he thinks he was dreaming, 00:13:40.190 --> 00:13:44.149 but actually, oh, no, silly humor. He wakes up 00:13:44.149 --> 00:13:46.309 with the belt on his chest and the phone thing 00:13:46.309 --> 00:13:50.009 in his lap and whatever. And those kind of tonal 00:13:50.009 --> 00:13:52.570 things are weird to me. And there's very Japanese 00:13:52.570 --> 00:13:53.950 -style humor, I think, going on in the show. 00:13:57.070 --> 00:13:59.350 I don't think it's the greatest fit for a Western 00:13:59.350 --> 00:14:01.230 show. I think Forza would have been good for 00:14:01.230 --> 00:14:03.049 a Western show because they're mimicking American 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:06.049 high school, and it works. It works well enough. 00:14:08.169 --> 00:14:10.090 Aside from the zany humor, which was played for 00:14:10.090 --> 00:14:12.909 laughs, which I didn't enjoy, there's the... 00:14:12.909 --> 00:14:16.690 Honestly, a weakness for me is, despite the fact 00:14:16.690 --> 00:14:19.710 that the suit is a cool design, and the belt 00:14:19.710 --> 00:14:21.730 is a really cool design, and the balls are a 00:14:21.730 --> 00:14:23.669 cool design, the balls that go into the suit 00:14:23.669 --> 00:14:31.039 are kind of goofy. we get to see a, uh, Kamen 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.940 Rider Zets, like, 8 -bit cute character, like, 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:37.019 jumping up and down, pumping his fists up and 00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:39.980 down when he transforms, and that's, like, that's 00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:44.059 not doing it. Like, um, I don't know why they 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:46.919 thought that would work. And, like, I really 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:48.440 thought there was going to be, like, a spy, noir, 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:51.120 secret agent type of vibe going into the show, 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:53.340 and that he was, like, a dream agent, but that's 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:55.710 all... in his dream apparently, or maybe it's 00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:57.710 not anymore. Maybe his dreams are becoming a 00:14:57.710 --> 00:14:59.450 reality. I'm not really sure how that works. 00:15:00.169 --> 00:15:02.269 I honestly kind of hope that they drop that vibe 00:15:02.269 --> 00:15:05.950 and that aspect of the show because the rest 00:15:05.950 --> 00:15:10.309 of it's like geekier and it's too much of a contrast. 00:15:10.389 --> 00:15:13.289 It's like a very odd conflict. To me, it makes 00:15:13.289 --> 00:15:15.649 for a very unsatisfying tonal whiplash. I want 00:15:15.649 --> 00:15:17.289 to wrap it up real quick because I've got Noisemaker 00:15:17.289 --> 00:15:22.730 over here. And anyway, like the action direction 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:24.600 was great. It looked beautiful. It was fantastic. 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:29.139 I really love, like, the John Wick, like, high 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:32.320 -stakes action, you know, gun -fu stuff that 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:33.840 was going on in the beginning. That was super 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.080 cool. There was even a little Jackie Chan thing 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:38.259 where he, like, knocked the, like, pulled apart 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:39.820 part of the gun and then kicked it and it went 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:41.720 and hit somebody in the face. Like, that's fantastic 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:45.840 stuff. And the shooting and the camera whips 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.519 over here and then there's, like, someone's name 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.080 who worked on the production. That's all fantastic. 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.419 It's beautiful. It's great. I wish that was the 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:53.860 vibe and the tone that they're going for. I don't 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:54.740 think that's what they're... I think they're 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:56.620 going to stray dramatically from that. I don't 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:57.860 know how silly it's going to get. I don't think 00:15:57.860 --> 00:15:59.059 it's going to be like Gov. It's just because 00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:01.340 they typically go, you know, this way than that 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:02.759 way. They kind of pivot back and forth, lean 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.860 different ways to catch different audiences or 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:07.639 whatever. But yeah, it's just... I don't know. 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:10.940 It's not really for me yet. But I feel like it 00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:14.600 purposely has a slow burn start. And I feel like 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:15.740 we're going to learn more about it later that 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:17.500 will help to contextualize it and make me more 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:19.200 understanding of it and more understanding of 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:21.779 the weirdness. But... I honestly think it's a 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:25.100 really weak first episode and because it was 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:26.720 trying to be two first episodes at the same time 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:29.600 I think is the real problem. The other problem 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.080 with it is I don't think it's made for like a 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:33.919 general western audience or a general global 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:36.740 audience I guess you could say which is weird. 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:41.159 Just I can't think of a good parallel except 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:43.980 for um I'm thinking like shonen anime. Shonen 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:47.149 anime appeals very nicely across culture. I don't 00:16:47.149 --> 00:16:49.009 think this has a strong enough of a shounen anime 00:16:49.009 --> 00:16:52.970 type vibe to, or like, feel to what's going on 00:16:52.970 --> 00:16:55.769 in the actual story to say that this is a success. 00:16:56.750 --> 00:16:58.610 Or rather, I don't think it's going to land with 00:16:58.610 --> 00:17:00.789 audiences the way a lot of, you know, some of 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:02.690 the top shounen things do. It's not a My Hero 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:05.289 Academia. It's not a... I've never watched Jujutsu 00:17:05.289 --> 00:17:07.130 Kaisen, so I couldn't tell. It's not a Yu -Gi 00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:11.579 -Oh! so far, even though... It's not a Samurai 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:13.720 Champloo or a Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop, I've 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:15.980 heard legends say that it's kind of meant to 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:18.119 appeal to a Western audience. Samurai Champloo, 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:19.319 I've kind of heard the same thing, even though 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:21.859 it's in a very distinctly Japanese setting. I'm 00:17:21.859 --> 00:17:24.380 going to say Zetsu is very much closer to Samurai 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:26.259 Champloo because it's in a very distinctly Japanese 00:17:26.259 --> 00:17:28.839 setting. But I don't think it's going to have 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:31.079 the same kind of cross -culture, cross -world 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:34.200 appeal. And I think it's probably the lack of 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:36.970 beatboxing, honestly. But yeah, those are my 00:17:36.970 --> 00:17:39.250 honest thoughts on this, my honest review of 00:17:39.250 --> 00:17:41.569 Carbonary Zeps episode one. I'd love to hear 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:43.390 what your thoughts are on it and what you think 00:17:43.390 --> 00:17:45.529 about it. If you loved it, why? If you didn't 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.289 like it, is it for some of the same reasons as 00:17:47.289 --> 00:17:49.410 me or are there other reasons? And that's pretty 00:17:49.410 --> 00:17:51.670 much it. Anyway, I'd like you to check out all 00:17:51.670 --> 00:17:54.329 my work, which I have all hosted at mjmanus .com. 00:17:54.650 --> 00:17:56.369 I'm an author, I'm an artist, I'm an analyzer. 00:17:56.369 --> 00:17:58.589 I have a book out called Mocking Mayhem. It's 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:02.519 about magical bugs battling monsters. It's a 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:05.140 lot of fun. There are Tokusatsu or Power Ranger 00:18:05.140 --> 00:18:07.579 references in it for sure, if you like that sort 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:10.380 of thing. And, yeah, I'm working on another book 00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:13.500 that's not that. It's something else, and I hope 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:16.119 to tell you about it soon. Until next time, folks, 00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:18.579 take care. Be well. Give me your honest answer. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:19.940 What did you really think about this episode? 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.640 Magical bugs battle monsters in this exciting 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.420 fantasy adventure. Rimlings prey upon children. 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:30.940 Robugs protect them. When a gremlin finds a hidden 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:33.400 growbug fort, the whole flock makes a surprise 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:36.819 attack. How will the growbugs survive? Find out 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:41.039 in Mockwing Mayhem. Learn more at growbugs .com, 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:42.579 where you can find out more about our mailing 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:44.420 list, receive behind -the -scenes information, 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.460 and get all the latest news on the growbugs.