From the last episode of Kamen Rider Wizard we have issues as Kousuke belt has been stolen and Nakamara is in danger. Will Kousuke find his belt in time and did Sora really take it?
Now everyone who watched the last episode we all know who really took the belt. It was Nakamara of course! Now we already know his reason for wanting the Beast belt and that is to gain fame. We find out what happened to him in the past as his boss took credit for his work. Since that he continued to do research so to get further achievement and glory. Now the series did not try to hide this, but that's the good thing trust me. As I said before in the last episode the heroes thought it was Sora who took it and how he acted did make him look the criminal. Still there were moments when we saw Nakamara looking guilty as well and further in this episode we had more of those moments. In the end, he sees that taking the belt was like what his boss did to him and seeing that made him give Kousuke back his belt. As I said in the last review I was very happy with Nakamara, he had strong moments and how he acted with the heroes was unique. The best parts were when he was with Kousuke as the two had strong dreams as one of their dreams helped another realize their real dream of discovering the truth behind ancient ruins.
Continuing on with Kousuke we see more of his determination for his identity of the Mage, Beast. There are many moments where he is near death cause of his loss of magic. Haruto and the others try to get him to agree to get rid of the beast inside of him. Kosuke doesn't want to get rid of him though since we find more of his passion. Ever since he found the powers of Beast he knows that this is a one in a time discovery. Kosuke needs to keep him since Khimaira is his greatest chance since he is also his greatest pinch. We always knew of Kousuke's ideology so the idea of a monster that can kill him, but also give him great powers and be an ancient discovery fits in both of those criteria. Kousuke for me was always a likeable character and the more we learn about him makes him even more fun to watch.
There was another big moments with Kousuke and that was his meeting with Khimaira. This happens when Kousuke tries to use the new ring he gained from Nakamara. It's a great contrast to when Haruto went to his underworld and talked with Dragon. Khimaira comes to him because he thinks Kousuke is going to die and thinks about parting ways. He tries to avoid talking about the new powers since he thinks Kousuke cannot do it in the state his is right now. He does tell Kousuke about the new powers that it will give form to his powers. With these two they never seemed to hate each other, I mean Khimaira was looking out for him, but that could because he will die along with Kosuke. Khimaira still likes the guy and is convinced to let Kousuke use his powers. I will get to Beast new form later, but first it's time for the other characters.
As I said before the series did not try to hide the fact that Nakamara took the belt and the heroes knew quickly. I mean with a police officer around, Rinko completely saw through Nakamara's story. Even the other heroes except for Shunpei, but he wasn't paying that much attention. Before they even try going for the belt they try using the Please Ring for Kousuke, but it doesn't work. It was still an interesting idea though. Later, Kousuke goes straight up to Nakamara about if he stole the belt. This leads to them being kicked out, but thanks to Shunpei keeping the pictures of the belt the guys think of a plan. They trick Nakamara to think they had the belt by having the Golem make a fake belt. First I was not expecting this even though we saw Golem's forging abilities in the last episode. Golem did something very important and this fake belt is used more than once. The Phantom returns and he knows what keeps Nakamara's hopes up which is his discoveries. So Haruto uses the fake belt to lure the Phantom away and uses a new ring, the Fall Ring. It creates a hole and the Phantom and Haruto fall to the floor below. The whole fake belt was used very well and it shows more creativity and intelligence for our heroes.
Also that is one great power!
While our heroes did well to defend Nakamara and Kousuke's real belt. Sora was behind the scenes once more and actually caused the important plot event. Sora tempted Nakamara to take the belt by telling him about how it would help his research. So that is why Sora was acting like he did it in the last episode since he caused it. For Medusa she stuck to the plan and tells the Phantom how to take Nakamara into despair. Now there is one thing I am still wondering about. What is Sora trying to do? In the last episode he said he tried to kill Kousuke or was he still messing around. Then he is excited to see Beast with his new powers and he thinks of what Wiseman could do. So I feel like Sora wants to have the Mages to get more powerful just so he can see what Wiseman will do and maybe get him out in the open. Overall, Sora is still showing how he works as he is still fun to watch.
He will still continue to do so as well
Now for the action and in the beginning of the episode it was quick, but it shows a great use for the Drago Timer. Wizard was in a pinch and he quickly brings it out and summons the other Dragon forms. The Water Dragon got the Ghuls away from Nakamara, Hurricane Dragon took Nakamara away, and Land Dragon saves Kousuke. This is also a great look to how the summoning works as they can appear anywhere where Wizard wants to. Later on he distracts the Phantom as he stayed in his base states. The big part for the episode is the reveal of Beast's new powers, they Hyper form! Now the color scheme does remind me of Meteor Storm, but it looks ten times better than that. A gold chest piece that fits along with the red forms the mouth of a lion, there are some mane like things on his arms that actually extend for an attack, the overall blue look makes things really pop out. Also his gun is great as it shows a nice ancient look with a big lion design on it. It matches the same color scheme and the Hyper Ring as a funny little gimmick. The ring opens up so that it can be inserted for the finisher. It's dumb I will say, but at least the ring still looks nice and it did make a funny little scene when Beast was confused.
I can't hate this episode, there is nothing to hate. Nakamara was a delightful character who learned his lesson and regained his true dream. Kousuke dealt with a big conflict and stayed strong to his dream as well. The other heroes did a whole lot as they used many resources. The new rings were great, we saw great aspects of Wizard's powers. Hyper form is amazingly well done in design and for it's reveal it shows good powers of it. Heck even when transforming, Khimaira jumps out and attacks. It's an A+ episode, I can't hate it. The minor Phantom was little yes, but I still love his design and everything else was done correctly.
Next Time: A new Legion.
I liked this episode. It was very fun and it tagged all the things I want to see in the series. More Rinko policework, more Shunpei acting like a normal guy instead of a clown, more Haruto being smart and compassionate and trustworthy, and more great action choreography.
ReplyDeleteThe niggling concerns are still there from a great continuity standpoint though. Point of fact: Even though the previous arc ended in an awesome and unexpected way, the way it ended continues the trend of *zero deaths* for noteworthy characters.
Where the hell is the drama here? The arc-to-arc plots are quite entertaining, though obviously some ring truer than others for me personally. But the overarching plot is trudging along at the same slow pace it has been since the show started.
We know as little about the sabbath, wiseman, the phantoms, the white magician, the nature of the magic stones, Koyomi, Khimaira's history, and how they all fit together as we did when all those things were first introduced....
Literally NOTHING has been expanded upon. This show feels very...showa era. Loosely connected arcs where the hero always wins that gets more boring as the show progresses.
Well I think that is the point that the series is doing. It gives us this mystery and yet still giving us progression points. It's similar to Kuuga where the rider himself is becoming more powerful and the villains react to it. It's just the difference is that the Phantoms are already used to normal society and Wiseman knows what he is doing. Also I don't think a series is dramatic only because there is death, it does create tension yes, but if a series does it too much in the wrong way it can just feel forced. That was a huge problem I had with Faiz as some deaths just happened. Overall I think the series is giving us more to think about and then having a big moment where everything is revealed. There we will see the connections. So they are giving us the elements for the plot twist, but saving the twist for later. An example of this was a film called Stupid Crazy Love as it did a similar method where it saved a big plot twist for the near end of the movie and we see all the connections. If the series does that and the story makes sense I will be very happy about it.
DeleteIn most cases you would be right, there are other ways to increase tension in a situation other than outright deaths. But in a show where the threat of death is the major point of conflict (that's what phantoms are doing, attempting to murder people) the continued lack of consequence IS ruining the tension.
ReplyDeleteWe're constantly being told how dangerous the Phantoms are and how important it is for Haruto to stay one step ahead of them...but thus far they haven't proven threatening in the slightest. Much like in RX, the good guy just keeps winning and winning and the bad guys look more and more like incompetents as the series goes on.
Phoenix was the only interesting threat because he came the closest to really beating Haruto (and did, technically, once). Without him all we're left with are mysteries that aren't being progressed and enemies that seem to only exist to die.
The way they handled his "defeat" still leaves a bad taste in my mouth...not only because it was ludicrous and made no sense from a physics perspective and felt like a stupid trope from a straight-to-DVD anime movie...but because his absence only lowers the sense of tension that they'd built up around his rivalry w/ Haruto.
Medusa was very close with Mayu then and right now Sora is showing he knows a lot and can mess with people easily. For me having a character dying needs to be important and just doing that for tension is not good. Kuuga and Agito used that well since it already set that tone. For Wizard it's tone is lighter so having constant deaths with it would feel out of place.
DeleteFor me, I believe the current pace of Wizard is "OK" in my book, on a viewer's standpoint, we are being giving new information each episode while at the same time giving us questions to ponder upon.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I like about Wizard as a Kamen Rider Series so far, great design, likable characters (yes, shunpei included) and lot of questions to ponder upon even after an episode has been concluded.
I just hope that the buildup or the climax to these hanging questions will have a reasonable answer when we get to the series finale (whenever that is)
For now.. let's all enjoy the show since "It's Showtime!"
I really like this type of story telling a lot. It gives me much to think about which goes with how invested I am with the story. Don't worry you are not the only person who likes Shunpei I will defend for him as well. Finally, yea let's hope the pay off will be great as this could be the point where the series exceeds further or falls.
ReplyDelete