 |
Oh my god. Holy Jesus. You know when I watched episode 7 a couple weeks ago, I was thinking "there is now way this could get any worse than it is now" HA freaking ha . No this isn't funny. Do you want to know why? This anime was one of my favorite anime from fall lineup. Every single week I looked forward to seeing Samurai Flamenco. It had realism, good characters, the list goes on. Then a few weeks ago they came out with the seventh episode. You know it feels like at this point they have formed a giant middle finger with this anime. First they formed the middle finger with episode 7, then they shoved it into fan's faces with episode 8, and with episode 9, well you can see the GIF above. I actually thought that i was beginning to actually like the Kamen Rider arc, and then this episode! I... Okay I need to actually explain myself so i don't sound like a raving madman (though I will undoubtedly still)
If you've read my Freezing review, you know I hate it when i receive mixed messages. Yes a show can be both horror and comedy, it is possible. Mirai Nikki for example, is genuinely funny at times. When it needs to be serious however, it can be, and it can do it really goddamn well. However! Samurai Flamenco is rushed. They're trying to add something to the whole Power Rangers formula. They're trying to make it deep, trying to add meaning. In other words they're taking something out of its target demographic. Power Ranger-type series are not supposed to be mature. They are supposed to be fun! That's it! Every last bit of this episode felt like they were trying to make this show mature. Everything from the ethics of killing monsters, to the superhero's role in society, felt forced.
Next I come to the characters. First up Hazama, who has gone from all around nice guy, to arrogant, uppity asshole, in about one episode. Did i miss something? Was there some crazy time loop? Am I in Steins;Gate or something? Oh right this isn't here for any actual reason this is just here for MELODRAMA! They have to put some stress on Goto and Hazama's relationship, so when Goto comes to save the day, the writers can say "Hey Wasn't that touching! Wow its so freaking amazing isn't it! Bet you didn't see that coming!" Maybe if they had tried to make it a bit more subtle it would have worked, but it feels like it's there, because why not? Of course they're going to make an ass out of me and not do that, but i don't care.
Next up! That little rich Idol! Okay first off, stop! If you are trying to make a scene horrifying, make it really serious, do not flash boobs at me. I mean this girl has been tortured for hours, you want to make it horrifying right? Not to mention the whole damsel in distress thing is as old as the hills. if you want to break the whole power-rangers formula, then isn't this first on the hit list?
The henchmen! If this anime wasn't trying so hard to take itself seriously i would be praising this scene. Instead for the entire scene my hand was planted on my face in a face-palm that Picard would have been proud of. Okay you want to add in some commentary about how henchmen aren't really henchmen, but are they're own people too? Okay well the fact that they have gag-balls in their mouths really doesn't help things. Next how the hell does this bring any perspective? Yes, you believe in evil just as much as anyone else. They might has well have replaced the entire speech with a picture of a cheese block, because in all of the cheesy speeches I've heard in my short life, I have never heard one this nonsensical and cheesy. This is as bad as People Die when they are killed! Believing in evil? What?! No! These henchmen are tools, right down to the core. I hope to god that the reason King Torture is doing all of this is because he believes in evil. The humor in this show has never been the highlight. Yes there are times where i cracked a smile, but there are so many more anime that do it better. The recent My Mental Choice, has me laughing my ass off, unlike this! This anime can get me to crack a smile. It can. Yet, they seem to think of the comedy as a central pillar to the series. The fact of the matter is that they are desperately trying to cater to the fans of the kick-ass arc with this humor, while still trying to be dark and edgy in this Kamen Rider arc.
 |
| Yes you guys are villain's in you own right! Regardless of the fact that you're wearing a gag-ball and collar! |
Moving on to Inventor guy! How the hell am I supposed to take this seriously? What? So in broad daylight this guy is going to make a final stand? Why the hell didn't he call the freaking police? Or forget that ! They're fighting on the side of a road! why doesn't someone else call the police! I mean it's not like the torture tools have any weapons or anything. All they have are their fists! the police could take care of that!
Now i couldn't finish this rant without including the slime-ball reporter guy, whom is a freaking asshole! Okay, I'm not mad at him for being a traitor, I'm fine with that, i didn't like him anyway! What I do care about is the way he was convinced! Forget the gag-ball guy speech, this one's even worse. Okay the guy is willing to be tortured for hours without giving up Flamenco Diamond. He gets stabbed, put in a spike cage, whipped, etc, but that doesn't convince him. No what convinces him, is not morals, not some grand argument about the nature of evil, not societal commentary, but entertainment. I swear to god, the convincing argument is that if the scumbag reporter gives in, he will be entertained. Okay it's not as bad as I making it out to be, but still, it's a really crummy argument. Oh and here they try to throw a plot twist at us, the reporter guy has been a spy the entire time! he's been working with King Torture all along! Maybe that's surprising, but i really didn't care. Maybe if it had been the martial arts teacher guy, but not the reporter guy. Hell we've seen him in maybe ten scenes, tops. There is not hint of anyone working with king torture, no thought of any information leak. In fact from what I've seen, there was no reason for Torture to need his help. it's not like he did anything with the information other than to get that Diamond girl. The twist felt out of place. Like they were trying to get a shock out of the audience, just because they felt like it. Not only that but once again, this scene strays from the whole Power Rangers thing. It gets really dark really fast. I was more surprised that they had that scene in there, than the actual twist itself.
Overall the episode felt rushed. They were trying to fit too many things into a short span of time. let me list it out: Tension between Hazama and Goto, Hazama character development, Inventor dude development/ death scene, torture scenes, Idea that henchmen are just as important as the main villain/ have their own goals and feelings, major plot developments, time-skips (lots of monsters defeated in interval?), idea that monsters are not just monsters, but somethings that are being forced to do evil work. Twenty minutes and three episodes is not enough to warrant all of the themes that are going on here.
I'm sorry for two things. Okay first the ridiculous delay here, that was waaay to long and i apologize. The other thing is if you like this show. These are my opinions and I will stick by them. There are people who like this kind of stuff however and i respect that.
Anyhow, thanks for reading! Likes, Follows and whatnot are always appreciated, and I'll see you next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment