Kamen Rider Gaim - Lock 02 "Deathblow! Pineapple Kick!"

[Lynxara]

Yeah, it's always interesting to see a "mature" author's first attempt at doing something for kids. Some writers take to it really well, others I think have a hard time figuring out how to do anything that doesn't feel watered-down.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Episode 2, LOCK ON! :169:

--Those Inves remind me of the Worms from Kabuto; the generic/minion ones still in their shells... And the OP visuals don't do much to dissuade me from thinking about Kabuto. :170:
--Wow... What can I say there? Kouta comes home, is all like "Hi! BTW, I'm a Kamen Rider now!" and his sister restrains herself from freaking out or fainting. I applaud her for not losing it, but... What?! :O_O: I guess this is proof that there are too many Kamen Riders out there now. They aren't that big a thing anymore.
--Wow. After becoming a Kamen Rider, Kouta is like a little child with a brand new toy. He's being more childish with it than Ben 10 was with his Omnitrix, and that's saying something! :sly:
--So the belt only works for Kouta? Hmm... I remember seeing that in Faiz and many other Heisei Rider shows... NOPE! No! Not going to make any more comparisons like that. If I do, I'll NEVER be able to break from the vicious cycle. :shakefist
--Player Pass? Really? Am I missing something? I hope this comes back and is better explained because, except for the fighting with Lock Seeds part, I really don't see why you would need permission to be a group of street dancers. :shrug:
--Hey! Kouta summoned Gouraigan! Good to see we're all ready getting our random tokusatu hero cameos out of the way this year.
--"Couldn't handle the armor before"? Wut? Is this suppose to be a mistranslation? Since when did he have troubles handling the armor before? It's not like it ever rejected him and deactivated all on its own.
--You know, when it doesn't turn into armor, that orange on his head looks like it has a face on it. Almost looks more like a Jack-o-lantern. :hmm:
--Dude! He trapped the head, then blew up the body with a kick! Was that some kind of reverse decapitation? That was AWESOME! :anime:

 

[Toku Prime]

--Wow. After becoming a Kamen Rider, Kouta is like a little child with a brand new toy. He's being more childish with it than Ben 10 was with his Omnitrix, and that's saying something! :sly:

Yeah for some reason the wacky shenanigans early on really put me off for the rest of the episode. I'm kinda glad Gaim wasn't in the 'Magic Land' movie now - him and Shunpei together might have pushed me over the edge. >8(

--Player Pass? Really? Am I missing something? I hope this comes back and is better explained because, except for the fighting with Lock Seeds part, I really don't see why you would need permission to be a group of street dancers. :shrug:

In the first episode we saw a small card being pulled out of a pillar next to the stage, which cut out the music. My guess is the pass is more like a pre-paid card for using the stages dotted around, or a kind of public performance permit. But yes, the way they spoke of it, it did seem more like they were licenses to be a street gang.

That's one of the things that hasn't sold me on the whole street gang concept yet. They're gangs and there's a turf war and it's all serious business and survival of the fittest, and when they're in trouble they turn to the shady weapons dealer lurking in the corner of a local cafe. But all the gangs want to do is dress in colour-coordinated outfits and perform choreographed amateur dance routines, there's some sort of authority control over each gang's existence, and the dealer openly shows off his menu inventory on an iPad while the most popular TV program airing is essentially a lockseed shopping channel. Heck, Gaim himself is meant to be an ex-gang member, and they labored the idea that he has no idea how to fight. I realise they have to neuter the concept somewhat given the show's audience, but the way it's been presented so far makes it seem like the concept has already started to get lost in the disguise. But hey, it's Baron's debut next week so maybe they'll start dialling up the tension then? *crosses fingers*

 

[Matrix]

I can't be the only one who is liking Gaim? Yes it is dimmed down in maturity, but I still enjoy it. I found Kouta's "What up I'm a Kamen Rider" scenes to be comical, and I just like it so far, and even the fight scenes are kind of cool. Fruits and the Warring states together are still kinda iffy for me....

 

[kuroihikari]

Kouta's story is all about what it means to be an adult. He started out the story trying to show others that he is an adult (by leaving behind the "childish" dancing, and getting jobs), but it turns out he's still really a kid at heart. That's the silliness we saw in episode 2.

The rest of the story should be all about him trying to find out the true meaning of being an adult and thanks to episode 2, we already have a point of comparison.

 

[bleachjoj]

Yeah the street dancing hasn't sold me yet. Way more interested in what's going on with Yuuya, the belt wearing Yggdrasil guys etc. The dance moves are... pretty bad. Baron's performance looked like straight out of a boy band routine, not street dancing. But I can see how it's going to play from the interviews. Kouta and Kaito will play around with the belts for the dance teams until things get really serious.

Glad to see Kouta looks like his cocky streak will continue. I really like that we have a rider that sort of plays around with it. Which is obviously setting up Kouta being taken down a peg.

 

[Lynxara]

That's one of the things that hasn't sold me on the whole street gang concept yet.

The street dancing thing really strikes me as Urobuchi's way of getting a completely G-rated, wholesome street gang turf war featuring no imitable behavior more objectionable than dancing into his Rider show. Kind of like how all the bars where Gai Yuki hung out in Jetman were really conspicuously clean and PG-friendly.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I can't be the only one who is liking Gaim?

You're not. I like Gaim. Heck, it's hard me for me not to like anything samurai themed. That's why "Samurai" is part of my user name. :anime: I might not always laugh at the more comical or family friendly moments, heck I barely knew how to react in this episode, but I still like Gaim! Count me among the few who would love to see a VS match between the Gaim Riders and Shinkenger. :coolshades:

 

[Kamen Rider Oni]

I like the show so far too, even though I really wish it wasn't "Fruit" themed... everything else I'm okay with pretty much. But overall I am liking the story that is being crafted and have a really good feeling about this series. Hopefully I won't be disappointed down the road though.

 

[Matrix]

I could also do without the fruit theme. It just has really no point yet. I'm figuring along the season we will see how it all meshes up, but until then, I am not impressed.