Kamen Rider Wizard EP 34 - "The Model's Dark Side"

[kuroihikari]

Rolling up the pants is the result of trying to identify one's self in the working class.

However, it only really works if you roll up your pant's right leg (and it must be up to the knees). Why? Because rolling up your pants came about because of practical purposes: So that you would be able to pedal a bicycle even while wearing long pants.

That doesn't work if 1.) You're rolling up your left leg, and 2.) You're not rolling it all the way up to the knees. Both of which Sora does. Making it utterly pointless.

TLDR: He's trying to use a cultural fashion statement entirely incorrectly.

And well, to be fair, I don't think it's only Sora who does it.

 

[Toku Prime]

Sigh.. I guess it's good that I am loving Juuden... Wizard has just fallen flat for me since about ep 20

I know what you mean. I've just gotten around to watching it today, way after I watched the other three weekly shows. It's just not been giving me the enthusiasm to watch it straight away for the last few weeks. :disappoin

Argos Phantom huh? And the way to drive people into despair isn't make them sit around waiting for their number to come up forever, well colour me surprised! And I just realised that will probably go over anyone's head who doesn't live in the UK...

I got it. I had the exact same thought when I saw them call him Argos :sweat:

What is the basis of the Sora hate anyway?

I've read it's a fairly common thing in the anime community. A character gets included who dresses and/or acts in a way that could be interpreted as feminine. The Japanese seem to either not care or like the character (there's even a lot of fangirls for this type of character) but Western viewers seem to react very negatively to them (because if he's not macho and manly then maybe he's gay, and if I like a possibly gay character then people might think I'm gay and my tiny ego can't withstand the slightest suggestion of such a thing and AAGH HELP!!!). Personally I think that's what happened with KR Drake, and I suspect the same thing's happening here. Sora/Gremlin isn't written any worse than Phoenix, but everyone loved him because he was a manly character. Google "oshare kei" and you'll find far more extreme examples of Japanese fashion than the stuff Gremlin wears.

I'm starting to feel that the Phantoms, like the Greeds, are just another attempt to have a watered down (and thus not so effective) version of the Grongis.

In what way are either the Phantoms or the Greeed like the Grongi other than being MotW?

 

[tigerblood]

I've read it's a fairly common thing in the anime community. A character gets included who dresses and/or acts in a way that could be interpreted as feminine. The Japanese seem to either not care or like the character (there's even a lot of fangirls for this type of character) but Western viewers seem to react very negatively to them (because if he's not macho and manly then maybe he's gay, and if I like a possibly gay character then people might think I'm gay and my tiny ego can't withstand the slightest suggestion of such a thing and AAGH HELP!!!). Personally I think that's what happened with KR Drake, and I suspect the same thing's happening here. Sora/Gremlin isn't written any worse than Phoenix, but everyone loved him because he was a manly character. Google "oshare kei" and you'll find far more extreme examples of Japanese fashion than the stuff Gremlin wears.

Has anyone seen Phillip? I freely admit that I was irritated by the way Phillip dressed. I have grown as a person since then and understand it as a fashion thing... I guess. Anyway, respect people's life choices and all that jazz, after 14 episodes of W and seeing Begins Night Phillip is a tough as nails MAN who takes care of business! Sorry for the tangent. I hope that's not true about the homophobia. I just don't get it, a guy can be a tough looking whiney baby elevated mook, but not a flamboyant cold and complex character. Whatever.

 

[Hidden Masta]

I've read it's a fairly common thing in the anime community. A character gets included who dresses and/or acts in a way that could be interpreted as feminine. The Japanese seem to either not care or like the character (there's even a lot of fangirls for this type of character) but Western viewers seem to react very negatively to them (because if he's not macho and manly then maybe he's gay, and if I like a possibly gay character then people might think I'm gay and my tiny ego can't withstand the slightest suggestion of such a thing and AAGH HELP!!!). Personally I think that's what happened with KR Drake, and I suspect the same thing's happening here. Sora/Gremlin isn't written any worse than Phoenix, but everyone loved him because he was a manly character. Google "oshare kei" and you'll find far more extreme examples of Japanese fashion than the stuff Gremlin wears.

Did your ass type this out or were you just talking out of it?

 

[Black Fang]

Yeah because the Grongis didn't dress totally ridiculously, very intimidating.

The Grongis looked freakish and dangerous. You'd cross to the other side of the street if you saw one of them coming your way or staring at you because you were next on their kill list. Sora looks like someone you'd see at some would-be chic Brooklyn/Manhattan neighborhood.

Rolling up the pants is the result of trying to identify one's self in the working class.

Yes, because Sora looks like your average working stiff.

In what way are either the Phantoms or the Greeed like the Grongi other than being MotW?

They're like them only in the mildest sense (and thus disappointing to me). They're anti-social (most of them), tend to only hang out amongst themselves, associate in abandoned or neglected places, and generally have (and try to have) a creepy vibe about them. But neither Greed/Yummy nor Phantom have reached the Grongi apex. Some like Legion came close, but he was wasted on a mere two-parter.

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

I find the fact that Sora has an annoying, awful actor to be more important than whatever he decides to slap onto his body for the day. <<

 

[Black Fang]

^ Well that certainly doesn't help him :laugh:

 

[HurricaneDragon]

I dunno, I've grown to like Sora actually, especially with this arc. Before he was just Phoenix's... well, special, replacement, but they're clearing developing him into something more than that, and I'm rather interested to see where they take this. He's definitely quirky, but maybe he needs to be in order to properly contrast with all the other Phantoms, which is (as of this episode) supposedly his role.

(And hello all! First post here, forgive me for just barging in.)

 

[Toku Prime]

Did your ass type this out or were you just talking out of it?

Well I probably overdid the neurotic-ness, as to me it seems like a silly reason to hate a character, but yes, I've seen it mentioned in anime reviews and online that the "pretty boy" or feminine male really is a fairly standard Japanese character archetype that Western people tend to almost always utterly hate.

They're like them only in the mildest sense (and thus disappointing to me). They're anti-social (most of them), tend to only hang out amongst themselves, associate in abandoned or neglected places, and generally have (and try to have) a creepy vibe about them. But neither Greed/Yummy nor Phantom have reached the Grongi apex. Some like Legion came close, but he was wasted on a mere two-parter.

I guess it depends what your looking for in the MotW. The Grongi weren't interesting to me because you never got to know anything about them. Maybe that was the point for some people but to me there were just a bunch of silly-dressed people wandering round town playing games *shrugs* At least the Greeed or the reoccuring Phantoms have enough personality that I can remember them.

(And hello all! First post here, forgive me for just barging in.)

The more the merrier! :anime:

 

[HurricaneDragon]

I guess it depends what your looking for in the MotW. The Grongi weren't interesting to me because you never got to know anything about them. Maybe that was the point for some people but to me there were just a bunch of silly-dressed people wandering round town playing games *shrugs* At least the Greeed or the reoccuring Phantoms have enough personality that I can remember them.

The more the merrier! :anime:

Thanks!

Though, do you NEED to know the MotW? By nature of being a MotW, it's... just supposed to be the monster of the week! You know what I mean?

I honestly am starting to like Sentai's formula more than Rider's, because with recent Rider, we waste two episodes on a character (or characters) that are that arc's appointed "victim," that character usually never returns again, and at the same time a monster is there too; and at the end of the day, end up with half as many "episodes" as Sentai too - on the other hand, most of the time, Sentai has the focus be on the monster causing mayhem and the heroes stopping it, with regular character or story focus, even if it's minimal due to arcs only (usually) being one episode long. It's really starting to get frustrating when we have to WAIT for character and plot-centric episodes in Rider, when during Kuuga for example, even if the Grongi wasn't particularly full of personality, at least something was happening, you know?

... Sorry, I think I went off on a tangent there.