Why is Yasuko Kobayashi so beloved?
- Thread starter lazycoconut
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Ivanhobe
The Extraordinary Fan(boy)
I have sort of grown into a fan of Kobayashi, currently she is my favorite Toku writer, and i have yet to see Timaranger and Gingaman, two of her best works, or so i have heard.
As for why i like her writing, there are 2 primary reasons:
1. World Building: Something i really like about shows like Ryuki, Den-O and Go-Busters, is how the rules for the world are clearly established and followed in a cohesive way. For example, if you look at the first 30 episodes of Go-Busters, pretty much every aspect of the show spins around the concept of teleportation, and the way its laid out is extremely consistent. If you start to analyze every individual element or plot point from that perspective, you can see how everything makes sense, which gives this world a lot of credibility.
Another outstanding example of this is Den-O, the time travel mechanics were laid out in such a consistent way, that even if the show doesn´t really explain a lot of things (like what exactly happened to Hana´s timeline) you can easily figure it out by just following the mechanics that the show already estalished, heck, the Time Travel in Den-O is so well thought out that you can even explain the ending of Let´s Go Kamen Rider.
2. Character Building: One of my favorite aspects of characters created by Kobayashi is that her characters have many layers to them. Most writer in toku that i have seen have a tendency to rely in certain arquetypes, and while Kobayashi DOES use these arquetypes herself, she always adds layers to them so none of them are completely defined by their arquetypes.
This is usually highlighted by the fact that she does a very good job of writing character interactions. For example, in Ryuki the character of Shinji is quite simple, as his name implies, he believes that people must do the right thing. This makes him a simple character, but it is played out against characters like Ren that pretty much defy his expectations by antagonizing his beliefs while at the same time being "right" themselves. This puts the character of Shinji in a position were he is neither right ro wrong.
Kobayashi tends to do this with a lot of characters, my favorite examples being Eiji and Ryuji, both characters are doing the right thing by sacrificing their lives for the sake of others, but the writing makes it clear that they are pretty much throwing their lifes away. In Eiji´s case, he is an heroic character, but for most of the series you can see that while his intentions are noble, he is not in the "right". Similarly, Ryuji took it upon himself to "raise" Yoko and has dedicated his life to the mission, but once Jin comes around he forces him to admit that he threw his dreams away and he has become a lesser person because of it.
These are the 2 main aspects that i enjoy of her writing, though i admit that the one problem most of her stories have lie in the plot, the characters and worlds she builds are great, but the plots are inconsistent, so when the show doesn´t hinge on its characters (like it did in Shinkenger), the result can be a bit messy (as in OOO).
As for why i like her writing, there are 2 primary reasons:
1. World Building: Something i really like about shows like Ryuki, Den-O and Go-Busters, is how the rules for the world are clearly established and followed in a cohesive way. For example, if you look at the first 30 episodes of Go-Busters, pretty much every aspect of the show spins around the concept of teleportation, and the way its laid out is extremely consistent. If you start to analyze every individual element or plot point from that perspective, you can see how everything makes sense, which gives this world a lot of credibility.
Another outstanding example of this is Den-O, the time travel mechanics were laid out in such a consistent way, that even if the show doesn´t really explain a lot of things (like what exactly happened to Hana´s timeline) you can easily figure it out by just following the mechanics that the show already estalished, heck, the Time Travel in Den-O is so well thought out that you can even explain the ending of Let´s Go Kamen Rider.
2. Character Building: One of my favorite aspects of characters created by Kobayashi is that her characters have many layers to them. Most writer in toku that i have seen have a tendency to rely in certain arquetypes, and while Kobayashi DOES use these arquetypes herself, she always adds layers to them so none of them are completely defined by their arquetypes.
This is usually highlighted by the fact that she does a very good job of writing character interactions. For example, in Ryuki the character of Shinji is quite simple, as his name implies, he believes that people must do the right thing. This makes him a simple character, but it is played out against characters like Ren that pretty much defy his expectations by antagonizing his beliefs while at the same time being "right" themselves. This puts the character of Shinji in a position were he is neither right ro wrong.
Kobayashi tends to do this with a lot of characters, my favorite examples being Eiji and Ryuji, both characters are doing the right thing by sacrificing their lives for the sake of others, but the writing makes it clear that they are pretty much throwing their lifes away. In Eiji´s case, he is an heroic character, but for most of the series you can see that while his intentions are noble, he is not in the "right". Similarly, Ryuji took it upon himself to "raise" Yoko and has dedicated his life to the mission, but once Jin comes around he forces him to admit that he threw his dreams away and he has become a lesser person because of it.
These are the 2 main aspects that i enjoy of her writing, though i admit that the one problem most of her stories have lie in the plot, the characters and worlds she builds are great, but the plots are inconsistent, so when the show doesn´t hinge on its characters (like it did in Shinkenger), the result can be a bit messy (as in OOO).
Fantasy Leader
Member
The 2nd Evil
Member
There hasn't been a series that she was head writer on that I've seen that I didn't absolutely love, so... that's why she's so beloved to me.
Smilodon
Friendship and the Cosmos.
I think it's because when she's good, she's really good and fans tend to remember those great moments rather than those bad moments where her weakness shows. She's also pretty good at dialogue. The last third of OOO, Timeranger from the debut of TimeFire/Hellsgate Prisoners/Kaoru in Shinkenger/Ryuki in general come to mind.
Of course, she does have her bad moments, like Go-Busters and the lulls in OOO.
Of course, she does have her bad moments, like Go-Busters and the lulls in OOO.
lazycoconut
I liked him when he wasn't a god
Well, almost everyone who didn't like Go-Busters seems to have changed their tune with the final few episodes ...
bleachjoj
Member
Speak for yourself.
Aoiblue
Raxbait: Hip
I think recently I've liked her Rider stuff more than her sentai. Although I do like Gobusters more than Shinkenger, but GB isn't really high on my sentai list as is. Also, gotta hand it to her about the 2nd half of Gobusters....it couldve been worse, glad it wasn't.
Also, does having a good producer reflect on her writing?
Also, does having a good producer reflect on her writing?
Vitor
When The Fruit Of Life Corrupts Men
I honestly found it pointless for them to continue on after episode 30. But you know, Go-Busters already went from moderately seriously to embrassingly stupid, why not beat the horse further?
lazycoconut
I liked him when he wasn't a god
I've always enjoyed Go-Busters, but from what I'm seeing on other sites, people who had previously disliked it are rapidly warming up to it after seeing the last few episodes. I think something similar happened with OOO, people who had complained about it being too slow/not making sense were kinder about it after the very emotive finale. So it seems Kobayashi has some skill for writing an ending at least
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