(Cross-Up
is on hiatus, sort of, but not really!
I’m going to try and take it easy over the next few weeks, because it’s
the winter holiday season and I half-expect nobody to be around on the
internet. Things will get back in gear
sometime in January, but until then? If
you ARE here, then enjoy a handful of high-quality filler posts. It’ll be fun, presumably!)
Like I’ve said before, Gaim has been on my mind for a good while now -- even before I
started working on these posts. It’s not
even close to my favorite Kamen Rider installment
(that honor goes to OOO, the first
one I watched to completion), but if things had gone differently Gaim would have taken the top spot. And I’m all right with that; part of the
reason I check out other KR installments
is because I’m waiting for the series that boots OOO from the throne -- the one show that lets me say “I don’t just
like OOO because it was my
first.”
That’ll happen eventually, I hope. But it hasn’t yet. That’s not to devalue Gaim, because even if I can point to problems I had with it -- and
let’s be real, there ARE problems -- I can still enjoy it as a whole. There are just things that any given viewer
needs to consider.
And the one thing I kept considering from the
show’s start to its finish is this: We Madoka now.
Let me say this to start:
I am fairly filling this post with SPOILERS! So…you know, be wary of those. It’ll help you in the long run, I imagine.
…
Once more, it’s worth mentioning that the
mastermind behind Kamen Rider Gaim is
the famed Gen Urobuchi, otherwise known as “Urobutcher”. He’s made a name for himself, and
rightfully so in a number of instances.
While I can’t say I’m intimate with his work, I do know he’s pretty
prolific in the anime world. Suisei no Gargantua, parts of Psycho-Pass, Aldnoah.Zero -- he’s had a hand in all of those, as well as some
visual and light novels.
Still, the one thing I know him for -- even if I
haven’t even seen it, outside of the cultural osmosis pushed by its popularity
-- is Puella Magi Madoka Magica. That, as far as I can tell, had a HUGE
impact, be it on anime fans shocked by the unlikely fusion of despair and
magical girls, or by those in the industry who decided to play the “let’s do
that, but worse” game. (Otherwise known
as the “let’s turn everything into Call
of Duty” approach.) I’m not going to
pass any judgments on an anime I know nothing about; if you’re looking for
that, I’d
recommend looking here for a very thoughtful breakdown. I’ve only seen a couple of gifs from the
actual show, and even then incidentally -- but then again, I wonder if I even
have to at this point. I feel like just
by spending time on the internet, I know pretty much the gist of what happens.
And unfortunately, that pours into -- and hurts --
Gaim.
Anyone who knew Urobuchi was attached to the show
knew instinctively what they were in for.
Apparently, a “Madoka-level
twist” was touted early on, which I can understand; after all, giving an
audience a big reveal to look forward to is pretty regular when it comes to
modern-day stories. But I don’t agree
with that move (or mindset at large), because A) it devalues everything before
that plot twist, and B) the reveal is never going to be as earth-shattering as
what fans dream up.
Gaim has
twists in its plotline and its theme at large -- all things geared toward
probing what it means to be a Rider.
When it’s doing that investigation, it’s good. It’s thoughtful. But even so, there are times when it doesn’t
work. It’s revealed that the
installment’s monsters (the Inves) are actually the end result of people who
eat one of the alien forest’s fruits raw, instead of turning the fruits into
the Rider-making Lock Seeds. Kouta sees
that transformation happen firsthand, and it shocks him to his core…but for me,
it fell flat.
I’ve seen more than enough KR installments to know that there’s a VERY fine line between being
a Rider and being a monster; typically, their power sources come from the exact
same place with only the slightest tweaks.
Because if that, one of the franchise’s overarching themes -- however
understated -- is that it’s about how you use
that power, not necessarily what it is or where it comes from.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder
whether Urobuchi and crew were fighting against futility. I’m not discounting Madoka, but here’s the problem: barring the supplementary materials
that came afterward (manga, movies, what have you), Madoka came and went in twelve episodes. It was a one-shot series that told the story
it thought needed to be told. Compare
that to KR; setting aside the fact
that Gaim had nearly four times as
many episodes to fill with content, you have to remember that it’s part of an
esteemed franchise. I can’t help but
question the lasting impact of deconstructing Riders when your work is followed
immediately by a show whose
theme song sounds like this.
Beyond that, I can’t shake the feeling that the
similarities between Gaim and Madoka are more pronounced than I’d
prefer. A shady character that promises
to give youths power in exchange for even shadier gains? Check.
A character that gets offed in spectacular fashion? Check.
Showing how much being a magical girl Rider can suck? Check.
Despair for pretty much everyone?
Check. And beyond all of that
(and probably more), just how similar are characters like Kouta and Kaito to
Madoka and Homura? Or anyone else, for
that matter? Could Micchy only be the
best character because Urobuchi already had practice with a wide-headed magical
girl? And most importantly, what does it
say about Gaim when its lead turns
into Super Saiyan Jesus Nobunaga to resolve the conflict?
Oh my God, it’s just so baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.
I guess the question I have to ask myself --
beyond the “is this good or bad” issue -- is “Given the chance, would I watch Gaim again?” And all things considered, I’m leaning toward
no. I feel like I got everything I
wanted out of it, even before I reached the finale; it certainly didn’t help
that said finale led up to a final fight with high shitlord Kaito. Blemishes aside, Gaim’s got a strong plot and some really good ideas orbiting it,
and when they’re allowed to occur naturally the show is at its best. That simplicity -- and the top-notch
execution born from it -- is what put the show higher above a couple of
others.
What I’m getting at here is that Gaim is great when it isn’t trying. That’s not to say I want its crew (past,
present, or future) to just give up on quality and pander with lots of flash
and spectacle. No, it’s all about being
simple and natural. When it’s not
force-feeding despair to the audience, it’s a stronger show. When it is,
it’s the sort of thing that begets The
Walking Dead-levels of apathy. Gaim never crosses that threshold,
thankfully, but it did get close. And in
some instances, even getting close is a bad place to be.
There’s a subplot later in the show where it’s
revealed that using higher-end Lock Seeds are slowly turning Kouta into an
Overlord (i.e. a super-Inves). Once
other characters find out about it-- leading lady Mai chief among them -- it’s
a cause for concern and cries by the dozen.
Here’s the problem, though: in the context of the show, there’s no inherent
drawback to becoming an Overlord, especially in Kouta’s case.
The biggest signals that he’s changing are that he
stops needing food, he heals faster, and he can move Helheim’s plants on a
small scale. Those all sound like good
things to me. Plus, even when he does
make the complete leap, it comes without consequence; he gets to keep his human
form, his individuality, and his sentience.
So why were people crying about it?
Why the worry?
There’s no need for it. And thus, that’s bad despair.
Compare that to an example in the show’s first
half. Kouta’s Rider adventures only
started because of his missing friend Yuuya, who for all intents and purposes
should have been the true Armored Rider Gaim.
Still, Yuuya is a guy that matters to Kouta, especially with him
MIA. But with the reveal that Yuuya not
only became an Inves, but was the very first monster that Kouta killed in his
very first fight, it’s a turn of events that affects everyone (Kouta, Micchy, and
Mai) once they fully know the truth.
It’s the point where Micchy begins showing his
manipulative side in full force. It’s
the lynchpin of Kouta’s fall and subsequent rise vis a vis his acquisition of
Kachidoki Arms. It’s a truth that gets
kept from Mai to preserve her happiness, but once she does find out she presses
on even harder -- even without a Rider suit to call her own. The drama around this plot point matters in
the grand scheme of both the show and several characters’ arcs, creating tension
during its period of relevance, as well as relief once all’s said and done.
There’s a definite
need for that. And thus, that’s good
despair.
As you can guess, I don’t think every story needs
to be 100% happy 100% of the time (even if my distaste for dark/gritty fare
says otherwise). It’s all about striking
a balance -- using those elements effectively instead of skewing toward certain
tastes or expectations, or even a creator’s end goals. It’s all about doing what’s best for a story,
and the characters within it.
And on that note, it’s worth noting that a number
of the characters in this show are worth watching. Well, maybe not the villains (Micchy aside),
and I wish some of the other dancers were more than just named extras, but
those who get chances to shine really do shine.
Jounouchi may be the joke
character of choice, considering that his suit’s based on an acorn, but that
doesn’t stop his transformation to wannabe strategist to loyal (if reluctant)
frontline fighter.
Oren’s the most FABULOUS pastry chef you’ll ever
see, but you don’t even make it through his debut episode before seeing him
prove why he was such a dangerous mercenary.
And special mention has to go
to Team Baron’s second leader Zack. He
gets his start as some
background voice who shouts “BANANA?!”, but well before the show’s end
establishes himself not only as a chummy and goodhearted supporter, but also as
a Total Cool Guy. If not for Micchy, he’d be my favorite character.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend a little time on
Mai, though. It’s a shame that she
doesn’t get to be an Armored Rider, but in terms of the main series she doesn’t
need to be. I wasn’t too keen on her at
first, because at the start of the show she chews Kouta out for abandoning the
team (without really knowing or caring about his extenuating circumstances);
still, once she realizes that Kouta’s putting in a hell of a lot of work for everyone’s sake -- his sister, Team
Gaim, Zawame City, and Mai herself -- she starts to lay off. That’s not to say that she spends the rest of
her show sitting around, or just waiting with clasped hands for Kouta to
resolve everything. If anything, she
does work that’s infinitely more important than beating up the bad guys.
When it’s revealed that Yggdrasil has been using
the Beat Riders as scapegoats (and furthers their ill standing with a smear
campaign), Mai -- who pretty much has dancing in her blood -- campaigns with as
many other dancers as she can to both reverse their standing AND bring
happiness to themselves and others. In a
way, you can think of her as a peacemaker in the faux-Sengoku war; with so much
smashing and burning happening around her, Mai takes it upon herself to bridge
the gap between the people of Zawame City -- building trust, uniting against a
common enemy, etc. And beyond all that
-- even when the dancing does get phased out -- she still keeps a stiff upper
lip about the whole situation. She’s a
real trooper, and presents a sort of “realness” to the
nuttiness taking place on a daily basis.
That’s cool.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then she becomes a MacGuffin
holder who ends up creating one of the most baffling plot twists I’ve ever seen
-- one that, for whatever reason, introduces
time travel. As if the show wasn’t complex enough already.
One thing I haven’t mentioned until now is that
since episode one (and the show’s opening), there’s been a mysterious blonde
girl in white who, beyond looking like Mai, appears periodically -- her most
poignant appearances being when Kouta, Kaito, and Micchy first get ready to go
into their Armored Rider forms. She
warns them that they’re heading toward a dark path, and they have to be willing
to accept the weight of that choice. BUT
as it turns out, that girl wasn’t just a Mai clone; she IS Mai.
More specifically, Mai gets the Golden Fruit
MacGuffin and gains the power it bestows rather than, well, dying. Almost immediately, she uses that power to
travel through time and try and prevent the show’s events from happening, or at
least keep the three Riders du jour from getting involved. It doesn’t work, she ends up getting trapped
in another timeline or something, and the only way to save her is for Kouta and
Kaito to slug it out in the show’s final fight.
It’s been a good while since I finished Gaim, and
I’m STILL trying to wrap my head around what happened. I was under the impression that “get the
Golden Fruit” = win, so how did everyone end up in a situation where Mai -- who
I would have figured effectively became a god -- went from a proactive supporter
to someone that needed to be rescued (and according to some valid
interpretations, a trophy to be won by two guys butting heads over her)?
On top of that, the Golden Mai who appears before
the others talks in stuffy, grandiose language, while the Normal Mai --
superimposed into the scenes near the very end of the show’s run -- pleads and
even mentions that that isn’t what she wanted to say. Sooooooooooooo…uh…did another Golden Mai from
a different timeline take over? If so,
why? And again, how did Mai end up in a
bad place if she has the key to ending the entire show’s conflict?
Gaim,
I’m trying to support you here. Could
you please make it a little easier on me?
I will be fair.
The show gets into some sketchy territory by making a huge part of the
conflict revolve around three boys pining for one girl (to different degrees
and extents). On the other hand, that
drama is used to get things going -- changing characters for the better,
pushing them head-first into corruption, or otherwise giving them something to
fight for.
Like the Devil Survivor games before it, Gaim
manages to make the conflict feel bigger and give the setting some real
weight -- there’s a harrowing scene near the end where there’s a wall covered
in pictures of missing persons -- but what both justifies that conflict and
surpasses it is the struggle on a personal level. An audience can feel the pressure on a large
scale, but a small-scale skirmish shouldn’t be devalued.
And really, there are a lot of nice things added
to Gaim on that personal level. You can get the sense that even if he crossed
a line at some point, most of what Micchy did was to protect both his friends
and his peaceful, laughter-filled days.
Kouta ends up being the one standing beside Mai at the end in a plotline
sense, but he was able to win her heart by doing what neither Kaito nor Micchy
could: trusting her with the truth so that she wouldn’t just be living with false
hope.
But interestingly, it still doesn’t make him any
better at giving others peace of mind; rather than talking to Micchy himself at
the end, he has Takatora try to fix things in his stead. Even the members of Team Baron (that matter)
admit with gusto that they want to dance, and thus take the reins from total
shitlord Kaito. S’all right with me;
Zack IS the second-best character, after all.
I can’t help but wonder what kind of show Gaim would be if it kept things
simple. Maybe I’d like it more for
keeping focus and strengthening those interpersonal relationships. Maybe I’d like it less for trivializing the
larger-scale elements. Who knows? And more importantly, who cares? I don’t have any
problems pointing out issues I had with the show, but as you’ve seen, I’m more
than willing to point out the positives.
And there are positives -- stuff that would make me recommend a watch to
anyone interested.
I’m probably not going to rank it higher than some
of the other shows I’ve seen, but don’t think of that as an indictment. Rather, take that as confirmation of just how
freaking good KR is on a regular
basis. OOO is still my favorite, but the shows that follow that occupy
some dubious haze where any one of them could take the number two slot for
different reasons. And even though I’ve
got issues with stuff like Kiva and Den-O, I still like them plenty. They’ve got some real juice to them, in terms
of both context and subtext. So as far
as I’m concerned, at this moment, I really can’t say “Don’t watch ______” or “Eh,
I didn’t really like ______”. It doesn’t
matter where you go for your stories; you just have to take the plunge, and be
willing to learn from whatever comes your way.
…Actually, now that I think about it? Don’t watch Decade -- that is, unless you watch the nine Heisei-era Rider
installments that came before it. I’d
wager that’s the only way to get the full effect.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Or some such celebration.
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