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CREDITS
Kamen Rider Geats 07 Encounter VI: Kick The Can VS Final Boss – October 16, 2022
Writer: Yuya Takahashi
Director: Kazuya Kamihoriuchi
SYNOPSIS
While Neon is out livestreaming, a Jyamar Area suddenly appears. The final mission, “Kick the Can” has begun!
The Jyamato this time is a powerful final boss with the capability to destroy the world. It is said that it can be defeated by targeting its power source can at its feet.
That means the Rider who can “kick the can” will become the Deza Shin! Ace, Keiwa, Neon, and Michinaga face off against a mighty enemy!
BAD
-Does that “dear bother, you’re an adult now” joke need to be in this kid’s show? No is the answer.
-I find it hard to believe that the DGP has been going on for 2000 years or more. I’m sure it is true, but it should not be. Why? Because that is a goofy idea.
GOOD
-Ace’s lost family is an interesting aspect of his character
-I like how Kan Hideyoshi plays Ace’s quiet moments of struggle and reflection. IT makes me want to believe in him, even though he is a bit of a jerk
-That Jamato Boss has a wild design. It looks and acts crazy and the split vision POV is novel
QUESTIONS
-How long has this game been going on, really?
-Did the game look different 2,000 years ago? Where they wearing realistic armor? Would boost give you a chariot themed after a peacock?
-Will this end with Jamato being defeated once and for all?
-Is competition evil? To clarify, does competition breed evil? If so, is it all competition, or just some?
SCORE
Episode 7 – 8/10
It seems Ace has won or survived thousands of GDPs and lost all memory of his family. Ace gladly used his fellow DGP players to secure the Ninja Buckle for himself to win, defeat the final boss and save the world. Keiwa, furious at the betrayal, says he will trust no more. Due to an undisclosed rule, the Jamato Boss lives and will return to threaten the world again.
I feel sorry for Ace, even if he is a jerk to the rest of the players. I can see how playing through this sort of game for so long would ruin someone. Losing your family and never being able to actually stop the Jamato threat must make life seem so meaningless. When winning is literal the only real thing in your life, what does that do to you? How do you see life? How do you see people? That’s heavy. Ace’s brazen betrayal kind of makes me feel for Michinaga and I like how it is effecting Keiwa and Neon. Neon looked so uncomfortable after seeing this uglier side of Ace.
Ninja looks really cool and that duplication attack is wild. I have seen Ninja on Geats and Tycoon and I am impressed with how good it looks on both. That Final Boss design is so weird and alien and I loved those dual vision POV shots!
Going forward, I hope we will see 4 games over the course of the series. I would like to see Keiwa, Neon, Michinaga and finally Ace win and see the DGP destroyed from within, or at the very least, altered so it isn’t a terrible death game.
LESSONS LEARNED
Your hero does not have to be likable. They can even be unlikable and still be enjoyable to watch in their world. Ace embodies this in Kamen Rider Geats. How does it work? Why do I like him despite his prickly aspects? He wins, he does cool things to win, the actor is charismatic and there seems to be more going on with him which either justifies him manipulating other players or makes a decent excuse for it. Does an audience want to believe in someone? Is that just me? I may not have extracted a tactic or technique, but I think these questions I am asking are putting me closer to where I need to be to craft characters that people want more of.
NEXT ROUND!
Episode 08 – Encounter VII: Ninja The Ace
SOURCES
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MJ Muñoz 