#or man vs. the consequences of one's actions rather than man vs. power hungry villain or unreciprocated love

[vinca-majors]

If it's alright to ask, I'm dying to know: what's this about Christopher Nolan's Little Mermaid?

oh i didn't mean to mislead! it's not a real production (everyone manifest this NOW) - literally just me seeing that photo of a man looking like he is not only capable of but would welcome the opportunity to fight the entire ocean and thinking 'like if christopher nolan adapted the little mermaid' (MANIFEST IT)

[kob131]

https://itsclydebitches.tumblr.com/post/635993185636827136

The first slide that ISN’T a summary and we have serious issues.

The two examples given do NOT reflect on Ironwood’s viewpoint or actions. They’re one off mentions by OTHER characters. IRONWOOD is not reaching out to people here, Ruby and Ozpin effectively are. And Ruby and Ozpin are big on the whole ‘team up!’ thing (to the point Ruby tried to talk RAVEN into joining them.)

So? This is Volume 2, long before Ironwood faces the negative events than change him as a person. Acting like he’s the exact same person then and now is disingenious is a VERY extreme degree.

Glynda: Trouble sleeping?

Ironwood: (Looking back, gripping his shoulder with the other hand.) Arm was acting up.

Glynda: Of course, so logically, you got out of bed, dressed yourself completely and decided to gaze menacingly out into the distance. (Approaches all the way to his side, then looks at him concerned.) What's wrong?

Ironwood: I've trusted him for years. We both have. I just... I can't help but feel like he's keeping us in the dark.

Glynda: Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark.

Ironwood: (Laughs humorously.) That makes it worse! I refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for so long would act so... passively.

Glynda: (Puts a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.) You're a good person, James. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it. (Drops her hand as they stare into the distance together.) Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering.

This is the full conversation. Which is rather important given how much it emphasizes that Ironwood looks up to and respects Ozpin...who we all know is about to get cut off from his allies.

Skipping through a LOT here as it’s just a bunch of ‘Hey look! Ironwood’s being nice!’ along with tangents. I’d love to address them all to prevent any accusations of manipulation but I’m not repeating myself: Ironwood being nice is not a contradiction of what he will do (in fact, one can very well see that his empathy is a FACTOR in his decision).

‘Being cautious’. That is an important statement here. Because ‘being cautious’ would also include going for the decision that’s guruanteed to save a few people rather than the decision that MIGHT save a lot of people (a ‘safe bet vs. gamble’ if you will).

Ironically here, OP just displayed how Ironwood’s actions are consistent with his previous ones.

The man whose allies weren’t hacked?

Also note how this DOESN’T have anything to do with the actual argument at hand. It’s not about showing an inconsistency with Ironwood: it’s about making the character look good. It’s a tell from the OP that what they SAY they’re arguing for doesn’t match the actual ACTIONS. OP is not upset that Ironwood is inconsistent- She’s upset that Ironwood is being portrayed NEGATIVELY.

So you’re saying we should throw away all our tech based on the work by Nazi scientists because we disagree with how it was originally used? You try to call hypocrisy here and yet fail to address the distinct difference between the intention/moral implications behind tech and how it’s actually used.

Not to mention how a lot of this is fucking bullshit. Like the army point was about how bringing his army to Vale was a bad idea due to putting people on edge...and then the Grimm attacked, which pretty much made that a non-issue. Or how about the objection of the Aura experimenting wasn’t actually condemning Ironwood? Or how they sympathize with Ironwood and still CONDEMN his actions? Or how the Penny thing flat out wasn’t said?

My pattern senses are also tingling. Specifically the ‘manipulation’ part.

Now it’s all about arguing how Ironwood is actually totally and factually right, as if this isn’t a story.

Issue?

‘In This Story’. AKA The OP has already argued from a meta standpoint but is now trying to argue as if the story is real.

There’s also the complete disregard for the CONSEQUENCES of Ironwood’s actions.

Ironwood brings an army? Gets hacked, turns on the citizens, wrecks Vale and Atlas’ reputation is shot.

Ironwood doesn’t tell the truth about Penny? She gets used as a lynchpin in Cinder’s plan.

Ironwood closes off the border? Atlas’ reputation is further shot and it gives reason to Team RWBY to question him.

Ironwood doesn’t include the council? Their trust in him is dead and they get in his way.

Ironwood doesn’t help Mantle despite their fear, distrust and dislike of Atlas and the very real threat of Grimm? Helps Robyn rise to power who in turn openly distrusts him and conflicts with him, making things harder and causing a rift with his allies.

Fucking hell, a lot of Ironwood’s mistakes are REPEATS of his past mistakes, like his unilateral action in a team effort or him excluding people. Not to mention his preaching of Ozpin’s morals then proceeding to trample all over them and expect everyone to follow him. Stuff that OZPIN got punished for in the previous Volume and Ruby and co. got punished for in the SAME Volume as Ironwood.

He was never portrayed as power hungry. He’s STILL not portrayed as power hungry.

I’ll go ahead and destroy this entire slide show with one quote from one episode, a quote you seem terrified of given how you completely gloss over it despite addressing literally EVERYTHING ELSE with Ironwood.

Volume 4 Episode 11 ‘Taking Control’

Ironwood: (sighing heavily) Winter is one of my best. If she's telling me there's a threat in Mistral then I am not going to take that news lightly. She's been there for weeks, people are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades. Someone is about to make a play and I do not trust Leo to stop them.

Weiss is listening outside.

Jacques: You've never trusted anyone other than yourself!

Ironwood: (shouting) And for good reason!

Weiss covers her mouth with her hand as she gasps at the sound of Ironwood slamming his fist onto the desk.

Ironwood: If Oz had just listened to me from the start...

Jacques: You need to get a grip.

Ironwood: That's exactly what I'm doing. Our people need protection. By this time next week, the Kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders. No one in; no one out. Without the council's permission.

Jacques: You mean, without your permission?

Ironwood: And if that becomes the case, I would think you'd want to be on my good side.

Suddenly your whole narrative fails apart. because here we see the core of how Ironwood became who he was-

The sorrow at his failure at Beacon.

His paranoia confirmed.

His belief that his way is the best.

All things he displayed before then- Now worsen by perceived failure. All thrown out into the open for the audience to see. All things he repeated in Volume 7, worsened AGAIN by betrayal and Salem’s arrival.

You can call out all you want about the good things Ironwood has done and how he’s ‘right’- it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t disprove what he showcased here. His empathy in fact would MAKE IT WORSE because he feels responsible for people’s lives so he can’t hesitate to save them. Like say, hesitate to listen to a person whose lied to him or a perceived obstacle *cough* Oscar and Slate *cough*.

He’s not a deconstruction of a cold hearted dictator or a sudden evil villain.

He’s a deconstruction of the Well Intention Extremist trope, showcasing that his intent matters not in the face of his actions and the flaws he fails to overcome. He’s a depressingly real person (I’ve certainly felt like him before) but that doesn’t justify his actions or make him right,

And no woobie pandering will change that.

[tokupedia]

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: Den-O WAZA! Part 1

2007:

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive airs on ABC related networks as the 6th entry of the Disney Era of Power Rangers. The Power Rangers franchise reached its 15th year and we saw the brief return of veteran rangers such as Adam Park in a 2-part crossover!

PORK CUBE STEW! The 31st entry of Super Sentai, Juken Sentai Gekiranger, airs alongside Den-O. The show is styled to motif kung-fu styles with an animal theme. An example of the kung-fu motif aside from combat is that the names of some of the masters the Gekirangers are trained by are parodies of actual kung-fu movie stars (Ex. Sharkie Chan, Bat Li etc.)

Ultraseven X, a dark revival of Ultraseven, airs on Japanese cable TV.

Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle, a continuation of the Ultra Series set 500,000 years after Mebius, premieres on TV.

GoGo Sentai Boukenger vs. Super Sentai is released on DVD. This film acts as a 30th anniversary crossover of past Rangers and introduces us to the living embodiment of the Red Warriors, AkaRed.

Let’s fight if you wanna be a soldier! ~  Kamen Rider: The Next, a sequel to the reboot movie Kamen Rider: The First, premieres in theaters.

“The Train of Time, DenLiner...will its next stop be The Past... or the Future?”

2017 is Kamen Rider Den-O’s 10th anniversary.

Den-O is a bit hard to talk about...because it is massive. This is, by far, the most commercially successful entry in the series ever. Seven movies featuring the cast, anime spinoffs, crossovers, multiple cameos and guest starring roles of the cast members in other films, and toys...lots and lots of toys.

Kamen Rider was always as part of its core, a sci-fi based TV series and one of the younger long runners of the genre. So given that, Time Travel has popped up as a plot every now and then. But now, this trope was going to be front and center as one of the story’s main elements.

It is an odd coincidence they chose now to do this, as a certain British show made its return 2 years ago and was taking the world by storm. Another is the choice of a train as the time vehicle that didn’t need 1.21 GW. Kamen Riders ride motorcycles or in rare cases sports cars, so a Train seemed like left field thinking, but it was propelled by a motorcycle. Because when you think of breaking the space-time continuum and controlling it at will, you apparently need a Honda. We can assume in this world that if Honda can make robots that can climb stairs and play soccer, they can make train pushing timebikes powered by chroniton-flux-inverse neutron technobabbly whatchamawhozits.

But, Japan loves trains as it is an integral part of their public transportation system and it is fast and reliable transport thanks to the bullet trains. Trains also capture the imaginations of young boys, which means there is money to be made for toymakers like Bandai.

Now after a few seasons full of dark subjects like suicide, people being eaten, betrayal and such, the Powers that Be decided to lighten the mood a bit and have a slightly more comedic series. Toei producers chose Yasuko Kobayashi to be the head writer for this series (whom Toonami anime fans might recognize later on as the head writer for the Attack on Titan anime). 

Den-O is a love or hate series depending on your tolerance for moments of nonsense and slapstick and having characters who in some fans minds have long overstayed their welcome. The TV series itself and the first few films are fine and even fun, its when the Toei staff decided to drag it out that things got tiresome to some.

The basis of this series, outside of the concept of time travel, is how humans perceive time itself: How we cherish it and how what we do can impact it no matter how great or small. Some of the victims of the villains, The Imagin, all have regrets about time: “What if I did something different back then?”, “How can I move on from that?, “How can I face the future knowing this is going to happen and there is nothing I can do to change it?”.

At one point, the universe of Kamen Rider is said to have a concept, part of how Time works is how humans perceive it, events that happen are remembered and stay in people’s minds and that becomes the reality. There is a bit of truth to this, some of the actions we make have consequences, some bigger than others. But also, the connections we make in the time we have and how we interact with others can shape the world. Still, the concept also sort-of does not work as Time is wibbly wobbly stuff and would exist with or without humans as a fundamental force of all creation that is absolute.

The passengers of time

The star lead, Takeru Satoh, made the show work as unlike his predecessors, Takeru portrayed a more average hero. Rather than be a chiseled shrine to masculinity or a man who is naturally gifted at being a warrior after a few fights. Ryotaro Nogami...is us if we were given the power of the belt.

He is clumsy, when he sees a monster for the first time, he freaks out and faints, he stumbles during fights and flails around his weapon. But then he grows as a person and becomes the hero we want him to be. Just as we do in life, we grow into something better if we strive for it. In essence, Ryotaro is one of the most human Kamen Riders in the series as he isn’t perfect, but his heart is in the right place.  Another factor of Takeru Satoh was his comedic timing and ability he had to play a character who had more than one character in his body at times.

Praise should also go to main suit actor Seiji Takaiwa, as this was one of his most difficult roles. He had to pretend to be anywhere from 2 to 6 characters sharing the exact same body on top of being another character and every form of Den-O. It was grueling on him as he had to move his limbs in different directions or posture in different ways or even act like he had voices in his head and try to remember who acted what way. As seen in a stage show interview, it could drain him to the point of exhaustion.

Some actors were from previous Kamen Rider shows, such as Rina Akiyama from Agito and Yuichi Nakamura from Hibiki.

Given the extension this series has gone through, it is only fair to show the other players in the story so newcomers don’t get lost before going onto the Riders. (Yes, plural but we’ll get to that later.)

The DenLiner Crew (lovingly named Team DenLiner by fans)

Owner

Owner is the..Owner of the DenLiner, a mysterious figure who holds authority on his train and is very eccentric. Often he speaks in riddles about time and only lets on those who have a ticket or a Rider Pass on his train. He, like the main hero, is a Singularity Point, a being who can exist outside of time and be unaffected by Imagin. He also does not like fighting on his train and will throw anyone off for doing so.

Naomi

Naomi is the stewardess of the DenLiner's dining car, which the gang frequents regularly. She is a sweet and bubbly young woman who serves coffee to the passengers of the train, though her coffee is terrible and only Imagin seem to like its taste. She does get moments to shine and help out when the chips are down, but even when she doesn’t take part of the action, she seems perfectly content taking orders for hungry passengers and meeting new faces like other Kamen Riders.

Hana

Warning: Spoilers!

Hana is Ryotaro’s niece from the future (though she doesn’t know this). She, like her uncle, is a Singularity Point. As a young woman, she time traveled to 2007 and bestowed her uncle a Rider Pass to become Den-O in order to protect and restore the future that the Imagin had destroyed.

Due to her future being rewritten/restored at a certain point in the show, she de-ages to a 10 year old, presumably because the restored time had a ripple effect and changed the year she would be born.

Yuto Sakurai/Kamen Rider Zeronos Altair Form

Yuto Sakurai is the fiance of Ryotaro’s sister Airi and Hana’s future father. Yuto is a bit headstrong, but he means well.

There are actually two of them during the TV show, one from the past and one from the future. The Zeronos System is one that involves personal sacrifice, as each time a Zeronos card is used, Yuto erases his own time or rather the memories made from his existence. He later gets red cards that use his own memories to become Zero Form, which along with the green/yelow cards eventually erases his future self.

The cards unlike many trinkets are expendable as they fade away after a certain period of use. Eventually, nobody outside of a Singularity Point remembers him and he loses the love of his life (but he hopes to return to her someday.). He defends time along with Den-O despite the risks along with his Imagin...

Deneb

Deneb is an Imagin who rebelled against his kind and decided to help Yuto fight by forming a contract with him. He is something of a butler to Yuto and takes care of him, but this often leads to embarrassing moments for Yuto. He is very polite and friendly but can be serious in battle, merging with Yuto to become Zeronos Vega form or the Denbick Buster cannon in Zero form.

Kotaro Nogami/New Den-O

Kotaro is another Rider from the Nogami family from the distant future. He is Ryotaro’s Grandson. When first meeting his grandfather in the past, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. This is due to the fact he named him and by his time period, Kotaro is a country bumpkin name and he has inherited his grandfather’s infamous bad luck.  He eventually learns to respect his grandpa and takes over his role as Den-O when Ryotaro decides to step down.

Up Next...the Taros, the Hero and the villains!

The Climax is only getting started!