「フラメンコVSニセフラメンコ」 (Furamenko VS Nisefuramenko)
“Flamenco vs. Fake Flamenco”

It’s one thing to declare yourself as a superhero, but it’s another thing entirely when the media takes it to a whole new level. This is the beauty of the Internet and media these days – it’s so vast and readily available that it’s easy for a video to become viral. Throw in the fact that YouTube is everywhere (even I admit that I spend maybe an hour or two on that site a day), privacy is nearly impossible on the web anymore. Thus, if you want something to remain private, just keep it to yourself. This is clearly not applicable to Samurai Flamenco though. This guy is everywhere and the people want to know who he is, simply because of good television. What bothers me most is that Konno Akira (Mikami Satoshi) even put a price to his identity. It doesn’t surprise me due to the nature of his profession, but his personality and character rubs me the wrong way (he reminds me of a pervert?) Too bad for him though, his plans got foiled when “Samurai Flamenco” announced his identity himself.

It annoys me a bit when television networks would go to such great lengths to get ratings and views. I’m not even sure if they knew that Kaname Joji (Kosugi Juurouta – who also played a very fitting role, Legend in TIGER & BUNNY) wasn’t the real Samurai Flamenco; it’s more likely that they put him up to it. To me, Samurai Flamenco is not meant to be an icon on TV just to be exploited to get more views and appear on variety shows. He’s not meant to be a “superhero” for people to follow around on camera beating up gang members or something – if you want endorsements or TV like that, definitely check out TIGER & BUNNY. Samurai Flamenco is supposed to be someone trying to stop citizens from doing what’s wrong – as small or as big as the offense is, he’s trying to better society because he believes it is right. Sadly, this is probably a good reflection of what it would be like if someone in a metropolitan area tried to become a “superhero”. He’d probably get a lot of press for a while, people would try and find out who he is and then he’d be forgotten… for trying to make a difference. This is another reason that I can appreciate Samurai Flamenco, it’s a realistic approach to everyday superheroes in modern society. The passion that Masayoshi has towards his cause is great, but this doesn’t necessarily translate well to the public. Some people might see him as creepy; some people might see him as a nuisance… but when it all comes down to it, one person can’t make all the difference until people start reacting.

The first two episodes really established who Samurai Flamenco was, or rather who Masayoshi is. This third episode introduces new characters that finally bring some conflict to Masayoshi’s life – stuff like what his manager thinks, and having a mentor or coach to actually train him. Hidenori is neglected a bit, but even he gets his own debut at the end. I still think the relationship that Masayoshi and Hidenori has is quite unique, but even more so now that Joji is in the picture. The group dynamics will be something that I look forward to, and I’m hoping that Mari joins in on the fun later. This pretty much makes up the core of the main characters on Samurai Flamenco except one guy with glasses and a lab coat. While I look forward to seeing them all come together, I wonder if they’ll actually use the image of Samurai Flamenco to do something good and impactful.

TL;DR – @RCCherrie: #samumenco is not quite what I expected… It’s taken a different route with the approach of televising his identity #media

Full-length images: 14, 17, 22, 34.

23 Comments

  1. I actually liked the fact that the viral video hasn’t been forgotten. yes, it kinda neglected the “superhero” and other stuff, but this can wait, there will be time for superhero stuff, especially if it is for the sake of bringing Red-Axe on-board.
    he is an important power-up for the team. he is also funny.
    I like how Masayoshi was conflicted about whether to drop of samurai flamenco or not. clearly he got the right decision (:
    we haven’t seen much of Hidenori. but one picture is worth it

    we can really feel the dynamic within the group (even those outside the group like mari or the manager) starting to form.

    I like what we saw those 3 eps. that is how to do TV.
    SF isn’t brilliantly sophisticated or has eyegasm animation and visuals. but it’s really one of most enjoyable series this season. it simply has everything – humor, bizarre fighting, story and character development. everything just merges so well that it’s just.. very enjoyable.

    p.s
    Cherrie – it’s not first time you’ve said “it isn’t quite what I expected”.
    so..what did you really expect?
    and despite that..do you enjoy the “unexpected” result of SF so far?
    ’cause I am certainly having fun with this (:
    epsecially at time like this “holy-anime thursdays” 😛 (damn those wild and crazy thursdays XD)

    thedarktower
    1. It’s not what I expected because I guess I thought it’d be a more fast-paced anime? I was thinking that it’d turn out to be more of a “wanna-be” superhero anime about how he has some childhood trauma and now he wants to change the world. This is turning out to be more about everyday crimes and slice-of-life than action. Not that I mind… it’s a good change of pace compared to all the other Thursday shows or other shows I’m watching =) Still have high hopes since it’s noitamina and the story seems like it’s building up for something good. I usually enjoy my 2-cour picks and since this is anime original, you’ll be hearing about how “I didn’t expect that” for a while… >_> I like when things take me by surprise though.

  2. This episode was absolutely hilarious, especially when the fake Flamenco punched the host and the scene where Japan is split in two. I like the formation of the new trio -The hero, his master and his sidekick (I guess)- and I’m looking forward watching them trying to bring some moral decency and solidarity into people. It’s probably not going to be successful, but the ride will definitely be enjoyable.

    My favorite show of the season has everything going for it: A meaningful social commentary, realistic characters, great interactions and brilliantly written comedy.

    p.s. I’m sorry, but I have a difficult time comprehending what this blog text is trying to say. Maybe it’s me, but it reads like a mishmash of sentences thrown together with a lot of irrelevant personal comments on random stuff.

    Sylpher
  3. I enjoyed this episode so damn much. Seeing Masayoshi getting torn seeing his childhood hero steal his idea and how it ended was awesome. Not to forget Hidenori enjoying that small bit he wore the costume to fool the manager. Good thing the manager isn’t as intuitive as that idol girl who noticed something was off.

    As a tokusatsu nut, I look forward to see more.

    sadakups
  4. Goto wearing dat suit like a boss and he feels like one too lol.

    I really like this show among the 30 plus other anime that are making me feel dat backlog T-T. It is fresh to me even though I compared it to T&B and Kickass. It has similarities to both and at times it feels like they were combined into a PG-13 anime.

    Joji is going to give Masayoshi some real physical training so he won’t get beat up as much XD.

    It looks like were might have a Samurai Flamenca on her way ;p

    Magoiichi
  5. From the promotions I really thought this was going to be a Tiger and Bunny kinda show, and was proven wrong which isn’t a bad thing as I too am enjoying this superhero slice-of-life anime. The whole youtube thing in this episode reminded me of Kick-Ass. Also she may have a ferocious personality but Hazama’s manager is still pretty hot. Can’t wait to see how Red-Axe fan #2 Mari enters the picture.

    Zhinvu
  6. Samurai Flamenco has definitely proven to be more than I expected. The character interactions are phenomenal and really make this show enjoyable. It makes me glad that they’re taking their time and letting us learn about the characters at a natural pace, and not just cramming in content to progress the story.

    On a side, yet somehow related note, I thought it would be interesting to share a story about a real-life super hero in my state of Washington (youtube link). Seattle Superhero

    Vad Deasduade
  7. All I could think of when those Combatants/Mooks came out was “IT’S SHOCKER! SOMEONE CALL ICHIGO AND NIGO!” XD

    I love this show. It’s like a toku fans dose of (hilarious) reality. I can’t wait till we add in Mari to the mix.

    P.S. Dat SF!Goto on the building enjoying it. 😀

    platinum

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