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「いつか見た少年」 (Itsuka Mita Shounen)
“Boy From The Past”
So that’s where he’s from! I figured that Sawada Haiji (Suzuki Haruhisa) had to be someone that went unnoticed in the earlier episodes but just couldn’t pinpoint who. That first episode feels so long ago and Samurai Flamenco has really come a long way since then. Not only in the characters themselves, but even simply the plot that’s driven us down this path. It’s been a roller coaster ride since Guillotine Gorilla came into the picture and everyone’s been guessing, who, what, when, why and how?! Now that that’s over with, we’re only left with Masayoshi in the “regular world” and the problems that exist, seem to be actual issues that don’t stretch the imagination. I highly prefer this method of storytelling – that isn’t so far-fetched that I just can’t comprehend it, but still leaves a good sense of mystery and questions. If this was the original direction of Samurai Flamenco, it should have just kept itself as a one-cour original series about a guy who wanted to become a Superhero, succeeded and then the aftermath of being the center of attention. A lot of stuff that happened between then and now has felt like one long filler and I’d like to block those weeks from my mind.
In the end, I think it all boils down to whether or not the last few weeks have meant anything. Were King Torture and Alien Flamenco actually worth anything? Did they help Masayoshi grow into a better person? What did we actually accomplish for the world during that time? I guess you can argue that the monsters helped the country unite (and the world) and they came together for a common goal. Other than that, has Masayoshi really changed as a character? I was trying to imagine what he would’ve been like the show skipped all the nonsense in the middle – and I think it’d still work out. Oddly enough, I don’t think Masayoshi has truly developed or changed his ideals in any way. He still wants to defeat evil and he still does what’s best for his friends/family. He hasn’t stopped trying, nor has he accepted a world leadership position… so if the series jumped from the first 6 episodes, to this point in time, I think that would’ve made for a fine series by itself. Mainly because some of the added characters (like the Flamengers) don’t mean anything to me and in the end, it’s still all about Gotou and Masayoshi.
I find it ironic that this final arc, which features a normal boy as a nemesis for Samurai Flamenco, would be captured as someone who is “dead”. Regardless of whether or not you believe he is actually dead, he’s someone that’s invisible to the public, except for Masayoshi. It’s almost like – everything up until this point, featuring monsters, aliens and even super robots, would be seen as something physically tangible and real. Whereas, “everyday” attacks like bombs, car accidents and shoving, leads people to think that Masayoshi is just fabricating someone. It’s so funny to me that something that is so unbelievable like monsters, could actually be real – whereas, the possibility that Haiji could be a real person, is suddenly so absurd!
Gotou makes a great point when he claims that Masayoshi has double standards. If Masayoshi believes that Haiji is real, why can’t Gotou believe that his girlfriend is still alive? Just because Masayoshi can’t see Gotou’s girlfriend, doesn’t mean that he can’t live with the belief that she is out there. It’s sad, but if she’s alive to him, then that’s what carries him forward. On the other hand, Masayoshi keeps pushing the fact that he has to be right and it’s killing him that he can’t prove it. Is he going crazy or is Haiji another supernatural being? It’d be interesting to see how this is answered… if he is indeed real; I hope the series has a logical, realistic explanation. No more aliens please!
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: #Samumenco should have gone down this path in the first place and kept it to one cour. Aliens and monsters feel so long ago… =S
Masayoshi pulling a Edward Norton?
Why are aliens not considered “logical” and “realistic” 😉 ?
“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” – Nolan’s Harvey Dent, Dark Knight Trilogy
Actually, Sawada Haiji as a real criminal was more believable than those aliens. Those alien posed children view of super villians. However, the most evil thing can just simple be a middle schooler who happens to be a bored psychopath.
Yeah, I agree that this might’ve been a decent one-cour show if all the nonsense since Guillotine gorilla was skipped and it just picked up on this arc again. Dealing with a threat like this is way more interesting than a bunch of doofus aliens. Though I’m not holding my breath for a good explanation though, as I don’t have that level of faith in the show anymore.
I got kind of annoyed though when nobody really believed Masayoshi though. I mean, come on, we had the weirdest shit happen already, yet now they go all ‘ah yes, that dead kid, we have dismissed that claim’? They don’t find it a tad odd that everyone got attackeed at once? ‘No man, just a coincidence!’ Why’s a ghost (who probably got powers from Cube-God because he kept repeating magical magic word Flamenco) so strange now?
I also found Masayoshi and Goto’s fight not all that convincing. Goto seems to be kind of derailing in the first place, though on the other hand, he was never developed all that much to begin with. He kind of took a level in jerkass after the girlfriend thing, anyway.
Well I’m hoping for Masayoshi to end his problem nxt episode and solve the problem of Goto after that :C
Our views differ entirely I was enjoying every bit of the ‘nonsense’ 😛
Alright lets have a vote then. People have liked/enjoyed the ‘nonsense’ give this comment a thumbs up, people that wanted it to stay what it was before the ‘nonsense’ give this comment a thumbs down.
Difficult to say. I loved the King Torture arc – at was surprising and had an interesting point. But all the power ranger stuff that came after that didn’t work for me. It wasn’t until the old gang returned in the Prime Minister story when the show started being fun again. But it was too little too late.
I agree with the King Torture bit. I thought his arc was pretty interesting and added a lot of dimensions to Mari and her friends… everything thereafter just didn’t mesh well with me =S Until recently anyway.
Maybe Haiji is Gotou’s girlfriend?! …Nah. Screw that.
Oh my god if Masayoshi gets killed or commits suicide 😐
Hmm… human? not human? illusion?
So it seems like Masayoshi has yet to come to terms with a normal life?
Thus creating a new enemy in his mind?
But what about the harm caused to the others?
Or have they all not come to terms with a normal life and caused harm to themselves?
Sawada Haiji = a ‘personification’ of a rejection of normal life? A byproduct of superheroism withdrawal?
Unconsciously doing things and blaming it on an imaginary being?
Harazuka seems to want those dangerous days, he’s been wearing the protector the whole time.
Died a year ago…
Was episode 1 a year ago?
Theres 6 months between this ep and last ep.
How long were the Flamengers and Torture arc?
Who or what is Haiji?
Did his fixation on the Flamenco word brought about that minute chance of granting his wish?
Argh! I’ll just wait for next week 😛
I have to agree that the Super Sentai bit, while fun at first, got bad pretty quick. 😛 It was still fun, but yeah, it wore out it’s welcome pretty quickly when the Kick-Ass/Kamen Rider style episodes were that much better. (So not counting Ultraman!Samurai Flamenco, since he was on screen for what, all of 4 minutes?) I dunno, I’m conflicted on it, where the SS/PR fan in me likes it, but the rational story telling side of me says that in the overall picture, it would’ve been better if it was a possible OVA series.
I still say that if they wanted to do that bit, they could’ve found a better way of dealing with it, or at least have had Masayoshi still be Red, but have Goto and the M3 girls fill out the rest of the team, rather than giving it to 4 characters with low development that are just barely referenced afterwards.
But honestly this arc is the better of the last few episodes. WHO ARE YOU HAIJI?!