I feel like managing to grab Main Riders and fumbling their usage is more a disappointment than not getting anyone/only getting 1-2 side characters and making the most of of it. Personally, I don't think returning Riders necessarily have to transform to be a good Legend Rider appearance. (Hiiro's involvement in the Ex-Aid arc is one of my favorites because of how well he was used in that story, and I don't even like him or Ex-Aid!) But considering it was Faiz's 15th anniversary, they could've at least thrown a bigger bone than a few callbacks? Even if they only transformed to immediately get wiped by Another Fourze/Faiz, it wouldve been nice, yknow? It's easily Zi-O's second worst usage of Legend Riders.

All it took was everyone else being worse than him! Good point!

I'm enjoying -slash- starting to love these hapless teenagers, so this show still has that going for me. And I'm sort of the opposite on the topic of returning guest stars, where I was always intensely wary of the Legend components for this series? (Those Phase 2 movies were an unforgettable lesson in Be Careful What You Wish For.) So Takumi and Kusaka bumbling through this Zi-O story, clearly/predictably too caught up in their own drama to be of any real value to the teenagers of the story, that was all right on target for me. Them not Henshining, it's not something I ever gave too much thought to.

I didn't like the episode a whole lot, but it wasn't a total miss for me.

So this is the kind of melodrama that you draw the line in. And Sakuma is a MOTW anyway so... at best he got relatively more characterization than MOTWs that only existed to fight, though of course there are MOTW that talked like Bugsters. And I don't know about it not feeling like a real person's behavior... Sakuma (and Karin sort of) is of course, given power by the Time Jackers (Ora), so it can warp his senses. Not that this is executed really well or such, but this is the type of someone being driven to villainy because they care about their loved ones... but only them, not everyone else, thus everyone else is ok to be fodderized for their goal. It's like for other example, Roshuo in Gaim. And obviously Karin is a branch of the MOTW so yeah... for her content of dying, it's likely about the life support isn't worth of constant murdering that it can run off quite quickly otherwise, but likely should add more Frankenstein reference. It's what Woz refer too though for his keyword in shooting star, which means ryusei. And this is used by Ora to try to trap the heroes in a damned if you do/don't situation though.

This episode made out of Takumi as Kusaka's friend, at least one-sided in Takumi's case (for reasons I write below). But as already said, Takumi and Kusaka's relationship here is used as something parallel to Sougo and Geiz's. While Kusaka's one of the actually villainous secondary Riders (in the main series), hatred and enmity isn't necessarily dependent on morals. While Geiz is an anti-hero like most other secondary Riders.... (other than potential tsundere stuff) Geiz' hatred to Sougo is very real and raw, makes sense from what he had gone through and his temper in general (though most primary and secondary Riders have antagonistic relationship, something like Kenzaki with Tachibana-san! post-Isaka death and Hibiki with Ibuki are more of a rarity). Despite Geiz not being villainous, he can have similar hatred and prejudice here to someone else (Sougo) like someone such as Kusaka who is racist towards Orphnochs like Takumi. Regarding sacrifice, it's probably about what Karin, Kusaka (to Karin), and Takumi (to Kusaka) all did, helping a friend can have them risk their life which Sougo agrees upon.

Actually, Kusaka here is made as a better person. So yeah regarding Takkun and Kusaka being made relatively closer here, Kusaka had some difference compared to his original self for this to work. Here, Kusaka actually tried to accomplish something good and him pushing Karin off was done by her request. Still he's an extremist here but relatively more good natured compared to his original portrayal. The camera action here is done well too I agree for the parallel in both Faiz and Fourze stuff, though in general I'm also not a fan of the Ride Armors in this series. I like bulky stuff but these ones can be too bulky and making it boxy.

This explains the actual relation between Faiz and Fourze being pitted here though... it's not about the numbers. It's about the letters on Fourze's limbs, circle on elbow (Phi - Faiz), also X (Chi - Kaixa), and triangle (Delta) on legs. And about both series centered around school.... The Ryusei School. As well as how Ryusei School exists to search for the Orphnoch King, thus fits Zi-O's theme too about being King (and King is "Oh" in Japanese and Fourze's pronounciation had that too; Fo-OH-rze).

It's ok to not have something to expand, just asking to clarify and wondering if there can be more response. Actually here the response is meaty and does give me better insight on what the relationship are between them (at least regarding your assessment like the reluctant part... which at first sounds similar to how Geiz see Sougo). Outgoing isn't necessarily fine talking with strangers though.... for that part it'd be seen actually on later extra stuff.

Bad guy? Though Yuji does become a bad guy after Yuka's death, if the "bad guy" status (albeit with brackets) here only refers to his status as monster... it's actually about how Faiz is the first to feature a 'good monster' like him (where previously Ryuki featured first bad guy Rider)?

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP06)


I really really loved this one at the time, and I suspect I still would on a rewatch. I can sort of see where your gripes are coming from, Die, but I don't know, I thought there were way too many legitimately clever things about how this two-parter was plotted to find myself getting hung up on that stuff.

I don't think it's that much of a stretch for Takumi, honestly? (Especially assuming "sacrifice" is about more than just literally dying for somebody.) The entire core of his character from the outset of Faiz is that he's scared of getting close to people because he thinks he'll hurt them. He has immense trouble seeing his own worth as a person, so he's resigned himself to wasting away his life being a surly loner who actively tries to avoid making connections entirely, because he honestly thinks that's the best he can do for the world. He's also legitimately a surly grump either way, sure, but if anything, Takkun's biggest issue is often that he cares too much. That speech from him you're mentioning, I don't think it's about either of those things. That was him finding the will to continue fighting, despite his own personal feelings about it, all because he decided other people have to come first. And you know, you say "most of a season", but he was officially fighting for other people's dreams before the episode count even hit the double digits.

I'm not sure how relevant any of this is to how much this Zi-O episode does or does not land its thematic connections for you, but, like, as a fellow Faiz fan, I felt the need to speak up on this. Of course, with how wonderfully complex and depthful the cast of Faiz is, I suppose there's always room for a wide range of equally valid interpretations of Inoue's masterfully written characters! :p

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP07)

I remember utterly adoring the atmosphere of this one is pretty much exactly the same way I adore Wizard's. It's laid-back in a way that lets you really soak in each moment, and while in my post at the time, I said I didn't feel like much significant actually happened, skimming back through it, it feels like it's moving more pieces of the story along in a meaningful way than I remember? Of course, back then, I hadn't seen the second half of the two-parter...

Well, sort of; the problem isn't the kind of melodrama, but the success of the execution. Melodrama isn't necessarily good or bad, it's how well the story is told with it. The melodrama here was unconvincing and poorly-done. That's pretty much always going to be the line for me? With anything?

I would take everything that Takumi and Kusaka say in this short with a GIGANTIC grain of salt. The kids are coming in with some intense skepticism about any Faiz/Fourze connections, and the Faiz Riders are kind of going overboard with their rebuttal. There's some real stuff in there, but I think they get a little goofy as their "evidence" increases.

you know full well that i can't fight back when someone comes into the thread and makes a case for takumi being a better character than i gave him credit for

cheap shot, buddy

cheap shot

Honestly, though, you're not wrong. Takumi's a hero throughout Faiz, and his inability to see that or own other people's praise is a major thread for his character. I'm happy to live down to his view of himself?

Beyond that, I'm not still not finding much here. The idea that Sacrifice has any application to Takumi in this story is weird to me -- what's he sacrificing, a day off from the dry cleaner's? -- and the idea that it has anything to do with the cast of Zi-O in this story is laughable. It's still a super weird, tangential-at-best moral for an otherwise run of the mill episode.

Sheesh. I go to bed, get up, go to work, come back, and find not one, but two updates from you?

So I haven't even looked at Wizard covers yet, and I'd rather not post two of these at once, so I'm just going to drop Faiz today and put down the Wizard one next time, since two tributes aren't sharing the same story this time.

I also wanted to say that I came across as too harsh toward Remy last time. His covers stray far from the meaning of the originals, but that's the dilemna with translating music, isn't is? If you are too accurate, the words won't fix the song, and if they too, it's hard to come anywhere close to the original meaning.

Remy writes great lyrics that sound like they belong with the music and fit the theme of the show perfectly, as if they always belonged. They just aren't really translation. They are, however, good songs.

Anyhow, this person takes the opposite approach, so this version can be a bit awkward at times, but this is a pretty decent cover, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmS8rwOdFUs&t=29s

Ha ha, sorry! Wednesday updates are always going to be super late, and Thursday updates are probably going to be earlier in the day. That's just how my weekly schedule works out. Friday updates are going to be in the evening, but probably not super late. Saturday updates could be any time.

It's the difference between Translation and Localization, isn't it? Translation is fairly straightforward; Google can do it. But localization is harder. You need to make it sound like someone in your language would say it. You need to adjust colloquialism and aphorisms and stuff like that. Turns of phrase.

Trying to get the cadence of the lyrics to match, while being constructed out of completely different syllables... that's tough! I can't imagine you can do it well without having there be some trade-offs.

Tomorrow...

https://i.imgur.com/mcZVUWI.gif

Today, I talk about two old men try to kill each other, with something about friendship and space or something, and cheap magicians going bad.

Again, I have no context on Faiz aside from some minor details and mentions, so I can't exactly compare him to his original. That said, it's kind of funny how you don't really need context for these two? Since Takumi's already lost his powers, this is basically a blank slate of the character, and yet some of the tidbits of him I know just slightly shine through. I get I'm probably absolutely wrong here, but my only experience with him was the Showa Vs. Heisei, so you know how good my image of him is...

But anyway, I liked the battle between Another Fourze and Faiz taking place in different times to add an extra gimmick to this arc. Yet as stated in the .5 episode, you have to absolutely grasp straws to find the connections, which while some were clever, aren't exactly valid. I did mention how Decade's Faiz was centered around a high school, but the only thing that even remotely counts as a "connection" being their names (Fourze=4, Faiz=5. Again, grasping at straws. Also, obligatory numbers theory meme), but that's it. In the end, we all know Decade sent Gentaro and Ryusei to BLEACH world (which is still funny how they acknowledge that).

The Wizard arc... Well, once again, not much to say right now, but I love Another Wizard's design, like the skeleton hand for the driver, or how the jewel motif looks less radiant, but this is one of my favorite Another Rider designs. But boy, does Toei like to tease us with the brief glimpses of Legacy Characters, only to not have them when the actual episode rolls around. Like, I get that most the actors aren't easy or willing to come back, and I honestly don't mind the teases, but Gentarou and Haruto's glimpses are some things I know I've seen a lot of Endgame Hawkeye memes for.

On another note, I always look forward to Woz's speeches.