I'll save my thoughts on Xross Saber for next episode, however I will say it has IMO the best henshin Jingle ever

I think that, with enough time, the fanbase has maybe come around a bit on ol' Takeru? The people experiencing the show now are coming to it without the baggage of being the year's new Rider show, so they can just dig into on its own (very weird) merits. I don't assume there's a ton of vitriol still, since who's still going to scream about a show they disliked from five years ago? Outside the seldom forgiving spotlight of being the main Rider show, I think people maybe elevated this one over time.

Framing is the natural enemy of so many non-TV Rider projects. It's like the Legend Kaijin!

Oh, sure, I don't blame anyone for being less repulsed by the Desast part of the story than me. It's just my interpretation/expectation, and that's really all I'm speaking for. If you had a better time with it, that's great!

My favorite beat in the episode is when they're all praying for a second, and Touma's like Hey You Did That Like A Monk and Takeru smiles and says I Am A Monk (Weird Hand Motion That I Guess Communicates 'Monk') And I Died Before. It's the most hysterical Takeru thing, to casually toss in that he had died before, as though it were a normal part of his CV. Just making conversation, you know? He's really great.

I look forward to being similarly euphoric if/when Kamen Rider Geats x Kamen Rider Ex-Aid gets announced for later this year!

Good to know!

I never watched any of these on account of not having watched Ghost, and this is a cool detail I haven't noticed. Thanks!

Desast doing the Hiramaking pose made my day.

I mean, I still reserve a spot in my annual "best of" thread to rag on Onari. I will admit that I like Takeru a lot more when he shows up outside of his own series.

I know that's just how you show your love!

KAMEN RIDER SPECTER X KAMEN RIDER BLADES

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...berbladesa.png

All set to talk about how much this installment improved over the previous one for its focus on the theme of Family… but then New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s “Ticking Time Bomb” – Hiromu Takahashi – just up and appears in a post-credit cameo?! WHAT?! You can’t do that to me, Toei! I know this thing doesn’t have a third part! If I didn’t check the Wiki and find out that he’s in Outsiders, I’d probably be as upset at Toei as I am currently thrilled to watch Outsiders!

(Also, it's hilarious that now the two NJPW guys I most confuse the names of, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hiromu Takahashi, have both appeared in Kamen Rider. This is not helping me keep their names straight!)

Besides that bump in the road, yeah, I liked this one a lot better than the previous part. Having it be a story about Family both provides narrative cover for Makoto to bail out his sister, and for Rintaro to have a place in the story. Without that, it’d still be a solid story about Kanon trying to spare her brother from hardship, which would’ve been enough for me. I’m glad I got more than enough!

It’s not the, uh, best outing for Kamen Kanon here. She owns a substantial portion of this narrative with calm empathy and quiet power, but then basically chokes in the climax and needs Specter to help her save the day. (And, boy, it’s not even like he’s there for an extra push or anything: Kanon had pretty thoroughly bungled this one, and Makoto’s the one who saves the Non-Kanons and mostly defeats the villains.) We were always going to get Makoto showing up and superheroing, but it’s a little weird how quickly Kanon cedes her story to Makoto.

Still, fun to see Kanon get to be a Kamen Rider, fun to see Makoto get a small moment with Takeru, and fun to see Blades get the terrible Deep Specter pauldrons that inhibit his arm movements so much that he can’t really swing a sword. It’s a cute little reunion special, with a surprising amount of additional world-building to go along with the fan service.

Most of all, it’s not weird in any way that Makoto finally gets his dream of living alongside five adoring Kanons. YAY!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/ghost/316.png

—

SPECTRAL WORKSHOP

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...berbladesb.png

“Makoto was nice,” Rintaro said, unprompted.

Mei was walking with him back to the bookstore, and the conversation had stalled. It frequently did, after a long battle and a little post-fight camaraderie. Mei had been around the swordsmen for long enough to give their nerves time to settle, and for the adrenaline of the contest to abate. The quiet was nice for them, and she didn’t mind a thoughtful walk with Rintaro.

“Uh, yeah, he seemed like a good guy. Not a Good Guy,” she emphasized the words, while doing a stock superhero pose with her chest puffed out and her arms akimbo, “although, yeah, that too, but a good, uh… brother, I guess?”

Rintaro turned to her, with a concerned look on his face. “What do you mean, ‘I guess’? Do you not think Makoto was a good brother?”

Mei collected her thoughts. Rintaro was… sometimes hard to talk to about these things. His interpersonal skills were almost all gleaned from study, or handed down from Sword of Logos HR. He dreamed of a family, but he’d never really experienced one. She needed to be careful about how she approached this topic.

“He… I think he means well. I think he cares about his sister. But I don’t know if he really sees her as her own person, outside of being his sister. Which means that she isn’t really able to see herself as her own person, since she cares so much about his approval. I feel like she’s going to have a hard time being a Kamen Rider until she cares more about what she thinks than what he thinks. Does that make sense?”

Rintaro was silent, which was not as comforting as it was a few minutes ago. He was normally so quick to agree, or ask follow-up questions, or just generally enhance his understanding of a new situation. It was sometimes annoying, but always eventually charming. When he was quiet like this, she worried that he was offended, or confused. His inquisitiveness sometimes embarrassed him, especially when he felt like he missed some social cue.

“That does make sense, yes.” Rintaro sounded a little wistful. “It can be difficult to be an effective fighter when you value the approval of others more than you value personal contentment. The same is true for being an effective family member. It has been…” he trailed off, inhaled deeply, and continued, “It has been hard to see myself as part of a family, rather than just someone who wanted to be in a family. I needed to feel complete, before I could feel like I was part of a group. I don’t know if Makoto and Kanon can see that about themselves. Does that make sense?”

Mei smiled slightly at Rintaro’s typically adorable blunt honesty. He was always a good boy, but he was quickly becoming a good man. “Yeah,” she said happily, “that makes sense.”

Hey... so like, can we talk about how we finally have a name for this guy after like forever? And his name is Rando Joseph?

RANDO

JOSEPH

I feel like that's something that you can't just let slip by as easily.

Anyway yeah this was a fun special. It was nice to see Kanon get to be a Kamen Rider and because of her and Blades' new Wonder Ride Book, we finally got Yuujou Burst as P-Bandai! REJOICE!

Speaking of Blades' new form, I'm glad he just immediately goes into the Specter style of combat of just throwing hands almost immediately. Very funny.

Also we get to see Sin Specter again! My favorite suit in Ghost! And the fact that Kanon Specter is also Mugen Styled in its coat... honestly A+ for me!

Overall a fun special that basically completes the other one.

As for the story, a nice little talk about family and how one see's themselves via Mei and Rintaro.

Aw, that fanfiction was a really cute piece. It honestly is really great how these pieces have played into the discussion here as a space for further thematic musing, lovely job :)

Oh, and follow up on Kanon's actress Mio Kudo having also played Sayo (Kiramapink)- with this special, this now makes her the first woman to transform into both a Sentai Ranger and a Kamen Rider! Hell! Yeah!

It's great! When Saber got his Ghost book, he starts sword-fighting like Musashi. When Blades gets the Specter book, he starts punching everything like Makoto. It makes the fight scenes pretty unique for those characters!

Thanks! It's nice to get to consider the characters a little more than sometimes plot discussion allows.

What a cool accomplishment! I hope she had, uh, greater success as a Sentai than she did as a Rider!

(Lol. She did, but to be fair Sayo had set the bar dang high to begin with- she really is one of the coolest people in that show.)

Well, I don’t have much to say about the special itself, other than it’s nice to see Sin Specter again, considering how little reuse V-Cinema suits see (Black Parado and MBJR are the only other recurring ones). So, on to the books.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MBJxv0PzKNg

Specter Gekikou Senki: A certain big brother, with the violet flames of anger, and his history of battle.

You can tell this wasn’t planned, by how we get a random jingle for the book, rather than the Legend Rider one.

And then there’s my ultimate favourite in terms of jingles, the three History Ride Books, which were created as a tie in to Senki. Though there’s no actual story announcements anywhere for them, not even on Bandai’s website, so I’m leaving others to fill the blanks.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1_2qDnASrC8&feature=share

Showa Rider Henshin Shinwa:

Heisei Rider Henshin Senki:

Reiwa Rider Henshin Monogatari:

History Rider! Era Volume One! The history book gives more power to the sword!

The sword is empowered by courage! History Rider! Era Volume Two! The history book imbues the power of hope!

Three eras overlap! The sword is imbued with the power of hope! History Rider! Era Volume Three! The history is gathered in the sword of hope right now!

And finally, there’s this thing I’ve been waiting to share for a while.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...1/IMG_9013.JPG

This episode has something to congratulate the Fukami family on. Kanon debuting as a rider and Makoto with five sisters. Other than that, I have nothing special to write: a fun, pleasant, small crossover. It's a pity that Nekrom and Espada did not come out because of the employment of Hayata Isomura, but even without this it turned out very well. Your fanfic is also very good and right on target in describing Makoto and Kanon's relationship. But, I think, the reason to talk about this in more detail will still appear.

You're only seeing a small fraction of the fanbase on this forum. I still see a lot of people outside who complain about Ghost like calling it one of the worst seasons ever and calling Takeru a bad protagonist. It's not just a Rider problem either. Other unpopular Tokusatsu shows like Ninninjer and Mega Force also have to be defended regularly from people whose hatred hasn't lessened with time and those two shows are older than Ghost.

After Makoto left the palace at the end of Specter Rebirth to try and figure out who he is, he looks a lot happier and more confident of himself in his first new appearance here. He may have been created as the ultimate lifeform Leon, but he's still Makoto, his soul is still human and he can use his artificial powers to continue down his own path of protecting the people he cares about. I'm glad for him to finally be back with his friends and family where he belongs.

Makoto actually has six sisters including Chloe. Seven if you include Alia by Kanon's marriage to Alain. While it would've been cool to see Alain return, at least Kanon Specter said his pre-finisher catchphrase, so it feels like he was here in spirit!

So I didn’t watch this, but reading about it has made me decide that I’m going to ship Makoto and Reika now. He has a little sister complex, she has a big brother complex; it’s like they were made to be creepy together.

Then there should be a double sibling date between Fukami & Shindai, during which Makoto and Reika compete in kin obsession while Kanon and Ryoga remain silent and look at each other guiltily.

Yeah I know. But it's not the people who are the the Most anything positive (e.g. most handsome, smart, cool, charismatic, etc.) that deserves respect, everyone deserves to be respected even if they're leaning more on a "loser" side, not only being used for physical/mental/emotional slapstick for other's amusement (can happen irl), the latter 2 including being constantly insulting and belittling them for their shortcomings without regard.

Kanon being turned into an Eyecon was what turned Makoto ruthless, early on in Ghost, even turning against his childhood friends Takeru and Akari. But Makoto didn't have that level of rage against Kamiyu and Muller who victimizes Kanon. Or I guess it's not only that Makoto got what he wanted when Takeru used his wish on her, but that he still has improved as a person too. It's quite nice that the story had Rintaro pointing out that Reikanon punching the shit out of him was rude, it really is, regardless if it's done by female to male. For some reason Mei feels easier to annoy even by Rintaro. So Rintaro feels jealous against other family relationships for not having official one, though he doesn't take it out to them.

Yeah, this is what can happen for first-time watchers, so Kanon actually retains her previous character here, and that the Reikanons are just clones made for the baddie's schemes to become the ultimate lifeform and continue Danton's legacy. The story here seems to be about how Kanon addresses her "uselessness" previously of always being helped but wants to turn that around by fighting as Kamen Rider Kanon Specter. She actually got insecure when she failed the fighting at first to be unable to save anyone, but... that still applies as you said, when it's still about Specter who saves the day. The story doesn't seem to want to address people's shortcomings at the end to make it all happy but it probably would be good if Kanon still feels useless but vows to improve as Kamen Rider.

It's a wasted opportunity for Blades to not use his actual freezing power from his upgrades when the baddie orders Makoto to freeze. And, here it's yet another female Rider who is not the cold and merciless type (as Kanon turns out to retain her previous characterization), but at this period, being not really prominent Rider as they only make one brief appearence like in special (or for main series one, something like Poppy and Tsukuyomi, and also Necrom Pink for Ghost).

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Specter X Blades

There was no way it could actually happen twice... but it did, and the announcement for this one was on the same day it was available to watch, which made the surprise that much nicer. And this special as a whole then, perhaps, was somehow even nicer than the first one for me. It's got a narrative with a bit more meat to it, it's got Rintarou, and it's got Kanon as a Kamen Rider. What more could I want? Sin Specter. I could want Sin Specter, and hey, I got that too!

Really though, I'm willing to call myself Kanon's biggest fan (mostly to see if anyone wants to claim that title for themselves), so as amazing a surprise as it was simply to see these two shows crossing over in this fashion (I'll remind you guys Saber teamed up with Ghost before he did with Zero-One), it was an even bigger surprise to see Kanon discovering her own Infinite Potential™ after all these years.

Again, it's sort of hard for me to even dig into these two specials here, because seeing Die go through them is just reminding all over again how exciting it is to me that they exist. There was actually a bit of suit actor trivia I forgot to mention last time, which is that Ghost was played by Eitoku in it, while here we have Jun Watanabe reprising his role as Specter, on top of filling his usual Saber position as the action director. Neat for people who care about that kinda stuff (and I mean, I do), but it's just like, Kanon Specter, you guys! I can only get so analytical when I'm having this much *fun*!

(Also, the excuse to make the DX Yujou Burst Eyecon eventually led to Bandai finally making a Nadeshiko Driver, so that's one more dream these things made come true!)

Y'know, it is nice to see Sin Specter again. Deep Specter is kind of everything I dislike about upgrade suits, but Sin Specter is everything like about upgrade suits. Bad news for Rintaro, maybe, but I like to see Makoto in that nice, sparkly suit.

I don't know the context for this, but yeah, kind of a bummer that we didn't get a third part for this Ghost reunion. I mean, I'd've stuck Alain with Tassel -- two rulers of alternate dimensions -- but I guess that's just me.

As always, I am happy that these threads maybe buck the trend! I think all of these shows have something in them worth celebrating, and it's very cool that y'all are willing to go on that ride with me.

https://media.giphy.com/media/qUyK0v2rFcCDC/giphy.gif

Makoto has gotten a lot better about his rage since those early appearances!

I'm glad you had a good time with these specials!

I really loved this one and Kanon is easily one of my favourite female Riders now. I love the idea of a side character who didn't do anything, years later growing into her own and having her own people to protect... like, it's maybe executed a bit awkwardly, maybe allow her slightly more of a win on her own; but Kanon becoming someone who carries on and represents all the themes of Ghost and everything it stood for? I love it, I love it so much.

Ha ha, for sure, it's incredibly Ghost for this special to maybe not execute as smoothly as I'd like, while still overwhelmingly having its heart in the right place, to a degree where I still found it fulfilling. GHOST! It never changes!

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 39 - “O SWORDSMEN, FOLLOW THE PATH YOU BELIEVE IN”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber39a.png

I mean, look at that image. Look at our pop-up book opening, reconfigured to not just include the returning Kento, but every other hero on the show. It’s as thrilling a victory lap as I can imagine, seeing that troupe of warriors marching off for their next adventure. The episode that followed it, though? A little bit more of a mixed bag.

When this episode stuck to its combination of tentative reunions (Ren/Kento) and heartwarming team expansion (Kento’s reinduction, the Shindais grumpily signing on), I was thrilled. After last episode’s cacophonous climax, you desperately need an episode to decompress; to spend some time establishing a new status quo, and let the big emotions of last time find some subtler notes. When this episode decided to breathe a little, it was exactly what I wanted.

Unfortunately, Touma takes a trip to the Southern Base to interrogate/rehabilitate Isaac, and I sort of don’t know what the show’s doing here? On the one hand, I like that Touma – even after everything Isaac has done – needs to try one last time to see if that guy can be swayed from supervillainy. It’s the bottomless empathy of the main Rider, to not even see a cackling global terrorist as irredeemable. Sure. Okay.

But just last episode, Touma was like You’re Not Even Worth Talking To, right? That was one of my favorite parts! Where Touma could clock that a guy like Falchion was maybe misguided, while Isaac was an unrepentant murderer. Isaac already told Touma (and the rest of Team Saber) that he was only in this for laughs. He laid out his motivation, which is that he’s a nepo baby and wanted to try torturing humanity for a few centuries as a change of pace. There is no deeper level to Isaac; that’s the whole point of him. So for Touma to try one last time to reach him, and to be infuriated by Isaac’s flippant disgust for humanity… like, did using Xross Saber give Touma amnesia again? Did he completely forget learning that Isaac was a psychotic villain with zero humanity? Why is this scene even happening?

Like, it’s acceptable as the setup for a fun fight, but that’s about it. The fight’s great, but it feels poorly motivated in the aftermath of last episode’s climatic defeat of Solomon. This ends up being a weird rerun of that battle, with next to no stakes. (Like, Solomon wasn’t exactly mounting some new offensive or anything? Touma and Rintaro show up and it turns into a fight.) It brings down what’s an otherwise warm and sweet episode of reconciliations and new directions. I wish, like, a different fight had happened, if this episode needed a fight so badly.

But, hell, everyone’s in this one, and that’s nice. I love this cast to pieces, and it’s great to see them all utilized so well. As always, when the show plays to that strength, it’s almost unbeatable.

—

UNLEASHED! THE LARGE-HEARTED BOY

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber39b.png

“Do you know why I asked you here today, Daishinji?”

“I don’t, no. Sophia just said ‘Mei needs to speak with you in the bookstore.’ What is this about?”

“So, it’s about swords.”

“...I’m listening.”

“Swords are pretty cool, aren’t they? They’re something you like.”

“If by ‘like’ you mean ‘dedicated my life to the service and care of’, then yes, I 'like' them.”

“That’s great! I always want you to feel comfortable talking about what you like. This is a safe space, Daishinji.”

“This is a bookstore, Mei.”

“And there’s a lot of great books to choose from, now that you mention it. There are books that can help us understand… new feelings, maybe ones that we don’t understand yet, and they make us feel funny.”

“Uh… what?”

“Like, sometimes when you see a sword. You can get… a little excited. Which is fine! No one’s judging! But you need to be respectful of the sword.”

“I– I am ALWAYS respectful of swords! I care for them, and maintain them, and listen to them when no one else does! HOW DARE–”

“Whoa whoa whoa! Sit back down! This is a safe space! A safe space!”

“This is absurd. I don’t know what you’re on about, but if Sophia has an issue with my duties as a swordsman, I’ll just go take it up with her. Good day.”

“Nononono come back WAIT Sophia asked me to talk to you because Yuri tried to file a complaint with HR because he read about that in a comic but the Sword of Logos doesn’t have an HR and also Touma said you were weirding him out with how you’d lick your lips when you looked at the Xross Saber and I definitely didn’t find your drawings of Yuri and the Xross Saber and I feel like you’re going to do something really weird soon if you don’t deal with this stuff and I’m sorry I didn’t say this better come on come back and sit down pleeeeeease.”

“I just… I really like swords, Mei.”

“That’s okay, Daishinji. It’s okay to like swords, but this is still a workplace, and we need to be respectful of other people’s – and swords’ – feelings. Let’s talk about that some more. This is a safe space.”

I think the most I remember about the finale fight is Charybdis returning after a lengthy hiatus from the main plot (I don't really count the HBV) alongside Xross Saber showing that it basically just gives Touma upgraded versions of forms he was able to access prior via Crimson Dragon becoming Crimson Saber.

It's a cool versatile ability to give the Final Form... Form Changes. Almost makes Xross Saber feel like a separate Rider in a sense but also makes it more unique aside from its sword slinging abilities.

That being said, I do love all the smaller moments in the episode. Definitely a victory lap for our heroes after putting up with Solomon for quite a while. And Storious seems to be meddling a lot more than usual compared to prior. I suppose that means things are going to be heading for their turning points soon... well, as soon as we take care of a few other detour-ish things if I recall the schedule correctly.

As for our story... "This is a bookstore, Mei." & "I just... I really like swords, Mei."

Very good lines, had me nearly laughing out loud when I shouldn't given the time of day. Admittedly was not expecting this returning gag to be the basis of the story, but I can't complain as it was as always, entertaining.

Huh. Never knew they updated the opening credits with the full compliment of Riders. I warmed up to Saber as a show, but I still cannot tolerate that theme song.

It does a really good job of selling the all-encompassing power of this Final Form by having it feel complete unto itself. If it reskins every possible Wonder Ride Book and Combo, then there's really no matching its power.

This is, I believe, the second change: they removed Kento for a couple dozen episodes, I think.

It hasn't grown on me to the extent that Ghost's eventually did, but I don't really dislike the theme song anymore. It's in my bottom tier, though, for sure.

This episode also sees the return of Tassel's intro, which has been missing for 14 episodes. And yes, the episode is full of joyful reunions, Kento officially returns to the team and to the old style, Shindai, although not friends yet, but clearly no longer enemies, Ren is looking for his own way. Perhaps all this turned his head a little, so Touma decided to take a chance with Isaac. Although most likely the desire to show a new form played a decisive role.
Fanfiction is awesome! Laughed happily!

The one Toku thing I’ve ever discussed with anyone in my family was the reveal of Isaac’s motives (it was in the middle of a discussion of how the cooler a name a sword has, the more powerful it is). His reaction was “Well, I guess it would liven things up”.

And we get Crimson Saber, who is in good company in not being red, despite what the name would make you think.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...6/IMG_1328.JPG

Next time: I checked the master post (which is what some people call the first in a thread) and it’s about time I do what I promised you around the 4th Swordsmen Chronicles and send you that fic of mine, unless I’m much mistaken.

That's a great story Die, but I think we both know the official SOL HR policy towards disagreements would be "Have a swordfight so you can understand each other's positions through combat and the strength of your will and heart etc".

Also I hate to be the only one to say it, but I do like Almighty quite a bit? I don' think it's a favourite, but it's nice, it's got trumpets, and it's a ska piece in the year 2021, points for bravery if nothing else.

Oh no, I'll agree with you here.

Almighty is probably my favorite of the Reiwa OP's though with Trust Last at a close 2nd. Though that may change depending on how the full version sounds.

That being said it's Ska, and it's from Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra who gave us three different songs for Saber so far, and I think that's a very big win.

I like Almighty a fair bit! But I also can’t name a single Toku OP I don’t enjoy and end up coming back to, so uh, take that as you will? Genre with a lot of bangers I feel!

That is true.

Admittedly I can name one singular OP that I just do not like at all in the history of Kamen Rider OP's.

Hibiki's 2nd OP. It just does not work at all for me and it's absolutely bottom tier "I dislike it immensely" level for me.

The rest range from "pretty good" to "banger" with me.

My big issue with Saber?s opening is that it just sounds very lightweight and simplistic. It sounds like the opening part of a song before it kicks up into a higher gear, but that shift never happens; it?s just the same basic thing from start to finish.

?Ska Paradise? is an oxymoron.

I mean, maybe Touma is trying to follow Kento's example -- they're incredibly similar, and can't help influencing one another -- but there's a world of difference between Bringing Home A Wayward Friend and Seeing If An Apocalyptic Psychopath Would Be Okay Not Doing That. I'd hope Touma wouldn't consider Ren's soul-searching absence to be comparable to Isaac's gleeful cruelty?

That is a troubling reaction!

This week is all Superhero Senki stuff, so if it's a tie-in with that, then sure!

Incorrect! The HR is only for when one participant forces the swordfight on another! This is the entirety of Daishinji's problem: a lack of boundaries and inappropriate workplace sword handling! A swordfight is just teaching him that he's not being unprofessional!!!

I'm not sure if you're kidding or not, but let me assure you that the last couple months have taught me that not liking Almighty is the more controversial and unique stance. Y'all are ska sickos, and it's disappointing to me as a fellow Kamen Rider fan.

I think the lack of stakes is appropriate to show Isaac how much his severity as a threat has diminished now that Xross Saber can beat Solomon in a fight with little trouble. It's totally humiliating for Isaac, since not only does he get beat again and offered redemption again in a way that undermines how evil he's trying to be like how he made up that fake pity story about losing a loved one that he immediately laughed about, but they basically kicked him out of Southern Base, reclaiming it for SOL.

Regarding the cool fight scene in Wonder World, I'd like to point out that other than the debut of "Crimson" Saber, I thought Blades Tategami Hyoujyu Senki kicking a giant icicle down Charybdis' mouth was pretty creative and bad*ss!

:thumb:

Should've been called Fantastic Saber since fantastic means blue. Saber logic.

En-chan said it first.

For the few Tokusatsu OPs that I dislike/feel indifferent about:

Just Live More, RealEyez, EXCITE, Hajimari No Kimi E, Kamen Rider Agito, Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.

Ok I can now say my thoughts about Xross Saber cause when it was first revealed I was ready to slap it with the worst final form ever label (at least Zero-Two was a reference to how the Showa riders got a permanent upgrade as opposed to multiple forms so even if it is bland I get what they were going for) but then I saw we'd be getting MULTIPLE Final forms then I was on board with it also part of it is this show did an amazing job with Isssac like the franchise was starting to turn into modern day disney with how many villains have tragic backstories(this is fine but when you OVERDO IT especially in the case of Masamune from Ex-Aid(which had Dan Kuroto who was basically becoming the Diamonds from Steven Universe in terms of "I know we made this guy too evil to redeem but let's do it anyways" who they gave a tragic backstory in the movies despite the show making him the ultimate hate sink in the franchise (NOTE I did NOT watch Zi-O/Zero One though I did get told they at a point make Aruto turn evil for stupid reasons towards the end) so having a villain whose evil for the hell of it and just wants power because "why the hell not" was a nice change of pace and they also did an AMAZING job of making you want to punch him and how even when he "losses" he still gets SOMETHING that puts him in advantageous position moving forward(One of my biggest gripes with Build was how the later half can be described as Evolto beating the crap out of the good guys unless they have a brand new toy to debut I get wanting to keep his threat level consistent throughout the show(Cause if he lost constantly that'd be a problem in of itself) but when the good guys ALWAYS Lose it becomes frustrating to watch) and seeing the show make it clear he's screwed in all caps when Touma gets Xross Saber was satisfying as hell

I mean, that's not stakes, that's difficulty. I'm not surprised that Saber's Final Form can easily trounce a lazy lunatic like Solomon; I'm a little more surprised that the fight occurs while Isaac is sort of just Vaguely A Threat, not someone actively (or successfully) attempting a villainous scheme.

Isaac is definitely one of the franchise's most punchable villains, yes!

I think the low difficulty is exactly why Touma and Rintarou felt confident enough to swing by Isaac's throne room. They're not afraid of his power and they're prepared to defeat him if necessary. It's kind of refreshing that the heroes have reached a point where they can leisurely make their move against the big arc villain, as a way to show how the balance of power has now shifted. It makes sense that they would take advantage of that opportunity to either attempt to reform him, or failing that, remove him from the throne he renounced the right to sit on.

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 39

I was really happy to see you decide to call special attention to this random shot in the opening, because it's honestly one of my favorite things in Saber period? And I mean, long list, I know, but the key here is that a quick visual like this is on the same level I put entire episodes and suit designs and characters and stuff. There's a lot I could say about the actual episode, because I love a lot about it, too, but as tempting as it is to talk about how Uchida writes an amazing Master Logos, the strong visual storytelling of him ending this one being demoted to Storious' house guest, or even just how sick as heck Xross Saber continues to be, I'll leave the details to past me here, because I'd much rather focus on just how much I love that shot in the opening.

It's just one of those quintessentially Saber things, you know? Even putting aside the literal storybook visual styling, the image of all these main characters in a line, happily walking in the same direction, I don't think it would fit any other Rider show at all? It fits Saber's very specific weirdly un-Rider vibe perfectly, because it makes way too much of a point of emphasizing everyone's individuality to just be a totally straightforward Sentai deal, and yet they're all far too unified in their overall goal for a franchise often about bickering anti-heroes refusing to get along. It's very different people all heading their own way towards the same destination. Like, that's the show! That's Saber! The one where you can have as many as 9 or 10 Riders in a shot together, and have them facing something that isn't just each other.

Oh right, random note, but I like Kento's new style of SoL Uniform, in which he's keeping the white turtle-neck/long sleeve from his Calibur days and mixing it with his SoL Uniform, which I recall was exactly the same in style as his fathers. So him mixing that up with what he got while he was Calibur is pretty neat. Kinda shows Kento coming into his own, you know?

Part of me is a little upset that they didn't make it an incremental thing, a visual representation of Touma expanding his support network out from just the Saberketeers into an entire squadron of swordsmen, but I'm happy with what I ended up getting.

It looks good! He wears that uniform well!

Commentary on my series? I need some help.