Possibly but I find the idea that Kiva as a series just keeps getting shafted when it come to figuarts to be a funny thought

Saga suit is simply put a great mix of elegance and archnemesis vibes.

Hmm.. I did say about how Taiga's debut feels like just failing Wataru's mission, the criminal just ran away unprovoked, albeit scared. Taiga succeed in saving Wataru, but what Taiga did seems equal to Wataru just letting the criminal go or losing track for him. I guess I was refering to merely the Taiga intervention here, as it's the 'debut'; Nago and Wataru are already established characters before with continuation of their arc.

Not saying it was OOC or not, but it's quite a reveal here for Otoya that, even he still had flawed approach to his beloved ones, which is a women (and as a womanizer he'd love all women) who had been building relationship with him. Which is here, he's loving a shadow. Though it can be Yuri being the one to overcompensate to be a 'good partner' as Die said. Otoya actually having a flawed approach to beloved ones like in love with an idea of a woman, that reminds me of Tendou's approach of Hiyori, one of the few people who Tendou is fully affectionate with, that even Tendou unwittingly treat her as object to protect her while neglecting her take on that.

I do admit that Mio arriving after Wataru went away made me chuckle, though my personal feelings is that, if there are secrets from each other, I kinda want for them to get to know about them quickly for some reason, which actually they do as Wataru and Mio did meet face to face in Tagia's dinner, and I'd hope for Taiga to get to know that they know each other, but they actually pretend to not know each other. I mean I actually think they still had affection to each other in that case, though yeah of course they're painfully shy, but I guess them pretending to not know each other had reasons that they're dead silent in their next date or something. But still, I thought Wataru sees the good in others (despite being shy, I mean one of the reasons to be shy is to be afraid of others, and he sunk into that way again when Dai-chan is actually Rook), but it only takes this part to make Wataru distrustful to her? It takes monsters like Rhino Fangire to send Wataru outright into hateful state.

For Shizuka kicking Mio afterwards, well... Shizuka and Mio feud isn't completely gone, and albeit the one at ep. 29 can be OOC, what I said regarding Shizuka still applies for how "Sweet and Protective" exclusively is applied to Wataru; someone could act drastically different towards loved ones, or those who aren't. Wataru gets her "Sweet and Protective" persona but Mio is... not Wataru, so she'd not necessarily getting that; moreover though Shizuka is otherwise normal to non-Wataru person, just that she can be forceful or pushy sometimes to others regarding Wataru, which is here for Shizuka being hostile and kicking Mio out for Wataru's behalf without getting through her. This one's probably the non-OOC take of Shizuka's personality there, unlike ep. 29 where she's outright evil.

I guess for Yuri, you only treasure what you've lost. Throughout the series Yuri is hostile towards Otoya, though it's for good reasons as Otoya was flirting inappropriately to her. It's irony about how Otoya spends most of the story chasing Yuri, but now, Yuri's chasing for Otoya who had been falling in love with someone else. From the beginning of the episode, I guess it was revealed that the one narrating the trivias are Kivat, and for this part of the episode, the twist is that Maya probably had higher skill cap than what she suggests, what I catch is that, for Maya copying his play, that only means that Otoya's skills on the violin she hears is sub-par to her. This part's a message about own potential to create own violin to draw 100% of talent... though I still don't fully capture of own violin being different except likely more passion to show off your creation's capability aside from your abilities. I wonder if this would apply for Riders too, creating own Riders instead of being handed would make a better fighter (the creator of IXA for example should use the IXA itself by that then).

I have to remind that if the villain status is ambiguous (with brackets) because 'he mostly just murders a Fangire', evil vs evil can exist in media (as well as good vs good), like for KR series, Kitazaki vs Arch Orphnoch in Faiz. And especially there's Daguva in Kuuga, who is one of the most irredeemable villains of the franchise, whose depravity is him killing his own species (for being too weak). Otherwise, there's a term called anti-villain, which means a villain with redeeming qualities, which'd apply for Taiga but probably can't be talked about here. Saga's finisher (where do you get the name of it being Saga? iirc wasn't mentioned in the series) is also one of those I like better in Kiva series, it's a different take of finishing an opponent by hanging them, instead of brute force attacks, though it doesn't look that deadly still. Kiva Emperor also unveils more of his abilities, in using Dogga Hammer, and the Emperor Thunder Slap.

Everybody knows Anti-Villian. We not Idiots.

Yeah, it feels like a midway point between Kiva and IXA. It brings over the immaculate white of IXA, but then fills it in with Kiva's gothic vibes. Good suit!

I mean, This Time It's Personal, you know? This isn't a random person who betrayed another random person. This was Wataru getting his heart broken by a girl he liked. A girl who is engaged to his childhood friend! Wataru is dealing with it as well as he probably can in the immediate aftermath. He's not a saint, you know? He's a sweet boy who is trying his best to navigate a horrible situation.

I think it's more that she's using the Bloody Rose as a metaphor for Otoya trying to please other people, fulfill other people's expectations. The Bloody Rose is him manifesting all of himself into the world, rather than working through someone else's vessel. She's basically telling him that he is wasting himself trying to be anything other than Otoya, and that includes being Yuri's boyfriend.

Some stuff I've just heard through the fandom (all the Kiva Seihous made it relevant recently), and some other people confirmed it in this thread.

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 34 - "NOISE: MELODY OF DESTRUCTION”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva34a.png

This episode, despite being incredibly tight thematically, felt like it was spreading itself too thin. There's a lot going on right now in Kiva, from character returns to shocking reveals to diabolical schemes to heartache to whatever else I forgot to mention. With so many things to address, it makes for an episode that doesn't really tell a memorable story.

The smartest thing it does is focus in on Wataru's problems, and then reexamine those issues through different characters. It makes sure that Wataru is central to every story, even the ones he doesn't really interact with. It feels like this is his show, which has frequently been a problem.

Wataru is putting on a brave face regarding his recent break-up with Mio, and it's as funny as it is phony. He bakes himself a cake to celebrate another milestone on the way to adulthood, which is honestly enviably mature, but then he shrugs off Kivat's reminder of Mio's dedication with an Oh She Was Just Lying To Spare My Feelings, the sort of complete misinterpretation that tells us that Wataru is in really bad shape. I mean, he throws a party to celebrate getting dumped! There's seeing the bright side, and then there's this lunacy. (Like, the fact that Nago thinks this is a good idea should be a huge warning sign!) It's admirable that Wataru would try to make lemonade out of Doomed Romance lemons, but he's so clearly repressing his real feelings that it all comes off as cringe comedy. Still funny! But, like, funny because he is being incredibly weird.

From there, he lets Taiga try to cheer him up by... spending an afternoon on an amusement park outing with him and Mio. It's my favorite recurring gag on this show right now, Taiga trying to be a good guy to people he is emotionally atomizing. (When he's on his lunch date with Mio and is like It's So Cool To See You Love Me Like I Love You, while she's a second away from sobbing her eyes out? Hilarious!) Mio tries yet again to let Wataru know that she prefers him to Taiga, but Wataru is quick to deflect it, talk up Taiga, and then act like everything is going great.

It's a plotline that culminates with Wataru literally trying to drown his anger and sadness in the bath, a repression so painful and self-destructive that Bloody Rose cracks under the strain. In an episode where not a ton stuck in my brain, that shot of Bloody Rose bearing the physical manifestation of Wataru's emotional damage was something special. It's misinterpreted yet again by Wataru, thinking it happened because he couldn't force himself to be happy enough for his heartache and isolation.

It's sort of the flipside to what Wataru's talking about in the beginning. He's proud of his loss, since that's a part of growing up. But the point of your first heartbreak isn't to tick it off of a list. It's not that experience that's valuable. It's what you do with that pain, how you acknowledge it and grow from it. Wataru definitely hasn't acknowledged it. He's acting cheerful when he wants to scream, and it's making everything worse.

We get to see flashes of Wataru's pain across a couple other different plots, some that get more attention than others.

Mio's and Yuri's are the bigger ones, with Mio suffering under the yoke of Queendom, and Yuri suffering under the yoke of cuckqueandom. The Yuri story is zero percent subtle, just scene after scene of Yuri sitting in the dining room while her boyfriend and a supernaturally-gorgeous supernatural executioner make the most erotic musical instrument 1980s Japan had to offer. Mio's stuff is equally repetitive, with her looking for outs and getting nothing. She does schedule a meeting with Maya, however, and I'm very much looking forward to whether or not they can see eye-to-eye.

The other big Brave Face storyline is KENGO! Kengo's back! And he's basically Snipe from Ex-Aid! Which is another way of saying he's no longer Here To Make Friends! There's really not much more to Kengo's story this time than his shocking reappearance, violent attitude, and militaristic makeover, but it's still a hell of a return. Beyond the questionable timeline (so Kengo became a brutally-efficient operative for W.A.K.E.U.P. after a month of training?), I really don't mind the changes the show made to Kengo. There'll always be a place in my heart for the very sweet and supportive friendship he had with Wataru, but this is an Inoue show. I am not going to be mad at Kengo returning as a bloodthirsty asshole hiding his desperate need to make friends, especially if it makes me think of Snipe. Hard to call it an improvement, but I don't mind it as a substitution.

All that, and I didn't even touch on Bishop's interest in Wataru, Taiga's interest in Kiva, or the Super Fangire being created by a former W.A.K.E.U.P. scientist. It's an overstuffed episode! It's still got a solid thematic core, but it's got a few too many plates spinning right now.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva34b.png

And come to think of it, it kind of is the Delta to Kiva's Faiz; tertiary rider, black-based suit with white trims, evil and destructive, the works.

I don't care much for Emperor Form, and I never got the hype behind Supernova. But I'll tell you what's a design I fell in love with at first sight: Saga! And a song that I've yet to get tired of listening to? Roots of the King!! Absolute criminal that my favourite snake-ufo-castle themed Rider has been so neglected among all the flux of recent Kiva-shelling merch, hmph!

Also hey! Snipe is way cooler than Kengo! (But will that Taiga be cooler than this show's Taiga in the longrun for you? I'm curious to see...)

Well, I can finally post Bishop’s information.

Swallowtail Fangire

True name: The Ascetic and a Left Foot Sock (禁欲家と左足だけの靴下 Kin'yokuka to Hidariashi dake no Kutsushita)

Human identity: N/A

Rank: Bishop

Class: Insect

Actor: Mitsu Murata

And now for our mad doctor’s (who is, by the way, played by the same guy who plays Nira on Drive) patient.

Horsefly Fangire

True name: The Decaying Fish and the Poetry Anthology Filled Cradle (腐敗した魚と詩集の詰まった揺籃 Fuhai shita Sakana to Shishū no Tsumatta Yōran)

Human identity: Kaede

Class: Insect

Rank: Pawn

Actor: Tomomi Miyashita, Kaori Mine (voice in Fangire form)

So yeah, this is where all the problems Wataru’s been suffering really get to him. Can I just say that I’m pretty fond of these sorts of stories where the hero is having the problem that drives the plot, rather than a secondary character or a victim.

And I’ll close off with a rare case of a sequel to a song on the soundtrack, Prayer - Message 2.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8tT9ZNXejTo

It may be Wataru's show, but the Saga hype sure isn't stopping, as 34 marks the first use of his own personal insert theme, Roots of the King... which is kinda sung by Wataru, but you know what I mean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-cxQ9GwPmo

Following in the footsteps of Destiny's Play and Individual-System, Saga gets a single to himself that's no less cool. Really, I might even argue it's way cooler? Not to say I necessarily like it way more, or anything, but just, Saga is a guy who thinks he's the best, and his song wants you to know it. The egotistical lyrics put even Nago to shame, with basically every other line being about how much Taiga has earned his dark privilege (literally just by being born), and how much more important and just plain better he is than you because of it. It's got some massive bad boy energy, with a suitably edgy sound, and I kinda can't get enough of it. Throwing out the word "favorite" as much as I'd like to with Kiva's songs is going to make it clear how little that word means, but yeah, there you go. This one is another favorite for me.

Sort of on the subject of Saga as well, I mentioned how the suit is a clear counterpart to Kiva, and that got me to consciously realize for the first time that's it's specifically a counterpart to Kiva Form, with the top-heavy armor and relatively plain legs. (Oh, and Kiva's base form is literally called "Kiva Form", by the way, which I will never not love.) I guess most of why I want to mention this is because that random thought allowed me to put together something I found moderately interesting about Emperor Form's fighting style. As I very briefly touched on earlier in the thread, Kiva Form tended to be more about punching dudes, but reflecting the much more balanced armor layout, Emperor's fights often place a huge emphasis on him kicking monsters, which can be seen both in its debut, and in this episode. Sort of a neat way to differentiate them, if weirdly specific. (Maybe it's because Takaiwa finally could move his legs a lot easier again with the Emperor suit...?)