That's relatable!

Which, hilariously, gets to what might be the one bum note in the episode. (And I'm sorry to pivot off of your very eloquent and compelling description of this episode to do it! You're right! In a lot of ways! And I like hearing praise for Build at all times!)

We're in this story about healing damaged creatures, and trying to avoid just destroying violent things that really just need to be understood... and then Yuri's like Oh There's No Saving Legeiel And It's Humane To Detonate Him. Zero evidence other than a hastily spoken line from Yuri, and zero hesitation on the part of Touma.

Like, I know that we need to have a dramatic explosion at the end of this story, and Legeiel wasn't exactly some huge loss to either the narrative or the audience, and whatever... but, like, Touma just pointed out to the audience that Legeiel wasn't making decisions in the right frame of mind. The show literally decided to say What If right before Touma detonates the guy. In the episode all about looking past violent exteriors to try and salvage something real.

It's a minor thing, but it sort of felt like the show trying to have its cake and detonate it, too.

Thanks! I find that dude super interesting to think about!

It is, which is maybe not great.

Oh no, for sure; Legeiel blowing up was even my one complaint from my old post about the episode in large part because of that, even though it isn't the reason I bring up there. It's one of those things now, where I have the context of the full series, and I better get why they did it the way they did, but it was absolutely a narrative beat that stuck out like a sore thumb with what the rest of the episode was about.

Yeah, the Primitive Dragon arc is just so good, and also so Saber with how it manages to come to its conclusion. As Fish already beat me to because he's got that speed, while 3 series in the last 4 years have done Beserk forms (Sougo doesn't get one because, lets be honest, that kid is too much of a dork to be angry for more than five minutes), all of them resolve in different manners that none of the other heroes could manage.

Sento is trapped into seeing Blood Stalk's own manipulations as truth, that the Build system (and, in turn, his very person) exist in their purest forms as weapons best for killing others, until he's able to use his technical genius skill and the power of his allies who believe in him to be a saviour without destruction (and he, of course believes in them, because he keeps TankTank in the wings for Sawa to rescue the family I love that episode so much), and surpasses it. Of course, the Hazard Forms are still dangerous, a sign technology can still go wrong if used unrestainedly, but Sento himself is proof it can be better.

Metal Cluster Hopper is the full wailing rage and despair and malice of the Ark, lashing out at humanity (and especially Gai) for what it sees as unforgivable crimes. And Aruto doesn't overcome it alone, because one man can't. The respite comes from the Humagears, all the people Aruto has touched and helped and been a one-man supportive arm for, come to his aid. One man cannot alone overcome that hate, but with the wishes of an entire people behind him? He can.

And then there's Primitive Dragon. A scared, lonely child - and I think the fact it's a child matters all the more when this is like the 3rd child Touma has saved, and his bookstore is made for them, we know Touma has that empathy for a child in need - and Touma literally writes them a new end. I'm not a huge fan of power ups in Kamen Rider that characters create out of nowhere, through sheer anime will, but this isn't that. It's only through the bond Touma makes with this one kid, understanding them, and showing them a way out of their tragedy, their loneliness, can the rage be quelled. Even if Touma isn't physically there, his story will resonate. Because stories matter. They change how we look at things. And, having made that emotional connection, they can work in harmony.

None of these three, despite the superficialities, are the same, and none of the protagonists would solve it in the same way. It's not that Aruto or Sento are unempathic or anything, but their empathy is different. Aruto would tell a corny joke, show the kid that even in the darkest time there's smiles to be had. Sento would probably assume the dragon was Ryuga being sad and offer to make him a noodle pot. But that's the beauty of a series like this, in that we can see our hero's strength shine through. (And I also love that Kento isn't moved by this! That would both be too easy, and Kento knows Touma is the king of this kind of empathy for his own show! That doesn't change how Touma can't empathy away the unspecified apocalypse he's real worried about!)

I love the Primitive Dragon arc. Not just because of the ending, but the ending is just the cap on it, you know? A fumbled ending can turn a story-arc sour, but here, it works great.

Yes to everything, but extra Yes to this. It is this episode sticking the landing to have Rintaro see Touma's resolve/hope and decide to be a better man, and for Kento to see the same thing and go THAT WON'T SAVE YOU. The duality of man!

This cast of characters, amirite? So goddamn good.

I don't have much to add apart from another round of appreciation for how this story played out. Definitely a good way to evolve Primitive Dragon into its next form in a way that plays to Touma's strengths as a character.

As I've stated, those berserk forms have the user, mainly the main protagonist, not being culpable in their dangerous nature of attacking others as it's under outside influence, and Touma is no exception. It's ok that Touma is not made culpable as it can be deemed as trying to make the heroes look better and rejecting the "complexity"? Otherwise, this one's another power of friendship type of solution Touma comes up with, like Arthur book (of which it's one of the complaints for Touma), and here, it's befriending the boy in Primitive Dragon, even when he had to endure multiple de-henshins in the Avalon and thus, greater stress than Rintaro did in ep. 7, thus this displays his determination further. The boy feeling out of place in the world thus leading for it to go rampage seems to be similar to some of the kaiju's attacks in for example Ultraman (where they can get happier ending)?

Outside of the new upgrade, when Touma's allies hold off Legeiel, there's a scene of them keep fighting in human form, but of course... the extremely skilled swordsmen in Ogami, Daishinji, and Yuri who should fit the bill too, they won't do much when fighting actual threat where even as Riders they won't necessarily defeat them, unlike against fodders or MOTW the main three Riders did in ep. 9. And so we won't actually see the berserk form fighting with complete control, but it's just a bridge to a further upgrade. I'd say actually Elemental Dragon is the one I like less among Saber's designs, though obviously its battle capabilities are more important. As Touma convinces the boy that his story doesn't end, Elemental Dragon is created as a sequel for Primitive Dragon, displaying the destiny screwing in comparison to the Primitive Dragon ending up lonely like how it's set in stone.

About Touma changing fates, dunno if this is a legitimate moral to be followed, or if this is just MC favoritism like some can complain (not exclusively Touma). Though often heroes' abilities are never acknowledged especially main ones, just being viewed as plot armor and favoritism. And after perhaps a clear proof that Touma both can change fates as well as not being drunk with power, Kento still isn't convinced. Rintaro though makes an effort to defend Touma when he tries to reason with the boy in Primitive Dragon, but at the end of the episode he also claims he has find his resolve, but leaves the group.

The trait they added for Legeiel is that he starts to view Touma as his arch-enemy, specifically only seeking him to fight instead of anyone else and take revenge for his continued loss. And other than that, it's shown that he hates his human heritage and denies Saber claiming he was one before, despite the flashback showing the Book Club trio being happy to view the connected worlds as human. It's too short to flesh him out as it only starts 1 episode before his demise.

Right... it was actually Metal Cluster Hopper that qualifies here. But otherwise, obviously they aren't unempathetic, as they aren't culpable for the rampages the berserk form caused, which is also typically how the berserk form arc is made, though Sento was the one who directly activated his Hazard form, but the rest of the action is the form's doing as he won't want to kill Aoba which he deeply regrets.

Oh, and one other random thing I want to point out from this episode, because I'm pretty sure I'm literally the only who cares, but I love how Touma quotes Kamijou's catchphrase about hope again when he shows up to the battle with Legeiel. It's not like that's something he's repeating constantly, but between here and the second episode, and the way, if I'm remembering right, he consistently calls him Kamijou-san, with the honorific, in spite of all the villainy, I find it cute how much that one moment from 15 years ago clearly left an impression on Touma. Most of what he remembers about that day is entirely traumatic, but there's like this one little thing in there -- someone giving their all to protect him -- that, even now, helps push Touma forward when he needs it. I could probably wring some deeper point out of this if I tried hard enough, but I don't know, I mostly wanted to bring it up because I think it's nice.

I always imagined this would be similar to how Gentarou would befriend his berserk form if he had one, but considering how the magic of friendship is also an important theme in Fukuda's shows, it's totally appropriate for Touma's character as a writer who uses stories as a way to connect with people.

Of course the highlight is Elemental Dragon, but what did you think of Legeiel Forbidden? I think it's pretty intimidating that the Megid Trio have access to these Final Forms by throwing a bunch of books at them, which also marks a point of no return for their humanity, as Yuri implied. It shows how serious Legeiel is about his rivalry with Saber that he's willing to gamble everything on defeating him.

Yeah, it's an easy hack to make a shallow strong character by making them resistant to showing any kind of weakness or vulnerability. Some writers are so obsessed with this impossible image of "strong", like stereotypical Mary Sues, that they neglect to make them sympathetic, or have the other characters react as strongly against them as they should. Otherwise that would show their flaws, which breaks that impossible image. But they should have some flaws and those flaws should be rightfully pointed out and criticized to show their humanity. A character should be more than just strong.

The collective symbolism between Primitive and Elemental Dragon is cool for sure. I love how Touma solved the problem of Primitive Dragon's incomplete story of sorrow by basically writing his own fanfiction where he gets the happy ending he deserves. It's the most literal way yet that Touma has used books to make people happy, turning in to a power that allows him to write the next chapter of his own story as well.

Congrats on your 10000th post! I hope Mesnick doesn't mind if I borrow his format for this one.

https://i.redd.it/1vs1lakhqwa51.png

Thanks. It crept up on me. I didn't realize it was coming until it was just about three away.