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.)