As someone else who never got round to Zenkaiger (I haven't actually seen the Zenkai counterpart, I'll just have to assume Reika and Ryouga were brought back by to their own world by... oh, lets say, Moe), yeah, it's a fun piece which breaks away from the apocalyptic overtones to have fun, which sometimes you just need in a crossover like this.

Tomorrow, the role of Fish Sandwich will be played by Yumi Yamamoto

Yohohoy!

When it comes to interdimensional Tokusatsu thieves, I actually prefer Zox to Kaito (Daiki, not Goshikida). Zox is entertaining, he dances before his morphs and form changes, he has a good singing voice, he loves his younger siblings and unlike Kaito, he's not a yandere. I second what others have said though, it's a lot easier to appreciate how cool he is when he has the rest of the Zenkaigers and Goldtwoikar family to interact with. Zenkaiger Episode 20 is a Zox focus, so maybe you'll be able to appreciate him more soon.

I think you're being a little dismissive by calling them harmless. You know Toei had to stall Super Hero Time to accommodate these "Spring Gattai" specials, right? I specifically remember in Drive, when I was getting excited for the big debut of Deadheat Burst Mach, only to find out there was a crossover first and I'd have to wait a whole damn fortnight to see Deadheat Burst Mach. I was pretty ticked off about that.

So when I heard there'd be a Zenkaiger/Saber crossover, a year after enduring that terrible 6 week hiatus, I was even more ticked off. Fortunately, it only stalled Saber, since this special is basically an extra long Zenkaiger episode. I could tolerate that and I didn't think it turned out too bad.

Ideally, I would prefer that they stick to the Zyuohger/Ghost and Kyuranger/EX-Aid format, where the crossovers are limited to subplot and thus don't intrude on each other's stories, rather they attempt to enrich the morals of those stories, although I agree that Zyuohger/Ghost had better execution.

But I hope you can understand that while you may consider these specials fun and have the right to enjoy them as much as you want, they do have collateral damage for people who look forward to the show and don't want unnecessary tangents, for the same reason people don't like recaps.

In that case, I will cast Asanuma Shintarou to voice the role of Sh Ranger.

I can tell you right now, that I absolutely adore Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger. And this crossover they did with both is glorious.

If you thought the singin' and dancin' gold pirate with the funny name was weird, the Zenkaiger episode (where the Kamijou siblings get sent to the Zenkaiger World) is even more bonkers. Zenkaiger's plot is centered around parallel worlds, so this isn't just "let's crossover the two just for the heck of it!" well it is, but it actually kind of works, especially for Super Hero Senki (that I still have yet to watch).

I'll have more to say about Saber later. Eventually. Maybe.

I really enjoyed this episode, both on its own and in combination with the Zenkaigers part. And while it's mostly a TV commercial for SHS, it's interesting in its own right. To begin with, this is kind of a return to the first episodes of the show: there is a monster and our heroes use the knowledge from the books to defeat it. And lest they destroy him in half a second because of their development in all these episodes, let the riders lose their books. And to make it funnier, let the main character be to blame. By the way, I will join in the praise: this scene is gorgeous.
Zox is also a cool guest character. This hasn't been written about yet, but I really enjoyed his fight with the Shindais, with the books tossing around to distract the siblings guarding the library. Also the dance is great!
The fanfiction is great. It's great that you decided to dedicate it to Ryoga - the latest of the hero riders in a rider-packed show.
I also want to point out that it's a wonderful coincidence that we're discussing the episode where Touma showed his writing part (albeit not with the best consequences) on International Writer's Day!

Yeah, the Wiki had it as working between 39 and 40, so that's where I dropped it. Could've held it off for another few episodes of Saber, but... I don't know, I liked the idea of a longer string of Saber episodes right up to the finale.

Neat! Thanks!

Yeah, it's... there's a thing in Kamen Rider, and I don't know if it's a modern development or something innate with the pacing, where so much fun storytelling and characterization for the main Rider gets jettisoned as the series grows its cast and defines its villain. Basic stuff like Touma Writes Books and Touma Runs A Bookstore take on decreasing relevance as we get more Riders, more Megid, more masterminds, more backstory, more revelations, more toys, etc. It's like the show treats all of that original conception as a mix between a recap and a metaphor -- something to occasionally reference as a way of contrasting with the current stakes -- rather than an active part of the character's life or story. The bookstore becomes just another set for the characters to plot out strategy or lick their wounds; Touma's writing becomes a thing he'll hopefully get back to post-series.

Long story short, I was also very happy to see Touma's non-swordsman skills get used as a plot development this time out.

It's almost too fun for a dude like Rintaro, which makes it extra fun for me.

Man, "not a yandere" makes him a huge step down from Kaito for me! Diend and Decade being toxic ex-boyfriends is one of the best parts of that show!

I look forward to it!

This is such a Sentai development to me (someone who does not watch Sentai) and I sort of loved it. The monster making their books disappear until the heroes figure out the trick to getting them back, while wacky antics occur in the meantime, that's just a zero percent Kamen Rider plot. The Kamen Rider version is Calibur muting everyone's swords and forcing them to live with the trauma!

For some odd reason the Brave Dragon Jingle they use in both here and Super Hero Senki is a different take them the usual one the use in the show it's weird.

This trend actually goes way beyond show riders. In almost all shows with a fantasy, mystical or detective plot, the daily life of the hero, which initially takes up a significant part of the plot, gradually decreases until it disappears altogether. For some it takes half a season, for others it takes two or three, but the result is the same. And if the show goes on long enough, then that very fantastic / mystical / detective part begins to decrease, giving way to relationships between characters already beloved by the audience. And in combination with the ideas that have ended, this leads to the fact that the show becomes indistinguishable from all the others and loses what it was loved for. This is how even the best die, and that is why it is important to stop in time. Well, the tokusatsu approach of changing characters and atmosphere, where each season is a new show that keeps favorite (and not so) moments of the previous ones, is also not bad.

Huh! I hadn't noticed. Thanks!

I think its prevalence in Kamen Rider is that each season/series has to tell a complete story, where the hero defeats the villain(s) at the end and restores balance/justice/safety/love/Takumi to the world. It's a book, and a book has to work towards an ending. In longer-form series, multi-season genre stuff, they aren't built to end, so there's no significant pressure to keep escalating the plot. You can do a single episode that follows a supporting cast member, or an episode about some aspect of the workplace (for example) that went previously unexplored. If Saber took an episode out from Storious and Isaac plotting to destroy the world, and told a quick one or two-off story about a kid who needs to believe in storytelling, it'd probably feel jarring and poorly placed. Pacing-wise, it'd almost be a waste of time to do something more grounded and less superheroic.

But that doesn't mean I have to like it!