It means you've only watched 3 Rider series then?

I mean, I've also seen every series starting with Wizard, but I watched those live. It's a different experience.

Oof! Sorry to hear you didn't get much out of Faiz. I think it's fair to say we have very different views of the series (I think it's actually really funny?), but I'd agree it's not for everyone. Glad to hear that Blade is good, though!

It's going to be Blade next because I want to watch Blade next. It's going to be Kamen Rider shows for a while, because I want to watch all of the Heisei and Reiwa ones I haven't seen. To eliminate any confusion or mystery, here's what you can find on these boards for the next year or so, in exactly this order:

another couple days of 555 stuff: series overview, the movie, miscellany
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Blade
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Hibiki
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Kabuto
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Den-O
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Kiva
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Decade
Kamen Rider Die rewatches Legend Rider movies
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Zi-O
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Zero-One
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Saber

...and then maybe some non-Rider stuff. A Sentai, probably, to start. I don't know! There's so much Rider to go! Nine series! A stack of movies!

Yay! I'm excited for your excitement!

Yeah, I think the heart of that scene is the feeling that Yuuji misses his friend. It's, honestly, what had been missing from all of the other Yuuji scenes from the last three episodes. Seeing him just slightly lose it, seeing him frustrated at how naive and oblivious Takumi was being, I bought in on that story.

It's definitely a love-it or hate-it finale. There's a bunch of plot stuff that becomes minor, and a bunch of emotional stuff that becomes major. That balance... it's not going to sit right with every fan! I get that!

That said, I think the epilogue feels pretty sensible? The implication to me was that, if defeated, Orphnochs would just have their clocks run out, which is going to happen for everyone but Kageyama. She got boosted by the King, but everyone else is just going to slowly die off.

As for defeating the Orphnoch King... the belts were established as being able to do that? There's a thing where Orphan Daddy tells someone (Yuuji? Kusaka?) that since the belts were designed to protect the King, they can also destroy him. A Rider Kick from Faiz's most powerful form seems like an acceptable solution to the Orphnoch King?

And, yeah, there's no big plan to defeat the Orphnoch King, but to quote The Way of the Gun, "I don't think this is a brains type of operation." Takumi just showing up and hoping he could beat a Metaphor Monster in a fight... that feels like a Faiz finale to me.

Yeah, I think the final episode honored the characters' journeys enough that I view 47-49 as a writer who maybe got a little in the weeds, but found his way back.

My mom says my punishment is up on Tuesday! I can finally watch Paradise Lost! Plus, that kid I got in a fight with, we both agreed that Delta isn't that cool anymore. Not like Kamen Rider Braid!

What I loved about it was that it's not about redeeming Yuuji. It's about allowing Yuuji to be responsible for his own choices, and how that's not something that has to weigh on Takumi anymore. The fact that Yuuji shows up to help Takumi defeat the Orphnoch King, that's a bonus, not the intention.

If it bites Takumi in the ass, it bites him in the ass. Part of acceptance is allowing people to make mistakes, to fail. But that wouldn't be a reflection on Takumi's mercy, that'd be a reflection on Yuuji's failings.

I mean, would it be better if Takumi was more ruthless? I don't think so. His whole mission, and the entire point of the show, is that everyone deserves the chance to be happy. Killing Yuuji would render that whole theme a lie.

I mean, one way of looking at the Orphnoch King still being around is that what he represents, losing sight of the good in our lives, that never really goes away? There's always the risk that we'll fall back into old patterns, reopen old wounds, and it's because striving to be better doesn't end. Acceptance, growth, it's something that never stops.

They kidnapped Takkun! You think Keitaro's going to shed any tears over Smart Brain's security or a trespassing charge?

Oh, neat!

I don't know that I'll ever buy into the "misunderstandings" tag this show gets (it just doesn't seem like that huge a part of its DNA?), but I'm glad it was a fun thread for you. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Blade!

I don't know that he forgives Yuuji, though? Or, I don't think the resolution is about forgiveness? I think Takumi means it when he says that his friendship with Yuuji ended when Yuuji threw away his humanity. The end of the fight, it's about how it's not their connection that stays Takumi's hand, it's that Yuuji's a human who deserves to live. That's it. It's about how Takumi is offering Yuuji the same chance at life and happiness as everyone else, nothing special or extra.

I really like that element? I like that the fight is personal, but the resolution is impersonal.

Whoa! That's amazing trivia!

It's such a good ending.

I just want to co-sign what Die said about misunderstandings, I feel like someone wrote that once and people just took it and ran with it. I don't think "a show about misunderstandings" describes Faiz with any sort of accuracy. I think a more accurate thing would be to say Faiz is a show about misunderstood people, and there's a massive difference.

I didn't post a ton on this thread because I mostly agreed with Die's take on things, but I have a feeling I'll post on the Blade thread a bit more often. Blade is a good show, but man do I have some issues with it.

Yeah, this is something I'll touch on later tonight in a series overview. This is a story that hinges on people not feeling accepted, or not believing they can be accepted, and that's going to lead to folks parcelling out information another show would instantly communicate, or it's going to lead to a baseline of I Don't Know If I Should Trust You. And, like, if that sort-of character interaction isn't your thing? Sure. There are shows where the camaraderie is more free-flowing, or the animosity is more sparing. That ain't this show, though! This is a show about people learning to see themselves in others over 50 episodes, and that's a process.

But, yeah, it's not really a "misunderstandings" show that's about contrivance, I thought.

Looking forward to it!... ?

Hmmm this is making me think about Ex-aid (mostly cause I like Ex-aid and it's also partially about miscommunication, and hurt people trying to recover) Mind you everyone in Ex-aid does kind of speak their feelings so like there's very little parallels... I think. Someone who's watch both shows help me out please?

I mean, up front, there's going to be miscommunications and misunderstandings in almost every single Kamen Rider show. There's a bit of soap opera in the Kamen Rider formula, and soap opera means misunderstandings and miscommunication. Part of the deal.

For the Ex-Aid comparison... I'm not sure? I think it's more that both shows focus on a form of cooperation. In Faiz, it's about how people with diverse backgrounds and goals can coexist, find out that they've got more similarities than differences, discover that their differences don't need to separate them. In Ex-Aid, it's about how only by recognizing each other's strengths, instead of focusing on their weaknesses, that we can all succeed.

Does that make sense?

Yup makes plenty of sense, and I really need to put my nose to the grind and watch more toku, so I can like write better comparisons.

I'm using "Misunderstandings" to mean "They misunderstand that Kusaka wasn't the hero of the Ryuseii school X-Men all along", obviously. :p

And if you think I have any deep opinions on Blade other than "hehe Chalice suit look good", you are deeply mistaken.

Lol, in all fairness this is one of my strongest feelings about Blade.