[Kamen Rider Die]

--5--

Well, that's it. We did it, everybody. We watched all of Faiz, we talked about it for months, and I finally opened my celebratory Figuart. (That's him up there.)

I said before (I think?) that getting near the end of a Kamen Rider series feels a bit like leaving high school. There's a melancholy aspect to it, where the time you'll get to spend with these characters, in this particular world, it's about to end. There's less road ahead of you than behind you.

Actually getting to the end, though, it's like graduating. It's more bittersweet than melancholy. It's sad to never get to see new episodes of Faiz, sure. But there's also the pride in completing the series, knowing that you reached a goal you set for yourself. (There's also a little bit of relief that you can move on. I didn't have a million more things to say about Faiz!) Mostly, though, there's excitement about starting a new series, getting to learn more about another cast, another story.

It's a good feeling, really.

--4--

This one, the Faiz thread, real happy with how it went. Didn't feel like this one got as much away from me as other series. (Ryuki, not crazy about that one!) Felt good about being able to communicate what in this was entertaining, or disappointing, or clever, or funny. I felt like this series clicked for me a lot more than the earlier Heisei series. There's a complexity to the themes, but also a willingness to have less likeable protagonists and more sympathetic antagonists. There was an ambiguity I really enjoyed.

And, god, real fun show to talk about. It went hard on wacky hijinks just as often as it did devastating melodrama, so I'm thankful for that. Nice mix of big ideas and dumb jokes, kind-of the sweet spot for me.

For those interested in statistics, the Google Doc for these writeups (not responses on the boards, just episode posts and stuff like this) ran 134 pages. Ryuki was about 86. And this was the one I was trying to be succinct on by using this five point structure. Obviously, a huge miscalculation, but a fun experiment nonetheless. I'll probably do a Faiz word cloud, pulled from the Google Doc, in the next little bit.

--3--

I'm unbelievably thankful to everyone who showed up to this thread to share their thoughts on Faiz. Did not think there'd be a huge turnout, but folks were very active and it's incredibly kind of them. Big big thank yous to everyone who stopped by, whether it was for one episode or the whole run. I've said before that when I do a post on an episode, it's not meant to be the final word, it's meant to be a conversation-starter. Well, you all delivered some of the best Kamen Rider conversation I've been lucky enough to be a part of. More than once I was happy to just sit back and watch smarter fans than me give their takes on this show, and that's such a gracious gift for them to give to other fans.

To quote Owen Ashworth from a Casiotone For The Painfully Alone live show, "Thanks thanks, and thanks thanks.”

--2--

This is very sad to type! I'm getting a little choked up here.

I'm seriously going to miss this thread. I've said other times that doing these isn't, like, performative, it's self-care. Watching Kamen Rider, I need to talk about it, and posting about it here helps get my brain right.

Well, man, these last couple months of life outside Kamen Rider have been unbelievably stressful, and this thread has brought some stability to crazy times. (Nothing exceptional for me personally, just the same insanity everyone's dealing with.) Being able to watch a Faiz one night, then spend the next day getting to talk about it, then repeating the process, it was a lifeline. It was comforting. You all... I will be grateful to TokuNation forever for giving me a space to do this stuff, and grateful to everyone on this board who participated. You helped make the last couple months a little bit less awful. To paraphrase Soeno, you've protected a small amount of happiness. You're my heroes.

--1--

Doing these, especially over a two month period, it can take it out of me. I'm at low-ebb right now, for being able to talk cogently (or coherently!) about Kamen Rider. I'm going to be on a little break for the next two weeks, give or take. I'll still be around the boards for sure, but I'm not watching anything for a little bit. Need to recharge that part of my brain, let that excitement build for superheroes having allegorical fights.

I should be back with Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Blade somewhere between the 13th and the 17th of July. Hopefully a few of you will want to talk about it. This thread, like all of the older ones, will stay open, so feel free to drop in if you've got more thoughts you want to share about Faiz. I never get sick of hearing what people think about Kamen Rider.

Thanks to Faiz for being so much better than I'd feared. Thanks to TokuNation for having an outstanding fandom. Thanks to every single person reading this for being a true delight and a genuine human. If I've made you happy, that's made me happy.

Go Meteors!

TIME OUT