[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER SABER: FINAL STAGE



Regardless of the quality of the entire Final Stage for Saber (good, not great), the idea to take the old Kamen Rider Lupin suit from Drive and reuse it as Kamen Rider Tassel? Genius. Absolutely brilliant. I wish I could buy that suit as a figure right this second. The lack of a headsword alone would make it one of my favorite Saber suits, but the color scheme and overall flamboyance puts it in first place for me. I’d say Hat's Off To The Designer, but, I like the hat the best! Don’t take it off!

Otherwise, this was a good stage show, which inched towards greatness without ever quite getting there.

Like, the story of Dark World and people’s evil dreams needing a world to exist in… that’s a really clever concept? There’s a value to darkness, to letting yourself examine and analyze your darker impulses, rather than just ignoring them. That’s something inside everyone, especially during difficult times. The danger is in losing perspective to those darker impulses, and feeling like they’re all that exists, or ever will exist. Kudos for making that a villain for Saber and the gang to overcome… is what I’d be saying if this wasn’t just another apocalyptic plot that never really emotionally or intellectually challenged our heroes. It’s all just random stuff Tassel Dark says to justify an apocalypse, and random stuff Touma pushes back against in a grandiose speech about Stories. There’s the kernel of an interesting foe – how does Touma reconcile his hopes for positive storytelling with the necessary catharsis that can only come about when dark stories are allowed to be told – but the actual on-stage presence is all bland villainy and a million suits.

Well, there’re also fun callbacks and new team-ups, which is about where this show got me back on its side. Saber and Storious! Blades and Zooous! Sabela and Sophia and I don’t remember who else! It’s very fun to see the resurrected(-ish) Book Club team up with their former foes to take down Asmodeus et al., and it’s exactly the sort of crowd-pleasing storytelling that makes this show work. I just want to be entertained with a thoughtful narrative; if I can’t get it via compelling metaphors, I’ll take it through character work and fan service.

At the end of the day, this was another Kamen Rider stage show. They probably sold a bunch of glow sticks and made a ton of children happy, so I’m not going to say it was unsuccessful. I had an okay time, even if I found the first third a little dull. (Really perked up when that Kamen Rider Tassel suit debuted.) I just… I feel like there was a really clever idea buried in all of the combat, and it never really got a chance to be explored. I expected more from Saber’s Final Stage, I guess.