[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Of all the ways Riders have received power-ups over the years, Kusaka just chucking the Faiz Axel at Takumi's head is one of the all-time greats.

As for the rest of that, I don't remember how much explanation we actually get. This is one of Inoue's biggest problems as a writer; I don't think it gets that bad on Faiz, but you can definitely consider all this missing exposition as a small teaser for Kiva.

I think my favorite part of Kaixa's heroic arrival at the end of the episode is that he never even gets off of his bike. He's like a grumpy parent, driving on his lunch break to his kid's school because the kid left his science project in the car. No, Kyle, I am not coming in, you need to come out to the curb and get your posterboard on the lifecycle of an earthworm. You need to take more responsibility for your things!

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Originally Posted by FreshToku

I always knew I was really into the relationship and dynamic of these two. I sometimes forget I am more into them than even Shinji/Ren. (It's probably because it's always Kaixa they reference in all the nostalgia baiting specials in modern times.) They're the reason to watch the show for me, as they should be since their the protagonists and all!

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Originally Posted by Kurona

If someone asked me earnestly to find something good to say about Faiz; something I really liked about it; the greatest positives I could come up with for the season? I'd point to this episode.

I might not have cared too much for Takumi himself, and Yuuji's first deeds in the series always felt a little too casually tossed to the side and forgotten; but a lot of their other character traits were very intriguing and any scene they were in together had them bringing out each others' best parts. This episode exemplifies it best for me, and when they got to team up it had me cheering and when they once again fought each other due to misunderstandings, it's tragic. Just so much going on here that's great.

Yeah, golly, just some incredible chemistry with these two actors. It's like the Mari/Yuka scene from the previous episode, where there's this lightness and warmth to their friendship. It's supportive in a really healthy way.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Kusaka having the Accel Watch is an artefact of an earlier version of the toyline where the item was intended for use by Kaixa. For whatever reason, they changed it when it came to design the advertising. Personally, I don’t mind the lack of explanation, since I kind of get bored when EVERY power up is treated like a religious artefact that was touched by Jesus himself.

But anyway I digress. Because they chose to give us Faiz Accel instead of Kaixa Break (that was the name they had planned, by the way), Faiz ends up as one of five KR shows where only the lead Rider gets a power up (the others are Hibiki, Kabuto, Decade and OOO[Birth Day doesn’t count]). Ironically, that practice is more at home in Super Sentai. Most of the Power-up warriors in these pictures I’m about to share? Most of them are one user at a time, or one user period.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20180928192748

https://twitter.com/4thdocactinfig/s...695607810?s=20

Oh, neat! Thanks for the info!

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I agree that Mari is a good friend for Yuka and now that you bring it up, the first girl she ever bonded with. However, I must continue to disagree with your perspective of Yuka's motivations. While she is trying to find her place in the world like Takumi, she's actually a very selfless person who genuinely cares a lot about Kaido's welfare, not just her own. She may have used Keitarou (IRL) to make herself feel better but that definitely doesn't apply to Kaido. She really does just want him to be happy, even if that means she can't be with him.

I'm not sure if you were being hyperbolic when you said "she doesn't need a man to attach herself to" or just that you meant she needs more in her life but there are certain boxes that romantic partners tick which friends, as great as they are to have, don't. Friendship is wonderful for sure, but I think it's realistic for Yuka to want a boyfriend, the same way even Takumi sometimes expresses a passive interest in finding a girlfriend.

I just keep feeling like Yuka wants a boyfriend because she's supposed to want a boyfriend, or because she thinks having a boyfriend will fix what's wrong with her. She's... I don't think Yuka has dealt with her emotional trauma at all, and her leaping into a romantic relationship seems like a bad idea for her and her partner. I think her rushing from boy to boy on this show is an indication that she wants to be a Girlfriend more than she wants to be someone's girlfriend.

And, man, the stuff with Mari just feels so much better for her than jumping into a relationship where she has to sublimate her ego. I'm not saying she should never be with a man ever, but I think this woman needs time to get her head right before she ties herself to someone.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I made sure to mention this in my first post in this thread. Definitely grateful to Die for facilitating discussion of this awesome show that doesn't get much attention anymore compared to recent shows. The way these characters have their own lives and problems beyond the plot makes them so much more human and relatable and that's something I think Faiz does best. Not everything has to be about fighting monsters, that's maybe the best part of superhero genre, but I still enjoy seeing these characters just doing normal human stuff. It allows you to really appreciate what's at stake when the fighting monsters part actually happens.

It's a really good show that seems to have some really polarized views about it! I'm happy to give people a place to talk about it!

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Looks like I'm the first to mention this but the insert theme, People With No Name, debuts here. It has a much faster pace than Dead Or Alive which is a perfect compliment for the much faster Faiz Axel form. This form is a lot less colorful than the default and definitely my least favorite of the Faiz forms but it's still okay.

I'm not great at recognizing when songs are new on the show. (I think I called out Dead Or Alive around Episode 6 and Fish was like It's Been In Every Episode, Guy.) But this sounded new to me, so I'm glad I was right! It's a solid song, for sure. I like that Accel has it's own theme song?

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I'm glad that Takumi's sympathy for Orphenochs finally paid off with him sparing Master's life knowing he hasn't lost his human soul. When Master asks why, Faiz responds indifferently "Who knows?" but of course you know Takumi was just trying to hide his feelings again. He doesn't want Master to think he cares!

Yeah, he even gets a little moment before this, where he tells Pizza Boss that he's not capable of killing someone. I like the idea of Takumi inadvertently becoming an Orphnoch crisis counselor.