[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I specifically remember being rather enamored by the Ixa Calibur when I was first getting into Rider. Weapons in toku that transform from guns to swords are a dime a dozen – and for good reason – but something about the elegance of the way this particular one changes shape entirely by jamming the magazine up into the rest of it really caught my eye. I feel like it's a perfect one weapon crash course on how fun, smart, and creative the toy designs in Rider can get.

Yeah, it's... it's kind of two things that I like about it? There's the fun, visceral nature of the weapon change: that CHONK of it switching from gun to sword, the slap on the magazine. That's just fun to imagine yourself messing around with.

But the other thing is sort of how cathartic that feeling is (it just feels good to smack that gun, exert some force on something), and how that reflects on what IXA means to Nago, and also how ingrained the idea of catharsis is to the show?

Like, Nago becoming IXA is an outlet. It's him shedding his human form in favor of a purer distillation of his worldview/psychosis. (YMMV.) Kiva is sort of the same thing for Wataru. It's him getting to express the aspects of his personality that he has problems articulating outside of being a Rider.

The IXA Calibur being a release valve for Nago is one of those little background touches that feels too aligned with the series themes to be accidental, you know?