[Fish Sandwich]

Awwwwww yeah! It's finally time to talk about Supernova!

I mean, there's probably not even that much that needs to be said though, is there? I'm pretty sure the song for Emperor Form has a legitimate reputation among anyone who even slightly cares about Rider insert themes as being that god tier, grade A, greatest of all time material. The show certainly loves to play it at any given opportunity, at least!

And it isn't hard to see why, because it really is pretty much the perfect theme for it. It's especially interesting for how it contrasts with Destiny's Play to create this duo of themes that essentially portray Wataru prior to his character arc and after. Supernova is infinitely more straightforward as a song for a hero, with a rocking sound that would make Kengo proud and lyrics all about how much Wataru isn't doubting himself for once. It's pretty amazing. They took a character themed around night and the moon and stuff and then named his final form's theme song after the brilliant light of an exploding star. Supernova is maybe a favorite for everyone, and that's no less true for me. Again, I'd like to emphasize that I knew Kiva's cast entirely through the soundtrack for a good few years, and I was kind of predisposed to like Wataru going in thanks to character songs with this much character in them.

Emperor Form itself is just spectacular, too. It's not even a matter of whether or not it's a favorite for me as much as it being basically an objectively perfect concept for Kiva? It's Wataru after literally breaking his chains. It's so perfect I don't know if anything more than that one simple sentence is even necessary. The design itself informs you about the context and meaning behind it in a very clear way, and it does all that while being all gold and pretty and named after royalty and having a cape. It's textbook. God tier, grade A, greatest of all time material in its own right. And if meant Takaiwa got to feel just as unburdened as Wataru was, then all the better! I can't even begrudge the series for losing interest in the cool form changes at that point. You really can't go wrong with this suit!

...I wasn't the biggest fan of the episode it debuts in though, if I'm being honest!

First of all, on the '86 side, I vividly recall finding the whole plot to be so insultingly embarrassing and tacky for Yuri that I had trouble taking it seriously, to say the least. And then over in '08, Shinji being so fundamentally sympathetic made it extremely difficult to feel good watching Wataru off him with such little hesitation, regardless of whatever danger you want to put Mio in. It stung especially because the episodes that made me start truly liking both Kiva the show and Wataru in the first place were the ones that ended with him refusing to kill a sympathetic Fangire. I can see what the show is going for in both cases – more so in 2008 – but, at least on an initial watch, I wasn't a huge fan of how this one played out. I guess maybe that Shinji/Ryoko story really is just too good!