[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreshToku

I don't care much for Emperor Form, and I never got the hype behind Supernova. But I'll tell you what's a design I fell in love with at first sight: Saga! And a song that I've yet to get tired of listening to? Roots of the King!! Absolute criminal that my favourite snake-ufo-castle themed Rider has been so neglected among all the flux of recent Kiva-shelling merch, hmph!

Also hey! Snipe is way cooler than Kengo! (But will that Taiga be cooler than this show's Taiga in the longrun for you? I'm curious to see...)

I assume the lack of Saga merch is specifically to allow the non-Saga merch to sell. I mean, Saga's only been in the show for two episodes, and I can't get anyone to talk about anything else! Why would a Seihou Emperor Form sell if there was a Seihou Saga instead?

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

So yeah, this is where all the problems Wataru’s been suffering really get to him. Can I just say that I’m pretty fond of these sorts of stories where the hero is having the problem that drives the plot, rather than a secondary character or a victim.

Yeah, it's certainly made for more propulsive serialized storytelling. We're basically well past the point where anyone's problems are going to start in one episode and end in the next. It makes it feel more of a story about Wataru, him falling apart and it cascading through the rest of the cast, rather than a story featuring Wataru.

I will always be a fan of little short stories that elevate and explore the themes of the series (Shinji and Ryoko forever), but it's a more enjoyable second half when the stories are internally generated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Sort of on the subject of Saga as well, I mentioned how the suit is a clear counterpart to Kiva, and that got me to consciously realize for the first time that's it's specifically a counterpart to Kiva Form, with the top-heavy armor and relatively plain legs. (Oh, and Kiva's base form is literally called "Kiva Form", by the way, which I will never not love.) I guess most of why I want to mention this is because that random thought allowed me to put together something I found moderately interesting about Emperor Form's fighting style. As I very briefly touched on earlier in the thread, Kiva Form tended to be more about punching dudes, but reflecting the much more balanced armor layout, Emperor's fights often place a huge emphasis on him kicking monsters, which can be seen both in its debut, and in this episode. Sort of a neat way to differentiate them, if weirdly specific. (Maybe it's because Takaiwa finally could move his legs a lot easier again with the Emperor suit...?)

You're not wrong! Emperor Form, maybe because of those kicks, is also a little bit more of strategic fighting style? It's a form that paces itself a little better, as opposed to Kiva Form's rushing and punching.