[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 46 - “FULL STOP: GOODBYE, OTOYA”

It’s the fatherhood that comes across first, thanks to Otoya’s thrilling team-up with Wataru. Possibly besting their movie partnership, there’s so much to love about their matching costumes and mirrored stances. I ordered a Dark Kiva figure a little while ago, from site sponsor Tokullectibles. When the suit appeared in the show, I’m like, Okay, I Guess I Bought A Villain Suit. But now? Now it’s going to be my Otoya suit. (IXA was always going to be Nago. I mean, come on.) Seeing him take on the Dark Kiva power for a third and final time, because he couldn’t do anything less when the people he loved were at risk? An epic move.

I'm glad you agree that Otoya is the true Dark Kiva! He definitely let his life burn bright in the end.

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Originally Posted by FreshToku

Should have been Saga instead of Dark Kiva though!!!! (< me being a bitter nerd)

Agreed. Sagarc has been a loyal partner to Taiga since his birth so it sucks that he just gets abandoned in favor of some other bat Taiga's never even met before. I'll admit that Taiga as Dark Kiva makes sense in universe since being King, he was always ordained to inherit that power, but it doesn't have the same feeling that Wataru and Kivat teaming up with their fathers did.

The way that Kivat Bat the Second offered his power to Taiga after the latter "killed" Maya is clever foreshadowing that she was still alive, considering how Kivat Bat the Second went to Otoya cause he "didn't like what King was doing to Maya".

As of this finale, we've seen three out of four generations of the Kivat Bat family. The First is still a mystery.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

So, Kiva's finale. It's fine. Not the best, definitely not the worst. There's some good emotional character stuff in here with Megumi and Nago and some weird emotional stuff with Wataru and Taiga (the whole "you're reunited, my sons, now beat the shit out of each other to prove your love" bit with Maya is so many kinds of "no"). I don't hate the feral resurrected King as a thing to throw Rider Kicks and Aegis Reflectors at, but I appreciate that he wasn't really meant to be much beyond that, even though I'm still not sold on the Taiga and Wataru stuff.

Now that you mention it, I don't think any of Inoue's KR shows had interesting final villains. It might be intentional. Probably since his shows are more about people vs people than good vs evil, so when something is evil, it's mostly just walking plot as motivation for people to settle their conflicts and fight it together, such as Takumi and Kiba and Wataru and Taiga. I can't defend the defeated offscreen final villain of Hibiki though, from the "non-existent half" as you might call it. I think Radiguet's the most interesting final villain he's written, but then Sentai is a different kind of show.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Honestly, my favorite parts were the brief moments with the '86 cast. Yuri's ghost visiting Megumi was surprisingly touching (and we can officially add "so what happened to Yuri anyway?" to the list of things that Kiva never explains) and Kouhei Takeda absolutely stole the entire episode with his last minute appearance as Wataru's son. I know there are some people who hate the ending and want to see how that fight played out, but I honestly love it for how completely bonkers it is.

Yeah, I love that twist ending as well! I feel like anybody who actually hates it for being a cliffhanger out of nowhere are maybe judging it a little too harshly. It would be boring if Masao's introduction was anything less than what it was. It's like seeing Wataru's time trip from the perspective of Otoya. It only seems absurd to us, the viewers, cause we, like Wataru, are also meeting his son for the first time. There's a whole story waiting to be told here and it confirms that Wataru does eventually find love again and pretty soon as well. So be sure to tune in on September 1st 2030 for Kamen Rider New Kiva! (nante ne)

If Kiva was a late Phase 2 show, this would have continued in a V-Cinema. But now I doubt we're ever going to find out what happens next, just like we're not going to find out how/when Yuri's death happened or who the hell even is Kivat Bat the First. But hey, to paraphrase a popular metaphor: When life gives you loose ends, make headcanons or fanfiction!