[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I would argue it fits the motif well though. The Swordriver's buckle is (aside from being a scabbard) essentially just a bookshelf, and the shelf itself isn't the thing that's supposed to stand out in that setup.

Sure, I can see what they're going for. I like the concept of it being a bookshelf scabbard, but I think the execution is kind of messy. I'm not even sure how I would've handled it differently without sacrificing the gimmick, so I guess I don't mind.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 3 - ?A FATHER, AND A SWORDSMAN?

The thing that elevates the story is that, like many adults, he finds the flightiness of young men in tokusatsu series to be an endless frustration, so he immediately dislikes Touma?s fascination with the narrative power of his life. He doesn?t have the bandwidth to think about the thematic relevance of his duties; he?s got too many duties. For a Saber that?s all about the power of storytelling, and a Blades that?s all about the impossibility of living up to the stories that taught us, here?s a Buster to show us what it?s like when indulging in fiction can cost you everything.

After a decent introduction as a cool Swordsman and loving father, this is the part that made Ogami lose a few points, at least in this episode anyway. Like, I don't really sympathize much with his whole "kids these days!" attitude, where it becomes apparent that he's not quite as easygoing as he first appears. He's quick to dismiss Rintarou's concern for taking Sora in to battle and his apathy towards Touma's fascination with his narrative potential kind of makes him seem more mean and cold than he needs to be. His behavior imprints on Sora as well, since Touma and Mei have to be the ones who educate him on the wonders of books, when that's something a father should do.

Regarding Buster, honestly, I think the suit is pretty meh. I especially dislike Gekido though, since it doesn't have any gimmicks or alternate modes like the other Seiken Swords. It's literally just big, like that's its whole thing, it's big. It doesn't give me the feeling of elegance or style that Rekka or Nagare do.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The Watch Threads were originally just a thing to get me current; I was inevitably going to catch up, and that point arrives with Revice this spring. Any post-Revice shows... we'll see? There'll be a slowdown -- I want to spend the second half of the year reformatting all of the posts TokuNation broke, and then putting them on my own site for safe-keeping -- but I'm interested in spending a few years (!) covering all the Heisei shows I never wrote up, and trying out some other franchises. I can see there being a Rewatches Geats Etc series of threads, but I'll probably give them some distance first. Geats would be... god, maybe 2026? At the earliest?

When are you going to watch Pretty Den-O, The First and The Next though?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

(I get real mad about the Keiwa Is Kagami 2.0 people! They are very different! They have very different places in their respective narratives!!!)

I know what you mean, makes me feel bad for Ace and Tendo. Sometimes I think those people only see them as Mary Sues and forget that they're actually human beings with feelings.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I guess I get what you're bringing up here, as I too feel uncomfortable with Touma making a promise that sounds too big to be fulfilled in getting Ryota's parents' back from a place too dangerous for normal humans. I do think that promise can be big-mouthed to make as not only confidence, it also feels as if you can see the future. And the danger if it goes unfulfilled... but what if it fails not due to it being purposely broken, but due to Touma's death trying to fulfill it and (what-if) Rintaro's failure aftermath? It'd still have similar outcome to those purposely breaking it. Though as usual, I'd probably think, one shouldn't only blindly cling to principles, as there are also bigger pictures one also should see.

While it's better to only make promises that you're confident you can keep, I think the most important part of any promise is the will and moral obligation to do everything possible to see it through. Like you said, it's a declaration of absolute truth, an expectation that only the most confident or clairvoyant of people can live up to. You have to be prepared for that extreme responsibility and the consequences of breaking it. However, the worst kind of people are those who would give false promises, gilded lies made to to deceive or get out of inconvenient situations, without any respect for the recipients' wishes.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Yeah... I like overdesigned stuff (or to be specific, those that are detailedly designed), not that I don't have limit though. I̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶b̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶K̶a̶m̶e̶n̶ ̶R̶i̶d̶e̶r̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶u̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶g̶e̶n̶e̶r̶a̶l̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶S̶e̶n̶t̶a̶i̶'̶s̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶U̶l̶t̶r̶a̶'̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶i̶g̶n̶s̶ ̶(̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶t̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶f̶a̶v̶o̶r̶i̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶F̶u̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶U̶l̶t̶r̶a̶s̶)̶.

Do you like Metal Heroes as well?