[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 6 - “LIKE THE WIND, HE ARRIVES”

Let’s start with Kenzan, because he’s the biggest deal in this weird-ass episode. He’s a member of the Sword of Logos, but he’s mostly a gigantic, disrespectful pain in the ass. Nominally here to demonstrate the wrong way of being a superhero in the Kamen Rider multiverse – thinking might makes right, laughing at the idea of empathy, and relishing the opportunity to detonate monsters – the episode mostly just has Ren be an immature prick to Touma, and then absolutely prove that might makes right by single-handedly defeating Desast. In an episode of multiple fights, the only clear victory comes from the worst character on the show.

A case of Be Careful Of What You Wish For? IIRC it's said here that more Riders are needed for more conflict if Rintaro is a nice secondary. Then now you got it, in Ren (not only the same name as Knight, but same first 2 letters in his surname too!). Ren is the asshole type who is a social darwinist (.. like Kaito) who is narrow-minded to think only battle abilities are important despite Touma solving problems with his imagination and knowledge, and pettily picks fight with Touma due to his simping for Kento, but he's the bratty, immature, and childish type. Though at least he's quite strong to defeat Desast. Seems that, including you here, to make an asshole character (who can be deemed as cool, rational, and tough) disliked, they gotta be the immature type like Ren. Many people seem to want to make their media more 'mature' including inserting gore, swearing, etc, but immaturity would make even asshole characters like that hated too, unlike the 'cool' assholes like many secondary Riders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s the same way for Touma’s plot this episode. One of the Book Club guys locks his sword in its scabbard, so Touma… has to find a magical land no one’s ever been to in order to unlock it? And it’s the same magical land Calibur’s looking for, which is why the trap was set? Sure, okay, whatever. It’s nothing that makes a ton of sense (what does any of this have to do with the Zoooous stuff? Or with Desast?), but it at least gives us the Daishinji/Touma stuff, which is fairly appealing. It’s the right kind of physical comedy, where Daishinji’s poor social skills are leveraged by Touma to get access to the secrets of the Sword of Logos. The thing they’re after is worthless to me, and the supposed Eureka moment Touma has makes me worried (oh god he needs to collect thirteen eyecons oh god noooooo), but the chemistry between the two actors carries lousy material, the same way this show has dodged up to five bullets so far.

Touma seems to be a competent type of protagonist despite being a newcomer to the SoL, including how he utilizes Daishinji's poor social skills, being a bad liar, to accomplish his goal of looking after books (actually also manipulative here? nothing bad though, just witty), but there can be still those who deem Touma as naive due to his opening dialogue of being baffled why many factions are warring over books instead of using it to make people happy? The Zoooous stuff, it's meant for Rintaro, to show that while usually composed, Rintaro can lose himself to his emotions, now being outright angered and breaking down after knowing his master's killer, probably a setup for Rintaro's future arc.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

While I won't deny that Ren has some serious problems, his courage and motivation to improve himself in combat are totally good qualities for a ninja.

That'd be probably an admirable quality - for audiences to watch, but not a redeeming quality (Ren's not a villain, thus I'd more say his redeeming quality is him doing good with SoL's work).