[Sh Ranger]

As promised:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER - THEATRICAL SPECIAL: THE PHOENIX SWORDSMAN AND THE BOOK OF RUIN

With that out of the way? I don?t hate it? It?s specifically going for a primal Ur Kamen Rider story: Destroy Vs Protect, Light Vs Dark, Existence Vs Nothingness. Falchion?s motivations are pointedly barren; he just wants to destroy everything because everything will eventually be destroyed anyway, so what?s the point of existence. Touma stands in opposition because there?s always a Kamen Rider to stand in opposition. Falchion?s view of conflict as an eternal battle for power is offset by Touma?s view of conflict as a way of resetting the board; a turn of the page to allow for a new story. What looks to one person like a single unending narrative is, to another, an endless array of fresh starts.

Existence VS Nothingness is the most apt. The universe exists in constant duality, with things like light and dark, hope and despair, love and hate, good and evil being part of that. The Swordsmen can win battles against villains, but they can never win the war against the evil behind them, as more villains will always appear to threaten the world as long as there's a world to threaten. It's eternal, rising from the ashes like a Burning Falcon (another dude named Jin), or uh, a Phoenix.

Despite the Sentai film runtime (although I've praised Ryusoulger Dinosaur Panic enough times now so it's totally possible to tell an awesome story in 22 minutes if you do it right), I think Bacht managed to make a strong impression as a villain with his nihilistic philosophy. He thinks he's the hero, cause unlike the other Swordsmen, he's willing to do what they won't. To defeat evil once and for all, by sacrificing good along with it. To return duality to singularity.

But there's no point to a world where the whole point is that there's no point. Suffering may be endless, but people who hold to bravery, love and pride can always overcome it and smile in the future with their friends beside them. That strength inspires others to do the same, it becomes stories of hope and justice that help to create a better future. Everytime that happens, evil loses. Touma's sword weighed heavier than Bacht's, cause he believed strongly in that future and humanity's Infinite Potential!

The new suits are pretty awesome as well!

Falchion is void and destruction personified and it's a neat detail how where the Rekka/Nagare/Ikazuchi says [insert name here] Batto, the Mumeiken Kyomu only says .... Batto. Its whole thing is Nothing as a weapon so it doesn't even bother to announce its name, as .... is more universal and ominous than any name. Even the Haken BlaDriver, which is just an orange Seiken SworDriver minus two slots, succeeds in its minimalism to sell that concept of Nothing.

Emotional Dragon takes the pop-up book design of Jaou Dragon and the color scheme of Brave Dragon to create what is honestly my favorite form of Saber! Like En-chan said, base form with more dragons, what else do you need?

Overall, Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin is currently my favorite "Summer" Movie of the Reiwa Era (planning to watch Battle Familiar when Donbrothers ends but my expectations for that are low). I enjoyed seeing Wonder World in such vista-like detail as the backdrop for this epic fight and Taju Rokou was another catchy-as-hell song by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (I fully expect you to disagree with that part though). Of course, I thought this movie was way more profound and sincere in its storytelling and morals than the controversial RealTime, the typical Rider-length movie it was double-billed with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

God, favorite movie Rider... my memory's terrible -- and these shows get pushed out of my brain so quickly, to make room for the current show that I need to think about daily -- but Eternal's a really good pick? I remember thinking Verde was too strong a concept to have kept just in a film. Eden definitely found some interesting depth in REALxTIME. I'd love to hear any and everyone else's picks, if only to selfishly jog my own memory!

I'm with Switchblade on Team Gaoh FTW. Eternal and Barlckxs are second and third respectively.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Actually, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd imagine even if that thought had occurred to them, they'd still go with Dragonic anyway. I don't know this stuff well enough to articulate why, but I'm pretty sure putting that dakuten on the コ makes the whole word roll off the tongue much better.

Oh yeah, I think I'm familiar with that convention. Like how Oo + Sora = Oozora. Sure, it makes sense to me for those native Japanese words, but a made-up word like "Dragonic" definitely sounds a lot better to Japanese than to my ears.