[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Not having any traumatic memories of lousy dark age superhero comics though, I do agree that "prodigious" works solidly as a catchphrase for a character like Yuri, but like, saikou *is* a word used in casual speech, so it's a much looser translation.

It's pretty humorous how the subject of Yuri's catchphrase immediately turned to comic books, considering Yuri's critical opinion of a comic book. It's also intriguing to me how TV-Nihon went against their preference for by-the-book (haha, get it?) faithful translations in favor of something with more of a flair to convey to us that old-fashioned side of him.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 17 - ?THE ANCIENT MESSENGER, IS HE LIGHT OR SHADOW??

Even though I definitely wanted to spend more time on the SoL/Touma conflict (why didn?t they just wait at the bookshop and ambush him there?), I really like the smaller dynamic of Touma, Mei, and Yuri. They make for a fun, almost Day 1 version of the cast. It?s charming, even if it maybe needed to be a bit more intense. Can?t believe I?m ragging on this show for not moving faster! There?s no pleasing Kamen Rider fans!

I agree that Touma, Mei and Yuri are a good dynamic. Saikou is pretty much the de facto Tertiary Rider now that Espada's out of the picture and he fulfills the same role as Alain during the time Makoto was in a cryochamber. Even though he's strong on his own, a sword's power can only be fully unleashed in the hands of a Swordsman, which makes him a good ally for Touma. Even their elemental attunements are compatible, as fire and light both emit heat.

In the absence of a Swordsman, Saikou can weaponize the Shadow of his past self to wield him. It's one of the most nondescript suit I've ever seen, which is appropriate since we're not supposed to pay attention to Shadow, a mistake Saber made when attempting to attack it, when he should've targeted Saikou's physical sword body. I think that's a fun gimmick!

Regarding the Touma/SOL conflict, remember that Fantastic Kamiyama is a public place frequented by kids and their families. It would be too dangerous and scary for SOL to ambush Touma like that and probably Ren would complain about it being too easy. Swordsmen are expected to resolve their problems chivalrously after all.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

EVERY LITTLE MEANS TRUST

(There had been a few minutes of Touma?s verbal self-flagellation in the aftermath of Yuri?s arrival, where Touma had berated himself for Mei?s near-miss from Kenzan?s blades, but Mei put a stop to that quickly. She was going to be by Touma?s side throughout this entire adventure, and the consequences were for her and her alone to deal with.)

I'm glad you acknowledged this, since none of the characters bring it up in the episode. I imagine Rintarou would be especially ticked off with Ren for raising a blade to Mei. Touma's already been hard on himself for failing to save Luna and Kento, so yeah, he'd totally hate for Mei to get hurt trying to protect him.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I wonder why'd you view/elevate this denying fault and responsibilities as having twisted sense of morality, like I thought this blame game of refusing to owe up to anything they do is something common done by the more selfish ones (and the norm for narcissists) to get away, especially/including in criminal scenes; "no thief would want to admit". Kabuto's school principal in ep. 38 blaming the students for wanting to make the wish as he kills them and replaces them with Worm version.

A lowly thief would deny their crime as pragmatism to get away with it, while a phantom thief would take credit, an honorable trait that makes them more respected. Oma Zi-O is like a phantom thief in how he embraces his destiny and public image, while denying to himself that he's become an evil demon king instead of the great and kind one he hoped to be. I'll admit, Gai is harder to argue for using the same analogy, since he totally covers up his crimes, including blatantly immoral and petty ones that clearly don't serve his main "heroic" goals of human improvement or indulging his love for Hiden Intelligence.