[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

God not having free will part was done in them being petrified. They lose their will if they're petrified, Tsumuri manages to keep some when resisting petrification. Ace deals with that problem by letting go of his mortal body, so he can freely use his power without the risk/penalty of getting petrified anymore.

But then I have to wonder why Ace didn't just get himself killed immediately after defeating Suel Gazer, if that was the fastest way to obtaining his ideal world. He even admitted that he'd been planning this since that time, so it kind of renders everything else that happens in between pointless.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though this may can burden Takahashi more, I felt that this'd be more about Geats not being enough for usual 49 episodes format IMO, and the final arc has to only fit something that is "necessary" for the plot's completion, which'd be why I think it can fail to stick the landing. Personally I'd see more things that can happen between the shows and the characters before the show ends, like even... people talking about Win's survival, Samas and Suel's direct presence (that I feel Zitt curbs with his existence, albeit Zitt is Suel's avatar), how the cast reacts without being forced to keep things secret anymore (as DGP participants), etc., but it got held off by duration.

Yeah, the plot of Kamen Rider Geats wasn't totally cut out for the year-long format, but Takahashi also should've considered that. As the one and only writer on staff, the show's longevity depended on how many ideas he could generate and make work within the time limit. I think he's a pretty good writer when functioning at full power and it's clear he tries hard, but he should be more aware of his limits. If he could only learn to delegate to secondary writers more often, then he probably wouldn't get so burned out and the quality would be more consistent. People may complain about Fukuda's frequent disappearances in Saber, but the opposite outcome is potentially worse in the long term.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Edit: Seems that the reason why the final arc can be cramped is, more on Takebe, but perhaps the reason that you'd agree. As you said, Sara's the heart, and... Takebe wants to keep Sara alive for a while, because she's the beacon of light to her and doesn't want for the show to turn dark fast.... So I guess there's also restriction again in Takahashi's team... Takebe sorta of sabotaged Takahashi's talent rather than what you expect... albeit it's about Sara.

Hmm, intriguing. Sara's tragic death might've been too much if it was done too early, like in the Heaven and Hell game, since there was already Ace's surprise defeat to punctuate the end of the JGP. So, I can see why Takebe put on the brakes for Takahashi's enthusiasm here, she understood Sara's emotional appeal and wanted to keep her alive just long enough to ensure the strongest reaction. This also allowed more time to observe Keiwa's subtle turn towards villainy, which some people were already unprepared for, while keeping Michinaga as a sympathetic character by placing most of the blame for killing a lovable character on the severe bad guys Daichi and Kekera.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Like regarding Neon being on the running of favorite female Rider before (which should be something remarkable for franchise's track record), but turning out to not feel much like one, dunno how'd this ends up, though I do can say that her story may not be that connected to the main male Riders' rivalries.

I like how the show makes a point that Neon's desire for true love is one of the most realistic and can be granted without DGP, but yeah, her lack of rivalries limits how she can interact with the villains and her motivation for joining Ace's DGP was to take Kousei's place, in contrast to Michinaga and Keiwa who had personal reasons. When I compare Mayu, who had a rivalry with Medusa and an arc of learning to move on from revenge, I think Neon was lacking content, only getting a little more than Win. However, I will still rank Neon highly as a heroine and probably also a female Rider, since the bar is low anyway.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Dunno if it's not your thing for characters' arc "ending too early", but perhaps sometimes they should give some screentime of how their developed self would be, rather than only displaying very short time of them... I feel that it'd be how people'd not acknowledge their development as it won't stick in their memories, like I think many of the main Riders' development to be more of badasses, like Wataru beating the shit out of Fangires untransformed at the end of Kiva.

Yeah, I'd be more okay with Ace's early arc conclusion if there were more scenes of him applying the morals he learned to new situations. Like, he's way too Mary Sue in this arc, everything he says inexplicably turns out true or has a secret reason behind it no matter how weird it sounds, like stopping Tycoon Bujin Sword from killing JyamaDaichi without explaining, or insisting about Daichi having a change of heart without any evidence to support his claim. It's too difficult to relate to Ace when there's no sense that he's vulnerable anymore.