[Switchblade]

My big issue with Saber?s opening is that it just sounds very lightweight and simplistic. It sounds like the opening part of a song before it kicks up into a higher gear, but that shift never happens; it?s just the same basic thing from start to finish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

?Ska Paradise? is an oxymoron.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Perhaps all this turned his head a little, so Touma decided to take a chance with Isaac. Although most likely the desire to show a new form played a decisive role.

I mean, maybe Touma is trying to follow Kento's example -- they're incredibly similar, and can't help influencing one another -- but there's a world of difference between Bringing Home A Wayward Friend and Seeing If An Apocalyptic Psychopath Would Be Okay Not Doing That. I'd hope Touma wouldn't consider Ren's soul-searching absence to be comparable to Isaac's gleeful cruelty?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

The one Toku thing I?ve ever discussed with anyone in my family was the reveal of Isaac?s motives (it was in the middle of a discussion of how the cooler a name a sword has, the more powerful it is). His reaction was ?Well, I guess it would liven things up?.

That is a troubling reaction!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Next time: I checked the master post (which is what some people call the first in a thread) and it?s about time I do what I promised you around the 4th Swordsmen Chronicles and send you that fic of mine, unless I?m much mistaken.

This week is all Superhero Senki stuff, so if it's a tie-in with that, then sure!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

That's a great story Die, but I think we both know the official SOL HR policy towards disagreements would be "Have a swordfight so you can understand each other's positions through combat and the strength of your will and heart etc".

Incorrect! The HR is only for when one participant forces the swordfight on another! This is the entirety of Daishinji's problem: a lack of boundaries and inappropriate workplace sword handling! A swordfight is just teaching him that he's not being unprofessional!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

Also I hate to be the only one to say it, but I do like Almighty quite a bit?

I'm not sure if you're kidding or not, but let me assure you that the last couple months have taught me that not liking Almighty is the more controversial and unique stance. Y'all are ska sickos, and it's disappointing to me as a fellow Kamen Rider fan.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 39 - ?O SWORDSMEN, FOLLOW THE PATH YOU BELIEVE IN?

Like, it?s acceptable as the setup for a fun fight, but that?s about it. The fight?s great, but it feels poorly motivated in the aftermath of last episode?s climatic defeat of Solomon. This ends up being a weird rerun of that battle, with next to no stakes. (Like, Solomon wasn?t exactly mounting some new offensive or anything? Touma and Rintaro show up and it turns into a fight.) It brings down what?s an otherwise warm and sweet episode of reconciliations and new directions. I wish, like, a different fight had happened, if this episode needed a fight so badly.

I think the lack of stakes is appropriate to show Isaac how much his severity as a threat has diminished now that Xross Saber can beat Solomon in a fight with little trouble. It's totally humiliating for Isaac, since not only does he get beat again and offered redemption again in a way that undermines how evil he's trying to be like how he made up that fake pity story about losing a loved one that he immediately laughed about, but they basically kicked him out of Southern Base, reclaiming it for SOL.

Regarding the cool fight scene in Wonder World, I'd like to point out that other than the debut of "Crimson" Saber, I thought Blades Tategami Hyoujyu Senki kicking a giant icicle down Charybdis' mouth was pretty creative and bad*ss!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

but I don't really dislike the theme song anymore.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

And we get Crimson Saber, who is in good company in not being red, despite what the name would make you think.

Should've been called Fantastic Saber since fantastic means blue. Saber logic.

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Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

Also I hate to be the only one to say it, but I do like Almighty quite a bit?

En-chan said it first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

I like Almighty a fair bit! But I also can?t name a single Toku OP I don?t enjoy and end up coming back to, so uh, take that as you will? Genre with a lot of bangers I feel!

For the few Tokusatsu OPs that I dislike/feel indifferent about:

Just Live More, RealEyez, EXCITE, Hajimari No Kimi E, Kamen Rider Agito, Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.

[Mmicb0b]

Ok I can now say my thoughts about Xross Saber cause when it was first revealed I was ready to slap it with the worst final form ever label (at least Zero-Two was a reference to how the Showa riders got a permanent upgrade as opposed to multiple forms so even if it is bland I get what they were going for) but then I saw we'd be getting MULTIPLE Final forms then I was on board with it also part of it is this show did an amazing job with Isssac like the franchise was starting to turn into modern day disney with how many villains have tragic backstories(this is fine but when you OVERDO IT especially in the case of Masamune from Ex-Aid(which had Dan Kuroto who was basically becoming the Diamonds from Steven Universe in terms of "I know we made this guy too evil to redeem but let's do it anyways" who they gave a tragic backstory in the movies despite the show making him the ultimate hate sink in the franchise (NOTE I did NOT watch Zi-O/Zero One though I did get told they at a point make Aruto turn evil for stupid reasons towards the end) so having a villain whose evil for the hell of it and just wants power because "why the hell not" was a nice change of pace and they also did an AMAZING job of making you want to punch him and how even when he "losses" he still gets SOMETHING that puts him in advantageous position moving forward(One of my biggest gripes with Build was how the later half can be described as Evolto beating the crap out of the good guys unless they have a brand new toy to debut I get wanting to keep his threat level consistent throughout the show(Cause if he lost constantly that'd be a problem in of itself) but when the good guys ALWAYS Lose it becomes frustrating to watch) and seeing the show make it clear he's screwed in all caps when Touma gets Xross Saber was satisfying as hell

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think the lack of stakes is appropriate to show Isaac how much his severity as a threat has diminished now that Xross Saber can beat Solomon in a fight with little trouble.

I mean, that's not stakes, that's difficulty. I'm not surprised that Saber's Final Form can easily trounce a lazy lunatic like Solomon; I'm a little more surprised that the fight occurs while Isaac is sort of just Vaguely A Threat, not someone actively (or successfully) attempting a villainous scheme.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mmicb0b

they also did an AMAZING job of making you want to punch him

Isaac is definitely one of the franchise's most punchable villains, yes!

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I mean, that's not stakes, that's difficulty. I'm not surprised that Saber's Final Form can easily trounce a lazy lunatic like Solomon; I'm a little more surprised that the fight occurs while Isaac is sort of just Vaguely A Threat, not someone actively (or successfully) attempting a villainous scheme.

I think the low difficulty is exactly why Touma and Rintarou felt confident enough to swing by Isaac's throne room. They're not afraid of his power and they're prepared to defeat him if necessary. It's kind of refreshing that the heroes have reached a point where they can leisurely make their move against the big arc villain, as a way to show how the balance of power has now shifted. It makes sense that they would take advantage of that opportunity to either attempt to reform him, or failing that, remove him from the throne he renounced the right to sit on.

[Fish Sandwich]

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I mean, look at that image. Look at our pop-up book opening, reconfigured to not just include the returning Kento, but every other hero on the show. It's as thrilling a victory lap as I can imagine, seeing that troupe of warriors marching off for their next adventure.

I was really happy to see you decide to call special attention to this random shot in the opening, because it's honestly one of my favorite things in Saber period? And I mean, long list, I know, but the key here is that a quick visual like this is on the same level I put entire episodes and suit designs and characters and stuff. There's a lot I could say about the actual episode, because I love a lot about it, too, but as tempting as it is to talk about how Uchida writes an amazing Master Logos, the strong visual storytelling of him ending this one being demoted to Storious' house guest, or even just how sick as heck Xross Saber continues to be, I'll leave the details to past me here, because I'd much rather focus on just how much I love that shot in the opening.

It's just one of those quintessentially Saber things, you know? Even putting aside the literal storybook visual styling, the image of all these main characters in a line, happily walking in the same direction, I don't think it would fit any other Rider show at all? It fits Saber's very specific weirdly un-Rider vibe perfectly, because it makes way too much of a point of emphasizing everyone's individuality to just be a totally straightforward Sentai deal, and yet they're all far too unified in their overall goal for a franchise often about bickering anti-heroes refusing to get along. It's very different people all heading their own way towards the same destination. Like, that's the show! That's Saber! The one where you can have as many as 9 or 10 Riders in a shot together, and have them facing something that isn't just each other.

[Enchilada645]

Oh right, random note, but I like Kento's new style of SoL Uniform, in which he's keeping the white turtle-neck/long sleeve from his Calibur days and mixing it with his SoL Uniform, which I recall was exactly the same in style as his fathers. So him mixing that up with what he got while he was Calibur is pretty neat. Kinda shows Kento coming into his own, you know?

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The one where you can have as many as 9 or 10 Riders in a shot together, and have them facing something that isn't just each other.

Part of me is a little upset that they didn't make it an incremental thing, a visual representation of Touma expanding his support network out from just the Saberketeers into an entire squadron of swordsmen, but I'm happy with what I ended up getting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Oh right, random note, but I like Kento's new style of SoL Uniform, in which he's keeping the white turtle-neck/long sleeve from his Calibur days and mixing it with his SoL Uniform, which I recall was exactly the same in style as his fathers. So him mixing that up with what he got while he was Calibur is pretty neat. Kinda shows Kento coming into his own, you know?

It looks good! He wears that uniform well!

[weedle013ZiO]

Commentary on my series? I need some help.