[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Kamen Rider as a franchise barely acknowledges moms (give or take a memorable Build HBV and some physical abuse in Geats)

Wait, you're watching Geats?! Fully expected that to be a watch thread next year! Or you've just picked up some very specific information about the show?


Either way, I guess my thing here is just talking about how much I like Saber suits so here I go again! Buster is AWESOME. It's a lot like Dangerous Zombie in that it's a pretty safe suit; it still has many of the 'weirder' conventions of the series, but reigned in with a simpler colour scheme and more obvious 'cool' elements that makes it appealing even to people who don't like the series aesthetic as a whole. It's awesome in general to see bulkier suits like this in Rider, and the massive Cloud Strife-ass buster sword for which he's named is SUCH a cool focal point. Just a really solid suit!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

Wait, you're watching Geats?! Fully expected that to be a watch thread next year! Or you've just picked up some very specific information about the show?

I am/was watching Geats, yes! (I'm on a break with it until I finish Saber, 'cause I can't really juggle two shows at once, mentally.)

The Watch Threads were originally just a thing to get me current; I was inevitably going to catch up, and that point arrives with Revice this spring. Any post-Revice shows... we'll see? There'll be a slowdown -- I want to spend the second half of the year reformatting all of the posts TokuNation broke, and then putting them on my own site for safe-keeping -- but I'm interested in spending a few years (!) covering all the Heisei shows I never wrote up, and trying out some other franchises. I can see there being a Rewatches Geats Etc series of threads, but I'll probably give them some distance first. Geats would be... god, maybe 2026? At the earliest?

Long story short, yeah, I watched that lady slap her kid on Geats. I guess this is what happens when you're a Kamen Rider with living parents?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

Either way, I guess my thing here is just talking about how much I like Saber suits so here I go again! Buster is AWESOME. It's a lot like Dangerous Zombie in that it's a pretty safe suit; it still has many of the 'weirder' conventions of the series, but reigned in with a simpler colour scheme and more obvious 'cool' elements that makes it appealing even to people who don't like the series aesthetic as a whole. It's awesome in general to see bulkier suits like this in Rider, and the massive Cloud Strife-ass buster sword for which he's named is SUCH a cool focal point. Just a really solid suit!

It's by far my favorite of the suits I've seen through toy designs. I like the grey/brown/orange color scheme, all the Land stuff: rocks and mud and lava. I like the forward-facing headsword, where it's like a saw. And I love his little turtle shell backpack!

[Nokination]

Episode 03
I just realized that I completely forgot to talk about Saber's opening, in my opinion, I'd say it's good, it doesn't crack my top 10 openings, but it's enjoyable, even if it's slow. On the episode itself, I like it, mainly due to Ryo, I quite like his character, especially how much he cares for his son (and Kamen Riders with children are pretty rare). We also learn that some sort of event happened 15 years ago, presumably what we saw at the start of the first episode, that caused Touma to lose his memory.

Aside from that, I don't have much else to say on this episode, I like Ryo and his suit, as well as Kento, who didn't really get to do much. But, this episode still follows the pattern of me not having much to say on Saber, even more for this episode considering it's a two-parter, but like the other episodes, it's enjoyable, it just doesn't do much for me.

[Enchilada645]

Again, I find Saber's pacing hilarious because it's like "Hello, this here is Kento... anyway here's this cool dude named Buster who had no foreshadowing in Episode 2!"

Also about pacing, this was an episode I remember stirring up a lot of contention. Because at the climax of the episode we get 2 full transformation sequences (3 if you count Rintaro and Touma's separately) alongside 3 full form change sequences. And while I do think Covid sorta factored into them basically taking screen time by using these sequences... again I hope you like toys. Bandai wants you to like toys. But yeah, like 5 full transformation/form change sequences in the span of 6 minutes? Kinda overkill.

Now that aside, let's talk about the new hotness in town, Kamen Rider Buster. So rarely do we get a Rider Series where it's like, here is a dad, he is alive, he is good, and he is a Kamen Rider. Ogami's very much a first when it comes to Dad Riders I feel (unless I'm forgetting someone?) and he's very much a welcome addition to everything.

Okay I know I threw pacing aside, but I kinda like how we just suddenly got Ogami? This part of the show is very much saying, here is Touma, he's the new guy at work and is slowly but surely meeting all of his co-workers. And that just sorta fits in with how it's paced and how literally everyone is just crawling out of the woodwork. First he reunites with Kento, who also works for the same magic book organization that Rintaro does, and also he gets to meet the coolest Rider ever like not even five minutes later? Yeah sounds like an ordinary day at work when you're the new guy.

But anyway back to Buster. There's just a good beefiness to the suit, and the way the turtle motif shines through on the upper armor is very nice. It's really hard to make me like very mute suits (I dislike suits like Build Hazard for a reason) so you have to make up for it in different ways. And I feel as though Buster manages to provide enough cool details within the suit itself and how it's designed to where it looks good even if it's grey.

But yeah, really, just a nice little introduction episodes for Buster in general. Not much to truly say here other than, yes, I love Buster.

As for the story this time, given the cover image I had a feeling I knew what you'd be writing about. That being said... the contents of the story were very gripping to me, just the way Kouhei acts and thinks about himself, the slow spiral into a sort of depressive episode and then that small sense of wonder and hope at seeing the little toy on the book only to end up going poof... well done.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nokination

We also learn that some sort of event happened 15 years ago, presumably what we saw at the start of the first episode, that caused Touma to lose his memory.

If there's a thing I hate about Kamen Rider first acts, it's Gathering Data storylines, where monsters get blown up, but it's all good for the villains because they're getting so much valuable data.

If there're two things I hate about Kamen Rider first acts, it's Narratively-Convenient Amnesia, where some crucial detail has been scrubbed from the hero's mind, waiting until some later cliffhanger to finally reveal itself. I have about zero patience for most mysteries on these shows; I have negative patience for Narratively-Convenient Amnesia. Do not care about Touma's formative but forgotten trauma, especially when Kento (probably) already knows what it is!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

But yeah, like 5 full transformation/form change sequences in the span of 6 minutes? Kinda overkill.

I actually didn't mind this? I liked that Touma tried pulling off a new form change and messing it up, but I loved that Rintaro was like Can I Borrow That And Use It Better and Touma was like Sure Thing Pal. Ex-Aid based entire arcs around Riders beating the shit out of each other for collectibles! This was a nice twist on that expectation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Okay I know I threw pacing aside, but I kinda like how we just suddenly got Ogami? This part of the show is very much saying, here is Touma, he's the new guy at work and is slowly but surely meeting all of his co-workers. And that just sorta fits in with how it's paced and how literally everyone is just crawling out of the woodwork. First he reunites with Kento, who also works for the same magic book organization that Rintaro does, and also he gets to meet the coolest Rider ever like not even five minutes later? Yeah sounds like an ordinary day at work when you're the new guy.

I got that feeling, and I like it, but I don't feel like the show commits fully enough to the idea of Touma being some brand new cog in a very old machine. Like, what is the process here for how any of this works? The episode more or less opens with Rintaro and Touma fighting the exact same book monster as Touma defeated in the first episode, but why those two? What exactly is the organizational structure of the Sword of Logos, besides a woman who descends staircases professionally? There's a lot to like about a guy who accidentally becomes a Knight of the Round Table, but I don't feel like the show is as focused on that concept as it maybe should be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

As for the story this time, given the cover image I had a feeling I knew what you'd be writing about. That being said... the contents of the story were very gripping to me, just the way Kouhei acts and thinks about himself, the slow spiral into a sort of depressive episode and then that small sense of wonder and hope at seeing the little toy on the book only to end up going poof... well done.

Thanks! I'm hoping that Team Saber can figure out some way to get that guy home to his kid! I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

[Enchilada645]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I actually didn't mind this? I liked that Touma tried pulling off a new form change and messing it up, but I loved that Rintaro was like Can I Borrow That And Use It Better and Touma was like Sure Thing Pal. Ex-Aid based entire arcs around Riders beating the shit out of each other for collectibles! This was a nice twist on that expectation.

Oh here's the funny thing, I was pretty meh on it in terms of reaction tbh. I just remember people really complaining about it. But yeah there's just something fun about like... our Riders working together, like just immediately and bouncing off each other. Also just like, again, Touma and Rintaro make a nice field team duo and it's a refreshing change of pace from like the usual Primary and Secondary Dynamic we usually get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Thanks! I'm hoping that Team Saber can figure out some way to get that guy home to his kid! I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

We can only hope! Thankfully we won't have to wait too long!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Oh here's the funny thing, I was pretty meh on it in terms of reaction tbh. I just remember people really complaining about it. But yeah there's just something fun about like... our Riders working together, like just immediately and bouncing off each other. Also just like, again, Touma and Rintaro make a nice field team duo and it's a refreshing change of pace from like the usual Primary and Secondary Dynamic we usually get.

It feels a little nitpicky to me, but I can see people reacting that way. I think... I mean, this show is making some bizarre choices, and if you can't quite pin down what it's doing that isn't clicking with you There's Too Many Form Changes is sort of the lowest hanging fruit. It's like saying Geats Is Just Kabuto -- the show's taking some chances, and it's easier to pigeonhole it unfairly than it is to try and understand it.

(I get real mad about the Keiwa Is Kagami 2.0 people! They are very different! They have very different places in their respective narratives!!!)

Anyway, yeah, I like how easy the teamwork is for our Riders. This isn't Zero-One or Ex-Aid (or Geats), where part of the thematic framework is in trying to examine terms like Friendship or Cooperation. It's a show about how we process storytelling: how it gives us strength or locks us into roles. It doesn't benefit from Blades and Saber being assholes to each other.

[Daikaijuman54]

Me and one other person here are Buster Fans.

*Disappears again*

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daikaijuman54

Me and one other person here are Buster Fans.

*Disappears again*

I thought most people were Buster fans? I don't really have a sense of the Saber fandom, but Buster seemed like a fairly popular character. Is that not the case?

[Daikaijuman54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I thought most people were Buster fans? I don't really have a sense of the Saber fandom, but Buster seemed like a fairly popular character. Is that not the case?

He is. But I'm not exactly in the best of places right now.

So, I'll probably drop by in an uncoordinated fashion.

Good day.