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03-16-2023, 08:15 PM | #1101 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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For this show that started under such uncertain production conditions, arguably stumbling out of the gate, to be here after a year, crossing the finish line with this much grace, having built this much for itself, it just something to behold, plain and simple. Touma's thank you is as straightforward as can be, but the weight behind those words is immense.
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Mei does contribute here but dunno that, this seems to be the type where someone shows surprising capabilities to contribute at the end despite others doubting them. I guess I'd like to see this part of contributing being a more consistent part of her instead of the finale to give surprises for the audience in how she accomplished it if it's meant to 'prove' herself as I think proving means this part should be a more consistent trait (Rintaro previously see her as a loved one).
It's a nice moment, and right up there with Takeru Hugs A Villain So Well An Apocalypse Stops as uniquely enjoyable tokusatsu finales.
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03-16-2023, 08:59 PM | #1102 |
Kaiju or Hero?
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Even I Don't Know Anymore.
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Oh boy... The finale...
Now, I've held off since my memories kind of blend the whole endgame into one, so in case I accidentally slipped up, I waited for this moment. It's quite a scene when the heroes are facing the scholars and they're all getting absolutely wrecked, while also urging each other onwards as they give their all to defeat these adversaries. Seeing everyone struggle and finally defeat them is such a great way to finish things off. Storius and Touma, two people very similar yet not. Storius in this final arc showed how he was the perfect villain to oppose Touma. The very notion about how stories are unoriginal no matter what is something I found very inspiring as a writer myself, I could see things through Storius' twisted lens while still believing in Touma's convictions to what he's stood up for since the very beginning. And having our trio together for that final confrontation was such a great thing to see, from combining the power of his friends as seen in a previous episode, to banding together with all the WonderRide Books to defeat this seemingly unstoppable force, culminating in Almighty Dragon! Which yes, pretty much just like Zero-One Shining Hopper, I don't mind it being just the base form with a fancy name, since I particularly enjoy Saber's forms, heck Zero-One's forms for that manner. The scene with everyone talking about their favorite books is definitely a highlight, and as mentioned by Androzani, yes, a member here did indeed appear in that sequence, which is still fun to know. And to throw my name into this, I have to nominate one of my favorite stories to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, a book I've loved growing up. Shameless cameo over. And everything comes full circle as Touma exits his house in Wonder World, a very nice nod to the fact that we knew from the Opening sequence itself, showing us once again, we were being told a story, which even though it lost its narrator and took place before our eyes, it all reached for this moment. I'll probably talk extensively on characters and the series as a whole later, which is perfect for the Final Thoughts, but to give you an idea, I did really enjoy Saber, as to how it stacks against its predecessor, Zero-One, let's leave that for later.
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03-16-2023, 09:49 PM | #1103 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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I look forward to it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the finale!
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03-16-2023, 10:20 PM | #1104 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 48 - “BONUS ISSUE – A NEW PAGE, HAS BEEN TURNED”
Lazy summer epilogue episode of Kamen Rider Saber Featuring Special Guest-Stars REVI And VICE here. It’s doing two things: it’s a victory lap send-off to the Saber cast that doubles as a meditation on the necessity of change; and it’s an introduction to the cast, concepts, and (most importantly) energy of Kamen Rider Revice. How entertaining it is in either of those aspects is… a little worrying. The Saber part, where the eternal friendship of Touma and Kento imparts a lesson about how friendships can weather change and adversity – even grow because of them – is incredibly sweet. It’s this show letting you know that your favorite Saber characters will be out there living their lives, even if you’re not around to see them. It’s also asking you to focus on the good times over the last year, rather than feel bad that they’re ending. Leave it to Saber to take a baton-passing crossover episode and still manage to say something heartfelt about both friendship and storytelling. It’s letting an audience know that stories are constantly starting and stopping, so it’s better to be excited by change than afraid of it. Because we’re not just talking about this story ending, we’re also talking about the next story starting. Namely, Kamen Rider Revice. I did not like that part! It’s a hard thing, to try and serve two tonally different masters here. Saber is a sweet, earnest show, filled with a rich, diverse cast of nuanced performers. (And Reika, who’s insanely awful this episode.) Revice, on the other hand, seems to lean very very hard into obnoxious comedy and constant antagonism. These are… not two things that can exist simultaneously in a story. It’s fine for one series to pivot into another, but it’s tonally dissonant to have Vice mugging for the camera and farting his way through a hard sell to watch his new show, all while Touma and the gang are charting out the next phases of their lives. Like, this is an episode where an egalitarian deconstruction of a morally-bankrupt cult sits alongside an invisible ghost taunting Yuri and everyone reacting to devil flatulence. It’s… you can’t really do both? And I don’t know if the disrespectful hard sell is the best foot forward for the new year of Kamen Rider? Like, I’m trying not to judge Kamen Rider Revice off of this. In their world, in their context, maybe it all works. Maybe Saber should’ve made this less about their cast and more about promoting Revice. Maybe Revi should’ve been in the Promise Park battle and used less of Vice’s… contributions. I don’t know. I can’t say if Revice works or doesn’t work as a concept, because I haven’t watched the show yet. All I can say was that they were the worst part of this episode, which is a bummer for a viewer who was looking forward to discovering a whole new Kamen Rider series. But Saber! Still so good and so smart, even if the effort of fitting in the Revice cast tore at the seams; at the little things it usually got right. (Namely, Reika being a lunatic, and Rintaro being way too wacky in his romantic comedy stylings. I am normally rooting for both those characters! But not this time!) Last episode is the clear winner in terms of wrapping up this show’s narrative, but this was a nice coda about how endings are bittersweet but necessary. Not my favorite episode, but a decent enough note to go out on. — OUR WORK IS DONE Yasuyuki was packing up the last of the boxes, as the door chime went off. Without looking up, he shouted back to the doorway, “You got the van pulled up, Koji?” “Uh, it’s not Koji. It’s Touma. What’s going on?” Yasuyuki turned in surprise, and the voice was correct: it was Touma. Touma was back. “Touma! Oh my god, it’s been a year! Where have you been?” Yasuyuki rushed to the valued customer, and shook his hand rapidly. “Koji and I… we talked to your friend Kento at the bookshop, and he didn’t… no one knew where you were! We heard about your book – everyone’s heard about your book – but you just VANISHED. Oh my god! I can’t believe you’re here. Wow. Wow. Are you okay? Is everything okay?” He never stopped shaking Touma’s hand, fearful that Touma might escape if he did. Touma laughed and smiled. That squinty, generous smile that he always seemed to have at the ready. Shaking back the whole time, he explained himself to Yasuyuki. “A long story, Yuki: I had a last-minute long-distance writing sabbatical which kept me out of contact, but I just wrapped it all up and got back to town. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, but…” Touma shook his head ruefully, the smile evaporated. “I don’t know, it kind of couldn’t be helped. I’m back now, though. What’s… what’s going on with the shop? Why is everything packed up?” Yuki let Touma’s hand go, and sat down on one of the many packed boxes. “It’s all over, Touma. Store’s closing down.” Yuki pointed to the back of the front window’s signage, KOJI AND YASUYUKI: HABERDASHERS, reversed. “Koji and I… it was a tough year. Sales were down–” Yuki saw Touma’s eyes go wide, his face go pale “–not just you, a big drop across the board. More than that, though…” Yuki exhaled, leaned his head back, looked at the ceiling. “Heart just wasn’t in it anymore, you know? Time for a change. Time for a different business model.” He looked back at Touma, who was pacing around the half-empty store. Hands on hips, Touma nodded slightly as he took it all in. “Boy, I’m sorry to hear that… but I’m also so happy for you guys. Endings are hard, but new beginnings are always so exciting. I know this wasn’t how you wanted this story to end, but I’m rooting for you both to go do something great.” Touma extended a hand to Yuki, and pulled him to his feet. “What’s next for you two?” Yuki fished into his pocket, and handed Touma a folded-up flyer. “Funny you should ask, Touma. We’re opening next week, and we’d love it if you and your friends could stop by.” Touma unfolded the flyer. In big block letters at the top, it read: KOJI AND YASUYUKI’S BATHHOUSE.
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03-16-2023, 10:47 PM | #1105 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,560
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This is an interesting episode, serving as a nice epilogue for Saber while showing us Revice... and giving us a peak that uh... it's a thing tbh.
I'll say right off the bat, I don't know why they did the Vice fart joke? Because like... Vice doesn't really do that in the main show? Like I could be misremembering Revice but I do not recall constant fart jokes with Vice. Mugging to the camera, that's kinda his thing, whether or not it hits in the main series is up to viewer discretion. I don't mind Vice tbh when it comes to the series but we'll get there when we get there. Anyway my favorite Saber moment is the vacation moment at the very beginning, where we got Touma's greatest clothing choice. His vacation clothes is super great. I also enjoy Touma's rose themed jacket and super wide long pants. Real great. As for the story though... a very nice bookending. I love bookendings. Was not expecting this, but I am pleasantly surprised. |
03-16-2023, 11:21 PM | #1106 |
Best Match!
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 62
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On Revice in this... for now, I'll just say that this episode was still by a Saber writer, and not Revice's writer. Not a good impression in this one at all though, yeah.
But! That's not important. I want to finally share my Favorite Kamen Rider Saber fanwork. This was finished right after the finale (so no spoilers) and while Saber was a series that frustrated me at many turns, I love all the more how good this video is at bringing out Saber's coolest moments. Hope you enjoy! https://youtu.be/jB800_UV1zE |
03-16-2023, 11:27 PM | #1107 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
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But! That's not important. I want to finally share my Favorite Kamen Rider Saber fanwork. This was finished right after the finale (so no spoilers) and while Saber was a series that frustrated me at many turns, I love all the more how good this video is at bringing out Saber's coolest moments. Hope you enjoy!
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03-16-2023, 11:39 PM | #1108 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,560
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But! That's not important. I want to finally share my Favorite Kamen Rider Saber fanwork. This was finished right after the finale (so no spoilers) and while Saber was a series that frustrated me at many turns, I love all the more how good this video is at bringing out Saber's coolest moments. Hope you enjoy!
https://youtu.be/jB800_UV1zE Just thought I'd mention that. And on the subject of sharing videos though... I am a MAD/AMV guy, and I always like finding really good ones of Series that end. Sometimes I make them though I haven't really done one of those kinds of videos in a while. Thankfully there are some fun Saber ones. One of which I really enjoy though: |
03-17-2023, 12:13 AM | #1109 |
Best Match!
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 62
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03-17-2023, 02:55 AM | #1110 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 1,897
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The story of a trio of childhood friends resembling Touma, Luna, and Kento is perfect for the show's farewell. It also tells how the reorganization of Sword of Logos will take place and what the rest of the characters will do. Also, remember you earlier complaining about the unnecessary battle between Rintaro and Ryoga? Here she was needed then, so as not to show their duel now. No, the main reason, of course, is that the Blades costume is used in the Trio of Deep Sin, but still it can not be overlooked. So if in the last episode there was an end to the story, then here is a farewell to its heroes. For let them return repeatedly, but not on a permanent basis. The fanfiction is great and captures the idea well. I also recently came across a photo of Saber actors at the premiere of Shin Kamen Rider: Perhaps this is nothing unusual, but it's still great that they continue to communicate even after the end of the show. |
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