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#love how kento see Touma
t-u-i-t-c · 8 months
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chapter xlvii
#kr saber lb#kr lb#umbrella.thoughts#umbrella.posts#the way kento was taking care of the store for touma...#the way he ran so fast to hug him when he returned#the way he was all smiles as soon as touma reached him#but of course he has to be wearing those pants just can't let them go can they#i think storious was wrapped up well i mean he saw them create a new story which was what he needed to get clarity#every megid death ended with them seeing what they wanted before passing on#once they pass on they seem to lose the immense anger they had so it seems that they were all distorted by the books power and they're#really a bit more level-headed now#i like that we get to see storious recall sharing his work with people and that it had meant something to him to though i still feel#he got buried in his despair and lost sight of how stories affect others and his relationships with others and not just him personally#it may have been a little fast but i've seen a lot of final villains and i really like storious' story#also just love everyone i don't think there was any character i really disliked throughout#with reika she made me mad but she was supposed to and she came around although it took a bit#i like her and i like how committed she is to her duty and i love her fight scenes#daishinji ryo and sophia felt like elders so i don't mind them not developing too much bc they feel like they have already grown into#the people that they are meant to be although they do develop a bit more here and there#yuri felt more like a guide for touma and i think he fit his role well while also evolving past his outdated ideas of what a swordsman is#ryoga was not developed too much but with the elders he felt like he knew who he was but for him there was development more in his#willingness to listen and work with others while also dealing with the issues of the guild and looking out for reika#he may not be very open but he has his own strong convictions and he is slowly starting to open up but just starting#rintaro and mei had a lot of good development though i do feel rintaro's stuff came across a bit much at times but in the end he became#a character who chooses to believe in himself and not run away while also protecting those around him when he used to stick to the rules#completely though he still does follow rules he does more of what is right than what is allowed#mei was an observer most of the time although she was also entrusted with tools that were important for the storyline such as the book#i love characters who don't transform and offer support when needed#mei was always expressing belief in the swordsman and offered a lot of help to them
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asknarashikari · 4 months
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Cutest thing reiwa riders have ever seen?
Aruto: Isamu laughing at a joke he made (also the moment he fell in love lol)
Touma: His son Ise napping with Papa Kento on the couch in matching hedgehog onesies
Ikki: Lovekov teaching Koushirou how to draw their family (until she sees some of her more... violent drawings)
Ace: Tsumuri laughing and having a fun chat over tea with Keiwa, Neon and Sara
Houtaro: Rinne laughing Hopper-1 munching on his leftovers from lunch under the table
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iristial · 8 months
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Super delayed Trio of Deep Sin thoughts 📚
ღ.ღ.ღ.ღ.ღ.ღ.ღ.ღ
- What a beautiful movie! Probably the best Reiwa V-Cinema thus far, what with its tight focus on three central characters and a clear sense of purpose the story rarely strayed from
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- “Bittersweet”, an oxymoron the film itself grappled with. How you end up loving someone you intended to wrought destruction upon (not unlike the sweet lull of a siren’s song) and it ends up hurting you. For Mamiya and Yuina, they never strayed from vengeance yet their 'pretense’ at love became so passionate, desperate, and violent, calling it an illusion became a lie. Mamiya erased the swordsmen from history yet hesitated when it came to tampering Touma’s memory. Yuina preferred to die over seeing the light fade from Kento’s eyes and experiencing the grief of loving again. It didn’t help that Touma and Kento, in turn, loved them fiercely and it aroused their anger. Probably because - how could you love someone who intended to hurt you from the start? How could you forgive, just like that? Still stand firm? Even offer your life for them? They truly kicked my feels here
- In comparison, Rintarou’s third of the story merely recycled his main series’ struggle: a bittersweet tang to a noble cause. At least I think they did? But it indicated how Rintarou has grown since his days of inner turmoil, and honestly I couldn’t bring myself to hate the father he barely knew
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Touma and Riku’s relationship was wonderful, lovely, wrung out many smiles and tears, everything. How I wished Touma had been the single father Rider writing books for his son in the main series lol It linked well to early Saber’s focus on father-son bonds, better than the Shindos imo
If I remember correctly, the Riku-Mamiya plot twist was when I said aloud during my lunch break, “oh my gosh, I can’t call this a bad movie”. I spent days dissecting it until my head spun
Erasing memories to erase one’s existence reminded me a lot of Den-O’s ripple effect, where as long as one person has strong memories of another, they’ll never truly fade from the timeline
Going back to oxymorons, Touma’s the swordsman of fire. Fire and swords; the subjects of Riku’s trauma. And Touma loves Riku with all his heart, to the point where he believes he’s an insufficient father. However, that love was never one-sided, culminating in Riku fighting with himself - in both senses of the word - to protect Touma and call him otou-san. I didn’t ask to have my entire water supply depleted through my eyes T-T
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- I also liked the inevitability of certain bonds, such as Kento and Rintarou comforting each other with ease despite being (in their minds) complete strangers, and Kento getting interested in Yuina again. Goes to show the people you love will always find a way back to you
- To think I had reservations about Kento’s love line and probably became one of the few viewers who actually enjoyed it. Even if Kento was going to run himself through with Yuina’s sword...being self-sacrificial....as if he didn’t learn anything the past three times...Kento -
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Kento’s new suit henshin? A shower of brilliant stars I had the privilege to witness. Touma’s henshin? Took the breath from my lungs. Fitting for a guardian of the Wonder World
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My only criticism is that there weren’t enough Mei scenes xD
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kanacaecilius · 2 years
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Bits from Kamen Rider Saber - Trio of Deep Sin audio commentary
=-=-=-=-=
- It was intentional that the movie would not feel "Saber-like" at first, and that it'll come only towards the end.
- Naito (Kamiyama Touma) was a little worried about the 8 years after setting because he wasn't sure how to make himself look in the 30s. He can't grow facial hair, not sure if he should put his hair up or not. But director reassured him the way he handled himself is convincingly more mature than the series.
- Reika's new hairstyle (and probably the rest of the cast's) is director's choice.
- The cast of course has a say though. Aoki (Fukamiya Kento) actually suggested that he does his hair in center part. And then Naito asked if he could do the same. Naito ended up getting the look lol
- The dog who played Lucky is named Festa.
- Naito fawns over the dog and the kid xD
- Aoki kind of bullying Naito: Naito: It was very easy working with Kimura-san (Mamiya). He's so good, he's settled on his character right off the bat. It was easy acting with him Aoki: You mean to say Yamaguchi and I are terrible actors and it was difficult getting into character with us? Naito: That's not what I'm saying?!
lol
- Kamihori (director), to Yamaguchi (Shindo Rintaro): How was it? Mr. I dunno if you're the current boyfriend or the ex... How was 8 years later Mei? Yamaguchi: She’s prettier :3
lol
- Guy on the foreground
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 is actually one of Saber's producers, Minato (also character named Minato lol)
- This scene
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in Kamihori's mind, is around a week since Touma got Riku. 
- Aoki was so tense working on most of his scenes with Asuka Rin (Yuina), director kept telling him to relax.
- Director joked Aoki was so tense with Asuka, it looked more like Aoki than Kento lol
- Kamihori said Aoki was so nervous it looked like "A man in his 30s gets his first girlfriend and first kiss." 
lololol
- Naito: The most difficult instruction on site is probably "you can relax more!" No I can’t!
lol
- Kamihori said the way Aoki portrayed Kento is like a boyfriend who's kind of showing off to his girlfriend of 1 month and wouldn't want to show a sloppy side to him lol
- Aoki: You guys try!! It's terribly nerve-wracking having a scene with a lover!
- Aoki could only relax with Asuka at this distance. 
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Plus he's wearinig glasses, which, according to him, is like a filter lol
- Aoki: I have no idea what's it like to have a girlfriend that you love so, so, sooooo dearly. I discussed about that a lot with director Kamihoriuchi Kamihori: Uh, not really. It's more of like "If you can get a girlfriend right here, right now, please do" Aoki: Lol yeah, yeah! Kamihori: One cannot really put into words how romantic love feeling is like. I was like "Go get some experience"
lololol
- Aoki, on the kiss scene with Asuka: I feel like I've brushed my teeth 50 times that day. I was that nervous
- On the proposal scene, the original idea was that Kento was more put together and was really taking charge of the situation. But with Aoki being awfully nervous, Kamihori thought he'd use that in the movie so he changed the feel to more of a "Kento is a little awkward and nervous doing the proposal" kind of thing.
- At the start of the scene where Kento and Yuina were cosplaying Aladdin, Aoki was actually thinking back to the cosplay scenes he did with Naito in the series, to avoid being overwhelmed by nervousness lol Aoki: Of course I'm nervous! That's the first time ever I'm proposing!
- On the kiss scene Naito: To me, you look like you're shaking Aoki: I AM!! I totally am! That's my first time after all!
- On the actual kiss shot: Yamaguchi: How was it like, seeing the scene vs actually filming it in terms of the sensation of time? Aoki: It was really long! It was an hour!  Yamaguchi/Naito: lololol Yamaguchi: How was it like, filming that shot? Kamihori: From the time they kissed, it was probably around 10 seconds
lololol
- Hashimoto (Shinozaki) is like one who'd just stand there, say "I'm your father" and whoever he's acting with will agree. He has a commanding presence like that.
- Kamihori actually rolls the camera sometimes even during the test runs. The actors are a lot more relaxed then and sometimes it looks better than the actual take, they’d end up using the one from the test run instead.
- Nakata Yuji (Espada, MamiyaFalchion) apparently grips pretty hard.
- But Aoki said Naito does grip pretty strong too. On one scene with Touma, Luna and Kento doing pinky promise together, Aoki said Naito squeezed his pinky really hard.
- On the scene where Riku first attempted to say "dad" (after Falchion's second attack), Kamihori's instruction was to not have any sound at all. But Kihara, Riku's actor, produced some sounds due to him putting all his feelings into the act. Kamihori was impressed and decided to settle on that cut.
- The scene where Kento and Rintaro met was actually from the producer. They weren't supposed to meet in the original script.
- The script was completed barely before the filming started. At the start of the filming, Kamihori thought it would be interesting to have them meet, so they requested the producer. 
- The fight scenes feel a little different in a sense that they're not in it specifically to "take down the enemy" but more like with sentiments of "I'm going to save you"
- RIntaro saying "I'm a swordsman. I always knew I wouldn't be able to save everyone. That's why...I will always carry with me the weight of this burden!" is peak Rintaro, according to Yamaguchi and director Kamihori. 
- Yamaguchi: Rintaro's stregnth is probably that even in situations so dire that others would despair, he's one to find hope in the situation. 
- The scene where YuinaFalchion points the sword towards Kento on the floor, Kamihori made Aoki think how would Kento respond to Yuina's rage. Aoki really thought hard about it. His response of "I can't actually grant wishes" was something they thought of some 15 minutes before filming. It was kind of a call back to Kento's proposal.
- Aoki was really excited with everything about Arabiana Night - the big book, the weight of the book, the henshin sequence (which he discussed with Nakata), the effects, the suit, the sword emblem :)
- Yuina touching Kento's face was an adlib by Asuka.
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- When Kamihori heard the idea of Kento's story having a girlfriend, he really wanted to do the "on opposite sides of the door" conversation.
- Naito discussed with Asai (Saber) that the way Saber fought Falchion was that Touma already have an inkling that it might be someone he knew - that it might be Mamiya.
- When Mamiya was revealed to be Falchion, Naito portrayed it that he wasn’t surprised, but more like a "it would have been better if it wasn't you."
- The movie stays to the core of Kamen Rider - that justice is not one single line. There's the side of the swordsman trio, but also the side of the Falchion trio. Director hopes that people will see this movie in that light. 
- The music at the epilogue (after Riku and Mamiya disappears) was something that the staff fumbled until they got the tone that they liked. They settled on something that reflects Touma's feelings.
- The scene where Mei finds Touma looking over the town is, in Kamihori's mind, a few more years after. 
- Aoki asked about the seiren book that Touma has at the end. Naito said he portrayed it in way that Touma actually wasn’t aware he has it (kizuitenai).
- From around the scene where SoL members were shown at the epilogue, until the end of the movie, director intended to leave the interpretation to the audience.  
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narashikari · 1 year
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I posted 1,310 times in 2022
That's 554 more posts than 2021!
605 posts created (46%)
705 posts reblogged (54%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@sastheforestspirit
@diamondsketches
@autisticassassinbird
@diamond-night
@springstarfangirl
I tagged 646 of my posts in 2022
#kamen rider revice - 182 posts
#kari simping hours - 125 posts
#kadota hiromi - 108 posts
#ryo aoki - 97 posts
#instagram - 89 posts
#kamen rider saber - 87 posts
#junya komatsu - 79 posts
#fukamiya kento - 51 posts
#igarashi daiji - 45 posts
#kamiyama touma - 37 posts
Longest Tag: 121 characters
#or alternatively have the kleptocratic former president’s family return all their stolen wealth 😌 and pay their taxes 😌
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
New OOO V Cinema Trailer let’s gooo
youtube
IT’S COMING OUT IN MARCH ASDFGHJKL I’M NOT PREPARED
@sastheforestspirit
63 notes - Posted January 18, 2022
#4
Ngl but when Togawa drank milk right out of the carton my first thought was "this is a Kageyama thing to do... wait THAT IS KAGEYAMA DOING IT"
67 notes - Posted June 18, 2022
#3
How it was and how it's going, Hiromi style
How it was: being bullied and having no friends
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How it's going: having friends who love and cherish him like family
See the full post
84 notes - Posted July 22, 2022
#2
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See the full post
89 notes - Posted May 23, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
The B(ui)L(d) Trifecta
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See the full post
234 notes - Posted May 23, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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keruworld · 3 years
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jade-lop · 2 years
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As always, KR and SS crossover movies were always so chaotic. The plot of this movie was basically Heisei Generation Forever but less depressing.
The first part misled me to believe the story going to be coherent this time. Only for the climax fight to be just another generic, heroes and villains brawls.
Instead of the heroes calling their catchphrases during battles, I wished they interacted with each other more. For example, it would be nice if Kenzan and one of the Sentai Ninjas commented on each other fighting style or threw in a combination attack or something. It would be more meaningful that way.
Toei did not have de-aging tech Disney used on their MCU movies, but they somehow always managed to cast an actor who looked 90% similar to the originals.
I just realised Shindo and Vroom was actually quite similar. Both were blue, worrywart, highly curious and easily amazed over mundane things. However, due to the setting of their respective stories, Shindo appeared grimmer than Vroom was.
Did they just cast Oma Zi-O in the role of Buddha…?
The only thing Ryutarou and Monk Sanzang had in common was love for living beings. Maybe.
Ryutarou treating Secchan like he treated his animal friends was adorable. I wished he and Gaon could interact and bonded over their love of cute animals.
So nice to see Aruto making pun again. I never realised how much I missed him doing that until he did it again. Izu was not here so they had Aquila Pink substituted for Aruto’s straight man.
Touma, Kento and Luna shared an apartment together and were in queerplatonic relationship?
This movie was quite fun. Compare to the previous crossover movies, the story was less confusing, additionally, unlike before, I did not fall asleep watching it. Though I wished Zenkaiger had as much focus as Saber cast in the final battle, they felt a bit like accessory instead of characters.
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takeru-tenkuuji · 3 years
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two fun lil au ideas i drew a bit ago! i realize read mores are a thing and i love that so
1. from watching the...sword of logos saga? i think. the one w the old SOL group. how touma almost took calibur but didnt because of desast and reika. reika who, clearly wouldve made saber way thinner a book if she just wielded calibur bc she was so unaffected by holding it lmao. this is how reika could wi-
2. from watching the hyper..battle dvd?televi thing? i just thought, “god i want to see touma, mei, and yuuri go on heists or something idk and i realized they broke into southern base so they were kinda on their way there. kento with ponytail and not smoking!1hes just pretending to be cool when he’s not.
the delinquent trio where. in an ideal world. SOL was a fucked up place to work at and the last straw was her brother just going with it so reika ran away and joined a rogue group. i want it
business men. (i wanted to see daishinji in high hair bun and rinrin in glasses thank u)
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kamenriderlogik27 · 3 years
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Saber Last Chapter thoughts!!
I almost cried.... again. but not because of the plot.
Like always, I'm so depressed that Saber is over. I mean, I know we still have next week's special (which I'm praying we'll get to hear Rintaro's confession to Mei and find out more about what actually ended up happening to Touma.) but I just don't was to say goodbye to my swordboys. T-T They're all so precious!!
1. The last/new Wonder Ride Book
- Who ever came up with the idea of trying to do different things with Reiwa Riders is a genius! Instead of having Touma have all the power to himself and defeating Storious, we instead have all three main riders sharing the power and fighting together to defeat him! I know that we've had a similar scene when Touma fought against Isaac, but (If I'm remembering correctly) Rintaro and Kento had to de-henshin for that. So this scene where they actually shared the WRB was just so amazing~!!!! And using other WRBs as well!!!
2. Ok, so I'm really happy that we have that scene where Touma's seeing the people around the world sharing their stories. It was an amazing scene! However... HOW THE HELL DID HE SAVE THE WORLD?! After that scene it just cuts to 1 whole year later with no explanation to how Touma stopped the world from being erased nor everyone's reactions to it.... which I'm a bit... not really sad or peeved, but I'm super confused. I really hope they touch upon it next week at least.
3. I'm also REALLY confused about the random humagear reporter.... I mean, I had that whole theory that Zero-one took place in it's own universe like Build since there was absolutely no Humagears shown throughout Saber, nor did anyone mention them or Aruto. So It just seems kinda random to me that they'd put him in there like that.... but I mean, if it's a hint at a crossover film, then I won't complain. hehe. I would LOVE to have another crossover film~
4. Speaking of the humagear reporter, the way Rintaro looked at Mei during her speech!!!!!!!!! omgosh I swear, Toei! YOU BETTER HAVE THEM END UP TOGETHER NEXT EP!!!! Please don't do this to our hearts! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'LL TAKE HIM 1 WHOL YEAR AFTER THE FINAL BATTLE FOR RINTARO TO FINALLY CONFESS THOUGH.
5. Kento took care of Touma's bookstore while he was gone and omgosh I'm not surprised. When I first saw pics of him not wearing his new/usual uniform I was wondering what they had in store for him since he was the only swordsman with a different look. It suits him so much and omgosh his new look fits more with the white turtleneck that it did with his uniform.... Thank you Toei~
I can't believe that Saber is ending and I don't really want it to end. Though I'm excited for Revice, not being able to see my swordboys anymore is giving me heartbreak. T-T Thankfully Toei has so many movies for us to look forward to, right?
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ampersandra · 3 years
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kamen rider characters & whether they need to wear the im sorry women hat: saber edition
touma: doesn't. touma is a friend to women & milfs probably love him. also he's pretty tall but clearly gay & nonthreatening so he probably regularly helps women on the street dealing with creepy guys by pretending to be a friend they're meeting.
rintaro: doesn't need to wear the hat. i think his only sin is maybe he didn't know women existed for like the first 15 years of his life? like he'd met lesbians so he knew about them & everyone else was just some guy & he liked guys fine so it was great, but as soon as he found out about women he was like this is stunning. legendary. groundbreaking. can't believe i didn't know about this before.
mei: doesn't. mei loves women so much. she just thinks theyre so cool. she sees a woman & goes WOW im a HUGE fan! thinks girlbosses are especially epic
kento: he does. not bc he hates them or anything, i just think the first time he saw a woman, he went "what is THAT?" & everyone around him went 😟. like it wasn't on purpose & he likes women okay, they're just not for him, but also he never technically apologized & no one ever forgets.
ren: definitely. he doesn't care for women, but hasn't figured out why yet. would say he only wants to practice fighting with guys bc he thinks the ladies are worse at it, but doesn't actually think that, he's just gay & a shitty teen about it.
daishinji: doesn't need to wear the hat. like maybe he avoids eye contact & doesn't like talking to women, but also he's like that with everybody. i think if anything he's a guy who gets more at ease with women bc sometimes other dudes freak him out more. like those jokes about the only out gay kid & the girl in cookie monster pajama pants in the corner of the middle school gym.
ogami: he doesn't. i feel like he's one of those dudes who will loudly call out other guys when they talk about drinking their respecting women juice, but don't know how to cook or do 90% of the chores around the house. ogami knows how to change a diaper in the dark, pack a healthy lunch, & fold the laundry properly, & he'll do it all before his wife asks him to.
yuri: yes, bc he causes trouble for mei & she makes him wear it.
tassel: doesn't. tassel is just like fine. i think i haven't seen him interact with a woman once yet, so no need to apologize.
desast: he doesn't. he's literally just some guy.
legeiel: yes, bc he turned mei's cool girlboss editor-in-chief into a megiddo. if he was just some dude, he'd be a guy who never lets a conversation end & shows off to girls by playing the guitar & then gets pissy when they're not impressed.
zooous: yes, bc he almost ate mei that one time. also if he was some guy, i think he'd turn a tv off a women's olympic game to watch a random high school men's team play the same sport but worse.
storious: yes, bc the rest of the 3 eboys do & he enables them. if he was a regular dude, he'd think all colleges where over 50% of the students are women should do for affirmative action for men.
reika: fully believe she doesn't bc yes she's a toxic girlboss in general but it's fine bc every crime she's committed against women (keeping rintaro in the sword of logos & not with mei, kidnapping sophia) is outweighed by her crimes against men which are perfectly fine here.
master logos: absolutely needs to wear the hat bc reika is his underling & she's a girlboss whose enclosure does not have proper enrichment which has made her toxic & look up to him too much. also the reason behind reika's crimes against women, so i can blame him & not her.
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t-u-i-t-c · 7 months
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↑them↑
#i love this photo so much it's so cute#anyways i watched trio of deep sin and i have thoughts#first of all i think that rintaro had the best visuals and the most interesting story#it's mostly about him accepting the blood on his hands and reiterating how these are the burdens he must bear as a swordsman#touma had a really nice storyline and i didn't know if i'd like touma as a father but i really do and it suits him well#they gave espada a new form but the visuals were kind of lacking in that section like the effects weren't the best#but the movie is show well for them most part although sometimes the camera zooms in slightly just out of nowhere and idk how i feel about#that decision but oh well#at the end they kinda hint that kento and yuina meet again and they are engaged on the manipulated timeline but let's be real they'd never#last like i feel like yuina did grow to care for kento and she wanted him to live but she still felt so much hate for him and it wouldn't#ever work as a real relationship at least not a romantic one considering her fiance died bc of kento like that's not something you can#really move on from like that#so all in all probably one of my favorite kr movies so far with a lot of great visuals and an interesting story#the most impactful part is when rintaro and kento meet and they've forgotten each other like i actually cried#i do consider kento and rintaro to be family so it broke me to see them speak to each other like strangers#the one fault this has is only kento and rintaro share screentime#we don't see kento and touma interact nor do we see rintaro and touma which feels like a shame considering how close they are in the series#but it does help in highlighting individual burdens though i still would have liked to see them together#kr saber lb#kr lb#umbrella.thoughts#umbrella.posts
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asknarashikari · 1 year
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AU!Ren: How's the selling of my PinUp calendar?
Me: Let's just... it is packing quite the punch. Especially in the western and SEA markets.
AU!Ren: Ah, I see what you did there.
Me: I mean there are some nudes on there.
AU!Kento: Also thank you for the exclusive calendar of us three.
AU!Touma: We look so great in the exclusive. But...
AU!Kento: We especially love our family holiday theme calendars. So wholesome.
Me: No problem. Also, the money is going straight to your guy's accounts. And taking a majority of the profits.
AU!Ren: So... Godfather... I wonder if you can send some to the other universe. The good ones.
Me: Sure thing...
Later.
Me: What do you guys think?
Touma: They look so happy in these holiday calendars... And... Your Ren needs to wear a condom. He got too many kids. But then there's you... *looks at me* Especially you.
Me: *shrugs*
Emu: Yeah... They may have 10 kids but you... You are something else.
Me: Enjoy their wholesome calendars. *leaves immediately*
Haruto: Hey! I just went there and found these lewd pinup calendars!
Everyone: *comes to look closer*
Touma: *skims through the calendar* *screams* That's huge! *more screaming* *faints*
Kento: *looks at the other one* So much innuendo.
Tsukasa: Why does that version of Ren have a king-size?
SaberCast: *looks to Ren*
Ren: I... I'm loss for words... for my other self...
Me: I'll be taking those back, Wizard! *snatches back from Haruto* Plus you didn't even pay for them! *leaves once again*
Haruto: Hey!
...I don't know where to begin with this, there's quite a lot to unpack here lmao
But yeah, gotta agree with Touma here, those AU guys need some protection... and family planning in general...
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iristial · 3 years
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Some thoughts on Saber (up to episode 25)
The second arc’s more cohesive than the first arc, that’s for sure. They’re beginning to connect the dots for the lore and the true intentions of our seemingly heroic organization, and for me this is where Touma and co. started to become real comrades. Without Kento there to pitch in a good word for Touma, things easily came apart, and Touma had to regain their trust with his sword and the path he chooses, rather than the books he collects (though Rintarou’s problem is divided loyalties rather than broken first impressions and doubt). It has the bonus of tying into the second arc’s theme of having your faith tested until you reach breaking point as well. Tbh they didn’t need a misunderstanding that could’ve been easily resolved to get the job done but hey, one “bad” deed (trusting the word of a previous enemy) can tumble a wall of good deeds and promises
In the few Ghost episodes I’ve seen, there seemed to be a theme of how very few people are truly evil to the core. A number of prominent villains were redeemed, and I think the writer’s carrying that into Saber. An early judgment, yes, but given Touma’s summary of Kamijou (a good person with the wrong methods) and how that could apply to everyone wanting to rewrite the world, it’s possible. I just hope the execution’s a little better
Going off the last point, there’s still problems with organic build-up; likely an aftereffect of skimming through one arc and trying to slow down for the next. But I can see the points they’re trying to make. For example, Primitive Dragon (while amazing) felt disconnected from the rest of the narrative, due to previous episodes emphasizing the sword’s importance in a fight. However, concept of a lonely dragon searching for his friends and going mad over grief...doesn’t sound dissimilar from what the characters went through in this arc
While I took Kento’s death better than I expected, I still lost motivation for a couple of days. My favourite character (arc), gone. One half of my favourite relationships, gone. That beautiful long coat, now I have a potato sack. But at least he’s back, with angst I could unpack for miles and the stubbornness I can identify with
Mei...needs more screen time. My happiness depends on it. And she needs to become Espada because I love both the suit and the character, and it’ll be such a shame if Kento never wears the mantle again
Her lovely concept as a Rider and poise aside, Reika’s quite despicable, in good ways and bad. I might like her more if she decides to backstab Master Logos. “His will is my will” wasn’t doing it for me. And Ren...I commend the actor for doing his best with the material he’s given, but my opinion of him is getting lower with each episode
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tsuki-sennin · 3 years
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Mina-san, bonne lecture~! (Tsuki recaps his feelings about Kamen Rider Saber, a personal essay.)
So, Saber... what a wild ride it's been, huh? Just a quick heads up, this is very long and rambling, and also contains spoilers for everything in Saber. It's fine if you don't wanna read all this, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.
TL:DR, Kamen Rider Saber's an undercooked hot mess I absolutely adore, warts and all.
Speaking as objectively as possible, it's a 6/10. Probably closer to a 5 than a 7... it's not great: All the different plot elements are cluttered and weirdly paced; character focus is disjointed and clearly biased toward certain characters, leaving great ones like Kento and Ogami, interesting ones like Kamijo and Hayato, and underdeveloped ones like Sophia and especially the Shindais in the dust; not to mention its balance of comedy and drama is off, and while both are very effective, there's a lot of mood whiplash that can take you out of the story. I also feel like a lot of the easily avoidable character conflict could've been easily resolved, even in universe, by simple conversations. Be careful Fukuda, I think Inoue might sue you if he finds out you've been biting his style and doing it worse.
Rider shows have a very frustrating tendency to drop cool form ideas and not do anything with them, and I don't think it's ever been more the case than with Saber. There's a similar argument to be made with the majority of Heisei Phase 2 after Gaim, but wow. The suits are expensive to make without just straight up recycling everything, I get that, but man, I really wanted to see more Wonder Rider forms. How come Touma got all the fun, eh? Of note are the Blades King of Arthur forms (which look amazing by the way), Espada's Jaaku Dragon forms (one of which I even drew last night), even the non-elemental random Wonder Ride Books all have awesome design elements that go tragically unused. Even if the other Swordsmen just kinda have the ones they do get to use slapped onto them, that's at least something. Touma also just straight up only uses Diago Speedy twice and never again. You have cool props guys, don't waste them like that!
Speaking of waste, Espada, goddamn. Since most of the Wonder Ride Books are Story Type and he needs one very specific Story Book to transform, he doesn't get much of... anything, really! No Wonder Rider forms like Blades, Lamp Do Cerberus being exclusive to Ganbarizing, only getting to use the Ride Gatriker like once, he even spends the second and third arcs as a completely different Rider, then once he comes back he doesn't get a King of Arthur-granted upgrade or even a Necrom Espada form. ...at least, not yet anyway. I'm holding out hope for Espada x Necrom and the eventual Saber V-Cinemas. Extra Rider stans, we will be well respected someday.
The Unreal Engine CGI used for fights in early Chapters was pretty good but wow it feels disconnected and they really drop it quick. I feel like if the animators had more freedom to use as many forms as they want, we'd have gotten a lot more mileage out of the books beyond... decoration basically. I actually really liked the CGI sequences, they felt creative and were fun to follow along with.
The soundtrack is pretty great on its own and conveys what it needs to, but they seriously overplay the orchestral themes. It honestly feels kind of... stock at times. I think my favorite parts of the score are when it winds down, since it feels a lot more natural and lets the cinematographers and actors speak for themselves.
As awesome as I think Falchion's design and the Mumeiken Kyomu are, The Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin comes up short as its own standalone thing. You'd think 30 or so minutes of non-stop action would be awesome, and it almost is? It's as good as a typical episode of the series with a higher action budget, but it kinda drags on a bit too long; and although I think Emotional Dragon looks cool, it feels a bit tacked on. Coming off of the incredible Zero-One REAL×TIME, it doesn't give you much room to breathe, which Rider films are typically great at handling. I also thought the resolution for the kid's subplot was kinda forced. He does an okay job at acting considering his age and doesn't overstay his welcome, but I really don't see how 20 minutes of violence and action is enough to convince him to be brave enough to go play with the other kids. 5/10, it's closer to a 4 than a 6 and I think that maybe Zero-One should've stood on its own if they really had to push back Kiramager Bee-Bop Dream because of the pandemic.
Alright, with all that said... As imperfect and undercooked Saber was, like Ghost I can consider it a personal favorite, 10/10. Call it a guilty pleasure if you want, but holy hell it's just the show I needed. Takuro Fukuda has a talent for creating fun, wonderful characters and utterly fascinating worldbuilding and concepts. It's a shame he doesn't utilize them fully, but hey!
The action and fight choreography are pretty top notch as usual. Lots of beautiful shot composition and set pieces, and plenty of great angles to help keep up with the extra busy action. I love watching the suit actors perform and they deserve all the respect in the world for their hard work in those hot, sweaty, and heavy costumes. Their visual design is also top notch, with lots of unique and fascinating forms and cool weapons I desperately want to play with despite being broke, all with spectacular finishers and hype jingles with the voice of Akio motherfucking Ohtsuka calling them out. A real feast for the eyes. Not a single bad suit among them, yeah I said it, fight me.
The crossover specials are soooo good too.
-I went over my feelings on the Zenkaiger crossover episodes in a separate post (good luck finding that btw), but to sum it up, they were great character moments for Zox and the Shindai siblings with lots of great screwball comedy and some good old fashioned meta humor.
-The Ghost crossovers are great little side stories all about how Daitenku Temple somehow had the Ghost Ijunroku Wonder Ride Book? I genuinely have no idea why it was there, or how Makoto had the Specter Gekikou Senki, and as far as I remember neither of their origins are explained. Did Luna or Tassel hand them off to them and told them to wait for a sword guy? And why do these generic French Revolution Gamma villains working for Danton get their asses handed to them so easily by Kanon, who literally just became a Rider? I thought that Makoto deciding to adopt all the Kanon clones into his family was both hilarious and adorable though; considering all the crap they went through, I think it was a good ending to this plot. Gimme Espada x Necrom already Toei/Bandai/Fukuda/whoever I need to yell at, give Kento things to do, I beg you.
-I haven't actually seen Super Hero Senki since it's not available for subbing yet, but apparently there's a Journey to the West plot starring the Taros and Ohma Zi-O and I want to see that so badly.
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra? Yoohei Kawakami? A match made in heaven, that's what they are. All of their themes are absolute bangers. All of them. Almighty, Kamen Rider Saber, Sparks, Taju Rokou, all excellent and empowering pieces. Rewrite the Story, Will Save Us, and The Story Never Ends are all amazing inserts done by the cast, and it makes me wish we had even more of them to help break up the monotony of the score.
The characters are what easily make this show such a great watch though. For the most part, they have great personalities and chemistry, consistently fun and interesting scenes, well acted and... sometimes well-written development, and deeply investing personal stakes.
Narrating it all is the delightfully eccentric Tassel/Viktor, portrayed by Romanesque Ishitobi "TOBI" of the Paris-based Les Romanesques. I was utterly confused by his presence at first, wondering why there needed to be a narrator when the story would've been perfectly fine without it. He even got a special spot in the opening despite having no stake in the plot despite seeming to live in Wonderworld, who the hell is this guy? But then I thought "OH MY GOD, HE'S THE MAIN VILLAIN USING TOUMA AS THE HERO IN HIS OWN TWISTED STORY, THE BASTARD". I thought it'd be some subversion of expectations, true form, "That Was His Mistake!" shit. Trust me, it made a lot more sense in my head. I'm very happy that they didn't do that, as I grew to love having male Yuuka Kazami as my narrator, and when he was shown to be actually important by being friends with Yuri my mind was blown. And doubly so when I realized just how deeply necessary to the plot he really is.
Rintaro/Blades is up there as one of my all time favorite secondary Riders, since his curiosity is always consistently funny and adorable, his forms are all gorgeous and impressively designed, his relationships with Mei and Touma are absolutely sweet and compelling to see unfold, and his arcs about becoming willing to call out those he views as family and coming to terms with his feelings of inadequacy and both moving past and using them to strengthen himself are always great lessons to pass on to kids. ...even if they took like 10 goddamn episodes to be conveyed in what could've been 5, but hey, Takaya Yamaguchi does a stand-up job all throughout. Rider veteran Eitoku's refined, almost logical movements with the Suiseiken Nagare absolutely beautiful to see in action, and his final form having the same white and blue color scheme as Zooous's base form is an amazing touch I don't see appreciated enough.
Mei Sudo's also absolutely wonderful, serving as the perfect emotional core of the story, responsible for most of the funniest lines, sweetest character moments, and some of the most deceptively compelling drama. Asuka Kawazu brings the perfect energy for such a dynamic and well rounded character, and absolutely nails her scenes of quiet turmoil. As much as I would've loved her to become a Rider, I don't think she really needed to. She's already done so much to help, and as cool as it would've been to see her pick up a sword and fight alongside them as Espada, Calibur, or Falchion she's already endeared herself to me as one of my favorite supporting characters in the whole franchise.
I can't get enough of my homeboy Kento Fukamiya/Espada. Like Rintaro and everyone else for that matter, he also suffers from Saber's pacing issues; and like his predecessor Valkyrie from Zero-One, he doesn't get a proper upgrade aside from his Wonder Combo, instead becoming an anti-villain using a completely different powerset and shifting the Raimeiken Ikazuchi out of focus for the Ankokuken Kurayami, and I feel there's a serious missed opportunity to see him use Jaaku Dragon with Alangina. However, Ryo Aoki's performance is probably among the most easily praiseworthy in the whole cast, managing to convey both Kento's kind and knightly stoicism as Espada and his emotionally unstable despair as Calibur perfectly, in conjunction with Yuji Nakata's experienced and expressive stuntwork.
Ren Akamichi/Kenzan's a dark horse favorite for sure. I remember back when Saber was first picking up, people hated this breezy mad lad for being such a simple character at first. Overly concerned with strength? Black and white world view? Annoyingly energetic? Agh, real-feeling character flaws, I hate them, get him away from me! But then y'all came crawling back. Eiji Togashi's apparently a bit of a rookie actor, and it really shows with some stilted delivery and the way he sometimes bobs his head when giving his lines, but man he improves dramatically as the series goes on. His inexperience ironically ends up really selling his character development, and his unexpectedly beautiful relationship with Desast is special evidence of that. The Fuusouken Hayate's three modes and Satoshi Fujita putting them to excellent use through his stellar acrobatic movements are also really cool.
Why did Luna have to be a child for so long? Does Wonderworld not age whoever inherits its power? Well since Luna randomly becomes an adult in Super Hero Senki and some of the final episodes, I guess so? Miku Okamoto does a fine job for a kid actor, but she's basically done all the heavy lifting for the whole series and doesn't give Mayuu Yokota enough time to get a feel for her character as an adult. How did she choose Touma to inherit the power anyway? Does she just subconsciously decide to trust him with it upon seeing how kind and passionate about storytelling he is? Well if that's the case, why didn't Kento get at least some of that power too? He's just as important to the merchan- I mean Luna-chan, isn't he? Why did Tassel pick her over someone who isn't a literal child who'd be understandably terrified about basically becoming an embodiment of storytelling?
Sophia also kinda suffers from the same problems. Rina Chinen's voice is very pleasant to listen to, but she doesn't really do much beyond serving as a source of exposition and support. I think her dynamic with Mei's adorable, and given her kindness I can certainly understand the respect Northern Base has for her, but she doesn't really contribute a whole lot. If she could use the Kurayami and become Calibur all this time, then why didn't she take it from Kento and Yuri and do so earlier when Kento decided to go back to being Espada? I know she's not much of a fighter and as the closet thing the Sword of Logos has to a leader after Isaac's death I'd understand not wanting to put her at risk, but considering Storious is destroying the world, and she's very evidently kicking a lot of ass in the first part of the final battle even in the basic Jaaku Dragon form, I think it would've helped a lot, just sayin'. Tassel at least has the excuse of being unable to interact with the real world, but Sophia obviously didn't just be put in charge of Northern Base just because she's a pawn in Isaac's plans right?
Ryou Ogami/Buster is also a victim of the disjointed character focus. I have no problem believing he's an excellent father and fighter thanks to Yuki Ikushima and Jiro Okamoto, respectively, but he feels a bit flat and simple in comparison. His rivalry with Desast is randomly dropped, his wife doesn't even show up until the final episodes, he's kinda sidelined in terms of action a whole lot. I imagine that must've sucked for the Rider Dads out there. He does get to star in his own manga, and that was pretty good, so I guess I can't be too mad.
Tetsuo Daishinji/Slash fares better though. Hiroaki Oka, being a Kamen Rider fanboy himself, manages to make him among the most relatable characters in the series. Not only are his hyperfixation on swordsmithing and anxiety played surprisingly believably, Hirotsugu Mori letting him cut loose is extremely cathartic and hilarious, and you really feel for him when the Onjuuken Suzune becomes the first victim of Calibur!Kento's sword sealing.
Yuri/Saikou's another dark horse favorite, for me at least. "Oh great, Avalon guy's got even more merchandise to sell, I wonder what his Sword of Light is- it's himself. Well... that's different." I admit, I didn't like him at first. He felt like he was there to fill out character dynamics in the absence of both Rintaro and Kento, I thought his gimmick was too silly even if his design and jingles were bangers, I didn't particularly care for his power set. But then XSwordman came around I totally got it. He's an endearing, hard-working man trying his best to catch up on all the cool shit he missed, unafraid of experimentation, ready to throw down at a moment's notice, serving as a wonderful bit of consistent support for our heroes, a truly knightly individual, an absolute Chad. and goddamn does he make me worry. Tomohiro Ichikawa, I salute you good sir.
Even if they fall short compared to the rest of the cast, the Shindai siblings are at least cool enough to not wanna write out entirely. They kinda devolve into comic relief after they become allies, something that villainous Riders from Chase onwards are very prone to doing, and it's especially awkward in their case because I think that they kinda get off scot-free for obeying the obviously sinister and crazy Isaac for so long, as well as driving a wedge between a lot of people and threatening children in Reika's case. I think their sibling dynamic is nice though, even if Fukuda recycled it from Makoto and Kanon and has some... questionable possessive undertones as a result. It's cool how they're basically foils to Touma and Rintaro though. The dispassionate and methodical Reika/Sabela is beautifully played by Angela Mei and her moments of emotional depth are fascinating to watch. Her Rider form is a thing of beauty, and its use of literal the Eneiken Noroshi's smokescreens and Yuki Miyazawa's precise and deadly stinging strikes are a joy to watch. And while Ken Shonozaki's not given the best direction as the undercooked plate of 7-Eleven fried fish that is Ryoga/Durendal, he manages to sell him as an experienced and hardened warrior with an awkward side that's especially evident in the Zenkaiger specials. His goddamn RWBY weapon that is the Jikokuken Kaiji is absolutely sick, I'm a sucker for transforming weapons and its combination of time and water powers is really cool, especially with Yasuhiko Amai's deliberate and forceful acting in the suit.
Daichi Kamijo/the Second Calibur, for as brief as his story was, was a pretty cool starter villain. Hiroyuki Hirayama brings this poor bastard to life in a genuinely touching way. I love how as Calibur he goes full force on his creative use of Wonder Ride Books for attacks, and his debut as Jaou Dragon got my blood pumping. His end is also deeply tragic, and I really felt for him when he realized just how badly he fucked up. Hayato Fukamiya also does wonders for the backstory, and while he also doesn't get much to work with, Mitsuru Karahashi makes his regrets and love for Kento feel genuine.
Legeiel and Zooous are both very intimidating and entertaining villains. On top of being just the right balance of goofy and threatening, Kairu Takano and Koji Saikawa's stage presences are both very strong, and their mixture of camaraderie and in-fighting is extremely believable. Zooous's rivalry with Rintaro feels incredible to see through to the end, and although Legeiel doesn't get quite the same treatment, Elemental Dragon had such a cool debut that it more than makes up for it. Their final fights are also absolute spectacles. I don't think their sympathetic angle works even close to as well as it does with MetsubouJinrai or even the Gamma, but I get it, power corrupts, and you probably feel a lot of sadness and regret for things you've done when you die unless you're a right bastard.
Isaac/Master Logos/Solomon is kinda generic. As wonderful as Keisuke Soma is, he doesn't get much dimension to work with. The result of that is while he nails being as smug and punchable as possible, he feels almost... comically generic. Genta Umemori from Shinkenger was full of personality! He was also basically some guy, but he was fun, he felt connected to the rest of the cast! Meanwhile the only real time we get to see Isaac's depth is when we see him crying over his failures. I almost appreciate him being unapologetically evil though, since I've seen way too many shows where redeemed villains get off scot free for way worse things, and some where they outright demand you to sympathize with them despite them doing nothing to warrant it.
Bahato/Falchion surprises me by not just being a movie villain whose actions affect the main plot, but also being a movie villain who actually gets to appear in series as a recurring threat! ...and it's not a particularly great showing on his part, sadly. Masashi Taniguchi does a wonderful job with what he's given, but his character feels like a retread of Eternal without any of what made Katsumi Daido a compelling and frightening villain. I'd like to believe Yuri when he says that he used to be a good person and a hero to the people, but I can only hear so many anime villain monologues about the pointlessness of life and the beauty of destruction before I can never take them seriously again. ...I think that's his biggest problem, actually. I thought he was an overall uninteresting and generic villain in the movie, and the cartoon nihilist he's shown to be in series is only a small step up. He still feels like filler. If only there were a far better written and much cooler villain who takes on the Mumeiken Kyomu after his de--
Desast is probably one of the finest anti-villains I've ever seen in recent years. On top of an absolutely badass character design and the excellent combination of Kazuya Okada/Danki Sakae's suit work and Koki Uchiyama's stellar voice acting, his story being so thoroughly intertwined with Ren's makes their shared journey and bromance a borderline Shakespearean tragedy. His struggle for identity despite Storious treating him as nothing more than a failed experiment and the Sword of Logos treating him as a mere monster really gripped me, and the way he uses what little time he has left to encourage Ren into blossoming on his own is absolutely beautiful. I think his enmity with Ogami is criminally underexplored in series, considering he killed several of the previous Riders and how Ogami's in desperate need of screentime.
Then there's our main villain, Kamen Rider Storious. Robin Furuya brings an incredible amount of charisma to this character, expertly portrayed as both a sinister, manipulative bastard , and as a lonely, tragic figure that arguably makes him feel even more villainous. Speaking as a struggling writer myself, it's easy to feel stuck in the idea of "fuck it, who cares, maybe everything is predestined", but I can't imagine what it's like to know that as the truth and carry it with you for all that time. All of your grand ideas have roots from your experiences, and you're not the only one who even could have those experiences. It's easy to just fall into despair and give up trying, but would that make you happy? Sure, Storious is sadistic, he may be fulfilling his goals, he may be ungodly powerful... but it's not enough for him, is it? All of his friends are gone, one of them even at his own hand, he probably doesn't have any idea what to do after he destroys all the world's stories, Touma even reached his full power before he did, and his downfall is so predictable that even a blind person could see it. He even seems to welcome it, what's up with that? But then I realized... OH MY GOD, HE'S THE MAIN VILLAIN USING TOUMA AS THE HERO IN HIS OWN TWISTED STORY, THE BASTARD. He's so far gone, he's so desperate to stick it to the Almighty Book, he's willing to twist the archetype of the Hero's Journey so hard, it snaps in two. What I think is interesting is that he's ironically trying to chase the trend of "edgy superhero story" that became super popular in the 21st century. The Boys, Brightburn, Kamen Rider Amazons, The Sentry, No More Heroes, Magical Girl Site, even mainstream comics from DC and Marvel... Surely Storious must've seen the cruelty and tragedy these stories are filled with, but he chooses to go through with trying to force the world into this direction anyway. Did they, along with seeing the ever-popular tragedies of legendary playwrights and bleak satire of the twentieth century fuel his despair?
And yet... there's one who stands in determination against his ideals.
Our hero, Touma Kamiyama, the titular Kamen Rider portrayed by Syuichiro Naito and Kousuke Asai, he speaks to me on a personal level. There're plenty of jokes to be made about his procrastination in early chapters, his godless fashion sense, and him doing the funny run up the slope, that's all fine and dandy, but I rarely feel so connected to a character the way I did Touma. The struggle to create, find companionship, live your life, reach out to others... these're things a lot of people struggle with, and of course you see them depicted a lot in media about creators, but Saber gets to the root of what the greatest thing about storytelling really is. Giving people hope, while using the pain of the past as fuel for the future. Sure, Storious may be right about how every story has been done as far back as human civilization gets, he may even be right about how any spin or creativity humanity has is outright predestined. It should be pointless to even try, right? That's where Touma Kamiyama disagrees. He didn't spend all that time fighting and creating just to give up at the idea of predestination. His novel writing-fueled creativity in his early training, his devotion to his friends that let him surpass Kamijo as Dragonic Knight, his compassion for the Primitive Dragon that let him combine their powers to destroy Legeiel as Elemental Dragon, his resolve that let Xross Saber dethrone Solomon, and his passion for the craft of storytelling that let our heroes channel their wishes into Wonder Almighty... all stemming from the belief imparted onto him by his predecessor that "Hope lies beyond your resolution." And that you decide how your story ends. He may not be the greatest Rider to some, he may be as lame as others think he is, he may not even be my favorite, but I have no issue calling Touma Kamiyama... Kamen Rider Saber, one of the all time greatest carriers of the Kamen Rider name.
The final chapter's definitely not as great as some other Rider finales, but goddamn. Primitive Dragon consciously choosing to save Touma is so sweet and such a great emotional payoff, I loved jamming out to the opening theme while our boys lay the smackdown on Storious. Wonder Almighty's a fitting final bit to close the main series out with, if not exactly a great one. I think the cover is great, and the book's body is a lovely shade of candy apple red, but I really don't like how its pages are just the covers of the other books copy-pasted onto onto the pages, that feels lazy. Maybe if it were a panorama of all the books' characters, I'd like it a lot more as a symbol of how unified the Swordsmen are, but eh, what can you do? On a related note, does this mean all the "last episode extra final forms" of the Reiwa Era are gonna be named after their series's opening? That's a neat idea.
I felt a lot of feelings seeing all those video messages of Rider fans all across Japan talking about their favorite stories, and how their passion and fond memories help reshape the world. Mei's monologue at the ceremony about is also really touching and- IS THAT A HUMAGEAR!? :O
Y-yeah dude, it is! Wow, where have you guys been for the past 48 episodes?! Are you guys doing okay? How come you're like... the only one here? Is the technology of Hiden Intelligence only really that prevalent in that very specific metropolitan part of Japan and they're just not coming around much over here? Is it like Dragon Ball where anthropomorphic animals are just vibin' with humans while the heroes are off kicking ass? Apparently he's played by Hasegawa Keiichi, who wrote this episode and had the award ceremony named after him. ...is Hasegawa Keiichi a HumaGear in this universe then? Did he set up this award ceremony in Touma's honor? If so, why is it named after him? Did reading one of Touma's books lead to his Singularity? I know this is just a cameo, but... god, I have so many questions that probably will never be satisfactorily answered.
Overall, if I had to compare Saber to anything, it'd probably be Sam Reimi's Spider-Man trilogy. It's awkward, stupid, overwrought, undercooked, illogically written, scattershot, cheesy as fuck, and has a tendency to squander its otherwise fine execution; but the sheer passion for storytelling, sense of spectacle, deeply fascinating characters, and belief in the ideals set forth by the cast, crew, and fans are absolutely admirable. Improvements would certainly make it an overall better experience, to be sure, but there's something deeply captivating about how wonky this series is. Seeing everybody get their happy ending after all they've been through felt extremely gratifying though, and I may have to wait another for the epilogue to and then wait for Revice, but... man. I'm hella proud of our awkwardly-emoting, fashion disaster novelist and all of his heavily flawed friends for carrying the Kamen Rider name on to the future. Here's hoping Revice will keep it going.
Alright, that's everything I wanted to talk about. Sorry this was so long and ramble-y, I had a lot to say. I'll probably be liveblogging Revice as episodes of that come out, so... look forward to that, I guess. See ya.
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i'm really enjoying your shuffle challenge fics so far! even when i don't know the property you're writing for, it's really neat to see your problem-solving process for how to turn a song into a story. also the first shuffle fic was *delightful*, i love how you write kento! and it's always fun when touma gets to act a lil more immature; we've all been there, buddy. it's nice to see some of his insecurities come out about both his writing and saving the world too, and kento reassuring him was so sweet! i can't wait to see where else this challenge takes you!
Thank you so much, I'm glad you're liking them! It's definitely been a challenge so far--some songs have stories that immediately suggest themselves, while others (like "Mr. Roboto" from yesterday) have given me so much tsuris that I almost gave up on them.
I will tell you a secret, my dear, in that first story I basically wrote Touma and Kento as myself and my husband. We both write, so it's a trade-off as to who's freaking out and who's making sandwiches, but it's roughly us.
Thank you for reading! 💜💜💜
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toku-explained · 3 years
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The Master Swordsman's End
SSSS.Dynazenon: Gagula continues to rampage while Kaiser GridKnight lies defeated. 2nd has no more Fixer Beams, but tries to ease Gauma's pain. As Kaiser GridKnight struggles to stand and fight, Koyomi is running. Juuga, Mujina and Onija are surprised there's another kaiju, and try to use Instance Domination only to realise it's Sizumu, and they call out, wanting to fight more, and Gagula consumes them, evolving. Gauma opens his eyes, but can tell he hasn't got long, he apologises to Yomogi and Yume for getting them involved in his Battle, Yomogi says it's only because of him they've made bonds, he thanks them and asks that they thank Koyomi too. Gagula breaks Kaiser GridKnight into constituent parts, Yomogi and Yume rush for DynaWing and DynaSoldier, Chise leaps off her train, DynaStriker lands in front of Koyomi. Gauma starts pulling himself up, intending to help finish Gagula to give his friends a future, and we see like Koyomi, Yomogi now has a scar similar to Gauma's. He thinks he's missed his chance with Yume, and leaps into DynaSoldier. As GridKnight struggles, DynaStriker rolls in, Mujina from inside angrily yells at Koyomi for touching her again. Yume falls, also getting a scar, and tells Kano she'll make it, DynaSoldier appearing to get her there. Chise sees Goldburn and calls out, he wakes up, and flies into shield mode to protect GridKnight, then DynaSoldier Wing Combine leaps in, and DynaDiver joins the fight Gauma piloting with help from 2nd. He apologises to the confused Koyomi, and tells Knight he'll help if he likes it or not. They form Kaiser GridKnight and fight. Onija declares his goal to destroy humanity, Yomogi rejects that, Juuga talks up how important Gauma is, which Gauma dismisses, Mujina claims Koyomi caused her to realise Kaiju was all she had, he can only apologise. Yomogi and Yune call out to Suzumu, but he refuses to respond. As Gagula overpowers them with a blast, Yomogi detaches Dynamic Cannon to try Instance Domination again as he flies DynaSoldier at Gagula. He gets a definite reaction, causing Gagula to point it Blast away from Kaiser GridKnight. They split, Dynazenon launching all it has at Gagula, followed by Goldburn attaching as wings to GridKnight, flying past Gaguka and wrecking the back, before riding DynaRex. Sizumu stays silent as Onija, Juuga and Mujina declares their hatred of the "false kaiju", attacking and met by the Grid Rex Roar, Gagula loses the clas and the heroes fly in to finish things. The Eugenecists die, Onija seemingly glad to die again, Mujina wondering if it's for the best, Juuga sure kaiju will have their day, Sizumu still silent. Gauma collapses, dying as he is sad he never met her, but glad he met his friends, understanding why he was entrusted Dynazenon. Chise watches everyone descend fro the remains of DynaRex, except Gauma.
3 months later, Yomogi and Yume walk together, meeting under the bridge Gauma lived with everyone, Koyomi has changed his look and is working, a healed Goldburn is waiting. Yomogi and Yume remember Gauma always said 3 things must be kept, Love and Promises, but don't know the third. Knight and 2nd prepare warp out of this world, taking Goldburn and the inert form of DynaRex with them, as the gang wave, Chise calls after the best friend she ever had, and the group vanish into Hyper World. Yomogi and Yume head to some planned meeting. Chise and Koyomi stand outside Chise's school, under repair, and it turns out Inamoto-san's husband got Koyomi his job, he insists she's not an ex but a friend, Chise now has her dragon tattoo uncovered. At the school festival Mei's photos include ones of Yume, who needs to do something. Yomogi tells his mother and Kamijo where to go, when his mother asks about Gauma he opts to explain he's banned from school grounds, before being dragged over to the waiting Awaki, Nazumi, Ranka and Kaneishi, telling him to find Yume while Mei just appears there. She's sat in a corner of the roof when he finds her, they're meant to be running the café now. Yume offers her hand and tells him to take her, and he hears Sizumu's voice from a Computer World environment, questioning why he "wasted" his potential to be a Kaiju User, arguing if he'd embraced kaiju and destruction he'd have experienced true freedom, questioning if he'll regret it. Yomogi isn't sure, but intends to live, and rejects Sizumu's philosophy that bonds are shackles, Sizumu doesn't get it. Yomigi comes back and helps Yume up, calling her by her first name for the first time at her prompting. They get to work at the café, hoping their scars stay with them. In Computer World, Knight looks at the seal from the statue, and DynaRex stands once more. Scarred Souls Shine like Stars.
Heroes' Odyssey: Zero looks at Belial's battle with the Ultras of the Land of Light, theft of the Plasma Spark, Zero training with Leo, Rei and the Ultras battle with Belial's army, and Zero's joining the battle to defeat him. He uses this to highlight another Ultra who struggled with his own darkness, showing the revival of Hudra, Darramb and Camaerra, and how Tiga Dark appeared to face the threat they unleashed.
Saber: Luna is lost, and Izaak is going full god complex, talking down at Storious, intending to eliminate the Swordsmen, he ambushes the Shindais and turns Durandal into a puppet, forcing him to attack Reika. Yuri hears from Tassel that Luna has appeared. Kento lends him Kurayami. Solomon uses his power to reach into Wonder World to seek Luna and attack Tassel, Sophia can sense his use of the Tome's power, as Sabela contacts Northern Base for help. Slash and Buster join Sabela as Durandal begs them to kill him. Touma, Mei, Rintaro and Kento reach Solomon. Saikou, in Wonder World, blocks the attempt to reach Luna and joins them, Solomon does something that causes him to vanish, and claims Kurayami and Saikou. Xross Saver Brave Dragon, Blades Tategami Hyoujuu Senki and Espada Golden Alangina face him. Tassel reaches Luna, introducing himself and promising to take her to Touna after she understands what she is. A Triple Rider Kick defeats Solomon, who attempts to use his spell to control Touma unsuccessfully, but uses it properly on Blades and Espada. Tassel explains to Luna that she is the embodiment of Wonder World, and her chosen one, Touma, will receive Wonder World's power and live their with her forever, she doesn't want to separate him from his friends though. Kento mocks Izaak for just manipulating people, and Runtaro notes his ambitions have caused him to lose all respect anyone ever held for him. He tries to drag them into darkness, but Yuri reawaken and brakes the attack and the spell, right before Durandal is made to kill Reika. Saber uses Lion Senki and Lamp do Alangina to form Special Edition. Combining their powers, they defeat Solomon, destroying Omni Force. At Southern Base, Ryoga collapses, to both siblings intense relief. Storious laughs. The injured Izaak crawls to a tunnel, where Omni Force reforms, but as he claims eternity, Storious appears, informing him his story is at an end, he reduces him to dust and claims Omni Force for himself, debuting a new outfit.
Zenkaiger: Boccowaus praises Gege, Barashitara grousing that he's treated better despite failing as well, Stacey is distracted by Yatsude reminding him of his mother, Boccowaus has Ijirude lend Gege another gear. Items are magnetised to everyone, thanks to Jishaku World, who disrupts the change by magnetising the Geartlingers, they do separate on changing, but attach to other things, and Jishaku World leaves them trapped until Zox arrives late. They get back to Colourful, there Stacey is having a snack, he gets them to pretend he's an acquaintance, Satoshi, not their enemy, but tension flares as soon as she leaves the room, but nothing happens before they realise the magnetic fields on the Kikainoids are getting stronger and making them flee the shop, Zox is waiting outside, as Magine is trapped Kaito and Secchan realises they need to stop Jishaku World fast. "Satoshi" helps Yatsude tidy up stuff that started moving, leaving but planning to come back, he runs into Kaito trying to get his help. Vroon is caught, and Gaon and Zyuran start pulling CrocoDaiOh, which only avoids crashing thanks to reverse thrusters. Zox argues to Stacey he should help Kaito since he's Yatsude's grandson. After Jishaku World reports to Gege, Stacey tells him the Zenkaigers might have found a way around his powers luring him to where Kaito and Zox are, they start fighting him as Flint keeps fighting to stop CrocoDaiOh hitting Zyuran and Gaon, who arrives at the battle running straight for Jishaku World, forcing him to reduce magnetism in the area so CrocoDaiOh doesn't hit him, and allowing everyone to move better. Zenkaiser uses Fiveman to access FiveRed's physics knowledge that lets him know heat will weaken Jishaku World. Shinken Form uses his fire abilities as Zyuran and Gaon join the fight, ZenkaiZyuran accessing his own fire and lending it to ZenkaiGaon, the 3 weakening him for Zenkaiser. Stacey leaves since he did as asked, Dai Jishaku World takes the field, separating Twokai-Oh, both ZenkaiOhs attempt to form, but are made the same poles. They use this to force Zyuran at Dai Jishaku World, so he pulls them in, only for them all to get stuck to him, but together they attack. Ijirude and Barashitara tell Gege he's not better than them, but he notes his involvement put Boccowaus in a better mood, so they'll now have more chances to try, and tells Stacey he knows what he did, but won't say for now. Yatsude asks Kaito about Satoshi, she could tell something was up when they met, Kaito admits they've fought, but makes clear he wants to be friends.
Dogengers Nice Buddy: Everyone returns to where they were before the distortion, the Dogengers are all asleep. Great Z uses an Affect System drones to warp them and Maid Shitsuji away. Tanaka wakes at home, Maid Shitsuji tells him he was dreaming. Yabai Kamen approaches Great Z, who acknowledges he hasn't been acting out of justice. Yabai Kamen goes to attack him, when Riku arrives in the stage suit to try and stop him, but it's clear Yabai Kamen has the advantagem winning as Riku yells his love for heroes and his father. Yabai Kamen steals one of the 2 remaining drones, and uses it to warp away. Riku and his father reconcile, Riku explaining he truly seeks to be a hero, after a talk, Riku puts his helmet on and Great Z transfers the suit to him, President Hanagata sees his son off. At breakfast, Yabai Kamen reveals he has the Affect System drones and declares they're enemies again and warps away, the rest of Aku no Himitsu Kessya say their goodbyes, thanking for the hospitality, and leave. At Fukuoka Dome Yabai Kamen is surrounded by the Dogengers immediately, and runs with 2 Karami, when the Dogenfers eventually corner him, Kitaqman Metal is thrown at the defeated pile he's making by the rest of Aku no Himitsu Kessya. A voice announces, as Yabai Kamen seems to have expected, the arrival of Great Z. Yabai Kanen crushes the drone using it to upgrade, in turn Gulf, Gallia, Uzagi and Nectaris unveil their own upgrades. Yabai Kamen mourns the loss of Shuraomaru, only for him to appear and unveil his new form.
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