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A new season, a new cast, a new theme, and the second Reiwa entry seems to be bringing in more changes with the re-introduction of end credits and utilizing CGI to go further into the world of fantasy than they could ever afford to do in live action.

As always, give us your thought about the latest Rider.
 
Why is every good TV show Cancelled
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Saw second episode, & it feels like a decent start to the season. I think a lot of the CGI shots might be due to the pandemic, because they're using CG excessively in ways they normally wouldn't. I got a really bad quality video, though.

At least, Blades isn't exactly a douche. He was pretty eager to help, actually. Supposedly we'll be getting both Espada & another Rider next episode (can't remember which one he is out of the names we got.) Either way, I'm interested in seeing where this is going.
 
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Saw second episode, & it feels like a decent start to the season. I think a lot of the CGI shots might be due to the pandemic, because they're using CG excessively in ways they normally wouldn't. I got a really bad quality video, though.
I suspect they made the decision to use the CGI before the pandemic kicked in. Given how much of this fantasy world they want to show, it's the only way they can do it with the deadlines and budget they have. It just wouldn't be possible to do as model work. Also, Toei producers have been saying for ages how it's getting increasingly difficult to get permission to film on location, so doing it this way partially solves that issue for them.

Having said that, I think the pandemic will make them stick with these CGI shots longer than they might otherwise have. It's just easier to "track and trace" and social distance when you have people coming into the controlled environment of the Toei studio in order to film on a green screen, instead of bussing them out to some random location.

It's probably a similar thing for our on-screen narrator. Filming him alone (except for his table and chair) in a fairly static shot against another green screen is relatively simple to do, and saves them doing multi-actor shots or more CGI landscapes for a voice-only narrator to speak over.
 
Why is every good TV show Cancelled
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Ok, so in episode 5, Kenton used Brave Dragon & Storm Eagle together & became 2 parts red. So, I think how the first power up is supposed to work is each Rider using 3 of their primary book. Makes sense, because 3 Riders use the same belt, each one's primary book is one of each-- Saber's is a fantasy creature, Blades' is a real animal & Espada's is a fairy tale-- & they almost all have, at least, one so far.

So, at some point, Saber will go all fantasy beasts, Blades will go all animals & Espada will go all fairy tales & those forms will technically be their first real powerups.

If I remember correctly:

Dragon, Storm Eagle, ???
Lion, Hedgehog, ???
Peter Pan, Aladdin, 3 Little Pigs.
 
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I don't think it works that way, according to a mix-and-match game Toei has on its website where you can create your own forms for the Riders.

On the right-hand side of the belt (assuming you are the wearer) goes the "Godbeast" books only. That's Saber. The center slot (Blades) is for Animals only, and the left-hand side is for "Stories/Fantasies" (Espada). I think eventualy we'll see an all-red Saber, all-blue Blades, and all-yellow Espada.

Saber: Blade Dragon, Storm Eagle, some red Story book
Blades: some blue Godbeast book, Lion Senki, Peter Fantasia
Espada: some yellow Godbeast book, Needle Hedgehog, Aladdin
 
Why is every good TV show Cancelled
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Ok, so looks like we have a week off this time. Who has been watching & what do we think so far?

We have had a little bit of story:
Touma had some sort of still largely unexplained encounter with the story world when he was little. He ended up with the Brave Dragon Wonderide Book, which allows him to become Saber in episode one. We've had several members of the Knight's of Logos introduced-- Sophia, who just kind of hangs around at HQ & gives emotional support & exposition, plus Riders Blades, Espada, Buster & Kenzan. Slash's character has also been introduced, but he has yet to henshin & is mostly the tech advisor.

One member of the Knights has turned to the dark side, joining the Megiddo as Kamen Rider Caliber. He is Espada's father. Espada is also a childhood friend of Touma, though neither knew of each others' involvement until about episode 3, when Kento (Espada) was introduced. Kento feels responsible for his father & tries to shield the others from him as much as possible. But, so far, it seemed as if Calibur wanted to use Touma & his Wonderide books- both dragons- to enter some sort of parallel dimension & claim a Wonderide Book called "King of Arthur," but when Touma & the others walked right into his trap & went after it themselves, managing to let Calibur tag along, he just let them have it. Still, Touma is still working out exactly how to unleash the book's true power, although he is able to transform with it.

Also, Mei, Touma's Editor (as he is a writer) is aware of everything & has been accepted into the group. She seems to have a crush on Blades & tries to help them with Megiddo attacks, despite not having any powers. That's about all she's done so far.

Also, it was wierd that Oren & Jounichi from Gaim were being attacked by a monster in the last episode. They were kind of just there as an Easter egg. They did nothing, had no lines & I have no clue what that means for the universe. I guess, either Saber takes place in the Gaim universe, or Saber's universe also happens to have an Oren & Jounichi too & they also happen to know each other.
 
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I think in general Saber is doing well to keep it feeling like interesting things are happening, although they just aren't going to sell me on the idea that things like the three little pigs are "badass" lol.

I do think they need to rethink the filming of the fight choreography though. It's not their fault they're lumbered with suits that - in their powered up forms - are all one colour and yet also highly detailed. But the way they film them makes that detail impossible to see, and along with the CGI just turns the Riders into a blob where I can't really tell what they are doing.

Also, giant swords may look cool but it's very obvious that they're made out of something far more wobbly than real metal!

So yeah, a mixed bag.
They were kind of just there as an Easter egg. They did nothing, had no lines & I have no clue what that means for the universe.
Toei cares not for "continuity". They claim to, but they don't. Remember that every crossover movie officially includes the original version of the character. Even if that Rider lost their powers or had history re-written so that they never became Riders. And Minami Kotaro must be having some amazing time travel adventures off-screen because he's turning up to all these events twice as both Black and Black RX.

They had a cameo to promote the specials. There will not have been any more thought put into it than that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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Well Decade did show us that there was a world where Kotaro never became RX, which makes sense since originally the show did not take place in the same universe as the other Kamen Riders. And then there is the universe where did go RX.

Anyway, I've heard nothing positive so far that makes me want to even give the show a second chance after Z is over with. So did they tone Mei down or is she still skipping her meds every episode.
 
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So did they tone Mei down or is she still skipping her meds every episode.

Nope.
She's just as annoying and pointless as usual.
As of this writing, she's probably the WORST Kamen Rider heroine ever.
She makes Yuki from Fourze look like greatest heroine in comparison IMO.
Even as comedic relief, Mei still sucks; even Neo-Saban Power Rangers comedic relief are funnier; you know the character sucks if Power Rangers characters in recent year are better in comparison. lol XD
 
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Dr Kain

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I had no issue with Yuki in Fourze (that was the goth girl, right?), but I couldn't believe they managed to make a girl worse than the one in Ghost.
 
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