Is Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love canon?

[NAND NOR]

You're contradicting yourself here. You initially say that it's not canon, but then by saying that it's a prequel to the series, you're saying that it's directly related to the series, which then means you're saying that it's canon. It is not. GSL is not, nor was it ever meant to be a prequel to the TV series.

The movie is set in an "alternate universe", and has NOTHING to do with the TV series version. That's what they've done in GSL, it's what they've done in ALL of the recent Kamen Rider movies. The movies are a way for the writers to try out new ideas that wouldn't have been possible/allowed to be done in the TV series version. The movies have NOTHING to do with the TV series versions in terms of the behaviour of the characters or anything that happens in the plots/stories.

I think the Hibiki movie is the closest to actually being a "canon" story. The only problem is the issue of the appearance of Armed Hibiki and Orochi. If you ignore those two points, there really isn't anything to keep it from fitting in with the television show. But then again, it doesn't really *add* anything to the show either, besides the origins of Takeshi.

 

[JFC]

I think the Hibiki movie is the closest to actually being a "canon" story. The only problem is the issue of the appearance of Armed Hibiki and Orochi. If you ignore those two points, there really isn't anything to keep it from fitting in with the television show. But then again, it doesn't really *add* anything to the show either, besides the origins of Takeshi.

And the whole thing about having Armed Hibiki in that manner is what makes the movie NOT canon. In the series (which is canon), Hibiki-san gets the Armed Saber from the weapons development division of Takeshi, and after much training, is finally able to use it. THAT is canon. In the series (which, again, IS canon), Hibiki does not get an old, rusty, half-finished sword from some cave that mystically changes into what we know as the Armed Saber.

You cannot ignore these two points because they are pivitol moments in the movie (part of the big climax fight scene). To say "if you ignore these" is like saying "if you ignore the two giant meteors in GSL". You just can't do it because to do so would be to ignore and disregard a major, necessary point of the story.

 

[NAND NOR]

And the whole thing about having Armed Hibiki in that manner is what makes the movie NOT canon. In the series (which is canon), Hibiki-san gets the Armed Saber from the weapons development division of Takeshi, and after much training, is finally able to use it. THAT is canon. In the series (which, again, IS canon), Hibiki does not get an old, rusty, half-finished sword from some cave that mystically changes into what we know as the Armed Saber.

You cannot ignore these two points because they are pivitol moments in the movie (part of the big climax fight scene). To say "if you ignore these" is like saying "if you ignore the two giant meteors in GSL". You just can't do it because to do so would be to ignore and disregard a major, necessary point of the story.

I've seen the entire show and the film. I know the difference between how Hibiki gains his Armed Form in each.

Armed Hibiki wasn't a "pivotal moment" of the film. It was in there only because it had to be so that Toei could have something to help get kids to go see the film. The sword and Armed Hibiki could both have been removed and the film would have ended in more or less the same way, with Hibiki defeating Orochi. All they would need to do to correct the Orochi issue would be to give the monster a different name.

It isn't quite the same as telling someone to ignore the meteors in GSL. The meteors are tied directly to the films backstory and are an integral part of what drives the characters and their actions. Armed Hibiki and Takeshi's blade could be entirely removed from Seven War Oni with minimal changes to the overall story and plot of the film, and with no changes made to any of the major characters. The segments with present day Asumu and Hibiki could be removed as well, since the real story of the film is the one that takes place in the past, and the present day bits only serve to help the viewer connect to the story being told.

NEXT MORNING EDIT:
To get back what I said originally, my point was that unlike other recent Kamen Rider films Seven War Oni has the most potential to be considered canon, not whether it was or wasn't. Look at Paradise Lost. The characters and events in that film are drastically different from the show, and the plot of the film conflicts too much with what happens over the course of the television series. It's as far from being canon as you can get. Seven War Oni on the other hand is only kept outside series canon by the two points we've already talked about. The story of the past Oni saving the village and the resulting creation of Takeshi contains nothing that conflicts with the show. Even the appearence of Orochi in the past doesn't conflict. The only reason Orochi causes a continuity issue is because we see Hibiki battle and destroy the monster in the present day, which conflicts with the use of Orochi in the series.

Personally, I consider the origins of Takeshi to be those shown in the film. I could be mistaken, but there isn't anything in the television series that states it happened differently. It may seem crazy, but yes, I ignore the appearance of Armed Hibiki in the movie for the sake of peicing things together.