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12-20-2020, 11:16 AM | #11 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,570
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"I'll determine how this story ends!"
Let's hope you can Touma because it seems as though we've got our big ambiguous countdown towards the end of the world. So overall a really fun and bombastic finale to Quarter 1 in all regards. That final clash between Saber and Calibur was absolutely raw and peak kino. And I will say that the next episode has me curious as to where we're going from here, and also it will definitely hit me a bit in the feels given these characters were working together and for the most part getting along for the past fifteen episodes. So seeing them all fighting breaks the heart a bit. |
12-20-2020, 11:56 AM | #12 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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It is insanely rewarding whenever my initial faith in a series starts paying off like this. I'm sure there will a bump or two along the way at the very least, but these past couple episodes have given me so much trust that Saber has a solid plan for what it's doing, and it's also doing a great job at making each step along the way exciting in its own right.
I mentioned last time what an appropriately epic fantasy touch the use of Espada's gear was, and that kind of theming is proving to be a strong suit of this show. There are all these awesome plot elements at the core of the Saber/Calibur conflict here; proud warriors having to choose between loyalty and creed; legacies that are passed on, and doubt being cast on them; mortal enemies reaching a greater sense of mutual understanding through battle; it feels HUGE. Mei's introductory shot in the opening has always been her in that office she's never been to, right? And that's always felt like it was from a version of this show I maybe would've liked more. The simple, human show about Touma Kamiyama, up-and-coming writer by day, and swordsman by night. One that maybe would've captured the same sort of slice-of-life vibe Ghost often had. The direction the actual show has is emphatically not that, and, perhaps as a natural result of the production woes of the year it's made in, Saber has gone out of its way to exclude any kind of extraneous civilian guest characters. But the tone and style they've found for the story instead takes excellent advantage of the motifs to feel natural anyway, and I'm super happy about that. And hey, it looks like Saber will get to have a huge emphasis on differing perspectives and moral relativity going forward, and there are few writers I would trust more with those concepts than the people who wrote Ghost, so I have no doubt that much will be recaptured. The reveal of Kamijou's motivations didn't disappoint, and this was a suitably epic sendoff for him. I mean, they used my idea about letting him ride a dragon, so already it's got that going for it, but his reconciliation at the very end with Touma felt surprisingly earned; not really justifying his crimes, but also allowing him to gracefully admit defeat in his final(?) moments. It's the kind of thing I was hoping for, where the show had a good reason for keeping his character so ambiguous, because it feeds directly into Touma's dilemma by the end here. Even the Sentai similarity hanging over the show is apparently just a set up to tear everything down in a way a Sentai show straight up can't do. It seriously feels like everything is starting to come together. I can even tell the Megid trio apart now! Though admittedly they still really could've used a focus episode each... At any rate, this was an awesome conclusion to the first arc that did a lot of great setup for a shift in direction. As ever, I eagerly await the next chapter. Oh, and I can't smoothly mention this, but I believe the music track that plays right after everyone transforms with Mei in the background was a new one, and it really stuck out and got me hyped up. Kousuke Yamashita has done some very stellar soundtracks (Gaim is one of my favorites in all of Rider), and while it's taken a bit for Saber's BGM to start sticking in my head, I'm finally hitting that point where I'm starting to really appreciate it.
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12-20-2020, 12:12 PM | #13 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,570
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12-20-2020, 12:28 PM | #14 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
Good to know the idea wasn't abandoned completely, I guess!
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12-20-2020, 03:17 PM | #15 |
Rising above Dreams!
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: In the back of your mind
Posts: 1,059
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Lots of exposition this episode, and the fights were great. I dig it.
For the next episode preview, I've seen people on reddit and in some FB groups theorize that Touma will side with the Megid, but I don't think he would, considering that the Megid clearly endanger civilians and their leaders have not even shown a hint of kindness. Rather, that Touma will create a third faction that consists of former SoL he's convinced to join him (among which I hope Buster will be, since I like Buster, and I feel like his son would call him out on betraying Touma like that 'cuz he and Touma ended up befriending each other), vs. the SoL loyalists, and vs. the Megid. Hell, even in the episode Kamijo calls them demons, and they talk about how when they remake the world it's probably gonna be hell for humans. And Reika, that lady from the Southern base, will probably be the one to manipulate the Northern SoL members into betraying Touma like that, seeing as she's been feeding Kento's anger and leading him towards his self-destruction while having some unknown ulterior motive. Like there's something fishy about her offer to Touma; she's probably is/or working for the mysterious enemy within the SoL. Can't wait to see Kamen Rider Saikou, that's gonna be great. |
12-20-2020, 05:55 PM | #16 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 318
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And with that, the first arc of Saber is over. All in all, it's messy, the passing isn't particularly good and just technically not as good as Zero-One, yet...
Yeah, I'm sorry, this show got me in its grasps. I've been on the edge of my seat every second I watched the episode live, couldn't wait till it was subbed and sucked up all the dialogue like a sponge. That is something I didn't feel in zero-One until like late '30s and certainly not during the end of the Metsu arc. Yeah, at this point, I'm enjoying Saber way more than zero-One. It has this weird spark that makes all the admittedly janky parts of it combine into a stunning whole, something I never really felt during last year. I love the characters, find their struggles interesting, and am really intrigued where this is going. And Saber now has a good chance to deliver a structure to a Rider War, if they chose to go that way at least, I wanted to see for a while now. Heroes fighting heroes and not just a competition of assholes. We know these characters are true Riders, fighting with everything they have to protect the world, as seen in this episode. Having them fight now really makes it hard to just root for one in my opinion. In short, I'm loving Saber, janky as it may be.
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12-20-2020, 06:24 PM | #17 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 667
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I absolutely adore this show, but boy do I wish King Lion Daisenki was more relevant to what's currently going on. Not that they could have really helped it, but it doesn't feel like a big moment for Rintaro or Blades at all.
It's a shame, because I'm actually super excited to get the RKF from Amazon when it comes out next week, but the form just feels so underwhelming right now. I don't think I've ever cared so little for an upgrade. |
12-20-2020, 08:57 PM | #18 |
Hmm....
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,813
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I really curious to next Megid monsters after this episode.
Maybe next Megid Monster is Mandrill Megid and this monster are created by Zoous... |
12-20-2020, 09:04 PM | #19 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 3,509
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I'm scared of the North riders turning against Saber. Poor Touma's got no allies except Mei.
How will Touma get them back from whatever's turning them against him? |
12-20-2020, 09:18 PM | #20 |
Hmm....
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,813
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Quote:
I think the North vs South war will be happening soon. Maybe in episode 20... Last edited by Blade Fang; 12-20-2020 at 09:23 PM.. |
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