The only way Kamen Riders know we love them -- and choose not to punish us -- is if we keep buying merch.

Interesting! Thanks for the possible context!

Yeah, this is basically your standard stage show, but with a slightly bigger budget. Though compared to some I’ve seen or read about (there’s a whole category on the wiki for stageshow monsters), this seems remarkably tame in terms of plot.

I had never actually watched this until yesterday.

I think it was because I could never even find any raws for these things until like waaay after they apparently came out? Honestly, I'm only sort of sure what they are either, but yes, virtual stage show is about right, and honestly... I think that's pretty adorable? And I don't mean that in a patronizing way or anything. This is such a very specific, very Saber thing to exist, right at the end of 2020, that, considered in the whole context of why it (probably?) exists, it's a little neat. I'm not sure if it'll be as neat when there's like a bunch of them continuing even into Revice, apparently, but I appreciate the novelty of a little blue-screen dramatic skit where viewers like you get to literally be the extras who help Saber save the day. (And indeed, on the subjects of "why it's like this" and "what it's for", giving TTFC subscribers a chance to send in videos to be in a Kamen Rider thing seems to be the primary gimmick.)

Well there's only so much focus they can fit in an episode already filled with so much content. Sure, the focus is on Kamijo's betrayal here, but the window is still open to eventually learn more about the Megid trio, other than just being evil book gangsters.

Also, uh, "drug money"? 0_o

This is the first time we get to see Ren's dark side, as he tries to cut Mei, a civilian, to get to Touma. It's not like there wasn't enough time to abort the attack, Ren just didn't give a damn about Mei. Even if a Swordsman declared traitor is a fair target, I doubt SOL can justify any of their Swordsmen cutting civilians who get in the way. Good thing Yuri was there or else it could've been a lot worse.

Rintarou's in a difficult position as well, since this isn't just a blasphemy against the faceless organisation, this is Rintarou's family that Touma's accusing. Regardless of whether Rintarou sides with SOL or Team Saber, he still has to take a side in that family and be prepared to fight people he cares about. Poor guy only recently picked himself up after losing Kento and now he has to deal with the fear of losing another.

Touma was right and brave to stand up for himself and trust his gut that SOL was out to get him, but with Reika leveraging everything she can about the historical correlation of "Saber + big book = betrayal", it's even more sad that this painful conflict between friends had to happen.

Yuri is an enjoyable character though. After Lazer became the first Bike Rider (excluding form change like Accel), Saikou became the first Sword Rider! As all Swordsmen are named after a word relating to swords, Saikou, a Seiken Sword rather than a Swordsman, is of course named after.... Himself!

Personally, I think TV-Nihon's "prodigious" is the most prodigious way to translate that phrase. It's a word seldom used in casual speech, which makes Yuri sound more like a man of his age.

You're right. Okay, I guess I should've called them mild antivillains instead. Even though their actions benefit only themselves at the expense of everybody else, I think the fact that they do have a (twisted) sense of morality might be barely enough to qualify.

Now I wish there was a comedic scene like the montage of Robo Knight asking about emotions. Like, Reika passes by Ren as he's training with a creepy smile on his face and flatly comments, "I don't need to persuade this guy."

I cannot take that word seriously. A bad Legion of Super-Heroes comic from the 90s permanently ruined it for me.

I'll get back to everyone else soon, but I have to call out this insane deep-cut reference to Jamm, from a terrible Bloodlines tie-in Legion Annual. Thank you, and get out of my brain.

Huh, obscure reference.

Because my mind immediately wanders to Digimon when I hear the word prodigious.

Yes, this is a small optional filler created on the principle of "rider + monster + new beauty for each episode +/- extra guests." Nevertheless, the story itself seemed to me very sincere, Saber, even without Toma, remains Saber and the Grasshopper revealed himself as a villain much brighter than in the main series. In addition, Toei should be commended for giving the audience the opportunity to participate without violating the quarantine. And scold them for not using it more often considering how many fans riders have outside of Japan. So I'm happy with this episode and the mini-series as a whole. Let him not tell anything new about our rider, but for that he allows him to be a hero, and this is always a plus.
Also, while I call this project a "optional filler", the rule I've already stated that all extra content is more important to Saber than to other shows applies to TTFC Theatre. In fact, I even envy you that you watch this show after it ends and therefore get to know this story in the order conceived by the creators (in general terms), and not imposed by external circumstances.

Your comic knowledge is incredible and a little horrifying Die.

Anyway Saber 16! I actually remember really loving this episode basically for the reasons stated already. Also I think I'll try to begin my rewatch here cause I am super behind.

I am so sorry that you?re able to understand that.

"Tame" is a good way to describe this plot, yeah. It's not nearly as weird as I'd hope/expect.

The charm may or may not last through the end of the Saber ones, for me. It's cute, but so inconsequential that... like, two more exactly this one are going to have me very dismissive by the end of them.

But, yeah, I would 100% be into them if I were able to get my video cheering into one of the skits. That's a very fun idea from Toei.

On that topic: it's very nice to see that the studio buildings were rebuilt so well after being burned down in Zero-One the year before, and being exploded by the cast of Zi-O the year before.

This is by far the element of the storyline I'm most interested in. Rintaro's got kind of no good options here? He's not really equipped to be the peacemaker, so he's going to have a pretty rough time over the next few episodes.

It's pretty great, I'm not gonna lie. I've definitely been spoiled, coming to shows years after they're over, when everything's been translated and shared. I'm on a break from Geats, but it would feel so weird to know that there's a movie out there I can't watch yet. I am going to miss having an entire Kamen Rider show I can devour front-to-back at my own speed in its entirety!

I don't recommend having my brain, especially when it comes to comic book trivia. And I hope you enjoy what's next for Saber! Welcome back!

https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpr...ammdisplay.jpg

I love the Legion, but this annual... I can't imagine what Al Gordon and/or the Bierbaums were thinking. It is as Greetings Fellow Kids as I can imagine.

And this, this right here, is the moment someone at DC said "you know, maybe we should just burn this all down and start from scratch."

The thing I'm such a stickler about is that even though he's just saying saikou in the normal sense of "the best", the whole joke is that Saikou means "the brightest", so I'd kind of prefer a translation that reflects both meanings, which is pretty easily possible. You generally wouldn't describe a bright light as "splendid", which makes it a bit less obvious than my choice, but the root of the word still directly means "shining", so it's really a pretty smart choice in my book. I never really used Flame Subs for Saber, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that screencap.

Not having any traumatic memories of lousy dark age superhero comics though, I do agree that "prodigious" works solidly as a catchphrase for a character like Yuri, but like, saikou *is* a word used in casual speech, so it's a much looser translation.

Man, I love the Five Year Gap era of the Legion; that's where I came in! I think this was more of a "Bloodlines is stupid and the book that takes place a thousand years in the future probably shouldn't be forced to participate" sort of situation, rather than any inherent flaws in the 5YG Legion premise.

It's nice to see that, in their retirement, Translation Cop is willing to let phrases off with a warning. Very community-minded!

True, but they've been here for a full 1/3 of the series, and their motivations are still nebulous and backgrounded, but in a way that's struggling to connect with the SOL betrayal arc which is pushing them even further away? I'm struggling to explain, but it's much like Jin's revival in 01 ended up being - a question that, sure, might be answered some day, but the longer it goes, the more I feel I'm just not supposed to be asking. (Being nebulous here to both avoid spoilers and to reflect my own feelings at this point in the show, I don't want Die to find out the Book Gangsters are just trying to void their library fines from Tassel.)

The Drug Money is a Dopants joke, seemed like the weirdest MOTW thing removed from context. Could've said "existential breakdowns" too tbf.

Meanwhile oh god we're doing American comic books

Hey so this is obviously quite a ways off, but I just noticed this bit from the schedule in the first post of the thread. There are six episodes of the anime, right? Is this bit just a mistake, Die, or could you not track down the last two?

Looking at that schedule myself, I'm curious why you're keeping the Sabela/Durandal special and Trio of Sin till after you watch Revice? I promise there's no Revice or crossover movie lore in them!

All I could track down, sadly. Also, I had no idea there were more than four episodes, because I couldn't find a listing for the anime on the wiki's Saber page. If anyone's got subbed versions of the last two anime episodes, please let me know!

I want to say the wiki had the continuity as happening after the crossover movie (years later?), so I figured I'd just get to it later. I can maybe move it around, depending on how deep into March this show takes me.

Trio of Deep Sin is a distant epilogue kind-of deal, while Durendal/Sabela is presumably set when it came out. Neither mention any of the Revice crossovers.

Meanwhile, this is the first time I think I've heard that there was a Saber cartoon.

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 17 - “THE ANCIENT MESSENGER, IS HE LIGHT OR SHADOW?”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber17a.png

I don’t know if it’s a legitimate complaint or just this show’s rhythms creating unreasonable expectations within me (or just straight-up Stockholm Syndrome), but… a little surprised at this episode’s more considered pacing?

After last episode’s massive battle between Saber and the Sword of Logos, everyone retreats to their corners to lick their wounds and brood over this uncomfortable new dynamic. Touma and Mei are helping Yuri acclimate to the world after a millennium's absence, while the Sword of Logos swordsmen are taking orders from their totally on-the-level boss in a darkened chamber at the South Pole. (That is, hysterically, the exact same set from the Northern Base, but with a dearth of furniture and an abundance of foreboding atmosphere.) There’s a cloud hanging over both camps this episode, which is a level of parity that I sort of wasn’t expecting? Rintaro, especially, is adamant that while he may not believe Touma’s claims about the SoL, he also doesn’t believe the SoL’s claims about Touma. (Basically, everyone but Ren are like Pump The Brakes, while Ren is screaming like a lunatic the entire time.) It makes the situation a lot more nebulous, as the show tries to make this a situation where – Reika aside, probably – everyone’s trying to operate in good faith, despite being at opposing positions.

But! That’s, like, one scene. This episode spends way more time on integrating Yuri’s ancient swordsman into the ranks, as well as rolling out its new Monster of the Week template. One of those is a good use of time! One of those is not!

Yuri is the big success, which is probably no surprise. His combination of inquisitive nature and unwavering sense of righteousness make for a fun story to run alongside Touma’s overflowing empathy and current ethical confusion. Yuri’s a guy that doesn’t understand the world, but is certain his old ways don’t need reexamination. Bubble tea’s interesting to him! Sacrificing humans to stave off Megid schemes is less interesting to him.

It’s like the thing about him not liking the comic book hero. (Which, I’ve seen Figuarts, I know where that gag is going.) He’s all about stories as a way to confirm his own morality, not as a way to widen his perspective. When something challenges his preconceived notions, he disregards the new information as somewhere between Hilarious and Heresy. That’s going to put him into conflict with Touma during the best of times, but it’s certainly going to cause tension when Touma’s juggling fractured friendships and newly-victimized humans.

The gimmick of humans being turned into Megids… eh. I like that they’re not just monsters to be detonated, and that there’s more complicated fighting because of it, but this isn’t a story that’s telling me anything about Yuki’s hopes or dreams or fears or whatever. This isn’t the Ridewatches of Zi-O or the mid-season emotional breakdowns of the Humagears on Zero-One; this is just some unlucky bystander getting forcibly turned into a monster. Beyond the hapless victim being someone Touma and Mei know, there’s really nothing special to this change in the routine. Touma wants to save Yuki, but Touma would want to save anyone. It doesn’t really matter who the victim is, which feels like a waste of potential storytelling avenues. Hopefully that gets better in the future.

Even though I definitely wanted to spend more time on the SoL/Touma conflict (why didn’t they just wait at the bookshop and ambush him there?), I really like the smaller dynamic of Touma, Mei, and Yuri. They make for a fun, almost Day 1 version of the cast. It’s charming, even if it maybe needed to be a bit more intense. Can’t believe I’m ragging on this show for not moving faster! There’s no pleasing Kamen Rider fans!

—

EVERY LITTLE MEANS TRUST

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber17b.png

Mei couldn’t deal with this right now.

The last few hours had been insane. She and Touma had been out to do some light shopping for a housecleaning party she was definitely going to slack off on – she’d already devised a pretty slick scheme to trick Rintaro into doing her share of the cleaning as a gift, letting him experience the wonders of Homo Sapiens’ rituals first-hand – before it all fell apart. They were attacked by their friends, branded traitors, and barely survived. It was only the intervention of a man named Yuri, who turned into a sword, that they were able to escape.

After all that, they needed to hunker down and figure things out. Touma had suggested the bookstore, but Mei was concerned that the Sword of Logos doorway inside the shop might be too dangerous to head straight for. Mei had suggested the magazine offices, but Touma was afraid of anyone else being put in danger because of him. (There had been a few minutes of Touma’s verbal self-flagellation in the aftermath of Yuri’s arrival, where Touma had berated himself for Mei’s near-miss from Kenzan’s blades, but Mei put a stop to that quickly. She was going to be by Touma’s side throughout this entire adventure, and the consequences were for her and her alone to deal with.) While Mei was stumped for another location, Touma thought of one last place to rest.

“Well, hello there, Miss Mei,” Nachi said as she entered the building’s lobby.

Dammit.

She’d gotten briefly separated from Touma in the battle’s aftermath, trying to follow Yuri before he vanished. Touma was closer to Mochizuki Tower, so he’d gotten to the building first. She’d hoped they’d get there at the same time, so she could avoid the awkward conversation with Nachi that she knew was coming. No such luck.

“Hey, Nachi,” she said with a fake smile. She kept moving through the lobby. “Touma’s just up on the roof, right? I’ll just–”

“Whoa, hey, missy! Slow down a little!” Nachi moved from his chair to the stairwell door, and held it shut as Mei pressed on the bar. “We’ve gotta have a little chat, before you head up and see your friend.”

“Chat?” Mei was a little surprised at his tone. Nachi had previously been warm and genial. Now he was… Mei didn’t think she’d like where this went. “Chat about what?”

“Well… golly, this is tough to say. You know that me and the boys think the world of you, after them eclairs you picked up for us, and that Touma fella’s a real good joe.” Nachi was scratching the back of his head, and was looking more at the floor than Mei’s face. “It’s just… the Sword of Logos says who can and can’t use the Brooding Roof, what with their lease and all, and they let us know that Touma’s been declared a traitor from the guild, and you’re his Plus 1, and…”

“Oh! Uh…” Mei was backing up slightly, ready to make for the lobby’s door. Was Nachi going to turn them in? Should she run?

Nachi could see the panic rising on her face. “Now, I ain’t told anyone y’all are here,” he said with his hands raised, voice calm and even. “I figure what’s between you and them is between you and them. They wanna do something about any unapproved activities? That’s none of my business, and it ain’t what I get paid for. I work for the building, not them. The Sword of Logos is a bunch of people, and – beyond doing my job on their behalf – I get to decide how I treat those people.”

“Wow. Okay. Wh– what are you saying exactly?” Mei hoped this was a good sign, but with Nachi’s typical introspective flourishes, she wasn’t 100% sure what he was telling her.

“Well, I’m saying that your friend Touma’s up on the roof, and y’all were never here,” Nachi said with a conspiratorial wink. “Now go cheer that tall fella up some.”

Yeah when it comes to the pacing of how things work, there's a modest different between the 2020 Episodes and the 2021 Episodes. Which I can only assume amounts to Covid Restrictions lifting and... toy sales. So as you might have noticed, Saber Quarter 1 had an insane amount of toys for a Kamen Rider Season. The transformation devices/weapons, the extra books, the buckles, the upgrades, etc!

One of these days I might do a chart on how I handled Q1 up until the point I've published online in my story but for now, uh... I've spread it out a fair bit and mixed things up a lot.

Meanwhile for Q2, two episodes in... and we've only got the Kougouken Saikou as a toy release if I recall. Literally that's it. Which is insane to think about given what we settled into for the past 15 or so episodes.

I'll admit, as someone who has to get to the Human Hybrid Megid stuff... it's a bit hard of a balancing act in terms of figuring out how to make them emotionally impactful. While Yuki kind of works because she's a work buddy, there definitely feels like there could be more.

Loving the new status quo though for Touma, Yuri's a fun character and his dynamic definitely freshens things up a bit.

As for the story, nice to see the building crew again! It's just a fun behind the scenes look at this random roof everyone broods at. Helps bring a fun unexpected flavor to the world.

All I'm ever looking for is some sense that the victim involved has some bearing on their fate. The ideal is something like OOO, or the (and I know people hate it) Job War arc on Zero-One. I want to feel like someone's emotionally in the balance here, and their motivation is potentially working in opposition with their salvation. It doesn't have to be the full Drug Abuse storyline of Fourze (or W, your mileage may vary), where someone's turning themself into a monster that the hero team has to defuse, but I definitely need something more than The Book Club Is Turning People Into Monsters.

I'll admit I was also quite surprised by this pacing, for Saber to put the main betrayal plot to the side and instead focusing on developing Yuri and the MOTW, that surprises me quite a bit. Yuri is just a great character, and I love the idea of actually giving the MOTW some development, it was honestly probably my favorite part of the first arc of Zero-One, because even knowing that the Humagear of the episode would almost certainly become a Magia, the character development they got really shined.

However, I won't lie, I didn't care for Yuki (I only just noticed the pun, whyyyyyyy Toei) all that much, she's fine, but she doesn't get to do much, hopefully by next episode, her character will get some more development.

Besides that, this was a fine episode, I like it slowing down the pacing a notch, but the MOTW plot definitley feels unneccasary when compared to the over-arching betrayal plotline, but it's alright enough, a pretty good episode even if I did have a few complaints about it.

Yeah, for sure. I always want these non-arc stories to be about the Kamen Rider(s) learning about a person, and using empathy to fight for their safety. I like it when these weird superheroes get personally involved in ordinary people's lives, and I feel like Saber's been missing that?

This is exactly why I love this part of the show. After spending the first half dozen episodes throwing new characters at us left, right, and center, we're at a point where the show dials it back and really focuses on just this core group of Touma, Yuri, and Mei. It works in part because it gives the characters room to breathe and develop when they aren't part of a massive ensemble. It also works because Yuri and Mei are both goddamn delightful, both in isolation and together. This is when I really fell in love with Mei (not how she's not getting shot into the air, Team Rocket style, anymore) and Yuri is just fantastic as this fish out of water who's constantly amazed by modern innovations.

Does it suck that everybody else has to be stuck in a small room with Reika while these three get to have adventures together? Yes.* But it's a trade that absolutely pays off.



*Except for Ren.

It's funny, because you can see in this episode the shape of a different first act of the series, a more traditional first act. Touma meets a swordsman, they have a two-part adventure, and then we move onto the next one; rather than a quickly accumulating pile of co-workers that barely get a single defining feature in their debut.

I don't know if I'd've liked that better, honestly? A lot of what makes the Touma/Yuri/Mei stuff work is that this is, like, a rebound swordsman for Touma. The SoL is still out there, and absolutely nothing's settled, so Yuri comes of like a pleasant distraction. If this had just been, like, Episode 7, I don't know if it would work as well.

(And that's even getting away from the larger discussion about the necessity of the first act's Everyone Becomes Great Friends speedrun narrative, in order to make the second act's dissolution make any sense.)

Honestly perhaps it's better to not have people going hateful for the sake of being hateful, like Rintaro still having some faith in Touma for now about how good he is, as he considered Touma a friend. It's still a severe misunderstandings to not have them, I mean Ogami and Daishinji, take a look on why both Caliburs, Hayato and Kamijo, betrayed them which'd hope for the SoL traitor/system to be explained to them, particularly from Rintaro who has more faith to Touma and is likely in better position than Touma against other SoL people.

About sense of righteousness... I guess Yuri would be a case where lack of experience in human life (for being locked for 1000 years) causes him to be more than just giving the wrong vibes Rintaro had, but outright feeling like not having a sense of empathy regarding his misunderstandings, like thrashing the bookstore or about how Yuri's actions here gives the ruthless vibes of just resorting to killing against victims with no questions. Overall he's someone who's extremely blunt or vague. Yuri also still shows off how capable he is despite his oddness, like easily blending in a public with his disguises, picking skirts at one point aside.

This part does give a more angered and aggressive Mei (for obvious reasons) to have her growl against something that can endanger Yuki's fate, including against Yuri. Though obviously Touma'd save anyone in this situation, by the standard of usual KR MC. I wonder if this is the part of how Touma can get the naive label of him not resorting to killing to get the job done thus 'hesitating' and getting in the way, ignoring someone else's pleas to resort to that (ignoring how Yuri's someone who's out of touch with human lives for at least 1000 years).

I wonder why'd you view/elevate this denying fault and responsibilities as having twisted sense of morality, like I thought this blame game of refusing to owe up to anything they do is something common done by the more selfish ones (and the norm for narcissists) to get away, especially/including in criminal scenes; "no thief would want to admit". Kabuto's school principal in ep. 38 blaming the students for wanting to make the wish as he kills them and replaces them with Worm version.

As requested:https://toku.fun/post/kamen-rider-sa...ll-english-sub

Well, since this is an opportunity, let's talk about Yuri.
First, he has the most catchy jingle in franchise history. (Who is this sword shining?!)
Secondly, he is a good example of how you can write an ideal character into the story without causing rejection or falseness. Just don't make him the main character. Plus, Yuri's popularity confirms my theory that audiences like competent characters, even when they're not assholes.
Thirdly: the appearance of the actor. Such faces with a powerful jaw and prominent cheekbones were popular during the filming of Seven Samurai, so in some ways he really looks like a man from the past.
Regarding your wishes / claims, I will say: "Everything will be. But later." This episode is really a breather not only for the audience, but also for the characters to figure out what they need to do.

So something I just realized, were you not able to find any videos for the Final Stage? Since I noticed that there doesn't seem to be listings for the Final Stage on the schedule.

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 17

My old post for this one opens up with me mentioning how Die's Kabuto thread apparently kept me too busy to get around to it for days, which I straight up don't remember? But I guess that fits nicely with what I do remember about this next stretch of Saber, that I was planning to talk about soon anyway. I ended up getting to a couple of the next few episodes pretty late, in part because I was watching with subs from GenmCorp, who unfortunately ended up dropping the series entirely after generally getting the episodes out hecka fast (and at hecka quality!) to this point, which left me scrambling around for other options for a bit there.

I bring this all up because, looking back, I guess I had this kind of weird synergy going with Touma in this stretch of the show. I had a whole routine going that I was very comfortable with, and out of nowhere, it kinda shattered on me. Granted, it was hardly very dramatic in my case. I'd watch the episode, write my post about it, and then go take a thorough look at each week's episode guide, a little endeavor I made during Saber specifically to get myself actually reading Japanese for a change. I greatly enjoyed getting to just smash all that into one Sunday every week, you know, just really soaking up the series for a few hours straight, but it wasn't the end of the world to have to shuffle that schedule around slightly for a few weeks.

Which I guess means maybe I didn't have that much synergy with Touma after all, because this episode makes it abundantly clear what a huge disruption this sudden influx of drama is in the lives of our favorite swordsmen. Yuri's great, instantly -- right up there with Rintarou as one of My Guys from Saber -- but what this new status quo truly achieved was putting Touma on the path to being up there himself. It's just such an interesting new scenario to throw him in, where there's suddenly WAY more weight put on him personally. He used to have this whole squad of tight friends he was (more or less) always on the same page with, and now he can't even figure out working with the one Rider still willing to hang out with him -- some weirdo old dude who constantly seems off in his own world, frequently making basic communication alone a struggle enough to put Saber's battles with the Megid to shame.

Plus, speaking of the monsters of the week, gotta love that new format for 'em! I see what Die is saying about the further potential of this particular formula, and we'll see if he feels Saber gets anything more out of it later or not, but either way, I think even just the basic benefits of it already add a lot to a plot, even before any deeper emotional connection. Speaking for myself, just in general, I like how monsters of this sort inherently reframe the stakes from broader notions of saving The City, or Humanity, to saving a life, which I often find more tangible and engaging, despite being smaller in scale. And specific to this show, going smaller in scale fits the overall mood of the episode quite nicely, where we're finally letting off the gas for a second to really take in everything that just happened at the end of last year's run of episodes.

I don't know, I could ramble about this episode for a while, but I might be too excited here to actually be saying anything of substance right now. There are a ton of little facets and big broad strokes that make this new era of the series crazy exciting to me, and it's hard to get that condensed in my head. I'd probably like this stretch of Saber anyway for borrowing that W-era gold standard formula I never tire of (I was a Wizard fan before I was a Saber fan!), so how well that formula genuinely fits this point in the overall story of Saber on top of that just takes it to the next level. I'm not sure if people consider this When Saber Got Good, or just the transitionary phase, or whatever, but I adore the show's new vibe at least as much as I adored the old one, which you might recall -- I adored a whole lot.

It is, but, like: that's what this story is about. This is a story about how people create systems, and then treat those systems with more faith than they treat people. Rintaro's treatment by good people within the Sword of Logos has led him to equate their kindness and goodness as The Sword Of Logo Is Kind And Good, to the detriment of his own curiosity or sense of justice. If these guys just up and realized that they were putting an organization ahead of people... story'd be over pretty quick!

Yeah, Yuri in this episode is basically What If Rintaro Was Partially A Dick, which is a fun premise to explore. Both Rintaro and Yuri have that same remove from humanity, where they're intrigued by a culture that's alien to them, but Rintaro's enthusiasm and openness is replaced by Yuri's slightly standoffish judgment.

Thanks so much! A few people reached out to set me up with those last two Saber Animes, so we're ready to go.

(The joke of it was that I never checked the anime section of Cat Site, just the live-action section where Kamen Rider stuff usually lives. I've learned my lesson for the future!)

Yuri is very competent, yes! He gets that debut story rub, where Touma's mostly just excess baggage in the fight; someone to stare in wonder at the new Rider's power, or just get saved.

I forgot to list that one, sorry! It's going to drop in after the third TTFC short, and right before the Animes.

Yeah, that's where my heart is for these superhero shows, too. I like the ones where it's just the hero trying to figure out how to help someone, the end, and the specific ways the hero does it are where these shows explain themselves to me. It's all handsome young men with big hearts, but Aruto doesn't help people in the same way as Sougo does, and Sougo doesn't help people in the same way as Sento does, etc etc etc. Giant battles for the fate of the world can all come off the same, but these stories of individual stakes and impossible choices really connect me with a show. I'm glad to see Saber trotting them out, even if they haven't quite leveraged all the benefits of the template.

It's pretty humorous how the subject of Yuri's catchphrase immediately turned to comic books, considering Yuri's critical opinion of a comic book. It's also intriguing to me how TV-Nihon went against their preference for by-the-book (haha, get it?) faithful translations in favor of something with more of a flair to convey to us that old-fashioned side of him.

I agree that Touma, Mei and Yuri are a good dynamic. Saikou is pretty much the de facto Tertiary Rider now that Espada's out of the picture and he fulfills the same role as Alain during the time Makoto was in a cryochamber. Even though he's strong on his own, a sword's power can only be fully unleashed in the hands of a Swordsman, which makes him a good ally for Touma. Even their elemental attunements are compatible, as fire and light both emit heat.

In the absence of a Swordsman, Saikou can weaponize the Shadow of his past self to wield him. It's one of the most nondescript suit I've ever seen, which is appropriate since we're not supposed to pay attention to Shadow, a mistake Saber made when attempting to attack it, when he should've targeted Saikou's physical sword body. I think that's a fun gimmick!

Regarding the Touma/SOL conflict, remember that Fantastic Kamiyama is a public place frequented by kids and their families. It would be too dangerous and scary for SOL to ambush Touma like that and probably Ren would complain about it being too easy. Swordsmen are expected to resolve their problems chivalrously after all.

I'm glad you acknowledged this, since none of the characters bring it up in the episode. I imagine Rintarou would be especially ticked off with Ren for raising a blade to Mei. Touma's already been hard on himself for failing to save Luna and Kento, so yeah, he'd totally hate for Mei to get hurt trying to protect him.

A lowly thief would deny their crime as pragmatism to get away with it, while a phantom thief would take credit, an honorable trait that makes them more respected. Oma Zi-O is like a phantom thief in how he embraces his destiny and public image, while denying to himself that he's become an evil demon king instead of the great and kind one he hoped to be. I'll admit, Gai is harder to argue for using the same analogy, since he totally covers up his crimes, including blatantly immoral and petty ones that clearly don't serve his main "heroic" goals of human improvement or indulging his love for Hiden Intelligence.

Sure, but I'm not suggesting they'd burn the bookshop down to smoke Touma out; they're basically next door neighbors? (Or they were, until the SoL got reassigned to the other end of the planet.) If they'd all had a chance to step out of their front door and know that they could corner Calibur, I feel like they'd've done it, and not sworn it off as too easy, or an imposition or whatever. It just feels like a weird storytelling oversight that should've been acknowledged.

I feel like the show had the same mindset I'd had -- Mei does not want to be the focal point of men fretting about her safety -- and opted to skip over it.

And then there's Evolt who let the heroes live rent-free in his own property even after revealing himself.

Honestly, that's just a) great villainy, and b) key to his whole Make The Hero Create Your MacGuffin strategy. Guys like Calibur and the Book Club could take notes from Hipster Dad/Evolt/Evol!

I think I'm with you on this, with the added twist that the comforting 2-week format works best coming off the absolute frenetic energy of Saber's early part. The stage is set, we know the world, and I guess it shows a level of confidence, reducing from "the literal world is at stake" to "Touma has to survive his coworker's new boss while saving Mei's". Or maybe I'm just a sucker for "the gang save one (1) person endangered by a monster.


Man's a genocidal alien from the Blood World, but even he wouldn't charge rent, jeez.

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 18 - “WITH FLAMING TENACITY, STRIKE DOWN THE MEGID”

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Boy, this was a great episode, and a great two-parter.

I like how the entire story is sort of commenting on the necessity of these small-scale Kamen Rider adventures, you know? It’s very much in the camp that these sorts of battles, where it’s all about saving one person from a horrible fate, are as crucial to understanding heroism as the gigantic world-in-peril mega-arc stuff. After a few months of epic battles to save the world, this story is all about not missing the trees for the forest.

It’s all in that really well done Yuri/Touma debate, where Yuri’s unemotional pragmatism – defeat the Megid at any cost, because that’s your job – runs up against Touma’s emotional decision-making, because Touma can’t sacrifice someone that he can still try to save. Touma’s point is that people like Yuri and the Sword of Logos, they’re so wrapped up in their duty and grandiose mythology that they’re forgetting that the only reason to Save The World is so people can live in it. They’re literally trying to save the world, by preventing a global apocalypse, but they can’t see how individual lives are caught up in that struggle. Touma’s a writer, and he’s used to empathizing with people to see how they tick, to better understand a world he wants to write about. He’s only doing all of this for his friends, and for the people whose stories make up the world. It’s a nicely humanistic view of a show that almost exclusively traffics in large-scale metaphor.

Despite the appearance of the Sword of Logos, and another crucial misunderstanding (Touma is terrible about quickly explaining that the Book Club is now turning people into Megids), this episode is a great big win for Touma. He saves Yuki, he wins Yuri’s respect, and he gets his head on straight in regards to his quest. He’s not skeptical about Kamijo’s claims, or fearful that he might be on the wrong track. He’s resolved that he’ll have to fight to get at the truth, but he knows his methods can work.

I really liked how smoothly this episode went. It’s all about enjoying the pleasures of these classic two-parters: the speeches, the debates, the salvation. It’s so nice to have a clear victory for Touma, even in the midst of so much darkness. I guess it pays to have a Sword of Light by your side, huh?

—

EXPLODE AND MAKE UP

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Daishinji sat next to Rintaro in silence.

Daishinji liked silence, generally. He preferred his workshop, and the concentration the isolation afforded him. He cared greatly for the other swordsmen, and considered them good friends, but he liked the peace and quiet of his seclusion. He didn’t like loudness, or interruptions.

He didn’t like arguments.

Everything that had happened since the defeat of Calibur had been a trial for Daishinji. Touma succumbing to the temptation of power was a failure of the entire guild, and it put Touma in an unacceptable amount of danger. Daishinji and the others had been poor teammates, and worse friends. He was new to the strength of the Sacred Swords, and unprepared for how they could make a man feel invincible, unaccountable to rules and warnings. They’d all tried to stop Touma before things got out of hand, but they’d failed there, too. Touma was on the run. He was scared, most likely, and worried his friends had abandoned him. They’d all argued, back under the overpass. It was painful to Daishinji, physically.

He’d volunteered to go after Touma, to try and reason with him. Rintaro had volunteered to go with, and even suggested a location that Touma might visit if he felt particularly anxious. (Daishinji was aware of the Brooding Roof from Kento’s frequent trips; the stage was a late birthday present that Daishinji had worked hard on to get right.) Rintaro was clearly struggling with Touma’s betrayal, and Daishinji was, at first, glad for the silence as they waited for Touma’s arrival. The quiet was a welcome surprise, considering Rintaro’s anger and confusion over recent events. Daishinji wasn’t looking forward to a heart-to-heart conversation with Rintaro.

But that was several minutes of silence ago, and even Daishinji’s love of personal space and choked-down emotions was reaching a threshold that made him uncomfortable sitting next to the taciturn swordsman.

“This is a nice roof,” Daishinji said, in his best approximation of what an icebreaker might be.

“It is. It was one of Kento’s favorite places,” Rintaro said. His eyes watered slightly. Oh no. This was getting off to an awful start.

“I built that stage.” Daishinji pointed over at the wooden furniture, a slight smile of pride relatively beaming off of his face. “Kento told me that he and Touma used it to relax a few times.”

“Yes,” Rintaro said with a small laugh, “they’d act out books they’d loved as children. It was…” He trailed off for a moment, which was unusual for Rintaro. That was always such precision to his speech, every word carefully considered and placed methodically. “It must have been nice for them, to have that bond.”

Rintaro’s face was like a damaged sword to Daishinji: undiagnosable, but clearly in pain. He’d hoped a brief chat might help calm Rintaro’s nerves, and he had no idea if he’d accomplished his goal, or made things worse. Rintaro’s expression was becoming more clear by the minute, though. Something had captured his confidence.

“That’s why we have to stop Touma from destroying everything Kento believed in,” Rintaro said to Daishinji. “We aren’t stopping Touma for Reika, or for the Sword of Logos. We’re stopping him for Kento, and for himself. We’re stopping him because we’re still his friends.”

Rintaro looked out across the roof, with the closest thing to a smile that Daishinji had seen on his face in days. He turned to look Daishinji in the eyes, which Daishinji found distasteful, and said, “We’re fighting Touma to save Touma.”

Daishinji hoped Rintaro was right. He missed the silence of friendship.