Yeah, I like Reika overrall from the season, but her role here is to turn the ambiguity of "Man, I wonder if the SOL is doing anything suspicious and aren't just set in their ways against the radical Touma" to, well, "Yep SOL being very sussy." I get why the other swordsmen believe Reika, they don't know they're in a story like this, but it does make them look a little gullible.

Lol, Reika's the one who kickstarted this fascinating ambiguity and compromised morality arc, yet you don't thank her for doing that? :lol Otherwise, though I know it's the execution, Reika here gives Kusaka vibes too for some people thus making her despicable for them. But good that Reika here isn't viewed as tough and competent due to her demeanor. And, to pull the "putting an organization ahead of people" here, for the group of morally-upright swordsmen, Ren is sorta the exception; while him doing SoL's job shows that he's not a bad person, he still has prevalent severe problems in his psychotic bloodthirst for power (also it's his primary reason to fight), and also petty jealousy, both leading for him to just picking fights with Touma, without caring of the actual threat like Qusama Megid (Shingo's) that they're supposed to fight (again, his reason to fight is different). He's someone that can be even worse than the Riders on Ex-Aid main group at the beginning (t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶h̶e̶'̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶a̶ ̶m̶a̶l̶e̶ ̶v̶e̶r̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶N̶i̶c̶o̶,̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶r̶a̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶t̶y̶p̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶j̶e̶r̶k̶). Touma will of course put his faith on him though, as his archetype of a character implies.

The Mei and Yuri's henshin sequence is an ironic moment, usually that moment is used for someone who started to become a Rider, like some main protagonists such as Takumi (with Mari), and Ryotaro (with Hana). But here, it's done on someone who isn't only a longtime Rider, but also holds the most knowledge regarding what happened surrounding the Rider world, at least in the past, but this happens due to his absent-mindness. Touma claims in his fight that understanding pain (like taking hits from Qusama Megid) is what makes him want to protect others, which is true as it makes them understand what others are going through, but this should also be implemented in those who revolves around tragic backstory (Touma has it for 1 moment but he doesn't seem to revolve around it other than promises), which people'd expect to turn one bitter or outright villainous.

This'd still also prove that the swordsmen at SoL except Ren shouldn't be totally blind in their judgment against Touma, which it does here. Though it's good that believing in one thing doesn't mean agreeing with the other is highlighted here, Rintaro would believe Touma after further evidence is given about the humans being turned into a Megid. Also due to how the ones who's less close to Touma than Rintaro like Ogami and Daishinji also believes him. I like that Touma tries to confront Reika that she's the one behind this dispute though, albeit ofc Rintaro would defend her due to her position in SoL (and seems to be the only one explaining why he believes Reika). Yuri causes miscommunication again with his words, that saying Touma is destined for great power would mean he can still seem suspicious to Rintaro when Reika stirred-shit. That said, yeah Touma's the chosen one type which is something that really sounds generic to many people.

I think it's also an issue where too many participants, on the production side, are trying to make sure that the audience is suspicious of Reika. The actor's giving everything a layer of menace. The director's framing her shots to increase your discomfort as a viewer. The writer is including additional scenes of her having secret phone calls, and having her show up to conversations in order to blow them up. The set designer is making sure her base of operations is the most uncomfortable, foreboding location imaginable. And the musical director is giving her Suspicious Music. It's too much!

Man, I wish I was getting Kusaka vibes off of her! Kusaka's hilarious!

That explains why Daishinji seems to be on the verge of defecting to Team Saber. Those German kids are his important comrades, Hanselnuts To Gretel.

You mentioned Mei doing Yuri's Henshin, but I thought all of the Mei and Yuri shenanigans in this episode was comedy gold! Yuri is a Kamen Rider who doesn't even know how to ride a manual bicycle, as those didn't exist in his time. It's like the time when Hibiki crashed Tatsumaki, but even more ironic.

However, Yuri's experience of using an escalator shows that the old ways had their good points. Sure, anybody seeing one for the first time is going to be excited to take a ride. But when you have to go all the way up to come back down, I have to agree with him that it's inconvenient as hell, especially when you have to deal with people standing in the walk lane. It was created to assist people with poor mobility, but when young and fit people use them as well, it kind of defeats the whole point!

The four-man free-for-all is awesome for sure and I also love how ridiculous it is. Kenzan wants to take back his Kento-kun's sword, Legeiel wants revenge on Saber for merely killing too many of his MOTWs and our friendly neighborhood Swordsman Killer and Twitter-poster Desast is here specifically to add to that chaos!

Kamen Rider Saber in a nutshell. The show keeps getting better, but Reika keeps getting worse. And yet she's only my third least favorite female Rider of the Reiwa Era.

Ren tried to steel himself, but his expression looked more constipated instead.

I think Angela is too hard on herself. The problem with Reika is that she's Reika and also that Saber's producer Takahashi is the same guy who previously gave us that bigoted a**hole MosaRex in Ryusoulger.

We're very much at a point in Saber where every fight becomes an open question about what other weirdo might jump in from out of frame to be an obstacle for Saber. This one had a Book Club guy who hates Saber, a SoL guy who hates Touma, and a chaotic demon swordsman who hates not being in sword fights. It made for a very fun brawl.

Ren's version of events in that story is maybe not to be taken at face value!

The thing I remember about this episode years later is Touma speech at the very end. It a bit out of nowhere but to me it sold me on the character for the entire show. It too me cemented me liking Saber.

that is one of my favorite fights on the show. You really got the sense that the deck was stacked against Touma and it made for a very tense and chaotic action sequence.

Yeah, it's his first big But Why Heroism speech. I don't know if it completely landed for me (I'm not really connecting with the actor's performance, if I'm honest) but I appreciate the show trying to give his struggle a little more depth than Honoring Promises, which is a very surface-level motivation. I like that it's him as a writer, where he has to know characters inside and out, and he has to see himself in them and vice versa. Him getting pummeled to save someone is just a reminder of what they're going through, so he can fight even harder on their behalf.

It's the culmination of the last few fights where you can feel Touma's frustration reaching a breaking point. He's just got to get over there! To do one thing! And he can't get free to do it!

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 21 - “SHINE SPLENDIDLY, IN FULL COLORS”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber21a.png

X-Swordman! Pretty great suit, and a pretty great debut. Look at the comic book panel layouts! Look at the Saber-text (whatever it’s called) sound effects! Gorgeous.

I assume that’s the thing that most people are going to care about from this episode, and I can’t really blame them. The suit design itself, like if Roy Lichtenstein worked for Toei, is one that I was in love with before I even saw Saber, before I even knew what his character was all about. It’s garish in the best possible ways, with them Ben Day dots from old-school comic book coloring adding even more colorful nonsense to a suit that almost literally embodies colorful nonsense.

Beyond the aesthetic delights of a suit that makes Slash look like Shadow, there’s the way in which it debuts: I sort of love that this episode has Tassel appear in a plotline that intersects with the main narrative? (I also just like the Old Buddy comedy of Tassel and Yuri. It’s really well done.) It’s Yuri opting to step off the sidelines, where Tassel lives, and join the fight for justice alongside Touma. You need to have Yuri in the Avalon/Wonder World set for at least a little bit in the same episode where he becomes a swordsman once again.

It’s all part of this episode’s broad statement about Touma’s true power, which is his empathy and conviction. The SoL and Reika are scared of him because of how much power he’s accumulated through swords and books, but this episode – and Touma’s recruitment of Daishinji – proves that all of that extra crap was only serving to obscure Touma’s actual power, which is his dedication to helping people, no matter what.

(That said… this is a very half-and-half episode, which is hilariously apropos for the episode that introduces the Charybdis half of Scylla and Charybdis. The Daishinji fight and the appearance of X-Swordman are tonally and dramatically different, and it really feels like each one should’ve been their own episode.)

The Daishinji fight, which best expresses Touma’s strength of character exceeding his collectibles and power-ups, that was my favorite part of the episode. I’m never going to be too mad at a finale where an awesome suit debuts to detonate a monster in a quarry, but the heart of this episode was Touma figuring out (accidentally!) how to sway reluctant swordsmen to fight for his cause. It was never going to be sowing doubt about the SoL leadership, or begging for help, or saying the word Promise a lot, or even trying to rekindle feelings of friendship. The thing that was going to convince someone like Daishinji was force of will, and amount of dedication. Daishinji’s suffered, and lost, and lived to fight again. He’s lost his sword for years, but stood by the SoL until he could swing his sword in battle. He needed to see if Touma could fight with that same spirit, that same fire. He got his answer this episode, in the best Touma fight to date.

It’s a couple good plots in this maybe-overstuffed episode that had me enjoying myself a bit more than recently. Touma’s fighting style of screaming a lot about his motivations gave him a newly-returned ally, and Yuri’s debut as a comic book superhero was a visual feast. Good episode!

—

THE DAY I LOSE MY MIND

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber21b.png

He wasn’t sure if he was going mad or not.

It was a situation he’d never experienced before. His life to this point had been normal, but in a good way: school, work, love, family. His life was unexceptional, but not unhappy. He’d never had an unexplained illness, or an emotional episode. He was happy with his simple life.

Things were a lot less simple now.

He’d begun seeing the floating world a few weeks ago. At first, he’d pointed it out to his wife as a peculiarity: was this marketing for some new movie, or the launch of some new appliance? Her reaction was puzzlement, which he’d thought was a joke. He’d pointed to the bizarrely colorful tableau that hung in the sky, its airborne whales and copious amounts of dragons. Her puzzlement turned to concern when she realized he wasn’t joking, and his amazement turned to alarm when he realized she wasn’t joking.

They’d talked about it at home, later that day. His wife suggested that stress might be causing a hallucination, but that diagnosis only added to his fear. He wasn’t stressed, whatever his wife might think. Work was routine, but enjoyable enough. Their finances were stable. His friends were a constant presence in his life, but never demanding. His life was good, up until now.

But this vision he’d seen, and kept seeing… it unnerved him. He’d stopped mentioning it to his wife, in hopes that ignoring it would make it less present in his daily life. It hadn’t worked. He saw it constantly, and his wife could tell he was hiding it from her. She’d catch his gaze lingering a little too long out the window, and ask if he was still seeing the fantasy world. He’d make up some lie, the first ones he’d ever told her, to try and allay her fears. She wasn’t convinced, and he wasn’t less afraid.

It was strange, to fear your own perception. He didn’t know why his brain was making him see something that wasn’t there. He didn’t understand what message his subconscious might be trying to send him, or if (god forbid) he’d become a danger to the people around him. He went about his routine, and tried to concoct a shell that looked like the man he used to be. Inside, he longed for the last few weeks of terror to make some sense, to clarify this insanity.

He was walking home from work when he received his clarity at last. As the smirking man with the long length of hair came around the corner and pressed a small white cube to his chest, he understood the truth of his situation. It was a comfort, briefly.

He screamed in agony, and realized he was damned.

Okay so while X-Swordsman is cool, let me say this to start! I loved all of this episode but I absolutely adored the Daishinji vs. Touma segment! It's my favorite part of this episode!

This was the episode that fully sold me on Daishinji and Kamen Rider Slash!

Just... man, this episode does a lot of things and it really reiterates my earlier points about the prior episodes. The King Megid Two-Parter was very mundane and almost boring outside a few instances, like we were doing a repeat... and I feel like that was on purpose and the revelations this episode basically reoriented my opinion on them.

I don't find them spectacular obviously, but I appreciate them a lot more now. Last time we got another Human turned Megid plot and there was just a needless amount of padding in universe to where it took Touma forever to actually deal with the issue. Like say had everyone been on the same side, and coordinating, they would've dealt with the King Megid in like... the span of one fight scene.

But no, because everyone is splintered... it took a lot longer. And in the time it took, more people got turned into Megid's and their books actually got completed. That pile of red books in the Megid base? All victims and people Touma failed to save and might've had the Northern Base crew not been splintered.

And we get a very much defeated Touma, realizing that he couldn't save everyone being confronted by Daishinji and Ogami and begging them to come back. But of course Daishinji's not going to come back with begging, he wants a fight. And this time we get a true duel between the two, one that's very spectacular in that we also get the burning sword prop back! It's such a very highly emotional sword fight between the two and the ending where Daishinji just says "I heard a small echo" or something along those lines as he does a cool sword wipe is really great.

Then you've got Ogami being like "Hey man, follow your heart!" and not being hung up about Daishinji leaving to fight alongside Touma. It's a good scene between the older members as they choose to part ways.

I also found the structure rather interesting in that we have the Daishinji subplot go across three episodes. While it definitely made this episode a bit more packed, it definitely let that subplot breathe for a bit.

Anyway X-Swordsman! Pretty cool and I love the panel changing gimmick of going to the arm, etc. It's cool. Also Charybdis is an interesting Megid for the fact that it uses an entirely new mold for its design instead of just being top armor for the standard Megid suit.

But yeah... what a great episode. Probably one of my favorites in Saber if I'm being honest.

As for your story... I got goosebumps and chills from that! It was such a nice inner monologue this random nobody we've got no idea on is saying before it turns into absolute dread at the very end. You definitely captured a good creepy vibe with it, and I like that a lot.

===Zero Presents: Desast Walk===

Desast Walk #3:

http://www.tokunation.com/forums/att...1&d=1675570339

http://www.tokunation.com/forums/att...1&d=1675570339

http://www.tokunation.com/forums/att...1&d=1675570339

"Hello, humans.

I'm Dessert.

It feels good to lie down on the grass and look up at the open sky.

It's like I've got the whole world to myself.

What do you think?

Would you like to be a resident of my world?"

So... yes and no?

I definitely feel like the scale the Book Club are operating at is totally different now, and even a fully united SoL would've had a problem solving this one. Like, Touma and Mei -- armed with a magic book that tells them when Megid attacks are happening -- had zero clue this many people had been lost to Alter Books. So, to me, this wasn't so much a problem that a unified SoL could've prevented, but a problem that was always going to defeat Touma emotionally.

Sometimes You Get Beat is sort of what Daishinji's trying to impress upon Touma, you know? How Touma deals with adversity will tell Daishinji if this is a kid worth following or not. So, to me, the fight in this one for Touma isn't necessarily trying to reunite the SoL in order to solve this problem with/for him, but to find a level of personal strength that will allow him to keep fighting, even when he fails.

Also! Thanks for the kind words on this episode's bleak-ass short story. This is sometimes a horror show, what with the high number of grieving family members, so it felt like time to honor that.

Yeah I get what you mean, which is why your first response of "yes and no" perfectly encapsulate the situation.

Because make no mistake. I'm not about to downplay how hard the Megid decided to play ball because wow did they just decide to take things further than ever. There's no way a united Northern SoL could've solved the issue. But the situation definitely could've been handled a lot better than it has.

Will agree though! Sometimes you just lose, and after losing you just got to stare yourself in the mirror to see if you either give up or keep going. And in this case, Touma kept going. It's a good lesson that's imparted and one thing I'll mention is I like how the weight of swords is brought up here. Like these swords aren't just metal being swung, they have so much put into them that transcends beyond mere materials/magic.

Oh, absolutely. This whole string of episodes is the Book Club getting away with shit because the SoL are focused on Touma, and Touma's juggling Yuri, his old friends, and his investigation into the traitor. They'd've all still been behind the 8 ball (no one's ever made a Megid out of a human before, after all), but there'd probably have been a more immediate plan to track down the Book Club before double-digit lives were lost.

Yeah, X-Swordsman is a very cool suit design, the comic page aesthetic really works for me. I also like Daishinji and Ogami actually sort of joining with Touma is great, and I love that the cast is slowly forming back together.

However, everything else in this episode? It's fine, I don't have much to say on it, I just can't really muster up any feelings for the rest of the stuff in here, it doesn't necessarily do anything wrong, it just doesn't resonate with me.

The stuff with Daishinji though, was just great; as I've said numerous times, the cast is my favorite part of this show, and I love how Daishinji sticks to his roots and goes with Touma instead of the Sword of Logos because of what his Grandfather had said instead of just trusting the Sword of Logos fully, he sticks to what he believes. It's nothing too big, but it's a nice trait for his character.

Besides that though, I have nothing else to really say. The rest of the episode just didn't do all that much for me, but still, I thought it was a pretty good episode overall.

Yuri fights as a Shadow Saikou, but as an X-Swordsman, he uses more than just his sword, he equips the flashy armor on himself as well, making him feel more like a regular Kamen Rider. Though, other than Yuri's view to be less of a bystander and blend more with the world, in fight Shadow Saikou is well, a shadow and thus already can phase through most attacks like yeti Megid's before? With X-Swordsman armor, he's no longer invulnerable? And actually, Yuri is Rintaro when he's kinda a dick because he also has Daishinji's traits of his bluntness and standoffishness, and here... he also assumes different persona when fighting as an X-Swordsman like Daishinji as Rock Band Slash, but seems that Yuri does that intentionally.

I don't know if you expected this before, but yeah this shows that Tassel isn't just a narrator for the audience. Probably the first episode to make a full revelation of Tassel being a part of the world? (other than vague Yuri in cloak visiting). Overall there's a lot more of him so yeah there's a lot of spoilers for him (of which I also largely still don't know).

Which is why I want to know how was Kamijo and Hayato as a person back when they're still with SoL. What differentiates Touma from them when Kamijo or Hayato are still loyal to them (other than a flashback where Kamijo displays firm determination to save as Saber when the book that absorbs Luna opened... similar to Touma displaying his dedication to helping people), or if it's actually none and that SoL and Reika's suspicions on him are more justified... including how in the franchise, there are characters who are noble but had fall from grace at the end like Yuuji from Faiz or Aruto from Zero-One.

I guess even if it's not a formal investigation group like W's Narumi Detective Agency, seems that many Riders would have pseudo-investigating phase, like how here it's the Fantastic Kamiyama Bookstore that does its job due to many more Megid attacks than just Yuki. Mei is given a book that alerts Megid's presence by Sophia, but now Mei relays info using internet from her phone instead. I do appreciate that Mei's quite active in her way of words towards the SoL members, but here I kinda disagree with Mei's solution to Touma needing allies to just smile and then try to recruit (though he's successful in Daishinji here). She also needs to be given a lesson about how talk can be cheap... like Touma here about his vow to save everyone.

I actually like that Touma is more versatile in trying to make use of something else other than the sword like how the power can be used from his knowledge of books (of which for several KR, those utilities can be forgotten), but, it's still problematic where he didn't make use of the sword and too much focused on the side-utilities. To be an effective fighter, you gotta make use of everything you can in your arsenal, like for Touma's case here, swordmanship skills aside from the extra powers. Daishinji is established as standoffish due to his lack of social skills, but here as he shows more open appreciation to join Touma, he feels as if he acted as harsh mentor here instead.

Here Touma needs to come to terms that heroes aren't omnipotent, by default; saving any number of people at any given time means even more people aren't being saved. Heroes can't save everybody because reality forbids it. Daishinji already does which as Ogami describes, his sword swings are made heavier by anyone he fails to save. Touma stopping to focus on his failures to save people, also makes him do the same, now matching Daishinji in swordmanship better with weaker form. But, isn't this a kind of "I Was Mad Before But Now I've Seen Things Happen For More Times And Now I'm DOUBLE MAD" motivation for Touma? Motivations working with a multiplier effect.

Ah yes, the time the Megid proved the old adage that villainy only fails when the camera focuses on their schemes. But if it takes place off camera, they’re able to score victories up the wa woo.

And I’ll talk about the random sword themed books around Tassel’s house at a later time (possibly during the spin offs?), but for now, here’s what Yuri makes of the “Story of Kougouken Saikou” book.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GeXUb_y2V7k

Episode 1: Fight with all the colours!

Episode 2: All of me goes to my arm!

Episode 3: All of me goes to my leg!

And similar to that “Touma is from Wonder World” misunderstanding, TV Tropes actually misinterpreted a scene from the previous episode to mean this episode would be about Touma’s Kaenken Rekka breaking down from lack of maintenance. Which in retrospect, is kind of silly (just because the toy of the magical artefact is electronic, doesn’t mean the magical artefact itself is).

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 21

I'd be pretty shocked if you're assuming correctly here! To me at least, that Saber/Slash fight is easily a highlight of the entire series, so as fun as X-Swordman is coming in at the end, it's hard to compete with the impression left by that earlier duel. This was the first episode of Saber directed by Teruaki Sugihara, and as ever, the man just knows how to make things purposefully cool. You've got a line in the script where Touma says how heavy each swing of Slash's blade is, and that translates on the screen to the sick as heck use of slow motion to emphasize every individual strike. And that's just one detail in there!

It's also an extra memorable fight because it's just real darn good use of the suits? One of the simple things that makes this stretch of Saber so fun for me is that Brave Dragon, Crimson Dragon, and Dragonic Knight were all treated as equals in a way that generally doesn't happen with modern Rider shows as soon as a single big power-up makes its debut. It's cool in general, but this particular fight scene also harnessess that to further fuel the excellent drama going on in the scene, and it's a complete joy to watch. Combine that with Yuri's ever-growing appreciation of modern heroism resulting in him cosplaying as a guy he hated a month ago, and you've got an episode of Saber where the writing, the direction, and the merchandising are all working in beautiful harmony to bring out the best in each other.

Filled with climaxes and an important episode. The debut of Charybder, Yuri turned into a comic rider, Daishinji went over to the side of Toma and the audience was shown that by losing in battles the Megids win the war. The story develops in its own way and there will be many more interesting things to come.
Also your story is quite dark today.

It's really great how much this show lets characters' stories not always be in subservience to Touma. We get a lot of new insight into what Daishinji believes, instead of the story being about Touma swaying another character. Like, this sort of plot could very easily treat the SoL swordsmen as just another collectible for Touma to win, but Saber smartly stays away from that.

He also shows up in the final Kento storyline, but only from a distance. This was the first time he really provided something of tangible value to the cast, though.

I just assumed they were suddenly more effective due to Zoooooous's nighttime parkour.

I'm happy to be wrong in my assumption! It seems like everyone who enjoyed this episode called out the Daishinji thread as the best part, which is great to see. Folks got good taste!

Ha ha, you're not wrong! Sometimes these stories don't have happy endings for everyone.

If you want a fun name for Zooous aside from stretching the letters, might I suggest Zoobooks? It's one of the many nicknames my friend came up for various members of the cast during Saber's run.

Anyway, ya'll remember Zoobooks? I never had any but I remember seeing that commercial all the time. That Tiger Poster man...

I don't know where I was going with this. That is all.

I vaguely recall them, but I think I'm going to stick with an irregular amount of o's... on the rare occasion where I need to refer to a single member of the Book Club, which itself is pretty irregular lately.

(Like, I think in the last two-parter, Storious shows up for the final fight in Part 1, but Legeiel shows up in Part 2. At the time, I was like Damn I Thought This Was A Storious Story, but I looked back and it was Storious? And then Legeiel just pops out of a floorboard to be the Book Club representative for that second fight? It definitely feels like the show sort of views them all interchangeably at present.)

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 22 - “EVEN SO, I WISH TO SAVE THEM ALL”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber22a.png

We get a lot of focus on the remaining SoL members this episode, which is pretty much exactly what I’m looking for right now in the narrative. With Daishinji’s defection, it’s the perfect time to drill into what’s keeping Rintaro, Ren, and Ogami around.

Ren’s easy: he just wants to fight and detonate monsters, which Reika is a-okay with. (Funniest part in the episode is Rintaro being like There’s A Lady Inside That Megid, and Ren being like DON’T WORRY I’LL MURDER HER. He’s so shallow and excitable that he makes regular one-track minds look like the Den-Liner’s acrobatics by comparison.) Rintaro’s equally obvious, in that he’s trying to protect his rapidly-disintegrating family, and assuring that those who left have a home to come back to when they inevitably wise up. Them two aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

But Ogami… it seems like he should leave, doesn’t it? He seems to intensely dislike Reika, and rightfully so. He was fine with Daishinji leaving, because he trusts Daishinji’s judgment. He’s been the first one, in nearly every fight, to try and de-escalate things with Touma. There doesn’t seem to be a strong reason for a man of his convictions to follow cruel orders from an organization that doesn’t seem to care about its soldiers. (Maybe the SoL has really good tuition reimbursement for Sora? Single dads got it rough!)

But we get this sweet little scene with Sora, and it all makes sense. He’s a dad. Most of these swordsmen are kids. You don’t leave your kids behind just because things are tough, or because some of them are traitors to a guild of fairytale-powered superheroes. You rein them in when necessary, and you stick around to protect them. Ogami can’t leave, because, like, who’s going to look after Rintaro and Ren? He’s got responsibilities, and that means he’s got to stay in situations he’d maybe rather not.

It’s another episode of Saber where the drama with Touma’s former comrades dwarfs whatever MotW shenanigans are going on in the foreground. (It’s Touma advocating for the protection of people’s individual dreams, which both makes sense – it’s another facet of his deeply specific empathy – and also is maybe yet another Fiery Declaration too many from Touma. I don’t need a variation every other episode!) It’s all about Touma proving to Ogami that he’s not just some tourist in the SoL, a bystander who lucked into a sword he should’ve never kept. Touma’s the guy who won’t stop fighting for people, ever, even if he’s not convinced that he should be fighting for an organization.

The Remi/Mami stuff was fine, it was whatever; the SoL stuff was amazing, and showcases a grasp of character dynamics and conflicting motivations that match or exceed any other Kamen Rider show. Another huge mark in favor of this show exploring its gigantic, excellent cast!

—

GETTING INTO KNIVES

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber22b.png

Mei held up the stack of papers to Daishinji. “What is this?”

Daishinji looked up as briefly as he could to verify the content of the papers, then returned his gaze to his workstation, and the sword on it. “Those are the initial reports on my study of Yur– Saikou. Raw data, nothing you’d understand or be interested in.”

Mai dashed around to the front of the table, and crouched down so her face would be unavoidably in Daishinji’s line of sight. Her face was… he wanted to say Happy, but there was something else to it that Daishinji was wary of.

“Oh, yes, ‘raw data’,” Mei said with a mocking tone. “Very dry, very technical, very official. ‘Business, business, business’,” she said in a haughty voice, as she pretended to page through his report, “‘Numbers.’”

Daishinji stopped his analysis of his sword, and readied himself for a battle he always dreaded: a brief conversation with Mei.

He respected her as a valuable ally in the battle against the Megid, but he found her energy, enthusiasm and outgoing nature to be discordant at best, cacophonous at worst. She was an explosion, at all times. He wasn’t sure he could survive another detonation.

“Is there a problem with my examination of the Sword of Light?” Daishinji attempted to look Mei dead in the eye, to communicate his displeasure with this interruption, but barely made it halfway through before he swung his eyes to a random spot on a far wall.

Mei gripped the papers tightly, in a weird delight. “Problem? No. Oh no no no no,” she said with a manic energy, before a brief… was it a squeal? Why was it a squeal? “You were, um, VERY thorough. Can I tell you my favorite, uh, data point?”

Daishinji wasn’t expecting this. He’d always assumed that Mei would be disinterested in his data gathering; too flighty and emotional to care about the technical details that went into maintaining the Sacred Swords. Had he misjudged her? Could she be one of the few to find his expertise to be a source of excitement, rather than boredom? (He’d tried to walk Ren through some basic sessions on the science behind maintaining the Sword of Wind, and Ren later told him it was the closest he’d come to laying down his sword forever.)

Daishinji smiled slightly, overcome with happiness that his work had ignited something in Mei. “Please do,” he said.

She smiled back in a way that alarmed him – it reminded Daishinji of Desast’s rictus grin, for some reason; too wide, too many teeth – and flipped through the report until reaching a dog-eared page. She cleared her throat, and began reading.

“‘The sword was smooth, and felt warm in my hands. I gripped it tightly, and felt its power overwhelm my senses. Its heaviness belied its size, and I longed to–’”

Daishinji ripped the pages from her hands, and ran to hide under his workstation. From underneath, muffled, he shouted, “THAT IS AN OFFICIAL SWORD OF LOGOS DOCUMENT AND IT IS NOT FOR CIVILIANS THANK YOU GOOD DAY GOODBYE DON’T LOOK AT ME.”

So to talk about the Remi/Mami stuff... I think the one thing that I loved about this was Touma? Like, it was at this very moment that I realized who he reminded me of when it came to how he went about business.

He's Ichigo from Bleach in regards to his health. The two will literally get out of bed, beaten to hell, bandaged up, probably having internal bleeding, and they will do their damndest to try and get the job done. And then that just made me love Touma more because there's something about Ichigo's reckless abandon when it comes to how he fights injured more often than not that always resonated with me.

Speaking of Touma getting injured... man talk about reading the room wrong. The dude really thought that doing a duel with Ogami in the same way he went about it with Daishinji would do the trick... only to fail entirely when his base form was completely outmatched by Buster's defensive capabilities. And I sort of love that? Touma's stubborn in a sense, and is very much a "well if it worked before" kind of guy. So he thinks doing a repeat will work only for it to not work in the slightest at all.

So it definitely puts anticipation into how he'll go about everything given the likely scenario is to challenge Ogami again in the future.

That being said the other Sword of Logos stuff is also good. Ren is Ren, but Rintaro... it hurts so much to see Rintaro struggling this month. The dude has to try so hard to try and Henshin to potentially deal with Charybdis before Touma shows up.

Charybdis also shows a pretty cool power this week that I cared more for than it's amalgamation of Megid powers previously. And that's how it can use its tummy teeth to initiate a "The Hand" type maneuver to draw people in closer while eating its surroundings. It also has a cool weapon thingy!

But yeah. Overall, great episode for the Sword of Logos side of things, and while I know the Megid scenario wasn't exactly the most different, it is still nice to be getting new monsters still.

As for the story... I love it. I absolutely love it. Mei and Daishinji were not the two I expected you to choose for a conversation, and it produced splendid results. Daishinji is absolutely the type of man who would wax poetically about a goddamn sword, so much so that I really should think of including something like that in my story. So thank you for the inspiration!

===Zero Presents: Desast Walk===

Desast Walk #4:

"Hello, humans.

I'm Dessert.

The warmth of the sun and the freezing breeze is comforting.

It's starting to smell a little like spring.

It's not a bad idea to take a nap on a day like this, right?

I'm so bored."

Also there's a video attached to this so I will link to the tweet itself.

https://twitter.com/saber_toei/statu...174053376?s=20

I don't know Bleach, but I'll tell you who Touma absolutely reminded me of this episode: Kento! Touma can't lie down and be injured if there's convictions to be screamed about, so here he is using his Sacred Sword as a crutch (!) to go tell people what he believes in. It's the sort of martyrdom-adjacent superheroing that reminded me that, yep, Kento and Touma were best friends; and, yep, Touma's probably dealing with Kento's death in a weird way.

You're welcome! Thank you for indulging me and my Slash fic!

I really appreciate that the show didn't have all of the other Riders realize that Touma was right and rejoin him all at once. Letting each character come to their own realization about who they wanted to side with was a great way to give all of them the deeper focus and development that the show didn't take the time for in its first act.

It's especially nice because it reaffirms that Touma striking out on his own isn't the normal A Rider Goes It Alone For An Arc thing; him leaving the SoL is a big deal, and his friends are unhappy. It matters, and these guys joining him is another big deal that's going to make people unhappy.

So I don’t remember much about the totality of this two parter beyond Yuri getting his new book, Slash living up to his genre name around the former, the debut of Charybdis (who’s going to be slightly more important, based on that scene where it’s shown the book survived and was completed), and it’s revealed that there are a total of 10 Seiken (plus Kyomu from the movie. It’s kind of like the Sefirat from Hindu mythology, where there’s 11 pieces, but only 10 are strictly necessary) that legends says can pool their powers into an ultimate sword. (Foreshadowing!)

Ok, I remember quite a bit more than I thought. Well, I’ll have something less ramble-y next time, with a few debuts.

Saber-text is called Ridermoji.

Something else I'd like to point out about X-Sword-Man is that Saikou doesn't have a facsimile of his Seiken Sword sticking out of his head like the other Swordsmen, that would be too weird since he is his Seiken Sword. His head ornament is a pencil instead, which continues the reference to comic books!

I agree, Tassel had mostly been limited to his narrator role for so long, which made it a pleasant surprise to see him have an actual influence on the story rather than only reciting it. We also got to see how Yuri interacts more comfortably with a fellow ancient eccentric man, rather than the confusing and sometimes hysterical modern men he's been trying to get accustomed to with Team Saber. Yuri and Tassel are both weird in their own ways, so it makes sense that they'd have such a good friendship.

Yeah, X-Sword-Man gives Saikou the physical abilities of a Swordsman, including the downside that enemies can now hit him and he loses his base form's power to move at Clock Up speed. The armor basically mimics what Saikou used to be, which is the closest Yuri's ever going to get to being human again. However, after hearing Touma's speech about how pain is power that would make Akiba Red proud, maybe Yuri allowing himself the opportunity to get beaten up can give him similar determination to save the world and its people.

It's not that ridiculous, since Suzune took 15 whole years to recover from poor maintenance. But yeah, only a few weeks have passed since Touma got Rekka checked out and it hasn't shown any symptoms of breaking down, so I doubt it would happen suddenly. I'd also presume that Southern Base have their own swordsmith to take over Daishinji's work and that the two primordial Seiken Swords, Saikou and Kurayami, are self-sufficient due to being created from the Omniscient Tome, explaining why Yuri and Kamijo have gone so long without need for maintenance.

Exactly!

That's an interesting take on Ogami's motivation. The Sora part was clear already, since he often talks about wanting to protect the future Sora will live in and of course he'd take offense to Reika suggesting he put SOL before his family. You're right though, it's true that Ogami acts as a father to Rintarou as well, due to taking over that role from Kenshin after Zooous killed him. He doesn't want to cause Rintarou even more distress. Regarding Ren, someone definitely needs to keep him in check and stop Reika manipulating him further, so I can see why Ogami would worry what would happen to him by leaving him behind.

And that's how you know it's Aruto! :lol

....

Which reminds me, Aruto's going to need a new bf after 01hers, huh. :(

Ren only wants to display his power, so yeah he'd make this morally questionable choices. However Rintaro is much more conflicted in how he has to resort into killing civilians to protect the world, being pained that he'd wish there's other way, while in comparison Reika is just unfazed in conveying that to them, perhaps with that even only done to further her agenda. Of which ofc, that's something discussed by both Daishinji and Yuri, who isn't blindly bound to the SoL, at least for Yuri, not until now which shows Touma's positive influence on him, but Daishinji really confirms for the Kamiyama Bookstore that SoL is really the true enemy as Touma said, but dunno about Daishinji's feelings for Kamijo now. Daishinji's interest in weapons lead for him to be caught in some bizzare hijinks with Yuri though to think that Daishinji wants to touch Yuri which Yuri vehemently denies.

Like that there's some real opposition to Reika, with Ogami standing up for Daishinji as Reika continues her gaslighting. However Ogami still submits to her wants currently by fighting Toum. I even feel that this episode quite downplays that problem in Ogami just nonchalantly informing Mei that Touma's alive at the end. Saber's strategy in fighting against Slash doesn't work the 2nd time against Buster. I guess overall Daishinji and Ogami really earned their places in SoL compared to the newcomers, for their time the experience pays off even when they look on par when fighting monsters, but when the Riders are pitted against each other, Touma's creativity doesn't let him stand a chance. I'd perhaps think in KR world for general, being an SoL is a 'privilege', that they're more protected against the Megid, and by extension their family, or betraying SoL perhaps causes more headaches.

And Sora here still vouches for Touma which he sees as the ideal team up for his dad. But here, Ogami claims he'd not just take care of Sora, but just all children or overall youngsters. Actually it's a mistake when people assume someone'd be good with kids in general only because they're good with their own kids (or just certain kids they have soft spot with). They can be just apathetic with the others cuz it's not their own. I'd think that this direct confirmation from Ogami is needed to make me assume that instead of just assuming from how he treats Sora.

That'd be one of the reasons Touma is disliked too, in his constant fiery declarations which'd make him seem even more generic and cliched hero protagonist, probably even among KR ones. This episode, perhaps half-comically half-serious, really displays Touma's dedication in fulfilling promises that he autonomously moves to fulfill that while others note that he's unconscious. The twins part doesn't seem to have many effort (which is appropriate to not take much focus?) but it adds something from Touma to vouch for someone who's feeling down that everyone's unique and not worthless when Mami feels that. Otherwise, the series seem to validate erasing memories from victims as Mei gets mad at Yuri for forgetting to erase the twins' memories.

Yes, the riders in the Saber are chic and beautifully crafted considering how many of them there are. What is no less surprising is that each of them has something to do, even if it is completely in the background. And yes, Ogami is now at a crossroads and will have to choose sides again in the future. Also, the story is beautiful and the characters are conveyed very accurately.

Been a bit...

But I'll just say one thing: I love this arc! It is exactly what all other Rider Wars were lacking for me, characters you want to succeed pitted against each other. These are all unmistakably heroes, maybe minus Ren, but their morals force them into conflict.

It just feels earned all the worse in a good way.

As for Yuri, instantly loved him, he is both funny and compelling. He feels like a completely innocent little child and a world-weary warrior who cast his humanity aside. And seeing him rekindle that what he lost is just beautiful!

The fights with Daishinji are great and really nail the fantasy swords and sorcery aspect of the show.

And lastly, this is where I went from enjoying Touma to adoring him. The way he drags his beaten and bloodied ass to the battlefield to save a life. The determination, the fire, the sheer heroism is just impressive and feels so damn earned.

Yeah... Fuck, this is good!

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 22

This is about the point where my old posts about the episodes start getting noticeably longer, and from what I remember, they don't really stop, which is how you know I was actually starting to consciously realize Saber was special to me. I spend a lot of time talking in this particular one about how much I'd come around on Touma, but it's like, I was so totally absorbed in all of these guys by this point I just sort of naturally got fired up to dig into their adventures more and more, even though it often takes more time than I'd like to write up even that much. (And by the way, Die, this thread's fan-fiction shtick is reminding me all over how impressed I am by your endurance.)

But yeah, the show moved from what I felt was a thrilling act-one climax into this little trilogy of more leisurely paced, utterly rock solid three-parters, and cementing Touma as my favorite Rider in the show very much put everything in place for the show to just keep leaping to greater heights from here.

Die finally made a remark about the repetitive nature of Touma's speeches lately, but again, I really appreciate that the show decided to drill into his attitude towards heroism this thoroughly. The repetition in the formula these last six episodes have had is eased a lot for me because it's like the show's three writers all taking their own crack as the same base idea, and I think they each end up emphasizing different details. I remember feeling like Hasegawa here maybe made the actual nuts and bolts mechanics of the monster plot the most engaging, but when he was right there writing so much Double back in the day, it's hardly surprising he does well with this sort of thing.

The other thing that eases up the repetition is that, like I said, I consider these two-parters a sort of trilogy, and the plot will be picking some speed back up with some new wrinkles and twists shortly. I feel the month and a half spent with the foot on the brake was pretty much just the right length to reorient the series a bit. We stripped things down to the absolute basics with Touma, Mei, and Yuri, and now we're gradually wrapping the other Riders back in, except now there's like a ton of extra dramatic weight behind it. I feel like I'm probably rambling in circles again here, but yeah, I don't know, this episode was real good, and Saber's real cool, as ever.

Wow, you'll let Ren off with just a "maybe" here; that's very generous! :p

Is it, actually? I was going to bring that up, but I can't actually remember where that came from. I know I saw it a lot before the show actually started airing, but every official source I've seen since only ever refers to it as like, "the ancient script" or whatever. I've been under the impression it doesn't really have a particular name?

Yeah, I feel like this arc of Saber is a lot like the Job Arc of 01 (controversial, I know). We move through each Rider in turn, focusing on their own motivations and reasons specifically for allying with Touma, and how they each see the SOL. We have our MOTW 2-parters again, but while they're less essential to the plot, I still find them fun and well-put together, especially since it shows some creative thinking from the Book Squad now they don't have Calibur around to hold them back or whatever.

I was thinking of making that comparison myself, actually. I think you can pretty easily make the argument there are some broad similarities, at the very least, even if I feel like there's a good chance they'd start seeming very different again once you start digging into details.

I'm looking forward to it!

I like how the show sort of differs Ogami's motivation from Rintaro's, even if they're both unwilling to throw in the towel on the SoL. Rintaro values the organization, which (because an organization isn't a person) doesn't value him in the same way, so he's sort of trapped in his exceedingly unhealthy dynamic. With Ogami, he values the people within the organization -- the kids who came after him, especially -- which both allows him to see how messed up Reika's leadership is, while still forcing him to stay and protect his sword babies. It's, as always, some deft character work!

Reika pretty hilariously overplays her hand in this one, trying to run the same lie on Daishinji that she did on Touma. Problem is, Ogami's known Daishinji for YEARS, not months, so he's about zero percent falling for some speculative He Must Be Mad With Power nonsense. I love how mad Ogami gets at her throwing Daishinji under the bus! It's great!

Also... I don't know, it's not like Ogami didn't try to defeat Touma? He got King Of Arthur back, which isn't nothing.

They really are! I think the only character who's been underserved in this storyline (besides Desast, who I miss terribly) is Rintaro, but that's relative to the spotlights everyone else has received. Rintaro still got some fun scenes! And it's probably better if Rintaro frets at the Southern Base, 'cause it just makes this whole thing sadder.

The only thing it was missing was Touma saying "The only one who can save you... is ME!" Oh, wait, wrong Rider.

I kid! It was a very fun, very heroic moment for Touma.

The amount of effort it's taking to reform Touma's support network makes for the best drama this show has had yet. Nothin about it seems easy, and even the people who've joined him, outside of Mei, feel like they could abandon him if he loses his moral compass. Things are very... tentative, I guess? And I like that aspect a lot. I like that there isn't the inherent gravity of the primary Rider, where everyone's destined to alter their worldview to align with his.

I think there're some similarities, yeah. The Zero-One stuff was a bit more focused on how Aruto's protectiveness of Humagears was tested and enhanced, with the various Humagear quandaries asking him to grow his own perspective, while this arc sort of goes in the opposite direction; it's a lot more about how the other Riders view Touma, and what they need from him as a teammate. But I like both!

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 23 - “AND SO IT RAMPAGES, THE HAND OF DESTRUCTION”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber23a.png

I love berserk forms.

Berserk forms are wrong, which is such an interesting way to deconstruct and challenge our assumptions about a character, a show. It’s your steadfast, empathetic hero becoming a bottomless well of animalistic rage, or nihilistic destruction. The suits are severe instead of playful. The tone is Everything Has Gotten Worse. There’s no glory in this new power-up, just fear.

It’s especially nice to have a berserk form debut at this point in the story, because it sort of accidentally proves the Sword of Logos’s alleged point? Touma had been on a hot streak, convincing wary Swordsmen to join his cause, and generally having all of his claims regarding Megid schemes to be accurate. The momentum had swung in his direction, and it seemed inevitable that we’d be left with only an anxious Rintaro and a deranged Ren to stand in the way of Touma’s ultimate victory over the forces of evil.

Until.

Until, basically, the Sword of Logos was right: Touma collects power too easily, and he doesn’t understand the consequences. He races ahead of Daishinji, he follows unknown dudes, he gets into a quarry fight with Storious that might’ve ended up killing him. Touma’s… he acts rashly, emotionally. He’s a guy that will never stop charging into a fight if he thinks it’ll help someone. But that same recklessness that all the heroes swooned over last episode becomes a critical flaw this time. He’s unlocked a power he can’t control, and it’s made him maybe a bigger threat than the Book Club or the SoL traitor combined.

Which, dark, but: PRIMITIVE DRAGON. I love it? I love it. Everything about it is awesome. I love how the normal jingles and voice-overs are dropped, so it’s just Touma’s animalistic grunting, echoed out and magnified. I love how he grips the sword wrong on his Henshin, trading precision and artistry for power and unpredictability. I love how his body language is feral, barely restrained. I love how the flames of the new helmet’s jaw become fangs. I love the giant claw, how it has Touma’s power and heroism and very identity in its terrifying grip. I love how the chest plate mimics that, to broadcast that this is the Primitive Dragon’s story now, not Touma’s. I love the way Saber’s fighting posture changes into a squat, with leaps and claw strikes and the sword swung as a random object. I love how the music isn’t sweeping, fairytale orchestral performances, but aggressive and electronic, a separation from the show’s aesthetic.

I just… I love Primitive Dragon. I love it so much.

The rest of the episode was fun and solid, even if the middle third leaned real heavy on Pay Attention You Will Be Asked About This Later stuff. (Master Logos! The unnamed assistant! Why Storious was let into the vault!) It’s intriguing, but I’m not the viewer who’s going to try and connect a variety of dots. That’s not where my passion is with these shows.

It’s with Primitive Dragon.

—

UNCORRECTED PROOFS

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber23b.png

They’d managed to elude the Sword of Logos guards, Touma was pretty sure. He and Daishinji had infiltrated the base effectively, but then a general alarm had almost gotten them caught. Luckily, he and Daishinji had managed to duck down a side corridor – of which this base seemed to have a few hundred – and catch their breath before completing their mission.

They might only have a few minutes, and after that… well, Touma wasn’t sure what could go wrong. He might be imprisoned by the Sword of Logos. He might be killed. This might be all he had left, this time with Daishinji. He had to say something.

“Daishinji,” he said, as quietly as possible, “there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

The stoic swordsman turned from his observation of the hallway to face Touma. Daishinji whispered, “Now?” He seemed surprised, and a little concerned. Daishinji wasn’t one for casual conversation, and this was the least casual setting for a conversation that Touma could imagine. Still, this was important.

“Yeah.” Touma leaned closer to Daishinji, to try and keep their conversation from getting them found by the roaming guards.

Daishinji’s eyes darted from side to side, but eventually they came to rest on Touma’s face. “Okay, but quickly.”

“Mei showed me that story you wrote about Yuri.”

Daishinji’s eyes grew wide. “WHAT?!” Touma immediately clapped his hand over Daishinji’s mouth, and shushed him to be quiet. After a moment, Touma removed his hand, and Daishinji continued in a rushed whisper, “Wh– why? Why would she do th–”

Touma stopped him with a raised hand, and shook his head once. “I know, I know. I’d feel the exact same way. I never want someone to see my early drafts. It’s just about getting things down on paper, and yet people act like it should be random drops of perfection, just waiting to be rearranged. They don’t get it. But she’s a good editor, and I think she just wanted me to give you a hand with it.”

Daishinji’s mouth hung open. He clearly felt vulnerable, exposed. Touma needed to reassure him.

“I thought it was solid, for an early draft. There’s some really erotic imagery, and some incredibly detailed passages. There’re a few tics you’ve got that need to be addressed – you use the word ‘taut’ a lot, and I feel like there are a few synonyms like ‘rigid’ that could freshen things up – but I think there’s some real passion on the page, which is the most important thing. Definitely a lot for us to work with as we polish it up.”

Daishinji’s eyes were twitching, probably out of gratitude. “‘Us’? ‘We’?”

Touma smiled warmly. “Of course, buddy. Once we get out of here, you and I are going to pound that raw material into shape, and shine it to brilliance. Get it? Like a sword!”

“Yes,” Daishinji agreed with a curious lack of enthusiasm, “when we get out of here. Which I definitely want to do now. I want to live to do that. So badly.”

ok it's been 22 episodes of mediocrity(or it was too me glad you liked 16-22) you are now at the point where Saber gets good

I liked chunks of the previous episodes, so this wasn't like night-and-day, but it's a VERY promising new development.

Okay so like... let me say this to start!

Putotyra is probably my favorite berserk form in the franchise? Purely for how long it lasts, and even while in some control, the negative effects it ends up having on Eiji regardless. There's something about the primal more animal styled Berserk Forms that are a treat to see. And we rarely see them. I mean there was Fang Joker but I rarely count that as a Berserk Form given how quickly it gets fixed.

Putotyra was the peak for me. Even Build Hazard couldn't touch it despite its well directed episodes, and Metal Cluster Hopper was far far at the bottom away from those two.

The magazine scans for Primitive came out and I was honestly very annoyed. I did not like Metal Cluster in the slightest so I wasn't going to enjoy this. My past self was wrong...

In comes Primitive Dragon, in which it takes everything I love about Putotyra and cranks it up to eleven. You can tell the suit actor had a lot of fun with his performances in this suit. There's just a very big ferocity and genuinely creepy nature.

One part I'd like to point to I adored was Storious and Legeiel backing away and Storious swings energy at Primitive Dragon like I'm throwing a house shoe at a roach and proceeds to back away in fear as the critter just scurries towards us because that did not work in the slightest!

Such a good form... and honestly, both Primitive Dragon and Putotyra are like... very much trying to battle it out for 1st for me. I definitely feel like they finally hit something real good after a bunch of tries tbh.

There's also just some other fun stuff here, Ogami being all angry and barking at Touma while also "dropping" what Touma needs to get to where he needs to go. Touma's reckless abandon actually being very detrimental to everything at the moment. It's a good way to show that while our hero has good and admirable traits, they're not always best used in every situation.

Honestly a good/bad episode to leave off on as we enter the Tuesday break. Good because it's a very strong episode thanks to Primitive Dragon, and bad because I'm sure you want more. Thankfully you aren't like us who had to wait weeks for more of this good stuff.

Also that story... I don't know what made you decide to do a sequel to last night's story but I enjoyed it greatly. There's just something so very innocent about Touma thinking Daishinji is trying to write a story when it's just Daishinji being very, very, very damn (and erotically I might add) passionate about a legendary sword. It's great. I'm glad you've gotten a pretty good handle of the characters to be able to do short skits like these.

===Zero Presents: Desast Walk===

Desast Walk #5:

"Hello, humans.

I'm Dessert.

I don't know why you humans keep building cities out of concrete.

If you're confined to a small space, you'll never get the wind, the sound, the smell of the earth, or anything else interesting.

Well, that's not my problem."

Ha ha, yeah, that was great. Ogami very theatrically going I AM A SWORDSMAN WHO IS LOYAL TO THE SWORD OF LOGOS! I WOULD NEVER GIVE YOU THIS BOOK GATE, WHICH I AM LEAVING BEHIND AS I WALK AWAY! Perfect.

Thanks! I've held off on doing a Touma POV for a while, 'cause I just... I kinda couldn't get into his head enough? And then I was thinking about Touma getting looped into this Slash Fic subplot, and I thought, yes. Touma would be THRILLED if any of his friends tried to write something, and he would immediately throw his weight behind helping them finish it. He also would completely not get how co-writing an erotic short story about a teammate would make Daishinji want to get murdered. I'm glad it worked for you!