Yeah, I really like how personal and unique these Berserk From stories can get, from something like Build's interrogation into whether technology will inherently be used for violence, to Saber's current exploration into how we can be empathetic people while still protecting ourselves emotionally. It makes for some interesting arcs!

Aren't the previous berserk forms also aren't the Riders leaning on a crutch? It wasn't purposely done by the characters (Aruto is the only one doing this, not any of the others), the agency is all removed, or at best, only from how they're risking it all by activating those berserk forms (e.g. Sento using Hazard form, but what he directly did is only using). But, you're ok with this berserk part isn't done directly by Touma but the form forcing itself in a fight? As usually, there are some people (not here) who complains when the hero got his culpability removed like the outside source being the one behind their wrongdoings.

As already said, Yuri will be safe (even with X-Swordsman not making himself invulnerable again), Yuri isn't in losing position against Saber Primitive Dragon. But yeah what can potentially happen is him endangering others like Mei.

I'd just fully consider Reika is being up to no good here with her continuing to do nasty stuff without any regards to the swordsmen's well-being (hehe... again unlike Sophia who does care), like what you said about lying about Master Logo's orders, with of course painting herself as relying messages from him, or including trying to bind Ogami to SoL's will by abandoning or even sacrificing them. Kagawa from Ryuki is the one who (attempts to) sacrifice his family himself, but here Reika forces another to do that. I guess at least, it's semi-right that the Master Logos may be more reasonable to be reasoned with via Touma and Yuri's plan.

Seems that all this time, it was Sora who likes Touma better, even though later Sora will also 'challenge' Touma into fighting Ogami and later run after Ogami. But here, it's Sora who vouches for Touma against Ogami, with the reason of how Touma never lies. Touma is someone who is able to fight untransformed, but these episodes lately establish that Touma doesn't stand a chance compared to Daishinji or Ogami in (sword)fighting, I wonder their 2's performance when fighting untransformed. Though Ogami insisting to look after the young is used as the reason to join Touma here due to Touma being still green in swordfighting, with now Ogami refering to him by his name. Otherwise, while Mei makes goofy lovey-dovey poses against Rintaro... here she reacts to Touma's fights by claps her hands in praying position watching it.

Anti-heroes aren't bad guys. They're subcategory of heroes, they're the heroes who has unheroic traits (opposite of anti-villain, who are villains with redeeming traits). They're good guys too, they'd be typically on the side of the protagonists even if they can be at odds. Many of those edgy assholes secondaries in previous series are anti-heroes.

I feel, if you wanted to make the crutch argument, Sento is the one to focus it around. Part of the Hazard Trigger arc is that dichotomy he sees between only being able to match Grease and Cross-Z charge by using it (and thus protect people/Banjou from them/himself), but also seeing it as something cursed that even thinking about using constitutes crossing a line and will render him as the villain. Whereas Aruto's driver gets gummed up the first time using MCH, and the drama centers more around his inability to sit back and not throw himself at someone he thinks needs help, even if the consequences have to be dealt with later.

I've been mulling over how these arcs compare and I'll probably do an attempt at analysis in a few episodes time but suffice to say it's interesting how they all get across different themes despite the superficial trappings.

I'm aware of what an anti-hero is! Tassel being Calibur wouldn't necessarily be a villain, which is why I offered options like Threat and Anti-Hero!

If you want to be reductive about it, every Berserk Form arc seems to be about interrogating the hero's altruistic/empathetic catchphrase. Sento's "It's time to start the experiment" becomes an arc where his inventiveness creates something too dangerous to exist, and his fears that his curiosity might be the wrong attitude in a world of perpetual war. Aruto's "The only one who can stop you... is me" delves into Aruto's need to protect all Humagears, but the trouble any one man will have when he declares himself the protector of an entire species. Here, we've got Touma's "I'll decide how this story ends" meeting a challenge where his empathy makes him both the only hope and perfect target.

Die found out Calibur was Tassel, I see.

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 25 - “SHROUDED IN SMOKE, THE CRIMSON ASSASSIN”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber25a.png

Perfect episode!

It was so smart to save Rintaro for last. (I mean, there’s Ren, but even Ren’s got this look of What Did I Get Myself Into, so I can’t imagine we’ve got a lot to do on that front.) Rintaro is the most interesting character this show has, and I don’t mean that as a slight against this phenomenal cast of memorable characters. It’s maybe the best ensemble a Kamen Rider series has ever had… but Rintaro’s the standout. He’s loyal, but that loyalty is wrapped up in obligation and duty. He’s a good friend, but he believes that putting his own needs ahead of the Sword of Logos is heresy. He’s absolutely destroyed by everyone else’s actualization, despite wanting the best for the people he loves.

If you need to have an A-plot for the episode where the B-plot is Reika Makes Her Move, there’s maybe none better than Mei reaching out to Rintaro in hopes that the group schism which is giving Rintaro an ulcer can be brought to an end. Once again, the series is very smart about the tools it uses to pry swordsmen from the SoL. Like, we’ve seen Rintaro and Touma try to hash out their differences and find common ground before, but they just end up shouting past each other until it’s too late. But Mei! Mei’s always been the one who had Rintaro’s number, and knew how to get him to be okay with basic emotional states like Happiness and Pride and Anger. She’s the one who was integral to Rintaro and Touma seeing that they were stronger together than apart, and they were all stronger for being a group. I mean, it was the three of them who made that promise to–

Wait, weren’t there four of them in that promise?

Hey, Kento’s the new Calibur! While I’d suspected it as soon as Kento was Poison Smoke Cursed back a dozen episodes ago, I can’t pretend that this was either a too-obvious reveal or a bad one. It’s exactly who it should be, even if I can’t begin to guess what the show’s going to say he’s been up to while everything else was falling apart. If this is the episode where our heroes start to realize the scope of the forces arrayed against them, this is when you want Kento to return with a big ol’ question mark at the end of his name. We’re in a story where it’s nothing but bad options for our characters (Rintaro’s too ashamed and distraught to even Henshin, dooming Touma to yet another traumatic episode), so why not conclude it with their lost friend returning in the clothes of their dead enemy? It’s too deliciously macabre to avoid, and I’m glad the show saw the potential.

All this goodness and praise, and I haven’t talked about the happiest surprise of the episode: Reika’s super fun as a villain! Way too long after I’d gotten sick of her one-note laconic imperiousness, here she is as Kamen Rider Sabela to kick the shit out of Slash and Buster in one of the most epic fights this show has put on. I mean, she’s OP as all hell, at a level that will surely get scaled back as the series progresses -- like, her being smoke when she’s hit and solid when she’s hitting is the sort of power set that even Yuri would think needs nerfing -- but it all makes for a fight that I’m still replaying in my head. That shot in the beginning of the fight when they charge her, SMOKE, she walks towards camera, DUDES FALL. So good!

It’s an absolutely unstoppable episode, from haunting initial dream sequence to haunting final interdimensional therapy session. Y’all can bring up nearly any single second from this episode and I’m gonna go A THOUSAND PERCENT. Beautifully shot, exquisitely scored (Sabela’s musical motif!!!), breathtakingly performed, and wonderfully written. What an achievement. I hope everyone involved – even Ren and Reika’s actors – feel proud of this one.

—

FREAKS IN CHARGE

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...asterpiece.png

In classic Saber fashion, this episode has a lot going on (Primitive Dragon is a thing! Reika finally gives up on not giving into workplace violence! Kento is back and he's in his emo phase!), but at this part of the series, when everyone's established and it's not a flurry of introductions and new deep lore, it really works! Also, to steal a bit from someone else's thread...

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...559&height=418
AkibaSilver builds So-Do! Kamen Rider Sabela
There are a lot of contenders, but Sabela is probably my favourite Saber suit, full stop? I love the caramel brown mixed with the gold, the weird smokey cloud on the face, the sword being a rapier with a bloody book taped to the side, it's all so nice! This figure is the only Saber SO-DO I own, and I only picked it up recently because during the series I was in a delay-slash-rut, and I know if I get above a critical threshold I'm liable to feel the itch to collect the entire book gang. But, for now, it's just Sabela, and I'm happy with my gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss.

That face sticker though, I forgot how nerve-wracking face stickers could be.

Also very good text story Die, 10/10 was worth the dramatic wait.

Well now, I was not expecting you to give this episode a perfect. I certainly thought it was good though, so I'm not about to complain lol. I just was not expecting you to go "I love it!" since you know, you can never tell with who watches what.

Still you hit the points rather nicely.

It is funny how you talk about how they're going to do something similar with this new Calibur only for... Kento in a potato sack to show up at the very end the episode after last. Okay I'm being mean, Kento in a white turtleneck with a potato sack over it. Seriously, that material he's wearing looks so uncomfortable just from a quick glance.

It's such a very strong moment to end the episode on. Where it's all just chaos and we get this sudden chilling moment of an old friend returning but not in the way anyone would expect. And it's not like this quiet moment dispels the chaos either, in fact I'm sure it just adds to it by how it just ends there!

Speaking of, Kamen Rider Sabela! I do love how we got super unorthodox with the elements the further we go out from the starting ones. Like sound was already kind of out there when compared to the other elements we had already seen, then you got stuff like Void, and now Smoke. I dig her design a lot and the mixture of smoke/bugs is cool as we get another Animal Wonder Ride Book! I shout it like this because the Animal style books in Saber probably are the least plentiful of them all. I don't have much to say but it was nice to see Reika take some action, and also put on a stylish red coat that very much clashes with the dark blues that the Northern base Wielders have on.

I guess I'm going backwards, huh? So let's talk Rintaro. A lot of people were kind of fed up with him not doing much at this point. But I don't mind if Rintaro and Blades took a backseat a lot of the time, purely because the drama with him is really compelling to watch. It's why I consider him a top tier Secondary Rider/Kamen Rider in general. It's very much story of saying, "What do you value more?" and "is this organization you devoted yourself to really worth it?" and it's definitely a huge hurdle given Rintaro's upbringing. It's going to take a lot more work than it did with Ogami and Daishinji, that's for sure.

Still, Mei taking initiative here in meeting with Rintaro to sort of talk him through everything, with Touma coming in at the end and both of them viciously complimenting each other, was definitely another standout of the episode.

Of course we also have the beginning, in which we get a horrifying nightmare sequence of Touma's fears as Primitive Dragon walks alongside a bloody path towards the only person left which of course is Mei. The sequence itself is shot so well, and I'm surprised they were able to get away with that imagery (mostly the bloodied Rekka) since I don't think it's something you'd usually see on these kinds of shows these days.

Uh yeah, overall, just like you I really loved this episode. One of Saber's best!

===Zero Presents: Desast Walk===

Note: We're back to google translate because I didn't have the sense to actually copy and paste the actual translations down somewhere and assumed the person wouldn't lock their account. So yeah! With that said, it is time for the next Desast Walk.

Desast Walk #7:

"Hi humans.

I'm Dessert.

Do you know why the sea water is blue?

Some people say it shows the sky, and some say it's a lie.

Well, I don't know, it doesn't matter which one, but half of what people say is a lie.

If you want to know the truth, read a book."

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 25

And so begins the era of Potato Sack Shirt Kento!

...I uh, I honestly don't know what to say about this one beyond just gesturing towards my extremely enthusiastic post about it from the time. Again, I was getting more excited and thus more in-depth each week by this point, and the only thing that's really any different about my feelings on this particular episode now is that Sabela's design did indeed grow on me a ton over time.

It's just... this is like a stupidly good episode of Saber, you know? As someone who probably would've been calling this series a favorite anyway if it had stayed on the level it was at in the first arc, a lot of what I remember about the experience of following the show around this point is just being repeatedly blown the heck away as it kept managing to top itself. Die's words about how you can point to any random second here as a highlight might as well be my own.

Ah, yes: the point in the story where Kento sheds his happy-go-lucky, whimsical nature and starts brooding endlessly over his own traumas and resentments. I wondered if we'd ever get here!

It really is a lovely suit. I like how they used Smoke to sort of justify a steampunk look for Sabela, with the brass and gold and gears and whatnot. It's a smart looking suit, and it's still only the second-best new costume Reika gets this episode. (I love that red assassin get-up!)

The fact that this show had Rintaro choke on his own anxiety for WEEKS, only to have him finally voice his misgivings at an all-hands sword cult meeting! With his god/father/godfather there! Even REN is aware enough of social cues to get that Rintaro may have just volunteered to get murdered by Reika! It's so smart to have Rintaro's crisis of conscience get so bad that he basically blurts an f-bomb in church. Hilarious, and it absolutely established the very big narrative stakes for this episode.

how good was reika's "i'm an assassin now" red coat form change, though

what a sequence

Wow I gushed about this episode so hard I forgot the story!

Or in this case, Twitter DM's!

Honestly a very creative way to tell a story. Simple, gets the point across, and really highlights both Desast and Mei. Just a great fun sequel with some nice levity given how heavy some parts of Episode 25 were.

Oh, ha ha, thanks! I almost feel bad, putting something so wacky and dumb after an episode that had about seven things I'd've normally written about (Rintaro and Mei's reunion, Ogami and Daishinji talking about what they should do about Primitive Dragon, a trip to Brooding Roof, Kento's return, Touma's nightmare), but I'd had that stupid Twitter conversation in my head for a couple days, and I needed to do it. The muse! She sometimes make demands!

Oh heck, Reika’s got her new jacket. She’s about to get interesting (by which I mean, more meme worthy).

And in the midst of everyone losing their ability to do form changes thanks to her, I should point out that the Eneiken Noroshi toy (which if I had the extra money, I would totally buy. There’s one at my local seller going for 90 GBP (?).) has its own form change exclusive jingle, as opposed to the other unique swords (Gekido, Hayate, Suzune) which are locked into one general jingle.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iuwrbQ3804M

Noroshi Kaisen! Won-Won-Wonder Rider! Smoky escape! Escape!

It also modifies the finisher names to be less insect related, more smoke related.

Noroshi Muchuu! Smog Strike!

Noroshi Muchuu! Eien no Hitosashi! (永煙の一刺し Eternal Smoke Single Stab!)

Chou Noroshi Muchuu! Noroshi Dokusatsu Geki! (狼煙読冊撃 Smoke Signal Poison Killing Strike!)

Anyway next time, the truth comes out, and I’ve got some interesting details to share.

"Don't be fooled, he's just the regular Kento with a stupid, cheap Sword of Darkness! He still emodies all the self-loathing and refusal to accept others shouldering what he sees as his burden that he did before!"

"... but he's got a new Sword of Darkness!"

I really like her new jacket! It's maybe doing 40% of the work in getting me to like her character, but that's still better than before!

Now I gotta get at least three Calibur Jaou Dragon Figuarts, to represent Kento, his dad, and Kamijo!

How many Faizes and Ixas you at right now?

A) I'm legitimately thinking about getting a second Ixa so I can display them as Mom and Daughter.

B) SO MANY FAIZES TO BUY! Takumi, Kiba, Houjou...

So this is a misunderstandingTM. It came from how I usually get "villain/anti-hero" in sentences as being lumped together, like for example "my favorite villain/anti-hero <list below>", but this one's not.

How did people seemingly forget about Rintaro when discussing about secondary Riders breaking the usual mold such as being nice, though cmiiw (like when refering Keiwa from Geats as one, Rintaro seems to be the one who starts this trend)? Though at this point, Rintaro's relationship with Touma is quite strained and Rintaro gets more typical secondary traits here by being a brooding one like ignoring Mei's calls and keeping everything inside while not conveying it properly - overcome with rage and emotion in that... like what viewers may expect in Rintaro's debut scene of him being suspicious.

Coming from me, now it's fully expected that Mei would be the middlewomen between both of them here (wanna hear the comparison between how Mei reacting to Rintaro fighting and Mei reacting to Touma fighting - last episode), as practically since Kamijo's demise, Mei has never been at odds with Touma anymore, consistently supporting him without conflicts/disputes and got worried over him over smaller things like Saber getting knocked off his feet in battles. As Mei pointed out, Touma and Rintaro's argument here sounds like lover's confession (can get Mei jealous of her crush doing that). and other than comedy factor it can be kinda true that Rintaro keeps everything bottled up and reveals all about it at once with Rintaro at one point claiming it's the admirable trait of Touma that he likes. However when it's not heated up, Rintaro makes more sense that losing his comrade (of which Touma is one too, as pointed by Mei) is also about Rintaro being forced to strike Touma down, thus losing his comrade. Though Rintaro calls Touma as reckless for being hellbent to save the boy, that can be something to be the key regarding Primitive Dragon.

Yeah, I'd say perhaps for Reiwa, Reika's debut as Sabela is the most epic female Rider debut so far. This'd be perhaps how Reika got her fanbase, at least in this point - for being the 'strong tough girl' via this showing, and ofc the type that evokes the viewer to have her step on them... like on Slash (and her scheming can be deemed as cunning, competent, and mysterious to add more on the 'tough girl' praise); but like before, I hope people won't forget that she's being villainous here, not being merely acting tough for girls (indicating that being tough can mean stirring shit). Though Reika's villainy is more than just directly fighting but all of her schemes lately before too. Sabela is the most powerful Rider so far with her dominating both Slash and Buster, 2 very accomplished swordsman who got Saber on their robes, but well, this is debut showing. Reika's the 2nd tallest female Rider so far at 173 cm, after Yuri (the Kiva one, not here!). I talked before about wanting to see Daishinji and Ogami's performances as human, but well obviously this one had them powerless as they're pitted against Primitive Dragon.

I was thinking of Aruto as the exception as actually he had turned into a worse person who is only hellbent on revenge after processing the tragedy. The Sento one was an example I mentioned but there's many like the similar ones to that was PuToTyra stuff.

Hard to pick my favorite part of the episode. I really enjoyed the scene with Mei reuniting Touma and Rintaro. Great stuff, especially Mei's "wait, do I ship this?" realization.

Also absolutely loved Sabela's debut. I don't know if it's my favorite Rider suit from Saber, but it's easily in the top five at worst. The style she brings to her fight scenes is also really welcome and, for a change of pace, I like how the show integrates special effects into the mix. I have a soft spot in my heart for Black and Black RX, so Reika bringing back Biorider's gimmick of turning into game-breaking invincible CGI goop is something I am 100% here for. Great action scene and it definitely sells the "okay, gloves are off" factor.

I was expecting a clash but a collaboration could be even more exciting to see where that goes. Desast was generous to offer Mei genuinely helpful advice like that, making specialized content for a platform instead of spreading too thin. I like how Mei proudly refers to herself as "Mei from the Sword of Logos!"

Thanks for bringing this up, as I also want to point out how depraved she behaves here. For some people, this is the episode where Reika becomes Sabela and beats up Slash and Buster as a rare strong female Rider. For me though, this will always be the episode where Reika slapped Sophia in cold torture. Like, all of her actions so far have been a mix of following Master Logos' orders and poor social skills undermining her ability to manipulate the Swordsmen and prompting them to defect. However, I cannot believe that Master Logos would give Reika orders to torture Sophia like that without any reason. Which means, Reika did that cause she's simply a terrible person who got a power trip out of abusing a person who couldn't even fight back.

I think it's terrible that people totally overlook that just cause they see Sabela as cool here, or apathy towards Sophia that you mentioned before. I mean, I don't care if they think Sophia's boring or whatever, that doesn't justify what happened to her, especially when she expressed more concerned for the Swordsmen's welfare than her own, which is another sign of her kind nature, that she's willing to endure her difficult situation as long as she knows they're still okay. In a karmic way, Sabela's debut is pretty much the peak of Reika's coolness in the show, as she gets even worse from this point and most of her fans start to see her for what she really is, a psychopath (even more than Ren) who doesn't deserve to call herself a Swordsman.

As a reminder, Reika is only my third least favorite female Rider of the Reiwa Era. Female Riders may have been getting stronger recently, but it doesn't matter to me if the character is unlikable. It should be possible to have a female Rider who is both strong and a good character, like Mage or Na-Go.

I think the main thing that differentiates Rintaro's brooding from another secondary's is that Rintaro's feeling shame. He's not ducking Mei (and, tangentially, Touma) because he's pissed off or feuding with them; he's ducking them because he's started to realize they have a point, but he feels powerless to leave the SoL. He's still a very unique character!

It's so good. One of my favorite touches for her fighting style is that she's using the insect motif to do more stabbing motions, like stings. Smart touch!

Mei is/was the best manager the Sword of Logos ever had!

Really? Slapping us the act that decides whether you see a character as irredeemable? Because by that logic, over 98% of characters in media are irredeemably evil, since guess what, slapping is a common expression of anger, regardless of allegiance.

Also, torture? How is lightly hitting someone considered ?the act or practice of inflicting sever pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to say something?? It?s not even the worst injury you can inflict on someone.

I didn't say that she's irredeemable, she could still have a redemption arc, see the error of her ways and repent. Gai, for example, tortured Isamu and Yua through their brain chips and later apologized to them. At this point, I just think Reika's a terrible person, a step down from merely being Master Logos' pawn.

Of course a slap isn't that severe of an injury, but it's a matter of principle. It was a completely unnecessary reaction to a question as innocent as, "Is everyone okay?" I don't think there's a way to defend her action here, as SOL gains absolutely nothing of value.

EDIT: Congrats on your 2200th post!

Yes, this is also one of my favorite episodes. Touma's nightmare, Rintaro's revelations, Kento's return. By the way, in many ways, the fact that Calibur was performed by Espada's costume actor was really a strong spoiler, because the scriptwriters said that they did not delay the disclosure, because Kento would still be recognized by the fencing style. I don't think it's the first reason, but given how uniquely every rider in Saber fights, it's a big one.
And of course the debut of Sabella. A great fight, albeit very one-sided for obvious reasons. It's also worth noting that since her wonder ride book is all about insects, this makes Sabella the most thematically iconic rider on the show.
P.S. Correspondence on Twitter turned out to be very funny.

The difference is that this topic will be new to Kamen Rider Die, but you've brought it up multiple times in related and not-so-related threads. Yes, Gai apologized, he apologized a lot, and yet now in The Outsiders he repeats the path that led him to the need to apologize. But Grease and Three Crows didn't apologize for firing rockets at skyscrapers, but you're not drawn to talk about how terrible and disgusting people they are. While Bild is remembered more often than Saber, I would even say that he and Faiz are the most mentioned rider shows on the site. So, I think it's still a matter of dislike for a particular episode, and not an objective position.
For me personally, the most terrible woman in these shows is still Mai from Gaim. Apparently, for me, inaction is worse than any actions.

Ha ha, good point! She's the only one of these goofs who cares about the primacy of insects in Kamen Rider motifs! Just one more way the Northern Base swordsmen have let the guild down!

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 26 - “ENVELOPED IN DARKNESS, HIS SWORD IN HAND”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber26a.png

It’s hard to believe things can get better.

Pessimism is, in a lot of ways, a coping mechanism. Adversity can multiply, where a tiny setback becomes a major obstacle becomes an insurmountable barrier. We look to the future not as a shining reward or a needed respite, but as the next shoe to drop. Believing that we lack the power or tools to better our situation means it’s not only safer to believe it’ll all get worse, it’s smarter. We’re better off not hoping for things to improve. We’re right to give into a bleak outlook, and just navigate the world with a cloud over our heads.

But that’s not set in stone.

It’s appealing to think of the future as an immutable thing. Fate and destiny are another set of coping mechanisms, a way of abdicating personal responsibility in favor of spiritual law, or cosmic truth. If the world is destined to be a certain way, our actions don’t really matter. If we hurt someone, that was just how it was always going to go. If we suffer, that suffering couldn’t have been avoided. We’re just cogs in a machine, characters in a story. The story can't be rewritten, and we can't change the outcome.

Except we can, as long as we believe that we can.

It’s tough to have optimism, but it’s crucial for both our emotional health and our survival as a species. We have to see ourselves as able to control our destinies, and we have to think that we can create a future that’s better than the present. It’s enormously difficult, never more so than when depression makes optimism seem like the cruelest of jokes. But the need to push towards a happier tomorrow creates at least the possibility of that outcome, while surrendering to pessimism practically ensures a tragic result.

We decide how our stories are written.

Kento’s story, inevitably, is one of feeling like he doesn’t have any outs. He only saw one path for him, based on his father’s actions. Trapped in the Realm of Shadows, he lived out an endless string of emotionally-eviscerating apocalypses, where no amount of optimism or teamwork could generate a safe resolution. Now he’s back in the world, but he still sees nothing to do but whatever the most isolating path might lead him towards.

It’s easier for him to suggest that his actions are dictated by fate, or by necessity. It means that he can think of himself as a martyr, and ignore how safe that role always made him feel. His pessimism is a choice, and it’s one he’s always made. Even when he was surrounded by friends, he chose to push them away in the name of a vengeance no else ever asked for. He’s the same Kento he’s always been, even if his level of self-destruction is now measured in megatons.

He’s, if anything, the most natural character to put in opposition to Touma.

Touma’s having to grapple with the idea that a cheerful smile and a heartfelt promise might prove unequal to a world where sorrow lasts for millennia and power corrupts all bonds. What do we do when we can’t reach the people we love the most? How do we protect ourselves from the toxicity of that pessimism? How do we find a way to save people for whom salvation feels like ignorance? It’s asking Touma to level up in a way other than collectibles and form changes, which is the most interesting thing a show like this can attempt.

Best episode of this show, and one of my all-time favorite Kamen Rider episodes.

—

HOLD ON HOPE

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber26b.png

Mei readied herself to see Kento.

It was the strange fact of her life that a day trip to search for the resurrected somber swordsman was merely the most recent absurd and unpredictable thing to occur, and merely the connective tissue of her absurd and unpredictable life. She’d barely had time to recover from Touma’s increasingly traumatic transformations and the slim possibility of reconciliation with Rintaro, and now she was gathering supplies to assist in tracking down her melancholy teammate.

He was sadder than usual, which – Mei had to concede – was probably to be expected after months trapped in a dimension of shadows. (When Yuri had casually explained that Kento had merely been trapped in a dimension of shadows, from which he could return, and thus potentially could have been rescued from, Mei nearly tested the immortal swordsman’s resistance to death.) Kento could take a beautiful sunset and find it a depressing reminder of night’s inevitable arrival, so it wasn’t a huge surprise that he’d return to his friends after months in purgatory as something less than a beacon of joy.

She was hopeful that Kento could be brought back into the fold, despite the… Calibur of it all. If there was ever a sign that a swordsman needed more than just a pep talk to get their heads on straight, it was cosplaying as a corrupted knight. It definitely meant a discussion that she’d probably spend several meters away from, to best avoid the pyrotechnic fallout of the difference of opinions.

But first, she and Touma needed to find him.

They’d both immediately zeroed-in on the first location a resurrected Kento was likely to return to: Brooding Roof. It would be their first stop, where – if they had just missed him – further clues were likely to be found. (Mei was, admittedly, not looking forward to seeing Nachi from Building Maintenance so soon after her last visit, but it was worth it for Kento’s sake.) The search would get under way, as soon as they were ready to leave.

But how would they convince Kento to come back to his friends?

They’d barely managed it with Rintaro, before he was abducted by Reika, and Rintaro was a sweet boy. Rintaro had to fight against the part of himself that loved his friends, so he was always reaching back to their outstretched hands. With Kento… it was always harder with Kento. He liked being lonely, if Mei was honest with herself. He liked thinking of himself as sacrificing his own happiness. What in the world would convince someone like that to give up on self-destructive vengeance?

In lieu of a better answer, Mei gathered up the bookshop’s loose candy into a jar, and hoped it might be worth some minor temptation for Kento. She wasn’t sure it would work, but she needed to stay optimistic.

yep this was the episode when the reception to saber changed also since I was crazy busy last 2 days I wanted to point out EVERYONE knew Calibur was Kento because his suit actor as the same as Espada's that made it even more obvious

This episode was really good, yeah! And I wasn't paying attention to -slash- didn't have the context for Saber news at that time, so Kento's reappearance was not a foregone conclusion for me.

a lot of peopple THOUGHT Kento was going to stay dead until the mysterious new Calibur showed up

Heyy, just dropping in after someone told me there was a Saber thread in here. And it happened to be in one of my absolute favorite episodes of the show and is one of the reasons why I maintain Saber as one of, if not, my favorite Reiwa Rider show.

This episode occurred on my birth month, I was struck with COVID and confined to an area by myself as I watched this episode. So, this episode was really special to me and Kamihoriuchi's a masterclass in directing this episode!

The lack of music in many scenes to sell the isolation Kento feels, the many flashes of the future that ring in his head. It's all so well done. I love how this reveal of Kurayami's powers recontextualize Kamijou and why he wears a glove when using Kurayami. I really felt for Kento as he sat in the void of darkness just rehashing the same scenarios albeit differently every time to the point of apathy. He's succumbed to the worst of his impulses back in the first arc, Yuji Nakata portraying Calibur this time gives the suit a much more dangerous feel as it's no longer their enemy, Kamijou, but now their friend Kento who flips around and styles on everyone as per his swordsman ship as Espada.

And Touma... Damn..

He's already having trouble reaching the boy within the Primitive Dragon book, but now his best friend has returned, alive, but no longer the same person he saw back then. The pain that's inflicted on him as Kento utters the same words he was JUST about to say. When Primitive Dragon came on and started screaming, it really blurred whether that was the form screaming or Touma screaming out of pain (also cuz Naito voices the Primitive Dragon screams anyway). And then Kento's convictions are reaffirmed when he's right yet again when Touma de-transforms without hurting anybody, just like he said before.

And then there's Daishinji's blood-curdling scream, all the suffering it's also wonderfully done to really set how bad things have gotten for the heroes.

I love Kamen Rider Saber.

https://i.imgur.com/qmm4PNj.jpg

I definitely thought Kento would come back as Calibur, so I guess I wasn't totally surprised, like some folks.

It's a heavy moment, because it's basically the first time Touma welcomes Primitive Dragon. He's basically had his best friend tell him that hope is a lie, and that trying to save the world is going to destroy it. He can't talk his way out of this, and the only option is fighting the friend he's just welcomed back to life. Primitive Dragon is the only thing that understands him at this point, which is incredibly bad news.

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 26

I know, right! It's like, when the show is already this amazing, it's always such a surprise when it manages to...

Oh, wait, you meant like... because you were doing a thing. Took me a second there, Die, but I figured it out! No, that wasn't a statement about the level of quality this show has achieved by this point, it was just the start of one of those kinds of posts I feel like you only do when you were seriously into what a Rider thing was talking about, where you talk way more about the *ideas* in the story than the story itself.

But uh, yeah, this stretch of the show is still amazing to the point where I don't know what to single out to add. Especially with an episode this masterful. (Even if I still don't like all the stock music.)

Just as a random thing, I guess, this episode has what I consider to be the definitive Master Logos dialogue exchange, where Tassel tells him it's not okay to play with humanity's fate, and he just goes "IIIIIiiiiiIIIIIIiiinnn desu yo!" It's like this really particular emphasis where you can tell exactly how little of a s*** he gives about what Tassel is saying, to the point he's laughing his way through that sentence, and it really sold on me Keisuke Souma's performance as the character. His prior big toku role was as a lovable clown of a hero back in Shinkenger, and I feel like he found some really great ways to apply those over-the-top mannerisms to a sketchy major antagonist instead. Hopefully you'll have as much fun with the guy as I did from here on, Die.

Master Logos! I like him so far.

Some of it is that, in opposition to Reika's pre-Sabela dryness, Master Logos's villainy is portrayed with the right balance of menace and glee. He's ensconced in power, and feels invulnerable. When an old friend with a tree on his shoulder turns up to scold his cruelty, of course he's going to go STRONG DISAGREE in the most comedic way possible. He's clearly relishing getting to spill his master plan (or, Master plan, I guess) to someone after who knows how long of needing to seem calm and serene. He's ready to laugh about his eventual subjugation of reality!

Also, I really like when this show talks about how we relate to businesses, and work, so the reveal of a guy who took the emotional investment of his employees and turned that into a feeling of godly superiority? Very into that concept!

Welcome back Kento!

...ok and now I'm going to go back to talking about last ep because I'd still like to say a word on my man Rintaro.

Seriously, I do still remember 25 as one of the highlights of all of Saber, just for that scene between Rintaro, Mei and Touma. It's honestly one of the best scenes I think Kamihoriuchi has ever done, it really shows how great of performances he's able to pull out of the actors he directs.

Recalling earlier in the show too, there was that question of, as nice as it was to have a secondary who was so... nice, if it was worth the reduction of drama implied. I think this is the scene that fully justifies that choice, now that the drama is About how these are two people who fundamentally like each other, being held apart and not allowed to just work things out. It's a really unique spin! You really do just gotta feel for them, rooting for ya, Rintaro :').


...On another note, since the original thread for Desast's Walk translations I linked is no longer available. I, uh, actually had already been working on my own google doc Desast archive, in case I ever needed for inflict Saber on my own friend group. So here you go? (I still want to get all the links and pictures and more formatting into the final version for this, but I did at least order all the translations!)

Yeah, Rintaro's a unique secondary in that he doesn't generate drama by being mean, or antagonistic -- he does it by doubting himself, by failing to see his own strength, by being unable to argue for his emotional needs. The drama is in how a guy like that ends up sabotaging himself, and how he overcomes his weird psychology. (Dude was raised by, essentially, managers at his workplace! It cannot be good for your sense of self-worth!)

Oh good! I appreciate it!

This'll be useful, but first...

Let's talk Episode 26. In which just like Die, it's one of my absolute favorite episodes in Saber, and one of my favorite Rider episodes in general. What helps with these episodes though (yes I'm counting 25 because...) is that we've got Kamihoriuchi back in the directors chair for them. Dude's good at setting atmosphere and this episode is no exception.

Before we get into the meat of it. Let me talk about one of my favorite scenes in Saber... which is where we suddenly start getting scenes that end in dramatic cuts to black with stinger music hitting as the cut happens. In which we get one of my favorite exchanges ever.

Master Logos in the most ominous voice ever "So you've come... Victor."

Tassel with his usual cheeriness, "Hey now, please call me Tassel." *dramatic cut to black*

I don't know what it is about that scene, but I just adore it.

But yeah, a lot of people talk about how Kento kind of goes through an emo phase, and this also starts a lot of people I saw talking about how irrational he's being and how he's being counterproductive and I feel like... they didn't see this episode?

Like, as this thread has gone into good detail with... Kento is not in a healthy mental space during the initial run of Q1 Saber. He is literally teetering on the edge and him getting swallowed up and left to wallow inside darkness... pretty much tips him over that edge. We see Kento look at every possible variation, every potential plan, every differing scenario... and none of it works. There's only one way to completely win and to him that involves a lonely path he must walk against everyone.

The kid was already traumatized by what his father did, and Kamijo's reveal did not help. And now we know we've added further trauma onto that. Kento while still functioning... is worse off mentally now than he was before thanks to those visions. And I love how the actor really gets across Kento's aura of just feeling dead inside. He's tired and alone.

And I really love how we get to just see a rapid flash forward of just everything going wrong, every, single, time. It's such a chilling sequence and it's still crazy to think about. Also hey, Kurayami is kind of a screwed up Seiken ain't it what with what we learned of it this week.

Then we have the fight itself, in what can only be described as... chaos. Kento is not willing to back down, Reika is here to run interference as best she can. And of course the big reveal during said fight that I already covered. And of course we have Primitive's one appearance here, which is just screaming in anguish... man, this episode did not pull any punches.

Also if there was anyone's sword to seal first, it was Daishinji's. He's the one who has the most personal connection to his Seiken, and the absolute anguish you hear in his voice is heartbreaking.

Overall, fantastic episode.

As for our story... I was not expecting you to make something out of that random bit of Mei shoving candy in a jar before shoving said jar in her purse. I had to actually rewatch that particular part of the episode to realize that you were actually taking from the episode itself and not making something up after seeing the screencap.

It's such a random scene, but I really love how your story frames her mindset and how she got to that point. Really nicely done.

No Desast Walk this time though. They'll be slightly more sporadic, especially with how you've ordered certain things in this thread.

A lot of what's interesting to me about Kento is that he's really a focal point of the view this series has on (if you'll forgive the description) The Power Of Positive Thinking. If you put Touma through the same hell that Kento survived, I honestly don't think you'd have the same result. Touma would look at all of those unaverted apocalypses as proof that you just need to keep trying. He could look at an infinity of failures and go Maybe The Next One. He'd arguably come out more convinced that you need to keep hope in your heart, even if the universe is telling you you're wrong.

With Kento... I mean, that's a dude looking to be told by the universe that he's made to suffer. It's selection bias, where he's only ever going to see the data that best conforms with his worldview. He sees his own culpability in every tragedy, so he's inevitably going to see a series of apocalypses as his sole responsibility to resolve; a bunch of prophesized earth-shattering catastrophes is just gilding the lily.

Thanks! I like Mei a lot, and I think she's got a really humane (but slightly frustrated) view on this current dumpster fire. She's a go-getter! And funny! And gorgeous! Hard not to want to focus on her when everything else is in ruins.