Good luck!
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...wNDgy._V1_.jpg

Technically, he?s considered a main Rider, but he?s the character that established many of the elements that became hallmarks of secondary Riders.

It's a shame that the heroic death at the end wasn't one of them.

Picked Saber back up, and finally made it past episode 10, the first time I've done so after attempting to watch this show on two other occasions. Now on episode 16. Never thought I'd make it this far.

Anyway, I think Saber's weakness in it's first quarter is a very poor introduction. Why is there a green haired man dressed like an idiot talking to the audience? Why is Touma proclaiming that books can save the world and stupid shit like that? Why is Mei still talking?

It has a amnesia subplot for Touma that is basically solved by episode 10, making it feel kind of pointless, but even worse, it's incredibly repetitive. It's like watching Luna get sucked into the portal is the stock filler footage to pad out episode time.

I also just don't like Touma as a whole from the first batch. He should come across as someone who enjoys books, but instead it feels like he honestly believes the power of books can create miracles for some reason.

The show finally caught my attention when Calibur's identity was revealed. I think that twist was actually interesting, and the proceeding events finally had me wanting to know what happened next, rather than just going "I've got nothing better to do. Might as well watch an episode of Saber."

Saber is a slow starter, but once it gets good it gets really good. You're getting close to the point where I think it really takes off.

I agree with poor introduction in Saber's first half. And I think the show seems to hype up its mysteries (e.g. the repetitive Luna getting sucked footage) that aren't that world exploring or figuring out due to being too small to figure out or its impact on the show and cast, like just a simple identity of who betrayed SoL as Calibur. Maybe if they focus on the cast that the viewers know enough, be in in present or any other way (rather than showing how Daichi was in flashbacks) to guess who's the i̶m̶p̶o̶s̶t̶o̶r̶/̶D̶e̶z̶a̶S̶t̶a̶r̶/̶traitor, it can be more impactful. The show caught my attention more since Daichi's death. dunno if that's related to the above too, where the mystery is a bit more compelling there about SoL's corruption and conspiracy.

IMO some shows that does the domino of mysteries setup right are Gaim, Build, and Geats (please don't get the Daichi confused), both the Gs coming from Takebe. Like Die said I guess, I think the key is to find balance of a status quo that's intriguing without being frustrating and a series of twists that aren't the only source of tension in a plot, which isn't something easy, not many Rider shows get it right. The twists that add additional layers of meaning to previous exciting scenes and stories.

Tassel's role so far is to serve as the show's narrator. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶g̶u̶e̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶'̶d̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶v̶i̶l̶l̶a̶i̶n̶o̶u̶s̶.̶ Maybe Touma proclaims books can save the world because reading gives creativity and imagination, which Touma uses to great effect in some of his first fights (I do like this stuff the best from Touma) that surprised Rintaro, improvising in his fights to make up for his relative lack of swordsman skills.

When exactly is this point? I'm on episode 3 and while I'm sure it picks up, it's kinda dull so far

While the show makes it clear there's more to Tassel than meets the eye, it doesn't delve into that for a few episodes. So for the first 5 or 6 episodes, he's just a weirdo narrating the show, which considering that's over a month's work of episodes, it's not a strong start.

With Daichi dead, Yuri's introduction, and this whole Southern Base thing beginning, I think the show is finally starting to hit it's stride.

It didn't start picking up until episode 14 for me, so...Good luck :lol

That's what I wanna know, I stopped at episode 48 and it didn't happen for me yet.

Really? This is an episode with a threat to the life of recurring character and a family theme, like the third episode of Geats; hostage taking as the third episode of Revice and the debut of a new rider as the third episode of Zero-One. And all these episodes received favorable reviews during their ongoings. (yes, Revice was praised in the beginning). So there seems to be nothing uniquely stupid in Saber, other than the theme of fairy tales.
Speaking about the beginning of Saber, it is obvious that Fukuda wanted to quickly fulfill Bandai?s order, so as not to tie the plot to the release of the next toy. Plus, don't forget about the impact of the pandemic. The beginning of Saber in this regard is very reminiscent of the Power Rangers seasons divided into two (although, in its case, it was more likely divided into three) and was filmed with the expectation that it would have to end/pause unexpectedly. Even at the beginning of the 16th episode they recall the events of the 15th (not a clip of the show, but simply emphasizing the status quo), which may well be a rudiment of Covid plans.