KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 7 - “THE SWORD OF THE KING, LIES IN AVALON”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber07a.png

I’ll say this for Episode 7, it sure helped me solidify what in the writing of this show isn’t working for me: Cause-and-effect, or the lack thereof. The two plots in this episode are a textbook example of this show doing the work to guide a viewer emotionally through a character’s arc over several episodes, versus doing weird plot stuff where explanations come either right before or right after said weird plot stuff.

The best plot here is Rintaro’s step back from the abyss, even if I still managed to have a bunch of problems with it. (Mainly, he just goes in the High Gravity Room to get stronger, then gets strong enough to beat the guy who beat him last episode. It’s not exactly a rollercoaster of a character arc, you guys.) We’ve spent weeks with Rintaro as the stalwart, dependable knight, so seeing him lose his shit and withdraw into a potentially-fatal training regimen, before finding his emotional center just in time to save Mei? That’s playing with our expectations, and challenging our assumptions. It’s just basic drama, but our investment in Rintaro’s previously-established psychological well-being means we can have a rousing finale that feels like a consequence of Rintaro’s struggles. It’s Writing 101, but it’s still effective enough to be considered a success.

Less successful is this show’s insane approach to its mythology and mega-arc, where clues are generally non-existent, and crucial developments happen concurrently with their introduction. We’d only heard the word Avalon uttered once or twice before this, so every bit of exposition that Touma gives in regards to the forms of entry, challenges they’ll face, and potential prize for victory is difficult to care about. It’s all just random facts, untethered from character motivation, continuity, etc. It’s just PLOT, and plot divorced from character is boring.

(Even Touma’s big moment at the end felt undercooked and unconvincing. He’s shouting I NEED THIS POWER TO SAVE THE WORLD and it’s like, what power? What in the hell are you even asking for? And why is there no other way you can help the world? Why all of this, right now, in this way?)

It’s nice of this show to put everything it does right and everything it does wrong in the same goddamn episode, since it saves me time in trying to explain it. Rintaro doesn’t have the best plot (his story is basically Git Gud, thanks for that), but at least it’s grounded in our previous knowledge of Rintaro’s character, as well as a motivated actor who brought recognizble emotions to his part. On the other hand, we’ve got Touma screaming in an all-white room before fighting a CGI fire monster in the Toku Caves. The first of those has an emotional presence I can react to, and the second one is just characters pinballing through whatever weird development gets thrown up on a whiteboard in a writers room somewhere.

I hope I don’t need to spell out which of those versions of Kamen Rider Saber we see more of in the future?

—

SKY BLUE, BAD NEWS

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber07b.png

At least it was a visually impressive way to go. The view from up here was really something else.

Not that Mei was especially thrilled to be flung into the clouds by a tiger man, though. She didn’t have a fear of heights, but she did have a fear of plummeting thousands of feet to her messy death. It felt reasonable to her, all things considered. And ‘considering’ was very much what she was doing right this second, as she started her final approach to the ground.

She considered Touma. She didn’t really want to blame him for her death – it felt tacky, and he’d probably say something very sweet and memorable at her funeral anyway – but if that infuriating, badly-dressed beanpole could’ve managed to hit a single deadline in his life, she might not’ve been abducted to a storybook world and manhandled by mythological monster men. This wasn’t his best day as her friend.

She considered Rintaro. She probably should’ve stayed with him, after his beating in the forest. He was a good boy, and he just looked wrong as a grim swordsman. (It was a much better look on Kento, she briefly acknowledged.) She was sad that Rintaro would probably blame himself for her death, what with the tiger man being his nemesis now. That was a bummer. Well, hopefully Rintaro would have greater success avenging her than his master. She hoped it’d cheer him up, eventually.

She considered her friends. It was odd to her that she thought of them as a group exclusively, but that's just how they all were. One big group of friends, that she’d never see again. She wondered what Ogami and that green ninja kid would tell Touma, and what Touma would tell her friends. “Hey, Mei’s not going to be able to make it to the concert tonight, she was hurled into the sky of a storybook world by a tiger man, do not count on her Venmoing you for her tickets.” Probably not. Probably something about a car accident, maybe. It was going to be a closed casket for sure, so any lie would work.

Pretty close to the ground, now. It wouldn’t be long.

She considered Instagram, last of all. She’d never quite mastered the platform like she knew she could – a breakfast last July had a ton of likes, but she was never able to find a consistent aesthetic; maybe OOTD? – but it had been there for her whenever she needed it. Not much in her life was stable, but Insta was her rock. She owed it ev–

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

She was in Rintaro’s arms now, she realized. Not the ground, but the arms of that sweet dumb boy, in his bright blue armor. He was himself again, as good as new. She could hardly believe it. She couldn’t see his face behind the helmet, but she knew he was smiling sheepishly, ready to deflect any praise with an Aw Shucks I’m Just Doing My Job Protecting Homo Sapiens sputter. He’d saved her, and she’d never forget it.

She had a chance to do things right, do things better. Rintaro had given her a second chance, and she knew exactly what she was going to do with it.

Unboxing videos. Definitely time to pivot to unboxing videos.

So in this episode we get a neat power-up for Touma, King of Arthur. If you're a fan of Arthurian Lore um... yeah I can assume you'd be rather disappointed by how the entirety of Avalon was handled even further than just how it was dealt with originally. This is mostly my experience with a friend who basically dislikes how Avalon/King of Arthur was handled, even though I'm admittedly fine with how it was handled tbh.

Me personally, Avalon/King of Arthur can work with what we have in the show, it's just it's crammed between all these debuts of either Riders or Forms. Because as you can see, we're still going very insane with Saber's toyline. And we're at the point where I can tell you that Saber's toyline I think has the most toys a Rider toyline has in Q1 (someone please correct me on this but I don't think I'm wrong)? Because just like, count every single individual Wonder Ride Book that doesn't come with a Seiken, the Seiken themselves, any Book that comes with an extra thing. It's a lot at this point and we're still getting more.

Seriously Bandai, for Saber and Revice I will always question what the hell you all were thinking.

Anyway let's talk about my favorite water lion Rider, Rintaro! It's a very simple training arc (one which I extend in my own story throughout the course of 6 Chapters after humiliating defeat, with a quick Zooous rematch inbetween) in which Rintaro manages to overcome the anger he feels and direct that into his Wonder Combo form!

And oh man is Rintaro's Wonder Combo probably the worst one if I'm being absolutely honest! There's an odd bulkiness to it that I just... do not like at all and it probably has to do with how big the lion head is. Again it's cool, and needs not explanation. But the way the lion head is popped out doesn't help do the form any favors.

Also we get a really cute Rintaro and Mei moment out of it, in which I think I and mostly everyone else watching started to root for the two as a ship.

As for the story, you know I was curious as to when you'd sort of start digging into the characters but I suppose this and the last episode are what did it for you. There's something fun about trying to get into a characters head when they're in a position like Mei was in this episode, and writing out what you think they're thinking is always a fun exercise.

You got me to audibly laugh at the very last line, so congratulations. That being said, yeah unboxing videos definitely seem to be where it's at.

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 7

Hey guys Hidenori Ishida is directing his first episode of Saber I wonder if there'll be--

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

--yeah, something is on fire. That checks out.


Hey, not fair Die! This one was a Keiichi Hasegawa script! He's the Saber writer people like, I think!

But uh yeah, the Avalon plotline in here is weird. Gloriously weird, in my opinion, of course. Like, I honestly think there's something beautiful in the insane way early Saber stuff like this plays out, but like, I can't put it into words very well. At least not off the top of my head. Maybe Kamen Rider Saber just isn't a show that can be fully enjoyed by an ordinary Homo sapiens, maybe Ishida's gorgeous visuals just elevate the material that much for me. It's hard to blame you for feeling the way you do about an episode like this, Die, but at the same time, I feel like you are underestimating the show's storytelling. It's definitely doing the things you're asking for too, it's just... I mean, good luck trying to untangle that from the things that genuinely aren't without the benefit of hindsight. (I still have no idea what the heck that monster Touma is fighting at the end is supposed to be??? I guess "a trial" is good enough???)

I really didn't like how they handled the two major plots of this episode. First, the Rintaro plot, I like the idea of Rintaro feeling the need to get stronger to the point of endangering his well-being, but I really dislike how all his training is just glossed over and not shown to us. We're told that this room is dangerous, but we never see why, and the only scene we get of the room itself is Rintaro having a flashback to his master, which I like, but I'd appreciate more substance to the plot.

The shows main issue for me is mainly its breakneck pacing, for a show with 47 episodes (and one special 48th episode), you'd think that the writers would let the show rest a bit more, but instead the show likes to just rush things through, there's a reason that the principle of 'show, don't tell' exists.

But aside from that, onto my issues with the second/main plot of this episode, the search for Avalon I don't dislike it as much as the Rintaro stuff, but I still don't exactly like it. I don't exactly have a problem with its pacing, but I dislike the execution. The "rift between worlds" thing is okay, but once Touma enters Avalon itself is where my issues start, I just really don't like the clich? of "you have to not want the power to get it" and I'd have preferred if it was just Touma entering, getting the Wonder Ride Book and then doing the trial. Instead of there being some strange person telling him some cryptic advice to be able to get the book.

As I already said, the search for Avalon plot is only a minor gripe for me, and I probably wouldn't have written as much as I did on it, if it weren't for me already disliking the Rintaro plot in this episode, And even though, I've written a lot about my dislikes of this episode, I still consider it at least okay, and it's not like it would make me drop the series, I just really didn't like how the writers handled those two plots.

Aw, I rather liked it. It's got two different horse heads for shoulders! That's neat! No notes!

I mean, if this were debate class (or I was getting paid for it) I feel like I could mount a credible defense for Saber's storytelling here, even if I didn't 100% believe what I was saying. There's a dreamlike quality to everything Touma goes through that's perfectly appropriate for a series set in the realms of fable and parable. To deconstruct it logically almost misses the point; it's supposed to be illogical. Rules are arbitrary, because overcoming an obstacle and learning more about yourself is the end goal. The battle isn't with Calibur, or the Book Club -- the battle is against how storytelling creates boundaries that only better stories can surpass, and the victory is in realizing that our stories are up to us. I'll Decide How This Story Ends, as I remember a Kamen Rider saying once or twice.

...buuuuuut there's still the larger problem of this episode's levels being WAY off. Touma's intensity here is set for Act 3's The Apocalypse Is Nigh, not Act 1's We Need To Figure Out What The Villains Are Up To. Him screaming at a hooded figure feels wildly out of proportion with a personal setback that only occured last week. They don't even know what Calibur's actually up to! I think you got some breathing room, guy!

Ha ha, yeah, the High Gravity Room is sort of sparse. Slash really sells it as a room that is even more dangerous than any training room you've ever seen, and the set itself looks like Rintaro is levelling up entirely due to the power of interpretive dance (and some falling over). It's a sequence that bit off way more than it could chew, and that's discounting the bigger problem of there being no intriguing twist to Rintaro's recovery. Not the best follow-through on this one, no.

I mean... the heads for shoulders is cool but I don't think Peter Fantasista's is a horse head? I think that head/face is supposed to resemble something else?

I just don't like how awkwardly bulky the Lion Head makes it look in shots is all.

That being said I always appreciate it whenever they bring out the waterworks for Rintaro. Always a fun time to see splashes of water suddenly go off behind him and stuff.

Oh, you're right: Peter Fantasia is a fairy, so it's... like, fairy wings? I guess? That's a shame. I now have one note!

A case of Be Careful Of What You Wish For? IIRC it's said here that more Riders are needed for more conflict if Rintaro is a nice secondary. Then now you got it, in Ren (not only the same name as Knight, but same first 2 letters in his surname too!). Ren is the asshole type who is a social darwinist (.. like Kaito) who is narrow-minded to think only battle abilities are important despite Touma solving problems with his imagination and knowledge, and pettily picks fight with Touma due to his simping for Kento, but he's the bratty, immature, and childish type. Though at least he's quite strong to defeat Desast. Seems that, including you here, to make an asshole character (who can be deemed as cool, rational, and tough) disliked, they gotta be the immature type like Ren. Many people seem to want to make their media more 'mature' including inserting gore, swearing, etc, but immaturity would make even asshole characters like that hated too, unlike the 'cool' assholes like many secondary Riders.

Touma seems to be a competent type of protagonist despite being a newcomer to the SoL, including how he utilizes Daishinji's poor social skills, being a bad liar, to accomplish his goal of looking after books (actually also manipulative here? nothing bad though, just witty), but there can be still those who deem Touma as naive due to his opening dialogue of being baffled why many factions are warring over books instead of using it to make people happy? The Zoooous stuff, it's meant for Rintaro, to show that while usually composed, Rintaro can lose himself to his emotions, now being outright angered and breaking down after knowing his master's killer, probably a setup for Rintaro's future arc.

That'd be probably an admirable quality - for audiences to watch, but not a redeeming quality (Ren's not a villain, thus I'd more say his redeeming quality is him doing good with SoL's work).

There can be those, but I don't know 'em. I don't recall anyone in this thread tagging Touma with any amount of naivete. He's, especially compared to the last few Riders this series has had, pretty well-centered and observant? Like, I think it's okay for him to be confused as to why two different groups of magical warriors are going to war over superpowered books? That's an okay ask! In general, he's been pretty much unimpeachable in this series when it comes to sophistication, problem-solving, and emotional empathy. He hasn't really been tricked or manipulated, that I've seen.

So fun fact, aside from the pre-established Saber/Espada books, the Ridebooks used to access Avalon are all SG books classified as “Douwa” (old story), along with a similarly classified ToysRUs exclusive (in case you forgot they never closed in Japan), which like Zero-One’s, is a giraffe item.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=USpr-qI1VgU

And here’s my attempt at translating the three jingles. (It was the first of my ever fluctuating favourite jingle with the Swordriver, but I won’t bore this thread with my other brief candidates beyond the eventual winner)

Old Story Rider! One Old Tale! The ancient tale gives more power to the sword!

Ancient teachings are not gathered here, a sword enough for one book! Old Story Rider! Two Old Tales! At last, the ancient tales are full-fledged with more power!

The old teachings are here, it’s time to learn the sword! Old Story Rider! Three Old Tales! The sword you can learn from the lessons of ancient tales is now here!

And now, a list of the featured books and their descriptions (since the SG books don’t have electronics, all but the first hail from Saber’s website, which incidentally, is the only way you can see what it would look like if Saber or Blades used them)

The Giraffe’s Repayment: A gift of gratitude created by a giraffe with a lot of heart...

Fashionable Mr. Jizou: A colorful Jizo road that is one of the best-dressed in the world...

Bakusou Rabbit and Turtle: A record of the prideful competition between a rabbit and a turtle...

Moon Princess Kaguyan: A beautiful princess shining on a moonlit night that emerged from a certain bamboo...

Issun (One sun) Samurai: Riding on a certain bowl, now wandering down the river…

Sarukani (Monkey-Crab) Wars: Friends gather under the zoea to challenge a certain devil's hand...

Okay, not all of these are Douwa books. Three of them are “San Tarou” (Three Taros) books, which may have some familiar motifs.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=quJMD1uumCQ

Three Taros Rider! One Taro! The legend of Taro increases the power of the sword!

The swords of the Taros intersect into one! Three Taros Rider! Two Taros! The legend of Taro gains even more power to destroy evil!

When the three Taros gather together, the swords of Taros destroy evil! Three Taros Rider! Three Taros! The brave sword with the power of three Taros is now here!

Great Shogun Momoichiro: A shogun who challenges a certain demon gathers friends. Ei-ei-o!

Great Swordsman Urashima Jiro: A swordsman carried by a certain turtle at a deep sea feast goes wasshoi-shoi!

Great Yokozuna Kinzaburo: The yokozuna screams "dokkoisho" when a certain bear falls in the ring!

(Translator’s note: Taro=favourite son, Ichiro=first son, Jiro=second son, Saburo=third son)

Calibur’s books are also identified by the website, but don’t have toys or descriptions, just images of the titles pulled from a reference book.

Mermaid Legend
Where’s the Chameleon
Honey Make Bee
Snake Toguron
Armadirolling
Pachi Pachi Yama

And now that Calibur has debuted his transformation sequence (which certainly has nothing to do with Kurayami toys hitting shelves), I’ll mention that each Rider has their own literary gimmick. Calibur’s in particular is translation. Aside from his transformation jingle “Get going under conquer than get keen” being a homophone for “Gekkou Ankoku Zangeki” (Moonlight Darkness Slash), when a non-Jaaku Dragon book is scanned against it, it affixes “Jaaku” (corrupt/evil) onto its name. (Though ones that didn’t have DX toys in Q1 are simply “Jaaku Monster”, “Jaaku Animal” or “Jaaku Story”, depending on their category)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FNs5Yje5aqI

And as for Legend Rider books, rather than going with something like “Jaaku Kuuga”, or reading Ex-Aid as “Genm”, they instead have every book Jaaku Read as their monster faction (Kuuga becomes Grongi, Zi-O becomes Another Rider, Zero-One becomes Magia and so on)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JtWYF9fdY7g

Touma can be a very emotional Rider lead! I think his heroic outbursts are cute, buuuut I also think it's why Rintarou was the character I was most invested in at this point.

The shoulder is literally Peter Pan. And he's having a staring contest with Captain Hook's face, down by the literal hook... and I mean, there IS a fairy wing sticking off the back... have I mentioned Saber's designs are complicated yet? Honestly, the whole thing that makes me love the Wonder Combos so much is that any 1/3 of those suits would already be more than enough visual detail to take in, and they just have the audacity to smash 3 completely different motifs together and somehow make it look cohesive in its aesthetic.

Okay so fun fact... none of these books are actually any of the books that appear on screen, nor are they actually able to be talked about right now... because while not the hugest spoilers but... these are books related to a bit later down the line.

As someone who's been doing research for Saber at the point I'm currently at, it's interesting to realize and go through the motions of "Oh hey, Kamen Rider Wiki got it wrong, again".

Anyway thanks to people being keenly eyed enough we did get a list of books that Calibur uses to travel to Avalon. And I do find it neat while they aren't pushing monster suits out like crazy, there's at least props to show there are more Megid out there.

Without further ado...

-Gansekiou Golem
-Medusa Jaden
-Hanzaki Sanshouou (Salamander)
-Piranha No Lunch
-Getting Spider
-Drill Mandrill (someone was playing Megaman X when they made that name I feel)
-Ari Ka Kirigirisu (Ant and Grasshopper)
-Mienkui Ahirunoko (Ugly Duckling)
-Usotsuki Wolf (Boy who Cried Wolf)
-Akan Zukin (From what I can tell, red hood so little red riding hood?)
-Machine Uri no Shoujo (Little Match Girl I think)
-2 Books no one could even remotely make out.

So yeah, fun little set stuff they have going on that I appreciate. Apparently a lot of these books are on view at that new Kamen Rider Exhibit which is cool! I'd actually like it if someone took a picture of that display... or maybe hope that the Saber portion of the official Zukan actually released now and showed us them maybe, hopefully.

I think the reason why Saber is in such a hurry in Q1 is because the writers needed to show as many toys as possible and therefore had to sacrifice the plot. When they got over that, the story made a lot more sense. But speaking of me, I love the 'several separate plots that will intersect later, but not the fact' approach and I think that in recent shows, Saber has handled the sheer number of riders the best. With all the pluses of Geats, most DGP riders are closer to the Ride-Players from Ex-Aid and have less text on all of them than the Scissors in Ryuki had.

This is a very cool detail, in a post of cool details. Thanks!

It, y'know, helps that they're all blue!

So, here's a bit of a tease for Kamen Rider Die rewatches Kamen Rider Geats from 2026 or whatever: I love Geats probably more than Fish Sandwich loves Saber. Thematically, it's the apotheosis of everything Takahashi was trying to talk about in Ex-Aid and Zero-One -- how difficult it can be to work together when some/most success is zero-sum -- but it's also getting into some fascinating stuff about how dreams change as we get older, and the ways our goals inevitably crystalize as we learn more about the world's complexity, and how difficult it is to not give up in the face of societal indifference, and how the people who benefit from the status quo will take your dreams and diminish them while they profit off of them, and and and.

That it does all that would be enough to make me love it, but it also manages to drill into the specifics of a gigantic, ever-shifting cast with nuance and sensitivity... AND it has some of the best action directing I've ever seen on a toku show.

So, long story short: I'm going to push back on that description of the cast of Geats.

I'm going to agree with it, because as established; Scissors is the greatest character in all of Kamen Rider. Living up to his name was always going to be a difficult task, and I can't besmirch anyone for a near-miss!

Pal, if you think there's even a chance you can do better than "as much as" here, I'll remind you we've still got the rest of this series to talk about!

Apropos for Geats, I will implore you to remember that this does not have to be a competition! We can both love something without needing to defeat someone else's love! Those sorts of binary victory conditions are obstacles put in place by a society that would rather set people against each other than cede control!

Fantastic is a shade of blue, apparently.

:thumb:

That was a skillfully-written Mei focus fic! It was impressive how many varied thoughts she could think during the time she was suspended in midair and actually made me smile towards the end for how much she valued her connections to people that she mostly considered how her impending (and thankfully interrupted) death would affect them.

Yep, big Rintarou/Mei fan here. I recall the last time I was seriously invested in a ship in KR was Sento/Ryuuga, so I was glad that Saber gave me a new cute pair to support! Mei encourages Rintarou to get out of the base more often and satiate his curiosities about the world, while Rintarou values the heart Mei brings to SOL and is loyal and protective to her.

Damn, my favorite Ryushirou got left out!

Ah, I guess you're right, Die. I mean, what can I say? It just wouldn't be in the Saber spirit to get caught up fighting over our conflicting viewpoints when we could instead come together and celebrate the ways stories resonate with us, and the lasting bonds we create by sharing those feelings with one another. I'm sorry I was being so Ren when I should've been being Touma!

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 8 - “THE ONE SEALED AWAY, ARTHUR”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber08a.png

This is another episode where the character-focused plot was something where I respected the attempt more than I enjoyed the execution. It’s weirdly muddled in the way it simultaneously values camaraderie and individual achievement, when those feel like opposing forces. It’s tough to do an episode that’s both all about teamwork, but that teamwork is exhibited through the lens of Touma’s authorial direction and personal crisis. To put it another way:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/simpsons.gif

It sort of works? I don’t hate that the solution to a Kamen Rider Saber problem is that Touma wrote his way out of it. That’s the kind of character-based specificity I love to see, and it gave the final act of this episode enough heart to paper over the very very In Stores Now aspect of a monster turning giant-sized (for the first time ever!!! It’s not even a Medusa thing!!!) just so Touma’s new giant-sized power-up can make an appearance to save the day.

I try not to ever roll my eyes at the toy commercial elements of Kamen Rider – something’s gotta pay the bills – but I don’t think this story 100% landed due to King of Arthur’s inclusion. First, all of this cooperation adds up to a weapon that only Touma can utilize, which definitely reframes this story of teamwork into something far less egalitarian. (I mean, Arthur was a monarch, so I guess that checks out!) It’s a story that needed a Trinity Form-esque power to tie up its narrative threads, but we got Breaking Mammoth instead. Second, why did they not save the Jack and the Beanstalk book until this episode?! It’s got a goddamn giant in it! That’s why you’d need to introduce a giant swordsman!!!

Beyond that weird bit of incongruent toy promotion, I thought this was a fine episode of Saber. It’s nice to get every member of Sword of Logos together for a big fight. I like how earnest and supportive everyone is, to an almost eerie degree. (The way everyone just says “Touma” to Touma at the end, I was sincerely expecting all of this to be a dream, and Touma to be woken up by Kento back on Avalon. Why are they each saying his name like that? It’s creepy!) I like that Ogami claims all credit, to his son’s delight. I like that Mei’s a core part of the cast, instead of some weird hanger-on that she’s been treated as, mostly. It’s a solid The Heroes Win By Being Heroic episode, a heartwarming conclusion to a baffling, largely frustrating series of bizarrely-plotted episodes.

So, yeah, not sure this one worked great for me, despite admiring the attempt to ground the win in Touma’s specific skillset. The main problem is that… I don’t know if We Are All On The Same Page (pun absolutely intended) is such a natural fit for a workplace dramedy this early in the run? It’s cute, but like everything else in Saber, it feels way too rushed. (A lot of the last couple episodes would be great if this were, like, Episode 38 instead of Episode 8.) I can go along with it as a viewer because I don’t dislike this cast enough to fight against the tide, but I don’t feel like the show did nearly the amount of work as you’d need to earn the overwhelming delight at a resounding team victory.

But they’ve set themselves up for a more cohesive and coherent next arc, which I hope will be more to my tastes. My optimism has yet to be fully extinguished!

—

EVERY DOUBLE LIFE

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber08b.png

The patissier and the apprentice were screaming incoherently. It was not how today was supposed to go. Their trip into the city was for cooking supplies, and to sample the regional specialities. A day off from the rigors of baking. Training, you might even call it.

The apprentice could always use the training. He was a callow boy; convinced of his own superiority, but incapable of demonstrating it. A follower by nature, he chafed under the same restrictions and instruction that he craved. A mass of contradictions under a mop of hair. He was the patissier’s pride, despite his many shortcomings.

Because the patissier saw the greatness that was possible in him, even if the apprentice always fell short of expectations. He was a test of both the patissier’s patience and skill, which was exactly how the patissier liked it. He hadn’t always been a baker, and the rigors of that past life still informed everything about his current one. He created beauty, but worked like a soldier. He had as many contradictions as the apprentice, if none of the hair.

At this moment, they were also alike in one other key way: abject terror.

Abducted to another world. Menaced by a mythological creature. Forced to watch as other patrons of the outdoor cafe were turned to stone. They gripped at one another for safety, hoping that their partner could devise a method of defense, or at least calm their shattered nerves. They were each a disappointment, on every level.

As their screams reached a crescendo, the Medusa turned its gaze to them. They froze immediately, a stone statue of two men entwined in horror.

The next thing they knew, they were free.

It was barely a second, and they were standing back in the plaza. The screaming had stopped, and the relief cleared their minds. They need to run, immediately, in any direction that qualified as Away.

They raced towards a building, looking for refuge. As they barrelled through one door, another pair exited from the other.

Stopping briefly at the building’s entrance, the pair looked back quizzically at the other group’s alarming arrival. “What,” Oren asked Junoichi, “do you think all that was about?”

This was... an episode.

I'll forgive the Medusa growing giant stuff because I'm pretty sure Fate did this at some point with their like weird history stuff. It makes sense, it'd be more weird if it was the Pirahna growing large and stuff.

Anyway King of Arthur is... a thing. Again the most I like about this episode was Touma writing his way out of the situation, alongside such charming moments of like "And then Ren uses his secret weapon!" in which Ren's secret weapon is the 3 Little Pigs book. lol

But there's not really much to it? Oh well there was everyone somehow getting scared that Ogami wasn't going to make it and that they'd age up Sora through book magic to make him the new Buster. Yes that was a theory flying around, an amusing one at that.

But other than that? Eh? I didn't really care about the "Touma's too scared of King of Arthur's power" plot that much. Especially since it gets solved fairly easily in this episode. Granted again, this is basically them running on Bandai's toy schedule and realizing even at the breakneck speed they're running, they are still too slow.

Also your remark about Episode 8 not Episode 38 is uh... I mean I feel like if you accepted this was Episode 38 then I feel like that'd be good! As it stands, you could very much fill out at least a first half a Rider Season with the amount of characters and toys that Saber Q1 has. As someone on twitter once said...

"Kamen Rider Saber is a 200 episodes shonen anime crammed into a 50 episode Tokusatsu series"

And I feel like where we're at right now definitely backs up that statement.

As for the story... I was admittedly not expecting that bait and switch. Again, you seem to be really good at the swerve endings in these stories which I appreciate. That being said yep, say hello to Oren and Junouchi, they're promoting their TTFC Special.

Wow Gridon and Bravo is pretty old now... feels like it was just yesterday tbh.

That was certainly a strange episode, the power of friendship being needed, them bringing back two Gaim actors for the apparent reason of promoting a 2-episode TTFC special, the King of Arthur book having a mecha thing for some reason, and finally Touma's headsword thing that I've complained about was used to cut through a meteor? I can't say whether I dislike or like this episode, because I just cannot wrap my head around this episode. I guess I enjoyed it more than the previous episode, but it's honestly hard to say.

(Also, I'm pretty sure cutting a meteor isn't going to prevent it from hitting the Earth, but expecting Kamen Rider to emulate real-world physics is a lost cause.)

It's weird because, in a normal show, you'd do a couple episode breaking up the team -- Touma has a secret that's distancing him from Rintaro, Ogami won't talk to Kento, everyone suddenly realizes that Ren is awful -- before you'd have Touma draw everyone back together to avert disaster. Here, it's a story where the previous episode was everyone working together to help Touma overcome his Henshin Dysfunction, including Kento putting himself in danger to give Touma a chance at success. It... we weren't at all in a story where Touma needed to learn the power of friendship? It's like he just forgot so he could be reminded of it?

Well, it's a fantasy meteor in a fantasy dimension, so I'll allow it.

Oh man, I completely forgot that Touma getting a mech was a thing this show did.

I remember having this feeling. For awhile, I was honestly curious to see if Saber was going to wrap up after the first 13 episodes because it really felt like the show was burning through its entire plot and building to its intended climax.

So yeah, The King Arthur Robo. A lot of people misinterpreted how important it would be from this one episode. I’m not quite sure why, especially since it has at least two basic purposes on its own, and two involving other toys (aside from the guy in the Shroud giving Touma the prototype for his first upgrade, there’s another thing next episode which is where its importance ends).

And while I did get the toy (turns out, it’s scaled to be the same size as your average Super Sentai’s Ultimate Formation), it was less of my own volition and more because a friend tended to rely on my YouTube videos of Saber’s toys for references for fanfic writing, and I am never one to disappoint a lady. And because it had a part meant for RKF Saber, I decided to get that two.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gzc8P3iGHcM

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WvoD7EhtSRo

Next time, we debut my personal favourite of Saber’s forms and a moment that someone on Twitter (half-jokingly) declared made this series better than Zero-One.

King Arthur still sat at the Round Table and was "first among equals", so to some extent this corresponds to Toma's status as the main character. And this is, if not too deep, that the historical Arthur lived at a time when there were no kings or feudalism yet.

Yeah, I'm not talking about this thread (I mean obviously Saber or other Kamen Rider talk isn't only centered around this thread). I agree with all you said here about Touma's abilities, which is why I can feel as if, perhaps the abilities of many main Riders can be underappreciated, probably except Tendou, Tsukasa, Shotaro/Philip, Sento, or Ace. And true that he hasn't been tricked or manipulated, it likely just comes from how Touma is openly kind-hearted, and that there's a view that equates kindness with naivety, thus Touma is assumed as naive because he's kind, and him asking why magical warriors going to war over superpowered books likely indicated to those that he's unaware of how cruel world can be (e.g. evil people exist).

I wonder if Rintaro being established as experienced enough makes this work better, compared to stories where the 'chosen one' undergoes that and surpasses the established professional without good reason (Touma so far, gets through because of different mindset and view compared to Rintaro), where here he needs to improve certain aspect of his with already having the tools (his sword fighting), which is him being consumed by rage to Zooous. About Mei being saved here, wonder what'd you think of this other "female lead totally crushing on the secondary" compared to Akiko against Terui. Now Mei has clear romantic feelings for Rintaro based on her being lovestruck like making heart-shaped hand in his fight.

This is a part where again, Touma displays his knowledge of the books to solve problems. Unfortunately, it seems that plot part is the part where character's usefulness can be displayed? As there are many complaints regarding characters being "useless" (such as Mei, yeah outside here), while the plot part has the characters actually doing something that matters such as achieving big goals instead of 'fucking' around... other than the SoL cast here, this was also what villains like Lucky Clover in Faiz did compared to the 2 main trios living their life. As plot part is regarded as boring, Sophia seems to be a character mainly revolving around that, I wonder what'd be the opinions of those who really love Saber regarding her. She's a character that is similar to Princess Shayla in Power Rangers T̶i̶m̶e̶ Wild Force... and that can be used as a mockery.

True that Geats is so far seems to be the most well-constructed (subjective ofc) Reiwa series. I half-expected this as it comes from Ex-Aid writer thus it'd share its vibe, but I also half didn't expect this as Geats seems to also have Gaim vibes, comparatively more serious with reduced slapstick/goofy humor (doesn't mean it has no comedy), and focuses on mystery. I may be a mood-ruiner here but as another Geats enjoyer, I still gotta say the possibility of the series falling off can be real despite strong beginning (dunno how far you've gotten though), which happened in the previous one for Revice, which had promising beginning, but fell off hard midway, so still have some caution while enjoying. I̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶d̶ ̶p̶u̶t̶ ̶T̶a̶k̶a̶h̶a̶s̶h̶i̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶p̶e̶d̶e̶s̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶I̶n̶o̶u̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶o̶t̶h̶ ̶E̶x̶-̶A̶i̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶G̶e̶a̶t̶s̶ ̶e̶n̶j̶o̶y̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶I̶'̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶T̶a̶k̶a̶h̶a̶s̶h̶i̶ ̶(̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶o̶n̶e̶'̶s̶)̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶u̶a̶r̶a̶n̶t̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶y̶p̶e̶/̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶q̶u̶a̶l̶i̶t̶y̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶r̶t̶c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶l̶o̶o̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶v̶i̶e̶w̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶'̶s̶ ̶r̶u̶l̶e̶s̶ ̶(̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶Y̶u̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶b̶l̶o̶w̶n̶)̶.̶

Do you feel more generous towards the Seiken Sword headpieces, now that they're shown to have practical application?

Golem literally did it in the first episode though.

I guess Ogami's absence from the team fight is actually convenient for the Touma-calling scene, otherwise he'd break the pattern by calling him "Novelist" like he usually does. Pretty ironic that the Swordsman of Rocks gets turned in to a rock. I get what you're saying about the dreamlikeness, it has the same kind of feeling as Ryuki's HBV, with everybody suddenly having amazing friendship and co-ordination out of nowhere. Honestly though, (Akamichi) Ren saying anything can be creepy, so this is totally in-character for him.

Sounds like you should go watch Ryusoulger Dinosaur Panic, if you haven't already.

I will gladly defend Sophia from anybody who accuses of her being boring. Her role as a mystic to SOL may not be as spectacular as the Swordsmen's battles, but she's still invaluable for maintaining the security of Northern Base against the Megids and she clearly cares for the Swordsmen's emotional welfare. I was also surprised to find out her actress was 39-40, despite looking much younger than that.

BTW, Princess Shayla is actually from Wild Force, one of my favorite PR seasons. I don't mind her, but I prefer her Sentai counterpart Tetomu.

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 8

While 5 was definitely still the bar to clear for me early on, this was the next episode I recall particularly liking at the time, and I like it even more now, having seen the whole show, because doing this story at this point in time just feels so quintessentially Saber? Like, I don't know, a lot of times I'd be right there criticizing pacing decisions and stuff with the rest of you. As someone who fell in love with this franchise thanks to shows like Kuuga and Faiz, I've long wished some of these newer series would just slow the heck down already, but when it comes to Saber? I'm telling you, it's gotta be this way, man -- or at least, I'd never ask it to be any other way. I have an immense soft spot for Dragon Arthur as a form, which no doubt helps, but the whole narrative here with the swordsmen truly coordinating on a more active level than they had to this point really did it for me. Saber is the kind of bizarre Rider show where the characters can reach this point this early on, and I don't want to understate how major a part of the appeal that is to me. Stuff like this is what makes Saber weird, and what makes Saber weird is what makes it special.

It's definitely got that From The Team That Brought You Kamen Rider Ghost thing of feeling like we're going to get a very different tone/arc for the post-movie batch of episodes, yeah. This last episode, for better or worse, has such a feeling of closure that you almost have to start fresh afterwards.

I never care about giant robots, but I thought King of Arthur was okay as a robot that wields Kamen Riders like swords. That's a fun gimmick.

Ha ha, I'm not sure this show is striving for intense historical accuracy with its growing pile of myths and fables and legends, but I will allow for this interpretation of a sliver of Arthurian lore.

I'm all for it! Mei's right to be swooning over the dutiful and humble Rintaro, while Rintaro could do worse than Mei's exuberance and forthrightness. I ship them!

I forgot that! Thanks for the reminder!

They just look Touma dead in the eye and say "Touma" so wistfully! It was so awkward to watch!

Fish coming in and going All Of Your Criticisms Are Both Valid And Irrelevant is absolutely what I needed in 2023. Thank you, sincerely.

The thing that most makes it not work for me is that it's treated as some groundbreaking revelation by Touma -- we all achieve more together -- when it's sort of the template for this show? Nearly every episode features multiple Riders working together, without really anything in the way of disruptive personal drama. Ending this episode with Teamwork YEAH is like ending a Faiz episode with the shocking twist of everyone not working together well and trying to murder each other; you can't make the key element of the show the twist!

Sure, they can be in the same room without trying to kill each other, but unless I'm forgetting something, I don't think there have actually been any particular instances of the Riders in Saber working together *as* a unit until Touma came up with his little plan here? They fight bad guys together, but they're also mostly just doing their own thing in fights. It's definitely a step up from before, at the least.

And as for why Touma treats like it's a huge breakthrough... well, one, like I said, he can be very emotional, and two, I honestly love how anti toy commercial that aspect of the narrative is? It's cool to have a story where our lead Rider assumes at first that his much-hyped new trinket is the key to victory, only to come to his senses and realize the support of those around him is the REAL most powerful weapon.

Ha ha ha, The Real Power-Up Was The Friends We Made Along The Way. Hilarious! I don't know if I love the show's version of this story -- it just feels too much like Touma telling everyone what to do -- but I find this way of thinking about it delightfully corny.

But, like, the problem in this story wasn't The Power Of Friendship or Teamwork necessarily, it's that Touma wasn't gelling with the group. It's nominally a story about Friendship and Teamwork, but it's only a lesson that Touma needs to learn, really. (Everyone else is pretty good about collaborating here? Even/especially Ren?) It feels like it should be an epiphany that works its way through the entire group, but it's largely just about Touma being less obsessed with his new DX toy and paying attention to his friends that came over to play. Good lesson for kids! Not exactly what Touma's talking about in this episode, though!

Thinking about it more, I'm okay with this story's message if it's along the lines of Touma Needs To Be A Leader, or Touma Has To Learn To Work In A Group. I don't think either of those are where the story's landing (there's this weird sense of it trying to be about Touma accepting help?), but both of those make more sense to me in terms of the show's evolution of Touma from an isolated author to a collaborative artist.

I gotta say though, it's hilarious that Kamen Rider Saber lives up to his name here, and that... the spiked points on his head wasn't just for show. He literally becomes the saber for King of Arthur. I'd also think that a human-sized Rider fighting a giant can be something interesting to witness on how they'd put that thing down, like Geats also has that stuff, though ofc I hope King of Arthur shouldn't be used only here and actually got used against other giants later. Though I also have to say that Touma's also strategic in this battle to not split his team which invites Medusa Megid to gather in one location allowing him to defeat both at the same time.

Yeah, this is why they introduced the Sword of Logos too when they introduced Rintaro, it wasn't something that's merely a mystery in the past that doesn't exist now, it's to eventually integrate Touma and Mei to Sword of Logos! About the part of calling Touma's name.... yeah this is probably the bad indicator of how Touma would get similar treatment and shilling in series like Takeru before. So this shows Ogami hasn't removed his earlier traits entirely by stealing the credit, the others rightfully point out that he doesn't do anything (or if he did, only small part), but it'd likely be a negative influence for Sora, though Sora also has consistent belief in Touma, still believing in him even after his father got petrified thus he doesn't get moping.

I'd think that, Touma is obviously ok to work in a group, but doesn't mean others would be willing, thus yeah, he should learn to be a leader so that others would be willing to. Actually Ex-Aid also had Emu trying to get the other Riders to work together at ep. 10, only that it failed (and with not-so teamwork when M appears), but the attempt is still there. Ren probably is willing to work due to Kento, but yeah, that should be emphasized more in the story to have Ren making constant claims of it being done for Kento (then again they made Ren say Touma's name too...).

Yeah, I know she's from Wild Force (watched bits of it when little), how tf did I make a mistake in typing Time :( Otherwise, if your Saber love extends to Sophia too... I wonder if that'd be the hardest thing for you ever to do to try defending her from what you think undeserved criticism/hate, as she seems to be one of the most hated characters in entire franchise with practically near-zero fans (but I guess if you'd defend Mihara from Faiz, you'd have some experience for it too).

I feel like everyone else was fine with working together? It's their job, after all. With Ex-Aid... ha ha ha, yeah, Emu was pretty much doomed to fail there. The entire show is built around those characters not being able to work together because of their massive egos, so you'd need another 30+ episodes before they could really come together as a team. (Never as friends, though. Sort of the fun point of Ex-Aid as a show!)

KAMEN RIDER SABER: SWORDSMEN CHRONICLES EPISODE 1 - “AN EPISODE OF KAMEN RIDERS SLASH AND BUSTER”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...wordsmen1a.png

It’s nice to not really know everything about these shows before I watch them. Like, when I’m organizing stuff via the Wiki – all the side projects and HBVs and films and whatever – I don’t really look at details. I’m just looking for air dates and corresponding episode numbers, to get everything arranged correctly. So I didn’t really know what this was before I started watching it. I assumed it’d be a clip show, or the early-days-HBV thing of having powers recapped for the audience.

I didn’t know it’d be an actual all-new short story, with action and revelations. That’s a nice surprise!

I think this episode walked the perfect line of being inessential enough to not be part of the regular episodes (it’s pretty much just an extension of the 15 Years Ago fight scene we already learned about in Episode 1), while still finding something brand-new to make it worth seeking out. Namely, a little story of Ogami and Daishinji hanging out and being worn-out old men!

(Which… do the Sword of Logos guys not age? Both swordsmen look exactly the same as they did 15 years ago. But, Kento has aged at the same rate as his childhood friend Touma? It also makes Desast’s whole You Got Old jab at Buster seem like an even weirder insult, since Buster was his same dad-bod self when they last fought. If there’s a non-spoiler explanation that isn’t Don’t Ask Unnecessary Questions About Adult Circumstances, please let me know!)

It’s a nice look into a pairing we hadn’t previously experienced in the main narrative. They’re both more mature (if not, in Slash’s case, visibly older) than the rest of the Sword of Logos crew, and it gives them a chance to bust each other’s balls that the rest of the kids wouldn’t dare try. Both Ogami and Daishinji have been through some shit, so there’s a bit of support buried in all that teasing. It’s a charming little sidebar from the group-heavy storytelling of the last few episodes.

There’s also some legitimate original suit action, too, which I never would have expected. Buster in action is always fun, but the introduction to Slash was a real treat. I’ve always loved the Slash design, even before I knew what his deal was. (Thought he was a bad guy!) I think I called it Trapper Keeper Maximalism in some other thread a few years back, and I stand by that assessment now. It’s this hot pink and brown suit, with a blue starburst visor and a high collar. It’s roughly four different things that shouldn’t even be on the same show together, let alone the same suit, but they somehow work beautifully. It all works together to sell Candy Armor in just the dumbest, funniest way (the candy buttons on the collar!!!), and I love that the stoic, dedicated Daishinji wears gingerbread into battle. Absolute best suit to date, and I can’t wait to see it appear in the modern day.

This was a cute little story! It’s nice to get a better understanding of what some of the second-tier (in appearances only) Sword of Logos members are like when they don’t have to corral four well-meaning but troublesome youngsters, and it’s a nice surprise to see their camaraderie demonstrated with several minutes of ass-kicking. Worth the watch!

—

DIGNITY AND SHAME

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...wordsmen1b.png

“Dad!”

Sora rushed towards his father, arms wide, ready to be carried on Ogami’s shoulders. Ogami, as always, was happy to oblige. Carrying Sora around on his shoulders was as much his favorite part of the day as it was Sora’s.

“Hey, buddy,” Ogami greeted his son as he slung Sora up onto the top of his back. “How was school?”

“Fun!” Sora kicked his feet a little on Ogami’s chest, their unspoken signal to start walking. “We learned about fractions, and elephants, and the moon!”

“Wow, that does sound fun,” Ogami said approvingly. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah! Are we going to get ice cream?” Sora squeezed his tiny hands on Ogami’s ears to emphasize his interest in said ice cream.

“Maybe later, kiddo. I told your buddy Slash that we’d go look for that Calibur jerk, so we gotta get to that first.”

Sora was quiet for a moment, and then he released Ogami’s ears. “Okay. We can look for Calibur first. When you find him, are you going to tell Slash? Is he going to finally bring his sword and let me see him fight bad guys?”

“I don’t know, pal,” Ogami said wistfully. “It’s like I told you before: Slash’s sword is real sad, and he won’t help Slash fight the bad guys until Slash cheers him up. Slash has been workin’ real hard to cheer him up, but sometimes swords gotta cheer up all by themselves.”

Sora rattled the hilt of Gekido, Ogami’s trusty sword. “Does your sword ever get sad, Dad?”

Ogami’s laughter was genuine and quick. “HA HA HA HA! Gekido, sad? Sora, that sword’s only sad I’m so good at swinging it that I don’t need to swing it that often. It doesn’t get sad, it gets even.” Ogami wasn’t sure Sora would understand a tough guy line like that, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.

Sora giggled in approval of his father’s enthusiasm, if nothing else. As his laughter faded out, he leaned the side of his face on the top of his father’s head, and sighed slightly.

“That’s good,” Sora said softly. “I don’t know what I’d say to cheer up a sword. I’m sure you do, though, Dad. You probably know exactly what to say to a sad sword that didn’t want to fight anymore, and wouldn’t let you be a superhero anymore, and made you stay in the North Pole for years and years and years.”

Ogami thought long and hard about what his life would be like if he’d had to face Slash’s fate. After a couple minutes of silence, Ogami responded to his son’s hypothetical.

“Hey, buddy,” Ogami said without affect, as his eyes focused on the middle distance, “what do you say to some ice cream real quick.”

Yeah this had me confused for a LONG while; I think they just... didn't want to hire other actors or do make-up and just hoped really really hard you wouldn't notice! Certain extra material like the Buster manga make it clear that they're normal people with normal aging; this is just strange presentation

This feels like a fairly avoidable problem: maybe don't have the heroes de-Henshin in the past. Kinda bonkers that they'd just hope no one noticed that Ogami and Daishinji haven't aged in 15 years. Maybe they both got the same surgeries Gai gave himself in Zero-One...

Trust me when I say the whole past and present thing is weird when it comes to actors aging. It is very much an adult circumstances do not ask questions situation.

Anyway welcome to the Swordsmen Chronicles, the Telasa Special that Saber got when it was airing. These are some fun little side stories that take place within the main story and provide a nice break of sorts. Because they're not really restricted by toy stuff and were clearly made to compliment the main series, they end up being a good set of side material to watch alongside the show since they give us stuff on our various Swordsmen who aren't Touma as well.

Now then if you asked me who my favorite, favorite Rider in Saber is. It'd be Daishinji/Slash. His role in the story, while I feel could be expanded upon more, is such an interesting one to think about. A Swordsman who can't fight anymore because he didn't heed his blades cries, to where he thrusts himself so hard into Swordsmithing so that no one else really shares his fate? It's so good! He's definitely like in my Top 5 Characters to write for my Symphogear/Saber crossover because he gets some real good stuff in this show.

And that's also not getting into how much I love Slash as a design too. It's loud, it's bright, and yet it somehow works.

Fun fact: Slash and Buster are the only two Saber Riders I have figures of, having gotten their RKF Figures when I had the chance.

As for the story... I really enjoyed the very "Dad tries to explain complex things to his Son" vibe with Ogami trying to explain why Daishinji can't henshin anymore. You got that down absolutely pat when it comes to that kind of wording. And then the hypothetical that makes Ogami just be like, "You know what, sure, Ice Cream", real nice way to end that honestly.

I actually really enjoyed this special, maybe it's because unlike in the actual episodes of Saber, the pacing here feels just right, it's eight minutes of content only focused on Daishinji and Ryo. The only thing I've felt that I've really liked so far in Saber, is its cast, so just solely focusing on two of those characters and developing them through flashbacks and a normal conversation between the two is right up my alley.

The information given to us in this special actually felt somewhat important too, such as finding out that the previous Saber's name was Kamijo, and seeing how Slash's sword broke, this stuff isn't particularly necessary to the story, but it still makes this special feel like not just some side thing, but an actual semi-important piece of Saber content.

Also, on the characters seemingly not aging in 15 years, I guess Toei didn't want to hire new actors for a side special, or even just put their current actors under some makeup to at least make them look younger, so I guess they're fine making all new effects and getting their suit actors to film new content, but won't try making the characters themselves look even a slight bit younger? I guess Toei just assumed no one would notice.

I would honestly love if every Saber episode kept this kind of pace, but of course, I know they won't, still, besides that, this is honestly my favorite piece of Saber related content that I've seen so far mostly because of how much I like the cast, and I hope that at the very least, the other Swordsman Chronicles specials keep up to this level of quality.