I wonder if Saber's religious themes are one of the reasons why Fukuda was chosen to write it, after he did a good job with the Buddhism in Ghost.

It is interesting that he's done this multiple times now? With Ghost it was a bit more clear why, though -- even aside from the main character and multiple side characters literally being Buddhist monks that lived in a temple; the entire philosophy of the story was very much in-line with Buddhist teachings.

With Saber though... I have just posted how extensive the imagery and symbolism is, but I'm unsure what it's in service of? It seems pretty disconnected from anything else to do with Saber and most people have been pretty surprised to find out like 38 episodes in that the thing used to create the Xross Saber was from Judaism.

I never knew this! That's amazing! I usually don't get all upset by this kind of thing because it's so pervasive that I'm just kind of whatever about it, you know. Also, as pointed out, I'm like legitimately obsessed with things like Evangelion. I think the difference is that... I just don't think Saber is very well written. I'm not trying to bash it, I just don't feel the weight of these themes in the manner it used them, and because of that, when it's throwing out a flying Tree of Life without really given the impression of a wider understanding, to me it comes across to me as being very frustrating.

I'm not even especially religious. I can legit tell you the last time I attended shul, and it was a long time ago, I just feel that if you address these themes, you should really get into it, they shouldn't be the window-dressing or footnotes to your story.

tl;dr I'm a maudy cow.

HAHAHHA! THIS IMAGE!!

While Judaism is most prominent in Saber, there's also Luna, whose name is related to Diana, Roman Goddess of the Moon. Xross Saber is star-themed, so maybe that's a parallel?

I have an alternative explanation for Saber: it's most likely a blend of various religions and spiritual practices. It certainly fits the idea of the Book of Omnicience being a blender of all of humanity's knowledge and ideas.

This conversation has pretty good timing for me, because it was only yesterday that I was reading the production notes for the latest episode, and one of the usual supplemental bits started explaining why Kyomu isn't counted in the Xross Saber, touching on exactly this topic, and it blew my mind a little how much thought actually went into the theming here that I wasn't even aware of. Especially since I am deeply uncultured, so, and I hope this doesn't devalue what dreamcastegirl is saying, I actually really appreciate when one of my goofy kids' shows ends up being an unconventional learning experience like this, if that's fair to say? I'm not sure I'd ever even seen the word "Sefirot" a week ago, so...

Also, for what it's worth (most people probably know this, but it hasn't specifically come up here yet), I will bring up that a big part of the reason the Xross Saber has the name it does is because the kanji for 10 is literally a cross, and the part of the sword's name which is read as "cross" is literally just that 十. It's directly representing that it's a combination of ten swords, and a cross is also a bit of a minor motif for Saber thanks to the design of his eyes, which is even sort of referenced by Brave Dragon's finishing move. Again, I'm very dumb, so I don't if that's the only thought behind the name and design, but I'm reasonably sure it's not meant to be *that* kind of cross at all? Unlike Ultraman's Spacium Beam, which is 100% that kind of cross!

Huh? The Spacium Beam is supposed to be a cross? I mean, the arms look like a cross but I don't see how the beam itself looks like one.

Sorry, my choice of words there might not have been very clear; I was only talking about his arms.

Not sure if it's controversial but I miss the days when Rider shows were more self-contained. Like I've never been a fan of crossover stuff being acknowledged or seeping into the main show, even if I have seen the movie it just feels distracting. I'd rather the cross-over stuff happen sometime between episodes and then never be acknowledged again unless it's in another crossover.

I also don't like the recent trend of the next Rider showing up in the final episodes of the current Rider's show (technically started at the end of Wizard but became pretty much cemented at the end of Drive). I know it's supposed to build hype for the next show but when I see it I can't help but go, "Get the hell out of here! You have nothing to do with what's going on! I'll watch your show in a few weeks now shoooo, GO AWAY!!!!!"

If they're gonna tease the new Rider in the main show I rather they do it in the more subtle way W, OOO, and Fourze did it rather than the new guy just shows up, beats up some bad guys, and has a small interaction which basically amounts to "we'll see eachother again in the crossover movie".

I don't mind some of the crossovers, but I miss the days when shows didn't include multiple online miniseries that overlap with the main show, especially ones that have actual bearing on the show's plot or characters.