I mean, she's not a cartoon wolf, panting and getting heart-eyes whenever a hot guy shows up. She's capable of finding someone attractive AND taking them to task for nearly getting one of her (and his!) friends killed. It's one of the many things that's so great about Mei!

Luckily, Touma didn't make a fateful promise to Diago Speedy, or he'd have to join Kento in feeling crushing, unshakeable guilt. Try and look on the bright side!

So I've been reading up on my posts in the original discussion threads to remember what happened in each episode because it's been a couple years and a lot of this blurs together. My comment on this one was "needs more flashbacks to the pinkie swear; I'm not sure if it was meant to be important."

Kento and Touma are natural best friends, because they only have two formative memories each... and Touma didn't even understand his until a few days ago!

Isn't Touma's desire to protect his two best friends and keep the promise he made with them enough reason to want him to succeed? Luna's like the Kanon Ganma Eyecon of Saber. While we may not know much about her from our perspective, we know she's important to both Touma and Kento and I think that makes her more than a mere plot device, at least for this part of the show anyway.

Maybe some of it's in Naito Shuuichirou's performance as Touma, he totally sold all those heavy emotions he was experiencing after Rintarou triggered his memories. There's also the implication that his memory loss isn't only to convenience plot, but a sign that he's also very traumatized from that event that he'd unknowingly bury something like that deep down inside his mind, which makes the scene of Kento apparently dying in his arms even more heartbreaking!

For a headcanon, maybe time compression could be a mild side effect of the temporal overlapping with Wonder World. Otherwise it's the usual Tokusatsu excuse of spacetime bending to facilitate the plot, which I've learned to accept as an inevitable part of the genre.

And yet that bike is still the envy of poor Ridestriker. I agree it's a shame how little bike action we get these days, but I'm glad that all of Diago Speedy's scenes were so memorable for either bad*ss or dramatic reasons, often both. Touma going to rescue Kento after remembering the promise has a strong feeling of suspense and determination.

I mean, sure: I generally want the heroes of these shows to be happy and successful. But this show sort of assumes that because it's Touma's Missing Childhood Friend, that I'll feel an additional sense of urgency or intrigue. I don't! She hasn't done anything other than get sucked into a portal and appear in flashbacks! I'll 100% care if and when she's relevant to the modern-day plot and a fully-realized character, rather than a sense of guilt in the shape of a little girl that only exists to motivate two men!

I wish this show had spent a little more time on the various coping mechanisms of Kento and Touma, re: which is the healthier way of processing Luna's disappearance? Like, is Touma "better" for forgetting her, versus Kento's inescapable guilt? Is Touma actively repressing his traumatic memories? But because the show waited a dozen episodes to surface those details - and then immediately sacrificed/"sacrificed" Kento - we only get implication at best, inference at worst. Maybe they'll talk more about this in a few episodes! I would love that! But there's really not much to Touma's view of things yet, since the show had him puzzling over his Narratively Convenient Amnesia up until now.

Forgetting altogether and remembering to the point of constant depression and guilt both seem like destructive ways to deal with the loss. I don't think it's possible to actively repress memories, as that would be called suppression. Repression is more like an instinctive response to trauma and yeah, I feel like that's the deal with Touma. His imagination as a writer is powerful, it's not so unbelievable that it could cut and edit the narrative of his life to make it easier for him to manage. Even with the memory loss, Touma's still driven to keep his promises, as his own way of repenting for his failure at that time. Kento's burden is arguably worse, since he's not only suffering from the guilt of that broken promise and having to keep Touma in the dark, but also the reality that his own father is the reason for that tragedy and the feeling of responsibility to atone for that.

Yeah, it... it's something I really really really wish the show had made room for, beyond a tossed-off self-pitying line from Kento about Touma being the lucky one. There's a lot to unpack, even beyond ascribing intention to what's generally been regarded as Touma's toku-standard Narratively Convenient Amnesia.

(Like, I don't disagree that it's more interesting if Touma's actively avoiding dealing with a traumatic event for which he -- like Kento -- feels personally responsible, but I just don't think there's anything in the text of the show to date that suggests it's a real scenario. I love that you're willing to fill in the show's blanks, but I can't personally get there. I feel like, until I'm told otherwise, it's just a case of Touma's memories being reset by the end of the Wonder World event.)

I think there's a bunch of interesting things the show could've done/will do with Kento's martyrdom and Touma's avoidance, but they sadly haven't done it yet. To your original point, yeah, both forgetting and dwelling are terrible ways of processing trauma. Kento's insistence on suffering, to better fuel his vengeance, makes him not just unable, but unwilling to let go of his past. Meanwhile, Touma's prevented from improving himself by forgetting the ways he's failed. It's pretty bad for both of them! But obviously way worse for Kento right now!

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 13 - “I WILL, PIERCE THROUGH, WITH MY CONVICTIONS”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber13a.png

Man, I feel like such a dick for saying this, but I sort of bounced right off of this one?

Some of it is that, I don’t know, it’s a lot of people yelling TOUMA and KENTO for twenty minutes? Even for the Kento Dies (well, “Dies”; we’ll get to that) episode, this veered into the histrionic end of the acting spectrum pretty quickly. I can handle maybe a couple minutes of that per episode. Once it becomes Mei blowing out her vocal chords to find an even louder version of TOUMA to scream, it’s beyond diminishing returns; it’s actively taking me out of the story. It’s the sort of acting and/or directing choice that kills my ability to see past the artifice and enjoy the narrative. I’m just like Find A Different Note To Play, and that hampers my emotional investment.

(This is a minor part of my coldness to this episode, but: when and why did this become solely Touma’s problem to solve? This is a story about the power of friendship, and how Kento’s martyrdom robbed him of the best tool to defeat Calibur. But the second half of this episode is everyone screaming at Touma to save Kento, and then everyone laying there while Touma generates a powerup to defeat Calibur single-handed. It would’ve been nice if this episode about the power of friendship used that friendship as more than just a way for Touma to feel supported and become powerful enough to do things by himself!)

There’s stuff I liked here, though. A little bit of the beginning, where it’s all silent and still. This isn’t a show that loves quiet moments, so I’m glad it slowed down enough to sell the stakes. I liked Mei immediately failing at her one job of guarding Kento, because keeping Kento from throwing himself unprepared into a deadly situation is the one villain this show can’t defeat. I liked the episode just refusing to follow up on the previous cliffhanger of Tassel showing up, because why bother, I guess.

But, weirdly, the thing I liked the best this time is what I usually roll my eyes at, which is Kamijo saying Universal Truth as an unquestionable justification of his actions from the last 15 years. I liked it here because it brought the metaphor into focus: Universal truth is the antithesis of storytelling and fiction. Universal truth is verifiable, and objective. Storytelling is subjective, and personal. Calibur loses because his goal doesn’t allow for unexpected events or empathy, the two things fairy tales and folklore thrive on. Pitting a novelist against the cold logic of Calibur is an incredibly clever concept, even if the show tends to reduce Calibur to a remorseless supervillain with a couple catchphrases.

(Very funny that Tassel’s recap refers to “Calibur and his goons”; I definitely feel like it’s always been the other way around? They never seemed like they worked for him, despite them being his terrible sons that he loves very much.)

The bulk of the episode, though… it was pleasant in that Explosions and New Suits way a Kamen Rider episode can be, but I never felt like it moved me. Kento’s death/”death” felt so… I don’t know, forced? Kento’s been trying to get himself killed for the last half-dozen episodes, and it looks like he finally succeeded. Touma’s anger and self-recrimination over being unable to save Kento felt like someone being angry at themselves for not stopping a sunset. Kento’s not a person you can save, man! Just ask Mei! Like some of my problems throughout the first act, this development feels too rushed to feel organic or preventable, which are the things that usually make character deaths hit hard. Suicidal Swordsman Gets Murdered isn’t a plot that shakes me up, you know?

But, like a lot of Kamen Rider deaths, it feels erroneous to discuss it as an end to Kento’s story. It certainly looks like Calibur’s sword exerts a necromantic pull on swordsmen, where each victim becomes the next host. I’m assuming Kento’s dad killed Kamijo 15 years ago, which is when Kamijo became the new bearer of the Sword of Shadows. Now it’s probably Kento, at least for an act or two. But we’ll find out soon!

Sorry I didn’t like this one too much! I don’t like being this guy!

—

PUT US BACK TOGETHER RIGHT

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber13b.png

“I don’t understand him,” Mei said, sniffling. “He’s so stubborn, and selfish, and…” Her words trailed off as the tears rolled down her cheeks once again.

Rintaro’s mouth turned almost imperceptibly down at the corners, and his eyes moistened ever so slightly, so Mei was certain he was beside himself with sorrow. This was his sad face. It was incredibly close to his happy face, and his normal face, but Mei had gotten pretty good lately at detecting the minor variations necessary to gauge Rintaro’s attitude. She’d considered making up a photo guide for the Sword of Logos members, but she hadn’t found the time lately. Looking at Kento lying in his bed, unconscious, she didn’t feel like she’d be getting any time back soon.

“Why did he do it? Why did he run off to fight Calibur all alone?” Mei’s question was directed at all three men in the room: Rintaro, Touma, and Kento himself.

“It was his duty as a swordsman,” Rintaro said with a shocking amount of pride, considering the state of Kento. Rintaro loved talking about the duties of swordsmen, but this wasn’t the time to commend Kento for his dedication.

“By himself? After you’d just had to almost sacrifice yourself to save him from the last time he went to fight Calibur all alone?” Mei couldn’t believe that Rintaro could so easily forget her and Touma standing over his bed a few days earlier, hoping he’d pull through. “How could he be so reckless?”

Rintaro pursed his lips for a moment in concentration, before answering. “He–”

“He did it for me,” Touma said loudly. “He did it for me.”

“What? Touma, you weren’t even there,” Mei explained, almost sputtering at Touma’s attempt to take the blame. “You were halfway across town when–”

“He did it because I failed him, and I failed Luna,” Touma said to the group. He never looked up from Kento’s sleeping face, even as his voice took on more force and volume. “I couldn’t keep my promise, so Kento put himself at risk to make it right. He’s not selfish, Mei. He’s not reckless, or stubborn… okay, he’s maybe stubborn. But he’s a good friend, and he was trying to help me, even when I didn’t know it. Because he cares too much about his friends, Mei. He cares too much.”

Touma was crying now, his head buried in the side of the bed by Kento’s shoulder. Mei had questions, so many questions, but she stayed silent while Touma cried.

After a few brief seconds, Touma raised his head from the mattress, and turned to face her and Rintaro. His eyes were red, his cheeks wet. But there was conviction written all over his face, a kind that she’d seen more often these last few months. He took a deep breath, let it out, and then looked back at Kento.

“He’s going to wake up, Mei. And when he does, we’re going to let him know how much we care, too. He’s not in this by himself. He’s got all of us, just like we have him. And that’s why we’re going to win.”

Touma grasped the book he’d brought with him when he and Mei had left the bookshop earlier. It was a weathered pop-up book, one she couldn’t quite make out the title of in the dimly-lit room.

“Friendship always wins,” Touma said quietly.

Ah yes, and here we have Dragonic Knight's debut... of which I find the suit pretty cool as an upgrade. Though others would tell you it's too glorious to be that and should be the final form instead and I'm not so sure about that?

I don't know, gallant knight in silver armor screams power-up but it doesn't scream final form. Though of course uh... unfortunately thanks to the limitations of live action, from what I've heard, Dragonic Knight is not the sturdiest of suits. Granted, it looks so majestic and beautiful that it would make sense.

Yeah I'm avoiding the elephant in the room. See I was fine with the screaming, I was fine with the yelling. My issue is uh... we had like a real good send off for Kento last episode and in this episode it was like "This time he's dying... for real!" like when it comes to Kamen Rider, Episode 12's ending is a pretty big note to leave on for a character dying given we've seen people die from less.

Because as we've established, death can come in many forms. Such as a simple spin kick to the chin ala Another Decade vs. Ora in which I didn't even think she was dead at the time.

So yeah, really that's my only major complaint of the episode, that we kinda just did Kento dies already.

Needless to say this'll be an interesting scenario to tackle whenever I get to it in my story, I'll say that much.

Oh right, the story. Nice, simple, though I don't have much to say other than that.

I'm probably going to spend most of the next day walking back my dislike of this episode, because that's how my brain works.

What I sort of appreciate about this episode is that it starts with Kento dying, so the story is more about If You Had One Last Day, you know? And Kento wants to spend it with his friends, sword in hand, fighting back the forces of darkness. Like, the last episode was Kento The Loner, and this second episode is Kento The Friend. It's sort of sweet, if you look at it that way.

That's... an interesting take that I didn't really think of to be honest.

Kind of makes me think better on the episode when I look at it at that angle.

Me too, which is infuriating. I just spent an hour writing up how dumb and bad this episode was! I don't like figuring out that it's actually sort of good and smart! I was told that we weren't supposed to change our minds on the internet!

And here we are at the debut of Dragonic Knight…

And I hate it.

Aside from those same people En-chan brought up repeating it ad hominem, it just doesn’t look like one of Saber’s (the Rider) suits. It just looks like a dolled up costume from a generic knight themed show that was never scripted. The sword crown and the belt are all it has going in terms of visual continuity or congruity. It doesn’t even really have a good belt jingle.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KSlh6v5lnos

The giant dragon flashily ridden by a class of knights in a Dramatic Battle…

In short, the class of knight has evolved!

In other words, he’s strong!

And yet, I ended up buying the book. Entirely because it was part of a package deal for one I actually wanted. But since I got the Booster (the Ryuki-esque arm gauntlet the form sports), I was able to produce these videos, showing how it interacts with the book and the sword parts of the Swordriver.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9uh9rObRuHE

https://youtube.com/shorts/nCrjS7U46Pg?feature=share

Yeah, I've got to agree with you on this episode, while I like the first half well enough and some parts of the second, my main issue is that Kento's "death" didn't really work for me?

It just felt like a retread of last episode's ending, except this time, it's "for real", and even with that, I won't lie, I have zero faith that Kento or anyone in Kamen Rider who dies this early one will actually remain "dead". As you said in your post, I'm pretty sure due to that shot of the Calibur sword, that Kento will return as the new Calibur or something, and even if he doesn't, I'm still almost entirely certain that he won't remain dead.

Besides that, I also don't like Dragonic Knight's design, maybe it's because it's mostly just a repaint of the regular suit, except with more silver, I don't know the exact reason, it just doesn't work for me. Also, I don't really like how Touma got the power-up, it's stated to be because of Luna or something? I dislike how the Wonder Ride Book just flies over to Touma because he said he wouldn't give up, something which I'm pretty sure he's already said numerous times before, but I guess since he has his memories back, it does something now? Maybe they'll elaborate on it later, but for now, I dislike it.

Aside from that, this episode was decent? I still did like the first half, and I didn't entirely hate the second half, it might be the worst Saber episode so far for me, but even then, it's not enough to make me drop the show or anything, I just hope that the show improves from here on out.

Considering how many people, including myself, thought he already died last episode, instead of cursed by Kurayami, I guess your apathetic reaction isn't that uncommon, struggling to muster the same melancholy as that scene. Last episode we were unprepared for it, but this episode is mostly building back up to that happening once more, for real, without the same level of uncertainty and suspense. However, I do like how this time is more focused on Kento's feelings towards the other Swordsmen as well, not just Touma, I think it's still an emotionally strong scene. There's probably more to talk about for Espada Retsuden though.

Hmm, but Kamijo already told Kento that he cut down Hayato. As punishment for betraying SOL and to stop him from causing more harm.

Apparently, this is the reason why Zi-O Decade Armor Time Saber used Brave Dragon as the base.

While I wouldn't go as far as saying I hate it, I agree that it's pretty lame and overrated. Kind of just looks like an all-silver Jaou Dragon but without the cool details that make me love Jaou. The emphasis on Saber riding his red dragon seems like something he should've been able to do easily anyway, considering how we saw Rintarou casually riding his blue lion in to Fantastic Kamiyama in his first appearance. Oh, there's the ridiculous name, "Dragonic", which is like, why? Draconic is already a word! Overall, least favorite Saber form.

And this'd be the reason of why a good number of people find Mei annoying. You've said that you liked Mei, but I guess even you aren't immune to being annoyed at this part of the show. I do think poor Mei though of being quite treated like crap by the people on SoL like Ogami, due to her being someone normal and non-fighter.

Yeah this is the memetic portrayal of the power of friendship that is only used as a weak justification for someone to power up and win the fight. This is one of the reasons Touma is disliked, and dunno (as a first time watcher) if this aspect of him will take more focus later on.

Now this seems to be a good analysis of re-evaluating Daichi's universal truth seekings, and even more fitting that it happens in a story about storytelling. Touma achieving his Dragonic Knight form is something that's beyond what Daichi used in the past of seemingly only being stuck on base Saber, unless Daichi somehow can take Saber on equally high level in the past. Only the main protagonist seemingly takes the Rider into unreachable height for anyone else starting from his Dragonic Knight here.

It kinda makes sense that Touma would be angered as not stopping a sunset, noble characters like him do will get angry over something out of their control, which shows how empathetic they're to try creating best outcomes for anyone (especially as someone constantly making promises), but that can be something self-destructive. Even Touma's new powerup can't save him just like previous episode. Regarding Kento, yeah this'd be a dark path for him, especially for someone that holds so much emotional baggage. About everyone mourning for him though, I wonder what'd be Kento's appeal to Ren for him to simp for Kento.

While being able to go through Sophia and maybe Luna, so this'd be something in Saber that you dislike.

Every real knight needs his fair lady (and in this regard, Ren, as usual, turned somewhere else). So it is precisely this role that the Luna plays here, or rather, memories of it. This is also a kind of tribute to the classic chivalric novels, because Toma still does not know anything about the real Luna and performs feats in the name of the image from his memory. Well, for the sake of my friends, of course, but also for the sake of saving the world and a good plot for a future book. In a word, the more reasons to fight, the brighter the sword burns.

I can't disagree with any of that, and I'd probably add that I don't love the visual that the affection that people have for Touma becomes a barrier between him and the world, but I still think this suit looks slick as hell. I almost don't care that it's stylistically a misfire, or thematically troublesome, since it just looks imposing and arresting. Definitely love it as a suit, even if it's hard to argue for it as a Saber suit.

Yeah, I don't think this episode not working for some (most?) of us is a huge deal, in the scheme of the series. They took a swing at something, it didn't really connect, let's all move on. I'd almost rather them biff it on this stuff than aim lower, you know?

Yeah, it's another one of those times where this shows explains the stakes well after the action, which is a great way to feel like there aren't any rules. Calibur's sword now doles out curses! That only Calibur's sword can break! OKAY SURE GOTCHA. I feel like this is maybe something that the show could've brought up earlier, in previous episodes, since the entire Sword of Logos seems to instantly diagnose both Kento's malady and the cure?

Sure, but why should we trust Kamijo? Show me the body, or I'm still skeptical.

At least she's got that glowing book now, so she can take on the role of alerting the heroes to monsters. We're only a floating anthropomorphic book puppet away from this show playing all of the Ghost hits!

this isn't the point where Saber gets good(your unfortunately 10 episodes away from that but the worst of it's over) but your at the piint where it stops spending so much time on mysteries that aren't hard to figure out, we still got two more captain obvious reveal mysteries(really only one as admittedly the 2nd one did somewhat stump me but we'll get to both of those when we do) but fortunately the show doesn't spend AS MUCH Time on either one of said mysteries) IMO Geats does a better job of this structure because it gives you breadcrumb's about the protagonist's past but doesn't do it like this

I know you're just throwing this out as an off-handed comment, but this is one of my own personal gripes with this part of the series - everyone takes Calibur right at his word, with no cross-checking besides "Well, he's a villain, why would he lie?"And I know it's a common trope, but it still takes me somewhat out of it.

But on the other side, Kento. I was convinced he'd died last episode, but here he is... to get cursed by an evil sword. There's something special in how he's so determined to get himself killed, he takes last episode's cliffhanger and decides to do it properly. No matter what the narrative says about this being the time he almost dies and realises he should rely on his friends, he's determined to be the sacrificial lamb.

I mean, I'm maybe phrasing it in a curt way, but I sort of believe this? I definitely think the show's got a few more cards up its sleeve regarding what exactly happened with Kento's dad, and Oh I Killed Him Because Of My Loyalty To An Order I Immediately Betrayed is something I am intensely skeptical of. There's bound to be more to it!

Geats is probably in my Top Three of all Kamen Rider shows, based on the first act, so I do not have a problem saying that Geats handles childhood mystery stuff in a smarter way than Saber!

"Mr Kamijo, why did you kill my dad?"
"Well, there's only one evil sword kid, and we couldn't both be traitors and share it. That'd be silly."

Kamijo turned traitor because he was tired of dressing like Wong from the MCU, and wanted to get into a shiny button-up shirt and a trim looking jacket. Maybe if anyone in the Sword of Logos dressed like a normal, fashionable adult, he'd still be Saber. I feel like Touma becoming the new Saber sort of proves this point?

In fact, one must accept that some of the characters on this show think in terms of knightly/samurai honor. In this particular case, there may be something more, but this way of thinking should not be discarded either.

Oh, for sure. I'm kind of in a space with this plot point where I don't believe anything I've been told, because what I've been told is so contradictory and vague. There's probably a kernel of truth in what Kamijo's said, but I don't 100% believe that guy.

KAMEN RIDER SABER: SWORDSMEN CHRONICLES EPISODE 3 - “AN EPISODE OF KAMEN RIDER ESPADA”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...wordsmen3a.png

ha ha ha ha ha YES.

Of all the ways I expected this post-death spotlight on Kento to go, the absolute last way was Kento Watches A Recap Of “Kamen Rider Saber” And Realizes What A Pain In The Ass He’s Been. (I sort of hoped that we’d come back from the title screen and it’d be Tassel saying, “Oh no! He died! Here’s Blades instead!”) It’s such a fantastically self-aware addition to Kento’s story, and it both entertains despite its clip-show format, and maybe slightly improves Episode 13 while it’s at it.

It’s a lot of old clips, though. Befitting its side-story placement, we’re really only getting new footage from two rooms: the recuperation room, and the Sword of Logos entryway. (Well, and an alleyway from Rintaro and Mei’s Calibur-hunting date, inexplicably.) Everything else is just clips of Kento’s journey from mopey friend to poisoned friend to dead friend.

It doesn’t do a great job threading the needle of filling out scenes from the first few episodes (Sophia watches Rintaro leave to retake Touma’s book and sword, and then immediately tells Kento that Touma can stay in the guild), but it’s gratifying to see Kento finally get it, you know? It’s nice to see him look back on his dedication to uncovering the secrets of his father (Espadad), and just now noticing that no one ever wanted him to give up his happiness and safety in pursuit of that goal. Even Ogami’s like It’s Not A Big Deal, and that dude was actually around for Calibur’s rampage 15 years ago. It is incredibly charming to build out an entire bonus feature around a pre-death Kento figuring out that he’s a weird, emotional burden on his supportive friends, and deciding to be a better person.

That’s about all this episode has, but it’s plenty. It’s just Kento wanting to be there for his friends in the same way they’ve always been there for him, with whatever time he has left. It’s a sweet little epilogue for this stage of Kento’s story.

—

I TURN MY CAMERA ON

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...wordsmen3b.png

“I’ve never won anything before,” Rintaro said.

It was a thing people said, but it was rarely accurate. Minor awards in grade school, consolation prizes from a fast food purchase; there was always some exception to the expression. Rintaro wasn’t one for exaggeration or hyperbole, though. If Rintaro said it, it was a fact.

He’d had a good life, but it was a serious one. He studied. He trained. He researched. He assisted the Sword of Logos in whatever capacity was required. But he didn’t play games, or win prizes. He’d never gambled, or been awarded something for his luck or his mettle.

It must feel nice to have won. Mei hoped he was happy with it.

“It was nice to win something. It makes me happy,” Rintaro said to Mei. He held the camera out in front of him, taking it in with pride. It was light blue, which Mei had said meant he was destined to win it.

Mei smiled at Rintaro’s typical corny honesty. She’d raced to join him, when he said he’d be scouring the city for Calibur. She didn’t know much yet about the guild that Touma had so abruptly been drafted into the other day, and she was hoping that Rintaro would share some secrets. She’d thought of ways she could surreptitiously probe for details. She considered different tactics to gain his trust.

It turned out, all she had to do was ask.

Rintaro happily provided answers for all of Mei’s questions, as though the thought of lying to her about the Sword of Logos or about his life would cause him physical pain. Whenever she’d tease him about some ludicrous detail or another – they were almost exclusively ludicrous details, so she needed to pick her shots – he’d get flustered and apologetic, like he’d committed some inexcusable faux pas, where once the guild found out he’d be expelled on the spot. She kept having to tell him she was joking, and then he’d laugh politely at his own anxiety. It was a little adorable, she had to admit.

They’d stopped at the raffle table in the alley, just after she’d gotten her fruit drink. (She’d offered to buy one for Rintaro, but the amount of sweets on top of the cup made him blush and stammer so much that the manager had to ask them to leave.) Rintaro’s attitude changed immediately, his curiosity replaced with steely determination. She honestly thought Calibur might’ve been manning the table, for Rintaro’s speed in approaching it.

Rintaro paid the fee and spun the wheel, the winning ball coming out on the first try. It was such a rush, watching Rintaro win. He was so button-down, so proper in all of his mannerisms. But there he was, winning an instant camera from a cheap raffle, and you’d think they’d saved the world. Rintaro was bouncing in delight, as Mei cheered on his good fortune.

Even now, as they’d resumed their search for Calibur, Rintaro’s excitement hadn’t seemed to abate. He kept smiling at the camera, doting over it. It was cute, but it was starting to get a little weird.

“You know what that is, right? It’s just a camera,” Mei said to Rintaro, with as little chiding humor in her voice as she could manage. (It was very difficult with Rintaro.)

“Of course,” Rintaro turned to her and replied. “It’s an instant camera. A Fujifilm Instax Mini 11. Usually retails for around 9000 yen. A solid camera for young adult Homo Sapiens.”

“Oh, uh… wow, okay, you definitely know your cameras,” Mei said with amazement. “You a big photography buff or something, Rintaro?”

“No,” Rintaro said, his attention back on the camera. “I’ve never had a camera before. I’d read about this one, but I’ve never thought to own one.”

“Well, lucky boy with his lucky blue camera, you own one now. What do you think you’ll shoot first?”

Rintaro stopped walking, and stared at the camera in his hands. “I’ve read that this camera is most useful for taking pictures with friends, or with family. I’d very much like to take a picture with my friends.” He smiled slightly. “With my family.”

Now this is a fun complementary episode. I feel like there's a bit of a difference between how it actually plays out in the episode and how it happens here at like, a certain point.

But other than that, it's a fun addition that I don't think anyone was expecting. Especially when Swordsman Chronicles was announced and those up till this point had been complimenting the ongoing story and not going back to a way earlier point in time aside from flashbacks in the special itself.

So it was nice to see an additional thing to Kento's whole deal.

As for the story, that was cute and I really liked it. Rintaro just going up to a lottery table and getting the instant win and a camera he can use to take pictures? Yes, that's the best. So it's nice to see that you decided to try your hand at writing out that scene.

Oh, for sure. Beyond some minor continuity stuff (Mei is dressed completely differently), this entire special is an alternate take on Kento's recuperation room scenes from Episode 13. There, he gets up, sees the pop-up book, asks Luna to look out for Touma, and then leaves. (Mei even sneaks into the room when she finds out that Kento's gone, because she thinks he's still unconscious!)

But I don't mind, since it's way more of an interesting look at Kento's personal growth than the smaller amount we got in Episode 13.

Thanks! Mei and Rintaro are a cute couple, and I like them doing couple stuff before the show really started to ship them. I like them having this goofy work-date, where Mei's partly laughing at this serious dork, and partly falling for his earnestness and gullibility.

This is one of my favorite minor recurring bits in this period of Saber: the character looking like they may have just died only to turn up fine in that bed. I was really hoping that they would keep escalating it, like Ogami or Ren gets completely disintegrated and then the next episode they're just lying in that bed with some bandages on their face (and then they walk out while Mei isn't looking).

The health care for the Sword of Logos is really pretty mediocre, all things considered. These guys survive death, but then they're still beat to shit and poisoned. Daishinji all like I Got Them Healthy Enough To Swing A Sword, What Do You Want From Me.

Also, I hope Mei's first move in Episode 14 is to put a lock on the outside of the recuperation room.

I quite liked this special, there are quite a few flashbacks (especially to the Luna getting dragged into that big white book scene, which they keep showing us at any opportunity possible), but all the original stuff that was made for this special was just great.

Like the other Swordsmen Chronicles specials, it's mainly a character-focused thing, which is something we hardly get with Saber's fast pace, it's an alternate version of events from Episode 13, but I honestly wish that at least some aspects from this version were used instead of what happened in Episode 13, it would've probably made me appreciate the episode more.

Besides that stuff, this was just a great little special, Kento's one of my favorite characters, so this special was something I really enjoyed, and it makes me kind of sad that there's only one more of these specials because they've been the most enjoyable part of Saber so far to me.

(Also, I really like the short stories, I don't normally comment on them, but they've been enjoyable so far, this one in particular.)

Haha, yeah, Sophia totally sent Rintarou on a fool's errand, poor guy. While Espada Retsuden doesn't revolve around any kind of fight scene like the previous ones did, I think the focus on Kento's regrets and revelations before he bravely goes to meet his death adds important context for the concurrent episode. He's not just pointlessly throwing himself at Kurayami's blade again in a vain attempt to atone and avenge, rather he wants to protect his friends the way they protected him, hence what he meant by Touma saving his soul, allowing him to remember his mission as a Swordsman for his final battle.

I appreciate that sweet story!

I wonder how you even find the time you need to write all these daily on top of your reviews. Looks like a lot of work.

I think that it's also quite gratifying to have Sophia, the one who managed the group, knows about Touma being Kento's childhood friend, making Touma even feel more welcomed - as an obligation too for it being someone that their dear Kento already knew. It's charming for Ogami and Mei to try to cheer Kento's up by reminding of what he has right now but, it also can rub me off the wrong way a bit for him to telling him to just ignore/forget it. Like, having good friends around him won't diminish how important, though it's true too that he shouldn't go into a self-destructive path to search for it. So for this episode, while Ren simps for Kento for being strong, Kento had similar feelings on Rintaro.

also as far as the mysteries the show has had I figured otu that Touma was from the Wonder World after episode 1, and that Calibur at this point in time IS NOT Kento's father as soon as it was mention and I did correctly Guess his identity cause Daichi(or at least the old Saber) was the only person who it made sense for him to be (other than Luna but I didn't think the show would go that balls to the wall that early) albeit I wasn't 100% sure until the reveal

I didn't even realize how much he looked like the Once-ler before this

Yeah, they've been really delightful. Definitely a high point of the first act of Saber.

Thanks! This one kinda snuck up on me. I'm glad people liked it!

It really does a great job of having Kento confront how addicted he was to his vengeance and suffering, and how the things he thought he was doing for others were really just things he was doing for himself. Having him come to that conclusion and vow to be more selfless in supporting his friends... pretty great!

It's fun to do, which makes it easier to make time for. You can tell when I have less time because it's all dialogue, and very brief.

I think it's less that, than Ogami and Mei trying to talk Kento out of his martyrdom. Kento's whole self-destructive attitude is based on his belief that he needs to do this for everyone else, so the episode is smart to have multiple go We Did Not Ask You To Do That.

uh

I'm going to cut the awkward elephant off before it can go any further and tell you Die specifically...

That is not a spoiler. That's just a popular fan theory people have and I guess people believe it?

OH GOD. THANK YOU. Today's been a grueling day at work, and I literally could not handle a gigantic Saber spoiler as well.