Kamen Rider Saber Episode 27- "Turn The Sorrow To Smile!" Discussion
 

Touma goes in search of a mysterious boy from his dreams.

The video buffering got me to miss a few, but I like this episode. I had a smile on my face during Elemental's debut fight despite it being least favorite form. A bit sad to see that Legeiel was the first to go, and they had to squeeze in a bit of his backstory or reminiscing in the middle of his death. I'll miss him, since he was my favorite of the trio.

Next week, the reveal of the final sword! AND MASTER LOGOS ISN'T THE USER?!

Probably one of the most important meetings of all time happened this episode

Touma finally met Tassel.

At last the last Seiken finally appears! I wonder what element it will be? Time, Space, or even Matter itself?

Well there was a small percentage that Master Logos wouldn't be the last Seiken welder. But the real question we should be asking is what element the last Seiken can use?!

Spoiler alert


Liberation is not forgotten!

How touma keep reaching dhe dragon boy feels like Strange meet Dormamu!

The worst Megido is gone for now!

Im happy with this episode, the downside is just, how no one bats an eye to legiel new form, its just like, “here come the rampaging megido but a bit stronger”, and how they trying to make us care with him in the last minute by showing his interaction with another knight and tassel before they turn into megido. It feels nothing for me. The last smile doesn’t help too.

Feel like the bird dragon from ex aid where it feel like there was supposed to be a bigger impact when he was gone.

You know, there is such a thing as a spoiler tag.

REKKA BATTOU
REKKA BATTOU
REKKA BATTOU
REKKA BATTOU
REKKA BATTOU
REKKA BATTOU
Aight,

For how little screentime we got with Legeiel's backstory, I still kinda felt bad when he died. In his strongest yet lowest point of his life, believing himself to a master of legendary beasts, he suddenly reminisces his old memories of actually be a human, and he's suddenly killed seconds after that. Being in pure distress, confusion, maybe betrayed right before he died. Probably not intentional, but when he got hit with the finisher, he probably thought "Ah shit. This is it, huh?" and then dropped the sword before exploding.

Also, small details I noticed with Yuri again. He seemed to get up faster than Buster, and when they were knocked out of transformation, he was injury-less while Buster sustained some. Just a neat thing I saw that goes to show he's still practically immortal.

Nice episode but Im kinda bummed that the Elemental Dragon power up has nothing to do with Touma making up with Rintaro, Ren, Ogami, kento etc... considering the book basically holds the same elemental powers from everyone (even Calibur I think? I saw purplish or dark in there) it would be a perfect occasion.

But considering rumors for his Final form, being all the swords together as a crown etc... maybe they keep the true reconciliation for this occasion

Great episode, especially the scene where Touma converses with the kid.

How long will Rintaro return to Touma's side!? IT'S BEEN LIKE.... TOO LONG!!!!

Optional boss battles are the worst. :p

Not quite perfect, but a really darn good episode all the same.

I think it's mostly Legeiel getting blown up that bugs me? There's a pretty easy argument to be made that this is trimming the fat, so to speak, and thus actually a good thing, but for me, I don't know. The Megid trio have kind of been in this perpetual state of ~almost~ being compelling characters, so it felt a tiny bit frustrating to see another tease of one of them taking that next step before having it quickly ripped away. This episode doesn't work that well as the final showdown with a longstanding villain because, frankly, this show's use of its "main" antagonists has always been something it struggles with.

But gosh, that's not such a big deal, is it? How upset can I really be about the details when the fundamentals of this episode are still so good? This is probably a case where I feel more inclined to nitpick anything that wasn't exactly what I hoped for specifically because I went in expecting something great, and it's not like I didn't get that. This is an episode where Touma wins the day by hugging a bone dragon and then shedding a tear for its sorrow. Could it be ANY more obvious this is a show made by the Ghost people? That whole first paragraph I wrote can shove it; this episode is awesome!

One thing I've been praising Primitive Dragon for since its debut is how successfully it's managed to differentiate itself from the increasingly large pile of mid-season berserker forms main Riders are getting, and Elemental Primitive Dragon is the pinnacle of that. Touma didn't just vaguely get used to the power; he didn't build a new heroic identity over top of past sins; nor did he overwrite the bad to replace it with something good. Instead of any of that, Touma simply reached out and made friends with what seemed like little more than a monster, and that's just plain cool. Elemental Primitive Dragon is a suit I straight up do not like the look of, from the moment I first saw pictures of it, and I can also guarantee you I will end up loving it, because I love everything it's doing so much.

That garish clash of colors is the big obvious problem, right? But it's also the perfect choice to communicate that Elemental Dragon is not about controlling Primitive's power, but working alongside it, hence the handshake visual on the chest that's basically the most brilliant thing ever. (Saber even spends a good amount of the stock footage transformation meaningfully holding his hand to his heart before getting to the usual fancy sword moves, which is yet one more touch I adored.) See, the whole idea with Primitive Dragon, which is reflected in both the form itself, and the Ride Book, is that it had these big hollow spaces waiting to be filled by something, and having the thing that does the trick just be, like, a buddy? I don't have enough good words for that. This episode was another in a long line of stellar showings for Touma as a hero, and a very solid conclusion to an arc that's been such a delight for me. Major bonus points for having Touma deliver his motivational speech in the form of a story, too!

Sakamoto's direction brings a lot of energy to the table as usual. He's always had a super distinctive style, from the way he loves to tilt the camera, to the wire-work, to the insistence on getting the actors involved in the action even here, with perfect dramatic timing as everyone hopelessly attempts to hold off Legeiel leading to Touma's big moment. There's a restraint to the scenes with Touma and the boy that makes for a nice contrast, with the final one being notably still, and just, overall peaceful, I guess? It sticks out very nicely in an episode by a director who clearly loves his action, and of course, that results in one heck of an introduction for Elemental Primitive Dragon, with a lot of very fast, very acrobatic movements that are well cut together, which is extra impressive when the focus of its abilities is clearly meant to be the fancy CG attack effects. Although I think my favorite bit of stunt choreography in the whole episode was regular Primitive immediately jumping straight onto Legeiel, which was very appropriately wild.

Again, real good episode! Kinda forgot most of the things that bothered me already as I was writing this, even! There are plenty of "small" moments I haven't even touched on, like Tassel's brief but significant appearance, or Rintarou's own cool hero moment, but rest assured, all that stuff was very cool too. It'll be interesting to see where the show goes from here, now that one of the biggest driving forces behind the plot for the past month or two is resolved. Not that there aren't many of those at any given time, I mean. (I wonder if Touma is still somehow managing to keep making his deadlines in all of this...)

I'm not sure, but this could still fall into the month where Touma promised to finish all of his deadlines way ahead of time. If yes, that's such a small detail I would adore :D

Next episode seems to have the editor lady/Yeti Megid girl appear. So, maybe they'll touch up on that real quick.

Man, Saber has just been killing it lately! "Protagonist controls the uncontrollable power by befriending it" is a Toku staple, an absolute classic; and hell if I don't love it here as well. I think this is the big oomph the show was missing for me, and the fact its themes are now in absolute full force is making me fall in love all over again even though I've never truly disliked this show. Awesome episode!

ORE... SAJOU!!! And I'm back with a double feature.

So I caught up (since I was unable to see last week's episode) and, just wow. I am honestly really impressed with Saber, since I thought from the first episode, it would have just been a simple, average Rider show, but boy has it been just getting better and better.

Kento going full-on Homura out here, and the vivid depictions of the futures he's seen, were something I didn't expect them to go into that much detail, and the visual with him preventing the world's destruction was absolutely magnificent.

As a matter of fact, the OST and fight scenes have been improving as well, the former usually isn't anything too spectacular or just blends into the background (though, Build and Ex-Aid are among some of my favorites) the latter may just be my favorites among all of the shows I've seen so far.

And as we've expected, Tassel playing a major role in the story, AND the lore. I was expecting the Megiddo to have some connection to the first swordsmen and Master Logos, who's as I thought, the guy pulling the stings or at least taking advantage of the situation, either way, really liked the Legiel fight and how they don't do a cliched "somehow Touma has the power to free people from whatever turned him evil" it made for a nice conclusion. Though I still think Elemental Dragon's color scheme should have had more of Primitive's color scheme or something that blend better.

(Edit) And Touma using his Novelist talents was a joy to see this episode (I consider how he befriended the Primitive Dragon child as such) with those really wonderful visuals, making this episode an absolute delight.

Anyway, next week: Ren reunites with Kento (and probably gets benched alongside Slash) and Master Logos makes his move.

Like everyone's saying, yeah, really solid episode. With Touma's catchphrase being "I'm the one who decides how this story ends!" it was really great to see him actually literally change the ending to a story.

And Legiel had more depth in that one fight than he's had in the whole rest of the series. It's a shame they killed him off, him remembering being human could've been the start of a great subplot and character arc, but I guess Saber has almost too many of those to juggle already. The Megido generals make me sad, because I've really liked all the personality and backstory they've gotten, but the show seems determined to waste their potential.

I hope soon Touma asks Yuri if he knows Tassel.

Eh... did I miss it or Saber doesn't have insert song?

Nope. Saber doesn't have insert songs, so far. There was a lack of it with Zero-One, too. Well, for the other riders, I mean. Zero-One himself had three to his name.

Of which only two actually appeared in the show, if I'm remembering right

I don't know why but Touma's twitchy reaction upon seeing Tassel cracked me up.

I think the "I'm the one who decides how this story ends" will be a major factor in convincing Kento to join their side, as he'll change fate by making his own ending, not the path laid out for Kento.
Legiel getting his memories back just when he dies, like people said, could be expanded upon, later having to deal with it and what to do. But I feel they wanted to add more of a tragic angle with him by acting as the sacrificial lamb and acts as a stepping stone later for Zooous and Storius to be expanded upon.

Did anyone else notice how Touma said Kamijo's catchphrase when he transformed into Dragonic Knight?

Oh, yeah, definitely! It's a neat detail since both said it during moments where they're about to save a child.

Sometimes I feel like that should've been his catchphrase.

Okay, first and foremost: Saber's theme song does not work as an insert song for dramatic fight scenes. It's way too upbeat, happy and, most importantly, terrible.

Second: Tassel with a real mustache somehow looks even more ridiculous than Tassel with his fake mustache.

Those two points aside, holy crap, this was an amazing episode. Touma's repeated transformations to confront the boy was intense enough, but if you had told me, just two months ago, that I would get misty-eyed over a scene in Saber because it was so emotionally powerful, I would never have believed it. Everything about that, though, was so good. The lost lonely dragon, Touma helping him feel his friends, the new dragon coming to join him... man, that shit was fantastic. Legiel going berserk felt a little random, but it led to some good moments with the supporting Riders and a really nice final showdown with Touma.

Man, I actually got excited when Tassel showed up. That's how good this episode was.

Idk, Almighty fits the bill as some sort of triumphant theme, so it kinda worked for me in this fight. Put a smile on my face, too. Tho, I do, however, would've wished it was the ED song instead.

Did Tassel's mustache change? It seemed the same to me.

I don't think the ED song would fit the battle at all. Would've ruined the dramatic mood with its super cheerful tune. At least ALMIGHTY has a terrific triumphant trumpet tone.

Oh yes, that moment was fantastic! I really do like how he calls back to his "hero" in a fitting moment. Though, Touma's actual catchphrase is still very appropriate.

You have a good point, but I honestly think the Ending theme isn't too happy and cheerful, in which it sort of has a middle ground between cheery and serious, to me at least.

In Legiel’s flashback.

That scene where Touma literally rewrote the ending to Primitive Dragon's story was phenomenal. Finally, the show remembers that Touma is an AUTHOR and uses that effectively.

I was already thinking to myself when Touma henshined in to Saber Elemental Dragon, "hey, this would be an appropriate place for ALMIGHTY to start playing in the background". And then it does. :D

I enjoy the ED as well, but I agree that playing such cheerful dance music over Legeiel's last stand would have killed the mood.

Anyway, I thought it was really intriguing how the symbolism of adding more pages to a book was used differently for Legeiel and Primitive. It has the moral of showing the purpose of a story. For Legeiel, he's exactly what Primitive seemed to be at first, a story of hatred. He's not adding anything new to himself, just more of the same. That void is filled by more void, leaving him empty and insatiable. But Touma gives Primitive the friendship he lost and longed to find. That kind of story, that changes people, is more meaningful and powerful than Legeiel's hatred.

Looks like he and Zooous were indeed good guys in the past. My suspicions about Storious have only worsened though. His emotion didn't change at all upon seeing his comrade's death.

Despite being evaporated by Master Logos, Tassel is still alive and his usual happy self, appearing before Touma alongside Primitive in the imaginary book dimension and telling him to find Luna in order to save the world and prevent Kurayami's vision from coming true.

Rintarou decided to have faith in Touma after renewing their friendship, but he has yet to actually join his team. His allegiance to SOL is probably starting to erode though, since Reika is struggling to be relevant ever since the new old Calibur showed up to steal her thunder. She chose a bad time to make her debut as Sabela. I mean, her only contribution to last episode was confiscating a book that can't be used right now and she doesn't even appear here.