Kamen Rider Saber Episode 29- "At That Moment The Swordsman Moved!" Discussion
 

The time has come for a confrontation with Master Logos to learn the truth of his intentions.

Durandal really be a force to be reckoned with despite being only at his base form. Tho, it is his debut so of course he'd be more powered than usual. Love to see Shadow again, too!

Rintarou uses Elemental Dragon on Nagare, really doesn't do much apart from powering his elemental and letting them escape. That's cool. Touma absolutely gets decked by Durandal, but Yuri's always there as the healer.

Kento-Kun finally comes to Sophia's rescue! That was nice! Now she's finally with the others again and can do something! Tho, judging from how she looks in the next episode's set pics, there's something beyond her rescue.

Neko Megid and Zooous duel next week. No Tategami or Forbidden Zooous yet. Which is weird. Now I'm curious where Falchion fits here.

Falchion's probably next month given what we've seen of the scans. Which is sort of insane because that means they're filming two months ahead?

Granted, completely understandable because I doubt they want to get hung up like they did with Zero-One.

This was a crazy ep. Durandal has time control powers he can avoid an attack by blades and keep himself safe with his powers. He not to be taken lighty maybe when blades get his final form he freeze Durandal that be fun to see.

Why do all of the bad guys keep getting OP powers: Black Hole manipulation, control over time and space, immortality, and regeneration?!

Because they have to? To make the victory sweeter? It's not like the heroes don't get as OP as they do. Tategami will be able to basically 'freeze' Durandal's time powers and Saber's final form will obviously be the strongest it can be, maybe even rewrite the story as he see fits.

Current emotion : angry to durandal.
Mann, that was a dirty fight. Need a subtitle for this episode.

Kamen Rider Web outright said it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the show "Kamen Rider Blades" for these next few episodes, and it's very much looking like that's the case. And you know, that's awesome, because Rintarou is awesome.

From the outset, he was essentially everything the traditional secondary Rider is not (which of course mostly went to Kento instead), and that characterization immediately struck a chord with me all the way back in the second episode. Where other secondaries might be brooding, Blades was optimistic. Where they were aggressive in their manner, he was always dignified. Where they were defined by dedication to strongly self-motivated goals, his character centered on his immense loyalty to a larger cause. Where other secondaries had themselves, Rintarou had his family. He had a place in the world he deeply believed he belonged, that filled him with pride and purpose, and the show did a great job establishing all that over the earlier part of the show.

So of course, violently smashing that to bits is bound to make for some great drama, yeah?

The recent stretch of Saber has moved Rintarou into the background pretty significantly, as his shredded heart largely keeps him out of the action, especially as a Rider, but it's to the credit of that great characterization that I've never felt like he's been forgotten about to this point. On the contrary, I've really enjoyed the way Saber has built up to the inevitable "Blades gets his groove back" storyline, and think explicitly making him the last of the main Riders to leave Sword of Logos was a brilliant, very natural choice for his direction. We've gotten plenty of great, if smaller, moments out of him in that stretch, and as usual for Saber, the payoff is turning out to be worth it.

It's a cool episode overall -- I loved how Durandal's crazy spacetime powers were portrayed, seeing Yuri being comically unflappable is always a joy (as was seeing his other forms for once!), and of course the general plot was great, but I think I mostly want to call attention to my two favorite specific moments in the episode.

The first is right after the opening, where Touma reacts to the news Rintarou is finally defecting as though he's a kid on Christmas morning or something, complete with him excitedly running down the stairs like he's trying to catch Santa before he leaves. Or at least, that's where my mind went with that anyway. The point is, I just thought it was super adorable and earnest -- like, of course hearing he can finally hang out with his best buddy Rintarou again would be like the best present ever for Touma, right?

It establishes a mood that carries all the way through to the big climactic hostage situation where Rintarou pours his heart out, which leads me into the second thing. I've mentioned a few times how much I love the very specific angles Saber approaches its characterization from, most recently talking about Kento's return, and here too, I thought it was just amazing how Touma asks Rintarou to walk back his melodramatic declaration that the organization is better off destroyed, and Rintarou immediately admits he's just venting.

I'm not sure I can adequately describe why I feel this way, but that was the moment of that exchange that made me go "oh, yeah, I'm watching Saber" in particular. Like, this show doesn't feel the misguided need to plunge Rintarou into some total nihilistic depression where he's inconsolably lashing out at everyone for several episodes or something, and I love that? That scene from episode 10 of Touma, Rintarou, and Kento all making that promise to have each other's backs is one of my favorites in the whole series. I've been waiting for them to call back to it in light of all the insane turns that have happened since then, and I wasn't disappointed. Great episode, and it's kind of crazy to think this is only the start of a big story arc for Rintarou rather than the end.

Once again, Fish Sandwich blows it out of the water with their retrospective.
There's nothing I can add to the conversation about my thoughts on the episode.

I'm loving Saber even more than I already did. I laughed at all the friendship talk (I'm a sucker for that when it's done right). I cried at Rintaro's brink-of-death therapy session. And... just. This series is SO WHOLESOME.

I love how the show's established its many characters since the initial clutter of episodes 1-14. I love how the relationships feel like relationships. Rintaro and Mei are cute af. Touma is literally my favorite rider protag, leaping in front of Emu, Takeru, Gentaro, Shotaro, and Aruto. Friendship and chivalry save the day.
Kinda surprised there isn't a centaur/griffin/basilisk/[insert medieval mythological creature here] Rider.

There's a lot wrong with the show at first glance (too many characters introduced right away, not enough explanation on plot points for some people, seemingly no communication between writers, the Meggido kinda aren't there at all after Act 1, etc), but it all manages to come together in the end.
I love how this show's turned out.

The show could inexplicably and spontaneously have Kurayami, Desast, or the Omniscient Book (yes I'm using IzuSubs) be the main bad guy, controlling Master Logos from the shadows (or maybe they are Master Logos, whatatwist), and I wouldn't complain as long as the ride getting there (and getting out of there) was fun.

In short:
I am fully expecting either Kento, Desast, or Kurayami to end up being the big bad guy.
If Master Logos stays the main evildoer the whole way through, though, I'll be pleasantly surprised at such a subversion of tropes.
If the Omniscient Book is what ends up being the true villain, then sure, go on ahead, Great Eyezer/Gammaizers 2.0 that's fine.
I wholly expect Touma to get a final form sword; whether that be summoning the sword from its WRB a la Ultraman, getting a new Emblem and book, or doing some sort of weird combination of all 11 blades.

IIRC, it looks like they're filming a lot in advance, likely so they don't get held up in case another production stall happens.
It seems to be paying off, whatever they're doing/planning. And I'm HERE for it. :D

Touma is really a joy to watch, but I haven't necessarily put him up above those guys. Maybe slightly below, but only a tiny bit. So far, anyway. Aruto really doesn't have a character development himself, but the things he does near the end of the series and his interactions with the cast, especially Izu, are very good. Touma is reaching that level, but one thing I find is that he doesn't have someone yet to bounce off of. Besides Rintarou, and they only started doing that only recently.

Side note: I feel like Touma would be an even more greater protagonist if he was set around early Heisei.

Considering that set leaks of possibly Logos' rider form were already out before any mention of Dezast or Storious, there's definitely something about those two. Dezast's suit looking a tiny bit more beat up in his latest twitter posts may also signal that the suit's been moving around again.

Also, toy leaks already had Touma's final form be a sword. It's a 5000-ish yen toy, which means it's a little more bigger than a WRB. It will definitely use all the Seiken I'm sure, but the design might go for something like Zero Two in terms of design complexity or simplicity. I'm guessing it's a sword that either goes into the sheath or a 'sword' that goes onto the belt, but then becomes an extension for Rekka. Kinda like the DJ Gunblade.

So, Reginald (my nickname for Durandal. Thanks Google Translate) got a good showing for his first fight. I don’t expect it to stick, since he’s a non-toyline character, so Bandai won’t root for his victories.

Nice to see what Elemental Dragon does on its own.

If you’d have told me that by the midpoint of the show, SoL would be the villain Touma and his allies had to stop, I’d have told you to write better fanfiction.

Next time: Romi Park completes her trifecta of Toei’s current big three (having been an ally in Pretty Cure, a regular villain in Super Sentai and now a monster of the fortnight in Kamen Rider)

So, Rintaro finally figures out Logos is a bad guy. Took quite a lot of doing, but he got there.

Durendal's henshin is neat. Space-time is a weird choice for an element.

Rintaro has a breakdown. Understandable. Also, while it is a nice emotional moment, the fact that Durendal is just standing there watching the whole time is kinda funny.

Huh, Elemental can also be used like Hyper Muteki (when used by a different Rider without the other corresponding item, it's just a simple power-up without a proper form). Neat.

So I guess Kento rescued Sophia. Wonder how that fits into his "seal all the Seiken" plan.

This episode was incredible, and I love how Durendal's powers work. I especially like how they focus on him pulling the blade, pressing the trigger, and then reinserting the blade into the handle. Very good foreshadowing for how they could possible stop him from using his time spam attacks. Only thing I think I can complain is that the trident prop's handle/base looks kinda flimsy, since there's a giant square at the end that kinda makes it look like it's bending slightly off.

God, why are all of the Saber designs so good? I want to get the SHFs for Slash, Buster, Calibur Jaoh Dragon, Saber's and Blades's upgrades, Saikou (both X-Swordman and Shadow, since I hope they'll do Shadow with exchangeable Powerful and Wonderful parts), Sabela, and now Durandal (or Durendal as I've in some places), and maybe whatever Master Logos will transform into based on set leaks. Jaoh Dragon and whatever Master Logos will transform into will heavily depend on if they're going to have cloth capes akin to Prime Rogue and Bravo King Durian (which, based on those two being really recent SHFs being made, is a good bet that they'll do the same for Jaoh Dragon and whatever Master Logos will transform into).

Saber has went from what I considered a Dumpster Fire to an actually enjoyable series. GODDAMNIT TOEI AND THEIR TOY SCHEDULES SCREWING UP PLOTS

Wow, another really good episode. I understand now why they pushed Rintaro to the sidelines before, so that now they can do an arc that's all about him and we (hopefully) won't get tired of seeing too much of him. And if the rest of his arc holds up to this episode's standard, I think it'll be worth it!

And I liked how Durandal didn't respond to Elemental Dragon's shapeshifting/evasion by bringing out some super-mega-ultimate attack like a lot of toku villains would, instead he just went and grabbed a hostage. Ruthless.

Not to mention he just straight out slashes Touma's back while he was turned. No fancy attack, just a good ol' slash.

Good thing he didn't just straight out stabbed him, that would've been worse for Touma.

Probably worth bringing up that the production notes for this episode mention that Eitoku and Takaya Yamaguchi (Blades and Rintarou, respectively) celebrated their birthdays during the filming period for 27-29... and they were both born in January.

I kinda forgot to talk about the fights, but yeah, this was something I really enjoyed too! It was cool that Durandal and Saber were explicitly in a stalemate, with neither of them able to hit the other, and Durandal manages to gain the upper hand through impressively quick and deviously underhanded thinking. It's a cooler thing for a bad guy to do, leads super naturally into a great emotional scene, and it's just plain nice that it didn't revolve around blandly saying this new character is super strong (until they inevitably aren't anymore). It'd be pretty unfortunate to make Elemental Dragon look weak barely after it debuted, so I'm glad they found a way to do the opposite of that while still keeping it from just stomping on the bad guys. Really great balance in this episode.

It's the same thing they did with Sabela, too, where she seems unbeatably strong at first, but it's only because of a gimmick the heroes haven't figured out yet. It's more specific than usual, and I find that more interesting.

On a related note, I also thought it was neat we get that brief monologuing from Rintarou where he's just like, analyzing his situation? It doesn't amount to anything plot-wise since he loses anyway, but it's very characterful to see him try to actively keep himself calm and collected, falling back on simple rational thinking in a tricky spot.

With Kento It's probably because he's changing events. In his montage of being trapped in the darkness, we see Sophia looking up worried as Master Logos approaches her. When Kento arrives to her, it's framed the exact same way with Sophia having the same expression on her face.

It's probably an attempt to prolong encounters with Master Logos. If Sophia's not at the Northern Base, it means that Master Logos has the ability to possibly obtain all of the remaining Seiken from it. At the very least, Kento has a better shot at sealing all of the remaining swords if he keeps them all separated from each other.

I... oh god... that's like a good 3 months ahead then!

Yep, that's roughly the standard for filming this stuff. 2-3 months.

After so many years of melodrama in Heisei and now Reiwa Riders, it is so refreshing to listen to characters simply being honest with each other and themselves. Touma and Rintaro have developed such a strong bond throughout the series that always seems to shine the brightest when they're yelling at each other.

Durandal gives me some major Kamen Rider Psyga meets Kamen Rider Poseidon vibes, but overall I dig the design. It's not too terribly busy, but I think Sabela is still my favorite design of the show.

Also, this is just a small request, but some people in these threads don't like to read the rumors and speculations thread to avoid spoilers. So it's a bit irksome to read about what's going to happen several episodes in advance in here.

As with all the suits in Saber, Durandal definitely looks better in motion.

So this series really likes to do the whole phasing/dodging/teleporting rider thing huh. It's incredible powerful and I bet Sabela and Durandal will stop doing it as we approach endgame.

Odin from Ryuki and ex aid chronosic hack .

Probably in the middle filming summer movie now. Not to mention filming unit ave time secret shoot dan vs kuroto etc and sentai anni sp cameos.

I don't have a lot to add at this point that wouldn't just be echoing the general praise for this episode and the show in general.

I do, however, want to give a special shout-out to whoever in the show's production decided that the best way to identify the Sword of Logos base was to tape a sheet of paper with its logo to the wall. That is some masterclass set design.

Another great episode from Saber this week. Rintarou's development has been some really good stuff throughout this show, and it's great to see him in action again (Since he's been lacking somewhat when he joined the Southern Base), even Touma's been really impressing me these recent episodes (To clarify, I liked Touma from the start, and seeing him grow has been really good).

Durandal was pretty cool, going Odin on Blades was a lot of fun, like brother like sister, either that he's using King Crimson, meaning Saber's final form will have reality bending powers like Dragonic Requiem or something! Just kidding. :lolol

Also, Blades' using Elemental Dragon is something I'd like to see more of with the other Riders, since this opens up the possibilities for allowing some of the other Riders to shine some more amidst all of the new forms and bosses introduced later in the series, but that may just be wishful thinking. Also, finally, Sophia's back, meaning we'll hopefully get some answers or something.

Next week: The prophecy is fulfilled, Mei becomes a damsel, and Blades gets to be in the spotlight!

I'm very relieved to see both Rintarou and Sophia finally return to Team Saber FTW in the same episode!

It's cool how Elemental Dragon book can be used by other Riders on its own to give a temporary buff, similar to Hyper Muteki. Even better, the buff seems to vary depending on the Rider, giving Blades more water power here. So it might give Kenzan more wind power and Slash more sound power.

It's smart how Durandal's attacks are ineffective against Saber Elemental Dragon, due to his elemental resistance, and Saikou, due to his lightspeed movements.

You can easily tell that Reika and Ryouga are siblings. They both resort to dishonorable cowardly tactics and are generally unpleasant sore losers. Until I see more, they're basically the same character.

The book theme is explored again, showing how rules can be followed by the letter or the spirit in which they were established. Reading only the lines VS Reading between the lines. Reika is the former, (usually) obeying the corrupt Master Logos since she's serving SOL through him as its leader, while Rintarou is the latter, believing in the altruism of SOL and taking it upon himself to carry those values when the organization no longer will.

Which leads Rintarou to the revelation that Team Saber FTW represents the real SOL that he believes in and the family he wants to protect. I'm so invested in this awesome friendship between Rintarou and Touma which continues to grow stronger through the challenges they face together. It's that strong dynamic between the Primary and Secondary Riders that we're only really seeing in the Reiwa Era for the first time now.

Kento scores some much-needed karma points here by being the one who rescues Sophia from her prison that she's been kept in for way too long. Maybe he has a motive or maybe that part of him which wants to protect his family is still there and he genuinely cares for her deep down. I want to hope it's the latter.

Blades is my favorite Sword Rider, so I'm totally excited to see where Rintarou's arc goes from here!

Hate to admit it, but you're absolutely spot-on. Just like with Reika, Ryoga's debut as a Rider was pretty much overshadowed by more relevant events. It's kind of weird for me, since both of their Seiken are so unique and they aren't your typical swordsmen, by any means.

It's fine to have Riders that don't have incredibly huge backstories or deep motives, but boy, it's a shame.

Well Kento did protect Rintaro, Ogami, and by extension Touma from Primitive Dragon's rampage so I'm pretty sure it's a case of column B but Kento will say it's mostly column A even though he 's so full of it.

Reika was so pathetic in Episode 26 that she didn't even bother to show up in 27. Ryouga should at least try and stay a little relevant as a threat for more than his debut.

That's true. Even though he's very depressing right now and sealing those Seiken Swords, it's nice to know there's probably still some of his old self deep down. Maybe with Touma showing him a few surprises like Elemental Dragon and his final form, Kento might take a chance on their friendship again.

I see this as entirely within character. Kento isn't evil. He doesn't want to hurt anyone. He just genuinely believes the swords will destroy the world. Saving Sophia does not in any way compromise that mission.

Speaking of which I have a theory that Kento and both of the previous Calibers have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the visions of the future mean. They think they are showing them what WILL happen. I think they the visions merely show everything that can go wrong. All his visions show the world being destroyed because of the swords because it's only showing the bad outcomes and not all the countless good ones where the swords save the world instead. The visions are meant to show the wielder what to avoid doing, not what to do. It's a sword of darkness after all, so it makes sense that it can see only the dark outcomes.

I think we even already saw a hint of that, when he saw Primitive go on a rampage, but Touma de-henshined instead after befriending the dragon. That was a good outcome, so he never saw it.

I really like this theory! It seems like the kind of twist this show – which has already featured a lot of drama spinning out of people not having all their information correct – would genuinely do, and would provide a surprisingly logical way for the heroes to "change" fate, basically saying there never was one.

I'm not sure I'm willing to believe this IS what the show will do (especially considering the whole table of contents thing from the end of the first act Calibur was after, it sounds like Saber's entire world is almost literally a complete book he'll have to somehow rewrite the ending to), but as an idea, this is very interesting.