[Fish Sandwich]

With very few exceptions, I tend to gravitate towards the title character being my favorite in a Rider show, and while Saber's whole ensemble is so appealing to me it took a while to settle, this second arc has very quickly propelled Touma to that status and cemented him there. It's very hard to imagine me liking anybody else more after this past month or so, and believe me, I really like some of those other guys too!

I guess the secret is that none of those other guys are as much like Takeru?

Some of these recent speeches from Touma, I mean, it could not possibly be more apparent that the staff from Ghost is making this show, and the conception of heroism they want to present is one that resonates with me just as much now as it did back when that show was airing. Despite me griping a bit about the context in episode 20's thread, I honestly still get chills just thinking about that whole "It's because I understand pain that I want to protect people" thing. Fukuda nailed that part of 20's script, and Hasegawa did a great job with these last two. There's a very specific emphasis being placed on concepts like compassion and the worth of individuals that I can't imagine ever getting tired of seeing.

Touma is dropping some premium heroic speeches left and right lately, but, crucially, he's also backing up his words with action, and that's what makes all the difference. It would be trite if saying these things were all he was doing, yeah, but when you get to witness so directly the kind of strength he draws from that conviction, braving impossible odds without ever giving up and shrugging off massive injuries for the sake of the greater good, it becomes a story with real impact, I think. As a viewer, you can see the value in the morals the show is preaching because you can see the value they hold to Touma so clearly. He's just an all around cool guy, you know?

But again, the show isn't exactly strapped for those. I think the only Rider here who I don't any special nice thing to say about in this episode is Ren, and that's probably only because of my existing general ambivalence towards his character. Even he's perfectly good here. And everyone else?

Yuri continues to be an absolute delight, with an extraordinarily endearing childlike sense of wonder and discovery about the world, as regularly displayed in the constant background gags, among other things, and I'm enjoying his gradual arc of gaining an appreciation for Touma's brand of heroics. Daishinji is super fun in his couple of scenes simply because he gets to show off his nerdy side thinking about the prospect of examining Saikou. Rintarou mostly gets that short moment where he's seriously considering cutting down the Megid, but the internal conflict it's clear is going on when he realizes Touma's dedication to following his own path spared him that burden speaks volumes about why I think this current arc is so great about getting the most out of these characters.

This is also pretty evident with Ogami's screentime, which goes to great pains to remind us he's a smart, caring guy who has absolutely no beef with Touma, which is pretty impressive when he's also smashing Saber's face in with a huge rock sword! It's a great fight thanks to Sugihara, naturally, but once again, I think the script is key to what gave his talent that space to shine. I loved the emphasis on how heavy duty Buster is. It comes across amazingly well in the visuals, but I also loved Touma's analytical narration simply because it reminded me that Touma doesn't actually know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that brutal fighting style? It put a spotlight on how fascinating I'm finding this whole idea Saber had to basically do the reverse of any other multi-Rider show. Instead of it being impactful to see the Riders working together after so long bickering, it's a huge deal seeing them cross blades specifically because they've been on the same page so consistently. Heck, in a way, they still are, even. The only one who actually hates Touma right now is Ren, and Ren never liked Touma that much to begin with. Buster's really only here to do his day job, and that's tragic in its own way, because it's so obvious these are two people who still deeply respect one another despite their respective circumstances forcing a wedge between them. It's pretty obvious Ogami didn't actually leave because Yuri showed up.

I love it, basically. All of that. The episode. Saber in general. Take your pick. This show just keeps finding ways to make me happy week after week. Brave Dragon even showed up in a meaningful capacity again!