[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 24 - “A FATHER’S BACK, AND THE FUTURE IT CARRIES”

And it's so fun, to see the villains try to weaponize Touma’s empathy. Touma’s captured by Primitive Dragon, which is an interesting twist on a Berserk Form. This isn’t Touma leaning on a crutch, or addicted to power; Primitive Dragon is forcing itself into fights, and removing Touma’s agency. The book itself has an agenda, and a pathology. It’s a neat way of exploring depression, where the very people who might try and help you -- like Touma -- can also be damaged by an untreated illness. The Sword of Logos clearly doesn’t care if Touma is broken in the attempt to tame this eldritch insanity, so we get a compelling story of sorrow run amok.

Aren't the previous berserk forms also aren't the Riders leaning on a crutch? It wasn't purposely done by the characters (Aruto is the only one doing this, not any of the others), the agency is all removed, or at best, only from how they're risking it all by activating those berserk forms (e.g. Sento using Hazard form, but what he directly did is only using). But, you're ok with this berserk part isn't done directly by Touma but the form forcing itself in a fight? As usually, there are some people (not here) who complains when the hero got his culpability removed like the outside source being the one behind their wrongdoings.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The TWISTS part first: Calibur’s back! From a dark portal! To stop Primitive Dragon from killing X-Swordman and maybe Mei! It’s probably Kento, but that’s almost irrelevant right now. It’s a mystery that’ll probably percolate for a little while (it was, like, a dozen episodes before we found out who Calibur was last time), and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to react to it.

As already said, Yuri will be safe (even with X-Swordsman not making himself invulnerable again), Yuri isn't in losing position against Saber Primitive Dragon. But yeah what can potentially happen is him endangering others like Mei.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Also, we’ve got Reika semi-revealed as the smoky suspect who maybe swiped Calibur’s sword, probably kidnapped Sophia, and definitely snagged a bunch of Wonder Ride books while lying about Master Logos’s orders. I’m half-expecting this to all be chalked up to Reika doing shady shit for good reasons (mistrustful of Master Logos’s plans, safeguarding things from the traitor, low blood-sugar), but it’s still just Reika being Up To No Good with nothing in the way of legitimate obstacles to her continued unimpressive dominance, which is super good drama.

I'd just fully consider Reika is being up to no good here with her continuing to do nasty stuff without any regards to the swordsmen's well-being (hehe... again unlike Sophia who does care), like what you said about lying about Master Logo's orders, with of course painting herself as relying messages from him, or including trying to bind Ogami to SoL's will by abandoning or even sacrificing them. Kagawa from Ryuki is the one who (attempts to) sacrifice his family himself, but here Reika forces another to do that. I guess at least, it's semi-right that the Master Logos may be more reasonable to be reasoned with via Touma and Yuri's plan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But! There’s solid, sweet character stuff in Ogami’s defection from the Sword of Logos, which became inevitable when Reika decided the best way to ensure dedicated-father Ogami stuck with the Sword of Logos was to tell him to stop caring about if his kid lives or dies. So! More top shelf management technique from Reika, and Ogami has one last duel with Touma to solidify their manly bond.

Seems that all this time, it was Sora who likes Touma better, even though later Sora will also 'challenge' Touma into fighting Ogami and later run after Ogami. But here, it's Sora who vouches for Touma against Ogami, with the reason of how Touma never lies. Touma is someone who is able to fight untransformed, but these episodes lately establish that Touma doesn't stand a chance compared to Daishinji or Ogami in (sword)fighting, I wonder their 2's performance when fighting untransformed. Though Ogami insisting to look after the young is used as the reason to join Touma here due to Touma being still green in swordfighting, with now Ogami refering to him by his name. Otherwise, while Mei makes goofy lovey-dovey poses against Rintaro... here she reacts to Touma's fights by claps her hands in praying position watching it.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I just can't take Tassel Is Calibur seriously as a theory, I'm sorry. I'm not saying it can't be him, but it would make Calibur irrevocably weird, and sort of worthless as a villain/anti-hero/threat. It would be funny, but it's also mostly an HBV punchline reveal. Maybe! But, boy, you gotta make some huge changes to Tassel -- now and forever -- in order to keep Calibur as a boogeyman for our group of workplace swordsmen.

Anti-heroes aren't bad guys. They're subcategory of heroes, they're the heroes who has unheroic traits (opposite of anti-villain, who are villains with redeeming traits). They're good guys too, they'd be typically on the side of the protagonists even if they can be at odds. Many of those edgy assholes secondaries in previous series are anti-heroes.