[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 32 - “MY HEART AND SOUL, CRYSTALIZED IN ICE”

And it’s, really, a Rintaro episode. We get some slight movement on plot stuff – Sophia’s key finally gets used, Reika’s suspicious of the Megid involvement – but this is definitely the climax of Rintaro’s character arc. We’ve seen him deal with his inferiority complex alongside his friends; now it’s time to see him deal with it alongside his dad's memory.

Takes a long time for Sophia to actively participate, at least with the resource of her abilities, like her acting as the "microphone" for the Riders in the Northern Base with her abilities. I guess this is the reason why Sophia was nonchalant when she got attacked by Calibur in ep. 9, as she can defend herself with barriers. Sophia would go down fighting off the Megids and threats to buy time, despite others insisting for her to run, of which it's a shared trait of most of the SoL members. Finally the Shindai sibilings waver a bit even Ryoga (who insists Reika to not waver), which happens after Yuri points out that the Master Logos work with Megid. Megid seems to be the answer to break blind loyalties here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Which: this is completely a story about Rintaro trying to come out from under the shadow of his dad. In the incredibly weird way Rintaro has reshaped a family dynamic around the workplace he was adopted/indoctrinated into, he had just finished seeing his value to an organization when his coworkers are better at their jobs than he is, through being a great team-player. Now, he has to find a way to make his boss proud, and honor the hard work of the people who built the company.

It’s a fun conclusion, where Rintaro literally embodies the institutional history of the Northern Base and uses it to defend his home and family. It’s as perfect a Gets A New Power-Up finale to this type of story as I can think of for Rintaro. He acknowledges that his mission is to protect his family – not just a guild or a code – and has the entire history of the sword of Logos go You Finally Figured It Out, through the bestowal of a slick new Wonder Ride Book that allows him to obliterate Zooous, the Megid who killed his boss/dad. It’s Rintaro’s whole story, wrapped up with a bow.

In this episode Rintaro gets some deliveries who'd seem "generic" (and I do think that here he acts similar to Touma), with him vowing to fulfill his promise that is about protecting Northern Base together as well as him vowing to protect his friends with his power (as the answer to Sophia's question to his reason), with him using the flashbacks of previous Blades as motivation to fight Zooous. Seems that Zooous only lasts for 1 more episode, so yeah his supposed human trait is also wasted. Only Storious seems to be a significant Book Club who works with Master Logos, with the other 2 only being henchmen. For the opposite of usual toku flick, Blades' Hyoujuu Senki has the enemy explodes in shattering icicles instead of a fiery one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s so focused on Rintaro that it kind of doesn’t leave much else to discuss! The Saber/Durendal fight was fun, with Touma’s, like, sonar being able to track Durendal’s time-dilation and negate his advantage. (I love the little PINGs on the soundtrack!) There’s also the requisite fun moments of characterization, like Ogami geeking out over his new pin, and every weird thing Daishinji does in the background. It’s just, none of that even comes to the level of a B-plot in this one. It’s Rintaro’s story this time out, from front to back.

Touma once again figures out something to solve the problem... but for this one, it just borders on super senses as Touma didn't explain how he figured Durendal's power out unlike previous cases where it's gained through reading books. A bit disappointing for that, for now. It's a disappointing tease of Daishinji handing a sword to Mei who holds it for a while. At least have her defend herself with it for a bit lol. Ogami's defeat here, can feel as if his battle performance (along with Daishinji's) is downgraded, though I know Zooous gets an upgrade, but his superior swordsman skills (as shown to Saber's upgrades before) doesn't seem to shine through.