[Fish Sandwich]

I keep seeing that homo sapiens joke going around, and can't help but think how perfect it is Kamen Rider Blades is the thing in this show immediately generating god-tier memes from episode one. Just makes me real happy.

Anyway, I've become weirdly obsessed with Saber in a very short span, and after watching it a few times, I think I've narrowed down the two beats in the episode I love the most:

- That little kid walking up to his mom when they get reunited at the end and asking if she cried. It's the equivalent of Aruto's "I guess this is one way to make people smile" from Zero-One's premiere when it comes to being this really heartfelt moment that ties everything together. After thinking about it, I eventually realized why. Touma taking the time out to inspire that kid to be brave has literally nothing to do with him being a Kamen Rider and fighting. It's by becoming Saber that he's able to eventually put things right, yes, but him being there to emotionally support a child happens either way, and I love that the premiere of this show felt that was something important to put in.

- Blades popping in on that lion at the end like it's the most casual thing ever. What a note to end the episode on. The willingness to just be weird for the sake of it reminds me a lot of shows like OOO or Fourze, and that sort of... playfulness, I guess, I think it makes for an entertaining show. Like, yeah, in a more serious show, he could just walk into that room normally, but what fun is that, you know? Is this a fantasy series or not?

Oh, and, as for Touma being good at swordfighting, given the whole bungou ni shite kengou shtick, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole joke is that a stroke of the pen and a stroke of the blade are functionally the same to him. I kind of doubt it's something the show plans to directly address, either way.