[Fish Sandwich]

"In the beginning, there was a Swordsman of Flames." The swordsman was also a novelist, who believed more than anyone in the power of stories. The novelist was also a Kamen Rider, who promised to save every life -- every story -- of a world that was already doomed. Like all stories, it was fated to end. Ultimately, this ending happened exactly as written, and all seemed lost. But even still, the swordsman believed, and a new story began, written by all those who believed as well. Fulfilling his promise, this swordsman, novelist, and Kamen Rider became also the savior of the world, and all lived happily ever after.

Hm? What am I going on about, you ask? Nothing more than a story, I suppose, but really, it is quite splendid, isn't it?

I adored this episode, if you even have to ask. I think I'm going to save my thoughts on the show as a whole for next week, but right here and right now, I cannot imagine a more satisfying finale for Saber than this. This is sort of working backwards, but even the very idea that the show is properly ending with a chapter after the "final chapter" is so so perfect for everything Saber was about. And that's nearly everything in this episode.

Having the thing that saves the day in the end have nothing to do with swords, especially, I can't praise that enough. Exactly like Storious says, the whole final battle is essentially a formality, because the world is falling apart anyway. And, as if Elemental Dragon's debut was foreshadowing this the entire time, the solution to a story with a tragic ending is simply to write a new story. It's the ideal way to give the protagonists an out on the whole fate thing. It avoids feeling too cheap, because everything that was predestined to happen did, but it's also extraordinarily on-point thematically, and that is most of what I tend to value in stories.

For this show that started its production under the conditions it did to have its climax be the hero standing alone against a green screen literally thanking the audience for connecting with stories is maybe one of the most beautifully poignant moments I've ever had the pleasure of seeing in Kamen Rider. When I heard they were collecting those videos from fans to be in the show, I would've never imagined how important that would end up being, even when they said upfront they would be featured in an important scene. It's genuinely moving, and I'd like to think that it's something that only happened because of this particular staff, who have now made two Rider shows that consistently, constantly value feelings and connections above all else, in ways few shows can. Saber was confident that it did not need actors to merely portray people who care, and that level of sentiment is exactly why I fell in love with it.

That being said, the final battle was one heck of an entertaining formality. Again, having it be Saber and two of his best friends landing the final blow on the villain is everything I could've hoped for, and Wonder Almighty itself comes close to something I was secretly hoping for too, which was that Saber should use all his forms in the last battle. Instead, they had all three of them using the powers of all those books, with Saber simply being Brave Dragon the whole time, which, like, do you think I consider that a letdown, with how much I've talked about Brave Dragon being awesome over the past year? While I was hoping for a Saber fashion show, the really important part was not forgetting all those little books that have helped save the day over the course of the whole show, and this is an end-game episode where Jackun To Domamenoki gets a whole insert shot to itself. It's awesome. Everything about it, from the theme song playing with the perfect timing it does, to Wonder Almighty itself paying off a year of those narration sounds by having it be all the characters from the show, having literally put their feelings into this final Wonder Ride Book. Like, oh man is that a good final fight.

It even starts with a return from Primitive Dragon, still the next strongest contender after the Brave variety for my favorite Saber form, because even at the very very end, this show just keeps doing things specifically because I want to see them. It's about more than that, of course. It's also someone who was saved by Touma saving him in return, which further emphasizes all the themes going on here, making it another really poignant moment in an episode full of them. But it's another fight scene with Primitive Dragon, too! And that, too, is awesome.

Storious also goes out great, I think, dying much the way the other Megid generals did -- defeated as a villain, but remembering his heart in the end. Ishida's direction helps this along massively, as those silent little flashbacks of his past as a proud teller of stories communicate a ton very quickly and lend so much more weight to the scene. I liked Storious from fairly early on, but it's still crazy to think how fleshed out his character ended up being by the end, and they truly shaped him into the ultimate final antagonist for Saber. And having the very last we see of him being at peace with his old pals, telling Touma completely unironically that he's his hero? I mean, come on, that's just amazing. I'm basically always in favor of conflicts that end with reconciliation, and while I wasn't too sure about this back when Legeiel died, I'm honestly way into the balance Saber found where the villains are monsters to the last, and yet their souls get to rest in peace.

Oh yeah, and speaking of which, there's a whole epilogue here, too, isn't there? That was also great! Letting Mei give what is essentially Touma's eulogy was a great decision, because as I've said before, she's a fantastic character who lends herself surprisingly well to more dramatic material. Saving the world was like, 50% thanks to her! So yeah, let her talk about someone who means a ton to her while barely fighting back tears. Go ahead and melt my heart even more, Saber, why not? And of course Rintarou is in the audience, and of course Kento is looking after his best friend's store, and of course you've got Ogami spending time with the family and Daishinji looking at swords and Ren looking for strength and everybody else, all doing things that feel like appropriate spots to leave them on. (Including Yuri reading comic books!) Which means that, of course, you've got Touma himself, still out there with pen in hand, writing words to save this world, and hey, speaking of referencing the opening -- them recreating that shot of him stepping out to greet a bright new day in Wonder World that I've looked forward to seeing so much every week for a year? You guessed it! It's also awesome. Or amazing, or both or whatever. I adored this episode, you guys!

I guess that's about all I have to say about this one? This feels shorter than I expected, but while there are still some minor points I could touch on, I think you all get the idea by now. This was a glorious, amazing, awesome, beautiful happy ending for a show that has meant the world to me for 47 chapters, and the only thing more exciting than leaving it on the full-circle visual of that pop-up book revealing one last secret is that the show itself isn't quite done yet either.