[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER SABER: SWORDSMEN CHRONICLES EPISODE 1 - “AN EPISODE OF KAMEN RIDERS SLASH AND BUSTER”



It’s nice to not really know everything about these shows before I watch them. Like, when I’m organizing stuff via the Wiki – all the side projects and HBVs and films and whatever – I don’t really look at details. I’m just looking for air dates and corresponding episode numbers, to get everything arranged correctly. So I didn’t really know what this was before I started watching it. I assumed it’d be a clip show, or the early-days-HBV thing of having powers recapped for the audience.

I didn’t know it’d be an actual all-new short story, with action and revelations. That’s a nice surprise!

I think this episode walked the perfect line of being inessential enough to not be part of the regular episodes (it’s pretty much just an extension of the 15 Years Ago fight scene we already learned about in Episode 1), while still finding something brand-new to make it worth seeking out. Namely, a little story of Ogami and Daishinji hanging out and being worn-out old men!

(Which… do the Sword of Logos guys not age? Both swordsmen look exactly the same as they did 15 years ago. But, Kento has aged at the same rate as his childhood friend Touma? It also makes Desast’s whole You Got Old jab at Buster seem like an even weirder insult, since Buster was his same dad-bod self when they last fought. If there’s a non-spoiler explanation that isn’t Don’t Ask Unnecessary Questions About Adult Circumstances, please let me know!)

It’s a nice look into a pairing we hadn’t previously experienced in the main narrative. They’re both more mature (if not, in Slash’s case, visibly older) than the rest of the Sword of Logos crew, and it gives them a chance to bust each other’s balls that the rest of the kids wouldn’t dare try. Both Ogami and Daishinji have been through some shit, so there’s a bit of support buried in all that teasing. It’s a charming little sidebar from the group-heavy storytelling of the last few episodes.

There’s also some legitimate original suit action, too, which I never would have expected. Buster in action is always fun, but the introduction to Slash was a real treat. I’ve always loved the Slash design, even before I knew what his deal was. (Thought he was a bad guy!) I think I called it Trapper Keeper Maximalism in some other thread a few years back, and I stand by that assessment now. It’s this hot pink and brown suit, with a blue starburst visor and a high collar. It’s roughly four different things that shouldn’t even be on the same show together, let alone the same suit, but they somehow work beautifully. It all works together to sell Candy Armor in just the dumbest, funniest way (the candy buttons on the collar!!!), and I love that the stoic, dedicated Daishinji wears gingerbread into battle. Absolute best suit to date, and I can’t wait to see it appear in the modern day.

This was a cute little story! It’s nice to get a better understanding of what some of the second-tier (in appearances only) Sword of Logos members are like when they don’t have to corral four well-meaning but troublesome youngsters, and it’s a nice surprise to see their camaraderie demonstrated with several minutes of ass-kicking. Worth the watch!

—

DIGNITY AND SHAME



“Dad!”

Sora rushed towards his father, arms wide, ready to be carried on Ogami’s shoulders. Ogami, as always, was happy to oblige. Carrying Sora around on his shoulders was as much his favorite part of the day as it was Sora’s.

“Hey, buddy,” Ogami greeted his son as he slung Sora up onto the top of his back. “How was school?”

“Fun!” Sora kicked his feet a little on Ogami’s chest, their unspoken signal to start walking. “We learned about fractions, and elephants, and the moon!”

“Wow, that does sound fun,” Ogami said approvingly. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah! Are we going to get ice cream?” Sora squeezed his tiny hands on Ogami’s ears to emphasize his interest in said ice cream.

“Maybe later, kiddo. I told your buddy Slash that we’d go look for that Calibur jerk, so we gotta get to that first.”

Sora was quiet for a moment, and then he released Ogami’s ears. “Okay. We can look for Calibur first. When you find him, are you going to tell Slash? Is he going to finally bring his sword and let me see him fight bad guys?”

“I don’t know, pal,” Ogami said wistfully. “It’s like I told you before: Slash’s sword is real sad, and he won’t help Slash fight the bad guys until Slash cheers him up. Slash has been workin’ real hard to cheer him up, but sometimes swords gotta cheer up all by themselves.”

Sora rattled the hilt of Gekido, Ogami’s trusty sword. “Does your sword ever get sad, Dad?”

Ogami’s laughter was genuine and quick. “HA HA HA HA! Gekido, sad? Sora, that sword’s only sad I’m so good at swinging it that I don’t need to swing it that often. It doesn’t get sad, it gets even.” Ogami wasn’t sure Sora would understand a tough guy line like that, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.

Sora giggled in approval of his father’s enthusiasm, if nothing else. As his laughter faded out, he leaned the side of his face on the top of his father’s head, and sighed slightly.

“That’s good,” Sora said softly. “I don’t know what I’d say to cheer up a sword. I’m sure you do, though, Dad. You probably know exactly what to say to a sad sword that didn’t want to fight anymore, and wouldn’t let you be a superhero anymore, and made you stay in the North Pole for years and years and years.”

Ogami thought long and hard about what his life would be like if he’d had to face Slash’s fate. After a couple minutes of silence, Ogami responded to his son’s hypothetical.

“Hey, buddy,” Ogami said without affect, as his eyes focused on the middle distance, “what do you say to some ice cream real quick.”