[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER: SWORDSMEN CHRONICLES EPISODE 4 - “AN EPISODE OF KAMEN RIDER BLADES”

This episode is nominally here to fill in some backstory about Rintaro, in regards to his upbringing and familial connection to the other swordsmen, but that isn't why it works. It works because Mei is great at understanding where Rintaro’s weakest, which is his imposter syndrome. Rintaro’s love for his family makes him feel unworthy of that love, but the twist for him is that he equates being a good family member with being a good swordsman, so his inability to see himself as a valued sibling makes him think he’s a terrible swordsman. It’s… it is a very jumbled way of processing the need for support and affection that a family ideally provides, and it’s definitely damaged Rintaro in ways that are hard for his friends and teammates to address. He just comes off as a guy that needs to loosen up, and that’s not exactly right.

I wonder if you'd think Rintaro's one of the main hook of the show (which at this point, I get it), and also as a nice secondary Rider, what kind of story you'd expect for him later on in the future, perhaps other than conflicts like him against Kento in ep. 11. As regarding fanbase, the most loved character in Saber by fanbase is someone not introduced yet at this point (but has made some cameos). I'd say though as the other comments including yours said, Rintaro has an introduction of him rubbing Touma and Mei the wrong way and dat smile, his lack of experience seemingly did more damage to him than just thinking that valuable family is being a good swordsman. There's also a later irony, regarding in how Rintaro chastises Kento for not being good at handling emotions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Mei gets him, though. She sees all the weird connections Rintaro’s brain is making, and figures out the way to explain things that’ll allow Rintaro to accept his own positive qualities. She gets Rintaro to see that his constancy is what people need from him, not some all-powerful swordsman. They need Rintaro to never lose his own sense of right and wrong, his belief in his family, and his sweetness. The last thing Kento would’ve wanted was for Rintaro to become a brooding version of himself, resentful of an inability to prevent someone else’s fate. Mei knows that Rintaro being self-loathing isn’t a sustainable thing for him and gently nudges him back into shape.

Not at first, but perhaps Mei is learning to get through people better (at least in comparison to how she treated Sora before where she's hella pushy, though that's 1 time), at least starting from the person she loves. I do think it makes sense though to try cheering him up using something she knew made him happy before like the tickets or the eclairs. The one that gets him to open up is when Mei brings up about the reason behind Kento's actions, so perhaps by this, it's that you gotta bring up the topic that is directly related to someone's grief (but it's still not guaranteed) instead of using something else as a distraction to try 'forgetting' it, then instead reminding how strong Rintaro is from that including, how Kento looks up to him for that. Rintaro has problems in socializing, including to Mei herself if she remembered their first meeting, Mei should continue to guide him against the human world and also socializing.