[Enchilada645]

Okay so right here? I feel this is where we finally shift gears and this is the point where Saber starts finding a sort of... new identity so to speak. Which is what I assume a lot of people say when they mean Saber gets better after the start since we aren't in Q1 anymore thanks to the introduction of Saikou.

It's a rather slow episode with a lot it wants to say, but I really enjoyed it as our last episode of the year. It makes a pretty strong impact in many ways, and it very much demolishes the old status quo we'd been building up the past 15 episodes.

I talked about how Saber's hectic nature really makes it feel like Touma sort of just got shoved into a job and is trying to roll with all the new coworkers and information he's working with. And like, I'll continue to say, I feel like that was on purpose in a way because like... just the whole fallout of everything.

It's wonderfully done in a way that I enjoy greatly. While the Swordsmen have a camaraderie with Touma, at the end of the day he's a newbie and if a high ranking official from their work tells them something is suspicious? Who are they going to trust immediately? Likewise on Touma's side, the minute he sees the Swordsmen waltz up, all looking prepared to fight if he disagrees... I can't blame him for immediately jumping to the traitor argument. Touma's always been an emotional guy, and he really let his emotions get the better of him in how he was trying to explain his side of the story.

Speaking of emotional levels, it's nice to see the different reactions all the Swordsmen have. Ren and Rintaro are obviously the most emotional, with Ogami and Daishinji being more reserved though Ogami is still fairly loud when it comes to all this.

It's why I don't mind the very clear shift to Rider vs. Rider this show is setting up, because I like it when it's done in different ways. Geats does it in a fun way, setting up competitions and only ever really having Riders brawl occasionally. While Saber built up a team of heroes only to take a sledgehammer and shatter them entirely.

Anyway Yuri debuts this episode! He's a sword! I have not much to say on him other than I love the Saikou Drivers jingle "I am the best!" looping over and over again is hilariously catchy to me.

Also hey, we've got some other named characters showing up besides our usual characters. I suppose Covid restrictions got a bit lightened up around this time so there's definitely a sense that the world feels a bit more lived in than before.

Speaking of named characters... the story! It was interesting to see you do something for Yuki here, since I wasn't expecting it. I always do like when you do these sort of introspection stories, and having her think about Mei and how far she's come/how far she still needs to go, is really nice.