[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 17 - “THE ANCIENT MESSENGER, IS HE LIGHT OR SHADOW?”

After last episode’s massive battle between Saber and the Sword of Logos, everyone retreats to their corners to lick their wounds and brood over this uncomfortable new dynamic. Touma and Mei are helping Yuri acclimate to the world after a millennium's absence, while the Sword of Logos swordsmen are taking orders from their totally on-the-level boss in a darkened chamber at the South Pole. (That is, hysterically, the exact same set from the Northern Base, but with a dearth of furniture and an abundance of foreboding atmosphere.) There’s a cloud hanging over both camps this episode, which is a level of parity that I sort of wasn’t expecting? Rintaro, especially, is adamant that while he may not believe Touma’s claims about the SoL, he also doesn’t believe the SoL’s claims about Touma. (Basically, everyone but Ren are like Pump The Brakes, while Ren is screaming like a lunatic the entire time.) It makes the situation a lot more nebulous, as the show tries to make this a situation where – Reika aside, probably – everyone’s trying to operate in good faith, despite being at opposing positions.

Honestly perhaps it's better to not have people going hateful for the sake of being hateful, like Rintaro still having some faith in Touma for now about how good he is, as he considered Touma a friend. It's still a severe misunderstandings to not have them, I mean Ogami and Daishinji, take a look on why both Caliburs, Hayato and Kamijo, betrayed them which'd hope for the SoL traitor/system to be explained to them, particularly from Rintaro who has more faith to Touma and is likely in better position than Touma against other SoL people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Yuri is the big success, which is probably no surprise. His combination of inquisitive nature and unwavering sense of righteousness make for a fun story to run alongside Touma’s overflowing empathy and current ethical confusion. Yuri’s a guy that doesn’t understand the world, but is certain his old ways don’t need reexamination. Bubble tea’s interesting to him! Sacrificing humans to stave off Megid schemes is less interesting to him.

About sense of righteousness... I guess Yuri would be a case where lack of experience in human life (for being locked for 1000 years) causes him to be more than just giving the wrong vibes Rintaro had, but outright feeling like not having a sense of empathy regarding his misunderstandings, like thrashing the bookstore or about how Yuri's actions here gives the ruthless vibes of just resorting to killing against victims with no questions. Overall he's someone who's extremely blunt or vague. Yuri also still shows off how capable he is despite his oddness, like easily blending in a public with his disguises, picking skirts at one point aside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The gimmick of humans being turned into Megids… eh. I like that they’re not just monsters to be detonated, and that there’s more complicated fighting because of it, but this isn’t a story that’s telling me anything about Yuki’s hopes or dreams or fears or whatever. This isn’t the Ridewatches of Zi-O or the mid-season emotional breakdowns of the Humagears on Zero-One; this is just some unlucky bystander getting forcibly turned into a monster. Beyond the hapless victim being someone Touma and Mei know, there’s really nothing special to this change in the routine. Touma wants to save Yuki, but Touma would want to save anyone. It doesn’t really matter who the victim is, which feels like a waste of potential storytelling avenues. Hopefully that gets better in the future.

This part does give a more angered and aggressive Mei (for obvious reasons) to have her growl against something that can endanger Yuki's fate, including against Yuri. Though obviously Touma'd save anyone in this situation, by the standard of usual KR MC. I wonder if this is the part of how Touma can get the naive label of him not resorting to killing to get the job done thus 'hesitating' and getting in the way, ignoring someone else's pleas to resort to that (ignoring how Yuri's someone who's out of touch with human lives for at least 1000 years).

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

You're right. Okay, I guess I should've called them mild antivillains instead. Even though their actions benefit only themselves at the expense of everybody else, I think the fact that they do have a (twisted) sense of morality might be barely enough to qualify.

I wonder why'd you view/elevate this denying fault and responsibilities as having twisted sense of morality, like I thought this blame game of refusing to owe up to anything they do is something common done by the more selfish ones (and the norm for narcissists) to get away, especially/including in criminal scenes; "no thief would want to admit". Kabuto's school principal in ep. 38 blaming the students for wanting to make the wish as he kills them and replaces them with Worm version.