[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Ok, I remember quite a bit more than I thought. Well, I?ll have something less ramble-y next time, with a few debuts.

I'm looking forward to it!

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

That's an interesting take on Ogami's motivation. The Sora part was clear already, since he often talks about wanting to protect the future Sora will live in and of course he'd take offense to Reika suggesting he put SOL before his family. You're right though, it's true that Ogami acts as a father to Rintarou as well, due to taking over that role from Kenshin after Zooous killed him. He doesn't want to cause Rintarou even more distress. Regarding Ren, someone definitely needs to keep him in check and stop Reika manipulating him further, so I can see why Ogami would worry what would happen to him by leaving him behind.

I like how the show sort of differs Ogami's motivation from Rintaro's, even if they're both unwilling to throw in the towel on the SoL. Rintaro values the organization, which (because an organization isn't a person) doesn't value him in the same way, so he's sort of trapped in his exceedingly unhealthy dynamic. With Ogami, he values the people within the organization -- the kids who came after him, especially -- which both allows him to see how messed up Reika's leadership is, while still forcing him to stay and protect his sword babies. It's, as always, some deft character work!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Like that there's some real opposition to Reika, with Ogami standing up for Daishinji as Reika continues her gaslighting. However Ogami still submits to her wants currently by fighting Toum. I even feel that this episode quite downplays that problem in Ogami just nonchalantly informing Mei that Touma's alive at the end.

Reika pretty hilariously overplays her hand in this one, trying to run the same lie on Daishinji that she did on Touma. Problem is, Ogami's known Daishinji for YEARS, not months, so he's about zero percent falling for some speculative He Must Be Mad With Power nonsense. I love how mad Ogami gets at her throwing Daishinji under the bus! It's great!

Also... I don't know, it's not like Ogami didn't try to defeat Touma? He got King Of Arthur back, which isn't nothing.

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Originally Posted by Mesnick

Yes, the riders in the Saber are chic and beautifully crafted considering how many of them there are. What is no less surprising is that each of them has something to do, even if it is completely in the background. And yes, Ogami is now at a crossroads and will have to choose sides again in the future. Also, the story is beautiful and the characters are conveyed very accurately.

They really are! I think the only character who's been underserved in this storyline (besides Desast, who I miss terribly) is Rintaro, but that's relative to the spotlights everyone else has received. Rintaro still got some fun scenes! And it's probably better if Rintaro frets at the Southern Base, 'cause it just makes this whole thing sadder.

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Originally Posted by Layton13

And lastly, this is where I went from enjoying Touma to adoring him. The way he drags his beaten and bloodied ass to the battlefield to save a life. The determination, the fire, the sheer heroism is just impressive and feels so damn earned.

The only thing it was missing was Touma saying "The only one who can save you... is ME!" Oh, wait, wrong Rider.

I kid! It was a very fun, very heroic moment for Touma.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

We stripped things down to the absolute basics with Touma, Mei, and Yuri, and now we're gradually wrapping the other Riders back in, except now there's like a ton of extra dramatic weight behind it. I feel like I'm probably rambling in circles again here, but yeah, I don't know, this episode was real good, and Saber's real cool, as ever.

The amount of effort it's taking to reform Touma's support network makes for the best drama this show has had yet. Nothin about it seems easy, and even the people who've joined him, outside of Mei, feel like they could abandon him if he loses his moral compass. Things are very... tentative, I guess? And I like that aspect a lot. I like that there isn't the inherent gravity of the primary Rider, where everyone's destined to alter their worldview to align with his.

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Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

Yeah, I feel like this arc of Saber is a lot like the Job Arc of 01 (controversial, I know). We move through each Rider in turn, focusing on their own motivations and reasons specifically for allying with Touma, and how they each see the SOL.

I think there're some similarities, yeah. The Zero-One stuff was a bit more focused on how Aruto's protectiveness of Humagears was tested and enhanced, with the various Humagear quandaries asking him to grow his own perspective, while this arc sort of goes in the opposite direction; it's a lot more about how the other Riders view Touma, and what they need from him as a teammate. But I like both!