[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 38 - “RULING OVER ALL SACRED SWORDS, THE SWORD OF COSMOS”

I don’t know that I loved this one. I did enjoy it, mostly without complaint. It’s awesome to see every Rider show up for a big battle against Solomon. I liked the finale, even if it leans heavier on Touma’s speechifiying than I really dig. (I… boy, I don’t love his speeches in this series? Too many of them to my ears are just the heroic Rider equivalent of NUH UH, where he’s insistent the universe will honor his effort, and faith will always be more powerful than whatever crisis is transpiring. It’s thematic, but it’s not a theme that’s ever gonna super resonate with me.

I mean, Touma is generally one of the most disliked/hated main protagonists (not here but in general fanbase). Yeah this'd be one of the reasons to hate him, like his speeches. Or that he's the one who embodies the "generic" complaint of goody two shoes the most like his vows to protect everyone, or keep holding on hope, or his friendship speeches (yeah, this episode is power of friendship kind. one of the most mocked concept in media for good reason, also in this episode with Touma harming Bacht untransformed with his Rekka). I'd think that for this episode, it seems often that series won't differentiate between people who are just dour (I'm not into Mei telling people to just smile either, but there are acceptable ones like Luna telling she'd see Touma again), or people who use their sadness as an excuse to do bad things. Bacht is the latter, but this part frames him like the former. It'd probably be better if Touma's speeches is about Bacht venting his sadness in a less destructive way, especially to others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Also, so much shouting!) Xross Saber – a form that autocorrect is going to fight me on every time, so I’m glad it’s only debuting now – is very pretty, and a testament to Touma’s thesis that only a united humanity can push back darkness and create a better future.

Though I'd say that, Xross Saber is one of the better final form debuts, fighting wise, and so far would be my favorite for Reiwa's. Albeit yeah, that performance is set out for disappointment IMO, even though the series established that honing your swordsman skill is important, as usually they'd only show off the Rider's actual powersets in their debut, but going with good-ol-fashioned way in their subsequent appearences (even in final fights...), such as Ex-Aid's Brave Level 50 debut. As shown here, Solomon using Arthur's sword is simply his choice, as he reveals more of what he can do with his power such as summoning robots which gets overwhelmed by Xross Saber.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

That would be his dad, Kaido. (Not a literal Ghost, mind you; that’s Takeru, and I believe we’ll be catching up with him tomorrow.) Luckily, Kaido was only just now able to gather enough of his ethereal Wonder World energy to intervene in his son’s slow-motion suicide, a plot development that practically begs you not to ask WHY ALL OF A SUDDEN INSTEAD OF ANYTIME OVER THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS AS KENTO’S LIFE WAS SPIRALING INTO DESPAIR, so we will honor those wishes and refrain. It’s a touching scene, because Kaido’s actor is one of the best to ever do it. There’s this captivating mix of stern authority, playful banter, and bottomless regret that makes all of the structural nonsense of the plot fade away, leaving only a scene of a father begging a son to stop trying to atone for someone else’s past and just go be happy already.

So what it takes to finally get Kento to snap out from his fatalism is his own dad, of which at first Kento brushes off his apology. I guess as Kento tries to carry Hayato's will, while also 'correcting' his ways, though Kento still doesn't accomplish that in his extreme ways too, thus what's needed is her father's opinion and advice on this. It's a relief that Hayato manages to be saved and appear to snap Kento out, but that'd mean it's a nigh-unsolvable solution otherwise if anyone else can't get through him, even the beloved childhood friend. Or that perhaps they still can, if they remember that Kento tries to carry Hayato's will, and have the others learn about Hayato more especially from his former comrades Ogami and Daishinji, making Daichi's will progress for a bit longer. About Hayato mentioning his height, people may not notice this (while people notice the shorter Ace from Geats...), but Kento's one of the tallest Kamen Riders, standing at 188 cm like Touma.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

That’s the part that landed for me, not all of the pyrotechnics at the conclusion, or Isaac’s non-series-finale mandated escape. (He gets blasted off like Team Rocket or something? Not the smoothest plotting!) It’s an episode that – Kento’s memorable Bring Your Ghost Dad To Work Day outing aside – delivered the beats I was expecting, in about the configuration I assumed. I don’t know that Touma’s big speech was anything too special to me, because at this point, I find most of Touma’s big speeches to be not super exciting. (Elemental Dragon, yes, for sure.) But the smart character work with Kento, and the warmth of the rest of the cast? That carries this show pretty goddamn far.

Kenzan joins the fight, with others as usual assuming he'd help them, but obviously Kenzan only joins them to prove his strength. That way I'd think the cast perhaps should acknowledge Ren's might makes right philosophy better, while not banishing him due to that view, but there can be better way to convince him to help them, like making a point that conflicts with his view such as not beating someone strong yet in a common enemy, which can lead into him fighting them and unwittingly helping them. Albeit Kenzan still has limits in how he recognizes that Solomon's strength doesn't represent justice. The Shindai siblings acknowledge their duty to protect the world as swordsmen, which either had them on midway for redemption path here or just also their limits which is revealed now after focusing on blindly following SoL's orders.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think it's fair that Mei was a little skittish around Bacht at first, but the more she spoke, the more she got in to it. When she and Yuri showed off their pins, they got pretty close to him. Mei likes to feel useful, which Yuri tactfully uses to persuade her to help, but she sometimes underestimates what she can do compared to the Swordsmen. I think Yuri observed how brave and resourceful she could be when thrown in a sudden scenario and was right to place his faith in her, regardless of the outcome.

Even the heart can feel eclipsed by the heroes that shine so radiantly in battle, but it's important for people to remember that those heroes can only shine like that thanks to the constant support that heart gives them. It's an invisible superpower, which is why Ren who only seeks strength for its own sake fails to comprehend why he lost to a less experienced fighter like Touma. The reason why Elemental Dragon exists is that Touma finds strength beyond raw power in the heart he gives to others and the heart he receives from people like Mei.

I thought that the heart role is eclipsed particularly because there are Riders in the group who can fight as well as acting as the heart of the group, such as many of the main Riders, due to their want to take care of others' emotional needs too, making the heart in normal people just an unnecessary "discount"/"bootleg" of that. But I guess the heart means more about uplifting the team's spirits high, and Mei's the one who is incurable optimist, more than Touma too, as said in ep. 31 and the flashback of dour Touma meeting her. I'd think that Touma simply beat Ren because of his upgrades outclassing base Kenzan, like Blades beating Sabela in his upgrade, though how Elemental Dragon existed is from the heart. It can be dismissed as just the plot favoring the MC by some people too though (including them always getting all the upgrades, for KR), especially with how Touma can fail to convince others with his speeches.