[Fish Sandwich]

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 40

It probably goes without saying this is another one I particularly adore. Like, when I think of how much I love the really early episodes of Saber, I always think of that promise between Touma, Rintarou, and Kento (and Mei), so it's only natural when I think of how much I adore the later stretch of the series, my mind often goes to Featuring Saber's single yet extremely memorable appearance. We're at the point in the story where all the swordsmen have managed to overcome everything that was keeping them apart to become this epic team of heroes, and few things are as emblematic of that as this particular episode, where a villain who was previously an unconquerable threat, playing the entire cast with his sinister scheming, is reduced to an ineffectual bumbler who can't do anything to get in the way of these people and their bonds anymore.

It's pretty much perfect, and I think Die put it at least as well as I could. Everything in this episode just fits, and it's also directed by Ishida, because, again, pretty much in heaven by this point. In my post from the time, I'm weirdly critical of the stuff that isn't directly about the Three Musketeers, but like, I even look back on that stuff quite fondly in retrospect? There's just way too much to like about this one to waste time asking more from it. Solomon needing to get defeated three times in a row could've felt redundant, but much more so than 39, this one does an incredible job making all that extra humiliation feel truly fitting for what Saber as a show is all about.

(I do wonder if it slightly dampens the impact of finally seeing Espada again that Die watched the Senki stuff first though? Like, clearly not, given the glowing opinion of the episode, but it is worth noting this was originally the first time we'd seen him in action since Kento gave up being Calibur, which only makes the triumphant feel of the story here that much more palpable.)