[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 43 - “THEY CLASH, SEEKING VALUE IN THEIR EXISTENCE”



All I want to talk about is the fantastic direction of this episode, and how it elevated every single storyline.



There are so many close-ups on the Desast mask, which I feel is sort of unusual for a kaijin character. He gets close-ups here that the heroes get; he gets close-ups that human faces get. It’s immediately telling us that it's okay to empathize with Desast in this story. There’s a fragility to Desast’s character – emotionally and physically – that the episode wants you to feel.



So much space between Ren and Desast in this first shot of the two of them! They can only be vulnerable when they think they’re alone, and we’re already keeping them apart.




I love this haunting image of Desast’s conception of his death that debuted last episode, and I also love the accompanying image of Ren as a witness. Ren’s still processing what Desast is to him: a mentor? An aggravation? A warning? A friend? All of those? None of those? He’s here in this shot to try and understand what it might feel like to watch Desast die, and work backwards from that feeling to put a name on their relationship.



My absolute favorite motif in this episode – and this shot’s example of it is when I knew this was going to be an all-image post – is characters in spaces too large for them. It’s letting you know that the narrative is indifferent to suffering; the characters are going to have to weather hardship and come out the other side, no one’s going to help them. It’s a nice visual reinforcement of Saber’s recurring themes of self-determination and self-actualization, by making the direction itself something that exists at a scale that isn’t concerned with centering a character, or emphasizing humanity. It’s all over this episode, not just in the Ren and Desast scenes, and I like that throughline. We’re in a story bigger than the characters’ ability to handle it, so they need to start leveling up.





This whole introductory shot of the Sword of Logos is done backwards, which is really interesting. We get these contextless close-ups, and then we get the establishing shot. Beyond being nicely disorienting, I like how it reduces the scale back down to something intimate. We’re not as unfocused and spun-around as Ren, we’re with a cast who is completely focused on averting the apocalypse. Plus, it gives everyone a little bit of body language to establish their emotional levels re: Things Have Gotten Pretty Bad.



A lot of really lovely long takes in this episode, which adds to the tension and trepidation. This one in particular has this terrific single diffused spotlight on Desast at the end of the row of columns, making him a slightly ethereal destination, rather than a character. He’s something Ren can’t stop heading towards, even if he doesn’t completely get the significance.



Great shot of Desast pushed into the corner. It gives him a sense of powerlessness, unable to grab focus or wrest control of his fate. He’s dying, and this is his only chance of having a death with any meaning to it.



I love how childish these shots make Ren look. There’s no heroism or elegance to his initial fight with Desast, only copied moves and pathetic tantrums. The shots here aren’t sweetening the emotions, or providing judgment – they’re raw and unsentimental. Ren doesn’t get to look like a hero, he gets to look like a petulant child that measures himself against everyone else. He wants to be more powerful Than. It’s always Than someone else. He can’t beat Desast because the fight itself means something to Desast, and Desast won’t believe in anything other than the fight. Ren will always lose because he needs something outside himself to grade him, to praise him. The power the other swordsmen have over Ren isn’t necessarily a creed or a code or an ideology; it’s the will to ignore what the world is telling them and fight for their own beliefs. The specifics of that are irrelevant. The power is in the resolve, and the hope that that resolve might be equal to the task.



And then this is the turn, when Ren pushes aside the expectations of others and declares his right to exist on his own terms. He’s not avoiding reflection or searching for meaning, he’s content in his own skin. He doesn’t need to emulate Kento or surpass Touma, he just has to be Ren, because Ren is pretty cool. Desast is right there with him, arguing for his humanity by reminding this world who he is.



Desast is so proud of his sword son! And that his sword son is going to murder him in glorious battle! He's basically saying Come Hug Your Sword Dad, Sword Son! THIS SHOW, YOU GUYS!



It’s the first shot at this location, but the aftermath. Ren’s made it to the place Desast started, bathed in the same light of self-acceptance. He’s finished his journey.



The camera’s mostly on Ren for Desast’s death scene, which is probably just how Desast would’ve wanted it. We’re here to see how Desast’s lessons have changed Ren, and how this scarred-up swordsman is able to process what’s going on. It’s all very closed-off and quiet, which is always the smarter way for these deaths to go, I think. Touma pawing at a dying Kento, I sort of bounce right off of. But Ren staring down at a dying Desast, honoring his friend by letting the fight just be a fight, that’s a gut punch if this show ever threw one. It’s these two weirdos having only swordfighting to connect them, but letting that be a relationship as resonant as a million conversations.



And the director lingers so long on this empty shot after Desast disappears! Gorgeous! It’s all empty space and silence, nothing to mourn. It’s a shot that refuses to blink or look away, just locked in on Desast’s absence. So good!




The storyline with Touma and the returning Shindai Siblings (who were definitely not absent due to them filming a Zenkaiger episode) is your more traditional tokusatsu action extravaganza, but it’s no less entertaining for it. The shots vary between the exquisitely framed ones above – Touma rising up from the Shindais’ unwavering duty to express his eternal resolve, Touma as the new heart of the Sword of Logos – to slow-motion battles across staggering landscapes and sets. It’s jaw-dropping in how much it puts movie climaxes to shame.



This little post-credit scene of Ren on the bench, eating his food with the red ginger flakes to honor Desast, but then staying true to himself by not denying that they’re gross… it’s this whole outstanding episode in one funny, touching shot.



And then the pathway through the woods, full-color and vibrant, with the road stretching off into the distance. It’s quiet now, emptier, but full of possibilities. It’s a space to explore, not to hide in. It’s one story ending, and a new story beginning. It’s lovely, and a little sad.

What a phenomenal episode of television.

—

A SISTER’S SOCIAL AGONY



Reika was protective of her brother.

She was sure that this would come as a surprise to many of her recent acquaintances. The various swordsmen of the Sword of Logos likely saw her as a taciturn but dedicated warrior; perhaps a bit too inflexible, but she knew they secretly respected her for sense of duty. They could cover it up in disinterest and threats and jokes and several intense battles, but she knew she’d gained their respect. They couldn’t see the devoted sister, only the formidable warrior and unflappable leader. They were blinded by her competence.

Her brother, however…

It galled her that no one else seemed to be aware of Ryoga’s many heroic and admirable qualities. He’d attempted to smooth over the earlier friction of their civil war against the guild traitors by applying his highly-regarded intensity to the many failings of the Northern Base, but his efforts were thus far unsuccessful in rehabilitating his image. He was a man of deep pride, and for that he was routinely mocked and belittled. She’d had to stay her hand countless times, watching sleight after sleight go unremarked upon. She’d hoped that the swordsmen’s respect and admiration for her time as their leader would transfer to her brother, but it seemed to be a lost cause.

Until now.

They’d recently been the victim of one of Isaac’s cruel plots, and Ryoga had been forced to battle his sister and her teammates. Through Ryoga’s impeccable character and unstoppable resolve, he’d thrown off the shackles of control and staved off disaster. Unfortunately, Buster and Slash had been minorly effective in buying Ryoga time, and therefore needed to be thanked. She offered to do it on both their behalf, seeing as the two Northern Base swordsmen held her in such high regard, but Ryoga had demanded to do it personally.

This was going to be his moment. He was going to show the sincerity of his appreciation, convey the gratitude inherent to his code, and they’d see his nobility like she did. They were going to laud him as they should have from the start. They were going to love him like she did.

If this all worked out, they were even going to love him like they loved her.