[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 48 - “BONUS ISSUE – A NEW PAGE, HAS BEEN TURNED”



Lazy summer epilogue episode of Kamen Rider Saber Featuring Special Guest-Stars REVI And VICE here. It’s doing two things: it’s a victory lap send-off to the Saber cast that doubles as a meditation on the necessity of change; and it’s an introduction to the cast, concepts, and (most importantly) energy of Kamen Rider Revice. How entertaining it is in either of those aspects is… a little worrying.

The Saber part, where the eternal friendship of Touma and Kento imparts a lesson about how friendships can weather change and adversity – even grow because of them – is incredibly sweet. It’s this show letting you know that your favorite Saber characters will be out there living their lives, even if you’re not around to see them. It’s also asking you to focus on the good times over the last year, rather than feel bad that they’re ending. Leave it to Saber to take a baton-passing crossover episode and still manage to say something heartfelt about both friendship and storytelling. It’s letting an audience know that stories are constantly starting and stopping, so it’s better to be excited by change than afraid of it. Because we’re not just talking about this story ending, we’re also talking about the next story starting. Namely, Kamen Rider Revice.

I did not like that part!

It’s a hard thing, to try and serve two tonally different masters here. Saber is a sweet, earnest show, filled with a rich, diverse cast of nuanced performers. (And Reika, who’s insanely awful this episode.) Revice, on the other hand, seems to lean very very hard into obnoxious comedy and constant antagonism. These are… not two things that can exist simultaneously in a story. It’s fine for one series to pivot into another, but it’s tonally dissonant to have Vice mugging for the camera and farting his way through a hard sell to watch his new show, all while Touma and the gang are charting out the next phases of their lives. Like, this is an episode where an egalitarian deconstruction of a morally-bankrupt cult sits alongside an invisible ghost taunting Yuri and everyone reacting to devil flatulence. It’s… you can’t really do both? And I don’t know if the disrespectful hard sell is the best foot forward for the new year of Kamen Rider?

Like, I’m trying not to judge Kamen Rider Revice off of this. In their world, in their context, maybe it all works. Maybe Saber should’ve made this less about their cast and more about promoting Revice. Maybe Revi should’ve been in the Promise Park battle and used less of Vice’s… contributions. I don’t know. I can’t say if Revice works or doesn’t work as a concept, because I haven’t watched the show yet. All I can say was that they were the worst part of this episode, which is a bummer for a viewer who was looking forward to discovering a whole new Kamen Rider series.

But Saber! Still so good and so smart, even if the effort of fitting in the Revice cast tore at the seams; at the little things it usually got right. (Namely, Reika being a lunatic, and Rintaro being way too wacky in his romantic comedy stylings. I am normally rooting for both those characters! But not this time!) Last episode is the clear winner in terms of wrapping up this show’s narrative, but this was a nice coda about how endings are bittersweet but necessary. Not my favorite episode, but a decent enough note to go out on.

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OUR WORK IS DONE



Yasuyuki was packing up the last of the boxes, as the door chime went off. Without looking up, he shouted back to the doorway, “You got the van pulled up, Koji?”

“Uh, it’s not Koji. It’s Touma. What’s going on?”

Yasuyuki turned in surprise, and the voice was correct: it was Touma. Touma was back.

“Touma! Oh my god, it’s been a year! Where have you been?” Yasuyuki rushed to the valued customer, and shook his hand rapidly. “Koji and I… we talked to your friend Kento at the bookshop, and he didn’t… no one knew where you were! We heard about your book – everyone’s heard about your book – but you just VANISHED. Oh my god! I can’t believe you’re here. Wow. Wow. Are you okay? Is everything okay?” He never stopped shaking Touma’s hand, fearful that Touma might escape if he did.

Touma laughed and smiled. That squinty, generous smile that he always seemed to have at the ready. Shaking back the whole time, he explained himself to Yasuyuki.

“A long story, Yuki: I had a last-minute long-distance writing sabbatical which kept me out of contact, but I just wrapped it all up and got back to town. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, but…” Touma shook his head ruefully, the smile evaporated. “I don’t know, it kind of couldn’t be helped. I’m back now, though. What’s… what’s going on with the shop? Why is everything packed up?”

Yuki let Touma’s hand go, and sat down on one of the many packed boxes. “It’s all over, Touma. Store’s closing down.” Yuki pointed to the back of the front window’s signage, KOJI AND YASUYUKI: HABERDASHERS, reversed. “Koji and I… it was a tough year. Sales were down–” Yuki saw Touma’s eyes go wide, his face go pale “–not just you, a big drop across the board. More than that, though…” Yuki exhaled, leaned his head back, looked at the ceiling. “Heart just wasn’t in it anymore, you know? Time for a change. Time for a different business model.”

He looked back at Touma, who was pacing around the half-empty store. Hands on hips, Touma nodded slightly as he took it all in.

“Boy, I’m sorry to hear that… but I’m also so happy for you guys. Endings are hard, but new beginnings are always so exciting. I know this wasn’t how you wanted this story to end, but I’m rooting for you both to go do something great.” Touma extended a hand to Yuki, and pulled him to his feet. “What’s next for you two?”

Yuki fished into his pocket, and handed Touma a folded-up flyer. “Funny you should ask, Touma. We’re opening next week, and we’d love it if you and your friends could stop by.”

Touma unfolded the flyer. In big block letters at the top, it read: KOJI AND YASUYUKI’S BATHHOUSE.