[Matrixbeast]

A'ight, finished Saber. Took me 3 attempts, but I finally did

This show honestly felt like someone said "Git gud" and Saber responded "Okay." The beginning is such a slog, with annoying characters, a world that makes no sense, and Luna being sucked through a portal constantly.
I feel the reveal of Calibur's true identity was the point where things finally started getting interesting, as the story at large now ties directly to Touma. They also ditched the amnesia plot around this point as well, having Touma finally remember what happened, which was nice as those flashbacks were incredibly repetitive, literally using the same footage several episodes in a row.

I know people like him, but Kento was kind of a drag for me. Him being super angsty about his father's betrayal makes sense, but made him super one note and uninteresting. This shouldn't be the case, as he's a vital part of Touma's backstory. It also doesn't help that after he "Died," the first interesting arc of the series began, making the noticeable quality leap while he was gone feel like he was holding things back

Also during this arc, I wish Blades had an all out brawl against Saber. I mean, I'm glad they resolved things with a conversation, but c'mon. Lead Riders fighting Secondaries is a tradition now.

Anyway, something I'm surprised at is how Falchion was actually a relevant character. Movie Riders are rarely mentioned in show (And if they are, it's in a brief flashback to their defeat, like Bikiser in Build), so for him to not only show up, but be an important character for several episodes was a nice surprise.
(I still have no idea why his sword deus ex machina'd it's way to smack Storius in the final fight, though)

I wish Ren and Desast's story was expanded upon more. I probably would've come to like Ren if they did so.
Other characters were alright. I do quite like Ogami and Daishinji. Otherwise, they were just okay.

Saber is a show that I can finally understand why people like, but I'm not gonna hold it against anyone who, like me, can't make it past those first 10 episodes, because ooph, they're rough.