|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
Kamen Rider Saber Episode 31- "Strength To Trust & Believe In!" Discussion
Mei is captured by the Megids and Touma may be her only hope of rescue as Rintaro remains paralyzed by his failure.
Watch SuperHeroTime Via Livestream!! Check out episodes as they air on Saturday by heading over to Taima TV. They play other miscellaneous programs up until the live broadcast starts. Live Streams of the Superhero Time block now start at 8PM EST on Saturdays! |
Rintarou dual wielding Rekka and Nagare? Him finally resolving his issues together with Touma? Nagare achieving the same full potential output as Rekka? Double rider kick? Hell yeah! I liked it too with the Neko Megid being a bit more intelligent in trying to survive, by forcibly going back to Mei to prevent both Saber and Blades from hitting it. Also, Zooous REALLY loves to make flips, huh.
Next week, Tategami's debut, assault on Southern Base, and Buster's fall?! Gonna be good. Hoping the same kind of tense atmosphere as to when Build and co. raided the Pandora tower. (The one with Magma's debut.) |
Quote:
It sounds like a great set up! |
Quote:
|
I think it's more we're finally seeing more of the Northern Base like we saw of the Southern Base.
But still, cool to see we're doing the big "Raid the Heroes Base" so early. |
So far Rekka & Nagare's potential!
Only Ikazuchi's remains. Who'll unlock it fully? Kento or a new candidate? |
|
honestly for the first time since mid Build I am genuinely excited for an episode next week (I saw that the MC of Zero-One was gonna be like the yelly comedic MC archetype that's been more or less ruining Sentai since 2013 and I NOPED it so hard)
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
Rewatching with subs and I still like Touma and Rintarou's interactions here. It's not a case of "I'm jealous of you Touma! I'm not like you!" It's a profound respect for each other and Rintarou's yearning of, basically Touma's Q2 development. It was great when he clashed Nagare with Rekka where there he was able to understand Touma's feelings and pain and even a bit of Kamijou in there. I miss Daichi lol.
We can see that Reika clearly got wet when Ryoga told her she sucks- I mean that her heart is wavering when she got denied of Logos' attention along with her brother. Seems like a redemption of sorts is in the horizon, most likely involving the death of his brother or something. That makes me kind of.. Happy? I like to see her stand side-by-side with the other swordsmen (and also not die), especially next to Saber. Cuz Sabela and Saber sounds similar, and I've seen too many pics of Suichiro Naito and Angela Mei goofing around together. Also, cuz I won't have unnecessary thoughts of buying a "dead character's SHF". I do have one tiny nitpick and is that 90% of all the drama here is hinging on the fact that Yuri was MIA for the two episodes and Mei went back to her looney tuney self when she was rescued. Was expecting a much more heartfelt moment between the three, especially with the sun setting. Kento's there, surprised by subverted expectations, but still a bit unfazed. Wonder what will convince him, I'd say Touma's final form that but that kinda feels long way. Master Logos needs to gargle, jesus christ. Next week, Tategami's debut, Zooous Predator, and the Shindai siblings' raid on Northern base. So, it definitely seems like Tategami's book is indeed the book that Sophia is hiding. The water tear symbol and blue light is already a sign. Buster will be fatally injured, which will be how Logos' gets Gekido, but I don't think this is the end for him. https://i.imgur.com/Goa1CmH.jpg |
This was a great episode! I loved the fight choreography between Touma and Rintaro. Its like mini lightsabers! For a show all about swordplay, they sure got that down pat!
The crossing swords and hand grab. Awww~ I really love the power of friendship trope; whether it makes you shoot painbow beams, or just gets you a good hug. I always appreciate the slow-mo power walk on the way to an epic fight. Do find it odd they said "henshin" twice, but I'm not nitpicking. The Cat Megid was very intimidating in its tactics. Glad the tag-team managed to beat it. I can't wait for next episode. This seems like Zooous' final stand, and can I just say, he looks awesome? Seriously, love the paint job, dude. Being evil has its perks, I guess. On the topic of the attack on Northern Base, I always loved seeing more of the Bases. It's nice to know they're not just a room with books and a center console, rather than having to assume what the rest of the place looks like. Can't wait for Tategami's debut! |
That moment when Nagare starts glowing as Touma and Rintarou are having their duel and they just start smiling at each other is everything I love about Saber compressed into a single meaningful look.
This praise is no doubt starting to sound repetitive, but it's just so difficult to keep seeing Saber do all these things I love seeing and say anything besides "I loved this". So, yes, naturally, I was extremely fond of how profoundly proud of each other's successes Rintarou and Touma were throughout this episode, and, of course, seeing that extend even to when they're literally fighting each other was the highlight. One of many highlights, of course. I will say upfront though -- the script dropped the ball on the whole people getting turned into jewelry thing exactly the way I expected it to. It's sort of vaguely resolved with a quick exchange of CG special moves, without actually seeing the people go back to normal, and as a result it's hard to say it added much to the plot in the end. That being said, it's a flaw with the story that gets buried under all the things that are done right. This is a really stellar episode for what I guess you could consider the show's main trio. One especially pleasant surprise was how much attention was given to Rintarou and Touma praising Mei rather than just each other. She feels appropriately important in this story about her, despite the nature of it demanding her be in a passive role. I forget how much I've actively mentioned this, but I really do think Mei adds a lot to the series, helped along by a very strong performance (seeing how miserable Asuka Kawazu can look in this two-parter should give you a new appreciation for how bubbly she is otherwise), and as such I thought it felt earned seeing her talked about in such glowing terms. It also fits with what is sort of a broader theme of these episodes, which is that everyone is extremely, constantly, unwaveringly supportive of each other. I don't exactly get the feeling Touma or Rintarou would even need much of an excuse to say nice things about Mei. Touma's even been doing it since their very first scene in the very first episode. Again, I've said all this a million times, but I adore how aggressively pleasant the protagonists in Saber are. Even in a story all about these underlying tensions flaring up, you know, they're just so open. So that's about all I can say about the plot without going in circles, evidently. It's good character development for Rintarou that also touches nicely on some of the other main characters, and it all ends in a Double Rider Kick of friendship and trust. Hard to go wrong with it. It's even harder to go wrong with the direction by Ishida, which I thought was even more stellar than the first half. It's in countless little touches -- from clever visuals all the way down to the way the audio interacts with them. It feels very thought out, and it always suggests the mood to the viewer perfectly, which is something critical to getting a typically busy Saber script working right. There are things so small I can't even describe them to call them out, and then also so many big things I'd be perfectly happy to. Like, man, isn't that rapid-fire sequence of shots when Rintarou and Touma are transforming for the climax so intense and cool? How about when Rintarou starts talking to Zooous about Mei and Touma trusting in him as Saber and the Cat Megid slide right into the shot in epic slow-motion? Those shots kinda "inside" Saber and Blades' suits to let the actors handle big emotional moments? I know I'm only talking about the back third or so of the episode right now, but really, I could probably pick something I loved out of any given scene if I took the time to. The episode is easily made at least twice as good by the work Ishida put in here. |
Quote:
|
|
Man needs some MINTS.
|
You know, I don't think I touched on Yuri's absence at all talking about either of these episodes, and that's something I'd like to fix, because the more I think about it, the more I like what the show did here. It's this really nice bit of synergy with the needs of the plot and the more meta subtext.
First of all, not having Saikou around to save Mei obviously requires Touma and Rintarou to finally take that next step, but then if you think back to how Yuri's habit of unhelpful erratic behavior started, it was during the stretch of the show where he basically WAS the de facto sidekick secondary Rider for Saber. Saikou got introduced as Touma's last remaining Rider ally right as everyone else left, and constantly bailed him out throughout that arc, so reestablishing that Saber and Blades can get the job done as a duo just like old times by straight up forcing them to rely only on each other was honestly a pretty brilliant move. (Although if I may nitpick the suit choices again – did we ever actually get to really see a cool team-up between Dragonic and King Lion? I obviously get the nature of these shows demands Elemental be there, but those two upgrades were clearly designed to complement each other, and I feel this would've been the perfect opportunity to make use of that. Like, would've anyone have been disappointed to see that, besides Bandai?) |
Quote:
SFX Fantasy Rayforce |
Something about a Double Rider Kick just hits different. Every single time.
|
Unpopular opinion, but i don’t see Saikou is the secondary rider. I see him as the ‘6th ranger’, the new hero who show up later and take the highlight for a moment
|
It's not unpopular. It's just a running joke that people treat Saikou as the secondary rider considering how much screentime he has, how much he compliments with Touma's dynamic, and having a really being a solid partner to the main rider while Rintarou was spent most of his time brooding in the Southern Base.
It's not really a "take the highlight for a moment" when Yuri spent a majority of Q2 as the defacto partner for Touma. |
DOUBLE RIDER KICK!!!
Okay, enough of that, this was a good episode. Rintaro really grew this episode, strengthening his friendship with Touma, and solidifying him as a part of the group, which is great, because he's been lacking spotlight for a while. Touma and Rintaro had a duel untransformed, which is something I was hoping to see this season, and I wasn't disappointed. Then they had a very W scene, where they were heading into battle, side-by-side, and Touma slipping his hat on, just gave me that nostalgia. Great to see King Lion Dai Senki get one last good win before his new form debuts. And looks like Master Logos and Storius are in cahoots, which doesn't surprise me. Kento starting to see that the future can be changed, meaning we might see him return soon. Next week: IT'S A RAID! And Blades' new form debuts, and it is beautiful. |
I gotta be honest, I've just totally lost track of where everyone is.
I kinda forgot that Yuri has been missing. Where is Buster? I think the last we saw of Ren he got into a fight with Touma and then ran away somewhere? And Kento has just been creepily watching people fight. Mei dropped the Key which I also forgot about- we don't know exactly what it is right? Is that the key to the Northern Base and how Logos will gain access to it in the upcoming episodes? Things have been personally hectic for me recently so it's not all Saber's fault, but I don't think I've ever been this lost in a Rider show. The fights and action are still good. I really wanted to like Rintaro more, but he's mostly been a sad boy for so long. This far along into the season, I feel confident in saying that Saber, while fun, won't be going anywhere near my top Rider seasons. I know it's not over yet, but I can't see how it could significantly improve at this point. There's just too many characters for my personal liking. I felt this way about Gaim (though it never felt this disjointed) which is why I don't love that series as much as so many others. Build had the right number of characters for a "team" series. |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:58 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Shodo SUPER Kyoryuger Teaser |
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN |
SH Figuarts BoonBoomger Red |
Hasbro Licenses Power Rangers Toys to Playmates Toys |
Discotek Media Licenses Mobile Cop Jiban |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:58 PM.
|