Tassel is surprised by the rapid growth in power of the Books, but is worried by the side effects.
Over at the shop, Rintaro excitedly compliments Tetsuo on his awesome debut. Tetsuo denies he is any different when he henshins. Touma, thinking about what Calibur said to him earlier, asks Rintaro if they know why Calibur betrayed the SoL. Rintaro says no one knows, but his swordsmanship is very well-known.
Tetsuo says they must retrieve the Books that Calibur took. But Rintaro reminds them that the darkness power of Calibur’s sword is so powerful. Touma wonders if the sword absorbs their attacks and if there’s a limit to how much it can suck up.
Kento is also in the room, but he is lost in thought. He wonders why his father Calibur is so fixated on Touma.
Just then, Mei comes in with the mysterious woman who appeared at the North Pole. She wants to speak with Kento. They head to a nearby rooftop.
The woman (Reika) introduces herself as being from the Southern Base. She says that Kento cannot defeat Calibur as he is now and believes only Saber is capable. That’s why she is giving Kento the Tri Cerberus Book to show him how important he is to the mission.
Kento returns to the shop to tell them what they talked about. Rintaro explains that there is a Northern and Southern Base for SoL.
Touma and Rintaro both ask Kento to open up about what’s bothering him. Especially as they are friends who care about him. Touma tells Kento that some of his memories are resurfacing after battles, including one of him reading a book with a boy and girl. Touma vows to keep fighting and regain all his memories as long as all of them, his friends, are by his side.
Kento apologizes and leaves to be alone. He thinks about his father and memories of him brushing his hair back.
Mei pops in and says Kento shouldn’t waste his hot ikemen face by being sad. He tells her that this is none of her business. But Mei says it is her business because they are friends and wants to help him.
Touma says he won’t force Kento to talk and echoes Mei in saying that they will always be here for him.
Kento says he thought it was his responsibility to defeat Calibur. But now that he has them, he feels so much better. Touma proposes the three of them make a promise to each other as comrades and friends. They will write their stories together.
Touma, Rintaro and Kento put their swords in. But Mei feels left out. Touma corrects himself and says it is the story of the four of them.
Just then, Mei’s book lights up to alert them of the Ahiru Megid rampaging downtown. The guys hurry over and are surprised to see the Megid show a new powered up form using his siblings’ collective power.
The guys henshin and battle the Megid. But Calibur appears. Tetsuo arrives to help and henshins.
Touma goes Double Book, but he still feels the effects of the Wonder Combo and gets swatted back by Calibur. Tetsuo goes Double Book so he can go crazy against the Megid and allow Rintaro to also Double Book and help against Calibur.
But even as Touma, Rintaro and Kento tag-team against Calibur, they are no match for him as they are. Reika watches them from outside the warehouse.
Touma goes Triple Book to give Kento an opening to use his new Tri Cerberus Book. Both Kento and Rintaro also activate their Wonder Combos.
The Wonder Trio charge at Calibur and seem to be gaining the upper hand. They deliver a trio of Three Volume Slashes at him.
Meanwhile, the dark contraption has finished writing in the book which turns into a Jaou Dragon Book. Storious pops into the warehouse and says they’ve got enough and proceeds to send explosions toward the guys as well as at Calibur who goes flying in the air. Storious slips away.
The guys are shocked to see Calibur has been forced to dehenshin. And it is not Kento’s father, but Kamijo Daichi, the previous Saber. Touma recognizes him as the man who saved him on That Day.
Kento demands to know where his father is and what Daichi has done with him. He asks if Daichi framed his father. But Daichi says that Kento’s father betrayed them on his own.
Asking if Daichi killed his father, Kento henshins and charges at him. But Daichi just swats him back and forces him to immediately dehenshin.
Daichi leaves as the others help Kento up. Touma demands Kento explain what’s happening.
Just then, Touma has clearer memories of him and the two kids. Kento slaps Touma’s hand off his shoulder and leaves. Touma can’t believe the little boy in his memories is Kento.
Meanwhile, Daichi is back with Storious, Zooous and Legeiel as he admires the new Book.
Tassel says it’s time he meets a certain someone.
Episode Thoughts
I wish this episode was more impactful than it was. Or at least, as impactful as it obviously set out to be. It’s obviously a big revelation and some good emotional moments, especially for Kento. But I didn’t really feel all that excited about it in the end. Like, a lot happened of course. But I wasn’t all that hyped for it like I feel I should have.
Half the episode was henshined battles which is fine. But I think it didn’t really have much meaning or weight because the story foundation that is supposed to be the foundation of all this action is tepid at best.
I wasn’t sure coming in, but I did like Touma being absolutely shocked by the idea that Calibur was supposed to be Kento’s father. I wasn’t sure if he knew that fact or not. But then again, he didn’t really question why Kento was so affected by the idea of Calibur’s betrayal before.
Otherwise, I feel like the show should’ve milked that mystery a little more. I don’t think they did a good job establishing that there was a possibility the person inside this Calibur suit was someone else. Random teases and avoiding a face reveal aren’t enough to adequately set up what should be a major reveal. Especially since we barely know Daichi as well.
I think Saber‘s biggest problem right now is its inability to juggle all these characters and all the different plot threads they’ve started, but have yet to expand upon. The villains are very underdeveloped. There’s no real endgame even being teased. And all we have so far is all these characters who are likeable, but are thrown into very convoluted situations that either don’t make sense or don’t illicit any strong feelings.
I mean honestly, other than waiting for Mei to take Rintaro out on a date and finding out who the little girl is from Touma’s memories, what other main plot threads do I really care about? Nothing really. Like, I do like the characters. But do I care about them yet? Not so much.
Like Storious popping in and out and smirking? The South Pole visitor lurking about? As much as I want to, I unfortunately don’t really care.
It’s already Episode 10. But the show still has A LOT of work to do to really be exciting and engaging. They can’t just have Kochi Sakamoto playing around with drones and explosions every week. We need some good story. Sometimes apathy to the story is worse than a bad story. And Saber is not necessarily trending in the right direction.
Elsewhere in the episode, the scene on the rooftop where Mei reminds them that she exists was nice. They’re obviously the main four of the season. (They’re in the ending dance of course.) But where does that leave Tetsuo, Ren and Ogami-san? Are they not part of the friendship and writing of stories? Have these four formed their own clique and left everyone else out? It’s a very odd dynamic considering stories and books are supposed to bring everyone together to enjoy.
I also liked the three Triple Book Wonder Combos side by side. They look great together. And Tetsuo looked very badass swooping in when they needed help.
Overall, an action-filled episode with big revelations. Yet, I felt nothing for it.
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3 thoughts on “Recap: Kamen Rider Saber, Chapter 10: Crossing Swords, and Crossing Feelings.”
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Finally, some twist. I’m a few episodes behind but I kinda feel like the show lacks a pull to compel me to catch up quickly. Compare that to Build or Zi-O where I actually got excited marathoning a dozen or so episodes just to catch up.
“I think Saber‘s biggest problem right now is its inability to juggle all these characters and all the different plot threads they’ve started, but have yet to expand upon. The villains are very underdeveloped. There’s no real endgame even being teased. And all we have so far is all these characters who are likeable, but are thrown into very convoluted situations that either don’t make sense or don’t illicit any strong feelings.”
I agree with this one. Furthermore, while the characters are likeable, they are still not that compelling. This even goes up to Touma. His motivations for being a Rider just feels unclear. Compare that to Aruto or even Sougo who had clearer motivations.
As for the twist, Im guessing that Daichi is actually working with Kento’s father for something. Touma’s flashbacks showed Daichi fighting with Calibur, so it’s clear that him becoming Calibur II happened only after that event.
Yeah, there’s just no compelling thing to really pull you in. Whether to the overall story or to a character’s own personal story.
Yeah, it’s very possible Daichi and Kento’s father are working together. I think another problem is the show kind of setting Calibur as the Big Bad when he might not actually be bad at all. But then they haven’t given the trio of Storious, Zooous and Legeiel anything to work with.
There’s a lot of potential, but I don’t think they’ve really tapped into it yet. Though it’s Episode 10, they really should start.
Personally, I am still invested in the mystery going on with Touma, why did Calbut betra and wher ein the world is Kento’s Father?
And while Saber may not be as riveting as say Build or Gaim, It still catches my atttention.