Recap: Kamen Rider Saber, Chapter 13: I, Will Stay True, To My Convictions

Rintaro and Mei watch as Touma sits by a perfectly alive Kento’s bedside. Touma opens the book he used to read with Kento and Luna. Rintaro explains that Kento thought Touma died on That Day and was happy when he found out he was actually alive. That meant the three friends could fulfill their promise to each other.

The Megids are excited about the two worlds colliding.

Touma heads to the library to update the others on Kento’s condition. Tetsuo says they need to do something before Kento is engulfed by the darkness. Ogami-san says they have to ask Calibur about the sword. But they also have to deal with the pillars of light and the big book opening up in the middle.

Mei tries to confidently encourage everyone, but Ogami-san rudely shuts her down.

Touma storms out ready to fight Calibur to the death to save the best friend he never knew he had as well as Tokyo. Rintaro quickly follows despite Ogami-san trying to hold him back.

Mei’s book alerts them to Daichi appearing to fight off the last Megid to activate the last pillar’s book. Mei is ready to hurry downtown and fight, but Ogami-san again tells her to stay home and look after Kento. Tetsuo also says he will stay home and figure out how to activate the new deus ex machina Books that could help.

Touma, Rintaro, Ogami-san and Ren battle Daichi.

At the North Pole, Kento wakes up and sees the Wonder Story book on his bed. He asks Luna to protect Touma. Later when Mei sneaks into the room, she is shocked to find Kento is gone.

Daichi teases that anyone engulfed by the darkness of the sword will die. The four try to deliver finishers at Daichi, but they don’t even leave a scratch.

Just then, Kento arrives to save Rintaro from the basic Megid. But Daichi also sends an attack his way, forcing Kento to dehenshin. The others scream out his name.

Now that the Megid is destroyed, the last pillar is activated and the guys are all spit out into the regular, unbooked world.

Rintaro asks why would Kento come here when he’s still injured. “We’re family, it’s a no-brainer.” Rintaro says he will save Kento too because he is also a Homo sapiens.

Mei comes running and Rintaro asks her to watch over Kento.

The six pillars connect and the Book door is about to open. The guys all attack Daichi as Mei tells Kento they are all doing their best. That’s why Kento must give it his all as well.

Kento begins to make his final goodbyes, appreciating all that the others have done for him. When he gets to Touma, Kento doesn’t have the energy to express it out loud.

Mei cries out to Touma. The Megid Trio laugh. The Book door is opening. Rintaro, Ogami-san and Ren dehenshin.

Daichi swats Touma away and he dehenshins. Mei again cries out to Touma which reminds him of Luna crying out to him as well. Kento believes in Touma.

Touma yells out his resolve and the Wonder storybook opens, somehow powering a blank Book before it flies off to Touma via the Aurora Borealis.

Touma and Kento are shocked to hear Luna’s voice coming from the new Book. Touma grabs it and uses it to uphenshin to Dragonic Knight.

Touma tells Daichi that he can fight with the support of his friends. They do battle and Touma’s new power is able to better counter any of Daichi’s attacks.

The white cloaked man lurks behind trees saying that Touma has overcome all the trials.

Daichi tries to fly away. But Touma’s new power includes a dragon he can hop onto. He chases after Daichi who says there are some things that can only be acquired with sacrifice. Touma doesn’t care. He delivers a Dragonic Ending Slash at Daichi and that kills him. (At least, in the Saber sense.)

The Calibur sword falls to the ground and Touma seals the door Book in a bubble. He hurries down to look for the sword, but it’s nowhere to be seen.

Tetsuo arrives and frantically calls Touma over as Kento is about to die.

Everyone gathers around the dying Kento. Touma runs over to his best friend, tears in his eyes, and tells him Luna is alive.

Touma says the three of them were supposed to be together forever. And now Kento has to go off and die too.

Touma cries about killing another of his friends. But Kento says nope, Touma and the others all saved him and his heart.

Kento says he wanted to keep fighting alongside everyone. Kento thanks Touma for everything he has done for him and asks him to protect the world. Touma takes Kento’s hand in his and promises that he will. Ren wails as the others also promise.

Kento suddenly writhes in pain and cries out for Touma as the darkness engulfs him. Luna smiles as Kento fades off into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Calibur’s sword is staked in the ground and red eyed-Kento screams from within.

Episode Thoughts

I’ll start with the positive first. Mei is carrying this season for me. Whether it’s the amusing slapstick or the more serious scenes, Asuka Kawazu is delivering and helping me stay with it every week.

In this episode, I especially felt that scene where Mei cries out when she’s with Kento. Like, I don’t care about anything else that was happening in that scene. But when Mei cried out like that, I somehow felt “Oh sh-t! It’s serious! Everyone’s gonna die. This is some finale-level climactic event where the villains are about to win, but our hero triumphs. ZOMG!!!!1!” Mei was in despair and I felt her.

Then I almost immediately snapped out of it when the action turned back to the others.

First of all, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a third time? You’re not going to keep apparently killing your main characters and just have them pop up in bed again next week. The crying wolf is just going to undermine any future, actual deaths. Most of what’s happening on the show already doesn’t really interest me. What more in the future?

I mean, I know Saber is written by the same team as Ghost. But even if I didn’t know that, all this not-dying is definitely bringing back the immortalTakeru vibes.

Kento isn’t dead. (Duh.) And it would seem he’s now the next Calibur. (Shoutout to Gaisorg!) That’s fine. We’ll let that play out. This all most likely relates to the fate of Kento’s father as well. People’s souls getting infused into swords.

And books apparently. Luna’s alive! Uh… yay? I can get excited about a shiny new form. (And it looks great, at least.) But the deus ex machina Book plus the fact that apparently Luna is powering it up or something is just another thing I’m indifferent towards.

When Rintaro was all “What’s wrong with you?!” to Kento and Kento replies because “we’re family.” I was all…

Since when? Because I don’t see it. I don’t feel it. I don’t think the writing has been there to really establish that in a meaningful way. Especially when you throw in a brand-new character every week, it kind of makes it hard to form that connection. Both between the viewer and the characters and also between the characters themselves.

It’s been too much in too short a time.

Do we need to mention Tassel being back in his gingerbread house already? Or the white cloaked person continuing to creep about? Or that apparently the season is about a battle between species? (Homo sapiens vs ?)

Not really.

The preview for next week teases “the decisive battle for the fate of the world” is about to begin. What? It’s Episode 14.

Finally, let’s bring it full circle here. Can they stop treating Mei like crap? Like what is that?! Ogami-san especially these last two episodes needs to step back and stop being an ass to her. But the others have been pretty douchey to her too. Maybe not on-again, off-again boyfriend Rintaro. Or Tetsuo (though it’s not like he says much anyway). And maybe Sophia (who’s become completely irrelevant in just two episodes). I hope this either means 1. Mei gets her Driver and Book and becomes the most powerful Rider this season or 2. Mei is actually Queen of the Megids and she’s gonna wipe the floor with them all in the final arc.

I’m all for it! As long as Mei isn’t an amnesiac Luna. (Which I originally thought before we got a parade of new characters every week.) I want Mei away from that storyline as much as possible.

Overall, a lot happened, yet nothing happened. Kento dies a second time, but he’s stuck in a sword. Touma gets a new toy. And there’s a little girl ghost lurking about in books. Sure. On to the next episode I guess.