Kamen Rider Saber Episodes 3-4: The Giant Salamander Story

Well, as said, I would definitely prefer reviewing Kamen Rider episodes after an arc is over or when I feel like it. So, pretty much this is a two-parter. This time, I'm introduced more to Japanese folklore with the Hanzaki. Meanwhile, we do have Ryo Ogami/Kamen Rider Buster with his son Sora as the main focus instead of Kento. Yes, Kento the guy who arrived in a magic carpet last week and a childhood friend of the hero. 

Most Kamen Riders aren't parents, right? But in this case - there's one who's got a kid on-screen. So far, a lot of Heisei era Riders weren't parents. Technically, Shinonosuke and Kiriko had a child from the future in the Kamen Rider Drive movie. However, Shinosuke and Kiriko never showed their child in the present state and the last we know is that they got married. Apparently, Ryo is a single father and maybe his wife died before the show begun. 

There's the power of the promise. Okay, I was thinking it's been some time since we'd had an insert lesson of the week, Hirohisa Soda style, right? Granted, Soda is now an old man but his contributions in the 1980s can't be discounted. Super Sentai during Soda's era carried the lesson of the week better than any other writer could. Granted, Takuro Fukoda was the writer of Kamen Rider Ghost and it was meant to educate children about historical figures. So, I guess Fukoda wants to pull a moral of the plot, Soda style. Though I think it's going to be hard to do what Soda did. Yasuko Kobayashi tried to pull it off in Mirai Sentai Timeranger and Samurai Sentai Shinkenger but it was hit and miss. Soda seemed to do it perfectly even in Chikyu Sentai Fiveman. 

What was this plot from 15 years ago? Who was that girl who exists in Touma's head? Kento is mentioning an incident but what is it about? I really feel that I'm going to enjoy this show better than the ongoing Mashin Sentai Kiramager. Is it me or is Toei investing more imaginative effort with Kamen Rider more than Super Sentai? Quite a reverse during the Showa era actually when Toei gave more effort to Super Sentai, huh?

The Giant Salamander is literally a slippery foe. Just for a bit of a science throwback - zoology differentiates a salamander from a lizard. A lizard is a reptile while a salamander is an amphibian. The first half had them defeating the monster but it turned out that they didn't. The legendary giant salamander can easily regenerate. Oh boy, am I really remembering the non-canon Dragon Ball Z called The Return of Cooler? Metal Cooler could regenerate and create more bodies. He also has a task of gathering people to be eaten by his superiors - something we don't see but may see sooner or later. 

Yoshimitsu from Tekken is that you? We are introduced to the Megiddo minion known as Desast. Yes, it's a play on the world disaster. For some reason, Kamen Rider Buster has a rivalry with him. Hopefully, this will be unraveled even more.

Meanwhile, the battle also does a lot of charm. Sora ends up loving books. Speaking of which - is naming Ryo's son as Sora intentional? Square Enix from Japan also was responsible for the Kingdom Hearts series which had the late Classic Disney mixed into it - back when Disney wasn't #GoWokeGoBroke.