I've said before that the subset of Japanese-original Transformers content is something I only know so much of. But even I have a spot in my heart for Star Saber. Save an awful rendition of him in the otherwise wonderful IDW comic series More Than Meets The Eye, all of Star Saber's major appearances have been in fiction that never made it to Hasbro's side of the market, here in the west. Over here, most fans know Star Saber as the name of several swords. Of all his appearances in fiction, the original is still the best. There were four animated titles exclusive to Takara's markets, which were happening during and after the third season of the original Transformers animated series.

Transformers: Victory received a full season's worth of episodes, starring Star Saber as the main character. As "the greatest swordsman in the universe" Star Saber as a character is "a universal hero, who would carry through for good even if it meant exhausting his life force" which sort of takes form as a heroic, spaghetti western type of character. He maintains a cowboy lawman austerity throughout the series, even through adopting and raising a human son and battling the Dinoforce and the unfortunately named Breastforce.

What I love so much about Star Saber is the fact that he is inherently good, a shining beacon of unwavering morality. I often find myself longing for the days when heroes in fiction could just be allowed to be heroic. I think I miss the black-and-white childhood outlook of things being simple, where good was good and evil was evil. Nowadays we have more grey and nuanced heroes, something I value and appreciate in a different way. What makes Star Saber's incarnation in MTMTE so insulting is that it feels like somebody not understanding why people like the character. It's like the exhaustively overdone "Superman but evil" trope, but even more reductive because most fans don't know Star Saber well enough to understand why the writers think it's a hot take. IDW had a bad habit of giving its characters borderline debilitating personality defects instead of actual depth or nuance, and Star Saber being a victim of that was particularly heartbreaking.

If you'd like to know more about the character, and the swords that share his name, check out this video. It gives you a great overview of the character and the media he hails from!

Be sure to let me know what you think of the art, and what your thoughts and feelings are! Are you a fan of Star Saber? How did MTMTE's version of him make you feel?

Feedback is always appreciated, I hope you have a wonderful day!