[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 21



--1--

Why does the Takumi/Yuuji friendship work so well?

I've said before that their chemistry makes for one of my favorite pairings on this show, so nearly an entire episode devoted to them slowly growing closer as friends? YES. But, like, even after this episode it's hard to say why they work so well together.

--2--

In past encounters, there was more of a sense of Yuuji being above Takumi. Yuuji, sweetly, hilariously, would implore Takumi to stop his roguish ways and finally make his sister (who is not his sister) proud. Or Yuuji would be there for Takumi during a crisis, ready to lend an ear to someone who's struggling.

Here, there's more a sense of them as peers, two young men trying to survive. The pizza job is an example of their similarities, as well as their differences. They both get handed this job to help out their friends, and they both somehow grow to care for it. But the how and why are so specific to them as people.

For Yuuji, it's nice to have a human job, to care about human things again. It's not about fighting or killing, it's about applying yourself and honoring a commitment. There's a boss, and he's depending on you, and you're part of a machine that makes sense. There's not that pressure of being an outcast. He can work his job and find peace in a simple life.

For Takumi, he's reluctant and bad at his job. He'll do the bare minimum, and complain the whole time. He hates people depending on him, but he's tired of being a disappointment. At a time when he can't be Faiz, he wants to feel like there's something he's good at, so he applies himself and honors his commitment. He cares about the pizza place and wants it to succeed.

There's this great feeling of these two completely different men finding a core that's the same. Maybe that's it?

--3--

Or maybe it's the way they innately care for one another?

There's a... I don't know, a softness (?) to the relationship they have that's so different from everything else Takumi would call a friendship. Previously, they had that little scene where Yuuji's like Don't Worry About That Monster And Corpse and Takumi's like I Was Going To Say The Same Thing. It was very cute. Here, once again, Takumi wants Yuuji to feel safe, to know that it's clearly Takumi that endangered them. Meanwhile, Yuuji needs Takumi to know that, actually, it's not Takumi's fault, it's Yuuji who's endangered them.

And, look, I'm sure people could be screaming at the scenes of them talking around their secret identities, furious that they wouldn't just get their secrets out in the open. But they care too much about one another to do that. Takumi doesn't want Yuuji to be scared, and Yuuji doesn't want Takumi to be scared. It's all of the bullshit that usually gets applied to the women of the supporting cast, the coworkers and sisters and whatever, but applied to the two male leads. It's lovely.

Their whole thing, it's lovely. I don't want to make this a different kind of post, but if you asked me which pairing on the show had the best romantic chemistry, it's Yuuji and Takumi by a mile. (#takkiba) Even their bickering, running for their lives, might as well have But You Know You Love Me appended to every exchange.

It's, god, I don't know why their friendship ("friendship”) works so well for me. I think it's just the actors, taking what could/should be a heated rivalry or Agree To Disagree standoff and just going full-on Star-Crossed Romance with it. I don't give a shit about anyone else on this show falling out (untrue), but the idea of Yuuji and Takumi not being together is incredibly tense to me.

--4--

Especially after what they went through in this episode!

It's got a lot of moves on it, from the workplace comedy aspects at the pizzeria, through to the humans vs Orphnoch hunting sequence.

It's a great predicament for Takumi and Yuuji to be in, with Yuuji reluctant to transform in front of Takumi, and Takumi finding himself without the Faiz belt. It reminds me a lot of the early episode of Mari and Takumi almost getting killed, and how that near-death experience gave Takumi the strength to be honest about his feelings. Here, it's doing everything he could to protect Yuuji, while Yuuji did the same for him. That little back and forth smile they give each other as they cause the Orphnochs to split up! I mean, come on. That is Big Emotions right there.

--5--

I liked the conclusion, but it's still the weakest part of the episode for me.

Faiz gets a power-up, and it looks boss. The quick run through of the enemies followed by a slowed down instant replay? Really great visual. And it's nice that Takumi's faith in Orphnochs could be rewarded, as he let's the pizza shop owner go live a life of making pizzas and being very specific as to what angle you should bow to the customer. (Forty-five degrees.) And, man, I love that Yuuji wakes up from being murdered and the first thing he says is that he couldn't save Takumi. God, yes. And of course the next person he sees is Faiz! Who he wants to murder!

The weak part, though, was all of the Kaixa stuff. Way too many unanswered questions in this one. How did Kaixa defeat Houjou? Is Houjou still alive? What was Kusaka doing in that weird warehouse? Why didn't he answer his phone? (Other than, it was Takumi and he didn't care to?) Where did he get the Accel watch? I get that this will all probably be dealt with in the next episode or two, but it's such a weird thing to skip over that the Accel stuff in the end didn't completely work for me. It was fun to watch, but the Kaixa stuff was just too mysterious to stay unaddressed this time out.

Still! Takumi and Yuuji in a whole episode that deepens their connection! Always something I'll enjoy!