I mean, nearly every show has a reference to a mother as a memory, or a ghost, or a flashback. Aruto's mom shows up in a flashback memory (!) in the Reiwa First Gen movie, but it's nothing I'd consider especially relevant to the narrative, or even anything that treats her as a character. And that's one of the more sensitive and respectful depictions of motherhood in Kamen Rider!

DEAR GAGA - PAGE 2

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/gaga2a.png

The thing that’s great about Hiromi is that he loses.

He’s a terrible Kamen Rider, if we’re going off of metrics like Monsters Detonated or Times A Character Wasn’t Thrown Off Of A Cliff. He’s mostly a chump as a superhero; he’s marginally better as a commander, if you ignore the various traitors above and below him in the hierarchy of Fenix, or the crashed helicarriers, or the terrorist cult members who escaped justice under his watch. He’s introduced as the guy who failed so spectacularly that Ikki – a genial spa employee – needed to become a Kamen Rider, and he never really improved from there.

But the point of him as a character isn’t to succeed, or to treat the possibility for success as the only condition for action. The point of him is to dedicate his life to protecting people, even if it’s a lost cause. Getting beaten isn’t failure, it’s a sign that he’s willing to suffer for his ideals. It’s all there in his (hilariously) sacrificial catchphrase, where he’s willing to lay down his life to protect anything and everything that’s in danger: he knows he could be beaten or killed, but it’s still worth it if it might save a life.

That version of Hiromi gets to be in a story worthy of him in Dear Gaga, which is one of the best pieces of Revice storytelling I’ve seen yet. It’s minor in its scope – the heroism is pretty much just Hiromi staying by his mother’s side for her final days – but sweeping in its sensitivity and humanity. It’s not a story that rehabilitates Hiromi’s character, so much as it recontextualizes his role as punching bag/scapegoat/laughingstock. He’s weak, emotionally and physically, but as long as he’s willing to risk it all for people in need, he’s still a hero. Him failing is besides the point; him continuously laying down his life for people in danger is what’s important.

It’s really charming, this emotionally vulnerable story about a guy who constantly comes up short, but finds dignity in never backing down. He’d forgotten that, in his running away from Fenix, but remembered it in his role as a son. Not everyone can be saved, and those that can be saved might not be saved by him. But he’ll never stop trying to protect people. Even at the cost of his life.

I’m glad this series has a loser like Hiromi in it.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/revice/gaga2b.png

I havent watched revice thus havent seen Dear Gaga, but from the way you describe Hiiromi, I relate to him viscerally. I feel like I'm struggling a lot to do basic things, but to know that trying, even if I fail, is something to be proud of. Today, I think I'm pretty okay.

Yeah! Hiromi's in this little story to be a guy that realized he was measuring himself by an unfair standard, when he needed to be seeing the value in still putting himself out there; that his heroic attribute was not letting failure determine his worth.

It's okay to get beat, or to need a minute to collect ourselves after a setback. What makes Hiromi heroic is that he still puts himself at risk for his ideals, no matter what. If you're willing to get back up, you're already a hero.

So fun fact, Hiromi coming from Miyagi was based on his actor also coming from that prefecture, but by coincidence, that’s also where Shotaro Ishinomori came from (which I probably mentioned the first time he brought up his Gaga, but whatever)

Also, we kind of get an answer to my age question. The flashbacks use the same actress in a wig (which is about as convincing as Mark Wahlberg’s high school graduation photo just being him in a baseball cap), meaning she was probably in her 40s.

Also, does Hiromi plan to walk all the way back to Tokyo from Miyagi? Is that why he takes so long to reappear in the main show (as the characters who get these kinds of spin-offs are wont to do)?

He will lay down his life to avoid paying the fare for a taxi to take him back to Fenix HQ!

Hiromi seeing a minor obstacle to face
https://i.imgflip.com/1y6x9a.jpg

Hiromi is largely excluded from Fenix planning sessions due to his constant suggestion that Step 1 for any operation should be funeral services for him.

I know you've appreciated actual moms, but I guess I feel this coming from how iirc you deem non-mom female characters (I also didn't know if the term Time Mom for Tsukuyomi is sarcastically mocking after your initial impression of her, though still... people in general acknowledge Junichiro's parental instincts/role and warmth/niceness more than her too... only got seen as irrelevant instead) who display maternal or mom-like characteristics, as diminishing them as a woman that they aren't complicated and lack flaws.

As what you said here... perhaps it's the reason why Hiromi is a straightforward hero that is more well-liked than most of the main Riders that, he loses thus he feels more like an actual underdog to root compared to main Riders who get main protagonist privileges.... But as usual, Hiromi's the loser and underdog kind of good guy, which I wouldn't want if people'd blame Hiromi's goodness of why he's "weak" (like what George brags about it to him), and that to be strong you have to shed those principles and become cruel, encouraging it, but the good guys choosing to remain weak and suffer to uphold those... as if it's an inherent part, but no, there can be competent good guys too. I actually thought at the beginning Hiromi failed to become Kamen Rider because of his hidden dark traits, and that he'd be someone like Nago or Yaguruma who is initially presented as noble admirable man, but they're anything but.

It'd be a hot take, but I actually don't think that Dear Gaga series works well with me, especially regarding how Hiromi later returns. I feel that though as you've said before, sacrifice first, ask questions later is something bad and detrimental for Hiromi or any hero upholding that, I don't think that Hiromi's learning about it here, that his father dying in an attempt to save civilians is treated as something that needs to be completely emulated, which'd mean Hiromi stays on this self-destructive path. Ofc his father is a noble and heroic man, but I do want for self-preservance to be also considered to improve things and taking into account of what Daiji said before that it's not wrong, it should be considered to rescue people effectively and keep you alive to do so in another time.

Well, it helps that this special is putting Hiromi's dedication into a slightly different context. This isn't Hiromi destroying his body to be a hero, or flinging himself at a monster when there are other options; this is a story where Hiromi just needs to be there for his mom. The lesson he learns isn't so much that Sacrifice Is Always Right, it's that... it's that it's more important to fight for your convictions than to win with your convictions. Him saying he'll lay down his life in this situation, it's more him showing that his dedication to the people he cares about doesn't have any limits, instead of trying to be the most heroey hero who ever heroed. I think it's him learning an important lesson here?

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 30 - “SEIYUU! SAY ME! SORTING STUFF OUT FROM YOUR YOUTH!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice30a.png

Hey, what if the first act of a four act story was stretched to the length of an entire episode? Wouldn’t that be super fun, and not at all monotonous and repetitive? Shockingly, no, it would be an almost indescribably dull installment of Kamen Rider Revice. I’m as surprised as the producers surely must’ve been after watching this episode!

There’s barely anything here to talk about, much less critique. Jiiko, a character from Ikki’s past that we’ve neither met before nor heard mentioned in passing, is incredibly mad at Ikki about a thing that Jiiko won’t talk about, and Ikki doesn’t remember. That’s basically it! That’s the entire episode’s plot! Ikki and Jiiko circle each other several times in the episode, but there’s just a blank space where a thematic or narrative conflict would be. Ikki’s confused, and that’s about the only recognizable emotion in the entire story. There’s no guilt, or shame, or anger, or anything that would be a counterpoint to an old friend calling him a piece of shit to his face, because Ikki's as clueless about the conflict as the viewer is. There’s just confusion, and that’s all we get.

I mean, there’s also the Way Too Gregarious Old Mentor, who is clearly the villain of this story, but that dude exists to be way too gregarious, and that’s it. He provides no context for Jiiko’s seething and inexplicable resentment, probably because this is all part of a plot to destroy Ikki. It’s obvious in a way that I was anticipating either a twist or a reveal, and this episode was just like GUESS WHAT IT’S THE WAY TOO GREGARIOUS OLD MENTOR and we’re into the trailer for the next episode. There’s nothing here; it’s all just setup for the real story.

(There is also the possibility that it's not the Way Too Gregarious Old Mentor, and his malevolent outro is just a funny gag the show will walk back at the start of the next episode, but if that's the case, this episode is maybe worse than if that dude was just the obvious culprit? There's only two characters it could be, and if it's neither, what are we even doing here? What is this story even about?)

Hilariously, "setup for the real story" is a bit of a theme for this episode! The only non-Ikki scenes we get feature Akaishi teasing the next phase of his plan – waiting; Daiji teasing the next phase of his plan – stalking; Sakura teasing the next phase of her plan – thinking about Aguilera; and Aguilera getting a Dark Aguilera costume change. No one really gets a scene of any weight or importance, except for a very brief bit of business where Daiji is correctly chided for trying too hard to be Cosplay Hiromi, instead of being himself. It’s all setup, which would be fine for subplots… if the main plotline for the episode didn’t also feel so much like it was half an idea stretched out to the three times its length.

Just a massively underwhelming episode, right when the show needed to have originality and momentum to kick off the next phase of the story. Ikki’s got nothing to do in this story other than be the target of rage for no established reason, and everyone else is just waiting for their stories to start in the next few episodes. Whole thing probably would play better as a 90-second "Previously On" opener, and that’s a fun feeling to have after a 23-minute episode.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice30b.png

This was an episode I partially fastforwarded through. The guy playing Ikki's old soccer coach/superstar voice actor is, in fact, a real superstar voice actor. Specifically, he's Vice's voice actor. All the voice actor scenes were basically just fellating the guy for how awesome he is, which feels in poor taste in general and especially when you consider that he was a controversial addition to the series outside of Japan due to some of his social media activity.

...see, now I just like this episode less, and not even because of the last part. (I probably would for the last part, but then I'd have to go looking into this dude's social media history, which sounds like a depressing way to spend an evening.) Like, this dull episode only partially works if you get the gag, and if you don't? If you don't know this dude, or can't tell he's voicing Vice... how is that enough to hang a story on, let alone an entire episode? Bummer! All additional information is a bummer!

Yeah, this episode was way more controversial outside of Japan, which pretty much summarises its main guest. Though to be honest, as someone who actually uses the translate function on Twitter, Facebook and Insta for foreign pages, the hate for him is way overblown (at worst, he blocks people for being rude to him for an out of context picture… entirely justified, in my opinion), and posts from people who actually know him personally are nothing but positive.

Anyway, aside from Kimura’s guest spot, we also get appearances from Kenichi Suzumura, the voice of Ryutaros, and His partner Hiroshi Kamiya, who voiced a similar character back in the producer’s last show, Kyuranger.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...E8EBD69DD.jpeg

Also, Aguilera gets a new look that basically seems like they’re going down familiar lines with her at this point (still better than Tamaki basically being demoted to comic relief)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...63821F2AF.jpeg

Aguilera: I have no need of Giff or fianc?s.

Julio: Aguilera-sama! Please let me be your little brother, Aguilera-sama!

And in other news, this is back.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

White Leo!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=HlcgL7fDM_4

Scary! Me! White Leo! Begin the era at Leo!

Ikki: Truth be told, we’ve never actually used this Vistamp, or the next, so I’m going to let George give today’s explanation.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...3/rider1_image

George: The white king of beasts, Kamen Rider Revi White Leo Genome with the power of the Great Emperor! It's a plan prepared as one of the possibilities of the Lion Genome, but maybe because of the extremely dangerous power, I decided that the Revice system still needs to be adjusted, but about the strongness of this guy, Trust meー!*

Vice: What about me?

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...3/rider2_image

George: Your golden parts can allow a variety of elemental attacks, such as fire, electricity, light, and rock. All powers in line with this guy.

Ridewatch: Kuuga Amazing Mighty.

Godai: Chou Henshin!

George: When Yusuke Godai faced down the Kabuto Grongi, no. 46, he was outmatched by the Unknown Lifeform’s ability to copy or hijack his various abilities. But his resolve to keep fighting unlocked a brand new form, Kuuga Amazing Mighty. Enhanced beyond Rising, this power proved far more than what the Grongi could counter, leading to Godai’s victory.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pG3BHKbt0a0

Vice: Hey, Kari-chan. Given we’re basically doing the same stamp again, but with different colours, are you running out of ideas? Especially since this didn’t even appear in the episode.**

George: Well, you see… (stamps himself with the Batta Vistamp, leaping out of the room)

Ikki: We hope you enjoy the next instalment.

Vice: Goddamn, this again?

* Self-production notes: This entry was copied from the official site’s blog for the same episode where the truth of the Demons Driver is revealed. So George was saying this around the time he proved untrustworthy (at least to Hiromi)

** I included this before I realised the Rafflesia Deadman was a retool of the Lion Deadman, so this Vistamp does kind of fit here.

Oh, neat! This is additional information I approve of! And thanks for the fun skit!

Yes, this is the reason why discussion can happen to ask for more elaboration in something. This one now I'd understand of what he learns though dunno about his actual return still.

The episode title wordplay lol, "Seiyuu! Say Me!" lol. It happened.

Though outwardly the episode is a breather one, this seems to center around Ikki more, bringing his soccer occupation previously that he quit to take care of Happy Spa. Subaru Kimura is brought up as Ikki's former mentor but his real life occupation is brought up here in the voice recording as well. Aside from the cliffhanger at the end, previously he seems to be open and connected to any of the soccer player under his care, including when they leave soccer and takes up other occupation like Ikki now as family caretaker or Kamen Rider, and also Koji who now is aspiring to become a seiyuu, but now is holding a grudge to Ikki. Other than being supportive to both former soccer player's current occupation, Kimura sets up the voice recording for them to talk as well.

Though previously the one who called Ikki out was the depraved Kudo, now Kimura claims both Ikki and Koji had big egos, which, probably does confirm about Ikki's darker side before, at least from more reliable source than Kudo. And of course his soccer days were something in the past so Ikki's busybodiness is still not checked yet. Ikki has grown better now, but Koji was a victim of it that still harbors a grudge to Ikki until now, and the next previews shows Ikki regretting. Koji's grudge doesn't help things either though, and it's unknown what Koji wants, to get back at Ikki or to solve the problem (with spite). Ikki was also apparently genius striker previously as well, so he wasn't ordinary player, but his soccer trick was only used on ep. 1 so far. So other than Vice obsessively fanboying over Kimura, apparently Vice's taste is that Kimura's the most handsome man for him.

For the Fenix side, Daiji repeats his plan of going after Akaishi to cure Fenix, kinda feels like the series puts that on hold for some reason before for the Kagerou part or something, it has never begun yet. Or probably it's on purpose which Akemi addresses that, to claim that mere righteous speech preaching can make it hollow. Which if Daiji really is holding off his plan until now, it'd be true that he can make claims to cure Fenix all he wants but it won't happen if he only talks, he should prove himself by taking actual action. But in reverse, action only isn't all good either, because someone can create a good outcome, but doesn't mean that it's a good thing, like... someone morally questionable taking out a monster (for those who glorify taking action as 'killing monsters'), especially if it's bad guy taking out another bad guy, or villainous organizations that experimented on others thus creates heroic Kamen Riders. That doesn't mean the bad guy "turns good", bad guys can target other bad guys, or that the organization can be cleansed due to the heroic Kamen Rider part only. They unintentionally create a good outcome but speechs can be important too to address something that is wrong and likely overlooked.

She's not involved much yet though I hope she'd be more involved, but so far Akemi is usually amiable, except to Hiromi when he's persistent before, but she didn't give George a coffee. Though he's likely redeemed now, previously George doesn't seem to be someone who is hated among the Fenix, and only those who knows his dirty secrets do like Hiromi or the Igarashi siblings before, of which he made up to the latter now.

Regarding Akaishi, there's a new speculation of him, coming from his biodate which due to how he's 57 year old as a 1964-born, but though he looks old now, he stops aging, looks the same as him decades ago, which'd imply he's a descendant of Giff (relation he has to the Igarashi siblings would be...). As someone running both Fenix and Deadman, he was said as Masumi's boss in NOAH as well, instead of Agariyama. NOAH is split into Fenix and Deadman with Akaishi still the leader of both seems to be done by he himself with his own purposes of splitting the organization. Akaishi manifests a red devil that is likely the one behind Genta's parents death as well, so there's set up for his personal significance. Akaishi is shorter than I expected too at 168cm in said biodate. In Weekend, there's another showing of some genuinity of the Ushijima family's company over the Igarashis other than Kimiko enjoying the onsen, Hikaru seems to genuinely view Sakura as a friend as well, being overjoyed to have her on his side. Sakura's outfit is made different to.. show off her legs as well, obviously for meta reasons of eye candy...

There's another setup of Aguilera burning her dress and dons a civilian outfit, not as disguise anymore. And also Tamaki bringing up his family in a Gundam reference as Ikki accidentally punched him. The family part can just be throwaway line like Hiromi's bullied backstory so far. She may have her own breed of difficulty of socializing as someone bratty and spoiled, paralleling Tamaki I guess.

Yeah, this isn't a show where folks get to use unique skills or backgrounds a whole lot. The only things we know about Daiji and Sakura are Uniforms and Karate, respectively, and little else that might get leveraged for a story. The fact that Ikki's soccer background got resurfaced at all is sort of huge!

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 31 - “GUIDED BY AN ILLUSION, THE CONSEQUENCE OF DREAMING”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice31a.png

Like, that screencap’s it, as far as talking about this episode. That’s the point of everything we were shown, and why this semi-interesting story about the weight of another person’s dreams had to be hilariously convoluted and almost unrecognizably motivated. This is the episode where we’re finally given the significance of all of those disappearing Ikki’s from family photos.

As a stylistic choice, a vanishing Ikki to denote Ikki forgetting things feels sort of backwards to me? Wouldn’t a vanishing Ikki mean that his family is forgetting him, not the other way around? As a thematic choice, though, I don’t hate it. The risk of obtaining power is that it warps your values, and distances you from the people in your life who knew you as someone else. The more he becomes Kamen Rider Revi, the less Ikki’s able to be the brother/son/friend he was before. (Or, more specifically, by embracing the dynamism and selfishness of Vice, he risks outgrowing the safety of his family.) The struggle of that, of keeping grounded in the face of the call to heroism – that’s an interesting balance to strike as the series moves towards its conclusion. (Bonus: so many stories about Narratively Convenient Amnesia!!!) It’s a decent dilemma for Ikki to confront, and one that needs a different skillset than upgrade forms and new ViStamps.

But the story around that revelation! Jesus! Absolutely abysmal.

Jiiko’s the only character in the Ikki/Subaru/Jiiko triangle that feels anywhere close to a normal human being. He’s a well-meaning guy that had a (literal) bad break, is trying to put his life back on track, and his best friend has not only squandered the dream they both chased, but also somehow forgotten that they ever had it to begin with. He’s offended by Ikki’s insensitivity, but he’s not letting it consume him. He’s just, like, pursuing his new dream. He’s approaching a bizarre situation in a healthy, mature way. Jiiko’s even enough of a stand-up guy to apologize to Ikki for putting too much pressure on him back in the day. Every Jiiko scene is smart, well-observed, and part of a story worth telling.

Which is why it’s so infuriating that the show put so many distracting, absurd roadblocks up in the telling. Ikki not remembering this bond and promise, it unnecessarily delays all of the useful information until moments before the resolution, robbing Ikki of a chance to sincerely grapple with his actions. It’s not a story about a choice Ikki made, or an abdication of his vow, or sacrificing a dream to feel less survivor’s guilt; it’s just a story about Ikki’s Narratively Convenient Amnesia, and nothing else for about 75% of the runtime. If this wasn't all a story built to finally explain the disappearing photographs, we maybe could’ve gotten a full two episodes of Ikki treating his choice like a choice, and of Jiiko getting to confront Ikki instead of having to go You Know What You Did and avoid actually discussing the problem like a normal human being. The realistic conflict is subsumed into bizarre mysteries and longform dilemmas, and it’s incredibly disappointing.

And then there’s Subaru, who makes zero sense. He was practicing tough love! For his beloved players! Which is why he used a ViStamp to send a monster on several uncontrollable rampages! And risked countless lives! And assaulted both Ikki and Jiiko! Instead of ever talking to either one of them about what their issue was! It’s, like… it’s not even Toku Stupid, where someone avoids saying an important thing to further a plot, but it’s a split-second thing, and almost instantly blows up in their face. This is just Actual Stupid, where no one in their right mind would pull this convoluted of a scheme in lieu of having a single conversation, especially as it is continuously spiraling out of control. Subaru’s acting like a lunatic here, and all it ends up doing is making a good story incomprehensible.

(It even taints Jiiko’s victory! The show implies that he gets his big acting role because Subaru is getting arrested by Fenix for monster crimes! That super sucks.)

I genuinely hated how this story was told, despite – or because of – how relatable Jiiko’s disappointment in Ikki was, and how non-offended I was by the perilous potential endgame of Ikki’s Going To Get A High-Even-For-This-Show Number Of Amnesias. There was a good idea here, maybe even two good ideas, and Revice opted to convey both ideas in the most frustrating way possible. This episode was maybe worse and dumber than the one before it, if only for how avoidable all of these mistakes were. I wish Lovekov would fall on the entire production team as punishment!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice31b.png

I mean, at best, this episode would be good… if it was a bit earlier in this season. When we’re 3/5s of the way through, it just seems like the writers have no idea how to progress the main plot.

And in terms of more voice actor cameos, Subaru’s (and later Jiiko’s) co-stars in the anime being recorded are Miku Ito, the voice of Lovekov, and Ryo Horikawa, who hasn’t had any prior Rider credits, but is best known as Vegeta in the Dragon Ball franchise. (In the world of Tokusatsu, he was the voice of Akumaro in Shinkenger and physically portrayed Tsu Shogun in Akibaranger)

And the reveal… yeah, the disappearing photos did not hint at “Ikki is forgetting everything related to his family” at all. Why would Ikki forgetting something result in physical evidence of that memory being erased? And if Vice just has that kind of power, then why are there any problems in fighting the Deadmans?

Anyway, on with the funnies.

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Quetzalcoatlus
https://youtube.com/watch?v=AHtohFKof2U

Too fast! Stealth! Write in your mind! Quetzalcoatlus! 3, 2, 1! Sky Out!

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...4/rider1_image

George: This genius tuned Kamen Rider Revi Quetzalcoatlus Genome. It's a power limited by the Accel Limiter that times out in one second, but it's impossible for anyone to capture its silver shining figure! At that speed, you will feel that you are no longer in a different time axis.

Vice: And me?

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com...4/rider2_image

George: By becoming bigger than the Ptera Genome, it is excellent in vertical soaring and plummeting, and has changed to a style that is good at high altitude activities. Run through the sky with that megaton body, which is said to be the largest pterosaur in history! Vice! Sky out!

Vice: I would, but this room ain’t exactly giving me much room to breath.

George: In that case, I’ll get on with today’s Legend, shall I?

Ridewatch: Faiz, Axel Form.

Start Up!

George: Using technology created for the Kaixa Gear, Faiz can move at incredible speed for a short burst. But the power this form gives off can instantly defeat an Orphnoch. Or three.

3, 2, 1, Time Out!

Ikki: So in this form, I can do a lot in just a second. Any orders?

George: Well I’d quite fancy a pizza. (Ikki suddenly has a pizza in hand, which George takes and opens). This has pineapple on it.

Vice: We hope you enjoy the next instalment. I know I will, provided I’m not stuck like this.

I don't know if I'd go that far (the ending definitely progresses the story in a major way!), but this story definitely had the feel of something that'd've slotted in better before the winter movie. Even the monster is just a Phase 1 that's sOmEhOw more powerful than previous Phase 3 monsters were. Weird format to trot out in the 30s!

I'm kinda glad that Aguilera, although leaving Deadmans, she's still not tamed in the slightest. While she had gotten tons of sympathy for her condition before, she was still never a good person yet, and her instance of 'helping' the Igarashis was still about her goal of bringing forth of Giff in the world by taking Giff ViStamp. She's still as bitchy, bratty, and haughty as ever in interacting with others. The preview is about her lashing out for some reason (with Tamaki still speculating about her actions, likely about time he's not used as mere comic relief punching bag...). And as a fellow 'militaristic' organization and martial artist, yeah, gotta show off the capabilities and actions of Weekend's members too, like Hikaru here trying to protect Sakura, other than just monologuing in their HQ. About time, after nonending persuasion of inviting Sakura. Comedic bit for Sakura getting caught in the illusion and have her fighting Amahiko instead.

And regarding the soccer flashback, Vice is again, nice to Ikki like his current character after development despite that it's past, and he's now already an adult. He (ab)used his contract to help him as he apologized for that too. Still contrasting to Vice's portrayal to earlier series where Vice is vicious and selfish, and takes forever for him to half-heartedly apologize to Ikki, unlike that soccer flashback.

About the final fight with Rafflesia Deadman, I think that Revice's fight is done better here, than his debut fighting Olteca as Anomalocaris Deadman. So his element powers make sense now, his ability in Jack Revice was only the preview, Revice retrained that and is used to a greater effect here than previously as Jack Revice, namely to buff Holy Live a bunch of times. His finisher here is also one of the better ones to make use of the element paintings as a tornado that surrounds the enemy, so much power would be gathered, though a bit disappointing that Revice didn't go through all the marks. Probably quite clear that Olteca as Anomalocaris Deadman was far from the best of what Giff can do if a Phase 1 seems to take more effort to beat here.

Jiko's character seem to be ignored entirely in the last episode, that he just seems to be different in the flashback as well as he got reunited with Ikki later, compared to how cold he was in the last episode. In the past, of which Ikki's incident was kinda expected, about standard soccer stuff of him pulling a red card move by sliding and injuring Jiko in the process, thus hospitalizing him and ends his soccer career. But in the flashback Jiko, albeit he mourns his fate by crying outside of Ikki's sight, he was accepting of Ikki's mistake and remorse, and encourages him to keep going instead as their promise. I know that Ikki forgot his promise for now until Subaru resolves it in an extreme way, but it wasn't touched upon regarding Jiko's personality difference here and before. I mean I can speculate about forgetting the promise being the one that sends Jiko to edge rather than Ikki injuring him, or that Jiko played along with Subaru's schemes to get Ikki to remember, but that's not just speculation and won't fix the writing issue here.

Otherwise, I guess his conflict with Jiko is just a setup for a real Ikki plot, about answering his disappearence from the photos. Jiko is just one instance on how he loses his memories. I do think that it'd be an intriguing idea to have Ikki's punishment is something akin to damnatio memoriae (erasing all records of someone's existence), which can be also applied as a form of punishment in real life, but the explanation from Vice is about is about Ikki forgetting his family? Rather than for example, others forgetting Ikki? If it's about Ikki feeling as if he's nonexistent in the world, then it should be about others forgetting Ikki. If everyone still remembers Ikki with him forgetting, then there's still better chance of Ikki reuniting with the family, as the family won't ever leave him of course. If Ikki being the one who forgets and likely would have no way to recover his memories then it'd be may be harder.

The real culprit here, Subaru himself, for him here I'd appreciate his handling better than, for example ep. 23 before about everyone hiding their true feelings and getting condoned. Subaru does explain himself here and his explanation was clear, about using Rafflesia Deadman to resolve things between his pupils, and trying to use safer Deadmans as well, but as Ikki pointed out, he's still doing criminal stuff and has caused damage in the attacks, and Subaru admits he's wrong as well, albeit trying to not run away. So for this one, Subaru is put in the wrong here, while he genuinely cares about his pupils and want to resolve things he's still an extremist in his approach, though Giff also made it worse as Subaru told others with Rafflesia becoming deadlier and more uncontrollable.

I think the show makes it clear enough what's happening between Ikki and Jiiko. Jiiko saw Ikki giving up on their dream, and then Ikki rudely (albeit unintentionally) makes a thoughtless comment about Jiiko's former dream. It makes sense to me that Jiiko would think Ikki was being an asshole?

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 32 - “LOSING THE PLACE YOU BELONG, THE QUEEN’S PRIDE”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice32a.png

Sakura and Aguilera! Hard to go wrong with that pairing at the heart of an episode.

Beyond the terrific chemistry the two actors have together, I like how this story is delving into a major theme of the show, which is how we need to be vulnerable as people; how we need to be honest and open with the people around us if we ever want to feel happy and fulfilled. The various Demons – Kagerou, Vice, Lovekov – are all expressions of the things inside our cast that they’d prefer not to deal with. Those parts, eventually, need to be brought into the light and treated with care and responsibility, or the characters are destined to live frustrating and unfulfilled lives.

So, hey, here’s Aguilera, desperately trying to live the life that she had before, even though it maybe was never worth living in the first place, but it’s all she’s ever known. She wants a final glorious battle with Sakura, because that would make everything in her life feel directed, warranted. The Queen Bee who’s defeated by a Kamen Rider is a fittingly tragic end for a regal monarch of evil; the girl who’s cast out from power and left to eke out a meager existence bereft of purpose or station is a humiliating finale.

It’s not a story that completely comes together here, though. Much like the last two-parter, Aguilera’s motivations and goals are kept irritatingly opaque, with only the arguably-accurate Tamaki to sketch in why Aguilera keeps randomly picking fights with a sympathetic Sakura. The idea that Aguilera is clinging to her tattered reputation makes sense, but there’s a specific outcome she’s after that is left just out of reach for the viewer. I mean, it’s a two-parter, we’ll get there, but it makes some of the fighting a little less impactful, emotionally.

Sakura’s side of things is given a little more spotlight, though, and that’s nice and clear. She wants to do right by Aguilera, but she’s imposing her own values and hopes, rather than trying to understand Aguilera’s specific dilemma. Like, offering Aguilera a gig scrubbing tubs alongside Tamaki?! TERRIBLE. INSULTING. That’s the wrong solution for a girl who was raised to believe she had a destiny, and now has nothing but scorn and pity. Sakura’s refusing to be vulnerable enough to let Aguilera lean on her, and even Lovekov knows that things are headed in the wrong direction.

Speaking of wrong directions! Oh boy, all of that Fenix stuff.

Akaishi is maybe my least-favorite Kamen Rider villain in recent memory. He’s so corny! He’s cackling maniacally in front of his troops, and everyone’s just like What Can You Do, back to work. It makes Akemi, George, and Daiji all look like helpless chumps (George acts like he’s nailed to his chair for this episode), and I’m not clear on why this dude gets to treat Fenix like his own personal Deadmans. It’s a very weird choice, writing and performing Akaishi in this way, and I’m not a fan.

Rest of this one worked okay for me, though. I’m looking forward to some clarity on Aguilera’s mindset in the conclusion of this two-parter, but I thought the kick-off installment was solid enough. Excited to see these two kids work out their problems!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice32b.png

Akaishi reminds me a lot of the dude from the tail end of Blade; the one who took over BOARD and wanted to turn himself into a monster. That is not a great benchmark to set for yourself.

But I will agree that any time Revice wants to focus its A-plot on Aguilera and Sakura it is 100% okay by me.

An episode where two people with a lot of subtext spend much of it fighting each other aired alongside the Donbrothers episode where two guys dating the same girl calmly and rationally discuss their relationships with her.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...9D83BB582.jpeg

Also boy, the show sure made a big deal of Sakura going off on her own road, only to go back to Ikki really fast. The IRL reason of course, is that the writers changed their minds on the intended plot line for that route (that she’d become a revolutionary for Weekend, who’d come to blows with both of her brothers). But on the other hand, it turns out “ignoring the exact thing people want help with” in favour of offering them generic assistance runs in the family.

Karizaki: Hello, Professor Karizaki here, taking back the project I started, the Stamp Navi.

George: Hey, Daddy. I’ve been seeing this feature through to this point, so there’s no way you’re doing this without me.

Karizaki: If you insist. Anyway, let’s get around to discussing today’s Vistamp.

Tricera!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S-V19EqXeE0&t=308s

Triple Horn! Tricky Battle! Tricera! Awaken! Three-horned Dinosaur!

Karizaki: With the aid of the latest weapons technology created by Namba Heavy Industries, Tricera Genome has a powerful charging attack that can break through anything.

George: Given that it announced “Awaken! Three-horned Dinosaur!”, I can guess what Legend you based this one on.

Karizaki: That’s right, I kept to your aesthetic. If it had been mine, this would’ve been based on Sharivan.

Desire Driver: Agito!

Shouichi: Henshin!

George: Kamen Rider Agito, the next stage in humanity’s evolution, manifesting in those with psychic powers. The current Agito, Shouichi Tsugami, awakened in the aftermath of his sister’s death.

“Awaken, that soul!”

Karizaki: The last good Rider.

George: What? Ryuki was right after him?

Karizaki: And that show sucked balls.

George: Just for that, the next new Rider I make, I’m giving him the Ryuki Vistamp. Talking of Vistamps, which Rider will use this one?

Karizaki: Well, given the factors involved, and which Riders are in need of additional abilities…

(Sakura pokes her head in)

Sakura: Please, he has a dead sister. You’re just going to give it to me.

George: You’re going to give it to Sakura.

Karizaki: (without hesitating) I’m going to give it to Sakura, alright? Are you happy?

Sakura: If it’ll help me save Aguilera’s soul, than yes.

Karizaki: Ah, we’ll have to leave that until the next instalment. We hope you enjoy that.

Random note: Some customiser on Twitter actually guessed that the Tricera Genome would be Agito-based months before this was announced. He even correctly guessed the phrase that would be used for the pun (though his pun was “Awaken Dino Soul!”)

I've been saving all my complaint energy for these two episodes. After a plot twist so absurd that it makes the Zeronos memory loss subplot look like a masterpiece, I was fast losing hope and I really needed to see a sign of improvement. But this is what Kinoshita comes up with.

Obviously, I don't like the premise, so I won't bother talking about that. I'll talk about the execution. While it's infuriating to see Sakura constantly toying with Aguilera's feelings of despair, which I'll have more to talk about next episode, the main reason I found this particular episode of the two so painful to watch was how much Tamaki gets punished for his earnest efforts to help. Being Tamaki is a thankless job. He's truly devoted to Aguilera, but he always has to compete with Sakura for attention, a battle he cannot win. And when he does manage to get a few seconds with her before Igarashi Invincible shows up, Aguilera treats him like dirt. Why would anybody want to watch Tamaki suffer like this over and over again? It's just depressing!

Okay, I'm glad we're actually on the same page about this part. While I don't understand why Aguilera is so obsessed with Sakura, I cared about her enough to accept that after all the suffering she endured, she at least deserves to get what she wants, that glorious final battle. Despite my own resentment towards Sakura, I can't imagine anybody else being the one to finish off Aguilera. The problem here is that Aguilera is a poor judge of character, as shown by her betrayed faith in Gif and Olteca, twice by the latter. Can she really depend on Sakura to honor her last wish?

I agree with your complaints that Akaishi is a lame villain, but your least favorite? I mean, one of the other villains in this show is a literal rock!

Que Bom!

He's a guy who -- in his first scene on the show -- shifted from Is He Evil to How Do People Not See He's Evil. It's incredibly weird to be in a phase of this show where Akaishi is openly murdering/kidnapping Fenix scientists, and Daiji and George are just, like, shaking their fists at him. Not how I would approach an antagonist role as either a writer or performer!

I'm okay with this? Weekend's her job; Ikki's her family. Sakura opting to get advice from the brother who cares about, after getting scolded by the organization she's skeptical of, that makes sense to me. She wasn't feuding with Ikki when she left, she just needed to have something outside her family as well. No reason for her not to bounce ideas off of her Kamen Rider brother that lives next door!

Ha ha, it's not great, no. I don't mind it a whole lot, though, honestly. Tamaki was never the most well-rounded character, even when the Giffamilia was a thing. He's devoted to Aguilera to a level that's creepy at points, but heartwarming at other points. He cares about Aguilera like a big sister, when she views him as a subject. The dynamic doesn't make him look cool, but I think it does make sense.

The show finally addresses on what the Igarashi family wants to do with Aguilera, as previously both Ikki and Sakura wanting to turn Aguilera back into human, but what Aguilera wants previously was to resurrect Giff, and as it's not what she's hoped for, she still had a not noble but different goal this time, to keep her pride as a former evil queen going by probably having herself go out as a powerful threat. Ikki's problem previously was about forcing what he thinks is good upon others, his busybodiness, of which he now asked Sakura if she's certain about turning Aguilera back into human, of which would not make her a threat anymore (if her evil queen pride is about being that).

Sakura also received some progression in how she had to come to terms with her hesitation, and weakness again, as it's something that power-ups Lovekov's influence on her and thus weakens her and eventually damaged her belt. I guess it makes more sense about how she can't henshin earlier, Lovekov's influence was preventing herself to henshin at the beginning, while here as Jeanne already she got forced out of it. But at the end she decides to act on her own and cleared her doubts that she'd do what Aguilera actually wants instead of forcing what she thinks to be right and 'sensible' for Aguilera by living as normal human.

And in this case. she's the one who insisted Ikki to turn Aguilera back as well, but she changed her mind later. The Weekend didn't do direct action here, but probably they also helped in making Sakura change her mind with Tasuke asking if human life would be compartible with Aguilera, and Masumi stating about how any choices can have their own regrets, as there’re risks to everything, and consequences for any decision you make.

Despite Aguilera leaving Deadmans, she retrains her bratty and haughty attitude, she still regularly gave Tamaki the cold shouder at best, her flashbacks of her time as a child being utilized to avoid his hug, and abuses him physically at worst. By this I never view Aguilera as 100% or close to it for "treating Tamaki well", she regularly abuses him just that at the end she would ensure he's not killed. IIRC there was a praise of how she cares for Tamaki (especially for ep. 23), and really I'm against it that it's ok for them to abuse someone as long as they don't end up dead (especially if you directly preserve them), again for schadenfreude comedy that usually happens between male and female in media ("she's just a tsundere to him!"). Regarding her backstory, so far here her backstory doesn't seem to be a tragic one, she had happy time as a child of the Deadman, though obviously being raised by them would give her warped worldview. The preview can leave her childhood, which seems to be the basis of her character not touched upon much, and it means another poorly handled thing of second-half Revice IMO ._.

Also I guess this confirms that Tamaki is fully redeemed now (at least for me who doubts it before with him having no power), as he now admits that what he and the other 2 did at Deadman before was unforgivable. And other than Aguilera and Sakura, he now gets along better with the other Igarashis too, in him cooking for dinner and is approved by Yukimi, and Ikki being concened about him when he looks after Aguilera. This part is kinda like Vice, of which though Yukimi chewed him out here, it was not out of her previous grudge but about underestimating the bond between Igarashi Family (of which what Vice would hope for now).

For you, Akaishi resembles Apollo Geist, so then it probably speaks for itself. For another part that seems to be in the center stage more Fenix, and here, after spending his time more in the backseat behind others for his dirty work, Akaishi finally directly committed a real evil deed, and it's an actually nasty one and kinda gives some interest to look for within Akaishi, he brutalizes Akemi, who investigates his schemes, directly along with revealing the Giff eye in his arm, and then sends Giftarians after her, with her fate currently unknown.

I guess this gave Akemi some comparison with Chigusa too, both are ladies who are a part of Fenix and watched its true nature via Akaishi talking about his schemes and are offed earlier than their significance would suggest, but Chigusa went rogue and ironically becomes someone no better than Fenix was by joining Olteca, while Akemi keeps her conscience and acted by investigating Fenix instead. I was at first a bit annoyed with Daiji's 'chivalrious' move towards Akemi before, but it seems that he's right this time.

In defense of the Sealing Stone, it's a very spooky rock.

It's also curvy and can be used as a convenient mirror. #NiceSealingStone :p

Yeah, I think Tamaki's an okay guy now? He's on the other side of all of his rage and resentment, and seems fairly well integrated into the larger Happy Spa family. He's probably a big help, considering the mass exodus of family members -slash- Happy Spa employees!

I don't really feel bad for Tamaki. I think that the show could have taken him to a place where he felt more possessive of Aguilera and resentful of her interest in Sakura, but I never felt like there was ever a risk of him going into full Nice Guy(TM) mode. He credits Aguilera with helping him find a sense of happiness and purpose and now his primary concern is seeing that she finds what she needs herself. I can see where he can look like he's kind of the show's butt monkey (you know, when Daiji's not filling that role), but I feel like he's content with his role as Aguilera's main booster. The main problem I see for him is that he has to deal with Sakura being really thickheaded.

If Tamaki had gone full yandere, then yeah, I wouldn't have felt so bad for him. Aguilera was groomed by a hedonistic devil cult to become a sacrifice, so she doesn't need more people trying to make choices for her. But Tamaki really is just a genuinely nice dude trying to repay his debt, so even if he's content in that role, he should at least stand up for himself a little. I like to watch these shows for escapism, so the frequent punishment he has to endure being stuck mediating between these two angry girls makes it hard for me to watch. Sometimes the underdog needs a win, or else there's no point having an underdog.

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 33 - “LOVEKOV REBELS!? SAKURA’S RESOLVE”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice33a.png

On the one hand, this is a delicate story about two young women navigating a romantic relationship when they come from opposing backgrounds, and the strength it takes to save someone from depression. On the other hand, this is a story about a young woman being rescued from one cult, and then immediately being inducted into a different cult.

The ending to this one will always be a little funny to me, despite greatly enjoying the episode as a whole. (Well, not the Akaishi stuff; probably never the Akaishi stuff.) We’ve finally gotten Aguilera/Hana into a positive, healthy mental space… and Sakura almost instantly recruits her to join a massively untrustworthy terrorist organization with a surplus of gaming chairs. I know it’s because Aguilera’s too spoiled and self-mythologized to scrub tile at the Happy Spa, so Sakura needs to give her a mission that can make her feel important, but c’mon! I don’t know if the solution to depression and suicidal ideation is working in a dungeon, surrounded by people who were just trying to get you killed yesterday! Maybe Mom Ikarishi could make an alternate suggestion, if she were still on this show?

The rest of the episode was delightful, though. Sakura’s solution for Aguilera’s Lovekov-esque moody defiance is to ask Aguilera out on a date, and that was about it for me being able to seriously find fault with this plotline. It’s like a dumb joke a fan might make, but it’s too perfect a twist to not go ahead with. Sakura’s flaw earlier wasn’t that she wanted to separate Aguilera from her demon, it’s that she didn’t let that be a thing the two of them went through together. Aguilera feels adrift and isolated; Sakura needs to be an anchor for her, regardless of the tough love Sakura needs to show.

But it’s not even really tough love, it’s just love. It’s Sakura showing a sheltered girl from a demonic cult that the world has more to offer her than Tamaki and a nightclub-spaceship-church. Aguilera loves Sakura, and Sakura clearly loves Aguilera, so the best way to address Aguilera’s despondence is to just be there for her. Take her to a theme park, buy her ice cream, and have an incredibly cute day together. It’s a statement of intent as strong and useful as a vow to save Aguilera from demonic servitude, and it’s equally as necessary. Sakura’s strength is in her vulnerability, and this episode was a testament to that heroism.

Sort of the entirety of the episode for me, that plot. The Akaishi stuff is nothing to me, and the Vail fight scene was fun, but basically just re-establishing Vail’s designs on Genta. The heart and soul of this episode was Sakura saving -slash- recruiting Aguilera, and every little detail that went into that plot. (LOVEKOV’S ROOM!!! With a petulant Lovekov wearing Jeanne headphones for abrasive heavy metal music!!!) I am sometimes easily won over, and The One Where Sakura Asks Out Aguilera is as winning a premise as I can think of right now.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../revice33b.png

So this is one of the best received episodes in my mini community I’ve been pilfering discord comments and memes from. And despite thinking this whole Hanasaku arc really could’ve been done with several episodes ago, I too think it’s a very good episode.

Also, this episode was Vail’s full debut, since Legacy Vail 4 hadn’t come out when this episode aired. The one reaction to his appearance here, contrasting with how much hype his debut generated, was an unimpressed “Is that bad guy just Vice painted red?”

Also, Sakura gets a new weapon. It’s at this point that Toei figured they could reuse weapon props from old seasons that would probably never see use again.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...A5B3482D7.jpeg

Kamishisugi!

Sakura: Love-chan!

Lovekov: Chief Akaishi explodes and scatters…

But in all seriousness, Lovekov Hashibiroko Genome was previously the Fighting Jackal Raider’s Territory Scythe from Zero-One (yes, that weapon had a name)

Also, now both Sakura and Hana are in the Weekend uniforms.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...838E6D842.jpeg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...FB24A5136.jpeg

Ikki: It’s Ikki’s…

Vice: And Vice’s…

Both: Stamp Navi!

Ikki: And today’s stamp is this one!

Hashibiroko!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S-V19EqXeE0&t=256s

All’s Well that Ends Well! Look around without running! Shoebill! Because I’m always moving!

Ikki: Hashibiroko Genome is a Vistamp that grants a strong cutting power, thanks to the refinement of the Karizaki father and son, Sakura can use it to free people from their demons the way I can with my upgrades.

George: Karate Girl is getting stronger constantly, especially with the aid of leftovers from the destruction of ZAIA. Just like this Legend.

Desire Driver: Hibiki!

George: The strongest and most experienced Oni in Kanto, Hibiki. He gave up his name and normal life to become a stronger warrior. With his Armed Saber, Hibiki can cut through any Makamou, no matter how strong.

Hibiki: I’m always training.

George: And I’d like to thank Ikki for letting us do this in his bedroom while my lab is fumigated.

Ikki: Oh this isn’t my room, there’s a lot of stuff in there I don’t want my parents to see.

George: Well… thank you for letting me use Daiji’s room.

Ikki: Daiji told everyone to keep out of his room while he was at FENIX. And there’s no way my mom would let us in her room

George: Then whose room is this?

Ikki: I don’t remember. Must be because of Vice’s contract blocking my memory of it.

(Cue Sakura and Hana, both wearing towels around their hair and bodies, entering the room, taking one look at the boys in there, before all involved scream)

Vice: We hope you enjoy the next instalment. (Resumes screaming)

I guess I should warn here that this is going to be a big complaint, that some people might disagree with.

I was willing to give Sakura the benefit of the doubt, when she interrupted Kamen Rider Revice's finisher and promised Aguilera what she wanted. For all her flaws, the show had yet to give me any reason to question her morality, as she was still one of the alleged heroes. Sure, I disliked her, a lot, but I didn't think she was a bad person.

I'd even say that adding a condition to that promise was a rare smart move, as it gave Aguilera an incentive to go along with the date, an experience Sakura hoped would change her mind. Aguilera fulfilled her end of the bargain, even enjoying herself a little, but ultimately, she was set on getting her honorable battle to the death.

Except, that's not what happens at all....

"Can she really depend on Sakura to honor her last wish?"

Aguilera had been betrayed by Gif and Olteca before, but now even Sakura had betrayed her with another false promise, denying her the coup de grace at the very end, turning their whole fight in to a sham and tainting the memory of the date preceding it. Sakura refused to take no for an answer and forced her ideals on her, ruining Aguilera's happy ending with cruel mercy.

The episode concludes with Aguilera suddenly being totally okay with this development, having joined the Weekenders as Sakura's sidekick. Everything went exactly the way Sakura orchestrated, but at the cost of Aguilera's autonomy as a human being. Those last ten minutes left me astonished for all the wrong reasons, as I wondered how Kinoshita could conceive of such a hollow narrative.

I've seen a decent argument that the moral of this episode isn't about Sakura doing the right thing, it's about her doing what her heart is telling her, which she does. Fair point. But when I compare that to Ryuki, where doing the right thing even when it hurts is shown as a respectable and heroic trait for Shinji, there's no way I can actually condone or forgive Sakura's actions and how she becomes yet another toxic influence to Aguilera.

Remember when the Deadmans trio were like something from a Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon, coming up with goofy schemes to get Ikki killed at the onsen hotel, while Kagerou kept getting in their way?

Overall, Episode 33 was the final nail in the coffin for any motivation I had to continue watching Revice weekly and thus I started my 12 week hiatus, only sticking around for the last few episodes of Legacy Vail. Just over a year later from the airdate, it's still the worst episode I've ever seen of Reiwa Rider and one of the worst in general.

Vail is Genta's demon! Vice is his son Ikki's demon! They should absolutely look like alike! Vice is just Vail painted blue!!!

Also, thanks for the fun skit!

I mean, I do disagree, but I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on this plotline! It's always fun for me to hear from folks that got something else -- positive or negative -- out of these shows than I did. Thank you for sharing it!

For me... I sort of like how the episode reframes Aguilera's demands of fiery death at the hands of her nemesis as the depressed outlook of a girl how didn't have the perspective or language to ask for anything different. She was raised by a cult to be a demonic sacrificial bride, and as much as she mourns the loss of that promised future, it's inarguably a good thing that that never came to pass. Aguilera's wish for death is borne out of an inability to see a value in a new life, and that's maybe not the wish you grant for someone you love?

Aguilera's in a similar boat to where Sakura was a few stories ago: stifled by familial obligations, and looking for a way to define herself in a new context. The thing is, Sakura can see Aguilera not getting to the second half of that statement, and clears the path for her to become something new, and maybe even something better.

It is very funny to me that Sakura picks Weekend as the pathway for Aguilera's brighter future (YIKES), but what else does Sakura know? She's a teenaged girl who only has Happy Spa, Weekend, and school in her life. While she's more worldly than a former demon princess, it ain't like she's a career counselor. Maybe Weekend won't work out! (Weekend will definitely not work out, for anyone.) But at least it's giving Aguilera something to invest in right now, and a wider view of the world that's available to her. Seems like a sweet thing to do for someone you care about?

And for the main thing in this episode between the yuri couple of Sakura and Aguilera (as for "getting into romantic part", this leaves me some bad taste because of how Tamaki was treated before, yuri couple can be done as an anti-men sentiment and I don't want for this to be supported for that), I already expected that it'd end with Aguilera living and apparently redeemed here midway due to how Aguilera opened up and had fun living a human life with Sakura. That'd mean she's shown to find something worthwhile in human life and the series won't waste that anymore by having her die. For this part, I kinda appreciate about how this one's less repetitive to have more different approach done in the story between them.

Other than that, as she's redeemed now, I'm afraid this can strengthen the "they're not villains just misunderstood" arguments to shift the blame from anyone but the villains, like not coddling them like this (and still giving excuses to them when they take advantage/backstab of this) using Aguilera as 'proof'. And for my place, likely increasing the misuse of the word 'heroine' to be slapped on any major female characters (instead of her actually becoming one much later here for Aguilera's case), even if they're anything but (for series that has no secondary heroines, like Zi-O, and sociopaths like Ora being refered as 'heroine' ).

My impression when she was redeemed at this time, I wondered how someone bratty and spoiled like Aguilera interact with others at Weekend (obviously, the other one given 'sexy' uniform with knee-high boots), which will annoy me more if she mistreats others at Weekend (like ofc, being commanded) and got free pass due to her 'good' status now. Though making her only background audience at Weekend like Tamaki is at Happy Spa isn't good either. Otherwise, as turning human would have her being refered by her human name Hana now, I'd still call her Aguilera because... well there's already a major character named Hana in this franchise previously.

I guess despite previously that 'what Aguilera wants' vs 'what's the right thing' is finally addressed, turns out that the latter wins here, and I guess the difference of Sakura and Ikki before was that Sakura knows Aguilera more and can reach out to her better than even Tamaki? Then only by that time she decides to separate her instead (with George's help to make her a̶ ̶G̶r̶i̶m̶ ̶R̶e̶a̶p̶e̶r̶ a) and not instantly at the beginning? So even if the (initial) end solution is giving someone death if it's what they want, the right thing is still not exempt and should still be tried upon here. And her speech (to instruct Aguilera) before delivering the blow to save anyone regardless of which power would mean this treatment is not strictly for Aguilera (for the shippers though..). Previously there's more showings for Lovekov, so she's a fan of heavy metal music, and she's actually an abrasive demon too, instead of the docile and peaceful one shown before, with how she trashtalks Vice. Well the implication is already there with how she already called Vice a loser before.and her behavior at ep. 29.

Previously I talked about the speculation of who's going to be the new villain. If it's Vail, Akaishi, or Giff (like Ark). Turns out that.... all 3 of them are working together, lmao! Akaishi's the main human representation that interacts with others, and Vail is actually current partner of his (still working to get back at the Igarashis), and Giff is the one that provides them power, both for Akaishi's immortality and to give Vail a physical form similar looking to Vice's. So far Akaishi's history is him making a contract with Giff to gain his power and him taking up a role to oversee human's evolution, and he wants to evolve them due to it being proven to both Akemi with gun and Daiji trying to cave his head in and Akaishi wanted to 'share' his superiority with them. And though Akemi is still powerless against a superhuman, now here she can perform some action feats in normal human level with her breaking free of the zipties (like Sakura) and somersaulting off a sofa to arm herself with a gun. So what was Akemi thinking when Kagerou physically attacked her before? Or even when Giftarians slowly walked on her? Previously she acted as damsel-in-distress in those situations that imply she isn't an action type that time, but now turns out she is one, I mean she could've broken free from Kagerou's hold then?

The one who ensures that the yuri couple had fun, the older brother Ikki and Vice himself, by fighting off Vail, I would say that Vail's showings aren't that impressive yet here, he's evenly matched with base Vice (I know there are series that has base form taking on the final threat but this one's still middle!) instead of same power but superior one. And by that Revice is expected to had upper hand on Vail shortly after. Though it may not be Vail's best capabilities with Revice's finisher not finishing off Vail. Other than that Ikki shows himself growing out of his busybodiness again by convincing Vice that they're right to stand back from the yuri couple's problem. So Vice telling Ikki to stay the way he is was a bad influence even if it's well-meaning before!

Still not should be done either despite this episode. There can be perhaps many times on how characters can rub someone the wrong way, but they shouldn't be evaluated based on how they make audience feel. Still can acknowledge this moment as wrong (or unintentionally wrong), but never cherry-pick certain moments that sticks out the most (either personally or the series presenting it as their big moments - characters' small/generic moments shouldn't be left out) to evaulate them (including for opposite examples, villains' basic decency).

Felt that perhaps various humans can respond to various events in vastly varied and different ways? Sure you'd be livid over changes in decisions like this, but it'd be still like projecting yourself on others like Aguilera here to think that it doesn't make sense for her to be totally ok with this, but dunno. Would like to hear why she'd be not ok to be given a chance to enjoy worldly thing (outside of how it's technically a broken promise). I also would wonder if someone trying to talk out to someone who is depressed enough to consider suicide, would be a bad thing to deny what they want.

So I get where you're coming from, Sh Ranger, but I'm 100% with Sakura on this one. Hana's dealing with depression and the only way she sees to get out of it is to commit suicide by Kamen Rider. This is the kind of situation where I feel like the right thing to do is not to go along with that plan but to find another way forward. It might mean going against what Hana wants in the short term, but in the long term it means that she's still around.

Anyway, I freaking loved this episode. I never expected Kamen Rider, of all things, to go this far into incorporating a queer relationship. Maybe on a grimdark adult spin-off or web series, but definitely not on the main show itself. And yes, it stays at the level where there's at least one person reading this paragraph and thinking to themselves "what is Switchblade talking about, they're obviously just a couple of gals being pals" but it's still a lot more explicit than I ever thought the show would go (and honestly, I didn't pick up on the flirting anywhere near as immediately as Die did). I think the show did a really good job of developing it, too, given the admittedly low bar set by stuff like "I guess Megumi and Nago are getting married now?" that has been most Kamen Rider love stories (most, not all; please put down your pitchforks with windshield wiper blades for tines, Drive fans).

There are two moments in this episode that always stick with me. The first is the end of Sakura and Hana's date and the tension in that mood shift from "this was so much fun, I love this ice cream; okay, let's go fight to the death." Great moment. The other is what I listed as my favorite dramatic moment of the year in my annual recap thread. I have seen a lot of characters discuss their feelings with each other in a lot of different forms of media, but there is something about "I loved you." "Don't use the past tense!" that just really stuck with me.

Also the point where Bandai said "We're not making any more merch for the girl Rider. If you want to give her anything else, figure it out on your own."

Thanks for the understanding, anyway. I'm glad we can respectfully disagree while still hearing out each other's unique perspectives.

Aguilera is definitely the kind of person who trusts and forgives too easily, a behavior induced by the cult that raised her. So I'm not surprised that she'd default back to that, when her choice of death was cut off without her consent. Sakura is her new Deadmans, essentially. I know why Aguilera's not mad, so that's why I'm mad for her.

But the swing happens too fast to hold my suspension of disbelief. She went from having a breakdown over being refused her death to enjoying a bath. I could believe there's a time skip between, but it doesn't seem substantial enough. There needed to be like, two episodes minimum, to get from that scene to the one that came after.