Not much to say about these episodes. The new OP? I couldn’t sing along to the first one, so I’m not too frustrated at the change. The “next time” lyrics I had prepared for 35 were from Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield”

Speaking of next time lyrics, here’s episode 36’s (it was either this or the obvious Cyndi Lauper song. Both work)

Looking in the mirror I don't like what I see 
I'm not the person I'd hoped I would be 
Always feels like people they're laughing at me
- Laura, Alone Again from Jen and the Holograms episode 40: Alone Again.

Neat! Thanks!

Hey, sorry if my post last night was a bit too aggressive. Hibiki is one of those shows I feel very strongly about and this episode is very emblematic of the issues I have; but I feel I should have presented myself... slightly less passive-aggressively. I was being genuine when I said I'm glad you enjoyed it -- I'd rather that happen than not; but obviously it didn't come across that way.

I appreciate that. Thanks!

Honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was a little surprising, maybe (the tonal swing of Kill It Burn It Salt The Earth So That It Can Never Grow Again and I'm Glad You Liked It Though was... it was something!), but it was still interesting to hear your perspective.

And, really, I can't ever get mad at someone who's that passionate about Kamen Rider? Even if we don't agree (I'm not sure we'll ever 100% agree on something), I truly enjoy getting to see your insight and passion. I like that this is a space where folks feel strongly about these shows, and are interested in expressing those feelings to other fans. With that as the assumed goal, any bruised feelings are easy to chalk up to misunderstandings.

It's all good!

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 36 - "HUNGERING SHUKI"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki36a.png

"The same games that we played in dirt, in dusty school yards
Have found a higher pitch and broader scale
Than we feared possible, someone must be picked last
And one must bruise and one must fail"

-The Weakerthans, "Sounds Familiar"

I really love how world-weary Akira is.

There's always been a maturity to her, something that makes her more grounded and contemplative than Asumu or Hitomi (or is that Midori?), and certainly someone who has exactly zero patience for Kiriya's... just, Kiriya. She's someone who thinks before she speaks, and feels things deeply. She's serious, and she treats things seriously.

The extra juice to her character in this one is that she doesn't know why she wants to be an Oni anymore. Her parents were killed by a Makamou, and she threw herself into being an Oni. She wanted to destroy Makamou, she was good at her job... it's a win/win.

Except, she's getting older, and the hatred that powered her crusade against the Makamou is running out. The death of her parents is a healed wound. What's left is... you know, it's a job. She's good at it, but... if it's not going to make her feel whole, not going to quell that anger, why do it? Why dedicate your life to something just because you're good at it?

So now, at Episode 36, we have the But Why Heroism episode for Hibiki.

I appreciate how introspective this episode is, how methodical. Kiriya's only in a couple scenes, and Akira speaks for the audience by staring blankly at him and thinking Time And A Place My Dude. It's an episode that's treating Akira's doubt as a valid thing, a real concern. She doesn't just quit or whatever, she's still doing her job, but she needs to know why she should keep doing it. The fact that multiple characters are trying to work with her, to explain the reasons why you should or shouldn't be an Oni... I like that? It's not trying to steer her back into Full-Time Oni, but it's also an awareness of what Takeshi loses if she bails. She's not treated like the part-time help, she's treated like the future of the Oni.

And then, on the other hand, we've got Shuki and Zanki.

Hibiki makes a point midway through the episode, when Asumu wonders if maybe he should become an apprentice, that... shit, how did he phrase it? "Being an Oni... means you have to be an Oni." It's, I think, Hibiki's way of saying that people become Oni because they can't see themselves as anything else. The kind of dedication and commitment being an Oni takes, coupled with the life-and-death stakes of fighting Makamou and the sacrifices to your personal life... it has to be the entirety of your ambition, the totality of your desire. You only become an Oni if you can't not be an Oni.

So, what do you do if you're Zanki or Shuki? What do you do if your body says No? Shuki had to quit being an Oni, and Zanki's told that if he ever Henshins again he'll probably die. Zanki was lucky enough to be kept on as Todoroki's mentor/assistant, but Shuki... god, what must it be like to have to leave behind everything you trained for, everything you were ever good at, everything you believed in? How much would that eat at you? Knowing the world is perpetually in danger, that monsters exist, and you're... what, arranging flowers? How could that feel like anything less than psychological annihilation?

So we've got these two characters in the story, Akira and Shuki, as opposing examples of the drive to be an Oni. Akira doesn't know if she's dedicated enough, while Shuki is arguably too dedicated. (Ibuki is maybe onto something with this whole Work/Life Balance initiative!) Zanki exists in the middle, someone who isn't the hero he used to be, but can still be useful to the next generation.

Which is the other thing I liked about this story, how it feels very generational. Zanki and Shuki feel like the old guard, desperate to feel relevant (Shuki) or mourning the end of their relevance (Zanki). Meanwhile you've got Asumu and Akira (and Kiriya, a little), trying to figure out their place in the world, what's worth their commitment. This push and pull of characters taking to the stage, versus those hogging the spotlight.

I just... I really like the questions this episode is raising. I love that it's centered on Akira. She's one of my favorite characters on this show, and she deserves every bit of story the show gives her. I mean, she's no Sabaki, but who can be?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki36b.png

So trivia time! Hibiki in very early pre-production wasn't supposed to be a Kamen Rider show. Rather Takatera actually wanted it to another reboot of a classic Ishinomori hero. Henshin Ninja Arashi

https://i.redd.it/z1ohojmxarw51.jpg


this would of kicked off a shared Reboot universe about 3 years before the MCU. Sadly this was not to be however The Armor of Ogre is great reference to the Hibiki pre-production roots.

https://i.redd.it/1ex8lnl6brw51.png

The connection is strengthend in the Hibiki novel revealing that the armor was crafted by Arashi father after meeting Past!Hibiki from the movie.

Wow! I knew the Arashi stuff before, but I had never looked up what the original suit looked like. That's fantastic! Very cool that they worked it back into the new series!

EDIT: also what is with Ishinomori heroes and feather eyebrows

I have a lot of animosity towards the Shuki arc - specifically the writing for it - that I can't really go into until we're through it and its fallout. I will definitely say my piece later this week, though.

Fair enough! I'm looking forward to it!

Yeah, I’ve made it clear this is one of my favourite parts of the second half. I didn’t really think about why in detail until recently.

I took notes of the first half and noticed that, aside from maybe Akira, most of the female characters in this show don’t do much, other than menial things, like be tech support (which never really factors in, since I don’t recall any James Bond-esque scenes where any of our main three or one of the minor recurring characters came in needing gear) or love interests. Akira fairs slightly better, since she does see action, but she’s mostly an assistant and Asumu being the one with the greatest screen time never gave her much room to expand on that. So not only does the idea of Akira getting a focus episode appeal to me, but so does seeing a female who’s actually a (albeit retired) superhero fighting the monsters is a welcome sight. (I also love that Shuki has a harp, since it stands out as unique among other strings Oni who use the guitar/axe thing I felt was pretty lazy as a visual gag)

Etymology for this week: Shuki = Scarlet Demon.

Shuki’s actress (I forget her name) was in a movie with the guy who played Ryubee in Kamen Rider W, which was directed by one of this show’s directors.

Next time lyrics: Hokori takaki Wolf no sakebi wo kike... To keep alive
Kemono no you ni ikiru tame dake ni honki ni nareru Get wild
- Jiro (CV: Kenji Matsuda), Keep alive

Akira's thoughtfulness makes her such an interesting character, but unfortunately, that can put her in a bad place mentally. It's heartbreaking to hear for me, but even more for Ibuki, to hear his apprentice who he cares about considering that using hatred as a source of power is okay. That's definitely not a healthy way of thinking for Akira, as a person or an Oni. Unfortunately, Ibuki doesn't know how to convince her and Zanki pretty much repeats what he said. Akira isn't getting the advice and help she needs to overcome her hatred and it's not their fault, they don't want her to get hurt and they don't know what to do about it. Ibuki's relationship with Akira isn't as relaxed as Hibiki and Shounen. Ibuki takes his position very seriously and he has a fear of losing Akira's trust and feeling like a failure as a mentor and it's really tough to watch them fall apart like this.

Yeah, being an Oni is a way of life. Ibuki especially believes that being an Oni is an obligation to protect people above all else, having been groomed to become an Oni his whole life. The high school student with the greatest drive to become an Oni is Kiriya, but his state of mind needs some work before he can meet the criteria. Shuki is an example of what happens when an Oni is consumed by hatred and the reason why being good at killing Makamou isn't enough to be an Oni. The motivation is important as well. Kiriya and Akira can't move in any direction until they figure out what it is they really want and whether or not that aligns with the Oni lifestyle.

Sabaki's a real team player.

Nice trivia! You've clearly done your research. I would like to clarify a few points though.

Common mistake. It's either "would have" or "would've".

"Ogre" here is pronounced and spelled with the same kanji as Oni, hence the armor's connection to the Oni Riders.

Actually, Movie Hibiki and Novel Hibiki are different characters. The former is from the Sengoku Period and the latter is from the Edo Period, possibly Movie Hibiki's immediate successor and may or may not resemble Hibiki.

I'm not sure I'd agree that the female characters "don't do much"? I mean, for the first phase, the efforts of Kasumi, Hinaka, Akira, and Midori are generally portrayed as invaluable, and the reason the Oni are able to combat the Makamou. (The second phase... there, I think, you'd have a stronger argument.)

I guess I also don't see Effectiveness as a main criteria for value on this show, since... like, Asumu. He's a/the lead character, and he doesn't "do" anything. The most he's ever mattered in a monster fight is the movie, which is nebulously canonical. This doesn't, in either phase, feel like a show that's equating Good At Detonating Monsters with Worth Investigating Narratively. Like, love it or hate, the last story spent two episodes trying to say something about the romantic difficulties of Hinaka and Todoroki.

But, yeah, Akira getting more development is awesome, and Shuki's harp is fantastic. Psyched to learn more about Shuki tonight!

Yeah, Zanki and Ibuki are... they're trying in this one, but I don't think they get it? Akira straight up tells Ibuki that his background means he can't relate to her dilemma, and while he's smart to get her to spend some time with Zanki (who voluntarily/"voluntarily" chose to stop being an Oni), even Zanki's not really in the right headspace to get across to Akira what it's like to be an Oni. You can see in this episode how much stepping aside is weighing on Zanki, and it's just not a great time for him to give a pep talk.

It's really great to me how the various Oni are aware of the stakes, that Akira could quit, but also hard-pressed to articulate something so innate to them.

True! And this episode sets things up as nicely open-ended. Like, I don't think Akira stepping back would be a terrible decision? It's a nice story to have, where there isn't one obvious Right outcome.

The irony is, I think Akira's the female character who's the MOST active in fights in Rider until, like, Poppy and Nico? And even then she's still been the most consistent.

Their different perspectives make it difficult. Ibuki and Zanki can see she needs guidance, they want to give it but her problem is so disconnected from them. Akira feels like they're being insensitive by telling her to get over her parents' death but it's the opposite and they're really looking out for her as a person and potential successor. Ibuki feels responsible as her mentor for failing her and it's destroying him that he can't help her. Even Zanki, who is no longer an Oni, is still living an Oni life with an Oni name. Being an Oni is more than being a Kamen Rider. But he doesn't know how to explain that to someone who is currently neither. Akira needs advice from someone who can understand her.

Depends on the circumstances. If Akira is unable to overcome her hatred then giving up the Oni path would be the only acceptable decision. She shouldn't be like Shuki. I want to see her move past it though since it would be a pity to throw away her mentor-apprentice relationship with Ibuki for a grudge that is never going to make her feel any better about her parents getting murdered. She deserves to be an Oni but these feelings are holding her back.

I forgot to mention earlier that Shuki's Oni face being the whole of her face rather than just on the forehead is a weird design and I don't understand why she looks so different. Maybe it's supposed to be symbolic of how becoming an Oni supplanted her humanity by giving in to the hatred.

It's one of my favorite decisions in the conception of the show, that Akira is not only the most active assistant (arguably more than Zanki!), but that her becoming an Oni is treated as such an inevitability that you can get an entire story out of her sudden ambivalence. There's never a point where the show's like Well She Can't Be An Oni Because She's A Girl, even subtextually. Like, Kiriya, who is the worst, only objects to her not committing fully to being an Oni.

I think I saw it more as her no longer being motivated by her parents death, and the absence of that motivation being what's causing her crisis. All she's ever known is the steady presence of that anger, and now that's gone (or leaving)... it's like she was set on this path by something she can't remember, and now she doesn't how or why she should keep going. Ibuki doesn't seem like he's ever questioned his purpose (according to Akira), and Zanki is... not in the best place to weigh the pros and cons of being an Oni.

Yeah, oh man, I definitely want to see Akira find her But Why Heroism. Absolutely I do. I just think it's neat that the show with a general respect for treating being an Oni like a job (albeit a job like being a doctor or a firefighter) is able to suggest that someone like Akira walking away would be a blow to the organization, but it might be the best move for her.

Very cool idea! I didn't get a great look at Shuki's suit yet, but I'm into this theory.

Is Tackle nothing to you?

Well... her 'consistency' kinda got ended early...

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 37 - “REVIVED THUNDER”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki37a.png

“I’m back with scars to show
Back with the streets I know
Will never take me anywhere but here”

-The Weakerthans, “Left & Leaving”

Boy, I really wanted to like this one.

I think there’s some good ideas in it, but it just really fumbles the execution. There’re a bunch of big emotional beats that, to me, 100% do not land. The actors are trying, but the material here is … it’s biting off way more than it can chew.

There’s just not nearly enough space to deal with Akira’s inner turmoil, Shuki’s crusade, Ibuki’s duty, and Zanki’s disappointment. It’s too much for a set of problems that basically stop and start in the same episode. As a result, so many turns are rushed, and the big connective tissue that should help support those turns is left to a couple lines of dialogue. This thing needed at least another episode to really work.

Akira’s story is the one I’m most interested in, and the one that maybe comes out the best. (The best of several bad plots, but still!) Her problem is that, on the one hand, Shuki is offering the comfort and certainty of Anger as a motivation. Akira knows how to operate by channeling her rage into her job, and Shuki is telling her that not only is she smart to do that, but that Shuki can teach her ways to become even more powerful as an Oni. On the other hand, she’s got the men of Takeshi, who… are also in this episode.

I think Hibiki’s trying to let her find her own path, to let her make up her own mind for what works. But, basically, the other Oni are giving her nothing that makes sense to her. Ibuki shrugged his shoulders last episode and says maybe two words to her in this one, and Zanki can't seem to offer any alternatives. Shuki is telling her that anger is a tool, and that sounds familiar to her. The other Oni are saying Don’t Do The Thing That Makes Sense To You, and giving her zero other options. Is it any wonder that she ends up throwing her lot in with Shuki?

It’s one of those big turns, though, that I don’t think works super great. I can see why Akira would do that, why she'd go with the person who's telling her there's nothing wrong with her instead of the men who are treating her like she's in a play that no one gave her a script for; but it feels so massive, and happens so quickly, that it’s a little hard to buy. The idea of Akira burning her bridges with Ibuki and not even talking to him about? I don’t see it happening! I don’t think you can do an Akira Turns Her Back On Her Family moment with Zanki. Nope! It’d be like Asumu deciding to become Hibiki’s apprentice, and it happens in a scene with him and Hinaka. They got fun scene chemistry, but that moment needs the right partner, or you’re squandering so much drama.

I don’t… Personally, I don’t love Akira turning her back (even briefly) on Ibuki and the other Oni. I’m not going to say It’s Out Of Character, because I think there’s a way to tell that story that could square that circle. It’s just, what’s here is not that compelling of a case, and it sort of leaves the character worse off narratively than she started.

It’s the Zanki and Shuki plot that really didn’t work for me, though.

A lot of it is down to a writing choice that… I see where the writer was coming from. The idea seems to be that Shuki is Zanki to Zanki’s Todoroki. If Zanki’s always been the coolest, most reserved Oni, let’s see his teacher, who makes Zanki look like an over-the-top emotional buffoon. Shuki is ice-cold in this story, which is a fun idea… but it makes this story dramatically inert.

There’s no shading to Shuki, no layers. She wants the power of an Oni to kill the monster that killed her parents (a parallel to Akira’s story that is so on the nose that it made me laugh), and she’ll do anything to get that power. That’s it. Her whole character is in the three seconds where she tells Akira to Stay Angry Ponygirl. She’s ruthless in pursuing her objectives, which makes her dull to debate with. If there’s any conflict inside her about her actions, they’re buried so deep as to be undiscoverable. She’s just a dull antagonist, someone that’s all plot mechanics and no character. (There is a scene where the Fancy Dress Douji and Hime show up and tell Shuki she’s a monster just like them, and her response is, almost literally, Nuh Uh.) All of the actual drama is coming from Zanki, and all of that is just backstory. They have barely one scene together, and Shuki is giving him nothing in the moment. It’s like Zanki’s acting to a ping-pong ball. I’d absolutely believe you if you told me Shuki was composited in later. There’s zero chemistry, and nothing in that scene makes me give a shit if Shuki lives or dies. It’s an unconvincing, one-note take on an Ahab story.

Which means that Shuki’s sacrifice… I didn’t care? For even a second? I wasn’t able to find anything compelling about her character in this episode, so her offing herself was… I mean, one, it didn’t make me feel anything about her character or Zanki’s character. But, two, it made me mad because it takes the dilemma that multiple scenes have been focused on, What Do We Do About Shuki, and then completely lets every character off the hook. What will Ibuki do? Doesn’t matter! What will Zanki do? Doesn’t matter! It’s such a cheat, and it made me really dislike how this episode told its story.

I’m glad the Akira story isn’t over, though. I think there’re more places you could follow that character. The Shuki and Zanki stuff, though… boy, wanted to like it, but it just did not work. Bummer.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki37b.png

My biggest problem with this arc is how Shuki just came and went. The only character that cares is Zanki everyone else is just dosen't react to having the first evil Oni since Kabuki in the Sengoku era. And it's cyncial in a way an organization built on helping an oni after an a single oni allied with the makamou after being rejected by humanity shouldn't be. You would think this would be a big blow for both the other Oni with mistrust over one of thier own betraying them. And the Takeshi organizatian feeling guilty over not giving Shuki the help she needed to move on from her revenge.

The whole Ibuki As Internal Affairs thing... I honestly really love that idea, but the episode does nothing with it. If Takeshi has dozens of Oni running around, and they've been doing this for centuries, it's stands to reason that they must have some procedures in place for when an Oni loses control. (I mean, depending on how canon the movie is... Kabuki! The very first thing Takeshi has to do is deal with the aftermath of an Oni who turned on the other Oni!) I love how it falls to Ibuki, and how ill-suited he is for rendering that sort of judgment.

The problem is, that idea is so big that it needs its own two-parter, but here it's like the third-most important plot thread. Worse, as I said before, there's zero resolution to this idea! Ibuki confronts Shuki, but then Shuki sacrifices herself and everyone goes home. Ibuki doesn't ever have to make a decision, which makes introducing that conflict totally anticlimactic.

So yeah, Zanki’s back in action. Which is a surprising move, since they were actually planning to cut him altogether after the retool. It’s also obviously sudden, given his lack of (contemporary) merchandise and the fact he now has a new suit actor (going from Keizo Yabe to Hisanori “Eitoku” Oiwa, who was previous Kamen Rider Odin and the Peacock Undead). Honestly, I think it works better for him than just sitting back and barking orders.

Don’t have any lyrics for next time, so instead, I’ll do a riddle.

We’re in the off season for rice
Tokyo started as a village
I’m positive you’ll recognise there are now two writers on this show.

(A hint: try reading certain words in a different way)

Edit: never mind, I found some lyrics after all.

Ore shika mienai asu ga aru
Dare ni mo yarenai yume ga aru
Da kedo hitori ja nai n' da ze
Itsu mo tonari ni omae ga iru kara (Supiruban)

Tomodachi de nakama de toki ni wa raibaru
Sou sa Omae wa mou hitori no ore
- Ichiro Mizuki, Kimi no Nakama de, Spielban

Episode 38... I'm not finished with it yet, and it I don't really care for it, and the scene this happens in works great until it 1000% does not work even a little... but it's got one of my favorite types of gag in a Kamen Rider show:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/punch1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/punch2.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/punch3.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/punch4.png

That is my favorite gag. It's not as good as the version from Faiz, but nothing ever could be:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz35a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz35b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz35c.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz35d.png

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 38 - "FAILED SLAYING SOUND"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki38a.png

"My mind's awake
There's always a hundred things to think about
When to escape
Is the only question left in doubt"

-Standard Fare, "Suitcase"

This is one of those where I'm not sure if I'm in the right headspace to really enjoy a Kamen Rider episode (no politics in the thread), but I watched it, so I might as well write it up.

I thought this one was pretty shitty? Like, for the first time, I get the criticisms about the second phase of Hibiki. This episode just fluctuated between emotional scenes that were incredibly wrong for the characters, and dopey monster sequences that felt dropped in from another show entirely. Everything in this one, except for one character's story, just... I mean, that Nails On A Chalkboard move by the Hime was how I felt watching most of this episode.

There will probably be plenty of things I'll rip apart from this episode (or I'll just bail in a couple paragraphs, we'll play it by ear), so let me start by saying the Ibuki stuff from this episode, and only the Ibuki stuff from this episode, worked great. The only honest moment in this entire episode was when Ibuki is explaining to Zanki how much he feels he let Akira down. It's raw and visceral, a side of the normally self-assured Ibuki that we never get to see. Here, he's a parent who had their kid run away, and he doesn't know what to do. He blames himself for not understanding her better, for not guarding her from her fears and doubts. He's doubting himself, for the first time ever. It's a very sweet scene that gives gravity and stakes to Ibuki's side of the story with Akira, something that was missing from the last episode.

So then the episode shits all over it by having Zanki punch Ibuki in the face.

It's a stupid way to end that scene. It takes all of the real emotion and douses it in bravado and nonsense. It moves Zanki from his usual cool demeanor into just being an aggressive asshole. It sucks. It made me sad.

The Zanki/Todoroki thing that came after was equally dumb to me. Todoroki demanding that the critically injured Zanki start fighting with him again is unconscionably thoughtless, and Zanki's tough love abandonment is infuriating. It's a scene where not only do I not buy anything either character is doing, but it was making me angry just to watch. It's bullshit drama.

The main story, the Hibiki/Asumu stuff... I don't know. I like how parental and concerned Hibiki is in this one (there's a shot near the end where he's watching Asumu meditate in the forest, and he just looks so proud, it's very cute), but the advice he gives Asumu just isn't on-topic? Asumu isn't stressed, he's avoiding his problems. He doesn't need to tune out his captain and Kiriya, he needs to confront their claims. The whole idea of him needing to blank out his mind... that's just him ignoring the problems! Again! Still! It's such weirdly incorrect advice.

The rest of the plot, with Kiriya hanging around just to be an asshole, it's fine. It's dumb, the whole plot is so stupid (I don't think someone playing the whistle needs this much instruction!), but it's not the worst part of this episode. (Zanki. All of the Zanki stuff is the worst.) There's some legitimate laughs to be had in how transparently Kiriya is tagging along and not acknowledging it. He's so one-note that I can't even get mad at him for playing that one-note during every scene. It's just funny to me. I don't know. Probably bad taste.

(I honestly don't want to talk about the monster plot at all. It completely didn't belong in a Hibiki episode, up to and including the villains attacking the heroes at the end. Utterly incorrect plot for Hibiki.)

Really, really disliked this episode. Again, probably not the right time for me to be watching it, so this is all super subjective. If this one worked for you, please let me know!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki38b.png

Shuki was just Kiryu from Blade but worse. I wonder if there's a trading card for her too somewhere. As for episode 38, uh, I liked Midori throwing moves at the Makamou, even if it was ineffective...

Just because it's on my mind, I feel like saying that this and several others episodes also had me thinking along the lines of how certain stories doesn't feel right for the show, but I've also been wondering if that's more of a 'me' problem. You said before the retool phase that you wanted to judge the next phase as the show as it's own thing, as the new production staff and writer are free to take them in whatever direction they please. I thought I ought to try looking at it that way too.

It's just that for me personally, that's maybe impossible? It'd be one thing if the show really did go all the way in presenting itself as a full-on reboot or new interpretation, like a new Spider-Man or Green Arrow show or something, but the second half of Hibiki is still working and building off the context and relationships that the first half built. Having the character face weirder and more outlandish Makamou threats, that's fine and I can live with, but having them act just a little off from what I expect, like in this episode, sticks out a lot more to me, in a bad way.

Also, my thoughts about Akira's arc in real time as I was watching were kinda entirely cynical! I really didn't like even the possibility of her breaking away from the Oni path being brought up, because I spending all my time feeling dread at how that was how it was going to end. Or possibly with her dying, if Shuki was meant to be a very-on-the-nose foreshadowing. I think it was when I was around episode 38, I got so impatient and antsy about it that I just looked up online what happens later in the show ahead of time so I could get either my relief or disappointment out of the way. (I also did this when I wanted to know ahead of time when did Wizard's all-dragon form shows up and spoiled to myself like five episodes in advance that it would Phoenix's last appearance on the show and he'd get kicked to the sun. Hey, you think he's still up there?)

Not that you can't write a compelling story with all that, but it didn't sit right with me how the new staff looked at the one and only female character who is physically involved in the fighting, and decided what they wanted to write is to question whether she should even be there and raise the possibility of her quitting altogether. Yeah, maybe that's a really uncharitable reading on my part, but I was getting reminded of Poppy and Nico. Sure, there might 'story' justifications for these characters to get side-lined in all the action compared to the guys, but it's still not a good look!

But, I still held a sliver of hope that Akira's story would come out in a way that wouldn't aggravate me. I did however, definitely gave up on ever warming up to Kiriya by this point! I'm glad that you've so far just been seeing him as an obnoxious but over-the-top obstacle to Asumu. I'd probably be more okay with him if that was literally his one and only purpose on the show, instead of also ostensibly being a character I'm meant to be invested in.

Yeah, I’ll point out that this episode and the next are the only two episodes from the second half not written by Inoue. Instead, they’re written by Shoji Yonemura (the answer to my riddle. The bolded words were what the individual kanji in his name translated to when I tried Google translating them individually). He’s done a lot of anime, and he worked with the producer on a drama called Sh15uya He’ll be in charge of the next show, Masked Rider 35th Anniversary Project, or to call it something more well known, Kamen Rider Kabuto. His style is basically the same as Inoue, only amplified .

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember much about this episode, so I’m not really on the fence about it that much. I just remember the payoff at the end of the next episode. And speaking of next time.

The waiting is over, no, don't you run.
no way to hide.
no time for wonderin' why.
it's here, the moment is now, about to decide.
let 'em believe.
leave 'em behind.
but keep me near in your heart.
know whatever you do, i'm here by your side
- Kenny Loggins, This is It.

So, the good news is that this episode and the next can't be blamed on Inoue as he didn't write them, despite that very Inoue punch scene.

The bad news is that, as I mentioned earlier, this arc is written by Yonemura Shoji. He's infamous in the west for writing one of the most contrived and hated movies, Super Hero War. Most recently, he wrote Pretty Den-O which fans are still waiting to get subs for. This arc is a preview for what kind of OOC nonsense you can expect from Kamen Rider Kabuto so you might have some problems with that.

"There will be no finale for you." implies he'll be up there for a very, very long time.

Damn, I never would have thought to do that. Clever!

Yeah, god, she really was. In... in basically every way.

I mean, I'm not sure I'm trying to treat the two phases as entirely separate shows, so much as I'm trying to give the show space to make adjustments. It's, like you said, impossible to completely ignore the first 29 episodes of story. But I think it's okay to be open-minded with new directions, to let the story go into unexpected territory. It's just, you need to tell that story, and so much of what's in 38 just doesn't? I don't feel like the Todoroki or Zanki in that episode match what's been onscreen, and there's no storytelling to get them to this new place. It's unsupported and random, and the only way it works if you've never seen an episode of Hibiki before.

That part didn't really bother me. If anything, I appreciated that Akira Deciding Not To Be An Oni is given so much weight on the show, treated as such a big deal. She's looked at as the next generation of Oni, so her feeling like it might not be for her becomes a story that's equally about Ibuki's failures as a mentor as it is about Akira's wavering commitment/existential crisis. It's the one thing in this episode that worked for me!

Uh oh!

Inoue's the secondary writer on it!

Yay!

Someday I should actually watch Hibiki and Kabuto, because they're both two shows (along with Agito and W, to an extent) where I have no idea of the plot. Like, I've not seen Kuuga, Faiz, or Fourze, but I could at least tell you what they're about, and people enjoy talking about them. The others, I got nothing.

the plot of hibiki is that if you camp well enough your dad will love you

Agito is about one man's quest to plant the best vegetables

I've watched Faiz and I still couldn't sum up what it's about in a sentence.

The plot of W is two boyfriend's' quest to find out who keeps giving everyone magic drugs.

faiz is about why you dont move in with the first people you meet

Honestly, Faiz is about Assimilation Vs Independence, and the ways people excluded from society navigate that spectrum.

Faiz is about Fish Sandwich staring holes into your skull until you like it. Ghost, too!

Faiz is about Delta's quest to retire from being awesome.

Wow, uh, I think I'm legitimately upset that this is in Hibiki? Yonemura isn't exactly a writer I have it out for or anything (if you thought the 999/1000th episode two-parter from OOO was funny, that was him too), but just... oh man. This moment reeks of a writer who couldn't quite fully understand the show he was making a script for.

Takatera made this show in part as a sort of reaction to the trend Kamen Rider had fallen into of being about attractive young men in a battle royale – a trend he was not particularly fond of. This is pretty evident by how Hibiki pulls things in such an opposite direction. There's no infighting among the Oni during the first stretch of the show, and the Oni themselves are a bit older and a lot more mature and composed than Riders had been the previous few years. Heck, even to the retool's credit, they didn't immediately start forcing wedges in-between the main Riders or anything. So to throw this moment in there like this... I mean, I'm sure the basis was that Zanki is the gruff, cool old guy of the show who would "logically" be all about tough love, but it's reducing this show's cast to the behavior of those emotionally volatile younger characters from a show like Faiz, which is probably not a series that should be popping into your head while watching Hibiki. It's completely valid melodramatic writing (I adore Ryuki, Faiz, and Blade!), but it simply does not belong here.

There's still a back half to this for him to redeem himself (you know, hypothetically), but right now it's looking like Yonemura's Hibiki is to Inoue's as Inoue's Kuuga is to Arakawa's. And Inoue's Hibiki is already arguably an inferior copy of other writers' work!

Great, the characterization in this episode is so wildly off-base, it's affecting Die's ability to remember his own catchphrases. Oh no!

"Faiz" is a really funny way to spell Wizard. :p

It's something that I genuinely laughed at, 'cause I love that cinematography, and then laughed harder at when I realized it actually happened in an episode of Hibiki. It could not have been any more off-base if it had been Hibiki punching Asumu.

("Oh no!" is only when it's a spoiler. Production team credits aren't really something I consider a spoiler!)

Yeah, this is the crux of why I really hate this arc of the show. I get that Kamen Rider is a boy's franchise/toyline, but at this point it's record with giving women anything approaching equal footing is abysmal. We're at three female Riders with a mortality rate of 100% and the main premise of the last one is to tell Akira that this job isn't for her, either. I'm not going to discredit Inoue by saying that he was being intentionally sexist here, but it's a really bad look and it's part of a negative trend that the show wouldn't break out of until Wizard.