I guess I don't see the concept of interrogating Akira's motivations/resolve as inherently disqualifying?

The main thing to me as that the show isn't coming at it from the perspective of Why Should A Girl Get To Be A Hero. It's working from the assumption that Akira is a hero, is going to be an Oni, and then digging into why she might or might not want that future for herself. So much of what I love about the story is how the various Oni view her misgivings as something that will adversely affect Takeshi, and how important it is to help her. It doesn't seem like the show is diminishing Akira's character?

Otherwise, I think the expectation that Akira shouldn't be challenged because it reflects poorly on the show's treatment of female characters... I mean, one, it'd maybe be more disappointing if the show needed to treat her with kid gloves, to make sure she's a resolute bad-ass who never needs help and has it all figured out. That'd be boring! I like that she questions herself, that she has some growing up to do, that there's a crisis she needs to overcome. Having her lack flaws because she's a girl... I'd rather she had them?

Finally, I don't think this show needs Akira to be strong all the time, since the show has a variety of other women who are strong and dedicated. If Akira quits, it doesn't mean Women Can't Do The Hard Work, because you've got Midori and Hinaka and Kasumi. Shit, you've even got Shuki, briefly! Akira doesn't have to represent Women, because the show has plenty of compelling women as well. It can let Akira just be Akira, and I like that she's complicated right now.

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 39 - "YOUR BEGINNING"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki39a.png

"You're in the Carolinas and I'm going to New York
And I'll be much better there
Or that's what I'm hoping for
And we will never speak again"

-Waxahatchee, "Noccalula"

Oh, god, where to start?

The Todoroki part was the absolute worst. If I was ever going to quit a Kamen Rider series, that Todoroki In The Rain scene would've done it. I'm not sure I've ever felt more defeated than I was watching that scene. But, since I got through it and am writing these words, I guess I'm living up to the episode's theme of persevering after defeat. This episode destroyed me emotionally, shook my faith in the innate goodness of humanity, had me wondering But Why Kamen Riders... and I got through it. I won by getting back up.

That Todoroki scene is the stupid culmination of the stupidest plotline, so I guess it's at least consistent? It's trying to say something in the end about how Todoroki needs to stand on his own, that Zanki is pushing him away to make him stronger, except... no? No, that's not at all their relationship? Zanki isn't a crutch that Todoroki's leaning on, he's his appointed assistant. (A concept this story seems weirdly unaware of, considering Hibiki was out in the woods without Kasumi for some reason to start this all off.) Zanki isn't holding Todoroki back, he's following Todoroki's lead. They literally already did the story where Todoroki stops depending on Zanki. It was the first Todoroki/Zanki story this goddamn show did. If it weren't for the out-of-nowhere insistence from Todoroki that Zanki fight with him as an Oni (despite him retiring months ago to zero complaint from Todoroki), this plot would have nothing to build off of, which makes it abundantly clear how forced and unnatural this story is.

So, yeah, Zanki wandering up to a defeated Todoroki, Todoroki tearfully telling Zanki that he can go it alone, Zanki watching him walk away... idiotic. Stupid. Massively unearned. Totally divorced from everything these characters have ever stood for. Should've been laughed off of the script's first draft.

The Akira/Ibuki stuff... not substantially better! I almost just want to say This Is A Story About Akira Where Akira Is Not Allowed To Talk and just leave it at that, but... actually, no, screw it, that's where I'm going to leave that one.

Finally, there's the Asumu/Hibiki plot which... y'know, it's not the worst part of this episode. The idea that Asumu needs to have the courage to start walking down his path, it feels way more relevant to what his character is going through than the weird Clear Your Mind stuff from last episode (which does end up helping Asumu help Hibiki, so there's that), and it's tied into the episode's (stupidly applied) theme of kids needing to make their own choices. It is coherent and not insulting, which is the highest praise I can give anything in this episode. It's not exactly great, and I wish Hibiki calling Asumu by his name had happened in literally any other episode, but it's not frustrating and disappointing like the rest of this episode.

I hated this! So much! The only thing that can ease the pain is being reminded of the only Oni out there who didn't let me down, who could never let me down:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki39b.png

At least they never ruin Sabaki in Hibiki part 2. Spoilers that he doesn't suck in the next 8 episodes I guess but you can always rely on him!

Hand to god, if it wasn't for Sabaki in this episode I might've ended this thread at Episode 38. This thing was dire, and only the presence of The Hardest-Working Oni kept me from losing all faith.

Man, I do not remember any of this and that makes me so happy.

Also, I'm going to cut the writer some slack here. I know for a fact that this isn't the worst thing Yonemura has ever written because I've seen the Super Hero Taisen movies and these episode can't possibly be as bad as those.

Not much to say here. I remember nothing except Hibiki finally calling Asumu by name and like I said back in the early days of the thread, I actually missed that when watching and had to be caught up by the SHT bumper.

And now, I’ll just skip to the running gag of the lyrics.

Ninety-nine decision street
Ninety-nine ministers meet
To worry, worry, super scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it, boys, this is war
The president is on the line
As ninety-nine red balloons go by
- Nena, Neunundneunzig Luftballons

Just like how Episode 29's title, Kagayaku Shounen, referenced both Kagayaki and Shounen Yo, Episode 39's title, Hajimaru Kimi, references the new OP, Hajimari No Kimi E. I thought that was interesting.

Yeah, this is easily the better part of the episode, which we can both agree is below average even by the show's new standard. It's the most impactful Shounen has ever been to the Oni side of the story, saving both Midori and himself from a sticky situation and thinking of the tactic for Hibiki to defeat Yobuko. Takeshi could use good supporters like him, especially with the gap left in the organisation by Akira abandoning Ibuki, who is stuck in a tragic limbo where he has no idea whether or not she intends on returning to him and doesn't know what to do with himself.

I would also like to talk about Kiriya infiltrating Midori's lab and his failed henshin. He has the drive to become an Oni and acts on impulse to accomplish that goal but due to his selfish motivation, Hibiki doesn't acknowledge him and refuses to teach him. It's also shown that despite his academic success, Kiriya isn't naturally athletic, he's untrained and has cowardly traits such as a fear of darkness and lack of initiative when his life is in danger. These are problems he will need to work on for Hibiki to ever accept him as a candidate.

Since Sh Ranger brought it up, I’ll point out that Hibiki is the second Rider show to have a theme to its episode titles (namely, when written in Romanji, the first word ends in a “u” sound). The first was Kuuga, who’s theme was that every episode had two syllables in the title (eg. Rebirth). It doesn’t become a regular thing for Kamen Rider until Kiva, after which every season has a theme.

Kiva has the first half of their titles be a music reference, and the second half is a statement relevant to the plot (eg. When the Saints Go Marching In: I will Be King).

Decade has its episode titles in the style of the Rider who he’s teaming up with (eg. The Kuuga team up is Transcendence)

W has its two parters share an overarching title, which is then followed by individual titles, with the overarching title containing a letter relevant to the episode (eg. The W Search, with the W indicating both the main rider and “word”)

OOO’s episodes are in the form of three things relevant to the episode. (Eg. Medals, Underwear and the Mysterious Arm)

Fourze’s titles are 4 syllables, all enunciated. (Eg. Youth! Full! Switch! On!)

Wizard’s titles are written in Kanji and Hiragana (eg. 指輪の魔法使い Yubiwa no Mahōtsukai)

Gaim’s first few episodes insert a fruit (eg. Transform! The Orange from the Sky).

Drive’s episode titles are in the form of a question that gets answered in the episode (eg. Why did my Time Stop?)

Ghost has two short sentences that are filled with exclaim action marks. (Eg. Kaigan! Ore!)

Ex-Aid’s titles are half-Japanese, half-English (eg. Tensai Futari wa No Thank You). Build’s titles are much the same (eg. Best Match no Yatsu ra)

Zi-O’s titles are statements relevant to the episode, followed by a year relevant to the episode (eg. Century King 2068), with episodes focusing on past Riders having that statement be a reference to their show (eg. 555 913 2003). After the halfway point, the year goes first in the title (eg. 2001 Awaken That Soul, 2019 Apocalypse).

Zero-One’s titles are written in katakana and often include a pun (eg. AIなアイツは敵？味方？ AI na Aitsu wa Teki? Mikata?). Episodes beginning a new arc will be titled “I am the x and a Kamen Rider”, with the I being written as “ore” with heroic characters and “watashi” with villainous characters.

Saber’s episodes are referred to as “chapters” and are written in the form of descriptive sentences (eg. In the Beginning, There was a Flame Swordsman).

I’d go into the theme naming for Super Sentai episodes, but then we’d be here all night (and I doubt you have the time or interest for that).

Yeah, I never really thought Asumu would be bad at being Hibiki's apprentice (he's a good kid who's excited by what the Oni do), but I'm still not sure why Asumu would want to be? The show is pressuring Asumu from multiple angles, most specifically Kiriya and Midori in these episodes, but there's still nothing in the performance that makes me think that future is one he wants.

I don't know. I'm just not seeing what the show wants me to see, maybe?

I think the bigger problem is that Kiriya is (currently, outwardly) a selfish asshole who constantly makes excuses and belittles everyone around him, which feels like a demeanor that Takeshi wouldn't look to kindly on, let alone someone who Hibiki would kick out on Day One.

I feel like Asumu gets shoved more and more into an apprentice role at this point because that's what people assume his story should be. I don't just mean the characters in the show, I mean the new production staff and the viewers, too. Asumu eventually taking up his own tuning fork and following in Hibiki's footsteps seems like a natural direction that a show like this would take and what the audience would expect. It doesn't surprise me much that a show that's trying to improve its ratings would go for something more standard in its narrative direction.

And, like, I'm not against the show making Asumu Hibiki's apprentice in principle. Yeah, it's the obvious way to go with it; and yeah, I liked it better when the show zagged away from it; but it's a convention that totally fits within the world of these characters. It's maybe less good, but I don't think it's wrong.

I just don't think the show has come up with a compelling reason to pursue that concept beyond some weird shrug of Maybe That's What People Expected To Happen. It's okay if they think the audience would prefer a more active Asumu, but they need to create something within Asumu that feels real. I don't feel like they have?

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 40 - "APPROACHING OROCHI"
KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 41 - "AWAKENING OF TEACHER AND STUDENT"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki40a.png

"So don't think of this as sacrifice
'Cause it's something much less dignified
But you'll be alright"

-Parenthetical Girls, "Alright"

Mixed feelings on this one! Structurally, I think it worked gangbusters. Thematically and character-wise... some concerns!

Let's talk about Akira quitting first, since that's what these two episodes are leading up to.

There's a part of me that really loves how the whole dilemma is that her heart just isn't in it anymore. There's a smallness to that idea that resonates, that creates an obstacle that Akira and Ibuki can't overcome. It's that Hibiki thing of making it personal, unexpected, honest. I love how the Kodama forest works as a metaphor for that problem, how it seems vast and foreign but it's really just the one basic thing that's easy to miss. There's no fixing Akira, because there's nothing wrong with Akira. She changed, and now she's leaving that part of her past behind. It's a great story to get to that point, with some of the best work of that actor's run on the show.

The problem is... I defended this show for interrogating Akira's beliefs, for treating her decision as something weighty and important. I don't think the show deciding that being an Oni isn't her passion anymore (if it ever should have been) is the wrong choice. But, god, when you have her quitting and her last request is to make Kiriya and Asumu the next Oni? Because they both have what it takes? That... it at the very least taints Akira's story, and I wouldn't argue with anyone who thought it ruined it. It's a big turn in the story, and it's fundamentally not a great look. (Her transforming into an Oni and then immediately being knocked out is such a standard bullshit Inoue move that I'm not even disappointed. At least it wasn't two women in a row, like on Faiz!) And that's on top of the fact that, man, her quitting is a bummer. It's always going to be a hard sell to have a great character quit the narrative (if that's what's happening), and there's just no way around that. Seeing her story end by her walking away, no matter how well I thought the story explained and supported it... it just doesn't feel good to watch.

Altogether, Akira's story... I think I respected it more than I liked it.

What I did like, though, was how quickly this story disregarded the previous one. The Todoroki/Zanki nonsense is mostly ignored, with a line from Zanki restating that his goddamn job is to support Todoroki, rendering the entire last two episodes even more idiotic. Hibiki is right back to calling Asumu ‘boy', all to get us to the big moment at the end where he finally (again) calls Asumu by his name. With it coinciding with Asumu becoming Hibiki's official apprentice, it's a way better point in the narrative for it to happen. It's also not a garbage episode, so that helps, too!

I really enjoyed all the stuff with the kids, but naturally, it's the AsuMum scene that worked the best for me. I like that her advice to Asumu's eternal uncertainty was For The Love Of God You Are Fifteen Years Old It Is Okay To Try Out Different Jobs. It created a real smart way for the show to move forward with Asumu becoming an Oni, to stop treating it like Asumu's entering the priesthood or something. It's okay to try it, to see if it works for him, and then quit if it doesn't. People quit jobs all the time! This whole story is about how it is okay to quit a job if you don't think it's right for you anymore! Instead of the show needing a 15-year old boy (whose voice completely sounds deeper in this episode) to dedicate his life to something, I don't know, maybe just treat it like an internship? It's a more interesting way, I think, to approach Asumu's new apprenticeship.

The Kiriya stuff worked great for me, of course. He's resolutely terrible in this (Ibuki seems about a breath away from punching him in the face for disrespecting Akira, and rightly so) and he's so reflexively insulting that no one even seems to bother acknowledging it, like it's some verbal tic. But there's a sense that he honestly does want to make something of himself, even if it's for stupid reasons, that makes him stand out from Asumu's innate goodness and chronic indecisiveness. That said, it's obviously an inherently stupid idea to make Kiriya an Oni (unless you're just counting the minutes until Ibuki is ordered to kill him), but this story managed to create a little cover for why he'd be worth a tryout.

Yeah, the kids really came through in this one. I've always felt like this show worked better the more it focused on the kids, and this (final?) outing of Akira, Asumu and Kiriya really made me feel good about that assumption. Really fun episode, despite Akira's resignation.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki40b.png

Man, I hated what these episodes did to Akira. Like I said earlier, this is something that's been building since Shuki and I cannot look at it without seeing (or at least imagining) some "this is men's work" bullshit lurking in the subtext here. I hate it and I hate that Kiriya is directly involved in badgering her into it then gets rewarded by becoming Hibiki's new apprentice.* It's an awful waste of Akira's potential and easily the worst derailment of a pre-transition character. The show can try to justify it all it wants, but it's still bullshit.

*Kiriya becoming Hibiki's apprentice does actually lead to the one and only Kiriya moment that I actually enjoy. We aren't there yet, but it's coming soon.

Like I said, I can't argue with anyone who thought this turn ruined Akira's character. For me, I think there're some genuinely interesting ideas that the show is exploring (how personal a decision this is for her, how it's always made clear that this is Akira's decision to make, plus the way that she doesn't feel the need to defend herself to anyone) that the show doesn't execute perfectly/that great/at all. (Your mileage may vary!) Trying to start up the boys' apprentice story while simultaneously winding down the girl's... very high degree of difficulty on that one!

The one thing I'll push back on is Kiriya "badgering her into it", which, I just don't see that here? Kiriya says dumb stuff, and he maybe vocalizes some concerns that Akira was ignoring, but everything Akira does in this story (and the episodes preceding it) are her decisions. Kiriya at most pushed a domino, and even that's just, like, a story's got to start somewhere.

Laying in bed, more thoughts about Akira's storyline.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I like her quitting the Oni. I think it's way smarter and more interesting than her rededicating herself to Takeshi.

One of my favorite comics is "Spinning", by Tillie Walden. It's a memoir of her early-teen years, moving from New Jersey to Texas. She was a really good figure-skater, really dedicated, and then she just got tired of it. It meant everything to her, until it didn't mean anything. She grew out of it.

And that idea, that you can grow out of something you're good at, that is an incredibly important lesson for kids to learn. It can feel earth-shattering, that moment when you realize you're going through the motions. Taking time on a show like Kamen Rider to say it's okay to change your mind, that just because you used to like something doesn't mean you've failed if you stop liking it... I think that's huge? I think that type of lesson is perfect for Hibiki to explore.

And, narratively, it's exactly the right time to do it, because you've got Asumu and Kiriya who are also changing their minds about what they want to pursue, also growing out of their previous identities. They're deciding to become apprentices while Akira's deciding not to, but it's still just three kids making new choices on who they want to be.

Anyway, yeah, I'm now 100% on board with Akira quitting, and I've started to see some of the value in her putting in a good word for the boys. It's not some zero-sum thing where they're taking her spot, it's her honoring the time she spent as Ibuki's apprentice, and trying to put the organization she's leaving in the best position. It's the mature thing to do, to say This Wasn't What I Want Anymore But It Can Be Something To Someone Else. She respects the Oni too much to leave them shorthanded, and she's got no shame in letting someone else be the next hero. It's a testament to how good a job Ibuki did in training her, that not only can she walk away, but she can walk away with dignity.

It's late! I don't know if this made sense, but I really needed to say it!

Yeah, I like Akira’s arc in the second half. I just wish her one big moment as an Oni got something better than “Danki with all the trimming removed” as a costume.

In terms of what to call her Oni transformation, it’s a bit uncertain. Bandai themselves call the transformation “Amaki” (Heavenly Demon), but the S.I.C states that it doesn’t have Shumei (succession to a professional name), implying that it would’ve been called “Ibuki” (implying a legacy character situation). The show’s production notes just call it “Akira Henshintai”, like they did before Todoroki got his name. So, you have free reign to call it what you want.

And Orochi, the big “end of the world” scenario. I have no idea if there’s any connection with the Makamou from the movie also called Orochi. Both refer to a dragon that can bring the end of the world if not satisfied in Japanese mythology.

I haven’t found any lyrics to describe next time, so I’ll get back to you on that.

I think I respected it more than I liked it as well. It was executed just fine, but it's not something I wanted to be executed at all and the show's first half definitely seemed to be setting her up to become an Oni. Feels like Kiriya was introduced to usurp the development that was originally hers. I guess this is another reason why he's such an unpopular character, not that I resent him for it though.

At least now Ibuki can stop tormenting himself. I think this has been harder for him than for Akira. Ibuki's still young so he can eventually take a new apprentice under his wing when he feels ready. It's not that Akira was a failure like Kiriya believes, she would have been a great Oni if she hadn't lost her motivation.

It's definitely a bittersweet ending. Ibuki loses his student and Hibiki gains two. The sad part is that Akira was in a better position than Shounen and Kiriya to become the next generation of Oni. Now she's in the same place as Shounen was at the start, aimless and unsure what she wants to do with her life. There's also the fact that she can't forget about her parents' death and who knows where her relationship with Ibuki goes from here now that they're no longer fighting together.

Regarding the two girls on Faiz, are you referring to Mari and Rina VS Kitazaki? I can't defend Rina's incompetence but Mari at least had a good reason for not being able to fight.

It's not clear without the "I'm Adachi Asumu, a 15 year-old middle/high school student." narration anymore but I think it's likely that Shounen turns 16 at an unspecified point in the show, same for Akira and Kiriya.

But yeah, Shounen's mother is very encouraging and a good influence in his life, not being too possessive and scared for his safety like some parents. I don't think Shounen really wants to be an Oni though, more like he's worried Kiriya apprenticing himself to Hibiki will replace him as Hibiki's favorite high school student. He doesn't want to lose Hibiki's attention and guidance so he feels like he as to compete with Kiriya, the same way Kiriya competes with everybody, to hold on to what he has. That's not the case at all though, since Hibiki sees being a mentor and being a friend as two different things. There's no need to feel like his relationship is threatened by Kiriya. It happened before with Mochida, who he didn't even know he thought about as anything more than a friend, so it seems to be recurring problem that Shounen has with feeling undermined by others.

I think putting Kiriya through training is something that needed to be done. He wasn't going away until someone at least gave him a shot to prove himself. Hibiki rejected him many times until now, without giving a reason he could understand. This way, he can understand first-hand what the job means. Either he fails and can at least move on with his life or he changes for the better and succeeds in becoming an Oni.

Bandai probably call her that for the sake of identification in merchandise but yeah, in universe, she didn't officially graduate so Akira is still Akira, with only the "Henshintai" to distinguish between them. Even the way her suit is deliberately made to look like a blank Danki (Blanki?) implies that she's not a full Oni. The S.I.C. definitely gives her a more conventional suit with the inherited Ibuki title but unfortunately, that's non-canon just like all the other what-ifs of the show's second half.

Yeah, it's the same dude from the movie. As much as I dislike the premise of the movie, I think Orochi had a better impression there since the show exaggerates him way too much considering the modern day Takeshi is a lot more equipped to deal with him. He's also a wildcard, since the threat of his emergence is completely unrelated to whatever the hell Kimono Douji and Hime are plotting.

I completely forgot Orochi was even in the series, wow. That's quite something.

As for this episode... yeah, what Switchblade said. Don't know if this was the original plan for Akira but either way, way it's pulled off, just; ugh. No. Dislike it. Especially dislike that the catalyst is the only female oni ever seen who ~became evil and is just like Akira~.

There's apparently a snow-based female oni in the show's notes elsewhere, so, that's cool I guess?

I mean, Embarrassing? It was embarrassing. I can defend a lot in those two episodes, but Akira's almost-hilariously disappointing performance as a One-Second Oni... oof. Impossible. Impossible to defend.

Yeah, I don't know? It's certainly possible, but this story does such a great job of showing how those three kids fit together narratively (poor Hitomi) that I think Akira stepping down was something that was considered independently. It just works too well for Asumu's story, to build in the belief that signing up for being an Oni isn't some under-penalty-of-death commitment, that Asumu's allowed to change his mind if this isn't right for him.

This is a real rough one for Ibuki. There's really nothing he can do here, and that slow acceptance can be difficult to watch.

I do, in retrospect, appreciate how Akira and Ibuki are trying to make lemonade out of lemons by telling Hibiki that it's important to be a parent, even if your kids don't follow the path you expect. Like, objectively, Akira is a good person, and a lot of that is down to Ibuki's parenting. He's hurt that she didn't become an Oni like he expected, but he's pleased to see her happy and comfortable in her choices. A lot of his arc in this is to see things like Hibiki, where Raising A Child isn't just about teaching them to fight monsters.

No, I know, but I like to joke about it. Two women try to fight as superheroes and are immediately chumped out? Tacky. Tacky!

I guess I see it more as Asumu realizing that he doesn't know if he wants to be an Oni, so trying to be an Oni is a good way to find out? Sometimes that's how you discover a passion. It's not some weird innate drive or I Was Saved By A Doctor And Now I Want To Be A Doctor formative experience. (You know I still love you, Ex-Aid.) Sometimes something seems interesting, so you give it a shot. Maybe you love it, maybe you don't, but you often need to try it first.

I really like the simplicity of that as a motivation, how it's not asking a teenager to have an undying dedication to something he's never done.

Similar to Asumu's story, yeah, I can see why Hibiki would want to see what Kiriya's got. It's not like they can't cut him in a week if he's a big baby!

The Shuki thing... I think it works as a cautionary tale for Akira? (Lord knows it doesn't work as anything else.) This woman telling her to Be Angry Forever is a piece of the puzzle that makes her realize that she doesn't want that life, doesn't see the value in it anymore. She loves her friends, she believes in what the Oni are doing, but she worries that Shuki is how she'll end up if she keeps trying to be angry enough to be effective.

Oh, totally -- like the thing is, I feel there is a strong story in here. I like the idea of deciding that you're not a superhero and being able to walk away from that, and that's something I will praise the second half of Hibiki for. In a vaccum, it's a strong story.

But it's also about the only two women in the show who are Oni in any sense. And much as the show doesn't exactly gender it, it's impossible in my eyes for it to not be; and this is something that isn't out of place with Inoue's work. (or Drive; it bugged the hell out of me there too)

No, for sure, it's not a great look for the only two women who are Oni (something Shuki specifically calls out as rare) being removed from service. It'd be way less disappointing if Hitomi was one of Hibiki's new apprentices... or at the very least wasn't the only character on the show who's in the dark.

And please don't get me started on how Drive promised to provide a reason why Kiriko couldn't be a superhero, and then the reveal was IDK She Just Can't Okay.

Not related to the recent episodes, but I’ve found out that Habataki from the movie is the only movie rider to have a legend item used to transform in fiction. (That’s bolded before anyone pouts out Diend’s super mode, or Zi-O’s toyline including an Eternal watch). An S.I.C story has OOO using a Kamen Rider Habataki medal with Kamen Rider Tiger and Kamen Rider Kuuga medals to form Legend TaToBa Combo. Which is unfortunately in the same story as Super Rising Ultimate Kuuga (which to clarify, is an upgrade of an upgrade of Kuuga’s most powerful transformation) so it gets quickly overshadowed.

I'm going to excuse my confusion over Kuuga who is clearly a stag beetle being used in place of the grasshopper medal to say THIS IS AWESOME

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CviwCEiUIAAgY1z.jpg

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 42 - "RAGING MONSTERS"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki42a.png

"I want to start over, I want to be winning
Way out of sync from the beginning"

-The National, "Slow Show"

Today is too nice a day on too many levels (no politics in the thread) for me to be mad at anything that doesn't work in this episode. (For the record: the Orochi stuff is so sudden and ill-defined that I'd've preferred Ichiro just say There Are Way More Monsters Because The Series Is Almost Over And We Have No Endgame; and I'm very much not looking forward to this Zanki plot.) I don't have the ability to be mean or critical right now. Everything is better. Not perfect, for sure, but better. I love everything today.

I really did enjoy this episode, though. I like the oncoming parallel of the Apprentices and the Douji/Hime both wondering if their mentors are worth following, if they deserve to be respected. (Well, Kiriya more than Asumu.) There's a bunch of time spent on what Hibiki wants to get out of this new arrangement, so it's nice to see the show considering what the Apprentices are hoping for.

The beginning was so nice, so warm. It's a real classic Hibiki feeling, all of these people supporting each other... and then Kiriya comes along to be an insulting prick and Akira's still like I Am Rooting For You. She's still the best of them! And Ibuki and Hibiki are so kind and respectful to each other! It's so great!

Kiriya, as always, great in this episode. Super fun to laugh at and despise. Just an unmitigated asshole, a condescending prick (that shot at Akira!), and a total whiner. Everything is someone else's fault, every loss is unfair, every defeat is contested. Watching a dude like that embarrass himself in ever more transparent ways... god, it's just so sweet to watch.

Not really a lot to say about this one! Too nice of a day to dwell on the negatives, and the positives are largely rooted in ongoing character behavior. (Big thumbs up to the awkward scene of Todoroki trying to ask Hinaka out and her being like Oh Hell Yes We're Gonna Bone and him being like No It's A Chaste Date and her being like Lame But Okay.) There's some fun angles that Hibiki's mentorship could go, where it's unclear if he's testing these kids, or just worried they're about to be devoured by monsters and he's ghosting them. A bunch of possibilities. The future's wide open, and I'm looking forward to it.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki42b.png

Glad to hear you're having a good day too! I straight up don't remember this episode so I can't really say much against it; Akira leaving still sucks but at least she's still cool!

She gets to know that she will not be forced to spend time with Kiriya in a professional capacity, so she's also having a good day! A very high percentage of people are having a good day today!

Well, lie you said, We’re in the endgame now. And to signify it, I’m getting rid of the random lyrics in favour of songs from the show’s soundtrack.

But I still have one more random lyrics.

Good things don't come easy 
Knocking at your door 
But if it's worth the havin' 
It's worth the workin' for
- Jem and the Holograms, It Takes Work from episode 38 “Danse Time”

And Super Douji and Super Hime are levelling up from Anime!Team Rocket to Game!Team Plasma in terms of competence. And I’m sure you won’t understand that reference.

I get... half of it?

I honestly really like the way the show is trying to tell a story with the Douji and Hime, having them grow up as the series progresses. It makes for a real interesting parallel to Asumu's journey, and makes even random fights with the Oni feel thematically looped in.

Wut.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone2.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone3.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone4.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone5.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone6.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone7.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone8.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone9.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone10.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/hibiki/bone11.png

Shingo Kawaguchi, the man destined to be paired with a Sailor Moon actor as the love interest. It first happened with this show, and then later with Miyuu Sawai in Wizard.

Understandeable, thank you for labelling these images bone 1 through 11.

I take my fun where I can get it, much like Hinaka.

I'm not going to comment on this.

Trigger Warning: Suicidal Ideation

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 43 - “UNCHANGEABLE BODY”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki43a.png

“Everyone gets crushed
And every kind of love rushes out
So who are you trying to protect?”

-Superchunk, “Everyone Gets Crushed”

oh my god i am so glad i didn’t watch this yesterday

It’s a rough one, this episode. I don’t think it works tremendously well, or holds together maybe at all, but there are things in it that are enormously affecting.

That whole sentence could be used to describe my feelings about the biggest plot point in the episode: Todoroki asking Zanki to kill him. It… hmm.

If literally any of it works, it’s down to the actors. Todoroki finds a well of shame and resentment that I’d never expected from him, rekindling some of the greatness of his first story. It’s someone who is finding out that his whole life has to change, right now, and he is handling it poorly. The idea of clawing back to what amounts to so much less than you used to have… it feels impossible to Todoroki, and the performance gets you halfway to him feeling like there’s no point in trying. The show does what I think is a fairly solid job treating Todoroki’s injury as irrevocable.

It’s just, man, asking Zanki to kill him… it’s maybe too far? It’s arguably too far for this show. It’s the sort of thing that doesn’t strike me as heroic or misguided, it strikes me as Get An Actual Qualified Medical Professional To Help Todoroki Work Through His Trauma. Like the scene of Zanki punching Ibuki (that gets a frustrating call-back here), it’s a level of performative masculinity that is maybe not best served as the middle point of an episode for a television series designed to sell toys to children. It 100% demonstrates how lost Todoroki is, but it veers way too far into a dark corner that it can’t really respect.

But that performance! It’s honestly so good that I’m not (that) mad at them for using suicidal ideation as a way to increase tension. I buy nearly everything Todoroki is going through, from his self-deprecating dismissal of his non-combat abilities, to his inability to accept what’s happened to him, to his desire to leave everything behind, to the eventual drive to overcome the obstacles in front of him.

It makes for a weirdly paced episode, though. I mean, it’s nominally all about recognizing your limitations so you can overcome them, but the show attacks that idea in different ways.

Like, you’ve got the Todoroki stuff, which is him coming to terms with his injury, and deciding that it won’t beat him. It’s him listening to Zanki’s advice about the Oni, that it’s not about defeating literal monsters, it’s about defeating your failings. It’s about improving yourself every day, regardless of whether the monsters facing you are real or figurative. Todoroki’s training has been to never give in, so he’s going to work to get better, even if he’ll never be what he once was. He wants to live, because every day he’s alive is a victory over his darker impulses.

But then you’ve got the Zanki side of it, which harnesses that pep talk into something that sounds like Zanki being willing to sacrifice his life in combat because anything less would be dishonorable. It’s an interesting idea, that one pep talk could both save Todoroki and doom Zanki. I don’t super love Zanki’s inevitable Glorious Death (thank you, OZC, for putting the episode titles in the goddamn filenames), but, like Todoroki’s performance, there’s plenty in the specificity of how Zanki is processing both Todoroki’s injury and the short-handedness of the Oni to make it mostly work for me.

There’s a really great moment near the beginning, when Ichiro is trying to console Zanki, and Zanki is gritting his teeth in anger at Ichiro’s suggestion that what happened to Todoroki is A Pity. Ichiro isn’t being an asshole or anything, he clearly cares about Todoroki, but this is basically Zanki’s kid who was almost killed. He can’t handle talking to someone who feels it less than he does, which is why he can only stand to be around Hinaka in this one. With her, it feels warmer, more caring. Without her, it’s all self-flagellation and barely-restrained anger.

So, yeah, him feeling like he’s got to carry Todoroki’s weight, so that Todoroki can heal mentally as well as physically, I can see that. Coupled with Akira quitting and the Makamou multiplying by the minute, I think there’s a decent enough framework for Zanki throwing himself on the pyre of Endgame Storytelling In Kamen Rider, but I still am not a huge fan of it. It’s like, I’ll allow it, but I ain’t rooting for it.

Speaking of rooting for people, Kiriya in this one is so mind-bendingly awful that it’s both really funny, but also the worst episode to have a really funny Kiriya thread. Like, yeah, thematically it works for the episode. Kiriya is unable to recognize his failings, so he’s unable to start to overcome them. If he’s bad at anything, weak at anything, then it’s something that doesn’t matter anyway. It’s wrapped up in the same stuff Todoroki and Zanki are wrapped up in, how we deal with our flaws, but tonally it is NOPE NOPE NOPE. Every time they cut away from a despondent Todoroki to highlight another dastardly Kiriya scheme, I wonder if the people making this episode have ever watched a TV show. You cannot do Suicidal Rider and Wacky Antics in alternating scenes.

It is… as much as I liked parts of this episode (performances, almost exclusively), the fact that they tried to do a goofy Kiriya plot alongside Todoroki being injured so bad he wanted to die… I can’t say this was a successful episode. That’s a real tough circle to square, man. Bad choice of B-plot. Some good stuff in this one, though! Actors ain’t to blame for this one!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki43b.png

Hey, for all you know, the episode titles could be referring to a 'metaphorical' death. Not everyone ends up like Ultra Magnus!

Whoops, just checked the wiki:

"Zanki's Glorious Death is the forty-fifth episode of Kamen Rider Hibiki. It features the final appearance of Zanki, and the first appearance of Zanki But Now He Plays A Keytar."

Can they not move Oni around? Like take some from a calmer district for a bit?

Edit: also wow that Todoroki stuff hits very close to home.

I didn't really get into it (already spent too long writing), but this phase of the show is playing pretty goddamn fast-and-loose with the show's established rules. The Makamou that are appearing don't seem to want anything other than destroying the Oni (something they never really focused on previously), and literally no one brings up Danki, Eiki, Sabaki, or whoever is left in Japan. Even Hibiki is left to train his two kids, when everyone should be on non-stop high alert.

It's... I think you are asking questions that this show doesn't really care about anymore.

And, sorry about the Todoroki stuff. I maybe should've put a Trigger Warning ahead of that one. Gonna do it now!

And here I was going to subtly hint at episode 45’s title by pointing out part of it is reused from episode 48 of Faiz, assured that you remember what happened in that episode. Well now, I’ll just point out that the episode in question aired ON CHRISTMAS. Yet somehow, failed to generate the barrage of vengeful kids and parental complaints that Kiriya Kujo’s death 11 years to the day later elicited.

Also, not much to say about Kiriya right now, other than personally, this is the closest his schtick gets to really annoying me.

And now, it’s lyric time, this time complete with video. Thought I’d enhance the experience for those who haven’t listened to the songs (which is probably most people on this thread)

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

Donna ni fukai kiri no naka datte
Jibun wo miushinawanai you ni
Donna ni tsuyoi kaze no naka datte
Jibun jishin wo shoumei shitai
Raibu gougou
- Eizo Sakamoto (JAM Project member and singing voice of the Kamen Rider Saber gear), Raibu Gougou

(I kind of intend for this song to cover the next two episodes, but if you do them separately, I’ve got a back up prepared for 45)