Or maybe Delta's just so cool, he decided to let Faiz have his story rather than make the show about him

I heard Delta is so humble, that he rewrote Inoue's KAMEN RIDER DELTA series so that it focused on Faiz instead.

It's cool, dude. I'll just wait to hear your thoughts about it in the next episode. There's very little I can say here without spoiling the big surprise for you.

Delta is so cool he saw into the future and saw Kamen Rider Kabuto and decided that they'd let that show succeed by not making it seem derivative of Inoue's Kamen Rider Delta.

Plus, Delta really fixed the ending catchphrase. "Open Your Eyes For The Next Faiz" is way better than Inoue's original choice of "It's Gonna Be A Brain Melta! The Next Delta!"

Right up front, I guess since the music has come up a few times before, I might as well mention that episode 33 debuts the show's third and final primary insert song, "EGO 〜eyes glazing over". It'll play a few more times throughout the remainder of the series, but, just like Die was maybe hoping for, the show also relaxes its rules about how often it needs to play songs a little starting here.

You know, you keep using this gag and I'm not sure how aware you actually are of this, but at the risk of spelling out a joke, the whole reason Meteor's name was Ryuusei is because it's the Japanese word for shooting star. If that shady subterranean school for orphans had a sports team, it legitimately might've been called that!

This is true to an extent, but I wouldn't underestimate how much gravity the concept of Kamen Rider Faiz is actually treated with. Takumi gave up the belt to Keitarou because he does care about it. Immensely. He's based an extraordinarily huge amount of his identity around being Faiz, the heroic protector of dreams, and him trying to completely give up on it like this is a huge sign of how deeply his failure here is affecting him. It's the ultimate sign of how rough a shape he's in right now.

Delta's still getting that treatment, yeah, but I think the show's moved well past the days of buying the Faiz Gear back from a pawn shop by now. Which is good, because if Faiz were only concerned with flippant, ironic storytelling, I wouldn't love it anywhere near as much as I do!

Ah, well that's the thing. As of this episode, Kusaka has been all three Riders on this show, so even if it is still called Kamen Rider Faiz, it's no problem at all. Remember kids, most Faiz merchandise is secretly also Kaixa merch!

Which it wouldn't be, because death is shi. Although the next episode DOES have a "shin" in there, funnily enough!

He did a great job of it, too! In fact, I heard Delta is so good at coming up with story ideas, he's the reason Agito was about three Riders. True story!

I did! And that's why it makes me laugh, that they probably had a sports team called The Ryusei School Meteors! They probably played other local schools! They always lost!

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 34

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz34a.png

--1--

If I was a betting man, my money would've been on Kusaka as a secret Orphnoch. That idea, of him being an Orphnoch who loathes other Orphnochs, it's poetic. It feels like it'd be how Kusaka would deal with his turmoil, you know?

If I was spreading that money around, I'd probably play the range of the Ryusei School alumni all being secret Orphnochs. Mari, for sure, after last episode. I mean, the first episode of the show has a dead person getting up as an Orphnoch, so why not now? Also, Orphan Daddy is a big ol' Orphnoch, and we've still got no idea what he's been up to all this time, so maybe he did some secret surgeries to make them all Orphnochs? Or there's the reunion no one will talk about, maybe they all got turned there?

So, yeah, those were my Back Of The Mind guesses. Nothing I was certain of, but definitely things I felt like the story was supporting.

Takumi, though. I mean, goddamn.

--2--

It's tough to talk too much about it, since it's really only established at the end of the episode. It's pretty heavily hinted in the middle, when Takumi goes to see Murakami, but nothing concrete. When Murakami says that Takumi can't be in Lucky Clover unless he's an Orphnoch, there's a look on Takumi's face that reads as resignation, but that resignation has two different possibilities. There's the resignation where the Smart Brain door is closed to him, and he'll have to find some other way to bring back Mari. Maybe enlist Yuuji, who's starting to think he might've misjudged Takumi? Maybe.

But there's this other read, one where I'm like Yeah But No, where Takumi has resigned himself to be outed as an Orphnoch. It crossed my mind for, like, a second, but I dismissed it. What the hell would that mean if it was true? What would it do to the show to have him be an Orphnoch in secret all this time? What lunatic would blow up his own premise like th--- oh, yeah, right, it's Faiz.

It's such a ballsy move. I don't know what it means yet, but I'm dying to find out.

--3--

It helps that it's not like the show was killing time before this reveal. Not in general for the series (well, the last couple episodes weren't my favorites), and not for this episode. There was a lot I would've normally written about this episode, before the last couple minutes played.

Stuff about how Takumi's heroism has a purity that Kusaka's lacks, based on what each man will do to save a friend. Takumi doesn't wallow in self-loathing, despite Someone Is Dead Because They Were My Friend being his worst nightmare. He gets his ass kicked by multiple people, but that's only when he thinks there's nothing left for Mari but his penance. As soon as an opportunity presents itself, he's all in. Even when it's a plan that Kusaka's like This Almost Definitely Won't Work, Takumi wants to try it anyway. And, man, Kusaka has a point about it being sort-of a leap, plan-wise, but he doesn't bail because the plan wouldn't work. He bails because if the plan does work, he can't be Kaixa anymore. He tells everyone that Mari means everything to him, but in this one he confronts the reality that he loves being Kaixa, that he wants to destroy Smart Brain, more than he loves Mari. It's a great way to reassert Takumi's core heroism at a time where he only wants to be seen as a failure, and to reassert Kusaka's selfishness when everyone views him as their savior.

Or, I could've talked about how Mari's death doesn't feel that much like a fridging, since it's not really about vengeance, it's about grief. It motivates Kusaka and Takumi to try and save her, but that's around the edges. Most of the episode is about Takumi's self-hatred and grief, or Kusaka discovering the primacy of his need to be powerful over his need to possess Mari. It succeeds dramatically by treating Mari's death as a real, sincere thing. Saving her, bringing her back, it's viewed as nearly impossible. She's allowed some dignity, rather than immediately becoming some totem of Manly Suffering. Like, her death means something because Mari meant something, not because it empowers someone else. It's a fine line, maybe, but I thought the show stayed on the right side of it.

--4--

There's also some good little bits with Kaido and Mihara, two refreshing views on empathy and responsibility.

Kaido's story is a comedy right up until it's a tragedy, which is one of my favorite moves. It's all this time swelling Kaido's head, so this kid can tell him he's not a hero, he's a failure who let the kid's parents die. Not 100% sure where this thread is going, but it's got a fun swerve to it.

Mihara, I really do love how much he doesn't want to be in a Kamen Rider story. Jesus, why would you? Every series seems to have a story about The Heavy Burden Of Being A Kamen Rider, and, like, Mihara acknowledges that! He gets it! He doesn't want that burden! It's still super funny that every other Ryusei School alumni ("Go Meteors!”) is raring to get murdered, and he's totally fine running away forever. What in the sweet hell did Orphan Daddy teach these weirdos? Were their active shooter drills about running straight at any gunman? Mihara seems like the only one who'd rather, y'know, live, so of course he's our new Delta. (TV-Nihon made this episode's splash image Delta and Mihara, so that turn in the story wasn't much of a surprise.) I liked how defensive his fighting style was, how he cowers a bit in his stance. I'm sure he'll be immolating monsters in short order, but he had a fun No Thank You aura that I dug.

--5--

Hard to talk about that other stuff, because Takumi is/was an Orphnoch! That... I feel like I've barely talked about anything else in this episode (that was largely good, save for any of the scenes with just the Ryusei kids) because, like, that ending!

(I mean, I didn't do more than touch on Yuuji starting to figure out he's been wrong about Takumi, and that's my favorite character pairing!)

Takumi's an Orphnoch!

Holy shit!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz34b.png

And this is why we all told you not to watch the movie. You would have had this plot twist spoiled six episodes early.

Mihara is an interesting character because not only is he Kamen Rider Delta's main user, but he's also one of the few Kamen Riders to have a Disney Power Rangers era-esque civilian power: the minute you stop watching Faiz you instantly forget he exists. He's like the tokusatsu version of the Silence from Doctor Who.

I mean, we'll never really know? I'm not sure I would've assumed Takumi Is An Orphnoch was something that would happen on the show. Even here, in this episode, I didn't really think it would happen until it did. When Takumi drops the belt, I just thought he was totally checked out, willing to potentially see people die rather than feel like he was absolving himself of blame. But then!

I don't know! I'm pretty into a Rider who'd really rather just go home!

There actually a neat bit of foreshadowing in that the early episodes establish that Keitaro has an allergic reaction torwards dusts. So when he near an Orphnoch he starts sneezing. And in Episode 4 he does exactly that when he by Takumi.

(Also a bit of unreleated thing I have a pic that happening but I don't know how to add pictures on here)

Huh! I think the show (if memory serves) established it more like Keitaro was allergic to, like, evil. He'd sneeze around Orphnoch attacks, since Orphnochs were doing evil. I took that sneeze around Takumi as a joke about how shitty Takumi was being at that point in the series. Still! Maybe not!

I have been waiting basically since you made that first thread for Ghost to get to this moment. Like you said, there's only so much you can say after just a cliffhanger, but, man, I am so here for this. And also very happy you managed to make it to this point without anyone spilling the beans!

And don't pay too much attention to Switchblade, by the way. Mihara's a cool dude. Actually, I heard he's so cool, I was thinking of him the whole time we were making all these Delta jokes!

But, uh, no pressure?

It's times like this that I feel good about only watching an episode a day. It's tough, to not just watch the next episode. I didn't know I had this kind of resolve? It's like those parents that somehow are able to lift cars off of their children, but in this case it's me not watching the next episode of a Japanese kids show designed to sell toys. I mean, I watched Ryuki, I know that heroism is subjective!

Anyway, I like giving this episode some space in my brain. It would feel rude, almost, to just find out what happens next. You know? They pulled out a cliffhanger that redefines the previous 70% of the show. That... it deserves some consideration!

I really do like that the show never felt built around this reveal. It's structured so well that it doesn't feel like it needs a reveal. I feel like that makes it twice as good, it being great when it didn't even need to exist.

God, yeah, fun-ass twist on this one.

I'm also happy to see your character development is sticking! :p

It might make me a more predictable character, but at least there won't be as many folks upset at me for potentially undermining my arc. I never want people to feel like I don't respect canon! Or Kanon!

Just a couple episodes ago there was also a scene transition away from Takumi to someone else that was punctuated by a wolf howl. It's real subtle, but if you know what's coming it totally sticks out.

Crazy!

Honestly, I'm mostly thinking more about all of the stuff about how Takumi feels about Orphnochs.

I don't want to spin this around too much in my head. There's a lot of explanations left to come, I'd hope. (I don't want to assume on this show. They could just as easily never have anyone address it!) But, man, there is so much of this show that's given over to Takumi having complicated feelings about Orphnochs, and, no shit!

Like, man, even two episodes ago, he's telling Yuuji that he can't judge Takumi for letting Mari get hurt since Yuuji's an Orphnoch. Orphnochs hurt people. It's what they are. And Takumi's an Orphnoch!!!! And he's hurt his friend! Takumi thinks all he does is hurt people!

WHHHAAAAAATTTTT IS THIS SHOW?!

I can't... I can't stop thinking about this.

If Takumi's been an Orphnoch all this time, all of the Team Faiz and Team Orphnoch stuff, the duality of the show, snaps into focus. It's not two different groups grappling with how to navigate a world that codifies different types of people as Good or Bad. It's six other characters acting as a prism, showcasing all of Takumi's hopes and fears. Everyone else, they're an example of what he wants, or what he fears, or what he fears wanting. It's those things I liked about that earlier Yuka story, her inability to articulate her own identity, but that's what the whole show has been about.

THIS SHOW! It was pretty great, and now I find out it's secretly been exceptional!

Kamen Rider is a franchise that's all about using darkness to fight darkness, to harness our flaws to fight for freedom. What Faiz is doing is saying What If You Are The Darkness You Have To Fight, and I'm fascinated by that. How do we live with ourselves? How we decide what of us is worth protecting, and what isn't? What of us is heroic, and what is monstrous? It's all of the stuff that's normally an external concern, but it's all made personal, internal.

God. God.

Yeah, it connects not to the main hero, but to other leads; Mari and Kusaka... so it doesn't count even if it connects to the second most important? Though for this one, obviously Ryusei School is to be expected when Mari is hospitalized and dying. They gotta be worried about her.

If you wish you can follow him more, you would get it. Though his tendency mentioned here is a major source of hatred. Takumi vibe of wanting to stay away from those bullshits?

What did you expect then from the Faiz vs Horse Orphnoch showdown? And for now, Kusaka has given himself a record - a secondary Rider that has transformed into every Riders available in the series so far. And Kitazaki's apathy goes on higher level here to throw all the hard work.... or not? He was just deceiving Takuma and gives the gear to other Lucky Clover. Also the first showings on Rose Orphnoch... I know hels the boss but that includes high level in power too? He was never showcased anywhere in discussions.

The name of the show is Kamen Rider Faiz yeah..... but it's not "Takumi Inui" :p, and in this show, Rider Gears can be usrd by anyone... so it'd still fit the show if Kusaka regularly uses Faiz! So Kaido's act was famous enough to be recorded into newspaper... somehow.

This is something that’s been hinted at since the first episode, as remember Takumi wasn’t surprised about the existence of Orphnoc almost like he was already aware of them.

Honestly, no, it doesn't matter that much to me if it's a huge mystery that the main character doesn't have a stake in. If it's just a couple episodes, fine. An arc, okay. But a series-long mystery that's only viscerally important to supporting cast members? No, not for me.

The fact that some of the Ryusei School kids that show up to visit Mari in the hospital are brand-new is hilarious to me. Where are they coming from? Why did they show up for this, but none of the other tense situations? Is it a roster that they're moving down? Do they have on-days and off-days, and this was the on-day for Mihara and the other three? I don't get that group's structure at all.

It was neat! He's got a good Orphnoch design, and that explosion of petals was a good visual. I guess it just didn't stick in my memory? I like Murakami as a boss, as a negotiator. I'm not super into him as a monster?

Good point!

Yeah,if you ever make a Rewatch thread (in like 2023 or something I suppose), I hope Faiz would be a top priority. It's just so staggering how much the revelation recontextualize everything in the early episodes and your own character analysis, in a way that adds to them instead of contradicting them. So much food for retrospective thoughts!

Yeah, boy, there'd be a lot to dive into, that's for sure. I feel like every Takumi scene worked on an additional wavelength I wasn't receiving, and now I'm tuned into that frequency. Really bonkers to think of how much extra has been packed into this show that you can't even catch on the first go-around.

For now, I just feel like such an idiot. It was staring me in the face and I never saw it:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...akkunorph1.png

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...akkunorph2.png

HOW WAS I SO BLIND

I'm so happy the Orphenoch has blown your mind the way it should! I don't actually remember what at all my own reaction to this was, I may have already known the twist beforehand? It is a really good twist though, that adds a juicy layer of context to previous scenes.

So while all that is happening, I want to mention how I absolutely do remember some of my feelings regarding that Delta stuff. First of all, Kitazaki just throwing away the belt is certainly unexpected, but like, why though. I was just getting used to Delta as this really menacing villain and then 'nah'.

At the same time, I was also in the same boat as you as when those two Ryusei people came to visit Mari in the hospital, I also didn't know whether they had shown up before or if they were new, so I kinda didn't bother registering them in my mind. That's why when one of them started talking about he didn't want any part of this, I was just like 'good for you, bye'. But then it turns out that's an actual character arc the show was playing out, and I was seriously baffled because with all the other stuff happening in the show, I had no idea why the show kept cutting back to the plight of a random guy whose name I didn't even remember.

But then he gets casually handed the Delta Gear and I was like 'wait... Is he just gonna be Delta from now on??? I guess I gotta catch his name now...'. It bordered on surreal to me. If Kitazaki had to arbitrarily throw away the belt, and if it had to find one consistent user instead of just being passed around... I figured it would maybe to go someone on Team Orphenoch, or Keitaro (I'm not even gonna pretend Mari is an option...).

Takumi being an Orphnoch is -definitely- one of the show's best twists, and I'm so happy it wasn't spoiled for you; these days it's just one of those spoilers that gets thrown out there as basic knowledge among fans even by official media, just like how Blade i̸̛̺̪̞̞̩̗̙̩̝͇̗͖̰̱͖͍͘ͅn̶̯̣̰̠̳̠̩͕̗͇͞F̵̵̢͙͈̖̱͖̼o̵̧̭̲͙͈̮̰͚̳̗̻͈͡R̡͍̖̲̣̥͙̲͚̣͖̺̪̫͢͠ͅM̶̡̦͉̙̳A̛̳̺̗̗͕̙͈͎̮͉̰͔͖t̶̨̛̳̜̘̦͉̭͓͝͞i̸̡̤̯̞̥͜͟O̢͞͏҉̦̝̪̩͉̤̼̲͓̼̘͕̣̱̺̖ͅņ̸̶̛̭͚̗͍̫̹̺̤͍̺͍͖̣͉̥̫͘ ̵͔̬̤̥͇̣́̕͢W̦̻͉̞̺̩̞̜̪͙̯͓͞I̛̗̖̤͉̦̳̝͙͝t̡҉͍̣̫̘̥̳͔̗̠̼͔̤̭̗̫̼̟̳̕h҉̷̛̭̺͖̻̠Ȩ̨͏̛͇͇͉͎̲̜̼͎̜͖̜ļ̸̛͡͏̲̺̭̪̳͓̱D̷̡̡̺̩̙̫̮̖̹͇̘͓̳͉̟̕̕



So I'm really glad you get to just enjoy this as is because I really, really liked it. I guess it's a little harder to appreciate now but "Kamen Rider has been the monster the whole time" is... not exactly new to the franchise, but it wasn't ever done as directly and as obviously as this and especially in such a way that recontextualises it all. It's one of those things about Faiz that I can't deny is great!

WAIT I JUST CHECKED AND THIS LITERALLY HAPPENS THE SECOND AFTER KUSAKA SAYS HE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT TAKUMI'S PAST!!!

Dude! I don't remember catching that at all even on a rewatch! Gahhh, this show is so cool!

I remember near the beginning of the show you wondering why Takumi could use the Faiz belt and wondering if they'd even explain it. Well, they just did. The show's been setting this up the whole time.

Remember back when this thread was newly born when I said this?

This is part of what I meant. Back in the Showa Era, instead of being an instantly-generated costume, the Rider suit was what they looked like after a surgery to turn them into a monster. The human appearance was the ‘costume’. Here, they make it a more overt-monster, so it stands out. Like a lot of the old-school gang, Kamen Rider Takumi Inui (which by the way, translates as ‘dog’, if you didn’t know) is a modified human who fights for humanity’s freedom against an evil secret organisation, using their own technology.

Oh? Surprised no one talked about one of my absolute favorite parts of the episode: Kaixa's phone ringing while being attached to the belt. That juxtaposition between the mundane and the fantastical. That's exactly what this show is all about.

I mean, you did ask about why Takumi's the chosen one, the one that can be Faiz, while Mari and Keitaro can't. This is the answer. Though for the others you mentioned like Kusaka, you aren't that wrong either. And you saying the protagonist should have standard protagonist strength that Keitaro lacks? It's all clear now! Takkun's an Orphnoch! Which gives him some strength even in human form to knock off some Orphnochs before!

The plot kicks into high gear for this one. Mari's body being presumed not normal, and that both are working their big plan while Kusaka cancels. Takumi tries a risky move to revive Mari by, trying to make use of the evil organization, and also, well, revealing that he's Wolf Orphnoch (Takumi Inui). And finally, Yuji now understands, what Takumi means by his fault that Mari's dead, from Keitaro. He meant that Takumi's fault is blaming himself for not being able to protect her, not that Takumi directly attacked her like Cucksaka informed. I wonder if Takumi's aware that he's an Orphnoch, all this time, I thought that Takumi never knew that he's an Orphnoch but he got to know via something.

Because Takumi is an actual hero (anti-hero is still hero but more in grey), while Kusaka isn't. He just happens to have a racism towards those that deserved it (Orphnochs), which is a good thing, but his reasons are all selfish, he's not bluffing that he said battles are only a test to him. Though I don't know for his love being Kaixa/destroying Smart Brain transcends his love to Mari you talk about here.

It's some twist that Teruo is actually being ungrateful brat to Kaido that he didn't do something that he can't. Though for real, keep remember the kid! He's gotta be so important for later, he's not a guest star like Keiko. Also for Mihara, him wanting to avoid the unecessary danger and bullshit in life makes sense, but unfortunately, that trait of his, being a "total coward", garners him a quite sizable hatedom.

Probably because the last couple episodes, infuriating as it is, Mari and Kusaka's been in touch with the Ryusei School kids all this time, so obviously they gotta know if Mari's been in hospital that they keep contacting each other previously.

Actually I was more intrigued by his capabilities as a monster, because it's so unknown to me, like he's not playable in the PS2 game. Honestly he has more unique abilities like the blue energy, the sting tongue, and rose projectiles.

After years of people turning their noses up at Faiz, it is a real joy to read so many positive thoughts and feelings about one of my favorite Rider shows. I hope the eventual Kabuto and Kiva threads get this kind of love.

It is so Faiz to have Delta be the guy who maybe least wants to be a Kamen Rider of anyone I've ever seen on a Kamen Rider show.

It's a very fun twist, but I can't really blame anyone for talking about it like it's not a twist. There's a statute of limitations to Big Twists, and after that time limit is up they become part of the basic description. Like, I imagine it'd be tough for most fans to describe Faiz without mentioning that Takumi's an Orphnoch. I get it.

Still, hey, thanks everybody for letting me discover it on my own! You're all the best!

I mean, it definitely feels like the show was saying The Faiz Belt Was Made To Work For Orphnochs, but then Kusaka used it? So either, no, that's not how it works, or Kusaka is an Orphnoch, too. Mysteries abound!

I... yeah, I'm curious if that's how it's going to feel to me? Once it gets a little deeper into the story? Because what's here, it doesn't so much feel like This Was Done To Me, as it is What Of Me Do I Want People To See. Those are... those are two different stories with very different emotional payloads!

I laughed at that scene, for sure. Was he keeping his phone locked in the case the whole time. What if he'd actually given all of the Gear to Smart Brain, would he not have a phone anymore?

Huh! I wouldn't have considered that. I'm excited to find out what Takumi's backstory is!

Kamen Rider's a real fun franchise! It's awesome to be able to talk about it with others! Good work, everybody!

Inui means "dry", actually. Inu is dog, but I've never been sure how intentional the phonetic similarities are? I'm leaning toward it being a coincidence.

Hey, I talked about the entire series without ever once directly mentioning it, and the fact that apparently ARE fans out there who don't know this already makes me feel very glad I made that decision!

Also, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that fact never comes up in Takumi's reappearances in Kamen Rider Taisen and the like? Which, if I'm not just forgetting something (it was maybe in Kamen Rider 4?), serious props to Toei for not just defining his entire character by that one big twist.

Everybody was very cool about keeping the Takkun: Orphnoch! reveal under wraps. I really appreciate it!

It 100% does not come up in any of his Phase 2 movie appearances that I can recall. A lot of that stuff went over my head (there's some Big Emotions that Takumi is grappling with as a Legend Rider that would spoil this series for me... if I could remember who they were about), but I feel like A Kamen Rider Who Turns Into A Giant White Dog Monster would, you know, stick in my memory.

I guess you're ready for this image now?

https://i.imgur.com/Am01HP7.jpg

Mari reviving as an Orphenoch would've been interesting, just to see how Kusaka would deal with that. Her death hit him hard enough but if the girl he wanted and failed to protect came back as one of the monsters he wants to destroy, it might break him.

I love how last episode you were like "I don't want to talk about cliffhanger" and now you can barely talk about anything except the cliffhanger. I understand though. Mari's death was a major escalation of the plot, but Takumi being an Orphenoch is something else! Nevertheless, I'm glad you were able to find some meaning to Mari's death.

Remember how Orphenochs have hypersensitivity? Kiba can see further and hear louder. Kaido can detect scents. Takumi is a nekojita and his hands are apparently sensitive to heat as well. It might just be a quirk he's always had though, considering Saya was a human and a nekojita. But it might not!

I'm sure Kusaka enjoys being powerful, but he also seemed burdened by that power when he was angrily throwing the Gears out of Side Basshar. It's more like he needs to be Kaixa. He wants to destroy Smart Brain, not help them, even if it means he can't be with Mari. This is another rare moment where he's sympathetic. Mari's death has only fueled his hatred of Smart Brain and his primary goal is no longer to protect Mari. He wants to avenge her.

Takumi was desperate. He was determined to bring her back to life no matter what. Kusaka couldn't go through with his plan and that meant he was now the only one who was willing to do it. Until now, he had kept his Orphenoch nature a secret from everybody out of shame, but this time he needed to become the monster once more.

It adds a whole new layer of meaning to his interaction with Orphenochs. Like Kiba, Takumi wants to hold on to his humanity but he fears that someday he'll turn bad like Sawada and betray the people he cares about. He sees the sins of his kind as a reflection of himself and what he might become which is why he wants to believe that they can be good.

Murakami implied before what it means to be compatible with the Gears when he expressed confusion at why there were humans who could use them, referring to Takumi and Kusaka. Delta was an unfinished prototype, so the Ryusei School guys who used it don't count. With the reveal of Takumi being an Orphenoch, that just leaves Kusaka, the anomaly, the only Ryusei School guy with proven compatibility.

I actually thought they already explained why Kusaka can use the belt. Let's just say that the Faiz and Kaixa belts are only supposed to be usable by Orphanochs, but there may or may not be a loophole. The Delta belt has no such restrictions though.

Fantastic.

Along those lines, I spent a minute last night trying to find a screencap of Keitaro saying Takkun Orphnoch. I didn't want to scrub through a crazy amount of episodes (it was bedtime for sure), so I just typed Takkun Orphnoch into Google. Holy shit am I glad I didn't do that before watching Episode 34, since 90% of the image results were of Takumi's Orphnoch form. That... I would not have expected that search to generate a spoiler!

Yeah, but I think the problem would've been that it would be another plot that Takumi's on the outside of. Great for Kusaka, dramatically, not so great for Takumi.

I think the difference for me, with the two cliffhangers, was that Mari's felt very much like a plot concern, while Takumi's is a story concern.

(I'm going to explain this badly.)

With a plot concern, the energy is all in How Are They Going To Fix This. It's not so much about the effect it has on the characters, normally. That didn't end up being how the show played it in the follow-up, so there was more to dig into. But in general, those sorts of cliffhangers are something I can only really comment on after they've been resolved.

A story concern, it's a lot more interesting to think about or speculate on. Reveals, twists, that sort of thing. The idea of what a development means for the story is more interesting to me than How Will The Hero Survive or whatever.

I don't know if that makes any sense!

I am so incredibly into this show getting into topics like Identity and Shame and Societal Pressure and Acceptance. Very excited!