Kabuto's silliest pair of episodes is yet to come, and they blow this one out of the water. Actually forget that. They blow it out of the water, stomp on it a bit, set it on fire, then launch it into space for good measure. Well see if you can guess which ones I mean when you get to them.

Yeah, I feel like it's that Inoue has a kind of fascination with applying romantic metaphors to platonic relationships, because that makes a lot of the melodrama seem more reasonable? Like, I don't think he's interested (that I've seen) in telling romantic stories, so it could potentially come off as queerbaiting. I think he avoids it by treating emotions as Emotions, big and bold and unfiltered, and the characters in his stories as signifiers for different goals/personalities/motivations. Everything's a metaphor, so it's not This Boy Loves This Other Boy, it's This Concept Loves This Other Concept.

If that makes any sense? (It's been a long day.) I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a mixture of progressive (Inoue is totally fine telling a story about the deep connections between two men and not making it a joke) and not as progressive as you'd maybe like (Inoue doesn't seem to care that folks who see themselves in these relationships might not enjoy seeing him carelessly play with these ideas).

Aww, that's sweet. Rest assured, if I had a group of bamboo shoots to share, I'd make sure you got one.

I'm excited to see which these are!

Of course there has to be varied character and I won't accept sudden changes even for this one (unless it's their intended character development), but even if it's a new Kamen Rider (the name of Kamen Rider is Drake); Daisuke represents what I fear in society (sorry about likely controversial topic), about sexism and double standard to women. I won't say Daisuke as a bad thing, Drake is likely meant to be another morally ambiguous Rider, probably can be worse than Tendou (protecting all lives vs only women), but really, I can't enjoy this at any level like you declaring it as so much yes for those 2's practices because of my intense fear regarding this topic. Daisuke is a full-on white knight. Being a womanizer is plausible (and a foregone conclusion), but this one reaches sexism level. He never treats women equally to men, he constantly believes they will each be perfect beautiful creatures that could never do wrong, and by love for women he's one-sidedly mean to men, likely dividing other men into two categories: "Rival" and "subordinate", and will likely not getting along with any other men (and that's toxic masculinity, and this mindset is even encouraged in real life for men to antagonize each other, and partly for ocmpetition to women), even shown in one of the worst conclusion of this of being apathetic and refusing to save another men (the part you said there, one of your friend's lives is on the line). This is jeopardizing for any men in life, as, well, not Daisuke yet (he fights the Worm disguising as women), but these type of person (white knight) would never ever hit a women or harm them in the slightest in any condition, will always whitewash them even if they're clearly at fault and being horrible and blame others like men. By this women can get away with anything they do, no matter how horrible, and men can be a clear scapegoat even as innocent, unfairly punished for lies spread about them for women's sake, especially that society can take white knight's side. It's chivalry on steroids.

Well, or probably Tendou is really that toxic. You probably whitewash him a bit (commonly happened in fandom regarding their favorite characters ignoring their morality or just basing on how cool they are, or want to excuse their flaws by constantly defending the characters they relate; by this they're morally imperfect and should admit it) by declaring of him as complex guy so that he can't be decided yet. But morality is purely about his behavior only, no matter if he's more than just "simple asshole" that he challenges and manipulates, if he treats others as beneath him, a narcissistic that flaunts about his god complex to other people, and is pragmatic enough to ransack authority for the sake of mission or grievously injure others in self-defense with little regard about it (these 2 are even worse than he did at this episode), then he's a clear morally ambiguous jerk (And inner warmth, every single jerks/anti-heroic Riders that are a on protagonist side has that though, so it's not like it's exclusive to Tendou, I mean it's a standard requirement so that they can aid the protagonist side, so that they can act as anti-heroes! Kusaka and Kuroto are clear exceptions; they're driven by villain infighting due to racism or revenge respectively); ang some people can mistakenly regard what Tendou did here as driving others to succeed, to improve themselves so others can acknowledge them as elite level which Tendou views himself as). And you wouldn't call them great for this one including Tendou? What Inoue can do is amping up the character's jerk levels like he did at a part in Hibiki's 2nd half, so why for this one you won't accept? (and Tendou is painted as better than Daisuke at least for not having double standard at least in fighting!). And for Kagami, loser archetype main characters are bound to have this happen "glued to others like Tendou", but for this one why didn't you tolerate like Kagami in previous episodes? Loser archetypes are constantly desperate, for this series Kagami is viewed as easy to root for by audiences because of that.

Sorry, wouldn't answer for this one, I don't want to be known as having a bias for anything, thus having anything I say ignored because of perceived as clear bias (it can happened on internet if someone has a love for something, NOT ALWAYS though, and for some occassions I do think that those that have a blind love, they can be blinded regarding that I can't take what they say regarding that something seriously from those with clear bias). And still, you said that it's the overheated nonsense you missed, but still, any shows can't be changed to be, like for example, just like Faiz, a lot of shows had qualities of their own and that's what makes them unique. Citing something as a bad because of it not being meant to appeal to that audience is the audience's problem, not the show's (it's not on that different level compared to bashing on shows that they haven't watched). And you claim you want to be fair for evaluating shows.

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 12

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto12a.png

Gotta be honest, wasn't really feeling this one.

Weirdly, I think what did work for me was all of the Tendou/Kagami stuff? There's more clarity to what's happening between them, even before you get to the ending. It's wrapped up almost entirely in Tendou's incredibly weird and specific views for how people should act, and less in Kagami's clingy obsessiveness (well, there's still a bunch of that), which is not 100% a direction I thought this story was going to go!

To conclude the They Had Sex metaphor, this episode is about how what Tendou found attractive in Kagami was his independence, so Kagami getting all We Are A Couple was a gigantic turn-off for Tendou. As soon as Kagami reasserts his independence, Tendou's ready to rekindle their partnership. (Hand to god, as soon as Kagami becomes his own man, the first thing Tendou does is invite him over for a home-cooked meal. Metaphors! Sometimes they are not subtle!)

It makes for a weird take on friendship, but one that makes sense for Tendou. (Kagami's really jumping through some hoops for this dude, but he's clearly into craving respect? I don't want to shame his needs!) Tendou views friendship as at best dependency, and at worst, capitulation. Being a friend means diminishing yourself. It means accommodating the needs of others rather than pursuing your own goals. It's the last thing he wants.

What he wants, instead, is to allow everyone to achieve their own greatness. He wants to be able to be the best Tendou there is, and he wants Kagami to be the best Kagami there is. They can't do that if they're trying to fit into someone else's life, so friendships don't work for Tendou.

What he wants is to be Friends With Benefits with Kagami.

The ideal relationship for Tendou is to have Kagami out there, living his life, and for them to work together when there's a reason to do so. To be in each other's lives only when it benefits both of them, and never just because. To work independently to achieve a greatness that can be of use to each other.

It's... I mean, it's not a great resolution for the two of them, and I really appreciate that? There's a selfishness to it from Tendou, and it's not a flattering look on him. But, Episode 12, so this is a totally acceptable new level for their friendship. I want the show to find a status quo that's not great, so that they can both move on (and stop being horrible to each other) and have a better version of this yet to come. It's a gross relationship (Kagami seems a bit like he's settling), but that just means there's room to grow.

So, that was all great. And yet, I felt like this episode was sort of dull?

It's a big step down from 11, I thought. The jokes weren't quite as sharp; the thing with Daisuke and Tendou dueling over who can get the most groupies was pretty tacky, even if it was intentionally so. (Tendou doing the whole Every Woman Is Beautiful thing was... I feel like we're still watching an episode that's equating worth to physical appearance? I don't think the show is critiquing itself as much as it thinks it is?) The scratch ticket segment was funny, but it doesn't exactly elevate the episode. And I don't feel like we learn enough about Daisuke and Gon to care about them yet?

There's a little bit of biographical detail that we're given, but there's no depth added to Daisuke in this one. He's like the make up he applies: all on the surface. It's a fun performance, and I love the Drake suit (and how much his fighting style is dance-oriented), but I don't really feel like I get this character. I don't get why he's doing what he's doing, why he's with Gon, what he wants... this episode needed to create a reason for me to care about Daisuke and Gon, and I don't feel like it did that at all, and it really dragged the episode down for me. Every scene with them just felt like a rehash from 11, and it killed a lot of my curiosity.

The Tendou/Kagami story I thought really landed, really came together, but the Daisuke stuff just bored me to tears. Wasn't really feeling that half of the episode, which is a bummer. Hopefully him and Gon will become more interesting soon!

A QUESTION

A big gag in this one is the new scratch cards that La Salle now offers, and how Tendou lumps in Daisuke's inexplicable status as a Rider with a chance lottery win to create a mental block that can only be solved with way too much French cuisine. (I mean, that's my read. It's not that Tendou always needs to win or whatever, it's that Daisuke getting a Zecter that he resents and winning a scratch lottery is just too much for Tendou to accept. The scratch card is the final straw, basically.) The scratch cards seem to be a pretty big hit, judging by the no-doubt monstrous bill Tendou ends up paying. (And Tendou doesn't even redeem his 100 yen discount!) How do you feel about lotteries? Do you ever buy scratch cards, or play the Powerball?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto12b.png

I play the kamen rider mobile gacha game, and that's probably worse of me than spending on any lottery.

Too bad Shoothopper hasn't left too big of an impression in his own introduction episodes, but I really like the ever turbulent back-and-forth of Tendou and Kagami that you're describing. It's like if Sento and Ryuga simultaneously weren't as fond of each other but also a lot more interested in the other person's general being.

Yeah, it... I mean, there's a version of it where it's all about inspiring people to greatness, and I think that's really laudable and heroic. But there's this undercurrent of, like, Objectivist philosophy that's both problematic and sort of depressing, and I really hope it's on purpose! The show grappling with the limitations of Tendou's views on the inherent good to society within personal achievement, like: yes! I very much want the show to dig into that! That sort of behavior is maybe something the show could comment on!

Also, yeah, lemme say something nice about ShootHopper. (Drake? Nooooope.) I only briefly mentioned it, but I like how much grace there is to his fighting style? There's a fluidity, where his adversaries look like partners in some Kamen Rider Choreography. The way he ducks under and through punches, or he pivots in a slow arc, it's like he's dancing with them. It's like the act of fighting is so gauche that he'll only spar, only maneuver and shoot. That's a very compelling physicality to ShootHopper.

To be honest, I didn’t think this episode had much going on compared to the two either side of it.

And for the guest star this week, the girl who turns out to be our worm of the week is played by Erena, who is normally typecast in Tokusatsu as an older sister, a role she played in Ryuki Episode Final, Go-Onger episode 34 and OOO episodes 23 and 24, the one that gave us this combo

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cCFfsp74DvQ

OK sorry but, just asking, nothing to say regarding last reply?

Lol, you did say that you wish you have better stuff to say regarding the main duo compared to Daisuke and Gon? Aren't you getting that here? Well, considering that in previous comment I compared Tendou with a good number of people who has similar philosophy (but not Tendou's skills though... I mean he's perfect not only to Kagami he's unrelatable to audience in terms of capability), I wouldn't think of Tendou's mindset as weird; it's actually common, at least it stands out more on internet, or on other characters in other media.

Tendou pushes independence, and considering who Tendou is, he'll never fail even without any single help, while Kagami is like others of accepting companionship, though it stands out more in Yaguruma part that he praises Yaguruma and believes in Perfect Harmony. Unless you think about Kagami declaring that him and Tendou aren't friends, I won't think the term here for Tendou to respect Kagami more as independence, but his straightforward mind. I won't think of Kagami as completely independent, he helps and is helped by others, but he has unwavering determination that even if rejected by Kabuto Zecter, he never backs down on fighting off Worms. Tendou's mindset of looking down on friendship unless it benefits (and some outwardly still deny) is also something that is common among shonen rival archetypes (which several secondary Rider take role as). Many of these type of characters are aloof, asocial, prided their claimed independence, and has no patience for something such as friendship or relying on others.

And actually, Tendou doesn't live up to his words a bit? (although he probably thinks those are beneath him to make efforts, or with his narcissism, feels that he has reached success that it's an exception for him to pursue). Despite having many talents and abilities, he is usually uninterested in pursuing anything outside of his belt's activation, which is opposite of what you say he wants for others like Kagami being focused on his job. childish arrogance of where he frequently boasts about his successes saying that he never needed help from anyone and doesn't rely on anyone to succeed.

Misaki now has a clear problem in ZECT after bossing Kagami around for previous ones, that Mishima demeans her that she doesn't know anything about ZECT after learning that more Riders outside of ZECT appears other than Tendou and that she defies him a bit for that. Now Misaki and Kagami are more of equals and share problems to each other; being considered as a detriment in ZECT (but it's far more than this beneath, in reality), which plays a part for Kagami gaining Tendou's respect. Kagami's job is now trying to persuade other Riders into joining ZECT, although Daisuke is another morally ambiguous Riders that gives cold shoulder like Tendou did. As Kagami forgetting something important, was Kagami's insistence to become Tendou's friend is that severe that he neglects his objective of joining ZECT? He's always driven by his burning hatred for Worms, and he wants to beat them all, and moreover, he wants to become a cool and badass hero while doing so by transforming as a Kamen Rider.

I think I get some new things from Drake a.k.a Daisuke, that more of his mean side is revealed here (well, I only catch mean side of him here, outside of women). That his apathy to others except women is more highlighted here where he outright refused to join ZECT and that nothing will convince him otherwise. And that what I mentioned before of the toxic masculinity of antagonizing other men for the sake of women, which is Tendou again, regarding Hiyori this time (to be fair, Tendou is the one being possessive of Hiyori and forbids anyone unworthy talking with her, but Daisuke also feels that only best ladies man can ask woman out and forbids anyone else too). I feel that Daisuke is a hedonist who only wants to live his life exactly the way he wants, and the hedonist part also comes from how women is one of the main objective goals of men and he revolves around that (the other being wealth and throne) which grants him white-knight traits, and by that he only wants to satisfy himself with little regard to others; like Sh Ranger said, he has completely selective care and that makes him an anti-hero.

I don't think that lotteries are really worth it. Would only participate if there's no huge risk involved. I also play a gacha game, where while getting what I want is satisfying, not getting so can suck out my life personally for a while. And that's for using in-game currency, imagine using real life currency. I think other than that one, I wouldn't play a gacha game again. And regarding scratch cards, in my region at least, there are many products, like snacks, who offer various prizes depending on what's written inside the pack. Obviously, I, always got unlucky word from the packs I buy for that, that fuels how I think lotteries are not worth it more, but of course my motivation of buying those foods aren't for the prizes (those that has that will buy enormous amount of that snack to ensure that they get the prize), but just for snacking. Not to mention, people around me like my parents often talk about how the prize can be a con.

I was thinking about this episode last night and it clicked on me what it reminded me of. In 2013 Toshiki Inoue teamed up with the creator of Garo, Keita Amemiya (who it now occurs to me is my own answer to the "what creator do you always trust" question) on a comedy action show called Shougeki Gouraigan. It was... weird. I think weird is a good word. Weird and awkwardly horny. Anyway, it had a lot of the same kind of humor that we see in these two episodes, which kinda seems to be Inoue's style with humor: going over the top, going flashy, and prone to throwing in some really odd non-sequiturs that are more puzzling than funny. Throw a few porn actresses in and this arc would have been pretty much straight out of Shougeki Gouraigan.

So Drake. Drake's probably my least favorite Rider on the series, at least in terms of design if not as a character. I really like the asymmetrical nature of the suit, but the cold color palette makes it look really dull in comparison to the suits we've seen so far and the ones that are still upcoming. We're starting to get into the weird Masked Forms, too, with the superfluous gas mask and hose. We'll get weirder, but I'm not really a fan.

https://i.imgur.com/BWekHhI.png

This is a thought that could apply to just about any episode so far, and probably many in the future, but this one gave me the perfect screencap to use, so let me just say – I sort of hate the ZECT stuff in this show, and I sort of love that I hate it? Every scene with one and/or two shady people with vague motivations discussing whatever recent developments in the literal shade is so utterly self-serious and unironic that it's just about looping back around for me into being ironically goofy and hilarious? I feel like Kagami's dad and Gorou are contributing the bare minimum to this series right now, and it makes the level of importance they carry themselves with come off as so absurd. It's not really an issue, because the show knows to keep the scenes as short as possible, but it's something worth mentioning.

And on the subject of absurd things I should hate but kinda love anyway, how about that Tendou/Daisuke plot in this one? Sure, Tendou's blatant feelings of inferiority towards his new rival are still hugely out of character, and sure Die is completely on the mark about it doing a poor job of elaborating on Daisuke himself, and, sure, this is an episode of Kamen Rider where the hero chides a supporting character for treating women like objects mere moments after saying, in Tendou's usual metaphorical manner, that all flowers (women) know they bloom in the presence of the sun (him, of course), but – and I'm preemptively sorry about this – I did find it all pretty amusing.

This is another reason why I mentioned ZECT now; it gives you context for my thought process when I say this episode achieves such insane levels of pure tackiness that I can't even be angry about it. It's riding a very, very fine line, but it comes off as tongue-in-cheek enough to be more fun than frustrating to me. Definitely going to be a "your mileage may vary" situation; I would not bother sticking up for this one at all if you told me it was crass garbage, because that is exactly what it is.

Inoue seemed to save all the genuine quality writing for the Kagami/Tendou plot, where my opinions line up with Die's pretty much perfectly. It lands on something a lot smarter than I expected from the last part, and it made me happy to see in a pair of episodes that are otherwise notably uninterested in emotional resonance or interesting character development. I will mention here that I do still love everything about Drake, though. I don't have a particularly hard tier list for Kabuto designs, but I like his color scheme, and his Zecter might just be my favorite of the series? It's really tough to say in a show where basically every Rider design is a winner.

Also, I'm trying my best to answer all of Die's questions, but all this one reminds me of is how weird it is the guy who was causally dodging knives in the premiere now can't win a simple game of chance without trying a dozen times. No wonder Tendou is so upset about it; it's like Inoue thought he was writing Shinji again or something! :lol