For all people rag on this show for people not talking about their problems, doing that is an AMERICAN thing. In Japan, people DON’T talk about their problems because they are THEIR problems, not other peoples’.

I've always been more forgiving on this show's 'misunderstandings' than most people, but this is a completely nonsensical defense. Communicating your problems is not a completely foreign concept in Japan. The character's inability to do so comes from their unique character flaws (within reason when the drama is good, anyway).

The Start of a Ship (a pun on the title of Episode 1). Keitarou/Yuka and their romantic 2-person love triangle is a nice subplot that develops both characters in constructive ways. Keitarou plays an important role not just in making Takumi better but also restoring Yuka's faith in humanity, simply by being a decent human which is a novelty in Yuka's life so far. Unfortunately, Keitarou, morally the best person in the show, is convinced that their date means he's a terrible person for cheating on his pen pal, since neither of them know they're the same person they've been emailing for all this time. Yuka is also conflicted since she still has feelings for Kaido, who now has feelings for Mari. Looks like this love triangle has more than 2 people after all. Classic Inoue! It's awesome.

There's a comedic scene where Takumi and Mari are looking at the blurry school reunion picture and Mari asks Takumi who matches his type. It's funny how quickly Takumi changes his mind after realizing he picked Mari. It shows that Takumi is at least a little interested in pursuing romance, a theme which is starting to get more focus with this show entering the Kaixa arc.

I really like the location where Faiz & Kaixa fight Mr. J with the rollercoaster at the theme park where the first date of Keitarou and Yuka is simultaneously happening. It makes Kaixa's real debut here even more memorable and significant with him saving Faiz from his greatest challenge yet.

Your analysis of Faiz's defeat is interesting. I mentioned how cool his fighting style is, the way he doesn't bother escalating and doesn't hold back. But maybe there's a downside to that. As a member of Lucky Clover, the elite, Mr. J isn't some average MOTW kind of Orphenoch. While Kiba proved to be an equal match for Faiz in Episode 6, this is the first time where Faiz was fighting at a disadvantage. Mr. J is a crocodile and a tank. He no-sells Faiz's attacks and strikes as soon as he sees a gap in his offensive.

It's fair to process the show as TV show, and this isn't a wiki substitute, but that can come off as troublesome, especially if it's brought up to like, discussions involving whole Kamen Rider in general, if you have to talk about a certain part in the series, like a scene from episode involving the character not identified, and still using made up terms there (though tbf, some people also use the vague descriptions of that person if they forget their identity, like "Rose Grongi" or "woman with rose tattoo" for Ra-Baruba-De). To be fair I also usually dig up stuffs more at later, but it's more to avoid spoilers, and reading comments and infos from people here aren't much different that it's something you obtained out of the show and reading (plus places like wiki are edited by people). Then again..... like I said before, the whole internet has obscure infos for Phase 1 Heisei series, including the wiki! Have found the extremely complete one for Ryuki (the person's other complete one was OOO, Phase 2), but not yet about the others.

The Lucky Clover, now yeah you got a new team in Faiz, the actual villains team. The usually evil monsters (Orphnochs). Murakami is someone who puts up a facade in public, but somehow there are people who doubts him as a president.

A non-conflict story you like? So Faiz got the amusement park scene early on.... those people in toku can somehow spend enough there, either time (this is usually reserved for holidays) and money, right? Though regarding them not knowing, I mean Keitaro learned Yuka's name when she wrote on the laundry right? How did he somehow only know her surname (he calls her Osada-san)? And did Yuka learn Keitaro's name too? Besides, something that grates a bit other than the first display of "misunderstandings" (this one doesn't cause that big of a doom) that, if they don't ask for like, first name, or phone numbers, is that they seem to be less dedicated to keep in touch with each other, oh well, then again, Keitaro knows where Yuka lives, so it's not as problematic for them to get to meet. Though if they want to convey the happiness, should it be Yuka? She's the one who's damaged yeah, and she wants to be happy by asking Keitaro to take her into a place that made him happy, and show her changes, if only from that temporary situation. And even if they don't tell each other their contacts/identities.... this could be still probably solved if Keitaro does his usual sthick, like texting Yuka when they're together, then have Yuka's phone ring and her checking the message, and realize that the person beside her is her pen pal.... Tbf for Keitaro, he thinks Team Faiz has warmed up to him with Takumi smiling at him at the idea of him being Faiz... but poor him it's not to be the case later on.

Even if Kaido is not an evil person (only Takumi's level of terrible), he got what's coming for him here. Someone, a terrible one too, helping you out, only for you to instead lash out. Kaido isn't suicidal right? He proclaims that he wants to live, if live as an Orphnoch and doing their mission. Eh then again, Kaido thinks Mari's a burglar. Mari doesn't even properly introduce herself here unlike what she did to Takumi. While I already know some part of the series before, I never expect Mari and Kaido interacting alone like here. For Yuka, if I'm in her position (I've had some problems of that myself), if someone mistreats me, I'm gonna see how that person treats others. If it's like Kaido, who also mistreats others like Yuji, I wouldn't feel guilty and leave like that, because I know it's just the person being unpleasant overall, not specifically to me.

For having the coolest kick, this is an instance where finishers can be blocked like usual attack? The video games don't lie after all that when you screw up your finisher, the opponent will be able to block the drill kick (not dodging to the side). Oh, and that offscreen gunfire came courtesy of the Mystery Rider, who it looks like will be a big part of next episode. And speaking of game, oops I was wrong before, this is the major Orphnochs that is playable there, the Crocodile Orphnoch. Even if Faiz has beaten up, Crocodile Orphnoch hasn't shown his ability.... yet.

My point was that.... all the cynicism, and marmite, does that come from the miscommunications, which you tolerate?

Whoa, noble good guy Dr Maki sounds neat! Thanks for the heads-up!

Yeah, I can't really speak to any cultural differences, but Kamen Rider as a franchise (even in the early Heisei stuff) puts a ton of emphasis on doing the hard work of expressing your emotions, and the value of letting people in. One of my favorite things is how characters that try to exclude others, go it alone, they're usually punished by the plot for it!

I don't... I'm not sure if me complaining about the whole Yuka/Keitaro thing has given people the wrong idea. It's not a huge failing of this show that they don't know each others' names or personal info yet. I think it's, at most, a little goofy, and something I'd like to see them address to close off a loophole. Not resolve, but address.

In general, I'm not seeing the "misunderstandings" people have been talking about, and nothing about the interactions between Team Faiz and Team Orphnoch have been a negative to me. It's, honestly, some of the most fun parts of the show. Even within their groups, I think the characterizations have been compellingly nuanced, with some solid emotional logic to why characters respond the way they do.

Maybe there's stuff down the line that'll drive me crazy, but right now I think the plotting has been pretty great.

Yeah, this is getting to be a little bit of a romantic drama, with the Yuka/Keitaro stuff, that Mari/Takumi joke, Mari's crush on Yuuji, my undying affection for Houjou's presence... Things are getting a little heated on Faiz!

It'd been brought up in the previous episode, I think, that there's a faction at Smart Brain that feels he stole the presidency. And those dudes who attacked his car were maybe from that faction? (I don't really remember.)

I don't really understand what you're asking here?

I think, also, you misunderstand what I mean by 'marmite'. That's a type of jam, I guess, which is infamous for people either loving it or absolutely hating it -- and that's how I feel most people interact with Faiz, too. It's not describing a literal aspect of the show.

I also should say that despite what I said, I don't actually like the miscommunication. I think it makes sense for the character; I think it's a valid storytelling device; I think it has potential to be interesting and as I said, I don't think it's some big thing that dooms the show or even bad on its own. But it's also not something I, personally enjoy and I just get sick of the way it's used after a bit.

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 12

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz12a.png

--1--

Does everything on this show have to malfunction the first time it’s used? The first time we see someone use the Faiz belt, it’s Mari, and it doesn’t work. The first time we see the FaizCyKill, it attacks Faiz. (Deservedly, but the image of it is wrong.) And now, the first time we see Kaixa in action, he Errors out and dies. Twice!

I think it serves two purposes. First, it’s kind-of funny. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but unexpected and surprising. The show builds up to a big Hero moment, and then it, like, *sad trombone*. Second, it definitely keeps Team Faiz (and the new Team All-New kaiXa-Men, complete with Dennis Hopeless-esque RV) feeling like an underdog. The less-charitable view would be that they are hopeless screw-ups, but these plucky kids got me rooting for them. They’re trying so hard, you guys!

--2--

And they’re really trying in this episode. Takumi tries his hand at being a problem solver, and it’s really entertaining. I feel like he’s the friend that can’t ever listen to your problems, he has to give you a solution. Sometimes you just want to vent, but he’s like Just Do What I Tell You And Your Problems Are Solved. Takumi is… not the friend you vent to.

It’s neat to see how quickly he enjoys telling people what to do. His whole thing is not getting involved, but as soon as he does it’s like he’s addicted to it? After giving Mari some actionable advice (hey, why don’t you call some of the people in this photo that did not immediately turn to ash in front of you), he’s ready to fix Keitaro’s heartache, and it goes bad. He goes from being shocked that Keitaro is juggling two women (“with that face”!) to making it all about him and his lack of a love life. He’s helpful to the group for, like, one problem and then just flames out hard. Granted, trying to get involved in anyone’s romantic problems is S Class problem solving, even more so when it’s Keitaro’s weird one-woman-two-relationships thing, but he’s barely able to last a sentence before he goes back to not wanting to get involved. (That little slink away he does in the background as Mari levels her gaze at Keitaro is expert physical comedy.)

--3--

That domestic stuff, Team Faiz doing a scene together, the show did some fun stuff with it I thought. There’s a little musical cue I love, a little bit of acoustic guitar, that they’ve layered over some of the Team Faiz At Home scenes. It reminds me of watching Cowboy Bebop, that lazy energy, people just existing in a space together. I like it.

Visually they went surprisingly high energy. Mari’s expanded story of her childhood (excellent callback from a surprised Keitaro, crushed that Mari and Takumi had a backstory conversation without him) has this hilariously dramatic spotlight on her, taking what could normally be a dry scene of exposition and daring you not to laugh during it. Turns out she was one of several orphans who was adopted by a rich but emotionally-distant father-figure and trained for a mysterious purpose, which, y’know, that’s a totally normal thing to have happen. Or, no, it’s super weird, but the show doesn’t really dwell on it. Like, Takumi all but says to Mari that her childhood is unbelievably suspicious, and Mari’s delivery and body language during her story is basically Now That I’m Hearing This Out Loud I Can See How You Might Find It A Little Weird. It’s a scene that’s almost all exposition, but the lighting and performance keep it from being even a little dull.

Similarly, there’s a beautifully staged shot later in the episode. The, I don’t know, Jean Grey of Team All-New kaiXa-Men, she’s meeting Takumi and Mari for coffee. While she’s giving us some context for the episode’s first dissolving Kaixa, she says that they’ll both get more answers from Mari’s old teacher. Who is pulling up the RV outside the cafe during that sentence, and the camera tracks it over Jean’s shoulders the whole time, single shot. That seems like it’d be an enormous pain-in-the-ass to get right, and it’s for a scene that wasn’t even screaming out for a flashy camera move. Which is why I love it? It’s easy, on a show like this, to save all the crane shots and dolly rigs for the Faiz Fight or an Orphnoch debut. I love it when it’s used on a line of dialogue at the end of an expository scene.

Some clever, unnecessary directing choices in this one, and I 100% approve.

--4--

So, Team All-New kaiXa-Men.

As individual characters, they’re whatever. No one really stands out, since they only get one or two lines each. (Scott Summers bites it in the open, Jean gets the dialogue scene with Mari in the cafe, Warren Worthington III bites it in the second Kaixa fight, Bobby Drake tries to protect Hank McCoy But A Girl, and Substitute Xavier bites it at the end.) I love how half of the group is dead within their first episode. Fantastic.

As a group, it’s maybe slightly better than whatever? Mari having a Secret History is barely even something you could call a surprise at this point, since a) her parents died in a mysterious accident when she was a kid, b) she was adopted by the president of the country’s largest corporation who has mysteriously disappeared, c) she went to a mysterious school that was buried deep beneath the Earth, and, most damning, d) she is a teenage girl on a Kamen Rider show. I’d’ve been more shocked if she just cut hair for 50 episodes. There’s some fun to be had with the way the show piles on the Secret History tropes here, as though all of that other stuff was just too common, not special enough. Now she’s part of a group of mysterious orphans, and they’re all in danger.

It… I sort-of don’t care? I don’t know how much I’m supposed to care, though. I can’t tell if the show’s screwing around, or trying to do something serious. Again, half the group gets bumped off right away, and the show hasn’t started to get at Mari’s feelings on any of this (it is just so much exposition you guys), so I’m left trying to invest in a group of kids who get immediately murdered. Tough ask!

That said, I don’t know that I want the show to do more with these characters or this plot. I’m good with it as a gag, a parody of Secret History tropes. Trying to expand it, or make it more central to Mari’s story… no thanks? I mean, I’d love to regret saying that, to have the show find some angle on it that impresses me. In this episode, it just didn’t click for me.

--5--

And, man, there ain’t much else in this episode! A couple quick scenes with Yuka and Yuuji to reiterate some stuff (Smart Brain wants Yuuji to attack humans, Kaido’s on the mend), and a Lucky Clover scene that tells us they’ve got three lives each. They’re good scenes, but too brief to really discuss. I think the only other thing is that Faiz and the FaizCyKill actually, effectively team-up this episode?! It’s a stunning development, and I hope the show hasn’t squandered one of its biggest rivalries just to shock the viewers. I don’t think it’ll last, though.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz12b.png

So yeah remember in episode 10 when Kaixa is watching Takumi fight to tease the new rider? With the revelation that it's up to this point killed all of its users that means someone had to die to get that scene, and that's hilarious to me.

You dubbing the kaiXa-Men new names is probably going to be the most memorable thing about them to me personally from now on. Does this make Takumi Wolverine?!

Like, did Team All-New kaiXa-Men test this out, kill a friend in doing so... and then keep going? I mean, Jean says that they lost two friends to fighting Orphnochs (Gabriel Summers, who turned to ash last episode, and Scott Summers, who bites it in this one), but they had to have tried it out before just fighting with it. So they did, someone died... and they just kept going?

I mean, godDAMN. That's all info that's basically in this episode, but the idea of the test run ending in a death and they were like Mission Accomplished...

INOUE!!! I love these idiot kids now. The man's a legend.

It's tricky, because the look of Team All-New kaiXa-Men is so specifically the original five X-Men that I sort-of think it's on purpose? Just, the group by itself is so clearly the X-Men to me that, jokingly, I called that one girl Jean, and then the dead kid was Scott, and then Oh Shit Wait A Second.

With Team Faiz, it's hard to find the parallel? Takumi seems more like he'd be the Sunfire of the group, an uncharismatic powerhouse that everyone else is sick of immediately. Keitaro would be the Nightcrawler, all friendship and smiles. Mari... tough one. Maybe Banshee? I don't know. At this point, it feels like a stretch.