Minami thing aside, I didn't think Yuji had a lot of dialogue uttered to Hanagata. Also for the Hanagata thing you listed there, he founded Smart Brain to try to evolve humans. As a part of his agenda, he took in orphans and had them be experimented on to be observe their evolution as a potential Orphnochs without being initially killed. But for the giving belts parts, he realized the error of his ways and attempted to stop humanity from becoming the monsters by taking the belts which initial purposes were to protect the Orphnoch King and gave them to his students in hope there would be the time they could oppose the Orphnoch and the King, observing them behind shadows for years. So yeah, the only thing that isn't deep understanding of morality was the experiment part, but he realized the error of his ways.

Obviously, we all know Kusaka is awful, the series has gone a lot to show his true colors to the viewers, and his death last time is meant to be karmic (did you read my post detailing about how it's karmic? taken from other sources of info, but it's how it is), especially that, it's at Yuji's hands, where the heroes after his death are now mostly dealing with the fallout of his constant sabotage of their efforts to unite, most notably Yuji's heel turn, which means at least Kusaka is quickly forgotten. But Kusaka has a good reputation among the cast, namely because of him being a high-functioning sociopath; exceptionally charismatic and manages to keep his true nature hidden from nearly everyone (except Takumi), and a skilled manipulator, Keitaro never really knew about his true colors. And to Ryusei School other than Mari, they're the most tight-knit companion in the series, obviously other Ryusei School alumnus like Mihara and Rina's gotta be on good terms with Kusaka (what I wonder is how Kusaka feels to them), especially that for what's shown, Kusaka's never shown to be hostile to the Ryusei alumnus, other than those who targeted Mari (though I wonder that, the reason Kusaka's such a yandere to Mari is because she's his only friend when they were little, but as you've said here, at least others like Mihara thought of him as a pushy older brother, I wonder if he slowly turneed it around with his cruel manipulative skills he gained from the tragic past). And for Kaido being main Rider, some people asked for him or Yuji to be Delta instead of Mihara. But yeah, Kaido is dickish on Takumi's (or most standard secondary Riders) level where they're just dicks, not on Kusaka's level where it's full-blown psychopathy; asshole =/= villain. Now I understand of Kusaka not wanting to tell Mari anything that he treats her inappropriately, but I don't know why Mihara tells Rina but not Mari (out of care); because I'm sure that Mihara probably should care for Rina more than other Ryusei School alumnus including Mari.

Why don't tell Takuma? He has a huge crush on Kageyama and his hobby is trying to impress her. Probably he's gotta think the same way as you do regarding her. And yeah you only said things about her now, while praising Murakami previously (even at his "anticlimatic" death). And for Kageyama, something about her; she can be the "mother" of the group, without taking away her sadism and cruelty. The Lucky Clover was mostly managed by Murakami (who is not a member, but a head of Smart Brain), but probably as he died, for now, Kageyama's guide stands out even more. And for Kitazaki, this is what I'm talking about for actually the final reason why he's Faiz' version of Ouja; for all the power and screentime he has, at the end he's still a small fry and a big bad wannabe, where he thinks and wants to be the strongest, but he's all big talk with Orphnoch King. Though it bums me out that he met him when he was weakened and didn't even try to strike him. And Kitazaki being so utterly cruel also bites him in the ass here other than his narcissm to prove himself as the strongest by killing the King just to prove him so despite it would kill the entirety of his race (like Daguva, not caring about his own race), that now Kageyama works together with Takuma to betray him, and as another catharsis factor moment; Takuma beating up a powerless Kitazaki, a clear revenge of anything he's going through. (̶l̶o̶l̶,̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶t̶y̶p̶e̶d̶ ̶T̶a̶k̶u̶m̶a̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶T̶a̶k̶u̶m̶i̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶o̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶1̶ ̶l̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶F̶a̶i̶z̶)̶

Yeah, but the fight or die part is separate from the character's problem, because it's the biological body Orphnochs have. The character part which embodies the "more nuanced ideas than Survival" can be remain unchanged, but Orphnochs have to exist as per Kamen Rider show, and the writers make Orphnochs have this mechanic for their body. For Lucky Clover, as I said above, surely not Kitazaki, he doesn't care if he dooms his entire species just to prove he's the strongest. And just because they partly also want to stay alive, doesn't mean what they do aren't vile like their supremacist belief and schemes on humans (as Orphnochs are human's evolution) and encouraging them to be as cruel as them; as a must for Orphnoch behavior, and it's probably like Kusaka too for killing Orphnochs to humanity, what they do are probably just cruelty, but is also incidental in keeping their race alive. And well, that you said Orphnoch King's machinations are isolated from Team Faiz, this episode you got to see the kid they're taking care of, being attacked by Takumi, who fights with Yuji that wants to preserve his plan of keeping and awakening Orphnoch King (the one thing's missing is Mari never knowing the only boy she liked kidnapped her), both characters they've known well (and Teruo) seemingly much darker than they think. I guess if Takumi and Yuji had a dialogue about their current clash (Yuji thinking its better to live as an Orphnoch and Takumi refusing to throw away his humanity) it'd still feel like argument?

Obviously, there's going to be the threat of Orphnoch King. Kamen Rider's gotta have a final boss (we haven't seen Blaster Form for forever! I didn't expect the series to have so few appearences for the final form). And for Orphnoch King, for an enemy, he sure has a design that resembles traditional (show) Kamen Rider more, than the Riders itself (like previously, Ryuki's Alternative compared to other Riders). He has a grasshopper motif with a scarf, he resembles Ichigo, the first Kamen Rider. Also for Teruo, it seems the difference of him compared to other Orphnoch is that his Orphnoch form is separate from his human body where it's more like a monster assist (like Faiz' Auto Vajin). I wonder what if Teruo's human form is attacked while the Orphnoch King is unleashed. And haven't said this, but Teruo's insolent behavior wasn't done for nothing; because he's truly evil as the Orphnoch King.

I don't know if you're intentional.... but typing it as "he fall off the horse", when Yuji himself is the Horse (Orphnoch), lol.

How about explanation for Sawada then? Or Mr. J.

Sawada is a pretty good villain, I guess, although the show never quite makes up its mind on whether or not we’re supposed to hate or pity him. Mr. J isn’t really around long enough for me to consider him one of the show’s major antagonists. Teruo is in more episodes than J and has about as much dialogue.

The King is still a kid after all so wanting to eat Kitazaki like a bunny is appropriate. Takuma freaking out over it does manage to make that scene both horrific and humorous. It's also a relief knowing that a depraved guy like Kitazaki is a threat no more. Attempting to mutiny the King works in the heroes' favor but the reason he's doing it is all wrong, like everything else he does. He doesn't care which side goes extinct as long as he's entertained. He's the most uninhibited hedonistic kind of person there is and right now, that's no good for anybody. He doesn't understand that his teammates are lawful evils who are clearly going to turn on him for disobeying the president. He brought this punishment on himself.

Takumi's in a difficult position here. He thinks the End Justifaiz the Means, that he can murder an innocent kid to save humanity. But no hero would want to have to do something like that. He's reluctant and I'm kind of glad that Kaido and Kiba stopped him before he convinced himself to go through with it since that's not a guilt he would be able to get over easily. He has enough burdens to deal with. It doesn't help that he's having another breakdown at the time, believing that Orphenochs must die. He's right that it's the most effective way to save humanity but focusing on the objective and acting too dispassionately to accomplish it makes him less human by denying an Orphenoch the right to live which isn't the Takumi we've come to know. Takumi has to be a hero this late in the show, he has to act honestly and fight not just for the greater good but the good he has in his heart as well. That's the only reason why humanity is worth defending.

Whoa! That's some fun trivia. Thanks!

Honestly, it's just a problem in the plotting of the episode. It's bad writing on Inoue's part.

Kusaka's found dead on the beach by Mihara and Takumi. The next logical person who'd need to be told was Mari. But the problem is, dramatically, it needs to be an in-person scene. Having Takumi just call up Mari to say that Kusaka's dead is a horrible scene. He has to tell her in-person.

The problem is, the Mihara/Rina scene happens before the Takumi/Mari scene, and that means that Rina's naturally going to want to talk to Mari about it. And there're a few ways Inoue could've addressed that, to keep the Mari scene with just Takumi and Keitaro. (That scene shouldn't be about the Ryusei kids, it should be about the core team's internal grief and Takumi's self-loathing. Two more characters makes that harder to do.) He could've had Mihara say that Takumi was going to tell her, or that Mihara wanted to tell Rina first and they'd go over there next. Both totally normal things to say and do. But Inoue instead opts to have Mihara suggest that they never tell Mari, which a) is completely insane; b) totally pointless, since the scene after next is Takumi telling Mari about Kusaka; and c) it makes Takumi's information have to include a kind-of accidentally cruel Did No One Tell You component.

It probably should've been either a different line of dialogue for Mihara, or moving the Mihara/Rina scene a little later in the episode. But then, that'd be tough because it's largely expository (it's really just telling Rina that Kusaka was killed by Orphnoch, which serves to frame the Smart Brain scene that follows) and it doesn't matter once Mari finds out. Basically, it's a scene that made more problems than it solved.

Alternately, I really really like the idea that Mihara is trying to become the new Kusaka, and this is how he does it. He's got this moment at the end of the scene, where he wishes for Kusaka to live on inside him, and all I could think was that Mihara just heard a tiny voice in his head saying, "Just keep lying to all of your friends for no reason!"

I got a lot of favorites, man! It is not a zero sum experience, enjoying characters on these shows, but I can only talk about so many at once!

The other thing is, this is like a living document? I'm not at the end of a story, picking favorites and criticizing losers. It's something that changes as stories change, evolves as the characters evolve. Sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it takes a while. Kageyama snuck up on me a bit, and it's only near the end where I fully appreciate what she brought to the table.

The problem is I don't feel like I'm hearing a dialogue between Yuuji and Takumi, because Yuuji isn't on the show anymore. I'm watching a conflict between Murakami and Takumi. I'm hearing Murakami's smug dismissal of Takumi's beliefs, and that's not a conflict I'm nearly as invested in as Yuuji's conflicted nature versus Takumi's conflicted nature. They were like two halves of a whole, and now it's just Good Guy versus Bad Guy and it doesn't do as much for me.

(Like, I don't want to dwell on this, but Yuuji backhanding Kaido was the most Okay So You Don't Want Me To Care About Yuuji Anymore Got It scene they could've done. It's like when Kusaka hits Mari. It robs that character of so much remaining goodwill.)

I don't even know if I feel like they're doing it for Smart Brain, so much as they really don't want to die. Like, I think Houjou and Kageyama decided on their own to take out Kitazaki, because he had no grasp on the stakes of this fight. In a battle with this much that can go wrong, and how final the result would be, Kitazaki's a liability they can't afford.

Yeah, I don't love some of the overall elements of the final string of episodes, but I do love the dilemma that Takumi's in. Like, he kills this kid and dooms himself (spiritually and physically), or he dooms humanity while saving his own life. These options are impossible, and I actually am looking forward to how the show resolves them.

Everytime you hear a toxic thought in your head, that's him. That's Kusaka.

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 50

--1--

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It's a good ending. It's a good ending.

I wouldn't say it redeems the choices the show made with Yuuji, though. There are ways to read into his decision to be a cold-blooded corporate asshole. You can see it as an emotional breakdown, hiding in cosplay because his worldview was shattered after the death of Yuka. It's just, there isn't much in 47-49 to support that. At least, not enough to declare it as a definitive motivation. Equally likely is that Yuuji's just a massively out-of-character dick now. (He is horrible to absolutely everyone in his orbit, and that's tough to square with a view of him as conflicted and hurting.) The fact that both of those are possible, that's not great storytelling. I don't think I'll ever fight for the Murakami Junior stuff.

But there's a back two-thirds to this episode that does some incredibly smart things, makes really good storytelling choices, and completely lands the ending for me. It was bumpy! I thought we wouldn't make it. But we're here, we're safe, and I'm happy.

--2--

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The absolute smartest thing this finale did was say that the stuff from 47-49 that sucked? It doesn't matter. It never mattered.

The Ticking Clock is irrelevant, because everyone dies at some point. Sometimes it's soon, sometimes it's later, but life ends. The important thing is to cherish what you have, to give it meaning. And, whether that's fighting to save humanity, spending time with your friends, becoming a private investigator, or just doing laundry, living life is inherently meaningful. Existence is its own reward. Fighting for dominance, fighting for survival, it's bullshit. It's a distraction from what you have around you, what you're better off thinking about.

The Orphnoch King is irrelevant, beyond being something to have a fight against. Teruo doesn't factor into the story at all, permanently transforming into the Orphnoch King early in the episode. As a character, the Orphnoch King isn't one. He's a force of nature, a metaphor. He's all the ways we lose sight of our connections with one another, how we allow our fears to divide us, how we view things like safety and happiness as finite resources, stolen from one person to give to another. With friends at our side, with a refusal to view him as legitimate, he's easy to defeat.

Smart Brain doesn't really have a role to play. Lucky Clover doesn't really have a role to play. It's a story about Takumi and Yuuji, at the end. It's a story about acceptance.

--3--

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The Yuuji/Takumi fight is perfect. It's a perfect fight.

Technically, visually, it does everything you want it to. It's beautifully shot, and, as the clear centerpiece to the episode, it's given plenty of room to breathe. They do so much with it, and it's a big reason why this finale worked so well for me.

There's a little bit of build-up, before things get started. It's them having a human face-off, a final moment to say This One Counts. There won't be any holding back, and no one's coming to save them. You see Yuuji's facade crack for the first time since 46, and it's crucial to feeling anything for this fight. You need to see some flash of Old Yuuji, some reason to feel conflicted about this final Faiz Fight. It does a great job setting the stage.

The battle starts as a Rider battle, Kaixa versus Faiz. There's clever gimmicks, like Faiz using his Shot to bust out of Kaixa's Slash. It's small, as Rider battles go. It's not a big pyrotechnic extravaganza. It's measured, though. Longer takes, more meat to the fight.

It transitions next into an Oprhnoch battle, Horsepower versus Wolfeyes. It's more brutal now. Yuuji's anger is spilling out, screaming himself raw. Takumi switches up into Faiz Blaster, and uses Yuuji's rage against him. He gets in close with his blaster, taking Yuuji out of his Orphnoch form and giving Takumi a perfect moment to end Yuuji's life by his own sword.

But he stops short. He refuses to kill Yuuji. Not because they were friends. Not because he doesn't think Yuuji believes every single thing he's said and done over the last four episodes. Not because Yuuji is good. But because Takumi protects humans.

Humans just like Yuuji.

And then the episode does the smartest goddamn thing in the whole goddamn series. There's a screen that the camera's been shooting through during this moment, slightly obscuring Takumi's statement. But as he finishes, as he reaffirms his belief that all humans matter, that every life deserves to be lived, he walks through a hole in the screen. He's liberated, assured. He doesn't hate himself, question himself. He’s freed from the rage and self-doubt, and he walks away. He walks away from Yuuji's anger and justifications. He leaves Yuuji, trapped on the other side of the screen, screaming and crying at the injustice of it all, at the idea that Takumi won't sink to his level, won't validate his bleak worldview. And in doing so, Takumi saves the day.

Yuuji ends up joining the fight against the Orphnoch King, proving crucial in ending the King's threat. And, like, I get it if that turn (or re-turn) doesn't play for people. But, god, I thought it landed so well. It's Takumi being the icon to Yuuji that Yuuji always was to Takumi. It's Takumi finally feeling certain in his choices, in himself. It's Takumi's accepting someone, even if he doesn't agree with them.

That idea... it's kind-of everything I wanted this show to say in the end? One of the best things we can offer one another is a chance to be happy. You do that by giving people support when they want it, and you let them make their own choices. Rigidity, expectations, judgment, these things trap people, leave them angry and scared. Accepting people, letting them feel like they don't have to be afraid of themselves, that's a gift we're all capable of giving each other. Takumi doesn't win the day by using the Faiz belt or his Orphnoch powers, he wins it by letting someone know that he wants them to have a chance at happiness, wants them to live their life.

That's why he's a hero.

--4--

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The aftermath is sweet, if a little scattered. It's just checking in with every survivor, giving them each a little grace note.

Rina and Mihara are going to keep looking out for orphans, giving them the stability and support that turned them into two boring but essentially good people.

Kaido is off into the world, bruised but healing. Teruo was someone he failed to protect, and that's going to haunt him. But now he can be haunted by it, because he's a hero. He even said Henshin when he transformed!

Soeno is retiring, irrelevant but happy. He represents the group that never really contemplates a world outside of themselves, never considers the indignities an outsider group feels. He doesn't deserve to be unhappy, but his happiness comes at a cost he never knew other people paid.

Houjou lives, so I didn't end up having to hate this show. Kageyama also lives, ditto. They're both left at different ends of the spectrum: Houjou cowers as a human, abandoning his identity due to fear; while Kageyama luxuriates in power, confident in her supremacy.

--5--

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Team Faiz, though... they're relaxing, they're happy. Sure, things were tough for a while there. They've been scared. They've suffered losses. (RIP Faiz CyKill, also I guess Yuuji) But they're together, and they've earned their happiness. Takumi even has a dream, and of course, it's Keitaro's dream. The joke of the beginning of the series became the moral of its ending. Takumi wants the whole world to be happy.

He definitely started with me.

It's a great episode, and a terrific end to the series. It's frantic and weird and heartfelt and funny and it's thoroughly unique. There's a gag where, as they're about to infiltrate the Smart Brain hospital and save Takumi, Keitaro drops an iron he brought with, and the camera stays on the iron as he runs back to pick it up. A dumb gag in the final, wall-to-wall episode. They didn't have time for the opening credits, but they sure as shit made time for that joke. Faiz!

I cannot tell you how happy I was to see this episode do the work. I honestly didn't know if they remembered how to make an episode like this, that ticked along with surface pleasures while simultaneously excavating all this thematic gold. It's a relief, to know that Faiz ended as well as I'd've hoped. They made a bunch of choices I don't think I'll ever love, in service of an ending I adored.

The ends did justify the means.

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Nicely done. By the way, Itsuro's new boss at the construction site is THE Toshiki Inoue who wrote this show. And Agito. And Jetman to name a few. :lolol

Thanks!

Also, thanks for the trivia! I figured he had to be somebody, but I didn't recognize him. I like that his scene is him torturing Houjou, which, Inoue.

I don't know why I chose to read most of this episode's commentary/review in full, maybe because the image of Yuuji holding the Orphanoc King while his power fades and Takumi is directing a rider kick straight at the both of them, or maybe I just like endings/spoilers.

Just reading this I felt the themes assert themselves. The ideas that all life matters and that no matter what we owe it to one another to forgive, not forget but to give those hurt by a system a chance to change. I don't know maybe I'm reading too much into this but I just get the feeling Faiz is all about change and realizing who you are both through falling down and stepping up. (also something about the failure of justice and how"justice" or killing Yuuji in this case, would've doomed the day. So there might be something about reformative justice in there)

Again all these feelings are based purely on all of y'all's posts.

Good points!

There's definitely stuff in here about how systems that can't account for new ideas, new perspectives, are destined to crumble.

There's also a lot in here, in this show, about how viewing our differences as exclusionary is missing the beauty of being human. We're constantly told that humans and Orphnoch can't coexist, that they're too different. The reveal that Orphnochs and humans aren't different at all, that's such a key message in the show. Takumi's final appeal to Yuujii, the reason he spares him, is to drive home to Yuuji that it's only us versus them if you make it that. That people being different, it's not a fate to avoid or something to overcome, it's just who we all are. Everyone should get a shot at living the life that makes them happy.

This was a super interesting show to watch during Pride Month, you guys!

I really like your take on the ending. This is one of the parts of Faiz that gets a lot of scorn. The popular opinion is that it isn't an ending: the Orphenoch King and Kageyama are still alive and Takumi is still dying (or maybe died? Curious to see your take on that). In a lot of ways it feels like the show is leaving a lot of sequel hooks that never get picked up on because Blade is wholly unrelated to it. I can't lie and say it's one of my favorites, but I get all of your points and they do go a long way to re-contextualizing it. The show was all about the characters and it is a satisfying resolution for them.

I'll still say this about the ending, though: I want a spin-off show about Mari, Keitaro, and Kaido breaking into secure facilities with laundry equipment.

Thanks!

Yeah, I feel like Inoue tossed in a bunch of red herrings, plot-wise. It's stuff that feels like it's going to be a big deal (Orphan Daddy) that isn't a big part of anything. There are definitely a few things that, if you're feeling less-than-charitable, are a distraction. There's a lot of 47-49 that just really really muddies the water of what the show's been trying to say. They don't end up harming the ending, I thought, but it's not at all a smooth series of episodes to get here.

The leftover stuff with Kageyama and the Orphnoch King... part of me was like "Oh, this'll be a thing in the winter movie with Blade," until I remembered that they don't do those yet. As such, sure, that's a dangling thread. But, like, it's hard for me to imagine fans that invested in the Orphnoch King? Like, if you're saying the fandom views it negatively, I believe you, but I honestly didn't care if they swept that part of the story under the rug. Thematically, I thought it got dealt with as much as it needed to?

The Takumi part, I got two answers for. The first is that the show makes it explicit that Takumi is doing all of this because he knows that he could die at any minute. His life isn't measured by its length, it's measured by its depth. Whether or not he dies in ten years or in ten minutes, it doesn't really matter.

The other answer is that I knew Takumi showed up in later movies so I wasn't super worried about him. This is why I don't like hearing spoilers! I ruined the ending for myself!

There are a billion possible Faiz spin-offs, and they're all good.

*Slow clap into resounding applause*

Die, your final line of that write up, *Chef's Kiss*

I'm so glad you liked the ending, and I'll bet if you ever re-watch Faiz you'll actually enjoy it even more. There's so many subtle hints to where the story is going if you already know where it ends up.

Also, "Horsepower and Wolfeyes" are gold, sir. S Tier nicknames.

I remember way earlier in this thread, I think around ep 16 you said something like "This show doesn't create a story/mythos then put characters in it, it takes characters and then builds a story/mythos around them" and I think that's true of the Orphanoc King, he was a plot device to frame the final arc of each character.

I believe that the official word is still that he died shortly after the series ending. His later appearances are either non-canon, or the result of time-altering shenaniguns from later movies, depending on how you want to interpret them.

I hate to double post, but I just wanted to point out that Faiz wouldn't appear in another movie until Decade, and appearances in movies should largely be considered Alternate Universe versions of the Riders. They don't always take into consideration the shows canon, or change it around in some way to suit the story of the particular movie.

Aw, gosh, thanks! I didn't know if that last line... I didn't want to make it seem like I was reaching for it? I don't really edit a lot (proofread, sure, but not edit) so the path to get to it was a hundred percent a surprise to me. It felt like a good button. I'm glad it worked for you!

It's a pretty good ending, and I'm sure there are dozens of hints to all sorts of stuff that went over my head this time. I'll probably rewatch it at some point in the future... when I'll've forgotten so much of the plot that it goes over my head again.

And thanks for liking the dumb nicknames I give the characters! Horsepower was the first thing I thought when I saw that costume, but Wolfeyes... I let that one percolate a bit. It's a bad habit that you all should stop encouraging! These television shows about people in rubber costumes punching each other because of emotions, this is serious. Serious!

There are enough continuity differences between the show and Takumi's later appearances that you could argue it's not the same version of the character.

Basically we are all telling you the same thing because some of the shows you have yet to watch are going to have endings contrary to later movie appearances.

I said that? Dang! Good point, Die!

But, yeah, he's finished off in a way that makes him more of an obstacle than a character. It works pretty well for the ending.

My main memory of Faiz pre-watching this show is the movie he's in with Kamen Rider X. (It's a Gaim one, I think? I'm pretty sure it's the one where Shotaro and Kaito chase a corgi, which is the most important detail in the film.) I dimly recall there being a thing on the wiki where they mention that Takumi's memory from the movie, a flashback to someone's death, was changed from how it happened on the show. So, I figured that post-series canon is... fluid.

Still, it didn't really detract from the show, thinking Takumi was alive. I sort-of always assume the title hero survives on a kids' superhero show? I mean, Ghost died about twenty times on his show and still was alive at the end!

Don't be mean to Takeru he only died 3 times :P

But also thanks for reminding me there's a spin off of Drive staring Shinnouske, Takumi, and Yuuto, that seems really fun, so I might watch that now.

Drive's got good movies! I hope you enjoy rewatching it! I'm also sorry that you're liking to spend much of tomorrow asking Who's That Guy.

unfortunately Faiz is a show with great ideas on paper but murky at best execution (so 90% of Innoue's works outside of Jetman) especially towards the end, IT honestly feels like Innoue didn't understand what made Jetman(His carrer defining work, the show he more or less tries to make everything he does this show included) good tbfh though given some reviews I've seen of it I kinda want to watch it too see if it holds up or if it really is a show you like when your younger because "it's dark it's cool it's not power rangers" but call bulls--t on as you get older" which this show is the epitome of. If it's your first toku show outside of Power Rangers you'll think it's the best thing on Earth especially if your younger because dark tone, edge, absolutely no happy thoughts here whatsoever. However when you get older you realize tone isn't everything that makes a story good Even if I prefer when shows take themselves seriously this show takes itself WAY Too seriously, everyone here is an asshole or idiot or both 90% of the plot only happens because people don't tell each other shit. The Only 2 likable characters are Yuka and Kiba and Yuka dies because MUH EDGE and then Kiba turns into a fucking idiot who turns evil for no real rhyme or reason and the ending felt rushed like it felt like they planned the Takumi vs kiba fight for the final episode but then nothing else after Blaster's debut.

Fortunately after Kuuga(which I haven't seen but doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy) and 3 not so great outings you get too what's IMO the best Rider series of the 2000's BE WARNED Though the first few episodes aren't very great unless you like memes then oh boy your in for a treat, but once you get past them it becomes amazing(people say Gaim is the Ryuki of the 2010's but honestly IMO it takes more queues from Blade) also another Warning this show's ending is EASILY the most divisive ending of any Rider series you either like it or not and there's very little inbetween

Can we expect Blade reviews after this or for a change of pace some other franchise i.e. Ultraman or Super Sentai.

Awooooaaaagggeereettghhh!!! That was my excited yell at reading you covering the final episoide. You ReOpened My Eyes For This Final Faiz.

Takumi and Kiba's final showdown. Even though Ryuki was the show all about riders fighting one another, I can't help but feel it's Faiz's final episode that we have to thank for things like Gaim vs Baron. I super didn't like Yuuji's turn in the last few episodes either, but in this episode, I was able to come around just enough to enjoy the climax of it. It really is all thanks to that conversation he and Takumi have, facing each other off just before transforming. Yuuji asks once again, a little angry, sad and incredulous all at once at why Takumi is so insistent on protecting humanity. You could read that as either him being frustrated that Takumi won't listen, or maybe him being sad that this person he considers a friend just doesn't understand the world like he thinks he does. I lean towards the more compelling and emotional interpretation of course.

The actual physical fight is only so-and-so, but it's fine because all the emotions are there. The most key moment for me, as small as it is, is when Super Horsepower brings down his sword on Faiz Blaster, who just utters Kiba's name once, just stands there and takes it before firing away. You already mentioned the screen thing in depth but it is really good, like the kind of cheesy melodrama visual that is kinda a lot but I was totally into it. The last lines shared before Takumi walks off is a great punctuation mark to the whole thing.

It's so great, that when I look back on this episode from now on, I will only think about this climax between the two main characters! ...I kinda have to, of course, because what the heck even happened afterwards? The show certainly doesn't say so.

Remember how the Orphnoch King was going to like, kill all humans, but if stopped then all Orphnochs would die? Well of course you remember because that's been the big dramatic point the show has been driving in for the last few episodes. And then that just. Doesn't happen. Like, they didn't find a solution, they didn't even overcome it with the power of friendship or anything. The plot just stops existing. There is no rationalisation I can come up with, even as a personal handwave, for how Takumi's last Rider Kick leads to any of the scenes that comes afterwards.

I remember the plane analogy you said, and thinking it was funny how you mentioned that the plane has to land. Because when it comes to Faiz's plot... It doesn't just not land, it is simply never to be seen again. I'm pretty sure Faiz's last episode left a lot of people feeling sour, confused or hollow precisely because those last scenes are so weird that they forget everything that happened before it.

But! After many years of stewing on it on and off, and thanks to some insight from both others who have watched this show and to this very thread, I am much more willing to just brush all that aside and focus on how much I appreciated the Takumi and Kiba aspect of the last episode. I mean, it's objectively a bad thing that all the story stuff in the last five episodes or so can be so easily brushed off, but that it's an option also speaks to the strength of the characters, I think!?

Anyhow, I heard there's a new show airing next week. Kamen Rider Brave? You might want to check your mail though, I heard someone got you a DVD of that movie you didn't get to catch in theatres a few months back.

So you mean that, in a face of life or death, the characters just get an answer from this like Takumi finally deciding it only matters of how much worth your life is even if he potentially dies quickly as an Orphnoch? Which is like what Kitaoka learned by the end of Ryuki? But yeah, the fighting for dominance, probably it's because most humans, normal ones (and not the ancient ones) anyway, doesn't live to fight others, they are more used to doing daily mundane things like all you described above (but those who are taught to fight and be violent from the upbringing, they will obviously have fighting for dominance, war, etc. as their daily "mundane" things, so it depends more on which group of species, on which era, etc.). And for Orphnoch King, he's the final boss of the series, which unfortunately is on the usual brand of "shoehorn a final boss in latest part of the series without properly introducing them because of not enough time; what some thinks of Daguva from Kuuga, dunno about Gamedeus in Ex-Aid). I've never seen a discussion about Orphnoch King's power, but so far from what I get other than the physical stats outclassing every others seen, he can spam fireballs (much deadlier than I thought), fire lasers from his fingers, and also there's still the tentacles.

So, because your complaint is about how Yuji becomes Murakami clone, what's the part of the old Yuji in the fight, other than him sacrificing himself for Orphnoch King of course. Was it him being more insane in this fight up to him throwing tantrums at the end of the fight? And you think the one that isn't received well by people was Yuji's re-turn? No you're wrong. I never hear people complaining about Yuji's turning back (but Yuji turning evil, sure I have) And I want to bring up the previous topic of "There’s wanting to see the best in people, and then there’s being reckless with your sympathy", what if Yuji didn't redeem after Takumi spared him? What if it bites back in Takumi's ass? And you say this is the reason why he's a hero, I do hate people who see this trait of sparing those as a weakness (because they think like that, they can continue doing their evil things and probably even bites the hero back in the ass, that it's better to just mercilessly kill him than gambling if he's redeemed or not... "the end justifaiz the means!"), but I want to hear more about this stance of a protagonist (preferably defending it!), is the benefit (like Yuji here) worth the gambling risk? For the fight itself, the fight's more grander in the movie. And for the Faiz Blaster, where in this series, the only Super Strengthened Crimson Smash (that's the name) he used on was Orphnoch King. because Faiz Blaster debuted in Paradise Lost, you would get a much more clearer view of the kick (still the best, though it's shakable by Faiz Axel's multiple Axel Crimson Smash). But also, the one Blaster that hit Yuji wasn't some ordinary attack like the phone guns, it was a finisher! Photon Buster. But he wasn't killed.

Rina and Mihara are orphans once, and that makes them return the favor to others orphaned. And with Kaido saying Henshin... he lacks the pose! He should've still brought out the Ichigo pose he used when saving Teruo! For Takuma, he redeems himself to live as a normal human, but I didn't realize he actually still have a final say to Kageyama. Kageyama is the one that gets off scot-free from her villainy, she killed Yuka and thus set off Yuji's turn (from other sources), yet she managed to survive the end of the series, albeit insane and trapped in her Orphnoch form. And this is the part of the ending that people criticize, that Orphnoch King is still alive, practically leaving the series with no ending, or just because the ending is practically a downer type, where the heavy amount of awful things more likely (I said, likely, not the checking in currently shown) to happen to the characters than good (Assuming that they haven't died yet), probably because Orphnoch King is still alive.

For the ending, yeah, I detailed above why it's bad for people (which is the opposite of you saying "they're relaxing, they're happy, they've earned their happiness"). And for Takumi inheriting Keitaro's dream, I wonder how would he react to others now, or how the reaction from others (to Takumi, not Keitaro) who laughed at that dream before. And also, for the gag of the Team Faiz infiltrating Smart Brain, what possesses Keitaro to go along with the morally ambiguous plan? It was an idea that comes from characters like Mari (stealing from Yuji) or Kaido (aiding Lucky Clover, possibly violates polices) who are plausible to do that, but why Keitaro agrees to do a quite reviled thing?

Have you read the other pages of this post? Those should may give you new, proper insights of the series that might just be misunderstood. Most of them are people who like Faiz, with strong reasons of why they do.

For Takumi dying, probably people forget/ignore the parts of this episode, where what he said to Yuji, it's not about how long you live, but about how it's living the life to its fullest. The actual point of the ending of Takumi dying.

Worth mentioning is that the originally intended to follow on from the final episode by including a short scene where Takumi meets the new guy, Kazuma Kenzaki, gives him a red-coloured baton and then both do their henshin poses. But for whatever reason, it was never released and we only know about it due to magazine pictures posted years after the fact. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20181217161532

They did try reviving the idea of a meeting between the two as a short story, but for whatever reason, it was never released and we only know about it due to Blade’s DVD commentary.

But the idea of a handoff between heroes wasn’t thrown out entirely. The other fellows adopted it as a yearly tradition. https://youtu.be/3P7_9rFd5Bc

Hey remember two months or so ago when I posted "Look forwards to a series-long trip into the Inoue Zone?" I'm so glad you did. You've not quite convinced me to go watch Faz ("Misunderstandings" is not a thread I enjoy, shame to say), but someone finding a new series to love? That's pretty neat.

Now I just need to finish these 6 episodes of Blade before you finish the entire show, and I'm set to actually *involve* myself in discussions next time!

I think Kiba accelerating Takumi's decay was a gambit to convince him to live as an Orphenoch by bringing him closer to death. The major flaw in this plan is that Takumi was never a person who cared about his life. He no longer believes he deserves to die but he's willing to for humanity's sake. Kiba wants him to live for the sake of living, without a purpose, and that's empty. Takumi would rather die a human than sell out his soul for a life that isn't worth living.

The ethical problem of Takumi having to kill a kid kind of just solves itself conveniently with Teruo being consumed by the matured King, which is still very dark to happen to a kid but at least the King is now an acceptable target. He doesn't appear to be sapient like other Orphenochs, maybe to emphasize his lack of humanity and what it really means to embrace being an Orphenoch and succumb to the amoral will of nature. It's not something a human should strive to be. Smart Brain boasts that Orphenochs are humanity+ which is true anatomically but looking down on humanity for being weak and throwing away their humanity to become stronger doesn't make them more deserving of their existence. Everybody has a right to exist and to fight to protect their existence and fill it with purpose.

I love the climactic 3-part showdown between Takumi and Kiba and how it escalates in to them using their final forms against each other. Kiba seriously loses his cool when Takumi spares his life due to considering him a human. He goes hysterical, infuriated by Takumi's insistence on protecting humanity even when Kiba rejects that part of him. It's like an insult to him, to be defeated in battle and denied death for being likened to what he thinks is an irredeemable and inferior species. Takumi's mercy is heroic though and shows that he's willing to forgive Kiba and wants him to restore his faith in humanity.

Kiba is still conflicted but in the end, he wants to believe that Takumi's way is right, that the ideal he gave up on was still worth fighting for. Although the final battle against the King isn't quite as epic as Takumi VS Kiba, the location where it happens is awesome! The rarely seen Kamen Rider Stormdrain is an awesome backdrop for any exciting climactic fight. Takumi also appears as illuminated Faiz for the first time.

Kaido said Henshin as early as Episode 7. Anyway, I want to talk about some foreshadowing here regarding Team Orphenoch. What was the first origami Sawada burned? A crane. Yuka died first. He burned a horse in front of Kiba, who died second. He never burned a snake though. Kaido lived and he deserved to since he was the only one who never killed anyone.

This brings me back to what I said about where we want a show to take our favorite characters from the start to the end of their arcs. Team Faiz endured much suffering as they fought relentlessly to protect the happiness of others and they deserve to be happy themselves now that love and peace is restored. Whether Takumi lives for the next ten minutes or ten years as you phrased it, he lives without regrets or worries, knowing that he made his life mean something and found acceptance with his new friends, Mari and Keitarou. It's an emotional bittersweet ending that I definitely appreciated.

Legendary cameo!

Sometimes the hero dies. Takeru was alive at the end of his show but his luck ran out in the novel when his heart condition from Heisei Generations came back to finish him. What matters is that the hero lives on in their legacy and people's hearts.

Kamen Rider 4, which you watched, functions as an epilogue for Takumi, revealing what happened to him after the Final Faiz, giving closure to years of ambiguity. The title, Kamen Rider 4, obviously refers to the eponymous 4 but it could also hint at Faiz's relevance, being the 4th Heisei Rider. Riderman and Kuuga are also "4" but they're not actually relevant to the movie.

As you're now aware, the flashback to Kusaka's death in Kamen Rider War was very different to what actually happened which should raise suspicion about the authenticity of Takumi's recollection.

Blade is actually the only Heisei Rider season I haven't watched yet. I intend to change that before Die reaches the Day of Oma.

Something something timelines something something Onore Decade.

I mean, I've only seen Den-O, most of Decade, and I'm almost done with Blade, so you're beating me!

It means you've only watched 3 Rider series then?

I mean, I've also seen every series starting with Wizard, but I watched those live. It's a different experience.

Oof! Sorry to hear you didn't get much out of Faiz. I think it's fair to say we have very different views of the series (I think it's actually really funny?), but I'd agree it's not for everyone. Glad to hear that Blade is good, though!

It's going to be Blade next because I want to watch Blade next. It's going to be Kamen Rider shows for a while, because I want to watch all of the Heisei and Reiwa ones I haven't seen. To eliminate any confusion or mystery, here's what you can find on these boards for the next year or so, in exactly this order:

another couple days of 555 stuff: series overview, the movie, miscellany
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Blade
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Hibiki
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Kabuto
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Den-O
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Kiva
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Decade
Kamen Rider Die rewatches Legend Rider movies
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Zi-O
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Zero-One
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Saber

...and then maybe some non-Rider stuff. A Sentai, probably, to start. I don't know! There's so much Rider to go! Nine series! A stack of movies!

Yay! I'm excited for your excitement!

Yeah, I think the heart of that scene is the feeling that Yuuji misses his friend. It's, honestly, what had been missing from all of the other Yuuji scenes from the last three episodes. Seeing him just slightly lose it, seeing him frustrated at how naive and oblivious Takumi was being, I bought in on that story.

It's definitely a love-it or hate-it finale. There's a bunch of plot stuff that becomes minor, and a bunch of emotional stuff that becomes major. That balance... it's not going to sit right with every fan! I get that!

That said, I think the epilogue feels pretty sensible? The implication to me was that, if defeated, Orphnochs would just have their clocks run out, which is going to happen for everyone but Kageyama. She got boosted by the King, but everyone else is just going to slowly die off.

As for defeating the Orphnoch King... the belts were established as being able to do that? There's a thing where Orphan Daddy tells someone (Yuuji? Kusaka?) that since the belts were designed to protect the King, they can also destroy him. A Rider Kick from Faiz's most powerful form seems like an acceptable solution to the Orphnoch King?

And, yeah, there's no big plan to defeat the Orphnoch King, but to quote The Way of the Gun, "I don't think this is a brains type of operation." Takumi just showing up and hoping he could beat a Metaphor Monster in a fight... that feels like a Faiz finale to me.

Yeah, I think the final episode honored the characters' journeys enough that I view 47-49 as a writer who maybe got a little in the weeds, but found his way back.

My mom says my punishment is up on Tuesday! I can finally watch Paradise Lost! Plus, that kid I got in a fight with, we both agreed that Delta isn't that cool anymore. Not like Kamen Rider Braid!

What I loved about it was that it's not about redeeming Yuuji. It's about allowing Yuuji to be responsible for his own choices, and how that's not something that has to weigh on Takumi anymore. The fact that Yuuji shows up to help Takumi defeat the Orphnoch King, that's a bonus, not the intention.

If it bites Takumi in the ass, it bites him in the ass. Part of acceptance is allowing people to make mistakes, to fail. But that wouldn't be a reflection on Takumi's mercy, that'd be a reflection on Yuuji's failings.

I mean, would it be better if Takumi was more ruthless? I don't think so. His whole mission, and the entire point of the show, is that everyone deserves the chance to be happy. Killing Yuuji would render that whole theme a lie.

I mean, one way of looking at the Orphnoch King still being around is that what he represents, losing sight of the good in our lives, that never really goes away? There's always the risk that we'll fall back into old patterns, reopen old wounds, and it's because striving to be better doesn't end. Acceptance, growth, it's something that never stops.

They kidnapped Takkun! You think Keitaro's going to shed any tears over Smart Brain's security or a trespassing charge?

Oh, neat!

I don't know that I'll ever buy into the "misunderstandings" tag this show gets (it just doesn't seem like that huge a part of its DNA?), but I'm glad it was a fun thread for you. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Blade!

I don't know that he forgives Yuuji, though? Or, I don't think the resolution is about forgiveness? I think Takumi means it when he says that his friendship with Yuuji ended when Yuuji threw away his humanity. The end of the fight, it's about how it's not their connection that stays Takumi's hand, it's that Yuuji's a human who deserves to live. That's it. It's about how Takumi is offering Yuuji the same chance at life and happiness as everyone else, nothing special or extra.

I really like that element? I like that the fight is personal, but the resolution is impersonal.

Whoa! That's amazing trivia!

It's such a good ending.

I just want to co-sign what Die said about misunderstandings, I feel like someone wrote that once and people just took it and ran with it. I don't think "a show about misunderstandings" describes Faiz with any sort of accuracy. I think a more accurate thing would be to say Faiz is a show about misunderstood people, and there's a massive difference.

I didn't post a ton on this thread because I mostly agreed with Die's take on things, but I have a feeling I'll post on the Blade thread a bit more often. Blade is a good show, but man do I have some issues with it.

Yeah, this is something I'll touch on later tonight in a series overview. This is a story that hinges on people not feeling accepted, or not believing they can be accepted, and that's going to lead to folks parcelling out information another show would instantly communicate, or it's going to lead to a baseline of I Don't Know If I Should Trust You. And, like, if that sort-of character interaction isn't your thing? Sure. There are shows where the camaraderie is more free-flowing, or the animosity is more sparing. That ain't this show, though! This is a show about people learning to see themselves in others over 50 episodes, and that's a process.

But, yeah, it's not really a "misunderstandings" show that's about contrivance, I thought.

Looking forward to it!... ?

Hmmm this is making me think about Ex-aid (mostly cause I like Ex-aid and it's also partially about miscommunication, and hurt people trying to recover) Mind you everyone in Ex-aid does kind of speak their feelings so like there's very little parallels... I think. Someone who's watch both shows help me out please?

I mean, up front, there's going to be miscommunications and misunderstandings in almost every single Kamen Rider show. There's a bit of soap opera in the Kamen Rider formula, and soap opera means misunderstandings and miscommunication. Part of the deal.

For the Ex-Aid comparison... I'm not sure? I think it's more that both shows focus on a form of cooperation. In Faiz, it's about how people with diverse backgrounds and goals can coexist, find out that they've got more similarities than differences, discover that their differences don't need to separate them. In Ex-Aid, it's about how only by recognizing each other's strengths, instead of focusing on their weaknesses, that we can all succeed.

Does that make sense?

Yup makes plenty of sense, and I really need to put my nose to the grind and watch more toku, so I can like write better comparisons.

I'm using "Misunderstandings" to mean "They misunderstand that Kusaka wasn't the hero of the Ryuseii school X-Men all along", obviously. :p

And if you think I have any deep opinions on Blade other than "hehe Chalice suit look good", you are deeply mistaken.

Lol, in all fairness this is one of my strongest feelings about Blade.