How did I miss this (both in the show and in this thread)?

I won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say this particular character trait is what ended up endearing me to Akira the next time it gets brought up.

So, about once per every one of these threads, I hit an episode that... I don't want to say I get it wrong (opinions and all), but my takeaway ends up being not so much the dominant reaction. At those points, there're usually a few people who are like Let Me Fix That For You, and I love those parts of the thread.

I really enjoy when folks are able to passionately argue for (or just talk about) the parts of a show that, for some reason, I don't talk about. I love getting to hear other viewpoints, other analysis. It's the best part of a fandom.

For me and this episode specifically, it's more that I really really wanted to talk about the romantic comedy parts, and didn't feel that into discussing the action-y parts. Not that they were bad! Or unimportant! I just didn't... it wasn't what was at the top of my brain. I imagine a lot of the stuff I didn't touch on (Ibuki's heroic attributes, the idea of the monsters appearing in the city) will be things that get a little more excavation in the second part of the story.

You're not wrong! It's definitely a much cheaper episode to shoot than the rest of the Hibiki Goes Camping ones. (Which this still has!) I'm sure that a mid-Spring trip to a mall was a giant sigh of relief for some of the crew, as well.

It's fun to them stalking around a city that, mostly, could not care less about them. As fun as it can be to see panicked citizens, I much prefer the jaded pedestrians who are just, like, I Am Not Engaging With This Crazy Person.

They actually sort-of addressed this in the text, which I thought was nice. There was a bit where Hitomi was talking to Asumu, and she mentions that those two are busy hanging out. Prior to that, the show was pretty heavily indicating that those two were coupling up. Altogether, it's a nice little setup to say that, as human-shaped hormone factories, they're more into being a couple than big group hangouts. (It's like they knew that those two kids were about to be two characters too many!)

Thank you for the Wolverine reference!

Seeing Ibuki demolish the Douji and Hime was suitably exciting. I'm an Ibuki fan! I like his whole thing, from the swing-influenced fight song, to the Oni-claws (that only get used once every five or six episodes), to the Whatever Guile From Street Fighter Calls His Throwing Air At People moves, to the fact that when he doesn't have his signature weapon he still manages to explode the monsters. He's great!

Zanki's being very Zanki when he tells Todoyama to forget what he's learned. There's innate Oni stuff that Zanki taught him that probably shouldn't be disregarded if he plans to, you know, Henshin, but Zanki's realizing that Todoyama maybe idolized him too much to be useful. Instead of giving him a more nuanced pep talk, one that maybe acknowledges the complexity that comes from trying to be a role model, he gives the curt, unvarnished version he gives everyone.

I don't know if it's "ambitions", so much as it's experiences? Ibuki's thinking is similar to universities: even if you know exactly what you want to do for a living, you need to have a few other skills in order to be a functioning adult. You may know that your future is in math, but you're still going to have to get some arts credits. Maybe it becomes a new passion, but at the very least it fills out your personality and knowledge base.

Maybe the show will address this at some point, but I took it as a function of Hibiki declining an apprentice. If he won't train someone to do it, Takeshi will just assign someone to do that part of the job.

There's a dumb quote/meme that kept surfacing in my brain as the show was keeping Asumu and Hibiki apart. It's a (typically great) Raul Julia line as M. Bison from the (astonishingly bad) Street Fighter movie: "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

A lot of what's happening before that big apprentice discussion in 16 is Asumu investing so much in Hibiki (a gifted compass becomes totemic), while Hibiki is out living his life and sort-of occasionally wondering whatever happened to that kid from the forest. There's a gigantic disparity between how Asumu looks up to Hibiki, and how Hibiki cares about Asumu. I can totally see Hibiki having to take a couple months to figure out if this kid is worth his time and energy.

The absolute sweetest part in a very sweet episode was when Ibuki asked Kasumi to take Akira shopping, because he hoped Akira could grow up to be like Kasumi. I like that Ibuki is able to be that upfront about how he admires Kasumi.

Ha ha, I hadn't thought of that! You're definitely right!

Always, because the origami wouldn't even need to cloak to blend into a city. If I'm walking down a sidewalk and I see a green plastic gorilla, I'm going to be weirded out. If I'm walking down a sidewalk and I see a fluttering piece of paper, I don't give it a second look. Garbage is everywhere in a city!

This is the first episode where Akira is shown going to school, and Ibuki calls her out halfway through. And this is after acknowledging that she should probably be in school more! (Although I guess a half-day is better than the no-days she'd been going?)

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 18 - "UNRELENTING HURRICANE"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki18a.png

"Honey we don't need that much:
Flannel shirts and coffee in camping cups
We'll use our hands to work and love
Oh, the blessings that will come
Honey we don't need that much:
A winter fire, a summer swimming hole
Just hold me tight and hold me close
Through the seasons I'll watch you grow"

-Mount Moriah, "Honey, We Don't Need That Much"

So, we can end the series here, right? I can't imagine why you'd need any more of this show. It's perfect, and beautiful, and prolonging it is just diminishing it.

This one... god, what can I even say?

Ostensibly an Ibuki spotlight, this episode casts its net far and wide, giving every character (except Todoroki, who is busy with a physical) a chance to demonstrate their worth to not just this narrative, but the entire concept of Kamen Rider Hibiki. This episode is a love letter to everyone who considers themselves a fan of this show. While the last episode felt like something made just for me, this one feels like an episode for all of us.

The arc is fairly straight-forward, considering the Douji and Hime got knocked off at the end of the last episode. There's a giant anglerfish deep beneath Tokyo, and the Oni need to track it down and explode it. Todoroki is undergoing that physical (which, my one regret is that the show didn't have at least one cut-away to whatever an Oni Physical looks like), and Hibiki is on his way from the forest. That leaves Ibuki, partially injured after getting acid sprayed on him, to face the beast himself.

There's some time spent narrowing down its location, but it's not just eating up the clock. It's time where Kasumi gets to see Ibuki in his element. Far from the flirty, deferential boy she's known all her life, Ibuki's positive attitude and helpfulness inform his heroism, allowing him to bravely face the unknown. All of the times he's asked Kasumi for her advice, it was because he knew that she was more knowledgeable about those things. When it comes to fighting monsters, that's his job, and he's good at it. He doesn't, like, Find His Spine or anything. He knows where his strengths lie, and he's able to feel confident in his skills.

It's a slightly weird story, since it succeeds or fails based on how much you can put yourself in Kasumi's shoes. 95% of the time we've spent with Ibuki has been as an Oni, frequently on active assignment. He's never seemed to be incapable, or childish. But that's how Kasumi remembers him, not as some resolute hero. Her gradual realization is what gives the final act its turn, and I think it managed to work out great. It's tough, though. The series doesn't do a terrific job of building up to this, basically giving us an episode and a half to hear about Ibuki as something other than a kick-ass superhero. If any part of this episode comes close to not working, it's that turn.

But, shit, worked on me! A lot of it is how the actors played it. Kasumi never seems to treat Ibuki like a screw-up, so it's more her seeing where he feels confident, than anything else. And Ibuki never loses that kind smile, never loses his admiration for Kasumi, but once he knows that he needs to take down the Makamou, he's very clearly in I've Got This mode. It's not huge shifts to either character, but subtle recalibrations towards greater understanding.

That final sequence, with Ibuki and Hibiki versus the giant anglerfish, it's a winner. The score as Ibuki walks through the wreckage of the final episode of Faiz (such a great set), it makes this battle seem climactic, not just for the episode but for his character. Him triumphing over the monster almost entirely on his own, short a brief save by Hibiki, it's the perfect finale for this story. Not a ton of moves to it, but what's here is fantastic.

Beyond Ibuki and Kasumi, though, there's so much warmth spread around this episode. Asumu pitching in at Team Hibiki Bar and Grill, to everyone's congratulations. Hibiki and Midori getting very excited to ship Ibuki and Kasumi. Hibiki fishing for praise (topical!) from Midori, only to get a teasing Pretty Great Oni But An Okay Man from her. Akira hauling ass all over Tokyo and arriving in the nick of time. Asumu sharing his notes with Akira, as everyone besides me starts to ship Akirasumu. (They're a modern-day Ibuki and Kasumi!) And then everyone (except Todoroki) enjoying a celebratory meal, surrounded by friends and coworkers.

It's that final scene that made this episode feel unbeatable. That moment where everyone's safe and happy after a rough day. Not the usual Kamen Rider thing where they're happy to have survived a war, but the simple pleasure of relaxing with friends after you worked hard. There's no trauma to overcome (well, maybe later for Akira), just camaraderie and comfort.

I loved this whole episode. It was so pure and joyful, brimming over with good people and kindness. I haven't even watched the Next Episode tag yet. I just... I want to hold onto this feeling for a little bit longer. This is the Kamen Rider Hibiki I'll always try to remember.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki18b.png

Wow that cozy feeling is something I think really is something Hibiki first half nails spetacularly. More so when we get near the end of the first half. Hibiki is something really special and is easily a personal favaorite of mine.

Oh yeah trivia time! This location is the Metropolitan Area Outer Ubdergroubd Discharge Channel and it actually off limits to the public for most of the year but there select times throught the years that tourist can enter. It's a really cool location and gave a great contrast to our usual Hibiki fights.

Neat! Thanks!

I think the idea of all of this story happening in the city... I mean, you could interpret it a lot of ways, but I feel like the writer worked backwards from that ending. So much of what's special about this story can only really happen if everyone's more-or-less in the same place. If the monster's halfway across Japan and you've got move people all over the map, it's going to feel contrived. But if you start with How Do We Get Everyone In One Place At The End, the rest of the story locks into place. You start with everyone scattered, and slowly draw them all together. It's two episodes of work for that one final scene, and it's worth it.

I just want to say that being actually submerged and having to swim in water while in those suits looks like such a giant pain. All I could think about during scenes like that is 'gosh, those poor suit actors'!

It's been a long while since I've seen this episode, but when you started talking about the final scene of everyone coming into the restaurant, just hanging out as the scene zooms out with the music letting us know all is well... Well, it came back to me in a drum beat because it really encapsulates the kind of good feelings this show left on me.

Okay, I was wrong about girl friend never showing up again. Pretty sure boy friend is long gone, though.

This is another arc that I really like and remember very well. The revisit to the final boss level of Faiz is definitely a highlight. It's not the last time we'll see this place (it's also where Alain's shitty brother hangs out in Ghost, for one), but this and Faiz are still my favorite uses of the location. Not sure I could stand as close to the gigantic hole as Ibuki did, though.

I kinda love how gross the monster is, too. I'm sure that the stomach thing was at least partially a way to get more practical fighting in, but that thing was still surprisingly brutal for a red Christmas tree with tentacles and acid (oh so much acid).

All the non-combat stuff was good, too. I especially loved Hibiki and Midori bickering like an old married couple and Asumu stumbling into a part-time job at Tachibana's. The bit at the end with Kasumi and Hinaka briefly talking about Ibuki was a highlight, too - the actresses really play well off of each other and you can really buy that they're sisters.

Not to give too much away, but this won't be the last time you get to see the whole cast come together like this. You will get those warm fuzzies again.

Not to spoil anything, but I was looking up this week’s guest cast to see if they’ve done anything else and found that the actress playing the housewife actually shows up again in the second half of the show as a researcher. What that says about the difference between the two halves, I’m not sure and cannot day.

This is what Hibiki’s all about and why I’ll always always cherish it. I haven’t been chipping in too much between only having my phone to type and everyone else surprisingly echoing my opinions regardless, but I love that you’ve been able to see in this show what I do. It’s not something for everyone, but if you get it, you get it. It brings a warmth and a homely feel to Kamen Rider like no other.

Just existing in those suits period seems like a giant pain (the suit actor talk-show from the Fourze bonus materials was eye-opening), but, yeah, then dumping that dude in a tank of water and making him spend a few seconds submerged before breaking through the surface... probably made him miss being on a mountain at 2am!

It's so good!

I thought it was weird that, for a show that doesn't hit a lot of the Kamen Rider landmarks, the Ibuki spotlight episodes dip back into that well, if you'll pardon the expression. His debut took us to Kamen Rider Dam and the BOARD base, and this one has its finale set where the Orphnoch King fought Team Faiz. Is it another subtle way of commenting on how Ibuki is the more traditional Kamen Rider lead? Or just a coincidence?

It's a pretty gross set of episodes, monster-wise. Ibuki gets covered in monster goo and stomach acid in the first part, and then a bunch more in the second. Weird mix of gross-out combat and light comedy in these two!

(Also, is the monster goo white specifically because of how it contrasts with the Oni suits? It really pops off of the dark suits, and these monsters never "bleed" unless it can splatter the Oni.)

THose two actors have a very lived-in quality to their interactions. I think my favorite bit from that closing scene was Ibuki yanking the notes out of Asumu's hands and not giving them back. It's a very Getting Teased By An Older Brother thing, and Ibuki's the only one to do it to Asumu, and he only does it when Asumu's around Akira. It's like the way Ichiro teases Ibuki when Kasumi's around. These dads like to make potential suitors squirm!

I'm not sure who that would be. Was she in 18, or is she coming up in 19?

It's so good at making you feel like these people get along. But not like a family, or like friends, but like coworkers. Folks who get what you're going through because they're going through it, too. It's a kind of teamwork that's also solitary, and you have these shared experiences that give you a shorthand. I don't know if I'm explaining it well! Some of my most rewarding adult friendships have been with coworkers, though, and this show really evokes those feelings.