In fact, from what I understand, Oni have permantly transformed into Oni and it is their human forms that are actually their transformed state. When they transform, they just unlock their true selves. They are not baseline humans any more, even if they can still look like it.

So basically like the Showa Riders.

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 23 - "SUMMER OF TRAINING"
KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 24 - "BURNING CRIMSON"

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki23a.png

"We walked for miles with no end in sight
Hand in hand we will grow old
Singing songs of our summers' past
I will never let this go"

-Telekinesis, "Awkward Kisser"

So, I really enjoyed these episodes. There's literally nothing in them that wasn't entertaining, and I loved how focused it was on character. It took things we knew about characters we like, and it explored some of the negative consequences of their motivations. Very, very into these episodes.

They are almost impossible to talk about, though, without simply recounting their storylines.

Like, these two do not want you to have any confusion as to what they're about. Between multiple (really good!) speeches that dig into Todoroki and Asumu's reluctance to expand their horizons, as well as multiple speeches that try to provide context for the ways trying new things can help you and others, as well as a goddamn final line from Hibiki where he tells Todoroki, "And that's why you listen to your seniors," this is not a set of episodes that needs me to say what I got out of them thematically. It's all right there.

But, as surface-level two-parters go, this one was outstanding!

The direction is top-notch, with a lot of visual flourishes and staging to break up some enormous dialogue scenes. The Kasumi/Hinaka/Todoroki/Asumu sequence in 24 is particularly special, as the crosscutting and fantasy shots take some sort-of basic text (it is not a deep metaphor for Asumu, and it's zero metaphor for Todoroki) and turn it into a pretty charming scene.

Honestly, as much as this is a set of episodes that folks probably have only one burning memory of, I think it's really a couple of stand-out episodes for the women of Team Hibiki Bar and Grill (try the Special Mocha Attack Unit). They're always great, always always always, but there's so much extra to love about their characters and performances here.

Hinaka gets the most focus, as she frets over a depressed Todoroki. There's some laughs at the way she crushes on him, but the story gives a lot of value to her dedication to his sweaty anxiety, and how she's able to support him by not letting him give up. It takes their weird relationship seriously (a startling beautiful moment when neither of them know how to talk about their feelings on the phone is... my heart!), so much so that even the teasingly disapproving Ichiro feels for her when she can only wait and see if Todoroki pulls himself together. It's this joke of a coupling that felt, from this story, like something worth fighting for.

Kasumi is a little bit more to the side in this one, but it's great to see her channel Hinaka to figure out how to get Todoroki out of his funk. She doesn't know Todoroki that well, but she's been around Oni all her life, so she can see how being outside his comfort zone scares and confuses him. She excels at reframing his struggle as universal, and overcoming it as a gift to others. It's smart writing for a great character.

The rest of the moral for this story lands on Asumu, as it must, and it's pretty okay. He's bummed about playing the whistle in band (Understandably! Whistles are dumb, Ibuki and Akira!) and he's basically doing a shit job of it. Once he's told by the band leader that, Hey, sometimes we have to chip in by doing things we aren't crazy about, things become a little clearer for Asumu. Then he gets the speech from Hinaka about maybe learning something by trying new things, and we have our resolution to this episode. Nothing else really happened.

Ha ha KIDDING. Obviously, we have to talk about the big moment near the end of the second part, where Akira calls the restaurant and Asumu tells Hitomi like it's no big deal.

Hitomi is such a sweet kid. There's a real warmth to her smile whenever Asumu's around, this joy that she can't disguise. The irony is that she shouldn't worry about hiding it, since Asumu is an oblivious dope when it comes to women. He's at that age where he can't read romantic cues (or one of those people who can never read romantic cues, hi, it me), and it would never occur to him that another teenage girl calling him up would piss off Hitomi. Hinaka is at her most Hinaka in this scene, being coy about who's calling for Asumu and blocking Hitomi's visual field... until Asumu's just like Oh That Was Akira. Hinaka's reaction is (probably) all of our reactions, body language that just screams JFC ASUMU, as his gormless expression briefly evaporated any sympathy I had for him. He's so bad at this part. This is what Hibiki needs to be training him at! Stop being hopeless around these women, Asumu!

oh also hibiki turned red at the end

was that important to you

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../hibiki24b.png

OKAY FINE I'LL TALK ABOUT HIBIKI CRIMSON

Suit's great. Love that suit. I even like the way the white on the mask more clearly delineates Hibiki's eyes. It's good. Good suit.

I don't think introducing it here works, thematically.

Like, the whole point of Todoroki's story is that, yeah, you could train really hard at one thing, but it's maybe more useful to spread that time around, train in a whole bunch of different things. Todoroki thought he should just keep getting better at using a guitar, and then he learned better.

So the story ends with Hibiki training at his specialty so hard and so well that he becomes unstoppably powerful.

That... that is the opposite of the lesson that Todoroki learned! Over two episodes! It's the show rewarding Hibiki's focus with more power!

I mean, sure, Hibiki already learned Todoroki's lesson years ago. He doesn't need to expand his knowledge. But, thematically... it's messy! It's very messy to have Hibiki Crimson debut in this story!

I do not fear the man who practices 1000 kicks once, but rather, the man who practices one kick 1000 times.

For a more straightforward answer, I think what the show is getting at is that there's ups and downs to both approaches.

I mean, are they? Asumu's story is that sometimes you need to work hard at things that aren't your passion, for the good of others. Todoroki's story is that sometimes you need to work hard at things that aren't your passion, for the good of others. Hibiki's story is that if you stay intensely focused, you'll become unstoppable.

Like, yes, there are different messages about the effectiveness of focus, but... I'm not sure the story being told views them as equally valid approaches? Until Hibiki Crimson shows up?

Neither of those statements contradict or go against eachother, though. It's also less "you'll become unstoppable" and more "you'll become better at the thing you're focusing on." Todoroki was obsessed with his guitar, yeah, but it's not like he was out and out bad at it until he focused on something else.

It's obviously punched up because this is still a superhero show and all, but yeah. To me the message is more about balancing yourself and improving overall, while still maintaining your passions, if that makes sense. I'm bad with words.

No, you explained your views well! I get it. And that very well might be the intention of the show.

I just, I don't think that's what they're saying in this story. There are plenty of other episodes about training hard, applying yourself, working hard to achieve your goals, etc etc. Any of those would've been an awesome place to show off Hibiki's new I Trained So Hard I'm Red Now form! I'm not sure I'd put it in a story where the message is that focusing only on what you're good at or passionate about is a limitation.

I mean what are you thinking? Like what you want, Asumu is the actual main protagonist of the series, while Hibiki is only the main hero (performs heroic deeds with a heroic motivation). This is probably one of the difference Hibiki has to the franchise, the main protagonist isn't even a Rider or fighter.

Well, I'm critical of finishers, and while tag team finishers are usually just each member of the group doing their attacks individually to a monster, this one's case also got the same criticism from me by that. This part's one of the storytelling flaw, that you should Show, Don't Tell (though Kobayashi had this in spades), means should involve the use of demonstrative techniques, rather than blatant or thinly-veiled narration, to establish narrative elements. Like here, the "music" that comes from their finisher attacks aren't harmonious at all, despite them saying they should harmonize.

It's more about Ibuki and Todoroki vs the fodders... tbh. Ibuki and Todoroki decimates them after getting their weapons handed by Akira, though Nanashi (the name of the giant monster) played significant part of the Akira part.

I probably think Sayuri feels anticlimatic more because of who Sayuri is supposed to be, Hibiki refered to her as master? But she feels like another random civilian who gets treatment from the protagonist here... probably if she's not set up as having important relation it won't feel weird to you? Talking about payoff though, it's only within Asumu, and it means yeah he has developed from "training" with Hibiki. And well, I don't know about you chastising Hibiki having zero reason, I mean Hibiki was kept on check by others and you did say that it's a misdoing that gets blindly approved by the kids in your latest reply?

It's definitely a big problem with that part of the story. She's nobody to Asumu and Hitomi, and we have no idea what she is to Hibiki. The only dialogue she gets is apologizing to the doctor, which is another character we know nothing about. There's really nothing to invest in for the storyline, as far as Asumu's side of it goes.

I mean, the benefit is that Asumu gets to showcase that Heroic Empathy a Rider has, where he'll stay and take care of this random person just because she needs it, but... it is a lot of time spent on someone who is a glorified extra. Very weird way to tell that story.