Honestly, I'd say that the Inoue turns and reveals are ones I've had less problems with, so I am cautiously optimistic about how things are going to go down on Kiva. Agito had some sort of uncompelling stuff about the Akatsuki-go that was a gigantic and stupid shrug, but I don't remember feeling like the series lived or died by that part. Faiz, on the other hand, perfectly revealed its big secret, and it was one that locked in and elevated literally every thematic element of the series.

I feel like we're in a good place right now with the series arc stuff?

Aw! That is very kind.

I don't... if I really wanted to stay completely unspoiled on every aspect of a series, the easiest way to do that would be to not interact with the rest of the fandom. If I'm here on the boards, there's a certain amount of background noise that's unavoidable. (Like, Seihou Dark Kiva! And the possibly imminent Seihou Emperor Kiva!) So I try to separate out the spoiler things that'd adversely affect my enjoyment (here is the entire arc of a character) from The Cost Of Doing Business context-less stuff that I'll forget long before I end up experiencing that story (I've seen every Saber suit without watching Saber). I can still exist in the fandom with all that other stuff swirling around me, with folks loving parts of the fandom that I've not gotten to, them gushing about toku. I just skip out on threads where it's more about digging into story than appreciating aesthetics, and it works out okay.

All of which is to say that seeing Maya and Seeing Maya are two different things, and I'm sure I don't need to explain the difference between those two things to you!

Going with the track from Otoya and Yuri's big scene by the water today, which you might note is basically a slower, more moody version of the track I picked for episode 10. (Which also plays here again when Otoya dumps the Ixa Knuckle into a fire in front of Megumi, which nicely helps make the plots parallel each other that much more.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdWSMP3tyr4

While this comes with the caveat that, again, I haven't sat down to watch the full thing in a while, I think there's definitely a very touching, emotional story going on here with a focus on personal weakness that fits perfectly with Kiva's overarching themes... and, yeah, if you stop to think about why this particular version of it is being told, it's also pretty easy to draw some unflattering conclusions. I think I'm also of the opinion that it works better for Yuri, but then, Megumi gets to slice up a monster with the Ixa Calibur in the end, and I can't pretend I don't find that awesome.

I was also looking forward to you getting to this episode in particular, because back in April, when it seemed like almost everyone who ever worked on Kamen Rider was coming together on Twitter to express their gratitude for being part of the franchise on the 50th anniversary, Megumi's actor made a post calling out a quote from it that sums up the moral. First of all, it's just kind of a nice statement ("Accepting your weakness leads to true strength"), but why I really wanted to bring it up is that, from what I could tell, the exact words she used weren't actually used anywhere in the episode, which I took as a sign of how much that was all coming from the heart, all these years later, and I just found that rather touching.

Yeah, that is really sweet. Say what you will about the intentions or results of this particular two-parter, but it led to some fascinating and brave work from both Aso ladies. Yuri's vulnerability was huge, and a very nice place for the series to go to, but Megumi's arc in this was... that actor put in so much work to get that plot to come across. Wataru's actor got the flashier material, but, as always, I bought everything Megumi was selling, and she always had an unexpected angle on her lines. I find it really hard to be down on an episode that's as much of an acting showcase for Yuri and Megumi as this one was.

But, yeah, it's nice to see that an episode she gave so much of herself to ended up being one she drew meaning from.

So, this is quite a generous take of, how a woman moves on from a temptation of power, where this can get a reaction of disappointment that they won't get to be elevated on male's position here, a Rider. While I'm all in for females getting that, still it's wrong for action's view of "female equality and empowerment" being inevitably portrayed as females being good and badass at combat and fighting. I wonder if the fear of Yuri wearing it would be what she heard of IXA placing a burden... but I don't understand about the Megumi one... if you can fight Fangires head on without fear, you should be able to do more if you got enhanced by Rider's superpowers. Though I'd also give objections for both of your Megumi and Yuri's take here:

1) Though it's needed too at certain situations (and it's definitely true that Megumi's way above Nago in this category), I wouldn't want to measure heroism by bravery and resilience alone, this way, this can be misused to paint for example, bad guys as good when they're really determined to work towards their goal, and also, people can dismiss heroic acts that has no stakes, like little acts of kindness ideal heroes do such as characters like Yusuke or Shouichi to civilians. I'd think courage or such is supporting trait, the primary needing for heroism is moral, as the primary meaning of it is saving, protecting, or improving others' lives.

2) Of course Yuri's crying here isn't her being some weak woman, but I also wouldn't want for the notion that, to be strong, your demeanor must be mostly always-on-guard stoic hardass (where anger is the only allowed emotion if able), and you can only be emotional like crying if you're put in the most dire situation. This is also a form of double standard if it's only those who have been proven themselves as "bonafide badass" (which means generic term; the ones who are unstoppable fighter for example) tfiat are ok to get breakdown moments (which means "humanizing and developing" if it's those characters who got that, those who aren't are deemed as weak, incapable, waste of space, or other derogatory terms).

They do say experience is the best teacher after all. Otoya is making use of his experience of dealing with Yuri against Megumi. Otoya also seems to be more on point with his guidance here, jumping straight to the point of refering Megumi's situation as pseudo illness, just that it sounds bullshit to Megumi that this one's truly her not getting the point of what Otoya said. Otherwise, how Megumi got through her seemingly cripple leg, by Otoya burning the IXA belt to make her more determined to keep it, is something commonly seen in Japanese media (like shonen anime) from what I feel, the Japanese Spirit/Yamato-damashi trope, where it's the answer to win against something that all logic says should kill you, using traditional Japanese philosophy like persistence (hard work, hope, and spirit)and Resolve. This isn't entirely acceptable plotting though, can be controversial due to how this can feel like deus ex machina to some.

I'll admit she is, though I'm someone who is cloth-oriented (so yeah my agreement is related to her including her outfit too) I gotta post a pic for her debut from lower to upper part:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...11394866/1.png
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...57027339/2.png
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...80435270/3.png
But otherwise still, at least for now (emphasis on for now), I don't want for her to be given free pass on anything she do and treat her as being unable to do wrong (defending and rationalizing everything she do), solely because of her looks (the "halo effect"). The Checkmate group is named after chess pieces, Maya's someone on similar league as Rook with the term Queen for heres, what Maya (how did you get her name??) did here is something... similar to the likes of Smart Brain in 555 or Uca Worm in Kabuto to kill Fangires or Worms respectively who are "rogue" like siding with humans. The one that I'd wonder too there is the fact that a Fangire can be completely normal to wed a human there though, even more than Oomura. Otherwise yeah... there goes your prediction about "secret siblings" for Wataru and Megumi.

Yeah, not my favorite part of the story. It sort of works, with the entire issue being that Megumi's body is sabotaging itself to keep from dealing with her feelings about IXA, but still: psychosomatic leg failure? Okay, Inoue, whatever.

Rook calls her Maya! Right when he sees her!

And, yeah, Maya is definitely similar to the original purpose of Faiz, to police a monster group for deviancy and dereliction. It puts her in a really interesting role, where the first thing we see her do is detonate a monster (that's good!) that's only trying to live a normal life (that's bad!). She hasn't harmed any humans (that's good!), but she's so insultingly dismayed that a Fangire would choose to love a human that it doesn't seem like she's against killing humans (that's bad!). She's got immediate chemistry with Otoya (that's good!), but then there's her potentially choosing to be in a relationship with Otoya (...that's bad).

Absolutely! I know a lot of people maybe don't have a good opinion of Paradise Lost, but I saw that long before I saw the third act of the series, and I felt the resonance of that reveal throughout the later arc with a real intensity. This comes dangerously close to me praising Inoue, which I am forbidden from doing by law, but considering the circumstances, credit given where credit's due.

I honestly couldn't agree more! She is a wonderful source within the story, a genuinely supernatural force and I love that the actress is given the freedom to express that in those moments.

I think there is a fair amount of sacrifice we make when it comes to participating in a community whilst trying to remain vague about the future of a story. I approach things in a similar way, but I also don't want to be the reason anyone discovers something before the story is ready to share those details so I've been trying to tread gently regardless.

Don't worry, DreadBringer, I just gave her like a million free passes, she's good. :p

In every heart, there's an Inoue fan waiting to be born. You just have to break the chains of fate and open your eyes and count to zero! It was there in the theme songs and you all missed it! INOUE FOREVER!

I heard the sound of the explosion behind you from here!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry! (>_>)

Honestly, I have softened my stance on him a lot after going through Faiz and Kiva again and not the apocryphal chapters of Hibiki. I'm a little tempted to take another go at Cutie Honey the Live sometime, if I can still find it.

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 21 - "RHAPSODY: THE FATE OF THE RING”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva21a.png

I mean, hoo boy, this show ain't making it easy to defend its treatment of Yuri!

I get that it's A Different Era and A Different Culture or whatever (no idea to what degree that's true versus an easy way to not confront the story choices), but to have the very next Yuri story after her realizing she can't/shouldn't be IXA, to have that story be Jiro Claims Yuri... you guys are not making this easy on an Inoue fan! This tough stuff to excuse!

Like, that Shima scene! It'd be cringy if that were Yuri's dad and it was the 1600s. But for her boss in 1986 to be like Yeah I Told Another Employee He Could Marry You is... I mean, holy shit, I don't even know what to say to that. It's insane. And when Yuri is apoplectic that he'd not even consult her about it, Shima's just like, It'll Do You Some Good? WHAT?! In an episode where Yuri is treated like a prize to be fought over, having her boss arrange her marriage is a shocking low point. Baffling and humiliating.

(I get that maybe he's supposed to have looked after her after her mom died, but, like... one, the show doesn't really hit that button more than once or twice, so it's not like this is some tight-knit found-family thing. Second, her mom died just a few years ago? Shima didn't raise her or anything. Why the hell would Jiro even ask Shima, and why would Shima's acceptance mean anything to Yuri?)

It doesn't help that the show treats it as a forgone conclusion, Yuri choosing between Jiro and Otoya. She spends the entire episode alternately despising them both and being jealous of other women that are around them, making Yuri just as weirdly horrible as all of the men in the story. It's a horrifying storyline, the 1986 one. It's Otoya and Jiro at their most territorial and toxic, assuming that they're both owed Yuri's hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Yuri is unable to either articulate her independence or, worse, even value her own opinion. It's a story that starts with Jiro claiming Yuri and rubbing Otoya's face in it, then somehow gets worse from there.

It made me sad, on a deep level. It's disappointing to see Inoue do a story this hacky and cringe-inducing and sexist. There's a way to steer out of this, where Yuri finds her spine and argues for her right to self-determination, but it's just digging itself out of an unnecessarily deep hole. It's no triumph to put a plane into a nosedive and then manage not to kill any of the passengers.

It's just, there are still a bunch of funny jokes at the 1986 group date? It is stupidly funny to watch Otoya and Jiro both preen like animals, taking any opportunity to show up their competition. Those two actors are demolishing the jokes, making a meal out of everything they're given. It's absolutely destroying Yuri's character to have her ringside for this bullshit, but fighting for the show to treat her better is beginning to feel like a lost cause. If this is where Yuri's story is going to go, at least I can laugh at the farce of it all.

The 2008 stuff turns out miles, miles better. A bunch of smart ideas, and none are smarter than bringing in Mari from Faiz as a new woman in Wataru's life.

She's such a great actor. It's a nothing part so far, but she imbues it with the same Wataru-levels of shyness and awkwardness and longing and trepidation. She's a character who's hopeless in the same way Wataru is, completely unsuited to interact with a world full of people like Nago. The little scene she has with Wataru, where she confesses to the same inability to say no to strangers, it's incredibly sweet. It's the 2008 version of Maya's introduction, just calibrated towards Adorable instead of Raging Inferno Of Sexual Tension.

The whole 2008 group date thing was a blast, with Kengo more fully integrated into the group dynamic (of course Nago is going to find value in a young man who is constantly telling him that he is awesome), Megumi immediately realizing the flaw in a group blind date where the only three men are guys from her work and then her just ordering a ton of food to find a victory, and everyone talking about what they're looking for in a partner.

Like, that's what the whole episode is about, but the 2008 part does it in a smoother, more even-handed way. The 1986 version is about ownership, the 2008 version is about partnership, you know? There's Wataru and Mari discussing their similar flaws and coping mechanisms. There's that girl from the date pressuring Wataru about whether he wants someone to give him structure, or if he wants someone that will let him be weak. There's even the Nago/Kengo stuff, where it's all about Nago seeing more in someone who'd praise him unceasingly, even if he didn't respect them before. (I like that what Megumi's looking for in a partner is None Of These Guys, For Sure.)

The 2008 side felt like a celebration of its characters, while the 1986 version felt like a deconstruction/destruction of its characters, but in a funny way. It was dire, that Yuri stuff, while still feeling spry and goofy. I don't know. I'm not sure I've ever laughed at the same half of a show that I found spiritually eviscerating.

Mixed bag, this one! Glad to see Mari around, though!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva21b.png

PROGRAMMING NOTE: There may be a slight delay in the post for 22. It'd normally be Monday night, but I've got last-minute plans, so we'll see if I'll end up having the time or the energy to watch some Kiva and write about it. I'll give y'all a heads-up if I'm skipping a night. Thanks for your understanding!