Boy, I wanted to gave screencaps of this, but again, based on the sub mistakes. Break.. the.. TOKU?! (Self-depreciation of the genre to the max)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...44235/toku.png

About cooking being a reflection of the goodness of a soul, reminder that there's someone like Yaguruma and to a lesser extent, Tsurugi... And like Ichiro here, not about outright using the power like cooking for evil, but exceling at cooking can also be commonly used for various people not merely for providing for others but also to prove their greatness, or being necessary to stay on business. Like for example in Faiz, Keitaro wants to use his laundry job as a means to provide for others like how main Riders usually do, but doesn't mean every single laundrymen is like that (probably only a few of laundrymen that uses their job like Keitaro).

Also, sorry to break it to you, but there are various characters in fiction that are purely benevolent, but has inhumanly awful cooking skills, they're lethal chefs. I don't know if you would understand the examples I would mention, but there are a bunch on medias like anime or video games. But weaponizing bad cooking isn't something common, so I would be on board with it for someone who cooks bad and utilizes their "talent" for their sinister purposes, such as killing (literally or figuratively) from inside.

So it's shown at least here that Riku and Mishima also had similar impossible taste for cooking dishes like someone such as Tsurugi (who revolves around cooking more), didn't know that the ZECT, at least the higher ups, is that invested into cooking. Tadokoro seems more like how normal people responds to food (outside of the exaggerated special effects), although dunno if Tadokoro also had high standards when seemingly Kagami and Misaki didn't respond, at least outwardly.

Ichiro is more than about proving his greatness though, he's not a neutral character, he's a Worm (it's shown when he clashes with Rena), so he's outright evil, and he had the standard villain goal of dominating the world, and had the god complex to go with it a la Kuroto, but probably yeah, this is the case when good cooking is used for evil purpose (not good or even neutral ones like proving their greatness).

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...44298/kami.png

Dunno but what I catch from Kagami is that decent means morality, like I catch that he wants a Rider that acts like standard main Riders, not morally ambiguous ones).

I feel like the Worm battle here didn't showcase Hyper Kabuto's superiority well here... The other Riders remarked that they can't see what's happening ("what was that just now?") but the audience can see Hyper Kabuto's movements (it's still fast but trackable) :p unlike, (sorry) the movie, where it's shows a clear Hyper Zecter's superiiority where the ordinary Riders even with Clock Up active also moves like a slug in Hyper Clock Up. I think they should just show the monsters exploding without anything happened (like Cronus' time stop in much later Ex-Aid), or have Hyper Kabuto moved to destroy monsters in a flash while the Riders are in Clock Up and moving with normal speed.

But for the worst there's Daisuke for taking care of himself, or Kagami (at least previously) for trying to make things better! I would be looking for missing things, it can take long time for me to complete that.

Good catch! Pretty appropriate for that episode.

It's the reason why he's controversial. "if it's one he doesn't fully connect with, it goes foul" describes controversial. And the one that is mainly mentioned as complaint about him is his edgelord traits, the angsty and edgy parts (well you treat those parts for another comedy part, comedic sociopathy that is, watching people suffer as a form of comedy, which to me, it can be entertaining too, but not always sit well for me at all times because it can justify and/or make light any transgression act for comedy sake), or his side medias (without leash) which can be outright gross, not mentioned about the episodes he made like this though (unlike catwhowalks). But real talk though, the real contribution is provided by the TV production team, Inoue needs a leash, and they're the one who puts Inoue on the leash for his TV writings.

"Dark Kabuto". DARK KABUTO?! Don't mention that name so casually! Jokes aside, I'd catch that, here, the one that finally makes Tendou win over Ichiro is that, as narcissistic as Tendou is, he's still not narrow-minded, he still wanted to learn from others, which he came to Hiiya to do that, and implement surroundings and other worldviews for his cooking methods. While Ichiro, being someone who has even worse superiority complex, rely solely on his method, and doesn't care enough to improve from that. This seems to be a case of Villain Level To Level Grind that becomes his downfall. And as you talk about defeating someone in art makes it pointless about creating art in the first place; this is also an important thing that has to be taken note about artists, you shouldn't refuse to take criticism or supplant your ego to learn from others, refusal to admit flaws and learn from his mistakes keeps from progressing. And I guess, Tendou doesn't need to seek flavors from someone like Hiyori (who Ichiro looks down) then like he was doing previously!

I've known a piece of media where someone got annoyed in-universe because everything they do is accompanied by wacky sound effects. Also no offense, but I'm also not always (but doesn't mean always against, like more 50-50) into forced exaggerating expressions that people do in these kind of episodes like Tadokoro's brother or to a lesser extent, Wakabayashi clone's eating scenes.

Kagami also wants to wage war against Worms (in ep. 3 and ep. 9, and those are between Ryou episode which is the first case of Kagami trying to reach out a Worm), but he'd make an exception towards those that show some humane side like Makoto (who shielded him) and Tsurugi (who is pretty much human now, Tsurugi's personality completely overwrites Scorpio Worm's). I don't know what's the futility of that though, it's just someone powerful enough, killing a superhuman species. There are no rules that Worms can't harm each other, Tsurugi waging war against Worm goes just like any humans who wears Rider Suit fighting off Worms.

I want to say though, twist of Old Master character isn't something exclusive here. I'd just think that to treat old master here as a bonkers twist here, it's more of people stereotyping how Old Master they usually know portrayed as, and overlook the twists in various medias not only this one. Hiiya seems to be someone who is also a stealth mentor, trying to make the student find by themselves, the deeper meaning behind the teachings; like clothes being ineligible for food at the first place. Would be likely Tendou's actor Hiro Mizushima, as he's someone who likely achieves more, he's fluent in English, and he's one of the actors that goes international.

It's not unusual at all for people liking these kind of things on Internet, it's flooded with memes, shitposts (sometimes even derailing discussions for their meme sake, to the point that some community had to make a rule about not posting shitposts), and people (though probably vocal minority) hailing the abridged series of a media as a true canon. So it should be expected for people who like these kinds.

Sure! Learning humility is a major theme in the series, and it's a big part of Tendou's success in this episode.

https://i.imgur.com/PUWhaDe.png

Definitely not my favorite episode of Kabuto (the lack of Hiyori is a major handicap, admittedly), but I did come out of this two-parter with a newfound appreciation for its absurdist sensibilities. Not sure I have anything as insightful to say about this one as Die, though?

Comparisons to martial arts films are apt, for sure. The deliberate overabundance of as many schlocky tropes as they could fit in is something I can't hate. When a show gets to do an episode playing with ideas from some completely different genre like this, I often find it's a good time, and that's because it's often apparent how much of a good time the people making it were having just cutting loose and doing something wild. That's totally the case here, as, despite Kagami's best efforts to keep things on track, this series could not be any less interested in being a hero tokusatsu right now.

In a way, it's a characteristically run of bad luck for the guy. Kagami has to babysit Tsurugi and grapple with the complex dramatic question of how to deal with a monster who doesn't know he's a monster, and meanwhile, everybody else gets to kick back and relax being a part of this ridiculous cooking showdown plot. It's a good thing it's so fitting for Kagami's character, or else I'd feel it's more of a shame he wasn't more involved in a storyline that gave so many characters so much fun material to work with.

You get to see different sides to a lot of Kabuto's usual faces here, and the episode knocks all that out of the park. Tadokoro's secret history as part of a great lineage of soba chefs is a highlight, and is a heck of a way to give him his first scene with Tendou, to say the least. But I think Tendou himself was what really surprised me here. The comical nature of this story lets him be a lot looser with his feelings in places, lending a lot of variety to the performance you don't always get from the guy. I was very impressed by Hiro Mizushima's acting in this one, from obvious big emotional swings like his horrific realization Juka doesn't like the meal he just made, to more subtle bits like the gradual escalation of him getting fed up with his new mentor in the art of cooking. That's maybe one of the most easily commendable things about these episodes, even – just getting to see Tendou dealing with something he's openly passionate about. He's still thoroughly Tendou, all the same, so I imagine the crowd that can't stand him at all won't be won over or anything, but it's a bit of a different angle on that same personality that was fun to see.

Visually speaking, the direction is still quite good. I see what Die is saying about the aggressive nature of the way the gags are emphasized, but I'd argue it's a deliberate choice to highlight the mounting levels of wackiness at play. Like, I think the goal was to make this one so nuts that part one looks sane by comparison, and I'd say mission accomplished on that front. Ethereal glows all over the place; that same running gag with the cheap looking halos above people's heads when they eat the Dark Chef's food, but it happens like twice as many times; and yes, more sound effects than you shake a stick at. It honestly didn't even register with me until reading Die's post, because it strikes me as such a natural fit for the exaggerated style the episode aims for. Kabuto apparently made a conscious effort to inject as much humor as possible to counter its inherently grim premise and setting to begin with, so if an episode comes along that wants to be 90% kabuki sounds for the heck of it, I mean, I'm not going to question it. You go right ahead with your nonsense farce about dueling chefs, Kabuto, I won't stop you!

That's about the sum of it, at the end of the day, I suppose. This two-parter is the sort that's all about being experimental and pushing the limits of what a Kamen Rider episode can even do, and in that sense I legitimately respect it for being so outside the box. Whether or not it's any good is almost secondary at that point, but, fortunately, I can see the argument that this is a high point of sorts for the show rather than a low one. Not for everybody, and, for me at least, no wacky Inoue episode 30 will ever top Taiyaki Master from Blade (the best food-centric filler plot), but if you're open to this bizarre tale of legendary kitchen knives and epic cooking battles, it can be a rather amusing ride.

Weirdly, I think Kagami is responsible for my favorite gag in this episode? It's so hard to describe why it works, so let me set it up with this gif:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...s/sobashop.gif

He treats the emergence of the soba chef, coupled with the reveal that it's Tadokoro's brother, like a Worm just showed up. Him wheeling backwards, smacking into the door, desperate to escape this new information... it's definitely the one thing I can remember laughing out loud at in this episode. (I'm pretty sure I found other stuff funny, but I'm certain I laughed at this.)

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 31

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto31a.png

An episode full of questions, all asked to varying degrees of anticipation.

The one I was the most interested in was Are There Good Worms, and the episode really finds itself when it's digging into that idea. Now that Kagami has it confirmed by Jiiya that Tsurugi is a Worm who thinks he's an idiot man (and that confirmation is almost withheld by Jiiya escaping on a conveniently-placed bicycle, before realizing the kickstand is down and he is not moving), there's more skepticism than normal to Tsurugi's heroism. He's seen first-hand that Worms can be redeemed, so maybe Tsurugi just needs to be supported? Befriended?

It leads to the best parts of this episode for me, where Kagami's Very Big Feelings see him trying to break the reality of the situation to Tsurugi, and being thwarted by Tsurugi's unshakable belief that Kagami just wants to be his friend. It's a great escalation through the episode, with Tsurugi's heartfelt exposition drawing the two men closer together, and Kagami's growing frustration at being The Smart One in an exchange keeping him from seeing Tsurugi for the monster he appears to be. Like, this is an episode where Kagami is the one dealing with an oblivious Rider, and it's such a fun idea. Taking that idea and then saying, wait, Are There Good Worms around it, spinning Kagami's confusion out to a larger reexamination of the show's central threat... I think that's a debate that has merit?

It helps that it's an ideological struggle between Kagami's Very Big Feelings and Tendou's self-righteous certainty; optimism versus pragmatism. To Tendou, the Worms are a pestilence, a swarming race of monsters. He'll take them out, because he knows that, given the chance, they'd take him out. To Kagami, he's experienced the battle within Worms, seen them act with humility, nobility, kindness. If a Worm can take a human's memories, couldn't they also take their empathy? Their soul? Isn't there room to question whether or not they all deserve to die?

It's a question that's fun to explore, and then the episode finds a thrilling high gear once it brings Hiyori into that debate.

So, I'm told that Hiyori and Tendou are siblings. There's not really a lot of speculation I can offer on that storyline now. The why and how of it are yet to be determined, but I'm not loving it as a story move. It requires a lot of convoluted trickery to have two adults who just met a few months ago be secret siblings, and I'm not sure it's going to feel more fulfilling to me than their previous friendship. Between knowing the endpoint of this one and not being too excited to get there, the developments with childhood photos and all that... mostly didn't work for me.

But Hiyori as a Worm?! Very excited to see that plotline develop. Not only does it bring Hiyori further into the series-long Worm plot, but it also immediately confronts Tendou with a counterpoint to his Kill All Worms policy. It makes the person he values most (besides Juka or Jiiya) into the enemy he's vowed to destroy. Knowing that Hiyori won't be on the show much due to illness dampens my enthusiasm somewhat (once again), but it's a helluva twist for the end of the episode.

This one... it's a lot of setup, maybe? It's very much an episode that is foregrounding the mysteries, trying to get them some momentum. It does it fairly well, with crisp action (it's never not fun to see Riders wreck a ton of unmolted Worms), tantalizing ambiguity (Kagami makes some rare good points), and hilarious Tsurugi idiocy (his reassurance to Kagami that they are now best friends is adorably dumb). Way more of a focus on plot stuff this episode, but still a delightful experience.

A QUESTION

I cannot say enough good things about Tsurugi and Kagami's friendship. It makes Kagami into the Tendou of the friendship, and it's endlessly charming. Tsurugi is way more than a handful, but it's hard to look down on his enthusiasm. If you had to befriend one member of the Kabuto cast, who would it be and why?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto31b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../kabuto31c.png

This is a hard one to talk about since so much of it is setting up questions that I already know that answer to from having seen the show before. I'll have a lot more to say tomorrow after we get to part two of this story. I will comment that I like how we have some parallel narrative going on with Tsurugi and Hiyori here; the show ties those threads together very nicely.

Also, Tsurugi has no idea how food works and things "udon" must be African somehow. Never change, you sweet summer child.

This is another episode where my reaction can be summed up by the comment I posted online.

It’s also got what is my personal highlight for the SHT outros (about three minutes into this video) https://youtube.com/watch?v=mB3IUtcceU4

Yeah, this is a good concept to explore within Worms that inherit humans' memories, and possibly everything that human has. I've known a media that redeems someone via inheriting humans' memories. A good number of Worms, those that are MOTW, are still malicious though, even after inheriting that human's aspects. Or using their human aspects previously, as two-faceted bait to those that come across them, using their memories as leverage to prevent others finishing them off, while they're free to resume their atrocities. Tsurugi is a special case where Tsurugi's personality completely overpowers Scorpio Worm, dunno if this'll be able to happen to someone other than Scorpio Worm, but it's interesting for the potential of Worms coexist with humans, by having and letting them fully inherit the humans' traits, if that human isn't an evil one.

A good number of other Worms boasts about living that human's memories, but Tsurugi is the only case of this, where the real Tsurugi dies, and Scorpio Worm became completely Tsurugi. Kagami and Tsurugi also relates from how they have similarities too, where both lost their siblings due to Worms. It seems that not only Misaki that has gone through Tsurugi, but Kagami too here, that Tsurugi also thinks defeating all Worms is also avenging Ryou for Kagami's sake. Usually Tsurugi backs up what he's talking, but this is pure big talk for him (Most Kabuto Riders are godly at every possible skill except being humble, so that'd include babysitting for Tsurugi previously. At one point Tendou's grandma taught him to look down on friendship and emotions though..) most in quoting Jiiya that friendship is the biggest treasure, when this is someone who is an elitist that wouldn't associate himself with "peasants" due to his royal heritage. Being at the top of friendship? I wonder if for Tsurugi, it's by providing the best as he can to those he considers a friend (but only for those few he'd like to befriend).

Well yeah, GSL spoils that part, though dunno if I made a mistake for saying that and the other pre-Den-O movies (tbf, you watched something like Paradise Lost after finishing the series), if I do then sorry. Hiyori being the only other person Tendou cares as much as Juka, and them being family explains similar treatment Tendou gives to both girls (although he does that too for a non-family in Jiiya). I think the photos of Hiyori and Tendou having the same parents on it is the plausible way to get them to know that they're siblings, albeit the photo is discovered by mishap and accident via visiting Tendou's home,. unless what you're saying here is that don't make Tendou and Hiyori siblings at all. Hiyori seems to start lighten up more here, with her doing her proclamation of trusting Tendou again in ways not seen before by actually warmly responding to him, and then to Juka too with smiles after they finish interacting.

Yeah, in this part, I can't wait for Kagami's Worm debate to Tendou and Tsurugi to be resolved, and while Hiyori is revealed as a Worm, I'm pleading for Tendou to get to see this directly, especially about his philosophy to be merciless to Worms. What if, someone that is the closest to you, is a Worm, how will you reconsider your no-mercy philosophy to Worms? The reveal of Hiyori being a Worm isn't merely for character test for Tendou though (saying this for someone who's mainly invested in characters part), it's something crucial for the plot part.

Well, no doubt, like the Christmas question before, Kagami (and probably one of the few I'd choose). He's the easiest and safest to befriend (only his hotheadness is a minor problem). To be honest, don't judge me for this, I'd try to avoid a good number of other characters, such as, other than obvious villains, people like Tendou, Yaguruma, Daisuke, and Tsurugi at first glance. Some other characters like Hiyori, Gon, and Misaki aren't easy to get into too, but at least they're safer to be around unlike those I mentioned.