But that's the thing: that plot just stops. It's important for a few episodes, seems like it's going to have ramifications, and it just doesn't. (I'm speaking only about the fabric of the show, not individual characters. That plot matters a whole lot to Toujou!) Professor takes a couple runs at it, then he's bumped off, and no one else is super interested in following his plan. It's one more part of the Mirror World story that's crucially important, then evaporates. Every storyline that starts to alter/resolve the Mirror World story just peters out.

If I were to ever become a powerful Mirror God who attacked my friends and enemies with monsters, then disappeared for a day before reappearing unconscious on a road, I'd hope that my friends would care enough about me to let me know what happened. It's possible Yui's extra freaked out at her discorporation because none of her friends told her there was anything wrong with her. Like, if I have an episode and cause damage to myself or others, I don't need a friend to diagnose me, I don't need them to have an answer for why it happened, I need them to tell me that something happened. Shinji's doing the same ol' We Have To Protect Yui From The Truth bullshit that I hate, where characters could solve mysteries faster if they shared information, so they don't, so the story can stay unresolved longer. It's bad writing.

Sometimes there are jokes. This one was calling out the convenience of Yui's potential demise coinciding with the final few episodes of the series, instead of, say, March or September. It's just funny to me.

If you're going to watch a television program about a deck of cards that enables men to control monsters, harnessing their powers to triumph over other men while battling in a mirror dimension, there are certain things you're going to have to not question. If the premise of the show is that winning the Rider Battles grants a wish, I don't need to know the mechanics of that. It's a wish. When one of the main characters of the show acts like Shiro's scheme is totally coherent, based on almost no new information, I feel like that's harder to swallow. I'll accept that there's a wish at the end of this show. I will not accept that Ren has figured out Shiro's whole plan as of Episode 45.

I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, though. I don't think you can do that about art, honestly. If I like something you don't, all the explanations in the world aren't going to make you enjoy it. All I'm trying to do is talk about how I'm processing these episodes, what I like and dislike about them. I'm not ever trying to target anyone who sees things differently. I'm sorry if I've given anyone that impression. It would break my heart if I've offended anyone who likes elements of this show that I don't. I hope my opinions are taken as just that, and not an attempt to convince anyone that they're wrong for having opposing views.

So you did have that consideration... yeah that plot is used to ascend Toujou...and also probably a plot point where Toujou ruins everything, himself and others by that. There's still his notes though. I wonder what your opinion would be if that plot continues, but Toujou probably wouldn't be in spotlight.

Oh so you meant for a moment 1 episode earlier... because Shinji only recently know right there, that would solve the mystery only 1 episode earlier, I think which isn't that much faster? Here she practically has a remark exactly the same as what you think Shinji should tell (I guess the only knowledge he got was that she's connected to Mirror World?) Otherwise...blame Inoue for this. Shinji didn't tell ORE Journal about the Mirror stuff either with them in ruins and scattered around!

Ren is someone who has encountered Odin longer than others and also knowing more of its nature like it will always exist in Rider War, controlled personally by Shiro, etc.... I guess that's where he got it. Just my thoughts; Ren just knows the fact that Shiro also participates too in the war himself as Odin, where Riders fight to gain a wish, and Ren deduces that it's to save her. FYI; saving Yui is related to that exact wish. Shinji was right. Everyone was just manipulated by Shiro. He creates a game where 13 people fight to the death as Riders where last man standing gets a wish. Unbeknowist to them, one of the 13 Riders is Shiro himself (though he uses puppets as Odin to physically fight), intending to win his own game himself with his OP Rider and take the wish himself to save Yui.

Not refering specifically to you but just internet environment in general. I did change my mind regarding explanations sometimes like here too. But one thing for sure, I must explain if others got something wrong due to a wrong take like the wish part above, for that's not opinion, but a fact (fact about how a system works in a fantasy series).

It's not just that plot point, but that's one I could use as a recent example. It's just something that seems like a crutch in superhero storytelling, the We Have To Keep This A Secret trope. The CW superhero shows use it constantly, where information is withheld from characters to artificially prolong a plot, or have them get upset at being kept in the dark. I really hate it. Your mileage may vary!

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 46

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I may not love this series as a year-long story about Mirror World, and the mysteries it holds, but I do love it as a series exploring Shinji's character. That arc, the challenges he faces, it's a really great use of the Kamen Rider franchise.

This episode exposes the series to date as a slowly closing trap around Shinji's moral code. It's fiendish, the way he's got no daylight in this one. He'll hate himself forever if he takes part in the Rider Battles, but he can't bear knowing he let Yui disappear. It's an impossible choice.

It's also one the show has spent 45 episodes leading up to. We've seen Shinji try to balance his Rider Should Not Harm Rider ethos with an ever more deadly cast of adversaries, and the ticking clock of Yui's Worst Birthday Ever is the most terrible consequence yet. It's Ren who lays out the dilemma cleanly for Shinji, letting him know what he's deciding by not deciding. Worse, Ren kicks the legs out of Shinji's entire code, positing that Shinji's indecision all year has been worthless, terminally unhelpful. It's that argument, and an It's Just A Flesh Wound dismissal from a slowly dissolving Yui that gets him to make a choice, to choose to fight to save Yui. It's a strong scene. It's a useful scene.

It's the wrong choice.

I'm probably not going out on a limb when I speculate that, with four episodes to go in a series defined by the innate humanity of Shinji Kido, we aren't going to get a conclusion where Shinji hacks his way through Ren and Kitaoka to save Yui's life. That... I feel like that'd be an unsatisfying ending? I didn't really love it in that 13 Riders special, after forty-odd minutes of story, and I can't imagine it's going to land better after 40-odd episodes of story.

But I really like that they're letting Shinji make the wrong choice. If everything in his story has been leading up to this, that includes all of his self-examination, his frustration, his hopes, his losses, all of it. It's all a journey, even the missteps. And that means he needs to screw up, to get it all wrong, to learn the wrong lesson, before he can get the good ending. I need to see Shinji take bad advice from Ren (Ren! Why would you ever think you were getting unbiased advice on whether you should or should not kill Riders from Ren?!), in order to see him understand why that's the wrong choice. And I need the show to make it impossible for Shinji to avoid making that wrong choice. I need there to be a major character in danger, a ticking clock, a realization that inaction is cowardice, for Shinji to leap to the conclusion that the only answer is playing Shiro's game. Because it's not. It can't be. And it's not heroism if Shinji obliterates his soul to save Yui.

And, boy, heroism and what it means! Seems like that's of thematic relevance in, uh, probably every episode of this show! It certainly is in this one, as we get not just Shinji's Choice, but the final fate of Toujou. After getting sound advice from Kitaoka (Kitaoka!) that heroism isn't something you can strive for, Toujou's world is shattered. Everything to date has led him into despair, so he wants to wipe the slate clean. He (mostly) burns Professor's notes, although Shinji sees enough to get him worried. (More on that later, hopefully.) But he wants to get rid of all of the other Riders, too, to regain his heroism and silence the haters. His whole Three O'Clock At The Bike Racks challenge works pretty well, drawing Knight, Zolda and Ouja into an awesome three-way fight. It's all a distraction, though, for Toujou to douse Asakura's car in gasoline. The car explodes, nearly killing Kitaoka and Goro, and probably killing Asakura. I'm... you know, I'm not certain Asakura's dead. In a show with mirror escapes and contract monsters, there's some wiggle room. I'm not counting that dude out just yet.

I am counting Toujou out, however. As he pats himself on the back for killing between zero and three Riders, he sees a truck bearing down on a father and son. A father and son that remind him of Professor, and Son of Professor. In a moment, he pushes them out of the way, saving them by sacrificing himself. That moment, I like to think it's regret over his actions. That without having time to justify himself, he snapped to a decision that was based in guilt, in the relationship he destroyed. Or maybe it wasn't based in anything. Maybe it was someone who never understood what heroism was, never felt it within himself, finding the resolve to do something good for no reason other than that he could. Maybe Toujou always could've been a hero, if he'd stopped trying to be a hero. At least he got his wish, in the end.

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Honestly, I viewed the whole Mirror World plotline and Yui as a character (as a supposed narrative epicentre, I was strangely apathetic towards her) as just a convenient excuse to have this awesome Battle Royale scenario (remember that in 2002, Riders fighting each other was very much a novelty) with about half a dozen intriguing character study.

But yeah, it's a flaw, and a source of decade-long confusion as catwhowalks noted above. There's an aspect that I really like from it, but we haven't got to that part yet.

Oooh, you'd love Kamen Rider: Misunderstanding (actual name redacted) when you eventually get to it. I actually like that show, but I could swear that's almost like the entire premise of it, haha.

He's doing these in order, so it won't be -too- long!

And that's the thing, the Mirror World stuff didn't, like, ruin the show for me. It's not like "Character stuff great, Mirror stuff dumb, C+." I spent a bunch of time talking about my disinterest in the Mirror World story because the show was definitely cranking up that lever, clearly ready to spend a bunch of time on Mirror stuff, so I felt like it was time for me to address my feelings. And, you know, I don't like it! I don't think it's a strength, at all. But this show has so many strengths that I don't really give a shit if this part (maybe a major part!) doesn't work for me. It's generally pretty easy for me to ignore the Mirror stuff, from the series as a whole. It is less easy in certain episodes, and 45 was one of them. Even if the series pushes in on Yui and Shiro as What It Was All About (doubtful, but possible), it still wouldn't wreck the experience I had watching it.

Like, I loved watching Gaim, but I'm still colossally angry at how the ending was two men fighting over a woman as a prize, as an object to be bestowed upon the winner. I hate that so much. But Gaim is still a great series!

So what you're saying is, I could quit Kamen Rider after Ryuki and just save myself the anguish? I'll take it under advisement!

Woaaaah no no no; you don't get to quit until I get a Decade thread to enjoy > : )

I mean, if I suffered through the middle section of Wizard and all of the Amazons movie without bailing, I feel like I'm in this thing for the long haul. My screenname is a play on "Ride or Die", so, no, there'll be no quitting.

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 47

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It's not easy to do a storyline like Shinji's. He's got an impossible choice to make, to kill Ren or let Yui die, and his only real option is to not make the choice. That's a tough thing to dramatize. It can come off as repetition (half of Ren's storyline), cowardice (it is a very weepy Shinji in this episode), or stalling for time (he's probably not going to kill anyone). It's a testament to how rich the characterization is, how strong the acting is, and how smart the writing is that this still manages to be a pretty compelling installment of There Are No Good Choices For Shinji.

And it's totally Shinji's episode. Ren exists on the sidelines, worried about Shinji but unable to convincingly muster an argument against killing. (I'd love to see it, though. It would either be poignant or hilarious, and I'm good with either.) Yui's around, typically marginalized as others fight and suffer on her behalf, but she serves a crucial role in the end. Everyone else is in little bits and pieces, asking questions that'll be answered later. (If you assume that I wasn't into Yui and Ren's trip back to Mirror Mansion, +2 Rider Points and Shotaro Hidari commends your deductive insight. Please adjust your TokuNation scorecards accordingly. I will say that I perked up for half a second when I thought the boat in Yui's photo was the Akatsuki-gou from Agito, but it's definitely not. Unless!) It's nice to see everyone check in, this close to the finale, but this episode's entirely about Shinji's dilemma.

Every time Shinji gets Ren on the ropes, he hesitates. The consequences of his choices overwhelm him, cripple him. So he opts to stop overthinking it, stop torturing himself and worrying his friends, and just go with his gut and murder the other Riders to save Yui. Easy peasy!

Except, y'know, Shinji's not really a killer deep inside, this is not a snap decision, and he's coming apart at the seams because of it. His enthusiasm is too forced, his casual way of challenging someone to a death-duel is wildly out of character, and it's all so uncomfortable to watch. It's classic Shinji but inverted, broken.

Even when he wants to fight, the universe pushes back, refusing to give him an outlet or an excuse. Kitaoka won't fight him, dealing with his own nagging conscience, and tips off Ren and Yui to Shinji's slow collapse. A quick monster wrap-up later, It's time for Shinji to see if he can choke down his misgivings and save Yui.

I love the ending to this story. It's 100% Ryuki and 100% Kamen Rider. Shinji has Ren on the ground, he's got Sword Vent, he can take out Ren and move one step closer to saving Yui, but Yui's there to shut it all down. She tells Shinji that saving her this way won't make her happy, and that stops Shinji cold. It's the Rider thing of, not saving people, but protecting smiles. It doesn't matter if Shinji saves Yui's life, if she's miserable because of it. And it's not Shinji if he doesn't care about that. Ren's fine destroying himself and making Eri sad, so long as Eri is alive to be sad. Shinji, he can't do that. He can suffer a lot to help people, to save Yui, but he can't break her heart. He can't take away her smile. I think that's a really lovely ending.

Centering the final string of episodes on this dilemma for Shinji, I think it's the best move the show could make. The machinations of plot, some dumbass Time Limit from Shiro or whatever, I don't care that much. But basing your finale in character, grounding it in moral choices, I love it. Super compelling.

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