Given his start, I'm surprised his brain didn't go to a certain someone else...

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/71/84/13/7...6ea1d2aa8c.jpg

I think I might interpret it a little differently.

Takumi's guilt is maybe pretty justified? He made a few bad decisions, and his friend got hospitalized because of it. Sawada was a bad dude, with plenty of evidence to support that view. Takumi wanted him to be not a bad dude, because that'd mean Yuuji wasn't a bad dude. So Takumi went in wanting to be swayed, and that got a friend seriously hurt.

So when Yuuji shows up blaming him, I think there's a part that wants to punish Yuuji because he couldn't punish Sawada. But I think there's a part of Takumi that wants to be punished. He messed up, and he needs to pay for that. If that means he gets beat up by someone he hates, all the better for his penance.

I'd agree with you for the most part about how the Ryusei School stuff fails Mari. I think that the few before this really worked, though, the end of the Delta Reveal arc. Those ones, they really put the spotlight on how Mari was dealing with all of it. Here, it's back to being about some other character. Not a great choice?

Yeah. I know this is going to sound obvious, but I haven't seen anyone terrible get invited back to another Rider show. (You'd think it'd only be good people coming back, but that is not always true!) But, universally, the folks who show back up are all great. Terrific casting direction for this franchise.

Fish's post was at the end of Page 58, and I'm like, "Oh, shit, Shin Kuroto Dan, shoulda gone with that one." And then on the next page.

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 33

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz33a.png

--1--

hey guess who's back

UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH

--2--

So, yeah, the Ryusei School alumni. Jesus.

It's not worth rehashing all the ways the Ryusei School storyline disappoints, but in the interest of new content, let me add one more way the Ryusei School storyline disappoints.

Its main problem is that it's a huge, important, convoluted plotline that doesn't involve Takumi at all. He's friends with Mari, and he (on a good day) grudgingly tolerates Kusaka, but there's nothing in this whole Ryusei School story for him. He's constantly outside of it, asking questions but emotionally unconcerned. Worse, the few times that he tries to involve himself, to get the goddamn star of the show involved in the A-plot for an episode, he's rebuffed by these unwelcome guest stars.

If you're ever going to do a plot like this on Kamen Rider, it has to emotionally connect with the hero. It has to. When you do it like this, where it's a glorified subplot that just blots out every other story (this episode starts with Yuuji and Takumi battling in a grudge match and then has no time to deal with it!), it feels intrusive and distracting. It's a story about nobodies that gets more time and attention than the star of the show.

Just, it's such a dumb way to anchor the Ryusei School stuff. So dumb.

--3--

But, y'know, fine, it's here, let's talk about it.

The Ryusei School alumni ("Go Meteors!”) have gathered to visit Mari in the hospital, as she lays dying from Sawada's attack. They mostly end up more useless than normal, a shadow made of four humans that follows Kusaka around, but there's one part I loved. There's one dude who, right away, wants to bail. He's got work, and she's in a coma, so maybe he should just split, if everyone's cool with that. One dude blows up at him, accusing him of being heartless in abandoning Mari. But he's just like, I Did Not Sign Up For This To Be My Life. And I get that! That is a real human emotion to have about all of this!

I love the idea of how the Ryusei School alumni seem to this one alumnus. He got a job, he's building a life, and these assholes keep dragging him back into Belts and Gear and Orphnochs and then this one girl he hasn't seen in years is in a coma now? And he's got inventory on Monday, and he was going to take his car in for an oil change today, and, like, no. You guys.

The other students are like those high-drama high school friends you had who think you're still friends, while you're living an adult life and trying to escape their depressing gravity. This guy, I kind-of wish we could follow him more. But, I mean, he's almost definitely going to get killed next episode?

--4--

The rest of the plot, I'm straining to remember. This one was... not a great episode.

The Takumi/Yuuji stuff, despite an awesome intro, gets such short shrift it is criminal. They fight to a draw, which frustrates Kitazaki so much that he gives up the Delta Gear to Sawada, who views it as a crutch and gives it up to Kusaka. Meanwhile, Takumi once again feels so trapped by indecision and guilt (can't kill Yuuji, can't get killed by Yuuji) that he gives up the Faiz Gear to Keitaro, who can't use it so he gives it up to Kusaka.

Kusaka has every belt at the end of this episode, and he mostly got them because everybody else thinks they're lame.

This episode 75% didn't work for me, but that being how the Belts are treated? I love it. It's the ultimate Faiz thing, no one giving a shit about the main weapons of the show. (Houjou is so furious when he thinks Kitazaki threw the Delta Gear away, since they were killing themselves to get it!) It's such a fun, backwards way of moving pieces around, having it all happen through apathy and boredom rather than concerted effort. Brilliant.

--5--

Besides that, though (and Kaido's hilarious moment), yeah, god, no way this one was going to work with so much of it being about Kusaka and the Ryusei School alumni. And, it's in-character, but I was getting a little sick of how much Takumi gets frozen out of the goddamn A-plot of the show. It's probably supposed to feel motivating for him, how much Kusaka is sneering at his weakness, but I found it sort-of infuriating. There's a point where I wanted to scream JESUS CHRIST KUSAKA I'M PRETTY SURE THE NAME OF THE SHOW IS STILL KAMEN RIDER FAIZ, YOU GIGANTIC SON OF A BITCH, MAYBE YOU CAN LET HIM BE A PART OF YOUR STUPID-ASS PLOT?!

That level of frustration.. I don't know if that's what the producers intended. Feels like maybe not! Am I alone on this one?

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz33b.png

So... what's the problem here? This is a bait and tragedy part a story has. And as you said, Faiz does this regularly. But yeah to have a monster that can be reasoned with, you have to make the monsters originate from humans with their innate humanity. While Sawada was conflicting before this happened, how about every other Orphnochs who functions completely like MOTWs?

I agree that this is clever for Kusaka to make the best use of the situation. Knowing that Takumi blames himself for what happened to Mari, Kusaka just twists the truth around to Yuji to tell Takumi directly does that, instead of indirectly. Kusaka was in the right one this time yeah, though I'm not into that (or at least, not into glorifying that, anyone can make right points), partly for his personal reasons like racism to Orphnochs (he also pulls this before to Yuji for Takumi) or Sawada threatening Mari. Also for Lucky Clover, probably it's not indicating pure evil, as if you kill even evil humans, you at least aren't branded as traitor by them, and is still appropriate to their way of living.... or like Kusaka, joining them for other agendas. And for Sawada, there's an indication of this previously with him defying other Lucky Clover also for Takumi and Mari, the act of that and saving her (and to us, him thinking like Kusaka, Mari can bring back his humanity, they really baited us too).

So all about Sawada burning origami foldings before he started his murder spree was his attempt to get rid of his humanity. Was Kaido's stronger resistance to the fire that he's forced to carry both Keitaro and the kid attributed to his Orphnoch body? I probably think that you just lumped the Delta scene here together for problems... I mean it's a new breed of Takuma and Kitazaki rivalry, him doing new stuff like trying to steal Delta belt. And also the first showings of Dragon Orphnoch.

Yep. Ray Fujita went on to be Rei/Zero in GARO, Mitsuru Karahashi went on to portray Juzo, Takeru/Shinken Red's nemesis in Shinkenger, Yuria Haga went on to portray a pivotal role in Kiva, Kento Handa who played Takumi became a well known celebrity himself especially after he started showing off how much of a retro Japanese music geek he is, and Kouhei Murakami went on to be Kaixabird, the best bird of all of super sentai in Zyuohger. :lolol
Seriously though, it was fun to see Kouhei play a polar opposite to Kusaka.

I mean, some real-life people are not super-introspective? For every new Orphnoch who wrings their hands at their place in the cosmos, or who wonders aloud if they still have a soul, there're going to be Orphnochs who are just like Yep Kill All Humans Got It. Some folks are okay doing their assigned task and not thinking too hard about why!

Yeah, I assume that Kaido's physiology allowed him to survive the fire in a way that Keitaro couldn't.

For the Delta stuff in that episode, it just doesn't have any point, other than being funny. They'd had conflicts before, this wasn't really different enough to feel like an escalation. It doesn't tell us anything new, it doesn't alter the dynamic, and it doesn't pay anything off. It's total filler.

So much about your reaction to this episode makes me giggle but I won't say why.

Anyhow, I'm all for the way Faiz subverts many expectations of how these merchandise-driven superhero shows should be, the way big toys are just tossed around or discarded, or how the protagonist takes a backseat. But sometimes when nothing particularly good comes out of those decisions (like everything in this episode if you ask me), then I start to think the show is just doing umconventional things entirely for the sake of being uncoventional, instead of for the sake of the story.

Admittedly, part of why I'm saying that is because I know ahead of time how some of these plotlines resolve (or how they don't), but maybe that's just a personal issue, like I'm not focusing on the present entertaiment enough and just thinking solely about how it'll pay off.

I mean, look, there are definitely ways we could find out new info about Takumi or Kusaka or Mari that'd tie all of this together and create real personal stakes for Takumi. Sure! But boy does that not help me right now. Right now, I've got Kusaka telling Takumi to stay out of it, I've got a whole lot of the action hinging on how the Ryusei School alumni feel about Sawada, and I've got all of Team Orphnoch confined to half a fight and one funny scene.

I really hope there's a point in the future where all I remember is how great this plot ended. I want to go to there!

All I want to say now is, Open Your Eyes for the Next Faiz, Die.

(*but yeah, this is what I alluded to several pages back when I said Faiz has great characters that often end up being misused and led to a lot of frustrating moments. My frustration with Faiz was really not about not being able to connect with the characters (I love these kids from the start!), or even the misunderstandings (I can tolerate and justify some of them); it's when... the A-plot happens).

I'm glad I've somehow provided a cliffhanger to this thread!

It's an Inoue weakness, I think, where maybe he doesn't know which is the right story to focus on? I mean, I get that he seems really keen to tell stories about groups of teenagers who are trying to deal with new forms of life and powers and getting murdered and not trusting outsiders and secret histories that only they share. It's... I mean, I've seen Agito, you know? But it's frustrating when he seems willing to briefly ignore all of the hard work he did over the last three dozen episodes to spend an installment with more random Ryusei dillholes. To see this show squander so much momentum... I know it can do better. I'm not angry, I'm disappointed.