Well on to the next episode.

Yeah, I'll probably go into it more when we get to the next episode or two, but there's some narrative decision making that goes into this last arc that I have never been a fan of (although, to be fair, there is some really good stuff, too). Mio's death is definitely one of those cheap pathos moments that Inoue really loves and it not only feels really forced, but it's also going to be the catalyst for some stuff that I always found to be really dumb. Not the worst waste of Yuria Haga that I've ever seen, though.

And I guess Shima died? Did not remember that happening. Dude definitely got his tragic death thunder stolen.

First Hiyori's and now you laugh at Mio's tragic death. SMH.

I don't think any explanation can make me understand your perspective here, but I do have a theory about the lack of audience for the wedding. Bishop may have claimed that it was supposed to be a uniting moment for the Fangires, but that's just his vision. I mean, how many Fangires have actually expressed excitement or approval of this wedding? We've seen way more against them than for them. Bishop considers himself above people, so there's no way he could understand how they think.

Taiga's blue blood is strange though. We've seen Fangires, even a Queen like Maya, bleed red, so why is Taiga's blue? Is that something specific to Kings? I know there's a metaphor about that, but this is a little too literal.

Shima and Buruman have an established relationship?!

Mio's heroic sacrifice wasn't just about her love though. It was to protect the familial love between Wataru and Taiga. She loved Wataru. And Wataru loved Taiga. So her wanting to kill Taiga was ignoring the effect that would have on Wataru. When Taiga forgave her for manipulating his feelings and trying to kill him, she realized how wrong she was. The end doesn't justify the means. She didn't sacrifice herself to protect Taiga. She sacrificed herself to protect Wataru from the guilt of killing his own brother.

It's such a weirdly-paced two-parter. 75% of it is about Shima, and then they just kill him off halfway through 43, and we are immediately onto a Wataru/Taiga/Mio story. Really diminishes whatever they were trying to say with Shima.

These are interesting reads, and very flattering to the show, but boy do I not think there's much on-screen to support them.

For the importance of the Fangire royal wedding, we have both Bishop and Taiga in support of it. We don't really have anyone against it, because the show hasn't gone to any great lengths to define Fangire society. With that being the case - there's really nothing I can point to that says Fangires are ambivalent about their rulers - I have to assume that the information the show presents is accurate.

The Mio situation is really the same thing. We haven't had, to my memory, a single conversation between Mio and either Wataru or Taiga about what that brotherly bond means to either of them. When Mio's suggested that Wataru murder Taiga, it mostly reads like Wataru is against cold-blooded murder, because that's pretty firmly established. Taiga talks about Wataru as a friend and a lieutenant, but rarely (to Mio) as a brother. Most of her experience with Wataru and Taiga is them battling each other? The idea that Mio wants to protect their familial bond is something I can see the show deciding, but not one I can see Mio deciding. She's way too outside that dynamic to have such a sudden shift in her priorities.

(That, and her flashbacks right before she gets involved seem entirely focused on Taiga, and his attempt to protect her from blame/punishment. Having her decision be rooted in protecting Wataru seems like the complete opposite of what the show is giving us in the moment.)

He's known that dog for 22 years! They've shared probably a hundred scenes! What the hell is Wataru in comparison?

I’m gonna say my reading of this episode was more in line with Shi’s than Die’s.

I got something of a laugh out of how goth the Fangire wedding came across as (a black dress, drinking blood: tell me thats not goth) to the point I described the whole shebang as “wild”. Someone responded by pointing out that W had an arguably wilder wedding where the groom was buck naked. And then I reposted the original post with images of Mio’s dream wedding captioned “I’m not crying, you are.”

As for the lack of guests, that’s not unusual for Tokusatsu. Whenever a wedding is depicted on screen, the only characters who are present are the main characters. And how many of this shows’ mains would logically be invited to Taiga’s wedding?

I don't want me criticizing this take to seem like it's the biggest problem I had with this episode. It isn't even in the top five problems I had with this episode.

My problems with the wedding being something that Mio and Taiga did in secret (Bishop wasn't even invited?!) are that I feel like an officiant is helpful to assure people that this thing actually happened (especially if the groom ends up dead), and that the show made it clear multiple times that this wedding was important to the Fangire race, and for Taiga's ability to lead said race. Having the big wedding the show has made intrinsic to Taiga's character happen in secret is... it definitely feels like the show forgot how they've been describing this event.

While the really great subtle lead-in of the first 20 seconds goes unused in this particular episode, where it's the score for Taiga and Shima's fateful showdown, Wataru's Truth is another one of my endless favorites from the soundtrack. It's definitely a piece of music that could sell you on the idea of whatever it accompanies being something grand and important.

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

And, while this is maybe a little Cheesy AMV of me, it's also time for some more TETRA-FANG, because I really want to talk about Mind Garden at some point, and Wataru's current state of immense sorrow and suffering makes this a pretty natural place to fit it in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eySH2bWUv0w

...Because that's basically what the song is all about! Just a really angsty jam about Wataru being totally lost in life, incapable of finding so much as a general direction to head in. Based on the rest of the lyrics, I assume the "garden" part of the title comes from the image of a hedge maze? There's not that much I can really say about this one beyond that I like it, and its whole mournful and mysterious (yet still rocking) vibe.

I also don't have a whole lot to say about this episode, either, which is a huge bummer for me, because you just know I'd be eager to jump to its defense given the chance. After all, I still think the complicated emotions of Tendou's shocking decision to cover Tsurugi's travel expenses made for a compelling and open-ended narrative back in Kabuto!

Here though, I mean, I already mentioned the 2008 love triangle was a little on the draining side for me back when I first watched Kiva, so I can't tell you I was on the edge of my seat the whole time here. I can be a sucker for tragic deaths, though, so this is certainly a turn in the plot I remembered very well, for what it's worth. If anything, it might've pulled me back into the story after I started to lose some interest in it? Looking back, there are certainly some nice touches to maximize how heart-rending it is, from putting a spotlight on that ring Wataru picked out for Mio WAY the heck back when she was introduced (that I'm pretty sure she's been wearing ever since?), a reminder of just how much Wataru's affection and support meant to her; to the completely silent black version of the usual chains at the end, which close out the episode in a disconcerting stillness.

It's tough, because, again, "kinda tacky and shoddily constructed" has been such a fundamental part of how I've always perceived Kiva that I can't give this one the full-on proper apologist reading, but at any rate, it's definitely a bummer to see the show hit such a huge low for you this late in the game.

Nago refusing to punch Shima was just fantastic, though, obviously. Look at him, finally seeing the world in shades of gray after all this time! He's got a whole character arc and everything! That's our 753! :p

(I know it's probably hard to tell from that last bit, but I genuinely do think that's a great moment for Nago's character. The funnier and/or more heroic Nago is being, the more I love him.)

Fish Is Unable To Mount A Defense For Thing I Hate is, by far, the more depressing element of this whole debacle. You are kicking me when I'm down!

(And, yeah, that is the same ring Wataru gave Mio way back when. Unfortunately, it leads into yet another bizarrely funny moment, as Mio imagines her wedding to Wataru, complete with all-white tuxedo and hilariously distracting hair. Both of their performances lack any charisma or connection, and they both have all the energy of a sullen child being forced to smile for a family photo. For what should be the heartbreaking realization of a dream destroyed, everyone in this fantasy cutaway decided the key emotion that should be conveyed was politeness.)

I'm reminded a bit of the last few episodes of Faiz, where Yuuji makes a character decision that felt massively undermotivated, and it really shook me... but then the show managed to turn its weird choice into something really special at the end. I'm hoping Kiva can similarly turn this narrative straw into gold in its last few outings.

This whole scene is so perfect that it feels like it's made by completely different people. All the character motivations are spot-on, it's shot beautifully, and it comes at its resolution from a weird angle. (Shima just negs Nago on his way out the door!) It's all stuff that feels grown out of what we know of the characters, rather than bizarre choices the show has trouble justifying in the moment.

My big problem is the same one that I have with 99% of tokusatsu weddings: the priest isn't actually Tendou Souji hijacking the occasion to talk up how awesome he is.