KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 44 - "PUNK: BACK TO FATHER”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva44a.png

ha ha ha ha INOUE FOREVER.

You guys.

Of all the ways I thought this episode could go, based on how the last one ended, it didn't even cross my mind that Wataru would use Castle Doran's way-more-of-a-problem-solving-option-than-when-Jiro-first-described-it-to-Nago Time Door to travel to 1986 and pull a reverse Back To The Future to prevent his parents from getting together. It is simultaneously absurd and poignant, which is what makes Inoue one of my favorite tokusatsu storytellers.

Like, this plan of Wataru's is stupid from the jump, but also exactly the sort of thing he'd try. He's distraught over Mio's death, and his role in it, so he does what he always does when the world seems too much: he tries to disappear. But this isn't brandishing a sword at Megumi or shoving Nago. Mio is dead, and hiding away isn't going to cut it. Wataru's pain requires him to eliminate his existence, so he's going to make sure his parents don't "fall in love”. (I really enjoy the G-rated explanation of where babies come from.) So he dresses up in costumes to dissuade Otoyoa, and then he straight-up tells Yuri to go get her man back. It's a plan with a hundred down-sides and no path to success. (It also, like the entirety of this story, requires you to ignore the summer movie.) It's sweet and earnest in all the ways Wataru is famous for, while also being heartbreakingly self-loathing; which, y'know, Wataru is also famous for.

It ignores a whole bunch of collateral damage (Megumi and her brother would completely cease to exist, so I guess we know how little non-Mio people matter to Wataru; pretty sure Wataru has directly or indirectly saved a ton of lives, which are now Fangire food), but this thing never even gets off the blocks. See, Wataru showed up a couple days/weeks (?) too late, since Yuri is breaking up with Otoya.

Probably goes without saying, but this was one of my favorite developments in all of Kiva. The emotional maturity of Yuri to be thankful for the good times she had with Otoya, acknowledge the end of them, and choose to move on? Fantastic. And she stomps on Otoya's foot as she goes, just to let him know that he handled this less maturely than she deserved? HELL YES. It's a template for how to break up with someone, and of all the lessons a tokusatsu show can teach impressionable children, this is one of the most useful. Don't cling to a situation that is deteriorating. Understand the difference between a relationship that can be repaired, and one that needs to end. Be grateful for the positive times you shared with someone. Realize that you are allowed to still care for someone you've broken up with. For a show that has dramatized a relationship with more detail and complexity than I've ever seen a Kamen Rider series attempt, this was such a beautiful coda to a messy, fascinating couple.

Having Wataru's whole Please Don't Bone time-travel plan show up in the midst of such a grown-up plotline made both of them so much better. It's that Inoue thing of combining the most ludicrous tokusatsu insanity (Kivat and Tatsulot just pop out of a wormhole when it's time to Henshin!) with straight-ahead human-scale drama that is an addictive combination for me. It spotlights how childish and ill-considered Wataru's self-negating journey is without ever really saying it out loud, and it gives weight to Yuri and Otoya's conclusion by not having Wataru's schemes amount to anything. It's totally unexpected and entirely welcome.

Most of the 2008 part of this episode was devoted to Nago's new role as Replacement Shima, and that was very cute. (There's another bit where Taiga swears vengeance on Wataru for killing the lady who leapt in front of a finisher, but No Thanks.) It's a quiet little moment of Nago trying to be the boss Shima was (Nago spent half the series shitting all over Megumi, so he's well-qualified), and it's a testament to Nago's growth both dramatically and comedically that this doesn't feel like an imminently doomed promotion. (It's also a total mystery as to whether Nago was promoted by anyone, or if he's just calling dibs or whatever. Is there someone else in W.A.K.E.U.P. to handle the chain of succession?) Nago trying to hold this group together by lowering his body fat and drinking coffee is... perfect. It's just perfect.

The Taiga scenes aside (No Thanks), this was a perfect episode. It's goofy and airy, but also poignant and bittersweet. It's an episode where a boy traveled back in time, dressed up as a fortune teller, and tried to persuade his father to abandon his mother so that he couldn't accidentally kill his girlfriend in the future. It's an episode where a supernaturally-gorgeous former supernatural executioner finds hope in love. It's an episode where a misguided, heartbroken young man enacts a foolhardy plan that fails, but may have given an idea to an all-powerful villain. It's utterly ridiculous and emotionally honest. It's characters giving rise to plots, instead of plots grinding down characters. It's an unbeatable episode of Kamen Rider Kiva.

INOUE FOREVER.

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Inoue seems to pull really bad episode followed by astounding episode a lot don't he?

These past two nights of updates were enjoyable to read.

I have no real voice to add to this discussion but... just know that I was waiting for you to get to 43 and 44 ever since you started this thread. And man, did these writings on them really make it worth the wait.

Mostly because like, I feel like these two episodes are the real tipping point of Kiva. Just from... well their everything. Especially 44 with well, Wataru's entire plan to, when you boil it down to basics, just well abort himself out of existence.

Really feels like during the last two dozen episodes, you keeping going back and forth between finding all new highs and all new lows with this show. It's pretty amazing.

I remember distinctly that I dismissed most of this episode from the get-go because, yeah, it is incredibly stupid and yet still meant to be somewhat serious, and I had been trying to ignore the fact that Castle Doran had a convenient time travel door after the last time they used it for Nago. I guess looking back at it now, I can maybe look past that and just appreciate the pathos of a bunch of people meeting their future son in a dramatic moment, and the image if Kiva and 1986 IXA fighting side-by-side is neat. Obviously not as iconic as the movie's version, but still.

Also an episode late to discuss, but I felt like saying now that I thiiink the triangle between Mio, Taiga and Wataru was the most interested I was in any character dynamics in this show. I do think Maya is cool, and she and Otoya getting closer is surprisingly engaging, but I never quite bought Yuri's stake in it so all the waiting around for that stuff to move along was kinda boring, but every second of the 08 love triangle was just so tinged with bloodthirsty and awkward tension in every direction that it got me kinda hooked!?

Of course, then Mio jumped in front of Wataru's spiky feet and I was like "oh, that's it, huh...". Like, I don't know what conclusion I was ultimately hoping for, but I'm pretty sure I was dreading (yet perhaps also sadly expecting) that the woman of this dynamic would just get abruptly offed for angst's sake, and sure enough...! Enjoy France, Mio...

He's not a halfway guy, you know? Very rarely do I watch an Inoue episode for any show and say That Was Fine. (It happens, just not a lot.) He's pretty much either going to kill it or shank it, but that's part of the fun!

Ha ha, thanks! These were some wild episodes, for better and for worse. (Too soon, Taiga?) It's such a bizarre show, Kiva, and it's amazing how almost thrillingly uneven it can be this late in its run. Most shows figure themselves out by this point, often to their detriment, but Kiva keeps getting more unpredictable. Rarely a dull moment with ol' Inoue.

Like Otoya, this show refuses to be pinned down and easily-defined. It's a free spirit!

So fun to have a plot start with Crazy Uncle Jiro sending Wataru back in time to get advice from his dad, only for Wataru to realize that a Time Door is the perfect solution for a kid who wished he'd never been born.

But, yeah, this episode gives the Wataru/Otoya/Maya stuff a little bit more room to breathe than the movie. I liked how long (relatively) it took for Otoya to get on board with being a dad. He never fully embraces it, and he also doesn't love his kid telling him how to live his life. He's going to be an awesome dad someday!

Maya's scenes were more touching, which I think is the right way to go. (Otoya being someone who can't quite put anything ahead of his own impulses means that your only options are the movie's overenthusiastic Stage Dad pride, or this version's slightly wary Mom's New Boyfriend vibe.) Maya's tentative, but starts to realize how much pain her son must be in to want to erase his own existence. She's... sort of going through some similar stuff right now! She is also dealing with loss brought about by a relationship, and trying to figure out how to redefine herself in the aftermath! She's a really good mom... unless you remember that she abandoned her son to a Henshin Device while she hid in a cave.

Mio deserved better.

But I don't think you're wrong? About which was the better triangle? I love Maya (that face), but once she showed up, we were just watching Otoya and Yuri's relationship collapse in slow motion. There was really no tension to it. Otoya/Maya was such a foregone conclusion that it sapped a lot of the Violin-Making Is A Metaphor scenes of the betrayal they should've had. It ended beautifully, but the road to that ending dragged a bit.

Conversely, the 2008 triangle had so many surprising moves and motivations that I really wasn't sure where they'd go with it. Unfortunately, I never got to find out.

yaaaaaay

Ah yes, the one with the most complex suicide plan ever devised by man.

Jokes aside, we’re in the home stretch of the show, and with it, we’ve run out of new Fangires. These are the last two.

Polar Bear Fangire

True name: Commandment to the Dissipating Spices (淫蕩なる香辛料への戒め Intō naru Kōshinryō e no Imashime)

Human identity: N/A

Class: Beast

Rank: Pawn

Actor: Daisuke Egawa (voice)

And the one who isn’t a repaint of a previous one.

Bat Fangire

True name: The Dawn Sleeps, A Magnificent Story's Ending (暁が眠る、素晴らしき物語の果て Akatsuki ga Nemuru, Subarashiki Monogatari no Hate)

Human identity: N/A

Class: N/A

Rank: King

Actor: Shinya Niiro

And that’s it for my regular feature of this thread. Next time, if I’m not taking part in the reviews themselves, I’ll be either evolving my previous regular features or talking about the episode or references within the episode.

Nothing to say regarding my reply to ep. 40? Still I had a long text in the first place about ep. 41 here. Though yeah I'm currently falling behind in the episodes here, due to other matters (not talking about my Gaim cover in KR watch, but real life stuff).

The stories where characters go on 'impossible choices' I think don't always not reflecting their truths, can be opposite, and that happens because the choices presented to them won't reflect their truth if they go along any one of them, so they take another option that still solves the problem but reflects their truths. For you to find positivity (though I would not consider being true to yourself as positivity) by accident, well I'd think it depends on the audience on how they take the work... it'd not be determined by actual quality, like if someone can find much more meaning than someone elses do in a work the latter dismissed, and this would also involve someone regarding non-Inoue work that you can probably dismiss.

I mean, Shima's unpleasant side reveals more here with him becoming more harsh on Nago as well (who opts to protect Wataru), that Shima has the standard brutal view of treating feelings and emotions as weakness (well, he talks about it happening in the past, but it's still an explanation for gaining terrible traits). So I guess Shima's abysmal leadership is something canon. Firstly, treating Kengo as total failure based on one ironically will just weaken the Aozora association's force, due to losing one good worker as a whole (well, in fighting, Kengo's asshole temperament can cause problems in other ways too, but Nago has stayed there for long time and can be worse than Kengo at that time) compared to doing good work albeit not always giving wanted results (albeit it's reverting Kengo back). Secondly, there are some situations where the emotionless ones are actually missing out or failing when they could have gotten the job done more efficiently by displaying some emotions in a calculated way. They fail to do so because their emotional insecurities and emotional hurt are preventing them from displaying their emotions. Emotions managed well is a source of strength, rather than trying to let go of our emotions altogether, we should work towards managing our emotions better. For Kengo here, it's kinda unfair take that due to how enjoyable this episode is, can just forget the dismissive prick period of him, but not if it's something in other series.

I guess this is the culmination of Wataru's change from his pushover self, that he says no to Taiga who persuades him to go into the path of evil. Taiga's persuasion to treat the humans as livestocks and worthless is exactly the thing Wataru fears before for him hurting others. I guess this fits with Taiga's self, that Sagarc is a snake, a cobra one, and snakes particularly cobra is often depicted as sinister animal due to their menacing-looking hoods and venom, which is likely reflected on Taiga's attitude to Wataru to 'poison' his heart and tempt him into enjoying Fangire's luxuries. Speaking of Sagarc, this is probably the Saga's version of Castle Doran, but Kiva Emperor managed to single-handedly beat it, using new abilities of Zanvat Sword which is firing sword waves (I never see that shit in the games).... probably speaking about the power it holds.

While Otoya sees past the labels that invites xenophobic views for either human or Fangires, Maya is a woman too, so that earns instant soft spot for a (former if settled on Maya?) womanizer. I only want to know though what's the reaction if King's not such a depraved monster (but still dates Maya). Other than that, this shows King as a hypocrite that he refused to kill Maya for cheating on him with Otoya, believing that doing so would prove that he loved her and that love was a proof of weakness, but he was emotionally devastated for seeing Maya's love to Otoya. I don't know if this stance means you should be all about anti-system following what Inoue seems to think here, as system is made to prevent chaos going on (but for King and Taiga, it's to gain advantage over humans), but system would lead into bad nonsense thing of course if it's ruled by someone as rotten as King! He's a sociopath who has cruel ruling of Fangire laws, and his "love" for Maya: he initially claims that he doesn't love her, but seeing her have feelings for Otoya made him very entitled to her being his, even trying to threaten her with Taiga's life, taking her Fangire powers; sparing her from death to make her feel worse than that, and so on. It's not entirely system fault, the other Fangires need to wise up if they're not entirely malicious and overthrow King (well, previously Maya too because she kills her own beings by the love rule) and instill a reasonable one as King, especially if there's Fangires who love humans and wants to stay that way (and probably the ones who love humans propose to work together with humans). Albeit of course the problem is King's sheer strength. But I think how systems can corner or benefit is based on who's in charge (but that includes Maya as well before, but Otoya's womanizing traits and skills can get through Maya). Don't dismantle system, improve it.

I admit this'd resonate with me, but still would be hard for me to follow, "true to yourself", "don't make you anything you don't want to be", "don't let anyone make you feel less than yourself". I have this issue as well, sometimes feeling conflicted when I make replies that probably will go against the majority here, like if I'm talking about the truth about Inoue only here (his side media work and his TV work), or if I want to point out an enjoyable character's (while even backing up to others about how characters can be liked without making them immune to criticism) negative traits if I feel that people overlook them, though at least in KR fandom, characters like Kusaka is appropriately seen as villainous mostly, but this can apply to morally grey characters. But being paid attention and noticed too is what I'd want as well, and that'd mean one's presence have to be tolerated by others here, and I can feel that to achieve that, you'd have to do what would satisfy others. So there's a dliemma of me talking about what I want to convey, or talking to please others (being tolerated and paid attention is my wish as well). Though still, this is applied to Wataru who is Kamen Rider main hero, so him living as himself regardless of his being, would also uphold his morals like rejecting Taiga above, but still I'm not too faithful in the moral of being true to yourself, despite it resonating with me, as it's not exactly moral message, it can be abused by rotten people who'd reject any suggestion to better themselves, embracing their nature and insists others to mind their own business, like those who keep stealing or murdering others because they enjoy it, which is being true to yourself in horrific way.

I had a question about the Arms Monster, and it apparently consists of monsters in 1980s, even I questioned if Garuru is actually the same Jiro in 1980s. So they finally show here that, they're turned into weapons due to King's iron-fist rule of the Fangires. Otoya and the Arms Weapons finally bonded for real here, after long hostility between him and Jiro, that previously, they hesitated when ordered by King to kill Otoya.

No offense but, I feel that you're elevating Otoya's morality way higher than he should be here. I'd think that if you talk about music, it's about his skills, which I'd not think it's related to morality, albeit yeah I'd cite Otoya redeeming Oomura as one of his most moral moments, because Oomura is a male AND a Fangire. Not Otoya, but there's many outright villainous characters who would be incredibly skilled/knowledgable at art, like Aizen from Bleach being instructor in caligraphy; traits like passion or determination isn't related to moral (there're determined villains who wouldn't give up to defeat like Masamune in Ex-Aid). About redeeming others, I don't think that you'd necessarily need good traits to achieve that, like in Ex-Aid, the one that softens.. uh... Taiga (don't be confused!) is Nico, who although developed to be better too, is someone who is spiteful, petty, selfish, obnoxious, bratty, etc. And even then Nico developing better can be applied to this as well, as Taiga's the reason for it, which is (he's used to be nice in the past, but still he's totally changed) someone selfish, arrogant, downright unpleasant and couldn't care less about any of the patients the Bugsters infected. I'd like to point out too that, Jiro and Otoya is fully friends now, but Jiro trying to kill Otoya before wasn't a one-sided conflict, it was mutual, Otoya had a bone to pick with Jiro as well before, for his behavior to women or being a rival for women's affections. To a lesser extent, he refused to help the Arms Monsters before unless it involves Yuri, though of course they're fully brothers in arms now, but taking long time for that speaks for itself to me.

Maybe the flashbacks could have been executed a little better and some foreshadowing given to clarify Mio's motivation. I think this take was what the show intended though and I appreciate what it's trying to say about these characters even if it's kind of complicated. Repentance could be another factor after understanding that Taiga doesn't deserve to die for his misguidedness. He's also a victim of his culture and he just doesn't know it yet.

The tragedy of this love triangle is how it's escalated by concerns outside of love. Like how Jirou was concerned about his race's extinction, Taiga is concerned about maintaining Fangire tradition. The moral here should be that love is not a device to solve those problems. Love should only be love's sake. So that's why I believe Mio's heroic sacrifice was out of a love deeper than what she had expressed before, as that feeling became even stronger from that understanding of the importance of love whether it's romantic, platonic, familial or unconditional.

According to Master, Wataru is the first person Buruman bonded with since Otoya, so even after knowing Shima for 22 years (which is a lot for a dog), Buruman still doesn't seem to particularly care about him the way he does for Master, Otoya and Wataru.

Yeah, when you said you lost interest in the 2008 storyline, I thought, "he's probably going to like the next few episodes".

Wataru definitely isn't thinking clearly here. This is his first time meeting Yuri though so he may not know she's the future mother of Megumi and Mitsuhide. Even without the unintentional collateral damage of trying to split up his parents, I don't agree with Wataru's means at all. Wanting to negate his own existence is just running away from his guilt and denying Mio her heroic sacrifice. Inaction may not bring detriment to others but it doesn't help people either. Abstinence from living isn't heroic. Wataru needs to accept what happened and determine the best way to move on from that in the present, which is what Jirou intended when he sent him to the past to learn from Otoya. If Wataru doesn't use this opportunity to make amends with Taiga, then Mio's heroic sacrifice will be for nothing.

For sure, this is another awesome moment for Yuri! I actually agree with what you said before, about needing to balance unconditional love with self-respect to prevent becoming obsessed with that love. This is what separates her from somebody like Kusaka, who doesn't have concept of respect. Yuri is capable of loving Otoya and the time they had together while also accepting that it's in the past now, so she can move on and find somebody who will give her the love she deserves. She's an example of what Wataru needs to do with Mio. His experience with her should be recalled fondly as strength, not something to be erased or regretted. Sadness is also a part of living.

I'm not really elevating Otoya's morality, by saying that his compassion is one of his greatest qualities. It's just that it stands out in contrast to his more frequently seen flaws. Maybe that's why Otoya and Jirou are such good friends, cause they both started out as pretty terrible people and their friendship grew out of a rivalry which came to mutual respect. They both had their own flaws to overcome as well, like Otoya's resistance to marriage and Jirou's yandere behavior. Terrible people can help each other become less terrible, like your example of (Hanaya) Taiga and Nico. But just as everybody has flaws, those terrible people aren't without merit either, they have hidden qualities and redeeming factors and those qualities I believe should have recognition. I definitely don't think Otoya is some kind of saint or anything like that. I mean, it's hard to believe that when his argument against Wataru being his son was that he couldn't have a son that tall. That has implications.

Thank you, as always, for your dedication and insight! It's always amazing to me the amount of detail that goes into things the show never even mentions.

Sorry! Wednesday was super busy, and by the time I could post anything, it was either a response or a new episode post.

Sure! We all respond to art differently!

It's something everyone struggles with, to some degree. It's not fun to be judged, or to feel like you're not connecting with people. But a lot of what Kamen Rider shows focus on is that trying to please other people at the expense of your self-respect isn't a good trade. It's better to be yourself, express your thoughts in a way that's honest without being confrontational, and let that be enough. Maybe people will like it, maybe they won't. Depending on their acceptance or praise isn't worth changing yourself.

This is why I don't quit shows!

Oh, yeah, maybe he doesn't know who Yuri is? The kind of In Media Res start to Wataru's plan has me scratching my head a little bit at what he knows about the 1986 love triangle. He clearly recognizes his mom and dad, but does he have any clue who Yuri is? I know Megumi's talked about her mom around Wataru, but maybe he hasn't put two and two together?

And, absolutely, Wataru's plan is utterly misguided. He's just trying to do his Final Form of running away, and it's so wrong-headed that no one in the cast is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Agreed! It was very smart of this episode to juxtapose Yuri's clear-eyed maturity with Wataru's childish self-negation.