He definitely miscalculates here!

Well, he's a skinny boy with self-esteem problems. I'm not surprised he can't do a bunch of push-ups, and I'm not surprised his dad was a more competent human fighter than he was.

There're just too many scenes of Otoya ditching Wataru for that to work for me. You can read those scenes as Wataru trying to interfere with Otoya, so Otoya fought back, but it comes off more as Otoya deciding to do everything himself when it wasn't strictly necessary. Again, that is totally in-character for Otoya! I have watched other episodes of this show! But it's the way Wataru and Maya treat Otoya's sacrifice as some inevitable, unpreventable thing that made this kind of a chore to get through. No one articulates any of the half-dozen valid reasons why Otoya shouldn't do this, which makes it all seem too forced, too predetermined.

Pretty good couple episodes for Wataru! He's a sweet boy.

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 46 - “FULL STOP: GOODBYE, OTOYA”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva46a.png

There’s some stuff in here with Megumi and Nago, where she’s unsure if he’s matured enough to lead W.A.K.E.U.P. There’s some stuff in here about Bishop, and how he’s unleashed the End Of Series Army on the world so that he can destroy anyone else who would lay claim to the Fangire throne. There’s some later stuff in the episode, where Wataru has found a new level of strength (physical and emotional) as a result of his most recent crisis of faith, and how his resolve to protect people has solidified. A lot of nice little storylines as we head into the final two episodes.

But this is the one where Otoya dies, and that’s all we’re going to talk about.

It’s a strong ending for him, alternately intense, funny, and sweet. It manages to encapsulate a series worth of growth into a few beautifully-done scenes, and make a contradictory free-spirit seem definable and coherent. For someone who hated being pigeon-holed, this episode makes his roles as father, friend, lover and hero undeniable.

It’s the fatherhood that comes across first, thanks to Otoya’s thrilling team-up with Wataru. Possibly besting their movie partnership, there’s so much to love about their matching costumes and mirrored stances. I ordered a Dark Kiva figure a little while ago, from site sponsor Tokullectibles. When the suit appeared in the show, I’m like, Okay, I Guess I Bought A Villain Suit. But now? Now it’s going to be my Otoya suit. (IXA was always going to be Nago. I mean, come on.) Seeing him take on the Dark Kiva power for a third and final time, because he couldn’t do anything less when the people he loved were at risk? An epic move.

It’s also his first and last lesson to his son, which is only the beginning of this show giving Otoya heartbreaking lines. Wataru spends a bunch of time over the series trying to understand his father, and in turn understand himself. But there on that shore, it all clicks into place. You fight to protect the people you love. That’s it. It’s that simple. Otoya’s a hero because he protects what he loves, and he loves people. He loves so, so many people. (Arguably too many, if you’ve been dating him!) If the people Otoya loves are in jeopardy, he will never stop trying to protect them. Doesn’t matter if it’ll kill him. He won’t let himself die until he keeps his loved ones safe.

It clarifies things for Wataru, in a way he’s able to take back with him to the future. When Shizuka and Megumi are in danger, Wataru (not Kiva, Wataru) rushes to their aid, scaring off Fangires with a look of steely determination. It all comes from his dad, imperfect though he was. He maybe only directly taught his son one lesson, but it’s maybe the most important lesson he could ever teach him. It multiplies Otoya’s sacrifice, since it averts a tragedy in 1986 and gives Wataru the courage to hopefully prevent one in 2008. Otoya never really got to raise his son, but he still managed to be a good father.

The couple scenes he spends with his friends, though, those hit me the hardest.

The one with Yuri… man. It’s a Goodbye scene, even if no one says it. Otoya wasn’t a great boyfriend, but he managed to be an okay friend to Yuri. She’s happy to have known him, happy with the person she is after their break-up. They tease each other, in the way only exes on good terms can. He wants to know how she made her only-decent omelette rice, an acknowledgement that something imperfect can have sentimental value greater than its measurable qualities. She teases him that her secret ingredient was poison, before tearfully confessing that it was love.

The whole scene is like the other half to their breakup from a couple episodes ago. That was Yuri finding strength in her ability to let Otoya go, and her happiness that he found true love. Here, it’s her letting herself grieve their relationship a little. She’s cried before at Otoya’s betrayal, but in this scene she’s mourning the loss of that time in her life. She’s also mourning Otoya, even if she isn’t consciously aware of it.

Jiro figures it out pretty fast, though. He’s seen plenty of dying people in his life. (Also, Otoya is, uh, literally vanishing, so there’s that.) Jiro and the other Arms Monsters are considering making a break for it, leaving the rampaging Castle Doran to whomever, going back to looking out for themselves. And it’s Otoya who convinces them to care about other people, both generally (living in Castle Doran would keep it from killing everyone) and personally (watching over Wataru). They started this series looking for survival and a small amount of vengeance, and they end it as Wataru’s Three Crazy Uncles who live in a dragon cathedral. The fact that it occurred because of Otoya is, frankly, stunning.

Otoya’s an almost impossibly broad caricature of a man. He’s irrepressible, if you’re feeling generous, and chaotic, if you aren’t. But he managed to live his life in a way that convinced other people to find reasons to love, and to sacrifice. He held to his principles, and fought for his convictions, and it caused evil monsters and taciturn warriors to become hopeful heroes. He didn’t do it by being a non-stop paragon of justice, or even an all-the-time good man. He did it by showing people the joy of living your life honestly, and the rewards of choosing to love openly.

Which brings us to Maya.

She’s lost so much from knowing Otoya. She watched her husband die. She lost her station, and her powers. She’ll be hounded for decades by angry Fangires. She'll end up having to give away both of her sons to protect them. All she got for all that hardship was a few short weeks with the man she loved.

It seems worth it?

The point of love isn’t quantity, it’s quality. The sacrifices both Maya and Otoya make for their love, it’s like a rebuttal to the last two episodes of Wataru’s journey to the past. Everything ends. Sometimes relationships end faster than we’d like. Sometimes we make sacrifices for love. Sometimes you get just a little bit, and you pay for it for a long time. But if it's real love, true love, having it at all is a miracle. You can't count it in days, because it'll last forever.

My mom married my dad, and three years later he died of cancer. I was 2 when he died. She kept his name. A few years later she remarried, and we changed our name. It didn’t last. They divorced. And she took my dad’s name again, instead of her maiden name. There’s this connection she had with him, something that was always going to be a testament to their love, and it was me. That sounds sappy and saccharine, but I believe it. As long as I was there, with my dad’s name, there was some part of their love that endured. It was brief, in terms of how long it’s been since he died. But a week ago, on Father’s Day, she wanted to talk about him.

So seeing Maya there with Otoya in the park, their brief but brilliant affair about to end; acknowledging that their love would go on forever, and a son would be the proof of that… man, that felt like something made just for me, some part of Kamen Rider Kiva I’ll always be able to cherish.

Inoue Forever. Otoya Forever. Love Forever.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva46b.png

Inoue Forever. Otoya Forever. Love Forever.

If he would be actually killed uncerenimously, then yeah it'd fit for what you said here, but this part I've glanced in other that he doesn't die due to Saga there, and he'd do something at the end of the series (well, I'm late at episode watch here so of course others would already knew). I don't know if it's a late-game retcon, I mean Taiga is a late addition character, as well as the news that Wataru is a half-Fangire, so if the story would make him having ties with Shima, then Shima's character suddenly becomes a huge deal too. I guess Shima's views about Fangires is a big deal because he's practically the leader (awful as it is) of the good guys here by managing Aozora, and leader would influence its members more.

I mean, Mio undergoes a development that seems opposite to me from Wataru's, which is her becoming a yandere to kill anyone that stands in the way of her and Wataru's love, and committing to Queen role so that she can have Wataru as King (with a possible take of my thoughts for Mio protecting Taiga below). Mio outwardly may seem nice due to her shyness, similar to Wataru, but she has hidden dark and selfish traits here that'd make her different from Wataru moral wise, either pushed to it or inherent. Mio becomes similar to Taiga, at this point. She essentailly does the same thing to Wataru as Taiga, persuading him to embrace Fangire side, though unknown what can happen to humanity afterwards, or Fangires too, if Mio would let them be killed by humans, only concerning herself to be together with him. Like I said before, she even shows manipulative side towards Taiga, to pretend to be happy and interested interacting with him here. But it's shown more in this episode, that she pretends to go along with Taiga's proporsal, planning to kill Taiga at the wedding herself, because Wataru won't do it.

I'd think Taiga's main desperation is him ensuring future for Fangire, but also by hindering their 'oppositions' like humans, and that's due to them being inferior, like preventing Fangires to marry humans. His ideal life involves mainly Wataru on his side, but about him with Mio, Mio is a Queen and thus she's used as something that would ensure his command over the Fangires, which is marrying her as a Queen, and making himself King. I only want to know what would be Taiga's reaction if there would be another Queen appointed, as his main aim is to ensure future for Fangires (and what he wants is Wataru on his side), I'm not assuming for Taiga to kill Mio due to her being useless now or such by that btw as for below.

I mean why would you claim Wataru feels guilt for something not his fault? I mean Wataru of course would be devastated at the loss of Mio, potentially his love. This is just another trauma Wataru had to go through with, like his half-Fangire nature, the betrayal of Dai-chan, etc. I'd agree though Mio diving at a finishing move isn't an optimal move... but many sacrifice moves are done this way... jumping your whole body to the attack instead, though actually the question I have is if Queen dies at such quick rate like that (I forgot if there's a failed finisher before). Otherwise well, Mio's death is something that fanbase can see as KR mistreating females. It seems like a sudden last decision change for Mio to shield Taiga... I mean Mio plotted to kill Taiga herself, using the wedding as the means to do so. I guess Taiga being nice to Mio is the closest excuse for her to return the favor, that Taiga still covers for her despite her attempts to kill Taiga and letting her escape, and while Mio still won't love Taiga romantically, this probably dispells her hatred for him.

Continuing from Otoya claiming that what matters for Maya is her soul instead of her race, I don't know if Otoya would care about Maya losing her powers or not.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/kiva/kiva06b.png

It's just never really a huge deal before now? Like, Shima's responsible for fighting Fangires, but it's always been Nago that was the fanatical character. Megumi was pretty quick to see Kiva as helping out humans, so it's not like Shima was indoctrinating his subordinates. If anything, Shima always seemed to think Nago was too dedicated to killing Fangires?

I feel like the answers to some of these questions are, unfortunately, See Upcoming Episodes. It's hard for me to argue a side now that we've seen that Wataru wants to obliterate his existence because he blames himself for Mio's death, and that Mio was actually killed by Bishop. We are a little late to discuss some of these very good questions!

It's not that I think he'd love her less or anything. It just makes her more vulnerable, and it's a huge sacrifice she has to make to love Otoya. It would've been nice if he had been present to witness it, is all.

Man, I had forgotten how good these last two episodes are. I still think Wataru's motivations are silly, but I had forgotten the payoff that we're getting here: a version of Wataru that's confident and determined in his actions. I really wish it hadn't taken so long to get here, because this is a version of the character that I actually do quite like.

But yeah, this latest episode is all Otoya. Even during my most anti-Kiva moods, the one thing I will always give the show is that Otoya's arc is fantastic. This man who knowingly sacrificed his life for his family, who stopped to say goodbye to the woman whose heart he broke, who earned his rivals respect enough to get a vow from him... all of this started with '80s Japanese Jean-Ralphio. It wasn't a smooth ride to get here, but we got to see him grow from a lecherous creep whose self-centeredness ruined lives, to someone who changed people for the better. He could still be the worst, but god damn it, he was the best.

Well here we are, at the end of the 86/87 segments. And seeing how their end leads into the beginning of the 08/09 segments, here’s a song by Wataru and Otoya entitled “Beginning”, the finale to the Message trilogy.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6-52LQOB8S4

One thing I love about this episode (besides the pathos to Otoya’s eponymous goodbye) is the scene where Wataru is able to scare Fangires away just be being there. I like the idea that the hero is the thing that monsters are scared of, as opposed to them treating him like he doesn’t exists, even when he’s been thoroughly thwarting their plots for a long time.

Well here we are, at the end of the 86/87 segments. And seeing how their end leads into the beginning of the 08/09 segments, here’s a song by Wataru and Otoya entitled “Beginning”, the finale to the Message trilogy.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6-52LQOB8S4

One thing I love about this episode (besides the pathos to Otoya’s eponymous goodbye) is the scene where Wataru is able to scare Fangires away just be being there. I like the idea that the hero is the thing that monsters are scared of, as opposed to them treating him like he doesn’t exists, even when he’s been thoroughly thwarting their plots for a long time.

It's weird how... I don't know if he grew that much? With characters like Wataru and Nago, it's easier to point to an early episode and a later episode and go They Are So Different Now. (In this episode alone, Wataru's steely determination makes Shizuka wonder if it's even the same guy, and Nago apologizes to Megumi. Those are both insane to consider from the perspective of Episode 15!) With Otoya, I feel like it's less that he changed and grew, and more that his honesty and joie de vivre wore down and won over everyone else. Like, he didn't change, he changed all of them.

But, yeah, the best. Agreed.

What I liked even better was that the monsters aren't scared of Kiva, they're scared of Wataru. There's this guy who shows up, saves someone, and stares them down. That confidence and bravery scares the stained-glass out of the Fangires, so they run away. And he didn't even need to be a Kamen Rider to do it!

One more choice that's practically gift-wrapped for me, it's Otoya's Étude, the second of two whole pieces of music genius musician Otoya plays in the show, and, as you might expect, the music that closes out this episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-a73MWqEsc

Jokes aside, he really was pretty okay in the end, wasn't he? There's not much I could add to what you said about this one. It really ties Otoya and the whole legacy he left behind together, and it becomes this thing were you can look back and understand why Wataru leans on him so much for strength in a way you never could've at the start of the show.

One thing that seriously helps a big emotional episode like this out is that, as with all three of the show's last episodes, it's directed by Ishida, who always puts a ton of care into this sort of thing. The moment during the fight with King where it suddenly becomes Wataru and Otoya for a second instead of Kiva and Dark Kiva, that's a neat trick to let the actors sell the feelings of the characters that I've seen him pull as recently as Saber. And there are other things I'd imagine were his ideas, too, like Otoya climbing up those rocks to pretend he's not in pain when saying goodbye to Wataru, that really add to the tone of the scenes here. Another favorite of mine is how the focus keeps Otoya and Jirou separated so completely at the end of their conversation.

And then there's just all the stuff in this episode that's plain awesome, like the father/son Double Kiva Rider Kick, or Nago's continuing rivalry with Bishop where he's shouting epic heroic nonsense about being the world's hope or whatever, because, as always, that's our 753. Pretty crucial episode for Kiva to get right, so I'm really glad it landed so well for you, Die.