そんなこと、今さら気づいたのかよ、お前？

Why else would my process for writing about Kamen Rider episodes include two entire steps dedicated to self doubt?

Hey, been a while since I've gotten to do this!

Kusaka actually specifically says it's great that you two have found the resolve to fight, before telling Mihara he doesn't trust that resolve will stick, and following that up with telling Takumi the thing you already mentioned. I don't think that initial line is sarcastic so much as it is just plain old dishonest. It's the least passionate "congratulations" imaginable, which, still, classic Kusaka!

I remember the subs starting to get pretty spotty again around this point? Off the top of my head, a glaring example in this one is Keitarou telling Takumi he's not afraid of him anymore getting translated as him saying he doesn't want to worry about Takumi. Which makes it a complete non-sequitur when he tries to prove it the next moment with playful roughhousing.

Remember, the Kaixa belt will kill you in short notice unless you happen to be one of the worst human beings alive. It's like the Delta Gear, but for pure scumminess.

I probably should've phrased it not as "sarcastic", but... disingenuous? Kusaka's compliment is very much in the vein of Nice Of You To Finally Show Up, so, yeah, nothing to feel great about as the recipient!

Why are we all still pretending that it's not just that the Kaixa Gear only works if you've got those eyebrows.

Because Saeko was able to use it with no problems like 15 episodes ago.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...o_Kageyama.png

SHE GOT THOSE EYEBROWS, THO!

That legit cracked me up.

I'm glad you're able to still enjoy what Kusaka brings to the table, he's the worst but he's the best at being the worst. I don't forgive him either, though. In fact, Kusaka is the "Only one I'll never forgive" in Faiz. (I'm not sure if you've actually run into that phrase in Kamen Rider yet, but it shows up a LOT)

Happy to help!

Yeah, Kusaka. Now that everyone in the cast has his number, his dickish behavior feels so impotent that it's funny again. It seems like the show has put him in a cage, left him to keep throwing shit but having it mostly hit a glass partition. It's awful, but no one's getting covered in shit anymore.

It's definitely still a little weird for Mari to keep him around, but as long as he's at arm's length I can tolerate his presence.

With Sawada dead we're basically done with the Ryusei school storyline. Mari has her memories back, Kusaka knows exactly what happened and who was responsible, and those two plus Mihara and Rina are the only survivors left. From here on the show is moving into its final major story arc.

Yeah, as someone said above, the fear about bringing up those, especially for something underrated, is summed up here, and I guess I've talked about this hypothetical scenario too before:

And the jokes with "you're takumi", "you've taken all this negativity and thought yep, sounds about right", "you're a victim here too" apart, these all are real cases, which will make.... "Takumi is (or rather, predicts) netizens" instead.

It's crazy yeah.... Minami IS Truegami?! I thought he's someone significantly older than that. And it's crazy for an actor to play a such contrasting role in different series. Here, he plays Minami, one of the worst person to exist in the show. Basically, Kusaka without being in the protagonist side.

What's the difference to you between this Yuka spotlight episode compared to episode 15 (which is mixed bag) at the past? But for Kitazaki on the shelf, he's already a recurring member of Lucky Clover so no point for looking for new member (because it's to make it 4, which assumed brings luck on Lucky Clover). In the past probably they just see Yuka as an ordinary Orphnoch, just like every MOTW, but Murakami researched her further to be convinced that she's a good candidate. Also wdym by powerful? About fighting wise, Takuma whooped her's ass with Yuji and Kaido together. With the cops knowing about Orphnochs, I guess that can be chalked up to Minami above.

Also with Takuma taking some revenge to Kitazaki with him being wounded.... lol, wouldn't you actually get it? Kitazaki offering the handshake that you replicated here only works for him because Kitazaki's ability to turn things into ash. If you handshake Kitazaki even if he's the one wounded... you are STILL the one that gets hurt. Also did they forget about Kitazaki's ability (yeah, I sort of always think his ability can be detrimental like in this scenario, except when for some reason, the ability is forgotten) carry Kitazaki with their shoulders.

Nooo... Yuka, don't turn into like that! Don't turn into the stereotypical snobby girl who treats any "peasants" like trash like those that bully you! Anyway yeah, what's with Keitaro moving on (like Kaido) previously if he only got "rejected" now? Also Mari third-wheel? Yuji is the only man she likes and the scene is her together with him too!

You won't be mad and tolerate more if it's not directed at you (you aren't Takumi or Mihara so..). But also, you can tolerate this one because Kusaka's dickish behavior is impotent (again)? Dunno if you'll get what I'm saying, but with someone that's great at running people down verbally being tolerated and considered funny, that'd make many dickheads and assholes, or even villains get away because they want to see more of their behavior to get laughs! Which would make their behavior opposite of impotent.

I concede. That is totally his thing.

Now there's a guy with an interesting redemption arc!

Yuka's much-anticipated conclusion arc starts here and this episode is a welcome breather after the recent melancholy revolving around Takumi and before the show prepares to plunge back in to the sea of darkness for its home stretch. The happy, innocuous and humorous scene at the theme park is completely detached from the main plot which is awesome since it's a reminder of why these characters are so great and that's all it needs to be. It's to the merit of the show that they have lives beyond the plot and actually get to hang out and have fun and we get to have fun watching them.

Unfortunately, Yuka's murders have finally come back to haunt her as both Lucky Clover and a secret science society want to bring her in for different reasons. I was surprised that she blipped on Murakami's radar considering she hadn't actually killed anybody since the Kaixa arc but he's right about her potential. The OP already foreshadowed that she could become an advanced Orphenoch and if she wasn't such a kind and generous person, she would have been the perfect candidate for Lucky Clover's vacancy.

And now she has killed again but this time it was in retaliation to the cops shooting her. She didn't want to kill them but they left her with little choice. What matters to her though is that Kiba saw what she did and knows that she isn't as totally innocent as he thought she was. She feels like she betrayed his trust in her. Team Faiz is back together again but now it's Team Orphenoch's turn to get shaken up and Yuka is at the center of the conflict. I have a lot of feelings about this arc since Yuka is one of two characters I find especially relatable, the other being Takumi, and it's the perfect balance of comedy, drama and romance. I've said that at least twice before but especially here, it's a rollercoaster of emotions, starting with an episode that happens to feature a literal rollercoaster.

I'm so glad to hear that your interest in Kusaka has been restored! I love how committed he is to being an a**hole to Takumi and Kiba that he showed up at the theme park incognito just to casually insult them. It's easy to take for granted how much he contributes to the comedic value of the show when his actions are inconsequential.

The dynamic between him and Takumi is so unique as well. It's neither the first nor the last time the Primary and Secondary Riders have been rivals but they seriously don't get along even out of combat and yet they still have some kind of twisted camaraderie between them while being as passive aggressive as possible. Kusaka would never consider another Orphenoch a comrade but he made an exception for Takumi even though he would rather kill him. Takumi respects Kusaka for being generally competent and unhesistant which in turn helped Takumi to become more assertive in his principles. It's intriguing how their perpetual rivalry and mutual dislike can actually be beneficial for development.

The theme park looks like the same one from the first Faiz vs Crocodile and Kaixa vs Crocodile fight scenes. Maybe?