KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 48

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz48a.png

--1--

So, a lot of the things that bugged me last episode continued to bug me in this episode. (Yuuji's attitude lacks any trace of the character I've invested in for the past 40-odd episodes, to the degree that he might as well just be Orphan Daddy's biological son, a brand-new character.) Plus, there're a couple new things to dislike. (I can't believe that they're already done with Orphan Daddy's story; I'm really surprised they'd put so much dramatic weight on Kusaka saving Mari.)

But! But.

Let me spend some time talking about the things I did like. I'd rather do that. If you're looking to know how much what I'm going to talk about was a part of the experience of watching this episode, I'd say maybe 25%. Three-quarters was stuff I didn't much care for (to varying levels of disinterest), to one-quarter stuff I enjoyed.

I'd just... I'd rather talk about that good stuff rather than continue to harp on the series' failings.

--2--

Like, man, did not expect this arc to do so much with Kaido! I was just saying earlier today that I like the idea of someone following through on the ideals that Yuuji's forsaken, but I was not figuring on that someone being Kaido!

It makes a ton of sense, though, and the scene between them was the best one in the episode. It's Kaido calling out how callous Yuuji's become, while admitting that the old Yuuji was maybe his idol. I like that, that Kaido always envied Yuuji's resolve, his steadfast belief in the ability for Orphnochs to overcome their cruelty and rage. It's a nice little coda to Old Yuuji, that he was right. That he could reach someone else and teach them to care for others. It adds some heartbreaking regret to the Yuuji stuff by showing how worse things are for everyone, now that Old Yuuji is gone.

Having it be the most selfish character who decides to live by Yuuji's code, it's by far the smartest choice this story offered.

--3--

There's another thing they do that I thought was interesting, even if it's not something I think has a ton of juice in it. Basically, what if Kusaka has been right all along?

The unconvincing speed at which Yuuji fell makes this one a tough pill to swallow, but maybe Kusaka was right to think that all Orphnoch will turn on humanity? It's almost impossible at this stage in the series to see Takumi and Kaido as anything but the exceptions that prove the rule. They're the Good Orphnochs, because when you just say Orphnoch you're implying evil. You have to modify it for the two of them.

This episode at least considers that idea, with Orphan Daddy saying that Orphnochs all deserve to die and that stopping the Orphnoch King is a sacrifice that'll save humanity. (Which, I'm trying to stay positive, but what in the hell was Orphan Daddy thinking, bringing Dark Yuuji into this scheme at this point?! The whole scheme depends on Yuuji destroying the Orphnoch King to save humanity, dooming all Orphnochs to an ashy demise. Yuuji, who just went through a massive emotional event that led to him loudly turning his back on humanity. Just... why would Orphan Daddy tell Yuuji that he's doing this all for humanity?! Yuuji had just murdered the guy who was trying to save humanity right in front of Orphan Daddy! He's turned his back on his friends because they want to protect humanity! WHAT IN THE HELL WAS ORPHAN DADDY THINKING, BRINGING DARK YUUJI INTO THIS SCHEME AT THIS POINT?!)

It's a fun concept to play around with, even if I'd be shocked if that's where the series landed on Should Orphnochs Exist. It's neat to think that, much like the Sawada story, maybe everyone's been projecting a humanity that doesn't exist, and that Orphnochs who won't kill humans are denying their nature. I don't think that's what the show's been saying, but it's a fun thing to entertain for a minute.

--4--

Solid episode for Kusaka, maybe? Not sure.

There's a thing I liked in it. I like that while you could view his actions as heroic, I don't know that Kusaka got any more heroic in this episode. He's always hated Orphnochs and wanted to protect Mari, and that's what he died doing. I respect that the show never reformed him, or had his sacrifice be more than a consequence of his rage and selfishness. It's a neat way to take objectively heroic acts (trying to save Mari, trying to stop a villain, dying in the process) and make them so subjective that Kusaka stays irredeemable. Tricky, but I think the show landed it.

Plus, being able to see Mari as he died without her seeing him? Perfect metaphor for Kusaka and Mari's storyline, and a poetic end to my least favorite pairing on the show.

--5--

I still mostly didn't like this episode. It wasn't as disappointing as the last one (hopefully nothing else in Kamen Rider ever is), but I think that was more down to me being prepared this time.

But, y'know, there's still stuff around the edges to enjoy. I like “troop builder” Rider types, so the Riot Troopers (thank you TV-Nihon splash screen) are right up my alley. (I like how a show with Rider troops has to make them cool enough to be a suit, but lame enough to not be a Name suit. It's mostly color choices, or the lack of a cool Driver.) Takumi's side of his phone call with Yuuji was great. It's half of a really great scene. There's a neat lighting effect the DP uses to get in and out of Mari's flashback. I like that Keitaro is playing soccer with Teruo.

It's like, little things.

I didn't mention it last time (too busy being a baby), but Soeno had a little speech that feels more and more relevant to my experience with these final Faiz episodes. He's talking to Sawamura, who feels terrified by whatever is to come. Soeno, though, he's easy-going about it. Sawamura, in disbelief, wants to know why Soeno isn't freaking out. Soeno tells him that the world is a chaotic place. You never know what tomorrow's going to bring, and most of it you can't do anything about. If you're lucky, you can protect a little bit of happiness. Just a little bit. And that can be enough, if you let it be. A little bit of happiness is all we can ask for sometimes, and we need to be okay with that.

He also recommends alcohol, which feels equally wise right now.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz48b.png
(I also really enjoyed this sign. I imagine Mad Science Division was considered too on-the-nose.)

so yeah you finally got to witness one of the more cathartic moments in the entire series Kusaka getting his neck snapped by Kiba.
http://i.imgur.com/1JDzI7n.gifv (can't seem to get the gif to properly appear)
Also a fun callback to this is that Takumi did tell Kusaka to "Be careful to not get kicked by a horse and die", and well it wasn't a kick he was killed by the Hose Orphnoch.

I think one of the things that actually works with Orphen Daddy is that unlike some other "chessmaster" shadowy figures he doesn't have all the cards in his hand and he's going off of old information and his own misconceptions such as being completely in the dark about Kiba abandoning his own ideals.

And this is what I mean by the Saeko killing Yuka option being more tragic that his abandoning of his ideals, murder spree of the cops, kidnapping Mai, Killing Kusaka to bet the Kaixa gear, and deciding to kill off all of humanity due to him blaming the wrong people for her death utterly unaware that he's now aligned with her true killer.

Also from my recent watch through of Faiz with my friend who's utterly new to Rider he was calling that Kusaka was going to die about half way through the show due to them abruptly dropping the whole "everyone who uses Kaixa dies" thing and just disliking the character in a Fate series Gilgamesh kind of way, leading me to "accidentally" let slip that Kaixa survives to the end of the show unfortunately letting me pull one over by always saying Kaixa and never once Kusaka leading to his actual shock when he turned into ash at the end of the episode.

Ha ha, oh yeah! Takumi put it out into the universe!

I think that was something I mentioned before as liking thematically, that the older generation is fighting old battles, relitigating old conflicts. Having Orphan Daddy be a dude that just does not understand the terrain, it's fitting, thematically.

It's just... it's not that dramatic? He mostly just shows up, overturns the apple cart, and then dies. He's definitely more plot device than character.

Sure, but, if that's the case, it doesn't seem like the show is doing a lot with it? Kageyama doesn't even share a line of dialogue with Yuuji in this one.

Oh, fantastic swerve! Nicely done!

More of a powder by the end, really.

First of all, I'd like to give a big shout out to the massive fight scene between the Riders, Lucky Clover, and the Riotroopers that ends off-screen during the opening credits. You're doing the lord's work, son.

So, aside from the iconic death of Kusaka, this episode has one of my favorite plot turns in Faiz: the idea that the Orphenochs are an unstable evolution who will eventually be burned out by their own powers. This is what Murakami found out that made him freak out over the course of the last few episodes. I don't know what it is about this, but it's one of my favorite things about the Orphenochs, that they're an evolutionary dead end whose entire goal is based off of a tragic misunderstanding of their own nature.

The other thing I want to comment on now that we've gotten to that point is the rules that each belt uses and how Kusaka was able to wear all three. The Delta belt was the original prototype and one of its features is that anyone can use it. I'm not sure if this is what the show intended, but I feel like that was considered a design flaw. It's like someone at Smart Brain realized "hey, the clasps we use on this thing are really crappy and it just keeps falling off. We'd be in a lot of trouble if it fell off during a fight and ended up in the hands of, I don't know, some random guy on a motorcycle." The thing that occurred to me recently is that Faiz and Kaixa comes across like there were two different designers who tackled how to solve that problem. The Faiz belt won't allow anyone with less than x% Orphenoch DNA to use it while Kaixa just straight up kills undesired users. It really does feel like two different approaches to fixing Delta's compatibility issue.

It's an interesting development! I think it adds a level of futility to the Team Orphnoch plots in retrospect, that... not sure if I love? It'll be interesting to see how Yuuji deals with it, for sure.

I guess it's not a beat I'm overly invested in because I don't feel like we'll get to see a lot how it matters to the characters. If this bombshell had been dropped in the 30s, I'd be excited to see how it would alter relationships, frustrate ideals, you name it. Here, we're finding out with two episodes left, only Yuuji knows, and he's already evil.

It... are they squandering what could be a huge part of the narrative?

INTERIOR - SMART BRAIN PECULIAR MEDICAL LABORATORY

Faiz Project Lead: Hey.

Kaixa Project Lead: Hey.

FPL: So, how's your belt doing?

KPL: Oh, we're bringing down the mortality rate. Well, I guess technically it's still 100%, but the last subject survived almost eleven seconds after removing it, so, progress! We're into double-digits now! Your belt?

FPL: Uh... you know, no deaths? Can't, uh... I mean, no one can use it yet, but it's not killing anyone.

KPL: Tha--

Delta Project Lead: ONE OF THE LAB MONKEYS SNEEZED AND IT SOUNDED LIKE HENSHIN AND NOW HE'S A KAMEN RIDER AND SEVERAL TECHNICIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY A MANEUVER THAT WE CALLED LUCIFER'S HAMMER AND IT LOOKS SO COOL BUT EVERYONE SHOULD LEAVE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY oh wait, he brushed against a doorknob and the belt came off. Never mind! We're all good!

Best thing about the Riotroopers? A game makes it so the official translation is “Lion Troopers”. Never change, Climax Scramble.


Anyway HECK YEAH KUSAKA IS DEAD LET’S PARTY WOOOOO

Considering how Hanagata attributes "kindness" to Kusaka, he's seriously out of touch with his grown-up adopted kids. If he can't even understand them, he sure as hell can't understand a complete stranger like Kiba. Now Kiba is doing the exact opposite of what he wants by aligning his goal with Murakami to protect and nourish the King.

Finally, I can go in to more detail on that thing I inadvertently mentioned way earlier that I hope you didn't examine too closely.

The Unstable Mutation of Orphenochs

It's like an inversion of that major plot twist from inFamous 2. Socially, it's proven that humans and Orphenochs can co-exist. Biologically, there's a problem, one that not even the Orphenochs fully understand. Their bodies are in a constant state of decay at a rate which is increased by prolonged use of their monster forms and Gears, which use their life as a power source. Guys like Kaido who seldom use them will probably be fine and still get to enjoy a long life as a human. Mihara's fine cause Delta's broken for humans. But Kusaka's artificial compatibility finally ran out and it's only a matter of time before Takumi, who also henshined many times, starts to feel the effects.

The King can complete their mutation but his awakening would mean the end of humanity. If the King is destroyed, future generations of Orphenoch would continue to decay at an unsustainable rate until eventually the gene goes extinct, ending their species instead. Both sides are locked in to a fight to the death and Kusaka was right about something, Takumi needs to choose a side cause a genocide is happening either way.

There's something I find very Promethean about the conflict. Orphenochs have both the fire of Zeus and the power of animals, making them anatomically superior to other organisms except for their decay. Maybe it's another curse from Pandora's Box (mythological, not Martian) to show that humans aren't supposed to get that close to perfection. The good Orphenochs are those who defy their nature and hold on to the inherent goodness in humanity, even if it means giving up on their life. It's fascinating to think about this symbolism and the philosophical question: Why are humans so special?

The title of this episode is called "Masato, Dying a Glorious Death" which I think is pretty apt. He wanted Mari for himself but he fought to protect her even at the cost of his own life. He had nothing to gain and everything to lose by going to save her which contradicts everything we know about him. He had it coming and it doesn't redeem all of his sins but I respect that in the end, he died like a hero and that's how his allies will remember him. We'll remember him as the a**hole he really was but Kusaka's Last Stand is why I cannot acknowledge him as anything worse than an extreme antihero and his death, however deserved, should be avenged.

Yeah, actually Kaido was heartbroken of Yuji's heel-turn here. And probably, after all being a wild-card, Kaido's honest to himself for once here, and it takes him seeing an act much worse than any has been done by Kaido (including turning others except himself to police), which is Yuji actually becoming his antithesis. An analysis of how he got here. And Kaido's revenge of smacking back Yuji at his office.

Yeah, Hanagata was entirely unaware of Yuji's personality change when he assigned him as the new head of Smart Brain. Also been explained by Sh Ranger, that about Orphnoch can't coexist isn't about their morality, but about how Orphnoch is actually a death sentence to humanity. Having Orphnoch King awakened will be the end of the humanity and a new age for Orphnochs which will just make the species on Earth go extinct more quickly. All because Orphnoch, while an evolution for humanity, their lifespan is much shorter, they turn into dust much more quickly. Hanagata, like MaRina and Mihara said, are still the same kind father he was, and he wants to preserve the life on Earth, by making a sacrifice for Orphnoch King. I probably was just saying this so you aren't convinced that Kusaka has been right all along (and even if he does, it's not about his prejudiced view of them, but about their biological system, Right For The Wrong Reasons), that this episode is meant to be a catharsis factor to see Kusaka finally dies.

Very much agree that it's the best choice that he's never reformed. It's a must. If you (and I sometimes) don't want a character that is inherently anti-heroic turning into smiling sunshine at the end, Kusaka is an even more of a requirement of that. Kusaka's more than just that, he's closer to a villain who just happens to be fighting the threat the heroes are also fighting, and an example of Humans being the Real Monsters, albeit not as horrible as Minami. It's a total karmic death for him. Throughout most of the show, he'd been sabotaging the potential friendship of Takumi and Yuji, and subsequently, any chance of a united front against Smart Brain, just for his own ends, also torturing both about their supposed inherent inhumanity. He's murdered by Yuji, who had finally snapped at this point and joined Smart Brain, all of which is largely his fault. And Yuji does the deed with Kusaka's own Kaixa Gear, which Yuji had recently taken from him. Moreover, he dies alone, the others nearby looking for him, missing him by a few meters, and him unable to get their attention as he fades away like the wretch he was in life. And for Mari never seeing Kusaka again, you'll even feel more of the karmic end for Kusaka in the next episodes.

Riotroopers are the fodder Riders Faiz have. It's so difficult for the one that has to fight both Delta and Snake Orphnoch, where even 1 of them is too much for any Riotroopers. Even Kaido as Riotroopers gets smacked away by human Yuji! Also, probably this is one of the stuff you didn't enjoy, but don't you realize that in this episode they finally mentioned it... with that kid being the Orphnoch King? It should be impactful to the Team Faiz (and possibly Kaido for now?) to see one of their latest member turned out to be...

Love for only one person (like Mari for Kusaka) isn't meant to be rooted or be glorified as a good thing (though this episode does play it up like that somewhat). Love for someone can be even the main motivation of doing evil things, like for example in other series, White Wizard in Wizard, or in other media, Gendo Ikari in Evangelion. Also good number of Kusaka's cruelty are based by the very qualities that you consider redeeming of him. Because Kusaka is an example of Yandere. Yanderes are people who suffer from personality disorder and can easily become violent and extremely dangerous where in this case, being motivated by their obsessive love to someone whom they have a crush with. He/she would go to extreme lengths to rid of anyone who potentially about to take away and/or harm his/her crush, which includes murdering their rival. Which is one of what Kusaka's character is about, he reacts with extreme violence if he thinks you are planning to do anything to her, or be next to be. He replaces the "cute, delicate, and sweet" facade with one that is strong, supremely competent and handsome, and by that his allies will remember him as hero, because of him being charismatic manipulative bastard and he's successful that they don't know how much of a bastard he was at his death.

But, like, even in the context of scenes that Yuuji and Orphan Daddy have shared, there's zero reason to think Yuuji's going to be okay with sacrificing Orphnochs for humanity. Yuuji (I'm assuming) agreed to work with Orphan Daddy because he'd given up on humanity. He says exactly that, loudly, often.

To have Orphan Daddy go Okay But Instead What If We Let Our Entire Species Die Out So That Humanity Could Thrive... there's not getting someone's deeper motivations, and there's asking someone to do the opposite of their stated goal.

It... it would be like recruiting Keitaro to help you clean clothes, and then midway through telling him that he's actually destroying clothes and assuming he'll be okay with that.

It is an astonishingly bad plan!

Neat thoughts! There's some beauty to the idea that the more Orphnochs embrace their identities, the faster they vanish. The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, you know?

I just wish, as an idea, it had been given more room to be explored. How would that knowledge have changed Sawada's view of his own humanity, or Yuka's dream?

I guess I don't see it as that heroic? Accidentally, sure, but Kusaka Fights For Mari is one of his core principles. I think Yuuji knew it was the most reliable button to push to draw Kusaka out. He'll risk death for her, but I think that says more about his bottomless obsession than it does affirm his ability to be a hero.

But he was there for some of it? If Orphan Daddy recruited this kid to save all Orphnochs, the kid agrees, and then the plan was that he thinks the kid is lying about wanting to be rid of humanity... I mean, what? Yuuji murdered Minami (who was trying to destroy Orphnochs so that humanity could survive!) right in front of Orphan Daddy, and then continuously told everyone around him that humanity was a waste of time. Where in there was Orphan Daddy inferring a Just Kidding?

I didn't think this was supposed to be a surprise? It seemed heavily indicated by this point.

Speaking of Hanagata, just remembered exactly a decade prior to this show Hanagata's actor Koji Naka was a mentor in this show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4-RIq1lRCw