[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BUILD EPISODES 23 - 25



After the thrilling climax of the Hokuto War arc, we are now thrust straight into the Seito War arc. That makes what I was hoping would feel like a fresh start, instead, come off a little samey. Not bad, really, but a little perfunctory.

It's a bit of a shame. I was really curious how the events of the last few episodes would change the show's portrayal of Sento, but that's lost a bit in an episode that's a lot more devoted to Grease and the Hokuto Dwindling Crows, to somewhat lackluster results. The Hell Bros introduction is good, and I always liked that Bikaiser suit, but the conflict just doesn't feel that vital. Which is weird, because so much of the last few episodes was built around those characters and one of their deaths, but here it's just Okay, Whatever. I think it's down to Blue Crow's death being something perpetrated by Sento, and we care about Sento, and he cares about what he did. Here, a villain kills a comedic antagonist, so... alright? Grease is mad, but it doesn't feel like a loss. It's just a standard Now It's Personal motivator. It doesn't really feel like we learn anything new about Grease or the (now) Hokuto One Crow, which leads to a feeling like this whole episode was a time-filling table-setter.

Or maybe it's just giving us a bit of a rest before Seito's Kamen Rider shows up?



Hey, it's Kamen Rider Rogue! Military Adam Driver is back, and, with an episode where he's not only the heavy but also the spotlight, I'm still trying to come to terms with the show's evolution of the character.

There's some necessary monologuing at the end, where Rogue lays out that he wants to crush Touto so he can rebuild it better than before. It's interesting, the thought that he hasn't changed his thinking so much as he's now ignoring any moral obstacles. He's wanted to Make Touto Great Again for the last ten years, and he's let that commitment cost him everything. There is now nothing he won't do to achieve the power necessary to rule, because that's the only thing he cares about. I can see where the show is going with that.

It's just, it feels a little basic? Crushed, nothing-left-to-lose Rogue feels way less interesting to me than scheming, smarmy Rogue. I sort-of liked before how you could tell that Rogue viewed his goals as reasonable, as a clear good. Now he's just a no-holds-barred megalomaniac, threatening but not clever, and I'm not that impressed. That suit is eye-popping, though, with a hilariously villainous henshin. If they're going to go all-in on Rogue as villain, at least he's stylish about it.

The only other bit in this episode, beyond some foreshadowing, is Grease and the Hokuto One Crow officially joining Team Build. I mean, it was sort-of inevitable. Grease was too awesome to stay an antagonist for long. All of the Miifan stuff, as well as his rivalry with Banjou, it's great. It's a great addition to the comedic possibilities of an already hilarious show. I'm glad that a darkening show still finds room for jokes and gags.



Man, I gotta say, these last few episodes are not making much of an impression on me. I'll watch them, and then go to write something up and I barely remember the first half of the episode. They're solid chapters in a sprawling sci-fi war story, but they're not doing as great as discrete units of storytelling.

Like, the end of this episode, the fight with Rogue? Awesome. Well choreographed, with some great stunts and really excellent progression through the fight. It feels huge. Rogue comes off as an unstoppable villain, every hero Rider comes off great, and Black Hazard is a terrifying monster of a Rider. The cliffhanger ending, I mean, if it wasn't late and I wasn't tired, that'd get me to do one more episode. But before that? What the hell happened before that?

Okay, I double-checked. Before the awesome, climactic fight, it's the Sky Wall stuff with Misora, some Mars backstory from Hipster Dad and Misora, and the warehouse fight with the Hell Bros that exposes the Seito spy. It's all decent storytelling, but it's not very flashy, there aren't any fun twists or flourishes, and it's not about anything. It's moving a story forward, but it isn't telling a story. Does that make sense?

Overall, I'm worried that the Seito War arc just isn't different enough from the Hokuto War arc and, if anything, is a step down. Rogue and the Hell Bros just aren't nearly as interesting as Grease and the Crows. (R.I.P. Hokuto One Crow.) Everything else just feels like it's telling the same story the show's been telling for the last 10 episodes. The fights are still good and I care about the characters, but this is a show that seems more concerned about moving around pieces than making me care about the game.



also put sawa in the credits you cowards