[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cocoturtle

Faiz was my introduction to the madness that is Toshiki Inoue. Buckle up because it only gets crazier from here

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I disagree Takumi becoming Faiz again had to be anything bigger than it was. Having Takumi be too assertive about that only 10 episodes in would be... like, I just don't think it's time for that yet? As you've already admitted, there's a point where something like that would no longer fit the show, but what I think you're underestimating here is all the things that do work about that seqeunce.

Having Takumi the one to grab the belt back himself, speech or no, I think it's way more likely that would lack catharsis. Joke all you want about it being pity, but for it to be Keitarou snatching it back from Kaidou after seeing him be a jerk, to have him, one of the most morally upstanding, nicest characters on the show, be the one asserting himself, and then saying that Faiz has got to be Takkun, that's great. It's the best possible way for the show to validate Takumi as a hero. That big, dumb grin from Takumi when he hears that, how he lets his facade slip a little with that downplayed "maybe you're right" in response, that's a wonderful little moment between these characters that are gradually growing closer to one another. I guess the actual act of retrieving the belt was low-effort, I can't argue that, but I also feel like that's maybe the least important part of what's going on there?

It's also hard to compete with that Kaidou/Yuuji drama too, admittedly. Man is that good stuff.

They just built themselves into a corner, storywise, with how the joke resolution had to come after the emotional resolution. That's a hard turn to make, dramatically, and it ended up making the Takumi resolution feel a little too slight, a little too arbitrary. In general, I'm totally on this show's side when it wants to screw around with Team Faiz, to try different takes on Rider tropes. Here, it was like the class clown who stops being funny and starts being disruptive. It's cool to crack jokes, but now it's test time, so settle down and get to work.

But, honestly, it's still a cute scene. It maybe didn't treat the How Faiz Got His Gear Back stuff with as much importance as I'd like (the hero reclaiming his hero identity was the second-most important plotline!), but like I said before, it's all totally in-character. It's kind-of perfect that Takumi moped so well that he got his belt back.

I'm not mad at the scene, exactly, just a little disappointed in it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Keitarou seeing how much better Takumi was compared to Kaido really says a lot about how much Keitarou has started to see Takumi as someone with potential to be a good guy. Even Takumi openly acknowledges that maybe he really was meant to be Faiz. In a show where anybody can be Faiz, only Takumi is Kamen Rider Faiz.

The weird thing about Keitaro's assertion that Takumi should be Faiz is that, based on the one fight Keitaro saw for The Next Faiz... Kaido's actually pretty good at it? He had real chemistry with the FaizCyKill, and while the Orphnoch got away, he still saved three people. Metatextually, we know that Kaido isn't cut out to be Faiz, but from Keitaro's perspective, it feels like he took the belt away from some moral/spiritual view of heroism (Takkun good, guy yelling at Yuka bad) rather than actual effectiveness. Which, sure! That's how Keitaro would make a decision like that! He would absolutely value heroism as an ideal more than effectiveness in battle! I just think it's funny, is all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

The only Kamen Rider to have his own national day, Kaixa Day otherwise known in Japan as 913 Matsuri, September 13th (913). He's definitely a big deal! There was even a manga published recently which adapted the events between Episode 5-13 from his perspective:

https://kamenrider.fandom.com/wiki/Kamen_Rider_913

Might be worth checking out once you're caught up with those episodes.

Thanks! People really have feelings about Kaixa!