[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 11



--1--

OH SHIT IT'S HOUJOU!!! Everything after the Lucky Clover scene is an afterthought at best, since this episode peaks early with GODDAMN HOUJOU back on a Kamen Rider show. It's the star of Kamen Rider Agito, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Admittedly, he doesn't, uh, do anything this episode, but he's bound to return and that's almost all I need. The idea of Houjou being around (I might never call him Takuma) is so reassuring that his actual activities are irrelevant. Houjou Forever.

That shirt, though! Goddamn! Nice to see that Ozawa's been upgrading his wardrobe in the last year or so.

--2--

Speaking of couples! Yuka and Keitaro's story this time out is very sweet. It's not a lot of, like, plot or anything, but it's a very cute little date they go on. I like how their story is mixing the drama of a long-distance relationship with the optimism of a chance encounter, except it's only happening to two characters. It's fun to see them growing closer together, finding some joy, but (at least Keitaro) sabotaging it mentally with the regret of hurting the person he's unknowingly actually on a date with right now. It's ridiculously convoluted, and it relies solely on the two of them never saying their first names to each other or trading phone numbers, but Complicated Romance is such a core trope for superhero stories that I can't even muster up that much objection to it. It's goofy, but played very sweetly.

A ton of that for me is how expressive Keitaro's actor is. Yuka's incredibly damaged, and doesn't convey a lot of strong emotion, so it's really on Keitaro to sell you on the way this new relationship is important to the story. And, man, he really nails it. Some of it's the chemistry he has with Yuka, and some it's how much innate joy he has in a Resting Frown of a show, but some of it is how hurt he is when his friends don't give a shit about his internet girlfriend. That bit, where he comes in hot after getting a message from Yuka, and Mari and Takumi just blow him off, perfect. Team Faiz is just reflexively mean to each other. Shit like that is the heart of the show for me, and I need a little bit every episode.

--3--

I'm still enjoying the new combos the show keeps throwing at me, though, and this episode kills with the Mari/Kaido stuff. Mari just does not have time for Kaido's bullshit, and she immediately gets him to take care of himself. It's a nice counterpoint to the earlier scene of Yuka trying and failing to care for Kaido, mostly for how it exposes Kaido's feelings about caring for people.

Yuka's trying to be empathetic, to be nurturing, and that just reeks of weakness to Kaido. That's lacking a spine, that's being pathetic. Yuuji standing up to Kaido and calling him a friend, that's still lame, but there's some respect for having a perspective and defending it. Mari gets the best result, since she gives Kaido no room to act out. Do this! Right now! What is your problem?! Come on! Kaido's someone who wants to argue, wants to push buttons. Mari coming in and saying My Feelings Matter More Than Yours... it cows Kaido, gets him to realize that he might as well take the help since she ain't gonna buckle.

Plus, Mari and Kaido, so it's super funny. Her complaining that saving his life is already making her late so stop being a baby and put on a clean shirt, yes. Yes. These two, it's just one more killer pairing on a show that seems to have an endless variety of killer pairings.

--4--

And on the topic of killer pairings, wow does Faiz get his ass beat in this episode. The Faiz Fight against Mr. J (while Chaco looks on approvingly) is great for how much punishment Faiz takes.

The flipside of the way Faiz rushes through a fight, the way he's a burst of speed and strength, is that if he can't get a quick win he's probably not getting a win at all. There isn't a lot of staying power to Faiz. Here, he gets his finisher blocked and then just gets demolished. And it looks great! He really looks like he's going to get murdered. There's a bit, when Mr. J gets shot by someone offscreen, that Faiz cowers a little from the gunfire. It's a kind of vulnerability I don't remember seeing in other Riders, a sense that he's not great at taking punishment. I think that's an interesting attribute for a Rider.

--5--

Oh, and that offscreen gunfire came courtesy of the Mystery Rider, who it looks like will be a big part of next episode.

Which, that sort-of hung over this episode maybe too much, how it's all When Do We Get To The Kaixa Factory. What's in this episode was good, I enjoyed how relatively laid-back it was, but leaving another episode until the new Rider shows up gets distracting. Or, it did for me, anyway. A fun episode, but one that feels like it's killing some time until the new Rider can take the stage.

(j/k this episode had houjou a+ series best)