[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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Also, holy shit does Takumi not like being pitied. The second-most important arc in this episode is how Takumi will mend things with Mari and Keitaro, who don’t get why Takumi’s protecting Orphnochs and fighting Kaixa. These are reasonable concerns!

It’s just, I think Mari and Keitaro have 100% the wrong approach here.

They beg and plead with Takumi to explain himself, to talk about his feelings, to share. And, man, no. The more you try and drag it out of him, the more he’s going to shut down. He basically goes fetal after his friends beg him for an explanation.

After he runs away to brood, yet again, I was wondering how the show would draw Takumi out of his shell, put him back on the road to redemption. I wondered what character would be the one to reach out.

It’s Yuuji, and it’s amazing. Of all the various Team Faiz/Team Orphnoch combos, I think I find Yuuji and Takumi the most entertaining. Usually, it’s because I find a monster asking a Kamen Rider to consider being a better person hilarious, but here it’s due to how Yuuji’s kindness overcomes Takumi’s gruff exterior in a super interesting way.

He gets Takumi to open up a bit by not trying to draw it out of him. Yuuji clearly sees that Takumi has a problem, but he instantly realizes that Takumi doesn’t want to talk about it. So Yuuji starts to share his own problem, and how he can’t even really talk about it with Takumi. That sympathetic approach, it seems to work wonders on Takumi. When his friends want answers and explanations, it’s about their feelings, and the way Takumi is negatively affecting them, and that pressure is something Takumi can’t deal with. But Yuuji’s just telling Takumi that what he’s feeling is normal, isn’t something to be scared of. By making Takumi feel less like a failure, less like a burden, it gives Takumi permission to process what he’s feeling and try to live with it.

Just, man, super smart writing for these two characters. It’s a little disappointing that Takumi didn’t whiff on every single pitch in the batting cage, but that’s the only real misstep the Yuuji/Takumi stuff had for me.

Takumi's situation is relatable. He doesn't want to open up to people about his problems, he wants to solve them. Mari and Keitarou may have his best interests at heart but their attempt to force it out of him isn't helpful and just makes him feel even worse. Sometimes, introverts just need their space to process these difficult dilemmata. Kiba respects Takumi's feelings enough to not harass him and let him open up on his own. It's one of the major differences between Kiba and Keitarou, their approach to helping others. Keitarou is a chronic hero, he wants to solve other people's problems. Kiba wants to help people solve their own problems. Kiba is unable to solve his own problem as his murder of Chie has resulted in her brother throwing away his humanity in his crusade for vengeance. It's the perfect setup for Takumi to get out of his funk by seeing for himself why Faiz is still necessary and his purpose is still worth owning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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It all leads to a terrific double Faiz Fight, a fight so good it gets fight music AND the opening theme played over it. The visuals are so fun here, with Faiz and Armakillo fighting on top of cars, Faiz rushing Merderman (who returns just in time get immolated), Faiz getting two finishers, and Faiz getting his sword finisher through an exploding car.

It’s all insanely high quality, and it feels like a reward for watching Faiz completely fall apart for the last two episodes. It’s such an awesome fight that Mari and Keitaro consider it to be a sign that Takumi’s back on the side of justice, and ready to defend humanity against Orphnochs.

Once again, I sort-of like how the show keeps these characters in each other’s orbits without Takumi necessarily becoming, like, better as a person. He’s withholding to them in the beginning, and in the end it mostly just looks like he’s better and they’re okay with that. It could be a drawback, but I think it's a very unique kind of friendship. Some friends… it’s like you're friends, and it’s down to the core, but you don’t really talk about it. You know? There are friends that would never use that word. I feel like that’s Team Faiz and Takumi.

Despite being the conclusion of the Kaixa arc, it's not about him. He was the catalyst but this arc is really about how the accumulation of his actions affected Takumi. After a losing streak, this climactic fight establishes that Faiz is back! Team Faiz has revived as well with Mari and Keitarou visibly happy to have Takumi back to normal. Kusaka going on a road trip was just what Takumi needed to regain his confidence. It's definitely an awesome fight, Faiz solo against a tag team of Orphenochs, with Justifaiz playing in the background for the first time. I haven't even mentioned Justifaiz until now! It's one of my favorites for sure and ISSA will eventually portray an important character similar to Matsuoka Mitsuru.