[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 38



--1--

Alright! Had my Nando's for dinner, watched a Faiz, gonna have one of those Insomnia cookies from last night after writing this up. Let's talk Kamen Rider!

One of the things I like about the villains on Faiz is that they're so much more competent than the heroes. Not more effective, necessarily (there're too many dead Orphnochs to claim that), but there's a professionalism to them that I really appreciate. To paraphrase Emma Stone in Maniac, they're not crazy, they're goal-oriented.

(Give or take a Kitazaki, who's back like he never left. They even bring back up the Kill Kiba bet, which, how long ago was that a thing, a year ago? A hundred years?)

I think a lot of it comes down not to the structure of the show, or the teamwork of the Orphnochs, but to Murakami. God, I really like Murakami. He's like a less ridiculous, more ruthless Kougami from OOO. I totally buy that this dude could both run a hugely successful company, and motivate a variety of monsters. There's a... calmness, maybe, to his performance? The same focus and dedication he applies to spreadsheets and mergers, I feel like he's that way with building up the Orphnoch army he needs to rule the world. (Or whatever his goal is. I genuinely don't know what this is all supposed to be leading up to, if I'm even meant to. In all of the fun emotional stuff, I very much lost the thread of what Smart Brain wants.) He's got a flexibility that I find difficult to root against, a sense that he's judging each circumstance individually rather than by some strict code. Like, the Evil Mad Bomber that got caught mad bombing, when Murakami tells Kageyama to get rid of him, it's not because he mad bombed a bunch of stuff against orders, it's that he got caught by the cops. That's refreshingly level-headed!

In general, everything Murakami does in pursuit of his villainy, I get it. I get why he tolerates some people, and disposes of others. I get why he has faith in his plans, even if it's not clear that he should. I just... I think he's neat. He's an approachable villain, if that makes sense.

--2--

On the other hand, Kusaka, which, maybe time to cancel that dude.

He's confronted by Mari over him attempting to kill Takumi. She screams at him that she can't trust him, that she trusts Takumi more. He slaps her in the face.

No. Just, no.

I'm not sure the show knows what it's doing here? I hope it does. I hope it understands the weight of Kusaka hitting Mari in the middle of an argument. It treats the aftermath as... not exactly an explanation, but with enough There's Something You Don't Know that it's uncomfortable. I get that a monster like Kusaka would have some bullshit excuse for why he's sorry, he won't do it again, he would never, but she doesn't understand what's really going on, etc. But Mari hearing him out is... no. Just, no.

Basically over Kusaka now. Your mileage may vary!

--3--

Washing the taste of that scene out of my mouth, hey, let's talk about how the whole storyline about acceptance swings (briefly, but still) back to Mari.

The show seems to make the point in this episode that it's not Takumi's responsibility to try and win Mari over to accepting him, it's Mari's. She screwed up. She hurt him, and she needs to fix it.

There's a lot I've enjoyed about this storyline, and this is another super smart move. Takumi tried to fit into a shape she'd be comfortable with, and she turned him away. It's up to her to confront her biases, get over them, and patch things up with a friend she hurt. Like, that's it, that's all she can do, and it's a pretty mature story to tell. It's not just about apologizing, it's about becoming a better person to better support your friends. It's about acknowledging the innate humanity of everyone, even if you find it confusing or uncomfortable. It's about doing the hard work of, not excusing your mistakes, but confronting them and atoning for them.

Just, man, real into this part of the show.

--4--

Also, there are super-powered men fighting monsters, if that's something you care about. (I'm probably on the wrong board for that.) Both of the final battles had some very fun ideas in them, enough that I feel like I want to talk about them. I hope that's cool!

It's tough to talk about Kamen Rider 555 fights, I've found. They're very fun, but, like, sort-of inessential? It doesn't feel like there's a lot of storytelling to them. There are fun effects, and good choreography, and neat designs, and cool songs, but a lot of what I have to say about them is There Was A Cool Fight. Doesn't really seem worth bringing up?

With these, each had something that I felt elevated it above the baseline.

The Kitazaki/Faiz fight, I love that Kitazaki has multiple phases to his Orphnoch form. I like that there's a slow, tough outer shell that he can shed to be a fast, lithe striker. It's a move I wasn't expecting in the fight, which made it really work for me. I thought we'd get indifferent Kitazaki, ignoring Faiz's blows, No-Sell Boss style. But then he's everywhere, running rings around Faiz Accel. It's a great twist in the fight, and a solid indication that Kitazaki is as serious as it gets.

The Murakami/Wolfeyes fight was just gorgeous. (And funny, with an all-time great Mihara contribution, see below.) Two Orphnochs fighting can be a little bland, visually. It's two white suits, swiping at each other. With Murakami, we get this whirlwind of rose petals, enveloping both fighters and exploding around Takumi. It's a beautiful sequence, ending with some great shots of Murakami and Takumi, tiny in the frame, with Murakami slowly choking Takumi to death. It's a neat idea, to place it so far from the viewer. When it's up-close, large in the frame, you're Takumi. It's a fight for your survival, you feel like you can affect the outcome. When they push it out, farther from the camera, you're a helpless participant. It makes the action seem unstoppable, something you can only watch in fear. Smart camera moves!

--5--

I'm generally liking how this series is approaching its final episodes. It's maybe not the mix of characters or stories I was expecting, but this installment really felt like it was tooled up to conclude things. The threads are all being pulled closer together, and it really feels like time is running out for the good guys.

Thankfully, Mihara's ready to OH OUCH DAMN