[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 46



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Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Not to skip too far ahead to a series recap, but I do sort-of like what the Teruo stuff could explore thematically.

Or, uh, shit, I guess I could start talking about it right now?

There’s stuff in this episode that’s relevant on a thematic level, while still feeling incredibly misguided on a dramatic level, and it’s hard to talk about that without drilling into the thematic part of Faiz. I was going to save that sort of top-level discussion for the end, but this episode made that wait impossible. So let’s dive into it.

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To me, Faiz is exploring some of the same themes as in Agito, but in a more nuanced way. Agito was largely about how we react to change, and that was dramatized through a new species. They fought for their survival against a humanity that would sooner obliterate them than understand them.

Faiz uses the Orphnochs in a similar way, but it’s largely avoided the fight for survival against humanity; instead, exploring deeper, more relatable themes. How does a disadvantaged group argue for its right to self-determination? How does an in-group coexist with an out-group? How does society better relate to new ideas? All of that’s in the show, and the metaphorical way it’s approached is almost always impressive.

The two groups of characters in the show, Team Faiz and Team Orphnoch, they’re approaching the same themes from opposing sides.

Team Orphnoch is all about how a marginalized group tries to find its place in society once the threat of extinction has been removed. What of their identity is their own, versus what of their identity is inherited from the rest of society? How do they deal with a world of intolerance in a healthy way? Threats like Lucky Clover are a previous generation trying to keep old divisions intact to maintain their importance to their culture. Minami is the fear that violence and prejudice are bubbling under the surface, ready to return as soon as they let their guard down.

Team Faiz is a culture that doesn’t know how to respond to change. They strain to understand this new group. They make mistakes, cause conflict, all while becoming more aware, more understanding. It’s how allyship is well-meaning but occasionally insufficient. They’re heroes because they try to get better at being people.

The way this episode centers around Murakami and Orphan Daddy’s dispute, it’s all about the irrelevance of the Old Guard. It’s folks who can’t view incremental progress as real progress. It’s about old men who shouldn’t get a vote in what happens next, clinging to power they shouldn’t be allowed to exercise.

Teruo is a representation of the next generation after Team Faiz and Team Orphnoch, the hope that they can leave a better world than they found. How he could take acceptance as his birthright, or get ground up by a world that won’t see him as anything but an outsider.

Thematically, like, all of this stuff is there for a reason, and I really enjoy thinking about it.

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Dramatically, though, it’s a huge misfire. Huge. It’s about zero percent fun to watch, save for a really excellent fight scene.

The big, big, big problem is that this story is all about Murakami. Team Faiz is completely ignorant of what’s happening at Smart Brain. Yuuji’s involved, but he doesn’t even have a line of dialogue in this episode. All of the tension is around how this is affecting Murakami, what he’s going to do next. And, I like the dude as a villain, but it is a terrible idea to give all the decision-making in an episode over to the villain, and to make his ideological and physical opponent a dude who has been in three episodes of this show.

Team Faiz is so irrelevant to the storytelling and narrative of this episode that it was infuriating, but only when it wasn’t dull. Most of the time I passively watched what was happening, noting it without caring about it. It’s all Orphnoch King machinations, and that shit only matters to Murakami and Orphan Daddy. Team Faiz is so secondary to this plot that they mostly wash bikes and play baseball!

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The Kaido/Teruo stuff, not much better! There’s a few good comedy beats in there, with Kaido feeling protective of Teruo while getting completely frozen out by the others (I mean, he’d be a terrible roommate, they were right to kick him out), but it still doesn’t feel like we’ve gotten to the core of Kaido’s story. He’s funny in this, but he doesn’t really progress any stories.

Again, the Teruo stuff, his importance, it’s all Murakami! Team Faiz takes this kid in because he’s being hunted by Orphnochs, and… that’s it. They don’t really get to know him, and we don’t really see him interact with them in a meaningful way. Thematically it’s fine, and Mari mentions that taking in an orphaned kid is poignant for the Ryusei alumni. But, again, dramatically, there’s no character to Teruo and no specificity to that storyline. If the Orphnoch King was a poorly-trained dog, or a 50-pound bag of rice with a face drawn on it, you’d have roughly the same story with as much emotional resonance.

It’s all plot, and it all feels like it’s happening to the characters without trying to make it about the characters.

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That fight at the end, though! That was no joke.

If that’s all you recall from this one, it’s probably going to stick in your brain as a good episode. Everyone remembers all the cool shit their gear does, and they make it look awesome. Jet Sliger. The ED-209 thing that Kaixa’s bike turns into. A combo Delta/Faiz finisher. It’s all very fun, and a total highlight.

But, man, the rest! A ton of energy spent on ideas that work in theory, but fail in practice. Did not like this one!