[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER 555 EPISODE 47



--1--

I don't... man, I don't love being bored with a Kamen Rider. I love being excited, obviously, but I'm even into being angry on occasion. I like feeling something. An episode like this, like last one... this sort-of sucks? I dislike disliking it, and I feel like an asshole writing about it.

I feel so disengaged from what's happening in the show. There're only a few episodes left, and the show seems pretty all-in on its big choices, and I don't really like them? This isn't like some mid-series diversion that can get swept under the rug or fixed down the line. This is the end of the story, and it's being presented in a way I don't find a lot in, and it's doing things I don't think it's earned.

But, honest to god, the worst part is coming to this thread to say that. It makes me feel actual sad to come here and be like Hey Faiz Is Maybe Tanking It At The End. I don't like doing that! I never ever wanted that to be what these threads are like! But, man, not seeing a ton of light at the end of this tunnel.

--2--

The big problem for me is that I feel like Yuuji's turn is unconvincing.

I see where the show wants that plot to be. Yuuji has always been an empathetic beacon of humanity, so seeing him become a cold, calculating champion of Orphnoch supremacy should be chilling and terrifying. More than that, he's been a friend to Takumi, an example of what Takumi hopes for himself, and being on the other side of a fight with Yuuji is heartbreaking to Takumi.

I just don't feel like they've done the work to justify that shift in Yuuji's character. It's a huge turn, and they've left it largely to implication and dry exchanges.

Seeing Yuuji as, basically, Murakami Junior, I don't know how we got here. Yuuji felt betrayed after Yuka's death, sure. Absolutely. We'd seen him grappling with whether or not humanity was worth all this suffering right before that, and her death was probably the last straw.

But taking over Smart Brain, working with Orphan Daddy, swearing off humanity entirely... all of that happened off-screen, and what we get now feels half-baked, tired. We have Yuuji telling Takumi to give up on humanity, but it's said with the same detached air that Murakami would say it. We have Yuuji ordering Lucky Clover around with the same bemused satisfaction of Murakami. This was the biggest change to Yuuji in 40-something episodes, but it just feels like he's reading from Murakami's script.

The Takumi/Yuuji scene, honestly, that was the moment where I got really worried about the rest of this run. That's an unbeatable combination of characters, my favorite screen pairing, my eternal ship. But there's nothing in that scene. Takumi's flabbergasted, and Yuuji's resolved. Takumi's disappointed, and Yuuji's unmoved. That's it. What should be a heart-rending reckoning plays like two guys who can't agree on how to split a check for dinner.

I was hoping for so much from Yuuji in this episode, something to make up for all of the mystery we were left with after last episode. Instead, I feel like one of my favorite characters disappeared from the show, replaced by a poorly-written Murakami substitute that the actor can't figure out how to play.

--3--

But, weirdly, I feel like I get Kaido's arc a little more? Some of it plays too heavy on dramatic irony (the kid who gives him purpose is trying to kill him, he's following Yuuji's dream at exactly the point that Yuuji isn't), but Kaido's the best comedic character on the show, and his scenes are always at least entertaining.

I like that Kaido ended up seeing the worth of humanity in this grumpy, possibly-demonic child. That he saw this kid being a brat and was like I Will Die For Him. It's fun. It's just a fun idea, and totally in line with how specific Kaido is as a character. He's all id, you know? He wants something, and that's his only motivation. This kid rejecting him, ignoring him, that made Kaido love him all the more. It's ludicrous, but, hey, so is Kaido.

--4--

Also, Murakami dies in this one! I should probably talk about that.

It didn't end up meaning a lot to me, unfortunately. Some of it is because Yuuji is playing that role before Murakami even dies, so there's no Murakami-shaped hole in the narrative. The other part is that he dies laughing hysterically, which is exactly what Minami did a couple episodes earlier. It should feel grandiose and theatrical, but I was definitely thinking This Again?

I frequently said that I liked Murakami better as a corporate overlord than an Orphnoch badass, so his demise being the result of three simultaneous Rider finishes (while visually impressive) felt too small to me, too predictable. It was the Yuuji plot twist making Murakami as redundant to the story as he was to Smart Brain, and that bummed me out.

--5--

I'm so sorry about this post. I hate being this guy. I don't... I don't like saying these things, feeling this way. This show was doing so many things right! Devising so many clever ways of expanding its characters, deepening their bonds!

This, it all feels... bad. I don't like the decisions, and it's hurting my feelings. It all feels rushed, pushed forward to satisfy plot requirements instead of letting the characters drive the plot. It's making all of the character relationships take a backseat to Orphnoch Kings and new belts and Orphan Daddy, and it's making me into a guy who goes on the internet to say he doesn't like a thing he's a fan of and I never ever ever wanted to be that guy.

This is all bumming me out so bad! I've never been closer to quitting doing these posts than this episode! I'm very sorry!