[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 11 - "ENGULFING WALLS"



"They'll give us what we're asking for
'Cause god is with us
And our god's the richest
Our power doesn't run on nothing
It runs on blood
And blood is easy to obtain
When you have no shame"

-The Thermals, "Power Doesn't Run On Nothing"

Hey, let's talk about the brand new player in the Makamou side of things: Clockamou, the timepiece-accessorized overseer that's skulking around and powering-up the mooks.

Clockamou is an interesting addition. The monster plots had gotten a little formulaic, so having someone besides the Douji, the Hime, and a CGI monster to contend with, I'm all for. Its appearance immediately pays dividends, turning the one-hit chumps that are barely a speedbump for Hibiki into formidable threats.

It's something this show has badly needed. I usually don't care that much for the Hibiki Drums A Computer Monster Into Oblivion parts of the stories, so anything that allows the people in monster costumes to get a little bit more screentime is a positive as far as I'm concerned. Just the little bit extra they get here is one of the strongest cliffhangers this show has had yet, with Hibiki getting just handled by the upgraded Douji and Hime. It's a visceral threat that is worth a dozen semi-weightless CGI monsters. Very into these two being more formidable, and very into finding more about Clockamou's strategies. (Or "schemes", as the text over the scene calls out.)

The rest of the episode was pretty fun, although (as is typical for a first part) it's full of things I'll be more apt to talk about after the next one.

Midori, for example, seems like someone that I'm going to have more to say about later. She's fun in this episode, with her sweet tooth and clumsiness, but a lot of her story is probably yet to come. There's a neat mention of her being a former middle school classmate of Hibiki's, which, coupled with the She Is Trying To Ask You Out You Dummy antics of Hitomi towards Asumu, feels like a big part of what's to come. As a result, until I know more, I'm probably going to hold off on trying to figure her out. As is, she was fun in this episode.

Most of Asumu's stuff is him dealing with whatever he's still trying to process from the last story, and it gets a little clearer. Regardless of what exactly went through his head before, the result is a big helping of shame, which keeps him from wanting to see Hibiki. (Great moment outside Trauma Bookstore, where the salesperson basically does everything she can to activate Asumu's PTSD. She's so cordial in her triggering!)

Asumu being too ashamed to face the people he admires, I can understand that motivation. No one really knows what he's going through, but to Asumu, it's painted on his forehead. He's certain that his failure, his weakness, his whatever, is being broadcast to everyone around him. So he tries to stay away from anyone who might pity him, or be disgusted by him. It's a stronger concept than whatever was going on before, and I'm curious where they'll go with it.

Hibiki's still strongly in Hero mode, with his story being entirely about monster hunting again. There's some neat touches, like when Hibiki and Kasumi go to visit what I think was the couple from the photo that Hibiki showed Asumu a few episodes back. I like that Kasumi is getting hard data, real actionable intelligence, and Hibiki is playing with their kid and has a plan of Trying Hard, the end. Hibiki really needs a strong support team! His training does not seem to include formulating multi-phase plans!

(Quick thing, speaking of training. There's a brief scene of Ibuki training, where Akira is helping him out. It's a scene that's there to name-drop Midori before she shows up, but, shouldn't Akira be at school? She goes to Jounan, and it's their first day of school. Why isn't she at the same place as Asumu and Hitomi? Is this referenced in the next episode? I can't imagine Ibuki is making this girl skip school to help him shoot better!)

I had a good time with this one. All of the Asumu stuff was a lot stronger, with some beautiful sequences (him walking to school through the cherry blossoms, as a glockenspiel version "Shounen Yo" plays!) and a better grasp on the emotional component of Asumu's journey. The Hibiki stuff was pleasant, with a strong action finish. Not a total stunner of an episode (the Ibuki stuff seemed unnecessary, and there are a few too many mysteries for my liking), but definitely a solid entry. Nice to be back to enjoying Hibiki!