[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 18



This one... I mean, astonishingly good, but it's one that really lives in the details for me. The whole story is great, the full cast banding together to rescue Gon, but there's all these little pieces that make a sum that's even greater than its parts.

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There's that guitar piece, the motif for Daisuke and Gon. I don't recall the showing using it before? I can't imagine they would, since it really only suits them here. It's bittersweet, with a warmth that feels ephemeral, a melody that reconfirms their bond while subtly leading you into its end. It's beautiful, just on its merits, but it's so perfect for the tone of this episode.

Daisuke is fully committed to Gon in this episode, and while I could quibble about the show doing a pretty huge 180 from how shitty he was treating her last episode, I can honestly see why he'd change his mind. The reasons for him being an asshole, taking Gon for granted, all of that disappears because She Is In Danger. It's such a parental move, you know? Your kids can be brats, can get on your nerves, can be a burden. But the second they're in danger, yeah, of course, nothing else matters.

And, obviously, you get that heartbreaking scene of Gon apologizing for being kidnapped by Kageyama, how she thinks Daisuke is mad at her, and... god, my eyes! Already with the tears! It's impossible to not be on her side, and that makes Daisuke's declaration that he'll never let go of her hand again... I mean, I don't give a shit about what he did last episode. That is Big Dad Energy, and it led to the best episode yet for Daisuke.

The way show layered that guitar motif, first evoking the gentleness of Daisuke and Gon's bond, then as the Kageyama-predicted (oh my god eff that guy so bad) possibility of Gon forgetting Daisuke gets discussed, and then finally as Daisuke has to leave Gon to her new/old life... such a sweet touch.

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You can tell how much Gon's abduction has rattled Tendou, because (for maybe the first time?) we see him eat breakfast with Juka.

Usually, he'll have her 18-course breakfast already laid out, ready for her to come to the table. He'll be sitting on a chair, reading the newspaper, taking pride in her enjoyment of his cooking. This time, though, he's right there with her.

It's a way to show how much Tendou cares for Gon, that her going missing makes him appreciate Juka more than usual. Gon's absence is like a wound, a chasm, and Tendou innately fears Juka falling in somehow. It's a little thing, but I liked the show doing it.

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This shot of Hiyori nearly wrecked me. I have no idea who found this shot, but give them all of the awards.

The rest of the cast takes a backseat in this episode, and rightfully so. If this is the last time we get to spend with Daisuke and Gon together, let them have all of the screentime. Little bits of the rest of the cast is all that's required.

Hiyori, though. Man. When she finds out that Gon's been kidnapped by ZECT, it destroys her. The world suddenly seems too big, too impossibly cruel. Hiyori doesn't know about the various Kamen Rider identities, so she can't begin to guess why a militarized organization of nebulous authority would kidnap some amnesiac little girl. And for it to be a girl who's suffered Hiyori's own traumas, and for Hiyori to be the one who was supposed to keep her safe... all Hiyori can do is ball herself up. She needs to be held, so she holds herself. Low to the ground, trying to disappear.

Hiyori doesn't exactly have a huge arc in this one. She's crushed by Gon being taken, and vows to do anything necessary to get her back. It's just, there's nothing Hiyori can do, so it's mostly moral support. It makes for a slightly unbalanced episode for Hiyori, with all of this crushing guilt in the beginning and then Eventually It All Works Out. It's great to see Hiyori involved in this All Hands On Deck story, but since it's not a story that's really about Hiyori's trauma or guilt, we mostly just get this one really beautiful shot. It's maybe enough!

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I don't want to make it sound like this episode's all bittersweet loss and traumatized young adults. There are also laughs!

Obviously, that scene with Tadokoro getting simultaneously chewed out by both Misaki and Kagami, I love it. Them both yelling at him about the chilling moral implications of ZECT abducting a child, and him being all Yes And about it, hilarious. I feel like Tadokoro spends a good 80% of his workday fielding complaints about ZECT from these two, and the other 20% throwing those complaints in the trash. Misaki and Kagami got real weird opinions about what exactly Tadokoro's responsibilities are!

But then there are the actual jokes, and it's two Kagami things. The first is big and broad, as Tadokoro is actually totally fine with undermining ZECT (or, more accurately, letting other people undermine ZECT because he would rather not leave the van), and gives up Gon's likely location in a roundabout way. It's so roundabout that Kagami thinks Misaki is suggesting they race off to a ZECT base at the shore to take a break, and he is so charmingly dumb that I only briefly worried about how Kagami would fare as an investigator in any other organization.

The other thing is a tiny bit of acting that was so hilariously on-point that I need to call it out. It's when everyone's plotting in the kitchen of the ZECT base, and Tendou is about to do his My Grandmother speech in defense of the sanctity of food. (Real great episode for Tendou and food, incidentally. There's the little bit he dies inside as he confesses to Juka that there is miso soup in the world that is better than his. But my favorite food bit for Tendou this episode is that, when faced with the difficulty of ensuring Gon's future safety, his move is What If I Just Made A Ton Of Delicious Soups. And it sort of works! Bonus points because, even when Gon dismisses them all as not being good enough, you can tell that Tendou's already thinking about making even more soup.) Just as Tendou gets all in his Proclamation Zone, Kagami's right behind him and you can see him roll his eyes. Kagami is not at all jazzed to listen to Tendou get all up on his soapbox when Gon is being held captive right upstairs! It's so unbelievably minor (almost no one should be looking at Kagami in this shot), but it's pretty funny.

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Kageyama is so the worst that I'm going to officially start calling him TheWorst. He's cartoonishly awful in this one, clearly enjoying making both Gon and Daisuke suffer, and visibly thrilled to make that suffering last indefinitely. There aren't a lot of layers or shades to his performance, but TheWorst's suit actor does something I got a kick out of.

It's during the big three-way fight at the end between Kabuto, ShootHopper, and TheWorst. Kabuto and TheWorst spar for a couple seconds, and then TheWorst gets knocked down against some chairs. Just before he picks himself back up, he punches one of the chairs in frustration. It's a very TheWorst move, not being able to contain his frustration as yet another scheme starts to get away from him. It's a shame that Kageyama's actor can't find the same details!

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Holy shit, amazing fights in this one. Great, great uses of Clock Up and finishers and whatnot.

(Actually, last episode had a thing I never mentioned that I liked. When Hiyori and Gon are getting attacked by the Worm, Kabuto shows up in the nick of time, with CLOCK OVER calling out his arrival. He Clocked Up and ran all the way to save them, is I think the implication? We never see his bike, so that's how I took it. I thought that was a fun way to build tension, having Kabuto expend Clock Up just to get to the fight in time.)

The underwater sequence, with ShootHopper's unbelievably heroic dive into the bay, so fun. Those little charges of him raking Kabuto, and then Kabuto using Cast Off to fake his death, I dug it.

The finale was sensational, though. The choreography of ShootHooper firing his finisher at TheWorst; TheWorst using Clock Up to dodge ShootHopper's finisher and move in to finish off ShootHopper; Kabuto using Clock Up to Rider Kick ShootHopper's finisher at TheWorst, who ducks behind ShootHopper; and then ShootHopper using Clock Up to to move out of TheWorst's way, leaving TheWorst to get taken out by ShootHopper's original finisher... it is the best. Maybe the best choreographed action sequence in this show to date.

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Obviously, all of those little things (and several big things!) are only in service to this episode's inevitable, heartbreaking ending. Daisuke saves Gon, reunites her with her mother, but loses her for good. She's happy with her mother, back to being Yuriko, her time as Gon forgotten. It's tragic, for how much they both once needed each other. This wasn't just some story that could end with Daisuke, fine on his own. He needed that little girl. She was his partner. She may not know what she's lost, but Daisuke is acutely aware of what he's missing. He strains to explain what she means to him, to put it into words, but the only one who'd know the right words was Gon.

But he lets her go, because of course he does. He wants what's best for her. She means enough to him to see himself diminished if it means she's safe and happy. It's probably impossible for him to figure out how he came to care so much for her. He once saw a little girl, confused and alone. He bought her a strawberry milk. It was a little thing, a tiny detail. But it led to so much more for both of them.

A QUESTION

Lovely episode... that then takes all of the heartbreak and drama it's earned over this story and finishes with HEY LOOK A NEW ZECTER. I cannot tell you how weird a note it was to end on, and it's maybe the only thing in this episode I'd point at as Bad. Did it work better for you? Were you okay with this Daisuke/Gon episode ending with a New Zecter cliffhanger?