[Kamen Rider Die]

hey i just spent a day and a half not looking at this thread because i was trying to cool off after being sad and angry about it so let's see how this gooooooes

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 29



Cooking is weirdly central to Kamen Rider, as a franchise. It's something I was thinking about recently, and I guess this episode that is 1000% about a battle for the soul of cooking is maybe a decent place to unpack some of those thoughts.

Above and beyond the decades of shows set in restaurants and cafes (and adjacent to donut trucks), the idea of cooking being a reflection of the goodness of a soul, that's pretty prominent? Shouichi from Agito springs to mind, but Tendou is quickly displacing him as my main example of A Kamen Rider Who Cooks. It makes sense to have a cooking Kamen Rider. It's a great shorthand for a lot of things about the character. It's a skill that requires training to excel at, but is also largely considered an art that needs an innate talent. It's about mindfulness and control, but still needs passion, desire. More than anything, it's about providing for others, working hard to make other people happy. Of all of the occupations a main character can have, being a chef or a cook... those are maybe the most Kamen Rider to me?

So to have a story that asks if those skills could ever be twisted to evil, to be used in pursuit of control over others? Yes. Yes, a hundred times. There are parts of this episode that scream for the novelty-oriented Canon But Not Really shrug of the wilder HBVs, but the theme of good versus evil, of compassion versus selfishness, of heartfelt sacrifice versus eternal dominance... yeah, this is fully a Kamen Rider episode to me.

It's a funny one, and we'll get to that, but it's also so dialed-in to the dramatic side of its jokes. There're a ton of long takes in this one, these shots that just keep going and going. It allows the jokes to play, but also allows the scenes to feel grounded, to let the reactions feel genuine. The idea of The Dark Chef needing to prove his greatness is completely in-theme for Kabuto as a show, despite the wackiness of the premise. The long takes keep his menace from being washed out with gags, so his appearances feel tense, unpredictable. The food prep scenes, the tryouts for Kagami Outrageous, Tadokoro's soba thing... it's all longer takes than you'd think, considering how often quick cuts amplify the humor. But that's not what the production team does here. Everything spreads out a little more, blending humor with menace with foreboding with excitement. It's a pretty good dish!

And, yeah, a hilarious episode. The idea of just going all-in on Iron Chef But Kamen Rider... again, it sounds like an HBV, but every step of the story makes that idea totally logical. The random appearance of the Dark Knife (subtitles on this episode start off calling it the Dark Knife, then The Dark Chef calls it the Black Knife, but I like Dark Knife better) in the beginning feels like a curse is put on the show, drawing everyone into this insane world where battles are conducted in the language of flavor. But so much of this show is built around honoring the power of cooking (one of Tendou and Hiyori's most memorable arguments was resolved with flavor!) that it's inevitable that Tendou would feel personally invested in it.

But, god, every joke in this thing lands, no matter how large or small. Right from the jump, Kagami is pointedly musing to Tendou if Hyper Kabuto will be a non-weird Rider for once, and Tendou's like Yes Gatack It Sure Would Be Nice If We Had A Non-Weird Rider For A Change. It's a sort of casual rivalry that I'm glad to see the show still has a look towards, where Tendou will tolerate some gentle ribbing from Kagami, but there is a limit. That joke... again, it's this really long take that keeps it from going overboard, and it's paced like two people are just talking. It's a joke that isn't trying to make itself bigger than it needs to be, while still leaving nothing on the table. Precisely targeted laughs in this one.

Honestly, nothing that's really a bum note here? You could argue that the Worm battle is tacked on (it comes out of nowhere, and the show cuts away from it super fast), but it still includes a three-Rider fight with a killer Kabuto finish. And it tosses in Hyper Kabuto to lurk menacingly at the edges. And Kagami sees Tsurugi go into a full-on Worm Tantrum, which is a pretty big action-y cliffhanger for an episode that eschews Rider stuff for over two-thirds of its run-time. It's maybe inelegantly added to the recipe, but it makes for some welcome closing notes.

Nothing bad to say about this one!

A QUESTION

One of the funniest bits in this episode is maybe the most vestigial. It's when Tsurugi proudly shows off his first paycheck to Jiiya... for 73 yen. At the low amount, Tsurugi boasts that it's because he is terrible at his job, and he has now Won At Penalties. (There is a tiny drop-in sound effect in 28 of Tsurugi slinging his carrying case around, smashing the bowls inside, so this plot point tracks!) Jiiya is, classically, overcome with pride for Tsurugi, and it's adorable. It's nice to see Tsurugi expanding his excellence to include being the worst at things (watch out Kageyama, I guess), which is maybe more his wheelhouse than he comprehends. What's something you're reliably terrible at? (For me, it's mistyping the word "episode”. Every time! Every single time! I can't make my fingers type that word correctly!)