[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 29

So, we've arrived here at last...

the whole Dark Knife saga is certainly one of the most famous (infamous?) parts of Kabuto. So (in)famous I'm calling it a "saga" as though it is isn't just another two-parter. But then, it's really not just another two-parter, is it? These ones are weird, for sure. I wish I could share some personal anecdote about my first time watching them, but there's honestly not much to say. I knew about their reputation going in and... I mean, I don't even remember if I particularly liked or disliked them?

That was then, though, and this is now, when I can not only tell you I thought this episode was fantastic, but also how much of that is down to the direction of one Hidenori Ishida.

Watching this right after that last two-parter from Tasaki really brought out the flavor of Ishida's style through sheer contrast. That Drake two-parter was direct and concise in how it was put together, whereas this episode thrives on wild exaggeration. It's all about conveying the mood above all else, and it gels so perfectly with such an oddball script from Inoue.

There's a sort of conscious, deliberate waste to the way a lot of shots are set up that I love. Lots of objects in the foreground that don't need to be there, or angles that are just generally less straightforward then they could be. I think it could be argued it's a bit on the showy side, but I eat up the emphasis on dynamism, and in this particular case I find it adds to the overall off-kilter vibe of the story.

So much of what makes this episode work is in the deliberate sense of unreality. It opens with a narrator recounting the tale of this mythical kitchen utensil with visual accompaniment set up to look like theatre. Tendou and Kagami talk to each other psychically. When they go to eat the food Hiyori makes them, it smash cuts to the same exact angle with the plates already cleaned off, as though they the ate in the span between the two frames. The Dark Knife seems to like that so much lightning starts coming out of it. When Juka is talking with her mouth full to Tendou later, her mumblings are subtitled in the jittery style of silent film title cards, complete with the noise of the projector rolling. I mean, I could go on like this ALL day, if I wanted to. It's not even one particular kind of stylistic touch; it's a million little things that make this one work so well. I'm not going to do a full-blown art gallery, as much as I'm tempted to, but check out this shot of Tsurugi being all proud about his paycheck:



This is just so aesthetically appealing to me. Not because it's weird or funny, even; it just looks super neat. It's maybe set up that way because, as Die pointed out, this one loves it's long takes, and Tsurugi will exit the scene going down that staircase, but the way it's framed, almost calling more attention to that fancy rich guy clock than the actual characters, it's a fun choice. And it's not simply random, either, as the equally prominent fancy framed pictures directly come into play when the idea of framing Tsurugi's glorified spare change is mentioned.

I honestly can't even bring myself to talk about anything but the direction, as much as there is to say about the writing, too. Like, I could mention the distinct Inoue audacity it takes to have Tsurugi's true nature as a Worm discovered by Kagami in the midpoint of this absurdist fever dream of a Kabuto arc; or, hear me out, I could mention that there's a bit where Tendou says he always carries a book about cooking on him and then, with great effort punctuated by cartoonish sound effects, pulls out of his jacket a book that is blatantly too big to fit in his jacket. And then the scene just carries on like nothing unusual happened.

This one is just amazing. It's the best kind of dumb comedy, because it's very smart about being very dumb. That's just as much in the writing, too, but I honestly believe this whole thing would've fallen apart without the very specific skillset Ishida brings to the table.