[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 31

It's not going to some bold statement that this is a very inquisitive episode of Kabuto when that the was first thing Die called attention to as well, but that only proves how inescapable the questions are in this one. It covers a range all the way from innocent fluff, like Tsurugi wanting to know more about noodles, to material as heavy as Hiyori having to question her entire existence, which is significantly less comical!

And yes, the huge focus on Hiyori naturally means I'm way onboard with this episode is doing. That consists almost entirely of moving the overarching Plot forward, which can make things trickier to dig into on a standalone level, but rest assured it's exciting to watch. I'm especially impressed by the structure the series worked out by hitting these huge revelations right as Tsurugi and Kagami strike up their weird friendship, seamlessly tying some previously separate plot threads together into a much more cohesive whole.

Oh, yeah, and this episode does mark the very first instance of Tsurugi talking about his best friend, Kagami, meaning Tsurugi is about to reach even greater heights of being himself than ever before. It's not hard to see why Kagami can't bring himself to write Tsurugi off as a monster when he's become so ~adorable~ in such a short time. Most of his displays of arrogance are now being delivered in the form of this sort of self-centered selflessness that's impossible to hate. Tsurugi wants nothing more than to bring joy to the people in his life by allowing them to bask in his own radiant glory, and the fact that he's proving so terrible at so many things creates such a rich character (figuratively; pretty sure the dude is still broke) who's never dull to watch. It's incredible to think how far we've come from those five minutes he was just some jerk who was good at sports.

Beyond that, I'm not sure I have any things I took away from this episode that I could really drill into at all. Like, one of my favorite things in here was just that a childhood photo of Tendou has him wearing a big origami kabuto helmet, which is so on-the-nose it's perfect. But there's not exactly much depth to be derived from talking about a quick sight gag, nor can I go into much detail about the action, which as always, looks great to this day. There are three shots in here of Gatack on his sweet hoverboard, coming to Kabuto's aid at the end, and they look shockingly not cheap when you consider how awkward that sort of thing often ends up coming off in Kamen Rider. What I most appreciated in the action this time, however, was just seeing Tadokoro barking out some commands in the fight in the middle, making good on that promise of renewed teamwork from back in 26, rather than letting it stand merely as some informed thing.

All around a comforting return to normalcy after a month's worth of episodes from Inoue. There's an overall feeling that it really is picking up right from where 26 left off in a lot of ways; getting back to business, as it were, but not in a manner that feels like it's throwing those last two arcs under a bus or anything. Just a real solid outing for the show all around.