[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

There's a really far away shot in the big fight where Kabuto ends up "killing" Hiyori where the camera is very clearly more interested in how pretty the rocks they're standing on and the docks in the background look than in the actual fighting. That's how you know the guy is passionate about these things!

I mean, it's a very pretty location. I think Kamen Rider shows just look better when they're filmed in the summertime? I love seeing all of those suits in the sunshine. I think it has to do with me doing all of the Phase 2 shows first, and those all start filming their seasons in late-summer. Like, that's how I got introduced to so many of my favorite characters, in these bright outdoor shoots. Very nostalgic.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I can forgive Die for not noticing it, but I can't believe no one has mentioned the biggest thing to happen in this episode: we got the first appearance of Tsurugi's pronunciation of Kagami's name. It'll get more exaggerated as we go on, but it started here.

It's cute, for sure. He holds a beat on it, so everyone's clear on him and Kagami having nicknames for each other now because they are total best friends, both of them. (Talk about asymmetrical relationships!) I wish this episode had more scenes of the two of them, but it was already sort of awkwardly placed, just the one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

It also recontextualizes the scene from a few episodes back where Kagami's dad vaguely threatens Tendou's little sister - he was talking about Hiyori, not Juka.

I really like this read, but I'm not sure it tracks? If it's from when Tendou confronts Kagami Outrageous at Police HQ, the thing that's going on during that threat is that Juka's been kidnapped by WorMisaki. Oh! Wait! The larger plot is that Worm Widow is trying to bump off the folks with space rocks, and Hiyori is in danger because of that. Yep! You're right! Good catch!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

All the stuff with Tendou-2, though, definitely feels like it was crammed into the episode because the show needed to a) act while Hiyori was still available and b) find a mechanism to write her out.

The end of this one was easily the weakest part to me. It's rushing through a bunch of plot, and no one's doing anything that feels explained. Much like the random appearances of Hyper Kabuto (who is instrumental to Kabuto's switcheroo and it never gets called out in the episode), there's a little too much going on that plays better in retrospect. Like, way too much This Will All Make Sense In The End. It's not that I don't trust the show to dot the i's or whatever, but it feels like I'm deferring too much of my enjoyment. I'd like the episodes to be good now?