[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 42



Pretty much an across the board failure for me. Big picture plot didn't make much sense, the details didn't make much sense, and the emotional work was repetitive and largely unearned. Not as frustrating as some other bad episodes (I wasn't mad at the end of this one), but I thought this episode was just a complete miss.

The big picture flaw for me was, what is even going on with the whole hostage plot? Goro's like We Don't Negotiate With Terrorists. Kagami's furious that his dad is going to trade the remaining Anti-Mimic missile for the captured Natives, including Tadokoro. Tendou specifically tells Kagami that he thinks Outrageous picked Kagami as negotiator because he wouldn't hand over the missile. Goro's ready to obliterate the handoff site, including numerous ZECT agents, to keep Worm Widower from getting that missile.

WHY?! Why is everyone acting like this remaining missile is worth a dozen hostages? Why is Kagami so furious about handing it over? Who cares if Worm Widower has it?

They've already made three missiles. ZECT specifically said they could make more with more funding. Why can't they replace it? If they can't replace it, what good is it even going to do in a war against the Worms? It can uncover at most a few dozen Worms. That doesn't seem that long-term useful? And if they can't make more, why does Kagami destroy it to save three people?

It's not even a weapon that does Worm Widower any good! It's only useful for discovering Worms! And depriving ZECT of it barely saves a dozen Worms, all of which end up getting killed in this episode trying to obtain the missile. I do not even slightly understand how the missile is both so valuable that it's not worth handing over, and so worthless that Kagami can use it up. The stakes of this entire plot make absolutely no sense.

The emotional stuff, the whole reason most of this plot was happening, that almost entirely didn't work for me. I am a sucker for stories about makeshift father-son relationships, so you gotta shank it pretty bad for me to find fault in the Tadokoro/Kagami plotline. But this episode managed it! I could understand some of Kagami's anger at Tadokoro last episode, but what's in this one just seems incredibly petty and vindictive. Tadokoro was revealed to be a Native, and Kagami is now like I Hate Him Forever. Why? For lying to him? Well, he is being held hostage by the Worms, so I'd hope you could muster a little bit of forgiveness for a man you've admired for years. Is he this repulsed by Tadokoro because he's a Native? If so, why? Hiyori's a Native, and that didn't seem so horrifying to Kagami. I just... this whole episode needs to be about Kagami reconciling with Tadokoro, and I don't at all understand what the problem even is. I don't understand why Kagami has to be convinced to go save him. That is monstrous, and it makes zero sense to me.

(Jesus, maybe I am mad at this episode!)

The rest of Kagami's story is filled with unearned emotional payoffs (I barely understand what the hell Kagami is feeling or doing in this episode, so his heartwarming reunion with Outrageous was just one more Fine Why Not moment in an episode full of them) and repetitive lessons (Misaki has to remind Kagami that they work better as a team), and I didn't like any of it. The writing for this episode... it's atrocious? The plot is nonsensical when it's not disappointing, and literally none of the main character's actions ring true at all. It's bad! It's real bad!

Tendou largely emerges unscathed from this one, mostly working to remind Tsurugi and Kagami to stop having judgment about others and accept them for who they are. It's fine, him grumpily dispensing morals and trying not to get dragged into their childish displays. He's barely utilized in this one, ceding most of the ground to Kagami's dilemma, so his few scenes are just supportive. He doesn't get the horrible treatment this story gives Kagami, at least!

That just leaves the KickPunchSwordHopper story, which was a bit of a letdown. It goes a little too broad in its comedy, so much so that umbrellas appear out of nowhere and cartoon sound effects play when people fall from great heights. Even for a story with Tsurugi, Yaguruma, and Kageyama, it is a tad unsubtle. (Quick thing I noticed: Kageyama's shirt is red, which I feel like is a Kamen Rider #2 reference? With him as Yaguruma's sidekick/partner?) It's funny enough, with Yaguruma trying to battle Tendou, only for Tendou to completely forget. Tsurugi in a black tuxedo, because he's BAD, is a cute touch. I'd hoped for something with some more clever moves on it, but it's fully a comedy subplot.

Yeah, besides some disappointing-but-not-bad KickPunchSwordHopper stuff, I thought this one was a rather astonishing failure. Just a dumb idea, executed poorly. Not really much in this one anybody should feel proud of!

A QUESTION

Worm Widower gets blown up by Kabuto, looking for all the world like he was as tired of this episode as I was and just wanted to be done with it. Like, I guess he forgot he could stop time and dodge Kabuto's finisher? And then he's in the ending, I guess? What the hell is even happening in that final scene?