Integration

Kamen Rider Die · 01-22-2021, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I thought it was solid turning point for Kagami to consider, with some prodding from Tendou, that maybe his dad wanted him for the job of negotiator because of who he is as individual with his own free will, rather than in spite of it. That his dad both knows him well enough that he'd go there and try something stupid and heroic, and cares for him enough to tacitly encourage it. And sure enough, Kagami gets his groove back, goes in there, does something stupid and heroic, and manages to beat the odds with his friends by his side. There are a lot of details in the middle that don't make sense, but I thought it stuck a nice enough landing. I especially appreciated how it built off of existing plot points, too. It's cool that Kagami's history with baseball is still relevant, for example, with the big emotional beat at the end even being his dad showing up with what is presumably Kagami's old glove from high school, since it has his name on it. Kagami's dad is in no way a character I'm invested in, so I don't want to downplay the achievement of this episode for making me care even slightly.

I really liked this, too... in principle. The idea that Kagami Outrageous secretly thinks his son's determination and tightly-held morality is way more important than Kagami's many failings, I do love that. That is a concept that bubbles under some terrible plotting, though, to the extent that I'm left wishing it was a turning point in a completely different episode.

Like, the idea that drives me insane is that Outrageous secretly wants Kagami to not hand over something that I cannot see the relative value in at all. If this was instead a story about ZECT not trading a random, replaceable weapon for Tadokoro, I'd be 1000% on board with Kagami's objections and rooting for his heroic resolve to reassert itself. But the episode goes the opposite way, where ZECT is totally willing to hand over some dumb piece of tech to save a dozen lives, and Kagami is instrumental in endangering everyone involved by trying to take it back. Tadokoro almost gets killed during Gatack's fight against Worm Widower! This was all for no real gain!

Anyway, yeah, I agree with you that that Tendou/Kagami scene is a good one, but I hate that it's a part of this episode's story.

01-22-2021, 06:18 PM	#720
Kamen Rider Die Kamen Ride Or Die Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,785	Quote: Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich I thought it was solid turning point for Kagami to consider, with some prodding from Tendou, that maybe his dad wanted him for the job of negotiator because of who he is as individual with his own free will, rather than in spite of it. That his dad both knows him well enough that he'd go there and try something stupid and heroic, and cares for him enough to tacitly encourage it. And sure enough, Kagami gets his groove back, goes in there, does something stupid and heroic, and manages to beat the odds with his friends by his side. There are a lot of details in the middle that don't make sense, but I thought it stuck a nice enough landing. I especially appreciated how it built off of existing plot points, too. It's cool that Kagami's history with baseball is still relevant, for example, with the big emotional beat at the end even being his dad showing up with what is presumably Kagami's old glove from high school, since it has his name on it. Kagami's dad is in no way a character I'm invested in, so I don't want to downplay the achievement of this episode for making me care even slightly. I really liked this, too... in principle. The idea that Kagami Outrageous secretly thinks his son's determination and tightly-held morality is way more important than Kagami's many failings, I do love that. That is a concept that bubbles under some terrible plotting, though, to the extent that I'm left wishing it was a turning point in a completely different episode. Like, the idea that drives me insane is that Outrageous secretly wants Kagami to not hand over something that I cannot see the relative value in at all. If this was instead a story about ZECT not trading a random, replaceable weapon for Tadokoro, I'd be 1000% on board with Kagami's objections and rooting for his heroic resolve to reassert itself. But the episode goes the opposite way, where ZECT is totally willing to hand over some dumb piece of tech to save a dozen lives, and Kagami is instrumental in endangering everyone involved by trying to take it back. Tadokoro almost gets killed during Gatack's fight against Worm Widower! This was all for no real gain! Anyway, yeah, I agree with you that that Tendou/Kagami scene is a good one, but I hate that it's a part of this episode's story. __________________ Coming soon: Kamen Rider Fourze \| Other series available on the archive!