[DreadBringer]

Now having a room to comment here again...

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 47

It’s a very nice touch. It’s not Kagami being conflicted, torn between his friendship and his responsibility. It’s Kagami knowing Tendou well enough to know that there’s some multi-level plot that’s just kicking off, and it’s time to find out what it is.

I'm interested too to see where this will go, with Kagami trying to defuse the situation without killing Tendou. And also what I like that he tries to take on the others side, not only being biased to his friend (example that you debated on here like when he was TheBee, the leader of Shadow). Though Kagami being Kagami, either his foolishness or bad luck magnet would've likely fewer chance to succeed here, and he also has been berated by ZECT members previously for making things worse (especially that others now find Kagami's feeling-based decisions charming). And not only those, some audience bash the type of Kagami's solution as naive and advocating murder as the best solution (chilling), but I think this is something that ideal heroes have that is more interesting to follow, it's like more challenging puzzle, how do you solve this without killing (though of course in this case, fighting is as futile considering it's Tendou)? From ep. 18, where you pointed out that Daisuke isn't the one with brains to try killing Tendou (although you say he has a bit hesitation too), Kagami also didn't either, but this is what I meant; those like Kagami would be more hesitant about what to do, or trying to have alternate solution without bloodshed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I guess the tip-off should’ve been the flashback to the meteor strike of 1999, maybe? This is an episode that feels weirdly, frustratingly regressive. There’s even a scene where the ZECT In A Van team meets in an empty office! And Tendou poses with his Zecter while backlit by a blazing sun! It’s definitely trying to evoke the early episodes, but I really wish they’d opted to keep those references to a surface level.

There's a new thing that happened here, this is actually a setup about the real baddies in the series.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Just, man, Tendou is back to being his opaque, obstinate self, and I am grinding my teeth in frustration. We’re left with a conclusion to this episode where Tendou either has a long-term plan he’s not letting his friends in on (which is something this show largely grew out of a dozen episodes ago), or he’s just being a mercurial prick that gets Renge shot. I don’t love either of those choices! Those are both bad plots to follow through on!

Probably because Tendou didn't really change significantly? This is what'll happen about someone who is mostly soft only to the family, like Hiyori and Juka (and of course, this episode still displays that, with Tendou encouraging Hiyori to have her full debut as a chef, and him trying to give Juka a deserving present). Or to certain person that has something drawing him in like Jiiya and Keiko. Yeah, to them, Tendou gives the softest moment not unlike the biggest saints of the franchise, but to others? Not so much (well, but I probably find it uncharacteristic for him to act this way to Kagami, Tendou seems to value him more openly previously against Cassis Worm!). Tendou to others is mostly awful, and he doesn't change much regarding that, and previously, he only changes regarding Hiyori to not only ensure that she lives, but to ensure that she's happy too (and fortunately for others, he sets up a goal mainly for it to be safe for Hiyori, but others will enjoy the advantage of safe world too), but not regarding how he'll act to others, where it's shown here about how he regards others, he does what he wants, what he feels necessary, to get the job done, he'll dirty his hands for that, he's a pragmatic hero. What he did against Renge here is similar to Kageyama at Yaguruma's debut.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s not a fun feeling, to watch an episode like this. There are only two more Kabutos left after this one, and that’s it forever. You want to feel like everything that’s happened has weight, that the journey you’ve been on with these characters has forged them into heroes that are finally equal to the task of saving the world. Instead, I feel like none of it has mattered? Literally everything in this story could’ve taken place in the first ten episodes, character-wise. (I mean, we’ve got more powerups, but that isn’t really the sort of progress I’m looking for.) Tendou and Kagami share basically no screentime, and when they do, Tendou’s being a dismissive asshole. The Worms are as disorganized and character-less as ever. There’s a sweet scene of Tendou and Hiyori cooking, but it feels like you could’ve done this one right after the flower show episodes. (Also, Hiyori was briefly hospitalized after being attacked by Another Tendou, and it’s never brought up once. Amazing!)

I somehow at this part, with Tendou becoming fugitive, I had a feel that Souji Kusakabe had a hand on that, ruining Tendou's reputation by doing nasty things. Of course this is also what a Worm was able to do to their victims with disguise ability, like turning Yuki's status to fugitive in ep. 3 and WorMisaki abducting Juka. But well, I know how you feel regarding setups, and this episode is one of them, regarding ZECT and its machinations, and that includes Mishima reclaiming the body of Souji Kusakabe. Also, I think this episode shows something regarding Souji Kusakabe, character wise, everything Souji Kusakabe does, is predictable and readable to Tendou, and thus Souji Kusakabe will never best Tendou. Souji Kusakabe is an inferior copy to Tendou.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

At least Clock Up is back! The Kabuto/Dark Kabuto fight is genuinely great, with an emphasis on tactical combat and predicting your opponent. It’s not visualized super great (it’s both Tendous thinking of what they’re going to do in words instead of in actions), but it’s tense in a way that not every fight gets to be. How’d you like this fight? Too short? Just right?

Yeah, I had a strict evaluation for fighting scenes especially finishing moves, and this one's what I think one of those that is creative and nuanced. With Kabuto/Dark Kabuto fighting at fast pace, and them casting off together (I only wish that both simulatenously feel the impact of the Cast-Off armor projectiles), and also especially them ascending to high places and fighting on places not normally used to fight like the flying concrete from their collateral damage. And of course the strategy which is completely readable to Tendou, and of course also something I predict for Kabuto to gain upper hand, the Hyper Form of course, Dark Kabuto has no such powerup, so he'll always lose to Kabuto no matter what, the way Kabuto loses is if he holds back. What I'd like, apart from the cast-off impact, is that I'd want to question about Hyper Kabuto's Maximum Hyper Typhoon not finishing Dark Kabuto... it's a finishing move that comes from a Super Form, but it only knocks down Dark Kabuto...