[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 49

The one way this episode improves on 44 is that it finally starts to make the Natives feel like they’re looped-in thematically with this series.

Actually from what I read in other discussions yeah, your joke is probably right, the plot of Kabuto had to undergo some pretty heavy unplanned revisions. Well yeah Negishi's plan had another opposite other than the theme characters like Tsurugi and Reina went through (species-wise), but as this is a confrontation between the main protagonist and antagonist, this is done here where Negishi, the T̶e̶n̶d̶o̶u̶ ̶f̶a̶n̶ unassuming Native but turns out to be the mastermind, had well-intention, but has xenophobia in mind to treat humans and Natives with double standard that leads him doing horrible means to achieve it, where while humans did do horrible stuff, Negishi thinks that only humans are capable of doing that and has unpleasant nature, and neglect the Natives (and also, H̶o̶p̶p̶e̶r̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ irl edgelords can comment like this if they see a fictional species breaking down humans' flaws).

But the ones who propose the peace and worked on that plan is also a living being. They are as flawed as the rest of humans, some more than others. They have not proven themself any more capable as peacemakers than anyone else. In fact, whenever they were in power, things seem to be far worse. One of the key to change is that, you yourself should acknowledge your own flaws and change first (although... coming from Tendou, someone who didn't have drastic change through the series due to him already being perfect while the others are using him as benchmark), instead of being self-righteous and pinning mistakes on everyone else. But still for your talk about Tendou viewing personal achievement as societal good, character education is necessary too to go with that. Someone can improve your intelligence by working hard, but without good character? They may turn into something like, bomber.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Beyond thematically, though, I’m not sure there’s a ton to commend this plot for? Goro as a final villain is just… I mean, it’s Goro, I’m a fan, but he’s the definition of a lieutenant.

Yeah, the final fight feels lackluster here, for one simple thing, there are no Clock-Up here?! This even happens in phase 1 series too where the powerset is more simple compared to phase 2, the fighters (should going all out with the fights between the worst enemies) not utilizing their power efficiently. For what you said about this being something that fits more in Faiz, this is also the similar complaint about the fight with Orphnoch King at the end. Gryllus Worm has tentacles and seems to live up physical power wise, where he's able to resist Maximum Hyper Typhoon and break the Perfect Zecter by that, but there's something that is usually significantly more dangerous than brute strength, which is super speed, and every Worm has that in Clock-Up. And big bosses (uhh, if you refer to Negishi, he's not the big boss, Gryllus Worm is, Negishi is the second-in command to Mishima, Mishima's the main antagonist) have even more than that, like Caucasus' Hyper Clock-Up which makes base Rider's Clock-Up slow as a snail, and before, the sub final boss of the series, Cassis Worm, which can outright stop time, and had Tendou use trickery to deal with him. It's underwhelming not to have the most important and deadly powerset in this series take part in the final fight here, and also ways about it to counter Clock-Up or even Hyper Clock-Up like Caucasus and Cassis Worm did.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Which, yeah, feels a little padded? For an episode? It’s really only three parts: Kagami leaving the hospital, the fight at the TV studio, and the epilogue. Nearly anything else just gets a token reference, nothing the episode really wants to spend a lot of time or effort on. The Dark Kabuto/Negishi stuff is the biggest offender, where Another Tendou only wakes up long enough to pull Negishi into an explosion that kills them both. It’s yet another plotline, Another Tendou, that show just seemed to lose interest in after 44. He only says a couple lines and then explodes. Afterwards, the Riders send their Zecters away and finally relax.

They made Souji Kusakabe's redemption here, though it being plausible or not is debatable. Many of redemptions are unfortunately forced one yeah, and which is why I can agree with you too for keeping assholes the way they're on the series. But well, Negishi is a fodder Worm, he's nobody in fighting capabilities, so he'd die that easily like other fodder Worms did, and like Souji Kusakabe himself which is a Native. And that's probably why the sacrifice is nonsense too here; fodder Native like Negishi wouldn't have stood a chance against the Riders like Dark Kabuto.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Everything after that last explosion… I mean, yeah, I loved it. It is pure fan-service. It is the dessert after a 49-episode meal. (I adore how much the epilogue is about food. Nearly everyone gets a job related to food! Those are my favorite types of Kamen Rider jobs!) It's a pretty great ending, one that not even the redundancy of 47-49 could dim my enthusiasm for. Tadokoro becoming a super weird soba chef. Misaki running the Discabil business in Japan, since Tsurugi and Jiiya are busy in France. (A shame they couldn’t fit Tsurugi into the finale, but, again: busy in France!) Daisuke and Gon, just hanging out because we all love Daisuke and Gon. Hiyori and Juka as sisters.

Misaki inherits Discabil to honor Tsurugi along with Jiiya. And so Tadokoro being related to food is something in Yonemura's mind as well... (it's first revealed in Inoue episode, that can make characters OOC or away from their usual plot sometimes). And Daisuke, due to actor too, is gone for a good number of time in the series, but he arrives here suddenly being amiable with everyone else (unlike Gon who still has bratty traits here by boasting about her beauty), granted that a good number of people there are women but still. This goes for Misaki too regarding him even with Daisuke pulling his usual nonsense, them sitting together in a table, along with Tadokoro too. And previously Misaki also outright hugged Kagami, when while she cares for him, she can put him beneath him (in ep. 40) and treats him as subordinate. Hiyori and Juka are now officially sisters too, both being Tendou's own.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Is it the Kagami stuff that I find so adorable that it brings tears to my eyes? God, maybe! Him going into a job where he watches over children, protects them… it’s not the usual caregiver roles we see when it comes to kids on these shows (teachers, day-care workers), and the specificity of A Cop For Kids is the most perfect idea for what happens next for Kagami. And Tendou going to France for tofu, because of the visual of the Eiffel Tower… it’s very cute. It’s a simple gag, with Tendou doing half his Tendou Souji speech in French, and then pointing to the viewer as a button, but it’s very sweet.

Kagami here is interacting with nobodies though in contrast to the cast? (to show Kagami's ideals though this has to be done, have him interact with strangers like this instead of the people he already know like friends or family such as Daisuke on Bistro La Salle, filled mostly with girls). He's completely isolated from the other cast here. Kagami's job isn't necessarily about caregiver role, police is more about enforcing rules (and being strict) but Kagami makes full use of it to give the caring for the children as they happen to walk over a crossroad, which Kagami takes a part in.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

Essay question this time: Why didn’t Tendou run into Tsurugi when he was in France? It would’ve been the perfect way to include Tsurugi (and Jiiya) into the finale, while honoring the earlier episodes where Tsurugi decides to leave Japan. Did the writer just forget?

Because actor problem in real life again, like Hiyori and Daisuke's, Yusuke Yamamoto has an issue with the agency team. He also was tested positive for coronavirus in July 2020, but he had been cured.