[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 38 - "THE KING TRAIN WITHIN THE TRAIN TERMINAL”




Sometimes we don't get what we want.

That's it. That's this story's lesson. Ryuta wants Airi to see him as a real brother, but she doesn't. Yuuto wants to be remembered, but he won't be. The end.

There's something nicely realistic about this story that centers on an imagination monster from the end of time and a self-negating swordsman. Sometimes shit just doesn't work out. Sometimes we want things that are never going to happen. What do we do with that feeling? How do we move on?

The answer here, so beautifully simple and real, is that you just do. You admit to yourself that you are always going to want that thing, and you accept that you can only dream of it. You just carry that weight. Maybe it's a burden, where the need for it drives you to anger or sadness. But maybe it can be a thing to aspire to, a way to bring your dream that little bit closer.

Having Yuuto be the one to make that clear to Ryuta, not by a big speech, but just by his presence. Ryuta sees Yuuto as the one who is winning with Airi, and Yuuto is the one who's lost the most. But he doesn't let that destroy him. He accepts it, and moves on. If Yuuto can do that, maybe it's time for Ryuta to do the same.

I mean, the first thing Ryutaros does after accepting that Airi isn't his sister is that he apologizes for everything he did over these two episodes, so, like, maybe it's going to be okay! It's hard, but so is growing up. With this story, the show is getting at a concept that its younger viewers can most relate to, which is a neat thing for these shows to do occasionally. Growing up means accepting that the world doesn't just exist to make us happy, and that sometimes we're going to have to deal with not getting everything we want. It sucks! It's not fun. But it's part of growing up, and we all have to do it.

I mean, unless you're Den-Parado, who is living his best villain life. I cannot for the life of me imagine how someone could dislike this performance. He is not afraid of these do-gooders at all! Even a little! They're amusing when they're frustrated, and boring when they've got some spine. His first face-to-face showdown is him shrugging at some questions and laughing at others. He isn't here to monologue or exposit. He's here to finish his task and enjoy himself, in that order. Getting rid of the Riders is a step in that direction, but it's not like he's trying to torture them or anything. To put it in train terms, they're all just on parallel tracks. He doesn't care about what they're doing.

I kinda loved that swing between Den-Parado's blitheness and Ryuta's grudging acceptance. It's this throughline of a feeling of equanimity, where all we can do is accept things and move on. It's another Den-O story where no one really wins, despite two rescued Liners and a detonated monster. Ryuta's humbled, Den-Parado is barely inconvenienced, and the train just keeps rolling along. Sometimes the victory is small, personal. Being that slight bit more able to handle our emotions, or get by with what we've got. Walking away from disappointment. That's nothing heroic, maybe, but it's part of getting better as people.

That's it, and that's okay.



THE BAGGAGE CAR

-Okay, how the hell do Yuuto and Ryutaros end up back in the present?! They were both at the train platform in the future, they're fighting Den-Parado and the Lion Imagin (and Dance Dance Ryutalution) on a roof, and then Ryutaros is running to Milk Dipper. At what point did they leave the future and get back to the present? And how did they manage that without either the DenLiner or the ZeroLiner? I genuinely can't see how they managed it, so please fill me in on this plot point.

-Having the majority of the train line exposition occur as Owner and Manager have a rice-eating contest (with timer!) was far-and-away the smartest version of that scene. It's a lot of vague Time Nonsense, where we're still just like Ooooh Mysterious Train Line, but it all being conducted over thrilling rice-eating maneuvers forgives a lot of its sins.