[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 6 - “EVIL’S IDENTITY! A SHOCKING SHOWTIME!?”

It works by sticking to a basic formula: Ikki and Vice try to solve a mystery. That’s it. There’s a little bit of the Evil/Daiji/Kagerou stuff around the edges, but nothing that detracts from the simple pleasures of a funny team overcoming the odds to deliver justice for simple folks in need. The main plot is grounded in the same ways last episode’s Fenix plot wasn’t: we get to see how low-level folks are warped by demonic pacts in order to shortcut obstacles and feed their appetites at any cost, while the community looks to Happy Spa to make sense of otherworldly phenomenon. It centers not just Ikki, but the entire Igarashi family as the protector of the downtrodden, so that even a couple legal scumbags being taken down feels like a monumental triumph.

Happy Spa now serves as more than just an onsen... as Yukari Naruse visits it not to take a bath (at least not onscreen), but to request for their help regarding her aspiring actor younger brother Masaru who had a car accident but with the culprit Tsuyoshi Eguchi being declared innocent due to the changing lawyer and the crime details. Probably both Ikki and Sakura tolerate requests like that more as it's not a petty request like some of the questions before that can be done by themselves, despite that the request would be significantly more difficult to do.

The episode finally has another (almost) full family moments again. Yukimi's still in hospital, but it's indirectly shown in her not being present instead of a scene of her in hospital. Genta's actor Shigeyuki Totsugi claims Genta has untold secrets, and I thought it's done here with Genta being able to provide a vital information that the corrupt lawyer is Yasushi Kudo, but apparently it's still not, he's only riding on Bu-san's contributions. He's being easily impressed due to having so low standards that they regularly get dazzled by things both the other characters and the audience don't find too amazing. And that trait is commonly used in comic relief (which he definitely is) or childish naivety trait... which'd make Genta a manchild.

More new things for Sakura in her cooking being made extremely spicy... and her at the end admitting that she can only let herself loose, like to Yukari and she's welcoming to a 'new male karate student'...who is Julio in disguise, even accepting his "help" despite that she's much superior.

Ikki finally reveals about his connection to Vice to others via Gundephone, of which I'd hope he also explains that his random outburst is him interacting (get angry at) with the unseen demon. He really shines in this episode, of him having no problem in outwitting Kudo, and this shows how despite Kudo having superpowers to gain upper hand to others, it'd not be an immediate advantage to others having the same, and Vice's supernatural trait is really vital on investigation and is used in a smart way here that he can phase through hidden stuff that Kudo does have the ViStamp.. as well as the note of the next witness coming tomorrow 9, possessing her phone to record the conversation. Other than Vice's contribution, Ikki knowing better about Kudo deceiving him (with his associate) at the end is all on himself though, from his skills at sleight of hand before. Don't know what takes him that long to confront Kudo again though (at night), probably waiting for Fenix to check on Eguchi? His fighting skill was also genuine here (he was quite sloppy in his human fighting scene before) to put down the associate without problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s not a huge surprise that Daiji’s inner demon has possessed him, and is now wreaking havoc as the newest Kamen Rider. The last episode was pushing so hard in his boss’s direction that it was almost inevitable that Daiji’s mysteriously troubled sleep was an indicator of demonic shenanigans. There were only two real suspects, and the show spent an episode going ISN’T THIS GUY SUSPICIOUS at Hiromi, so here’s where we ended up. It’s an okay reveal, even if not a ton is done with it beyond revealing it. The idea of Daiji’s repression and envy creating room for George to see what would happen if a demon had a human host, there’s definite potential in that story. (I mean, I don’t love that Fenix is like Let’s Gather Data about the whole thing; that shit’s such a lazy part of Act 1 Kamen Rider storytelling that it feels like it should’ve come out of the Phase 2 Heisei Vistamp.) Daiji’s greatest flaw is that his reach exceeds his grasp, and he can’t recalibrate his desires in a healthy way. A version of himself that’s instantly successful at both becoming a Kamen Rider and kicking the crap out of Ikki? That’s a neat idea to explore.

Kagerou work differently from Daiji such as being able to possess him outright and that the Rider form Evil is only 1 instead of 2-in-1 like Revice. I do think that the episode does good job for the red herring, with the foreshadowing that Kagerou can eat extremely spicy foods without problem unlike Daiji himself according to his family, though of course it's quite inherent if the evil had the same look to the original.

I though George would have a path to learn actual reasons why Kamen Riders are seen as admirable, like currently he seems to value the chaos and violence (like his solution before being Rider Kicking) instead of the heroism value they (not all) display; done in a major character instead of a minor one. Though he felt like a counterpart of Aguilera, the technology counterpart of her.... both him and Deadmans give powers to questionable individuals that lets them be more unrepentant in their evil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But, y’know, not what this episode’s doing, thankfully. The lawyer plot manages to wrap in Daiji’s worldview – hard work sometimes doesn’t get you where you want to go, so it feels justified to take drastic steps – without losing its agreeably small scale and stakes. It’s just one guy that’s currently getting screwed over, and the show never really tries to grow the threat beyond that. We get to go on a frequently goofy plot with clever reversals, good use of the supporting cast, and a clean win for our heroes. It’s not a massive upheaval of the status quo, despite the appearance of Kagerou and Kamen Rider Evil. It’s a solid episode built around fun character work that makes the world of Revice seem a little more relatable. I’m gonna call that a win!

The corrupt lawyer Yasushi Kudo did a good job in his portrayal to get the character to be disliked/hated (subjective) I think in his slimy lying ageism bastard practices, nailing negative stereotypes of a corrupt authority figure, including a notoriety in lawyers changing the facts to “win” their case. And this isn't a case of an 'asshole being easier to hate than a villain' because he's an actual villain, albeit as usual, superpowers amplify his villainy's impact in the Kangaroo ViStamp (given by the Deadmans). He and his ViStamp also invokes a literal case of kangaroo court, which means an unfair and biased selection of judge and/or jurors specifically made to attack or rig a verdict for or against the accused, and he uses the ViStamp to rig his courtroom cases. As he's obsessed with winning cases (from his previously poor record), the "win" for now is when Egushi is declared innocent, but at the end he'd deflect the blame on Eguchi running with the ViStamp out of a cowardly move...

His excuse is that hard work doesn't pay off... but if he had poor record before, dunno about how much hard work he accomplished.... he's probably just isn't good enough of a speaker without using a threat by force, but worse he had a lack of moral to go as far as injuring the bunch of witnesses too.