[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 32 - ?LOSING THE PLACE YOU BELONG, THE QUEEN?S PRIDE?

Sakura and Aguilera! Hard to go wrong with that pairing at the heart of an episode.

I've been saving all my complaint energy for these two episodes. After a plot twist so absurd that it makes the Zeronos memory loss subplot look like a masterpiece, I was fast losing hope and I really needed to see a sign of improvement. But this is what Kinoshita comes up with.

Obviously, I don't like the premise, so I won't bother talking about that. I'll talk about the execution. While it's infuriating to see Sakura constantly toying with Aguilera's feelings of despair, which I'll have more to talk about next episode, the main reason I found this particular episode of the two so painful to watch was how much Tamaki gets punished for his earnest efforts to help. Being Tamaki is a thankless job. He's truly devoted to Aguilera, but he always has to compete with Sakura for attention, a battle he cannot win. And when he does manage to get a few seconds with her before Igarashi Invincible shows up, Aguilera treats him like dirt. Why would anybody want to watch Tamaki suffer like this over and over again? It's just depressing!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

So, hey, here?s Aguilera, desperately trying to live the life that she had before, even though it maybe was never worth living in the first place, but it?s all she?s ever known. She wants a final glorious battle with Sakura, because that would make everything in her life feel directed, warranted. The Queen Bee who?s defeated by a Kamen Rider is a fittingly tragic end for a regal monarch of evil; the girl who?s cast out from power and left to eke out a meager existence bereft of purpose or station is a humiliating finale.

Okay, I'm glad we're actually on the same page about this part. While I don't understand why Aguilera is so obsessed with Sakura, I cared about her enough to accept that after all the suffering she endured, she at least deserves to get what she wants, that glorious final battle. Despite my own resentment towards Sakura, I can't imagine anybody else being the one to finish off Aguilera. The problem here is that Aguilera is a poor judge of character, as shown by her betrayed faith in Gif and Olteca, twice by the latter. Can she really depend on Sakura to honor her last wish?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Akaishi is maybe my least-favorite Kamen Rider villain in recent memory. He?s so corny! He?s cackling maniacally in front of his troops, and everyone?s just like What Can You Do, back to work. It makes Akemi, George, and Daiji all look like helpless chumps (George acts like he?s nailed to his chair for this episode), and I?m not clear on why this dude gets to treat Fenix like his own personal Deadmans. It?s a very weird choice, writing and performing Akaishi in this way, and I?m not a fan.

I agree with your complaints that Akaishi is a lame villain, but your least favorite? I mean, one of the other villains in this show is a literal rock!

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

(though his pun was ?Awaken Dino Soul!?)

Que Bom!