[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 34 - ?DEMON CALLING TO DEMON?

At times, I sort of appreciate the primal nature of the conflict against Giff, when applied to an anniversary season of Kamen Rider. He?s a blank slate, with nothing but his various acolytes to sketch in his threat, his objective, his very identity. What we?re told by the rotating collection of sycophants and psychopaths that bend the knee to a yonic sculpture and a mute costume is hilariously boilerplate: overwhelming power, enslaved humanity, capitulation or destruction, blah blah blah. It becomes a sort of Ur Kamen Rider narrative, where the lack of prominence to the threat allows other themes to gain prominence; there?s frequently some global tragedy, but our family will always be the most important thing in our lives. The villain this year is every villain, but fifty years of Kamen Rider series are defined by the stuff around that ? the goofy uncles and mysterious rivals and wisecracking puppets and empty cafes. Giff sucks to make everything else more fun by comparison.

So far about Akaishi, he's build up as someone with well-intentioned motive to keep the human race alive, by having them submit to Giff instead of, invoking Giff's wrath and have Giff exterminate everyone. That shows his intentions aside, Akaishi does have villain's typical outlook of humans, to make people fall into despair and crush their hopes, and he'd be someone looking down on humanity and their potential as a whole. His approach reminds me of Micchy from Gaim's, to face an overwhelming villain by pracfically cowardly way of just giving up and letting them win/be their lapdog so that they have a chance to be spared or something, though Micchy only did that for the people he favored while Akaishi's doing that for whole humanity. For now Akaishi has 'good' intention and isn't as bad as Olteca, but he still had the brutality he displayed so far to Akemi and Daiji (who for now... properly henshins..). Daiji bleeding heavily reminds me of Taiga in Ex-Aid nearly killed by Graphite. George here acted under Akaishi's order again to try to lure him into a trap, but now George didn't go giddy and excited anymore under Akaishi's orders, probably again showing how he changed, directly when interacting with Akaishi here.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I guess it can be -- I don't read any yuri manga or watch yuri anime! -- but I definitely don't think that's happening here. I don't think that's what you're saying, but the Tamaki stuff... like, Tamaki was never presented as a romantic interest for Aguilera, in either direction. He worships her as a monarch, and she tolerates him as a subject. (Sometimes as her favorite subject, but still.) The Aguilera/Tamaki stuff is a completely different plotline from the Sakura/Hana stuff. If anything, Tamaki is rooting for Sakura and Aguilera to get together!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

There?s very little thematically to hang onto in the fight against Giff, which is a problem when a vast majority of this episode is devoted to making the threat of Giff an immediate and undeniable danger. (That little date scene between Sakura and Hana, though! Adorable! And they hate having those two goofs hovering over them like overprotective brothers!) For a minute I almost saw a correlation between Akaishi?s decision to let humanity suffer and survive under Giff, and the idea of an overprotective parent diminishing the freedom of a child in the name of safety, but I couldn?t make a good case for it. There?s really nothing on the family side of this story to act as co-commentary, and Akaishi?s too gleeful of a maniac to make a good-faith argument of his actions as beneficial to humanity. He?s just some bloodthirsty prick that wants to survive, and be at the top of whatever dregs of humanity survives Giff?s imminent wrath. He?s hollow and pointless, which is all I can ever muster for the Giff story on this show.

The gag is probably about how the boys (Tamaki/Hikaru) are trying to be bodyguards to females who are actually far stronger/more competent than them (Sakura/Aguilera), but it'd be wasted if the boys, Hikaru likely joining, are only reduced into their lost puppies. Though there's Hikaru feeling down about how he's actually nothing compared to Sakura, as their previous karate sparring has shown, with even Tasuke pointing it out, and wanting to be Kamen Rider itself, while Tamaki has been like this ever since he got separated from his Giftex powers. Other bodyguarding part is what's actually necessary, Vice protecting Yukimi, who isn't a fighter, from Vail actually hunting the Igarashis, despite Yukimi's protest. I guess now Vice had fully atoned for his sins here against Yukimi and now their relationship has been fully repaired, protecting the woman he tried to eat at one point, and Yukimi recognizing that shooing Vice away was probably wrong.

And for previous reply, as usual, more like talking about fanbase reaction rather than actual yuri media (though the reverse can happen for yaoi pairing, especially r KR being described as "heated drama between men" and it being infamous of female characters not being handled well to them), and though it's true that the boys are being overprotective, still feel that there's "eww boys" move that's seen as getting in the way of females hooking up with each other which was what I refer here, more like because basing of how Aguilera is still haughty as ever, my worry was that she'd have the good guy status to get away with that behavior (o̶r̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶g̶o̶r̶g̶e̶o̶u̶s̶). Though her interaction to Hikaru is the first time she interacted normally with others. I don't know if actually her bitchy attitude is reserved only for Tamaki here, but it being played for laughs doesn't negate it being abusive though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The stuff with Vail is a little more interesting, if only for the more personal stakes it evokes. (Why this show landed its big emotional cliffhanger on Akemi, a character whose only memorable attribute is A Doctor Who Wears Distractingly Short Skirts, rather than on someone who has contributed anything to the narrative, is beyond me.) Vail?s manipulation of Vice is simple, and provable: Demons are inevitably cast out by humans. Vail was abandoned by Genta, Kagerou was destroyed by Daiji, and we?ve watched any number of people get severed from their demons over the last 30-odd episodes. The idea that Ikki might eventually see Vice less as a buddy and more as a sickness? it sort of tracks? We?re not there yet, by any stretch, but maybe some day? Especially now that Ikki knows that teaming with Vice is destroying his memories? There?s a kernel of doubt in Vice now, and it?s all Vail needs to render both Ikki and Vice less effective as Kamen Riders.

Vail's new psychological game now is about dictating others about how to live like a demon which is again, effective on Vice that got really shaken with Vail's mindgames, distracting him in fight and hindering Ikki (and apologized for that). Vail tried to invoke parental abuse/ageism with him being Genta's devil.... but... now Revice pulls something opposite to "X is X" some Kamen Rider shows pulled, like Inoues... by Vice pointing out that devils aren't the same as the human hosts thus Vail isn't a father that can abuse his position. Then obviously Vail tries to break Vice's relationship with Ikki with the latter eventually leaving him, now I don't personally see this as another question of "Is Vice actually evil", as what the series has pushed to the viewers before, probably it'd be actually Vail really underestimating the bond between Ikki and Vice and it'd be partly his downfall later or something.

So regarding my expectations before of Akemi being the show's secondary heroine, it got twisted around not only for Aguilera but for Akemi herself too. Aguilera was the main antagonist but eventually got redeemed to join Weekend, while Akemi was a female with larger presence (other than the Igarashis) on the main organization, but now got turned into Deadman. So actually Akemi wasn't completely immune either to the dark truth, though Akemi's still far less malicious than Chigusa was, she undergoes BSOD phase and apologizing to Daiji for seeing the truth, but it seems that as Deadman her actions are uncontrollable, l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶e̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶D̶a̶i̶j̶i̶,̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶h̶u̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶.