[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 36 - “HUMANITY STANDS AT CROSSROADS, TO EACH THEIR OWN RESOLVE”



Daiji, as a character, is an example of that classic expression “Thirty-six wrongs make a right.”

The key to liking him, I think, is to just withstand his dedication to a binary and inflexible justice that renders moral complexity anathema to his worldview. The first few times, you’re like Okay. The next dozen times, you’re like Uh, Okay. The next dozen times, you’re like Ugh OKAY. But then you round the corner into your third dozen times where Daiji held fast to his belief that the evil inside all of us can be expunged and doesn’t need to be analyzed or embraced because that is the little death that brings oblivion, and you’re like Huh! Okay!

It makes perfect sense to me that he’d take point on the city-wide task of vaccinating everyone against Giff, as a way of preserving humanity. It’s a terrible plan, obviously terrible – but that’s not a factor in Daiji’s decision making. He’s out here all alone, the weight of the world on him, and he’s always believed that the Demons needed to be expunged. He’s the one who “solved” Kagerou. He’s the one that’s usually telling people to murder Demons, no matter the cost. Just like killing Kagerou was probably a bad idea from both a metaphysical perspective and a psychological stability sense, stamping all of Japan because a lunatic in a leather tie appeals to your sense of duty is a transparently bad idea. But it fits neatly into Daiji’s worldview of Demons as a thing to expunge, as well as his desperate need to buttress his sense of self-worth with unquestioned duty to Fenix. It’s a terrible decision, but it’s also absolutely a Daiji decision.

(Quick sidebar: The villains doing an evil vaccination program while the steadfast heroes team up to stop people from being vaccinated… not great optics on that in 2022! Maybe in 2032, but last year? Too soon! Poor taste!)

But Daiji’s the subplot to this episode’s big deal Get Outta Here Hikaru fancy new Kamen Rider: Aguilera!

Hana’s metamorphosis from Deposed Queen Of Evil to Sakura’s Concerned Girlfriend is… it’s not the most robust character arc on the show, despite it being the one I most look forward to. We hear a lot from Hana in this episode’s climax about how much she wants to atone for her sins as part of the Giffamilia, but it never really got any screentime before now. Hana quit being Aguilera because being Aguilera was a dead-end: she was the queen of a cult that no longer existed, in service of a creature that never cared about her. Joining Weekend always felt like a way to stay in her girlfriend’s orbit, and nothing more. Like, “defeating Giff”? When has that ever been anything Aguilera or Hana professed to care about? I’m not saying I can’t illustrate an emotional line that would connect those two characters, Aguilera and Hana, but I am saying that the show hasn’t really bothered to do that.

Still, I liked the debut of Kamen Rider Aguilera quite a bit. My favorite part was Karizaki tying together Hana’s shameful past with the various Demons of this show; a thing to use for good, and nothing to be eliminated or obscured. As much as the leap to Hana as a warrior for justice feels minimally motivated, I do appreciate the thematic coherence of her new outlook. Also, I like the suit! The stinger out of the mask is a good touch, and I like how the shoulders are doing a lot of the same stuff as the Jeanne suit. They’ll make a good fighting couple!

It’s weird to have an episode where the main plot is a thrilling, cathartic bit of adventure that feels like it’s paying off a plot this show never broadcast, and a subplot of a character making just ABYSMAL decisions for perfectly established and ingrained reasons. Confusing feelings at the end, but I’m still gonna say this one worked for me. But please remember to get vaccinated!!!