[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 42 - “THE FIERCE BATTLE! CRIMSON VAIL VS DESTREAM”



Absolutely stunning episode, and maybe a series-best for this show.

Not perfect, unfortunately; despite the wall-to-wall runtime, there’s still at least one plotline that fits uncomfortably beside the main Genta/Vail stuff. Mainly, I don’t understand why we needed Akaishi in this one, and also maybe have him get killed? It’s a distraction from the main themes of self-care and forgiveness, with Akaishi unconvincingly playing Work Dad to Daiji and screaming about humanity's failures to Ikki and Vice. Like, there’s a little bit of thematic resonance to Akaishi’s fatalistic outlook on humanity being in opposition to this episode’s thesis – acknowledging and forgiving our weaknesses helps us become better people – but it’s given too little space to feel looped-in on what makes this episode special. And, boy, if Akaishi dies here? What a waste! To be bumped off midway through a completely different character’s spotlight episode? I’d honestly hope for more for that dude.

But that’s a very minor criticism, in light of this episode’s moving and rousing treatise on how we need to embrace and accept the parts of ourselves we don’t like, if we ever hope to turn those parts into something that can make us better.

Genta’s story is one that’s remarkably open to interpretation. He’s begun to see his life as a burden on those around him: children cursed, a wife robbed of safety, and a world imperiled. But Yukimi sees things differently: a loving and attentive husband, three healthy and vibrant children, and a home that keeps them all safe. The life that Genta feels like he needs to apologize for is the same one that Yukimi treasures. There’s no such thing as a normal life, because everyone’s life becomes something you could never expect. We grow and change and lose and win, and the end result is a life full of surprises. Valuing those surprises is healthier than regretting the expectations that went unfulfilled. It’s better to accept it all, than it is to force things to be a certain way.

That’s the story of Genta and Vail, as well. Vail wants Junpei, not Genta, and feels abandoned by the person who used to be his partner; Genta wants his family, not the vengeance he once sought alongside a bloodthirsty monster. Instead of finding a way to build a life together, Genta and Vail separated, weakening each other in the long run. Genta looked at the evil inside himself and saw it as foreign, alien, a nemesis. In doing so, he gave it additional power, and let it run rampant over the world. Separation was only prolonging suffering, and destruction would be mutual. The only hope for Genta and Vail would be to find some way to recognize how much they each needed each other. They don’t have to like each other, but they have to find a way to literally coexist.

That concept is so unique to this show, and I love that it was given an entire episode to express itself. Not just in the micro sense for Genta and Vail, but in the macro sense for how it applies to families. Daiji and Ikki are basically just Genta and Vail: they want fundamentally different things, and they can’t seem to make the other see how insane they’re being. But they’re family, and they’ll always be in each other's lives. They have to be able to accept their differences, and find a way to live together in peace. They don’t have to like it! But they do need to do it.

I thought this was a remarkable episode, in almost every way. The use of Yukimi’s love song over the Vail/Destream fight! Yukimi’s comparison of fatherhood to a Henshin! Making room in the episode for a quiet dinner between Genta and Yukimi! Basically everything Yukimi, always, forever! I adored this episode’s firm focus on Genta’s attempt to heal himself, and how that message spread out to his children, and then out to the series at large. An absolute bullseye of an episode.