[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 43 - “THE EVERLASTING ENDING, AND BEYOND REGRETS”



Highs and lows, baby.

The low point of this episode narratively was also the high point comedically: Karizaki Sr casually informing George that, in the midst of his regret about putting Giff cells in Junpei, he… put an entire demon inside his toddler, as a going-away gift. It’s preposterous, and not even the incredibly forgiving room of fawning Weekenders can formulate any response to counterbalance George’s somewhat subdued JESUS CHRIST DAD WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL. There’s literally nothing to be said about Karizaki Sr’s whole My Bad attitude about putting a demon inside a child (!!! [!!!!!!] !!!!!!!!), which makes the ensuing conversational shift away from this nightmare of a confession – into an apology for Weekend, which I will graciously accept – so goddamn funny to me. We’ve spent, like, a couple dozen episodes being force fed the Karizaki Sr Redemption Arc, and then on his deathbed he’s like Wait Did I Never Mention This. It is glorious. That family is beyond psychotic in their attitudes towards science, and I could not possibly think of a better final twist for these two clowns.

Meanwhile, we’ve also got Akaishi and Daiji to deal with.

The Akaishi part… sort of feels like the show’s lost the thread with this guy? His stated reasoning for serving Giff – if we’re to take Akaishi at his word – is that servitude to Giff at least keeps humanity alive, while resistance would see humanity utterly perish. Except, it’s Giff: as the Giffamilia found out firsthand, Giff treats contracts as more like… suggestions. He’s decided to set the world ablaze instead of enslaving humanity, discarding Akaishi as well. So far, I’m okay with it. Giff’s motives have always been opaque and implied enough to weather any number of mood swings, so him being like NOPE ENDGAME to Akaishi’s long-term strategy is fine with me. But Akaishi debases himself to get back in Giff’s good books, giving up humanity and his own immortality in the process.

I don’t get this part, at all. Literally the only two reasonable motivations that Akaishi’s ever had are 1) preserving humanity, despite its willfulness and selfishness; and 2) living forever as Giff’s lieutenant. In this episode, he gives up both of them at once, in return for becoming a red repaint. I don’t get it? At all? It’s the character pulling a 180, just in time to die for it, without even being given a speech to try and clarify what the hell’s going on. At least if he’d been killed in 42, he’d’ve gone out with some coherence to his character; here, it feels totally out of character and disappointingly rushed.

That said, at least it gives Daiji an amazing story.

That execution shot! GODDAMN! So cool, and perfectly in character for Daiji at this point in the series. He’s learned a lesson, but not quite the one anyone wanted him to learn. Far from feeling regret over how distant he’s grown from his family, or how he might’ve found a better path with Kagerou in his life, Daiji’s only learned one thing: you have to own your choices. Kagerou died so Daiji could be strong, and that means making sure your convictions have weight and clarity to them. He’s not lashing out at Ikki anymore, which is good, but it hasn’t changed his perspective on the battle. He’s got his convictions, and he’s going to do what he thinks is right – not to shame his brother or taunt his detractors, but because he wants to help. Sometimes that help comes in the form of a finisher to the face, though!

Very excited to see what form the rest of Daiji’s new outlook takes!