[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 24 - “L ON THE LIPS - YOU’RE THE LIAR”



Pretty fun episode about the ways love warps our perception; also, an episode that is just insane to try and describe scene by scene.

Like, trying to talk about the thematic stuff… I don’t know, why? I appreciate that it’s there, and it completely helps make the Saeko/Doctor Slenderman (I forgot his name) stuff feel like it belongs within a hundred miles of this episode, but I can’t pretend it’s what anyone’s going to remember from this one. So, lemme quickly dispense with it, so we can talk about the high volume of batshit sequences in this episode of fanatic obsession and misunderstood attraction.

It’s nice that this one can end with the realization that Jimmy and Yukiho aren’t in a parasocial relationship, they’re in a burgeoning love story. It’s a testament to how we lie to ourselves to avoid putting ourselves out there, and mistake our own desires for something else. That, along with the Liar Dopant’s crush on Wakana, and Doctor Slenderman’s whole Maybe Inappropriate For Kids medical examination of Saeko’s Maybe Inappropriate For Kids Dopant form, gives us an episode that runs the gamut of love stories: from unrealized puppy love to Basically Second Base.

Okay, now lets talk about the gaudy amount of ridiculous nonsense in this episode, and how it is maybe an early highlight of W’s run.

Like, highlight of the highlights has to be Shotaro chasing after Jimmy on the beach, with voiceover of Shotaro mentioning how weird it is for these two to be chasing one another on a beach at sunset while carrying a white guitar as birds take off. It’s very weird! But it’s the best thing, because it’s all Shotaro trying to tell a deluded try-hard that he knows what it’s like, and to maybe stop leaning into every melodramatic idea in his head. (I love that this is basically Jimmy’s version of Shotaro quitting both his jobs in the Begins Night movie, and Shotaro immediately knows what stupid way he chose to theatrically turn his back on the past, so he knows where Jimmy would be. Amazing.) It’s a charming sequence that leverages Shotaro’s most embarrassing/memorable traits to help a deluded fraud realize that the point of art isn’t fame, it’s expressing what’s in your heart. This is Shotaro telling a guy not to let other people’s perception change your dreams, and it’s as sweet and poignant as it is vaguely regrettable. (Shotaro could maybe stand to dial back some of his cosplay detective stuff!)

Beyond that, we get the iconic climax of Philip dressing up as Wakana, because – as Terui of all people points out – Philip actually cuts a more Wakana silhouette than Akiko does. (Not wrong! Philip’s a great Wakana!) It’s a neat idea, tricking the Liar Dopant, and it just plays into this two-parter’s hard work on crafting a story that’s both clever in the moment, and thoughtful overall. This was a weird story, but one that is remarkably coherent and always kept a sense of stakes. One of my favorite W two-parters! Truly!

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DIE-A MEMORIES



-The Saeko examination scene… hoo boy. INCREDIBLY horny, at a level where I sort of can’t believe it made it to air. Dude is basically drooling over the Taboo suit – itself pretty goddamn risque! – while he grips and caresses it. Fun twist that his kink is Dopants, but, like… my dude. At least Saeko was also into it?