[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 30 - “NIGHTMARISH H - WHO IS THE PRINCE”



Best part of the episode, hands down, is the bit with Akiko back in Osaka. It’s exactly what I wanted from the last episode – a chance to explore Akiko’s psychology, freed from the constraints of the normal W aesthetics – but with all the humor the show opted for originally, as well. Shame that’s not what this episode was about!

It’s an episode committed to a lot of setup for storylines to come (the Xtreme Memory in particular, and Shroud in general), alongside a mystery plot that requires you to care about two hilariously unlikeable characters. I sort of remember where the Shroud stuff is going, and I still found it all to be a total drag – she shows up out of nowhere and forbids Philip from being friends with Shotaro, and it’s just weird. She’s weird! She’s got zero credibility, and instead of providing a single compelling argument in favor of dismantling the entire premise of the show, she just acts even more mysterious. It’s dull, and the dramatic appearance of yet another Deus Ex Memory doesn’t exactly help make things feel more tethered to basic storytelling concepts like Cause And Effect.

The Himeka mystery is slightly better, in that it at least tries to sketch in two completely insane characters, but it leaves a lot to be desired. The culprit’s exactly who we all thought it was from the first part, the one living dude from her research group, and he’s doing this to punish Himeka for being sort of endlessly flirty. It’s a good villain for Double to fight – a guy who thinks he’s righteous, but is really just an entitled, possessive creep. The problem is… Himeka’s also sort of terrible? Definitely less so than the guy who terrorized a half-dozen people (and counting!) into comas, but she’s a depressingly deluded woman who treats every guy like he’s her knight in shining armor, despite not being interested in any of them. It’s funny in the first episode, but in this one… like, yeah, let these two self-centered jerks be happy with each other, I guess. As a friend used to say, at least then they’re only ruining one relationship.

But, again, that middle Akiko section… it’s the best. Seeing that her instinctual refuge is Osaka, where she has autonomy and everyone exists at her cadence. Her desire to be treated as a hero, so she Henshins into Double with Shotaro. (And Shotaro’s her dad! Because of course that’s how she secretly sees Shotaro! And would never ever admit out loud!) The whole sequence is like the best kind of HBV, where it’s all a joke until you realize it’s true. I wish this whole story had been as smart and funny as the Akiko dream sequence.

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DIE-A MEMORIES



-The Xtreme Memory! I hate that it’s what gets Philip out of the cliffhanger, and that sort of ruined that side of the episode for me. The plotting was so good, and then A Magic Bird USB Drive Teleports Philip To Invulnerable Safety is such a letdown. It doesn’t come totally out of nowhere, since Xtreme was hovering around in the previous part, but it still feels like a lazy cheat. (I am not a huge fan of Shroud’s tech popping up out of nowhere to keep our heroes from having to think their way through or around problems!)

-And Shroud… I definitely groaned when she showed up in the Xtreme Zone. I find her lack of helpful exposition – constantly, perennially, indefinitely – to be my least favorite serialized storytelling trope. I bristle at stories* where one character could just say what’s going on, but doesn’t for nebulous, frequently obfuscated reasons. If Shotaro’s some huge threat, say why! Right now! At least make up something to distract the audience, instead of saying Because like that matters at all. I do not like how Shroud is being used to date!

*non-Faiz edition, because Faiz is about miscommunication and how we struggle with being honest with each other