[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 37 - “VISITOR X - THE BRIDGE OF PROMISES”

She’s been frustratingly underdeveloped these last couple, uh, dozen episodes? Her arc was hitting an intriguing point of uncertainty back before the Winter Movie, where her friendship with Philip was causing her to question her loyalty to her family. Then… nothing. Terui shows up, which takes time to deal with. Isaka shows up, which takes time to deal with. Saeko’s arc becomes the central story of the Sonozaki family, which relegates Wakana to either a pawn or an exposition prompt, there to ask other characters to explain things to the audience. She wasn’t really about anything, for a good long while.

So I'm not the only one regarding what I said here: "honestly, I think since her setup in ep. 13-14, Wakana was kind of just there, mostly rolling along with what the Museum does with occasional questioning, with ep. 23-24 as an exception (the other one had her experimented by Isaka). Her refusal to use Claydoll Dopant seems to instead relegate her into more minor roles, the character development she got was mostly used to tolerate Saeko more (her disdain is fully aimed at Isaka here)." But characters being turned like this doesn't necessarily make them outright bad characters/written? Generally from what I see, characters being underdeveloped/lacking presences are labeled as that, and if it's a female, then it's used to paint a whole franchise (Toei) or the media being 'sexist' (I mean it depends, but any slight of this occurrence can lead to this even if it's irrational).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The two of them just have such compelling, natural chemistry. Philip becomes suave and emotionally present. Wakana becomes effervescent and charming. The two of them… it’s not flirting, even though it can easily (and unfortunately) be read that way. It’s more that they feel safe with each other, because they don’t need each other to be anything but themselves. There’s no pressure to fight/commit crime, or a larger family to protect. It’s just two people who care about each other, and that’s the scope of their world. They get to fantasize about a carefree life of emotional support, which they’re largely denied in the real world. (Philip less so, but Shotaro’s partnership is not the same thing as Wakana’s.) And to admit that it’s easier for them to dream when they can escape to being a voice on the phone… so great. Such a thoughtful, sentimental way to frame their bond, in a set of scenes that almost single-handedly make me care about Wakana again.

They keep talking through their phone after seeing face-to-face. That's something I mostly see in phone credit commercials, due to the credit being so utterly cheap, I hope they're using that kind of credit to keep "unnecessarily" phoning (and wasn't deceived by the commercials or such). Wakana's reason to call Phillip is to ask for advice of what should she do as she's assigned to take over her sister's work, which means she'd quit her radio show. Philip realizes that she refers to Saeko, the girl who called him Raito and the Dopant who killed Sokichi, and Philip is straightfoward here to ask if Wakana's work would be distributing Gaia Memories. Phillip suggests Wakana to being true to herself, and Wakana suggests for them to leave everything the city together for their own little world... and Philip sort of agrees with that. About the last one, this'd just be an upcoming bad news though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s an episode that does a great job of making all of the Sonozaki family interesting again, actually. Saeko being on the run creates a wild card scenario in the city, as well as exposing Ryuube’s familial bond as being a distant second to the needs of the Museum. It creates additional pressure on Wakana, because she’s being asked to step up at exactly the moment where she’s acutely aware of what reluctance or failure will get her. The Sonozakis get to be even more of a nightmare as they better express the stakes of their story, even if their specific objective continues to be disappointingly vague.

As Terui notes that Ryubee has been under suspicion a few times, but the evidence was conveniently lacking, which means that Ryubee could've been manipulating all forms of media and information, even the Gaia Library. In the Museum, Smilodon arrives to give Taboo Memory, it does confirm to nearby Wakana that both Mick and Grasshopper Woman are Museum's executioners. Saeko's treachery got herself hunted. I only wonder why Saeko didn't immediately transform until she got shot in the leg though. Despite Saeko's abuse, Wakana shows concern for her, pleading to explain, despite accusing Wakana as hunting her, and later confronting Ryubee over this. Though indeed her development in ep. 13-14 due to Philip isn't erased like this and her helping Kirihiko, just that in those dozen episodes lately I can't determine her alignment due to her lack of presence. Yamashiro is a target as well, confirming his fear that the Museum will kill him if they find him.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But, hey, at least we also get some additional backstory on Philip, for a big flashing sign that might as well say We Are In Our Final Act Of The Series. The neurology professor that I briefly thought was Narutaki – Neurotaki – pops up to start to lock down details on Raito’s past, which is sure to be massively coincidental that it’s happening in a story so heavily featuring the Sonozakis and Shroud. (Hard to really “speculate” on this plot point. Sorry!) What we get here is thrillingly conveyed and kinetically supported, thanks to the Hopper Dopant assassin lurking on the fringes. It’s just enough info to feel like you’re seeing more of the picture, but not so much that it feels like homework. Neurotaki was one of a half-dozen scientists that helped design the Gaia Memories for the Museum, which included wiping Raito’s memory. Thats what we get, and it’s the perfect nugget of information in an episode that has a ton of table-setting to do.

Philip uses Gaia Library to search for Museum, but instead gets booted out, with the Library going haywire (the background turning magenta, the books exploding). Equivalent of this?

But otherwise lol, museum is also a general keyword, not specific name such as Million Colosseo for certain casino, what if they want to search about regular museum instead of the main opposing force of W. Hopper's a Dopant that resorts to underhanded tactics by using Yamashiro as hostage. If only the other Memories aren't finisher exclusive (for Xtreme), Luna can get around this like at ep. 6, LunaTrigger's debut. Hopper claims Yamashiro erases Phillip's memory as well. As detached as Philip was, he's still not devoid of emotional side) outraged, confronting Yamashiro over this.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

DIE-A MEMORIES

-Didn’t really talk about the Hopper Dopant, who mostly exists to be a cool looking gothic lolita assassin and not, like, a fully-fleshed out character. (Cool outfit and aesthetic, though!) The REAL interesting part is that this episode’s director also got to handle the Hopper Dopant actor’s later TV debut as… well, I’ll let Androzani cover that part. As trivia goes, it’s a real peach.

Grasshopper Woman's portrayed by Minami Tsukui, later portrayed Yoko in Gaim (and before was in Saraba Den-O). There's the standard Minami Tsukui flick where she beats up Watcherman by kicks, threatening to shock him with a taser on her boots, later trampling him as Terui arrives. Is the Living Connector on her thigh an intentional fanservice? There's also a coincidental thing that Gaim sort of redid when Smilodon easily dispatches Saeko and sending her into a water nearby, the older sibling getting knocked over the edge to the water, in the same location.