[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER OOO EPISODE 20 - “BAIT, SUITABILITY, AND THE FLAMING COMBO”



It’s fun to watch a whole episode that’s just about the tension between the inherently selfless Eiji and the inherently selfish Ankh.

It’s a little similar to Episode 15, in that everything here feels like a red line for the Eiji/Ankh partnership. Ankh counterschemes to wrest one of his precious Core Medals from Kazari’s grasp, but in a way that flings Eiji off of a roof and requires threatening Hina. Meanwhile, Eiji has kept one of Ankh’s Medals from him, fearing *see the last sentence*. These two are firmly in opposition, and yet… it also basically doesn’t matter?

It could seem a little flippant, how much Eiji doesn’t care about Ankh’s rapacious self-interest, or how much Ankh was never really going to hurt Hina. (It’s all threats, no real violence.) But there’s another plot in this episode, and I think it’s instructive in how to read what’s really going on with Ankh and Eiji.

We get the first part of one of my favorite long-term sub-plots, which is the Date/Brotou stuff. (I’m sure other subbing groups stick with “Gotou-chan”, but I came up on this group's “Brotou”, and that’s the hill I’ll die on. It just feels truer to Date’s affection for this skinny child!) Gotou’s been tying himself in knots about whether or not he’s the right man to be Birth, and if his principles and pride are an obstacle to helping people. But Date makes it easy for him – he can’t even fire the Birth gun. All of the high-minded morality and ethics are missing the main point that Gotou can’t even do the job he’s worrying about, which is putting the philosophical cart in front of the tokusatsu horse. Date suggests that Gotou should maybe dedicate himself to being able to do his dream first, then decide if it’s a dream worth doing.

That’s sort of the zone that Eiji and Ankh find themselves in at the end of the episode. Eiji can’t trust Ankh to do what’s right, but he can trust Ankh to do what’s right for himself. Ankh hates Eiji’s obtrusive morality, but that obtrusive morality is the only hope Ankh has to rebuild his body. The arguments about the why of it all… that can all come after the immediate concern of what needs doing today. Despising each other for the ways their worldviews don’t align misses how effective they can be as a team. You can disagree about motivations, but that’s okay – the end results are what sometimes matter most.

It makes for a story that honors both characters' individuality without compromising their bond. The little bit of swagger Ankh has when Eiji turns up for their battle against Kazari and the Yummy! Eiji knowing that Ankh will be there with the Medals he needs, even though Ankh flung him into the river! Ankh trusting Eiji with TaJaDor – here given so much more weight and significance than Movie Core’s whole Hey I Randomly Found This Please Use It In A Fight thing – even though Ankh has schemed for the last two episodes for this shot at resurrection! It’s all brilliant in how it leverages the tenuousness of their partnership, as well as the inevitability of their reconciliation.

Perfect OOO episode.



(Programming note: I got work and then the Super Bowl tomorrow, so we will be moving Episode 21 to Monday night. See you then!)