[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BUILD EPISODES 46 - 47

Hey, everybody. In case you didn't see, new poster Another Die has started a thread on their run at Masked Rider Kuuga. They were super sweet to reach out to me, and I'm flattered that folks liked my obsessive need to over-analyze Japanese superhero shows enough to want to talk about their own experiences. That is legit something that I'd've never even hoped for, and it feels great that folks are excited to talk about their own Kamen Rider journeys. You all have made me feel unbelievably welcome, so I'd love it if you could check out AD's thread and show that same support to them.

I'll need you to do it on my behalf, because, see, Kuuga is the next show I'm planning on watching. When I saw (a few months back) that Zi-O had a ton of Phase 1 Heisei stuff in it (or at least that's how it looked from frontpage headlines), I knew I'd need to watch all of Phase 1 before I'd do Zi-O. So, currently, my plan is finish Build, then Kuuga through Decade, then Zi-O, then Zero-One, then current, hopefully.

What that means is, while I'd love to be a supportive fan, Another Die is literally talking about episodes I'm going to watch in, like, two weeks. It would maybe actually kill me to read it. So! My loss is your gain! You can head over there, read what's probably a way more thoughtful and concise version of the points I'd make (it can only be more concise and thoughtful), and get it all weeks in advance! I would if I were you. In the meantime, I've got some fun, upbeat episodes of Build to watch and WAIT WHAT



Dense couple of episodes! Lots to talk about! I'm not crying, you're crying!

It's almost weird to be talking about these episodes in isolation, since this has the pace of a four-part finale. The first part opens with Evol(t) declaring his villainy publicly, hilariously, as he gets way too close to the camera to call out the Riders. It's a nice statement of intent, that the show is (more or less) done with the feints of subterfuge, ready to throw its Riders together until someone wins. It's especially nice that its got some A+ dickery by Evol(t), laying on the blase, semi-distracted terror that's his hallmark. Glad to see he can keep his brand going, even in what might be the last day of Earth.

It's after that scene that these first two parts stumble at all for me. The idea of winning by destroying Evol(t) and Pandora's Box in a combination of Earths... I, what? First, I'll give them that Building A New World is a very thematically appropriate win condition, but I also feel like this is the sort of thing that maybe could've been brought up as goal somewhere in advance of the last 80 minutes of Kamen Rider Build. Seems a bit late in the day! Second, so, they're willingly destroying another Earth and their Earth? To make a new Earth? And that's winning to them? It's destroying Evol(t), but, uh, seems pyrrhic at best. Finally I can't tell if the fact that Banjou doesn't understand the parallel Earths theory despite travelling to a parallel Earth less than a year ago is the writer not wanting to derail the explanation with movie stuff, or a testament to Banjou's idiocy. I want it to be the latter so bad, but no one called him on it, so I'm not sure. Either way, the whole "our new plan is to blow up two Earths to defeat the planet-destroying villain", man, I really hope this show's got a bigger twist up its sleeve. Two Earths is a whole lot of collateral damage, including I guess the whole cast?

Because, you guys, how great is this cast? I knew when I was watching it that the barbeque scene was just a One Last Night thing, a calm before the storm, but it was so much of what's special about this show. These weirdos, the genius and the fighter and the idol and the soldier and the spy and the traitor, they made something really special. I don't know if any ensemble will be as good as the Fourze ensemble, but this cast clicks so well. The humor always has a warmth to it, the camaraderie feels so easy and genuine. They're six people who fell together in the heat of war, forged into a family that would die for each other.

And, yeah, we'll get to that.

After their Last Supper, it's the battle, and I thought what could've been a series of sub-boss battles, warm-ups before Evol(t), was handled with a lot of consideration. There's a thematic thread of sacrifice that runs through the race to the top of the tower, with the emphasis on Rogue (a little) and Grease (A LOT). It's best to land it on them, since they're the ones who've most grown from starkly nationalist characters into Love & Peace Kamen Riders. Rogue has to work with Utsumi to defeat the Hell Bros and hold off Evol(t), putting aside his mistrust and betrayal for the greater good. (Utsumi's sacrifice, I gotta tell you, I'm not sure it works for me. That dude's motivation, it's like, just when I feel like I've got a handle on it, and I get him, there's some new reveal or twist and it's all out the window. Too many betrayals, maybe!) Sento and Banjou have to sacrifice Rogue and Grease, in a way, leaving them behind to confront Evol(t) quicker. It's a kind of interesting failure of Sento's character, letting friends fight alone, letting them fight recklessly, a sort of ruthless efficiency that smacks of Takumi. It's tough to hold on to your principles in the face of annihilation, which is a good place to have his character on the edge of the finale.

But, look. These are Grease and Misora's episodes.

Grease's sacrifice of his need to protect his friends, in favor of protecting the world, it's the culmination of his entire story. There's really nowhere else to go after he defeats the lingering guilt of his friends' deaths by, uh, exploding that guilt with a series of finishing moves. So, thematically, it's appropriate for that evolution of character to resolve itself in his sacrifice, creating the bottle the group needs to end the war.

It's just, my eyes. They might never recover.

I enjoyed these two episodes, but that last couple of minutes wrecked me. Broke me down to parts, never to be rebuilt. A shell of a man types these words, the keyboard slick with tears. I am hollow. I have become sorrow.

It's Grease's story, but it is 100% Misora's scene and the full-cast aftermath. Much like when the show needed to Rider Punch emotions into me back in the 20s, they drop out the music and lessen the dialogue, letting Misora's face and words take you through everything: her humor, to cover the pain; her admission, to plead for the universe's pity; her anguish, that some things are final. Small figures again, and intense close-ups, nothing feels right. Misora's so small and angled heavily, the camera kept away from something we shouldn't have to witness. Silent, as she walks into a group of damaged friends. We're tight in on her mouth, the words silent, a moment that the viewer wouldn't be able to bear, and the show knows it. Screams of rage and sadness, but with no sound, nothing would be enough. Tightly-held fabric and plastic, anything that can feel real, in a situation that has no reality to it. The world is ending, but Grease's death makes the world already feel like it's gone.

And then Hipster Dad saunters into frame, his shit-eating grin, ready to fight when everyone's already destroyed. Fantastic. The perfect ending to a stellar episode, and a great set of episodes to start the finale.