[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER KUUGA EPISODES 44 - 46



Okay, so, yes, the Grongi stuff in this story is pretty great. Not only do we get a brand new Kuuga form in Black Repaint Kuuga, but we get a couple thrilling action sequences, a for-the-ages beatdown of Godai, a lot of great Ichijou badassery, the exquisite tension of everyone on Team Kuuga pulling together to save the day, the deaths of every Grongi (seemingly) but Rose Grongi and Daguva... It's a very full story on a Grongi Plot level. A lot to talk about, anyway.

I don't want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about Enokida and (I might throw up a little typing this) Jean.




In the midst of the 11th hour of Kuuga's year-long story, the show takes some time to resolve the long-addressed but rarely-emphasized Is Enokida A Bad Mother question. It could feel weird, shoehorned in where it could not feel less relevant to the life-or-death struggles of the main story, but... I thought it kind-of worked? There's a very Kuuga theme of "do your best” working through these episodes, with everyone trusting in each other to give it their all, and things will work out. It typically reads a little simplistic to me, a way of ignoring the consequences of choices or the dangers of a course of action. It certainly makes positive outcomes feel more lucky than wise, anyway. I don't think it's weird to bring up how much of a given plan can devolve into failure!

The Enokida version of that theme, on the other hand, feels more grounded, more kind. It's less about just powering through, trusting in the rightness of your actions, and more about making connections, gaining forgiveness through an earnest attempt to do better. She's been a shitty mom, not because she's been putting work ahead of her kid, but because she hasn't communicated her need to do her job to her kid. She's ashamed of her inability to be all things to all people, so she takes on the role of Bad Mom to spend even more time at work. She avoids her family to feel less bad about avoiding her family.

It's to the show's credit that it never seems to judge Enokida for putting saving lives ahead of being a mom. I was so, so scared that the Kamen Rider franchise's generally regressive gender roles would have her need to surrender her job and non-maternal identity in a way that would never be asked of Ichijou or Tsubaki or any man. But, thankfully, that's not how it went. It was (and I cannot believe it either) Jean who was the key character, reminding Enokida that her job has a purpose, that she's saving countless lives, and that she doesn't need to be the best mom, just Sayuru's mom. The theme of doing your best, it's a liberation to Enokida, a relief from the fear of failure. She's allowed to maybe be a shitty mom, since she's trying her best, and that means wanting to do better. It's a heartfelt, mature view of parenting. I sort-of can't believe it was not only on this show, but maybe the best part of a truly great three-episode story.

Please don't tell Jean I said that.