[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER AGITO EPISODES 34 - 35



It's getting more difficult to try and talk about these in two episode chunks. There's this weird Agito thing where an episode ends on a cliffhanger that is immediately resolved in the first two minutes of the next episode. It makes it so that these stop feeling like discrete stories, and more like individual segments of larger, more amorphous stories. Like, all of 34 and the first few minutes of 35 is paying off a story that started maybe ten episodes earlier, and then the last three-quarters of 35 sets up a new story with a brand-new (but heavily-referenced) character. I don't know, it feels like going forward I'm just going to talk about these episode by episode? It feels like that's where the show is heading, pacing-wise.

This time out, though, yeah, three big things to talk about.

First, it's the resolution to all of the Shouichi/Ryou/Mana stuff that's been roiling for the last dozen episodes or so. It's very, very satisfying to see Shouichi and Ryou finally talk as Riders, to see them find common ground, to feel like they're finally in the same story together. (I mean, Hikawa's there, too, but boy does this story just have not a lot of time for him.) It feels like a huge change in the storytelling on this show, as more and more threads start to come together. Everyone's getting to know everyone else, folks are sharing information to fill in the larger picture, and there's this feeling of, like... fulfillment? Like all this anticipation is finally being paid off and rewarded. It's something I've been looking forward to, and while the interactions between Ryou and Shouichi are relatively low-key (they don't even really fight together yet, which is how Riders say hello to each other), it's still nice to see them in scenes together that don't need to contrive a weird escape for one of them.

Also, hey, Agito finally gets a new form! Bulging, fiery, slightly creepy Super Imaginative Chogokin Agito. I don't... yeah, I don't love S.I.C. Agito. Gills does a good job of marrying Primal and Animalistic to a Rider suit-aesthetic, but S.I.C. Agito, it just... it feels very "eXtreme", you know? Like it was designed by a very aggressive preteen, anxious to show how powerful his O.C. is by making him Agito, but jacked up and grosser. I mean, sure, it communicates Angry Shouichi, so good job there, but I find it a little laughable in how crude it is. Not my favorite suit!

I sort-of feel the same way about Another Agito, which, hey, he's here now! While I've never watched Masked Rider Agito before, I have watched Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, which means I did watch the Gorider specials, which means I've met Another Agito before. (Those Gorider specials are really terrific. I love the ending so much. It's just, like, great problem-solving to defeat the villain. That doesn't happen a lot in Kamen Rider finales! That feels problematic!) So, yeah, when a cool-as-hell surgeon rolls up and takes charge with his intense demeanor, it's like, Oh, Another Agito. As soon as we see him and the Mutant kid is all Hey Where's Kino, it's a very 2+2 situation to know he'll be showing up to henshin his way into saving the (weirdly way easier to beat up) Gills and the Mutant kid. Which leads into the next episode, which makes talking about these two at a time feel ineffective, which is why these things are going to be one at a time for a little bit, probably.

Anyway, these two episodes! It was great to see the whole main cast interact in one story for a minute, to see them all pulling in the same direction. It sort-of stinks that the very next plot is a brand-new Mysterious Rider who's coming from outside the story. (Like, Another Agito completely takes over the back two-thirds of episode 35. It felt like a backdoor pilot for his spin-off.) Still, I like where the cast is at this point in the series (Another Agito excepted, at least until I see how he fits) and I like that there's a lot more emphasis on drawing things together and resolving long-running mysteries. These two episodes, across two different stories, really did a solid job transitioning into the final act.