[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER AGITO EPISODE 37

This show has never done a great job, for me, of making the Unknown interesting. They're frequently well-designed, and some of the kills are real clever, but they don't have any character to them. They just show up, murder, then get murdered. Even Spooky Man and Truegami, who seem to be on an extended sabbatical, don't do a lot to flesh out the threats Agito and his allies face.



So goddamn is it good to see Kino as an antagonist. His presence, his energy, it makes these episodes of Agito into a taut thriller, with allies unwittingly aiding the enemy as the walls close in around our heroes.

It's not totally tense, thankfully. It's hilarious to see Hikawa all starstruck and fawning over Kino. (That dude has zero chill!) And it's a blast to see Ozawa just cut right through the bullshit, hearing about Kino for maybe twenty seconds before realizing that he's a liar and a creep and definitely undertips when he gets delivery. She's, as always, the greatest.

Otherwise, it's a consistently bleak episode, with Ryou nearly killed and suffering from pretty serious Rider Kick-related injuries; Houjou and the police restarting the Agito Capture Program and accidentally/fortuitously snagging Shouichi instead of Kino; and Kino getting a gift from the heavens as a comatose Ryou is totally at his very-non-Hippocratic mercy. Things are just super shitty for our heroes this time out.

It all makes for a great episode, though. Kino's an adversary this show has desperately needed, someone who can match wits with our heroes, and someone who complicates the Mutants Good, Unknown Bad dichotomy. (I mean, okay, Aki, but she thought she was avenging Ryou.) More than anything, though, it's Kino's fanaticism that's refreshing to see, his weird devotion to being Agito and protecting people even if it means murdering potential rivals. He's like a less sympathetic Snipe, an unlicensed doctor who believes it's his responsibility to save everyone. But, like, on Ex-Aid it was something that felt like a burden, like something he didn't want to have to do alone, really. With Kino it's Full Villain, lying and betraying to get everyone else out of the way, to... it's like divine providence, like he alone shoulders the burden and deserves the power. It's a complicated character, and easily the best villain this show has had. I'm liking where this story's going.