[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 38



This one felt better to watch. The Ren stuff, it's kind-of nails on a chalkboard to me right now, but all of the stuff with Shinji and the Second Secret Science Society, yes.

A lot of it is the way that Ryuki as a show seems to prioritize motivation over action, how why you're doing something is maybe more important than what you do. Shinji may rarely have a plan of action, but he has a commitment to his principles, and maybe that's the best thing he can have. Because a plan with muddled intent, or conflicting desires, that's a recipe for disaster.

It's also a recipe for a tense, twisty episode, and I really needed that right now. We get a lot more detail about the Second Secret Science Society, what their deal is, and how they're going to stop Shiro. They're of one mind on their goal, but they're at odds on why they're doing it. (I can't really remember their names yet, so this might be harder to understand than usual.) Angry Man has seen his friends die due to Shiro's schemes, and he'll do whatever he has to in order to stop him once for all. Professor views their mission as serving the greater good, a necessary sacrifice to save more lives. Intern is looking for certainty, first from Professor's view that the ends justify the means, then from Shinji's view that there's no such thing as a good sacrifice.

Intern -- Sato? I think his name was Sato. -- Sato is a great way to explore the Second Secret Science Society, and a great way for Shinji to feel vital again in this show. There's the exposition necessary to understand what the Second Secret Science Society is doing, and why they're doing it, and it's all told in a dramatically interesting way. I love it when antagonist groups have dissension. I love it that this group has so much of a headstart on the other characters in reaching their goal, but minor divisions end up magnifying into executions. All of that makes for great TV. But the way that Shinji's attitude wavers slightly, then solidifies around his righteous anger that Murder Is Always Wrong, and how that becomes an immovable center to a show that was almost swallowed up by indecision and repetition... it all really made this episode for me. I like how Sato pushes Shinji towards saving many at the cost of one, but then Shinji pulls him back towards trying to save everyone.

Except, uh, Sato also murders Alternative (awesome name, awesome suit, I love how it drops all of the flourish of the Rider suits for as much of a Mad Science aesthetic as you can get from the Ryuki template and still look like a bug) when Alternative jumps Ryuki. I dug the ambiguity of that scene, of Shinji being apoplectic at Sato's Oh Did I Do That attitude at murdering someone, how you can see that rage on Shinji's face start to shift into regret and confusion, how Sato doesn't seem to grasp the enormity of his actions while still feeling liberated by them. It's this thing of Shinji never quite getting a pure win in the Rider Battles, of the show finding a way to complicate all of his choices. I actually really like that part of the show, how it's never easy for Shinji to live by his code. This episode did an awesome job of really interrogating both what the Second Secret Science Society and Shinji stand for.

(Also, Ren runs through Ren's Greatest Hits, riding on his motorcycle and taking Eri to the beach, and I can't bring myself to talk about it more than that. If you all have strong feelings about Ren's storyline right now, have at it.)