[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 42



This was... not a great episode for Shinji. Or, maybe it was an outstanding episode for Shinji? Definitely going to be some different perspectives on this episode from some folks.

Mostly because, you know, Shinji's a little dopier than usual in this one. So much so that Shinji's naivete/gullibility/stupidity is an actual plot point in the episode! Shinji's trusting nature gets its harshest critique yet as the panel of Kitaoka, Asakura, and Ren, three dudes who are definitely who you want to take life advice from, basically tell Shinji that he sucks.

It's a pretty bold suggestion for a show to make, especially this late in its run. To do a story that hinges on your lead character getting called out by terrible men for being terrible, and then follow that with him getting betrayed again by someone he trusted... rough. That is some rough stuff for Shinji to have to deal with, and he doesn't come out looking super great from it.

But, first, those three assholes sort-of have a point. There's a difference between always seeing the best in people, and being taken advantage of. (I feel like I said these exact words about an Agito story, so I guess this is a pet peeve of mine.) Imperer is clearly untrustworthy, as he's probably not going to change his loyalty to money based on a few minutes in Shinji's presence and an offer of free tea. Maybe Shinji could give him a trial run first, instead of embracing him as a friend and inadvertently putting Yui in jeopardy? Just a thought!

It's just, that's what's interesting about Shinji, the way he really doesn't think things through, the way he makes gut decisions, and it's fun to see the show call it out while still embracing it. Like, it's a feature, not a bug. I'm sure it's tiresome for some people, to see Shinji make bad/dumb decisions. I've had a few bouts of judging Shinji. But the engine of the show is that Shinji Wants To Believe In People. If you're like Ren or Kitaoka or (god help you) Asakura, you'd like to see a more skeptical Shinji, a more guarded Shinji. But that's just not Shinji. Shinji's someone who's definitely going to think that the guy who a few minutes ago wouldn't lift a finger to save him from getting axe-murdered has decided to worship at the temple of Ryuki, to be a true hero. Shinji is gullible, and that's crucial to his character. His gullibility is borne out of believing in people, in always wanting to see the best. He's gullible because he wants to show empathy, to never risk being cruel if there's a chance to be kind. He can be tricked easily because he wants to be open. Growing out of that... why would you want him to do that? It'd be like Ren growing out of brooding, Asakura growing out of loving to murder, or Kitaoka growing out of thinking Kitaoka is awesome. Those aren't things that need to be resolved, those aren't arcs, that's their character.

Maybe that doesn't work for some people. Maybe for them, an episode like this one proves them right, proves that Shinji's The Worst. All of the worst people said it, so it must be true. Right?



(Hey, big stuff happened in this episode outside of Shinji stuff, but I really just wanted to talk about Shinji stuff. Still, if you want to discuss any of the following with me, I'm sure I've got thoughts: Yui's got mirror powers, Toujou kills Professor, and Reiko gets out her rage by hitting a few dingers.)