[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER RYUKI EPISODE 45



If I'm being honest, I don't really give a shit about the Mirror World story. The series-long arc about Yui and Shiro, and the secrets behind their powers and the Rider Battles, I don't care. I think it's pretty boring and under-developed.

The thing that Ryuki does well, it's all character stuff. They've got a huge cast of compelling characters, each with intriguing motivations, and it's a blast to watch them all bounce off of each other, challenge each other's worldviews and create dynamic bonds. I feel like I could watch a million stories about these Riders. Ryuki's a show with an amazing premise, Rider Battles, and that's led to incredibly organic ways to keep the show doing what it does best. Just keep adding more Riders, and the show stays great.

By contrast, the mega-arc, Mirror World, feels undernourished. I feel like you could skip from episode 4 to episode 45, and you'd know just as much relevant information about Shiro and Yui as if you'd watched every intervening episode. There're a bunch of little details that've been sprinkled in, about Yui's childhood and slow discorporation and Shiro's goals ("goals”), but none of it's really impacted the world of the show. It's all academic, pieces of backstory that paint a minutely fuller picture of Shiro and Yui, but nothing that changes any characters. The things we find out, it's got all the impact of reading a Wiki entry. And it's weirdly part of an aggressive campaign on the part of the show to ignore any revelations for as long as possible. When Yui became Mirror Yui, nothing came of it. She forgot, and Shinji didn't tell her about it. The show just, like, wiped its hands of that plot, moved on. Yui's disappearing act, that's something that we've seen here and there, but Yui manages not to notice, so the show doesn't deal with it. Even when things like Kamen Rider Boss are introduced, they're only relevant for an episode or two before it's back to occasional Rider Battles and character conflicts. There feels like this inflexibility to the premise, where any attempt to widen the scope or alter the dynamic is only for a moment, and then it's Nope, No One Learned Anything Important About Mirrors.

It's been frustrating for me. There's this tension of the show wanting to check in frequently with the Mirror World plot, because that's obviously the show's endgame, but they don't seem to have 50 episodes worth of ideas for that plot. I'm not sure if I'd rather them spend way more time on Mirror World, or way less. What they've given me is not enough to care about, but too much to ignore.

So, anyway, yeah, we're getting into the final stories of Ryuki, and that means we're going to have to deal with Yui and Shiro.

In keeping with all of my complaints, we don't manage to learn more than one new piece of information, that Yui's younger self prophesized her death on her eventual 20th birthday. (Or something? Like everything with Yui and Shiro's story, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be taking this sequence literally, like she knew it as a child, or metaphorically.) It's nice to have a ticking clock introduced, even if it feels totally arbitrary. I'd've been more intrigued if the prophecy had been that Yui would die before the 50th episode, just full-on dare the audience to say something about the deadline, but what can you do. Still, it does add more pressure to an already tense situation, as Ren and Shinji have to figure out what's going before it's too late.

Although, Ren has a line where I maybe shouted WAIT, WHAT at my screen when I read it. He and Shinji have left Yui at Kamen Rider Stadium (which they I guess broke into and climbed to the upper level just to have a talk about Mirror World, seems inconvenient but I'm not a Rider, maybe they get free access since it's Kamen Rider Stadium and they gotta get their flights in) to go save kids from monsters, as a Rider is wont to do, and Ren tells Shinji that Yui was probably right that all of the Rider Battle stuff is connected to her Yuincorporeal problems. Which, agreed! Seems like a solid assumption! Then he makes me irrationally angry by saying this:




NO, REN, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED MAKES SENSE. Like, Ren. You've got it all figured out? Why don't you break it down for me, a simpleton. How is a to-the-death battle between 13 magically-empowered combatants, an endless array of man-eating monsters, and time travel supposed to save Yui? Just... I feel like the show thought it spelled it all out for me, and I still don't see how anything in here is a plan to save Yui.

But, whatever. There's a bunch of episodes left to go, so maybe this will all come together in a way that doesn't seem infuriatingly convoluted. Maybe!

The non-Mirror World stuff, aka The Reason I Enjoy This Show, that comes out a lot better. (And, look, there's still some fun to be had even in the parts of this show I don't love. Kamen Rider Boss backhanded a truck.) Ren and Shinji have a very Ren-and-Shinji epilogue to Sano's story, where Shinji beats himself up for not doing more to save Sano, and Ren's just That Dude Was A Creep And We All Hated Him. It's super-succinct, totally in-character, and a really great way to comment on that story with two characters who were largely absent from it.

Toujou, however, was not absent from that story, and he's feeling pretty good about himself after Sano's death. So good that he gives a ride to Asakura, who I guess is just wandering around the city and assaulting cops (if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life), so that they can fight. Toujou thinks he's killed Sano, putting him one step closer to being a hero. Except, Asakura killed Sano, which both enrages Toujou and delights Asakura.

I'm not completely clear on why Asakura declines to fight Toujou. He really hates that kid, and loves fighting. Seems like a fight would be a no-brainer. It works for me because of how pissed off it makes Toujou, that his kill was stolen and that Asakura doesn't think he's worth fighting. I can see that being good enough for Asakura for one day, this kid being furious at him. Plus, Asakura steals his car, which is a great heel move. Just him going I'm Keeping Your Car and all Toujou can do is walk off. Hilarious.

Equally hilarious? All of the Ore Journal/Kitaoka+Goro scenes. It's nice to see some continuity from the last few episodes when it comes to Ore Journal, as their big Mirror World expose (and, uh, probable years-of-financial-mismanagement) have left them scattered to the winds, working remotely to save their reputations. Editor has made an office out of the tea shop, which grates on Auntie but is, y'know, kind-of the main thing people use coffee shops and tea shops for in non-pandemic times? He buys something, at least, and I'm not seeing any other customers (this business!), so he's not a total asshole here. Shimada and Megumi are trying to get to the truth by hanging out at Kitaoka's office, and I'd've loved to see that interview take place. Missed opportunity! Overall, though, it's fun to see the Ore Journal stuff leak into other environments, mix with other characters. A great way to keep that plot going in ways that involve nearly every character on the show. (Reiko, however, is working so remotely that she doesn't even appear in this episode.)

So, yeah, a pretty fun episode, even if it's spending more time on my least favorite part of Ryuki. But, I don't know, maybe it'll all come together for me in the next few episodes. I'd love for that to be the case. I don't like not liking parts of this series!