[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s also one the show has spent 45 episodes leading up to. We’ve seen Shinji try to balance his Rider Should Not Harm Rider ethos with an ever more deadly cast of adversaries, and the ticking clock of Yui’s Worst Birthday Ever is the most terrible consequence yet.

Just how fallen Shinji is here. He was going through a dilemma between saving different groups of public people (one side being the civilians, the other side being other Riders) to potentially having a morally grey/black mindset pretty much every Riders except Tezuka have.. No! Don't be corrupted by bias! Well, put it into rest... Shinji also still talks about how it's wrong to harm and sacrifice others to save 1 person. And also how it's wrong for Shiro to kill the truck driver at the beginning. Ren obviously brushes it off, because he does have selfish mindset of "ultimate love", only concern yourself about what you love, and fuck everything else. He even expects Shinji to fight if it's about his best friend! No man Shinji's not someone biased like that! He cares not only for close ones, but also about civilians! Putting away the "bias for close ones" topic, I feel like Shinji's facing the dilemma SSSS gave him earlier "between 1 and 10 people, which one you would choose to save" where he did hesitate to answer that. Where 1 being Yui and 10 being the others. Also for Ren's question, Shinji did save people, like the civilians.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I’m probably not going out on a limb when I speculate that, with four episodes to go in a series defined by the innate humanity of Shinji Kido, we aren’t going to get a conclusion where Shinji hacks his way through Ren and Kitaoka to save Yui’s life. That… I feel like that’d be an unsatisfying ending? I didn’t really love it in that 13 Riders special, after forty-odd minutes of story, and I can’t imagine it’s going to land better after 40-odd episodes of story.

Obviously it's an unsatisfying ending if it's done. Because it would make Shinji a hypocrite, that his ideals are based around how all lifes are equally precious and war should be stopped because of that, but him doing exactly what a morally grey/black Rider would do for his own gain, he becomes his own antithesis. But why would you believe him to go through that? If someone abrasive like Ren struggles to kill, what for Shinji? And you've seen his reaction when he "accidentally" kills someone. Not to mention also how Yui (someone who forbids killing) would think about Shinji doing this.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But I really like that they’re letting Shinji make the wrong choice. If everything in his story has been leading up to this, that includes all of his self-examination, his frustration, his hopes, his losses, all of it.

Yeah, to rub salt into the wound, Shiro also does something here. Shinji didn't leap to the conclusion, Shiro manipulates him. He appeals to Shinji's concern and desperation about Yui disappearing, and convinces him to actually join the fight, kill others, and take the wish to save her because that's the solution, essentially turning Shinji into his own soldier/servant. A good strategy for Shiro to try turning the biggest obstacle of his war into someone potentially benefical to him. Obviously it's not heroism, because not just him obliterating his soul, but because this IS a straight up evil and psychopathic thing to do (I don't even think Shinji thinks about heroism here). Every Rider, except Shinji and Tezuka, are all shades of bad (anti-hero at best, pure villain at worst), why? Because they are willing to do something Shinji's presumed going to do here. And regarding soul destruction, Yui also pretends to be fine in front of Shinji here. And speaking of Atori scene... shows how helpful Okubo is, an interaction between him and Ren, helping him due to him being Shinji's friend. And poor Okubo, Sanako didn't even take off her shoes when using him as stepstool! I mean even Ren took off his boots when standing on Shinji at ep. 29!



Other than that, now as Shinji knows the true nature of the war, he gains a new suspicion about Shiro (oh well, he's already suspicious of him anyway, the only one among Riders) but it's clearer to him here. About how Shiro may deceive the Riders that even if any of them win, Shiro would still use the wish granting power for himself to save Yui anyway. Shinji should've tried to tell others that too, someone who isn't Ren, dunno if his suspicion is true or not, as likely an effective way to stop others from fighting as all their bloodshed are potentially futile.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And, boy, heroism and what it means! Seems like that’s of thematic relevance in, uh, probably every episode of this show! It certainly is in this one, as we get not just Shinji’s Choice, but the final fate of Toujou.

Well, Kitaoka's got standards (like to Shibaura and Asakura), and Toujou is also someone who Kitaoka drew a line to. Kitaoka's just criticizing Toujou and his mentality that makes him an overall scum, nowhere close to a hero he's making up to be. And yeah Toujou, like I already said multiple times, your take of heroism does no benefit at all, only disasters, and you, again felt it that you have nowhere to go with no Kagawa to guide him! And those Kagawa notes!! It's like in-universe's most crucial piece of information! Don't burn it you lunatic! I'm sure the public would need those very much. Oh well then again, I always feel like the public needs everything related to Kagawa very much. For example his talent could probably be used to save people like creating card Decks (the only one other than Shiro who can!), or publicate the note about Mirror World. Unfortunately Kagawa has a single-tracked focus on Rider War only and is persistent only on that.

For the battle part (really wanted to talk about this before the previous episode is a setup but it's actually happening here), again Tiger employs his impractical Final Vent on Zolda, who simply just frees himself by shooting Destwilder (bravo long range!). If Tiger doesn't have Final Vent like that, probably he'll win numerous battles by sneak attacking others with those one-hit-kill Final Vents. But with Final Vent like that, probably Tiger can't win any battles ever, with the victim would just free themselves from the attack. And Tiger's Strike Vent can be used as a shield against Ouja's Heavy Pressure (Metalgelas) Final Vent? This is the first time we see the battle between a Rider and a purely CGI monster (commonly for huge non-humanoid creature, or flying ones, or both), and it seems that Zolda is just powerless against Venosnaker (either that or the CGI effects giving that vibe)...while other Riders have fought and killed Contract Monsters sometimes like Volcancer (yeah the weakest) or Psyco-Rogue. So would that mean Advent AP aside... the strongest (or rather, most untouchable) monsters are those purely CGI ones here? I wonder how Knight would even defeat Dragreder, back then based on this Zolda fight, yet Riders can fight humanoid Contract Monsters fine. The other wild monsters Rider fought and defeated are never those of huge non-humanoid creature and/or flying ones. I would like to see how Riders will defeat those kind of monsters.... Other than that, don't kill me, but this is also another of my favorite Ouja scenes... the bastard deservingly being in anguish after being hurt by his own monster:


So after failing this is somehow Toujou's crazy tactic (sacrificing his own car! uhh do you remember it's Toujou's car Asakura stole) to defeat the Riders, by exploding it while the Riders leave Mirror World via the window. And getting rid of other Riders would also truly make him closer to be a hero, as its his wish and it will be granted if you are the last Rider standing. Kitaoka and Toujou really shows their companionship here, neither wants to leave each other and risking their lives for each other. Shows Kitaoka and Goro are less of a master and servant, they're practically equals, each other's trusted friend who is loyal and caring, mostly done by Goro as his caretaker, but now Kitaoka got his chance here too. If Goro lets Megumi and Shimada follow Kitaoka, even better secretively, they would've gotten the answer of Mirror stuff with Kitaoka's henshin for the 3rd way battle.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I am counting Toujou out, however. As he pats himself on the back for killing between zero and three Riders, he sees a truck bearing down on a father and son. A father and son that remind him of Professor, and Son of Professor. In a moment, he pushes them out of the way, saving them by sacrificing himself.

Again, Toujou had an ironic death too. He constantly sacrifices others in order to try and become a hero, but he only actually becomes a hero after he sacrifices himself. And even after he's doing this, he still didn't know what truly makes a hero and asked Kagawa for guidance, clearly not realizing that this very act is an actual heroic act, not all your acts before which only takes the sacrificing part, but not the "for the greater good" part as he never saved everyone before this. Other than that, this also shows that, Riders don't have to die in Rider form (though I would like to see what if Tiger keeps his Rider form while saving the father & son, he would survive and look like an actual superhero!).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And that's the thing, the Mirror World stuff didn't, like, ruin the show for me. It's not like "Character stuff great, Mirror stuff dumb, C+." I spent a bunch of time talking about my disinterest in the Mirror World story because the show was definitely cranking up that lever, clearly ready to spend a bunch of time on Mirror stuff, so I felt like it was time for me to address my feelings. And, you know, I don't like it! I don't think it's a strength, at all. But this show has so many strengths that I don't really give a shit if this part (maybe a major part!) doesn't work for me. It's generally pretty easy for me to ignore the Mirror stuff, from the series as a whole. It is less easy in certain episodes, and 45 was one of them. Even if the series pushes in on Yui and Shiro as What It Was All About (doubtful, but possible), it still wouldn't wreck the experience I had watching it.

Like, I loved watching Gaim, but I'm still colossally angry at how the ending was two men fighting over a woman as a prize, as an object to be bestowed upon the winner. I hate that so much. But Gaim is still a great series!

Right... I also feel that Mirror World stuff is to justify the battle royale, used as the root of everything happened in the series, the "small moment big impact" thing. I probably feel like your complaint is that those stuff can just be used as the series' beginning monologue that kickstarts the war right? But I think the reason this stuff is placed near the end (with some foreshadowing before) is that actually, it's not simply only the "ON button" of the series... It's necessary to keep the series going on until now, and as a show of how Shinji actually stops the Rider War.

Also regarding the Gaim ending, how do you feel about something in this series here like Ren just fighting simply to save Eri?