[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Because they are 100% telling a story about Kaido’s self-deception.

Kaido is being overdramatic and forced of all his proclaims of hating humanity and wanting to kill them, that it's now obvious to see, not only to Yuka and Yuji. And it's explicitly clear... Kaido doesn't want to beat him with him hesitating to do his Grand Impact finisher. But Smart Brain is a company that forces Orphnochs to embrace that so....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s a hell of a shot, that Faiz Finisher just millimeters from Horsepower’s face. More than that, it’s yet another deeply empathetic moment from Yuuji. He’s got a bunch in this episode alone. I loved the moment when Murakami’s like You’ve Disappointed Me and Yuuji’s just Why Should I Care About That? It’s not adversarial, but simply noted to Murakami. Don’t assume that Yuuji is looking for your approval or respect. For a character that’s searching for direction, for some way to define himself, Yuuji manages to give off such a mature, calming aura. He’s open and considerate with Mari when she coincidentally drops by with his dry-cleaning. He’s able to give Kaido space, but willing to be stern if things get out of hand. He’s maybe the best?

The downside is that he’s still very much in a mode where he’s defining himself by what he won’t do, same as Kaido. If there’s a problem for me with this episode, it’s how the Team Orphnoch stuff feels maybe a little too introspective. It’s fun to see these characters interact, and god bless any time they run into Team Faiz out in the world, but it means that there’s an entertaining episode where not a lot really happens. Most of what moved Yuuji and Kaido forward in this episode is in maybe one minute’s worth of story. It’s a good minute! But it makes the rest of this episode a little, if not forgettable, then inconsequential.

Yuji finds out that Murakami and Smart Brain is an evil company who forces him to go against his ways, like what Kaido proclaims. Only that to Smart Brain Yuji full on resents him and not trying to get close like to Kaido.

And speaking of differentiating like Yuji, for Yuka what differentiates between a facade and a real wicked people? Like when she just decides to kill the people who harasses her. The backstory shapes her mindset and ideal, that she would be merciless to anyone she perceives as evil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The whole episode this time, Takumi is hilariously adrift without the Faiz belt. I don’t know if his brain was inside that phone, but he’s like a zombie in this one. It’s terrific, and it’s clear to everyone around him that, like Kaido, all of his assertions are because he feels exactly the opposite. Him shouting I DON’T LOVE BEING FAIZ AT ALL is because he misses it so much. It’s stupid funny to watch, and it made what little of Team Faiz was in this episode really work.

But they needed to end the plot, get Takumi back as Faiz, and holy shit did they shortcut it. Keitaro swipes the belt from an injured Kaido, mostly because Kaido was being mean to Yuka. He gives the belt back to Takumi to fight an Orphnoch, mostly because he felt sorry for him. (I mean, he totally respects Takumi in general, but that belt toss is probably 70% pity.) Takumi gets to smile because he’s Faiz again, and still accepts the honor of being a Kamen Rider with a definitive I Love This I Guess It’s No Big Deal Whatever You're The One Who Cares Not Me. (Him and Yuka, they don’t love being honest about their feelings!) It’s a story that should be all about Takumi asserting his desires, owning his feelings, and instead he just mopes until someone gives him the belt back.

And, like, that’s funny as shit. It’s totally in the spirit of this show for Takumi to internally change while externally staying the same. It’s just, there’s almost no catharsis to Takumi becoming Faiz again. It’s totally anticlimactic. You can spin it as a cunning subversion of storytelling tropes (Takumi never ever articulates why he wants to be Faiz), but it’s still totally anticlimactic. Worse, it’s placed after a genuinely emotional, fully-earned moment between Kaido and Yuuji. They had an episode-ending story beat, and then they were like Now Here’s The REAL Ending, and… no? Weird choice. Weird, unfulfilling choice.

Or was it that Mari and Keitaro staying away.... like they're stalking Takumi and making various remarks of him lol. Regarding Keitaro supporting Takumi as Faiz, probably it's that anticlimatic in a sense that it's only 1 episode and happening coincidental to Kaido losing his belt? Also Keitaro just met Kaido, he doesn't get a chance to know him better like Yuka did, but he does for Takumi, that he sees the better side of him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Or, shit, maybe it’s totally irrelevant. Maybe no one was even paying attention to the Faiz Fight, because of the shadowy new Rider lurking on top of Gills Bridge. (There’s a tension I get when I see that bridge. I’m both excited over the big Gills/Agito fight that occurred there, and depressed when I think about how bad the next two episodes of Agito after that were. Complicated feelings about Gills Bridge!) I don’t really have much to say other than… it looks like we’ll be getting a new Rider soon! I like that they seem to be the X to Faiz’s O! It’s probably Kaixa, which is a name I think I’ve heard more often than Faiz! I’ll know for sure in another episode or so!

That Orphnoch is one of the major characters, as he's playable in the Faiz video game. Also Kaixa is chi symbol to Faiz's phi. You said his Rider name already despite the rule of giving nicknames when names aren't mentioned? (honestly should be as informative as possible like regarding names).