[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--3--

And that’s not easy to say, because not only is Kusaka plotting Yuuji’s death in this one, he hits rock bottom with Mari and Takumi. Whatever amount of sympathy Mari had for him evaporates as he gets full-on Creepshow and demands she let him possess her. If last episode was cringe comedy, Kusaka embarrassing himself, this one’s horror movie terror. Whatever is churning around inside Kusaka bubbles up and explodes, with him screaming to a just-in-time Takumi that he needs to be saved from himself, and only Mari can do that. That losing his mother at an early age broke something inside of him, a wound he can sense but can’t heal. It’s a shocking display of vulnerability, explaining actions and motivations that are deplorable, grotesque.

That whole scene, it’s interesting to me in the way it’s defining Kusaka’s psychology without excusing it. He’s awful, and he’s hurting so many people. The things he’s doing are objectively wrong. But, like everyone in Faiz, it comes from a trauma he hasn’t processed. He’s earned our animosity, but he might also deserve some of our pity.

Underneath the guise of a hero and an efficient killer with the talent for manipulating people behind the scenes, Kusaka reveals to Takumi here that he's actually a very pathetic guy with some serious problems, trying to use Mari as a replacement for his mother. For that reason alone, calling him a villain, even at current peak Kusaka, just isn't apt. He's the worst kind of antihero, for sure. His concept of morality is terribly warped and he's always walking on that borderline between hero and villain, but his patheticness and desire to protect Mari and destroy "humanity's enemy" means he cannot be real villain, no matter how many terrible things he does to meet those ends.

He deserves whatever punishment he receives but I think the reason why he's so popular as a character isn't just about how terrible he is but why he's so terrible, how broken he is. His flaws make him relatable and, as you say, pitiable. Kusaka is the most infamous and hated Secondary Rider but he's not without redeeming qualities. The Secondary Rider of Gaim, a show full of depraved people, tried to commit genocide of the human race, that's way worse than anything Kusaka's done. Kusaka is ultimately a protector of humanity even if it's for all the wrong reasons and that's why, as much as I and many others hate him, there's something respectable about him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--4--

The rest of the cast is finding their way through their own poor decisions, at least the few of them who have meaningful screentime in this episode. (Seriously, it’s almost all Kusaka, Yuuji, and Lucky Clover this episode. Takumi doesn’t show up until halfway through, Keitaro and Yuka are each in only one scene, Mari gets one or two more.) The Love Polygon of the last few episodes gets some emotional maturity applied to it, to differing degrees of success.

Mari tells Kusaka she won’t date him, and I love that the show framed her decision not so much in choosing Yuuji, but in just not choosing Kusaka. She’s focused on her dream of being a stylist, and she doesn’t like Kusaka romantically. Like, that’s it. That’s excellent. Even when Kusaka presses her on her feelings for Yuuji, she shuts him down, keeping the topic on her lack of feelings for Kusaka. It’s a mature way of closing that door on someone, and I love the agency it gives Mari.

Kaido, on the other hand, might be a lost cause. After learning about Mari’s lack of feelings for Kaido, Yuuji tells Kaido to leave her alone because she's not interested and Kaido refuses. It’s romantic comedy nonsense viewed with an intensely skeptical eye, reframing it as harassment. It’s an ugly look for Kaido, but there’s a flash on his face that says he might be aware of that now. One can hope!

Yuka's character development is great here and proves how much she cares about Kaido. She wants to be his girlfriend, of course, but more importantly, she wants him to be happy. She's still a little jealous of Mari, of course, but not spiteful at all, supporting Kaido/Mari since she believes that's the best way she can make him happy. Unfortunately, yeah, the ship isn't doing so good right now with Mari refusing to reciprocate any of Kaido's attempts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Actually, I was referring to how Dezumozorlya sired Rije using Asuka’s wife as an unwilling participant.

Asuka sired Lije first so Dezumozorlya possessing her and making her age faster is more like the pseudo-filial relationship between Evolt and Ryuuga if we consider how Dezumozorlya was also trying to merge with his Another Earth half.