[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--1--

I’m sure I’m supposed to find Kusaka impossibly villainous. I’m supposed to be booing him when he enters a scene, hissing at his self-satisfied smile, longing for the moment when his treachery is exposed.

But instead, I am laughing my ass off.

The fact that this show had the goddamn brass balls to have Kusaka answer Takumi’s questioning of last episode's events with an I Am Unbelievably Offended You Wouldn’t Believe Me? That Takumi went in thinking that there’s a good chance that a man who has gleefully manipulated him to his face and vowed to turn his friends against him might possibly be innocently mistaken, and he leaves the scene apologizing to Kusaka?

YOU GUYS. How can I be mad at that? That turn when he says “Guess I’m alone”? That little sigh of disappointment? Chef’s. Kiss.

I mean, okay, yeah, I can’t wait to see Horsepower and Faiz team up to punish Kusaka. Yeah, totally. But this way he has of deflecting all blame and coming out on top… only God can judge him. All the rest of us can do is delight at his awfulness.

As I'm rewatching, knowing how everything happens, yeah, some of Kusaka's manipulation is so deliberate to the viewer that it's starting to become a joke about how terrible he is and how terrible everybody else is at noticing. I guess that's okay though since it does make him fascinating to watch and it's not like the characters have the same perspective advantage that we do. They have no choice but to be fooled by him since he's so good at what he does. I thought that sudden laugh he did after finding out Kiba mistook Faiz for a pawn of Smart Brain was pretty funny as well, seeing him switch between his personae so quickly. No matter what he does, he does it with so much expression and flair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--3--

The Takumi/Yuuji plot is pretty much the same. Both of them feel out-of-sorts after last episode, and neither wants to risk being hurt again. Yuuji decides to use Kaido as a go-between, wanting to know if Takumi actually betrayed him. He wants to salvage their friendship, but he doesn’t want to make himself vulnerable. It’s a totally in-character move.

It is also so obviously going to get screwed up by Kaido, and that’s before Kaido relies on Keitaro to finish relaying the message.

Like, you know the second Yuuji says his message out loud that it’s going to get garbled, confused. You know it. And, for real? I don’t blame Keitaro or Kaido! They’re barely aware that anything’s wrong, and they certainly don’t know that Yuuji and Takumi think they’ve been attacked and betrayed by the other. So, no, they don’t understand the weight of the message they’re supposed to convey, and they don’t realize that they’ve made everything worse. Yuuji’s search for an explanation is relayed as a severing of ties, and Takumi responds with a declaration of war.

Again, I get it if this all feels forced. It’s a bit of a clunky device to have a misremembered message make a falling-out worse. But, for me, this isn’t wacky Kaido and Keitaro screwing up. This is confirmation bias. It’s Yuuji assuming he’ll get hurt, so he keeps Takumi at a distance. It’s Takumi waiting to be hated, so he responds with hatred. It’s a frustrating spiral, these two people abandoning hope for sadness, letting their worst instincts lead the way. I get that it can feel exhausting to watch. I really do like how it’s all rooted in character, though. Great story for that.

I know this is one of those misunderstandings that was completely accidental and could've easily been prevented but watching it unfold with the worst couriers ever is just too humorous not to love. The whole scene in Kiba's apartment when he enters to find Powerful Kaido playing loud music and Yuka enjoying his performance, all of it is the best comedy! Kiba really needs help with his problem but he can't rely on his friends at all and it's hysterical how annoyed he gets about it. I'm surprised it didn't feature in your screencaps.