[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--1--

If I was a betting man, my money would’ve been on Kusaka as a secret Orphnoch. That idea, of him being an Orphnoch who loathes other Orphnochs, it’s poetic. It feels like it’d be how Kusaka would deal with his turmoil, you know?

If I was spreading that money around, I’d probably play the range of the Ryusei School alumni all being secret Orphnochs. Mari, for sure, after last episode. I mean, the first episode of the show has a dead person getting up as an Orphnoch, so why not now? Also, Orphan Daddy is a big ol’ Orphnoch, and we’ve still got no idea what he’s been up to all this time, so maybe he did some secret surgeries to make them all Orphnochs? Or there’s the reunion no one will talk about, maybe they all got turned there?

So, yeah, those were my Back Of The Mind guesses. Nothing I was certain of, but definitely things I felt like the story was supporting.

Takumi, though. I mean, goddamn.

Mari reviving as an Orphenoch would've been interesting, just to see how Kusaka would deal with that. Her death hit him hard enough but if the girl he wanted and failed to protect came back as one of the monsters he wants to destroy, it might break him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--3--

It helps that it’s not like the show was killing time before this reveal. Not in general for the series (well, the last couple episodes weren’t my favorites), and not for this episode. There was a lot I would’ve normally written about this episode, before the last couple minutes played.

Stuff about how Takumi’s heroism has a purity that Kusaka’s lacks, based on what each man will do to save a friend. Takumi doesn’t wallow in self-loathing, despite Someone Is Dead Because They Were My Friend being his worst nightmare. He gets his ass kicked by multiple people, but that’s only when he thinks there’s nothing left for Mari but his penance. As soon as an opportunity presents itself, he’s all in. Even when it’s a plan that Kusaka’s like This Almost Definitely Won’t Work, Takumi wants to try it anyway. And, man, Kusaka has a point about it being sort-of a leap, plan-wise, but he doesn’t bail because the plan wouldn’t work. He bails because if the plan does work, he can’t be Kaixa anymore. He tells everyone that Mari means everything to him, but in this one he confronts the reality that he loves being Kaixa, that he wants to destroy Smart Brain, more than he loves Mari. It’s a great way to reassert Takumi’s core heroism at a time where he only wants to be seen as a failure, and to reassert Kusaka’s selfishness when everyone views him as their savior.

Or, I could’ve talked about how Mari’s death doesn’t feel that much like a fridging, since it’s not really about vengeance, it’s about grief. It motivates Kusaka and Takumi to try and save her, but that’s around the edges. Most of the episode is about Takumi’s self-hatred and grief, or Kusaka discovering the primacy of his need to be powerful over his need to possess Mari. It succeeds dramatically by treating Mari’s death as a real, sincere thing. Saving her, bringing her back, it’s viewed as nearly impossible. She’s allowed some dignity, rather than immediately becoming some totem of Manly Suffering. Like, her death means something because Mari meant something, not because it empowers someone else. It’s a fine line, maybe, but I thought the show stayed on the right side of it.

I love how last episode you were like "I don't want to talk about cliffhanger" and now you can barely talk about anything except the cliffhanger. I understand though. Mari's death was a major escalation of the plot, but Takumi being an Orphenoch is something else! Nevertheless, I'm glad you were able to find some meaning to Mari's death.

Remember how Orphenochs have hypersensitivity? Kiba can see further and hear louder. Kaido can detect scents. Takumi is a nekojita and his hands are apparently sensitive to heat as well. It might just be a quirk he's always had though, considering Saya was a human and a nekojita. But it might not!

I'm sure Kusaka enjoys being powerful, but he also seemed burdened by that power when he was angrily throwing the Gears out of Side Basshar. It's more like he needs to be Kaixa. He wants to destroy Smart Brain, not help them, even if it means he can't be with Mari. This is another rare moment where he's sympathetic. Mari's death has only fueled his hatred of Smart Brain and his primary goal is no longer to protect Mari. He wants to avenge her.

Takumi was desperate. He was determined to bring her back to life no matter what. Kusaka couldn't go through with his plan and that meant he was now the only one who was willing to do it. Until now, he had kept his Orphenoch nature a secret from everybody out of shame, but this time he needed to become the monster once more.

It adds a whole new layer of meaning to his interaction with Orphenochs. Like Kiba, Takumi wants to hold on to his humanity but he fears that someday he'll turn bad like Sawada and betray the people he cares about. He sees the sins of his kind as a reflection of himself and what he might become which is why he wants to believe that they can be good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--5--

Hard to talk about that other stuff, because Takumi is/was an Orphnoch! That… I feel like I’ve barely talked about anything else in this episode (that was largely good, save for any of the scenes with just the Ryusei kids) because, like, that ending!

(I mean, I didn't do more than touch on Yuuji starting to figure out he's been wrong about Takumi, and that's my favorite character pairing!)

Takumi’s an Orphnoch!

Holy shit!

Murakami implied before what it means to be compatible with the Gears when he expressed confusion at why there were humans who could use them, referring to Takumi and Kusaka. Delta was an unfinished prototype, so the Ryusei School guys who used it don't count. With the reveal of Takumi being an Orphenoch, that just leaves Kusaka, the anomaly, the only Ryusei School guy with proven compatibility.