[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

--2--

It’s just, that’s not really the episode that got made? Hoo boy, there’s a whole bunch of setup for the final run of the series shoved into this episode, and it is inelegant.

The Ryusei School reunion plot comes out the least worst, since it’s the most tied in to what’s going on. We get to see why Kusaka’s always cleaning his hands (he’s been cleaning off Mari’s blood that he can’t unsee), and we get Mari sharing her memories of the event with Kusaka. It ends up motivating Kusaka to try to do what Yuuji wouldn’t, which is kill Takumi.

It’s… I’m not that into it? The big problem is that we still don’t have the full picture. I don’t believe that Takumi just showed up and murdered a whole bunch of kids for no reason. Moreover, Kusaka is a very unreliable narrator at this point, since he’s losing his goddamn mind (that crazed look when he tells Mari that he’s fine!), so a lot of what he’s “seeing” or “remembering”, I don’t a hundred percent buy it. So that leaves a lot of the big motivators of the story feeling indistinct, or slight. I get that Kusaka’s swearing vengeance, and I get that Mari’s traumatized, but the why of it feels so difficult to believe in or care about that it’s… hollow? There’s a hollowness to the plot, a space where the part that connects with the audience should be.

It leads to some good fights, that Kaixa/Wolfeyes fight is pretty brutal, but I’m mostly waiting for more information before I can start caring about it.

Since Inoue is a pretty dramatic guy, the scene with Kusaka imagining Mari's blood on his hands could've been a reference to MacBeth.

So yeah, it definitely doesn't look like Kusaka has any intention of showing his gratitude to Takumi. Kusaka is a protector of humanity and now that Takumi is a known Orphenoch, he decides that gives him carte blanche to murder him for apparently attacking him and Mari at the reunion. He won't hesitate to destroy an Orphenoch even if it's a comrade. Whether or not it was actually Takumi is irrelevant to him, it's just another excuse to do his job. Takumi does put up a fight to protect himself but it's mostly for show and he's probably just waiting for Kaixa to destroy him like he thinks he deserves.

Kiba as Faiz, who he wanted to destroy him earlier, instead ends up saving him from Kaixa. Right now, Kiba is the only one actually standing up against Kusaka since he knows he can't be trusted and unlike Takumi, he doesn't tolerate him. Mari and Keitarou may be struggling to see Takumi the same way, but Kiba understands how painful and lonely it is to be a monster feared and hated by humans, to betray and be betrayed, to try and hold on to his own humanity while Smart Brain pressures him to throw it away like something that doesn't have any value. They're very different people but their experiences are similar and that means they can help each other. He's the friend that Takumi needs right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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Like, holy shit, Soeno’s back?! And it’s connected to the orphaned kid? And all of the many, many explosions that have created (or nearly created) decades worth of orphans? It’s sort-of hilarious that this show found time to include Soeno again, and that he comments on how irrelevant he is to anything, but… him?

I mean, where the hell is Yuka? Has she gotten anything more than a role supporting Kaido and/or asking Yuuji questions in the last ten episodes? She’s in the credits of every episode and the show can’t find anything for her to do, but we’re back with Soeno?

And, did Kitazaki go back to his home planet or something? He gives the Delta Gear to Sawada and then, like, vanishes. He’s not in any of the Lucky Clover scenes at the bar, and when Houjou attacks Takumi for failing to defeat Yuuji, he brings a completely new Orphnoch with him. (I get that Houjou wouldn't necessarily bring Kitazaki, but it's bonkers to bring a third Orphnoch to a Lucky Clover fight that isn't Kitazaki.) Where is the fourth member of the group?

That sort of stuff wouldn’t bother me if this episode had spent more time on Takumi’s story, or even Kusaka’s story. (It sure as shit didn’t bother me last episode!) But this one has time for all these subplots with background characters, but there’s so many regulars we barely see. Even Keitaro’s just in one small scene. Maybe he’d do better with the blonde hair again?

If Kamen Rider Faiz has a flaw, it's the scarcity of Yuka focus. She has such a great arc but it's all broken and scattered, the same with Keitarou. Most of the action and plot progression happens around the other members of Team Faiz and Orphenoch, Kusaka, Lucky Clover, Sawada and sigh.... Mihara. But yeah, this show could've used more Yuka. We've had our disagreements about her but at least we can agree on that, right?

Too bad Powerful Keitarou's blonde hair got singed black in the fire, according to Kaido.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Oh, for sure! The crazy thing is, I'm pretty sure this episode is the first time the show actually used either of those suits in the series? Part of my brain always wants to remember every scene of Faiz at night (like the first episode) having him all lit up, but I don't think it's actually the case.

I'm pretty sure you're right. Delta had the lights on in the cold open of Episode 28, preceding both illuminated Faiz and Kaixa in this episode. It's so cool how their lights are on for the whole scene which makes it so much more dramatic. They really show the raw power of the suits in a way that other Riders don't and it's especially cool for Kiba since he gets the lighting effect before Takumi. It's a shame that the effect wasn't used more often.