[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Honestly, I feel like you're being harsh on this episode?

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

You deemed Sawada an irredeemable character not long after his introduction so I was curious to see how you would react to having your expectations subverted.

I feel like it's not the idea behind the episode that I'm opposed to, it's the execution of it. Using Sawada's attempt at sacrifice as a way to tip Takumi back over into seeing himself as something less than a timebomb, I like that idea. If even the worst of them have some humanity, doesn't that allow Takumi to feel like he's able to be a good person?

It's just, I still feel like there's a part of the Mari/Sawada stuff that's missing, and it really taints his use in this story. I never, once, got a feeling like we saw Mari deal with being murdered. Because of that, her interactions with Sawada feel like they're drawn from a different series, one where he didn't murder her.

And, I guess the main thing is that, thematically, Sawada's story in this one is about how it impacts Takumi's story, but the minutiae is about Sawada's journey, Sawada's choices, Sawada's suffering, and... I don't have as much interest in that as maybe I'd need to? My interest is in Mari and Takumi, but the show is definitely asking me to consider what Sawada is going through.

Maybe that's my fault, and it's me being unfair. Maybe the show is telling a nuanced, empathetic story about Sawada and I'm just folding my arms, refusing to engage it on its own terms. I don't know. I hope not, and I'm sorry if I am.