[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s a really fun episode, obviously. It’s very light-hearted, giving almost everyone in the cast a chance to either play straight man or comedian. Hajime even gets to play both! It’s also doing a thing I don’t think Inoue gets enough (any?) credit for, which is trying to foreground what it’s doing thematically.

The Comically Serious for Hajime? It's a common trope btw in various medias. For the part of it being thematic, it'll also probably depends on how insightful on the audience of picking up those, which is why by that, I'm so doubtful to label anything that doesn't work as (objectively) bad, it can be just that it doesn't get to someone but another gets it. Back on the episode part, the theme would just mean anything that is good, even if not about something related to Kamen Rider series? (as KR also tried to give good themes).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Opening scene with Medusa Undead Or Whatever. I love this angle on her, shot from below. The filter makes everything feel uneasy, unsafe, and the big metal railing shooting diagonally through the frame is a nice touch. She’s not a powerful looking woman, but this framing sells her as a terrifying opponent.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Then we get them extreme dutch angles! Look at how obscured nearly everyone in this shot is.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

This is a little one, but I like the tracking a lot. It starts on the sign outside Mutsuki’s house, while Nozomi gets turned away by his parents. It’s only after she finishes talking that the camera pans left to catch her walking away from the front door. (All of that was almost definitely because no one felt like paying Mutsuki’s mom or dad for one nighttime scene with Nozomi.) Also, man, the vertical break of that sign and hedge are a great visual bookend to Mutsuki’s scene, which is next!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s not my favorite shot. It’s a little on the nose, with the spider web of mirror pieces reflecting… whatever is going with Mutsuki. (Spoiler, this is the last we see of him in this episode!) But it’s still a gorgeous shot, and there’s that vertical break of the wall on his left as he walks out of the shot, into a headlight, fading into nothingness. Great composition.

Can't say anything but good analysis on the directing here, those here are great, but I also don't like a few others like the face close-ups.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The whole first Team Blade scene is shot outside on the farm, with Kotaro looking for Natural and criticizing Hajime for being either someone who trusts in the people around him to make the best decisions for themselves, or a complete asshole, depending on who you ask.

But the scene keeps playing and we pull back through a window, over Hirose’s head, and we’re in a scene where she’s talking to Kenzaki and Tachibana about what happened to Shima and Mutsuki. Just a great camera move to get us from one tone to another.

Speaking of tone, the tone doesn't shift here? That it's still a tragedy either way, with Kotaro fruitlessly looking for Natural, which just strikes to anyone inside the house that this is tragedy.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But, y’know, not just a dour episode of psychological mystery! It’s also a story where Hajime loses his memory and switches places with a pushy sexcreep named Ryou, so there’s going to need to be some gags.

I don't know what makes Hajime agree to switch lives with Ryou. And it's obvious that the others would be puzzled with what's going on with Hajime that he suddenly becomes sociable and it's a blast to watch, but the problem would be, what if Hajime returns to them, what would be their reaction and Hajime's, that shouldn't be forgotten in-universe, or to me, it'd be a bit writing blunder to me to just suddenly have amnesia on this moment. Hajime also probably watched how everyone is joyful on his environment as an another part of humanity. But there's also a comedy here that I don't like, the part where Michi lashes out at Ryou like throwing stuffs. It's the domestic abuse type (though it's probably not noticeable with its comedic traits... but domestic abuse is a common form of comedy); where female on male violence is presented as acceptable (while vice-versa it's always bad), if not encouraged, where it's further justified if she's a tsundere (in anime especially, but here too) that it's justified as "she's actually flirting if she's verbally or physically abusive!"

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

INOUE FOREVER.

What will you say to those not abiding by that? ̶A̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶"̶r̶e̶s̶t̶r̶a̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶I̶n̶o̶u̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶e̶v̶e̶r̶"̶ And again, informing more, those that had problems with Inoue I talked with, like you do (where you pointed out in Faiz where his sense of humor is definitely his strength), they also admit that he works better with parts like more comedic stuff like Changerion and Gouraigan (what they mentioned, this episode would qualify too perhaps), or at writing slice of life special (like this episode, so don't take this as me dissing this episode, I and others can appreciate this episode while not being blind) or being restrained (including that person I talked who had problems, they started with saying he did some really good work before talking about stuffs that makes him uncomfortable). Just that they won't be blind on him with his actual worse stuff which outweigh those good like the gross part in another that is being normalized. He's polarizing that he had both those 2 within him. So for saying he doesn't get enough credit of, they do give him that, but acknowledge his infamy. This also applies to akinoame, the reviewer I put at my signature, they give some defense to Inoue and stand by it (like writing Jetman and Agito), but they had limits on that and won't be blinded, for their case the problem being the...

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

He's a big swing type of writer, where it's got to be either insanely goofy or heartbreakingly sad. Anytime he tries to write a Normal Kamen Rider... it's like, why would you ask him to do that? Why ask the Cirque du Soleil to do a card trick? I want spectacle from my Inoue episodes, goddamnit! Weird psychopaths dying heroic deaths, or grim monsters from eternity getting married so a takoyaki crime boss can believe again! YOU CAN'T SHACKLE ART!

Still, he can have his sthick but don't let it resort to something for example (not talking about this episode, but others); characters being OOC to fulfill that, leaving numerous plot hole to abide with his sthick, or the writers fighting with each other in the plot, due to the clashing style.

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Originally Posted by Koh

I personally feel Inoue's style of writing works best in these more outlandish episodes of Rider where he can just go wild.

No, these episodes aren't him at his wildest, because for TV series, Inoue's on a leash, where it's agreed that he works better when restrained. But when not, his wildest is something seen at the Rider novel adaptations, where it's insanely edgelord-y, bordering on gross and disturbing things.