[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I think the recent Kenzaki/Hajime stuff is different, because Hajime clearly is trying to control himself. Hajime's situation is an illness, while the U.N.D.A.D. stuff is more of this weird A Dad Couldn't Possibly Be Mean assumption that, one, we as the audience know is 100% wrong, and two, nearly every interaction these dudes have had with him has been about manipulation and betrayal. There's a lot of them trying to salvage a situation that is way outside their expertise, and also definitely not their problem to solve by themselves.

So, what you mean is about them knowing which one of those 2 is worth approaching? That, Hajime seems to be able to be changed while Trial B isn't and better just leave him be? Hirose declared Trial B a fake, though what would Tachibana do if he knew about "Yoshito" being actually Trial B in previous ones (he also went livid when Trial B deals with Hirose).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It just seemed like a problem of hers that the show had left in the past, something that she worked hard to overcome. Her fighting now... it's like Kenzaki, where I think it's more about Helping People and, additionally Supporting Her Friends than her own personal guilt or what have you.

Then, I wonder again, what if her in the past, was actually just the same as what you think now, still helping people/supporting her friends, just that it was revealed coincidentally her family is related to Undead's invasion, unlike what you declare of her just acting as extension of her family? If her family is related to the root of problems, what actually should be done to make that part not seem alien to you, but obviously, her dealing with the problem that is caused by her family (fighting Undeads)?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Like, so much of the finale of this episode hinges on Hirose’s feelings about what’s going on and… I mean, there’s stuff in there I can find to enjoy. Her grieving at the end, it’s not her grieving some stupid robot that was programmed to protect her and either was immediately reprogrammed to not do that, or wasn’t reprogrammed but just never got around to it.

It's simple actually, Yoshito originally programs Trial B to protect Hirose, and transfered all his memories into Trial B, but Tennoji then reprograms Trial B to serve Tennoji's own sinister needs, to monitor the fixed Undead battle and remove potential threats. Here Trial B suddenly remembers his original programming and acts on that. Do Hirose get actually to know about that flashback though (Trial B didn't seem to strong enough to narrate)? It seems just like about her emotional ties to her father that Trial B does final good act with his original programming.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Except, I don’t know how much of that is in the text? These last two episodes, they are asking you to infer a lot from Hirose’s performance.

There's definitely a scene of Hirose together with the others, like with her deleting the last memory of her family, but here yeah, it was mostly dead silence.... Though sometimes, silence conveyed the scene more strongly, probably they thought that....

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I wouldn’t mind it so much (I mean, I definitely would still mind it, but not as much) if the other plots tied in thematically, but it’s really only the Hajime/Amane one that does, if I squint.

Can't say anything about it quite disrupting a more 'important' plot in this episode, but well, iirc, many Rider series contain another less important plot telling in the episodes. Hajime pulls a "family isn't always blood" thing, of him being integrated to there. Hajime's Joker problems probably gave him even more good reasons to bail out (Blade went King in this episode!), but Amane just doesn't want Hajime to go for any reasons, not merely mysterious reasons, she's completely clingy to him.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The rest of the episode is Mutsuki and Tiger Queen, and it’s okay. I really enjoy Mutsuki’s performance, his surly depression.

And... Tiger Undead in reality spends half of her screentime on the show with the corrupted Mutsuki, with him even offering her food, or saving him here. And ironically, for his corruption, having Tiger Undead by his side is one of the things that keeps Mutsuki from fall totally to Spider Undead's grasp. And don't be tempted... like shipping them, Mutsuki already has Nozomi, and she's also the other factor within that.