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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s a really solid episode, if only in how much it drills into the reality of Asumu and Hibiki’s day-to-day. Asumu is working hard to get into Jounan, but he keeps dreaming of the forests and adventures of Hibiki. His friends are executing on their plans, preparing for their futures, but Asumu’s future has never seemed more in flux. All of the stresses of studying and exam prep feel like a distraction to him now, something that used to be important before he saw a wider, weirder world. Why do all of that hard work when he could be out adventuring like Hibiki?

Cut to the dull (if tranquil!) reality of being Hibiki: long drives to the middle of nowhere, endless data gathering, monotonous surveillance, and you can’t even drink your tea in peace. It’s nice to have that process juxtaposed against Asumu’s daydreaming, if only to show that every job has dull parts. It’s not like you can save the world by sitting in a basement reading about historical figures, or by eating donuts all day. Fighting monsters doesn’t happen by accident!*

One of the things I really love about this show is how grounded it is. More than any other Rider series this one feels like it takes place in the real world. Monster attacks aside, the setting and characters feel very true to life.

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It’s great, all of the character stuff. Hibiki is such a natural comic presence that literally every scene with him and Kasumi (and Asumu’s mom) kills. The way he dances around when he sees Asumu’s mom at the rest stop, him chewing gum on a road trip, the sheepish apology he gives Kasumi when she scolds him for maybe ruining Asumu’s chances to get into a good school… all great. And, shit, Kasumi! So great! Consistently calls Hibiki out on his bullshit while always being supportive, and seems to be a fun person to hang around with. The two of them have such a solid rhythm to their comedy that you’d almost forget they’re only half of the episode.

Kasumi is played by an actress named Mayu Gamou. Before Hibiki she had done a short stint as a villain on the Super Sentai series Dekaranger. She did some other dramas and movies through the early 2010s, but this was the extent of her tokusatsu work. She's one of my favorite characters on the show - mostly because she's a great foil to Hibiki, but it doesn't hurt that she's objectively one of the most beautiful women on Earth.