[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 26 - "PASSING DAYS"
KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI VOLUME 27 - "PASSING DOWN THE BOND"



"You'd say 'Baby you don't know but my heart is as strong as a drummer
My heart is as strong as a drummer'"

-Allo Darlin', "My Heart Is a Drummer"

Real interesting two-parter!

There's a lot of confusion in the first part. It's disorienting. A lot of weird cuts, garish colors, extreme close-ups. Creepy images, terrified victims, horror vibes. There're hard edits between a shocking monster scene and a light character scene, like the monster plots are encroaching on safe spaces, pushing further into the narrative. There's still a safety to our cast, but it feels fleeting.

It's nice to see the monster stuff take a big step up. The mythology is still pretty light, all things considered. Black and White Clockamous, Doujis and Himes... it's not a lot, you know? It's a very slim framework to the Oni's mission. Here, there's both a little bit more specificity to what's going on with all of the seasonal monster stuff (very much appreciated), and also an increased level to the threat.

In general, the show keeps the monsters as something the Oni have to go hunting for, so a story where the monsters are both all around them and completely untouchable, it's a big change. On top of that, we've got the new Fancy-Dress Douji and Hime, having some weird connection to the White Clockamou and affecting Zanki through completely different scenes. Which, it's that disorienting feeling, where boundaries between scenes bend to the will of the enemy, and the Oni seem powerless to strike back.

Just, overall, really liked how the monster threat escalated here. It's still mysterious, but that didn't bother me at all. I kind-of love it? I love how primal the imagery is now, how frustrated Ibuki gets, how Zanki's forced into a fight he knows he'll probably lose, it's great. It is great. If any non-Kuuga show can get away with a new phase of the plot being Now The Colors Are REALLY Weird, it's Hibiki.

But that's just the garnish for the real story, which is a further escalation of Proud Dads And Uncertain Sons.

Like, definitely was not expecting to be spending so much time with Tsutomu. Thought we'd see him at some point, maybe asking Hitomi out, but not getting what amounts to a spotlight episode. But that's what we got, with Tsutomu stopping by a ridiculously crowded Team Hibiki Bar and Grill (try the Ibuki Lime Pie) to pine for the life he had to abandon.

I'm not sure if we'll get more with Tsutomu, present-day or from his backstory, but I'm pretty happy with what we got here. I like that his reason for washing out as an Oni was that his parents said no. It's such a weird angle to come at a story that's point is getting Asumu to figure out what he wants. I mean, they could've had Tsutomu not be good enough, or not appreciate it, or have a feud with someone, but no. This kid wanted it, and had to quit, and it clearly haunts him. He's trying to move on, but there's the way he asks if Hibiki has an apprentice that makes it clear that he wishes he could go back, make a different choice.

(The show doesn't say it here, but I'm assuming Tsutomu was apprenticing under Ibuki. Zanki already had Todoyama, Hibiki was solo, and Akira sort-of pales a bit when she sees Tsutomu. Feel like he was Ibuki's apprentice.)

It's layered in well to Asumu's story. Once again, there's no big decision to Asumu and Hibiki's relationship. Tsutomu is just another path that Asumu could end up on. Not a cautionary tale or anything, Tsutomu isn't destroyed by this, but something for Asumu to consider as he keeps defining himself. Similarly, Zanki's questioning of Hibiki gets the mentor side some screentime, with the two dads warmly joking about how awesome it is to be a dad. (Zanki's so proud of Todoroki! And he always has been! And he's so bad at hiding it!) Hibiki wants to be something more than just an Oni mentor to Asumu, in the same way that Asumu doesn't feel the need to be an Oni apprentice just to learn from Hibiki.

If Tsutomu's story is about anything, it's maybe about how forcing that relationship into a more strict definition can kill it. Letting it develop naturally, making sure both participants feel like they're getting what they want out of it, that's when it's healthy. Hibiki cutting out Asumu because he's not an official apprentice, or Asumu enlisting as Oni to keep Hibiki as a mentor... then what? Once it's codified, then what happens if Asumu doesn't work out?

I mean, I don't 100% think that's what the episode's getting at (it's way too genial for that sort of pessimism), but I like that with Tsutomu, we get to see a possible bad (or less good) ending to Asumu's story, just to have some stakes. It's more than I was expecting from a kid who hit on Hitomi at the pool!