[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Yeah, I like Akira’s arc in the second half. I just wish her one big moment as an Oni got something better than “Danki with all the trimming removed” as a costume.

In terms of what to call her Oni transformation, it’s a bit uncertain. Bandai themselves call the transformation “Amaki” (Heavenly Demon), but the S.I.C states that it doesn’t have Shumei (succession to a professional name), implying that it would’ve been called “Ibuki” (implying a legacy character situation). The show’s production notes just call it “Akira Henshintai”, like they did before Todoroki got his name. So, you have free reign to call it what you want.

I mean, Embarrassing? It was embarrassing. I can defend a lot in those two episodes, but Akira's almost-hilariously disappointing performance as a One-Second Oni... oof. Impossible. Impossible to defend.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think I respected it more than I liked it as well. It was executed just fine, but it's not something I wanted to be executed at all and the show's first half definitely seemed to be setting her up to become an Oni. Feels like Kiriya was introduced to usurp the development that was originally hers. I guess this is another reason why he's such an unpopular character, not that I resent him for it though.

Yeah, I don't know? It's certainly possible, but this story does such a great job of showing how those three kids fit together narratively (poor Hitomi) that I think Akira stepping down was something that was considered independently. It just works too well for Asumu's story, to build in the belief that signing up for being an Oni isn't some under-penalty-of-death commitment, that Asumu's allowed to change his mind if this isn't right for him.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

At least now Ibuki can stop tormenting himself. I think this has been harder for him than for Akira. Ibuki's still young so he can eventually take a new apprentice under his wing when he feels ready. It's not that Akira was a failure like Kiriya believes, she would have been a great Oni if she hadn't lost her motivation.

It's definitely a bittersweet ending. Ibuki loses his student and Hibiki gains two. The sad part is that Akira was in a better position than Shounen and Kiriya to become the next generation of Oni. Now she's in the same place as Shounen was at the start, aimless and unsure what she wants to do with her life. There's also the fact that she can't forget about her parents' death and who knows where her relationship with Ibuki goes from here now that they're no longer fighting together.

This is a real rough one for Ibuki. There's really nothing he can do here, and that slow acceptance can be difficult to watch.

I do, in retrospect, appreciate how Akira and Ibuki are trying to make lemonade out of lemons by telling Hibiki that it's important to be a parent, even if your kids don't follow the path you expect. Like, objectively, Akira is a good person, and a lot of that is down to Ibuki's parenting. He's hurt that she didn't become an Oni like he expected, but he's pleased to see her happy and comfortable in her choices. A lot of his arc in this is to see things like Hibiki, where Raising A Child isn't just about teaching them to fight monsters.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Regarding the two girls on Faiz, are you referring to Mari and Rina VS Kitazaki? I can't defend Rina's incompetence but Mari at least had a good reason for not being able to fight.

No, I know, but I like to joke about it. Two women try to fight as superheroes and are immediately chumped out? Tacky. Tacky!

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

But yeah, Shounen's mother is very encouraging and a good influence in his life, not being too possessive and scared for his safety like some parents. I don't think Shounen really wants to be an Oni though, more like he's worried Kiriya apprenticing himself to Hibiki will replace him as Hibiki's favorite high school student. He doesn't want to lose Hibiki's attention and guidance so he feels like he as to compete with Kiriya, the same way Kiriya competes with everybody, to hold on to what he has. That's not the case at all though, since Hibiki sees being a mentor and being a friend as two different things. There's no need to feel like his relationship is threatened by Kiriya. It happened before with Mochida, who he didn't even know he thought about as anything more than a friend, so it seems to be recurring problem that Shounen has with feeling undermined by others.

I guess I see it more as Asumu realizing that he doesn't know if he wants to be an Oni, so trying to be an Oni is a good way to find out? Sometimes that's how you discover a passion. It's not some weird innate drive or I Was Saved By A Doctor And Now I Want To Be A Doctor formative experience. (You know I still love you, Ex-Aid.) Sometimes something seems interesting, so you give it a shot. Maybe you love it, maybe you don't, but you often need to try it first.

I really like the simplicity of that as a motivation, how it's not asking a teenager to have an undying dedication to something he's never done.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think putting Kiriya through training is something that needed to be done. He wasn't going away until someone at least gave him a shot to prove himself. Hibiki rejected him many times until now, without giving a reason he could understand. This way, he can understand first-hand what the job means. Either he fails and can at least move on with his life or he changes for the better and succeeds in becoming an Oni.

Similar to Asumu's story, yeah, I can see why Hibiki would want to see what Kiriya's got. It's not like they can't cut him in a week if he's a big baby!

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Originally Posted by Kurona

I completely forgot Orochi was even in the series, wow. That's quite something.

As for this episode... yeah, what Switchblade said. Don't know if this was the original plan for Akira but either way, way it's pulled off, just; ugh. No. Dislike it. Especially dislike that the catalyst is the only female oni ever seen who ~became evil and is just like Akira~.

There's apparently a snow-based female oni in the show's notes elsewhere, so, that's cool I guess?

The Shuki thing... I think it works as a cautionary tale for Akira? (Lord knows it doesn't work as anything else.) This woman telling her to Be Angry Forever is a piece of the puzzle that makes her realize that she doesn't want that life, doesn't see the value in it anymore. She loves her friends, she believes in what the Oni are doing, but she worries that Shuki is how she'll end up if she keeps trying to be angry enough to be effective.