[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Honestly, I have very few issues with the finale. My worst is that we don’t get any real final battle, given that this is just the epilogue. The lack of closure on the man and the woman (suddenly, they were another Douji and Hime under the control of the “real” man and woman) I can live with, since Dairanger did the same thing (with their main villain turning out to be a clay puppet created by the real one).

Pacing-wise, it's frustrating to have the emotional climax of the series need to stop for a brand-new battle against the Makamou... when the show cuts away in the beginning from a battle against the Makamou. Worse, the only narrative reason to cut away from the opening battle is if there's some mystery to its conclusion, but here we're told immediately that it all worked out and everyone's fine. I don't love that opening!

The stuff with the Fanciest-Dress Douji and Hime isn't a dealbreaker, but it's a concept that adds nothing to what we've seen other than a twist for twist's sake. At best it's forgettable, and boy is that not what you should be aiming for in a finale.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think it's more like the introductory arc was about Todoroki trying to find his way as a new Oni after being forced to take over from Zanki unexpectedly and the concluding arc was about Todoroki solidifying himself in the role he gradually grew in to as an accumulation of his experience throughout the show and receiving Zanki's final blessing with his participation in the symbolic purifying of the battlefield to cleanse himself as well. I believe these two characters, despite the similarity of the aforementioned arcs, are ultimately in different places between the start and end of their development.

I guess I just saw Todoroki being in a good place as an Oni, and with his relationship with Zanki... and then suddenly he's begging Zanki to fight with him and punch him and it all feels forced to me. The characters were doing well, until Todoroki started freaking out and feeling jealous. There's some specifics to what Zanki is doing (his sacrifice, his commitment to Todoroki) that were different enough to have some moving scenes, but the Todoroki part of the story just felt repetitious to me.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Why do you think Kiriya's henshin is stupid though? After training for a year, I think he earned that big moment and he even shows growth by acknowledging Shounen's merit. Don't ask me how his clothes survive the henshin though, I can't answer that.

It's more that the episode treats it like A NEW SUIT and I'm like It's Kiriya Though, and the episode says A NEW ONI FOR A NEW GENERATION and I'm like It's Kiriya Though. Kiriya always works well for me as a supporting cast character, someone like Hinaka or Hitomi. When I'm supposed to celebrate his accomplishments as worth something in their own right, I just don't feel like it's worth the show's time? It felt very much like, since Asumu is definitely not going to Henshin in the finale, one of the kids needed to, so here's Kiriya as an Oni. It's not a terrible concept, but I don't think it needed so much time or emphasis in the finale.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Not sure if this was deliberate or just meta commentary on how you disliked this episode but kudos for using Hime in your finale screencaps. It's a fitting tribute to Ashina Sei, her recently deceased actress.

Screencaps are 99% deliberate. I usually pull a bunch during an episode, think about what feelings the episode generated, and then pick a couple that can suit that mood.

I'd love to say it was a tribute to the actor, that last one, but it was coincidence. I really enjoyed her performance, though. Of the plots that could've meant more to the final couple episodes, I wish we'd gotten a better conclusion to the evolving Hime.