[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 14



I try to watch these Kamen Rider episodes all in one go. I mean, they're barely twenty minutes, so it's not a big ask. And, for me, I've got not a great memory, so my ability to reference details from an episode when it comes to forming a picture... I can't really wait on that. I've got to watch it all, and then write it up real quick while it's fresh. I can't take breaks.

I took so many breaks during this episode. The ZECT story in this one was such a god-awful snooze. It's so boring that an appearance by Shiro, the most boring part of Ryuki, is the highlight of the plot.

I'll spend a paragraph talking about it, to feel like I'm being somewhat comprehensive in discussing the episode, and then I'm going to move on to the parts of the episode that were poignant, clever, and entertaining. This is a bone-stupid plot, one that requires the audience to either believe Kagami is a secret traitor (for half the episode), or care that Kagami's been obviously framed (for the other half). It's a plot that needs Tendou to refuse to get involved for three-quarters of the runtime, because he could resolve the mystery in about ten seconds. (And does!) It tells us absolutely nothing about anyone involved in it, and it feels like it's just killing time until its action finale. It is so bereft of anything resembling thematic weight or character insight that I found myself longing, longing, for last episode's Yaguruma/Kageyama tension. Here, it's just twists and reveals in place of brains and heart. It's a dumb story about nothing, and it was work to get through it.

But then there's the Hiyori/Tendou plot, and it's the best. It is everything I'm watching Kabuto for, and it was worth sitting through the idiotic ZECT stuff just to be able to experience it.

Hiyori is furious at Kabuto for killing her parents. (...is what she says, but I think it's more that she thinks he let them die? I'm honestly not sure what exactly she's accusing Kabuto of in this subplot. Like, I'm not trying to defend against her accusations, I'm just not sure if she's saying he let her parents die, or if she's saying he literally murdered them.) He walks off without explaining himself, and so Hiyori goes to confront Tendou, the person she suspects of being Kabuto. Tendou says she's wrong, he's not Kabuto, but he does it in such an unconvincing way that she tells him to never show his face around her again. So, of course, the next thing he does is go to La Salle for lunch. And then their story gets so, so good.

Hiyori is someone who has trouble communicating with people. It's hard for her to express her feelings, to get across what she needs from other people. She doesn't have it in her to yell at Tendou, to angrily demand that he get out. She's furious at him, but she doesn't know how to communicate that. He's betrayed her, and she needs him to know that.

So she ruins his meal. She takes a dish he loves and prepares it badly, slapping him in the face with sour flavors. It's clearly intentional, a preview of what every meal at La Salle is going to be like for him now. And then he's out the door, leaving a 1000 yen bill on the table, and vowing to never return.

Hiyori can communicate through her art, and through her cooking. It's where her honesty comes out, where she can express herself to the world. The care and concern she takes when she prepares a dish is a testament to the affection for others that she's buried deep inside. She can't tell people that she wants them to be happy, but she can make them happy through her cooking. Conversely, she can ruin a dish to tell someone that he's her enemy now, that he's ruined their friendship through disrespect and unforgivable actions.

But Tendou's the same way, really. He's generally awful to the people around him, but he loves Juka. He puts so much care and effort into making her meals. There's an expression of the depth of his devotion there, in the breakfasts and lunches that bring her such joy.

So when Hiyori goes to Tendou's house to return the money he left, an angry rebuke of any thought he might have of gaining the upper hand in their feud, she sees how Tendou cares for Juka. She tries some of the lunch he left, and she feels how much he cares. There's all of her suspicions about Tendou, her anger at Kabuto... and then there's this meal, his care, Juka's joy. It's his heart laid bare on the table, divvied up into bowls. It's more honest than he could ever be in person, more valid than any confession or denial.

After a day of finding every restaurant in Tokyo closed, Tendou returns to La Salle a broken man, desperate for a quality meal. He can't make up with Hiyori; that's not who he is. And she can't explain to him what she's learned about him; that's not who she is. But she can make him another plate of rolled cabbage, but delicious this time, and everything between them can be good again. She's accepted his true qualities, and offered her support. He's put himself at her judgment, and felt validated. And they did it all without saying a word to each other.

That is worth 100 stupid ZECT plots.

A QUESTION

It's getting to be actual winter here in Chicago, and that always gets me a little more inclined to watch Kamen Rider. I don't know why, but the summer... I just want to be out of the house more. In the winter, it feels good to settle in and watch TV shows. What about you? In what season do you most enjoy watching Kamen Rider?