[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 28




I don't know if I'm going to have a lot to say about this one!

I really enjoyed it, don't get me wrong. It's an enormously pleasant conclusion to the Gon/Daisuke story. I am as powerless against Gon's adorable belief in Daisuke as Tendou is, so her single-minded dedication to clearing his name and keeping him safe... yeah, god, totally onboard with that.

And the direction... maybe not as tight as the last one (there's a smidge too much shakiness in the fight camerawork), but still finding some fun shots here and there. Watching Gatack do an elbow drop on a Worm is worth my attention, if nothing else.

I love all of these characters, so getting to see them all team-up and bounce off of each other (this episode ropes in Tsurugi to a non-Tsurugi plot, and it casts him in exactly the light you'd think it would), that's pretty outstanding. It feels more like a movie than the movie did.

But... yeah, I don't actually have a ton to say about it, really?

Some of it is that I went overboard with talking about the first part of this story, and the second episode is basically the story saying Yes Yes, That That. There're no huge deviations or massive twists. Tendou is still caring for Jiiya, and helping Daisuke because it would make Gon happy. Daisuke is still phenomenally bad at taking care of himself. (There is a part when he's in the equipment room by the crane, and he hears the cops coming for him, so goes to hide in the corner, then realizes there's a door. Was he going to just stand in a dark corner and hope the cops didn't see him?) Tsurugi is still being greedy and presumptuous. Hiyori doesn't even show up in this episode, and Misaki exists to tell Tsurugi he's being sort of a dick about Daisuke's (presumed) death, so I hope you don't want to see more than one lady on this show. (Even the Worm Widow only gets one scene!)

Like, the stuff with Tsurugi is legitimately different from last episode, so let's touch on that. It's a bit convoluted, and I appreciate the script untangling it for me. It's all about how Tsurugi is suddenly hot for/fascinated by Misaki, since she reminds him of the Worm he was hot for/fascinated by/murdered a couple episodes ago, who reminded him of his sister. (I don't... I really don't want to delve too much into exactly what sort of relationship Tsurugi wants to have with these women. Jiiya says Tsurugi's looking to replace his sister, and I'm happy to leave it at that.) So now, transitive property, Tsurugi is being way too forward with Misaki. It's extra troubling for Misaki, since Daisuke was just murdered by a Worm, and Tsurugi's like Let Me Buy You Lunch. (Ironically, Daisuke would probably consider that a fitting tribute!)

She's pissed at him because he doesn't seem to have any reaction to another Rider getting murdered, and... I like what it does for Tsurugi, how it exposes the ways he feels like he's letting down his sister's memory by being a callous, self-involved blowhard, but I'm honestly not sure what Misaki's problem is? Tsurugi never even met this guy before (that he's aware of), and Misaki's maybe shared three words with Tsurugi before this. Tsurugi only got hauled into this because they begged him. I'm not sure how broken up he's supposed to be? Or why it matters to Misaki? It's clearly there to give us a little more insight into Tsurugi's trauma, humanizing him some, as well as giving Kagami an opportunity to empathize with Tsurugi, humanizing him further. It's just, Misaki being so judgmental... I don't know, it felt a little forced to me.

Luckily, there's all of the Gon and Daisuke stuff, which is delightful. It, once again, isn't really shocking anyone with new takes on our favorites. (Gon even pulls out a Daisuke Is Daisuke, so you can tell that Inoue didn't feel like cluttering this reunion up with any bold new ideas.) It's great, though. Just real charming to see Gon care for Daisuke, and for Daisuke to care for Gon.

It... I really, really enjoyed this episode. But, man, it's impossible to talk about it because of how comfortable the whole thing is. It's fan-service. It's all callbacks, all Greatest Hits. (They even do the tear-jerking Partners thing, but this time as a heartwarming victory!) It is designed to leverage your investment in previous relationships to make you happy. That's not a bad thing! I was so happy watching these last two episodes! But past a certain point, it's like... I don't have anything to say about them? It's a fun story about putting Daisuke and Gon back together (while also threading Tsurugi more into the story going forward), and it's very sweet to watch that.

I honestly don't know what else to say about this one?

A QUESTION

Sorry to come up so short on this one! Definitely felt a bit wrung out after 27, and this one was such a straight-forward continuation that I just couldn't find a grip on it to talk about things. There's a great big WTF moment at the end, though, with Hyper Kabuto showing up to defeat a bunch of Worms and menace our heroes... including Tendou?! It's nothing I feel like talking about yet (there's almost no context), but I'm curious about how other fans took that epilogue. How did you feel the first time you saw the end of this episode? (And please, no spoilers for what that scene might set up!)