[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 32

Die might be struggling with his feelings in light of recent plot revelations, which means that, A) Hiyori is still the most relatable character, and B) I'm going to swoop right the heck in here to say I hugely disagree that anything the show did here undercuts or devalues anything it's done so far.

The idea that this episode doesn't make room for Hiyori, especially, I have to question. Like, that big scene where Tendou and Kagami discuss their feelings about Hiyori is directly followed by a scene of almost equal length where Hiyori and Rena discuss Tendou, which already isn't sounding asymmetrical to me.

I've made it clear before how much I feel the show places priority on treating Hiyori's emotions as a proper, independent entity that doesn't only exist for the sake of other characters to react to, and how much I adore that it does that. That was very much the vibe I was getting from a lot of this one, to the point it only reinforced my already rock solid faith in the show's handling of her character. This isn't an episode entirely about how Hiyori feels, but it's not entirely about Tendou's thoughts either; it's a half and half balance of both, and that's what made this one work for me.

Small touches like the role reversal of Hiyori getting to be the one dramatically watching from a distance as Tendou make a visit to that same grave from back in 23 are great, and it's all those little things that start adding up. Maybe Hiyori's Very Big Feelings don't come across as readily because she still keeps them small on the surface, and largely nonverbal, but they're there all the same. I think my favorite moment in the whole episode is just when Hiyori is waiting in that chapel or whatever for Tendou to come back, and is about to greet him with a huge smile that immediately slips away when she sees it's Rena coming in the door. Moments like that are all over the place here, and it's everything I love about Hiyori. She's great here because she's always great and will always be great.

When it comes to Tendou, I... I mean, first of all, there are still things I can't say, but, crucially, while I understand how it could be a hurdle for Die, I don't feel the revelation of the secret connection between the two of them does anything to diminish the way their relationship has built up through the show. I'm not sure I can adequately describe why I think so, but... cooking is a huge deal in this show, right? So, think about frequently and how glowingly Tendou praises Hiyori's food, and then tell me if Tendou is the kind of person who would hand out that level of praise to someone solely because they're related to him. Him protecting Hiyori because she's his sister, and protecting Hiyori because she's Hiyori are not mutually exclusive concepts, in my mind.

Now, Die's made his personal distaste for these kinds of storytelling concepts very clear, and I don't want to dismiss that like he's not allowed to feel that way. I'm honestly worried I've already gotten a bit too fiery here, to tell the truth. Like a lot of disagreements I have with Die, I even, broadly speaking, can relate to where he's coming from. I'm very rarely a fan of stories that undercut the free will of characters with grand predetermined destinies myself – it's one of the reasons this franchise, that started with a monster rebelling against his creators' will to become a hero, holds such infinite appeal to me. For Kabuto, though... how do I put it? My shallow impression of Kabuto has always been that it's a bombastic melodrama, so these soap opera twists make sense to me; while Die, as ever, immediately starting locking on to all the subtle, smart bits of writing the show was doing, and doesn't want anything to get in the way of that stuff – the true core of the show's quality.

It's like, we feel pretty differently about this episode, but I think our end-goals are pretty much the same? So yeah, I sympathize with the apprehension, but I still felt I was getting what I wanted from Kabuto with this episode. Hopefully my usual argument to the contrary can be at least somewhat reassuring.