[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 31

An episode full of questions, all asked to varying degrees of anticipation.

The one I was the most interested in was Are There Good Worms, and the episode really finds itself when it’s digging into that idea. Now that Kagami has it confirmed by Jiiya that Tsurugi is a Worm who thinks he’s an idiot man (and that confirmation is almost withheld by Jiiya escaping on a conveniently-placed bicycle, before realizing the kickstand is down and he is not moving), there’s more skepticism than normal to Tsurugi’s heroism. He’s seen first-hand that Worms can be redeemed, so maybe Tsurugi just needs to be supported? Befriended?

It leads to the best parts of this episode for me, where Kagami’s Very Big Feelings see him trying to break the reality of the situation to Tsurugi, and being thwarted by Tsurugi’s unshakable belief that Kagami just wants to be his friend. It’s a great escalation through the episode, with Tsurugi’s heartfelt exposition drawing the two men closer together, and Kagami’s growing frustration at being The Smart One in an exchange keeping him from seeing Tsurugi for the monster he appears to be. Like, this is an episode where Kagami is the one dealing with an oblivious Rider, and it’s such a fun idea. Taking that idea and then saying, wait, Are There Good Worms around it, spinning Kagami’s confusion out to a larger reexamination of the show’s central threat… I think that’s a debate that has merit?

It helps that it's an ideological struggle between Kagami’s Very Big Feelings and Tendou’s self-righteous certainty; optimism versus pragmatism. To Tendou, the Worms are a pestilence, a swarming race of monsters. He’ll take them out, because he knows that, given the chance, they’d take him out. To Kagami, he’s experienced the battle within Worms, seen them act with humility, nobility, kindness. If a Worm can take a human’s memories, couldn’t they also take their empathy? Their soul? Isn’t there room to question whether or not they all deserve to die?

The question of whether or not a group of monsters inherently evil has been brought up a lot in the franchise ever since Faiz. In the Worms' case though, it's more specific to the Roidmudes, where who they copy determines how they behave and their chance of being redeemed. Tsurugi has a very strong personality and sense of identity that keeps him oblivious to the fact that he's the same Worm he wants to destroy so he can avenge his sister. Caring about sisters is something that he and Tendo have in common, except Tsurugi only has revenge he can fight for now, as well as restoring the Discabil family fortune outside of fighting.

How he would react to finding out the terrible truth is something that makes Kagami hesitate to tell him, which puts him in a similar situation to Tendo who holds the truth about Hiyori. It's a difficult problem. If the truth is so terrible, does that justify keeping it a secret from someone or lying to them, or does that just allow them to live in false happiness? Does it make the humans any different from the Worms? Maybe Tsurugi, who is if nothing else honest, is more human that most actual humans which is why Kagami feels a connection with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

I cannot say enough good things about Tsurugi and Kagami’s friendship. It makes Kagami into the Tendou of the friendship, and it’s endlessly charming. Tsurugi is way more than a handful, but it’s hard to look down on his enthusiasm. If you had to befriend one member of the Kabuto cast, who would it be and why?

I have a friend IRL who's similar to Tsurugi so at least I could probably get along with him. Gon/Yuriko is the most amicable though, so befriending her would definitely be the best option.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 32

Even the plot at the end… it leans real heavy on things happening for barely defined (or completely undefined) reasons. Hiyori gets a psychic call to go to Area X (thankfully the call didn’t take her to the more distant Area Orpheus, or she’d still be walking), where she unlocks the Man In The Mask, who is Another Tendou. Not a huge shock, since the combination of a mask and the Law Of Conservation Of Actors meant that whoever was under there was someone already on the show in another role, and Tendou was the most likely suspect. There’s basically no other details given here; who he is in relation to Tendou and Hiyori, why he’s in a basement, what he wants, etc. It’s another question.

I found this one… not good. It took a story, a pairing, that I was really invested in, and scribbled SECRET DESTINY over all of the nuance, all of the characterization. It took a smaller story about two people and made it epic, washing out the decision-making in the process. They were people, now they’re plot.

Destiny has been a major part of Tendo's motivation since the start though. He's the chosen one, walking the path of heaven to rule over all. Hiyori being his sister and a Worm makes her a part of that, just as all people encounter friends and rivals who can change the direction of their life. But his story isn't the only one that's important.

I think all the nuance of their friendship is still there and the new revelations about Hiyori are just as important to Hiyori's own story as Tendo's. You wanted to see more progress for Hiyori's arc following their adventure in Area X and that's what's happening here. With this new information, she has gone back to that place in search of answers that should hopefully be more clear to her now. The other Souji is important to her destiny.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

This is the one episode from this part of the series I have no comment on.

I will say that Another Tendou is a character you have free reign to call what you want, since the show and it’s media never call him anything. The credits call him “The Other Souji”, while many fans refer to him as “Souji Kusakabe” (after the surname he abandoned)

Yeah, there are two Soujis but only one Tendo Souji, the one who walks the path of heaven. The other Souji was never raised by his grandmother, a Tendo, so he keeps his parents' family name, Kusakabe.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I can forgive Die for not noticing it, but I can't believe no one has mentioned the biggest thing to happen in this episode: we got the first appearance of Tsurugi's pronunciation of Kagami's name. It'll get more exaggerated as we go on, but it started here.

Waga Tomo KaGAHmi is what I hear in my head everytime I type or read the name Kagami. I just couldn't recall when Tsurugi started saying it but he's a great source of comedy for sure!