[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The episode that happens before those last three minutes is quite good, by the way! While I'm inherently not fond of losing Hiyori, I do like that this episode is all about how much it sucks losing Hiyori. Considering a lot of the plot right now is being generated by real world production issues, it's honestly handled pretty smoothly. It feels natural enough, and it lets the show do some very fun things with Tendou, having him be a big supervillain in that way only his unique characterization as a lead allows. Doing it all after showing him openly weeping at the very start adds some depth through contrast, as well, keeping things from feeling too shallow.

Since you were kind enough to talk predominantly about Yaguruma, despite not caring much for him, I will talk a little about non-Yaguruma things, despite only caring about Yaguruma now and forever.

(I just... maybe I just have a soft spot for the Returning Rider conceit? Lazer from Ex-Aid was my favorite Rider on that show, and he's gone for pretty much the same amount of time Yaguruma was. I honestly didn't think we'd ever see Yaguruma again, just like I was too much of a Rider Rookie to assume Lazer would return. It's a trope that really works on me, I guess!)

There's some real addition by subtraction in 33, where Hiyori's absence really turns up the heat on Tendou and Kagami in meaningful ways. Hiyori not being there, is like, the only thing worth thinking about, despite the fact that she's not even in every episode of this show. (Inoue!) It's a super tense way to start the final act of the show. I thought the plotting and pacing of this one was pretty commendable. You've got huge turns with Tendou, but they all feel motivated and acknowledged. Nothing's just like Here's The New Status Quo, you know? There's a ton of smart,quick connective tissue to all of the insane new developments.