[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 22 - "AN UNSPEAKABLE FUTURE”




So, downsides for this story:

-The fact that Yuuto doesn't really know anything useful, beyond the possibility that Hana's future might possibly maybe exist or might possibly maybe return to existence... man, come on. That is a huge carrot to dangle in front of the audience (the truth about Hana's connection to the ZeroLiner!!!!), only to give a payoff of more questions. Real sour note for this story to end on.

-Similarly, the conflict between Ryotaro and Ryuta is acknowledged, but there's no real solution to it. There's this middle point in the episode, where Ryuta and Ryotaros are at this total impasse, where it seems like the episode is going to have to touch on this again. It's this huge problem, so this story needs to address it. Nope! Isn't really relevant for the rest of the episode, since Ryotaro is able to defeat the story's monster(s) with Rod Form.

-The story with the candy guys is funny, but it doesn't really have any layers to it. They're just two jerks who don't learn any lessons. It's a story that needed some change from them, and it basically doesn't have it?

Upsides:

-It was hilarious and any complaints are irrelevant.

This story... I don't want to say you're wrong to judge it by any metric other than Are You Laughing, but that's sincerely the only way to talk about this story. As long as you're laughing, the story works. It's that binary.

Like... there're points where this episode could've gone darker. Hana's injured by Ryutaros! Yuuto might hold the key to Hana's missing timeline! But the episode might allow for a moment to affirm the stakes, while basically throwing them away when you're not looking. Each new scene resets the story to Extremely Wacky, and anything that'd counteract that gets ignored. Hana's injured, but as soon as she's like I Need To Wear This Tiger Costume To Save My People, the episode stops treating her injury with any seriousness. Ryuta tells Ryotaro that he's still going to try to murder Yuuto, and Ryotaro tells him Literally Over My Dead Body, and then the end of the episode is Ryuta trying to hit Yuuto with Deneb candy and telling Yuuto not to come back. (One of the best gags, incidentally. Deneb shields Yuuto from the thrown candy, and then bows to Ryuta in... apology? Gratitude? It's insane, and I adored it.)

But who cares! Who cares. This is an episode where Deneb produces a basket of apology Deneb candy from under his skirt. This is an episode where Momo's only contribution (he's very grumpy about this story!) is flinging some dude a world-record distance. This is an episode where an imagination monster from the end of time is nearly thwarted by a dude who can't remember that he made a wish, leading to a woefully unenlarged Time Hole. This is an episode where Kin and Uta exist as hourglass ghosts inside an Elephant and Penguin mascot costume, respectively. This is an episode where Rod Form asks a monster if it'd like to be reeled in, and the monster says I'm Not Into That. This is an episode where Deneb's attempt at a catchphrase is that he can't think of a catchphrase.

It's hilarious. It barely works as a story (stakes that go under-addressed, a plot that everyone probably should've walked away from), but it's so unrelentingly funny that to cite any other attribute is like decrying water's inability to be dry. It's funny as shit, and that's more than enough for me tonight.



THE BAGGAGE CAR

-I really love Vega Form's transformation! The way the cape deploys, the whole thing with the drill flashing open into a star-shape, the Reassuring Shoulder Guns... it's so good. It's easily my favorite form change so far.

-Very weird to have a story where one to two plots are entirely about Airi, and then Airi doesn't make an appearance in the second half. Sort of thought the Ryuta plot could've used her, but nope! I did appreciate Ryotaro telling that kid he'd kill them both if he can't contain him, since it's Ryotaro treating Hana's near-death experience with the appropriate severity. It just feels like the show didn't think of a way to even temporarily defang Ryuta, so we're left with I Guess He Won't Try To Kill Yuuto Today, which... maybe our heroes should aim higher than that? It's a thought!