[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 29 - "LUCKY HORROR SHOW"




Fittingly for an episode set at a haunted house, I was absolutely terrified at the thought of a story built around people getting very excited to win a date with Airi. The potential pitfalls for a storyline like that would make the Grand Canyon look like a pothole. But no! That's not really what this episode's about at all! It's an episode about trying to be better for the people you care about, which is a very nice sentiment. It's also an episode about how shared selfishness can sometimes be a better motivating force than cooperation or sacrifice, and that is a hilarious sentiment.

The conclusion of this weird almost-one-off (it looks like Deneb's sadness is going to spillover into an episode I could not be more excited to watch), where the DenLiner Imagin have to figure out what one thing they could all believe in enough to use Climax Form and that thing is Not Working Together... genius. I love it. It's a total zig where other shows would zag, and it's hilariously this show. These heroic imagination monsters from the end of time can't cooperate for a shared desire, but they sure as shit can be so unreasonably and collectively selfish that they'll power through any obstacle in tandem. It's a fantastic note to end on, We Are All Pretty Greedy Deep Down And That's Sometimes Better Than Apathy, and it's a great juxtaposition to award that behavior while penalizing Zeronos for trying to protect Deneb.

It's a purely selfless act from Yuuto, him using his penultimate Zeronos Card to save the presumably imperiled Deneb. It's for nothing, of course. Deneb is trying to overcome his inexplicable terror (it's funny, but it's a weird thing in the episode, since Deneb is an imagination monster from the end of time who fights imagination monsters from the end of time pretty regularly? But he's petrified of spookums for this episode?) and win Yuuto a date with Airi, so there's really no danger. But Yuuto rushes there regardless, and Deneb is shattered by how much he's let Yuuto down. It's the one real emotional stake of this episode, and MAN they definitely hit the stake into the ground at the end. Having Deneb's cute little subplot result in Yuuto losing a Card and Deneb running away from home? Sad! Too sad! Didn't want a sad ending to this goofy-ass trifle!

It's a hilarious episode besides that, though. Just wall-to-wall goofs. The story takes off like a rocket, and Ryotaro's actor does award-level work by cycling through every Imagin in short order. There's a real transformation he goes through when he plays possessed, and it's never more clear than when an Imagin is only there for a line before moving on. Getting to see so many fun moments, as the Imagin try to cobble together a working team in order to defeat a local haunted house, and they can't even manage that (Kin botches it! Ryutaros never even gets his shot!), it's a really stellar episode for Ryotaro's actor.

Everyone else who shows up for this one (bit of a light cast, which is to the story's benefit, focus-wise) gets a killer moment or two, though. Naomi's at her most Chaotic Good here, generally encouraging the Imagin while delighting at their continued bickering and misfortune. Hana gets one of the episode's biggest laughs by being terrible at surviving a haunted house because she can't stop fighting back. Yuuto eating an incredibly large rice ball. Deneb's slow realization, amid his own screams, that the monster staring at him is his own reflection. Just a comedic masterclass, top to bottom, front to back.

Fun way to come at the now-standard Wait Can We Use This Super Form Again plot. The continued exploration of the DenLiner Imagins inexplicably effective non-teamwork teamwork is endlessly delightful, and I could not be more pleased to have their victory come at the expense of any of them learning anything positive or helpful. Brilliant.




THE BAGGAGE CAR

-This episode's Imagin and contract holder were fine. Zero percent surprised that the murderer didn't really murder anyone, because that's not what kind of show this is. The Imagin had a good visual, but didn't really get a chance to chatter enough to feel like more than a speed bump. Not a lot of room to develop the IOTW here, and while I am totally okay with that, it's still worth noting.

-The touch of Deneb's note imploring Yuuto to chew thoroughly while Yuuto takes disturbingly big bites of this head-sized rice wedge... so good. So goddamn funny.