[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 36 - "DREAMS GET A PERFECT 100”




Jesus Christ, this show and its production changes.

Just when I'm getting into a rhythm with this show (I really enjoyed the last episode!), they change stuff up again. The Hana to Kohana move was... I mean, I wasn't a fan of Hana leaving, but I really warmed to Kohana's presence. There're a ton more changes this time (so much so that I'll break them down in The Baggage Car), and it's just... man, it is a lot. It's almost like an entirely different show.

The good news is, it's still very much an episode of Kamen Rider Den-O. Some new names and faces, sure, but we're still getting a story where Yuuto has to grapple with the impermanence of his existence, and how to navigate his own self-worth amidst others' perceptions of him.

And, yeah, boy is this another Yuuto episode! Dude is definitely the focal point of this run of episodes. Ryotaro and the rest of the cast are a little more off to the side in this one, so we're really drilling into Yuuto's need for connection, as seen with Sakura's story.

It's a fun way of looking at Yuuto's dilemma. Sakura is someone who knew him in another life, helped him dream of a better future, and the loss of that connection leaves him feeling untethered. She doesn't remember him, and so not only can she not help him find some town (I'm guessing this is the town the ZeroLiner and Hana are from? With the new train line from the last couple episodes?), but she's not even the woman who inspired him anymore. She created a framework for him to understand his worth as a person, and now she's some aimless student. It's dispiriting to Yuuto. But he doesn't let it stop him from being a hero, since he doesn't need to keep getting Sakura's approval. He's absorbed her lesson about following your dreams, and now he can inspire her to follow hers. He can have value beyond someone's approval of him, which is a pretty helpful lesson for a guy that everyone's forgetting!

The whole monster plot's about grades and worth (really fun Imagin in this one, with all of the goofy You Get A Zero gags), so it's nice to have an emotional story that's about how arbitrary grades can be, and that what matters is the ability to believe in yourself. (Momo gets a great gag about shrugging off the Pen Imagin's Zero Point Attack because he's gotten so many zeros as grades that he doesn't mind them. It's funny, and another reminder that you can't let others define your worth.) It's a bit of a turn from the normal Den-O stories about controlling your emotions or grieving or whatnot, but it still manages to center itself on Yuuto's ability to survive his own questionable existence and find some happiness.

Like, that's the thing that made the MASSIVE production changes work out for me: They still told a Yuuto story about the value of memories, and they did it in a way that honored Yuuto's arc. They may've changed a ton of things in the show, but they managed to keep it feeling like a Kamen Rider series. As long as they do that, I'll keep enjoying it.

I mean, at least it's not a Sentai, you know?



THE BAGGAGE CAR

-So! Many! Changes!

-The idea of giving all of the DenLiner Imagin new humans to possess in lieu of having the suits around is a pretty weird change (loved those suits!), but it allows the cast to interact a lot more outside of the DenLiner. It helps visually that, like, Kintaros may be possessing some lady, but he's still in yellow, Ryotaro's new actor is in red for Momo's possession, Yuuto's new actor is in green, etc etc. Really easy to watch this episode and figure out who was who.

-And, hey, new actors for Ryotaro and Yuuto! The Yuuto one was great, where he's playing Yuuto with a bit more warmth, a bit more compassion. It's not a change I'd've wanted to see a few episodes ago, but it's necessary if the show's going to move Yuuto into a more central role (as it looks like they are here). Ryotaro, though... I mean, we only ever see him when he's possessed by Momo, but he's maybe not as good? He's playing it more bubbly than I'd expect from Momo, which, I don't know. I thought it worked fine in the context of this episode, but it might be limiting down the line.

-I love that when they reconceived Urataros, they changed nothing? He's still some bespectacled flirt who gets distracted by attractive women? I guess if it ain't broke, you know?

-Super great touch to have Ryuta end up possessing basically Young Airi? That is brilliant, because of course that's how Ryuta would want to see himself. That's his idealized human, right? God, so smart of this show to pick that type of actor to play New Ryuta.

-Kohana as some weird miner dude... is that supposed to be a play on Kohana being a minor? It's a stretch, but I can't even a little figure out how the show leapt from one version to the next. Also, super typical of the show to marginalize Hana/Kohana as soon as they make a change to her character. Some things never change!

-Speaking of, nice to see that Naomi and Owner are exactly the same. If they weren't a robot lady with lipstick and a guy with an angry hand puppet, I wouldn't feel like I was watching Den-O anymore.