[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 13 - "UNFINISHED: DADDY FIGHT”



Let me just get this out of the way: there really wasn't much of a Daddy Fight in this episode, which is an almost unforgivable letdown. There's some wiggle room in how you want to define Daddy Fight, I guess, so it's not that there were zero Daddies and zero Fights. Otoya fought Jirou in this one (Zanki no more; dude earned a real name), so a Daddy was in a Fight. Technically, they were fighting over Jirou's intention to put some Clawolves into Yuri, so that could maybe be termed a Daddy Fight. I don't know, it's like… it's like, I shouldn't have to squint to see a Daddy Fight in an episode subtitled Daddy Fight. I don't feel like the show delivered on the promise of Daddy Fight. That's a heartbreak it'll be difficult to overcome.

Luckily, this was an absolutely stunning visual outing for Kamen Rider Kiva, so I'm feeling magnanimous. (I got one or two positive qualities! Like Otoya!) This one's so pretty to look at that I can't feel too wounded about a dearth of Daddies and a fraction of a Fight. Like, look at what the director is doing in this episode:



The design of this bedroom/apartment is perfect. It's the focus of Kengo's dream: music, everywhere, but with that great big window to dream of success. The way the right side of the shot is this massive guitar, and the left side of the shot is this giant stack of CD cases (2008!), it just visually communicates everything we need to know about how all-encompassing Kengo's dedication is to be a rock star.



I am a sucker for a director using an open window to signify a character's longing, and this one is another great example of that motif. It's Kengo practically bursting through the screen (Wataru, the star, is mostly obscured) to grab at his dream.





I just love the simplicity of this gag, how it's all built on Wataru's minor changes in expression. Wataru is one of the least-demonstrative Riders, even with his best friend. (And, man, how great is it to see Wataru getting to just enjoy hanging out with a friend?!) So when Wataru's trying to understand Kengo's declaration that the two of them are going to be rock stars, the director really drills in on how to visualize Wataru putting the pieces together. It's Wataru's gigantic, blank expression; his unfocused eyes; and this slowly moving finger. And then this tiny drop of his eyebrows, the start of Wataru's OH SHIT realization that his best friend has a dream for them both that Wataru doesn't really share.



Another perfect, perfect new set. The other members of the Monster Squad have taken up massage and shoe shining, no explanation required, and the set is exactly what you'd assume monsters would create. The lighting is foreboding and garish. The various posters shout I Don't Know How A Human Body Is Supposed To Work. It's constructed out of imposing chain link fences and housed underneath a bridge. It's just wrong, all wrong. So of course Jirou is comfortable there, being sat on by a Gillagoon and a Frankenbury. He's never looked more inhuman, and I've never seen him more at peace.




This was the thing that made me really start sitting up and taking notice of what the director was doing. The way he's giving you context and exposition visually! Placing their monster forms in the mirrors, so that you get that they're not human, and still letting the human performers get across the specific notes of menace required to stoke the audience's unease! It's so smart! And striking! These shots are beautifully composed.



Same thing with this one. This is the full Jirou Is A Bad Guy shot. Perfect. Strips away all of the pretense to deliver malevolence. Love it!




This scene is maybe my favorite scene in Kiva so far. Wataru's uncertain of how to break it to Kengo that their dream is really Kengo's dream, so he invites Kengo to his home to discuss it. After that, it's just raw, honest emotion. Wataru tells Kengo that he's become a better person because of Kengo's friendship, and the enthusiasm that Kengo has for his dream of being a rock star, but that Wataru's dream is to make an exceptional violin, a different kind of work of art. And Kengo rebuffs him, calls Wataru's singular goal selfish. It's petty and selfish of Kengo, some real ugliness. But when Wataru plays his violin, shows Kengo what he's capable of on his own when he follows his heart, Kengo is won over. He admits his mistake in trying to drag Wataru along on his dream of rock stardom, and is genuinely excited for Wataru's potential. It's a heartwarming moment.

And it only works because of how the scene gets Kengo from Selfish to Selfless. It's mostly accomplished through how this shot is framed. After Wataru finishes playing, Kengo moves to Wataru to congratulate him. Wataru bares his soul, and Kengo moves to him. It's all about Kengo realizing he made a mistake, and bridging that divide. It's the acknowledgement, physically and verbally, that it's Kengo who screwed up. Just an incredibly sweet scene, executed smartly.




Oh, but there's more smart directing in this scene. Kengo's actually a wounded party in this story, too. He's sad that Wataru didn't trust him enough to confide in him earlier. Wataru's reluctance to speak up and vocalize his feelings made Kengo believe in something that wasn't what Wataru wanted.

As Kengo's recounting the ways Wataru made things more difficult for both of them, the camera's drooping down. Besides keeping the scene visually engaging, it's also multiplying the dread of Kengo's accusations. It feels aggrieved, maligned. Kengo is hurt, and the camera has this drop to it, like we're falling into darkness.

But then Kengo gets over his own embarrassment at misreading Wataru's interest, and his resentment towards Wataru for not thinking enough of a friend to be honest, and resolves to support Wataru's dream, whatever it is. Success isn't a zero-sum game. They can both achieve their goals, and Kengo wants to make that happen.

Once Kengo regains his optimism and enthusiasm, the camera stops dropping and starts rising. It's buoyant now, energized. We're raising up to meet Kengo's spirits. It's liberating. The whole sequence is shot with so much emotional intelligence, so much care and consideration. It's a tiny moment of friendship in a superhero show, and it's by far the best writing and directing this show has had to date.



This scene transition was a great composition. It's a newly solo Kengo trying to figure out what his next move is, and so we find him at a bizarre angle. He looks uncomfortable, even laying down. It's doing a great job of communicating how spun around and unsettled Kengo is after his talk with Wataru.



This was a striking shot, and I can't even begin to figure out why it looks this way. It could be the director trying to spare the audience the visual of Jirou kicking the crap out of Otoya in the forest. Or it could be a subtle hint that Otoya will soon be IXAlso, a bright light of justice. I don't know. It's just such a weirdly pretty shot that I wanted to call it out.



Every so often, I'll think Am I Seeing Ghost In This Show For No Reason, and then there'll be a shot of Wataru's bed beneath his heroic workspace. This is more vertical storytelling the director found in this space, keeping Shizuka on a higher level than Wataru. She's got the God's-eye view of the story, able to figure out how Kengo's patron is taking advantage of him. Wataru, adorably, chides her for her suspicious nature. He's almost a dick about it, which is both so unusual for Wataru, and so colossally off-base, that the joke lands beautifully. The way Wataru ducks out from underneath the ceiling to drive home how disappointed he is in Shizuka for not believing that Kengo should give a bunch of money to a stranger to be a star! And he's so pleased with himself for putting Shizuka in her place with his unimpeachable logic! Adorable!



There's a lot done with reflections in this episode, and here's the story's Fangire. It's a great shot for how it's focused simultaneously on the victim's fear, and the approaching Fangire in the reflection. Really solid monster intro.



The start to the one-and-only Daddy Fight uses one of the tricks from the Kengo/Wataru talk. The camera slows drops down on Otoya and Jirou as they're threatening each other, letting the tension incrementally build as the camera angles down one. More. Degree. It's excruciatingly slow, and it had me salivating for their fight.




Hard to get across in stills, but Jirou's dominance is communicated through the way Otoya is static, the camera slowly pushes in on him, and Jirou stalks him in a spiral. It's giving Jirou all the power in the shot, all the freedom. He's moving with grace, with impunity. He's already beaten Otoya; it's just that Otoya hasn't figured it out yet.




One of the best things about the fights at the conclusion of this episode is how the director finds subtle ways to tie them together, even though they're about completely different things. (I mean, they aren't really: they're both about protecting people you care about from those that would prey on them. It's just, Wataru doesn't know that right now?) Both fights have the Kurenai men trying to take down a monster, so here's the monster's victim in the foreground of the start of each fight! Great visual touch. (Also, that headbutt from Otoya! Cool as hell!)



nbd, just the monster squad, unchanged from 22 years in the belly of a dragon cathedral, making an ouroboros out of dominoes





There's so much staging and shooting that's emotionally rich and intelligently planned. And then there's a throw-away gag of Jirou eating a domino. I feel like I shouldn't have to explain why this is funny!



Another smart way of tying together Wataru's battle with Daddy Fight '86: these little puddles in the garage. It pulls the rain from Wataru's fight into the conclusion of Otoya's fight in a nice way. It's this little linking element that makes it all feel like one action-packed finale, not two separate climaxes.

This whole episode was… perfect, visually. A million smart choices and clever decisions. The story was great, don't get me wrong (it's all about protecting the people you care about), but the way it was shot was just next level. Very, very entertaining episode of Kiva.