[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 20 - “NOCTURNE: THE MESSIAH OF LOVE”

There’s definitely a positive interpretation of what’s going on with Yuri and Megumi in this episode, a way that it’s not just conforming to regressive gender roles. It’s all in what IXA represents to both women, and how that reflects the larger themes of the series.

The positive interpretation is that IXA is a burden, and their happiness depends on freeing themselves from it. Yuri views IXA as retribution for her mother, the physical embodiment of her grief and rage. It suffuses her desire to destroy Rook with obligation, with expectation, with pressure. It’s no longer just her needing to gain control of a horrible outcome, her loss of a parent. It’s a weight on her back, needing to follow through on her mother’s work at the cost of her own identity.

Megumi’s in a similar boat. She needs to be IXA because she expects to be IXA, because it’s woven into her family’s legacy. Once it’s literally in her hands, it’s fraught with decades of regret and disappointment. It’s not a coronation, it’s a poisoned chalice.

Viewing their story - and it’s really their story, singular - in this way, it makes their eventual rejection of being IXA into something heroic. It’s them breaking the chains of fate (or whatever), choosing to fight on their own terms, in their own way. Megumi isn’t any less a warrior for fighting without IXA’s abilities; if anything, her heroism is more unalloyed than Nago’s psychotic need for power and control. Yuri’s tears at her weakness… it isn’t her being some weak woman, unable to fight; it’s her feeling some small despair at how liberated she feels from her self-imposed vows to her mother. It’s a story that’s really no different from Wataru’s. These were two women who were crushed by legacy and obligation, and they found a way out of it, into the light.

That’s the positive interpretation. The negative one is that this episode bends over backwards to contrive a reason why not one but two different badass women find themselves psychologically unable to fight in the same manner as a bloodthirsty Clawolve, a psychotic button-enthusiast, and a lothario with a heart of gold. The optics on that move. Just… I don’t want to say “indefensible”, but it’s an episode that is only rewarding if you can make your brain tilt to a very specific Inoue degree. Mine can, but, shit. I don’t begrudge anyone who finds the justification for Yuri and Megumi’s crises unappealing-to-reprehensible.

So, this is quite a generous take of, how a woman moves on from a temptation of power, where this can get a reaction of disappointment that they won't get to be elevated on male's position here, a Rider. While I'm all in for females getting that, still it's wrong for action's view of "female equality and empowerment" being inevitably portrayed as females being good and badass at combat and fighting. I wonder if the fear of Yuri wearing it would be what she heard of IXA placing a burden... but I don't understand about the Megumi one... if you can fight Fangires head on without fear, you should be able to do more if you got enhanced by Rider's superpowers. Though I'd also give objections for both of your Megumi and Yuri's take here:

1) Though it's needed too at certain situations (and it's definitely true that Megumi's way above Nago in this category), I wouldn't want to measure heroism by bravery and resilience alone, this way, this can be misused to paint for example, bad guys as good when they're really determined to work towards their goal, and also, people can dismiss heroic acts that has no stakes, like little acts of kindness ideal heroes do such as characters like Yusuke or Shouichi to civilians. I'd think courage or such is supporting trait, the primary needing for heroism is moral, as the primary meaning of it is saving, protecting, or improving others' lives.

2) Of course Yuri's crying here isn't her being some weak woman, but I also wouldn't want for the notion that, to be strong, your demeanor must be mostly always-on-guard stoic hardass (where anger is the only allowed emotion if able), and you can only be emotional like crying if you're put in the most dire situation. This is also a form of double standard if it's only those who have been proven themselves as "bonafide badass" (which means generic term; the ones who are unstoppable fighter for example) tfiat are ok to get breakdown moments (which means "humanizing and developing" if it's those characters who got that, those who aren't are deemed as weak, incapable, waste of space, or other derogatory terms).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Putting aside the, uh, point of this story, I think there were plenty of things that are less controversial and more incredibly awesome?

For one, there’s Otoya acting as a guide to Megumi because he is in the middle of the exact same story with Yuri. The way the ‘08 Otoya immediately diagnoses Megumi’s fixation on her mother’s legacy because he already watched Yuri’s deteriorating mental state due to her fixation on her mother’s legacy… perfect. Terrific, terrific use of the dual timelines, and it made for an episode where Otoya’s relationships with both women flipped around in fun ways. Megumi was classic Yuri, consistently telling Otoya to get away from her while he flirted shamelessly and refused to treat her deflections seriously. Meanwhile, Yuri was less guarded around Otoya, more willing to open up to him about her fears. She’s vulnerable in a way that is incredibly sweet, and it’s another step forward in making Otoya seem like not a gigantic mistake Yuri could make.

They do say experience is the best teacher after all. Otoya is making use of his experience of dealing with Yuri against Megumi. Otoya also seems to be more on point with his guidance here, jumping straight to the point of refering Megumi's situation as pseudo illness, just that it sounds bullshit to Megumi that this one's truly her not getting the point of what Otoya said. Otherwise, how Megumi got through her seemingly cripple leg, by Otoya burning the IXA belt to make her more determined to keep it, is something commonly seen in Japanese media (like shonen anime) from what I feel, the Japanese Spirit/Yamato-damashi trope, where it's the answer to win against something that all logic says should kill you, using traditional Japanese philosophy like persistence (hard work, hope, and spirit)and Resolve. This isn't entirely acceptable plotting though, can be controversial due to how this can feel like deus ex machina to some.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But wait! A new challenger arrives!

Holy shit, Maya. What a debut! Absolutely gorgeous from her reveal, I was probably as gobsmacked and awestruck as Otoya was. That face. Jesus. And then everything after that was a TV show that just wants you to feel previously unreached levels of desire and terror, with her detonating a rogue Fangire for the crime of loving a human while looking impossibly perfect and regal. The blood red moon, the thrown-back hood, that face… it’s an unforgettable sequence, and it’s such a stunning debut. In just a few minutes, Maya’s established herself as both a force to be reckoned with, and a #1 suspect for Wataru’s Real Mom. I mean, who knows what could happen in the next few episodes, but her and Otoya had instant chemistry, and the notion of her falling in love with Otoya when her first appearance is her detonating a Fangire for falling in love with a human? I can’t tell if that’s perfect, or too perfect. Very excited to find out which it’ll be!

(There are also a whole bunch of other things that are pointing very emphatically in the direction of She's Wataru's Mom. There's her Kivat, which is probably Wataru's Kivat's predecessor. There's the fact that the first meeting of Otoya and Maya is intercut with a wedding. It's, again... it's so unsubtle about the connections it's making that I can't tell if it's a red herring or not.)

I'll admit she is, though I'm someone who is cloth-oriented (so yeah my agreement is related to her including her outfit too) I gotta post a pic for her debut from lower to upper part:



But otherwise still, at least for now (emphasis on for now), I don't want for her to be given free pass on anything she do and treat her as being unable to do wrong (defending and rationalizing everything she do), solely because of her looks (the "halo effect"). The Checkmate group is named after chess pieces, Maya's someone on similar league as Rook with the term Queen for heres, what Maya (how did you get her name??) did here is something... similar to the likes of Smart Brain in 555 or Uca Worm in Kabuto to kill Fangires or Worms respectively who are "rogue" like siding with humans. The one that I'd wonder too there is the fact that a Fangire can be completely normal to wed a human there though, even more than Oomura. Otherwise yeah... there goes your prediction about "secret siblings" for Wataru and Megumi.