[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 21 - "RHAPSODY: THE FATE OF THE RING”



I mean, hoo boy, this show ain't making it easy to defend its treatment of Yuri!

I get that it's A Different Era and A Different Culture or whatever (no idea to what degree that's true versus an easy way to not confront the story choices), but to have the very next Yuri story after her realizing she can't/shouldn't be IXA, to have that story be Jiro Claims Yuri... you guys are not making this easy on an Inoue fan! This tough stuff to excuse!

Like, that Shima scene! It'd be cringy if that were Yuri's dad and it was the 1600s. But for her boss in 1986 to be like Yeah I Told Another Employee He Could Marry You is... I mean, holy shit, I don't even know what to say to that. It's insane. And when Yuri is apoplectic that he'd not even consult her about it, Shima's just like, It'll Do You Some Good? WHAT?! In an episode where Yuri is treated like a prize to be fought over, having her boss arrange her marriage is a shocking low point. Baffling and humiliating.

(I get that maybe he's supposed to have looked after her after her mom died, but, like... one, the show doesn't really hit that button more than once or twice, so it's not like this is some tight-knit found-family thing. Second, her mom died just a few years ago? Shima didn't raise her or anything. Why the hell would Jiro even ask Shima, and why would Shima's acceptance mean anything to Yuri?)

It doesn't help that the show treats it as a forgone conclusion, Yuri choosing between Jiro and Otoya. She spends the entire episode alternately despising them both and being jealous of other women that are around them, making Yuri just as weirdly horrible as all of the men in the story. It's a horrifying storyline, the 1986 one. It's Otoya and Jiro at their most territorial and toxic, assuming that they're both owed Yuri's hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Yuri is unable to either articulate her independence or, worse, even value her own opinion. It's a story that starts with Jiro claiming Yuri and rubbing Otoya's face in it, then somehow gets worse from there.

It made me sad, on a deep level. It's disappointing to see Inoue do a story this hacky and cringe-inducing and sexist. There's a way to steer out of this, where Yuri finds her spine and argues for her right to self-determination, but it's just digging itself out of an unnecessarily deep hole. It's no triumph to put a plane into a nosedive and then manage not to kill any of the passengers.

It's just, there are still a bunch of funny jokes at the 1986 group date? It is stupidly funny to watch Otoya and Jiro both preen like animals, taking any opportunity to show up their competition. Those two actors are demolishing the jokes, making a meal out of everything they're given. It's absolutely destroying Yuri's character to have her ringside for this bullshit, but fighting for the show to treat her better is beginning to feel like a lost cause. If this is where Yuri's story is going to go, at least I can laugh at the farce of it all.

The 2008 stuff turns out miles, miles better. A bunch of smart ideas, and none are smarter than bringing in Mari from Faiz as a new woman in Wataru's life.

She's such a great actor. It's a nothing part so far, but she imbues it with the same Wataru-levels of shyness and awkwardness and longing and trepidation. She's a character who's hopeless in the same way Wataru is, completely unsuited to interact with a world full of people like Nago. The little scene she has with Wataru, where she confesses to the same inability to say no to strangers, it's incredibly sweet. It's the 2008 version of Maya's introduction, just calibrated towards Adorable instead of Raging Inferno Of Sexual Tension.

The whole 2008 group date thing was a blast, with Kengo more fully integrated into the group dynamic (of course Nago is going to find value in a young man who is constantly telling him that he is awesome), Megumi immediately realizing the flaw in a group blind date where the only three men are guys from her work and then her just ordering a ton of food to find a victory, and everyone talking about what they're looking for in a partner.

Like, that's what the whole episode is about, but the 2008 part does it in a smoother, more even-handed way. The 1986 version is about ownership, the 2008 version is about partnership, you know? There's Wataru and Mari discussing their similar flaws and coping mechanisms. There's that girl from the date pressuring Wataru about whether he wants someone to give him structure, or if he wants someone that will let him be weak. There's even the Nago/Kengo stuff, where it's all about Nago seeing more in someone who'd praise him unceasingly, even if he didn't respect them before. (I like that what Megumi's looking for in a partner is None Of These Guys, For Sure.)

The 2008 side felt like a celebration of its characters, while the 1986 version felt like a deconstruction/destruction of its characters, but in a funny way. It was dire, that Yuri stuff, while still feeling spry and goofy. I don't know. I'm not sure I've ever laughed at the same half of a show that I found spiritually eviscerating.

Mixed bag, this one! Glad to see Mari around, though!



PROGRAMMING NOTE: There may be a slight delay in the post for 22. It'd normally be Monday night, but I've got last-minute plans, so we'll see if I'll end up having the time or the energy to watch some Kiva and write about it. I'll give y'all a heads-up if I'm skipping a night. Thanks for your understanding!