[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

I know I said the same about the movie, but this was another weird one for me. The bits with devil Shizuka and the cowboy Fangire feel like they're taken from one of those episode 29/30 broad comedies that we got with Ryuki, Blade, and Kabuto: very over the top and kind of wacky. But at the same time we've got Rook back and are diving back into Yuri's quest for vengeance and now dragging Megumi into it as well. First of all, that's great because Megumi is one of the show's MVPs and focusing on her is always a good idea. Second, it feels really at odds with the broad comedy stuff that's squeezed in around the edges. Not at all sure what the show was going for here.

There are some legit tonal issues in this episode. Even within Megumi's storyline, there's the impetus, which is INSANE (this is a plot that has literally never even been hinted at, and it's been a sword hanging over Megumi since the first episode) and ridiculous (her brother swans around like he's responding to a laugh track), but then the rest of her story is this sort of unsolvable personal riddle? It starts off being a Wacky Hijink and then becomes a kind of quarter-life crisis? It makes for a bumpy transition, even if I liked where it ended up.

(The Mio/Shizuka stuff is another atonal plot, since Shizuka is playing everything as a goofy lark and Mio is playing everything as her one lifeline to normalcy getting ripped from her hands. I'm not sure if this is a comedic story about a confused girl or the beginning of the end for a scared young woman.)