[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Oh man, them both using IXA - their family's weapon - is so integral to the climax of their story that I can't think Otoya And Nago Bravely Shoulder The Burden was ever ever ever on the table. There've been some dodgy decisions made for both women by the men in/making the show (the way Yuri is laughing triumphantly with Jiro there!), but you don't have an ending to this story without Yuri and Megumi using IXA to defeat Rook.

Why shouldn't Yuri be laughing triumphantly with Jirou though? Remember, Rook is their mutual arch enemy, he killed Yuri's mother and Jirou's clan so it makes sense that they would both be happy about finally getting their revenge. It's not just Jirou who Yuri is laughing with either, there's also her bf Otoya, as well as Ramon and Riki. It was a team effort and I think Yuri appreciates that after being alone in her personal struggle for so long, they finally conceded to let her be their comrade and equal and gave her the honor of using IXA to deal the coup de grace to Rook. All she needed was that little bit of validation from them, to realize that her revenge wasn't the most important thing in her life, but the life that she can enjoy freely from now on and her friends are a part of that, cause they believed in her and rooted for her success.

Maybe you misunderstand why Yuri is so happy here? Her quest for revenge was a burden that made her feel guilty for being happy, perceiving it as a betrayal of the obligation she made to her mother. She's not sadistically laughing that Rook's dead for 22 years, she's laughing cause she can finally give herself a chance to be happy and balance her life as a soldier with her new life with Otoya. I'm honestly surprised and curious how you can see this beautifully heartwarming scene with Yuri expressing her most genuine happiness in years as she runs towards her friends in celebration as a "dodgy decision". Don't you think that she deserves to have a life outside of fighting? Doesn't she deserve to enjoy a little moment of happiness after denying herself that experience for so long?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

As some other folks noted, it probably also has something to do with Nago's crush on Maya. By being able to find something redeemable in one Fangire (i.e. that face), it allowed him to think that there could be another Fangire out there worth sparing. Luckily, it was that skinny kid he grew to tolerate!

Also, man, Nago's got some revisionist-ass history going on in that scene with Wataru at Mal d'Amour. He's like (and maybe it's just the translation) Oh I Always Heard There Was A Chance That Kiva Could Be An Enemy But Now I Know Better, and it's like, a chance?! Nago has never in his life been anything less than absolutely certain, so for him to be like A Lot Of People Were Saying It, like, come on. He can't ever admit that he's wrong! Even when it shows his magnanimity! NAGO!

I recall that the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 30 was the one that left me in the most suspense, but unlike Takumi's and Kiba's initial hostility towards each other after finding out their secret identities, the first scene between Wataru and Nago in Episode 31 is surprisingly at Mal d'Amour and all of Nago's antagonism towards Kiva is immediately gone. And yeah, I would totally attribute his change of heart to his seemingly insignificant and small development in the Time Door arc.

Maybe that's why it seemed so insignificant and small at the time, since the real payoff to that is here, as Nago reasons that Kiva might actually an okay guy since it's Wataru. Sure, if Wataru betrays that trust, then Nago won't hesitate to kill him, but for now they can be friends and partners in fighting Fangires. Usually, I think it would be a narrative letdown to have the conflict resolved so easily (like my minor complaint about Akira's and Mochida's 1 episode-long conflict in Hibiki), but after understanding that Nago is a changed man, I had to feel kind of a fool for expecting anything else and it made me see him in a better light.