[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

But the thing is, that whole scene is another one of my most vivid memories of Kiva. Something I feel encapsulates a lot of the show, perhaps even right down to the potentially shoddy plotting building up to it, and the endearingly ham-fisted integration of toy gimmicks that ends it. But I remember Wataru playing that violin, and that counts for a lot. I remember Kiva playing that violin, and it counts for even more. Despite how brief that shot ends up being, I think any Kiva fan can tell you better than I can how striking and unique to this show any variation on that visual always is.

Yeah, it's a real series-defining scene. Most of the But Why Heroism stories are, of which this is (accidentally?) one.

The more I think about it... I don't know that it fixes what I find wrong in the episode, the tonal and thematic incoherence at work in the Kurenai stories, but it's a thing that I sort of blurted out to Sh Ranger and now I'm really thinking it might be an interpretation I can get on board with.

This story of Wataru's, it's about how we throw ourselves into work and hobbies after a breakup? Anyone who's ever had their heart broken can recall how they started working out more, the extra hours spent at their job, all of the concerts they went to, the constant ways they tried to distract themselves from lingering on their loss. That's what Wataru's doing here, with Bloody Rose. He can't fix his sadness, or his anger. He can't fix things with Mio. But, like, he can fix this violin. This thing with Mio and Taiga, it sucks. It's a shitty hand that Wataru got dealt. But he still has Kiva, and still has his dad's violin. Maybe that can help him get through this tough time in his life. What better moment to declare his dedication to protecting people, instead of just protecting Mio? Now's the time to take a greater interest in the future, because his present is depressing as hell.

Anyway, that's me trying to salvage a good scene from a sloppy episode!