[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 37 - "TRIANGLE: BEHEAD THE KING”



I'm a sucker for romances. To almost the same degree I can't get on board with CGI monstrosities, I can't say no to a well-crafted romance.

And this is one! I know it's not for everyone. It's teen melodrama and love triangles and hidden identities and all of that. I know there're people who'd prefer Kamen Rider in general - and Inoue in particular - stay away from romance. But, god, not me. Not in general, and certainly not here.

A lot of it is just for how incremental the story is being moved forward, which is another way of saying that I like how deliberate the pace is. This is a romance that's so much more fleshed out and considered than I've ever seen Kamen Rider attempt. It's hitting important milestones in growing up, and it's doing it with both emotional honesty and tokusatsu metaphors.

Like, the Zanvat Sword. It's tied into Wataru's emotional development, which is pretty typical for a powerup, but it's specifically about his capacity for love. Emperor Form got unlocked when Mio was in danger. Flight Style got unlocked when Wataru was honest with himself about his feelings for Mio. Zanvat Sword is unlocked when Wataru is able to accept Mio's interest, and be honest with her about his own feelings. It's about Wataru continuing to open himself up to the world, which is a fairly standard Kamen Rider metaphor for growing up. But it's also explicitly about Wataru having the bravery to accept his feelings as valid, and allow himself to be vulnerable in a romantic relationship.

I mean, he gets beat up by a bunch of monsters, so that's him literally allowing himself to be vulnerable! It's an entire episode about Wataru figuring out how to feel worthy of Mio's love, and how that doesn't come without problems. Wataru needs to be okay with Taiga turning on him, and he has to be okay with what it means to protect the person you love. (I mean, usually it's just, like, holding someone's hair back when they puke or letting them borrow your coat when it's cold. In tokusatsu, it's a little more visceral!) It could maybe read as Wataru becoming a more selfish person, but I don't think it is. I think it's Wataru seeing love as something to be protected and nourished, even if it's his own. This show's a romance, and he's spotlighting the power of love. I am A-okay with this show giving me a story like this.

It helps that I just buy these three characters, Mio and Taiga and Wataru. There's a lot of specificity in their performances, little ways they get across their desires and conflicts.

Taiga, in particular... just a really fun take on a dude who is self-destructing as things don't go his way. It's interesting to watch him go from caring about Wataru's friendship, to punching him full in the mouth. Taiga's someone who sees something other than a love story between Mio and Wataru, and it's a neat new angle. Taiga sees in Wataru a man who is selfishly destroying another culture by interfering in Mio's life, and a man who is too weak to survive the attempt. Taiga sees in Mio a woman who is abdicating enormous power for short-sighted reasons, and a woman who is unclear on the consequences of her choices. Taiga sees himself as the one protecting both Mio and Wataru by standing in their way, and he resents both of them for making him do it.

Mio's finding some neat shades on the Damsel In Distress, even as she's getting knocked out at a rate that should've generated a hundred Emperor Forms. (It's mostly just so she can be conveniently unable to see different Henshins, but that doesn't feel like it'll be necessary after this episode!) More than anyone else in the love triangle, there are huge consequences for Mio's choices, and not just for her sake. She's aware that stepping down as Queen and loving Wataru means the old Odin Special and probably a few decades of cave-dwelling, but that's just her punishment. As far as she knows, Wataru'll likely be killed. Maybe by a vengeful Taiga, maybe just as collateral damage by the Fangires who want to take out a traitorous Queen. Leaving Taiga and the Fangires has immediate, deadly consequences for both Mio and Wataru, and you can see the weight of that on every close-up of her face. (It's a twist on the old Mari stuff she'd do, where the head drops and the eyes dart around a bit. There's a lot of internality to both characters, even if Mio's trepidation is more sympathetic.) It's Mio who'll eventually have to decide what path to choose, and I love how compelling the show has made that decision.

And Wataru! Goddamn! There's a new level of heroism from Wataru in this episode, and an amount of swagger I'd've never expected. He's empowered by his love for Mio, and that's so unique to me in Kamen Riders. So many shows are about a love for humanity, or a love for yourself. Having a massive emotional piece of the show be tied to Wataru's romantic feelings for someone... really refreshing! I adore the other types of Kamen Rider theming (Faiz's messages of self-acceptance, Ex-Aid's messages of teamwork, Ghost's messages of self-improvement via connection), but I respect Kiva's attempt to talk about things like first loves, and navigating both your feelings for others and their feelings for you.

Like, the fact that Wataru immediately dismisses Mio's feelings for him because he doesn't feel worthy of them! That tracks! I have been that guy! I have had women need to be incredibly direct with me because I never assumed we were flirting! That is a true-to-life thing, not some clumsy extension of a dramatic arc! It's an episode that's as much about Wataru acknowledging that he deserves to be loved, as it is about Wataru acknowledging his love for Mio. And to prove that love by taming a sword that may actually hate love, to turn it into a weapon to protect love? Hell yes, Kamen Rider Kiva.

(I don't 100% know what the deal is with the Kanvat Sword yet, but I like this read on it. King '86 being a dude who hates love is such an on-the-nose potential Final Boss for a show about the power of love that I'm thrilled. I dig how blatant it's being about what themes it's trying to explore.)

All this, and an absolutely insane scene of an unhinged Nago covering the IXA Knuckle in thumbtacks to humiliate Kengo? A prank that ends with Kengo socking him in the jaw again? I am loving Kiva right now, and I am willing to admit it. Wataru would be proud!