[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I meant "pragmatic" more as "achievable" than anything else. Trying to single-handedly change multiple societies is probably out of reach for the kids watching Kiva, but finding a way to feel comfortable in your choices? And supporting your friends, so they can feel comfortable in their choices? That's something any kid can work to accomplish.

I̶'̶d̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶e̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶(̶o̶n̶l̶y̶)̶ ̶k̶i̶d̶s̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶r̶n̶,̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶p̶o̶t̶e̶n̶t̶i̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶d̶u̶l̶t̶s̶ ̶w̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶s̶u̶g̶g̶e̶s̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶p̶a̶i̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶K̶R̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶m̶e̶r̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶v̶o̶i̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶a̶l̶u̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶a̶n̶c̶h̶i̶s̶e̶.̶ For supporting friends, yeah it'd depend on them being biased to their friends or not too (it'll mean learning the lesson wrong way too).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Well, let's keep in mind that Wataru's altruistic goal to bridge the worlds of Fangires and humans didn't occur to him until he found out that he was half-human and half-Fangire. There's probably a small to medium amount of selfishness in this new goal, which is why he completely misses the fact that no one's in favor of it besides the only character on the show who is a human/Fangire hybrid.

I think Wataru generally wants to make things better for everyone (he's a sweet boy), but that "everyone" didn't include Fangires until he saw himself as part of their culture.

It can likely favor those humans who love Fangires and vice versa too I think, after all, Fangire rule had the Queen executing those who love human. Shinji and Ryoko's love story seems to be an example of the consequences, their love story is stunted by this, albeit their love is genuine. If Maya changed and Mio refused, another Queen can potentially take place. And for "everyone" didn't include Fangires until here, I argued about Oomura and Shinji (before he turned into standard vicious one) before, which is before that episode.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 40 - “ENCORE: RETURN OF NAGO’S IXA”

It’s just, a lot of this episode is about Nago becoming IXA again, and Kengo losing IXA, and I don’t know that this development clears even the incredibly low bar of Shima’s previous IXA disbursements. Like, emotionally? Great episode. Narratively? It feels rushed and illogical. And, again, that’s illogical even by Shima’s normal standards.

I guess the extreme character change for Kengo.... spreads to Shima here. Not to put Nago into danger, they want to return Kengo back to his previous self, and they have to make him go through this terrible shit for him, including Shima harshly treating him, as an excuse to have him parted away from IXA, which is kinda a part of Kengo's character change symbolizing that he's back to his previous self. Though actually Shima blames Kengo for "letting Wataru run away", so it's not about him losing. Though despite Shima giving back IXA Knuckle to Nago, Kengo's the one who becomes IXA again, but he gets knocked out of his transformation, and after Nago and Wataru interferes, Nago takes the IXA Knuckle on the ground. Of course, I wouldn't want for characters to be OOC for plot reasons, including for comedic reasons (that you won't address if this happened) or to make a point about message (don't take existing character and make them OOC), albeit for this one, before and after is written by Inoue. But probably, Shima just really have a... shady side, which is seen on his interactions with Taiga for something later, and likely will support those who argues that Shima is sexist to not give IXA to women (but Jiro explains that IXA is given to him due to his monster nature, but the excuse is to not be clouded by revenge yet Jiro is similar to Yuri in this regard).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The rest of the episode is better, though. Seeing Wataru regress back to his Episode 1 self in the light of his attack on his friends is appropriately traumatic for both him and the viewer. He’s unable to trust himself, so he can’t be around the very people who’d help him trust in himself again. It’s a rough episode, never more so than when he’s telling Nago that he’ll never fight as Kiva again.

The way it’s shot is just heartbreaking. It’s Wataru walking away from the camera, and telling Nago that he’s thankful for their friendship, and that he wants Megumi to know he’s sorry. You can sort of hear Wataru’s voice breaking, him holding back tears, but you can’t see how much it’s hurting him to even exist in the same space as a friend he attacked. It’s enormously affecting, misting me up a little bit. Wataru’s worked so hard this entire show to be a good man, to be a good friend, and now he feels like he can’t be either.

Nago and Megumi and Shizuka, though, are not willing to give up on him. It’s a fun little plot, a very Kamen Rider Home Alone adventure, and it’s as heartwarming as the Wataru plot is heartbreaking. The way the two plots combine keeps anything from feeling either too silly or too morose. Wataru’s struggle is given the proper weight, while his friends’ dedication feels charming and whimsical. It’s as solid a way to tell this part of the story as I can imagine.

So it finally happens, Wataru regressed back into his painfully shy nature. I only want to know what happened in the past that sends Wataru to his self, would it be something as severe here as him turning dangerous to others? I know that in the past Wataru seems to be bullied where Taiga defends him, but.. Not saying that it should be followed, but being a shut in seems to be a suitable response for him being potentially dangerous person, he basically seals himself in his house to prevent himself hurting others, like how defeats for powerful baddies can happen, by them getting sealed. The villains are actually successful to gain upper hand in this case by brainwashing Wataru, they did snap out Wataru, but it demoralized him. The part of Nago, Megumi, and Shizuka being determined to get Wataru back is heartwarming for sure yeah, including what you think about them enduring the traps, but it has a price of Wataru being hostile, that he outright puts dangerous stuff for people who interferes. Seems hypocrite for him here, wanting to prevent himself to hurt others, yet is hurting others himself using the harmful traps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the 1986 plots, mostly because I feel like I’d just end up recounting them and saying That Happened. They’re not really saying much new, even if they’re finding new ways to say it. That’s more or less where we’re at this time, with Yuri wanting to kill Maya, and Maya pitying Yuri.

I feel that there's a new stuff before that Yuri realizes that Maya is a Fangire, and did try to warn Otoya about Maya's status. It can feel that the conflict is added now that it can be potentially about Otoya's safety instead or what would become of the Fangire and humans if Otoya gets close to Fangire. I guess about resorting into toku, this is one of a form of miscommunication plots that drags out that doesn't sit well with some people. I think that at hospital before, Otoya did try to say something to Yuri, but Yuri (understandably) aggressively pushes him away and denies everything he said, I lost hearing about what Otoya's going to say regarding this. Though otherwise still I wanna ask: How about those who resort into unhealthy coping mechanisms (ex: shifting the blame to others, projecting their issues to others, escapism) to cope with problems being ignored and viewed as perfectly okay, while display of emotions (except anger) gets hate? Likely showing that behaviors like shifting the blame to someone else, lashing out in anger, etc. can be as severe as emotions, or even be more unhelpful and unproductive.

Yuri has been a Fangire fighter before, so I get that Yuri here would fight Maya just like her fighting other Fangires. If you're going for Yuri and Maya friendship, I'd like for Yuri's view of Fangires (like to family too) to be touched upon too, because Maya is a Fangire, and I think Yuri fights her here partly as she's a Fangire.