[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The Mio situation is really the same thing. We haven't had, to my memory, a single conversation between Mio and either Wataru or Taiga about what that brotherly bond means to either of them. When Mio's suggested that Wataru murder Taiga, it mostly reads like Wataru is against cold-blooded murder, because that's pretty firmly established. Taiga talks about Wataru as a friend and a lieutenant, but rarely (to Mio) as a brother. Most of her experience with Wataru and Taiga is them battling each other? The idea that Mio wants to protect their familial bond is something I can see the show deciding, but not one I can see Mio deciding. She's way too outside that dynamic to have such a sudden shift in her priorities.

(That, and her flashbacks right before she gets involved seem entirely focused on Taiga, and his attempt to protect her from blame/punishment. Having her decision be rooted in protecting Wataru seems like the complete opposite of what the show is giving us in the moment.)

Maybe the flashbacks could have been executed a little better and some foreshadowing given to clarify Mio's motivation. I think this take was what the show intended though and I appreciate what it's trying to say about these characters even if it's kind of complicated. Repentance could be another factor after understanding that Taiga doesn't deserve to die for his misguidedness. He's also a victim of his culture and he just doesn't know it yet.

The tragedy of this love triangle is how it's escalated by concerns outside of love. Like how Jirou was concerned about his race's extinction, Taiga is concerned about maintaining Fangire tradition. The moral here should be that love is not a device to solve those problems. Love should only be love's sake. So that's why I believe Mio's heroic sacrifice was out of a love deeper than what she had expressed before, as that feeling became even stronger from that understanding of the importance of love whether it's romantic, platonic, familial or unconditional.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

He's known that dog for 22 years! They've shared probably a hundred scenes! What the hell is Wataru in comparison?

According to Master, Wataru is the first person Buruman bonded with since Otoya, so even after knowing Shima for 22 years (which is a lot for a dog), Buruman still doesn't seem to particularly care about him the way he does for Master, Otoya and Wataru.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 44 - “PUNK: BACK TO FATHER”

ha ha ha ha INOUE FOREVER.

You guys.

Of all the ways I thought this episode could go, based on how the last one ended, it didn’t even cross my mind that Wataru would use Castle Doran’s way-more-of-a-problem-solving-option-than-when-Jiro-first-described-it-to-Nago Time Door to travel to 1986 and pull a reverse Back To The Future to prevent his parents from getting together. It is simultaneously absurd and poignant, which is what makes Inoue one of my favorite tokusatsu storytellers.

Yeah, when you said you lost interest in the 2008 storyline, I thought, "he's probably going to like the next few episodes".

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It ignores a whole bunch of collateral damage (Megumi and her brother would completely cease to exist, so I guess we know how little non-Mio people matter to Wataru; pretty sure Wataru has directly or indirectly saved a ton of lives, which are now Fangire food), but this thing never even gets off the blocks. See, Wataru showed up a couple days/weeks (?) too late, since Yuri is breaking up with Otoya.

Wataru definitely isn't thinking clearly here. This is his first time meeting Yuri though so he may not know she's the future mother of Megumi and Mitsuhide. Even without the unintentional collateral damage of trying to split up his parents, I don't agree with Wataru's means at all. Wanting to negate his own existence is just running away from his guilt and denying Mio her heroic sacrifice. Inaction may not bring detriment to others but it doesn't help people either. Abstinence from living isn't heroic. Wataru needs to accept what happened and determine the best way to move on from that in the present, which is what Jirou intended when he sent him to the past to learn from Otoya. If Wataru doesn't use this opportunity to make amends with Taiga, then Mio's heroic sacrifice will be for nothing.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Probably goes without saying, but this was one of my favorite developments in all of Kiva. The emotional maturity of Yuri to be thankful for the good times she had with Otoya, acknowledge the end of them, and choose to move on? Fantastic. And she stomps on Otoya’s foot as she goes, just to let him know that he handled this less maturely than she deserved? HELL YES. It’s a template for how to break up with someone, and of all the lessons a tokusatsu show can teach impressionable children, this is one of the most useful. Don’t cling to a situation that is deteriorating. Understand the difference between a relationship that can be repaired, and one that needs to end. Be grateful for the positive times you shared with someone. Realize that you are allowed to still care for someone you’ve broken up with. For a show that has dramatized a relationship with more detail and complexity than I‘ve ever seen a Kamen Rider series attempt, this was such a beautiful coda to a messy, fascinating couple.

For sure, this is another awesome moment for Yuri! I actually agree with what you said before, about needing to balance unconditional love with self-respect to prevent becoming obsessed with that love. This is what separates her from somebody like Kusaka, who doesn't have concept of respect. Yuri is capable of loving Otoya and the time they had together while also accepting that it's in the past now, so she can move on and find somebody who will give her the love she deserves. She's an example of what Wataru needs to do with Mio. His experience with her should be recalled fondly as strength, not something to be erased or regretted. Sadness is also a part of living.