[Fish Sandwich]

Back to single picks this time, with the music used for the recap in this one. It's actually a theme for Bishop, and it's got a sort of pompous sound that fits him like a glove. Only about a third of this track is actually used in the episode though, and I don't remember catching it anywhere else as I was going through the show, let alone in a scene with Bishop? Kinda sad to think anything in Kiva's soundtrack would get used so little, assuming I didn't just miss some scene somewhere, but hey, that's part of why I'm highlighting this stuff.

As for the episode...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

ha ha ha ha INOUE FOREVER.

Yeah, sounds about right.

I'm gonna say right now, I think "Wataru tries to literally erase his entire existence from history" was the maybe the most perfect possible choice as a climactic arc for Wataru? Calling it "his Final Form of running away" sums it up pretty nicely. It's like all of his worst impulses concentrated at the worst possible moment into this totally insane plan, that's also deeply depressing when you consider the implications of what Wataru must feeling inside to even entertain the concept for more than a second. The show puts Wataru's self-esteem at absolute rock bottom... and yet it also makes it hilarious? It's such a wild swing, having Wataru just walk in on Otoya and Yuri at the start impersonating a doctor less than a minute after a recap of like the most tragic thing that ever happened in the show, and it's one of those things I have to commend Inoue for, because most writers probably aren't crazy enough to try making that turn. But then like, it legitimately snaps the show right back into a more bouncy and fun tone? While still having the plot itself make a ton of sense thematically and function completely as a logical (well, "logical") next step in the story?

It's completely insane, and I kinda love it. It was another plot I knew happened before I even watched the show (along with Mio's death; I've seen Wataru get made fun of for this absurd overcorrection a lot), and I remember being surprised how agreeable it all felt. Like, Jirou just throws him in the magic time portal and Wataru's broken heart takes over from there – he's going to make some bad decisions!

(And going back to the episode, "2人がラブラブになっちゃったら、僕が生まれちゃうんです" is maybe one of the funniest sentences I've ever heard in my life? It's Wataru's explanation of why he can't allow Otoya and Maya to be together, since I know I'm not making that obvious, but that because it's very specifically the exact wording choices in Japanese that make it so funny to me. It's like every single part of that sentence was precisely crafted to sound both as silly and as pathetic as possible, and it's how you know Inoue was in on the joke with this plot.)

Another thing I vividly remember from this episode for some reason is Wataru's transformation when he's protecting Maya? Right down to that swing set being there? I think it was probably because it was the first time you get to see Kiva Form in a few episodes, and it was also the scene where I recall registering how much I really liked Emperor Form's BGM... which explains why I didn't realize it was Emperor Form's BGM for so long. Funnily enough, I believe this is also the last time you see Wataru turn into Kiva Form at all in the show, so I guess I'm glad I savored it while I could!

...Oh, and about that defense I failed to mount earlier?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Mio deserved better.

Well, yeah, she absolutely did, and that's kinda the whole point of that story? Mio was a character who, arguably more than anyone else in the show, was torn between the two worlds Wataru and Taiga represent. She had a normal life she wanted to live alongside the cute boy she liked on one hand, and the burden of a fate she never asked for on the other. That unwanted duty of being the Fangire Queen ate away at Mio constantly, even pushing her thinking into some pretty dark places as she attempted to find some way to make peace with the idea, but she was never able to firmly commit to either side, and ultimately she becomes a victim of the show's cruel and uncaring systems – caught in the crossfire of Kiva and Saga as they battle in the ever-escalating war between human and Fangire. (Which is how the Shima plotline factors in, as the episode very specifically highlights their clashing ideologies as their reason for fighting.) Mio's death serves as sort of the ultimate reminder of the tragic price of the vicious cycle the cast is currently caught up in.

I know there's sort of a loaded nature to her death that's inherently going to be tricky for you to overlook, and I respect that, but I honestly think Mio dying when and how she does has an absolutely critical, justified place in the plot and overall themes of Kiva, and it's sort of hard for me to imagine it going any other way than it did.