[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 43 - “WEDDING MARCH: A TIME OF PARTING”

Centering half of the story on Shima, a character the show never spent time on, and then letting Taiga kill him off to anger Wataru… why? Why make such a huge deal about Shima’s views on Fangires, when it’s never felt relevant to a story? We never really got the feeling that Shima was anything more than a soldier. The last couple episodes have tried to reinvent him as a genocidal fanatic, but that’s super recent and barely explained. His backstory with Taiga would maybe enhance it, but it’s just never given the specificity and history to come across as anything other than some late-game retcon. When the show previously wanted to tell a story about a fanatical good guy who realized that Wataru was more than just his Fangire heritage, they chose Nago, so it mattered and it worked. To contrive this ridiculous story about Shima, all to say nice things to Wataru (a kid he had maybe four scenes with in the entire series), and then get killed by Saga in the middle of the episode… it doesn’t work! It’s too rushed, too inconsequential. It’s a waste of time.

If he would be actually killed uncerenimously, then yeah it'd fit for what you said here, but this part I've glanced in other that he doesn't die due to Saga there, and he'd do something at the end of the series (well, I'm late at episode watch here so of course others would already knew). I don't know if it's a late-game retcon, I mean Taiga is a late addition character, as well as the news that Wataru is a half-Fangire, so if the story would make him having ties with Shima, then Shima's character suddenly becomes a huge deal too. I guess Shima's views about Fangires is a big deal because he's practically the leader (awful as it is) of the good guys here by managing Aozora, and leader would influence its members more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It was a scene I was laughing at (TAIGA’S HAIR!!!), and that just kept going when Mio just up and stabs Taiga in the guts. The little blue blood that comes out of the wound, and Mio staring at her hands, and her screaming I’M SORRY… I laughed hard. Nothing about the score or the acting contained even a trace of subtlety or nuance, and it could easily pass for parody. I loved Mari in Faiz, and this level of work is beneath that actor.

It’s all so broad, this entire episode. It’s big melodramatic moments that feel completely untethered from the dramatic stakes of the show, and are working in a totally different cadence than what Kiva has been using for the last 42 episodes. Worse, it’s really all stuff that only matters in how it affects Wataru, and he’s mostly sidelined in this episode. Shima doesn’t exactly mean anything to him personally, so the one scene they have was, like, Tell It To The Dog. Tell that dog you were proud of him, because that relationship is established. The Mio/Taiga wedding should be a huge deal to multiple characters, but a) Wataru never even finds out about it, and b) it’s treated like the third-most important subplot in this episode. It’s something the show has been building towards literally since Taiga’s debut, and then all of a sudden it’s some weird thrown-off moment.

I mean, Mio undergoes a development that seems opposite to me from Wataru's, which is her becoming a yandere to kill anyone that stands in the way of her and Wataru's love, and committing to Queen role so that she can have Wataru as King (with a possible take of my thoughts for Mio protecting Taiga below). Mio outwardly may seem nice due to her shyness, similar to Wataru, but she has hidden dark and selfish traits here that'd make her different from Wataru moral wise, either pushed to it or inherent. Mio becomes similar to Taiga, at this point. She essentailly does the same thing to Wataru as Taiga, persuading him to embrace Fangire side, though unknown what can happen to humanity afterwards, or Fangires too, if Mio would let them be killed by humans, only concerning herself to be together with him. Like I said before, she even shows manipulative side towards Taiga, to pretend to be happy and interested interacting with him here. But it's shown more in this episode, that she pretends to go along with Taiga's proporsal, planning to kill Taiga at the wedding herself, because Wataru won't do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Nominally, it explains Mio’s decision at the end of the episode, but I didn’t buy that for a single second. Taiga’s decision to spare her made sense. This is a guy who desperately wants to believe that he is loved, even if he has to get his guts pulled out to prove it. He also has based his entire sense of self-worth on being King of the Fangires, so he is heavily motivated to salvage his relationship with Mio. (Also, trying to kill your loved ones is a pretty big part of Fangire culture, so maybe this didn’t mean the same thing to Taiga as it meant to Mio?) So Taiga denying Mio’s attempt on his life? I buy that. I do not buy Mio sacrificing herself to save Taiga for even a fraction of a goddamn second. It’s utterly incomprehensible, and I am always willing to give Inoue the benefit of the doubt when it comes to character motivations. Mio hated Taiga! She loved Wataru! Wataru wasn’t crazy about her wanting him to kill Taiga, but it’s not like they broke up or anything. There’s no reason, in this episode, for her to risk her life to save Taiga’s. It’s a decision that doesn’t make sense to me at all.

And now, since she died in process, we’ll likely get Wataru feeling monumentally guilty about something that wasn’t his fault, and Taiga swearing revenge for something that wasn’t Wataru’s fault. (Like, Mio doesn’t do anything to try to stop this fight before jumping in front of a finisher! She doesn’t plead with them first, or anything sensible. She just dives in front of a Wake Up Fever! That is like trying to put out a fire by diving on top of it. Not that helpful!)

I'd think Taiga's main desperation is him ensuring future for Fangire, but also by hindering their 'oppositions' like humans, and that's due to them being inferior, like preventing Fangires to marry humans. His ideal life involves mainly Wataru on his side, but about him with Mio, Mio is a Queen and thus she's used as something that would ensure his command over the Fangires, which is marrying her as a Queen, and making himself King. I only want to know what would be Taiga's reaction if there would be another Queen appointed, as his main aim is to ensure future for Fangires (and what he wants is Wataru on his side), I'm not assuming for Taiga to kill Mio due to her being useless now or such by that btw as for below.

I mean why would you claim Wataru feels guilt for something not his fault? I mean Wataru of course would be devastated at the loss of Mio, potentially his love. This is just another trauma Wataru had to go through with, like his half-Fangire nature, the betrayal of Dai-chan, etc. I'd agree though Mio diving at a finishing move isn't an optimal move... but many sacrifice moves are done this way... jumping your whole body to the attack instead, though actually the question I have is if Queen dies at such quick rate like that (I forgot if there's a failed finisher before). Otherwise well, Mio's death is something that fanbase can see as KR mistreating females. It seems like a sudden last decision change for Mio to shield Taiga... I mean Mio plotted to kill Taiga herself, using the wedding as the means to do so. I guess Taiga being nice to Mio is the closest excuse for her to return the favor, that Taiga still covers for her despite her attempts to kill Taiga and letting her escape, and while Mio still won't love Taiga romantically, this probably dispells her hatred for him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It bummed me out so much that I can barely muster any enthusiasm for the 1986 stuff. That was generally okay, even if it’s sort of rushing through plot developments. Maya hearing Otoya’s song while Yuri couldn’t was a great touch, but I wish the scene of Maya losing her powers wasn’t something that happened without Yuri and Otoya around. It’s the same problem I had with the Mio/Taiga wedding, where it’s this huge moment the show has been building up to.. and then it just happens in isolation, like it’s ticked off of a checklist and that’s all that mattered.

Continuing from Otoya claiming that what matters for Maya is her soul instead of her race, I don't know if Otoya would care about Maya losing her powers or not.