[DreadBringer]

Kamen Rider W(atch)

Weather Arc

Episode 29-30: The Nightmarish H

H stands for Himeka and (spoiler) Hajime Fukushima.

Written by: Keiichi Hasegawa, Directed by: Ryuta Tasaki

/The Melancholy of the Sleeping Princess

Akiko is currently tired at work, due to her newfound passion in a jidaigeki-genre DVD series, Kaze no Saheji: the Panic Revenger, which she marathoned until morning due to it being so good, explaining her sleepy state. Akiko even claims Shotaro will get hooked, albeit he claims he has no interest in historical stuff and would fall asleep within minutes. Coincidentally, they got a client with sleeping-related problem too, Himeka Yukimura who carries around an alarm clock who claims she can't sleep. Her entrance is accompanied with bright effects as if her and the case is really emphasized for some reason, in contrast to Akiko pointing out that she may come into the wrong place, that doctors are the place for sleeping problems, but she explains further that her case is about a dream monster making someone won't wake up anymore, thus she sets her alarm clock every 30 minutes (with it ringing on the office that time surprising everyone). She continues (with illustrations) about her study group friends in college lab being the victims of the monster, leaving them, except 1, in a coma with an ominous H mark on their heads. Akiko suspects that it's a Dopant that enters people's dreams, which Phillip finds fascinating; as an absurd concept (indeed less conventional ideas like that can affect the audience similarly, depending on them though). Shotaro finally agrees to take the case (while his flirting resurfaces again), which apparently made Himeka hug him and claims Shotaro may be the fated prince in her dreams.

As they visit Fuuto University, Himeka would be described as beautiful as Snow White, which plays into some part of her given name Himeka Yukimura. The Snow White play is true somewhat with her frilly outfit or such, though I don't necessarily agree with her beauty being exceptional like how the show says, but that's how looks can be subjective and an example of 'show, not tell' trait in a story. The resemblance to Snow White continues where her study group consists of her and 7 boys (and Himeka depicts them as Seven Dwarves in her drawings). They then meet Professor Akagi, who is shown to be really eccentric and quirky that he wears loincloth and lion hood, while researching lucid dreaming (controlling one's dream), using Himeka's friend that hasn't been victimized. As Shotaro tries to interrogate, Terui (with Makura) suddenly intervenes, to Akiko's joy as usual, by questioning Akagi. After admitting about those 6 students in sleeping disease being his and explaining how their experiment goes, Akagi claims that those students can't cope with the experiment. The student introduces the equipment that records their brain activity while sleeping. As Kamen Riders, Terui (with Shotaro following after) offers themselves to use that device to take the monster head on. Himeka, again, thanked Terui by hugging him and claiming that he may be the prince. Unlike to Lily, Akiko shows disdain to Himeka's behavior, though not for jealousy, but about how she does that to anyone. This is also not an usual "Shotaro loser to cool Terui" moment as the student clears up that it's the way of Himeka being nice. So Himeka's a cuddle bug. Naturally, Akegi would be suspected as a mad scientist who turns into Dopant for his research (at least by Akiko), covering rotten nature with his weirdness, though Phillip claims there's nothing wrong with the device, as Shotaro underestimates the case that he only needs to use the device, sleep, and then fight the monster in his dream. Terui starts his mission and assigns Makura and Jinno to wake him up when there's something weird as well.

Yup, turns out Shotaro can't even get a sleep, of which he'd try using his disinterest to historical stuff that he claims will put him through sleep within minutes, by watching Kaze no Saheji. Akiko was right all along, Shotaro actually gets hooked into the series. This is a Green Eggs and Ham kind of stuff, trying new things that isn't on one's interest but turns out they like it. As Makura and Jinno are playing shogi, Terui begins his dream, where he interacts with his little sister Haruko again to his confusion as she should've died, moreover that she's apparently married to Jinno (with Makura as the priest). Terui realizes that this is lucid dreaming, being conscious in your sleep dream, as the dream troublemaker Nightmare Dopant promptly appears. The scene continues to play up as if Akagi's the Dopant, as he appears by answering Terui's suspicion as well as admitting to put 6 students to sleep. apparently Terui still can henshin as Accel in his dream, and as expected from apparently the ruler of the dream, Nightmare can alter the dream to his liking like changing the scenery into a billiard hall, and also pranking Accel by pretending to explode after being hit by jet Engine attack. Don't know what limits of the reality manipulation he can do in the dream though, but Nightmare still defeats Accel by trapping him in dreamcatcher-like net. Terui's notably acting weird for this, but yeah Jinno and Makura is expected to be incompetent to be asleep when this happened, neglecting their duties to wake him up.

Not only enjoying Kaze no Saheji, Shotaro even marathoned it for a whole night, just like Akiko did, and she knows it by predictably teasing him (and playfully hit him with slipper) for being contradictory. Makura informs Shotaro that Terui is another sleeping victim with H mark now. Well of course... you neglected your duties. But for once, Terui who is usually played up as much cooler than Shotaro in the story is on the receiving one of the worf effect here, where the main protagonist would look better due to being the one to save the day. Shotaro intends to avenge Terui by sleeping (it should be easier when you've stayed all night) as Phillip, who is using Gaia Library, warns him to not rush in. It's touching for Shotaro to actually care for Terui, but true that'd be reckless as shit, Phillip's 100% right here (and it's basic warning), as there are no morally questionable actions involved here. Though Wakana can show her childish side directly in front of her family, this time, she practically turns insane, laughing all the time for no reason. Isaka confesses that it's due to high compatibility with her Memory.... which Ryubee already knew, and again, displays his protectiveness of his (apparently favored) daughter, warning Isaka that he'll make him pay if something happened to Wakana, the shot being done in a hole from pile of dishes. Another warning happens in Himeka, who eventually fell asleep, but Nightmare apparently only tells her to tell Shotaro to back off instead of taking her down, which she does to Shotaro. Of course, she'd think Shotaro's an ordinary detective, but he's a Kamen Rider. Shotaro declares to protect clients which earns him another hug from Himeka, and Akiko expressing disdain towards her. By this Himeka's probably the black sheep among Akiko's clients, the one she sees less favorably.

Phillip begins his strategy, having both him and Shotaro sleep while their consciousness are linked as they henshin into W, so that Phillip can enter his dream. A silly shot commences with a tough super-warrior only be called upon for sleeping, for real world perspective. As Shotaro has been engrossed in Kaze no Saheji recently, naturally his dream would be about him with the current cast Phillipachi, landlady Ooaki(ko), Ohime(ka), jidaigeki Terui, and Santa-chan, in jidaigeki-setting Fuuto, only that Shotaro's (hard-boiled okkapiki/edo-period cop) addressed as the boss here. I'd think the chonmage hairstyle fits Terui the best here, while it doesn't fit Phillip at all. Ooaki still slaps Shotaro with a (geta) slipper with kanji, and (luckily) still using another one for footwear. Santa-chan acts as the victim of Nightmare where he got shot at the neck before he spills the truth. Nightmare complains about Ohime's existence in Shotaro's dream and kidnaps her by absorbing her with flute, shrinking her to locate her in a jar. Like Terui before, Shotaro can still henshin with Phillipachi, where the Gaia Memories turned into painted wooden tablets as per the setting, with fully-Japanese name as well, so CycloneJoker is ShippuKirifuda. W chases down Nightmare, who makes better use of his reality manipulation, sending a building on their way, using bystanders as ninja logs after they almost save Ohime (apparently getting one who can't keep her hands off W) or just popping them out of existence (another W's deaths??), and turning W's HardBoilder into.. a bicycle. Midway, Nightmare declares himself to be Himeka's prince as well. Fortunately, the actual Phillip intervenes (somehow changing his hairstyle as well when he changes his outfit) where he's immune to Nightmare's powers (erasing or projectiles) due to him being another kind who appears in someone else's dream. A bit confused where, there'd be 2 Phillips then in Phillipachi (who's still works like real Phillip) and actual Phillip? As Phillip interrogates Nightmare as Akegi, he confesses that.. he had put Akegi to sleep too (means he's not).

Unfortunately for W (both Shotaro and Phillip), the Dopant of the week being dream based that they have to sleep to get through him means they're left in a very vulnerable state (Phillip's hole in his strategy, should sleep in a more isolated area), as Isaka arrives (likely knowing due to him trying to call Nightmare before) to take advantage of the situation to get revenge on those that disrupt his fun, with only a normal human Akiko (mere slippers as weapon) standing in his way, raining lightning as Weather directly to W, waking Phillip up. Phillip vanishes in Shotaro's dream, leaving Shotaro alone to fight Nightmare. Still Phillip's in far worse condition than Shotaro's, only having Fang to defend him against Nightmare's assault which isn't enough. eventually taking direct hit from Weather's lightning barrage, giving scorch marks all over his body, and Akiko can only cry over Phillip's unconscious body.

/Who Is the Prince?

While Shotaro is fighting Nighmare in his dream, Akiko's voice somehow figuratively reaches Shotaro in the dream as her dream projection, Ooaki, also warns Shotaro about Phillipachi being in trouble. Though interrupted by Weather, Phillip's entrance in Shotaro's dream was still impactful enough, as Nightmare deems Shotaro's dream to be too dangerous and he actually leaves for good, making Shotaro the first of Nightmare's victims to wake up and not succumb to coma, albeit Shotaro's too late as Phillip's already in critical condition, with Weather attempting to finish him with a lightning bolt. However, a sentient bird-shaped Gaia Memory successfully protected Phillip, but also absorbs Phillip's body. The Memory was so strong that it's able to 'beat' Dopants like Weather on its own, shrugging off his lightning barrage and sending back a tornado to him. Fortunately, Shotaro hearing Phillip's voice within that bird confirms that Phillip didn't die. Shotaro figures out that Himeka calls every one of her research partners as destined prince (while breaking off of Himeka's huge as a sign of him knowing that it's her habit), which Himeka admits, to anyone that treats her nicely. Other than another reference to Snow White and Seven Dwarfes, this is a case of someone who really needs to get over themselves in love situation, and I suspect naivety for Himeka to assume that being nice = being in love. But Himeka's not only one who needs to get over themselves, as Shotaro warns that there are those who take Himeka's words to heart, and also turning into a monster and tries to get rid of his rivals with sleeping sickness.

Shotaro and Akiko then visit Himeka's last standing friend, who claimed to be tired, but Shotaro gets to the point by interrogating if he's the Nightmare Dopant, but he apparently got hit by sleeping sickness too, earning the H mark in his forehead. Shotaro attempts to lucid dream again, but Akiko reminds him that Nightmare won't enter his dream again. Apparently Akiko's voice didn't only reach him, she's aware of what Nightmare said earlier. Akiko volunteers to be the one who lucid dreams now, claiming that she talks in her sleep. The Sonozaki family (with Wakana still insane) talk about Xtreme Memory (the bird-shaped one before) apparently rescuing a Rider, which alarms Ryubee that Shroud has made her move. And currently she's directly interacting with Phillip who's still inside Xtreme Memory, but healed fully, claiming that Phillip can't die for being too important (indeed, other than this he hard carries the cast in most of the cases, poor Shotaro being seen as useless compared to him). Akiko's sleep-talking is proven in her try with Shotaro getting engaged to her plan. Her dream is about Osaka, specifically Tsūtenkaku, where she runs a takoyaki stall (albeit her father is still the hard-boiled detective), with Terui and Phillip as customers. Due to her sleep-talk being clear, Shotaro can contribute as well to remind Akiko about her objective (irl wise, shouting to her sleeping self), of which the dream shows him.. in Sokichi's outfit (and Akiko mistaking him as her dad). Luckily for them Akiko quickly spots Nightmare in Tsūtenkaku.

Another surprise is that, Akiko invites Shotaro to... henshin. That's the real lucky actually to have protection after spotting Nightmare. Apparently it worked as a Double Driver materializes on Akiko too. Another female Rider baby! As in this case Shotaro's consciousness was transferred to Akiko's. As CycloneJoker, her main weapon would be, as expected, her slipper. She stays using Metal Shaft and TriggerMagnum for the subsequent HeatMetal and LunaTrigger forms though. As Nightmare uses his net to absorb LunaTrigger's beams, Akiko calls RevolGarry. As she seems to be in upper hand, and where I feel that Nightmare doesn't utilize his reality manipulation enough, Nightmare just punched her once.. and Akiko dehenshins, whining that it hurts. That's what expected from fighting as Rider y'know, it's not always you who got the upper hand. It refuted my feelings that Nightmare boasts that everything other than him is illusion in a dream, so he apparently lets others gain upper hand to toy with them. Akiko continues to interrogate Nightmare about his identity, but he actually complies due to thinking that there's no way for her to tell anyone... when in reality Shotaro praises her for it The identity isn't shown to the viewer at this point, but Shotaro commends Akiko's work and attempts to wake her.. as she got H mark in her forehead.

Phillip thanks Shroud as he leaves to help Shotaro.. but Shroud warns him to not to as Shotaro will bring misfortune on him. A new plot being set up here. Shotaro meets up with Himeka again, who explains that she suspects those who are being nice to her as her prince due to her constant dream of a prince saving her and tells her they'll be bound by fate. I think that's an extreme level of childlike and naivety to treat dream as if it's real life (anything can happen in dream including Phillip changing his hairstyle when changing his outfit). Himeka apparently finally realizes that her words causes troubles. Shotaro tries to reveal the truth to protect her, but once again it failed, but not due to Shotaro hiding/lying, but due to Himeka finally sleeping. Himeka got a dream about prince again, but this time, it's Nightmare chasing after her. However, Shotaro manages to invade the dream by confronting the real Nightmare Dopant, where Shotaro got projected as a matador in Himeka's dream. Nightmare is surprised, and Shotaro further confirms the suspicion by claiming that H in his victims refer to the initial of the true Nightmare identity - Hajime Fukushima. With no way out, Hajime finally morphs back to human, confirming that he's indeed the one friend who didn't get sleeping disease among Himeka's study group, and explains that H is both for him(eka). Though Hajime actually successfully tricked Shotaro and Akiko earlier where he pretends to get sleeping sickness, thus it shocks Shotaro, albeit the clue's still there of the hospital reporting him leaving the hospital alone.

So after Virus and Liar, this one's another case of a plot twist that was made misleading at first, in this case, Akagi was the first potential culprit, but it turns out to be Hajime. I don't think that this one's handled as good as the previous 2, probably either of it being repetitive or the clue being more obvious of Hajime being an anomaly that didn't get into coma. Hajime indeed explains about Himeka's words hurting others, like him, due to seeing her smiling to another men, thus he can't sleep for days and wants to let her know his pain. Hajime feels overconfident here due to seeing Shotaro as regular detective as he beats him up as Nightmare. Eventually after Phillip parts with Shroud, the Xtreme Memory saves Shotaro, and with Phillip's arrival both henshin into W, shocking Nightmare that he truly is a Kamen Rider, and shows him who's really the big man here. With it not being a dream, Nightmare can only run away, but got caught by W's stretching LunaJoker, and W continues the beatdown with LunaMetal while countering Nightmare's fireballs. There are still some W forms that haven't revealed their Maximum Drive yet, and LunaMetal is one of them, so W performs it here, the Metal Illusion where W forms several golden rings with the stretching Metal Shaft as projectile attack. Though still not that spectacular, I like that the attack is a bit different from usual ability unlike Metal Branding. Hajime got arrested, but somehow Terui is notably gentle in his approach to a criminal here (even compared to Makura who tries to block Himeka). Himeka witnesses his arrest but Hajime's lucky here that Himeka doesn't condemn him, and vows to wait for his return. Still, Akagi was never seen on how he reacts to this, either Hajime or the lucid dreaming project. Turns out that it's not only Hajime, but there are several sleeping sickness victims that approach Himeka and treat the fated prince declaration as love confession. What's with masses of people not getting over themselves in love topic? Moreover, to Shotaro and Akiko's dismay, Himeka didn't really learn her lesson as well, still continuing on her declaration of love to them, or that she tries to convince them that she favors no one to prevent another fight for her like what Hajime did... Phillip is thinking about Shroud's words, but now he too had a secret he can't tell, but for now brings up the incredibly obvious declaration that Shotaro's his only partner. Shotaro is puzzled by the obviousness but he blushes too as Akiko teases him for.