[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Beating a woman with a lead pipe was gross. Attacking a woman in her shower was unnecessary. But I think it was when Emu was getting his face shredded with broken glass that I completely checked out of this Ex-Aid Fan Club one-shot.

Yeah, I had some serious misgivings about the misplaced goals of this thing the first time I saw it. Or rather, I still do, it's just that the wound isn't fresh anymore. (Ugh, why did I have to phrase it that way? Wounds are the last thing I want to be thinking about when it comes to this special.)

For the very first ever Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club special, I just don't understand why they went with something that limits its own appeal this much? The best theory I've got is that they were actively trying to do a "you won't see THIS kind of thing on Sunday mornings!" approach, but honestly, even putting aside the issue of how much Asakura clashes with Ex-Aid's world and tone, seeing him here doesn't at all give me the same feeling I get from him in Ryuki? I can't totally put my finger on it, but nothing about his appearance in this satisfied me as someone immensely fond of that show and its characters. And then as an Ex-Aid story, it's just a zero nuance version of Hiiro's basic arc (to the point that, as you mention, it comes off as weirdly toxic), and I checked out at the exact same moment you did.

The nicest thing I can say about Emu getting beat up the way he does here is that it's the thing that made me actively conscious of how often the poor guy is always getting physically abused (on top of constantly being put through the emotional wringer, no less), and that ended up being one of the many different things that really endeared me to the character. You just want to give him a hug after seeing stuff like this, you know?