[DreamSword]

This is a post coming from someone who absolutely despises Kiriya for multiple reasons.

I actually liked these two episodes for the most part.

Because finally, Kiriya has to face consequences for his awful behavior. Finally, he's called out on it and the people doing it aren't immediately written out of the show. Finally, he has to actually humble himself and learn a lesson. Finally, he actually has an arc.

Did it 100% redeem him and make him likable? No, but it was literally all I was asking for when it came to Kiriya in the Inoue part of Hibiki proper. I can easily see how some would put these episodes under "too little too late" but for me, it did just enough to work, helped by all the wonderful carry-overs from the first part of Hibiki surrounding it. Todoroki acting more like his part 1 self but with a bit of Zanki thrown in was a great touch, for example.

There's also of course the Woz subplot which is all around wonderful. Full of great character humor for sure, but also really touching in how it's pulled off and resolves, which is a great move to pull as something for those who aren't buying into the Kiriya plot to latch onto. Although I guess if they don't like Woz then they're out of luck.

And hey, further reinforcement of HeiGen Forever with the Kuuga Ridewatch! Even if it did practically nothing just like in that movie!

In the end, this felt like a much better Hibiki tribute than the Decade two-parter did, which to me just felt all around like a hollow, half-hearted apology rather than a good story in its own right.

I actually had a hard time deciding on who my favorite character in Hibiki was, because I love almost all the characters in the first part, but in the end, I think I'll go with...

Hibiki was a rather unique beast in the franchise for alot of reasons, and the decision to go with a main character who wasn't a Kamen Rider was one of them. Even more than that, a kid's show detailing the effects child abandonment, depression, and anxiety have on children, and how community can help in coping with those issues, was really huge to me. Speaking personally, it was something I never really saw in children's media up to that point, and combining that with Asumu's' lovable personality and very human portrayal endeared me to him really fast.

Heck, how human the entire cast felt was very much something that I dug alot about the first part of Hibiki, which is part of what made the Inoue portion sting so hard; Seeing everyone, Asumu included, reduced to a flanderized, cartoon version of themselves.

Still, the first part of Hibiki is a show I'll always love, and it was cool to see how Zi-O managed to give it what felt like some proper tribute, despite the centerpiece being a character from the second part.