[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by TheRaizin

I think I just got disappointed by Jin's developments after his revival. I was looking forward to see the Burning Falcon suit frequently, especially with how frequent he was during first 16 episodes. (that said, I might need to go back for his SHF someday, dunno why I haven't gotten it yet)

There is a comparison I used to draw. Jin's posture. During his revival he stood straight, but as the season went on and along with Horobi coming back, Jin's posture started slouching until he kind just looked like how he did back in the first episodes. I really thought pairing Horobi with Jin was a bad move and he should've been in his own little faction.

You're not wrong, and I expect that this show's tendency to plateau its characters is something I'll be talking about later this week in the Series Wrap-Up. I still like Jin, but he (and several other characters) feel like they reached a level of personal evolution and then the show was basically done with them.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

This part continues to show Horobi being dedicated to his utter hatred for humanity. The reason why he brushes off Jin's suggestions and even threatened him is because, having a heart is a human trait, and Horobi acknowledging it would mean he's not different from the very humans he wanted to destroy, a "hypocrite" (when he's already one for various reasons).

I don't know if Horobi has an "utter hatred for humanity"? This part of his character arc is about when you've been steeped in a hateful culture for your whole life, and now you have the opportunity to make up your own mind. He was never really wronged by humanity. No one has a grudge against him that he isn't responsible for. (Like, people hate Horobi, but it's because he's a genocidal terrorist, not because he's a Humagear.) The Ark was the one who turned him against humanity, but the Ark's gone now. The rest of MetsubouJinrai is using this new chapter in their lives to find fulfillment in self-determination. Horobi's terrified of making his own decisions, charting his own course, so he regresses back to the simplicity of the Ark's bullshit, but now with the veneer of his own desires. It's not, though, and that's why it's not helping him.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Tbh, the series painted Ark-uto as a villain here, but while Ark-uto's certainly a lot darker and more unscrupulous than his usual portrayal, they didn't really show actual villainous behaviors from him. He's only out to kill Horobi, a genocidal, hypocritical terrorist, but against others, he didn't do malicious shit at them, just being rougher than usual.

Wanting to murder someone in order to get revenge is always wrong! It's sort of this story's thesis statement!

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Originally Posted by TF RyuShin

I don't think the scene where Horobi killed Izu was a plot machination. I like how metaphorically, Horobi transformed to Kamen Rider Horobi to execute Izu. It was like Horobi himself, deep inside, didn't want to kill Izu and he only transformed back because he NEEDED the Kamen Rider persona to maybe hide his tears behind the mask. I don't think there was anything bad, idiotic, or OOC for either Horobi and Izu. Their actions in the last episode was kept based and grounded with their background and lesson.

Fair enough! For me, it was a plot development that made Izu act recklessly so that one to two men could have very strong feelings for a few episodes, but I am clearly in the minority with that opinion.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

My favorite scene from this episode is close to the start, where Jin interrogates Horobi's belief, as they stand with the clotheslines between them. It's pretty rare for KR to have the final villain murder the female lead and then depict the villain as someone to pity rather than hate. While I mourn Izu's loss with everybody else, I can't bring myself to hate Horobi for killing her, cause deep down, he's already hating himself enough. He's refusing to listen to his heart (like Onari always advised) cause he doesn't want to feel even more suffering and he'd rather keep going with his misguided genocide than admit to himself the painful truth that he did something terrible he can never take back. It's a different spin on Gai's arc and just as tragic and it makes Horobi one of the most complex villains in KR.

I'm not sure I like this story better than Gai's? Horobi's depression and derangement has already had more severe costs than Gai's, so I'm not super inclined to feel pity for the guy. I'd love for him to find some self-awareness and regret for his actions, like Gai (well, regret anyway), but until that happens I'm not gonna be real He's Been Through A Lot about our homicidal/genocidal purple Rider.

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Originally Posted by Frontier

Seeing As basically having Aruto wrapped around her finger because she looks so much like Is is pretty sad, and seeing Aruto kill Jin knowing how far their relationship has come and knowing how Aruto feels about fathers and sons...really shows just how much all this hate, malice, and inability to really move on has hurt so, so many.

Killing a son directly in front of his father is sort of a nightmare scenario for Aruto, yeah. The other way around might've been even worse for him, but this one's still pretty bad!