[DreamSword]

Episode 2: My Umbrella is Missing!

One of my favorite episodes of Kamen Rider Wizard is "The Ringed Novelist" wherein the primary moral of the episode is that anything can have sentimental value; Even a cheap plastic ring that most people wouldn't even give a second thought about.

And this episode of Samurai Flamenco is much the same, wherein the climax of the episode has Masayoshi and Goto arguing about the nature of petty crimes and whether or not they really have a big impact on society. When the topic of umbrella theft comes up, Goto's' stance is one most people would understandably have: Umbrellas are often left out in the open, they only cost like $5, and it's not like it kills anyone, so who cares?

Masayoshi, however, has a much different and more idealistic view. Sure, umbrellas are cheap, but it still doesn't mean that you're allowed to take what isn't yours, and doing so can have a serious impact on the person who owns it: Those affected could have to walk home in the rain and get sick, or the umbrella itself could be an important keepsake. There's no way of knowing for absolute certainty that it doesn't matter.

This of course comes full circle once the umbrella that belongs to Goto's' girlfriend gets stolen.

Tying into all of that though is that Flamenco himself is gaining quite the reputation around town. His constant boyscouting every night having some big consequences to both himself and others. Not only is he becoming a known as a public annoyance(which funnily enough the police chief notes isn't actually a crime), but Masayoshi himself is starting to seriously lose sleep over his going out on patrol every night.

While sure, the narrative does sort of point towards Masayoshi being "more" correct about his ideals in the end, I do think that the episode does a good job at showing the ups and downs of both sides overall. It's something that's actually very rare in superhero shows, and I definitely appreciate it.

Oh, there's also some hints that Masayoshi and Goto might end up as a couple in the future, but no need to think about that yet. The video of Samurai Flamenco himself returning people's' stolen umbrellas going viral is much more important, ya know?