[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER SPECTER X KAMEN RIDER BLADES



All set to talk about how much this installment improved over the previous one for its focus on the theme of Family… but then New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s “Ticking Time Bomb” – Hiromu Takahashi – just up and appears in a post-credit cameo?! WHAT?! You can’t do that to me, Toei! I know this thing doesn’t have a third part! If I didn’t check the Wiki and find out that he’s in Outsiders, I’d probably be as upset at Toei as I am currently thrilled to watch Outsiders!

(Also, it's hilarious that now the two NJPW guys I most confuse the names of, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hiromu Takahashi, have both appeared in Kamen Rider. This is not helping me keep their names straight!)

Besides that bump in the road, yeah, I liked this one a lot better than the previous part. Having it be a story about Family both provides narrative cover for Makoto to bail out his sister, and for Rintaro to have a place in the story. Without that, it’d still be a solid story about Kanon trying to spare her brother from hardship, which would’ve been enough for me. I’m glad I got more than enough!

It’s not the, uh, best outing for Kamen Kanon here. She owns a substantial portion of this narrative with calm empathy and quiet power, but then basically chokes in the climax and needs Specter to help her save the day. (And, boy, it’s not even like he’s there for an extra push or anything: Kanon had pretty thoroughly bungled this one, and Makoto’s the one who saves the Non-Kanons and mostly defeats the villains.) We were always going to get Makoto showing up and superheroing, but it’s a little weird how quickly Kanon cedes her story to Makoto.

Still, fun to see Kanon get to be a Kamen Rider, fun to see Makoto get a small moment with Takeru, and fun to see Blades get the terrible Deep Specter pauldrons that inhibit his arm movements so much that he can’t really swing a sword. It’s a cute little reunion special, with a surprising amount of additional world-building to go along with the fan service.

Most of all, it’s not weird in any way that Makoto finally gets his dream of living alongside five adoring Kanons. YAY!



—

SPECTRAL WORKSHOP



“Makoto was nice,” Rintaro said, unprompted.

Mei was walking with him back to the bookstore, and the conversation had stalled. It frequently did, after a long battle and a little post-fight camaraderie. Mei had been around the swordsmen for long enough to give their nerves time to settle, and for the adrenaline of the contest to abate. The quiet was nice for them, and she didn’t mind a thoughtful walk with Rintaro.

“Uh, yeah, he seemed like a good guy. Not a Good Guy,” she emphasized the words, while doing a stock superhero pose with her chest puffed out and her arms akimbo, “although, yeah, that too, but a good, uh… brother, I guess?”

Rintaro turned to her, with a concerned look on his face. “What do you mean, ‘I guess’? Do you not think Makoto was a good brother?”

Mei collected her thoughts. Rintaro was… sometimes hard to talk to about these things. His interpersonal skills were almost all gleaned from study, or handed down from Sword of Logos HR. He dreamed of a family, but he’d never really experienced one. She needed to be careful about how she approached this topic.

“He… I think he means well. I think he cares about his sister. But I don’t know if he really sees her as her own person, outside of being his sister. Which means that she isn’t really able to see herself as her own person, since she cares so much about his approval. I feel like she’s going to have a hard time being a Kamen Rider until she cares more about what she thinks than what he thinks. Does that make sense?”

Rintaro was silent, which was not as comforting as it was a few minutes ago. He was normally so quick to agree, or ask follow-up questions, or just generally enhance his understanding of a new situation. It was sometimes annoying, but always eventually charming. When he was quiet like this, she worried that he was offended, or confused. His inquisitiveness sometimes embarrassed him, especially when he felt like he missed some social cue.

“That does make sense, yes.” Rintaro sounded a little wistful. “It can be difficult to be an effective fighter when you value the approval of others more than you value personal contentment. The same is true for being an effective family member. It has been…” he trailed off, inhaled deeply, and continued, “It has been hard to see myself as part of a family, rather than just someone who wanted to be in a family. I needed to feel complete, before I could feel like I was part of a group. I don’t know if Makoto and Kanon can see that about themselves. Does that make sense?”

Mei smiled slightly at Rintaro’s typically adorable blunt honesty. He was always a good boy, but he was quickly becoming a good man. “Yeah,” she said happily, “that makes sense.”