[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER REVICE: KOALA VS KANGAROO!! CRYING OUT LOVE SMACK IN THE CENTER OF A WEDDING?!



A lot of incredibly funny stuff in this HBV: a Build-themed Genome that turns Vice into a tiny baby that calls Revi “Papi”; a fight between two baby-sized puppets against an outback backdrop; Sakura consistently avoiding telling everyone that she’s definitely marrying Aguilera; and Lovekov casually rejecting Vice. Good stuff, all around. But let’s talk smooching.

I will always love this series for hinging a plot in its HBV on – loudly, canonically – how badly George wants to see Daiji and Ikki kiss. That’s it. That’s the top of the mountain for this series. George, long the most background-horny character on the show, contrives a Deadmans-elimination scheme that will hopefully get Ikki and Daiji to smooch, preferably with Daiji in a wedding dress, where George can also record it for later. To gleefully rewatch at his leisure.

It’s honestly pretty great? It could absolutely come off a little gay panic-y, but I think the commitment of the characters (as well as the salacious delight George shows) keeps things from making the joke about two dudes kissing; the joke is in two brothers kissing, and how thirsty George is for it, to a level that would make a Supernatural fan cringe. Ikki, the heroic lead, never once makes it seem like kissing a dude is some horrible sacrifice or shameful action; he’s like Hey Let’s Smooch And Then Go Fight A Monster, smile on his face the whole time.

(Also: Daiji definitely enjoyed both his Ikki smooch and his Hiromi smooch. This is a very queer-positive HBV!)

It’s a special that doesn’t really have a lot to say about family (weddings are where your family grows???) but it’s all in on antagonistic comedy between the Igarashi siblings and bonkers teamwork between Revi and Vice. (Also, the now-requisite comedic humiliation for Hiromi.) This is one of those HBVs that’s just trying to have fun, and I thought it was a bullseye on that count. Its approach to queer romance could be called a failure, but its willingness to get agreeably horny about two young men sharing a romantic moment for George’s duplicitous pleasure was a rousing success.

Glad George could get to see his Ikki/Daiji fic finally come to life!