[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 31 - “GUIDED BY AN ILLUSION, THE CONSEQUENCE OF DREAMING”



Like, that screencap’s it, as far as talking about this episode. That’s the point of everything we were shown, and why this semi-interesting story about the weight of another person’s dreams had to be hilariously convoluted and almost unrecognizably motivated. This is the episode where we’re finally given the significance of all of those disappearing Ikki’s from family photos.

As a stylistic choice, a vanishing Ikki to denote Ikki forgetting things feels sort of backwards to me? Wouldn’t a vanishing Ikki mean that his family is forgetting him, not the other way around? As a thematic choice, though, I don’t hate it. The risk of obtaining power is that it warps your values, and distances you from the people in your life who knew you as someone else. The more he becomes Kamen Rider Revi, the less Ikki’s able to be the brother/son/friend he was before. (Or, more specifically, by embracing the dynamism and selfishness of Vice, he risks outgrowing the safety of his family.) The struggle of that, of keeping grounded in the face of the call to heroism – that’s an interesting balance to strike as the series moves towards its conclusion. (Bonus: so many stories about Narratively Convenient Amnesia!!!) It’s a decent dilemma for Ikki to confront, and one that needs a different skillset than upgrade forms and new ViStamps.

But the story around that revelation! Jesus! Absolutely abysmal.

Jiiko’s the only character in the Ikki/Subaru/Jiiko triangle that feels anywhere close to a normal human being. He’s a well-meaning guy that had a (literal) bad break, is trying to put his life back on track, and his best friend has not only squandered the dream they both chased, but also somehow forgotten that they ever had it to begin with. He’s offended by Ikki’s insensitivity, but he’s not letting it consume him. He’s just, like, pursuing his new dream. He’s approaching a bizarre situation in a healthy, mature way. Jiiko’s even enough of a stand-up guy to apologize to Ikki for putting too much pressure on him back in the day. Every Jiiko scene is smart, well-observed, and part of a story worth telling.

Which is why it’s so infuriating that the show put so many distracting, absurd roadblocks up in the telling. Ikki not remembering this bond and promise, it unnecessarily delays all of the useful information until moments before the resolution, robbing Ikki of a chance to sincerely grapple with his actions. It’s not a story about a choice Ikki made, or an abdication of his vow, or sacrificing a dream to feel less survivor’s guilt; it’s just a story about Ikki’s Narratively Convenient Amnesia, and nothing else for about 75% of the runtime. If this wasn't all a story built to finally explain the disappearing photographs, we maybe could’ve gotten a full two episodes of Ikki treating his choice like a choice, and of Jiiko getting to confront Ikki instead of having to go You Know What You Did and avoid actually discussing the problem like a normal human being. The realistic conflict is subsumed into bizarre mysteries and longform dilemmas, and it’s incredibly disappointing.

And then there’s Subaru, who makes zero sense. He was practicing tough love! For his beloved players! Which is why he used a ViStamp to send a monster on several uncontrollable rampages! And risked countless lives! And assaulted both Ikki and Jiiko! Instead of ever talking to either one of them about what their issue was! It’s, like… it’s not even Toku Stupid, where someone avoids saying an important thing to further a plot, but it’s a split-second thing, and almost instantly blows up in their face. This is just Actual Stupid, where no one in their right mind would pull this convoluted of a scheme in lieu of having a single conversation, especially as it is continuously spiraling out of control. Subaru’s acting like a lunatic here, and all it ends up doing is making a good story incomprehensible.

(It even taints Jiiko’s victory! The show implies that he gets his big acting role because Subaru is getting arrested by Fenix for monster crimes! That super sucks.)

I genuinely hated how this story was told, despite – or because of – how relatable Jiiko’s disappointment in Ikki was, and how non-offended I was by the perilous potential endgame of Ikki’s Going To Get A High-Even-For-This-Show Number Of Amnesias. There was a good idea here, maybe even two good ideas, and Revice opted to convey both ideas in the most frustrating way possible. This episode was maybe worse and dumber than the one before it, if only for how avoidable all of these mistakes were. I wish Lovekov would fall on the entire production team as punishment!