[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 33 - “LOVEKOV REBELS!? SAKURA’S RESOLVE”

The ending to this one will always be a little funny to me, despite greatly enjoying the episode as a whole. (Well, not the Akaishi stuff; probably never the Akaishi stuff.) We’ve finally gotten Aguilera/Hana into a positive, healthy mental space… and Sakura almost instantly recruits her to join a massively untrustworthy terrorist organization with a surplus of gaming chairs. I know it’s because Aguilera’s too spoiled and self-mythologized to scrub tile at the Happy Spa, so Sakura needs to give her a mission that can make her feel important, but c’mon! I don’t know if the solution to depression and suicidal ideation is working in a dungeon, surrounded by people who were just trying to get you killed yesterday! Maybe Mom Ikarishi could make an alternate suggestion, if she were still on this show?

And for the main thing in this episode between the yuri couple of Sakura and Aguilera (as for "getting into romantic part", this leaves me some bad taste because of how Tamaki was treated before, yuri couple can be done as an anti-men sentiment and I don't want for this to be supported for that), I already expected that it'd end with Aguilera living and apparently redeemed here midway due to how Aguilera opened up and had fun living a human life with Sakura. That'd mean she's shown to find something worthwhile in human life and the series won't waste that anymore by having her die. For this part, I kinda appreciate about how this one's less repetitive to have more different approach done in the story between them.

Other than that, as she's redeemed now, I'm afraid this can strengthen the "they're not villains just misunderstood" arguments to shift the blame from anyone but the villains, like not coddling them like this (and still giving excuses to them when they take advantage/backstab of this) using Aguilera as 'proof'. And for my place, likely increasing the misuse of the word 'heroine' to be slapped on any major female characters (instead of her actually becoming one much later here for Aguilera's case), even if they're anything but (for series that has no secondary heroines, like Zi-O, and sociopaths like Ora being refered as 'heroine' ).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The rest of the episode was delightful, though. Sakura’s solution for Aguilera’s Lovekov-esque moody defiance is to ask Aguilera out on a date, and that was about it for me being able to seriously find fault with this plotline. It’s like a dumb joke a fan might make, but it’s too perfect a twist to not go ahead with. Sakura’s flaw earlier wasn’t that she wanted to separate Aguilera from her demon, it’s that she didn’t let that be a thing the two of them went through together. Aguilera feels adrift and isolated; Sakura needs to be an anchor for her, regardless of the tough love Sakura needs to show.

My impression when she was redeemed at this time, I wondered how someone bratty and spoiled like Aguilera interact with others at Weekend (obviously, the other one given 'sexy' uniform with knee-high boots), which will annoy me more if she mistreats others at Weekend (like ofc, being commanded) and got free pass due to her 'good' status now. Though making her only background audience at Weekend like Tamaki is at Happy Spa isn't good either. Otherwise, as turning human would have her being refered by her human name Hana now, I'd still call her Aguilera because... well there's already a major character named Hana in this franchise previously.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But it’s not even really tough love, it’s just love. It’s Sakura showing a sheltered girl from a demonic cult that the world has more to offer her than Tamaki and a nightclub-spaceship-church. Aguilera loves Sakura, and Sakura clearly loves Aguilera, so the best way to address Aguilera’s despondence is to just be there for her. Take her to a theme park, buy her ice cream, and have an incredibly cute day together. It’s a statement of intent as strong and useful as a vow to save Aguilera from demonic servitude, and it’s equally as necessary. Sakura’s strength is in her vulnerability, and this episode was a testament to that heroism.

I guess despite previously that 'what Aguilera wants' vs 'what's the right thing' is finally addressed, turns out that the latter wins here, and I guess the difference of Sakura and Ikki before was that Sakura knows Aguilera more and can reach out to her better than even Tamaki? Then only by that time she decides to separate her instead (with George's help to make her a̶ ̶G̶r̶i̶m̶ ̶R̶e̶a̶p̶e̶r̶ a) and not instantly at the beginning? So even if the (initial) end solution is giving someone death if it's what they want, the right thing is still not exempt and should still be tried upon here. And her speech (to instruct Aguilera) before delivering the blow to save anyone regardless of which power would mean this treatment is not strictly for Aguilera (for the shippers though..). Previously there's more showings for Lovekov, so she's a fan of heavy metal music, and she's actually an abrasive demon too, instead of the docile and peaceful one shown before, with how she trashtalks Vice. Well the implication is already there with how she already called Vice a loser before.and her behavior at ep. 29.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Sort of the entirety of the episode for me, that plot. The Akaishi stuff is nothing to me, and the Vail fight scene was fun, but basically just re-establishing Vail’s designs on Genta. The heart and soul of this episode was Sakura saving -slash- recruiting Aguilera, and every little detail that went into that plot. (LOVEKOV’S ROOM!!! With a petulant Lovekov wearing Jeanne headphones for abrasive heavy metal music!!!) I am sometimes easily won over, and The One Where Sakura Asks Out Aguilera is as winning a premise as I can think of right now.

Previously I talked about the speculation of who's going to be the new villain. If it's Vail, Akaishi, or Giff (like Ark). Turns out that.... all 3 of them are working together, lmao! Akaishi's the main human representation that interacts with others, and Vail is actually current partner of his (still working to get back at the Igarashis), and Giff is the one that provides them power, both for Akaishi's immortality and to give Vail a physical form similar looking to Vice's. So far Akaishi's history is him making a contract with Giff to gain his power and him taking up a role to oversee human's evolution, and he wants to evolve them due to it being proven to both Akemi with gun and Daiji trying to cave his head in and Akaishi wanted to 'share' his superiority with them. And though Akemi is still powerless against a superhuman, now here she can perform some action feats in normal human level with her breaking free of the zipties (like Sakura) and somersaulting off a sofa to arm herself with a gun. So what was Akemi thinking when Kagerou physically attacked her before? Or even when Giftarians slowly walked on her? Previously she acted as damsel-in-distress in those situations that imply she isn't an action type that time, but now turns out she is one, I mean she could've broken free from Kagerou's hold then?

The one who ensures that the yuri couple had fun, the older brother Ikki and Vice himself, by fighting off Vail, I would say that Vail's showings aren't that impressive yet here, he's evenly matched with base Vice (I know there are series that has base form taking on the final threat but this one's still middle!) instead of same power but superior one. And by that Revice is expected to had upper hand on Vail shortly after. Though it may not be Vail's best capabilities with Revice's finisher not finishing off Vail. Other than that Ikki shows himself growing out of his busybodiness again by convincing Vice that they're right to stand back from the yuri couple's problem. So Vice telling Ikki to stay the way he is was a bad influence even if it's well-meaning before!

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I was willing to give Sakura the benefit of the doubt, when she interrupted Kamen Rider Revice's finisher and promised Aguilera what she wanted. For all her flaws, the show had yet to give me any reason to question her morality, as she was still one of the alleged heroes. Sure, I disliked her, a lot, but I didn't think she was a bad person.

Still not should be done either despite this episode. There can be perhaps many times on how characters can rub someone the wrong way, but they shouldn't be evaluated based on how they make audience feel. Still can acknowledge this moment as wrong (or unintentionally wrong), but never cherry-pick certain moments that sticks out the most (either personally or the series presenting it as their big moments - characters' small/generic moments shouldn't be left out) to evaulate them (including for opposite examples, villains' basic decency).

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

The episode concludes with Aguilera suddenly being totally okay with this development, having joined the Weekenders as Sakura's sidekick. Everything went exactly the way Sakura orchestrated, but at the cost of Aguilera's autonomy as a human being. Those last ten minutes left me astonished for all the wrong reasons, as I wondered how Kinoshita could conceive of such a hollow narrative.

Felt that perhaps various humans can respond to various events in vastly varied and different ways? Sure you'd be livid over changes in decisions like this, but it'd be still like projecting yourself on others like Aguilera here to think that it doesn't make sense for her to be totally ok with this, but dunno. Would like to hear why she'd be not ok to be given a chance to enjoy worldly thing (outside of how it's technically a broken promise). I also would wonder if someone trying to talk out to someone who is depressed enough to consider suicide, would be a bad thing to deny what they want.