[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 17 - “FAREWELL TO N - THE MEMORY KIDS”

He’s the perfect foil for Shotaro. Kirihiko’s as image-obsessed as Shotaro, but in a more refined and dignified way. Kirihiko loves Fuuto like Shotaro does, and he even designed the town’s mascot. He cares about Fuuto, but in a way that prioritizes a potential glorious future over a chaotic and violent present. He’s a Shotaro that didn’t have the steady hand of Sokichi to guide him.

This scene is fun, but I think, this kinda undermines the potential personal rivalry between them both (unlike what comes after this), other than fighting in their alias (W and Nazca), including their faces being covered by the towels, until those come off from their face. I think by that, their clash is only limited here iirc to Kirihiko explaining about himself being the distributor of Gaia Memory which he sees as a path for human evolution, which as Shotaro pointed out, he's doing the opposite of Fuuto love with making the city cry instead for distributing evil tool. Nazca also still proclaims his love of Fuuto, not listening to W's protest about him actually making the city cry; he's deluded to consider his actions - he's the bad guy (yes, doing bad things for good cause is also an example) counterpart of Shotaro.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It makes for a fun secondary plot to this Afterschool Special of an episode, where Shotaro and Akiko attempt to reach a group of wayward youths who are hooked on USB drives that are drug metaphors. There’s not much to the angle besides the joke of Shotaro acting like he’s 60-years old all of a sudden – there’s not much to Touma than the panic of writers in 30s and 40s who can’t connect with teens, and Akiko’s currently just, like, Going Through A Phase. It’s not an episode that really builds out its mystery plot with a ton of nuance or specificity. (Like, Team Double is only a single Queen & Elizabeth guest appearance away from completely getting to the bottom of Akiko’s disappearance.)

When a nurse reports that Yuichi'd be fine, not only Yayoi, but Akiko is relieved as well and consoles her, another showing of her dedication to the job and clients - those who are related to them too. The teens are interested to become superhumans, enjoying to fly through the city as Bird Dopant (I'd get behind this too), but, if even adults can get drunk with power like Kurata before, like what Queen and Elizabeth speculates, youth is even more suspicious to this, with Touma using Bird Memory to attack people and treat it like a game (that's outright Grongi thing, monsters who are all cruelty). The ace cop Jinno and Makura discussing about, foreshadows of an important character. And here's an actual cool moment for Shotaro, to flip-kick the Bird Dopant away as the Dopant charges towards him.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But it does form an interesting idea of how you can care about something, but be so distanced from it that you don’t understand it. Kirihiko loves Fuuto, but his marriage to Saeko (and overall striver ethos) make him see Fuuto less as a collection of lives and more as a balance sheet, to be managed and eventually cashed out. It’s the same with Shotaro and Akiko, where he just assumes she’s going to be a sweet kid forever, instead of growing into a complicated teenager.

As usual, Shotaro has optimistic view on the clients, but it's bad here as it's kinda generalizing to think it's normal for kids typically wanting to run away from home at her age and she'll come back naturally. He gets it though from Queen and Elizabeth considering Akane hanging out as 15 year old to be suspicious that Shotaro doesn't really get kids nowadays. Akane gives me Yuuko vibes from ep. 3-4 to be cold to Shotaro and Akiko's pranks and refusing to go home. The youth seek freedom of having fun and cut down meddling adults such as detectives. Even I don't understand Akane's standoffish behavior earlier, or that she is a slight prick but has standards, or the side effects she suffered later, as she has been warning others about Touma's attacks.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I don’t know if it’s an idea that, y’know, goes anywhere this time, though. Kirihiko’s concerned that kids are getting Gaia Memories, instead of the usual cautionary tale scumbags and lunatics, and Saeko barely tries to even mollify him with assurances that it’s being looked into. (I appreciate her not just laughing in his face, like she clearly meant to.) But it’s not really a story that does more than allow for some character growth to be applied later to Kirihiko. We’re clearly setting up to a breaking point for Kirihiko, but this episode is all setup for that moment.

Even Kirihiko doesn't know that a Memory can be used by multiple people, but also Yuichi suffering painful side effects on the area he plugged the Gaia Memory (without Living Connector), the skin outright melted. Kirihiko reveals to Saeko that he wants to use Gaia Memory to evolve humanity into ideal life-form. So Kirihiko does genuinely have good intentions, but he still uses the wrong means to achieve it, a well-intentioned extremist, along that he'd agree to sacrifice corrupt adults to achieve it, but he has limits on his atrocity to not involve kids while Saeko looked up for it. W's accusations of Kirihiko selling underages Gaia Memories is wrong though as are no records of underages buying Gaia Memories, with him waiting for Saeko's investigation to explain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

DIE-A MEMORIES

-The whole Fang subplot in this one is peak W for me. It’s goofy, colorful, and eventually completely awesome. And it ends with a definitive Akiko Can’t Catch gag!

Adds another difficulty for W's fighting that Fang Memory moves on its own, and Akiko with Phillip failing to find it, to the point of Philip making a mess to look for it, making W resort to CycloneJoker, then CycloneMetal, and HeatMetal, thus he can't put down the significantly stronger than usual level 2 Nazca Dopant that uses super speed. Though Philip does find out that, like how it's designed, Fang Memory will come through him when he's in danger. I'd like it better if FangJoker utilizes his boomerang ability to deal with the flying Bird Dopant.