[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 34 - “Y’S TRAGEDY - BROTHER AND SISTER”



Such a perfect episode! Right up until the last two minutes!!!

Before that, though, it’s so good. Beautifully filmed, considerate in its characterization, moody without being maudlin or histrionic, keenly aware of its metaphor… it’s so good. It’s such a smart episode. For most of its runtime.

Like, I can believe they actually got Kirihiko to come back for a scene? It wasn’t strictly necessary – this is a story about memory and letting go of the past, so he didn’t need to physically appear at all – but it’s a nice touch to include a pre-forcible divorce scene where Kirihiko calls his newly-established kid sister and makes sure she’s okay. It just pluses up that side of the story, and I respect the producers going the extra mile for it.

Especially because this episode was already so good without it? The exploration of The Real Yukie is even more charismatic and compelling than the fake Yuuko from last time. She’s completely the woman that Shotaro would fall for – committed to her sense of justice, cunning in her execution of it, and preferential to hats and vests. (I thought that was just for Shotaro’s benefit, but she seriously wears them all the time?) She’s got a real Irene Adler thing going on throughout this, where she’s sort of into the game of manipulating Shotaro, just to see how long she can outsmart him. She’s never 100% honest with him, but she trusts him to see the truth of her regardless.

And then we’ve got Saeko, who builds out the rest of this story about knowing when to let go of the past. While Yukie needs to put her vengeance to rest before it kills her, Saeko needs to kill Yukie to truly put Kirihiko behind her. She’s not exactly mourning Kirihiko, or regretting her role in his death (i.e., killing him), but defeating the vengeance of Kirihiko is another step towards becoming a more fearsome and remorseless villain.

Speaking of, it’s actually pretty great to have Isaka show up as the final boss of this story, instead of Saeko. He’s here as the narrative’s replacement of Kirihiko, a refutation of his humanity and eventual decency. Isaka gets his ass handed to him as a tiny victory for a guy who loved Fuuto, but isn’t around to protect it anymore. A little gift, nothing more.

And then we get the ending.

I don’t know if I’ve ever groaned louder than when Shotaro narrated that Yukie was stricken by Narratively Convenient Amnesia, a heretofore unknown side effect of utilizing the Yesterday Memory. It’s not only such a gigantic cheat, a sloppy way of making sure that Shotaro’s New Crush doesn’t hang around the series for more than a two-parter, but it directly undercuts all of the character growth this entire story has been constructing for her. It’s important that she’s aware of her actions, so she can truly grapple with the weight of Kirihiko’s absence, and what her life looks like after vengeance. She has to choose to let yesterday go. Instead, she’s got amnesia, maybe someday she won’t, coffee gags, credits. It’s so frustrating to have a smart story rush through a stupid ending, and it makes me almost as mad as the rest of the story made me happy.

I hate that this is the last thing I can talk about from this episode, her dumb Narratively Convenient Amnesia. I wanted the ending to be as smart and sad and beautiful as the rest of the story, but WOW was it not. I guess I’ll just have to let it go, in time. Or maybe I’ll hit my head and forget everything that happened. Either or!

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DIE-A MEMORIES



-Another gorgeously shot episode. Look at them screencaps!

-Wakana’s fine now, everybody. Fun conclusion to that plot.

-I like how mad at himself Philip is that he didn’t catch Yuuko’s pun pseudonym. I don’t think it’s a good one – Fuwa Yuuko = Who Are You, I really don’t think that’s how those syllables work – but Philip does not love being outsmarted, and that’s a fun shade for him to play.