[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 40 - “THE LIKELIHOOD OF G - I CAN’T FORGIVE YOU”



So: an entire episode devoted to Wakana. Her power-up, her frustrations, her villainy, her unwavering dedication to the Museum. Imagine how much fun this was to watch!!!

Real low-point of the series, for how little I cared about what was happening in about 80% of this episode. 20% was fun, though! The amateur film stuff was cute – nice gags with our backgrounded cast, at least. Tooru’s ability to come out of his shell and be honest with people was a fine, light story to tell, and it’s application to Philip’s feigned indifference to the fate of Wakana was solid. It was good to see the series try and reframe Wakana’s ridiculous characterization as irrelevant, because the crux of the issue is that Philip believes in a version of her that no one else sees, even her, so he’s going to fight for her redemption. Him ignoring her overt villainy to argue for a version of their relationship that he wants back… that’s good. That’s something to hold onto.

Because WOW does this episode not do itself any favors by regressing us to, like Episode 2 Wakana, now with added Memory Madness.

I guess that’s what we’re landing on with Wakana’s motivation now? She’s gone Memory Mad, and that’s rendered her irredeemably evil? I never really liked it before – it’s the rationalization for a bunch of character arcs that flip from Sympathetic to They Are Crazy And Evil between scenes – and while it’s at least a comprehensible explanation for an almost brand-new version of a core character, it’s also the most boring possible explanation. It makes Wakana totally one-dimensional, as evidenced in the best scene in the episode – the Akiko Yells scene.

It’s one character cutting through frustrating character portrayals and just screaming WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU – the, like, double-boiled alternative to Shotaro’s sympathetic half-boiled approach. And she’s right to do it! They tried kid gloves with Tooru, and he just regressed further. Maybe letting him know that he won’t be coddled forever will get him to come out of his shell. And Wakana! Nothing Wakana’s doing right now makes any sense, and her response is to basically go BUT POWER THO. It’s the moment in her arc that should’ve been illustrative, if not compelling – she can tell Akiko what’s going on her head because she’s just become an all-powerful goddess/tyrant that is going to murder Akiko. But the show whiffs on yet another moment to make Wakana feel as complex as she used to, opting instead for boilerplate mania and unconvincing inhumanity.

The whole Wakana Has Memory Madness problem for me is that it makes the worst parts of previous Dopant story endings into an entire A-plot for this episode. She’s just Insane With Power, and that’s boring to think about. Why? To do what? Because of what? And then what? It’s a journey made into a goal, and it’s so empty and boring, you guys. I don’t care. I don’t care about what she’s doing at all.

Luckily (and I can’t believe how much this one character is salvaging the Sonozaki side of things for me like an MVP) Saeko is here to be both complex and coherent. She’s sacrificed almost everything for a family that threw her away, and she’s excited to show them what they thought was worthless. Her randomly showing up to heckle Wakana as a red Nazca? Perfect. Her goal is clear – humiliate her former family – and also fun to watch. It’s the best part of anything to do with the Sonozakis this episode (besides the chapel where it rains rose petals???), and the actor kills in every scene she’s in. Her “I’m going for a walk” line to Kazu… iconic. Love her, love this part of the show, almost can’t believe this one show is writing for both Sonozaki sisters.

I… man, I had to sift through a lot of dumb Wakana junk to find the gems in this one. They’re there, for sure – Philip’s declaration to Wakana at the end, Tooru’s self-actualization due to Akiko’s impatience, Saeko’s everything – but they’re nestled alongside a main villain I actively resent. I am actually more forgiving to Foundation X’s introduction, because they could fill the key villain attribute of not being Wakana.

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DIE-A MEMORIES



-Saeko… seriously, she’s having the most fun in this episode, and I sort of envy her. I wish I could enjoy hating Wakana as much as she does!

-Hey, let’s briefly talk about Terui’s story! It’s dumb (he is a very weird child when it comes to kissing, hyuk hyuk hyuk) and it all feels like a version of the character that is incongruent with the one that’s going to be marrying Akiko in, like, six months. I can sort of write it off as him being nervous about kissing on camera, but the final scene makes it seem like he just learned about kissing by watching a bunch of films, and he is going to force himself to do something he doesn’t want to do, which is kiss someone – anyone. I am okay with ace Terui, but this episode treats it like a corny joke, and the OOO crossover movie makes it completely strange. (Maybe Terui just needs health insurance, so he marries Akiko? And stays married for another twelve years?)

-I’m pretty sure Wakana’s Clay Doll Xtreme transformation takes place in the same spot as the saddest scene in all of toku (Non-Bench Edition) from Episode 47 of Drive.