[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER OOO EPISODE 23 - “BEAUTY, EGGS, AND A DORMANT DESIRE”



A cute little episode, but not one I felt especially engaged with.

There just isn’t a ton of meat on the bone? It’s a very setup-heavy installment of a two-parter, as Uva feints with Kazari, Maki hints at Date’s Secret Affliction, and a new Yummy is sort of almost spawned. Nothing ever feels substantial, with almost every plot point or scene acting as a kind of narrative ellipsis. Kazari fights Uva, but nothing comes of it. OOO and Birth fight Kazari, but nothing really comes of it. Date talks to Eiji about their potential earlier meeting and Eiji’s lack of motivation, but nothing really comes of it. Gotou gets a single scene to establish that he works at Cous Coussier and girls think he’s cute, but nothing really comes of it.

The most time we spend on anything, really, is with the toxic relationship between sisters Saukra and Rei. Like, a lot of time? Arguably too much, considering how blandly dismissive Rei is and how generically Ugly Duckling Nerd Girl that Sakura is. (They seriously do the She Takes Off Her Glasses To Be Hot thing! Kind of lazy!) The scenes between them do the job right off the bat, thanks to how broad the concept is and how solidly the actors get across Meek Sister and Snotty Sister, but then we just sort of get a couple more scenes that spell that all out? With a few extra characters? It feels unnecessarily repetitive, considering that the writing on this episode – at least dialogue-wise – is typically tight and clever. We don’t really need as much time spent on setting up the background radiation of Sakura’s feelings of being left out of the spotlight or Rei’s casual disregard for her sister’s feelings, because all of that stuff is super obvious, but the episode just makes that the spine. It’s just not necessary?

And yet, there’s nothing terribly wrong with this episode. I didn’t hate the fights, or the scenes with our core heroes, or even what this installment’s storytelling portends for next episode’s conclusion. (I actually sort of remember the next one being super fun?) The chemistry of the characters and the vibrancy of the setting are enough to make even a relatively formless episode like this one feel like time well spent, even if I can’t say I fell in love with it.

Maybe next time?