[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER OOO EPISODE 40 - “CONTROL, A BIRTHDAY PARTY, AND A VANISHING ANKH”

Team OOO goes to the Evil Neighbor house, but it’s full of controlled cops. Eiji won’t risk harming innocents in pursuit of the Yummy, so Eiji and Ankh have to wait around outside until the Yummy comes out. But they can’t go back to Cous Coussier – controlled cops, remember – and they’ve got no idea when the Yummy will reappear since they don’t know what its food is, so they just… hang out. They’ve got nothing to do, nowhere to be, and it’s summertime.

Though Eiji's selfless tendencies would obviously prioritize civilians, this'd be something that goes in Ankh's favor as the cops being used as a human shield means Eiji'd delay his attack on the Yummy, which would be what Ankh wanted to get more Cell Medals. And Date has completed his goal, so there'd be no competition among the good guy cast for Ankh to get Cell Medals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s the best little section of TV any series could ask for, giving the show room to cash in all of the investment the audience has made over the last year to create something so beautiful and melancholy. It’s all grounded in Ankh’s desperate need for control (like in the title!), where he needs to always keep others at a distance through cruelty, or threats, or intimidation, but it’s all just him trying to be the one that decides who can be hurt, so he can make sure it isn't him. Ankh clearly cares about this dumb family of morons he’s collected, and like he says, he doesn’t give things back. He hates that Eiji and Hina know him well enough to see through him, and it’s the blaring subtext of the best scene in the best episode of this show. (Sorry, 39, you had a good run!) Ankh still wants to be seen as the ruthless Greeed that’d kill any of them if the mood struck, but everyone knows that isn’t true anymore. It’s been a year, and too much has changed.

Guess like what you said before, Ankh is dealing with the consequences of being betrayed by the original OOO. Eiji is someone that deals with the PTSD of failing to save the little girl, which is why he becomes empty, has lack of interest to his previous hobbies, and is avoiding the triggers. Ankh as the other main protagonist is also dealing with PTSD symptoms, but in a different way, where he's always on edge, distrustful, and is avoidant in discussing his past. Ankh's reason of being afraid of getting close to Eiji is due to waiting for Eiji to betray him just like the King (of which, Eiji is the opposite of him lacking desire, to the King being desire incarnate, but now Eiji can be drunk with power like his declarations). Guess Ankh now actually caring is shown when he doesn't choke Hina despite Hina not fighting back this time, because even in the beginning of the show, Ankh still can't do a thing to both Eiji and Hina due to being dependent on the former, and the latter's strength, but there's a case too when one can't cause damage due to being too weak or outside factor, and not because of their own virtues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

(I don’t have a lot to say about it, but I really like how this episode gives Hina room to talk about why she’s letting the status quo proceed, but then her answer is basically just Vibes. It’s so smart of this show to just let Hina enjoy her pseudo-brother without trying to define it or excuse it. It’s nice to have her brother around in some form, even if that form is Ankh, and Ankh is letting her have this time with her brother, so maybe he’s not so bad after all.)

Though this is more highlighted in this episode, I felt Hina has started to care about Ankh after seeing him not regenerate like other Greeed. It was a tease when she looked at him at the end of ep. 26, but afterwards, she's now concerned seeing him in painful condition and would try to aid him, like in the early part of ep. 29. Though yes, it can be perhaps about taking care of her older brother's body, which can apply too for Eiji at least in Ankh's eyes, that he's only putting up with him for Shingo, where as what he claims, he'd kick out Ankh if Hina wants to, due to his promise of saving Shingo, though Eiji considers both in hoping Hina doesn't change her mind and thinking about Lost Ankh hunting for him in doing so, likely this is what makes Ankh realize Eiji cares for Ankh as Ankh, Eiji cares about everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The rest of the episode is a typically brilliant collection of fun fights and large-scale plotting – the wacky couple, Lost Ankh’s shocking cliffhanger victory, Satonaka negotiating a better salary to work at Gotou’s pace – but it’s the middle, and how it breathes in 10 months of exceptional storytelling to breathe out 2 months of trying to hold onto a thing as it's disappearing, that really made this one perfect for me.

Though Goto might get the results he wanted more, this does still show the power imbalance between the boss and sidekick to have Goto sacrifice anything with Satonaka absorbing him, like Ankh to Kougami that Ankh is forced to increase his Medals supply to 60%. It's ironic that Chiyoko is the one that throws hands against the security, despite Hina being able to do so more with her super strength, though maybe it's because she'd be too strong as in, potentially accidentally killing them. So at the end, turns out Tomoko (the wife) seems to be mind-controlled by the Yummy, rather than being actually evil herself, which perhaps done to deflect blame off her for her seemingly getting away scot-free at the end, without any of the citizens going after the Shimoda family.