[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Specific lines of dialogue and and visuals sometimes as specific as entire shots are frequently repeated and recreated, given new meaning through new context, even in situations where not much else is altered. The purpose of it all, of course, being how drawing those explicit connections between moments can help get the viewer thinking about the story in a certain way, and hopefully making the experience that much richer.

Of all the disarming and disorienting ways this episode approaches its narrative, I think my favorite is how it speedruns the first episode's plot between Rikka and Yuta, mostly for how unnatural and forced Akane's attempts at warmth and caring are. She just... like, she can only ever fake it, in the hopes that it'll turn into something; it's like the kaiju models that she wants to be real, but this little world of dreams and lies instead. Really, really fun use of our attachment to these character relationships.