[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Closed the door on Kagami becoming ZECT Rider? Are you sure?

I am definitely not sure! But my concern was more that the reason Kagami quit being The Bee (ZECT wants to destroy non-ZECT Riders) hasn't really changed? It's still the policy of leadership that It's ZECT Or Death when it comes to using a Zecter (really weird employee handbook but what can you do), and there's no dialogue in this episode suggesting a) that's changed, or b) it hasn't changed but Kagami is fine with it. I can read into his grim determination to save Makoto that Kagami is willing to become ZECT's weapon if it means saving that kid, but I would've preferred the show address it. (Again: Misaki! She is trying to talk Kagami out of doing this insanely dangerous thing! Maybe use that argument!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

It's not a good one, for me.

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. Try and have a good New Year's!

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 22




I've said once or twice that doing an episode post for me isn't a final statement, it's a jumping-off point, a conversation starter. My initial thoughts on a story get to sharpen and clarify by discussing them with other fans. Usually it's just getting to understand something I've seen a little better. This time, I think it rendered me weirdly prescient, taking a comment from today's discussion and making it the focal point of this episode's beautiful and moving climax?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Kagami is terrible at figuring out who's a Worm (in many episodes!), and the Worms end up duplicating him. It's entirely possible that Makoto is some sort of trap for him. His belief that Makoto is a real boy who needs his help is 100% Kagami: he's probably being tricked, but the chance that he's not has got him all-in on saving this kid. Kagami's dedication and faith... they're both his greatest weaknesses and his greatest strengths.

I almost want to just leave this post at that quote, since it's everything I found compelling and engrossing about this episode. There's a lot of little touches that are worth calling out (and I'll try to remember them all!), but the crux of this story is that Kagami and his Very Big Feelings are, to quote the Simpsons, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

I mean, this is an episode that starts with Kagami getting a pep talk from his boss that's basically If You're Going To Be An Idiot, Be The Best Idiot You Can Be. It's an episode that constantly undercuts Kagami's determination by pointing out how much trouble it gets him in. When he races off to the factory that Makoto's hiding in, he immediately gets surrounded by the Worms. There is no plan from Kagami, just emotion. He has absolutely no chance, as a normal human, to actually save Makoto from a nest of Worms. But he throws himself into that danger, because he can't stop himself. He will do whatever it takes to save this kid.

Who, of course, isn't even a kid at all. Makoto is a Worm, just like everyone's been telling Kagami. It's a trap, just like it seemed to be last time. And so Kagami is killed for his failure, for his naivete, for his misplaced belief in Makoto, for his stupid insistence that he could make a difference despite being powerless.

And then.

It all starts to wind back. Kagami isn't powerless; the Gatack Zecter comes to him, saving his life and giving him the strength to defeat the Worms. He wasn't wrong to believe in Makoto; some small part of him lived on in the Worm, and saved Gatack from the factory's explosion. His naivete wasn't his failure; he succeeded due to his blind faith that people are worth saving, that his Very Big Feelings were a strength. And so he gets to live another day, as Kamen Rider Gatack.

It's a fantastic sequence, and I get why these episodes stick in people's memories now. (I still think the first one isn't perfect, though!) This episode is all about breaking down Kagami, exposing his flaws... and then asking if those same flaws aren't really flaws at all? It's bold, to spend half an episode (and most of the rest of the series) to make him look like such a chump. Yet, somehow, all of that just ends up making his victory so much sweeter.

The trick is that Kagami doesn't learn a lesson here. It's not a story where he grows, or changes his mind, or whatever. It's... I mean, hilariously, it's what I dinged the show for last episode, but praise it for now: it's just reminding us who Kagami is as a man. All of the stuff it usually laughs at him for, it really delves into this episode and tries to explain. This story makes it tragic, and then makes it heroic. He's not more anything in this one. He's just Kagami, for better or worse.

Nowhere is that more apparent than the ending, which is a subtle twist on the ending to 4, the best ever Kabuto ending to date. (This one's good, but... man, 4. Tough to beat!) As the Makoto Worm tries to appeal to Gatack's sympathy by doing the You Wouldn't Detonate Wittle Owe Me routine, it looks like we're back at the baseball diamond, with Kagami unable to pull the trigger on his brother's memory. Kagami came to this factory to save Makoto. Can he really kill what's left of him? So Kabuto walks up, once again opting to make the hard choice that Kagami's too sweet to do. But Gatack stops him, says that he'll take care of it.

But he doesn't kill the Worm. Kagami takes his sympathy, his ability to care about the life the Worm stole, and turns it back on the Worm. He gives the Worm the moonbow that Makoto always wanted to see, the wish he was never granted when he was alive. It's not enough to stop the Worm (it charges Gatack), but it's enough to redeem Makoto's memory. A Rider Kick from Gatack finishes off the attacking Worm, but what remains of Makoto uses his final moments to save Gatack from the factory's explosion. It's kindness repaying kindness.

And that's Kagami, you know? He's not a smart fighter. (He jumps his bike in the most badass way, before getting knocked right the eff off of it by a Worm a second later.) But he won't let reason get in the way of his Very Big Feelings, since his Very Big Feelings are always pointed in the direction of Helping. He may be a burden, like Kagami once said. He may be an idiot, like Tadokoro said in this one. But he's always a hero.

(I hate consigning an entire subplot to a parenthetical, but there's really no way to fit in the Tsurugi stuff to what's going on in the rest of this episode. If you squint, you could say that the restaurant stuff is about Motivation, contrasting Kagami's Very Big Feelings with Tsurugi's spoiled dilettantism. Or maybe it could be about how the Tendou/Kagami guardianship and support contrasts with the Jiiya/Tsurugi relationship. But, no. The whole point of the restaurant subplot is to have a little levity in an otherwise dark episode. I mean, Kagami gets murdered in this one! You need some lightness somewhere. On that level, it's a roaring success, with an endless series of killer gags. In order: the dumb costumes Tendou and Hiyori have to wear for Tsurugi's party; how Tendou is deferential to Jiiya but rude to Tsurugi; Tsurugi's astonishment at basic foods; Tsurugi's awestruck delight at the newfound knowledge of a supermarket; just, everything with Tsurugi during that meal, all of it, every single second; Hiyori rolling her eyes at every syllable that comes out of Tsurugi's mouth; Jiiya paying for everything with a fork, possibly the one that Tsurugi threw away; Kageyama getting strong-armed into singing a birthday song to Tsurugi; and Kageyama singing it in the most off-key, off-putting way possible. It's such a fantastic subplot. Easily as funny as the rest of the story is thrilling.)

A QUESTION

Gatack! Let's talk about our slick new Rider. I mostly like the suit, especially how it's way more drawn from Kabuto's suit than the other Riders. Making it another kind of beetle is the easiest way to do that, with everything being a slight variation on Kabuto's aesthetic. The chestpiece in particular is, like, Kabuto But Blue Now. It's not a great look that we get this time, with the first Gatack fight being underground in the dark, but I did like most of what I saw. (Not crazy about the shoulder swords, but they'll probably grow on me.) What do you think of the Gatack costume?

[Kurona]

I like the Gatack costume! Not one of my favourites (Sasword, Kabuto and ~Final Form~ take it for me this season), but it's solid enough. I especially like how the swords come from inside the masked form gatling guns, that's really fun to me?

Though now we're at this point, the thing I wanna say about Gatack the most is... isn't it wild how all the stag beetle-based riders are utterly pathetic?

Kuuga - Probably the biggest stretch of this list, but boy does he get beaten up a lot!

G3/X/Mild - Yeah, uh, literally the weakest Rider in Agito despite Ozawa's genius. Barely wins any fights, always gets completely wrecked.

Garren - Enough said.

Gatack - Up until this point has been the biggest jobber of the series and the butt of so, so many jokes

Gatakiriba - Gets used all of twice, and the head component when used alone fries Eiji's head!



Why do they keep doing this to the stag beetles?!

[Switchblade]

Okay, so first and foremost: I had completely forgotten about Kageyama being forced to sing Tsurugi's birthday song. That was amazing. I was laughing so hard I had to pause the episode to clear my head once the scene transitioned.

Secondly, I love the moment near the end - and I watched this last night, so forgive me if I miss some details - where Kagami tells Tendou that he hasn't really learned anything from this. That he is who he is and he'd probably do it all over again. He may have a shiny new Zector with the sexiest voice since the Faiz Gear, but that doesn't change a thing about who he is. It's such a Kagami moment and it's fantastic.

As for Gatack, I actually think I like the suit more this time around than I did initially. It's certainly less dynamic than Drake or Sasword and way less stylish than TheBee, but it's still a very solid design that just works. The Masked Form is great, too - love the ostentatious shoulder cannons that are also where the Rider Form swords are hidden. Also, he's another Rider who, like Kabuto, really shouldn't be able to move his head in Masked Form if that's really how the horns fold out.

Finally, I'd just like to note that we've started reaching peak Kagami's dad here. I don't remember if he ever gets more nonsensical than the Mozart speech, but this is up there as one of his more memorably bonkers scenes.

[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Okay, so first and foremost: I had completely forgotten about Kageyama being forced to sing Tsurugi's birthday song. That was amazing. I was laughing so hard I had to pause the episode to clear my head once the scene transitioned.

It is the greatest scene. It's so Kabuto it hurts

[LeviathanBlossom]

Tendo and Hiyori sitting in the background during Kageyama's incredibly awkward singing was a laugh-out-loud moment. So good.

Not that this is much in the way of analysis, but strong Aliens vibes in the factory story, in which Kagami is Sigourney Weaver. One of the reasons I was more inclined to give the first half a pass, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement But even so, this is another pair of episodes I've really enjoyed rewatching.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Couple extra random things about this episode that I thought up while eating dinner.

The main one is that Kagami's arc in this one really feeds into the theme of Humility, and I didn't see it at first. He's a guy that wants to be exceptional, wants be helpful, and he just doesn't measure up to the Riders. He keeps failing because he's not them. His success comes from accepting his limitations, and owning his flaws. He's never going to be Tendou, but he can still be a great Kagami. In fact, being a great Kagami might even be just as good as being Tendou. (Not really, but let's let him have this one.)

The other thing is that, with Kagami as a Rider, it really spotlights how the show split the traditional Primary Rider character in two. Tendou is all the skill, all the coolness; Kagami is all of the empathy, all of the kindness. It's like someone took Kuuga's thing of Protecting Smiles, and gave Protecting to Tendou, and Smiles to Kagami. Tendou is someone who will fight to keep you safe, while Kagami is someone who'll fight to make you happy. Interesting to me how the show managed that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

G3/X/Mild - Yeah, uh, literally the weakest Rider in Agito despite Ozawa's genius. Barely wins any fights, always gets completely wrecked.

It's also incredibly dangerous to use, what with the physical injury and psychosis. Maybe don't pick to be the stag beetle hero, if you can avoid it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Finally, I'd just like to note that we've started reaching peak Kagami's dad here. I don't remember if he ever gets more nonsensical than the Mozart speech, but this is up there as one of his more memorably bonkers scenes.

This was maybe the episode where I loved Kagami's dad's theatricality and propensity for portent. He is offering his son up as a sacrifice to a divine being, like he was talking about last episode. It's maybe the most reasonable time to play the cello and compare your son's uncertain future to the death of a famous composer?

And, really, contrasting Kagami's everyman character with the most unhinged performance on the show (so far!)... I love it? I love that his dad is so bonkers, since Kagami's so average in every way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeviathanBlossom

Not that this is much in the way of analysis, but strong Aliens vibes in the factory story, in which Kagami is Sigourney Weaver. One of the reasons I was more inclined to give the first half a pass, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement But even so, this is another pair of episodes I've really enjoyed rewatching.

Yeah, it really does. All those rows of unhatched Worms... so creepy!

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 22

Die already took the "I am who I am" quote, so please accept this more random screencap of Gatack as I celebrate Gatack now being in the show. This is such a moment, man! But before I get to that, let me just say I adore Gatack's design, and it was my favorite set of suits from Kabuto both before and after watching the series. I always thought it was clever how the Masked Form actively fights against the inevitably of the show only wanting to use the Rider Forms by having exclusive sweet shoulder cannons, and the Rider Form itself is a glorious spinoff of Kabuto, contrasted by an emphasis on more sharp edges, and of course, the blue color that guarantees I'd like it anyway. Even the voice of the Zecter is my favorite.

Moving on to the actual story, this episode does a thing I always use a sign of strong narrative focus, which is having a short cold open that lays out the theme of the story. There's a quote from Misaki in response to Kagami waking up in a hospital bemoaning his inability to become Gatack: "If you could become something just by wanting to, you wouldn't have any trouble." That's really the heart of Kagami's growth here, and yes, I'm going to disagree with Die's initial post and say this is very much a story about Kagami growing. You see, Kagami wasn't upset he failed to become Gatack; he's upset for the same reason he always is – because he couldn't become Tendou.

He wants nothing more than to be that cool guy who can effortlessly waltz into any situation and come out on top, but the thing he accepts here, the crux of his literal death and rebirth as Gatack, is accepting himself for who he is, and what only he can do, rather than lament who he isn't. When Kagami tells Tendou he can't be anyone but himself at the end, it's said with a sort of genuine contentment that I don't think he's ever felt before. It's the payoff to the theme established in the cold opening. A sort of realization that his flaws aren't the end of the world. Kagami can't be Kabuto, and TheBee and Shadow weren't for him, but he's the one and only Gatack, and that's his pride.

And, dang, I'm pretty proud of the guy for making it here, too, which is how I know this show is doing something right. This is a spectacular episode that continues all the same great direction, atmosphere, and surprisingly well-integrated comic relief, while also having the benefit of being the back half where the actual development happens. There's all these smaller touches all over the place that make every scene a joy, even down to establishing Tsurugi's habit of misplacing the emphasis on words, and even getting a quick fight in with Kabuto in his Worm form; Yonemura went out of his way to include both those things in the very first two-parter he used Sasword in, and he didn't even need to! Not when the main focus of the plot is on this level of importance.

It's a major turning point for Kabuto as a series. Merely seeing Kagami's name in the opening credits with "Kamen Rider Gatack" right under it is HUGE, and the episode itself lives up to that. Among the things in here I'm most fond of is something Die called out, which is how Gatack taking down the Worm at the end parallels episode 4's climax, very much bookending this stretch of Kagami's journey as a protagonist. I think what's extra impressive is that the show doesn't actively call attention to it in any way whatsoever. There's a subtlety to the writing in this one I was shocked to see from Yonemura, a writer I have evidently been severely underestimating all this time.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Die already took the "I am who I am" quote, so please accept this more random screencap of Gatack as I celebrate Gatack now being in the show.

If the second half of this episode didn't go the way it went, the two screencaps were going to be Hiyori asking Jiiya if he was trying to pay with a fork, and the shot of the fork in the cash register. It's probably embarrassing to admit, but that insert shot of the fork in the cash-tray is my favorite part of 22, full-stop. Such a great punchline. I love that choice in the editing and direction so, so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

That's really the heart of Kagami's growth here, and yes, I'm going to disagree with Die's initial post and say this is very much a story about Kagami growing.

Yeah, I came around a bit on that idea. I guess what I'd refine my statement to be is that it's not a story that suggests there's anything wrong with Kagami. While he does learn self-acceptance at the end, and he's able to partner/tame/control/embody/snuggle the Gatack Zecter, it's... it's like the Kagami version of Tendou's Walking The Path thing, where if you believe enough in the rightness of your actions, the world will move from your path. He's not any different, really, than in the first part. But he's got a clarity of purpose, along with the knowledge that he's willing to sacrifice anything, including his own life, for his ideals. It's less about learning a lesson and more about realizing you don't need to learn a lesson, if that makes sense?

This maybe sounds like splitting hairs, where we're both saying the same thing in different ways? I don't know! It's fun to think about Kagami, though.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

If the second half of this episode didn't go the way it went, the two screencaps were going to be Hiyori asking Jiiya if he was trying to pay with a fork, and the shot of the fork in the cash register. It's probably embarrassing to admit, but that insert shot of the fork in the cash-tray is my favorite part of 22, full-stop. Such a great punchline. I love that choice in the editing and direction so, so much.

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