TFW2005
Hisstank
Thundercats
TokuNation
Toyark
Home
News
Garo
Godzilla
Kamen Rider
Metal Heroes
Power Rangers
Super Sentai
Ultraman
All News Categories
Forum
News & Rumors
Power Rangers
Kamen Rider
Super Sentai
Other Toku Series
Toys and Collectables
Marketplace
Creative
Galleries
Companies
Bandai Japan
Tamashii Nations
Saban Brands
Bandai America
Toei
Characters
Kamen Rider Ghost
Kamen Rider Specter
Kamen Rider Necrom
Mighty Morphin Green Ranger
Dino Charge Red Ranger
Toylines
S.H. Figuarts
S.H. MonsterArts
DX Mecha
Megazords
Legacy
Shows
Kamen Rider Ghost
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger
Power Rangers Dino Supercharge
Power Rangers Movie 2017
TokuNation.com
>
TokuNation
Integration
User Name
Remember Me?
Password
Rules
Register
Community
Today's Posts
Search
Community Links
Members List
Search Forums
Show Threads
Show Posts
Advanced Search
Go to Page...
Thread
:
Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Den-O
View Single Post
04-08-2021, 05:45 PM
#
675
Kamen Rider Die
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
KAMEN RIDER DEN-O EPISODE 42 - "MEMORY UPDATE”
Please get along with Yuuto.
It's hard, I know. It's
very, very hard
. Yuuto is a character that is relentlessly opaque and aggressively taciturn. He suffers in a way that almost redefines suffering, and yet if you bring that up around him you've lost his interest. He longs for connection while refusing to connect. In every way that matters, he is Not Here To Make Friends.
And yet.
It's almost impossible
not
to befriend Yuuto, not to try to improve his emotional state. Like a lot of closed-off characters, he protests way too much. He makes a big point this episode that the reason he's refusing to make new friends and reconnect with ones who've forgotten him isn't because it'd hurt him to lose those people. No,
of course
it's not that; it's the damage those people would take when they forget Yuuto. So naturally the episode ends with Shouko forgetting Yuuto and then
frolicking on a beach in the background
while Yuuto talks about how much she's been harmed by this adventure. He's so committed to this martyr bit that it is, honestly, adorable. He is willing to sacrifice everything about himself, body and soul, but he's not willing to say that he regrets it.
And he obviously does. His new Zero Form is his anger at how much he's having to give up, but as a palette swap. He can put on a brave face and pretend like losing Airi doesn't mean anything to him, but even one day with Shouko exposes that for the lie it is. He's a sad boy who needs to have people in his life. He needs an outlet for all of this nobility, a reward for everything he's burned up in the pursuit of justice. He needs it to all be worth something.
So it's really poignant to have Shouko as the girl who is pleased to get along with Yuuto. Her whole story about the
ability
to change being more inspiring than the change itself is wonderfully convoluted in the most realistic way possible. It's exactly how you talk to someone you caught feelings for, where you're trying to express something deep and fundamental about yourself to them, but you're so thrilled to do so that it comes out in a jumble. For a boy who has no past and can't plan on a future, it's nice to see him paired off (even for just one story) with a girl who views the present as the most precious thing in the world.
Shouko was sick in a way that she couldn't hope for a better future, so she decided to live each day. Not, like, Live Each Day To Its Fullest or anything, but just
live it
. Be present for it and appreciate it. She might not have more days, so she'll try to treat this day as the one that matters the most. If she gets another one? Well, that just means that all her memories are of great days.
It's the flipside to how Yuuto has closed himself off to new experiences. Shouko thinks she could drop dead tomorrow, or Yuuto could just leave, or whatever. But Yuuto's there with her today, and they're having fun, and that's enough. It's taking the uncertainty of the future and saying That Just Makes Today Matter More. It's buoyant and beautiful and it makes Yuuto's inability to see beyond his losses that much more disappointing and heartbreaking.
As always, it's Ryotaro who's the hero of the story, because believing in people and not giving up are totally in his wheelhouse. Yuuto can't get attached because he sees those attachments burn up like a Zeronos card. But Ryotaro rides a train with the lost and forgotten, and they're only doing that because there's a chance they'll be remembered. Yuuto's okay destroying himself, or pretending he's okay with destroying himself, because he doesn't really believe in himself. But Ryotaro believes in everybody, and he knows that there's still a chance for Yuuto to be happy and remembered.
Maybe someday Yuuto'll believe it, too.
THE BAGGAGE CAR
-Absolutely stellar episode, and a lot of that comes down to Shouko's actor. She has a
gaudy
amount of chemistry with Yuuto and/or Deneb, the type of chemistry that I think the show wrongly assumes that Yuuto and Airi have. (
They really don't!
) There's an indelible move Shouko's actor does in this one, where she's telling her story about how she motivated herself into appreciating what little time she might have, and she has this moment where she doesn't think she's explaining this right. In fairness, it is a bizarre monologue about today becoming the past in the future. But she gets this embarrassed look on her face, like she knows how dumb this all might sound to someone who is not full-time living inside her head, and it's the cutest goddamn thing. Her enthusiasm never wavered in this episode, never once, and it made her one of my favorite characters on this series.
-Like last time, not a ton for the DenLiner crew to do in this one, but I laughed pretty hard at the idea of Urataros getting called in to steer Shouko away from Yuuto, and Shouko being completely impervious to his charm. Ura's main thing is winning over women, and he never ever had a chance with Shouko. She just does not see Ryotaro/Urataros as interesting romantically, preferring the Yuuto/Deneb combo. Hilarious.
-The fight scene, also! Really fun to have Urataros turn around and there always being a truck directly behind him. Excellent editing!
-Joke of the episode was probably Kin suggesting that Shouko fell in love with Deneb, since that was what was inside Yuuto when they met, and Naomi politely suggesting that it maybe helps more if you look like a goddamn male model. I mean, Deneb's a fun imagination monster from the end of time to chat with, but have you
seen
Yuuto. Like, have you seen his
face
. All of
his face
.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on
KamenRiderDie.com
!
Last edited by Kamen Rider Die; 09-18-2023 at
09:36 PM
..
Kamen Rider Die
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Kamen Rider Die
Find More Posts by Kamen Rider Die
TokuNation News & Rumors
Hasbro Licenses Power Rangers Toys to Playmates Toys
Discotek Media Licenses Mobile Cop Jiban
What's going on with CSM?
Ultraman Arc Trailer
2024 Kamen Rider after Gotchard Rumor
More New Posts
FOR SALE: Various Figuarts
Super Sentai minipla appreciation thread!
How is Everyone Today- New
Kamen Rider Gotchard Episode 32- "The Great King Appears! The Doll's Dilemma!"
The Official Toku Subs List
Kamen rider SHF for sale
S.H. Figuarts (Toku Related) Thread
Kamen Rider Die rewatches Kamen Rider W (and watches Fuuto P.I.)
What are you watching? (Kamen Rider Edition)
What are you watching? Other Toku Series Edition
Current Poll
How Would You Rate This Episode?
Excellent!
Good
Average
OK
Poor...
»
View Poll Results
»
Comment On This Poll
»
This Poll Has 0 Replies
Search Forums
»
Advanced Search
All times are GMT -5. The time now is
08:51 AM
.
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Powered by
vBadvanced
CMPS