Recap

Ryouma returns and proposes an alliance to infiltrate Yggdrasil Tower, but the Riders are unable to agree on whether to trust him.Meanwhile, Mitchy goes full fedora.

Zigg’s thoughts

Somewhat terrifyingly, we’re approaching the end of Gaim and though it feels like there’s barely been time to breathe after the emotional rollercoaster of the previous arc, there’s more story to be told. So what we get is an episode that’s half weird plot related setup and half continuing fallout from what’s gone before. It’s occasionally an uneasy marriage, but as ever the show makes it work and the result is a story slice that’s by turns heartwarming and creepy.

Of the many ways they could have Ryouma return to the story, having him simply show up is perhaps the most underwhelming, and I was severely disappointed that they didn’t wait to make a big song and dance out of his re-debut. He gets the story moving again sure, but it’s with very little flair and I’m pretty sure they could have found a way to pump up the drama considerably. Having said that, I do like that teh good guys don’t immediately go rushing headlong into his scheme. Instead, they act like, you know, actual human beings and pause to consider just how traitorous the good professor is and how he’s screwed them over before. What’s especially gratifying about this is that it’s not some sort of thirty second debate that ends with the ‘BUT WE MUST’ like most shows would. Instead, we don’t even get a decisions by the end of the episode, though it looks likely they’ll have no choice if they want to rescue Mai. That’s fine though, because it means the team’s hand is forced in a realistic way. Good, believable writing.

What’s also good is that this extra time is used to build the characters and establish their position as we move towards the show’s endgame. The three way hangout between Kouta, Kaito and Mai is a terrific sequence that emphasises their closeness and personal affection while at the same time demonstrating that they still have individual personalities and approaches to the problem. Kaito’s question to Kouta is an interesting one too, and is a neat dovetailing of their two personalities. Kaito is strong because he fights for what he wants, but Kouta fights for what other people want instead. Will that make him strong enough to claim the fruit?

The flipside of this affectionate scene is Mitchy’s descent into madness and creepiness on a whole new level. I’m normally against the ‘ghost character shows up to tell their murderer how they screwed up’ scenario, but Kamen Rider is such an inherently cheesy show to begin with it works here, especially since the two actors sell it for all their worth. Mahiro Takasugi in particular really does well at shifting between barely functional crazy Mitchy and the more creepy, dominating figure we see in his interactions with Mai. We’ve made a lot of jokes about ‘Men’s Rights Activist Mitchy’ in our watching, but the oily repellant figure he comes across as here really goes the whole nine yards. The loathsome smile, the way he tells her she’s just ‘being irrational’, the assurance that she’ll see thing his way by the end…in real life you wouldn’t want to breath the same air as this guy, and that’s just fantastic character work. While the Overlords act as the huge, world threatening calamity that must be defeated, Mitchy is outstanding as the more insidious, recognisably human type of evil that you just really, really want to punch in the face.

Speaking of punching in the face, the ending brawl is perhaps the weakest part of the episode, though it’s blessed with good choreography and awesome pyro. Still, Zenith Arms has been so overpowering up to this point it’s a little unbelievable that noted poor fighter Mitchy would be able to overpower it just by getting really, really angry. I appreciate that they’re trying to show a new, unhinged side of the character, but the power level gap is a little large to bridge without stretching my suspension of disbelief. Still, if that’s my major complaint I’m pretty sure I can I can forgive the episode that, considering the abundance of riches it delivered.

Random Observations

• Another thing which helps the three-way chat scene is the excellent camera work and strong lighting.]
• Aqua and I could barely get over Ryouma’s extraordinary casual wardrobe. For me it’s the two-tone jacket that really drops my jaw.
• It’s nice to see Baron member Peko get a little screen time. Though it’s very brief, it really does help build on the idea these are teams of people rather than jsut background space fillers.
• With this episode I’m more convinced Takatora is dead for good, since they make a bigger deal of it and the whole ‘ghost’ angle starts. Still, remember that in the sequence (flash-forward?) that opened the show, there was both a Zangetsu and a Ryugen present.