Consider this a followup to that post I made on Shinji and the first episode of Kamen Rider Ryuki over a year ago.
Sat down and watched episodes 1 and 2 again today. Aside from being the episode where Shinji becomes Ryuki, episode 2 is also the true introduction to Reiko’s character. And it also just spells out what I mentioned in that previous post about Shinji rushing into things, clear as water, and how that is the reason he got involved in the Rider Battle in the first place.
Behind again, yada yada yada. Just finished episode 19, and while I do have last week’s episode ready to go, I think I’ll just give my thoughts on the past 4 episodes of Kamen Rider Wizard and leave what I assume is a two parter till the subs come out for 21.
So, to very briefly touch on each of the past 6 episodes…
I thought that my first post of the year would be Sherlock, since it’s back on and I’m just loving it (I’m completely obsessed with Lestrade), but I watched Ryuki’s first episode for the first time in a long time, after recommending it to a friend, and I ended up having things I wanted to say about it.
Word of warning for anyone that hasn’t seen Kamen Rider Ryuki through to the end: several of my observations relate directly to the very end of the series, so this will be spoilery. Very spoilery.
Right. Been busy again, yada yada. But it doesn’t feel right to just skip through, so I’ll go off my notes for the episodes I watched (yes, I take notes while watching Kamen Rider, and yes, I realize what this says about me) but didn’t get around to blogging about.
Episodes 21-22 explore whether the desire to fight for justice can become twisted. The Yummy is born from a man who never passed the exam to become a lawyer, and was frustrated because he felt like a failure, and so he left his family. The Yummy initially targets criminals, and so the man accepts the Yummy as a way to punish those he perceives as wicked. From there, the show obviously moves to questioning whether this is really justice, and how self-righteousness twists a person’s sense of justice so they become cruel themselves.
"When it's in the name of justice, there's no limit to how cruel people will act"
So quick thoughts, because of the time:
→ First instance of Hana beating up Momo!
→ Again with Ryotaro’s ingrained kindness: wanting to give the keyholder back to the bully, because it was the right thing to do.
→ First glimpse of That Guy (spoiler!)
→ Momo saves a little boy, aww. Again, Momo was always decent, under the hooliganism.
Not so quick thoughts on Ryotaro, and Hana smacking Momo. On a loop.