Instead though it’s leveraged effectively for a simple moral here, and while the resulting emotional blow is hardly devastating, it registers and it’s a good little way to introduce the idea that Roidmudes are not inherently bad. I’ll note that the idea there’s been a Roidmude inside of the Special Division all along could have been a massive twist had it been played later on for ‘straight’ drama. It’s kind of like opera – ostensibly tragic things are happening but everything is so hammy and bombastic that it’s difficult to feel actual emotion other than excitement.
That’s not to say the episode is without drama, but rather that the drama is in the histrionic style which is more typical for toku shows in general. The actors seem to have found their footing with their roles and the result is a faster, looser style of performance which is much more suited to the show’s atmosphere. The difference as opposed to previous episodes is a certain comfort level. That is to say, extreme silliness and goofy comedy mixed in with over-the-top scenery chewing drama. This 22 minutes stuck much closer to the typical Kamen Rider mood. The major difference here is that Drive proved that it can still keep up the high quality of output despite not having a dark, tragic story to anchor itself again.
I’m extremely happy to say that that’s exactly what happened this week, as the show delivered another very different, but still fantastic, episode. However, they’re shocked to discover he has an exact double!Īfter Drive delivered its best episode ever last week, hopes were high that it could keep that momentum rolling and parlay it into a run of strong episodes. The team accompany Kyuu to a signing for his new book.