Streaming: HIDIVE
Episodes: 12
Source: Original
Episode Summary: Kakeru Miwa was the lone survivor of a major disaster in Obara 8 years prior. Now in high school, his class is set to attend a museum exhibit commemorating the rebuilding of Obara. On the way to meet up with his classmates, he encounters a beautiful (and very lost) young woman named Oka in need of some directional assistance. As he peels off to help her find her way, the rest of the class views the images and relics of past destruction on display.
When Kakeru finally arrives, he can feel that something is wrong. His inner voice speaks to him in harsh tones, questioning why he was the only person who survived the disaster. As he struggles, terrifying beasts start to spill into the room and he’s nearly eaten. Luckily a group of individuals dressed in futuristic armor, along with Oka, arrive to fight back against these horrors. An accident causes Kakeru to fall to a lower floor, where he finds himself face-to-face with a real oni, one who inhabits a similar super suit. As the other struggle, Kakeru rushes into the fray, mentally battling with this oni as he uses its power to fight back. As he helps the team to a messy victory, Kakeru believes he’ll be asked to join their team, but the others question his trustworthiness.
Impression: One of my friends is extremely into Kamen Rider, and at a recent convention he presented a panel about the history of the franchise. In it, he talked about Kamen Rider Revice, one of the recent incarnations in which the hero forms a pact with his “inner demon” in order to fight evil as a team. The relationship is itself often a struggle, with the demon itching to indulge its own urges (mainly attacking other people). This dynamic isn’t new; folks who watched Jujutsu Kaisen have enjoyed a similar relationship between its protagonist and the cursed entity he inadvertently finds himself aligned with, and there are many past stories that incorporate body-sharing as a dynamic (I recently finished a rewatch of Birdy the Mighty: Decode which I feel like is the quintessential example from my anime generation).
These stories are appealing because they bring together opposing personalities and force them to work as one unit. In a world where we’re often made to be at odds with others in pursuit of our own interests it’s interesting to watch compromise in action as it furthers the accomplishment of something larger that ultimately benefits both parties in some manner.
That’s kind of where I’m coming from with this series, which presents a pair of characters on the very opposite ends of a certain spectrum. Kakeru, who comes across as fairly normal, is also haunted by issues of self-esteem stemming from a heavy case of survivor’s guilt. While he might seem fairly well-adjusted considering the circumstances, he harbors feelings of deep unworthiness that seem to crop up out of the blue and at really inconvenient times. On the other hand, the suit Kakeru finds sealed in the museum basement is a picture of overconfidence, possessed by an oni with a bone to pick. Violent and apparently uninterested in the idea of teamwork and restraint, its expression seems to reflect the sort of personality Kakeru might have become if he were more vengeful and angry. They’re two sides of a very strange coin, and that dynamic might be what makes this series interesting.
Unfortunately we’re not given much to go on during this episode in that regard, as it spends a long time ramping up to its action climax and not much time allowing for character interactions. But it’s sort of fun and entertaining in an action-y kind of way.
Pros: I think the style of animation suits the action scenes really well. Yes, once again, we’re dealing with CG animation, which everyone has their opinions about. But it really is a technique that has its uses and I think the complexity of the armor really benefits from the consistency that CG provides. The action scenes are fun and dynamic in a way that would have been difficult using more traditional means.
I have to give props to the character designers for Oka’s design, which does a good job of reflecting actual EGL fashion style rather than the more costume-y designs we usually get. This is something that very few people are actually going to care about, but I definitely noticed!
Cons: This story is extremely straightforward; while that’s not really a mark against it in isolation, one thing I’ve noticed with “original” anime series in particular is that, while they’re not based directly on an existing piece of source material, they often balance that by adhering very closely to certain genre tropes. Both methods are ways of creating something that’s “safe” in a way; by appealing to a sub-set of fans, whether through adaptation or genre familiarity, the potential for a built-in audience is there. On the other hand, it starts to feel sort of uninspired when almost everything that happens is based on a very familiar formula, whether or not the characters and their circumstances are familiar already.
Content Warnings: Depiction of PTSD and self-esteem issues. Violence (bloodless).
Would I Watch More? – This is sort of debatable for me. I think tokusatsu/sentai entertainment is fun in theory and I like hearing my more knowledgeable friend talk about it, but in practice it doesn’t generally maintain my attention for some reason. I don’t really think that this series is doing anything to twist the formula, either; that’s definitely not a requirement, but I think it might be what I need to find it interesting. That said, the first episode was pretty fun and if I had the time I’d be willing to watch a few more episodes.