Kamen Rider Ryuki Episode 28

EPISODE 28

I've always disliked this episode. Its purpose is to be a clip show, really, but it does it in a way that basically reboots and retcons everything leading up to it. You only just stumbled in the past few episodes, Ryuki, but you mostly had a good thing going -- a dumb clip show isn't the thing to risk retbooting your show with. The funny thing is, this episode thinks it's high concept. You can't be a high concept clip show, that's an oxymoron. The clip show is the lowest form of television storytelling (after reality TV) -- a money-saving technique.

The idea of Shinji getting to go back in time and try to change the fate of some Riders -- I'll admit that I think that's an interesting idea, but it's one that needed to be explored seriously. That is, plan it out. Spend the money to get all the actors you need back. Maybe Episode Final could have been this instead of an alternate finale? Don't just do something like this and wrap it in a clip show.

I still wouldn't like too many changes made to what the show's established, though. For the most part, this episode has Shinji's awareness that he's repeating history come and go, so you can just be like "Well, maybe not much ended up changing, so you can just ignore 28 for the clip show it is." But here's a huge problem...

It really screws up a lot of cool, shocking moments with the Kitaoka and Asakura storylines. And while you're not supposed to pay that much attention to this episode, and just kind of ignore it and laugh it off...it doesn't work if you take the idea of time-travel stories seriously (unlike Kobayashi, who uses it as purely as a gimmick and crutch) and you certainly can't dismiss it when it's introducing the idea of time shenanigans and altered timelines to Ryuki, which will continue to use it. It's no coincidence that this was the episode that aired nearly a week before Episode Final premiered. Episode Final doesn't come right out and say it, but its proximity to this episode's airing has always implied that it's a product of time-related shenanigans, and that's what fans have assumed all of these years.

Anyway, the jailed Shinji lets Kitaoka know he's a Rider, and lets Kitaoka know he knows about Asakura and that Asakura will be a Rider. It's unclear whether this time-rewriting Shinji ends up aware sooner than he should be that Kitaoka is Zolda, robbing us of that great two-parter when Kitaoka makes Shinji believe Goro is, but...it robs Asakura's becoming a Rider of its impact. It's a WOW moment when Asakura pulls that Deck out and shows Kitaoka and Kitaoka's taken aback, fulling realizing just how wicked Kanzaki is. But with Shinji back in time, altering things...Kitaoka is now aware Asakura will be a Rider and he doesn't care, realizing there needs to be the 13 Riders in order for the battle to take place. You can assume that moment will come in the restraunt and Kitaoka, instead of being shocked and pissed at Kanzaki for his selecting Asakura, will instead know Asakura is now a Rider and not have a reaction. That all just sucks.

And it's hard to care for what's meant to be a weighty and haunting realization of Shinji's that, no matter what he tries, he can't seem to prevent Rider fights and deaths from happening because, on one hand it's just a crummy clip show and on the other, it's pissing you off by changing so many events.

And it just brings up too many questions. Why is Shinji the only one who has moments of remembering? How is Kanzaki-from-real-time able to converse with him? Or, better yet, WHY does he? The whole point of Odin's using Time Vent is so Shiro can undo the damage caused to Yui's drawing of her and her brother, but...if he can undo an entire year, why not, oh, I don't know, prevent Shinji from becoming a Rider? Kanzaki's little Rider fight would go so much smoother without Shinji, so if Kanzaki has this kind of power...?

I can't even let myself be amused by Shinji's leaving a note to remind him where he can successfully punch Odin, which IS a funny and cool moment, but everything surrounding it is so frustrating. And then Shinji gets on his new hobbyhorse -- protecting the other Riders. And you're like "No! Don't go there Shinji, there are only moments for you to look stupid to be found there."

Time Vent should have never been an ability in this show. That should probably be the only thing this post should say. There's no point in Odin even popping up at this point. It's really only to introduce the idea of alternate timelines, which I really think is just a way for Kobayashi to be like, "Don't pay attention to Episode Final! That's not how I wanted to end this story, so...erase that shit, Time Vent!"