Recap: Kamen Rider Revice, Episode 39 – Hope and Despair, The Conflict Between Three Siblings

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

While Ikki and Vice do what they can to fight off the rampaging Demons across the city, Papa Ushijima broadcasts to the country imploring its citizens to reject Ararat and join up with Weekend instead to ensure the planet’s peace and stability. More and more people are heeding Papa Ushijima’s warning and gathering at Weekend evacuation shelters.

Ikki and Vice meet up with Sakura at one of the shelters. They wonder why Daiji doesn’t just leave Akaishi’s side and join them instead.

Over at Ararat HQ, Akaishi asks Daiji what he will do about them losing people to Weekend. Daiji, annoyed that his own siblings don’t understand the gravity of the situation, says he will just have to convince them all.

Ikki and Vice return home. Papa Igarashi tells them that video of them fighting the good fight is going viral. Papa Igarashi says he hopes they can all go to an onsen together again once Daiji returns.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Ikki doesn’t remember the family ever going to an onsen together. Vice quickly shuffles Ikki to the other room and checks some of his memories before showing him a family photo from the onsen trip. Only, Ikki is not in the picture. Vice is frustrated that Ikki seems to be losing his memories faster than ever and isn’t even telling him.

Ikki says this must be a sign of how bad the fighting has gotten. Vice wonders if defeating Gifu isn’t the only way out of this mess and if they really could live peacefully together. Ikki says he is worried. But he does not want to give up on finding a way to solve this without anyone else getting hurt.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Back at Ararat HQ, Vail offers to partner up with Daiji who says he’s fine on his own.

Over at Weekend, George checks on his daddy. But Papa Karizaki is coughing and weaker. George tells his daddy to just sit back and let him handle things now, especially since he’s surpassed him already.

Just then, Hikaru calls his father to alert him to Akaishi broadcasting to the nation. Akaishi reiterates that Fenix supports Gifu’s aim for a peaceful coexistence. That is why Fenix will take action against Weekend who he claims is just brainwashing the public in order to fan the flames of conflict.

Akaishi sends Hell Giftarians and Juniors over to one of the shelters. Mama Ushijima is leading a team to defend the gate. Hikaru arrives and quickly henshins, but he quickly gets a demon stepping on his neck. He calls over to his mother who has been badly injured by a Hell Giftarian.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Papa Ushijima orders Hikaru to evacuate the citizens and retreat. But Hikaru wants to save his mother. Papa Ushijima insists they prioritize the safety of the citizens.

Mama Ushijima tells Hikaru to leave her. A Hell Giftarian slashes right at her and her body goes limp as a Weekend officer drags Hikaru away.

Everyone is shocked. Daiji, having watched the scene at Ararat HQ, smashes a computer screen.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Hikaru storms into Weekend command center to confront his father. He says he could’ve saved Mama Ushijima. But Papa Ushijima says their fake family was merely a means to an end and it is time for Hikaru to throw away his naivete

A distraught Hikaru leaves. Papa Karizaki says that was a bit harsh. But Papa Ushijima says Hikaru has actually had it easy.

Outside, Ikki, Vice and Sakura find Hikaru who tells them that even though he was supposed to throw away his personal feelings, he actually liked having a family even if fake. Especially after having seen how happy the Igarashis were.

Sakura comforts him by saying that a family is a family. And families come in all different shapes and sizes.

Hikaru cries. Vice gives him a hug.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

In one of the shelters, George finds Hiromi and hands him two mass-production Demons Drivers he can give out since Hiromi is in no condition to henshin anyway. “I’m sure you can still order them around, though.”

Before George leaves, he apologizes to Hiromi even though he doesn’t expect to be forgiven.

Hiromi approaches George and throws a fist at George’s face, only to merely bump his chest before leaving.

George bows as Hiromi walks out with the case of Drivers.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Meanwhile, Tamaki cries. Hana tells him to stop it as they must do all they can to help in order to atone for their sins. Suddenly, the alarm sounds outside of their security tent.

Daiji appears with an army of Juniors and he pushes his way through into Shelter #1. He approaches Papa Ushijima on the catwalk above where the evacuees have been gathered.

Daiji slams Papa Ushijima against the guard rails and addresses the crowd, saying he is here to save them. Daiji says the only way they can survive is to head to Ararat and submit to Gifu. It is the only option.

But the people begin yelling at Daiji, calling him a liar and a hypocrite. Ikki, Sakura and Vice try to get the crowd to stop.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Tears begin to roll down Daiji’s face. “Why can’t you all understand…”

Ikki, Sakura and Vice are taken aback by Daiji’s emotion.

The crowd continues to yell, saying they are confident and hopeful because they have the Kamen Rider protecting them. A man throws a can at Daiji’s face.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

“Why? WHY GODDDAMNIT!”

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

“I was just trying to do what was right.”

Daiji decides it’s time to drag them all out of here by force. The Juniors begin advancing toward the peoples. Ikki and Vice henshin to help protect them, leaving Sakura with Daiji.

Sakura tries to get her older brother under control.

“This isn’t like you at all!”

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

“I haven’t changed. It’s you and Nii-chan that have changed.”

Daiji henshins and takes the battle with Ikki outside. Hana, already henshined, swoops in and says she will not allow Daiji to fight his siblings. Sakura comes running, screaming for Daiji to wake up.

Daiji says it is them who need to open their eyes. He points out them killing Akemi-san and all the other people who have died because of their meddling. That leaves them all speechless.

Daiji swats Hana away and into a tree. He says he knows what he is doing is right and resumes battling his older brother.

An enraged Sakura calls Daiji an idiot. She henshins and tries to take on her brother who just kicks her.

Vice comes running when a Hell Giftarian appears. Ikki and Vice work together to quickly finish it off.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

They turn their attention back to Daiji who is knocking his little sister around the forest. Ikki and Vice try to hold Daiji, but he fights them off, saying what’s happened is because they gave everyone false hope. Ikki says Akaishi is just playing Daiji. Daiji tells them him to shut up and prepares a finisher.

“Daiji, do you have any idea what you’re doing?!”
“Of course I do. But I’m doing it to protect the world. And any obstacles need to go.”

Daiji sends a Holy Justice Finish at his siblings, but Vice steps in front of them to send it right back. The attack forces Daiji to dehenshin.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Ikki and Sakura run over to their brother. But Daiji pulls out his gun and points it at his siblings. Ikki and Sakura stop in their tracks as Daiji cocks the gun.

Kamen Rider Revice Episode 39 Recap

Episode Thoughts

Goodness gracious golly! How is it possible to both love this episode so much, but also hate it so much. It’s almost as crazy as Daiji!

Honestly, this is probably the most fun I’ve had watching Revice in months. I dunno if it’s just the good vibes lingering from my watching Kamen Rider: Beyond Generations earlier today. (Which I enjoyed and liked very much.)

But I also enjoyed this episode as well. Yeah, it still reminded me of how far Revice has fallen. I’ve definitely still got issues and regrets with how things have developed the last couple of months. And this episode once again highlighted many of those missteps.

Perhaps it’s because of my annoyance and disappointment in the season that made Daiji completely falling off the wagon and rampaging like this very enjoyable and fun. It’s a bit like me rooting for the villains toward the end of a season because I just don’t care for the supposed heroes and protagonists.

First, taking a step back. This is Episode 39. And we’re essentially in the final stretch of the season. Not necessarily the final arc or endgame or whatever. But it’s supposed to feel that way. It reminded me of Gaim where the destruction of Zawame came early, if I remember correctly. And the city had been mostly abandoned by the start of the 40s I think. It was the same for Build also. I remember them wandering around the ruins of the city for a while. But for both of those (better written) seasons, the build up to those moments was… well, existent. That is the opposite of Revice and their nonexistent build up.

The last few weeks have been a bit abrupt. Partly because things had been so wobbly through the 20s and early 30s where the show just basically threw away most of what they were doing right.

But with Gaim, Helheim had been steadily encroaching since Episode 1 and was always a main plot point. Divided Japan and the war was the entire backdrop of Build.

So with Revice, this whole apocalyptic situation lacks the kind of urgent or climactic feel that would be more satisfying had the season maintained its focus. Things didn’t just escalate quickly, it all popped out of nowhere. Actually no, that’s not true. It popped out of a flying coffin. But whatever.

Aside from all that Weekend/Akaishi nonsense, the more important part of the episode (and what we should have been focused on the entire time) was the Igarashi Sibling Civil War.

Speaking of Gaim, Daiji is in his Mitchi Era apparently. Though Mitchi was better written and we understood his contemptibility lol

With Daiji, I was reminded a bit of Isamu. For most of Zero-One, I felt like he was the best written character. Such a deep, strong personality and character arc. Sometimes even overshadowing Aruto. But the show then inexplicable threw that all away. It’s one of the few things I will criticize the season for. Turning arguably the season’s best character into a hollow shell by completely undoing his entire story up to that point.

For Daiji, I felt like he had the strongest initial arc. Especially of the siblings. His insecurities with regards to his brother, plus his very strong sense of justice and righteousness and his destructive relationship with Kagerou; all of it had initially been handled so well. Many great moments.

But even well-developed Daiji got caught up in the waves of the season’s missteps and lack of focus.

Seeing Daiji highly emotional and angry was great to see. I actually really enjoyed it. Him ragequitting that computer screen in Akaishi’s office to him being humiliated on the catwalk to him pointing A GUN! at his brother and sister before a smashcut to the preview. That was all really fun. I seriously gasped when the guy threw that can at Daiji’s face. Wataru Hyuga was so good in that scene on the catwalk.

I legit have no idea what the hell is going on inside Daiji’s head. But I like it.

I just wish, again, it didn’t come out of nowhere.

Daiji had been getting his ass handed to him every week for a while now. But that’s not really enough to drive him into a state of despair and hopelessness like this.

What gets me is they absolutely could’ve done so much with this direction for Daiji with what they had already established for him in the early days. Draw upon his lingering insecurities. Pull the rug out from under him. Smash his entire world to pieces. That includes perhaps the image of his perfect family. Or the perfect Fenix. Or doubting the validity of their mission when everyone around them is dropping dead.

And this would work with or without Kagerou. Maybe even better without in order to flesh out the idea that humans are complicated beings. Humans have complicated feelings and insecurities and negative thoughts. And those things don’t necessarily have to come from actual, physical demons within them. Those “demons” exist regardless. So many things they could do with that simple premise. And all of them easily able to be connected to other originally established story threads. Maybe even an interesting discussion on mental health.

For one thing, Daiji’s descent into madness could’ve helped facilitate a bigger sibling war. For a season that (originally) had been all about family, seeing the siblings going after each other would’ve been another great story to see at this point. Each of the siblings with their own warped sense of justice and all that. Clashing. Fighting. Yelling at each other. Hurting each other emotionally and physically. All before they see the error of their ways and ultimately come together and reunite. Add to that the possibility of a reverse story with the Karizakis at the same time. Or Hiromi’s emotional story with his parents. That would’ve all been perfect!

Now, the siblings already did go to their respective corners. Daiji at Fenix. Sakura at Weekend. And Ikki with Vice on their own. But nothing came of that separation. Them going their own way at the end of the 20s had nothing to do with the predicament they’re in now. Especially not with Daiji’s breakdown.

Anyway. There’s a lot of regrets. But I think I’m a point where I’ve accepted Revice has very little chance to pull itself up from its middling position. So I’m all for rooting for chaos. If that means rooting for Daiji to just go on a psychotic rampage? Then so be it.

Elsewhere, I forgot about disappearingIkki until they brought it up again this week. Now, if they had focused a bit more on him basically dying rather than all the other nonsense they’ve been wallowing in lately, then of course, things would have been better.

Also could’ve been better was that scene between George and Hiromi. A nice moment. But a moment deserving of more than just a throwaway scene. Their characters deserved better.

Lol at them cropping Papa Ushijima’s Heil Weekend salute after making it a central scene in the preview. But even without that, he is obviously quite shady still. And I am just hoping that Weekend is actually also an evil organization. Like, there is no way to make Weekend on the legit side of the heroes. There’s no way. They’re almost as cultish as the Deadmans back in the day. (So long ago!)

And I mean, Papa Ushijima threw his fake wife to the demons without a second thought. So that’s far from being on the up and up. Lol

I did like the scenes of Hikaru mourning his fake mother. But again, just like everything else, it lacked the depth to really have it hit the mark. Especially, again, it circled back to the idea of family. Aha!

Hikaru liked having a family, even if fake. And now that family has completely shattered. Sakura’s talk of different kinds of families would have held more meaning had the show not completely brushed aside what had been the core of the season’s story. That is, the Igarashi Family.

Anyway. This episode on its own was fun to watch. Go Crazy Daiji! But it once again just highlights the dropped balls, mistakes and missed opportunities of the season so far. Oh well, I’ll take what I can get I guess.




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24 thoughts on “Recap: Kamen Rider Revice, Episode 39 – Hope and Despair, The Conflict Between Three Siblings

  1. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed this one too. Would’ve been even better had they kept up the momentum. Imagine a train over the last few months just speeding toward these moments now. Would’ve elevated this season to top tier instead of mid.

  2. I feel like this could have been a good plot point thing, but its just too late in the season to be pulling a ‘Heroes Divided’ storyline. Its just nonsense. Even if they went a kinda lame copout of Akaishi actually brainwashing Daishi.

    1. That’s a good point. Maybe if they had done this at the start of the 30s instead of what they actually did do. They could’ve even did the heroes divided angle at the same time as the Sakura-Aguilera stuff. Have her turn her back on her family to go with her new girlfriend or whatever lol

      1. I actually probably would put it in the early 20’s, ending at the point where we get Holy Live. Probably pushing Vail’s entrance back a bit for it.

  3. I just wanted to cry from sadness. Daiji totally stopped to care about what is he doing. He thinks, he’s doing the right things, but instead, it’s exactly the opposite! Somebody tell him to stop his foolishness and leave Akaishi!

        1. Well obviously it’s going to be resolved in the future. Not next week or the week after or the week after that. But eventually when it does get resolved, then obviously it would be preferable of it was his family that pulls him from the brink. In meantime, things will be crazy and chaotic and uncomfortable for them.

          Do you think Daiji will just go and die instead after causing chaos?

    1. It gotta be Yukimi, who did tell Sakura at iirc ep. 5 (Bon/Masao as MOTW) that good intentions doesn’t matter if you take it too far. Sakura (pre-Jeanne) was the one before that approved of extreme methods if it’s “well-intentioned”.

      1. Having more Mama Igarashi would be awesome. And badly needed at the moment. What an amazing story if they connected the events of Kamen Rider Vail and Yukimi and Genta’s past with what’s happening to their children now. Too bad.

  4. The premise of reviving Giff (naturally had apocalyptic outcome) was also something that had already happened since the beginning along with the family. What the 3 main baddies of Deadman was about.

    It doesn’t often happen to you other than Revice’s heroes it seems (and even for Zero-One, Fuwa being better doesn’t mean Aruto had to be overthrown), but it’s quite trending to bash any main characters and suck up to side characters, and often being biased in that (like it’s ok if side character is like this but not the main).

      1. It’s a recurring trend that “side characters are inherently better than main characters”, and that main characters tend to get the short stick to people in general.

        1. Oh, yes I’ve seen people always say that. But I don’t personally think a great supporting character that I might even personally love takes away from my enjoyment of the show or the title character themselves. Like in Zero-One, Jin is my favorite character. But I still Aruto is great and maybe one of my favorite main Riders.

          1. Aruto is a great main rider because he shows that even good people can have moments of weakness, but there is always a possibility to pick up the pieces and recover.

            1. I honestly don’t know where did the notion of people being good, kind, inoffensive, etc. equals being perfect, flawless, etc. came from. Being kind and showing decency doesn’t equal perfection. There are much more character flaws than just negative and dark traits (including Aruto, if only talking about his Ark-One stint), like lack of confidence, inflexible thought, etc.

  5. When Daiji hit Hana… Damned, I hated him so much for that! And Sakura… She reminded me of Goku when Krilin was killed by Frieza and when Gohan became Super Saiyan 2…

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