Kamen Rider Gaim Ep 26 - "Baron's Genesis Transformation!"

[NeonZ]

No, it makes sense every time. He says anyone, without an exception, so why should we assume otherwise?

We don't even have to stick to a literal exegesis of the wording. If we look at his actions, he actually has betrayed the people he supposedly cared about (Takatora, Kouta, etc.) . Clearly, he meant that he would betray anyone, literally and without exception, and has done so.

He says that he'd betray anyone to protect that happiness. That only shows a disregard for other his friend's happiness if he's only talking about his own happiness, which is why I'm saying you started with your conclusion and then worked backwards from there. I'm not saying that he wouldn't betray someone, I'm saying that his reasons for that aren't necessarily evil if the happiness that he was talking about isn't just his own.

 

[kuroihikari]

He says that he'd betray anyone to protect that happiness. That only shows a disregard for other his friend's happiness if he's only talking about his own happiness, which is why I'm saying you started with your conclusion and then worked backwards from there. I'm not saying that he wouldn't betray someone, I'm saying that his reasons for that aren't necessarily evil if the happiness that he was talking about isn't just his own.

No, I didn't. In fact, I've only worked forward from the statement.

He said, he would betray anyone to protect that happiness, a feeling shared between him and the people he cares about. As long as that happiness is present, he would go against the wishes of the people he cares about. Ergo, he doesn't really value the happiness of others, as long as he can feel the happiness, he's fine.

That's the conclusion, and I didn't work backwards from that, even though I did say the conclusion first.

 

[live jetabare]

I think that Mitsuzane is in a very difficult situation, and his evil actions mostly stem by the fact he doesn't actually know what to do if he loses control.
In my opinion, Mitsuzane completely changed when he joined Yggdrasyl. When he was part of team Gaim, before being told the truth by his brother, he was happy, and the only lie he did was pretty much hiding his true identity as the son of the Yggdrasyl CEO. Besides, he was on the same side as Kouta and team Gaim, meaning he wanted to know the truth and what Yggdrasyl was hiding. Whiel he showed a ruthless side, especially with someone like Sid, his loyalty with Team Gaim was total.
Once he joined Yggdrasyl, and I feel he did it because he genuinely felt the firm was trying to do the best it could under the circumstances, he ended in a much more uncomfortable situation. Not only he was often at odds with Kouta, who, instead of being his ally, became his opponent (even if Kouta don't know that), but he had also to hide to others the truth about the Hellheim forest (his stunt with the Lock Seeds in episode 26 was following that trend of hiding the truth, as his brother wished (and not without reason)). As a result, he knew that the only way he would be able to stay with his friends, since it's the only thing that has ever made him feel happy, was to lie even more. The fact that the Beat Riders were at odds with Yggdrasyl (especially Mai) was hard for him, since he's part of the firm. As a result, he ended up being a double agent, and it's obvious that as a double agent, he's forced to lie all the time, and especially, being in control of everything.
It's obvious he suffers from that ; I don't think he has pleasure being such a control freak, and he felt an intense pressure.
He was especially frustrated by Kouta's actions because it meant he was forced to become his enemy, while he didn't want to: he hoped Kouta would trust him, but instead, he ignored him and kept fighting against Yggdrasyl, ans, as such, against him. He at least hoped to keep Mai and his Team Gaim pals outside the fight, and the Hellheim business, because he alsi knew that it was the only way for him to be both loyal to Yggdrasyl and stay with them.
At the end, he completely failed, and in episode 26, he was forced to hurt Mai and his Team Gaim pals, out of loyalty for Yggdrasyl. He was furious about it, and blamed Kouta for that. But once Mai slapped him, he felt that he was rejected by the one he cared the most. As a result, he became pretty insane, and because he doesn't know how to deal with the situation, he ended up blaming Kouta even more, and he ended up trying to kill him. It doesn't excuse what he did, but I feel all the pressure he had within himslef was so big, that it ended up destroying his sanity, because he doesn't even seem to realize that killing Kouta won't solve anything.
The tragedy about Mitsuzane is that when you look at his situation he has no real friend. Even if Team Gaim was friendly to him, he had to hide them the truth about who he is, and he can't share his burden with them. Likewise, in order to be with the people he felt happy with, he had to lie to his brother. And it's obvious he doesn't trust Ryouma and his goons. Noone really knows Mitsuzane. As a result, he never had someone to share the pressure he felt with, because he couldn't tell the people he know the full truth. He chose to endure the pressure, but it ended up being too hard for him, and he ended up losing it.
Micchy needs to be slapped and beaten up, but he also needs help, and a lot of it.

 

[Eldar]

IMO Micchy's dedication at protecting everyone's happiness has driven him to do horrible things. He is closer to Kariya Matou from F/Z than Kusaka from Faiz.

 

[Loghorn]

I - kind of find the contention that Micchy is just a kid trying to do what's best for his friends to be a little laughable. Not the bit about him being a kid, he is that, the second bit.

Micchy has never shown any kind of genuine concern over his friends' happiness. He has remarked before that he wants Kouta to suffer more if it means he'll be more obedient; when Mai slaps him (with good reason, given that he's just attacked her friend and in so doing revealed his own deception), his immediate response is to arrange for Kouta's murder instead of apologising or trying to make amends with her; he arranges for Team Gaim to come down with him to the shelter, but it doesn't seem to occur to him that they might have family or friends who would all die.

The consistent thread of Micchy's actions is that everything he does, from the moment he asked Sid for that Sengoku Driver, is to control other people: He'll lie to them, guilt trip them, position himself so that he's more valuable to them, and rather gleefully enjoy them suffering if he thinks that it will make them more dependent on him.

I agree. And if I was Kouta, I'd kill Micchy after for what he tried to do. Nobody tries to get someone killed & gets away with it.

 

[lazycoconut]

I agree. And if I was Kouta, I'd kill Micchy after for what he tried to do. Nobody tries to get someone killed & gets away with it.

But Kouta would not want to kill Micchi over this, and that's part of what makes him the show's hero (yes, he'll be horribly hurt and betrayed when he finds out and may well be angry, but he most likely won't say that Micchi deserves to die, or try to get revenge)

 

[Wing Saber]

If anything Micchi deserves a severe beating one way or the other. Which could happen, since Kaito hates cowardly tactics. Not to mention that he's now likes to make Kouta the scapegoat for all his short-commings. Which makes him pathetic

 

[Murphy]

I do love that Micchy, who thinks of himself as the smartest person around, thought it would be a good idea to backstab someone in the presence of Kaito, for whom strength through open battle and a disdain for cowardly tactics is practically a religion, immediately after Kaito has obtained a genesis driver that would allow him to kick Micchy's arse even more than he did the last time they fought.

...

Wow, Micchy. You really are a genius.

 

[Xtreme RX]

Amazing episode. Again, it was perfectly paced.

Nice intro with Mai confronting Kouta about the truth. Pretty well-acted, could feel that emotion. And nice to get clarification that Takatora isn't comfortable with Project Arc. Wonder who he was talking to.

Mitchi has just lost it, man. I mean, it was one thing for Kouta to reveal the truth, which he exploded about, but Mai's slap really destroyed him. Awesome scene.

Yoko seems to have some sort of interest in Kaito. Kind of weird actually. I think it was great that Zack had a moment here confronting him.

Battle in the forest was amazing, how he just destroyed Marika. Though Mitchi is horrible, plotting against him that whole time.

And Baron Lemon Energy Arms was awesome. I loved how he got a new henshin pose to go along with the driver. An excellent fight with Demushu, and I liked his confrontation with Kouta (reminded me of how some Rider fights started in the past).

Of course, that bastard Mitchi has to attack from the shadows like a coward... Cool to see pre-arms is actually vulnerable.

Can't wait to see Takatora and Kouta team up~

 

[Mang0TarD]

Micchy's actions, while not commendable, are quite understandable. From the start he's been fighting to preserve what he valued as sacred and pure. But in that attempt, like everyone has already quoted him saying, he's manipulated anyone and everyone that stood in the way of his goal, losing himself in the its pursuit - something that I'm sure some people can relate to.

He's just dug such a deep hole that there's no way for him to climb back out anymore. He has no choice but to keep digging deeper till that goal is in sight, no matter how deep he may go.

For me, his "point of no-return" was marked by his attempt to take back Kouta's sengoku driver by holding his sister "hostage" at Oren's bakery. At that point, he began to lose sight of actually protecting his friends and their time together, and started spiraling down into this abyss of manipulation and plotting.

After finding out about the secret of Helheim, he had to reassess his entire understanding of Yggdrasil, the Armored Riders, and the means to protect his friends.

Having said that, one could suppose that Micchy really didn't process the truth of Helheim as well as Takatora would have thought - that the revelation actually drove him off edge and broke him.