When or where did I say or imply that KR heroines can only provide emotional support (and do other things I mentioned in my previous posts) and not do other things nor have other characteristics?:confused: When or where did I say or imply that KR heroines can only provide emotional support (and do other things I mentioned in my previous posts) to be able to be included in the "good heroine" category?:confused: Of course a heroine can also have other characteristics, not just provide emotional support for the protagonists. They would be shallow, 1 dimensional characters if they only provide emotional support for the protagonists. Of course they can be comedic, do science, have physical strength, have quirky personalities, have a conflict with the main protagonist and or other characters, etc. Of course they can do other things while still providing emotional support for the protagonists. Sakurako still provided emotional support for Godai and Ichijo. Hina still provided emotional support for Eiji and Ankh. Akari still provided emotional support for Takeru, Makoto, etc., and even to Alain who she initially distrusted. Tsukuyomi still provided emotional support for Sougo, Geiz, Woz, and was still the one who eased the tension between Sougo and Geiz. The heroines in the list above (except Sakura) still do most, if not all things KR heroines do that I mentioned in my previous posts. If anything, the examples you mentioned above actually proved my point.

A KR heroine is basically the female face of a KR series. They're the glue that maintain cohesion and bonds between team members. The heroine is the yang to the hero's yin. You can't have a yin without a yang. A yin without a yang = Failure.

I think there's a certain threshold of focus/emphasis/involvement that should be passed when writing an important character. If that threshold is not passed, then the character will feel dull, uninvolved, and unimpactful. When a supposedly important character feels dull and unimportant, your story also feels dull, and it means that you've very likely done something wrong. I've stated several times in my previous posts that making a hybrid heroine-Rider character is a possible, but a very very very difficult task to accomplish due to one character having to pass two thresholds at once: One as the heroine, and the other as the second Rider. There may be a writer that can pull it off successfully, but that skillful, shrewd writer is definitely not one of Gotchard's writers. Gotchard is trying to do two tricks at once, and fails at both.

About Sakura, well, she's also one of the failed heroines that I'm criticizing. She was actually the first instance of failed heroine in this franchise. She was average as a Rider, but failed badly as a heroine. Revice having no heroine was one of the reasons why it felt so dull. (God forbid) Geats also failed in the same aspect (and many others).

I've only watched the original 1971 series, KR Black, and KR Black RX, so I haven't watched all of Showa KR series, but as far as I know, the main difference between Heisei and Showa heroines is that Heisei heroines are often more actively involved in the conflict and have more connections to the conflict compared than their Showa counterpart. The basic characteristics/tropes are largely similar. Their nurturing characteristic doesn't solely come from their personality, but also from their ability to maintain cohesion between the protagonists.

Nobody? Seriously, nobody? If so, then I'm afraid that KR Gotchard series will also be a nobody in the anime/toku/superhero world. Very unfortunate! Well, at least the toys/merchs are selling well, haha.

If Houtarou has 100 friends, then Gentarou Kisaragi has probably had 100.000 by now. Does it mean that Gentarou doesn't need his circle of close friends in the KRC? Of course he still needs them. No matter how cheerful, outgoing, extroverted a guy is, he'll still need a circle of close friends and maybe also a girlfriend or spouse.

It's not necessarily the protagonist that needs a heroine. It's the story that needs a heroine.

How could you call what I'm doing gatekeeping, while I'm just a fan who posts weekly reviews and criticisms only in this forum?:confused: Gatekeeping can only be done by those who have enough power to control something. Gatekeeping can only be done by those at Toei/Bandai who are powerful enough to control the business and creative direction of the franchise and or the company. That's why it's called gatekeeping: Having the ability to exert power to keep people from entering the gate and to keep what's inside the gate for himself. Gatekeeping can only be done by a powerful entity, usually a government, a monopoly, an oligopoly, a multinational company, etc.

The definition of gatekeeping from several sources:
- "to control access to something, or determine the legitimacy of people?s claims to a particular status, by unilaterally imposing criteria for acceptance"
Source:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gatekeep
- "the activity of trying to control who gets particular resources, power, or opportunities, and who does not"
Source:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dic...sh/gatekeeping
- "the practice of controlling access to information, advanced levels of study, elite sections of society, etc"
Source:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/di...sh/gatekeeping

See? Control requires power. Do I have such power to dictate my will and control the direction of this franchise? Of course not! You've grossly overestimated my ability and importance. I'm just a fan. I'm nothing but blocks of text, haha.

What I'm doing is constructive criticisms for evaluation purpose. I've said in my previous posts that changes and experimentations are fine. On the other hand, history has shown that not all changes are good, and experimentations carry the risk of failure. It's already a common knowledge in academia that experimentations far more often result in failures, not success stories. Toei/Bandai can experiment with a clear understanding of the risks involved, and if that experiment eventually ends in failure, then they should call it a failure, not a success, and evaluate it so that they don't repeat the same mistake. If the people at Toei/Bandai read my criticisms and take necessary steps to evaluate this franchise, then I'm fine with it. If they choose to disregard my criticisms, then I'm also fine with it. In the end, time will reveal everything, right?

I call a spade a spade, a knife a knife. I call a failure a failure, and I'm afraid that Gotchard fits the description of a failure. I won't be surprised if 5, 10, or 20 years later all my criticisms (about Gotchard, (God forbid) Geats, Revice, KR Outsiders, etc.) are proven to be 1000% bullshit. I'm aware of the possibility that I may have been bullshitting and lying to myself and the world. On the other hand, if reality prove 20 years later that my criticisms are correct, I also won't be surprised... at all.

The trophy was not the Woman of the Beginning, but the position of the Man of the Beginning. Mai herself had won the position (and the responsibility) of the Woman of the Beginning. The Woman of the Beginning had powers similar to the Man of the Beginning's. She even had a time travel ability and tried to change the the past. If she was a trophy, then she would've lost her free will, and she wouldn't be able to do anything. But that wasn't what happened in Gaim's story, right?

That was one of the internal rules of the story. You must follow the internal rules, wherever it may lead. Gaim was inspired by several religious stories, in this case the story of Adam and Eve. Like many elements in Gaim's story that were metaphors for growing up, the story of the Man and Woman of the Beginning was obviously a metaphor for marriage. In a marriage, a wife is not a trophy, but a partner of the husband. They're equal. The Woman of the Beginning was not a trophy, but an equal partner that complemented the Man of the Beginning, just as told in the Bible that Eve was Adam's equal. As I've said above: The yang to the hero's yin.

It's not like Mai became the bearer of the Forbidden Fruit out of her volition. She could've ran away and abandon her friends. She could've cowered in fear when she was at Roshuo's place. Her conviction, resolve, and courage to stand strong for her friends and the city of Zawame were the things that impressed Roshuo. He entrusted her as the bearer of the Forbidden Fruit because he was impressed by her commitment to her friends and the city of Zawame, including to those who had betrayed her like Mitchy. She could've chosen to be consumed by fear after seeing the horrors of Helheim, but she chose not to. That's feminine/gentle strength.

Be careful. Some criticisms are subjective, while some are objective. If I say that all forms of criticism are merely subjective babbles without validity, objectivity, and constructive values, then it means that I'm entering a very dangerous territory where I'm committing to myself to never learn from my mistakes and the harsh truth of reality.

About you referring to people's unfair expectations, regarding females, tbh it seems to be not limited to KR (though KR's specifically about them dying before), but just about any females in fiction. Like even though in outside fiction there are many more females who can fight/provide value/save herself, many people's expectations are still about whether they would be 'reduced as damsel in distress or not' (the reason why they don't mind if they can fight, it's the opposite of this complaint), and if they feel the female they're following shows promise (disappointed or not later is a different story), they still act as if said female is the first (to claim 'finally a good female'), ignoring everything else before.

In general, marginalized identities (not limited to gender, like races, etc.) have always been held to higher standards. Every marginalized identity is seen as a representation of their marginalized status, and therefore used to inform on or judge that identity as a whole. This can make me feel guilty if I'd defend a female if I feel they're reduced by fans (e.g. seen as just <insert male name> spouting machine), or if I acknowledge the merits of a good female (if they're not perfectly handled, then they must be lumped together with all the terrible ones and only nitpick them) because I can feel that I'm also forcing females to conform and holding back their progress.

And I think some of the complaints can just reflect on the person rather than the character. Like about the nurturing stuff talked about, or if they have aspect seen as 'reductive' (wanting to have a family = 'not independent') it's seen as relegating them to stereotypical 'submissive' gender role (obviously males that are seen as having this are deemed as soft and weak like some main Riders). Said support role will also get them complained as 'useless'. I also've seen someone complaining that an actually strong female who is pushed to her limits (after taking down something big, no less) and needing help at that time as being 'reduced to damsel in distress' too. Regarding said traits, I also've written my complaints about this in the Gotchard ep. 45 discussion thread before.

For this part, Sh Ranger, even Fish also wrote an appreciation for Mai based on this here (once again an unpopular take too other than not liking Gaim, appreciating her also counts).

Majade will have her final form appear next week. It looks like a fusion of her and atropos.

I really like it a lot! I like that it contrasts with Rainbow Gotchard by being based on the colors of twilight instead (hence the name), since twilight is the period of time between sunrise/sunset and dawn/dusk, and the colors of the sky at that time are pink, blue, white (usually clouds), yellow (the sun itself rising/setting), and black (actually just darker blue). It's also pretty cool since the two forms Majade uses are SunUnicorn and MoonCereberus. And that the overall aesthetic seems to draw a bit from Wind too, since her new dual capes are more in line in appearance with Wind's capes.

Which actually might be one of the reasons why we don't get to see her use the other Fantastic/Cosmic combinations (well, aside from the costume budget). Using the others might interfere with the sun/moon/twilight motif they're going with for Majade. Would be nice if we get some concept art for what her forms would've looked like, like how we got concept art of what the Rider Form versions of Gotchard's Wild Form-only would've looked like.

I also love that they keep the hairstyle aesthetic of Majade's helmet by giving her one that's based on Atropos'. I really want to know what other hairstyles her potential other forms could've had. And that the overall aesthetic seems to draw a bit from Wind too, since her new dual capes are more in line in appearance with Wind's capes.

And Majade is another addition to forms that add a visor over the helmet's existing eyes, too. Like Gotchard Shining Daybreak, Tycoon Bujin Sword (and the Geats Riders' Rising/Command forms by extension), and Ultimate Revi and Vice. I hope we get more of these types of visor over eyes like this in the future, I like the aesthetic a lot. We sorta got something like that with Cross-Z Charge and Grease in Build with clear parts that went over white screwcap-like heads, and I really liked that a lot (even when people hated Cross-Z Charge's look back then).

I really like the design too, I?m looking forward to Valvarad?s final form, I hope it embraces the black flames idea more. My only thought is will Majade use a new belt unit? And what cards will she use?

Considering her helmet and chest design, Twilight Majade is probably going to still use Unicon and The Sun. I did hear rumors that she'll be using a new gold version of the Alchemisdriver, so maybe that's what she uses? There's also the potential idea that Unicon, The Sun, Neminemoon, and Yoacerberus combine into two new cards too to go along with this new Alchemisdriver.

It seems there's a bit of a "beautiful sky phenomena" theme going on with Rainbow Gotchard (rainbow), Gotchard Daybreak (sunrise), and Twilight Majade (sunset). I wonder if Valvarad or one of the others will get a final form themed on a full moon, eclipse, Aurora Borealis, or something like that?

Interesting. Aurora Boraelis seems likely.

Finally! Also has a dash of Wind in there too, which is fitting.

My Ghost example contains information that may contest your point though. While Akari does have some nurturing trait, it's acknowledged late in the show that Onari is the strongest moral support. Functionally, that means Onari is the heroine, as he has equal screentime and the only difference is that he happens to be a dude. This supports what I'm saying, that the main emotional support character doesn't have to be the female lead, who can simply be assigned to another useful trait instead.

Sometimes the yang is somebody else though. Like how Ryuuga is the Dragon to Sento's Rabbit. In Hibiki, Kiva (2008 side) and Double, the heroine feels more like the yang to the Secondary Rider's yin instead.

Totally agreed.

I like Neon as a character and fondly remember her BeatBoost debut, but the most nurturing one was Sara, who Takebe claimed was the beacon of hope for Neon.

Then I would totally recommend Stronger, where the heroine Misaki is also the pseudo-Rider sidekick called Electrowave Human Tackle.

Ironically, I've seen most of the Showa Rider shows, but I haven't yet seen OG Kamen Rider, Black, Black RX, Super One or Shin. :lol

But you literally claimed that the purpose of a heroine is to provide emotional support to the protagonist. If the protagonist already has that, then there's no purpose for a heroine. Why does KR specifically need a heroine to do what can be done by others? There are many works that don't have heroines. Pixar's Up didn't have a heroine. Activision's Call of Duty Black Ops didn't have a heroine. Kamen Rider Gotchard doesn't have a heroine. I don't see the problem here.

I was referring more to gatekeeping internally. Sure, none of us can actually influence Toei's designations, but this practice of defining restrictive criteria for what a type of character can and cannot be allowed to do is close enough that people often call it gatekeeping.

Just like alchemy.

Is Gotchard inspiring kids to grow up healthy? Is Gotchard making profit for Toei and Bandai? Of course! What is Gotchard not doing, that would make you deem it a failure? For comparison, Gobusters was a failure despite being an awesome show, while Kyoryuger sucked despite becoming a big success. Our subjective opinions on the quality of a show doesn't determine whether it's a failure or a success, but rather the objective results. Even the universally loathed Work Competition arc of Zero One was called a success, due to having an increase in ratings. I may feel sick to think about that reality, but I can't deny the importance of statistics.

Which means that regardless of whether Kouta or Kaito won the position of Space God, that person would also become the Space Goddess' partner. The problem here is that there are two Adams/yins but only one Eve/yang.

What did Mai actually accomplish as the Space Goddess, other than hosting a fashion contest in the Hyper Battle?

Those internal rules were only made up by that Sagara creep, who was foolish enough to think he could order around a god. Kouta literally refused to do what he wanted, like how Kenzaki exploited a loophole in the rules to stall the end of the world. Even an unbreakable rule can still be bent, much to the frustration of the one who made the rule. To use your marriage example, Mr. Super Lawyer, you should know that equality doesn't mean equal benefits. That's why prenups exist to protect individual assets, but since Gaim's metaphor ignores that part, Space God gets all the best assets, while Space Goddess gets a useless time travel ability and doesn't even get to decide her partner. Mai got ripped off.

I'll admit that Mai is likely the best moral example in the show and generally meets the heroine criteria you've defined, but what good is that when she's ineffective? A major problem with Gaim is that it lacks synergy between the physical strength and gentle strength, which is necessary to prevent the nihilistic and cynical setting from becoming oppressive. Ryuki had a strong dynamic between the main 3. Yui would provide emotional support and wisdom to Shinji, whose philosophy would eventually inspire Ren, who would carry Yui's wishes to stop the Rider War once and for all. This is an important factor that Gaim was lacking.

Yeah, this is basically the tokenism argument, that marginalized identities are sometimes included for its own sake to appeal to a wider demographic, rather than having a character who has meaning outside that status. However, due to some people having unrealistic expectations, they will blow the complaint out of proportion no matter what. I think those people should learn to disassociate the character from their status and focus on them as a human being first. We're all humans after all, so we can usually all relate to something in these characters.

I look forward to seeing the full suit!