Eh, I don't get this. Ever since Kuuga, Agito and Ryuki, the entire Heisei Era has been redefining the concept of Kamen Rider and what that actually entails.

Yes, to an extent that is true. Kuuga definitely changed a lot of aspects of Kamen Rider, such as Rider's relation with authority and the use of violence. Of which then Agito went to deconstruct in its own show, and then had its own conclusion deconstructed in Ryuki, and etc.

But one thing Rider has been for the longest time has been the idea of it being 1. One against the majority 2. ruling authority system being flawed at best, adversaries at worst.

Whether it be the original with Shocker being direct results of oppressive system, or symbolically being implicitly and/or explicitly coded with that of a dominant ruling structures (such as G.O.D, Gorgom, ZECT, or Smart Brain), or in Agito's case, literally positioning God, the ultimate authority figure, as being an oppressive presence.

Sure, some Riders vary in their setups. In Wizard, the enemy are symbols of depression and self-destruction, or Kuuga where its the ugly parts of humanity, etc. Nevertheless, these all still fulfill the idea of an adversary bigger than the Rider, or anyone else for that matter.

Drive however, is the first time where Rider is now very explicitly part of the authority. Kuuga was allied with them, which Agito later implicitly frowned upon with its negative light on police authority in general, but Drive literally is a police officer and does not attempt to really do much to disassociate him from the rest of the authority he represents.
Roidmutes themselves too, are also not depicted the same as the others Rider villains.
Powerful than normal humans in-universe, sure, but in their thematic position they as of yet have not turned out to be representative of any larger-than-us power. And unlike for example Dopants or Zodiarts, their source is also not any kind of ruling power (Dopants being run by an aristocracy and amoral weapons traders, and Zodiarts essentially Baby Boomers). They are simply put, not enemies bigger than the Rider is in any thematic sense. They are subversives, which is the position that Rider represented before, being the rebel that escaped from the villainous organization.

And there's the fact that Drive predominantly rides a car. So there's the visual element as well

My main issue with the show is after 20 episodes NOW we're starting to approach a real plot with Heart and Brain's plan to replace the human race?

I feel we lost time focusing on comedy more than plot. It worked for Fourze but Drive's narrative is suffering due to the lack of fleshing out its world.

For me, it's the fact that Drive is heavily toy oriented, more so than previous Kamen Rider series but it's painfully obvious here.

This is a big issue during fights because it seems that he's completely useless without some sort of Shift Car or gadget to bail him out during a dicey situation.

Other than that my opinion pretty much echos what everyone else in this thread is saying about the show.

Mach is another issue as well. The secondary Rider is usually suppose to shake up the dynamic of the group or status quo of the series but with Drive being a comedic show and Mach being a goofball character in a show that REALLY didn't need any more goofballs, he kind of just blends in with his surroundings.

Thats a thing that really screams missed opportunity. Putting aside if someone liked Gou when he first appeared he did bring desperately needed conflict into the show. But after two episodes this was already gone and we were back to square one.

I get what you mean, this was actually a pretty interesting read! Although depending on how Drive plays out (although I honestly doubt the show is smart enough to do this) it could very well be a cautionary tale about the dangers of technology, which could very well be seen as a form of authority in our current age.

But like I said, Drive doesn't seem interested or smart enough for that angle at all.

Nature vs. Technology is undeniably a major part in Rider, the original manga used it to illustrate the environmental damage caused by Japan's rapid industrialization.
Though, considering everything, I'm not exactly keen on the idea that Roidmudes would in turn be a message for that, when the hero and the villains roles have been so utterly inverted.

same here, i mean if you watch ninninger, you can tell how better that show is when they are not throwing toys at every episode, i mean we are going to eventually have zord upgrades, that's not a big deal and it's not like drive where they are throwing toys at everything.

it makes things repetitive and not fun at all when it comes to drive especially when they are not focusing on the characters. they can make the show fun without throwing toys at everything, if the writers can come up with funny ideas for every episode and focusing on the relationship of the characters, i would say drive would be just as good as ninninger.

that's why i liked kuuga and agito because the stories were focused on the characters and not gimmicks, when they started throwing gimmicks in ryuuki, it just became unwatchable.

I think you're looking too deep into a message that isn't really there.
Almost any conflict can be extended into a deeper message when you look at the bigger picture, but judging by the direction Drive is moving it, I doubt it will be explored. I believe it's more coincidental than anything.