Kamen Rider Gotchard Episode 15- "Seize the Happy! Shine Bright Gotchalibur!"
 

The power of Super Gotchard may be enough to overcome Dread.

Only 1 new RCC appears in this episode, that is Buglesia. It only appears as an additional attachment on Lachesis' Malgam form.

Atropos is still attempting to manipulate and mentally torture Rinne in this episode. Thankfully, Rinne is starting to see through her mind games by upping her mental fortitude and mocking Atropos' nihilistic views. So, it is a duel between them, albeit not a physical duel, but a mental one, kinda like a psywar. Though, I'm still not sure whether what Atropos says regarding Fuga is true or is a mere nonsense that is part of her mind games. It also looks like Rinne still somewhat believes in the slight hint of humanity that may remain inside Atropos' heart of void. Sooo... Could I have been reading too much and drawing a completely wrong conclusion all this time? Could it be the case that Atropos is not the one who will sway Rinne to her side, but the complete opposite: It's Rinne who will convert Atropos (and the other Sisters) to the good side? Or probably Rinne will switch places with Atropos? Hmmm...

Clotho inserts 15 copies of the Antrooper Repli CC's into the Dreadriver's Drain slot. I wonder if the DX Dreadriver's Drain slot can actually handle that many RCC's.

The hostless KR Dread behaves like an almost mindless, primitive beast, kinda like the AI of the G4 Chip. I mentioned here that: "Dread may be an immature creature that's partly controlled by Atropos, and the maturation process requires several Dreadriver users as base samples. So, perhaps when it's actually matured it will form a separate, independent entity, which could be Glion. Or, perhaps the last user will fuse with it and be transmuted into the physical vessel for Glion or a new powerful villain." But, after watching this episode, I don't think it'll form Glion, due to the reasoning I elaborate in the second to last paragraph of this review.

I kinda chuckle when Licht appears from behind a tree while casually rubbing his Ring with a brush, along with X Wizard. He's looking more and more suspicious, so I think he could be another spy, not a potential mentor. As I mentioned last week here, the Level 10 RCC's held by X Wizard are BeetlX, Lixion, Exceedfighter, X Fortress, and Xeggdrasil, which are scheduled to appear on Gotchard & Geats collab winter film. So, there'll be 6 Level 10 RCC's that will appear in that film. X Wizard, unlike other Chemies, surprisingly, is able to speak like humans do. So far, she's the first Chemy with that ability. I'm not sure why she appeared alongside Licht in this scene. It seems like her appearance in this episode is a mere false appearance that connects the series with the collab winter film, as usual, because she doesn't seem to appear in the next episode.

As I mentioned here, Houtarou (and very probably his mom as well) does have some kind of hidden memories. In this episode, he tells Hopper 1 about the hidden memory where they had already bonded when Houtarou was a kid, but Hopper1 doesn't seem to remember it. Does this mean that Hopper1's memories have been manipulated as well? Maaannn... This potential plot twist about Houtarou's manipulated memories could be one of the most interesting plot twists in a while. And of course, as usual, this scene of potential plot twist is ended with Houtarou's mom looking at the family portrait featuring the obscured face of the supposedly absent dad, haha.

Oh, and Happyclover is still my favorite Chemy so far, haha. I hope that she'll appear as an actual prop like Hopper1 or at least as 3D animation, not only as 2D animation as it has.

Next week:

Spanner's direct superior, named Kyouka, will make her first onscreen appearance. Unlike Spanner's name, her name is a very common, usual one. She's very probably the one who has been giving commands to Spanner. I'm curious to see what her rank in the AU is, and what's her reasoning for commanding Spanner to keep close eyes on Rinne.

Aaannnddd... Glion will also make his first onscreen appearance. He will also bear the title The Dark Alchemist. My hypothesis regarding his first appearance here was quite correct. I hypothesized that he'd appear in episode 13-18. If Glion appears this early, then he's probably the Rose Woman/Niram/upper-mid tier villain of the story. I mentioned here that Atropos may be planning to ultimately revive some kind of incapacitated entity, so, after Glion is shown to be still somewhat human like The Sisters, then that entity could be another bigger villain. That entity could be The Ultimate Darkness that has been mentioned by Fuga and Minato.

The preview mentions the appearance of Orochi, which I think is the Jamata no Orochi RCC (Occult 8). Finally, the onscreen appearance of the Jamata no Orochi RCC.

Femdom stuff arrives here.

Of course the Dark Sisters will hold the Manabe family hostage, with Clotho and Lachesis merely acting as enforcers to prevent anyone Gotchard rescuing them. Atropos is the one to use this as her humanity investigation and dismiss humans' reliance on family and friendship as weakness. Likely because they'd be overwhelmed by despair to lose them or such, and that the bad guys can target their loved ones to screw over someone.

Rinne claims Atropos is just jealous to want that, but doesn't get it and talk those qualities down, which seems to be proven right as Atropos loses her composure and Rinne breaks free. Wonder if Rinne really hated her dad as she has faith in him despite Atropos painting him in a negative light of which Rinne's resentment would make it easy for her to believe that.

Lachesis tramples people, though not in her human form, to both Minato and also Yuzuru, expected that when he bows giving her easy position to step on it. Other than her total disgust with humans and their qualities, Lachesis seems to care about her comrades in her concern about Clotho damaging her body.

Clotho also stomps Gotchard in her fight. Her clash is straightforward to assert the forest rule of the strong wiping out the weak, while Houtaro counters with strength being used to protect those who need it. Houtaro pulling Clotho out over her reckless decision just to win and showing concern over Clotho's sheer anger shows that he fights foes out of necessity and not out of hatred. He focuses on elevating others' hopes and dreams, making sure others find their gotcha, with Supana seemingly warming up to him here.

Yuzuru reaffirms Sawa on how he's her hero by literally putting his life on line for her sake. It's not about the weaknesses, it's about how one'd be willing to go to great lengths to care for them.

Valvarad really need his new items and new Ride Chemy Cards so he can become a true Kamen Rider.

Is the infamous Christmas episode with a huge stake (character dying, betrayals and such) not gonna happen this year?

Well, in any case, It was a good episode to me.

I'm not too bothered by the fact that the hero is kind of naive.
At the same time, I liked that he actually saved Clotho and is just fighting them out of necessity. He isn't there for the kill.

Now...I wonder which of the three sisters will turn first. I was under the assumption that the one leading the sisters was Atropos...But I don't know why, she might be the first to defect.

Anyway, I was afraid that I wouldn't like the Schoolboy/Schoolgirl setup that the show is aiming for and it's not the case at all.
I'm not the main target of this show but I still find it enjoyable.

Wow, I watched the episode. I liked it, the last third I was constantly smiling. For a moment it looked like things were going to take a very dark turn, but I'm glad it all worked out.
It's very noticeable in this episode that Hasegawa worked on Saber. Rinne is an analogue of Kento, Clotho is Legiel. But, although the screenwriter uses similar motives for conflicts, he resolves them differently, which makes viewing more interesting and unexpected.
They also gave us a hint as to why Rinne is important. This, by the way, distinguishes the show from Zi-O or even Geats. Even though the full picture is still unknown, the plot device at least doesn’t look like it was invented the day before filming.
It should be noted that in Gotchard the power of friendship is abused with superiority (so much of the latter that it’s time for Fourza to give up the title of the friendliest rider). Here three people prevailed and did the impossible at once: Hotaro, Rinne and Spanner. This is too much, but considering that last year there was a lack of this, I don’t mind.
I have mixed feelings about angry Atropos. On the one hand, this is a natural development of the character and her conflict with Rinne. On the other hand, there is a high probability that she will follow Aguilera's path, especially considering that in the next episode Gilion will emerge from the darkness.
I also really liked that the moral lesson the civilians learned directly from the encounter with the villains, and not somehow in parallel, which sometimes happens. And, of course, the reference to the original show was nice.
The Christmas party was good, but it's a shame that not the whole cast was there. Although I liked that we were shown how much Minato cares about people. And Spanner, perhaps, has too many secrets for such gatherings.

At some point it really seemed to me that the driver would break! Perhaps when the show comes out on DVD there will be a note at this point: "Don't try this at home!" :)


I think they represent something of a middle path between the High Alchemists, wanting to seal the Chemies and forget about them forever; and the Dark Sisters, eager to open the Door of Darkness. That is, they want to explore Chemies and drivers, but more carefully.

He's a very old-fashioned secondary in that regard. Also, this is what I thought: Valvarad has a confrontation with Lachesis. At the same time, he uses cards of mechanisms, and she uses cards of plants. Was this intended to show the opposition between industry and nature or just coincidence?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Late response, but I want to briefly give my thoughts before watching 16. Enjoyed the big debut of Super Gotchard Cross X-Rex!

Well, I suppose it's not expected that Hopper1 should recognize adult Houtarou and kid Houtarou as the same person, considering how much he's grown. Who knows how long ago that flashback even happened? 10 years, perhaps? It's possible that this was just a momentary meeting and that Hopper1 has simply forgotten the details.

I think Rinne only believed she hated Fuga when she thought he was alive, but hearing the possibility he might be dead made her realize she still loves him and wants him to be alive. For the Dark Sisters here, we see a rare sign of humanity in them, with Atropos humorously pouting like an actual kid about secretly wanting friendship and Lachesis showing concern for Clotho's welfare, which implies that they're not as above mortal problems as they claim to be.

Honestly, it's kind of cute that Lachesis truly cares about her big sis, like how Sawa and Yuzuru care about each other enough to show a trait of "weakness", which is actually a strength for humans who accept it. Shows that the Dark Sisters are still a family. Might be some potential for redemption, with an arc similar to Alain's as I speculated before.

That's a Takahashi trope. Something surprising may still happen though.

I admit I smiled a few times as well. This show seems to have the same effect on me that Ghost and Saber did. Clotho's sense of pride and rivalry with the Primary Rider is like Legeiel's but her fighting style is like Zooous' and vice versa for Lachesis, while Atropos is a kid-shaped Storious. Zi-O and Geats relied so much on their complicated plot logic, but the benefit of Gotchard's formulaic narrative is that foreshadowing plot developments is a lot easier and that encourages us to invest in them early so that the payoff actually means something.

Yeah, I have to give respect to Minato for showing character development here by acknowledging that Houtarou's love of Chemies is a wonderful thing and even his action of saving Clotho which might bite them later is still a good quality for an alchemist who cares about saving lives. Seems like Minato wants to change the apathetic behavior of Alchemy Union and sees Houtarou as someone with the power to influence that.

I don't know what are those people like you refer as as "power of friendship", either as an insult or praise, to only seemingly include Gotchard, Fourze, or shonen-like stuff, but not any of the other forms of it (e.g. I think Kuuga's cast work).

While I agree that this can be a potential for redemption, I also wish that, humanity isn't always depicted as something of a positive light or such. It is a mistake to dehumanize awful person as incomprehensible monsters, putting them in different category from other humans. Like for example, the biggest mass murderers in history are also humans with hopes, dreams, complex relationships, feel love or are loved. Human traits can also include things like sitting on a chair, wearing clothes, eating, taking a walk, and breathing. And none of that stopped them from committing the worst atrocities of the history and feeling justified about it the whole time. Loving some people and killing others also happens simultaneously, as history has shown.

It's also a common mistake to assume evil as meaning incapable of emotions as part of the inhuman narrative (I think you seem to depict Daichi in late Geats as gaining emotions, which implies Daichi lacks human emotions before absorbing the memories, when he already has it, e.g. to be happy and revel on success or get frustrated on failures. I think it's a mistake where, unapologetically evil doesn't equal devoid of emotions), and also how by this some people downplay someone's villainy due to them having emotions, when emotions also include dark and destructive ones (e.g. people claiming a character who murders isn't evil because he's doing so out of shame of his weakness - the emotion they refer to).

Lack of humanity isn’t the issue for bad guys, it’s the fact they are human and can still promote and spread horrifying hatred and intolerance, and then turn around to hang out with their friends the next day. Human nature can be scary, I think this should be used to recognize that everyone has an inherent capacity for evil, rather than using them being shown as anything more than monsters and recognizing their humanity to frame them as ?not so bad?. A common mistake too for people to be unable to differentiate redemption and humanizing. The worst monster a man can ever face: another man.

This is the reason why I'm against tsundere claims such as Orteca murdering Yosuke in front of Tamaki. Maybe a hot take, but as much as people seem to try to downplay/paint awful behavior/actions from perhaps "cooler" characters like assholes abusing others or villains "shaping" heroes as just a tsundere move and are just the way they show affection (while perhaps mocking the more compassionate characters if they dwell on other people's predicament particularly crying about it), I think showing visible concern over others' predicament is one true display of care, because even sadistic people like Lachesis also acts like that to those she cares about, which also shows she only cares about the sisters, but no kind of "tsundere" stuff for who she victimizes.

By this to me it reads as if it applies to any lighthearted shows, rather than just those 2 (albeit if not, outside of Revice, wonder why not all lighthearted shows have this effect too). I also feel that Ghost is liked by members like Fish (and handful others too) due to it being a lighthearted show, as other similar kind of shows also got similar reception from them. These kind of audience also tend to encourage power of friendship and sappy speeches which you also said in shows despite it being mocked as cliches. I don't want to seem like those objecting to it, but they also seem to write off shows not revolving on it, like darker ones, as depraved, thinking that important morals can only be done by those 2 terms, nothing else.

Other than that, for formulaic narrative... does it also apply to any other tokus running on it? As many of the most beloved tokus seem to run on it, and lighthearted shows also seem to be what's more often using it, due to the lower stakes limited to primarily monster/victim of the week. For foreshadowing plot developments being easier, would it sound predictable? Not meant to insult, just that shows can do the opposite for doing unpredictable and surprising approaches (though doesn't mean it's devoid of foreshadowings). I disagree against those who judge shows only by how unpredictable or not though (e.g. those complaining why bad guys don't win as it'd be more unpredictable than good guys winning all the time).

That is, you didn`t understand what I mean, but decided to argue anyway? Okay, I guess. Regarding Fourze, I only mentioned him because the show itself declared friendship as its main theme, so his mention makes the most sense. Kuuga is still more about optimism, although I don`t argue with your statement. As for good or bad, my opinion is that it?s good when it`s mutual and in moderation. That is, friendship with Kaixa is a very dubious event. As well as any communication with him, unless you are a seller of wet wipes. As for "people like me" I want to believe that my opinion is unique enough to do without classifying me to society about which I have no idea. That is, Gotchard was compared to Fourze earlier, but I would venture to guess that I was the first to brazenly declare that the alchemist surpassed the astronaut in the power of friendship. And I haven’t yet seen anyone agree with this, so I think there are still no “people like me” in this regard.

I think Daichi is simply a psychopath, who feels the limited range of emotions typical of such a person, including sadism, anger and despair. There's also the headcanon that the sudden empathy is a trait of JyamaDaichi specifically, as Jyamatos are shown to have the ability to learn human emotions and thus he may have already obtained that capacity upon his Jyamafication. Alternatively, you could be right that his curiosity about "boring mundane happiness" merely gives him desire for empathy, rather than actually possessing it. Regarding the Dark Sisters though, I think there's a contradiction between their words and their actions, as Rinne called out, looking down on friendship while secretly desiring it. Emotions are the root of free will, the catalyst for both good and evil. Which is why it's important for humans to try and understand their own emotions and express them in a healthy way.

Makes sense to be against false association between tsundere and redeeming quality, but no reason to be against tsundere claims in general. Like, Evolt is a very open tsundere villain who often talks about his sentimentality and love/hate relationship with humanity. But the emphasis here should still be on villain, not tsundere, which is just the emotional part. Unfortunately, Olteca doesn't understand how to express his "dere" side, so he goes too far with the "tsun" since that gets him the most consistent emotional reaction. However, his ability to understand what ticks off his friends (sometimes as comedy, like insulting their uniforms) shows that he at least has more emotional awareness than Daichi, who only makes himself look suspicious by saying too much. I think your example of Lachesis is also a tsundere, based on her obsession with Spanner and calling him a dog, like how Gai did to Isamu and making Yua a canine-themed pseudo-Rider, likely in tribute to Thouzer.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the magic of friendship and sappy speeches in these shows. Ghost and Saber were just some examples, but I love Fourze for the same reason and they're all near the top of my Rider Rankings. However, I believe these tropes can still exist and be respected in darker shows, like Ryuki and Faiz. Those worlds may have more resistance and counterpoints, but they also highlight the protagonist's determination for believing so strongly in their values of friendship/co-existence and getting through to others with more wisdom, like Shinji considering the Riders' motivations so that he can change them from within, or Takumi rejecting the discrimination between humans and Orphenochs and instead focusing on people's individual actions to determine what is "human" and worth protecting. The reason why the magic of friendship and sappy speeches work is precisely due to how fragile they are and why it's all the more necessary to protect them in an unfair world.

When I watch this genre, I don't ask, "who's ultimately going to win?". Of course I already know the hero is destined to succeed, so rather, I ask, "how will the hero ultimately win and what will they lose along the way?". The losing part can even be applied to Mary Sues like Tendo and Tsukasa. Optionally, there's also, "who can I ship the hero with?", which is a big part of romance genre. The formula is just there to support and advance the narrative in a sensible way, but the variables that occur within that formula are what makes each show unique. Stepping outside the formula can be a risk and whether or not it pays off depends on the competency of the writer. I mentioned before that Kinoshita tried to make Revice subversive like Ryusoulger, but failed to make it believable.

:lol

It was a question. I'm also not talking about it being good or bad, just about seemingly that the only ones considered power of friendship is anything related to shonen stuff (and tropes related to it the shouting resolve, the flashback strikes, etc. are highlighted, and often used to give instant win in a seemingly hopeless situation at a last minute). When something like helping each other through emotional or slightly hard times, or getting support and teamwork, also qualifies as friendship power but seemingly not considered due to not fitting what's usually associated with the meme. It's what I meant about Kuuga, where the Grongi are defeated not because Kuuga is a better fighter than them, but because they do things alone, competing against each other, while the humans work together in harmony, always valuing what every single person has to contribute (Ichijou, Sakurako, Enokida, etc.), as said in Fish's threads, where it may come from a main writer most known for Super Senta giving strong sense of teamwork there.

I mean yes, back to my talk about Lachesis's reactions to Clotho where I think it's actual display of empathy, I don't think that late Daichi will feel much for people dying or suffering around him (e.g. if he fails the mission to save), other than losing source of curiousity. That is not a display of empathy in my book but it's apathy, unlike people such as Keiwa or Neon dwelling over failed victims, which is actual strive towards others' well-being. And psychopaths do feel emotions, even if they may ignore them if it'd interfere with their goals. He's just a small example though, my main talk is about not separating humanity from evil and I wish that part is focused more. People'd even rationalize their terrible traits to separate them from who they deem monsters, using distinctions to describe themselves (e.g. depicting schadenfreude on people they deem bad as "justice boner", using the term "ethnic cleansing" rather than "genocide").

For the Dark Sisters, it may be more common than just what Rinne points out here. Hermann Hesse quotes "If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us". Like bullies tormenting nerds because they can't comprehend wanting to read like those, likely stemming from them being pushed hard to read and turning to hate reading, but deep down wishes to be like the nerds.

How is tsundere not redeeming quality in this case as, "dere" means sweet which sounds like good traits of someone they conceal? For Lachesis, by this I wouldn't want for her to be viewed as, caring equally about Supana and Clotho just has her unique way of expressing it to Supana, and thus because she views him equally to Clotho, she doesn't actually attack or do anything wrong to Supana she's just being good to him and get misunderstood by him, or even worse than if she targets him out of pure hatred - which'd be what I think of opposing this association. It's just one example, but this is also what's used to justify villains, insisting that them consistently targeting said one person isn't bad particularly if the outcome is them becoming better or overcoming them (being a "mentor") as a result.

What I'm talking about is that it's not limited to Ghost and Saber, but seemingly just, any lighthearted shows. So, it reads to me that you'd insist the shows lighthearted and... I also got wrong prediction about you, like thinking you'd far prefer Den-O among Kobayashi shows and maybe placing it high up too. I mean I get this because I also predicted that people like Kurona will like Ghost and Saber (and it's right, though not immediately for Ghost), due to her not vibing with darker shows like Ryuki or Faiz. Speaking of those, though you do acknowledge the tropes on those shows, Ryuki'd be bashed by this for making Riders fight each other, and get flak from people like Layton or dreamcastegirl.

For formula part, Ryuki seems to fit the risk more as it received flak in its release for featuring evil Riders and... non-bug themed aesthetics. I actually thought "formula" refers to, repetitive episodic format where all the plotlines and beats of each episodes are basically the same except for a few details difference (e.g. different victims and monsters). At least the first half of Revice (maybe more, regardless of how it's handled) is typical Kamen Rider stuff. Otherwise yeah I honestly don't understand about the complaint of the final winner of the show making it good or bad, only judging shows (not about KR but in general) by that which is unfair. Who heroes lose along the way is pointed out by handful of people for something to look out for even in "predictable" stuff, but it's also stated that bad things happening to a character doesn't necessarily make them interesting or a non-Sue (if they're OP and makes everyone irrelevant regardless how attached they're to them).

Well, I didn't understand the first time that this was a question. Disadvantages of a non-native language. As for Senen, I can't say anything, because I haven't watched a single it`s representative to the end, so I understand it like a sculptor in programming. On the score, Kuuga generally agrees, but still it seems to me that the relationship of the characters there is better described by the word camaraderie than friendship. They treat each other well and have a great fight with Grongi, but their interactions still feel reserved and distant compared to some other shows. I felt something similar from the animated series about the Justice League. I don't know, maybe this is what friendship between adults and experienced people looks like, but this is my impression.

Yeah, projection is pretty common. Those bullies would want to be seen as strong and cool by oppressing the weak nerds, but deep down, they probably envy the nerds' strength of will for freely doing what they love and having actually meaningful friendships. Much like us niche Tokusatsu fans having to deal with obnoxious people who boast about their more popular and therefore "superior" hobbies, it's easy to see which side is more insecure and pathetic. Sadly, even nerds can bully other nerds, in an attempt to be seen as the least lame and closer to the cool clique. Like Yosuke tearing Tamaki's card.

Another example of the duality of emotions, that sweet is subjective. Like, if you take the dere out of Olteca, then he'd have no reason to target Yosuke, since the whole point of that was to incur an emotional response from Tamaki. Lachesis' dere side is a little healthier though, but yeah, she clearly cares more about her older sisters' welfare than Spanner's, considering how she as Dread performed a finisher that she thought might kill him. However, his persistence may increase Lachesis' respect for him from now on. Tsundere is a spectrum after all, with varying levels of the two traits. Takes time for the dere side to develop.

Well, the Zeronos memory time nonsense probably got Den-O demoted a few ranks. I used to confidently declare it as my favorite Kobayashi Rider show, but after my recent re-evaluation, I've decided that Ryuki is marginally better, although Den-O still wins in characters and comedy. I guess I just don't judge shows based only on tone, which is why there's a mix of light and dark in my top 5 Rider shows. True that Ryuki was controversial for pretty much inventing the Rider VS Rider trope, but I appreciated how it used that to show the heroic quality of Kamen Rider in a new light, after the generic villains from Kuuga and Agito that existed to get beaten up. I think Ryuki seriously innovated the franchise for the Heisei Era, in a way that endures in to Reiwa.

Well then... the Sisters that has this contradictory should be labeled similarly as those bullies you mentioned here too, rather than being held in higher regard for it? Otherwise those nerd bullies wanting to be less lame are explanations, not excuse for the bully behavior. By general I don't want for the harmless and weak ones like the victims to be automatically associated with being pure and innocent either, so this info should be known more. They may already house terrible darkness and resentment, likely, just that they can't carry out their acts before it happens.

What'd be the difference from the "tsundere" ones to the ones who just targets certain people out of pure malice, which may happen due to constant confrontations between certain protagonists and antagonists? And this is also one of the reasons why bullies bully, they want to incur emotional response from their victims. There's ?he bullies you because he likes you? excuse by this to paint their behavior as alright by this - oh I remember this is the reason I'm against tsundere excuses.

True that dark isn't averse on your upper list, though the lighter tones still seems to be the preference for upper part. (Fourze, Ghost, Wizard, W. Though not as light as before, probably Kiva, Decade, and even Blade won't be those seen as something really dark or such) I'd also think that, lighthearted shows gets free pass on any flaws it has, being high ranked just for how bright and warm they're where everything goes right due to the efforts including all villains being redeemed (I mean not only by you but by people like Fish, Kurona, etc.... Fish does advocate for unconditional love for those shows to only praise all the time), where I'd guess that Zeronos memory time nonsense doesn't matter for Den-O's evaluation by this before.

Yes that'd be my point about how darker doesn't mean just being edgy for the sake of it about Ryuki using it, but it won't be what's viewed as a display of magic of friendship by people, with it showing characters being on each other's throats rather than multiple Riders acting like Sentai. Bad guys existing to get beaten up is also what people who hate Ryuki's approach and like lighthearted (also Showa) more seem to prefer, and can be what's done on lighthearted shows as well, as it'd be easier to keep the moral high ground on the heroes that way, thus it showcases "spirit of Kamen Rider" better for those people.

But Ryuki also has ?bad guys existing to get beaten up?, and the most literal of all. Mirror monsters fit this description perfectly.

Of course, self-awareness is important here. For example, Michinaga openly admits to his hypocrisy without any pretense of being right, which makes him stand out from oblivious self-righteous ones like Keiwa. However, a hypocrite who can acknowledge their hypocrisy and decide to change shows even more wisdom. While the Dark Sisters may have a little human heart deep down, it's ultimately up to them to decide whether or not they will listen to that.

Tsundere bullies will relentlessly target people they care about to get their attention, while purely malicious bullies will target whoever's more vulnerable, either out of sadism or personal gain. However, bullying is wrong no matter what, so I'd like to emphasize once more that calling someone a tsundere is only an explanation for their actions, never an absolution. A tsundere can soften, but it requires more healthy dere development.

Not all villains would be redeemed in lighthearted shows though, like Isaac in Saber, or Kai in Den-O. Unconditional love for a TV show clashes with my value of critical thinking. Not even Faiz is above this, as I accept fair criticisms like DreamSword's about Kiba. I'll gladly praise what I enjoy and complain about anything I disagree with. I think that's fair. I get annoyed when some people use the "it's just a kids show" excuse to dismiss arguments. Nothing should be off-limits to criticism.

The 11-13 positions are some of the hardest to rank, as I mostly enjoy Ryuki, Kabuto and Den-O a lot, but sometimes I simply find fault in them for different reasons. That's just my critical and honest mind and I'll dig as deep as I want, until I'm satisfied that I understand it.

However, the point is that it shouldn't be easy to keep the moral high ground, as Ishinomori wanted to show that the path of heroism is unclean. Ironically, despite Kobayashi deciding to stray from the Showa style, I think she shows even more of that idea, with Riders having their beliefs challenged and being pressured to change, or Ren wanting to change deep down, but feeling obliged to keep fighting and not having a right to doubt. As a story about humans, you can really see the flaws in humanity here, but the desire for friendship and righteousness is shown as well. Difficult, but certainly worth fighting for.

Anyway, if people want to see Ryuki as a Sentai, they can watch the Hyper Battle where the main 4 are all best buds. :lol

Except the contract monsters are basically feral animals who want to eat. They could be a metaphor for the "fight or you won't survive" mentality of the Rider War that Kanzaki encourages, in contrast to the Riders who fight for personal reasons. I think this makes them realistic, whereas the Unidentified Lifeforms are sapient and yet they somehow act pretty much exactly the same.

Not the villainous Riders like Ouja or Tiger. I mean by the protagonists. At least by Shinji, they're treated as humans he tries to understand of, rather than simply detonating them like Mirror Monsters (which resembles animals), Shinji never personally killed them.

Then by this, I'd like to know what'd be the faults of shows like Ghost for people like you, because generally, Ghost is disliked/bashed for being lighthearted, and those who defend it typically brings up about light tone as its strength as well. I know that there are those who criticize Ghost for non-tone related problems like how it feels stretched out/stagnant, characters lacking presence after first half, or Makoto clone, but previously at least before this I thought Ghost being high up there means any fault of it doesn't matter for giving smiles out of warm and fuzzy feelings alone (like Saber and Gotchard). Wonder too about what I listed about criticism of Gotchard here that isn't related to its tone.

I get annoyed with that excuse too because it also implies as if, kids stuff are always inferior to mature/adult stuff, that the former means low quality (thus why being deep talking about it, it's just overthinking), and the latter is what can be taken more seriously. And yeah... there are a handful who defend Gotchard with "it's just a kids show" as well. While those who mock lighthearted stuff do so to give what they like better image, those who defend it with that excuse doesn't help the false notion I mentioned there.

And, about flaws of humanity, that seems to be what makes darker shows considered bleak by those who like Showa/lighthearted Heisei/Reiwa, because they seem to want only the best of humanity represented, only all about their beauty highlighted, and never show any ugliness of humanity like those flaws. It'd be what's being hopeful, any other case is edgy. And for what I already said here, if there are no pitiful underdog figure like Shinji featured (e.g. not even perhaps a virtuous hero that isn't as much of a loser, for Ryuki, some still insist Tezuka only wants revenge), then the dark show would be labeled as dark fantasy, everyone is equally seen as depraved by fanbase, any characters getting blamed for any bad things for the narrative of "there are no real heroes here", even for something outside of their control like being unknowingly a part of bad organization (thus they're still "their accomplice" and "aren't blameless").

Yes, being actual best buds would be what people generally see as a display of power/magic of friendship. About them always sticking together like a glue at all times, and always has their friends in their mind 24/7, them being the main (even sole) driving motivation of their actions, or that thinking about them is automatic 'get out of jail'-card cop outs no matter how dire situation is (what power of friendship usually comes in people's mind for it being meme'd, giving random asspulls from flashbacks about them). Ryuki is generally the opposite (and perhaps other dark shows other than Build) so obviously it'd not be seen as one.

Are there any shows where the protagonist kills other riders without even a second's hesitation? Even in the Amazons and the Black Sun, the heroes cry, scream and suffer a lot before sending someone talking to the next world. The closest thing I remember is the Decade's Movie War, but even there riders are killed so that they can live.