[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

I actually don't see the differences from Haruto and Eiji or Wataru. From your description, those two fit that rather well, too.

To be fair, I do like Eiji. He's not one of my all-time favorites, but I like him quite a bit. Wataru... I get yelled at when I talk about Wataru.

But no, the biggest difference between Haruto and the other two is that Eiji and Wataru's stories are very different. Both start off as kind of reluctant and not completely competent heroes. Eiji spends much of the series letting Ankh guide him in battle and Wataru sulks in the bathtub whenever he has to do anything. Their stories are more about their journey from that novice state to the moment where they are fully independent and capable badasses (or Kiva). Haruto skips that growing phase and begins the show as a fully formed hero. We don't have to see him go through the days when he had no idea how to fight or use his rings, we start the show with his powers fully in place and under control. That's not necessarily a better or worse kind of story, but taking out the neophyte phase tends to make him look stronger because we never had to see him try and figure stuff out.