[SPLIT LIP]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Okay, long-ass post about why Agito is one of the best Rider shows ever. Go... now!

Okay, to preface, I think that the early part of the Heisei era, Kuuga-Hibiki 1.0, is probably my favorite era of the franchise, Faiz notwithstanding (and even Faiz was really engaging at first). I like the greater emphasis on serialized storytelling and character development over the victim-of-the-fortnight format the show was stuck with in the late 00s/early 10s. I liked that the shows tried to be more adult and serious, too, often getting kind of dark and twisted along the way.

That's a great thing.

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What initially drew me into Agito was the story. The show doesn't explain what the monsters want or why they're targeting people; instead we get to watch along with Hikawa as he and the other cops try to figure out what's going on.

This is a great idea taht I REALLY liked until episode twenty when we still hadn't figured out ANYTHING.

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It starts off as something that could be a direct sequel to Kuuga, but the story gets deeper and deeper as we start understanding that the victims all had something in common, although it's not until near the end of the show that the characters and the viewers piece together exactly what's happening.

Bolded my problem.

That's WAY too long to draw that out. That's utter PAIN to draw that out. That's somethign that should've been revealed at the halway mark.

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And by that point the show has evolved beyond a supernatural mystery show and into one of the most aggressive creation vs. evolution stories I've ever seen, where god himself is sending angels to kill any person who tries to evolve beyond his preferred form for humanity.

And this, really, is my biggest problem with the show. Que, Morbo impression:

EVOLUTION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!!! GOODNIGHT!!!

Evolution is not a preset genetic fucntion that takes over in individuals. Evolution is not a metamorphisis, it is not magic.

Evolution is just a fancy word for adaptation. And it takes millions of years for substancial change. And, it only takes place if it NEEDS TO. Thats why crocodiles have remained relatively unchanged for eons. Evolution is entirely dependant on concious decisions made by MULTIPLE numbers of a species over a period of time. Evolution has no set path, that's why we have different races in animals. That's why humans have different races. Africans have darker skin to protect them from hotter climates and direct sunlight. Caucasians have lighter skin because they evolved in areas with cooler climates.

It's funny how evolution is pretty much the fundamental of life, and yet so few people seem to understand how it works. Evolution, also, is not entirely biological. Because it literally means adaptation, it presents itself in many ways. Certain fish have evolved to build structures to lay their eggs in, but they physically have undergone no change to facilitate this.

In no sense of the word is developing an varied array of unrelated abilities with no practical use ever a sign of evolution. This is something studied and debated even today, but humans don't need to evolve anymore. We have evolved physically into creatures of constant adaptation. Our bodies, rather than undergo physical changes, have given us a brian that allows us to build our way out of problems. To fight animals, we did not grow claws spontainiously, we figured out how to tie a sharp rock to a stick.

THAT is Agito's biggest flaw: it's lack of understanding over it's very own concept. You claim it's creationism verses evolution, but the evolution is represented by powers created by someone, bestowed upon randomly selected individuals. That is the EXACT OPPOSITE OF EVOLUTION.

So the entire point of the show has fallen over dead.

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I didn't find this a cop-out. Rather, I found it to be an interesting answer to the mysteries that the show had set up and a pretty remarkable way to up the story's stakes by the end.

But as I said, it DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.

Because all this culminates in such a ridiculous way, it's all rendered pointless.

I'll get to the character bit in a moment...