[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Given that it revolves around a local singing competition, this is probably also a great time to get in a mention of how much effort Double went to when it came to world-building with Fuuto. It could've gotten away with a lot less, but, even though the show doesn't always rub it all in your face, you've got a big landmark, a city mascot, a fairly large cast of recurring citizens from widespread walks of life, a local celebrity or two, and even what finally gets alluded to here, the fact that the insert themes are technically meant to be the work of in-universe bands. The extra attention to detail helps you buy Fuuto as a "real" place, and makes it that much easier to connect with Shoutarou's attachment to it.

I never thought about it much before but when you put it like that, looking back that's probably why W worked so well for me as an entry point. You feel a -lot- closer to Futo's citizens and everything feels a lot more solid and relatable; which is especially important when Shotaro has such a huge thing about Futo being his backyard and wanting to be there for the citizens -- which, much like W's design, is just a perfect way to update Kamen Rider's core points while still changing significant areas to be your own unique thing.

Most Kamen Riders kind of have a thing about protecting the citizens, and often characters of the week fill it in well; but I think just how specifically W does it and how much it develops their jobs and landmarks is what gives you a much better idea of Futo than, I dunno; The City Where Ex-Aid's Hospital Is, or That Place Wizard Always Fights In. And that's not to knock those shows, I like them; but it just speaks more to how strong W is.

Maybe that's part of why I often easily think of W, OOO and Fourze as a good trilogy, because the latter two had similarly strong worldbuilding though on different scales; ie a small community and a high school respectively. All three of these have a VERY strong sense of setting and background compared to most Rider shows which generally just go for The City, which is fine and often works well enough, but there's a reason I look so fondly back on this 'trilogy' as a golden era of Rider.