[Layton13]

Quote:

Mari is similarly probably my favorite Rider heroine, but I have a harder time explaining why. She's multi-faceted in such a balanced way it's hard to say there's a particular hook to her the way the other characters have. But then, I think being the closest thing to a "normal" person in the show probably IS her gimmick. Regardless, I've always enjoyed her chemistry and banter with Takumi throughout the series, and in general she's very spirited in this really endearing way. She doesn't just sit around waiting for other people to do things. She was totally prepared to just be Faiz is she could've, to the point where in episode 39, in a desperate situation, she tries transforming, already knowing it won't work, and then immediately picks herself off the ground and tries it again. That's determination right there, and there are few ways more effective to get me to like a character.

I love Mari as well, simply because a lot of her assholeishnis can be traced back to losing her family at such a young age and then later losing her surrogate father as well. She's afraid of change or that people can change. That's why she is so mean to Takumi for a good part of the series, she can't fathom that she was wrong about him which makes her accepting him after his big reveal so much more meaningful. She actually grew past this fault of hers and it's great.

Quote:

Keitarou is an adorable ball of sweetness. He's too good for the world. He's the nicest of guys, and on a rewatch, a more central character than I used to have him pegged for. His gooey, selfless heart is the emotional core of the whole series, and while jokes are made at his expense on occasion, he's far from being a glorified punching bag. All throughout the show, his kindness is shown to keep other characters on track, and he plays by far the biggest role in getting Takumi to start opening up and be more selfless himself. Unlike a lot of the other characters, he's also pretty much totally incorruptible, since that kindness comes entirely from his gentle nature rather than a defined moral code. The worst you can do to Keitarou is make him cry, and he bounces back from that pretty quickly. I really feel bad for taking Keitarou for granted for so long, especially since he's the guy he came up with the pet name for Takumi that I've long since adopted.

I would still say he has one major fault, he avoids problems. IF something happens he can't emotionally deal with he just goes on as nothing has happened. The best example is during the Takumi reveal where he just throws a grill party and doesn't even acknowledge the reveal in any way shape or form, or when he ignores the fact that his Drycleaning business is making less and less money. Still a great character though.

Quote:

Yuka isn't half the hero Yuuji was, and that's what makes her one of the most interesting characters in the show. Despite being one of the nicest people in the cast, she's also harboring a huge dark side due to how battered she's been in life. She's just as gentle as Keitarou on the surface, and yet also has a rather notable body count. It's hard to blame her for lashing out, given what she's been through, and as a result, the struggle she goes through for the first half of the show is compelling. I like that her big wake-up call is one of the bad guys basically telling her to keep up the good work, too. Ultimately, she's a victim of the world at the end, just as in the beginning, but in the meantime, she did manage to find some happiness when it probably seemed impossible to her.

Here I might disagree. I personally think her fate at the end of the show is the world catching up to her. Yes, her past was awful and I personally don't hold the first kills of the Orphenochs against them since it's mixed in with their confusion on what they really are. It's what they do afterward what I judge them by and Yuka turned out to be just as bad as her family and only near the end of her life started to realize that she had done something wrong, before that she just hide it to look good for Yuuji. She turned her life around far too late and suffered the consequences in my opinion.

Quote:

Is the miscommunication truly that excessive? In this show explicitly about dysfunctional people? With protagonists including, just as some examples, a closed-off hero with a deep internal struggle he can't tell anyone about, a girl conditioned from a lifetime of emotional abuse not to expect people to listen to her, and a wannabe macho guy so unarticulate his catchphrase is a filler word? I have trouble buying that. I know this is going to sound dismissive, but it's hard for me to hear that complaint over and over and not take it the same way I might if someone told me musicals are bad because there's too much singing. The fact that these characters aren't able to talk things out is fundamentally built into the series, and I don't see why it's somehow less valid a way to drive the story than anything else.

Agreed, Faiz justifies its miscommunication with its characters and it does it well.

All in all, Faiz ended up as my sixth favorite Rider show and the only thing that will decide if it sinks to seven are the last three parts of ZI-O. And thank you for touching on so many things I feel about this show as well.