[Kamen Rider Die]

More Godai thoughts!

Godai, to me, is maybe the best thing about Kuuga and the worst thing about Kuuga.

He's the best because he's bright and fun and cares so much about helping people. He's dedicated to fighting monsters, but he's equally dedicated to entertaining children, letting kids know it's okay to feel sad sometimes, honoring his mentors, lifting up his teammates, and just generally being a good person. He's this beautiful Heisei butterfly, struggling to emerge from the rest of the show's grim, brutal, Showa cocoon.

He's sometimes the worst, though, because that Showa cocoon is, like, every other thing in the show but Godai. Ichijou and the Task Force are grim sentinels of justice, desperate to hold back the tides of darkness. Every slight victory is built on the backs of dozens, hundreds, thousands of less-fortunate victims. Godai, I don't know, he mostly seems like he doesn't belong in this show. He's pointing the way to a better future, a more fun Kamen Rider that balances the darkness with hope. But, like, that future isn't in this show. His goofy optimism and upbeat belief in the unstoppable force of good, sometimes I wonder if the show would work better without it, just wallow in the darkness and terror.

I got weird feelings about this show!