[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

I mean, it depends on the show. You mention Build, but that definitely feels like a "fighting darkness with darkness" show, which Banjou at opne point basically saysis what he's doing. But I think you've also got a point with your empathy theme, which is where I pull what I think would be the defining theme out - "I've suffered, but I'm going to use that to make sure no-one else has to". You could argue that's a fairly generic theme, but since Kamen Rider tends to build the suffering so deep into the series DNA, I feel like it shines through stronger than ever.

I think Build has a lot of The Value Of Empathy in it, though. The war genre, it can be very Us Against Them, which seems to play into Fighting Darkness With Darkness... but I feel like Build is constantly digging deeper, playing against expectations, and trying to get to the human cost of war, the motivations and sacrifices, the ways that ideology can fade into survival, how empathy is both a liability and the only answer to eternal conflict.