[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Kamen Riders, by default, have Protagonist strength. They get to punch and tackle monsters before they Henshin, while every other character gets knocked out if a monster so much as glances at them. That's the genre of show this is!

And for Keitaro being the wrong hero for the mission, I meant it in a more general sense, since I have literally no idea what Faiz's mission even is yet. (Unless it's getting on people's nerves, in which case Takumi is definitely the ideal man for that mission.) It's more that Takumi is destined to be Faiz, and Keitaro getting the belt would inevitably lead to tragedy. Again, that's what genre this show is!

Well tbf yeah, Takumi really shows that here, where he breaks free and knocks down Snake Orphnoch/Kaido.... but there's also protagonist that never does that without in Rider form, like Emu. And for Keitaro not being able to henshin.... even the likes of Mari also can't henshin, but the whole of this is a spoiler so just wait.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Having some dude show up to tell them the rules and then drop dead is expedient, but the point of stories shouldn't be to just relay information as expeditiously as possible! We should want something more dramatically interesting than that!

The Smart Brain is like... the school and guide for Orphnochs, it'd inevitably lead into that way, I don't see some other ways... It's like the reverse of a newbie Kamen Rider (some of the main protagonists at debut) being guided by others.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

So, Yuuji’s trying to get more answers about But Why Monstering and all things Orphnoch from Live Action Hatsune Miku.

Yeah, no, though there's an act of Yuji pushing Smart Lady, both him and Yuka wasn't presented as an asshole or a villain even at their debut. If anything, Yuji was again, being an asshole to those deserving it (though he may not think she's evil yet). Smart Brain is the one to egg them into fighting humans. Everyone in Faiz showing some degree of a dick, that's the true point of Yuji and Yuka's story, that extends not only in main cast but also in others.. the thing is, Yuji is... the series "secondary Rider". But yeah even if Yuji already gives those 2 a chance damn Mari still manipulative by pretending to be miserable. And Yuji left anyway, robbing (pun intended) their chance to get what they want. And she thought he's the kind one and.... not Keitaro?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Although, “stories” is maybe inaccurate, since a big chunk of this episode is how both trios are finding their own equilibrium, and figuring out what they stand for.

Keitaro cleaning clothes, is his own way to clean spirits and protecting smiles like some Riders using their power to do such thing. Even if the Faiz trio has financial problems before like their belt being sold and speeding fine before... they somehow can have a very fancy dinner as shown here. Keitaro promotes their laundry at the supermarket? Usually that kind of person promotes while standing in 1 place but he does it while being a regular customer. Dunno if Takumi thinks that Keitaro's mindset making him a fool overall at first before seeing his competence, making him change his mind about him and subsequently the idea of helping people. I don't know if the strangers here truly has realistic tension... as you say the people that Yuji or Yuka killed are the worst and these types of people (not Keitaro ofc, he himself claims on how unpleasant the other 2 are) are not to different from them.... except if realistically the whole human are the worst (like nihilist thinks). Obviously Keitaro has high tolerance, but And again, Orphnoch trio having sweetness on them... you expect them as the main group of villains who clashes? Then you're wrong...

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Speaking of The New Guy, there’s a new guy on Team Orphnoch!

How do you think that Naoya Kaido (the new guy) is their Keitaro? He's the more gruff and aloof between the three.... he's more like their Takumi, honestly. It's kind of reversed between the Team Faiz and Team Orphnoch, Team Faiz has 2 jerks with 1 mild, but Team Orphnoch has 2 milds with 1 jerk. Was Kaido denied from his job interview from behaving "inappropriately" with his enhanced senses as an Orphnoch?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Interesting how you consider Kaido the equivalent to Keitarou, since I previously made the comparison of Keitarou to Kiba as the nice guys, leaving Takumi and Kaido as the a**holes and Mari and Yuka as neutral. You make a valid point though. Kaido and Keitarou are polar opposites but they both play the wild card in their respective teams with Keitarou being the nice guy and Kaido being the guy who allegedly doesn't care about humans. I think there's more than one way to pair these characters together. How do you see Takumi and Yuka as equivalents and likewise with Kiba and Mari? I would like to see that perspective.

More like Yuka is the other nice ones, and Mari as the other a**hole one in their respective team.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

With all of that team building, uh, not much space for this episode’s Faiz Fight! It’s mostly a cliffhanger anyway, as Faiz’s fight against The New Guy is just a way to get our first Horsepower Vs Faiz fight next episode. And, man, I really like that we got to see Yuuji vs Takumi first, with Yuuji as the better man, and then when we get Horsepower Vs Faiz it’s Horsepower coming to the aid of a friend. So good! So complex!

So the first time that Takumi fought, a major Orphnoch character, the Snake Orphnoch. They wouldn't kill him off immediately (regardless of how's his personality as a human)... right? And end it as a cliffhanger.