[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

It must have been pretty tough for him as an orphan kid with a mysterious past he doesn't want to talk about. He had no parents to love him or teach him to be a good person. Kusaka's a broken man whose idea of love is built on this foundation from his childhood. He doesn't even realize when he's doing something immoral in pursuit of his goals.

Yeah, it's almost like being adopted by an eccentric plutocrat and forced to go to a mysterious underground school with other orphans maybe wasn't the most useful upbringing for creating emotionally healthy adults? Just throwing it out there! Also, Mari referred to young Kusaka as a bullied coward, so... yeah, probably got a real weird idea about friendship and competition.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Think of him the way people would see a villain (well, you're new one to the franchise, obviously others fully know about this).

I mean, no? He's a terrible human being, but I don't want to think of him as a villain yet. I like to think of him as a complicated individual who views all interactions as a zero sum contest, where he can't win unless they lose.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

As much as I like the characters, I'm viscerally opposed against Kiriya/Kuroto pairing, I don't want them to warm up to each other and become bros, ever! And Ex-Aid actually did that so I appreciate (though there are people who thinks about frenemy vibes), like Emu never forgave him even with Kiriya being back.

Yeah, when I'm shipping characters, it's always about the specific chemistry of the actors. I don't feel like Kuroto and Kiriya have a chemistry I find exciting? Like for rivals, Kusaka and Takumi have a combustible energy in their scenes, and that sort of pairing has a ton of story potential. Honestly, though, it's Takkiba that has my heart. Those two are adorable together.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though yeah, the weirder/funnier ones are those suitable for fillers like episode 20 back then. And it can be a break of the story, but unfortunately probably cannot be used all the time. And though you prefer it, weirder/funnier ways isn't the one objectively good for everyone (if Inoue hate is any indication), nothing is.

Oh, definitely. I'd never pretend that my very specific preferences were in any way universal. My brain thinks weird things about Kamen Rider!