[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

...it's very much a case where I think it makes more sense in the grander context of the show's narrative than as a standalone story, the way Climax Form's did so well. And since it's rooted so deeply in Den-O's very particular style of telling an overarching story – that we've established I really like and that you take issue with – there's probably not much sense in trying to argue that further right now.

I think this comment gets at some of the disconnect this thread'll have with people who've already watched Den-O: I don't know how this all fits together yet.

For a lot of these series-long plots, not specifically Den-O, it's easy to see in retrospect where little bits of character development start, or how a relationship pivot will payoff down the line. For me, I don't have that full picture yet. I can't say how each piece of the puzzle fits together narratively; I can only judge the quality of each piece.

(cut an entire series of paragraphs about watching individual episodes versus bingeing that felt irrelevant to the discussion)

So, yeah, there's a lot to Kobayashi's plotting here that rewards patience, and I'm finding the rewards for that patience to be not as generous as what's being asked of me. If there was a little more attention paid to the episodic increments of storytelling, rather than the current It'll All Make Sense In The End deferral, I think I'd be more kind to the pacing.