[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though I wonder for here, is it a changed opinion of Airi now to claim you care about her or acknowledge a strength, or that's already your opinion from the beginning despite all the seemingly badmouths, like something around her such as Airimirers or Milk Dipper, or her "chemistry" with Yuuto, or her having the part of keeping the truth plot, etc.

I mean, the fact that I care about her and enjoy her character is one of the reasons why I bring up those other things. The little flaws stand in starker contrast because of her strengths, and I feel like I've brought up those strengths plenty?

Also, it's not a binary Good or Bad thing, a character in a show like this. Airi is delightful in comedic scenes and a pillar in dramatic scenes. She's also marginalized for a lot of her story (something this episode addressed, and I praised it for!) and lacks chemistry with Yuuto. Like, it's complicated? When the show utilizes her well, as they did here, I feel good about her as a character. When the show sticks her in emotionally inert mystery plots, or asks us to view the Airimirers as human beings, I don't feel so strongly about her.

Basically, this episode made it easy to care about Airi and value her contribution to the series. Not every episode does!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Also... you sure... that Airi can't articulate how it matters, or defining the good? It can be that, she's only faking it, taking into the account that she knew all along about everything Rider-ish that happens based on here.

Sure, but my point was more that the reasoning behind her actions, the mechanics of the plot, weren't the reason why Airi was doing what she was doing. She was making a choice based on her belief in her loved ones. It's not a logical choice, it's an emotional choice, and that's why it works dramatically.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And you're ok about this being someone who worries about a main character fighting?

Am I okay with Airi, a woman of gentle empathy and deep reserves of love, spending one scene in one episode worrying about her brother spending a year fighting imagination monsters from the end of time?

You know what, I'm gonna allow it. Feeling generous today!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

You finally indirectly acknowledge that Airi is Ryotaro's... outright mother figure by saying she raised him right.

I wasn't ducking this fact, it just wasn't that relevant in previous episodes. A lot of the previous stories have been about Ryotaro's perspective on Airi, and he doesn't bring up that part of his relationship with her when he's trying to protect her fragile mental state or save her from a man who is literally trying to buy her. Wouldn't really feel pertinent for me to delve into how Airi is a maternal figure for Ryotaro if the episode isn't making it a plot point. It's usually about them looking out for each other.

In this episode, though, there's less parity between Airi and Ryotaro, and more motherly concern (she is the most maternal she's ever been on this show), so it was a time where it was worth touching on that part of their bond.