[DreadBringer]

Was waiting but guess I was late instead here.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: I hear you, about trying to find something resonant in these shows. There's a thing in the final episode of Ryuki where it's just a woman in a restaurant straightening cutlery, but I've made it into something that encapsulates the beauty of human connection and the necessary, impossible effort of empathy. The best parts of these shows are when we can find something personal in them, regardless of what the creators intended.

DREAMCASTEGIRL: Oh, that's lovely. I mean, also, absolutely, this is why I'm so like Death of the Author! Death of the Author! at every turn. I don't really want to know about the creators, about their intentions because I know what these things mean to me. There's nothing worse than hearing someone explain the meaning of a song you have misheard and realising it is a thousand times less interesting than you believed.

You'd mean personal as making up your own observation? Because yeah it can be good (for transformative fan purpose I think), though I think it's 50-50, while you can go beyond what the creators intended, but it can come in nasty way as well when you got something bad out of it for your personal observation of a series, and you constantly slander either the series or the creator by that, even ignoring the creator's explanation to set things straight or such. I mean I'd disapprove of the personal part being having everything in a series must be relatable to you, and that if they add values that feel more alien then it's bad (using subjective views as certainty), like something such as honesty, integrity, trust, etc. which can be seen as too clean for modern world.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: No, I think it's plenty relevant! Like, Inoue's a writer I frequently describe as Accidentally Progressive, because... like, there are so many things that go into making a tokusatsu series, so many hands, and the alchemy of that can add so many layers to a story that it's like trying to discern an architect's intentions from a room's furniture. It's a different thing! It gets to be judged by different criteria, and it's best to disassociate a creator from that process as much as you can. It's okay to have opinions, but it's maybe not helpful to have certainty, if that makes any sense.

So you say it's not helpful to have certainty, which is why I spoke up against claims like that in my reply here, or , which I feel like one. Though there are also actual certainty which people mistakenly claim as opinion (I thought you'd also view anything said as opinion..), probably to push their views and reject the fact only due to dislike, such as people's headcannons (i̶n̶c̶l̶u̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶s̶u̶r̶u̶g̶i̶'̶s̶ ̶f̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶K̶a̶b̶u̶t̶o̶), or keep using a wrong definition of something (like 'mary sue') and refusing to hear about others correcting them viewing it as opinion. I'd like to hear what do you mean that it's not easy (which turns it into a testament of your character), as you hold many weight in what you say here.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

DREAMCASTEGIRL: I think you're right. Kiva is about relationships with parents, but... Hibiki is about the example you set, the things you leave behind, showing them that path as you say. Amusing that the worst ever Otoya appearance followed directly after it.
I really like the whole "rival schools" theme in this as an aside.

KAMEN RIDER DIE: Not as an aside! I really want to talk about that decision, to make this about warring schools.
Like, a lot of this story is about how mentors can put themselves above students, rather than recognizing that the student's growth is what gives the mentor value.
It's about how systems calcify and stop working right, and how children can suffer for that inflexibility.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: The teamwork part... I don't know if that's something I took away from Hibiki? The way everyone's example helped shape Asumu, sure, but the Oni were largely treated as coworkers, not teammates. It's a real lesson here, that we're Stronger Together, but it's not what I recall being a dominant theme from the series. Is that not your experience?

Actually at first the warring schools got me in the wrong note, that it seems to enforce about how (you'd probably agree with this but...) stories must add any prototypical melodrama and it "corrects a mistake of Hibiki phase 1 that has little of it", where I also want to enforce about how conflicts are not all about toxic characters childishly infight all the time, but can be any obstacles, struggles, and challenges a character need to overcome. But I tolerate it better when (sorry) the warring school is meant to be shown as an example of what not to do by the Onis, with the newer generations resolving to make a peaceful school instead (also with them being different people, I like a portrayal of people inherently against conflicts as well). Otherwise, mentors putting themselves above students just shows that there are varying amount of morality that people have and morally dubiousness can apply to mentors like that too, especially those that follows the saying of "never meet your heroes", when your mentor is in reality a terrible person or such.

I think that teamwork is one of a main theme (or really enforced) of Hibiki due to the humans work together in harmony, always valuing what every single person has to contribute (and even harsh criticizing like Akira got reprimanded). That'd be a very strong sense of teamwork like Kuuga, to the point that you'd want some reasonable disagreements between them as well. Even the secondary Rider of the series Ibuki never actually fight his series' titular Rider at any point, especially compared to his predecessors.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: It's my favorite arc for an anti-hero, where Kaitou is just playing all these sides against each other to get what he wants, but he's playing them by a) actually improving their lives, and b) exposing his own psychology. The things he says to Asumu... I mean, they are good lessons that Kaitou learned the hard way, and you can tell how much he means them. There's even that bit at the end, with Decade, where it frustrates Kaitou to know that the universe has ceded the hero role to Tsukasa. The idea that Kaitou sees Asumu's desire to be more than he's allowed, and that Asumu's dedication is called into question, and then Kaitou seriously invests in this kid... god, so good. Such smart writing for Kaitou in these episodes. It really ties together a bunch of contradictory/unwritten storylines.

DREAMCASTEGIRL: I really hope people think of me in this way when I'm gone, haha.
Yeah, you're absolutely right, there is a real resonance in Kaitou's actions in regards to Asumu that speaks so much of his character, it clues you in to what he's been through, the life he has lived without dumping the details in your lap, and I super like that. I think it's a really powerful and positive portrayal of the impact adults can have on the young.

I̶ ̶g̶u̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶O̶n̶o̶d̶e̶r̶a̶'̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶g̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶a̶v̶o̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶t̶i̶-̶h̶e̶r̶o̶ ̶a̶r̶c̶ ̶d̶u̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶r̶u̶b̶b̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶p̶r̶a̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶Y̶a̶s̶h̶i̶r̶o̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶a̶r̶c̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶.̶.̶.̶ A̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶s̶u̶k̶a̶s̶a̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶g̶l̶e̶ ̶K̶a̶i̶t̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶?̶ ̶A̶s̶ ̶T̶s̶u̶k̶a̶s̶a̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶t̶i̶-̶h̶e̶r̶o̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶.̶ But though Diend had the "secretly sweet" (tsundere) part here, I guess people can also think of him that way (not looked much into what people think of Diend, but it can happen to characters of similar morality to him) even without his scene in this episode (I think a mistaken approach), simply due to him "fighting off evildoers", because of them conflating that heroes are all about the action (or about the stakes, and fighting powerful beings means guaranteed stakes), talking doesn't matter (only 'just preaching'), and your character doesn't matter if you are doing it for yourself or not (this can also be applied to Onodera before, though more specifically characters similar to Onodera but doesn't get the hate from Decade infamy). This applies even to villains who fight off other villains where people can glamorize the winner between those villains as heroes using any reason, when evil vs evil is a thing in media, like Daguva vs other Grongis in Kuuga.

Though due to Kaitou being an anti-hero, I'd have a harder time seeing him as a Hibiki on this story, albeit he does share some traits, but I can't say all. Hibiki would show about a mentoring that doesn't involve dubious shit, though Kaitou probably acted tsundere in the last part to brush off the kid thanking him or claiming that the kid's growth will be important to give him more treasure. But I think Kaitou can be not that ambiguous here with the "I Was Playing You then realizes that he cares.", the still present selfish part can portray the mutual benefit a jerk can gain when being helpful to others instead of putting them down.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

DREAMCASTEGIRL: I'm trying to type this with a cat on my hands, so apologies if I don't make myself clear, and there's also the danger I'm being informed by later characterisation, but, to me, Yuusuke seems to express the same doubt, the same fear of not being good enough, and is also a character who lost his mentor and his direction.
I'm sure it's just that there's only so much time and only so many characters you can spotlight in that time, but it comes across as Yuusuke being frozen by the implications of acting in certain moments here. The fanfic writer in me maybe reads too heavily into this but, to me, it seems like Yuusuke can see the same things that Kaitou does but, because it's so close to home, he doesn't know how to deal with it.
Meanwhile, I think Tsukasa has a reading of the situation but is too busy trying to pretend that he's clever.

Tsukasa's vanity being played up as a weak point here is good to refute the claim of confidence being the key to success or attracting people, more specifically, about how you are encouraged (or being ok to) be as conceited as you want due to that claim. I also approve of analyzing more of Onodera here (I'd want encourage more of transformative fans, though you'd better focus on things you like rather than unfairly putting down something you dislike), and probably true that the mentor Yashiro only urges for him to fight for others too, but it's not that just being told to complete an objective means you're able to do it, like if you're doing it the right way or not, like about room of improvements if you did a mistake or such, or especially if you.. outright resorted into extremist ways to help others.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: Holy shit! Everyone's back!

Yeah, the actors are back, but they're not the same characters as the ones in original Hibiki other than look and name I guess, as they're significantly more hostile and selfish than what Takeshi lives for. They also seem to have some form of ageism to violently refuse the disciple's suggestion to join forces, with Tsukasa of all people being the one to put a stop on it. Todoroki did have a same personality, but he's in love to Akira instead (Hinaka's actress Miyuki Kanbe had passed away in 2008... very short lifespan), but I don't like the part of him gaining the portrayal of phase 2 one with him being completely out of touch in reality for the Akira crush scene. And yeah dunno if this is a fanservice, but the part had both Asumu and Akira becoming Riders (Akira's Rider form is named Amaki).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: From when I was watching Hibiki Episode 22:
"The gimmick is that they’re synchronizing their attacks to defeat the monster, playing together as a band. Hibiki specifically uses the phrase 'harmonize'. But then they… just play their normal solos? It doesn’t sound harmonic at all, it sounds like three people that have completely different rhythms. I was hoping they’d make some song out of their attack, but it’s just them doing what they’d normally do while two other guys did the same. Feels like a missed opportunity for something really special."
And then this episode does EXACTLY THAT.

Yeah, would say that's an improvement from the original series of just multiple music-themed attacks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER DIE: I liked the Hibiki/Asumu relationship here. It felt very right, all of Hibiki's weird reluctance that's coming from a good place while still being sort of mean.

DREAMCASTEGIRL: Yeah, it definitely resonated with me. I think we all have that person in our lives or have been that person who wanted to protect someone but sort made it worse by building a wall around them. Tsukasa does this as well so it's a good contrast.
it fascinates me how many young men identified with DCD in fanfiction circles.
I still see a lot of OC!DCDs, because I think that defensive character type and misunderstood destroyer archetype is how a lot of young men see themselves positioned in society, so they project a lot onto a character like Tsukasa.

Oh right, people wanting to protect someone and instead making it worse by, what you refer, building a wall around them (putting up an asshole act, even as a facade). But there are a handful people who'd just bring up the good intentions of someone acting like a jerk to drive them away for their sake, treating them as innocent and misunderstood, where others who criticize them are treated as lacking understanding or such. Those seem to think that the only way to distance yourself while keeping them safe is turning into a jerk, when it can be done in straightforward way as well. For the fanfic part... uhh... seeing themselves as misunderstoof destroyer archetype can be potentially someone who are edgy... they'd better improve themselves rather than being cathartic doing that or even continue with their bad behavior (if they have any) and being seen as fine not think anything about it.