[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Isn't Touma's desire to protect his two best friends and keep the promise he made with them enough reason to want him to succeed? Luna's like the Kanon Ganma Eyecon of Saber. While we may not know much about her from our perspective, we know she's important to both Touma and Kento and I think that makes her more than a mere plot device, at least for this part of the show anyway.

I mean, sure: I generally want the heroes of these shows to be happy and successful. But this show sort of assumes that because it's Touma's Missing Childhood Friend, that I'll feel an additional sense of urgency or intrigue. I don't! She hasn't done anything other than get sucked into a portal and appear in flashbacks! I'll 100% care if and when she's relevant to the modern-day plot and a fully-realized character, rather than a sense of guilt in the shape of a little girl that only exists to motivate two men!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

There's also the implication that his memory loss isn't only to convenience plot, but a sign that he's also very traumatized from that event that he'd unknowingly bury something like that deep down inside his mind, which makes the scene of Kento apparently dying in his arms even more heartbreaking!

I wish this show had spent a little more time on the various coping mechanisms of Kento and Touma, re: which is the healthier way of processing Luna's disappearance? Like, is Touma "better" for forgetting her, versus Kento's inescapable guilt? Is Touma actively repressing his traumatic memories? But because the show waited a dozen episodes to surface those details - and then immediately sacrificed/"sacrificed" Kento - we only get implication at best, inference at worst. Maybe they'll talk more about this in a few episodes! I would love that! But there's really not much to Touma's view of things yet, since the show had him puzzling over his Narratively Convenient Amnesia up until now.