[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

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.

Forgetting altogether and remembering to the point of constant depression and guilt both seem like destructive ways to deal with the loss. I don't think it's possible to actively repress memories, as that would be called suppression. Repression is more like an instinctive response to trauma and yeah, I feel like that's the deal with Touma. His imagination as a writer is powerful, it's not so unbelievable that it could cut and edit the narrative of his life to make it easier for him to manage. Even with the memory loss, Touma's still driven to keep his promises, as his own way of repenting for his failure at that time. Kento's burden is arguably worse, since he's not only suffering from the guilt of that broken promise and having to keep Touma in the dark, but also the reality that his own father is the reason for that tragedy and the feeling of responsibility to atone for that.