[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

So uh, you ended up calling Akane "Akiko" multiple times in both of these past write-ups. Made me think I'd accidentally watched the wrong episodes or something.

Thanks for catching that! Their names are so similar (A-K-three more letters) that my brain didn't retain what the teen girl's name was, and Akiko being nowhere in this story didn't help me remember it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

You claim it's the subplot, but really, with how everything is structured, I'd argue that Kirihiko is the main spotlight for both episodes as a whole, to the point he's the one who leads off the first part proper. Even the Kids Doing Drugs PSA is there primarily as a vehicle to get him to not only show some initiative in figuring out just what the heck is going on with the Sonozakis, but also actually taking the time to observe how Kamen Rider handles the city and its people.

I suppose, and it's not like deciding which is the plot and which is the subplot is going to keep me up at night, but I think the bulk of the first part is about Double tracking down Akane, while the bulk of the second part was about Kirihiko's conscience. So, it depends on which episode we're talking about?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Which in turn makes the lesson less "drugs are things only bad people use" and moreso "Use drugs responsibly if you're gonna use them at all." Which in turn is a very mature message not just for a kids show, but for Japan as a whole, given how anti-drug Japan is in general.

Maybe? I'm not sure I see this show -- at this point in the run, anyway -- as viewing the distribution of Gaia Memories as anything other than a societal evil that Double needs to vanquish. While there's maybe something to be said for Shotaro "riding with the devil" by using the Double Driver, an ode to Kamen Rider's franchise-wide usage of evil to fight for justice, I just don't know if the first 18 episodes really bother to parse that nuance. Certainly this story doesn't go out of its way to discuss things like moderation or age limits or whatever, nor does anyone suggest giving Akane a Driver.