[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Zolda

Sakurako still provided emotional support for Godai and Ichijo. Hina still provided emotional support for Eiji and Ankh. Akari still provided emotional support for Takeru, Makoto, etc., and even to Alain who she initially distrusted. Tsukuyomi still provided emotional support for Sougo, Geiz, Woz, and was still the one who eased the tension between Sougo and Geiz. The heroines in the list above (except Sakura) still do most, if not all things KR heroines do that I mentioned in my previous posts. If anything, the examples you mentioned above actually proved my point.

My Ghost example contains information that may contest your point though. While Akari does have some nurturing trait, it's acknowledged late in the show that Onari is the strongest moral support. Functionally, that means Onari is the heroine, as he has equal screentime and the only difference is that he happens to be a dude. This supports what I'm saying, that the main emotional support character doesn't have to be the female lead, who can simply be assigned to another useful trait instead.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

A KR heroine is basically the female face of a KR series. They're the glue that maintain cohesion and bonds between team members. The heroine is the yang to the hero's yin. You can't have a yin without a yang. A yin without a yang = Failure.

Sometimes the yang is somebody else though. Like how Ryuuga is the Dragon to Sento's Rabbit. In Hibiki, Kiva (2008 side) and Double, the heroine feels more like the yang to the Secondary Rider's yin instead.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

About Sakura, well, she's also one of the failed heroines that I'm criticizing. She was actually the first instance of failed heroine in this franchise. She was average as a Rider, but failed badly as a heroine.

Totally agreed.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

Geats also failed in the same aspect (and many others).

I like Neon as a character and fondly remember her BeatBoost debut, but the most nurturing one was Sara, who Takebe claimed was the beacon of hope for Neon.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

I've only watched the original 1971 series, KR Black, and KR Black RX, so I haven't watched all of Showa KR series, but as far as I know, the main difference between Heisei and Showa heroines is that Heisei heroines are often more actively involved in the conflict and have more connections to the conflict compared than their Showa counterpart. The basic characteristics/tropes are largely similar. Their nurturing characteristic doesn't solely come from their personality, but also from their ability to maintain cohesion between the protagonists.

Then I would totally recommend Stronger, where the heroine Misaki is also the pseudo-Rider sidekick called Electrowave Human Tackle.

Ironically, I've seen most of the Showa Rider shows, but I haven't yet seen OG Kamen Rider, Black, Black RX, Super One or Shin.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

Nobody? Seriously, nobody? If so, then I'm afraid that KR Gotchard series will also be a nobody in the anime/toku/superhero world. Very unfortunate! Well, at least the toys/merchs are selling well, haha.

If Houtarou has 100 friends, then Gentarou Kisaragi has probably had 100.000 by now. Does it mean that Gentarou doesn't need his circle of close friends in the KRC? Of course he still needs them. No matter how cheerful, outgoing, extroverted a guy is, he'll still need a circle of close friends and maybe also a girlfriend or spouse.

It's not necessarily the protagonist that needs a heroine. It's the story that needs a heroine.

But you literally claimed that the purpose of a heroine is to provide emotional support to the protagonist. If the protagonist already has that, then there's no purpose for a heroine. Why does KR specifically need a heroine to do what can be done by others? There are many works that don't have heroines. Pixar's Up didn't have a heroine. Activision's Call of Duty Black Ops didn't have a heroine. Kamen Rider Gotchard doesn't have a heroine. I don't see the problem here.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

How could you call what I'm doing gatekeeping, while I'm just a fan who posts weekly reviews and criticisms only in this forum?

I was referring more to gatekeeping internally. Sure, none of us can actually influence Toei's designations, but this practice of defining restrictive criteria for what a type of character can and cannot be allowed to do is close enough that people often call it gatekeeping.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

It's already a common knowledge in academia that experimentations far more often result in failures, not success stories.

Just like alchemy.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

I call a spade a spade, a knife a knife. I call a failure a failure, and I'm afraid that Gotchard fits the description of a failure. I won't be surprised if 5, 10, or 20 years later all my criticisms (about Gotchard, (God forbid) Geats, Revice, KR Outsiders, etc.) are proven to be 1000% bullshit. I'm aware of the possibility that I may have been bullshitting and lying to myself and the world. On the other hand, if reality prove 20 years later that my criticisms are correct, I also won't be surprised... at all.

Is Gotchard inspiring kids to grow up healthy? Is Gotchard making profit for Toei and Bandai? Of course! What is Gotchard not doing, that would make you deem it a failure? For comparison, Gobusters was a failure despite being an awesome show, while Kyoryuger sucked despite becoming a big success. Our subjective opinions on the quality of a show doesn't determine whether it's a failure or a success, but rather the objective results. Even the universally loathed Work Competition arc of Zero One was called a success, due to having an increase in ratings. I may feel sick to think about that reality, but I can't deny the importance of statistics.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

The trophy was not the Woman of the Beginning, but the position of the Man of the Beginning.

....

The Woman of the Beginning was not a trophy, but an equal partner that complemented the Man of the Beginning, just as told in the Bible that Eve was Adam's equal. As I've said above: The yang to the hero's yin.

Which means that regardless of whether Kouta or Kaito won the position of Space God, that person would also become the Space Goddess' partner. The problem here is that there are two Adams/yins but only one Eve/yang.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

Mai herself had won the position (and the responsibility) of the Woman of the Beginning. The Woman of the Beginning had powers similar to the Man of the Beginning's. She even had a time travel ability and tried to change the the past. If she was a trophy, then she would've lost her free will, and she wouldn't be able to do anything. But that wasn't what happened in Gaim's story, right?

What did Mai actually accomplish as the Space Goddess, other than hosting a fashion contest in the Hyper Battle?

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Originally Posted by Zolda

That was one of the internal rules of the story. You must follow the internal rules, wherever it may lead. Gaim was inspired by several religious stories, in this case the story of Adam and Eve. Like many elements in Gaim's story that were metaphors for growing up, the story of the Man and Woman of the Beginning was obviously a metaphor for marriage. In a marriage, a wife is not a trophy, but a partner of the husband. They're equal.

Those internal rules were only made up by that Sagara creep, who was foolish enough to think he could order around a god. Kouta literally refused to do what he wanted, like how Kenzaki exploited a loophole in the rules to stall the end of the world. Even an unbreakable rule can still be bent, much to the frustration of the one who made the rule. To use your marriage example, Mr. Super Lawyer, you should know that equality doesn't mean equal benefits. That's why prenups exist to protect individual assets, but since Gaim's metaphor ignores that part, Space God gets all the best assets, while Space Goddess gets a useless time travel ability and doesn't even get to decide her partner. Mai got ripped off.

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Originally Posted by Zolda

It's not like Mai became the bearer of the Forbidden Fruit out of her volition. She could've ran away and abandon her friends. She could've cowered in fear when she was at Roshuo's place. Her conviction, resolve, and courage to stand strong for her friends and the city of Zawame were the things that impressed Roshuo. He entrusted her as the bearer of the Forbidden Fruit because he was impressed by her commitment to her friends and the city of Zawame, including to those who had betrayed her like Mitchy. She could've chosen to be consumed by fear after seeing the horrors of Helheim, but she chose not to. That's feminine/gentle strength.

I'll admit that Mai is likely the best moral example in the show and generally meets the heroine criteria you've defined, but what good is that when she's ineffective? A major problem with Gaim is that it lacks synergy between the physical strength and gentle strength, which is necessary to prevent the nihilistic and cynical setting from becoming oppressive. Ryuki had a strong dynamic between the main 3. Yui would provide emotional support and wisdom to Shinji, whose philosophy would eventually inspire Ren, who would carry Yui's wishes to stop the Rider War once and for all. This is an important factor that Gaim was lacking.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

In general, marginalized identities (not limited to gender, like races, etc.) have always been held to higher standards. Every marginalized identity is seen as a representation of their marginalized status, and therefore used to inform on or judge that identity as a whole. This can make me feel guilty if I'd defend a female if I feel they're reduced by fans (e.g. seen as just <insert male name> spouting machine), or if I acknowledge the merits of a good female (if they're not perfectly handled, then they must be lumped together with all the terrible ones and only nitpick them) because I can feel that I'm also forcing females to conform and holding back their progress.

Yeah, this is basically the tokenism argument, that marginalized identities are sometimes included for its own sake to appeal to a wider demographic, rather than having a character who has meaning outside that status. However, due to some people having unrealistic expectations, they will blow the complaint out of proportion no matter what. I think those people should learn to disassociate the character from their status and focus on them as a human being first. We're all humans after all, so we can usually all relate to something in these characters.

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Originally Posted by TycoonBoost

Majade will have her final form appear next week. It looks like a fusion of her and atropos.

I look forward to seeing the full suit!