[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER OOO EPISODE 26 - “ANKH, THE RING, AND FULLY-LOADED”

The Eiji thing is… I don’t know, standard heroic Kamen Rider stuff that also feels short-sighted and frustrating. There’s nothing in here saying that Birth couldn’t take care of this threat himself – Birth is literally built to finish off Yummies – but we still get a heavily-injured Eiji risking his life while, y’know, heavily injured. He’s at a way greater risk than Date would’ve been, and it all feels too foolhardy, too precarious. Like, him showing up to protect Ankh? Good! Him continuing to hang around for the fight after Ankh is safe and Team Birth arrives? Bad! Dumb! Dangerous!

Yeah, this happens anywhere in KR, for the one goody two shoes/paragon role like most main Riders. I'm also one of those who think heroism shouldn't be about sacrifice or suffering, the primary thing is about helping others, and it's ok to find ways that don't involve said 2 to help. The others who try to stop them (e.g. Hina, Date) seem to be presented as the lesser heroic folks who are negatively influencing the paragon to make them less self-sacrificing. But dunno if the audience, particularly the KR purist types, wouldn't appreciate these types of characters learning to be less self-destructive, that they still accuse them or the KR series of making them "turn their back" on the people who need their help from monsters, despite that how they can't save anyone if they're dead. I rather hate that generally people depict any kind of inaction negatively and unheroic when it can be another way to help like if one ensures they're at their best or if they're thinking of strategies before acting, inaction doesn't always mean doesn't care about others smh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I can kind of squint and see what the boxer storyline is talking about. A life lived in safety that denies your desires is more dangerous to your well-being than a risky life lived in pursuit of your desires. Basically, don’t be afraid to chase your dreams. Or, I don’t know, maybe it’s that life is uncertain? (i have a very hard time seeing the positive message in the boxer story!) But, like, this guy has legitimate brain damage. His life is already going to be horrible. Is this show seriously suggesting that him dying in the ring (possibly every single match!) is going to be a better life for him than, uh, not risking his life to pursue his dream of sporting glory? This is horrible! This is a horrible message. Okamura acts at the end like he just needs to do some rehab on his hand and he’ll be good as new, but that was never the real problem. He cannot take any more hits to the head; you cannot rehab CTE. It is not heroic for this guy to risk his life for a sport! Beyond the fact that literally no humane governing body for boxing would allow it (so, probably only 80% of them), think of what it would mean for any of his opponents to fight against a guy this close to death. You think they’re agreeing to kill this guy during a boxing competition, just because he wants a meaningful death?! This is horrible.

I don't think that this is anything heroic though, doesn't seem that any desires in OOO are presented as something heroic (Date is heroic for reasons not related to his main desire). Dunno, if this kind of message is rather like, for example, something in Kobayashi's previous work Ryuki, where it's not about how long you live that, determines a life's worth, but about how satisfied you are in living it even if it's short, which is how Kitaoka lets go of his desire to be immortal. Living his life in a way that one wouldn't want, and can't be retrained or changed (may be inevitable for seniors, but Okamura's still far from that age), may lead one into depression for instance.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Ankh is closest to the Cous Coussier gang, so he gives them special treatment.

Can there be any cases when a token evil teammate/ally who'd spend prolonged time with the good guy cast is legitimately not attached at all to them and that their hostility stays throughout their truce, than they really only work together for mutual benefit and not for any form of attachments to each other?

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Hmm, I guess I have the unpopular opinion of agreeing with Okamura then. While I get Date's point about Eiji, who's a little too willing to sacrifice himself for others but not for himself, I don't think it's fair for anybody to try and deny Okamura the chance to have his glorious death in battle. Boxing is his life, so if he can't have that, then what's he supposed to do? It would be like if someone told Date he can't be a doctor anymore, since one of his motivations for taking care of his life is so he can continue to take care of other people's lives. If one of the main morals is about desire in moderation, then I believe giving up your desire is going too far and not heroic at all.

At least, I agree with what Die said, that Okamura might be able to stay in the boxing world, by being a trainer for the next generation for instance (don't think that finding hobbies outside boxing would work though, as Okamura already said he has no direction on where he'd be outside of it). For your example, I guess I think if Date wants to take care of other people's lives, there are other jobs that are about protecting lives I guess, it's not only limited to being a doctor. You do seem to be the few one who'd celebrate deaths, like if it's glorious or such (though not for self-destructive tendencies for main Riders that, I guess, this one, most of the fanbase will celebrate), for this, do you think that one should let a person commit suicide due to being unable to find solutions for their suffering (as far as they know, before others give them a clue) for example?