[SPLIT LIP]

I have to admit, the more I hear people trash past riders for not being "subdued and quiet" like Haruto and say they "scream and shout and people mistake that for substance", I can't help but imagine them wearing sweatervests and thick-rimmed glasses with slicked back hair, even though I shouldn't.

Haruto represents the exact opposite of what people praise him for. He is not subdued, he is not deep or layered beyond anyone else. He has the exact same amount of depth to him as most riders, if not less. People are just mistaking bad acting and lack of emotion for some intent to be more "mature" when really he's just a bad actor and poorly written. (neitehr alone would condemn the character, but together it makes for a terrible, terrible rider)

There is not layering to Haruto. He never shows emotion, never cracks, never even bends. That doesn't make him badass or cool, it makes him emotionally dead or an idiot. Past riders "scream and shout" because they feel emotion and react liek a human being. Haruto just stands there with a vacant expression on his face like he's reading his lines off of a card offscreen.

I ahve never rooted for Haruto. I've never even been against him. I have no opinion of him as a person because he is not a person, he is a prop and we are told things about him. The only layer to his character is wanting to save people, somethign MOST MODERN RIDERS WANT TO DO.

I especially laughed when they explained the whole "Haruto is the hope for so many people, but who is his hope?" like it's trying to be deep or something when there's NO evidence of that in the show. Hell, we don't even know what him being their hope MEANS since it makes no sense in a practical or metaphorical sense. He's not carrying any burden. He fights a monster than leaves. The very basis for the character is a fabrication.

Haruto may not be the worst of Wizard or a truely bad rider, but that doesn't make him a good character. Hell, Den-O and W are vastly superior characters with far more interest right out of the gate. Ryoutaro may not be much of a man at first, but for someone who was, rather unfairly, drafted into a life-and-death struggle, and rather than meekly avoid the confrontation (I'm spoiling a bit here) he actually trains himself and takes his forced-apon role seriously. He's a champ. Shotaro, well, he's just fucking great. His driven, and despite repeatedly being called an idiot (and not exactly putting up a strong defense with his actions at times) he's, once again, placed with an unfair burden and shoulders it first out of guilt, then later out of respect and, too sound a bit corny, a genuine sense of justice. And of course, Philip also makes up part of W, and he has a very strong character by the end of the show. I mentioned it not long ago in reference to PuToTyra, but the Fang arc, despite being shorter, was a far greater service to the character and really bolstered the genuine bond between Philip and Shotaro.

Haruto... ugh. I mean, for all your talk about not being a fan of perfect, ultimate heroes Locke... Haruto is exactly that. He has, at least in what I've seen, yet to make any kind of mistake or be flawed realistically in any way. Plus, the show makes a point that he's getting stronger and harder to beat. Add to that his powers are literally just handed to him with no struggle. He has achieved nothing yet constantly succeeds. He's not a fighter, he's a chump who got lucky. The closest thing to a struggle he has is the barely mentioned struggle with his Phantom... which is ruined by, again barely being an issue, and because it's a silly CGI dragon that talks and just sort of does nothing.