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Kamen Rider Die · 08-13-2019, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Granted, Takeru doesn't actually have a day job, but first of all, being dead will do that to a guy, and second of all, he still does have something that informs his character in that same way you're talking about. Not only does he want to follow in his father's footsteps as a ghost hunter (which, again, I will grant you is not the most realistic occupation to have, but I can't think of a Rider protagonist besides Takeru who has a properly developed relationship with an actual parent, and that was another element of Ghost I've always really enjoyed), but he's also the heir to his family's straight up Buddhist temple, and that clearly has a huge influence on him. We see him meditating and the like frequently throughout the series, and his entire philosophy of life, along with the show's overall themes, is shaped by that in a way that just makes me feel uncomfortable brushing off Takeru's motivations as being generic or half-baked.

The problem I have with Takeru's stated motivation of "being a ghost hunter and running the temple like his dead father" (nearly every Rider's parents are dead, most of them are orphans or raised by their siblings, WHAT THE HELL, never ever have a child in the Kamen Rider universe, it is a death sentence) is that we never see him pursue it in any serious way, outside of Kamen Ridering against the Ganma. Even the "running a business" of it all is left to Akari and Onari. At least in other series, there's a non-Rider goal the Rider is working towards. OOO is the only exception that I've seen, and it was the point that Eiji didn't have a goal. That was a big part of his character, being goalless and wandering! Takeru's dead, sure, but as Red Dwarf famously put it, "death isn't the handicap it used to be in the old days." I just wish that I got more of a sense of who Takeru is if he isn't a Rider.

Anyway, sorry I inadvertently proved GOOOdwin's law, "As an online Kamen Rider discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving OOO approaches 1."

08-13-2019, 08:54 PM	#34
Kamen Rider Die Kamen Ride Or Die Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,788	Quote: Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich Granted, Takeru doesn't actually have a day job, but first of all, being dead will do that to a guy, and second of all, he still does have something that informs his character in that same way you're talking about. Not only does he want to follow in his father's footsteps as a ghost hunter (which, again, I will grant you is not the most realistic occupation to have, but I can't think of a Rider protagonist besides Takeru who has a properly developed relationship with an actual parent, and that was another element of Ghost I've always really enjoyed), but he's also the heir to his family's straight up Buddhist temple, and that clearly has a huge influence on him. We see him meditating and the like frequently throughout the series, and his entire philosophy of life, along with the show's overall themes, is shaped by that in a way that just makes me feel uncomfortable brushing off Takeru's motivations as being generic or half-baked. The problem I have with Takeru's stated motivation of "being a ghost hunter and running the temple like his dead father" (nearly every Rider's parents are dead, most of them are orphans or raised by their siblings, WHAT THE HELL, never ever have a child in the Kamen Rider universe, it is a death sentence) is that we never see him pursue it in any serious way, outside of Kamen Ridering against the Ganma. Even the "running a business" of it all is left to Akari and Onari. At least in other series, there's a non-Rider goal the Rider is working towards. OOO is the only exception that I've seen, and it was the point that Eiji didn't have a goal. That was a big part of his character, being goalless and wandering! Takeru's dead, sure, but as Red Dwarf famously put it, "death isn't the handicap it used to be in the old days." I just wish that I got more of a sense of who Takeru is if he isn't a Rider. Anyway, sorry I inadvertently proved GOOOdwin's law, "As an online Kamen Rider discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving OOO approaches 1." __________________ Coming soon: Kamen Rider Fourze \| Other series available on the archive!