[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

I'm also gonna buck a trend here slightly and say that I actually do not mind the Ganmaizer that much. Their robotic dispositions and complete lack of personality make for the perfect enemy to Takeru: faceless simple machines that are impossible to reach out to, yet are overwhelmingly powerful in the face of his spiritualism.
It's just that the way they were handled and focused on so much means you very very quickly get tired of them and wish things would move on a little. A good example is how the fact there's so many of them and that they keep reviving even after utter defeat is a GREAT setup for an idea of hopelessness and despair, but it just leaves you really tired and makes the focus "No progress is being made. Yawn." rather than the ideal "Oh dear god, nothing he's doing is making any progress!! How is he possibly going to win this hopeless situation?!"

That's a good point, how the absence of empathy from the Ganmeisers could be seen as an opposite to Takeru. I don't think that's a bad read.

It's just, first, I think Adel embodies those qualities better, and he gets more a resonant conclusion to that thematic struggle. Takeru's answer to "lacks empathy" for Adel was "more, deeper empathy". His solution to "lacks empathy" for the Ganmeisers was "Omega Drive to face". It, y'know, it lacks depth.

Second, you're absolutely right that the unstoppable, implacable, eternal Ganmeisers just came off as "Jesus, this AGAIN?!" That does not seem the optimal attitude an audience should take to an endstage adversary!

Finally, they just had the most weird, muddled story. Like, they're part of the Great Eye? But then they're robots? That Eadith built for some reason? But now they have emotions? Or maybe not? I never felt like I got a clear view of what they were, how they worked, and what they eventually wanted. With Adel, it felt more realized.