[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

There’s your regular heroism, and then there’s Star Of The Show heroism. Between Shinji holding a little girl’s hand even when they’re both knocked out from last episode, to his untethered rage at Ouja in this one, it’s a nice window into why Shinji’s the lead. It’s fun to stan for Shibaura or get obsessed with Tezuka’s off-hours, but, for real, I’m watching this show for Shinji’s story.

Now, this, I can't do anything but agree with wholeheartedly. Ryuki absolutely nails making it clear why Shinji is THE Kamen Rider of the show, which is something important for any huge multi-Rider show to get right. You never want it to feel like they could swap out the name in the title and have it still make as much sense. There's just no question that Shinji's values make him the logical candidate for the starring role.

One of my favorite moments in all of Ex-Aid (which I seem to have on the brain a lot lately!) comes from episode 3, where the concept of the Life Gauge is first made a point of. Hiiro and Taiga deem the situation too risky, but Emu charges into a hail of gunfire to keep a promise he made to a child. That scene (especially thanks to Kouichi Sakamoto's weighty direction) forever sold on me on Emu, and it was all because he was asking the question the star of any show with a ton of other Riders should: What Would Shinji Do?