[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I know this is vexing (and l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶T̶e̶z̶u̶k̶a̶ I have predicted this scenario anyway from the beginning of your watch), but don't misjudge me, I talk about everyone as much as I can (and by chance there are deep reasonings about that last one), and also even little things from the episodes (well, you sorta kinda also do in your episode reviews). And for another is that I think you and your opinions may (so CMIIW) have a good influence on Tokunation board here (at least for Toku discussion) as an...KR expert?

Yeah, it... I guess it's frustrating to me, to feel like I'm focussing so much energy on, basically, the one thing that isn't working for me. I feel like it's disproportionate. I don't hate Yui or her plots, it's that I feel like they're squandering some interesting ideas, and that the actor maybe is making some poor choices. There's not a part of these shows I don't like thinking about, or analyzing, but all of this Yui stuff... it was becoming a poison to me. I don't know. I'm absolutely still going to talk about Yui, don't get me wrong, but there was moment where I was like How Did This Become My Life. Just a minor freak-out.

Also, yeah, definitely put a question mark at the end of "KR expert". If I'm lucky, I can talk about this stuff in a way that gets smarter fans to chime in. Thinking I've got more to offer than that, I wouldn't dare. But thanks!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

What I meant for Shinji there, it's more like how some people find Shinji as utterly useless, incompetent, and unlikable for being (seemingly) utterly failing to actually stop the fighting where nobody listens to Shinji so far, Riders keep dying despite all he does, him being a pacifist even in a situation where he shouldn't be for constantly getting his ass kicked by other Riders, and being totally indecisive of what he does like you cover in ep. 21 here. They mainly blame Shinji's stupidity, naivety, and annoyingness for all of this and just prefer the easy way of solving the war by simply killing every other Riders (which Ren is in process of). I keep trying to get Shinji's good traits recognized like being the only one to deduce that Shiro only manipulates them and his performances vs Ouja before. What I find weird is that Tezuka doesn't get as much hate for this (he doesn't possess most of the Shinji qualities there, but he still like you said there, seemingly utterly failed to change the Rider's fate). And also more importantly, for something that happened later in the series.

Huh. I didn't know that that was how Shinji was perceived by fans. Seems sort-of unfair? He's a guy that's trying to fight monsters and save lives while everyone else tries to kill each other. I feel like that makes everyone else in the wrong, not Shinji.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Ren eventually opens up a bit and reveal his wish to give Eri full recovery, though his attitude and mindset wouldn't change much (at least on how he acts).

Yeah, and (this is really more of a next episode thing) that's smart of the show, to keep Ren still being an asshole. I don't want nice, smiling Ren, ever. Even in his pre-Rider flashback, he's an introverted asshole. I like the way the show balances his desire for friends, for connections, with him just being a surly misanthrope in his core. I like that this is the best Ren we'll probably ever get!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Also their battle, is one of the rare cases where someone's long time for henshin actually bites them in the ass. Let's talk about how Asakura smashes Shinji with a metal pipe while he's posing. So much that Ryuki is actually powerless to Ouja this one time.

That was legitimately awesome. I'm not a huge fan of Kamen Rider trying to play with the reality of henshins, of calling out how long or elaborate they can be. I love elaborate henshins, even if the idea of them happening preceding/in the midst of a life-or-death battle is maybe too fantastical. So, no, I don't want people to interfere with henshins, generally. This time, though, it's funny and in-character enough that I dug it. I really liked Asakura jumping Shinji to get an advantage.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Other than that, he also thinks that Shiro is only manipulating the Riders and won't actually fulfill what they want. I mean he instantly deduces in ep. 5 that Riders fight to get a wish at the end. But understanding Ren more allows him to put aside that mindset? Were him telling Ren that Shiro is a liar stems from him not being that understanding of him?

Yeah, I don't think Shinji has nearly enough information to say what Shiro is capable of doing for the winning Rider. I think it's a mix of his distrust of Shiro and his lack of experience that has him dispute Shiro's powers. If I got a deck of magic cards (not Magic cards, but powerful cards) from a mirror ghost and it allowed me to summon a monster and transform into a superhero and fight in a Mirror World... if that mirror ghost was like, I Also Grant Wishes, I don't think I'd doubt him? I think Shinji is being a little small-minded and a lot judgemental.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I know you asked me to stop but will answer this one; I meant that you expect her to act like how you're supposed to act in that situation (which would mean, being in anguish? which is what you're against).

It's still cool to talk about this! I don't want to make any Ryuki stuff off-limits. Feel free to bring up whatever you want to talk about.

I think, in general, there's ways of mixing emotions to make the scenes feel real, to feel like there's something to explore in the performances. Every Ren scene is a mix of a ton of different emotions. Every Shinji scene has different places it goes to, from comedy, to drama, to anger, etc. Yui scenes... I get that she could be sad, I get that her life isn't great, but I feel like the monotony of Yui Is Sad doesn't have enough variations, either to it or to other types of things Yui gets to experience, to not feel like it's a letdown.

I'm not sure I'm answering your question? I don't know. Yui... there's a bunch there that's not working for me right now.