[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Like I said, that’s not PART of my problem with Shinji. I don’t like the violence in this show (namely because I thinks it’s gratuitous, poorly handled and goes against everything Kamen Rider as a franchise stands for. My hatred for Shinji is because his constant preaching of his morals has become more infuriating after 35 episodes with no changes to his worldview. And the fact the show is constantly shitting on those morals makes me hate him more, since it makes him look like an idiot. Especially when you’ve got guys like Ghost, who’s morals are founded and rewarded, or Zi-O, who realises his morals aren’t working and drops them, in other series, which just makes me look down on Shinji more.

Also, killing the monsters would be a cool feat… if the show gave them anything more than wild beasts with poorly defined origins and no motivation. Especially coming between two well-handled groups with very clear motives. The fact that the show still insists on using them long past their ability to generate drama just diminishes their significance.

I guess I'd disagree on the violence part (there's still so much less action than I remember from Phase 2 Heisei), but that feels subjective to me. If you think it's too gratuitous, I can't really dispute that opinion.

The Shinji stuff... not sure I'm seeing that at all.

I think a lot of what like about Shinji's character in this show, and the dynamic as a whole, is how much he's challenged, morally and ethically, by the other Riders. On other shows, Ghost in particular, it was a little frustrating for me how quickly some adversarial relationships would, after one story, realign as Ghost Knows Best. It seemed like a waste, to take that friction and replace it with falling in line, easy acceptance. With this show, I like how Shinji doesn't get a pass just because he's the main character, how the other Riders get to keep their own viewpoints, how the world of the show is designed to make Shinji's choices more difficult.

And, man, I feel like Shinji's worldview has evolved a lot? If anything, there've been times where I feel like it's switched around too much. He's always going to be a guy who thinks he knows best and jumps in without considering the consequences. But all that "shitting on" Shinji the show does, I like it because it forces him to refine his arguments, consider other perspectives, look beyond his own experiences. It's never going to flip him 180 into a ruthless fighter, but we've seen how Shinji's morals meet the reality of Rider Battles, and I've liked the story that's come out of that.

And the monster thing... I don't love it. It's not my favorite type of monster, where they're just beasts. But, with 13 Riders to tell stories with, it's maybe better that show doesn't also try to tell stories with the monsters? That might make for an overstuffed series.