[ShyGuy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

How are we all feeling about Kenzaki in Episode 1? I thought the stuff with his (former) landlord was... maybe a little much, but I really liked his scenes with Kotaro and Tachibana. I really really loved the way the Tachibana scene is him just being all Ha Ha It's Just A Paycheck No J/K I Want To Help People Or Whatever, and then we find out his family died in a fire right in front of him (I guess?) and he still has nightmares about it. It's way of getting at his motivations while still letting him act carefree and aloof. Just a great bit of character development. A+, man. Loved that.

I think one of the reasons I liked episode 1, despite the issues that have been discussed, is because of the way it develops Kenzaki. Even with everything else going on, you still get a clear sense of who this guy is as a person, and he's immediately likable. As you mentioned, the hints it gives toward his backstory also explain his motives for becoming a Kamen Rider, and it's nice how efficiently that's handled. Overall I felt like the episode did a good job of establishing the kind of dynamic Kenzaki is going to bring as the lead character.