[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And what's the line between cartoonish or realistic? Because a good number of folks only prefer one while dismissing the other completely.

I mean, that's up to each viewer? There's stuff I've thought of as cartoonish that someone else might call grounded. And, even individual characters can have a single trait that's cartoonish or grounded. Like, Tachibana. That's a dude whose cowardice is hilarious and over-the-top in one episode, but heartbreaking and evocative the next.

For me, it's levels. If everyone in a scene is at the same level, intense emotions and extreme reactions are fine. (Like, Kotaro and Kenzaki arguing about Kenzaki withholding the truth about Hajime.) If one person in the scene has a higher energy level than everyone else, it can come off stagey, overdone, cartoonish. Think Tachibana's tantrum when Dr Ladyfriend said his tests were negative.

It... acting is reacting, you know? Two people playing off of each other's performance, it's got a naturalism no matter what the content or tone. One actor just Acting So Hard, it's going to make for a funnier scene than was probably intended.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Yeah, it should've the Riders triumph (and this not being the case of Faiz is likely the reason the ending is considered bad by many), and have them struggle and find a way to win. I too rooting, but... it doesn't mean that suddenly turning the fight around because of plot is a plausible outcome. It's one of people's main complaint of protagonist side, the one famously called "plot armor" (though it can be used as buzzword now), where for almost no logical reason, someone made to win against others, just because of plot. Riders have many forms, and no one had that yet, and here, they're fighting basically the final boss level of an enemy. And for me, rooting aside, I also want the story to play it out consistently, someone had to win/lose based on their established power, not alignment (good shouldn't beat evil because of them being good and uplifting despite the good being weaker unless they gained something to even out, also vice-versa, evil shouldn't beat good just because evil gets you more ahead or something despite the evil being much weaker).

Yeah, but just saying This Is What Would Happen... that doesn't seem like a fun way to approach action-adventure storytelling? I want to suspend my disbelief. I want to get invested enough in the characters to want them to figure out a way to defeat the most powerful adversaries. I want the writing to surprise me with big turns and smart plans.

It's totally fine that the show didn't do that this time. They've got a plan for Garren, and it's not what I'd expected. But I want their wins to be clever and unexpected, not a foregone conclusion.