[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

What I really love about Akira's full introduction into the story here is that we finally get a chance to see Hibiki do a take on the typical Kamen Rider antagonistic new arrival. Akira is the first character on the show to not greet Asumu with enthusiasm and a friendly smile. Instead she insults him to his face. But this isn't a Kusaka kind of situation. She has some legitimate reasons for not being happy that some random kid stumbled into their camp on the shore of monster lake. More importantly, though, she gets called out on her rudeness. So many shows before and after this let characters get away with being jerks, but Ibuki clearly - but gently - chides Akira for being rude. And by the end of the episode the two have made up and started becoming friends. It's a really nice inversion of the way most other shows handle initially hostile relationships.

It really is! Having Hibiki tell Asumu that he screwed this one up, it's so important. Anyone else could be suspect, but when Kamen Rider Dad tells you that you screwed up but shouldn't feel too bad about it, you screwed up.

Akira's attitude, it feels like it comes from a place of belief, where what she and Ibuki are doing is super-critical and people outside of their group will never know what they're risking to keep people safe. I think her anger towards Asumu is how it feels for her to keep this secret? Some of it's her being an adolescent with The Hormones that are causing her to be a little weirder around Asumu than he maybe deserves (and vice versa), but I think some of it is her having a tougher time living the double-life of a monster fighter. I don't know. I think she (like Asumu!) is a super fascinating way to examine a Kamen Rider story. Very into seeing more of these kids!