[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

No! A person you just met earlier in a rather cold note (Akira) can't overtake the relationship that has been built from childhood (Hitomi)! (kinda jokey here actually cuz I know it doesn't always end up that way).

Chemistry's real, man! Folks just click, sometimes!

But, like, I don't want to make this a thing where Hitomi is somehow Less Than because I don't see her as a romantic partner for Asumu. She's been his friend forever, and she understands (and cares for) him on a deeper level than anyone outside of his mom. They might not end up a couple, but Hitomi is still his best friend. That's not a consolation prize!

Zanki's stuff looks the least combat-y compared to the other Riders, unlike Hibiki who is about smacking the monster over and over, or Ibuki who turns the bullets into bombs.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And nah, flashiness =/= powerful, this is one important thing to judge when evaluating fights (don't be shallow just by the ability/attack looks), while Zanki resonates better to you with abilities that look cooler to you, it doesn't mean Zanki is a better combatant than the other Riders, he could be someone who is weaker than others due to age (according to him) that just happens to use guitar as a weapon.

I mean, it looks cooler to me, and that's one of my main criteria for judging fights. It's maybe 85% of what I'm looking for? (The rest is 10% gags and 5% Was Anyone Interrupted During A Form Change Or Henshin.) If I can't judge fights almost purely on aesthetics... I literally can't think of what else they're there for.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And for this one, you're okay with Todoyama being a support? Because can be judged "UseLesS" by others.

Sure! It's basically his entire job at this point! It'd be like judging Hinaka harshly for working in a restaurant!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Dude it's clear... Team Zanki's Honda Element is green, while the rest's Element is red. They're opposite colors in the spectrum... would that imply something??

Huh! I hadn't noticed that. Maybe? The Zanki/Todoyama relationship is pretty much the opposite of the Hibiki/Asumu relationship here, so... yeah, worth thinking about!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And well, if Ichiro wants to be reasonable, he has to accept Zanki's retirement proporsal, he can't force himself to work against his will and endanger himself and potentially others.

If someone who's key to your organization suddenly decides to quit, I think it's okay to press them on it a bit. But, it's not really Ichiro that I was trying to single out, it's Zanki. He maybe owes Ichiro a better explanation? It'd be out of character for him to give it, which is why I thought it was funny, but still.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Well, necessary to you, doesn't mean it objectively is needed or not filling out. "cynical tryhard edgy media with milktoast characters = good " mindset needs to stop, obviously not purge away those completely, but like, this aspect being hailed as something (or worse, considered the only way) to make something appear more complex than it actually is when it degrades and is pretentious in its attempt. Unless you meant for conflict being just any obstacles, struggles, and challenges a character need to overcome (like Asumu's story), then sure why not (like probably Akira being Ibuki's apprentice), which is also something I want to convey, that conflict isn't only toxic characters childishly infight all the time, so no need to degrade characters to create conflicts. And well, I guess, because of mentor archetypes having lack of struggles, stories commonly kill off mentors because of the reason you mention here.

Yeah, no, I mostly meant more along the lines of Reasonable Disagreement. People can work together and have different views on how to achieve a goal. Some of the most fulfilling storytelling is when two characters disagree and both of them are right. Here, it was just people working well together and succeeding. A fun thing to root for, but nothing that's going to stick in the brain.