[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It took me a bit to find time to sit down and do this, but I definitely want to say something about this whole speech and why it's so great – after all, I might regret it if I don't!

The thing about it not being entirely genuine, that's exactly right, and all those layers are why I honestly find it sooooort of odd seeing this scene treated like just a straightforward inspirational herosim thing? There's a line Hina says to Eiji that prompts this whole thing – and it's a brilliant question to have a character ask of the lead in a superhero show this early on – which is just basically "how could anyone be this unrealistically kind and selfless?" Before he says anything else, Eiji replies that he isn't kind, and while it's easy to take that as simple modesty, it can just as easily be read as genuine self-awareness on his part. Like he knows not helping people would make him personally feel like crap, and that's all he's hung up on.

And this is the part where this post is quickly going to lose any cohesion, but I just adore how much can be taken away from all this – that little bit of ambiguity that lends things more than a bit of a depth. How much does Eiji really understand his own issues? Is the selfless hobo shtick his way of confronting them, or just a means to escape them? Are being selfish and selfless even mutually exclusive in this case? Isn't feeling personal pain at the suffering of others the raw essence of heroism? But is that definition for the best? I don't know! But this show'll get you thinking about these things and that's why it's good! I mean, I could go on (and have gone on in the past) about Eiji alone for days. And I'll probably have plenty of opportunities to do that in the near future, so that's something I'm looking forward to. OOO is a series I never seem to run out of thoughts about, so it's nice to have the excuse to maybe get some more of them out there.

Oh, and yes, OOO using the Cheetah Medal to tenderize a Yummy IS a hilarious visual. It's embarrassing to admit, but that was probably the main thing I remembered from the episode the first time around. In case it wasn't clear enough what I mean when I always say I took this show for granted...

Yesss!!! All of this right here! This is what I take away from OOO and why, even if it took a bit to think over later; it became my favourite Rider show. It's why I'm so excited to rediscover it and why I'm so happy it's bearing fruit this early on!