[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Yeah, this is the crux of why I really hate this arc of the show. I get that Kamen Rider is a boy's franchise/toyline, but at this point it's record with giving women anything approaching equal footing is abysmal. We're at three female Riders with a mortality rate of 100% and the main premise of the last one is to tell Akira that this job isn't for her, either. I'm not going to discredit Inoue by saying that he was being intentionally sexist here, but it's a really bad look and it's part of a negative trend that the show wouldn't break out of until Wizard.

I guess I don't see the concept of interrogating Akira's motivations/resolve as inherently disqualifying?

The main thing to me as that the show isn't coming at it from the perspective of Why Should A Girl Get To Be A Hero. It's working from the assumption that Akira is a hero, is going to be an Oni, and then digging into why she might or might not want that future for herself. So much of what I love about the story is how the various Oni view her misgivings as something that will adversely affect Takeshi, and how important it is to help her. It doesn't seem like the show is diminishing Akira's character?

Otherwise, I think the expectation that Akira shouldn't be challenged because it reflects poorly on the show's treatment of female characters... I mean, one, it'd maybe be more disappointing if the show needed to treat her with kid gloves, to make sure she's a resolute bad-ass who never needs help and has it all figured out. That'd be boring! I like that she questions herself, that she has some growing up to do, that there's a crisis she needs to overcome. Having her lack flaws because she's a girl... I'd rather she had them?

Finally, I don't think this show needs Akira to be strong all the time, since the show has a variety of other women who are strong and dedicated. If Akira quits, it doesn't mean Women Can't Do The Hard Work, because you've got Midori and Hinaka and Kasumi. Shit, you've even got Shuki, briefly! Akira doesn't have to represent Women, because the show has plenty of compelling women as well. It can let Akira just be Akira, and I like that she's complicated right now.