[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

I feel like Asumu gets shoved more and more into an apprentice role at this point because that's what people assume his story should be. I don't just mean the characters in the show, I mean the new production staff and the viewers, too. Asumu eventually taking up his own tuning fork and following in Hibiki's footsteps seems like a natural direction that a show like this would take and what the audience would expect. It doesn't surprise me much that a show that's trying to improve its ratings would go for something more standard in its narrative direction.

And, like, I'm not against the show making Asumu Hibiki's apprentice in principle. Yeah, it's the obvious way to go with it; and yeah, I liked it better when the show zagged away from it; but it's a convention that totally fits within the world of these characters. It's maybe less good, but I don't think it's wrong.

I just don't think the show has come up with a compelling reason to pursue that concept beyond some weird shrug of Maybe That's What People Expected To Happen. It's okay if they think the audience would prefer a more active Asumu, but they need to create something within Asumu that feels real. I don't feel like they have?