[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And Sh Ranger also stated about how they wouldn't want other shows to be just like Faiz, and a lot of shows had qualities of their own and that's what makes them unique (this part of Hibiki has infested various medias recently, outside Kamen Rider, this means turning Hibiki into more mainstream), and making Hibiki more like Faiz in later part as detriment to most people and even to him. And they've read my mind which was about, for example a way to make Hibiki series hellish, Hitomi going full yandere and kill Akira after noticing her with Asumu. And for what you said about Asumu to Hitomi, the solution being making Asumu a total creep in approaching her like someone such as Kaido (that was what some people said, as Mari was only 16, and for his fans, the sole thing they dislike from him).

And another thing is, other than Inoue's characters being petty, rude, mean, etc. the good natured folks existed to be his punching bag and made as inferior to those shitbags. And by that, it can come off as offensive too and I wish that not to be glorified, it seems like the author being a bully in their writings to project those harassment or in their writings instead. These are claimed to give development and challenge, but "as dark and intense as possible", doesn't necessarily equal to really good character arc or development, as some people called out. This is when dark ventures into edgy territory, and those that indulges on it are called edgelords (they're bad person, just not threatening due to them being all bark no bite though).

Appraisal would be different probably because, making them be petty, rude, mean, etc. just for the sake of hellish world would make them insanely OOC, and that ventures into edgy territory.

Since Die couldn't answer this, maybe I can think of something instead.

I don't think Shounen was even aware he had complex feelings for Mochida until he thought she and Kiriya were dating. However, what you said about the possibility of him acting like Kaido definitely would have been a bad idea, since those are two very different characters. Something similar happened in Kyoryuger and it was painful. Regarding Mari's age though, it isn't really a significant problem in that culture since Japan's 13 is USA's 18.

I think it's important for characters to be written consistently, which is something that's a problem for writers like Yonemura Shoji, Sanjo Riku and Haganeya Jin, who don't really understand the concept that a character needs a catalyst for them to change. At least if Inoue writes a terrible character, he writes a consistently terrible character, who will only change for the better under the right circumstances, and vice versa for nice characters.

Something I noticed that I thought was strange though was how Shounen's relationship with Akira seemed to change offscreen. Like in the first half, it was "Akira-san" but in the second half, it's "Amami-san". It's the opposite of what happened in Faiz Paradise Lost with Mari calling Kusaka coldly as Masato without honorific except that change happened in Lost World as we know and her contempt was justified.

BTW, you can refer to me with male pronouns.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I guess, for me, this whole Todoroki Is Injured arc felt like a worse version of the introductory Zanki/Todoroki arc? It's dealing with a lot of the same things (Zanki's injuries, Todoroki's dependency), except... all of that stuff got largely resolved in their first story? I felt like? What's here just feels like a lesser version, something that lacks the intriguing turns of the original. I don't know. Felt played out to me.

I think it's more like the introductory arc was about Todoroki trying to find his way as a new Oni after being forced to take over from Zanki unexpectedly and the concluding arc was about Todoroki solidifying himself in the role he gradually grew in to as an accumulation of his experience throughout the show and receiving Zanki's final blessing with his participation in the symbolic purifying of the battlefield to cleanse himself as well. I believe these two characters, despite the similarity of the aforementioned arcs, are ultimately in different places between the start and end of their development.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER HIBIKI - FINAL VOLUME - “A DREAM OF TOMORROW”

It’s the stupidest plot I’ve maybe ever seen in Kamen Rider. It makes almost zero sense. Hitomi gets plucked out of the clear blue sky by Fancy-Dress Douji and Hime, something that smacks of so much narrative contrivance that it’s insulting. She’s going to get turned into a new servant, something that they’ve previously not needed to kidnap people for, and so they dump her in Garren’s Tank Of Bad Decisions from Blade, along with tiny eels (?) and then she gets rescued and Kiriya can henshin now and there are fancier-dressed Douji and Hime and Asumu runs into an explosion. It’s stupid. It is so stupid.

I think this plot would have been much earlier and better executed had the Orochi incident not derailed it. The brand new Douji and Hime showing up at the end is a typical Inoue-style cliffhanger, except this is a show where the villains are so vague that it's hard to care where that goes. We already knew their hierarchy was confusing so it doesn't mean anything other than showing just another link in the chain.

Why do you think Kiriya's henshin is stupid though? After training for a year, I think he earned that big moment and he even shows growth by acknowledging Shounen's merit. Don't ask me how his clothes survive the henshin though, I can't answer that.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Not sure if this was deliberate or just meta commentary on how you disliked this episode but kudos for using Hime in your finale screencaps. It's a fitting tribute to Ashina Sei, her recently deceased actress.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Hibiki telling Asumu being an Oni isn't the only way to be his apprentice, that is the absolute core of what the series was about to me. I've always been staunchly against the idea of Asumu becoming one, because it would horribly undermine the entire point of his role as an audience surrogate. Apparently the original crew was open to going either way depending on where the story ended up naturally leading them, but I just can't imagine them landing anywhere else. Die talks about how Asumu grew up by leaving Hibiki behind, but what I'd add is that the joke "rediscovering your heroes as an adult" bit is arguably part of the text of the episode. I see that final scene as basically saying that Asumu's decision to try and essentially throw Hibiki away was no more the answer than blindly mimicking him was. It's merely another step in the journey, and that the real endpoint is realizing it's okay to keep carrying Hibiki in his heart, along with all the lessons he learned from him, because it really did mean something.

It's... I'm getting rambly and I don't think I'm doing a great job describing it, but it's the perfect note for the show to end on, in my opinion. It's a rough ride getting there, but I forgot about all the stupid monster stuff in this one eventually. I never, ever forgot seeing that chat between Hibiki and Asumu with the sun on the horizon with Shounen Yo playing, and finally feeling like I was watching Hibiki again.

Plus, I learned in recent years the title of this one is derived from Asumu's name the same way the first was Hibiki's, and that really appeals to my love of good episode titles AND bookends. Again, hard to imagine that part being any better.

I like how triumphant Shounen sounds when he says "I'm not going to become an Oni." which is preceded immediately by his leitmotif. Out of context, that sentence sounds like surrender, but instead it's him firmly telling Hibiki that he's not going to become an Oni, cause he's not an Oni.

When Akira declared her resignation, it's cause she stopped wanting to be an Oni, but she still didn't know then what she really wanted to do. But Shounen's declaration is about how he found something he wants to do more, something that makes him feel validated!