[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

This is exactly the same problem I have with Yuto's introduction. He's not an inherently bad character and I actually like his interactions with Deneb. I mean, Deneb is a ninja Imagin, of course I like him! It's just that Yuto is such a big story character and in a show titled Kamen Rider Den-O where plot is secondary to characters, I think that can be intrusive. The subplot with him and Airi is like the Yui and Kanzaki subplot in Ryuki. It's very important and yet very dull. I don't know why Kobayashi keeps doing this.

Exception: The coffee scene. That was humorous!

Yeah, my favorite Yuuto scenes were all of the non-Ryotaro ones! The coffee scene, the Deneb brawl, the shopping trip... those were great! He's a fun character to see running around, where he's trying to present a version of himself that people will respect, but it's all transparent and off-putting. Adding in Deneb as the part of him that is trying to course-correct, the tiny sliver of self-awareness and vulnerability, that's all great. And then all of the Ryotaro scenes were just:

YUUTO: I have a terrible secret.
RYOTARO: Can you tell me your terrible secret?
YUUTO: UGH, why do you have to keep pestering me about my terrible secret?

Every scene he has with Ryotaro in this episode is just this Simpsons gif:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I mentioned before in the Hibiki thread that I prefer Kiriya out of Nakamura's two a**hole characters. I just think that Kiriya fits in to that show more, as an obstacle to the harmony and a catalyst for Shounen's development. Yuto probably has more personal qualities but I don't like how much the show focuses on him at the expense of everybody else. Like you said, Ryoutarou trying to keep the truth from Airi just slows everything down to a drag.

Yeah, time'll tell (sorry), but Kiriya was most instantly impactful to the themes of Hibiki, while Yuuto is more instantly impactful to the plot of Den-O. Yuuto, for all of his delightful terribleness, doesn't currently feel any different than a fifth Imagin on the DenLiner would.