[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

There are a lot of Champions Of Justice in this franchise that are also sort of terrible people (Ex-Aid! Almost the entire cast!), so I guess I didn't think that I was implying that Otoya had suddenly become a shining beacon of altruistic service or anything. He can fight for justice as IXA and still have problems.

That'd mean it'd apply to literally every single Riders who aren't villainous. But because of that I'd think your usage of the term "champion of justice" is way too broad, which seems for your implementation here, is about everyone who becomes Riders and fights off evil monsters. That I feel is like using the "heroes are people who beat up bad guys, and the bad guys are bad because the heroes beat them up" definition.

Though yeah, I'd likely reserve the "champion of justice" (if you use it as pinnacle moral/heroism term) term towards those who are at least not sort of terrible people, and I'd consider people like you mentioned here as those who had power to contribute more, but overall I'm only making sure for Otoya's nasty traits to not be overlooked, because it happens that people treat anyone who fights for good as shining beacon of altruistic service, excusing all their dark traits (like treating aggressiveness as assertiveness, etc.) as they fight for good, and this happens even villains who for example, claims they had noble goals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KIVA EPISODE 29 - “WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN: I AM KING”

The Megumi storyline is the best, despite a lot of it coming from out of basically nowhere. Megumi’s younger brother (!) shows up to remind her that the three years he promised her (!) to pursue her dreams of being a warrior are just about up, and it’s time to come home and work in a dry-goods store (!). It’s the most random dilemma Megumi could face, short of Nago telling her she needs to build a ¼ scale model of the Tokyo Dome or he’s going to die of heart failure.

But the thing is, it mostly doesn’t matter, this thing with her brother and him bribing W.A.K.E.U.P. to cut her loose. (Shima doesn’t seem to care about enforcing the deal, since he already got paid. Quite a racket he’s running!) None of that’s really the point. The point is about how Megumi feels about her mother.

Megumi had been acting like a big sister to Wataru and Mio, but she's given an actual little sibling that she also acts like that towards him. This is regarding parents who would involve both male and female... but this can veer towards overprotective category? Yuri doesn't want for Megumi to follow her bloody vengeance footsteps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Back in 1986, Yuri is wondering what it means to be a warrior at peace. She’s trying to turn Otoya’s house into a home, and it just doesn’t feel right. She loves Otoya, but she also loves fighting for justice. She needs to get some closure with Rook, since a lot of her identity is wrapped up in avenging her mother.

Back in 2008, Megumi is feeling like she’s letting the memory of her mother down. If only she could take out Rook, she’d feel like she was making her mother proud. Her sense of self-worth is wrapped up in her mother’s legacy, and she can’t let go of that mission.

What I get is that Yuri is cleaning Otoya's house, but I don't know what would make it feel like home for her warrior heritage. Also, there's Otoya making a deal with Jiro and his companions, out of Yuri's sake, this is likely the first time the promise, and likely how those 3 ends up becoming Kiva's weapons is touched upon in the story itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The other big storyline this episode is Mio and Shizuka, which… uh. It’s not… it’s not good? It’s Shizuka moving from her normal role as Wataru’s Mom into a more possessive, jealous role as his would-be girlfriend. It’s a pretty gross story, with Shizuka being so awful that the show keeps doing insert shots of her dressed as a devil. It’s not subtle! None of this story is subtle!

It’s also not really funny or anything. It makes Shizuka entirely unlikable, even if her motivations are sort of relatable. She feels pushed aside by Wataru, and she’s not really wrong. She’s completely irrelevant to the plot now. Wataru’s outgrown whatever caregiving and defense she might’ve offered, and he’s falling for Mio. There’s no room in Wataru’s romance for Shizuka, and so she’s acting out. It’s not just her being a possessive brat, it’s her trying to keep Wataru in her life, no matter the cost.

It’s just a bummer of a plot to watch, though. It makes Shizuka horrible from pretty much nowhere, since there’s not really been any build-up for this story. She went from Sweet And Protective to Manipulative And Controlling more or less between episodes. It’s all a bit much, and I don’t feel like Shizuka deserves this kind of story.

Well yeah, this is what I talked about before, the part to acknowledge Shizuka's existence, that at first glance this seems to be just a throwaway moment for Shizuka, but this will play much important role later, revealing dark sides of the people involved. In a disappointing way yeah, but this is how it plays out. Shizuka being implied to be jealous at that scene in episode 25 is not just for show, but Shizuka actually acts upon it by causing a rift between Wataru and Mio to keep Wataru for herself. This is another part of the love triangle Kiva had. Though still, regarding "Sweet and Protective"...this is a reminder about how different someone would act towards loved ones, or those who aren't. Though this may be OOC, I'm going on it; while Shizuka is otherwise normal to non-Wataru person, just that she can be forceful or pushy sometimes to others regarding Wataru, at drastic times like this for Wataru being taken away, she can take drastic measures as her primary person to confide is Wataru, and Mio is... not Wataru, so she'd not necessarily getting the "Sweet and Protective" persona. Though if this is OOC, likely she'd not take this as far as what happened here. I know this part can have similarities to Yuji turning evil at Faiz, but at least the previous arc of Shizuka is done by Inoue, and this one's still done by Inoue, I mean not about him adding sinister traits to different writer's work.