[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think this special was the first time I was introduced to the concept of Kamen Rider's "fighting for humanity's freedom" rather than being straight-up Heroes of Justice (I hadn't watched the OG yet) which feels like a very Sho Aikawa concept to explore.

Yeah, that's a real Tsukasa point to make, which is maybe another tiny mark against viewing this as purely a Wizard story. His main But Why Heroism moment is when he dedicates himself to protecting people's journeys, which is really just another way of saying "fighting for humanity's freedom". Thematically, it's so much more a Decade story (two kids need a lesson in self-determination and rejecting society's restrictions on their happiness) than a Wizard story, even if there's a heaping helping of Don't Give In To Despair for Haruto to push back against.

Also, I love that Tsukasa gave the big hero speech instead of Haruto, because Tsukasa always has to upstage the main protagonists of a story and deliver the moral instead of them. ALWAYS! It's his Final Form Ride!