[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I've been a little busy balancing five different Tokusatsu shows to post much in this thread. But I definitely intend to give my thoughts on the next arc!

I figured you would! As soon as I saw Them Eyebrows in the teaser for Episode 5, I thought you might have a couple things to say. Looking forward to it! I hope you don't get kicked in the head by a horse in the meantime!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Layton13

As for the erassure thing. It doesn't just erase all the bad that happened in the show, it also erasses all the good they have done. All the people they helped, changed and affected. While yes, a lot of suffering is erassed, a lot of good is also removed. Like in any history, people lose and people win. And the world is left a it less for its removal, but at the same time, that removal is preverable to its perversion through others.

At least that's how I see it.

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Originally Posted by DrChief

I've always interpreted the whole Kamen Rider powers thing as one where the events are erased since the most necessary rider no longer exists. Brave may have been one of the first Kamen Riders to combat the Bugsters, but it wasn't until Emu became Ex-Aid that we would eventually learned of the truth behind the Bugsters, and actually managed to defeat the main antagonists who would of perpetuate it.

If Eiji hadn't become OOOs, then there wouldn't be anyone suitable enough to fight against the Greed in part due to Maki's interference. If Ryotaro hadn't become Den-O, then the Imagin would have been able to continue wrecking time at their own pace. If Gentarou never went to Amanogawa High School and became Kamen Rider Fourze, then there would never be that high-spirited kid who would manage to gain power via friendship and defeat the Zodiarts.

The main Riders are the ones who end up setting up the events that would lead to the defeat of their main antagonist groups, in part due to their outlooks and capabilities. Without them around, chances are victory wouldn't be as high against these villains.

These are good interpretations! But I sort of resent that these interpretations aren't additive to the experience of watching Zi-O, but integral. We're not talking about hidden character motivations or visual motifs; this is some top-layer Plot Mechanics stuff. The fact that the text of the show is so miserable in its heroic outcomes -- that it requires mental gymnastics to not be a total bummer or retroactively cast heroes as the root of all suffering -- is not a great situation to put your audience in.

It's an unnecessary and preventable problem. The rules of time travel and causality are unprovable, so the show could've come up with any number of conclusions where Sougo and pals aren't eliminating fan favorite characters or opening a narrative can of worms and then walking away with a sense of accomplishment.

And, like, that's the weird way this show could have its cake and eat it too: just acknowledge that this is a bummer outcome. Have Sougo (or Tsukuyomi!) talk about how horrible this is for the Legend Riders, and that you'll eventually put things right. To ignore the consequences is to negate the consequences, and that super sucks.

I don't know! I got a lot of problems with this stuff!