[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by TheJaz

I guess maybe it's more of a "potentially divisive opinion"?

While Ryuki has a lot of big fans (me included) I often see a weird ammount of hate thrown at it. Maybe this is just in the circles I run in. I often see it sort of presented as a show "with good ideas, but bad execution", which doesn't make much sense to me. Without giving too specific spoilers I also know a lot of people who hate the ending of the show. Personally i think the ending is very poignant, and creates a situation where the audience is able to feel the same sense of loss that certain characters in the show are experiencing themselves

I've also come across the opinion that "Gaim is just better Ryuki" a number of times, which personally I'd disagree with, also at a very base level Gaim and Ryuki have very different intents with their messages so I don't think Gaim serves as a replacement to Ryuki in really any significant way despite their similar premise

I also hate Ryuki's ending, since it feels like a cheap way around Kanzaki having to face the consequences of his actions by diminishing the tragedy of the Rider War. However, I hate Gaim's ending most of all, cause I can't take Kougane seriously as a villain, I can't take Mitsuzane seriously as a hero and I can't take Haganeya seriously as a writer. The whole premise of that final episode was absurd from start to finish.

I think one of the main things that distinguishes Ryuki and Gaim is how the characters' motivations are tied to the conflict.

In Ryuki, Kanzaki gave the Decks exclusively to people who were willing to kill other people, except for Shinji and Tezuka who became Riders on their own. The Rider War was rigged so that Odin would win, but ironically Shinji's interference, while it seemed futile on the surface, always delayed the fight too long, leaving Kanzaki nothing to gain but the wish he can't even use anymore. Pretty much the only one who gets any benefit from the Rider War is Asakura.

In Gaim, the Beat Rider game is open to everyone and people don't really have any dying loved ones they desperately need to save or anything like that. But the allure of power typically attracts people who will try and abuse it, which would explain why all the Riders, including Kouta and Zack to a lesser extent, are willing to do bad things. It's a very cynical world, without much of a counterpoint to that.