[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Layton13

That was one of those moments the series defiantly piqued my interest from fun watch to actually kinda invested.

Yeah, I think Episode 10 is a turning point for the show, in how it's trying to clarify a lot of the messiness of the previous episodes, and create a more immediate and pressing threat to our status quo. This is definitely a step up from previous Book Club and Calibur plots!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

In all seriousness, however, I think you're going WAAAAY too hard on the episode's ending in that post, even beyond that particular line. You're talking about Touma there the way everyone I knew talked about Faiz before I met you. It's like the show used a storytelling tool you aren't personally fond of, and everything related to it warped -- even if ever so slightly -- to fit that preconceived perception. And like, that's just how opinions work, and I don't want to totally dismiss what you're saying there as baseless, but just... dang, I guess I needed to vent a little too? I can understand why you'd be frustrated by Narratively Convenient Amnesia, so I only hope you can in turn understand if it's sort of upsetting to hear a plot thread in a show I love this much described as "bad", "groan-worthy", "stupid", "cliche", "lazy", and "cheap", all in the space of a single paragraph.

Ha ha, I did not think we were going to be of one mind on this! And that's okay!

I can't pretend that seeing this show start off on a path of Touma graciously declining to learn the terrible truth behind his friend's melancholy didn't also set a destination of me being furious when that truth was revealed at the absolute most disadvantageous time in the most uncontrollable way. It's just a giant bummer for me, to see this show improve in leaps and bounds across a variety of what I found to be weaknesses, only to conclude with one of my least favorite dramatic tropes.

I don't... I hope that doesn't come off as unfair or vindictive, though? I definitely tried to make clear what I thought the episode did well (and I think it did a bunch well!), even as I tried to explain the specific reasons for my dislike of that climax. I never ever ever want to be dismissive of these shows, even if I'm using words like Lazy and Cliche. Writers screw up! They make bad decisions! But, as I've maybe tried to live today, that's okay to call out? I don't think it lessens the scope of the show, or preclude the possibility of future greatness, to say that the conclusion to Touma's Narratively Convenient Amnesia was maybe not the most dramatically interesting option available.

But, y'know, you and I are coming at this from two different angles, even beyond our personal biases. I've only got ten episodes to judge, and no idea where these relationships and developments are going to go. You've got the length of the series, and a year's worth of (typically insightful) writing to go along with it. I would probably feel equally aggrieved if someone wanted to diminish an emotional conclusion to an Ex-Aid episode, if I felt they were ignoring relevant information to fit a preconceived notion. I don't know if I was doing that here? Or, if I was, know that I didn't mean to be unfair, and I'm sorry it was poorly phrased.