[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Yeah, it's... there's a thing in Kamen Rider, and I don't know if it's a modern development or something innate with the pacing, where so much fun storytelling and characterization for the main Rider gets jettisoned as the series grows its cast and defines its villain. Basic stuff like Touma Writes Books and Touma Runs A Bookstore take on decreasing relevance as we get more Riders, more Megid, more masterminds, more backstory, more revelations, more toys, etc. It's like the show treats all of that original conception as a mix between a recap and a metaphor -- something to occasionally reference as a way of contrasting with the current stakes -- rather than an active part of the character's life or story.

Yeah, I... I've also been feeling something like this for a while, and never quite had a way to bring it up. It's like these things are considered the identity of the show and hence the personality it takes on in marketing and the go-to for premises of crossovers, small stageshows, stuff like that? But it's an identity that is only kind of there in the beginning and is phased out quite quickly beyond Q1 either by stakes taking prominence or characters developing beyond that. The result is an image and conception and idea of the show that just doesn't match up at all with what's actually in it.

Not necessarily a criticism! Just... very interesting, right?