[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

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?

Yeah, I think Gaim is sort of the ur-example of this, where it started off as this show about dance teams and Legally Distinct Pocket Monster Battling and Kouta needing to get a job and then it resolutely did not stay that way in any sense. Thematically, it was still about Growing Up and Making Mai Into A Prize To Be Won, but aesthetically it was just about Kamen Riders fighting each other over collectibles, which is pretty much Heisei as a template.

It's always something I think about, when these shows kick off for me. Whatever I like about the early approach -- the little mysteries, seeing how the terror intersects with everyday life, characters juggling different responsibilities -- is bound to be a fleeting joy. It doesn't make the show bad, or even wrong to abandon that stuff, but it's a... like, an innocence that these shows always leave behind, and that's a little sad.