[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

The show was, apart from this one moment, really good at being consistently implicit with their relationship being romantic, not platonic. I think the biggest misfire of this miniseries was that it just has that one scene of queer erasure. It doesn't feel malicious, just that the writer didn't know the show or characters that well and included that bad reading on them in the script.

Yeah, it... I don't really want to invoke Death Of The Author too often when discussing the text of the show. Fair game when we're examining subtext and themes, but less so when we're disregarding scenes and lines that don't fit our perspective or desires.

But in this instance, I'll quickly and happily make an exception.

I didn't bring this scene up before because I find it almost criminally misguided and noncanonical, as though Ikki had an episode stinger where he said he hated his family, or Hiromi had an episode stinger where he succeeded at something. This writer can say they're just Kamen Rider Gals being Kamen Rider Pals, but I am happy giving that interpretation as much weight in the narrative as an Oronamin C commercial. No thanks, and we're moving on.

(If you're feeling especially charitable, you could read their specific energy as Bickering Siblings, while still observing their relationship as romantic. It's weird, but in the world of Kamen Rider, saying They're Like Siblings does not preclude long-running and semi-reciprocated romantic tension. Just ask Kanon!)