[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

FUUTO P.I. EPISODE 4 - “THE TERRIBLE M - WINGS OF DEATH”

Tokime is officially part of the group, which means it is time for everything to start breaking down in ways both funny and sad. Unlike Kamen Rider W, that introduced a dynamic that never truly broke down or seemed untenable, Tokime instantly feels both superfluous and distracting. She wants desperately to be included, yet she doesn’t seem to have a role that isn’t ably filled by someone that knows Shotaro better and works more naturally with him. (Even Akiko! That’s how bad things are going with Tokime!!!) Literally her first day on the job is one where she antagonizes Philip into a funk, and nearly gets Shotaro killed due to amnesia machinations. Not exactly winning material for the ol’ CV!

Dunno about your feelings here, but usually if a female character puts the main cast in bad position, she'd be instantly hated by the fandom by large (and there's some quite nasty remark about her in the Fuuto PI discussion thread). Otherwise, Akiko can be occassionally teasing in the main TV series, but here that trait of hers is much more significant here than usual, to solve Philip's problem above. It's instead used to assure Philip that he's gaining more humanity, even if it's a rather negative trait here (of jealousy), but that also means it can be understood and be dealt with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Luckily, all of that makes this story, from the character side of things, incredibly entertaining. While Shotaro and Philip have always bickered, they’ve always been partners; brothers, even. Tokime’s an interloper with a mysterious past, and she doesn’t get anywhere near the slack that the rest of the team affords each other. (Feel free to speculate that Philip’s jealous of Tokime romantically – not my read, but I wouldn’t fight you on it.) There’s genuine tension throughout the episode, as Tokime rants about Philip, Philip rants about Tokime, and Shotaro listens to two identical sets of complaints. While it’s a funny joke, it also highlights the legitimate question of Tokime’s place on the team: Don’t we already have an amnesiac partner for Shotaro that’s too blunt and lacking in social niceties?

About you saying that they're brothers, there's something really problematic that can debunk that. In the summer movie, Philip punches Shotaro and lashes out to him and his other allies, and claiming that they aren't family thus Shotaro can't truly understand him. when Shotaro suspects Maria to be untrustworthy. That really destroyed Shotaro emotionally to the point that Shotaro's self-esteem is further hurt and Shotaro questions his judgment with Philip trusting Maria, a woman he barely knew, over Shotaro, as well as what he really meant to Philip. He also doesn't apologize for hurting Shotaro for this (but more for himself being wrong about Maria). Philip really took Shotaro, the man who pulled him out from a blank state and gave him everything, for granted, and doesn't appreciate the bond with him and the other main casts enough to hurt them over supposed biological mother.