[H3N51N]

Sorry if I didn't explain my point better. OOO is a good example. Say that instead of Eiji being OOO it was Hina that was given the power from the first episode & the show follows her story of trying to get her brother back from Ankh. Would boys really be put off by that? Would that make the OOO toys any less fun or marketable? No. It wouldn't. Now the show might be a little slow in bringing in viewers (& therefore potential customers) because of the obvious change from constant male leads but over time the difference wouldn't matter. As the show goes on people would accept her & everything associated with her (like the merch) so she's now not just "the main girl Kamen Rider" but "this year's Kamen Rider". And that would slowly, but surely, open up chances for more diversity in cast members. Again, sorry if I didn't get my views across right. Hope this does better.

[SanoBaron]

I think thats a harder to predict assumption considering how Eiji's entire character was that he had no desire in the first place. the plot could go entirely different route if that were to have happened.

I still say slowly introducing more, then when the public is okay with female secondary riders, then talks about a female main rider could be implemented. slow and steady would be the safest bet.

[Matrixbeast]

My fear is that we'll get more akin to Marika. If she were a male rider, she'd be seen as weak, characterless, and just a pointless satellite character made to build up another.
But because she was a woman, she's hailed as a strong character who can hold her own, despite openly admitting she only cared about building up other characters to power, having little other ambitions.

I want someone like Date, except when the armor is removed, it's a woman instead. A character who is cheerful, but not bubbly, like Nadeshiko. Someone who is determined, but not brooding, like Yuri (During that one time she got to transform).
I want a female rider who isn't in the archetype female characters tend to fall under in KR.

[H3N51N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

My fear is that we'll get more akin to Marika. If she were a male rider, she'd be seen as weak, characterless, and just a pointless satellite character made to build up another.
But because she was a woman, she's hailed as a strong character who can hold her own, despite openly admitting she only cared about building up other characters to power, having little other ambitions.

I want someone like Date, except when the armor is removed, it's a woman instead. A character who is cheerful, but not bubbly, like Nadeshiko. Someone who is determined, but not brooding, like Yuri (During that one time she got to transform).
I want a female rider who isn't in the archetype female characters tend to fall under in KR.

Amen.

[SanoBaron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

I want someone like Date

oh I'm not saying they all have to be the same archetype.

like, make actual characters for female secondary riders.

[Yellow Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

My fear is that we'll get more akin to Marika. If she were a male rider, she'd be seen as weak, characterless, and just a pointless satellite character made to build up another.
But because she was a woman, she's hailed as a strong character who can hold her own, despite openly admitting she only cared about building up other characters to power, having little other ambitions.

I want someone like Date, except when the armor is removed, it's a woman instead. A character who is cheerful, but not bubbly, like Nadeshiko. Someone who is determined, but not brooding, like Yuri (During that one time she got to transform).
I want a female rider who isn't in the archetype female characters tend to fall under in KR.

I want a female Rider like Kotaro or Yusuke...

[Suzu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by H3N51N

Sorry if I didn't explain my point better. OOO is a good example. Say that instead of Eiji being OOO it was Hina that was given the power from the first episode & the show follows her story of trying to get her brother back from Ankh. Would boys really be put off by that? Would that make the OOO toys any less fun or marketable? No. It wouldn't. Now the show might be a little slow in bringing in viewers (& therefore potential customers) because of the obvious change from constant male leads but over time the difference wouldn't matter. As the show goes on people would accept her & everything associated with her (like the merch) so she's now not just "the main girl Kamen Rider" but "this year's Kamen Rider". And that would slowly, but surely, open up chances for more diversity in cast members. Again, sorry if I didn't get my views across right. Hope this does better.

Mind you, older fans tend to accept female protagonists more easily no matter the gender. But Kamen Rider is still marketed towards children, that are mostly seeking role models of their own gender. The problem is not the fandom. The problem is the target audience. Little boys would have a much harder time to adjust with Hina as OOO as for example fans in their late teens or early 20's.
If you want to sell merch, you need your target audiencie to identify with the associated character. You know why villain toys have bad sales, despite most villains being fairly popular with the older fans? Because kids usually don't like villains. They don't want to play the villain, they want to play the hero. You know why in Super Sentai, toys of the male characters tend to sell better than those of the female characters? Because most of the kids watching the show are male and want to play the male heroes.
Yes, more female characters could introduce more girls to the franchise... but they also might not, because little girls might still think "that's for boys", because it used to be. And even if you attract a female target audience, the boys might lose interest, because they can't identify with it anymore. That would mean both a loss in views and sales and thus endanger the franchise as a whole. Of course, this is a worst case scenario, but considering how drastically a different approach to just the storytelling changed the ratings when Gaim was on air, it surely is a thing to consider.

[SanoBaron]

I agree with Suzu on this.

[Yellow Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suzu

Mind you, older fans tend to accept female protagonists more easily no matter the gender. But Kamen Rider is still marketed towards children, that are mostly seeking role models of their own gender. The problem is not the fandom. The problem is the target audience. Little boys would have a much harder time to adjust with Hina as OOO as for example fans in their late teens or early 20's.
If you want to sell merch, you need your target audiencie to identify with the associated character. You know why villain toys have bad sales, despite most villains being fairly popular with the older fans? Because kids usually don't like villains. They don't want to play the villain, they want to play the hero. You know why in Super Sentai, toys of the male characters tend to sell better than those of the female characters? Because most of the kids watching the show are male and want to play the male heroes.
Yes, more female characters could introduce more girls to the franchise... but they also might not, because little girls might still think "that's for boys", because it used to be. And even if you attract a female target audience, the boys might lose interest, because they can't identify with it anymore. That would mean both a loss in views and sales and thus endanger the franchise as a whole. Of course, this is a worst case scenario, but considering how drastically a different approach to just the storytelling changed the ratings when Gaim was on air, it surely is a thing to consider.

That's why I think we'll only see a main female Rider in an AkibaRanger like show.

A female secondary Rider has a slightly emphasis on slightly better chance of becoming reality.

[Ridersen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suzu

Mind you, older fans tend to accept female protagonists more easily no matter the gender. But Kamen Rider is still marketed towards children, that are mostly seeking role models of their own gender. The problem is not the fandom. The problem is the target audience. Little boys would have a much harder time to adjust with Hina as OOO as for example fans in their late teens or early 20's.

The problem with that line of thinking is that kids are at the end of the day neither that stubborn nor small-minded.

A lot of adults tend to fall into that trap, but in reality, kids can accept a lot of things if you know just how to appeal to them. The issue why boys would have the "ew cooties" mentality isn't just born out of nothing, but entirely from how they are raised and the ideas the adults fill them with.
Wouldn't it be more believable to think that adults of previous generations who aren't as understanding of gender issues are the cause of lacking female representation showing up in kids' fiction than because of the kids?
It will always be the adults who write stories for kids, so ultimately doesn't all those attitudes still come from adults in the first place? Adults, who are comparatively, much more stubborn than actual kids would be?

I don't know about you guys, but I still do remember exactly what kind of kid I was, and when it comes to female characters I only had one baseline: whether or not they were cool in some way and not annoying or a surplus baggage.
Keep in mind, I also had the "ew cooties" thing going on as a kid too, but how I interacted as a kid with real girls and how I interacted with stories I was enjoying is completely different realms.
Kids are simple that way, and kids are very flexible. Its practically to be expected.

Lets not forget that we know that boys liked Korra, and Steven Universe is last time I've heard one of the most popular cartoons currently running on CN, and both had prominent female characters in them.
You think kids are going to permanently boycott the Rider shows they've watched and Rider toys they played?