Drive's Kiriko : one of the worthiest female Rider heroic characters of the franchise

[Lockon]

Got to agree with the thought that Kiriko ought to be Drive, she certainly has a better claim than Shin who... what claim DOES he have actually? I mean, why him of all people? He doesn't really have any particular trait that makes him more suited to the task than, well, Kiriko. He's not the worst choice for the job, but... Kiriko is equally if not more skilled, has far more motivation for the job, and, the real kicker for me, is the most convenient choice, as she's obviously been in the know for a while now, while Shin had to be inducted because... reasons?

Doesn't help that I think the Drive suit would look better on a female than a male character, but that's just speculation on my part.

 

[Undrave]

Got to agree with the thought that Kiriko ought to be Drive, she certainly has a better claim than Shin who... what claim DOES he have actually? I mean, why him of all people? He doesn't really have any particular trait that makes him more suited to the task than, well, Kiriko. He's not the worst choice for the job, but... Kiriko is equally if not more skilled, has far more motivation for the job, and, the real kicker for me, is the most convenient choice, as she's obviously been in the know for a while now, while Shin had to be inducted because... reasons?

Doesn't help that I think the Drive suit would look better on a female than a male character, but that's just speculation on my part.

This really needs an explanation in show.

 

[Lockon]

This really needs an explanation in show.

Indeed, a DAMN good one as well. Because this goes against all common sense AND human laziness.

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

Honestly, I think Drive has bigger issues than not making Kiriko a Rider but, that might just be me. :shrug:

 

[145zzz]

Honestly, I think Drive has bigger issues than not making Kiriko a Rider but, that might just be me. :shrug:

I agree but I think there's more to them not making Kiriko a Rider.
She doesn't have to be a Rider in order to be shown as a strong female character.
Kiriko is one of the bigger problems with this show since she started off as this independent and useful character.
But as the show progressed, she slowly became more and more akin to the usual female leads we get.
And like what Lockon said, she was pretty much a perfect candidate to be Drive but was never chosen to be.
We can only assume the real reason to be the obvious, which is because she's female.
Plot wise, I'm going to assume that Kiriko probably didn't think she was worthy of being a Rider.
Especially given what she thinks makes a Rider and her history with Proto Drive.
But that's a poor excuse in itself and sells her short as a character since she has proven to be very skilled even when she was in situations that weren't in her favor.

Still, I think this is a very tiny step in the right direction.
2 years ago we had Rinko from Wizard who, despite being a cop, was pretty much useless throughout the entire show.
With Kiriko, we at least get more action, a bit more independence from the lead Rider and at least one henshin into Drive in the Blu Ray specials.

 

[Undrave]

Indeed, a DAMN good one as well. Because this goes against all common sense AND human laziness.

Heck, I'd be satisfied with a simple 'it's genetic' and leave it at that.

 

[Black Fang]

She doesn't have to be a Rider in order to be shown as a strong female character.

This bears repeating for all female characters in this genre.

Still, I think this is a very tiny step in the right direction.
2 years ago we had Rinko from Wizard who, despite being a cop, was pretty much useless throughout the entire show.

She should have learned from Ozawa.

 

[Dr Kain]

You say that like it's an opinion.

REALLY?! What a startling revelation we have here.

 

[lazycoconut]

This bears repeating for all female characters in this genre.

That's not carte blanche to say they SHOULDN'T get to transform and fighting is just for men.

Kiriko is not really comparable to Rinko. Kiriko is the female lead, an important main character, and comes from a series about the police. Rinko is a supporting character from a series where the police were a relatively minor presence. Sidelining Kiriko or writing her as incompetent would be worse than the same happening to Rinko.

 

[CannibalS]

This bears repeating for all female characters in this genre.

Wake me up when we don't have three living female Riders, two of whom only appeared in movies and one is a magical girlfriend stereotype