Kamen Rider Drive Ep 4 - "What is That Prideful Chaser Thinking?"

[lazycoconut]

How could she, though? She didn't have the equipment for that. I doubt Shinnosuke without the Drive Driver could've done any better. It'd would've been nice, but as it was happening I really didn't have any idea what else she could've done.

I thought the plan was incredibly gutsy for her, especially considering that just in the previous episode, she was literally frozen by trauma.

I just felt that it came across as pulling the proverbial rug out from under her feet? I agree there wasn't anything much she could have done, but (IMO) it feels self-defeating to have what is supposed to be a major character-establishing moment show that she can't stand on her own and needs another character around her to function (especially when she expressly says "I have to keep going because I'm here to help Drive!")

There's the possibility that Chase doesn't himself know exactly what's going on with him.

Yeah ... I know we're only four episodes in, it's a little early to judge. But from the promotional descriptions of Chase, it made it sound like the question of whether or not he's a real Roidmude was going to be a major part of his character, so seeing him presented as if there's no question of him being anything other than a Roidmude was a little jarring for me. Maybe he's being built up to be fanatical only to discover he's not a Roidmude after all and force him down a new direction, I guess we'll see

 

[Clocktower]

Why do people assume that "comparing it to Gaim" is the only reason why someone wouldn't like Drive?

I'm sure it's not the case for everyone, there's definitely some things to legitimately complain about, but it's easy to tell that at least some of the outcry (or even just indifference) about Drive just coming from the fact it's a very different show from Gaim.

Yeah ... I know we're only four episodes in, it's a little early to judge. But from the promotional descriptions of Chase, it made it sound like the question of whether or not he's a real Roidmude was going to be a major part of his character, so seeing him presented as if there's no question of him being anything other than a Roidmude was a little jarring for me. Maybe he's being built up to be fanatical only to discover he's not a Roidmude after all and force him down a new direction, I guess we'll see

They did also point out in this episode that he seems to share traits/abilities with Proto-Drive, so I think we can be sure there's something more going on with him.

 

[HurricaneDragon]

Personally, I haven't been enjoying the show up until now because it's just not been enjoyable - period. I'm more comparing it to W and Wizard than Gaim myself (W for the staff, Wizard since it was the most recent "normal" series), since in hindsight, it seems like Gaim was always going to be an outlier, and this isn't even set up similarly.

As far as this episode goes, though, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the first three. A lot more subtlety going on, no forced running gags, and progression and character development abound. I won't say the show itself is good yet, but it was a huge step forward. I'm not quite sure how they're going to be able to work the "Kamen Rider" thing though, unless there really was one fighting these guys before any of the Drives came along - or Belt-san is lying to us, which is perfectly possible.

Though I don't actually think there was any "plan" regarding Paint with Kiriko, honestly. Considering how she acted before Shinnosuke showed up and how Shinnosuke was acting prior to her arrival, the way I see it, she had her character-evolving moment, but that involved her being "weak," and Shinnosuke saved her not only by literally doing so, but by making up the story about the "plan" to throw off the Roidmude and save face. There actually being a plan (of which there was no indication prior that I caught that there was) would have just been cheap, whereas Shinnosuke seeing what was going on and covering for her shows a lot of character and even some much needed depth to these characters.

... But maybe I'm just giving them the benefit of the doubt and hoping they chose that route because it was an otherwise standup episode outside of that scene.

 

[Actar]

For me, it's just not hitting any of the right notes. Honestly, I'm not sure why people get annoyed when comparing Drive to other series like W or Gaim. Is it because they think that we want it to be another W and/or Gaim?

At least for me, that's not the case. I mean, W and Gaim are completely different series. Yet, they were both amazing. Despite their differences, they were able to excel in their given themes and formats. Those are examples that I bring up as examples of well executed shows.

Drive should indeed live and die on its own merits, but I'm just saying the merits aren't there for me (yet).

 

[kuroihikari]

For me, I tried comparing it to Sanjo's previous works Fourze, Kyoryuger and W, but even that way it's hard to actually compare it to any single series..

It has the same "gather a group of evolved monsters" dynamic as Fourze, but it lacks Fourze's victim-monster relationship format. It has similar villains to Kyoryuger's: semi-invasive species whose survival depends on fighting the heroes, but they're also a more ragtag group who are out to protect themselves. The lack of organization and the lack of victim-monster relationship both make it very dissimilar to W.

The only previous Rider among the 3 Shinnosuke is close to is Shotaro, but they're driven by entirely different things: The former is duty, while the latter is patriotism. And in W it was usually Shotaro who's the most enthusiastic about his job.

And right now it's even harder to compare it to Gaim. The formats are very different (continuous arcs vs. cases of the fortnight). The presence of Drive's overarching story is not very apparent yet, but the same can be said of Gaim at this point in Gaim's run.

 

[SentaiRiderFan]

I think the problem is that Drive just isn't very fun. W, despite it's problems, had a style of humor that was all it's own, and Rider hadn't really done much like it at the time, but since then we've had OOO and Fourze do the same thing, and we've had Gaim come in and do something different. Comedy-wise (and tone-wise in general), Drive is retreading old ground (it's NOT going to catch people the same way W did) and is REALLY phoning it in. But that alone isn't what's keeping it from being fun to watch. The main reason (or at least one of the big ones) it isn't fun is the fact that the main character(s) just aren't very energetic or fun to watch. Think about this: how often does Shinnosuke smile? He does on occasion, but I can't think of one instance where he's really enjoying himself, certainly not the way Shotaro, Eiji, or Kota did.

Personally, I don't mind that (I've had more than had my fill of goofy riders), and I'm here for the mystery aspect, but those of you who can't get into it, I blame it on how much ground is being retreaded and how seriously they're taking the main characters, and while that can and has been done well (namely Tendo and perhaps Takumi), it's not entirely well-done here.

 

[Wing Saber]

While Drive reuses a lot of ideas from W, it's not the same thing. Since it tells things from the cops' pov than a PI. To where Shinnosuke is protecting the entire city, than just individuals. Also Drive can't be compared to any of the older series, since it's still trying to find it's own way. At the same time it's not giving the show a chance.

 

[Kamen Rider IXA]

it helps that it has similarities to Fourze

As well as OOO. And that's exactly why so few people actually watch this boring piece of crap, imo.
Once again, we have a poor parody of W. A fourth one, to be precise.

 

[Undrave]

Oh god the upgrades in this show >< it makes Fourze's Pen and Stamp modules look SENSIBLE! Seriously, you get an upgrade called 'Dimension Cab' and THIS is the best way to use it you can think of?! REALLY?! I could come up with like ten different ways that would be WAY cooler than splitting your hero in half in this ridiculous manner. How is that useful?!

I'm getting really annoyed at the lack of explainations here... why are the Shift Cars cars in the first place?! What are roidmudes? Are they rogue Shift Cars? Where do they come from? There's like TONS of stuff Belt could be telling his partner but he's keeping mum about it and Shinosuke is letting him get away with it! com'on man, question him some more!

I gotta agree with what people said about the fights, they're just not interesting. There is like zero drama!

I will say I enjoy the scenes of Shinosuke doing police work far more, they're actually interesting and I want to see more.

This episode was not bad although I didn't like it that, when Kiriko decided to stand up to Paint Roidmude, she was instantly overpowered and had to be rescued because heaven forbid she be able to fight her own corner.

I totally agree! That scene had be facepalming. :shakefist

Sure she didn't stand a chance but did they REALLY have to IMMEDIATEDLY take away Justice Hunter and disable her? Couldn't she have gotten into a short firefight with Paint just to show she can use that gun? Plus that whole scene, from the second fight with Chase to the resolution felt terribly awkward and unconvincing. It wasn't fun at all.

 

[kuroihikari]

As well as OOO. And that's exactly why so few people actually watch this boring piece of crap, imo.
Once again, we have a poor parody of W. A fourth one, to be precise.

I think you don't know what a parody is. None of the Riders since W come close to being a W parody.

Nor do I think you (or any of us) are qualified to state "exactly why so few people" watch this.