Kamen Rider Drive - News/Rumours Thread 1

[kuroihikari]

I dunno if viewers will see it that way, though. Japan has always been a prude about its kids TV but it did not stop its tweeners and adults to ship the most disturbing things.
I really think it's a rather minor thing.

 

[lazycoconut]

Maybe, but still, anything like that doesn't sit right with me (even with shows or characters I don't particularly like; I'm not a huge fan of Manager in Wizard for instance but I will never forgive Movie Wars Ultimatum basically encouraging kids to point and laugh at people like this)

 

[kuroihikari]

In this case, though, Chase is only being rejected as an equal by Gou. Otherwise, he's a rather cool character who everyone respects, even if he does have a tendency to job.

 

[lazycoconut]

Respects, but he's not truly accepted by the other three nor allowed to belong in their "family." Since he can't really belong with the Roidmudes either, he's pretty much high and dry and I find it hard to believe that no one on the show is aware of the impression that this gives kids

 

[TaintedSeraph]

Respects, but he's not truly accepted by the other three nor allowed to belong in their "family." Since he can't really belong with the Roidmudes either, he's pretty much high and dry and I find it hard to believe that no one on the show is aware of the impression that this gives kids

No one told Chase that he isn't allowed to be a part of their "family". Chase himself was the one that told them that they were a family and then had the inner monologue about protecting it while quickly walking away. I really don't know where you're getting the whole "no one truly accepts Chase" thing from when no one except Go has told Chase that he can't do something because he's a Roidmude. They've been nothing but encouraging. They've taught Chase about different things, supported him getting his license, etc.

Besides, you don't always have to have everyone's acceptance to live how you want to live.

 

[lazycoconut]

No one told Chase that he isn't allowed to be a part of their "family". Chase himself was the one that told them that they were a family and then had the inner monologue about protecting it while quickly walking away. I really don't know where you're getting the whole "no one truly accepts Chase" thing from when no one except Go has told Chase that he can't do something because he's a Roidmude. They've been nothing but encouraging. They've taught Chase about different things, supported him getting his license, etc.

Besides, you don't always have to have everyone's acceptance to live how you want to live.

Well, that scene (combined with his line about sacrificing himself) suggested to me that we weren't supposed to see Chase as one of them. The viewer is also expected to want Kiriko to pick Shinnosuke, meaning Chase is again left on the outside. In recent years, non-human characters have usually been integrated into the unit - even Ankh, who did a lot of bad things, is loved so much that it's implied Eiji and Hina will spend most of their lives looking for a way to bring him back. So it does stand out to me that Drive has chosen to emphasise Chase as an "outsider"

I know scans aren't out yet but with the ep44 preview apparently confirming that Chief will be known as "Kamen Rider Jun", does that indicate he'll be the only user of the mass-produced Mach suit?

 

[Yoona]

So it does stand out to me that Drive has chosen to emphasise Chase as an "outsider"

I'm less sure about this. Kiriko has always given me the impression she sees Chase as part of the "family". She always tries to include him, and fights his corner. I get the same impression from Shin too, more or less. The framing of that shot where Chase monologued about family - with Shin, Kiriko and Gou hugging and Chase uninvolved with the hug - does place Chase as "outside" that dynamic, but from the way Kiriko and Shin have both fought so hard to bring Chase over to their side and continue to answer his questions on humanity, I think in general we're supposed to see Chase as being on the verge of joining the family, pending his own understanding of what exactly family is and what it means to love (platonically and romantically) someone.

Gou, much as I adore him, is the one throwing a spanner in the works here. It's pretty key that Chase was under the impression he and Gou were friends until Gou said they weren't, and it's only then that we see Chase questioning whether or not he can be anything more than an outsider. Chase is getting the idea that he's an outsider from Gou, and basically Gou alone.

Having said all of the above, I strongly dislike the idea of Chase dying and in his absence, Kiriko and Shin hooking up. Kiriko has only ever shown romantic interest in Chase, and absolutely none in Shin, so really the only way I can interpret such an ending is "Kiriko is settling for second best since the guy she actually wanted is dead", which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[lazycoconut]

Having said all of the above, I strongly dislike the idea of Chase dying and in his absence, Kiriko and Shin hooking up. Kiriko has only ever shown romantic interest in Chase, and absolutely none in Shin, so really the only way I can interpret such an ending is "Kiriko is settling for second best since the guy she actually wanted is dead", which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

That's not really the case any more. Since Chase became Kamen Rider Chaser, he's had little interaction with her, while she has been fawning over Shinnosuke a lot (including in the movie where, reportedly, a whole scene is dedicated to her crying in relief and hugging him upon finding out he's not dead.) And now we're told that all their bickering was really romantic tension, that could be applied to her as well as him

I certainly don't like the idea of Chase dying so they can be together though. "Yeah, forget that guy, the hero needs his happy ending, bye bye Chase!"

 

[Yoona]

That's not really the case any more. Since Chase became Kamen Rider Chaser, he's had little interaction with her, while she has been fawning over Shinnosuke a lot (including in the movie where, reportedly, a whole scene is dedicated to her crying in relief and hugging him upon finding out he's not dead.)

Ignoring the movie, I've always seen all of Shin and Kiriko's interactions as friendly and platonic (and I think it's extremely telling that even when Shin flashes back to "romantic" moments he spent with Kiriko, the best the show can dredge up is... shots of them standing or sitting together). For me, this is another Daigo/Amy situation: I don't buy it, and it feels quasi-incestuous. And I'm not even a Kiriko/Chase shipper, I have no real dog in this race.

 

[raden238]

Based on all that we've seen since episode 43. I would ship Kiriko with Chase. I feel based on all the writing Kiriko being with Chase is more appropriate than Tomari. Chase as Proto Drive saved Kiriko back at the beginning and they seem to have more tender screen time together. Even though yes once he became a Kamen Rider, they never touched upon the love storyline anymore. I don't get that Chase is an outsider vibe from him. Hes just as important to the team as Gou and Tomari. I wished they could of done the "turning back into the good guy" thing a bit better. His character just suddenly turned good and stayed that way. Or was Kiriko the reason why Chase turned good? I forgot now since its been a awhile.

The Kiriko and Tomari scenes were played out as comedy and I had no idea it was meant to be love tension between them. This is one of the problems with Toku, they never keep up with the love storylines throughout the series and just hammer everything on in the last couple of episodes. EX: Nago and Megumi from Kiva