At the risk of sounding like a hater, which I am not, I'll write down the reasons why I don't think the show is portraying the apocalyptic setting well. In fact, I think it's trying it's best to NOT portray the apocalypse and instead veer away from it.
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[TL;DQA]
Well, you are right about the show veering away from it but for the wrong reasons. This is still a KR show where the focus goes mainly to the Riders, action and the characters we care about. All other things will have minor roles/representations if they don't contribute very much to the main focus.
It specifically avoids showing that aspect of an apocalypse that is familiar to us: The despair of the masses, the dissolution of a civilization's dignity.
That does happen because of the limited budget to film those scenes with extras. Also, if the show makes that effort then we will have probably another person saying that the show doesn't have focus and showed all those details for no purpose at all i.e. it doesn't contribute to the development ongoing plot.
So, for those reasons, Gaim doesn't focus too much in the apocalyptic setting, It conforms with just giving us the vague idea, with giving an illusion of that for the viewers to fill in with their imaginations (and it should work if you are immersed in the show or you are enjoying it a lot)
P.S.:
I forgot the name of a japanese film that showed a disaster striking japan (an earthquake I think) and was criticized because people thought it wasn't a realistic representation of the disaster. It lacked
the despair of the masses, the dissolution of a civilization's dignity and instead showed people being filled with hope, working together to survive.
The funny thing is, when a natural disaster strikes japan, what showed the film about the people is what indeed happened in reality. So, it can be that the portray of the apocalyptic setting isn't what you expect because of cultural differences, I guess
Edit:
Where's the ordinary people having to scrounge up for food? Where's the lack of shelter? The lack of any basic needs? Whenever it shows us people needing something, they seem to always find it. In fact, what the show has done is show that there are little to no people at all. It specifically avoids showing that aspect of an apocalypse that is familiar to us: The despair of the masses, the dissolution of a civilization's dignity.
Well, this statement is interesting. It shows what you expect from an apocalyptic setting, but also the show didn't distract you for those details. Another person who was distracted won't notice any of this and will fill the blanks. I'll show a detailed example of filling up the blanks below this paragraph if anyone is interesting in reading it.
[HIDE]Where's the ordinary people having to scrounge up for food? Two answers: they have been captured by Redyue, or they already scrounged up for food as we see Mai going to a shop that doesn't have much in it. (And it happens that in this very scene, happens that Mai needs something and find it)
Where's the lack of shelter? Well, The city was almost destroyed by nukes the previous episode, plus the shelter was already raided (off-camera) by the invess and there's almost no protection against them unless you're a Rider. (And keep in mind, the last one isn't explained in the show itself, the viewer fill in the blanks with the little information provided)
Where's the lack of any basic needs? We know there's a shortage of supplies, as we saw with Mai going to an almost empty shop. The riders doesn't have to worry much about food because of the functions of their belts and the only reason there's still power is because Redyue needs it for her toys. And so far, the forest hasn't destroyed any structure.
So, there you have it. The viewer can fill the blanks and that's what the producers/writers expect to happen in this or any show, movie, book, etc. That's one of the main reason, if not the main reason, of why the show veers from the details of the apocalyptic setting.[/HIDE]