Alternative Character Interpretation / Kamen Rider Gaim

• Mitsuzane's attempts to protect his friends bring to mind several interpretations:
  • In telling Kouta to abandon his Driver, is he really looking out for him and finding a way to boycott Yggdrasil or is he just manipulating him into doing so to save his own skin? Is what he said to Kouta about no longer keeping secrets or worrying Mai something he's telling Kouta or himself? This can be applied earlier on, when he warns Kouta against going public with the story about Yggdrasil. Is he seriously concerned for the safety of his friends or is he trying to make sure Takatora doesn't find out about his double life?
  • To further illustrate this, a later episode has Mitsuzane sneaking in Yggdrasil and getting data from them, then claims to his brother that he plans to use it against Yggdrasil, though his brother believes he's just doing it to challenge him.
  • Later events of Mitsuzane's fall to the dark side make audiences wonder if he was Evil All Along or was warped into being evil through a combination of desiring power, knowing the Awful Truth of the Helheim Forest, and wanting a piece of Takatora's Control Freak habit. His actions and reactions throughout the series can suggest either route.
  • Considering Mitsuzane's descent began with knowing the Awful Truth followed by being put in a situation where he must choose between what he thinks is right and those he cares for, there's room to interpret Mitsuzane as being Driven to Madness by a combination of said Awful Truth and the stress he's put through.
  • With the release of the Zangetsu Gaiden movie, people have been quick to point out that it may not have just been Takatora's influence that caused Micchy to turn evil, but also their father's.
• Was Hase's descent into madness a result of PTSD brought on by the stresses of being Brought Down to Normal, having his friend backstab him, and essentially losing everything that he loved or is it a result of his Sengoku Driver being broken and him going into a biologically induced shock? One interpretation is that there were multiple factors.
• Sigurd telling Kouta about how hunting down monsters is part of being a Rider split the fanbase (see below). One question remains: was he actually serious and considered the job akin to Shoot the Dog? Or was he just trying to break Kouta's spirits by telling him that hunting down humans who have turned into monsters is all a Rider is good for? Or perhaps he's just trolling For the Evulz? Considering Sigurd is Sid, chances are that the "actually serious" explanation isn't that likely.
• Also, how much does Kaito really buy into his own Social Darwinist philosophy? He talks a good talk, but his actions tend to be suspiciously altruistic whenever things get serious. It doesn't help that he's similar to Kyoko Sakura, another Urobuchi-written character with a selfish philosophy that she doesn't actually seem to follow.
  • Is Kaito becoming a villainous Overlord simply because of his drive for more power with the Overlords gone or was it a move of despair and rage from Ryoma killing Mai and causing Kouta's death via Mitsuzane? Consider that he didn't do this until after he learns that Kouta too is dead, angering him so much he takes the chance to becoming an Overlord. The answer is that his intentions were indeed altruistic, that the world he wanted to make was one where the weak were never suppressed, above all else. Kouta himself notes that they both want the same thing, but the problem was Kaito went about it the way of the cynic that he was, amassing power and forcibly remaking the world to achieve such ends.
• Two scenes at the end of Rosyuo's last battle shows different interpretations.
  • When Redyue grabs the Forbidden Fruit and sees it rot, is it because Rosyuo used up all its power, is it because the time of the Overlords was thematically done, or is it because someone not chosen by the fruit was holding it?
  • When Rosyuo's wife shows up, is it a ghost or did Redyue's machine actually worked?
• Sagara in the penultimate episode brings up an interpretation. When Kouta decides what to do with Helheim Forest, Sagara expresses concern for him and Mai. Concern over the fact that they're screwing him over or the fact that they're rejecting Earth to go to somewhere barren? Him being fine with it after Kouta states that he won't be lonely, encouraging Kouta and Mai to go through with it, and beginning a new trial for a distant alien planet brings evidence for both ends.