What An Idiot / Kamen Rider

TV Asahi Sunday Morning | Super Sentai (Power Rangers) | Kamen Rider | Pretty Cure

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Kamen Rider is a Long Runner; as such throughout the series' lifetime there have been countless idiots and moments that scream stupidity.

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• Kamen Rider:
  • When you think about it, the whole reason the forces of evil are in dire straits is because of the actions of Shocker. So get this, Shocker has just perfected its ultimate Cyborg Super-Soldier, and now they need a live subject.
    You'd Expect: That they'd pick a criminal with both the athletic and intellectual prowess they require for the project, perhaps a Hannibal Lector-style Serial Killer. His freedom alone would be enough to garner his loyalty, as we see in later episodes when Shocker makes use of criminals for their cyborgs, so there's no need for brainwashing.
    Additionally: It would have been a great idea for Shocker to screen all their scientists to make sure they're all on side, with none of them secretly harboring resentment towards Shocker's evil.
    Instead: They pick Takeshi Hongo, a brilliant college student and motocross champion, as their "perfect subject". To make matters worse, one of their scientists has a change of heart and frees Takeshi before he can be brainwashed, allowing him to escape and become the Kamen Rider, resulting in the defeat of numerous Shocker cyborgs and many failed plans. Plus Takeshi winds up inspiring numerous other Kamen Riders across multiple worlds.
  • Towards the end of the series, the newly created Gel-Shocker brings in Dr. Dee hoping to finally defeat Kamen Rider 1. And this guy is actually brilliant, successfully finding a foolproof method of stopping Takeshi that he can't break out of on his own.
    You'd Expect: That Gel-Shocker would make sure Kamen Rider 2, Hayate Ichimonji, would be lured in to be stuck by this method as well. After all, Gel-Shocker should know by now that there are two Kamen Riders since Hayate actually spent more time in Japan than Takeshi.
    Instead: Takeshi alone gets stuck in the freezing trap, only to be freed by Kamen Rider 2. They both go on to defeat what's left of Gel-Shocker in short order, including the Great Leader himself.
• Kamen Rider V3: Marshal Yoroi decides to have Joji Yuki, at the time a loyal Destron scientist, executed as a false traitor so that he doesn't wind up with more power than Marshal Yoroi. Short-sighted? Maybe, but still fair enough given Marshal Yoroi does have several clever schemes regardless. That said...
  You'd Expect: That Marshal Yoroi would make sure to execute Joji's entire science division since they are loyal to him and would not appreciate Joji being executed for something he didn't do. He can make his excuses to Great Leader afterward.
  Instead: He has Joji alone prepped for execution, but in a Bond Villain-style acid pit that his scientist buddies easily break him out of. This leads to Joji being remade as Riderman, who would soon join V3 and help save the world. All because Marshal Yoroi didn't want to share the spotlight.
• Kamen Rider X: Around the mid-point of the series, the Government of Darknes (GOD) eschews using mythological motifs for their monsters in lieu of historical villains. One such monster is modeled after a Serial Killer during a time when both GOD and Keisuke Jin (the titular Kamen Rider X) are looking for the pieces of a Dismantled MacGuffin, the blueprint to a powerful device.
  You'd Expect: That King Dark would select someone like Jack the Ripper or Gilles de Rais, killers that had a purpose behind their crimes and a pattern to their killings.
  Instead: He chooses Fantomas, a sadistic killer who had no rhyme or reason to his murders and no pattern to speak of. His "inheritor", Chameleon Phantom, is nowhere near so unpredictable due to looking for one of the aforementioned blueprint pieces, making it easy for Keisuke to fool him. Granted Fantomas was likely chosen due to his nature as a Master of Disguise, but no one even knows who Jack the Ripper was so he could also probably fill the role.
• Kamen Rider Amazon: In the final episode, Emperor Zero has Amazon trapped thanks his scepter that can negate the power of the GiGi Armlet. It should be noted that he has the GaGa Armlet, though he doesn't wear it.
  You'd Expect: That if Emperor Zero was insistent on not wearing the GaGa Armlet, he would at least keep the two armlets as far away from each other as possible. The two armlets connected grant great power, but with Amazon helpless Emperor Zero just has to take the GiGi Armlet and bring it to the GaGa Armlet, which by the way would also rid him of Amazon since removing the armlet will end Amazon's life.
  Instead: He brings the GaGa Armlet close to Amazon in an effort to unite the two armlets, which lets Amazon take control of the GaGa Armlet by just calling out his transformation phrase, letting him unite the armlets for himself and gain enough power to finish off Emperor Zero and his body double.
• Kamen Rider Stronger: Black Satan gets a boon when champion athlete Jo Shigeru walks up to them and offers to join their side and become a cyborg warrior.
  You'd Expect: That just to be safe Black Satan would investigate Jo to make sure he's a genuinely evil guy who wants power and is willing to join them. Given several of the Kamen Riders who opposed them gained power from their predecessors to destroy them, now's not the time to be giving out powers to anyone who asks.
  Instead: They just up and give him what he wants, changing him into Kamen Rider Stronger. And then he reveals that he tricked them, wanting revenge for them killing his brother but needing the power to oppose them. And they just handed it to him.
• Kamen Rider: Skyrider:
  • Early into the series, General Monster of Neo Shocker is defeated by Skyrider, but is about to pull a Taking You with Me that Skyrider might not survive. Meanwhile, Admiral Majin has been selected to replace General Monster due to the latter being marked for execution.
    You'd Expect: That Admiral Majin would wait to see if General Monster's final attack really would kill Skyrider. After all, it would be a lot easier for Neo Shocker to conquer the planet without a pesky superhero getting in the way.
    Instead: He executes General Monster without mercy before he can even reach Skyrider, meaning the Kamen Rider is in full health to continue fighting and defeating Neo Shocker forces. How this guy lasted longer under Great Leader's good graces is a complete mystery.
  • Neo Shocker monster Miminger is trying to collect 1000 ears to offer to Great Leader hoping he will use them to grant Neo Shocker's wishes. Midway through the episode he notes that he has 999 ears, meaning he's almost done with Hiroshi Tsukuba (the titular Skyrider) having been unable to find him in time.
    You'd Expect: That he'd just go for the final set of ears. Make sure he knows where Hiroshi is and take the last set from a random citizen on the other side of the city. Win for Neo Shocker.
    Instead: He insists on taking Hiroshi's ears for the final set, thinking it will please Great Leader. Surprise, surprise, this only leads to Miminger's defeat and the return of all the ears he stole in the first place.
• Kamen Rider Super-1: Kamagirigan has just replaced Prince Ismael, with the intent on taking control of a block of Tokyo to secretly construct an underground base for Dogma. Two things to note, the real Ismael happens to be a friend of Kazuya Oki (the titular Kamen Rider Super-1), and Ismael is getting married to a woman named Keiko, who Kazuya personally introduced Ismael to.
  You'd Expect: That Kamagirigan would make sure to study all of Ismael's mannerisms to perfectly mimic him in public.
  Instead: The only thing he does to keep up appearances is go through with the wedding. Everything else about him is contrary to Ismael's friendly personality, which tips off both Kazuya and Keiko.
• Kamen Rider BLACK RX: In #46, General Jark, who was transformed into Jark Midler by Emperor Crisis, has decided to finish off Kohtaro once and for all, and goes to challenge him.
  You'd Expect: Considering Kohtaro isn't hiding and is actually fighting out in the open, for him to just join his minions on the next attack so he can encounter Kohtaro.
  Instead: Jark attacks a refugee caravan that the Sahara family is a part of, and ends up killing the two parents of the family.
  Result: One enraged Kohtaro practically annihilates Jark in retaliation.
• Kamen Rider Ryuki:
  • #19 has Jun Shibaura/Kamen Rider Gai create a mini death game between him and three other Riders (Ryuki, Knight, Raia) so he can manipulate the Rider War in his favor. The problem is, they are battling near Kamen Rider Ouja, who is a complete psychopath and is willing to kill anyone that goes within his line of sight.
    You'd Expect: Gai to be wary of Ouja's presence, and keep the battle in a safe distance between Ouja (who is having a separate battle with his nemesis Zolda at that point) if he wants to have his game go according to his plan.
    Instead: Gai and the others got too close to Ouja's battle, thus when Zolda activates his Final Vent, Ouja uses Gai as a human shield to protect himself from the Final Vent. While Ryuki, Knight, and Raia are recovering from the effects of Zolda's Final Vent, Ouja pulls off his Final Vent to deal the killing blow on the heavily-injured Gai. Asakura even lampshades this:
  Shibaura: You... you were supposed to make my game more fun.
  Asakura: You were nearby. That was your fault.
  • Alternatively...
    You'd Expect: Shibaura to just get out of the Mirror World to at least ensure his physical safety and wait awhile until it'd be safe for him to make another move.
    Instead: He gets mad at Asakura for turning on him and tries to punch him, only for the latter to kick him down, leading to the aforementioned deathblow.
    Even Worse: Shibaura was the one who introduced Asakura to the concept of the Rider War and gave him the idea to go after Kitaoka. As such, given that Asakura is a convicted murderer who personally encountered him, Shibaura should have been wary of Ouja's presence regardless and minded his manipulations. The Info Dump Shibaura gave Asakura inadvertently puts himself in Ouja's sight when he gets too close in battle and as such Ouja pretty much singles him out for use as a meat shield, leading to Shibaura's death because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
• Kamen Rider Blade:
  • Isaka/Peacock Undead had spent a few episodes having Sakuya Tachibana/Kamen Rider Garren under his leash due to the Schuld Kestner seaweed the Rider soaked himself in under the pretense that it would eliminate his subconscious fear. Tachibana's lover, Sayoko Fukasawa, once she discovered it, tried her best in attempting to free him from the addiction. Isaka then threatened her outside her window as a warning to stop meddling in his affairs or else he would end her. Despite that, Sayoko continued to do so.
    You'd Expect: Isaka to just kidnap Sayoko and keep her hostage in his lab to avoid any possible suspicions from Tachibana. Should the Rider find out, Isaka could just use Sayoko as leverage for Tachibana to continue serving him boundlessly.
    Instead: Isaka goes through with his threat and kills Sayoko.
    You'd Then Expect: For Isaka to at least frame Kenzaki to put a wedge between them, or just keep quiet about it.
    Instead: Isaka himself confesses his murder in front of Tachibana's face!
    The Result: Tachibana destroys the seaweed tank and practically curb stomps him twice, with the second time ending in Isaka getting sealed. And right as he was almost complete with his plans of his Ultimate Rider, Leangle.
  • In #24, Miyuki Yoshinaga/Orchid Undead lures Hajime Aikawa/Kamen Rider Chalice into a trap that has him fighting Daichi/Elephant Undead, the latter noticing her watching them fighting. The next episode has him confronting her of this chicanery.
    You'd Expect: For Miyuki to do nothing against Daichi after he made it clear of how much he was against her scheme.
    Instead: She feigns an apology in order to let his guard down and defeat him. Unfortunately, Daichi proves to be much stronger than her, thus leaving Miyuki critically injured as he mocks her to continue fighting him. Miyuki even lampshaded how foolish she was for thinking that Daichi could finish Hajime for her.
  • Also at #25, Kenzaki and Tachibana had just defeated and sealed Shinmei/Wolf Undead. After observing the fight, Daichi tells the two Riders to defeat more Undeads so he can be the last one standing and attempts to walk off.
    You'd Expect: Kenzaki and Tachibana to just let Daichi go. Not only is Daichi incredibly strong, he wasn't actively imperiling innocent people at the time.
    Instead: The two pretty much go after him next due to the latter being an Undead.
    The Result: Daichi curb stomped both of them in return, forcing the two to retreat. Daichi became so enraged that he decided to settle things with Hajime, with the fight ending in him discovering that the Rider is the Joker. This also made Daichi envision himself defeating the four Riders and started rampaging to get their attention.
    Thankfully: Noboru Shima/Tarantula Undead had arrived to help the heroes, which included giving Kenzaki his Rouse Absorber to defeat and seal Daichi.
• Kamen Rider Kiva: Taiga Nobori/Kamen Rider Saga who was mourning the loss of his fiancé, Mio, thinking his stepbrother Wataru did her in and vows revenge for her death. Next to him is Bishop, the true murderer, who aims to have Kiva destroyed.
  You'd Expect: Bishop would keep his mouth shut or even encourage Taiga to kill Kiva, thus eliminating him.
  Instead: He tells Taiga that he killed her. Taiga then beats the crap out of him. Of course, this causes Bishop to turn against him and start reviving his father by an onslaught of Fangires, but Taiga has also decided to help Wataru defeat them.
• Kamen Rider W: #40 has the Gene Dopant defeated surprisingly early on, and the Agency get hold of the Gene Memory. Akiko, however, decides that she wants to help Tooru, the user of said Memory.
  You'd Expect: Akiko, knowing that a non-destroyed Gaia Memory causes its user to act strangely, to hand the Memory off to Double to be destroyed.
  Instead: Akiko, for some unknowable reason, keeps the Memory on her person at all times, refusing to allow Double to destroy it.
  The Result: The Memory is stolen back by Tooru. This causes the Agency far more problems down the line thanks to Wakana needing the Gene Memory to make use of the Gaia Progressor. In fairness, Akiko had no way of knowing this, but it's a problem that could've been completely avoided if she'd just allowed for the Memory to be destroyed immediately, as has been done throughout almost the whole series.
  Furthermore: The Agency had absolutely nothing to lose by destroying the Memory immediately, and Akiko doesn't even try to justify why the Gaia Memory shouldn't be destroyed.
• Kamen Rider OOO
  • In #7, Uva (in his human form) has claimed to have a Medal he would give Ankh.
    You'd Expect: Ankh to simply avoid Uva, or least suspect he would be lying to him and wait for backup (OOO or Goto) to arrive. After all, this is the guy who was able adapt to Earth's modern technology in a short amount of time and figured out Kazari's plan with with nothing but an iPod.
    Instead: He just waltzes into him and then demands for the medal. Uva then beats the crap out of him and takes a chunk of his medals.
  • Elsewhere, Eiji is trying to fight a Yummy with the ability send objects flying to people, Ankh demands him to come to his location.
    You'd Expect: Eiji to finish off the Yummy he was fighting with a Scanning Charge (which are effectively a One-Hit Kill) or least use his Tora Claws to rip it to shreds. In case you didn't know, the few times a Scanning Charge ever failed is either because of humans get in his way or if his attack is weakened in any way.
    Instead: He doesn't, and thus the above with Ankh getting beaten by Uva happens. He would've been mincemeat if weren't for Goto.
  • From the end of #23 to throughout the episode after, Eiji falls in love with a sister of a celebrity who's manipulated by a Yummy. He goes lovesick to the point where he didn't bother to transform when there's a Greeed in front of him.
    You'd Expect: Kazari to take advantage of this situation and try to kill Hina, Eiji and Ankh while he has the chance.
    Instead: He just sits there, dumbfounded and bored because Ankh told him to wait, causing Eiji to transform.
    The Result? Kamen Rider OOO gains an additional medal, and a new combo to boot.
    To Be Fair: This was done for comedy, and we got one of the most hilarious scenes in OOO as a result.
  • In #44, Kazari, with Gamel's help, gains all of his Medals to become fully complete.
    You'd Expect: Kazari, now with the advantage of being whole and having the rest of the Greeed with him, finally taking down OOO and Birth together, which all the other Medals would be gained by them.
    Instead: Kazari, being the backstabber that he is, blows away at his allies the first chance he gets, stating that he was the untrustworthy one. Eventually, OOO and Birth gain the advantage to take him down, ending in his Lion Medal containing his consciousness cracked, Dr. Maki taking the rest of the Medals inside him for not wanting to be a berserk Medal Vessel, and none of his fellow Greeed care that he's dead.
• Kamen Rider Wizard:
  • At the climax of #47, Fueki/Wiseman had found his fourth mage via Masahiro Yamamoto. Going by Arachne's demise, it would appear that Medusa and Sora/Gremlin were among the only few Phantoms remaining.
    You'd Expect: Him to keep Medusa, his most devoted follower, around for a while longer even after that point, at least until after he finishes his ultimate goal of bringing back Koyomi. Given that by that point, Sora reveals his desire for the Philosopher's Stone, even if it meant harming Koyomi, plus with Medusa being the most wary of the guy and would most likely have taken him down just when he was gonna make his move. For bonus points, Wiseman could just tell Medusa that his aspirations are also for the sake of the Phantoms and continue to state hat she's the only one he can trust.
    Instead: He flat out backstabs Medusa while revealing to her and everyone else that he's both the White Wizard and Wiseman, all while Sora/Gremlin was still alive.
    The Result: Sora/Gremlin eventually got the chance to slay Fueki with his own Hamel Cane.
  • #50 shows the fight between Fueki and Sora after the latter attempted to take the Philosopher's Stone from Koyomi. After the Phantom called him "father", Fueki angrily pinned Sora down a tree with his Hamel Cane.
    You'd Expect: Fueki to take the time to pull his weapon from Sora, regardless of the latter holding onto the cane, then finish him off with a Rider Kick so Koyomi wouldn't be in any more intentional peril.
    Instead: Fueki leaves Sora there pinned to the tree after seeing Koyomi limp away from the fight to check up on her.
    The Result: The above happens as Sora kills Fueki with his own Hamel Cane. Not only does Fueki fail to save Koyomi, but the latter gets killed right after, and Sora ultimately made off with the Philosopher's Stone to wreak havoc.
• Kamen Rider Gaim:
  • #27 shows a flashback between Takatora and Ryoma, with the former being hospitalized by the latter after an incident with transforming. Then Ryoma explains to him about Project Ark.
    You'd Expect: Takatora to have some consideration and respect for Ryoma's aspirations and letting him elaborate on that.
    Instead: Takatora insisted of putting humanity above themselves while disregarding Ryoma.
    The Result: After the conversation, Yoko showed Ryoma a photo of Demushu, with the scientist then deciding to keep the Over Lord's existence a secret from Takatora and plot behind his back. Sure, Takatora later learned part of the story through Kouta, but it eventually led to Ryoma openly betraying Takatora with Sid and Yoko.
  • While Kouta Kazuraba, the main character, isn't an Idiot Hero by any means, there's one example that stands out. In #36, he learns that Takatora Kureshima - who pulled a Heel–Face Turn a while ago - is about to duel his brother Micchy - who himself pulled a Face–Heel Turn more recently. After being briefly stopped by Yoko Minato/Kamen Rider Marika, he is on his way to hopefully stop the duel.
    You'd Expect: Him to immediately whip out the Jimber Cherry Arms and hightail it to where the duel is. Or get on the Sakura Hurricane - either would have allowed him to get to the duel in time - and in the case of the former, he could probably use it to force the two to stop fighting, since it's been shown that Jimber Arms are just as strong as an energy Lockseed, which, at the moment, is what Micchy/Zangetsu Shin II happens to be using^note while he is shown using the Dandeliner, a flying bike, earlier in the series, there's no indication that he had it's lockseed on him at the time.
    Instead: He runs to the fight, untransformed...and arrives too late to do anything.
  • In #41, Redyue had just murdered Rosyuo for outdoing her in obtaining the Forbidden Fruit and refusing to tell her where he placed it. Kouta was extremely vexed at her for that act and somehow repaired the Kiwami Lockseed to transform and give an extreme Curb-Stomp Battle against her.
    You'd Expect: Redyue to just escape from the fight like in the episode before. She was the last Over Lord Inves, so by doing so, she would ensure her survival even if still angered.
    Instead: She just stands there in disbelief of losing to Kouta, who she viewed as an ordinary human, leading to her impending demise.
• Kamen Rider Drive:
  • In #14, Go Shijima/Kamen Rider Mach does his signature Catchphrase against Roidmude 096 but fails.
    You'd Expect: That he would just immediately attack and defeat 096 right away after being interrupted.
    Instead: Go just merely knocks him down and tries again, which by the time he finishes with his pose included, the Roidmude escaped and was gone. Shinnosuke then asked him of the Roidmude, to which Go replied that he was totally paying attention but he got away; thus in their next encounter, Go had to abridge his roll call to avoid the same mistake.
  • In #46, Tenjuro Banno/Kamen Rider Gold Drive ultimately gets defeated and the Sigma Circular activates to begin his second Global Freeze.
    You'd Expect: He'd stay quiet under the pretense that Go defeated him and wait for the right moment to inconspicuously withdraw.
    Instead: He doesn't; Banno reveals to Go and Kiriko that he's still alive and gloats that his Global Freeze has commenced and that Sigma would continue his will. And when he decides to transfer his data to Sigma, Go then decides to use the Shingou-Ax to chop him to smithereens, causing Banno to beg at him to stop.
    So Now You'd Expect: That Banno would at least pretend to be sorry for what he's done to them, or even try to remind him that he's murdering family or that he could rebuild Chase.
    Instead: He begs to Go that chopping him would rob society of his glorious genius. Go ignores his pleas, ending with Banno screaming at his impending death.
• Kamen Rider Ghost:
  • In #5, the Machine Gun Gamma had Takeru on the ropes as his two Gamma Assaults that he labels as his "familia" places Akari and Onari as his captives. Just as Takeru surrendered to ensure his friends' safety, Makoto arrives and transforms into Specter to deal with Takeru while also shouting at the Gamma to move aside.
    You'd Expect: The Machine Gun Gamma to do absolutely nothing and just let Makoto finish off Takeru.
    Instead: He curses and fires at Makoto. Makoto then decides to fight him and his "familia" instead.
    The Result: Makoto finishes off the two Gamma Assaults and uses Tutankhamun Damashii to finish off the Machine Gun Gamma via Omega Fang.
    Even Worse: Within the rest of the first arc, Takeru eventually recognized Makoto and realized what he was fighting for. Once Takeru used his wish to restore Kanon, Makoto then became friends with the former again. All partly because of that one wrong move from the Machine Gun Gamma.
  • Chikara Saionji has kept the two Riders, Jabel, and the area surrounding most of the Tenkuji temple under a force field and with access to all 15 Eyecons to access the Great Eye.
    You'd Expect: Saionji remembering that he has his backup Ghost Driver and having it fully functional beforehand to bring it out before asking the Eye his wish.
    Instead: He just imperatively states out his wish without the Driver. The Great Eye then turns him into blue particles and sucks him in, sealing Saionji's fate until the second Hyper Battle Video set.
  • Adel has spent several episodes gaining power and being connected with the Gammaizers. Edith warns him of the dangers the Gammaizers possess and would eventually defy him.
    You'd Expect: Adel to actually listen to Edith and/or keep any Gammaizer with him under some form of leash.
    Instead: Adel eventually fights Edith and kicks him out and continues with his Demia Project plans to make everybody him. By the time he starts repenting and apologizing for what he's done, even telling the Gammaizers he just summoned that this is no longer necessary, said beings reveal their betrayal to Adel and assimilate him to the point of Takeru giving him a Mercy Kill.
• Kamen Rider Ex-Aid:
  • In #12, Kiriya Kujo/Kamen Rider Lazer starts getting curious about Kuroto Dan's motive after he found out that Kuroto is Genm and tries to gain info about him from Kuroto's imprisoned father, Masamune. After he does so, Kuroto goes to Kiriya and tried to bribe him with a new Dangerous Zombie Rider Gashat in exchange for his silence. Kiriya seemingly accepts the Gashat but he has no intention on letting Kuroto go and want him to pay for his sins.
    You'd Expect: Kiriya would simply keep it and not use in his driver as he would simply curb-stomps Genm with ease.
    Instead: Lazer Level 1 immediately tries to use it in his Driver against Kuroto. Unfortunately, the Gashat drains the majority of his health bar. Then Kuroto uses the new Dangerous Zombie Gashat and proceeds to curbstomp Kiriya until his health bar is completely depleted, resulting in Kiriya's death. If he didn't insert the Dangerous Zombie Gashat into his Driver, he would have a better chance to survive. Kiriya himself lampshaded how overconfident he was.
  • In #36, Kuroto Dan/Kamen Rider Genm obtains the power of Hyper Muteki to use against his father Masamune/Kamen Rider Cronus.
    You'd Expect: That Kuroto, being the self-proclaimed genius that he is with all the knowledge and talents, he put onto the Gashat, would remember the 10-second limit and use it wisely to swiftly finish Masamune.
    Instead: He doesn't; He just gloats about the "unlimited power" he has and when times up, Masamune uses his pause on the Riders, defeats them, and takes the Gashat from his son. Kuroto then becomes ashamed of what he did and Taiga complained/lampshaded of how foolish he was.
    • Later in the episode, Masamune, applauding at Kiriya's performance, gives him the Hyper Muteki Gashat as rewarding payment.
      You'd Expect: That Masamune would be aware of Kiriya's Consummate Liar habits and just either give him the Gashat once he's done finishing his opposition or commanding him to work harder for the Gashat like what he did with Hiiro regarding Saki.
      Instead: He doesn't; Kiriya, about a minute after, betrays him and reveals his true allegiance with Emu; even when Masamune tried to Pause them after, Emu eventually managed to become Muteki Gamer to give him his first real defeat.
• Kamen Rider Build:
  • In #32, Nariaki Utsumi, having captured all of Kazumi's employees, has brought Gentoku/Kamen Rider Rogue along with him, in an attempt to get Kazumi to steal Pandora's Box, but Kazumi (wisely) decides not to take their bargain. Utsumi orders Gentoku to kill the hostages, but Gentoku refuses, setting them free (killing them now would be meaningless, after all). Gentoku has a special chip that will explode if his handlers get suspicious, and Utsumi reminds Gentoku of this.
    You'd Expect: For Utsumi to keep the remote triggering said chip in his pocket. No, really, that's all he had to do.
    Instead: Utsumi foolishly brings the remote out of his pocket, allowing Gentoku to knock it out of his hands. Clearly Utsumi took lessons from Dr. Gero in this subject.
    Gentoku also suffers from this in the above situation; after knocking the remote out of Utsumi's hands:
    You'd Expect: Gentoku to immediately destroy—or at least grab—the remote.
    Instead: He ignores the remote, leaving Utsumi free to grab it and trigger the chip.
  • In #33, Misora suffers this after Gentoku knocks Evolt!Soichi out of his transformation. She is still holding the Evol-Driver, but seeing her possessed father, she walks towards him.
    You'd Expect: Misora to put the Evol-Driver down or hand it off to someone else before approaching the one who not only covets said Driver, but has been antagonizing the group for almost the whole show.
    Instead: She keeps hold of the Evol-Driver as she approaches. Even if Evolt wasn't going to attack her for the Driver, Utsumi takes her by surprise and throws the Evol-Driver to him, allowing him to regain his true form.
  • In #38, Evolt has just re-obtained his full power and decided that he's more worthy of becoming the world leader and wants Namba as his puppet.
    You'd Expect: Given that, three episodes before, he saw Evolt try to activate the Pandora Box's full power without his consent, Namba would swallow a bit of his pride and just comply so Evolt doesn't decimate him.
    Instead: Later in the episode, Namba has Utsumi, the Washio brothers, and a unit of Hard Guardians come right at Evolt to stop him. Evolt then proves to be too powerful with his Black Hole form, as not only did it lead to his followers (san Utsumi) dead, the alien then warps himself to Namba's office, where the elder ends up begging for him to spare his life. Evolt then dissolves Namba with a Deadly Hug, thus putting an end to Namba Heavy Industries.
• Kamen Rider Zi-O:
  • In #27, White Woz immediately had his powers taken by Heure and Hiryu both as part of (Black) Woz's plan and out of payback for his callousness.
    You'd Expect: That White Woz would write in Future Note to re-steal his powers back while specifying the color he was nicknamed with.
    Instead: He leaves that one specific detail out as the other Woz comes in and swipes said powers, thus enabling him as Kamen Rider Woz instead and White Woz screaming in anguish from being outsmarted.
  • In Rider Time: Ryuki, Jun Shibaura/Kamen Rider Gai is on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle from Kamen Rider Ryuga. After enduring a couple of attacks, Ryuga proceeds to activate his Final Vent.
    You'd Expect: That Gai would activate his Confine Vent, since he used it earlier against Miyuki Tezuka/Kamen Rider Raia and nullified Raia's Final Vent, resulting in a easy kill.
    Instead: He doesn't, and gets killed and stepped on by Ryuga.
  • Ora killed Heure and took his feather just so Swartz would give her back her time powers. As part of her "loyalty", she pauses both Sougo and Michal for Swartz.
    You'd Expect: That she'd remain with her deception until Swartz ends up at a point powerless to backstab him. Or if not that, behind Swartz's back, make a deal with Daiki Kaito in giving the Zi-O II Anotherwatch back to Hiryu while she tells him of what really happened in his past, thus maybe giving her another ally to strike at Swartz.
    Instead: She pauses him as well and reveals her deception at him. As she tries to stab him to death like she did with Heure, Swartz states that she was well aware of her treachery and becomes Another Decade to give her a mere roundhouse kick that led to her unceremoniously dead until Sougo reset the timeline.
  • Having caught Diend with his time pausing abilities, Swartz has Kaito at his mercy.
    You'd Expect: Swartz to either confiscate the Neo-Diendriver or even kill Kaito.
    Instead: Swartz bestows the time pause abilities to Kaito. Sure, Kaito then steals the Grand Zi-O Ridewatch, but his Wild Card nature and alliance with Tsukasa causes him to put more dents in Swartz's plans. The biggest example being Kaito reviving Tsukasa, and using the time pause against Swartz.
  • Swartz/Another Decade, upon seeing Sougo grievously transforming into Oma Zi-O, decides to suck his power but proves to be too much for him. After the 5 villains he summoned get destroyed by Sougo, Swartz decides to take a Dimensional Wall back to his homeworld, only for Tsukuyomi to backstab him and reveal her true intentions.
    You'd Expect: Swartz, being a Time Jacker, to pause time on Tsukuyomi after breaking free from the stab. After all, he paused time on Decade, Diend, and Woz earlier in the episode in order to stead on an advantage.
    Instead: Swartz breaks free from the stab by utterly striking Tsukuyomi, thus destroying her while still in her Rider state. Swartz unintentionally sealed his fate as Sougo grieves upon her death and immediately decides to finish him once and for all in a completely one-sided Curb-Stomp Battle.
• Kamen Rider Zero-One:
  • In #15, Horobi shields Jin from Assault Vulcan's finisher. Then Is just so happens to be in the same location as they are after Jin comes to Horobi's aid.
    You'd Expect: That Is would either keep her mouth shut and/or go to Aruto's side.
    Instead: Is comments with a smile that Horobi's defeat and right in front of Jin. An extremely anguished Jin then strikes at Is in retaliation while carrying Horobi back to their base, leaving Is equally injured. Thankfully by the next episode, she is fully repaired, to Aruto's relief and happiness.
  • By #17, Gai Amatsu has sunk Hiden's stocks and launched a TOB to buy them out. He's also looking to promote ZAIA's new product, the ZAIA Spec, by having its users compete against Humagears.
    You'd Expect: Gai to finish the buyout immediately. Public perception is already against the Humagears, so he should have little trouble selling his ZAIA Spec. Plus if he owns Hiden he owns the Humagears, so he could hold the contest on his own terms if he wanted to.
    Instead: Gai challenges Aruto to a five round Workplace Competition where Aruto's Humagears will compete against Gai's ZAIA Spec wearers to perform tasks and agrees to cease his buyout of Hiden if Aruto wins, poking a rather glaring hole in his previously foolproof plan.
  • In addition, Gai also wants to test out the Raid Risers ZAIA developed, which he plans to release onto the mass market once they're finished.
    You'd Expect: Gai to have the Raid Riser tests conducted in a secret location, away from the Workplace Competition and the Kamen Riders, to ensure they won't find out about them before they're on the market.
    Instead: Gai decides the Workplace Competition would also be a great place to test out his Raid Risers and arranges to have them forced onto his contestants to make them do battle against the Riders, creating a major risk where there wasn't one. Not only that, he also has a Brainwashed member of MetsubouJinrai.net possess Fuwa to distribute the Raid Risers, creating an even bigger risk of his dirty dealings being exposed.
  • In #26, the fourth round of the Workplace Competition is a mock fire rescue where Hiden's Firefighter Humagear 119nosuke will have to compete against a human firefighter with a ZAIA Spec to "rescue" people from a building. Daiki Kyogoku, a researcher for ZAIA working on the Raid Risers, wants to help Gai win the Workplace Competition.
    You'd Expect: Him to not do anything criminal so as to incriminate Gai or ZAIA, or to do something subtle to influence the competition that won't draw attention back to him.
    Instead: He steals a Raid Riser and Scouting Panda key and sets fire to the building, turning the mock fire rescue into a real one. Not only does this not help Gai's side in any way, it gives 119nosuke a chance to score one for Hiden by sacrificing himself to pave a way for the victims in the building to escape. It also leads to Fuwa catching him and finding out about ZAIA's Raid Risers. If not for Fuwa's moment below, both his and ZAIA's crimes would have been exposed.
  • In #27, Fuwa has caught Daiki and taken his ZAIA Spec, which contains evidence that he started the fire and of ZAIA's dirty dealings.
    You'd Expect: Fuwa to immediately have the ZAIA Spec sent back to AIMS's HQ where it can be safely guarded and have its data extracted to build a case against Daiki and ZAIA.
    Instead: He not only doesn't back up the data, he dangles it right in front of Gai, allowing him to swipe it and destroy it and cover up any evidence that could incriminate ZAIA.
  • In that same episode, Gai challenges Fuwa to a fight for the incriminating evidence, with Aruto close by.
    You'd Expect: Given he has access to the strongest Progrise Key at the time and had been able to fully control it without the fear of going berserk, he would help Fuwa defeat Gai and bring the rigged competition that is putting his company and all the Humagears at stake to an end.
    Instead: He just stands and watches, allowing Gai to destroy the only thing stopping the Company Showdown.
  • #34-36 reveal that Jin was really a spy infiltrating MetsubouJinrai.net and is working with Yua to find a way to destroy the Ark.
    You'd Expect: Them to target the Ark's immobile satellite body. They know its general location and they have the backing of Williamson's circle in ZAIA, so it should be easy for them to track down where it is and blow it up.
    Instead: They not only don't do that, they actively help further the Ark's revival by restoring Ikazuchi and Naki, with their plan instead being to give the Ark a physical body - the very thing the Ark wants - so they can destroy it once it's in a physical form.
    The Result: Ark comes back as Ark-Zero and curb stomps both of them. Not only that, since the Ark's satellite host body was still intact, even if they had somehow destroyed it it would have just regenerated and found another Humagear to possess. Basically everything that happens from #36 onward is the fault of Jin and Yua.
  • In #42, as Horobi tries to lead a crusade of Humagears against humanity, Is attempts to reason with and redeem him to no avail.
    You'd Expect: That if he didn't want to put up with Is's pleading, Horobi would just merely shove her aside aggressively and vanish out of the battle and just hack more willing Humagears to find another portion of innocents to attack.
    Instead: To shut up her pleading, Horobi uses the Attache Arrow on Is almost right at the heroes' vicinity. Is then bids her farewell to Aruto before exploding right in front of Aruto, making him struck with severe grief and easily manipulated/corrupted by As into becoming Ark-One. In other words, Horobi's action unwittingly made Aruto an attempt of becoming a new Ark, the one thing the terrorist was trying to avoid/avert, and coming back in full circle, Horobi ends up being among the four Riders curb-stomped by Ark-One's brutal awakening.
  • Also in #42, Is has just been murdered by Horobi, and a grief stricken Aruto is approached by a mysterious doppelganger of hers, who offers him the Ark Driver and the Ark-One Progrisekey.
    You'd Expect: Aruto to tell her to bugger off and not accept the Progrisekey. While it's understandable he'd want revenge on Horobi, he doesn't need the Ark-Driver in order to beat him. He may be emotionally vulnerable, but he should be immediately suspicious of this exact replica of Is that's suddenly turned up and know that bringing back the Ark is a very bad idea.
    Instead: Aruto accepts the Driver and Progrisekey and becomes Kamen Rider Ark-One, using its powers to get revenge on Horobi.
    The Result: Aruto goes on a rampage with the single-minded focus of killing Horobi, inadvertently destroying Jin in the process and almost causing a Robot War.
    To Be Fair: This plot point, per Word of God, wasn't originally meant to happen at all and was a revision that had to be done following the pandemic delaying the show and the final arc needing to be scrapped and redone.
  • In #44, All hell breaks loose. Horobi broadcasts a message throughout the city calling on the Humagears to rise up and begins building an army to go on a genocidal crusade against humanity with. Aruto meanwhile is still Ark-One and looking to kill Horobi to avenge Is. In effort to stop the coming war between humans and Humagears, Isamu Fuwa goes to confront Aruto.
    You'd Expect: Fuwa to try to reason with Aruto and explain the full situation to him with the Humagears protests. He may not be able to talk Aruto out of going after Horobi, but he could at least try to convince him to put the Ark Driver One down and go about bringing Horobi to justice in a way that doesn't trigger a full blown Robot War or revive the Ark.
    Instead: Fuwa just tells Aruto not to go after Horobi and gives only vague reasons why. When this doesn't work, Fuwa uses he a key he got from Naki to transform into Vulcan to stop Aruto with force.
    The Result: Aruto unsurprisingly isn't persuaded by Fuwa telling him to let the murderer of his beloved Robot Girl go, and when Fuwa becomes Orthros Vulcan to stop him, easily curb stomps his butt before going off to battle Horobi as Ark-One.
    Alternatively...
    You'd Expect: Instead of trying to stop Aruto, for Fuwa and A.I.M.S. to go after Horobi instead. Aruto at that point hadn't shown any intention of attacking anyone except Horobi (he only fought the AIMS Riders when they attacked him first, and he only killed Jin because he flew in the path of his Finishing Move to shield Horobi) and Horobi was technically the bigger threat at the moment, what with the crusade to Kill All Humans he was planning. If Horobi is defeated and arrested, then that might leave Aruto satisfied that he's gotten some form of comeuppance and if not, he's at least in a position where they can better guard him against Aruto.
    Instead: Fuwa does the above instead, and goes after Aruto even though his intentions were much less destructive than Horobi's.
    The Result: Fuwa gets beaten and the city is left without any other Riders that could stand up to Ark-One or Horobi, leading the two to fight each other and almost trigger a Robot War between humans and Humagears in the process.
• Kamen Rider Saber: In Chapter 43, the Shindai siblings work with Touma to prevent the many rituals Storious and the Charybdis Megid are performing to create Grimoire.
  You'd Expect: The duo to demonstrate the fruits of what little Character Development they've gotten and (albeit snarkily) work with Touma to prevent more tragedy.
  Instead: The two demonstrate what absolute meme-characters they've been reduced to by constantly usurping all of Touma's attempts to tackle the issue at-hand; continuously pulling rank on him in vain desperation to prove themselves only to need repeated hand-holding.
  The Result: The Shindais' insecurity was the distraction Charybdis needed to consume everything it needs for the ritual, killing a whole city's worth of people in the process. The two are so stubborn they won't even let Touma destroy Charybdis afterwards without arguing about it. The drawn-out in-fighting attracts Storious before he can - who proceeds to curb-stomp the trio before claiming his prize and dooming the world. The events of the last four episodes can be traced back to the Shindais and the stubbornness they're never called out on.
• Kamen Rider Revice:
  • #8 has the Igarashi family celebrate Yumiki's recovery with a vacation at a hot springs inn. Vice ended up having suspicions of said inn the family checked in. And indeed, the Deadmans had infiltrated the inn.
    You'd Expect: Ikki to listen to Vice whenever the latter tries to warn him. Vice may not exactly be the best to be around, but he has been able to sense danger that could affect himself and Ikki.
    Instead: Ikki brushes Vice off.
    The Result: While Ikki survives Aguilera's drugged drink murder attempt thanks to Kagero, it was after Ikki getting punched by the latter as a way to reveal himself as Evil that the Deadmans also reveal their cover, leaving the rest of the family screwed.
  • #13 has Yujiro Wakabayashi confiscate Hiromi's Demons Driver due to his health concerns over using a second Genomix. Unbeknownst to them, however, "Yujiro Wakabayashi" is actually the Chameleon Deadman in disguise.
    You'd Expect: For the Chameleon Deadman to at least attempt to keep the Demons Driver in a secure place or even destroy it.
    Instead: He does nothing about it.
    The Result: Once his identity as the Chameleon Deadman is exposed and the Deadmans base leaked, Hiromi wastes no time getting back into action and pummels the Chameleon Deadman with a Demons Finish.
    Even Worse: As established in #21, Olteca was planning to seize the Demons Driver, so the Chameleon Deadman not seizing it immediately forced him to delay his plans by deliberately letting himself get captured by Fenix.
    To Be Fair: It would have been a really awkward way to have Hiromi go out, especially as the cast members grew fond of Junya Komatsu's talent.
  • #37: Ikki and Vice end up failed to save Akemi, who Daiji was fairly close friends with and the villains, who were the the ones who killed Akemi in the first place, try to paint it like Ikki deliberately did it.
    You'd Expect: Daiji to know his brother well enough that he wouldn't actually do that in any capacity.
    Instead: He blames Ikki for her death and it causes a chain of events that result in Daiji turning against his siblings and becoming their enemy.
    To Be Fair: Daiji's prone of having false judgment towards his family and allies is due to the loss of his inner demon Kagero, causing him to act recklessly. This was fixed later on after Kagero's revival in the endgame. Had Kagero not get revived in time, Daiji would end up forming a contract with Giff instead.
• Kamen Rider Geats: After Keiwa's descent into villainy thanks to Michinaga murdering Sara because he didn't know that she was actually being parasitized by a Jyamato, he approaches Jitto to find that Tsumuri has been turned into the Goddess of Creation.
  You'd Expect: Given his increasing cynicism, that his wish would include a specific group of people, or maybe just simply wish to revive Sara instead, since that would make sense given his interactions with Daichi and Michinaga.
  Instead: He still continues with his wish to revive everyone killed by the Desire Grand Prix.
  As A Result: Everyone who was retired from the Desire Grand Prix, fatally or otherwise, is brought back, Sara included. Unfortunately, this also includes their memories, and Keiwa didn't consider that not all of them are benevolent, such as Kanato Sumida, which results in a massive crime wave spreading across the globe rather than world peace. Whoops.
  Even Worse: One of the revived Riders also kills Keiwa's family again for extra measure. This leads Keiwa to side with Jitto again with same wish, albeit this time his wish is to revive all good-hearted riders.
  Fortunately: Right before he kills Ace to transform Tsumuri into the Goddess of Creation, Tsumuri transfer her powers to Ace, allowing him to reset the world before Keiwa made his wish, allowing them to rescue Sara from the Tree of Memories and having Keiwa turn back to the side of good.
• Kamen Rider Outsiders:
  • In episode 3, a revived Tenjuro Banno is sent to confront and dispatch Horobi in retaliation for his defection to Zein's inner circle.
    You'd Expect: Banno to outright kill Horobi and escaped as quickly as possible without drawing any unnecessary attention.
    Instead: Banno was too busy gloating and taking pleasure at Horobi's misery, which leads to Kamen Rider Zein showing up out of nowhere and stops time. Allowing Zein to beat him up within an inch of his life.
    As A Result: Once he realizes it, Banno is reduced into a screaming mess and starts fearing for his life.
    Even Worse: Not only Banno's appeal falls on deaf ears, he tries to escape just as Zein uses Xross Saber's Finishing Move, only to be mangled from top to bottom by the 10 Seikens summoned from the Haouken Xross Saber, destroying his Humagear body.
    Fortunately: The following episode, Banno barely survived only transferring his data inside Brain's tablet, only to be humiliated by Brain himself.
  • In episode 4, the Ark makes one last-ditch effort to draw out Zein by hijacking Horobi.
    You'd Expect: The Ark should have set its sights on the alternate Yuto Sakurai, who happens to be Zein's host.
    Instead: It decided to take on Kamen Rider Garren, defeating him, but he still remains transformed while incapcitated.
    The Result: Yuto shows up transforming into Zein to personally deliver a very savage No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Ark-Zero. But Brain takes the deathblow meant for Ark-Zero, sparing the Ark and Horobi.
    To Be Fair: Yuto could have completely crossed the Moral Event Horizon by killing both Horobi and the Ark even if Brain didn't protect them. This just show the ridiculous extremes the good guys would go to maintain order to keep the world safe to the point of becoming the same monsters they are fighting themselves.
    Even Worse: Even though Brain saves Yuto from spiraling down further to a dark path, this was sadly undone. Tachibana snags the Evolution Giraffa card from among the scattered Rouze Cards used by Zein from the earlier battle, uses it to access his King Form. Tachibana goes on to finish the job by destroying the Ark, leaving Horobi badly injured. With the Ark completely off the grid, Zein finally reveals its true colors in front of its followers by possessing Yuto and tricks Genm Corporation into relaunching Kamen Rider Chronicle by mimicking Nico Saiba's voice, setting its plans to trick mankind into slaughtering each other into motion as Brain, Horobi, and Tachibana can only look on in horror.

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