Does anyone else dislike Zi-O?
 

It's 11 episodes in and literally, nothing has happened. We don't anything about the Time Jackers or Woz(who also feel the same and just feel like plot devices to make monsters) Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi feel exactly the same as they did from the start and show no growth. Oma Zi-O storyline hasn't been revisited at all and it's just so bland. As an anniversary series, I'm not impressed so far. The cameos are done at expense of the story telling

I feel the same way. I also feel that SH figuarts is overdoing it with the Zi-oh figures. The show isn't BAD, just...bland. Theres nothing that makes me want to keep watching.

Other Kamen Rider seasons started slow too. I hated Gaim until they stopped doing the dumb dance off competitions and watched almost 30 episodes of Kabuto before it got better. I'm not expecting too much from zi-o as I have low expectations for it. Erasing history of the rider after defeating the another rider is dumb. Why are they even making the Kamen Rider Build: A New World story if everyone in Build loses their powers?

I have a feeling that they'll more than likely restore all of the Riders to the timeline by the end of the series.

Similar to how the Gokaigers released all of the Ranger key powers by the end of the show.

But Zi-O is rather convoluted, especially when your trying to figure out the alterations done to the timeline thanks to the time travel shenanigans going on.

But like Hattori said, most Rider/Sentai shows don't start picking up until after all of the first quarter toy releases are out of the way.

REEEEEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLYY not feeling Zi-O in any way,shape or form,but who knows? Maybe this won't be as bad as Ghost was (to me)....but it's getting into Wizard levels of boredom,and the Lead actor is just ....Wooden? Plastic? Generic? I dunno:confused: hopefully Inoue coming back as Decde will make it worth watching,he's the Rider version of "Gokaiger Ratings Bump".....DH2!

I'm running hot and cold on it. There are some episode I really love, but some that have left me very frustrated. I feel like it's been on an upswing lately, though.

I'm a bit too exhausted from today to get into detail, but I'll just chip in that yeah, I'm not enjoying it either. Will hopefully go into more detail later but it's mostly to do with how the legend riders are treated.

I'm pissed that 11 episodes in and nothing has happened. No plot progression

The .5 episodes give me the impression that this show doesn't want to take itself too seriously.

In spite of that though, your show has a problem when the .5 episodes are more entertaining than the actual show...

Rightfully so. Personally how Woz does as a rider and how things change from Decade Ride Watch onwards I think will help me decide my mid-verdict on this show.

Terrible protagonist.

Demon king!? Cmon!!!

I’d rather a true hero!!!

I love Sougo so far. I think he is Takeru Tenkuji Ver. 2.0 with better character and personality......

Personally I like the plot progression that's been done, each episode has been a little bit forward and highlights a lot in subtle ways by using the cameos. It's not overt like other series have been with twists and turns, but it doesn't need to be. The character build itself is the climax twist. The looming shadow of the growth of now to Oma. And I'm sure Decade coming up will bring some interesting shake ups too. But it really hasn't strayed from any other formula previous riders have used, whether it's blade with their ep3, or so on. The show has the same tempo beats others have had, but in a different implementation. A more gradual character focus that humanizes the perspective more to an authentic degree, while maintaining flair in other ways.

They've been explaining the time jackers and woz along the way. Subtle and gradual, but all the details are there in show outside of the .5 episodes. Though the .5 episodes do make it easier to know what you may have missed. But the show really assume audiences are smart and doesn't treat them like they are dumb, and that's refreshing in how it's so subtle natural character growth. Characters aren't completely stationary, they've grown from where they were since episode 1, with many even attempting to fight against their own changing thoughts and feelings(as we're seeing with Geiz now). It's very gradual and beautiful in that regard.


But the carry over back to the looming shadow of Oma should be coming back up as we get to Decade and what sets that in motion. Ruler vs Ruler.


So far, this show has been as good as any other Rider show, but in different ways. You can't really compare them because they all have their own emphasis and messages of their time. And right now in particular, Zi-O is the exact kind of humanizing commentary of what makes a good ruler that's needed.

speak for drive or even recent sentai aside from kyuranger. it's not as bad as ghost because of all the fan services. there's just no thril or enthusiasm/passion in the story arcs aside from nodding cameos, Easter eggs, and as well as replicating the tone of the original series. The opening and the apocalypse prologue made the series intriguing. However, the end result is lacking like Ahs.
Absolute no tension at all. The female lead this time looks like she can serious be very capable and helpful, but she get sidelined as kind of a damsel. I have a hard time believing a last guy like zio can defeat Geiz multiple times with ease despite never being athletic at all. Geiz is suppose to be some post apocalyptic war soldier, but he get bested by Zio in brain and skill every week. I guess the twist is zio isn't "human" human. The another riders are pathetically weak. It's the same boring and predictable formula. So far, I can say 1-14 will be replicating the tone and referring to the original rider series they're paying tribute for the week. The fights are limited by merchandises being shoehorned in it like extra ride watches for no reason such as the secondary ones, extra forms, and Dan.

It's like they made the ,5 episodes to justify the reality or their laziness and factors that ruin zio in a very comedic and meta way. Having the toku alumni returns so casually without being thenselves are bad fan services even if they pay attention to details to make the riders losing their powers and memories wearing the same clothes on the same set as when their series was still airing.

I get they don't want to rehash decade fully, so instead of being a destroyer, zio just "steal" their power and memories making him the sole rider. I'm more intrigued about how Q2 will shake things up. It might be a pity that the collectible might be render useless. I have a feeling Ohma Zio might go Thanos. Geiz might have stolen some ride watches from him and the time jackers might cause him to lose his watches in the future, so he probably will be a early mid season threat if they're not saving him for the end like Lupin. I don't see him being the actual main villain since toku always change the storyline to be lighter at the last minute with cop out plot armor without repercussion or redemption nowadays. I'm eager to see a backstory for the new future riders(possible neo-fruit riders like) even if their designs are too bland and knock off Ghost like. Oh, I forgot the time jackers existed as the true villains.

Kabuto like Hibiki and maybe Blade, some actually prefer the first half of the series before other writers kicks in and focus in making the hell bro trios the joke. They even ran out of budget for clock up and the finale. Kabuto is not getting much love nowadays despite being the 35th anniversary series with very subtle references and tributes. However, along with W, Deno, Kuuga, and maybe kiva/drive, the series really launch their career and they capitalizing on it.mlclb
Kind of feel the inner joke about faiz actor got nothing better to do from the .5 web or net episodes. He looked kind of gastly like someone on med during Gaim movies.

More like Goseired's naive awkwardness and Toq1 airhead like hype behavior.



I think they might go rebirth or last jedi if they want to upset viewers. Another theory I have is the grand paradox. Everything that happened up to this point is going according to history. The time jacker, woz, and tsukiyomi as well as Geiz are the ones that created zio. totally unintentionally for the time travelers, but it's ohma zio plan. With time machine flying around everywhere that can travel to even showa and feudal as well as prehistoric era, he probably spare Geiz because he's one of the contributing factor to his success.
It's so forced they chose to settle on 2018 and hesitate to kill him. The time jacker could easily do the job. If this was written during the older days, Geiz would become an another rider and be a major foe like baron. I hope Overlord Gaim will be back and not just a one off. He's pretty much kiva from decade in a way. Looks like decade will be the only one defying the memory and power wipe. Ghost and Kuuga seems to be the "final" wave of another riders according to scans and toys catalogue. Deno could be for the movie and temp for build, but the bigger problem is their existence. There might be a gag with people thinking Sento is an actor for Heisei Gen Final. I don't think there will be a last minute Jo cameo reveal. I prefer kabuto being unaffected just because he's the self center Ksbuto.

It feels sort of gimmicky and rushed. I like the 'other Rider' designs, (Build and Fourze 'others' were fantastic.)

But I'm not hooked on the story like I have been for other Rider series. I'm pretty much just tuning in to see bright costumes beat on each other. The story isn't really going anywhere and each couple episodes sort of feel like a reprise of previous episodes. Like it's all just a gimmick to get Zi-O fighting 'Other Riders'.

I don't dislike it, I haven't disliked any of the Rider shows. But some are really well done and interesting, and some are just....colorful characters, fighting.

For me so far this one is firmly in the shallow end of the pool.

I've been loving Zi-O for what it is ever since it started, but it's definitely not a show that, at least at the moment, I would blame someone for disliking.

It's hard to argue that it hasn't been fairly thin in terms of story and characters, and it doesn't help one bit that this is coming right off of Build, a show that was just about the exact opposite even by the same point Zi-O is at now. Of course, Build is a bit of an outlier, which makes that comparison somewhat unfair, so I'll also point out that even the much-maligned Ghost had already developed its characters more by this point.

There's also the more unique problem of how Legend Riders and other guest stars are being handled. While Zi-O is leaps and bounds above something like Super Hero Taisen, it's clear Toei still doesn't have the best grasp on how to get the most out of returning characters (and this goes beyond them not getting to transform, which I don't think is a problem on its own). This is obviously one of the major selling points of the show, so them messing this up at all is obviously going to be disappointing.

There are problems specific to individual episodes we could get into, as well, but needless to say, and especially judging by the other responses in the thread, it is NOT any sort of heretical opinion to say Zi-O isn't that good.

I just...Can't bring myself to keep watching Zi-O. I find it so dull and bland. It really feels like the same old same old, except they're using the hook of cameos to pull people in.

Taste is subjective, but some of the complaints are from other factors that don't actually stem from faults in the show. We have this with every series tbh. Complaints about different things, to then praise later. Rinse repeat. Happens with every show in every fandom. It's about as predictable as a clock itself.

Build is an outlier though, you're right. But it was also more a dive headfirst into full on reveling in the campy nature of toku itself, with some rather heavy themes along the way and other technique tricks in use that more or less feed into simpler audience understandings which helps make it more universally understood. Which isn't surprising, and it is a good show, but it is rather funny in other ways how it's so universally praised.

By comparison, Zi-O is more subtle and intricate in different ways with less flash, and more character internal play, but still as much substance, whereas Build relied on flash and known tropes, while delighting in going over the top.

Build was probably one of the most formulaic done in recent years though to be blunt. It was clear cut outline/recipe that fed off of blatant tropes and old references. It was essentially cannibalistic otaku fuel, what Miyazaki refers to much of anime as, and in many ways was deliberately intended as such, which to many is what makes it fun, whereas others don't see that and think it's fun for opposite reasons. Build itself was essentially an audience experiment.

When you really break it down, every rider series is nuanced in their own ways and focuses. Some lean towards extroverted flair and full on soap opera dynamics, and others lean more internal and gradual character conveyance. It really is a series by series thing. But to say "the characters aren't developed" is inherently wrong. They've been developed and their gradual growth is embedded into the show as its core.

The problem to some of this in audience conveyance isn't the show itself not conveying it, because it is, it's in wider areas of the audience, err, well honestly, it's going over their heads abroad while it plays fine in Japanese audience areas that get it and are readily immersed in it everyday as part of their own life.

Some of those same issues are a thing in other properties too, and we see it often with comic books themselves. Certain kind of blatant material gets more hyped, when really, that's actually the thinner more trope like simple material. It plays more universal because it's more universal, but at it's core it's essentially "Wacky inflatable flailing arm tube man". Wider audiences are weird like that. And this proves especially true with material that's got different initial intended audiences where things are more played to aspects they know like breathing whereas that goes by in an outsider's notice from not living it day in and day out like they do.

It's kind of a typical cinema thing, that's something that happens worldwide. But that is kind of the basics of it in differences. As humans go, the more colorful, wacky, and over the top, the more attention it tends to get. But this also varies series to series in what's needed to tell a certain kind of story. You can't randomly shove in something that doesn't fit to the kind of story you're telling or intrinsically it doesn't make sense, even if the audience itself may get all hyped for the extra flash and the new "wacky inflatable flailing arm tube man."

It's one of the main glaring issues to why creatives and fans sometimes clash too. Different fan types, some that get better inter-character dynamics and slow builds, and those that simply don't get it without the "Wacky inflatable flailing arm tube man."

It's a difficult truth to swallow for people, but it is indeed true and has been proven time and time again.

The cast is so boring

I have no idea what you're getting at here. Is there a TL,DR version of this, because you're kinda losing what you're trying to say here. Try and keep it short and to the point if it's okay. Not like in a few words, but try and condense what you would say.

Looking at the topic at hand, I think I'll throw my opinion in the ring too. i-O is stupid. It has a child-like protagonist, a plot that as soon as it got confirmed, I knew would go to shit and has yet to prove otherwise and that not every Rider would get to return or even cameo. However, I'm greatly enjoying it. I'm trying to be more open to shows and it's been working out fine for me. Almost EVERY Rider show has an awkward "BUY THE TOYS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BUY THIS" phase these days and Zi-O is evidently not different. However, I'm curious to see how this goes, the last few episodes had made the characters very enjoyable, there's been some good jokes here and there and whenever they can get the actors back, there's fun little nods to their shows, which shows that whoever was in charge knew how to make us see that the Riders aren't shoehorned in. Is Sougo a rather dull protagonist? Yes, absolutely, but there's something about him I find intriguing, possibly the fact that this guy will end up having to grow out of his dream later on. I really want to see where this show goes after the show starts dialing back on the toys, which isn't that long from now either

Oh, and the ,5 episodes are simply brilliant and regardless of how Zi-O ends up as a show, we'll always have those to look back fondly upon

Yeah I hate it because it's slow paced, but probably it's because of Ex-aid and Build being too story rich and almost no filler at all. And Sougo's actor's acting is really lame and it's the main reason why I hate Zi-O.

It's still too early to judge completely, I usually consider the show good or bad once the final form hits because that's where the show can be judged.

But for now, I am very underwhelmed by the anniversary premise of the show. They got the returning cast, great. But the time travel is just confusing especially if you didn't watch the .5 episodes. And not all main Riders are returning is disappointing too. But to be fair, Gokaiger was only able to get a cameo from each representative of Super Sentai teams is because of the 2011 tsunami.

For now all hope is not lost, there's still room to grow, even Ghost which was considered by many to be the worst was growing its beard during Necrom's debut until it fell apart when Mugen debuts. And even Build, which is a good series, loses some steam during the middle (especially that second proxy fight).

And honestly, I think all the show's problems stems from one singular person: Shinchiro Shirakura. I don't mind about the Ninninger writer even though he's also to blame, but Shirakura producing is just problematic.

Yeah, that's something that always happens with these shows, because it's a yearly franchise, people just finished watching the last one before the current one, and people tend to go "Last season was better!"

I tend to be pretty patient with the first half of a Rider series ever since Drive. I hated that show for a long time, but by the middle of the season it really found its own voice and turned into something fantastic. Mind you, Ghost totally failed to do that, but I still gave it a chance.

The show is ok, not too enjoyable but ok. Which is fine for now since I only have to watch it once a week. Though I do know this show could get a lot better once it hits a certain point. Like Gobusters which annoyed me the first half got better till the second half or like Blade where I found really boring till around episode 14.

If I do have to name something I hate about the show it would be Geiz. No clue why but he just seems like a kid having a tantrum to me and I'm not sure why.

At least Woz is always enjoyable to see.

Woz might become a suck up meme if he continues to up and go overboard like narutaki and Dan. I imagined the actors can go very meta again and complain about the toy interferences, scripts, and lack of dialogue and opportunities to shine in a sad comedic way.

Eh, Woz still has future events in the show going on giving off some huge character development potential

I could see him becoming a ryoma from Gaim depending on the writers. Remember how they cop out and give extra plot armor to Birth and Ankh stories in Ooo. The same with lupin loves ones got killed by Zamigo's powers get kind of retcon or downplay recently. There's no tension left. Also, Sasword from Kabuto being a serious rival and threat to silly hell bros. It depends in the writers. Dan was a decent villain if he stay dead, but they turn him in to a meme and later wishy washy hero/villain in the return movie specials.

What I see happening is Oma Zi-O being taken care of relatively early making Woz panic due to not only something not in his book happening, but perhaps being terrified at the possibility that he may not exist in this new timeline, with him trying to 'fix' the timeline himself

I think could have been martial artist themed rider.

Too bad this season has been divisive so far. When I get around to watching it, I might just need to turn my brain off and bask in the fanservice.

so far Woz is the most interesting character to me.

..that does sort of suck because you want to like the Riders.


Maybe GoldenXtreme is right and I need to not think about it and just watch the flashing colors.

Good luck with that I tried that with Zi-O and the last arc of Build and it didn't work.

The action was good in wizard, but I still don't care to catch it weekly. The same with flashiness cgi in ghost. Plus in zio, the story isn't interesting, characters aren't compelling or relatable, villains are bland and generic, villain fights are too formulaic. When they say they'll visit certain episodes of the past, I would expect huge timeline distortion and consequences. I guess after build and the rapid war development, they'll go for something really light hearted. Ohma zio is actually interesting, but Sougo isn't. What's up with his dream? Usually, it'll be a some kind of over the top twist involve. I hate to say that I sctually prefer the sentai this time. Given lupin mechs design and battle are pathetic and forgettable with no tension. It's like they ran up the cgi and giant building set for the sake of selling toys. It's true that its a commercial, but at Least make them interesting. The best one was the lupin magnum underground battle. I missed individual mechs battle. You can argue zio only good things are the cameos despite poorly written in most cases. Lupin is all fillers, but with likable characters and strong character developments.

I dig it. I love the new monster looking designs for the Riders. They have a SIC look to them.

So far comparing it to the same amount of episodes of Decade, Decade wins to me. I am expecting the story to get a lot better, but other than Woz and Oma Zi-O (I'm hoping he won't suck), these characters are boring. I do like Gates' henshin pose and his neck backpack thing. I think it's amusing.

So far, i can see negative opinions and comments abou the new KR.

I'm hoping Decade can spice things up a bit, but compared to the last two series up to their points in time, it's a bit of a downer, with only the cameos giving it substance.