Another good episode, I do like how Gai wants to win fairly, as he wants to prove the ZAIA spec
is, of course, 1000% better than the HumaGears, it's a nice bit of development
that shows that even if he is a manipulative business man, he still wants to beat
Aruto in a fair way. Even if it is just to prove that he is a better at
running a business than Aruto. Also Thousand Break is really cool:D.
https://i.imgur.com/j8NpNyQ.png

It was kind of nice how, despite losing the first match, Aruto was still able to make a point and help humans and Humagear come to appreciate each other and gain a new understanding. Even if it means he's starting off this job competition with a loss. But at least it's not an entirely bad note to end this on.

(Also, yeah, we're really back to Kamen Rider two-parters!)

Poor Yua. Loses the moral high ground and loses the duel to Fuwa. Although Fuwa finally loses to Thouser, so...

Thouser collecting powers and using them against their user like he's evil Mega Man (so Bass, huh).

Can I just say how much I appreciate the fact that we're still getting new Kaijin suits? Like, yeah, they're reusing the Magia now but we're also getting humans transforming into Kajin and still getting new suits. And I like how the Raiders feel different from the Magia in terms of design and function since they're humans, not Humagears, behind them...while still looking really cool.

I remember watching this episode, and my feelings being like... this is a *fantastic* direction for Zero-One, it's a lot of great stuff that the job angle allows that the franchise can't usually dip into in a very different way, but it does have some pacing issues and it does go on a little too long -- and doesn't have a great way to wrap in the actual Kamen Rider fighting. But despite that and what's going on with Yua, overall a great success in my mind especially when paralleled with Fuwa's stuff.

Which without spoiling too much is kind of my feelings on the job competition arc as a whole? A lot of people really dislike it, and I get their reasons and I certainly have my criticisms - which'll become clear the more episodes of this we get - but overall I think these succeed at what they set out to do and it's left us with very interesting, unique storylines that Rider isn't able to usually do. Big fan of all this, basically!

Some compliments to this episode I have to say is that I really love our new monster design?

Like making humans become Magia in a sense with our new monster type, the Raider, is really cool. Except they become very pseudo-rider esque compared to the Magia since like... it's very obvious the legs on Mr. Buffalo are very familiar repainted legs. Also interesting how the buckle is at an angle... feel like I've seen that somewhere before...

Oh and I will say I do like the whole Humagear succumbing to malice because people suck aspect. I thought that was a neat way at evolving the conflict.

Other than that I mean, it's a good set of episodes... I just wish this arc was more than this set of episodes? This is really all I can say without spoiling but um, I'll explain more when we're like deeper in. Like I get what this arc sets out to do and it has some genuinely good moments in it... stay tuned for a couple of episodes later where I hope you talk about a certain scene I really liked. But um... watching this from week to week certainly wears on you after a while. And that's something I need to stress whenever I talk about my distaste for like, the basic structure of how this arc in its entirety goes. Solid setup, really good ending, nice moments... just I don't like the presentation for the most part.

Also hey if you like the drama aspects and the fights don't resonate much then don't worry, that was seemingly the only thing on their minds to where if I recall, they felt it was a chore trying to put fights into the episodes! And I get that like the human side is part of Tokusatsu and I love a lot of out of suit moments, but like... if you can't fit in the cool costumes and monsters easily or naturally... what's the point?

You've definitely got it good being able to partially binge this by watching it daily, I tell you what.

Ah, the Zaia Arc! Everyone's favorite.

Now, it was inevitable. Aruto's company facing off against a more advanced, more experienced president, with the perfect counter to Hiden's Humagears, the Zaia Spec. It's an interesting dilemma between these two concepts, one being A.I. powered robots, the other giving humanity access to anything in the world right in front of their face (heh. Also, it's basically smartphones for you face). So, the setup for this conflict is an interesting angle.

Now what about the man himself? Gai Amatsu, a man who sees Aruto and sees only disappointment, how the descendant of a person he respected and admired is just an inexperienced clown who continues to persist in clinging to his grandfather's legacy, namely the Humagears, despite after the Metsuboujinrai incident. A man, who is a perfectionist, through and through, 1000%. That's the initial impression he leaves, an unlikable rival trying to one-up our protagonist, which doesn't quite land that way for me, but he's not someone I despise with a passion, as much as they try to make him. Heck, given how much we like to quote his "1000%" thing, I think that tells you enough about our general opinion of him.

And Thouser... My gosh, is that suit good. Just the right amount of gaudy and threatening, and paired with the perfect theme, seriously, Zero-One's soundtrack has some good ones! You need authorization to transform? Well, Thouser is sponsored! Presented by ZAIA. And even the finisher takes a moment to sponsor ZAIA Enterprise. Nothing like listening to an ad when you're getting blown to bits.

But overall, this was indeed, a nice episode, where both sides have their go, and despite the drama, respect each other's work. Even if the first round goes to ZAIA, it's nice how Aruto isn't bugged by it.

Wow, I spent way too long on this one! I really am becoming a grandpa! :lol

Episode 18!

-Poor Sakuyo, being tricked by Tachibana... I do like nobody ever brought of a point of "Well, She's an AI, she could've calculated that the branch threw the symmentry (or something) off, ruining the image! Should've known better, the victory still counts." Like , AI ultimately are suspectible to being influenced/decieved by what they learn, and incidents from using AI where human decision-making could easily prevent the error. But at the same time, the same could be easily said about humans, can't it?

-Tachibana...At first I thought his freakout over Sakuyo's talent was the little over the top, but then I remembered: flower arrangement is this man's everything. His family has probably worked for generations developing their philsophy and skill in this subject, and no doubt it's a source of pride for the man. For Sakuyo to so easily match the Grand Master, who's essentially the culmination of his family and the schools' effort.....it's surely frightening. Which is why the story wrapping back to Sakuyo learning from the Tachibana school's teachings is so sastifying to me. Using AI can help us all reach new heights, but only if there's a foundation to bulid upon, given by humanity. Tachibana's craft is not irrevalant nor outdated, it's *essential* to the process that will help Sakuyo and everyone push the art forward.

-The fight in the parking lot....Yeah, cool fight and all, but the only reaction it really got out of me is Gai calling Fuwa a "stray dog", lol. I feel like the show *wants* me to feel troubled at Yua's position at ZAIA and the two fighting, but like.....I don't know, there's just not enough Emotion there for the whole "Oh no, Yua's working the bad guys!" plot to work for me? (Especially wild since Fuwa's arguably the second emotive person in the show.) Like, we've known Yua's been doing shady shit since (arguably) her debut as Valykrie, so there's no "beteryal" of the audience's trust. And Fuwa...just takes in all in stride? Yua up to no good? He's gonna turn her ass in, and isn't afraid to get rough to achieve this. They're comrades working on the battlefield during Yua's time at AIMS, but there's no real relationship there other than "dysfunctional coworkers", so there's not much to work with here?

-Mystery Person has descended, giving us a new spin on the MOTW! If Magia are born of AI's hatred of humankind, then surely man's hatred of AI can birth an equally terrifying monster. I like all the warped perspectives and whatnot they use to highlight their presence, it's really cool!


-The "eternally 24, actually 45" bit is sooooo damn good.

That was a really cool beat in the episode, Gai demanding a clean victory when he finds out he only got a tainted one. It's neat how it's not exactly treated as nobility -- dude is completely fine with elaborate schemes that ruin his opponents' good names -- but instead as perfectionism masquerading as pragmatism. He needs his victory to be 1000%, because anything less can allow for a competing narrative in the business world. That's a fun point of view for a villain.

Yeah, he's so thrilled that Sakuyo won over Tachibana, even though Gai gets to claim victory twice. That's the shit I want to see the hero focus on, and it's adorable.

It's nice for me because it's sort of sidling up to things I liked from Ex-Aid, where sometimes the most you can hope for from others is cautious respect and them not wanting to destroy you anymore. Like, maybe the most realistic outcome, when faced with someone who doesn't want to validate your existence, is to create empathy out of societal usefulness, or shared appreciations. The overlaps of what we dream of, that's a neat thing to bridge seemingly impossible gaps.

That is sometimes a bummer! I always like these shows more when the action can turn the subtext into text, you know? I like when superhero combat feels like the natural escalation of emotional conflict. This show... boy, it's not always been super smart or invisible about the shifting of drama to action.

Seriously the best part of the episode. Aruto's after something more fundamental than Winning At Business, which Gai can't even contemplate.

Yeah, the Yua stuff just really hasn't been working. She's been distant and aloof since Episode 1, so there's no real drama to her being distant and aloof in Episode 18. There's a vague sense of conflict in how everyone is giving her shit all the time about working for ZAIA, but all the actor ever manages is looking slightly wounded. The script never gives her any real argument beyond I'm Just Following Orders, which is, y'know, not historically a super-persuasive argument. Yua needs to, at some point soon, start to articulate a stance of her own, something that sketches out her goals and dreams and fears and character. Otherwise, why are we supposed to care if she's in a job she hates?

So here we meet the Raiders, who just as the Magia are simplified, slightly armoured versions of the MetsubouJinrai Riders, are simplified, slightly armoured versions of the A.I.M.S Riders (you can make out Vulcan’s crotch on the Crushing Buffalo Raider).

On thing that didn’t get brought up last time. The actress playing Sakuya was previously in a two-parter from Fourze (the one with JK’s singing career getting pumped by his old rocker buddy becoming a Horoscope). And for what it’s worth, I think she did a good job of keeping the character sympathetic.

And since I mentioned Crushing Buffalo, I am required to do this.

Progrise: Powerful Rush! Crushing Buffalo! This charge attack will send you flying.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...7A1C48684.jpeg

And this time, I guessed the Legend Rider that would be remixed from this. And what do you know, I was right.

Awakening the Soul! TripleFlashing Agito! A warrior fighting for the human race.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=N9MgoUKhqXs

The Raid Riser is a really important and great addition to the story, I feel, as it shows that Humans are also susceptible to the Ark's' influence and helps to avoid the implication that Humagears are always the bad guys.

There's something a bit significant though in the tokusatsu shenanigans here, ZAIA has created their own weapons to fight, Raiders which are turning humans into Magias. This episode shows more on how ZAIA operates (including on below on how Horobi being reactivated by Yua is an important source for this). The Raiders seem to be a militaristic weapon, and this should be a glimpse about Gai's true goal. And other than that, Gai is all about keeping a good public image, so he had to sometimes do things that are outwardly "good", like making sure that his contestants in the tournament acted fair, so it'd be clear that ZAIA Spec is genuinely superior to Humagears to public if they win. What Gai did here isn't a redeeming value however, it just shows that, villains doesn't only commit bad deeds to further their goals, sometimes "good" deeds are required too.

Enjoy it while it lasts, for Humagears shaking hands with humans part, because this won't be a mainstay during this arc. The first competition of this tournament arc is a more milder one, as Rentaro, while at first looks down on robots, and did cheat, isn't someone who is that severe in doing that, thus it'd be relatively easier for him to be convinced that Humagears have value. Though Rentaro is much less terrible compared to Gai, there's another irony here of how Humagears have more humane traits than humans in how Sakuyo understands how ikebana is about the representation of one's heart thus Rentaro has smeared his work in cheating. Then again, meta-wise (out of universe), Izu is also more useful than most of female leads, which seems as if Humagears can have some inherent advantage to humans by the data they store, though not all such as the actor Enji (perhaps what they lack is interacting with humans unless trained).

As said above, yeah, now you've seen the disappointment of Yua's character despite having good first impression. It's about how she's handled in ZAIA arc, as Gai's goon. You said here, the argument is only just following orders, but that'd be actually more jarring in the later part. But as you said that Yua's already aloof (even with her often being together with Fuwa?) and distant since the beginning, I think her demeanor is the reason why her being shady is expected. Those cold-hearted traits, the traits that can be hailed as hallmark of strong/competent women, professional, or efficiency (those being skewed sense of what being "strong" means), actually are traits that often make someone morally ambiguous, as those can lead into them using any means to achieve their goals without much concern. Yua's not downright terrible as someone working in bad faction (ZAIA), and does have humanizing moments like protecting civilians from Jin, but this'd still apply on characters not tied on bad factions too, them not being bad guys but morally questionable.

For the excuse of fillers part, would you think that it's an inherent problem of the tournament arcs (I do find a handful being predictable), or that it's an example of tournament arcs poorly handled? If it's the latter, how do you think these kind of arcs should be handled? Though obviously the tournament arc isn't all bad, like perhaps some twists of moral victory despite the protagonists losing, I think this is a good info of what created the controversial arc of the series, and should be used against those who don't like the arc.

She was great! A big reason I bought into this story was her nuanced portrayal of an artist just starting to believe in their abilities. Really compelling work.

Yeah, it's nice that, as we're moving into an arc about the parity between humans and Humagears, we get this two-parter where a Humagear and human both succumb to rage and resentment, and have those emotions weaponized by Ark.

I... don't think the show tried to tie the Raidriser stuff and ZAIA together yet? This feels a little spoiler-y, so please try and keep the discussion to what's been revealed in the episodes. Thanks!

can we please not talk about where the story is going to go

thank you

Admittedly, I don't recall seeing many tournament arcs, but maybe an abundance of filler would be an inherent risk. It must be easy to fall in to that trap, instead of thinking about how to use that framing device in a clever way that develops the main characters. That's what I appreciate about Tekken, how it puts character motivations in the foreground.

In Zero One's case, it's not even directly between Aruto and Gai, but between their champions in each round. All their literal fighting, the more heated part, happens outside of that. And while most of the early subplots with Seine and Kobe were contained to a single episode that also found time to accommodate AIMS and Metsuboujinrai, the Job Competition expands each round to two episodes and distracts from the plot happening around it.

I do believe where those things come from is a total mystery at this point in the show, so yeah, spoilers!

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 19 - “SHE’S THE REALTOR HUMAGEAR”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone19a.png

I’m currently house hunting, so this one hit a little close to home, if you don’t mind the pun. (I think Aruto would be okay with it.)

The housing market is completely screwy. Housing prices are skyrocketing as investors buy up properties, sit on them for years, and then flip them as the values reach their peak. Things are trending down right now, somewhat thankfully (I mean: interest rates, yikes), but there was a period there were homes were vanishing in days, as all-cash offers from investors priced out average folks who were working with a bank for their mortgage. It was creating an environment where people who wanted to actually live in a place were disadvantaged, and the concept of a home became just another type of investment.

So it’s nice to see this Zero-One story grappling with that, in ways that a younger audience can maybe understand.The evil Investment Realtor, selling properties to anyone who can pay, versus the good Residential Realtor, trying to find something that will help people live out their dreams. Because, man, owning a home is one of the most aspirational things there is? Beyond all of the Raising A Family stuff this episode traffics in (it’s for kids, so I’ll allow it), owning a home becomes a way to provide support and clarity for the next stage in your life. It defines the community you’ll be a part of, the direction in which you want your life to travel, and the thing that you’re working to protect. More than any other story this show has done, I feel like the buyer/realtor relationship is the one that gets at the idea of Empathetic Collaboration Versus Individual Success. Is it about working to help someone’s future, or succeeding at any cost?

Mixed in with all that is the very real fear that automation will eliminate human knowledge and experience, dooming us to an algorithmically-determined future. This story gets at that in fun ways, where the machine’s empathy and hopes are set against the rapacious, selfish, mechanically-heightened skills of a human. It muddies the waters in a neat way, where Arayashiki’s fears about his future relevance are in conflict with Sumida’s emotional dedication to helping humanity. Sumida does a really good job, and she cares about her clients in a way that Arayashiki has clearly forgotten, but her victory means he’s probably out of a job forever. That’s not a great outcome for humanity!

(That said, as much as Arayashiki paints things as impossibly bleak, there is a literal cost to automation. You can’t just switch out paid employees with high-tech robots and pocket all the payroll costs. Hiden isn’t giving these things away, I hope. Gai might have a point about Aruto’s leadership, if they are!)

It all makes for a sweet episode that lacks an easy resolution, even if it contains a very clear villain. Arayashiki has a quick little backstory that sketches in a lost dream, but he’s resolutely hateable for the entire episode. But there’s a lot of nuance to the exploration of home buying, and how it means different things to different people. Another very cool episode for this Job Battle arc!

(Oh, and there were also a couple monster fights, but I honestly don’t care about them. Feel free to post your thoughts on them if you felt differently!)

I never thought I'd see Kamen Rider tackle real estate, but darn it if they didn't try to sell it with gusto.

I know they're beginning to stretch what is acceptable behavior for this job competition arc but dang it if what Arayashiki did to Smile was not okay by any stretch of the imagination, no matter if she's a Humager or not. She didn't deserve that.

His Raider form is pretty cool though.

Horobi becoming that caged criminal that you always seen in these genre shows. Although even he seems somewhat confused by how the plot is currently progressing.

It's one thing for Aruto to fight mindless hacked machine Magia who can only think of killing, because by then he's convinced their a lost cause, but to see them pretty much willingly turn into that still gives him a glimmer of hope, however vain, that he can still save them.

It's really my favorite thing about the continued Magia plots. My biggest criticism was that the MetsubouJinrai stuff was all external to what the characters were going through in the rest of the plot. Now, the Magia battles are a choice that Humagear is making, so it's something that Aruto can plausibly reverse. I much prefer that approach.

Ah yes, The Whale Raider... not my favorite Raider.

I do have a favorite though. But we are not there yet.

Anyway yeah, the last fight this episode was a thing, it's very much a repeat of Episode 17's fight. Remember how I talked about bare bones structure repetition and having to watch this week to week? Yeah.

Ha ha, yeah, if I cared more about fights, I'd probably be a lot more down on this episode. But I don't! I would trade a whole lot of fights for Sumida staring sadly at a demolished home.

And you know what, I'd probably be with you there cause the fight at the end did nothing for me.

That being said I do always appreciate a good Jacking Break so there's the loss of that to be considered...

A strange episode this time, where the competition is centered around real estate, which is a strange theme for a show like Kamen Rider to cover, and while I do like this episode, I know that many others don't, which is true for most of this arc, I suppose. In this episode, you really do feel for Sumida, since she's just trying to sell houses and do her job and just gets abused by Arayashiki, and even after she goes berserk, she barely even tries to fight, with Thouser just brutally beating her down. Aside from that, I once again liked Gai wanting a clean win, even if he's a terrible person, he's still very charismatic and you can sense that this guy is the head of a major company.

Call the basic structure and the fights repetitive all you want(even if we're barely into Act 2 as it is, so calling them out now feels pretty pre-emptive?), but not only are the fights themselves still cool to watch and choreographed well, but the exact circumstances as to why these events are happening in the first place really sell them for me. It's how I feel about most of Act 2 as a whole, really. The abuse Smile takes is not only sad in its own right, but helped in engaging me to her arc as well as reinforced what I took away as the biggest theme that the show has to offer.

It's a very fun character trait. He doesn't just want to win, he wants his victory to be 1000%. Cheating on any level would diminish the purity of his inevitable victory, so it's not just insulting, it's unnecessary.

There's a lot of how cyclical and spiraling anger can be in this story. There's a quote that I can't remember (ten minutes on Google was zero help) about how damage to another becomes damage to the world becomes damage to ourselves, or something like that. (Searching those vague keywords turned up a lot of information on car insurance!) That sort of rage gets out in the world, and comes back in ways you can't predict. This arc's been real interesting in how it talks about anger as a transmissible enemy, and that's way smarter than some weird MetsubouJinrai climax.

I actually think it's a cool design. Like this pompous water mage, which I think is a good fit.

The Whale Raider has to be one of my favorite designs. I love the helmet, I love the silhouette, the whole water guardian look of it. Best I can describe it lol.

Ah, yeah, the fight, it's going to be like this for a while and I think it probably holds up better as on a binge than going weekly on it. Aruto hugs the Humagear in one of his weaker forms which allows Thouser to come in and jack it off him, never mind the fact that Aruto has had no problem taking down a rogue Humagear previously and bring them back.

But, hey, Thouser continues to look cool and I just remembered Assault Wolf had gatling guns on his hands and missile launchers on his shoulders.

I think there's so much going on in the fight, physically and emotionally, that Aruto can't really fight effectively. Between his anger at Sumida being abused by Arayashiki, Thouser muscling his way into the fight, and Aruto trying to get Sumida to turn back to normal, it's easy for me to see how Zero-One could be overwhelmed in a fairly basic fight.

I will admit that the Whale Raider is a cool design, he actually ends up in the middle for me.

However he is not my spirit animal and thus he is not my favorite!

Sorry... and I can't do anything to undo this. I've been a menace to these talks.

Though there are clear motives for most characters, actually Tekken does waste a number of it, in the execution. Like relegating characters into comical levels like Paul and Law (or those associated with them), or Asuka to a catfight with Lili, or 7 had most characters getting the shaft in favor of the Mishimas and Akuma. So to be specific you're talking about how the tournament is separate from the main conflict (of which actually this episode had parts like Fuwa or Horobi taking a backseat, for MetsubouJinrai stuff, or parts like that are the ones should be more focused on or relevant to the competition...). Or perhaps the literal fighting actually matters less than the competition arc where Aruto's belief in Humagears and his goal for the co-existence between them and humans is put on a test against a company who tries to discredit him?

Episode 19!

-Kinda love that we've sorta just, handed off the rest of the MJBR plot off to Fuwa? That way Aruto can do what he do what he does best as a character, but people who find these plots "dull"(i think these main plots are good and representive of 01's heart!! but like, i do understand ppl's issues with it) can always look forward to whatever strides Fuwa is making with his investigation. (In any case, you cannot convince me Fuwa doesn't have a sleeping bag *slightly* off-screen in Horobi's basement. He seems like the type of guy who refuses to take his eyes off Horobi once he re-activated unless absolutely necessary...)

-Izu taking offense at Arayashiki calling stuff tacky....

-Smile!! One of my favorite Humagears, love her lots! Something that always pulls at the heart is that her as a Magia doesn't even sound full of rage, it's more....sad, like she's wailing out of frusturation.

-Hmmm, we're tapping into this kind of plotline, huh. The fear of automaton eventually taking certain careers completely, it's something people worry abt today, isnt it. (Nevermind that it isn't necessarily true, human workers will often be more cheaper/benefical in many fields no mattter how many leaps in technology are made, but the seeds of fear can grow just fine in spite of the truth) For people like Arayashiki, who's impiled had to crawl his way up from poverty to the position he has today, the idea of a Humagear butting him out a job, essentially making all his hard work null and void? It's frustrating and scary.....Though I still think he deserves a Rising Impact to the face for what he's done to Smile.

-An idea brought at the end of the episode, that Aruto is kinda.... incompitable with the things needed to be done to operate as a CEO of a company of that size. I like that, honestly. Yeah sure Hiden's been through hell as a company ever since Aruto took the reins, but would they really better off with someone like Gai, who's good as making profits but has ideals/methods that makes rotting trash look pleasant?

Yeah, 7 is just a weird installment in general, for how the original Arcade Mode doesn't even factor in the story at all and most characters only get one fight (like, Paul VS Panda, that's not even the right bear!). I'd consider this to be another example of tournament arcs done poorly, in contrast to the previous installments where we actually get to see all the usual non-canon journeys of each character. Regarding the ongoing rivalry between Lili and Asuka though, I'm actually invested in that, since it makes me want to see the underdog Lili win someday.

The Job Competition arc is pretty much like you summarized. I feel like it's a mistake to have this setup of a big tournament between Aruto and Gai, where they're only spiritually present, since it's completely separate from their actual plot-relevant battles. The people competing on their behalf, we're probably never going to see most of them again, so there's little reason for me to care who wins beyond the minimum detail of Nice One VS Mean One. It's not even adding anything new to the lore, like singularity or corrupt AIMS laws, only repeating the same stuff we've already heard. As the ultimate result of the competition is limited to the main conflict between two presidents, it naturally means others can't have equal stake in it or attempt to take Hiden Intelligence for themselves. Others can only use it as a stage for business promotion and sponsorship, which is much less interesting.

I've kind of fallen behind on actually posting in here (rest assured I'm still reading along even if you can't see me!), but seeing as you've gotten to episode 19, Die, I must not shirk my sacred duty to point out that 19 and 20 are directed by none other than Hidenori Ishida.

And that was actually sort of a big deal even beyond my particular fondness for his work on Rider! This was actually the first set of TV episodes the guy had handled since Drive, around half an entire decade earlier. He kept busy with stuff like Hyper Battle Videos and Amazons, so he never really left, but like, the dude who ushered in Heisei Rider as we know it didn't even touch Zi-O! That's sort of wild to think about, and it was definitely nice to have him back.

It's no doubt that his direction is part of the reason this is actually one of my favorite episode sets of the whole series. There are a lot of particular touches in the execution that really breathe life into the script. Fuwa and Horobi's chat is like, extra moody, with the room having much more extreme lighting than I think it has in other episodes; you've got the super exaggerated title cards and everything flashing up on the screen; and Arayashiki's whole performance comes off to me like Ishida just kept telling the actor to push it as much as possible, and then push it even more, a choice I think ended up suiting the episode's overall style super well. I'm sure if I were to go back and watch the episode again, I'd find even more fun things to call out, too.

Don't beat yourself up! It's just something to be aware of more in the future. I appreciate it!

It's really funny to me that Zi-O was all about asking if there can be such a thing as a Good Despot, and now we're in Zero-One and we're investigating whether there can be such a thing as a Good CEO. Kamen Rider's always been about using evil power to do good, so it's completely in keeping with the franchise's message, but it still cracks me up.

But, yeah, Gai's a great villain because he sort of has a point? Aruto's not exactly maximizing profits for shareholders at this point in the series, and that's the main job of a publicly-traded company. Is it even possible to ethically generate profits at the scale of somewhere like Hiden or ZAIA? Interesting dilemma for the show to deal with.

Ha ha, I sort of figured! If I'd had more time, I'd've made the Episode 19 post one entirely dedicated to the cinematography, and I mostly seem to do that when Ishida shows up.

He did an amazing job, naturally. The gags hit harder (all the stuff with the repairman), the drama was absorbing, and I am told there were some fight scenes. He really elevated this episode!

A bit later than usual (blame the bad signal where I’m at), but here’s my post for this episode. Not a lot to say about it, beyond liking the Whale Raider suit (which has been said already) and the irony that the Humagear named “Smile” gets angry.

And talking of the Whale Raider, this is what Aruto would look like if he used the Progrisekey (and I’m deliberately going to hold off on the next three in this feature until I get back from my break, since I don’t trust this signal)

Progrise: King of the Sea! Splashing Whale! An aqua current that encompasses everything around it.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...226B97367.jpeg

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XATQBQ2EzGQ

And here’s the Legend Rider key that to quote Fall Out Boy, changed this like a remix.

The Destiny Card! TurnUppingBlade! Fighting against fate with swords and cards.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BLYJs-YqK34

Your dedication is amazing! I hope you're having a good vacation!

I'll have more to say about this arc as we get deeper into it, but for now I will say that it's really considerate of Aruto to bust out each of his different Progrise Keys so that Thouser can jack them all. A much ruder hero would have stopped swapping out abilities when the enemy started stealing them.

Aruto's a good boy.

The thing about the constant Jacking of Thouser, though, is that it's such a weirdly minor change for his finishes? It's only ever a slight difference in the laser lightshow of the Jacking Break, and it never really matters narratively. Of the many ways the fights in this stretch of the show feel uninspired and forgettable, Thouser Needs A Slight Variation On His Finisher is the biggest offender for me.

Why try the same thing again when it failed last time? Even then though, that's just the thing: They're stolen. Outright.

Well it was really considerate of the Ark to bust out all the old Magia that are weak to those forms!

Speaking of Old Magia, I know we're already past the Bat Magia reappearing but like...

I'm just now remembering that I only recently found out that the eyes for it are the little red dots that are super low on it's face and the compound eye-like protrusions are actually ears.

Den-O has caused me trouble in terms of faces I see.

...

I reject this reality.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 20 - “THAT IS 1000% THE BEST HOUSE”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone20a.png

Another delightful resolution to a Job Battle, where Aruto achieves a moral victory (two, sort of!) at the cost of the actual Defeating Gai victory.

As Team Hiden racks up a second loss, the shape of the arc is coming into focus. Can Aruto be considered a good president if he values people more than profits? It makes him a good man, and an effective superhero, but does any of that matter in the face of ruthless capitalism? Everything Aruto does in this story, or that he learns from Sumida, is heartwarming. It’s a great lesson about ethical capitalism. But it’s also sort of a fairytale, and easily disregarded by corporate raiders like Gai. Gai is going to maximize revenues and grow the company, while Aruto’s going to make people happy at the cost of the company’s long-term viability. Can Aruto’s idealism work in a capitalist system that can’t quantify something like Happiness?

(The one point that is maybe beyond the scope of a children’s television program designed to sell toys is that these quandaries only apply to publicly-traded companies. If Hiden was privately-held, not only would it be immune to Gai’s takeover attempts, it wouldn’t matter if Aruto prioritized helping people over making money. A privately-held company can do whatever it wants, because there’re no outside shareholders that can agitate for greater profits. If Grandad Hiden wanted to run a company that only acted in the good of society, he probably shouldn’t’ve taken his company public!)

It’s Zero-One, so these questions don’t really get definitive answers, which I like. Aruto can both feel good about acting ethically, and feel bad about losing to ZAIA yet again. The ambiguity of this arc is really working for me, replicating the real-world sensation of trying to find some humanity in a system designed to turn people into consumers. (The fact that this topic is happening within a gigantic toy commercial is extra delicious.) The concept of Ethical Capitalism is such a dramatically rich one, and so dialed into the basic premise of Kamen Rider (can the power of evil be used to do good), that it’s nice to see this show spending a bunch of episodes on the conflicts and contradictions of it, even if – maybe especially if – there aren’t any good solutions being offered.

Outside of the truly excellent Job Battle stuff, we’re still kicking around the AIMS storyline, and it’s fine. Fuwa’s a pretty terrible investigator, historically, so his tools of Shouting and Randomly Being In Places aren’t exactly cracking this thing wide open. (I mean, his past successes are largely down to luck, and that’s not as reliable a partner as Yua and her hard work.) It’s nicely moody, but there’s really no new information here. The best part was probably Fuwa showing Horobi a grainy image of a shrouded person for identification, and Horobi being like Dude Come On. What was Fuwa expecting to learn?!

I’m still really enjoying this Job Battle arc. I like how it’s talking about things like capitalism, automation, fulfillment, and collaboration. It’s not doing everything right for me (the fights in particular are a little one-note, and that note is THOUSER), but I like the tone and themes a whole lot. Super impressed with how mature these stories are getting.