this guy hasn't even seen every heisei rider why is he even here

honestly meant to message dreamcastegirl and my stupid auto-complete screwed it all up

Hey look it's me!

I had a blast watching this with the crew again, it was also a fun time to rewatch this movie. Specifically the last third act for like... the 50th time. lol

I really like how different Heisei Generations Forever is, while the standard Rider team-up movie ends up working out for me, this one just hit a good emotional core I feel. There's just something that feels... nice about it.

I don't really have much to say other than well, I just really liked that film! So I will now subject you, this one time during the thread, to the gimmick I had in the Legend Rider thread! And that's my Winter Movie Rankings with Forever being third. Obviously this makes it obvious who I have as 4th... for now! Beyond Generations comes out in a month so that might just mix up the rankings a tad, and I won't tell you who's where! oooooo mysterious~

1st: Generations Final
2nd: Megamax
3rd: Forever
5th: Generations
6th: Full Throttle
7th: 2010
8th: Sengoku
9th: Ultimatum
10th: Core
11th: Genesis

Anyway I'll end off this post, not with a preview like usual, already did that last episode posting. But with a fun AMV/MAD I found again after thinking it was deleted forever from Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNU6wqR5h2Q

I'm still very behind, so instead of adding something of value I'll say: thank you all for being my friends and keeping my interested in toku high even as I've struggled to watch it.

This here's right around the point where Sougo realizes just how dire his situation is, why him wanting to become a king was such a threat to Tsukyomi and Geiz, and I love it.

Also Decade being here and the sole reason why he was put there anyway, hi Tsukasa!

why would you mention core

But, no, I get you. I liked the way this landed a story on something super-relatable to Kamen Rider fans: someone's relationship to the Kamen Rider franchise. Sort of easy to invest in Ataru! And it's interesting to watch characters like Sougo and Sento briefly have an existential crisis about their reality. That's a different lever to pull than the usual Tokyo Is Mad At You or Worlds Are Colliding.

!!!

That has value! That maybe has the most value!

Thanks for being a friend and a Kamen Rider fan!

So full disclosure: I have never watched this movie, not even when Toei put it up on their YouTube channel. I’ve just never gotten up the resolve to sit through a feature length Zi-O story. The closest I’ve come is skipping to the legacy Rider parts of the Geiz V-Cinema.

It's not really a feature-length Zi-O story? Or a feature-length Build story?

If anything, it's a feature-length Den-O story.

There were lots of times I watched a superhero movie where it criticized the very genre it was in or making a reference to something by mocking it, showing how 'mature' and different they were. Before that, I watched Power Rangers and Space Sheriff, so it was pretty polarizing for me when I grew a little older and see these movies, books, or other media that were ingenuine in how they approached things. Or how little color there was in the outfits of heroes.

Kamen Rider was exactly what I needed. Something that was genuine in its stories of heroism. Not the heroes saying their catchphrase and going "Wait, that's not right.", just the heroes being, well, the fiction larger-than-life heroes that they are.

I don't watch much of any other tokusatsu, I've seen a few of Garo, a few of Sentai, a few non-JP ones like Armor Hero, I recently dipped my toes in Ultraman but took a break off of it, but I love this genre. It's this place where things are exactly as I grew up with, colorful heroes that speak about justice, heroism, and righteousness. Barring a few changes that I would like to see, I wouldn't want it any other way.

https://www.thecollectorbase.sg/wp-c...01-600x604.png

Movie Time! Forever edition!

For reference, I haven't watched any of the other HeiGen movies, or a lot of the "big crossover" movies, so I don't really have a frame of reference for this sort of movie.

-Not gonna lie..a good chunk of this movie was was such a damn slog for me? Like yeah i know we gotta stretch the movie's mystery out (a mystery blatantly stated in promo material, mind you), but like. You definitely could've condensed that juuuuuuust a bit, right?

-The best original character in this movie by far is Ataru's Imagin. Fun design, nice to watch. I unfortunately Didn't Care about Shingo and Ataru's plot in this, at all? It's the whole "regaining belief in the things you threw away because you deemed it to be childish and embracing that they give you hope/strength", which I usually enjoy, but something about the way it's done just falls flat for me. Maybe because how long it dragged?

-Yknow I'm glad I didn't have any expectation for the Kuuga/W content, because holy hell there's a lot of Nothing here! Seeing the Anicent Kuuga's crypt was cool and all, but other than that it's just namedropping Kuuga over and over and over and over. It makes me a bit glad that the show at least attempts to allude towards themes and motifs of whatever Rider it's trying to tribute, even if they are simply surface-level/simple. Other than the goregous Another Double suit, W was payed in crumbs. Put some respect on our Rider who brought forward Phase 2, yknow? But you know who did get quite a bit....?

-Den-O! Of course it's Den-O! If you're going to do a movie about how memories keep things alive forevermore, it has to be Den-O! We get to see all the Imagins, the Owner, the Denliner, as well as....Ryotaro! Man I knew he was in this movie, but actually seeing him just hits different. The decision to still dub Urataros' VA over him, but lower so we can actually hear Takeru Satoh's voice? A wonderful decision. (You don't even have to ask what Ryotaro ranks on the "actor with slightly different look/hair" scale, dude looks too damn good!)

-But yeah. Who cares about how the slog of a plot for about 2/3 of the movies when we's got Big Fanservice Battle. It really is a wonderful sequence of events. People calling out for the riders they love, and them appearing! Den-O walking amongst the crowd, humming the OP! Riders appearing and attacking in fun pairings you can pick out! (Personal favorite has to be Dragon Gang (Ryuki/Agito/Wizard), Anniversary Trio (Kabuto/DCD/Fourze, who are 35th, Heisei 10th, and 40th), and Beloved Partners (OOO/Drive)). You can't help but feel a big damn smile grow on your face during this scene, it's so damn fun.

-So yeah, ok movie! Not something I'd nesscarily rewatch or anything, but I don't regret watching it.

(Oh, Forever.5 sounds like a delight, I'm sure I'll have fun listening to this. Reading forum posts are fun and all, but *hearing* people talk abt the stuff they enjoy hits different!)

Well, as promised at the end of that commentary, I am back a few hours later with this.

Ridewatch Playlist: Double Helping, 9 Years Apart Mix

As the title doesn’t really indicate, we’re splitting it in two this time, with the first half being dedicated to Kuuga.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Pfi_EVcR-s0

“Super transform with the ancient belt. The Rider protecting smiles is… Kuuga”

And for a new feature, since there isn’t an immediately obvious origin for the prefixes watches for some series, including Kuuga have (at least not compared to the Build watch’s “Voltech”, or the Ghost watch’s “Omega”), I thought I’d fill in the origin where necessary. To start off, Mighty = from “Mighty Kick”

This stagnant era began at this, Kamen Rider Kuuga https://youtube.com/watch?v=iAGiscK2Qjo

“The power of lightning strikes brings forth the black body. Kuuga Amazing Mighty”

Amazing = from “Amazing Mighty Kick”

And since I’ve seen people say this is more of a final form than the actual final form (mostly among people not fond of Kuuga), I thought I’d use said actual final form’s theme, Kyuukyoku no Yami https://youtube.com/watch?v=KfPk8noUjGk

“The ultimate power, the fated warrior. Kuuga, Ultimate Form”

Kyukyoku = from “Kyukyoku Punch/Kyukyoku Kick”

And since this appears near the end of the show, I went with something else that appears exclusively at the end of the show, Aoizora ni Naru https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ee-4lOi3oPM

And now, for the unreleased list, with no winners for this part of the list.

1. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Growing Form)
2. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Dragon Form)
3. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Pegasus Form)
4. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Titan Form)
5. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Rising Mighty)
6. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Rising Dragon)
7. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Rising Pegasus)
8. Kamen Rider Kuuga (Rising Titan)

And now for part 2, the W part.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fYWkS8Ody8Q

“Fighting with the power of Memories, the two-in-one detective Rider is… W”

And here, I went with the obvious choice: W-B-X! W-Boiled-Xtreme https://youtube.com/watch?v=6TVgGhURh5Y

“The Fang Memory is an attacking enhancement, the Roaring W FangJoker”

“The Earth’s memory brings two into one. The two-in-one ultimate warrior, W Xtreme”

And this was another no-brainer Extreme Dream https://youtube.com/watch?v=cb8ogDZ1EMw

“The pitch-black trump card. The hard-boiled Rider is Joker”

“Tear it up. The red bike Rider is Accel”

And here I went with his theme song, Leave All Behind https://youtube.com/watch?v=MbdRVle3_js

“Tear everything up. Speed at its zenith, Accel Trial”

“Futo’s defender and legendary warrior is Skull”

How can you go wrong with a solemn video showing Skull punching out Museum grunts? Nobody’s Perfect https://youtube.com/watch?v=VpNH2wPa-0Y

“Now, enjoy your hell. The white, vengeful Rider is… Eternal”

And here, I went with the theme for the movie he was in, W https://youtube.com/watch?v=9EenmxgjjnM

And now for their unreleased list, for which I can confirm Eternal was winner #6
Kamen Rider W (CycloneMetal)
Kamen Rider W (CycloneTrigger)
Kamen Rider W (HeatJoker)
Kamen Rider W (HeatMetal)
Kamen Rider W (HeatTrigger)
Kamen Rider W (LunaJoker)
Kamen Rider W (LunaMetal)
Kamen Rider W (LunaTrigger)
Kamen Rider W (CycloneAccelXtreme)
Kamen Rider W (CycloneJokerGoldXtreme)
Kamen Rider W (CycloneCyclone)
Kamen Rider W (JokerJoker)
Kamen Rider Skull Crystal

And now for the Another Rider compare and contrast: triple mix.

Shotaro and Philip are a duo of detectives who work to prevent people making the city’s people cry. Another W is a complete enigma (unless Shirakura gets the money and chance to introduce the man behind the three eyes) who aids Tid in launching a mass attack of Phase 2 grunts on the city, effectively making its people cry. Design wise, he’s primarily based on Baron Asura from Mazinger Z, while his stitched together body has Nazca-esque details on the “Cyclone” half, hinting at Phillip being part of Museum’s leading family.

For Another Den-O, Ryotaro is mostly a spineless pushover, but he’s one who can’t hesitate to do the right thing, and enters a mutual pact to let Momotaros fight for his benefit. Ataru on the other hand, is a defeatist who is all too willing to give up on helping others in need and gets forcibly hijacked by the Den-O Anotherwatch. Design wise, while inspired by the bad guy from a Momotaro-based manga, does fit with the Imagin’s folktale motif by being based off the traditional depiction of the devil in western culture.

And finally, Godai is the man who started the Heisei era, ushering in a new age of Kamen Riders, and is dedicated to making everyone smile. Tid on the other hand is looking to bring an end to the Heisei era before it begins and his main quote is “I should be the only Rider! I’m the only one who gets to smile!”, which sums up the rest of the comparison. Design wise, aside from having no thumbs (something Fish can explain the significance of), Another Kuuga’s bigger, more monstrous appearance is based off the Grongi from the Kuuga manga, which are basically “bigger and more monstrous”, as a design philosophy.

(Fish Sandwich also watched Heisei... Gene... wait a second...

Well I mean, I did *watch* the movie! Several times, even! But uh, I'm pretty sure I never wrote a proper thing for it at any point, so no old posts this time.

I've never been a ~huge~ fan of this one, but I definitely respect what it's going for, and like a lot of Rider movies, I found myself enjoying it way more on repeat viewings. I definitely don't hate the idea of a Kamen Rider movie with this kind of meta plot, and there are certainly some very good ideas in here.

For example, the one thing that always sticks out in mind most about this movie isn't even any of the big fanservice (although it was great seeing Ryoutarou and hearing bits of Sahashi's Kuuga soundtrack in the score), but how perfect it was that Build happened to be the previous Rider, because Sento Kiryuu is already a fictional person in-universe -- a made up identity cast in the role of Kamen Rider -- so he's basically the ideal guy to bounce back from being told he's not real, because it wouldn't be the first time that's happened to him.

It's a movie that's held back by quite a few things too, but you can see the effort put into it shining through, I think. Kinda wish I'd watched it again more recently, so I could actually say something more detailed than that!

Oh, so Another Kuuga can't do the--! That's hilarious!

Considering the not insignificant role of Rider merchandise in this film, this is maybe as good a spot as any to mention this: I had the thought lately that I really like how basically any figure made of Kuuga is obligated to come with a thumbs-up hand? Like, obviously plenty of Riders have their signature gestures, but a guy like Zi-O just wants to let you know he's based on a clock. It's so perfect for Yuusuke's character that a symbol of positivity and encouragement is considered such a mandatory accessory. Really goes to show how iconic it is, and how much Kuuga strived to be a hero show about more than just fighting.

So yeah, a version of Kuuga that can't do that is definitely quite the corruption of the one we know and love.

Oh man, I just realized something. Possibly the single biggest missed opportunity of Zi-O is that they didn’t get Ryouta Murai to play Another Kuuga.

Of all the movies that end with gathering a whole lot of suits and ending in that quarry, Heisei Generations Forever is definitely my favourite of the whole lot. The story has a lot more heart than similar films before it (which is to say it actually has pathos as opposed to being completely souless), it honestly reads as a really nice sort of final extra chapter for Sento and Banjou (until the New World movies came and ruined that but whatever), and that final sequence at the end with the twenty rider kicks? One of my absolute favourite scenes across the franchise and hit upon all of my nostalgia buttons perfectly.

I even love the credits sequence. The medley of all the theme songs is cool enough, but all the really great choices of images they used to quickly represent each season is really fun to see. Special shout-out to the one of Shotaro and Philip smiling at each other... and of Gaim skewering Baron!

I'm not sure if the plot of Kuuga getting erased from existence quite explained away the connection between the actual Rider world and the real world or if the plot properly reckoned with the characters having to deal with the fact that their from a TV show or the actual metaphysics or logic behind it...but it all ultimately served the plot well.

I love how the first clue about the time travel aspect of the movie is that the older brother thinks Kuuga's about to premier and his younger brother goes "oh wow, I didn't expect a kid that age to actually know about Kuuga!"

Another W looked nice. I wish they were able to come up with something more poignant for W as a tribute, but there was enough going on in the movie as is.

Another Den-O was cool but I was really confused as to what the Imagin's actual goal in this was because we're so used to Imagin just using humans other than the few good ones that seeing a random Imagin actually trying to help the human he contracted with no drawbacks was kind of surreal. Like, was he using this as a way to get in with the Denliner crew or something?

Of a list of Main Riders who people didn't expect to ever see again in a Rider show or movie, Takeru Satoh is definitely up there. They even had him actually saying Urataros' lines instead of it just being Urataros so we could hear his voice again (and he gets to actually play a Taro by himself for the first time). And, y'know, him and Momotaros sharing a scene together after so long and it being a moment that means so much from both an in-universe and Meta level. So I was pretty happy with how they handled it.

There's something so poignant about a movie that talks so much about the fandoms' love and history with Kamen Rider and why it means so much to them that the Riders don't just randomly show up for their expected cameos but because the kids who literally grew up with them call out to them to save them and they show up. And you have the adult guy going "man, wouldn't it be nice if Kuuga showed up?" and then his inner child calls forth Kuuga. And Den-O shows up literally singing his theme song which is so Den-O I'm surprised it took them this long to actually do that.

I do appreciate that they at least used recorded dialogue for the returning Riders even if it wasn't anything "new," so unlike with stuff where you had seiyuu try to imitate the Riders and it sounding off it at least carries the illussion that it's really them even if the actors weren't involved. I think the only actors that recorded anything new were Ryuki, Agito, and Decade? Although they were so generic I'm not sure how true that is.

I love how everybody rides into the Kamen Rider Quarry on their bikes, just to remind you that, no matter how little screentime the bikes get these days, Kamen Riders ride bikes. Well, except Ryuki. And Drive. And Hibiki who forgets his bike (although I guess because of executive meddling we don't acknowledge it I guess?).

I liked the Kuuga Armor being more sleek and streamlined compared to the other Rider Armors. That's what the W Armor is for!

Another Kuuga is basically a giant CGI Rider Monster like Core, but I feel like it somehow worked better in terms of what a monstrous version of Kuuga would turn into.

I love the All Heisei Rider Kick in this movie because, unlike the one in All Riders vs Dai-Shocker, the Kicks were all show-accurate. And they even came up with Rider Kicks for Den-O Sword Form and Hibiki (I think the only time Sword Form ever used a Rider Kick as a legit finisher was in the Cho Den-O movie and it wasn't a traditional flying kick, and Hibiki never used a Rider Kick for a finisher). And the Triple Rider Kick with Build, Zi-O, and Kuuga really brought it all together.

I just loved seeing the brothers getting to grow up with every Heisei Rider together.

Episode 15 can wait; we're going to talk about Heisei Generations: Forever!

I. Love. This. Movie. It's great, in so many ways. It's a love letter to all Kamen Rider fans, a fantastic meta story, and for the most part, a good tribute to Zi-O's predecessors.

Another Den-O is probably my favorite Another Rider, Another W is pretty neat too, one detail I like about him is that the original Cyclone Joker is a part of it, almost like a Frankenstein-esque three-in-one, where Cyclone and Joker are split down the middle by another two-in-one monster tearing through. Another Kuuga is pretty much just another big bad CGI monster boss, but the idea that it's the first Heisei Rider, I like to think that because it's the progenitor of the Heisei Era of Riders, it's grown to become a monster in its own league, moreso than it's peers.

The meta references are also pretty fun, like Grease being mixed with the guy he played in Kiva (I didn't watch Kiva, hence my statement), or people thinking the Build Riders are part of a Hero Show. This even works for the big part where the monsters from their seasons attack the city, leaving people to believe their world is under attack by a foreign invader, really adds weight to the film's conflict and setting, and it's just fantastic.

While I do agree this is, much like the Decade X Den-O crossover film, this does have a lot more to do with Den-O than Zi-O and Build (haven't seen Den-O yet), but you know what? that's fine. This was still a fun movie, which I enjoyed immensely, especially the Build Boys, Sento and Ryuga. Unfortunately, I wish they did a better job on the W tribute, since it felt a bit like an afterthought here, but overall, it wasn't the worst way they could have honored W.

But boy, do I enjoy that Re:Build Medley. It's just so good! Could it have been better and included more quips from the openings? Yes. But I still enjoyed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGyt6H-u7Rw

We may not have gotten to see as many Legend Rider Appearances (Apparently W's Phillip, Kabuto's Tendou, and Kiva's Wataru were all free, and some even did kind of wish they could have appeared, and Drive's Tomari wished he could have been in Heisei Gen Final if I remember right, then again, I could be wrong on all this), but honestly, I think if they added too many, they might have detracted the plot. So, in the end, only the W tribute drew the short straw. But hey, Ryoutaro is still a big deal in this case, and while it wasn't too much, it was still nice to see him.

But in the end, this movie certainly ended the year with a bang, and I love it for that.

Yeah, I think I like the concept of HGFinal more than I do the movie itself. Idk, when I was watching it, it felt very moody, which I guess makes sense when Sougo is finding out he was created to sell children little bleepy watch toys, and the mechanics of what are going on make as much sense as everything else in Zi-O (So if Kamen Rider is fictional, how can fictional Imagin magic rewrite the real world, huh?) Add to that how the movie feels disjointed, and large parts of it drag.

That said, I don't think this is a bad flick? The atmosphere isn't for me, but the scene at the end, where all the past Kamen Riders come back, as people recall when they fell in love with this dorky show about bugmen saving people from evil? Probably my favourite reason for ever for why we're getting an all-suits battle. This isn't some convoluted Tsukasa plan, or the latest SuperDai-Shocker multiverse schme, this is people calling on their love for heroes and bringing them too life. As someone who's been into the franchise for 10 years now, and had some great times through it all, it just feels good, ya know?

あったじゃん！

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever)

I remembered I wanted to talk about how much I love the Den-O scene in this movie, and the sense of deja vu I was getting thinking of what I wanted to say led me to also remember I have said this stuff before. Sometimes it's kind of hard to find threads for movies and stuff, since we don't have any consistent format for that on the forum, which means I never know if I should be digging through old thread titles or just through the general "what are you watching" thread, and-- you know, this isn't really that important. I don't want to make it sound like this is work for me, because it's the exact opposite.

Anyways, that scene with Ryoutarou! I still really do love everything about it, but it's that last line from Momotaros that clinches it for me. You might remember that in my rant about Chou Super Hero Taisen, I took an outdated potshot at how Toei never gets Takeru Satoh back, frustrated with how they keep pretending Momotaros by himself is Den-O, and that made that moment in this movie so very cathartic for me. Like, yeah, how could you ever forget Ryoutarou? That dude is the coolest, just like the show he came from, and that's why these rainbow-colored cartoon goofballs haven't stopped showing up in stuff since 2007. It's such a touching little tribute to one of Rider's biggest success stories in the middle of a film that was already doing a pretty dang solid job paying tribute to Kamen Rider, and it was wonderful to see.

Androzani is now the main character of this thread. Anyone who listens to the end of the commentary track will understand.

Speaking of that, recording it was a ton of fun! Lemme know if you ever wanna do any more!

Anyway, this movie. Man, even as someone who's yet to see Build or Den-O(outside of like 2 movies), I liked it alot. It was so smart of them, in knowing that there was no way they could get literally everyone back, to instead focus the story elsewhere. Like, yeah, it's really obvious that they were banking on getting certain characters to come back(Woz can just suddenly access the Planet Library out of nowhere), it really does feel like they put in as much effort as they possibly could.

I'm also so glad that, in a movie discussing just how important fandom can be to people, that the movie never once felt insulting. Because believe me, I've seen examples! Ataru and Shingo's' relationship, and how Kamen Rider is something that helps to enhance and strengthen their bond, was really sweet, and goes to show just how powerful common interests between people can be.

And of course, the action is top notch. Everyone's already mentioned how awesome the All Rider Kick is, but the thing that really sold it for me was that they weren't lazy about it. They so could've easily just had all 20 Riders jump forward at once and turn into beams of light or whatever, but no! There was a flow, great choreography, and very much an attention to detail in what Riders they had pair up during each set of kicks. Kuuga, Build, and Zi-O being the finisher is of course the biggest highlight(as it should be), but that bit with Kiva and Wizard? Hoo man, that was killer.

And hey, speaking of Kuuga, wanna guess who my favorite character from that was?

https://i.imgur.com/MojE27x.png

Kaoru Ichijo, the Secondary Rider of the show!

I say that, but really, you kinda can't separate Ichijo from Yusuke in my mind. One has to come with the other. Their growing friendship over the course of the season was one of the many, many reasons that Kuuga not only instantly became my favorite Rider show, but also one of my all time favorite Toku.

But, if I have to only choose one? I'll go with Ichijo, because whenever the focus was on him was when I felt the show's' atmosphere and storytelling was absolutely top notch("Reality" being an obvious choice).

So happy that we got official subs via SHOUT, and that said subs are such high quality. Here's to hoping for a physical release in the future that lets us turn the Grongi subtitles on and off.

Oh, and because I know Name will do it if I don't...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-0KLHwjRCQ

Had a monster of a day at work today, what with the store's internet being out since Friday and spending all day on the phone with AT&T, so I'm a little late to everyone's feedback and thoughts. Sorry! Let's see what we've got!

Yeah, I think this is a super-genuine film, as far as what it wants to celebrate and how it wants to celebrate it. There're a couple super in-jokey gags (the Kazumi/Otoya thing on the bus is real Ask Your Parents stuff for the kids in the audience), but the rest of it just this really earnest exploration of what twenty years of Kamen Rider -- and Kamen Rider fandom -- means.

I'm not sure I'd describe Ataru's plot in that way? I saw it more as Ataru losing his faith in Kamen Rider as a franchise, and that he stopped connecting with it emotionally. He's still a fan and a collector, but he's tuned out the more uplifting and helpful messages of the franchise. A lot of what he learns in this movie is that it's not right to dismiss Kamen Rider as escapism; it's actually trying to teach kids (and adult American fans) something that can make them better people.

Instead of that slideshow of all of the Heisei Riders in the beginning, it should've been a slideshow of the emails that Toei employees sent to the agents for Philip and Godai's actors, begging them to appear in this movie.

It's such a big moment. The movie completely carves out a space for The Den-O Stuff, and it's super smart. Just let that group of oddballs have the spotlight for a scene. And Ryotaro... man, so nice to see him back, giving a little speech about how people aren't ever gone as long as you remember them. And that long take on him and Momo locking eyes! So good!

Honestly, the last third is kind of the part I thought was a slog? It's probably from watching, uh, every preceding crossover movie, but I don't ever need another scene of Riders showing up to the delight of Japanese citizens, or another Finishing Move Cavalcade at Kamen Rider Quarry.

I really disliked Another Kuuga, but this is a neat note. Thanks!

It's such a perfect trait to weave into the story. Sougo's going through the absolutely natural Existential Breakdown of someone realizing that they were created by someone else to be a positive force for justice that can't ever actually change things, and Sento's like Here's The Scripts To Kamen Rider Build That I Wrote About Someone Making Up My Life.

Hell, Sento's perfect for this as a Kamen Rider character and a Kamen Rider writer!

why would they get that cop from the den-o police movie to come back

DreamSword got so mad when I said that Onodera was this movie's Kuuga. So mad!

There was about half a second when I couldn't figure out why Banjou was so surprised to see Grease and Rogue, before I remembered that the New World movies hadn't come out yet. Sort of makes this whole Recovered Memories plot kind of pointless!

It was so nice! I'm a sucker for scenes where Momo has actual feelings (besides Anger and Frustration), so it was great to have the movie honor that old Den-O partnership.

I want to say that Momo is the only Main Rider (or Co-Main Rider) who's actually sung a broadcast version of his own theme song? So, canonically, Momo might be the only Rider who actually knows his own theme song in Heisei!

Ha ha, sure! I'll accept this!

Aside from the Ryotaro sequence, I don't know that it has a ton to do with Den-O, despite the Imagin stuff. It's more that it's using the template and themes of a Den-O story: Time travel as a way of fixing trauma; memories as a way of rescuing parts of of ourselves; metaphysical conundrums getting washed away in a wave of emotion; how sand gets everywhere.

Super weird that that one dad had such fond memories of Onodera from Decade, and someone out there loved Blade's appearance in Goriders, but I'm not that dialed into the Japanese fan community.

Honestly, though, yeah. It's a great moment, seeing fans of all ages use their happy memories of Kamen Rider to save the day. Very sweet message.

Kotaro fans out there just gutted.

For anyone who isn't already aware, the only reason there's a Let's Watch HGF commentary track is because of DreamSword. He approached me about doing it a couple months ago, he organized everyone's involvement, he handled the recording, and he created the finished MP3. This commentary track literally wouldn't exist without him, so now you know who to blame.

Also, yeah! I had a blast! Thanks!

Well hey I mean, I felt like the Zi-O thread needed something to help make it special in a way different than the Decade thread, so why not? Plus I like you guys--

https://i.imgur.com/lzTIb.jpg

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 16 - “FOREVER KING 2018”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio16a.png

It’s sort of the only solution, when you come down to it.

Some of it’s just, like, We Have Thirty-Three More Episodes. The solution to Sougo’s dilemma can’t be quitting. I’d totally watch that Geiz series, but it doesn’t feel like a very Toei move. Can you imagine them having a Christmas episode where you lose a Kamen Rider? Preposterous.

But the other part, the better part, is that it’s the logical rebuttal to Episode 15’s lesson in consequences and responsibility: You can’t live your life paralyzed by what could happen in the future. It’s good to have an awareness of potential outcomes, but you can’t let negative outcomes keep you from moving forward.

We spend a lot of time here dealing with the stuff I sort of wished we’d gotten in the opening story. Namely, a Sougo who feels an intense reluctance to use the power of Zi-O, knowing where it might lead. In the first story of this show, Sougo came off like an oblivious jerk, feigning sympathy in the Time Orphans’ hardships, pretty visibly thrilled to become a despot. It was a bizarre choice, and I’m not entirely sure it was the right one, even if this episode concludes that thread with style. Back then, it didn’t feel so much like the show wanted to explain the inconsistencies and illogic of Sougo’s dream, so the show just punted on it until now. There’s a frustrating middle section of this first Act that only really works by ignoring Sougo's motivation, rather than offering up an alternative to Sougo Doesn’t Know What A King Is. It’s a weird delay in the storytelling.

It ends up resolving itself smartly, though. We see Sougo actually try to end Oma Zi-O’s reign, instead of just pinky-swearing that he won’t commit even a single genocide, not even on his birthday. There’s actual weight to his decision, not least of which is losing all of his Time Friends. Sougo’s all alone with his eternal guilt and shame, afraid to even think about what being a king could do to the world.

It’s Geiz who motivates Sougo back into becoming Zi-O. A depowered Sougo is still going to risk his life to help people, and that’s enough to convince Geiz that Oma Zi-O is a risk he’s willing to take. Sougo needs to try to make the future he wants to see, instead of accepting a fate he never wanted. There’re risks to everything, and consequences for any decision you make. To live your life convinced that the worst is going to happen… like, man, even Geiz has more optimism than that. Kid stole a Time Mazine and went back fifty years to be a grim executioner and maybe alter history! It’s okay for Sougo to try and save enough people with Time Powers to maybe be a hero instead of a villain. No one knows what the future really holds; not even people in the future.

This was a great End Of Act 1 episode. It brings back a bunch of little details (Uncle’s story about missing out on a dream becomes a story about dreams never really going away; Sougo still won’t go to college I guess) and puts a pin in some others (Tsukasa taking his honestly-somewhat-tiresome “Wild Card, Bitches” act on the road for a minute; the Time Jackers get trounced) while promising a bunch of weird things to come. It really felt like we’d come full-circle, resolving a big character flaw in Sougo by strengthening his bonds with the rest of the team. (Well, mostly Geiz. Tsukuyomi is in full Time Mom mode this episode.)

A really nice episode. A little bit more contemplative than last time, but still terrifically character-focused. An excellent Christmas present!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio16b.png

—

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT EPISODE 16.5 - “BE FOREVER COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT (PART TWO)”

Final .5 episode! It’s… not a good one!

It’s just Team Zi-O talking around the surprise of Ryotaro being in the just-released Heisei Generations Forever movie. It’s interesting to hear the lengths the production team went to in order to hide Ryotaro’s return (a fake scene for the Advance Screening!), but it’s just some fun trivia. I like these shorts better when they’re completely insane, which this one really wasn’t. (The concept of Toei Hitmen is a fun note, though.) It’s informative, which isn’t really what I like best for these .5 episodes.

There’s also no Legend Rider guest-star, because they are still trying to keep Ryotaro’s presence in the movie a surprise. It’d be weird if he showed up here to goof around! So it’s just Team Zi-O, providing fun trivia, the end.

Pretty fun series of short films, though. I will miss them!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/ziocp16a.png

Okay, but imagine if the title character of one of these shows really did just leave half-way through.

Anyhow, this episode was such a great way to top of 2018 for me (I didn't do much other than watch toku then, okay?). This whole two-parter is what completely reignited my investment in this story, after I had settled into just expecting this show to be nothing but half-hearted tributes to other shows. I'm all here for Sougo and his story about fighting his terrible destiny. It doesn't like, retroactively make me think the first 14 episodes are greater than they are or anything, but it does make me appreciate having spent the time with the show anyway.

The scene where Geiz convinces Sougo to take the driver is just iconic. Or at least I think it should be considered an all-time great! Technically speaking, the status quo is actually not that different. Sougo wants to be a king, and Geiz says he's ready to take him down if it goes bad. I love that with this episode though, both characters now have a completely new, stronger resolve behind them. Not only is Sougo choosing to commit to his dream no matter how much he fears the future and how much the whole world is telling him it's a bad decision, he'll do it because he's putting his trust in Geiz to stop him. It's so good...

Oh, and the scene right after? With Sougo transforming into Zi-O, with Woz's most grand declaration yet and accompanied by Toki no Oja kicking in? I'm one-hundred percent serious and not exaggerating when I say that This is my favourite implementation of an insert song across this franchise. It's perfect, and the song itself is perfect for the context. Not a blood-pumping action song for a new form debut, but a more low-key, almost melancholic melody for our hero being 'reborn' as Woz puts it, starting over from scratch but with a new resolve.

The Decade Armour using the Ex-Aid watch to turn into Mighty Brothers XX is really fun too. I wouldn't have mind a few more seconds of them beating up Decade!

It's really a case where the destination was maybe more valuable than the journey, which is such a perfect inversion of Decade's themes that I sort of wish I could believe it was intentional.

But, yeah, it's easy to be a little wistful about how hard the show worked to get us to this really good place, even if I'm not aching to rewatch Episode 1 any time soon.

It does a really great job of reframing the whole Geiz/Sougo dynamic, where the goofy optimism and grim determination is sort of flipped around; where Sougo's vow to be a good king is some terrible burden, and Geiz'z vow to kill Sougo if Sougo goes bad is the limitless support of a good friend. Fun twist on the opening characterizations!

I'm sorry, Mighty Brothers -- the best ever power-up form -- is only for me to enjoy. Like Tid in HGF, only I'm allowed to smile at that. Please enjoy a different Ride Armor, thank you.

I love the little bits of stuff we get from Oma Zi-O here, like he's clearly aware that he's made some kind of impact on Sougo. And he's just like "Let's see how this plays out" in a sense. It's subtle, very subtle I feel, but nice.

Also I did enjoy this episode of Sougo giving up his dream, I feel like maybe it could've lasted a bit longer? (Granted that's what I'm currently doing for my Fanfic) But that's a minor complaint on my end.

Also it was just nice to see the sort of growth in fighting these past four episodes. Where Sougo and Geiz aren't exactly doing the best against Decade, but eventually (Sougo mostly) manage to actually beat Decade up a bit.

Anyway, next time... next time we get into Q2 and what an interesting Q2 it is... where the BGM Swaps get a lot more inspired (and sometimes bad) because we're not in usual territory as the preview will show us.

The Preview BGM this time for the first one gives us the second character insert we'll hear in the series. Also because of the nature of Q2, expect this song to be in like 90% of the BGM Swaps from here on out. The second choice for the BGM uh... I'll be honest I'm not sure where it's from? Given it's crusty quality I can only assume one place but um, please someone help me out on this one? The last BGM Swap is from a certain colorful ninja series where they don't hide.

Zero's Legend Episode Previews Corner - EP 17 Preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdbvWMH-9YI

Regardless of his actual era, he's a Heisei villain: he's collecting data!

It definitely helped Team Zi-O that Decade used the Shrug Emoji Attack Ride when he did. He could not have cared less about that fight! Boy, I'm a pretty big Decade fan/apologist, but Tsukasa's inclusion and usage here was so thinly-written and purposeless that I was actually happier to see him leave than I'd've ever thought.

Episode 16, just in time!

-I'm having trouble saying why I really enjoy this episode other than saying "that was nice!" over and over. But I'll do my best!

-The Bromance Pit! It's here! One of my favorite scenes in all of Zi-O! Geiz and Sougo having a bit of a heart-to-heart in the way only Riders can: by smacking each other around a bit, perferably in or near water! It's a very nice scene, declaring their beliefs and trust in one another so passionately.

-Sougo not having a real reason for wanting to be a King (other than Weird Dream Man says I should be one to save people) kinda puts a damper on the Sougo stuff this episode, but the rest? With Sougo coming to terms of Oma-Zi-O's true terror, the weighty presence (or I guess the lack of presence, lol?) of Tsukuyomi and Geiz's absence, his fear of the future, his conviction to change the future....it's all really solid for me. I think this episode is where in my inital watching that I jumped on the "this Sougo kid's pretty alright!" train.

-Woz is just really fun in this episode. Him coming down on a ladder into the Bromance Pit to IWAE, arriving with a fresh-out-of-the-box Driver for Sougo, his satsifed smirk as things are set in motion....it's not much but it's always just a delight to see him have a bit more presence.

-With the end of Episode 16, we've offically finished Zi-O's first major arc! I overall remember not having much enjoyment of this beginning part on my first watch, it being a bit too weak and even sloppy in places. Now.....I wouldn't say that I suddenly see this first arc as this hidden gem, the issues I saw during my inital watch are still pretty much there. But like, I feel I have a much better grip on Sougo(something that really hindered my first watch), and much better apperication for these early episodes and what they were trying to do, yknow? This episode just really works as both a solid conclusion to the events so far, and a new beginning for the story to start off of.

(Man, it sucks to see the .5 episodes go. I really wish we got them at least until the 30-40s or something, they're so fun and occasionally informative.)

This is an episode pair I don’t have much to say about. So I’ll again let TV Tropes’ entry for Zi-O under “Wham Episode” do it for me.

Can't watch Heisei Generations yet, so moving on here first.

I guess this is a case of Better Late Than Never. Probably this was really done due to how Sougo can be irritating with his dismissive attitude towards the idea of the damage he could cause as Ohma Zi-O, brushing off the fact that he could become a horrible mass-murdering tyrant because he could become a king, and I did talk before about how Sougo had the worst, quite destructive form of optimism (not that optimism is bad or weakening), the oblivious one (for others, while in reverse of stereotype, Geiz is the gullible one due to his mentality), thus the series gave him a reality check in the form of seeing first hand the dystopian world under Ohma Zi-O's rule in the future. But other than that, is it not a delay in storytelling but just a character flaw that had to be worked on? Sougo may be a sweet boy but doesn't mean that kind of people doesn't have flaw of which Sougo's is optimism like you said (obliviousness). Many character flaws are something that delayed the storytelling, like Tachibana-san being dumpster fire or Makoto being highly stubborn that can make things harder overall for others. Sougo may have more annoying kind of flaw but is similar?

Sougo really changed in this episode as now he had a quite brutal reality check. Like he's usually disturbingly upbeat, but now he wanders around in apathy, musing on what he is going to do with his life by then. But actually, you're wrong on how previously the solution is about denying that the belt exists. Sougo actually destroyed his Ziku Belt here of which actually did erase Ohma Zi-O from existence and shut down the Kasshin and Dai Mazines by this as their lords are no more. Of which there's still Time Jackers and Tsukasa to wreck shit of course (though now Tsukasa disappoints Ora in his wild card tendencies, and Tsukasa's own disappointment in Sougo's earlier decision). And the reason why throwing away the belt is harder than it sounds is not due to prolonged decision, but it's due to Woz. He'd always have a spare Driver to replace the one that is broken, as if the belt has a case of a Groundhog Day (destroy it, Woz has one, destroy it again, Woz has another, and so on). So Woz technically is the other shit-stirrer too here to make sure the tyrant comes.

I guess though Sougo can be insensitive with his optimism, this further proves that present Sougo is genuinely noble and well-meaning, provided he knows the issue well enough. He destroyed his belt, prioritized saving the world over king position thus would give up his ambition if it dooms the world instead, and he also protected a kid which'd risk his life that he doesn't have his belt, while declaring he'd not let his subjects get harmed. And now a new dilemma for Sougo is about damned vs damned, but short term vs long term consequence. Using the belt to fight as Zi-O and Ohma Zi-O can still potentially return (with Ohma Zi-O regaining existence), and not using the belt which can lead into both Sougo and likely some other civilians killed (Tsukuyomi's there too for the kid though).

The long term consequence also involves being manipulated by questionable figures, both Woz and Ohma Zi-O himself (who reappeared in the future), of which mostly characters Sougo would choose to deal with short term consequence that he can't ignore something bad happening in front of him, thus he'd still fight as Ohma Zi-O.... as well as other cases of this in KR like in Gaim, Kouta'd still henshin to defend civilians despite Micchy pestering him to throw away the belt as it'd help Yggdrasill's schemes, or Sagara wanting to use him for his own ends. This kind of decision can have those people being deemed as stupid and gullible (those people actually know they're manipulated there but goes along for the benefit), but the opposite case still won't be good either (if they "act smart" for not going along the manipulators), it's in a series that I can't talk about yet.

Geiz was likely a tsundere since ep. 10, but for now, he's probably not a tsundere anymore as he clearly shows his concern and respect to Sougo here, not hiding his affection to Sougo anymore. This part cements Geiz viewing Sougo as a comrade now, or not hiding it anymore. Despite that Woz presents him a new Driver, actually Geiz gives his own Driver for Sougo to use, which'd mean now Geiz trusts Sougo and his dream to become a good despot without succumbing to villainy. Geiz' vow (read: oath) to kill Sougo now is not out of hatred and vengeance, but to stop Sougo living long enough to become a villain, better had Sougo died a hero like Sougo himself prefered. So now Sougo's belief of the Time Orphans stopping him when his path goes astray is a truth.

Likely true mostly Geiz, but both Geiz and Tsukuyomi likely had some reluctance to go back to their time with Sougo also surprised that both are still there. So it should strengthen bonds that Tsukuyomi and even now Geiz doesn't see dealing with Sougo as an obligation (of which if the priority is making sure Ohma Zi-O was never born, they can let Sougo be killed by Kasshin). Geiz's newfound companionship is done with him throwing a street sign to protect Sougo, but Tsukuyomi also shoots Kasshin to protect him and getting herself chased by it (of which Geiz blamed Sougo for this back at ep. 6). The one that had parent role is obviously Junichiro with his dream talk to deal with Sougo's apathy that even if a dream is discarded there can still be happiness of Junichiro not living his dream but still fixing clocks. I guess the equivalent would be Sougo (hopefully) not becoming a king but still be able to preserve happiness for others; his subjects (also it's clearly seen that Junichiro puts the college entrance in the trash).

Seeing a person give up on their dream, no matter how absurd, is just extremely depressing. Even if Sougo giving up on being a king did benefit the people of 2068, that still invalidates Sougo's existence. Wanting to do good for the world, only to be shown that it makes the world worse, yeah, that sucks. It sucks even more that either way, Sougo is left alone. Either he rules the world as Oma Zi-O all alone, or he gives it up and Geiz is just like "problem solved" and has no more incentive to hang around. Not that I can blame Geiz, since he would have a family to be with in a less dystopian version of his future, but it sucks for Sougo to have such an inordinately great yet potentially destructive dream. Like Kaido from Faiz said, it's a curse.

Sougo's problem, at least one of his problems, is that he has too much faith in himself. This can be seen in his interaction with 3 Days Ago Sougo. They get along way too easily, more than a normal human should. Also in that arc, his desire to save Geiz instead of letting him save himself. All this makes Sougo seem narcissistic and like he has difficulty to understand his own faults, even when people like Geiz point them out. This trait is still present in his 2068 self, where Oma Zi-O regards him with a sense of nostalgia and pride, for a version of himself from 50 years ago. I think it's a big deal that the first time Sougo shows any hatred towards himself is when he finally meets Oma Zi-O, who implausibly claims to be the same greatest kindest demon king, despite murdering half of the planet. Oma Zi-O has a ridiculous amount of faith in his younger self, to the point where even being temporarily erased from existence is merely a small inconvenience. But maybe there's a desire for his younger self to surpass him as well, which might be the case now that Geiz is having such a constructive impact on Sougo's mental welfare whenever he's not trying to murder him.

Not halfway, but literally the first Kamen Rider, Hongo, who left Japan to fight Shocker abroad.

For sure! Coming after the heartwarming and shippable dynamic of Sento/Ryuuga in the previous season, I feel like Sougo and Geiz needed a scene like this one in the dumpster, where they really get to shout at each other with sincere emotions. It's especially great character development for Geiz. After trying to (try and) stop the rise of Zi-O, now he's here facilitating it instead. It makes sense, pragmatically, as stopping Zi-O just makes it easier for the Time Jackers to appoint their own king. And so far, Sougo's the best candidate for the job. If "greatest kindest demon king" is a relative title, then that's still more applicable to him than to any of the Another Riders. It's not quite at the point where Geiz is willing to call Sougo a friend, but they've definitely reached an important point of mutual understanding.

Just like the Hyper Zecter. As long as the Zikuu Driver exists in the future, Woz can always bring it back to the present, good as new. Causality works both ways, so even if Sougo tries not to become a king, destiny will find a way to guide him back on that path. All Sougo can do is keep trying to become the greatest kindest demon king in the present, with the help of Geiz as his figurative Sword of Damocles, in hope of making a better future than the one he saw.

Anyway, I have a lot of thoughts about the next arc, so look forward to that in 2019! .... Or is it 2022?

It's definitely better than the sum of its parts. I liked a bunch of stuff in the first 16 episodes, but very little of it was related to Sougo's desire to be a Good Despot. So it's VERY WEIRD to reach the end of Episode 16 and feel like that character growth is the most memorable aspect.

For me, the problem wasn't that he had a sort of obnoxious flaw, but that the show wasn't doing a lot to explain WHY he had that flaw, and it wasn't letting other characters really interrogate the logical errors in Sougo's claims. Taking Sougo to the Misery Fields of 2068 is something the Time Orphans could've done at literally any point in the show, but they can't, because that would resolve the plot too early. So we get a bunch of people acting like I Want To Be A Good Despot is both wacky nonsense, and an unbeatable argument.

I am super into the idea that the menacing, genocidal warlord from the future is also a huge Sougo fan; some weird decades-removed helicopter dad for himself.

I kind of wish Oma Zi-O was the one doing all of the IWAE stuff in the series. Someone make that video!

also I don't even need to say this but Woz saying "IWAE" became a meme

Yeah, I can only echo other people when I say this is a good little pair of episodes. Zi-O managing to progress just beyond the "We need every 2 parter to be about a legend rider" and do its own thing, it's cool.

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP16)

I love this episode sooooooooo much. I don't think anything I can say about it would properly get across the extent to which I adore it, so I'm really glad people seem to be in agreement that this one nailed it. Pretty much every Rider show since Double gets its little "season finale" at the end of the year, and for me personally, this one is way up there. Most of it comes down to Sougo and Geiz, of course. It's great character development for both of them, their arcs are intertwined in a way that's super compelling, and honestly, I would go so far as to say it makes all the initial hurdles the show faced with developing Sougo worth it. I mean, it got us here, didn't it? As amazing as this two-parter is, I don't think it would mean anywhere near as much to me if it didn't represent the growth of the series itself at the same time it was doing that for its main Riders. Mouri did real good writing these ones. We came a long way from those OOO episodes in a short time, and a longer way from that premiere in a slightly less short one.

There's also a particular thing about the episode I love, which is just how the belts are used? This goes back to why I liked the Fourze plot in Movie War Ultimatum so much too, but, at the risk of stating the obvious, the whole point of the series is to convince you that belt is real cool. You *want* that thing. It's the whole nature of being a merchandise-driven show. But that isn't necessarily a curse, and I always really appreciate when they do something clever with the inherent demand that a Rider's transformation device needs to be a focal point of the narrative. For instance, one of the most hype things that ever happened in Ex-Aid is in the midpoint two-parter where Genm finally gets taken down, and Ex-Aid does that using Kiriya's Gamer Driver, after Kuroto trashes his own. So like, in spirit, Kiriya is right there, evening the score after the worst Christmas ever. (And this is before even mentioning the whole Reprogramming thing with Maximum Mighty X, of course. That was a really good Ex-Aid episode!) It was a really fresh thing to see in a Rider show, where for a stretch after that, Emu just kept using that belt, and even though he was the same Ex-Aid as always, his transformation device was now also like a symbol of friendship, and that was awesome.

So then you get to this episode of Zi-O, that does both the Fourze and the Ex-Aid thing in one fell swoop, and both of them work just as well as ever. I respected the heck out of Sougo for not hesitating to give up power if having it meant people got hurt, and the fact that from this point on, Zi-O and Geiz are both transforming with Ziku Drivers they gave each other is just... I mean, that's so perfect! Geiz made Zi-O again, right after finally getting rid of that problem. That scene between the two of them is one of the highlights of the entire series for me, and one of the reasons I adore this duo's dynamic so much, and just like with Ex-Aid, I also adore that both of them are always wearing that little reminder of this episode in every fight they get in from here.

And because this episode really was just the best Christmas present, it gave me one of my favorite insert songs in all of Kamen Rider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuYVMX1NP8U

I seriously considered writing up a translation of the lyrics for Zi-O Toki no Ouja (that's "ruler of time"), much the way I did for the Message trilogy back in the Kiva thread. A quick search around didn't turn up any existing ones I'm at all satisfied with, but then, I'm not sure I could do *that* much better. But, uh, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

This is just like, the most absolutely perfect theme song for Sougo imaginable. It was composed by Toshihiko Sahashi himself, and as such, it stays true to what I said before I liked about his motifs for Sougo. This is more or less a rousing heroic anthem for Zi-O, but -- especially for an insert theme to be used in fight scenes -- it's not all that upbeat or energetic in tone. There's a sort of ponderous weight to the whole thing, befitting a Sougo who's going through this internal struggle, where he has to decide to press on and believe in himself, even knowing now exactly how severe the consequences of his actions may end up being.

This is all further brought out by the fantastic lyrics, courtesy of-- well, I mean, if you've seen me gush about toku songs enough, I probably don't even need to say it. But yes, believe it or not, I'm extraordinarily fond of the words Shouko Fujibayashi put to this music! They're just super duper poetic and beautiful, and capture so, so much about Sougo. As is usually the case, it feels almost like she knew the characters more than the writers even did at the time, because the impression this song gives of Sougo only becomes more and more fitting as the series moves along.

So again, one of my favorites ever, and its use fits this particular episode so well. Especially because of how unique its vibe is, it's one I find myself singing all the time too, even years later.

...

Oh, and while I'm here! I really need to take time to explicitly mention how much I love the .5 episodes. Probably one of the least controversial opinions I've ever had, but Net Movies are great, and after so many years without them, it felt so nice seeing Rider have an outlet again for goofy meta humor mixed with production trivia. It hurts that they only lasted as long as they did, but at the same time, it really is hard to imagine them keeping up that steam for an entire year, and if you're going to have to call it quits anyway, the year-end break definitely makes sense as a spot to do that.

Don?t worry, my choice of video for when I feature the song has you covered.

I liked the 2068 stuff when it came to this two-parter and not much else.

You do not! It is pretty apparent! Also, like, super fun to say. Every Rider should have a hype man!

As someone who was very clear about valuing the new story over the nostalgia play, these episodes were pretty much exactly what I was hoping for from this series. Genuinely don't care if this show wants to skip Special Guest Stars whenever it thinks it needs to.

I really enjoyed almost everything you said -- about 90% agreement, kinda iffy on this show's opening arc being Worth It just because of the solid resolution -- but I mostly want to talk about how much my brain is trained towards the Phase 2 Series Breakdown.

The pacing of a Phase 2 Series, or a modern series, maybe (not sure how the Reiwa schedules got borked due to Covid), is so ingrained for me. A dozen or so episodes, Winter Movie, another dozen episodes with the Tertiary Rider, maybe a Sentai film, another dozen episodes to blow up the premise, Summer movie, final stretch of episodes. The rhythm of that is so much a part of my brain being rewritten by Kamen Rider seasons, and the Phase 1 stuff working differently always felt weird. I really like the ways the writing for the season got split into chunks for movies and holidays, and how that created these little discrete Mid-Season Finales and whatever.

I like how it creates this sense of progression, a little plateau for the characters to rest and celebrate their achievement. Very much how I like Kamen Rider seasons to operate.

At least Tsukasa left...?

As is written in this post, this arc is a really good one.

Now, I went into this series thinking it's main story was just going to be collecting the Riders' powers than going up against Oma Zi-O and the Time Jackers, but when episodes like this shows up, that perception was toppled and I began to enjoy the show more. Not to say this show wasn't holding up as anything grand or anything, but this is where Zi-O peaked for me, and while there are points later that made this even better for me, this is where I think it started to be more than just, "so who's showing up this week?"

Sougo getting to witness what he is supposedly to become and being terribly outmatched, and exploring Sougo's dream to become a king, were all well played here. And Geiz also having a great arc here, continuing to support Sougo, while also swearing to put and end to him if he does turn into a tyrant, at Sougo's request. That moment where they're both accepting this as their path forward is what makes this moment one of the best in Zi-O.

And best boy Woz, who really doesn't stay on one side, and will always remain loyal to his lord. He is the best and his "Rejoice!/Iwae!" will forever be my favorite thing from this season. I'm sure we all knew that, but I just enjoy him that much, as it also makes every form debut 20X better.

I ended up making a highlight reel of my personal favorite moments from the HGF commentary track. YT ended up blocking it in its entirety, and the file size is slightly too big for Vimeo, so anyone curious can instead download it here.