I'm not sure what you mean, but I'm sorry if you've felt attacked! If I've disagreed with you before, it's just a part of the discussion. I value your feedback and perspective! Please don't feel like you're doing a bad job!

I think it works because that realization is happening during an intensely emotional fight. He's been beaten in the last house contest, he's been beaten by Zero-One, he's been exposed as a cheater... like, he's going through a lot at that point in the story. And the thing that's been eating at him, and the reason why he's been so cruel to Smile, is that he knows she has a point and he can't admit it to himself. He's spent years recasting his memories as a thing to overcome or escape, to create this high-rolling version of himself, but know he's like Shit I Was Maybe Happier Back Then. The whole story's about recognizing where your happiness comes from, and how a home is a big part of that, so I think in that final moment Arayashiki realizes that his childhood was pretty happy.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 23 - “I LOVE YOU FOR YOUR BRAINS!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone23a.png

I really wanted to like this one! It’s a frothy romantic comedy, heavy on the comedy. It’s got the first Valkyrie appearance since I can’t remember when. It’s got a Humagear accurately diagnosing all of Gai’s psychological failings in front of Aruto, Yua, and Izu. The turn into the climax features a Humagear swearing so hard that they accidentally became a monster. It’s sort of got it all?

And yet, it just mostly didn’t come together for me, in a couple major ways.

Funny to see Ebii again so quickly, and with way more to do than the last storyline, but her character is too broad to believe in. She’s desperate to get married, and won’t accept reality, and that’s the extent of her character. She’s permanently and inescapably In Love, the end. I know this is a quick single-episode appearance for her (I can’t imagine there’s another chapter of her and her jealous friend to deal with), but there’s so little non-comedic character to her, and it got on my nerves after a while.

In the same vein, man, cannot believe that Aruto keeps using the Metal Cluster Hopper key! I know that it’s not in a Kamen Rider’s personality to stand by while there’s danger, and The Only One Who Can Stop You Is Me, but this key has literally only ever been used to cause greater danger. It’s a goddamn trap! It was inflicted on Aruto by Gai, as part of a scheme! STOP USING IT, YOU COLOSSAL DUMMY. It’d be like if the Driver was constantly on fire, and Aruto’s like This Time I Probably Won’t Get Burned. It’s a nowhere strategy, and it’s only making things worse. And he does it twice in this goddamn episode!!!

It’s the sort of story beat that’s meant to showcase Aruto’s perseverance, and heroism, and self-sacrifice, but it only ever comes off as moronic. Literally nothing changes between each battle, but Aruto still unleashes Metal Cluster Hopper on both friend and foe. It was infuriating, and the show never lets the non-Fuwa characters (i.e. anyone we’d expect to deliver level-headed and useful advice on living a long and happy life) forcefully push back against Aruto’s recklessness. It’s zero fun to watch.

So, yeah! Liked the comedy in this episode (all the Match stuff was top-notch) and I’m glad to see Enchilada645 finally got a Raider he could emotionally invest in, but I found Aruto and Ebii’s characters way too thin and frustrating to really get behind. Hopefully the next episode works a little harder on the character logic!

To be fair I did say Dynamiting Lion was like, #2, but yes you'd be correct in guessing that the Storming Penguin Raider is my favorite Raider! Purely because it's a penguin and I consider those my spirit animals! If there is penguin merch I will absolutely try and get it (Got the Candy Toy version of this one I believe) just like how I got Penguin Skateboard from Build.

That being said, I sort of enjoyed this episode for like... taking a break from the competition for a bit. Sure it stretches out the arc some more but, it's a good breather after three straight contests. That being said... I totally agree on Aruto being a dumb dumb here! Like, Fuwa has been shown to be willing to work with him, he should have just gotten Fuwa on board for the rest of this after the first failed attempt!

Other than that I did like our Humagears this time, Match's little "Izu, tell me the swear words" bit was hilarious. As was Izu's "I'm terribly sorry sir" as she stares in horror at the ground. And it's nice to see Enji again, and taking up freelance acting basically as well!

Another episode I like, I do agree that Aruto still using MCH is pretty dumb, especially with how even besides Gai, there's still Fuwa and I suppose Yua (even if she's rather close to Gai overall) who can handle it, but I guess they do need to move the story along in some way. I do love all the Match stuff, especially the early stuff with Gai, where Match is blunt about how Gai really acts, along with Yua hiding her laughter. All in all, a rather good episode though it's still as formulaic as the past few episodes of the competition, but it's still pretty good.

It's Episode 23!

-It's kinda weird we left off on how scary and dangerous MCH is last time, and now we're (mostly) cracking jokes about how Aruto doesn't quite get lovers' quarrels and how half the cast is single and (oh so desperate) to mingle for the episode. The MCH stuff in this, it's....there's other ways to help/take responsiblity, Aruto?! (The person in the suit makes the hero, not the other way around, you know...even if were to be as stupidly reckless as throwing his unarmored body inbetween others and the Raider/Magia's attack to block it, it'd still be better than pressing the "Rip everything in sight to shreds" button twice.)

Yay! We finally get to see Valkyrie again! Yua's bits in this were alright, being forced to highlight Gai's appeal and giggling when Match tore into Gai. It isn't much, it's nice to see they remember she's more than Gai's wordless secetary, but I want more damnit!

-Its a shame I didn't remember Match before re-watching this episode, he's really fun! What a charming personality and performance! (him declaring a Best Match and exploding into a heart, oh my god.....)

-Ngl, this episode was fun and I laughed alot, but I didn't.......really care for anything related to Ebii's plot? Like characters of the week in their struggles in this show are usually used to tackle an aspect of Humagear/human relations (and occasionally wraps with how we navigate our usages with tech in real life). But like. The stuff with Ebii falling in love with Match, that's just a punchline, nothing else. Like I don't expect the show to actually dive headfirst into whether human-Humagear romantic relationships are valid (But if you want to know the answer to that: I've watched Drive, of course I think a robot can get a good kiss if they so desire it), but like, at least throw me a bone here.

I don't really get how the story wraps around to Nikaido's actions being rewarded? Like, he's a bit too invasive in Ebii's personal life and makes his own assumptions, and acting on them involves turning into a Magia and attacking the person she has eyes on? (Even if you argue that destroying/injuring a Humagear wouldn't count as assault, Match belongs to some company, that at least counts destruction of private property!)

-It's one of those episodes where I second-guess myself for being too critical about it because I ultimately did have fun with it, but I just can't ignore the rough patches since they're also trying to flesh out MCH during all this.

Yeah, like... I had some fun with this episode. Everything up to the first Metal Cluster Hopper scene was delightful. (It is apparently very easy to barge into the private office of a CEO and get him to find you a husband?) But the mounting frustrations of both the Ebii and Aruto plots just wore me down by the end.

Match was great, front to back. Very fun Humagear!

I don't love Ebii potentially ending up with her jealous and possessive friend, but I'm reminded of a joke me and some friends have when we see a particularly toxic couple: At least they're only ruining one relationship. This horrifying outcome is maybe best for the world at large!

I get it! It feels almost churlish to look at an episode this devoted to comedy and go But Character Logic, for sure. But lowering standards is a weird admission of failure, like we no longer expect the show to do more than one tone correctly. This show has executed so many difficult stories correctly that I think it's okay to call it out when it gets a little sloppy.

For better or worse, it'd be against Aruto's' current character to just leave everything in the hands of someone else, especially in regards to something he's so passionate about. It's right there in his catchphrase as Zero-One.

This is the infamous 'forever 21' scene of Gai episode.

Fun Fact, Part 2: Another important guest actor. Match is portrayed by Baba Ryouma, who was Iwasaki Ryuji/Bluebuster in Gobusters and Seigi/Uchuu Keiji Estevan in Sharivan Next Generation

Eternally 24. I do recall the subs making a typo with his age here though, so it's not your fault.

Yua has fallen so, so far...but at least she got to transform again.

Aruto not realizing why a relationship between two people that was kind of rushed and ended up with the woman selling the guy out to the police thinking he was using her even though he was innocent...I mean, is it any wonder she's looking for a new guy? Ebii's enthusiasm, albeit simple-minded, was surprisingly likeable to me.

Humagear's and matchmaking! I guess if it's all about quantifiying numbers and possibilities, a machine would be a good fit for that.

Ha, Shesta roasting her own bosses...I mean, who would've love Fukuzoe and Yamashita? I'd really missed them since this arc began.

It's fun they were able to do an episode with 2/3 of the Go-Busters (Red Buster was in the last Rider season). Kind of grappling with the idea of falling in love with a robot and not really going that deep into the implications, but it's hilarious that we had the Humagear of the week actually succeed in his mission by pretending to go evil by insulting her into slapping him and then regaining his sense enough to say his catchphrase. I guess this counts as a breather episode? Despite the Metal Cluster Hopper aspect.

To me...the MCH drama works. Like Aruto is stuck in a rut because the only form he has access to is a double-edged sword he can't control but he's a man of action not used to sitting on the sidelines even if getting involved might do more harm than good, but sitting around doing nothing won't get us anywhere (GEEEEEDDDD). And Fuwa and Yua are competent but can't always succeed on their own since they've been working together so much. That and we need to show off more of Metal Cluster Hopper.

The stake is of course higher, but this also shows how underhanded ZAIA can be in how they'd involve an innocent (as in next episode) without caring about Yuto's fate, only caring about their benefit and that's if Ishinori won and had an innocent wrongly punished. Though that also shows for all the care Aruto shows to Humagears like how Deneb did to Yuto (no, not this Yuto!), he'd show care for humans too to object to this.

About Humagears opting to rampage, while Horobi isn't actually hacking the Humagears, it's still them being hacked, but by Ark, not by Horobi. Ark installed something on Humagears to have them go on rampage on offensive. Even Horobi is just one of Ark's servants just like all those Magias, the difference is that Horobi is a major villain, not MOTW. The series had Humagears going on rampage after being mistreated, treated as MOTWs to destroy, so no, the show doesn't justify the solution to murder the name-caller (it's actually something really petty). Other than that, yeah this is the franchise moment where the secondary Rider starts using the primary's views and have them remind the protagonist about what they've learned, Fuwa snapping Aruto back into Humagear advocate.

This is probably the first part of the series dedicating into giving catharsis via Gai's defeat, including how he made MetalCluster Hopper Progrise Key to take down Zero-One, but it backfires on him. The first package of Thouser beatdown. Moreover, it's Ark beating Gai as Aruto was controllable, so Gai was beaten by his own creation here. I wonder if there's a way to make internal reveal (new info for heroes, old for viewer) something good, if yes, then this one's just a poor execution (at least to you). But now in-universe it's pointed out that Gai is a hypocrite who twists things around he see fits, he'd criticize someone that "uses the power for evil", but he'd deflect the blame on him on anything else. But this is obviously done to maintain his company's image, not about Gai having standards/limits on how his company works, protecting himself while Ishinori is actually arrested.

And of course, Gai declaring himself as human supremacist, but in reality has dim views on it. Gai is so hatable that, even Horobi had something to pick fights with to him, as shown here in him ranting about humans taking and using Ark for themselves, which can create an evil vs evil scenario in Horobi vs Gai. Unfortunately, yeah Yua's meant to be made as Gai's secretary, not minimized by external factor (cmiiw), this is her disappointment despite strong start.

Yeah, this is a sick suit, with the sleek shining metal. But as someone who prefers performance than looks, I also appreciate MetalCluster Hopper's power which is something more than just hand-to-hand combat and is devastating. The swarm of locusts it can conjure gives flexibility and variation, and armor wise it can freely change its hardness, plasticity, and density, making it incredibly good armor. And as you said, this one's similar to Blizzard form or OOO PuToTyra form, being uncontrollable berserker. Aruto though resisted the influence from Ark's MetalCluster Hopper like Drive and Mach's Deadheat form. And here, the gag of Fuwa brute forcing through technology comes handy to free Aruto from the uncontrollable form.

Sure, and I noted the catchphrase thing, but HOLY HELL is Metal Cluster Hopper too dangerous to be used in service of Aruto's ideals. Putting that Key in the Driver in hopes that it can save the day is like sticking your arm in a wood-chipper because you dropped your phone. There's got to be a better way! Maybe think it all the way through! I know this kid's got familial obligations and a deep, personal bond with Humagears, but this sort of recklessness is way beyond recognizable human psychology.

A Gobusters reunion! Neat!

It's definitely a breather episode. Everyone's taking a bit of a break after the last three battles: going on dates, getting wrapped up in matchmaking, almost killing friends... the usual.

It's got a lot of fun moves on it!

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 24 - “IT’S OUR TURN”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone24a.png

One of my favorite Kamen Rider moments is the finale of the Fourze summer movie. Gentarou’s getting beat down in space, and it’s up to every one of his friends on Earth to activate enough Astroswitches to create the McGuffin that’s going to save the day. It’s a moment that leverages dozens of disparate stories – and occasional disposable elements – to create the most epic resolution imaginable for a franchise that’s all about the power of empathy. It’s not even that folks are paying off a debt, or whatever; there’s not really a sense of obligation to it. It’s just that Gentarou has shown them the value in helping each other out, so now they’re going to help him out.

This episode… I mean, it’s only halfway through the show, so it can’t hit that hard-earned feeling of the Fourze movie, but I loved it just the same. Probably my favorite episode so far in Zero-One.

It works because it exposes the real flaw in Aruto’s recent usage of Metal Cluster Hopper: it wasn’t that he couldn’t see the danger to himself or his friends, it’s that he only saw the danger in the Humagears. Much like Ark could only see the violence and cruelty of humanity, Aruto was stuck seeing Humagears as only potential opponents or helpless victims. It wasn’t malicious, or anything. He’s not Gai, looking down on the very concept of AI’s walking around. But it’s born from a fear that any Humagear could get hacked, or go berzerk, and just generally terrorize the public. This is what Aruto has to deal with nowadays: Humagears constantly going crazy.

Except, y’know, that’s not accurate? Aruto used to see his role as building a bridge between two species, and showcasing the power of humanity working in concert with Humagears. He’d forgotten that in his conflict with Gai, and it’s up to Izu and a stacked roster of Humagears to remind him.

I really liked how this episode turns the reins over to the Humagears, and Izu specifically. Yua’s back in her Kamen Rider Secretary role, and Fuwa’s randomly exposing all of his inner traumas to a captive terrorist, so there’s really no one else to fix this problem for Aruto. Izu immediately steps up and marshalls the friendly Humagears of the last two dozen episodes to both study and solve the problem of Metal Cluster Hopper. (Which, boy does this approach make Aruto look even more careless and reckless! His plan was mostly just staring at his Driver and hoping this time he didn’t lose control and attack people. Give full ownership of the company to the Humagears!) It’s the Humagears working together to counterbalance Ark’s nihilism with their own faith. It’s them reminding Aruto of the need to see people as more than just victims or villains, but as sources of strength and reserves of decency.

I dug the hell out of this story. I love that the conclusion of Aruto’s steady descent into self-negating sacrifice was Izu metaphorically reaching out a hand to him. (Just like in the opening!) Aruto’s had help and support around him all this time, he just needed to be reminded that they were there. The whole show is built around the idea of partnership, and here’s this beautiful story about Aruto needing to let his family shoulder some of his burden. Hard to find any flaws in a story that big-hearted.

The real Metal Cluster Hopper was our friends along the way.

I'm posting this now. Full thoughts will come in a bit. I just needed to get this out of the way.

Also here is a meme

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYCgbPuWI...jpg&name=large

Whoops, nearly got too frantic about dicussing a new Takahashi Rider that I nearly forgot to watch this Takahashi Rider! It's Episode 24!

-Everybody, jump! Isn't that such a cute resolution, the Humagears giving Aruto the strength to overcome the Ark's malice in return for always believing in them? I don't really have anything more to say than that, depsite the whole MCH debut taking about 3 episodes? It's simple, but sometimes simple is best! It's a nice contrast, Aruto can only get where he is today with the help of his wonderful employees/family, and Gai is undoubtely a one man parade due to his overwhelming ego, and the difference that makes is overwhelming!


-I really enjoyed the Humagears taking the reins this episode! Enji excellently decieving Gai, Okayata and Subaru infiltrating the MJBR hideout, even something like Match intentionally setting a scenario up to get scrapped by Nikaido for the sake of a Best Match? In a way, Horobi was kinda right: Gai (and sort of Aruto) vastly underestimate how capable Humagears can be on their own! (Also can we talk about how gutsy it was for Izu to jump in in front of the walking death machine (knowing that if she gets scrapped, it's over) when she could've just asked him to hold the blade while transforming or smthn. Really cool!)

-I love how the Humagear keys look? Very pretty...

First off, Gai actually manages to beat MCH, and then he welcomes Enji who was "supposedly" taken over by the Ark. Aruto while stuck in the hospital because of MCH, who actually doesn't believe in HumaGears for once, thinking that it's likely one of them will go berserk while he's in the hospital, which even Izu points out is rather out of character for him, usually being the one to put all his faith into HumaGears.

Once again, Match is great in this episode, he might be one of my favorite HumaGears so far. We then get to the main part of this episode, where Izu gets all the goodness from HumaGears to try and overwrite the evilness of the Ark, I really like this, it's why even with how episodic the first 10 or so episodes are, they really help to build up the HumaGears and this moment makes you remember all the good Aruto did for the HumaGears in those episodes, so it really feels like good karma for Aruto for having always had faith in the HumaGears no matter what.

We then find out that Enji was never taken over by the Ark, but was just acting, though Gai then forcefully transforms him into a Magia anyways, then we see Gai beating the Magia up, I never understood why he'd transform Enji into a Magia just so he could kill him, but I guess it's so he would have an actual reason to kill hm, being that he's a Magia now, as opposed to just killing a HumaGear which would look bad for him.

Through the new Progrise Hopper Blade, Aruto can actually control MCH now and it's great to see, I also like how when he does his catchphrase and pose Izu does the pose with him. The sword can also turn Magia back to normal, which is nice to see after so many episodes where the HumaGear would have to be destroyed and then brought back through a copy of their data, it's something I thought would've happened sooner, like how in Donbrothers the heroes can turn the Hitotsuki back to normal, so I'd assumed something like that for Zero-One would've happened sooner, but at least it's here now. Even though we're still in the middle of an arc, this episode sort of felt like an ending to me, with everything seeming to have gone right, maybe except for the end there with Horobi having escaped. But, all in all, this was a great episode and maybe my favorite of this arc so far. Didn't realize I wrote so much:lol

So this was a really nice episode and now we know the reason why berserk Metal Cluster exists. So Metal Cluster can mindlessly use Mammoth with Thouser jacking it, because there's no way we can bring out the mecha again.

Anyway, aside from the resolution on the whole love thing (Honestly like you said before, I think it's better for the world that those two are together), we get a very focused episode on fixing Metal Cluster. Especially since Aruto had no real plan, so well... we get the Humagears repaying Aruto's kindness by working together.

The cameos here were really nice with seeing the construction worker and younger astronaut brother breaking into Metsubojinrai's defunct base to get the data. Then of course the little montage of all of them making cool looking P-Bandai items. I jest though since I do like the concept of the Humagear Keys. And then we get Metal Cluster Hoppers weapon, the Progrise Hopper Blade.

Which results in a debut I was much more happier with. Gai gets defeated, there's still the looming threat of ZAIA, but like... there's that catharsis that you feel since Gai did not want to lose like this. Also the whole "How did you do it?" , "I bet you don't have a clue, cause I don't either" exchange was absolutely great.

Overall a very satisfying episode if I'm being honest. It's the victory needed against Gai's absolute stomping of everyone since I really don't count any Berserk MCH wins against him as wins. That being said I loved how petty Gai was where he's like, "I'm turning you into a Magia so I can take my frustrations out on you."

The past Humagears who Aruto had bonded with all showing up with their Progrise Keys beeping out their names as they help channel themselves to helping Aruto was very effective.

I have to admit I didn't realize Enji was trying to trick Gai at first but it was a really clever reveal, and also let Enji redeem himself after the mess that became his movie.

"Everybody Jump" really does just sum up the point, of Aruto carrying on and helping realize the dreams and ideals of Humagears together, not just shouldering the burden on his own but by working with them and by being supported by them.

The Progrise Hopper Blade just looks really cool. I love how it's both a giant honking sword that lets Aruto finally save rampaging Humagears gone Magia but also lets him basically get a double-bladed weapon. It's just really cool!

"I bet you don't have a clue, cause I don't either" - That line is so Aruto yet also so Meta that I absolutely love it.

It's a tale as old as time of a bad guy finally getting hist just deserts, but man is it satisfying seeing Gai angry, frustrated, and properly defeated.

Valkyrie appeared last time in ep. 18.... so 5 last episodes before. Aside from that, Match (coming from Build) seems to be one of the more underhanded Humagears, he employs extreme methods to get the job done in mercilessly verbally abusing Ebii, as well as purposely corrupting himself to Ark so that Teruo displays his 'worthiness' for Ebii in front of her eyes by putting his life on line for her. It does succeed at the cost of his own life, but damn that's an overboard one to pair someone. More like showing that there can be Humagears who while not evil, aren't exactly safe due to some of his extremist tendencies in Match.

I didn't talk about Yuto previously, but as the outcome has been given for him before (at first glance, seems a happy one that he's free from accusations), now I can. Weirdly I feel more for minor characters compared to major characters, due to how the major characters' struggles and how they face them are highlight, but here, I gotta say poor Yuto. Ebii is inadvertently hypocritical and gets away scot free throughout this part, her coldly breaking up with Yuto after she falsely accused him. It's also about how she accepted Teruo's proposal within a much shorter three days, compared to Yuto proposing after only a month (of which she saw as suspicious and reported him for it).

And it's something pointed out in-universe with how Fuwa berates Aruto for doing that. So it's something that is done on purpose? Tbf for Aruto, it's a trap by Gai because, Aruto is trapped by damned if you do/don't situation (the hard choices a hero can face, and can be used by villains as well in their tactic), thanks to Gai he can only use the MetalCluster Progrise Key, because no other Progrise Key can be authorized except for itself, meaning that he's forced to either stay out of battles or henshin as an unstoppable rampage. If Aruto didn't do something, he'd be the "indecisive" type of someone heroic and self-sacrificing, of which, can be something annoying too for some for the inaction? I guess this one displays what if someone with Kamen Rider personality isn't the "annoying" indecisive one.

They're very cool! I like how they've got this extra-translucent look, kinda shimmery and ethereal. They're the kind of keys that sell that their power is more spiritual and intangible than the regular keys. I like that!

It's a great touch for the completed version of Metal Cluster Hopper, that it's provided with a weapon that saves Humagears. Giving Aruto a tool to rescue Humagears from the Ark is way more interesting than just He's Powerful Enough To Beat Thouser, you know?

It's super fitting for Gai to get embarrassed by a Humagear and then turn it into a monster so he can feel like a big, tough, righteous dude again. Gai can't understand a world where AI would put themselves at risk to help a human, so he needs to create a monster that fits his worldview again.

It's funny how it's kind of a refutation of Aruto's catchphrase, you know? All this time he's shouting about how he's the only one who can take action, and how he's there to stop evil Humagears... and then here's a story where he needs to be lifted up by Humagears, to work in unison with them to safeguard everyone's hopes for the future. Really nice message.

This is just the genre of the story, though. It's a wacky romantic comedy where a woman has a crush on a guy who doesn't have any interest in her, so he has to theatrically rebuff her so she'll fall for the "right" guy. Everything Match does is fine for the genre of the story.

I've been so absorbed in all the Geats hype that I've neglected Zero-One.

I forgot the Wedding episode existed. Not in a bad way, nor memorable (I certainly got a few laughs out of it), but because Zero-One was airing during an odd period (not just because of world events) especially for me, where so many things where going on in my life that everything just started to fuse together for me. But anyway, some funny moments, can't say I remember much of this one, chief.

Now episode 24... This was a good episode. More reasons why I believe people saying Izu Best Girl (for Reiwa at least), and just how well this episode works. It definitely gave me a smile with all the Humagears helping Aruto.

(And Gai now being forced to live with his Swartz mistake)

Ha ha, yeah, what's with these villains powering up the heroes and then assuming it'll work in their favor somehow? Gai's scheme here is not his finest hour.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 25 - “I WILL SAVE THE HUMAGEARS”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone25a.png

Jesus, what a bizarre episode.

It’s basically a clip show, something that leverages tons of old footage (including, sadly, a bunch of content from the Reiwa First Generation movie) to recap the surprisingly complex and sprawling plot of this series, as well as the journeys of individual characters. In a lot of ways, it’s an extended, less funny version of some of those recap HBVs. There’re weird, almost non-sequitur exchanges where characters get way too introspective and verbose in their responses and analyses (why in the world does Aruto stop to ask Fuwa about his dreams???), and a whole bunch of graphics that illustrate the various power bases of the series. Two-thirds of this episode is people standing around having things explained to them, and it’s mostly just clarifications.

But then the other third of the episode is the return of Jin, in his brand-new Burning Falcon form (complete with new Driver!!!), as an “evolved” Humagear. This is an incredibly big deal! It’s a plot development that makes this episode unmissable… or, it would, if literally anything whatsoever about Jin’s return was explained. Who rebuilt him? Don’t know! Why is he “evolved”? Don’t know! Why does he have a new Progrise Key and Driver? Don’t know! Why is his outfit a snazzy slim-cut suit and unshackled chains? Don’t– actually, I do know why.

Amidst the half-dozen totally inexplicable things about Jin’s miraculous return, there’s a tiny bit of character work that, much like the new footage’s elevation of the rest of the episode’s archival stuff, actually makes the hilariously vague presence of Jin into something more evocative and thought-provoking.

Jin’s literally broken the chains of Humagear servitude, in look as well as in function. He doesn’t have to hide his identity from anyone anymore. He proudly displays his former bondage, to emphasize that it’s former. When he talks to Aruto about his future plans, it’s confident and clear: to free Humagears from humanity’s grasp. He’s going to save his people as Kamen Rider Jin. He’s not a villain, he’s a freedom fighter. His motivation is a twisted form of Aruto’s own heroism, and it’s incredibly intriguing. Horobi’s nonsense was always too smug and sinister to feel like it was a legitimate ethos, and Gai’s whole thing is about toxic egotism as a singular vision, so it’s nice to get Jin back as a sort of empathetic terrorist. Time’ll tell if he just degenerates back into a giggling psychopath, but I’m totally into this version’s point of view.

But that’s, like, one good scene! There’re some fun gags around the edges, and the Jin/Vulcan fight is five stars, but too much of the rest of this episode was background info and Wiki entries. If I watched the first two minutes and the last four minutes, I’d’ve had a terrific time with this episode. As it is, I watched the whole thing, and it’s SUPER weird.

—

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 07: KAMEN RIDER JIN - BURNING FALCON

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone25b.jpg

New suit, though! That ain’t nothing.

I like the Shotriser-esque revamp of Jin’s suit. It’s got the same Angry Silver Tummy of the AIMS suits, but a more cohesive version of their animal motifs. It’s a neat twist, with this new Driver having some of that AIMS DNA while still giving it a unique outcome. The more symmetrical suit for Jin communicates that he’s in a less chaotic space, mentally. There’s a clarity of purpose to this design, which meshes well with his reintroduction to the series.

Fun figure, too. Very few stickers, despite the suit maybe requiring more of them than were provided. A few of the leg stickers stop at the halfway point, and the upper half of the suit could’ve used a bit more black to break up the molded red plastic. Easy to sticker this one, but the end result is a little under-detailed.

Good enough for a candy toy, though! He’s gonna look nice on the shelf next to the rest of the cast.

I actually liked this episode, though that's probably because I haven't seen Zi-O or the Reiwa movie, so most of this stuff was new to me, though I can see how you might not like it if you've already seen most of the stuff in the episode. I do like Jin and am glad that he's back, I also like how Jin now has his own motivations apart from just following Horobi who himself follows the Ark. I like this episode, but I'm assuming most others who've seen the Reiwa movie will probably not like this episode, but it was a pretty good one for me and a nice follow up from the last episode.

Ah yes, the confirmation that Aruto did end up winning the battle against Sougo in Reiwa First Gen.

This was a neat episode, basically another breather episode but also the start to one of the many ways Reiwa does something different from Heisei. You'll understand in due time what I mean when you get to the other series.

Anyway Jin's back and I really love Burning Falcon! Just a good form all around, poor Fuwa though, he's not catching a break is he when it comes to fights.

So fun fact: the real reason that Jin keeps his new toy on a chain is because when he was using Flying Falcon, his pose involved throwing it in the air before inserting it, and that resulted in way more outtakes than the producers were comfortable with.

Horobi: Uses a katana as a Humagear but a bow as a Kamen Rider.

Jin: Uses a handgun as a Humagear but a shortsword as a Kamen Rider.

Really dig Burning Falcon as a suit, especially given the very obvious Phoenix symbolism what with Jin being reborn and all.

Very happy that this episode confirmed that Reiwa First Gen was Canon too. Such a shame it wasn't included in Shout's official subs.

Jin really rocking that post-freedom, new body/form, drip with that suit and Burning Falcon.

It was? Well, that explains why the only part I remember about this episode was Jin's return and the intriguing interactions between Aruto, Isamu and Gai. Seriously poor timing for a recap though, coming before the 6 week hiatus, Recap City.

He was once Jin The Boy. But now he's Jin The Man. I think this new upgraded side of him is pretty cool, where his mission to liberate HumaGears from their human oppressors is the same, but his methods are now his own. He's not just following his father's orders and throwing tantrums anymore, he's thinking for himself and actively thinking about what HumaGears need to feel happy in this world.

He also has his own Progrise Key now, instead of stealing Aruto's, so this is a totally ethical Kamen Rider. I agree that it takes all the exciting parts of the AIMS suits and I think that the burning red and silver makes him look cool and heroic. His ZAIA Slashriser (Presented by ZAIA! .... And Premium Bandai!) when it's unsheathed kind of resembles one of his razor sharp feathers and functions like a precursor to the Seiken SworDriver.

Anyway, this is the last of three non-job episodes in the Job Competition arc. The oasis in the desert.

Episode 25!

-Kinda weird that this episode sorta functions as a psuedo clip show/recap? I sorta get it, its the middle of the show and all, but huh. That's so much info we're already aware of.....

-I never thought about this before, but "four" Humagears were hacked? Did that mean Horobi was already buliding/bulit Jin before he was hacked? I wonder if Jin has any memories of that.....

-Like I get it, it fits his New Look, but I won't forgive them for trading away that lovely shade of pink for Jin's Rider form! Could've went for a shade of violet red or smthn......(Burning Falcon's cool and all but like. Discarding away all the classic MJBR suit aesethics feels thematically appopriate (since his vision is seemingly no longer aligned with Horobi) but feels kinda weird to me, because of that?)

-Eh...I don't have any strong feelings about the bit where about Aruto asking Fuwa what his dream is, but I'll go up to bat for it. Since this whole episode is half recap/half set-up, everyone's spilling about their goals and shit, right? Fuwa's kinda an outlier here-he's constantly talking about following his own road, doing shit his way and no one else's, but like.....? What kind of road do you want go down, Fuwa? Everyone here has their eyes turned towards some kind of future, but Fuwa is standing solidly in the present: If there's a bad robot, he'll scrap it. Something shady going on, he'll butt in. That's all there is to it. And living in the moment is fine and all, but for someone like Fuwa, whose entire being is centered around his current goal....is that really ok?

Basically: I think it's a good question to ask Fuwa atm (in terms of the story for the audience, since he's getting his brain squeezed by Gai and Horobi every other week for a good while now) but its dropped in at a weird moment that feels super clunky for the characters within the plot?

-Depending on what raws you're using, the Jin v Fuwa fight has that famous "got smacked so hard the aspect ratio changed for a split second" bit! I think it happens a second time later on, or maybe I'm misremembering it....?

It ends up making Jin a lot more interesting than Horobi's one-note menace, that's for sure. Jin seems like he's at least trying to explain himself and his point of view to Aruto (through the hacked Doctor Humagear), rather than Horobi's eternal parroting of threats and complete unwillingness to expand his argument beyond The Ark Said So. Jin's at least got some emotion to his outlook!

Fuwa's in that Hasn't Gotten An Upgrade In A Minute rut, where all of the new form debuts have to have someone to dominate, and he's in there rocking a three-month old Assault Wolf suit, so he's going to be the one to eat it in a fight. I'm sure he'll get another win soon, once he gets an upgrade.

Another fun fact, as advertised! Thanks!

It's a great upgrade to Flying Falcon. They manage to bring together the vague shape of Jin's last suit, but make it more polished and imposing. It feels like the grown-up version of Flying Falcon, you know?

I'm sure COVID's arrival gave the production a few regrets about how they paced the series, in retrospect, but the biggest one has to be spending an entire episode in the 20s on establishing stakes and laying out rosters. Plenty of time for that in a month!

Oh, sure, I don't think it's out of character at all for Aruto to wonder what a post-conflict life looks like for Fuwa, and I think the audience would like to see Fuwa have to confront his lack of a goal beyond Kill 'Em All. But dropped in randomly to a scene with almost no set-up, and treated as a slightly bored space-filler by Aruto... it's not the best writing?

I had that on mine, yeah. I actually had to switch to OverTime subs for this one episode, because the audio on my other was completely de-synched. Very weird to see the translation differences - Extinguirise Keys? No thanks!

The official subs translate that as "Extinction Rise" which I think works best. You'll more often than not see fans use the terms used by TV-N though, interestingly enough.

Yeah, the guy uploading the batches realised he goofed and uploaded the corrected version separately

It seems to be a long road, but Aruto's perseverance, and heroism, and self-sacrifice finally pays off here (despite that of course those genuine traits won't expect reward, but it can really be benefical despite cynical views like building strong support base). In how all he did towards the Humagears, including Izu, have them making core data for the blade comes from their positive feelings toward Aruto and humanity, which are filtered through Aruto's own signature key, Rising Hopper, which Zea then uses to give form to the weapon. It's so filled with positivity that it completely negates the Ark's negative energy and allows Zea to grab Aruto and pull him out and back into itself. To sum it up, this part of Zero-One weaponizes power of friendship (of which usually is a subject to mockery, not that I disagree, sometimes power of friendship can be manifested in BS ways).

Other than Fuwa before, now the Humagears have proven themselves to Aruto in his funk, in how Enji, who was used to be looked down upon by at least Oowada, now has proven himself to be able to become a great actor by training, not in movie acting, but in how he deceived Gai, pretending to be controlled by the Ark and infiltrated ZAIA to buy some time for Subaru and Oyakata to gather the data needed to stabilize MetalCluster. So he's able to act as Gai's enforcer. When his cover is blown, he even rubs the fact that he had Gai fooled right to front of his face to treat the viewers Gai being actually angered, breaking his calm smug facade.

Izu's solution to the MetalCluster problem izu also taking Gai's cruel view of it and turning it on its head. Gai considered the locusts he based the key on, and grasshoppers in general, as vile creatures that devour their own and crops en masse. Izu solved the problem by gathering her own "swarm" of positive Humagear Data to overwhelm the dark, misanthropic beliefs of Gai and the Ark, choosing to believe in humanity's innate goodness along with the other Humagears Aruto saved and cared for. Other than that this also display Izu's briliance that, like Aruto said, he can't get anywhere without her. Though for Gai's credit, at the beginning he was able to fend off his own creation (Ark) by using a finisher that is collected by the abilities he stole, though that symbolizes how he's a parasite who only grows by stealing the powers of the more talented people around him.

Good catch! Izu definitely refuted Gai's dismissive take on Humagears.

On a meta level I have to say I kind of like how people are just randomly spouting out what their Kamen Riders stand for.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 26 - “WE’RE THE FIREFIGHTER TEAM”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone26a.png

This is an episode that isn’t really saying anything particular smart or nuanced (it’s mostly just talking about how saving lives isn’t something you can do partially, or even pragmatically), but it’s so relentlessly fun to watch from front to back that it hardly matters if it’s not the smartest episode.

And, y’know, it’s not! Much like the smoky upper levels of the training facility, it’s a little difficult to tell exactly what this episode is hoping to get at with its aggressively-dedicated human firefighter and its algorithmically-motivated Humagear. There’s the concept of life-saving being built on faith as much as it is ability, and… man, I don’t know. We literally just did a story that resolved in faith and pushed back on the idea that any risk is worth taking in the pursuit of saving lives, so I don’t know if Homura’s whole You Gotta Save Everyone All The Time No Matter What thing is a really smart lesson. Like, you cannot save everyone as a firefighter, or as a doctor, or whatever. I know this is a kids show designed to sell toys, but it’s weird to have one of the major lessons of the episode be to endanger yourself and other victims who need your help, just to get 100% completion on your job. 119 is sort of right to save three alive people instead of staying in a burning building to try and revive a fourth person, but the episode treats his actions as monstrously negligent, and potentially cruel. I don’t love that! I don’t love a story that suggests that the only thing stopping people from succeeding in every single situation is the will to see things through. That’s a weird message! No thanks!

(There’s a read on this that I could like more next episode, where Homura’s rant about things that aren’t alive still being worth saving could create an interesting bond between humans and Humagears, but it’s not really touched on this episode. Feels like I’m inferring it more than they’re implying it, but we’ll find out for sure next time.)

But, like, this episode is so fun, and funny, that I don’t really care about a facile/horseshit moral.

The entire Firefighting Contest plot is ridiculous in the best possible ways. 119’s little bouncy jog he does. Homura chastising the “victims” for their poor acting. 119 complimenting a victim for his good acting. The Hiden executives complaining about their role in the contest, stranded on the top floor. The Panda Raider rocketing around via its cannon. The reporter, randomly in the area to cover a sweets story, completely losing her shit at how dangerous everything is. The Magia stomping on Aruto’s feet to get around him. Just… the whole thing is agreeably goofy, even if its swings towards seriousness are hamfisted.

And the action is no slouch! A lot of fun camera angles in Aruto’s chase after the Raider, but the Jin/Vulcan fight is another episode highlight. There’s a jaw-dropping fluidity to Burning Falcon’s moveset, where it feels like Jin is moving in every direction imaginable. And, like, it starts with this thrillingly gorgeous Henshin sequence, with Jin and Fuwa doing their transformations back to back, the preparation for an epic duel. I love it. I hope Jin and Vulcan get a show-stopping fight scene in every episode, forever, even into the next series. I want these two sparring in Saber.

I wish this were a smarter episode, with a moral worth exploring (or one that was treated as less of a given than it is), but sometimes I can be mollified with a hilarious and exciting episode of tokusatsu storytelling. That can be fun, too!

So this is probably my favorite two parter on the whole competition side alone? While the courtroom stuff last time was pretty serviceable, the stuff here for the Fire Fighting contest was just a lot of fun and I genuinely enjoyed it.

Didn't care for Aruto getting Jacked again, but hey, he's out of things to Jack so we're at least finally done with that!

That being said this episode alongside 25 and 27 were directed by Kazuya Kamihoriuchi! Dude's a really great director and you can tell when it comes to certain shots. Reminder of stuff he did being Hazard's Debut episode, the Gaim Two Parter for Zi-O. Dude usually brings his A-Game when it comes to creating nicely directed scenes.

Also there's a bit where Fuwa is just waiting for Jin and Horobi to pop out of their little hideout and he's just eating what I'm assuming is an energy bar. And I'd like to just imagine that is just what Fuwa's diet consists of when it comes to his job at AIM's, just canned coffee and like granola bars.

Unlike some of the other competitions, firefighting is actualy a topic that makes sense for Kamen Rider (not that I didn't enjoy the others). We have a bit of a switch up for this episode, as normally the ZAIA representative is very rude to the HumaGear rep and just in general, but this time you can actually see where the firefighter is coming from, 119 is actually kinda in the wrong here as his inaction could've lead to a person dying who could've been saved, so the human firefighter is understandably quite mad at him.

I don't have much else to say on this episode, I did like the firefighting stuff, but I'm also a person who doesn't care for the fights, so Fuwa fighting Jin didn't really do much for me, and the rest of the episode is pretty standard for these competition episodes, but I still think it's a good episode, and a good concept.