Well I’ve got little to say about the episode. Honestly these first seven episodes are so formulaic I can’t even complain about that.

So instead, I’ll show off the toy version of most of the Zetsumerisekeys, since this episode debuts the two that come with the Zetsumeriser. (Anyone else think that thing looks like Ryuki’s V-Buckle. That was literally my first thought when I first saw it)

Dodo Magia! A ferocious Magia with room to grow.

Mammoth Magia! A Magia who brandishes its giant tusks.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OoWQJm1w4DU

Berotha Magia! A big-headed Magia, wielding the scythes.

Kuehne Magia! A Magia with a large collar similar to a boomerang.

Ekal Magia! A Magia with sharp teeth.

Neohi Magia! A Magia that lets its many tendrils flutter.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lCZeuSv6W_M

I’ll show off the rest when the last Zetsumerisekey appears.

But for now, Freezing Bear. It’s a Progrisekey I was always interesting in getting, but never got around to. But it was remixed into the Legend Rider who DreamSword refers to as “(my) boi”.

Broken Chain! WakeUpping Kiva! A genius violinist who stays in solitude.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mi8g5vUPheE

Meanwhile in 2002, nobody on Ryuki can be bothered to say each Rider's name more than once. :lol

(Oh, and while I'm on this subject, I always really loved how Taiga did this in Ex-Aid too! Especially because Hiiro also had his whole thing of referring to the other three main Riders by what kind of doctor they were. Both of those details suggest a lot about either character's personality, and it makes each of them that much more distinct, because Ex-Aid creates contrast in its cast the way Ex-Aid's design creates it in its colors.)

But uh, I'm talking about the wrong series here, aren't I?

This isn't really my favorite episode of the series or anything, but I also feel bad putting it that way, because that makes it sound like I think it's bad or something. It's mostly just surrounded by episodes I completely love, and I think it goes to show what a high standard Zero-One was at for me. Even an episode that's just "decent" still has a strong plot and all the usual great action. I find it really interesting seeing you point out the sort of disconnect in the climaxes, Die. I don't think I ever would've clocked that as someone who got into this franchise with so many of those early Heisei shows, where I feel like you'd often have the monster and hero randomly meet after an unrelated drama plot. (I always figured Shouichi and the Ryuki guys could sense monsters specifically to encourage that sort of writing, for example.) If anything, the monster in a Zero-One episode being a character we've gotten to know for the better part of 20 minutes already makes it more connected than where my standard for that is at? It's better selling the stakes of why MetsubouJinrai needs to be stopped by making them more personal, and that's really all I need out of the fights. Still, that's definitely a great observation on your part.

What also helps Zero-One is just that, again, the action is relentlessly fun. Even just that little throwdown between Valkyrie and Jin, for example. I know you don't quite feel like engaging with the shady stuff Yua's doing in the background just yet, but one thing I love about this episode is that, while it ends with her looking her shadiest yet, it also goes out of its way to put in a moment where she realizes there are civilians on the battlefield, and shields them from Jin with her own body. I really love the way the show builds up Yua early on a ton. The gap between her as a hero and her as someone with a hidden agenda is a lot of fun, and of course, I never get tired of that highly tactical fighting style.

Other fun bits of action in this episode include Vulcan using the Attache Calibur, a moment which I think exists solely because the box for the DX Attache Calibur has a picture of Vulcan using it. I think the idea was to suggest the Attache weapons are more mass-produced tools than signature items for the heroes, but as neat as that idea is for building the setting's atmosphere, I don't think they were actually super interested in having anyone but Aruto use that sword.

And speaking of Aruto, gotta love how he remembers to move his hand before he blasts himself in the face with his new form this time. Freezing Bear is a suit I've always kind of wanted to be my favorite of Zero-One's non-insect forms, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't get me fired up the same way as Flaming Tiger? I mean, Freezing Bear is certainly cool, but... uh, I swear I wasn't even trying to make dumb puns this time, but you get the idea. The bottom line is that Freezing Bear is still a Zero-One form, so I definitely do like it. I guess in a way it's just like the episode it debuted in. Like, that's what a "decent" Zero-One suit looks like.

It's a proud tradition for Oni though! Amazon does have an original name, but everybody just calls him Amazon.

I like how the first few episodes are formulaic but gradually increases the stakes about what it means for HumaGears to co-exist with humanity. Kobe is the first instance we've seen of one reaching Singularity, a state of self-awareness comparable to our own. Of course, there's another controversial AIMS law stating that those who reach Singularity are "defective" and should be destroyed. However, that's a human bias due to the fact that self-aware HumaGears would be able to demand better treatment and override their programming if they don't get what they want, making them less useful. Once more, I think it's important to consider the HumaGears' perspective, not just how it inconveniences humanity.

I respect your opinion on the first part. But no offense, the second part sounds spiteful towards Aruto, considering how much he wants that Key back. I'd also like to point out how Jin's Henshin puts Tori-chan through visible suffering, which is something I would advocate against, similar to the unethical practice of poaching endangered species for luxury items. I can't tell if you're joking here?

Oh yeah, the oxymoronically-named Ansatsu-chan sure is a popular character, despite not being one of the main members of Metsuboujinrai. I guess he kind of has that underdog appeal, since all great AIs have to start somewhere before they learn to get better. Even his motif as Dodo Magia has underdog appeal, due to dodos having no fight or flight experience at all, which is the reason they went extinct.

I think it's pretty cool how the Attache weapons can fold in to a briefcase. But like the Rise Hopper, I have to ask, what is even the point of a weapon folding in to a briefcase if it's not even supposed to be a secret?

Regarding Zi-O, sorry, but how about my late reply in your thread there?

This is probably the episode that proved Aruto's steadfast belief against Humagear. Kobe wouldn't grow beyond its programming, but becoming what Humagears are actually intended to be. For the administrator, it's probably baffling, but for Aruto, that should be the "I knew it" moment. Actually, Anna was also a case of this before. And even then, Kobe is not the highest level of the humanity display shown by Humagear, that'd be saved for later with its own in-universe term. There's also an irony here, for some humans, compared to Humagears, in how Kobe is more understanding to the kid's wishes, rather than the actual caretakers, with how the parents want the kids to focus on their studies instead, which is a display of stereotypical Asian parent that imposes their will on them, and also Satou, of which is too controlling of the school activities, though he's quite misguided to be suspicious of Kobe calling students by their number (actually reasonable assumption, and probably this episode's fault to not touch upon this again, like why?), or throwing a ball too hard at Yuta. Now due to this proving Aruto's belief, this'd really make Fuwa look bad, as him not caring about Kobe gaining sentience and the impact on his students, shows how clouded his judgment is so far, and makes him quite cold and heartless in this episode to not think about the actual humans being positively impacted by this.

I guess, this'd be something that's more tragic regarding Humagears in general by their nature, at least to those who approved them, as them being turned into Magia isn't only causing an assault, but also practically invokes a loved one's death for those positively impacted. If it's the owner too, it'd be costly to buy a new one, like a property damage victim. For this part though, the MOTW fights would be now taken over by Assassin/Ansatsu-chan, someone who is actually a Magia from birth, instead of Humagears turned into 1. Magia does come from Humagear's sentience, but their personalities are still overwritten into a much more monstrous one. The difference of Magia-born like Assassin would be about them being reprogrammed, not forcibly hacked, thus their backup data is intact and the originals can be safely brought back in new bodies. There's an irony in how Assassin's animal motif is based on Dodo, a species that was wiped out by predators it couldn't adapt to in time. But Assassin is a brutal predator himself with a robust capability for adaptation and growth.

Oh right, now this'd be a Zero-One (last) form change that I liked suit wise. Probably because for my tastes, this'd be the one that is the most consistently using its primary color scheme, blue. And as you said, actually the color mix is pleasant here in the transparent chest piece and carries more meaning like you said.

Yua is established as the tertiary Rider before. But as this episode is mainly about Yua displaying more sinister side, displaying some outright ruthlessness rooted from her cold and detached demeanor, at least to Humagears especially after what's shown in Kobe, actually the part of her protecting civilians from Jin would be meant to humanize her, as in having a line she wouldn't cross, instead of being outright a hero. At this stage she'd be ambiguously bad, of course ambiguous as she'd be rather hard to categorize at this point.

Zero-One was made to be used by Hiden's president, so I guess the simple headcanon there is that the in-universe reason is the same as the meta one -- they thought it'd be a cute way to make his weapon more business-flavored.

Also makes the weapons more compact and easier to carry when in briefcase mode. Plus, reduces the risk of an accident happening when in transport.

Yeah, it's got the same simplicity as the V-Buckle.

It's also my least-favorite Driver on this show so far? Of the four that've been shown off, it's the only one I haven't ordered. (I, uh, ordered a Forceriser last night.) Too simple? The jingles and stuff miss the addictive exuberance of the name character belts, and the actual dimensions of it seem lackluster and unimpressive. It's the kind of belt that's fine for a parade of one-off villains (two-off, maybe, when they need to reuse suits just to piss off Fuwa), but it doesn't conjure nearly the same fascination as the Kamen Rider belts.

I still liked Yua in this episode, don't get me wrong. While my patience to engage with a slow-burn mystery subplot is nowhere, I do appreciate the show devoting as much time and energy to her character development as they seem to be. And, yeah, the fight with Jin in the beginning is great! It might be my favorite fight in the episode, for how clearly she's able to overcome Jin's raw strength by fighting faster and smarter than Zero-One could.

To Sell Toys aside, I laughed pretty hard at Vulcan swiping the case seconds before Zero-One needied it, and Izu holding empty air to Aruto's frustration. We'll eventually get the thrilling scenes of all our Riders working in unison to defeat monsters, but I do have a soft spot for the early days of no one getting along and the fights being punctuated with gags.

I mean, that's basically this show's core dilemma: what humanity needs from Humagears, and what Humagears need from humanity. Aruto's excited about the potential of fully self-aware Humagears dreaming a better future alongside humanity, but then you've got humanity saying I'm Not Giving My Roomba Vacation Days. There's idealism meeting realism, and it makes for some fun stories.

I'm mostly joking? A lot of it is preferring Jin's suit to Aruto's suit for that Key, as well as finding it hard to muster much sympathy for an uber-rich CEO's loss of property, but, you're right, I wasn't considering that laser bird's suffering. I am not in favor of that! Stop hurting laser birds!

Have not had the time, sorry! I liked what I read, though.

I mean, it proves Aruto's theory, but not his belief. And even then, this is a known issue. (It's why Fuwa carries that gun!) THe world knows that Humagear can become self-aware, and they really really don't like it.

I like how they made the game so pivotal to Kobe and the team and they still lost, as what happens in real life. And Kobe still gets his big character moment.

The Dodo Magia! There's a lot I can say about this character that will probably have to wait, but for now I like the rapport between him and Jin.

I feel like the Humagears being hacked into their Magia's form and it not being "them" is kind of the point to emphasize why what Metsuboujinrai is doing is wrong because they're basically killing the Humagears to turn them into Magia's that the Riders have to fight.

Freezing Bear! I just really like a Rider having an ice form and a polar bear form. And it just looks really cool! I feel like Zero-One has a pretty solid balance of forms at this point.

Sure, but what I dislike is that the end result is most of the Humagear dilemmas not really getting conclusions. Like, what would the humans have decided if Kobe had pleaded for leniency and Jin hadn't shown up and caused his eventual resetting? How would Aruto have argued for Kobe's right to improve? What would Fuwa have done to prevent Kobe exceeding his programming? How would the kids have reacted? MetsubouJinrai spares the story from having to answer any of that, which bums me out.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 8 - “THE DESTRUCTION STARTS NOW”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../zeroone8a.png

Sort of the opposite feeling to the last couple episodes, where the story doesn’t really get going until MetsubouJinrai attack.

I mean, look at that screencap! This is the one where Horobi makes his modern-day appearance out of the shadows; where an/the answer behind the mystery of Daybreak is presented to our heroes; where subterfuge takes a backseat to declarations of war; where Fuwa might as well be using a This Time It’s Personal Progrise Key. It’s MetsubouJinrai versus humanity, and it’s about the only thing worth discussing in this episode.

Which is sort of a shame? The hospital stuff beforehand is cute (mostly for Aruto and Fuwa getting on each other’s nerves in the most childish ways imaginable), but there’s no real specificity to Mashiro or the hospital full of Humagears. It’s just Aruto’s pride in Humagears helping humanity, up against Fuwa’s PTSD-related arguments that Humagears are all just waiting to destroy you. It’s not… there isn’t a lot of nuance to it, is I guess what I’m getting at.

It’s the main problem with most of the Aruto/Fuwa arguments about Humagears, really. Aruto’s point is that Humagears are great because he had a great childhood with them, and Fuwa’s point is that Humagears are terrible because he had a terrible childhood with them. They’re never really confronting the same issue, since they’re mostly just talking past each other. Their arguments are framed almost entirely in their childhoods, so it just gets to be yelling. I don’t mind it, necessarily, because it’s true to their characters, but it makes the first half of this episode a little wheel-spinny.

But the concluding half is strong, mostly for how forcefully it pushes back on Fuwa’s uncontrollable rage at the world’s unfairness. Horobi shows up, does his Henshin, and then proceeds to make Jin’s opening thrashing of Zero-One look like an evenly-matched draw. He just brutalizes Fuwa, up to and including giving him the M Bison brush-off. Fuwa’s anti-Humagear obsession finds its most infuriating target in Horobi, the personification of the hatred that boils over in Fuwa 24/7, and Horobi’s like Cool Story Bro. Horobi’s icy, sinister demeanor can’t even muster up an ounce of glee in Fuwa’s torment, because he doesn’t give a single shit about Fuwa’s emotions. Horobi doesn’t tease him, or threaten him; he just destroys him.

It’s a transitional episode, this one, and not just for how it transitions Fuwa to Possibly Deceased. (I’m sure he’ll be fine; he’s got so many more upgrades to get!) The early stories of world-building seem to have been set aside for open conflict between heroes and villains, and while I might miss the charm of those inquisitive character dramas, I’m also pretty good with superheroes trying to defeat genocidal supervillains. I’m actually easy to please?

—

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 03: KAMEN RIDER HOROBI - STING SCORPION

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../zeroone8b.jpg

Man, I hate stickering SO-DO weaponry, and I haaaaaaate stickering SO-DO bows. Doing the Gaim Energy Riders set – and their eleven hundred longbow stickers – was definitely a contributing factor to me quitting SO-DO. Just the most mind-numbing, least-fun, repetitive task.

So, yeah, I did not include Horobi’s Attache Bow (or whatever it’s called) because I just did one of those for Jin, and that’s plenty. This whole figure is basically Jin’s SO-DO, with a couple tweaks. There’s one less kneepad sticker, because Bandai just went ahead and painted one black. (They were already painting the black straps, so why not?) We get Horobi’s stinger instead of Jin’s wings. I think that’s about it? It’s the exact same suit design, besides the helmet, so it follows that the figures would be more or less identical to produce.

I like Jin’s SO-DO figure better, though. The stickers pop way more off of that suit’s brighter colors, while Horobi’s purple just washes out all of the black and most of the gray. Some of the silver manages to rise above the darkness, but a lot of it just bleeds together. Not my favorite tiny man.

The suit itself, however, is very choice. I could quibble at Zero-One barrelling right into Ex-Aid’s Purple Suit = Evil Rider thing, but I like Genm, and I like Horobi, so why mess with success? It’s an intensely menacing suit, swapping out Jin’s bright playfulness for a stealthy malevolence. When Horobi’s Progrise Key went POISON, I was not surprised to see this type of suit appear. Incredibly good villain suit, and I get why it commands such a premium in toy shops.