Glad to see you pull through the series of those recaps. To reiterate cosmicresend0's opinions, these Specials were all enjoyable and all but watching it for some consecutive times, especially in weekly basis, can be quite a chore. I don't even watching those Specials, apart from the President one and the 35.5 one. I might try to watch the others but I seriously need to minimize my expectations to the bottom.

Anyway, if there's one wish I want to make from Zero One, I wish Aruto is in the same room with Fuwa and his father. I can imagine Fuwa would be hospitalized later after bursting his stomach out of laughter. On serious note, I really wish there was more heart-to-heart moment between Aruto and Fuwa. I mean, I love the interaction between Fuwa and Ai-Chan but... Come on, Aruto! You should deepen your bond with Fuwa even more; he's your bodyguard, sidekick and friend! Then again, I can't even be that mad because Aruto actually made the best solution by giving Fuwa some kind of therapy in the form of Ai-Chan.

For Jin and Yua, as much as the revival of Ark-Zero gave some idiotic implications for their actions, I actually didn't mind it. Mind you, Yua was taking part of this because she wanted to separate Fuwa and Naki; in which the characters in-universe were in doubt for what actions they should take for Fuwa and Naki. In addition, I know that the Ark's physical form was deep in the sunken city... But what was the practical way to destroy it. The only form that could dive that deep is only Biting Shark (and we don't even know if Aruto CAN swim). Is Breaking Mammoth water-resistant enough to deliver a Rider Kick to Ark? Or if Fuwa's strongest attack as Rampage Vulcan can reach the satellite Ark in the bottom? While I agree destroying Ark in the satellite is possible, I can't really think a practical way other than making the Ark itself goes to us.

One last thing, I found a nice bit of Horobi's development in this episode. After the Ark's revival, when Ark told Horobi 'We will start the humanity's extinction', Horobi could only give a slight response 'That's...'. I found it's fascinating to see someone, who is totally loyal and devoted to Ark up to this point, had a glimmer of doubt in Ark's decision. Love that Aruto's heart speech to Horobi last episode DID stick on him in some shape. No wonder why Ark instantly possessed Horobi after his revival. Out of all the members of Metsubojinrai, Horobi was the most dedicated to the letter for the Ark. The last thing that Ark wants is for his fanatic right hand man to have some doubt in his actions.

I think this plot development suffered the most from the pace of Episode 36. The flashback reveal to Jin and Yua's plotting needed, like, another forty-five seconds to try and lay out the pros and cons. As it is, it feels like total guesswork, and that makes them both seem unnecessarily reckless.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 37 - “NO ONE CAN STOP IT”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone37a.png

Yeah, boy, the pacing on these episodes… it’s not great!

There’s a franticness to everything that occasionally coincides with the frenetic tone of an endgame arc – everything’s falling apart, the villains are in ascendance, morale is at its lowest – but mostly it just feels like plots and actions are firing off randomly, and motivation is very I Hope The Actors Can Sell This Scene.

It’s not a bad episode, despite the preceding paragraph. There’s nothing happening here that’s outside the boundaries of the series to date. The Ark is doing villain stuff, Team Zero-One is finding strength in one another, MetsubouJinrai is like their dark mirror, and Gai is a gigantic golden five-horned clown. No one’s out of character or a walking plot device. The performances are across-the-board good, and frequently great. There’s a glorious fight scene at the end that is evidence that COVID didn’t affect every department equally. It didn’t suck.

But almost every detail within the episode is one that needed a little bit more space to breathe, or another scene to elevate it. The Ark’s strategy in this one is the weakest element, since there’s almost nothing to be gained from drawing out Thouser. It means that Gai is fully aware of the Ark as an adversary, and neither Gai nor ZAIA is eliminated in the process. The Ark tipped its hand, and all it got in return was calling dibs on the weekly Thouser Destruction. The motivation for the entire battle is likely just the Ark getting a chance to gloat over Gai, but it’s not a great strategy from a normally patient, plotting villain.

(But… I mean, I like that the Ark is enormously petty and vindictive. It was taught to be that by Gai, so it totally tracks that it would take a minute to utterly demolish Thouser, even if – maybe especially if – it doesn’t gain anything tangible. It’s not a machine intelligence that calculated humanity’s obsolescence; it’s a lunatic who thinks we're all terrible and deserve to die. I don’t love how we’re swinging between different levels of efficacy from the Ark, but I do like how it’s not exactly in control of its emotions.)

Fuwa and Yua’s little moment in the hospital is another scene where the actors have enough rapport to find fun notes and heartfelt emotion, but the placement is random and weird. Fuwa has never been the guy to… I was going to say “dwell on the past”, but, uh, that was his entire character for the first half of the show. But he was never the guy to hold stuff against Yua, so her need to come clean and apologize finds a mostly perplexed and distracted audience in Fuwa. (He’s got a lot to do this week as Emergency Morale Officer!) Yua’s overwhelming guilt and shame over the preceding *gestures at entire series* is likewise sort of overblown, since it syncs up with a non-Fuwa plotline from last week. There’s kind of no reason to have this scene happen here? A lot of what she brings up is stuff from a dozen episodes ago, and it’s nothing Fuwa’s even referenced recently. I like the weird beat of Yua needing to unburden herself thanks to Ai’s therapy, but it doesn’t really feel motivated by recent events.

Aruto’s plot works the best, since it’s dominated by gray areas and fun scene partners. I don’t really care too much about the liberation of Hiden Intelligence from ZAIA (it’s fine, but typically random; Gai’s been up to shady shit since minute one, but I guess this was the line that got drawn), but I liked seeing Fukuzoe act as a supportive figure for Aruto. Fukuzoe is 90% comedy relief for this show, and 9% someone for Aruto to embarrass, but I love when shows build an episode around the 1% of a guy like this that is a three-dimensional human being. Fukuzoe cares about Hiden Intelligence, and he’s used to Aruto’s optimism. When he sees Aruto bummed out about the likelihood of Humagears being so advanced that they can’t be constrained by human morality or human weaponry, Fukuzoe’s there to be an employee, and ask his President to be the beacon the company needs; to care more than anyone else. It’s incredibly sweet, and if it’s the result of a plot that feels somewhat haphazardly instigated, I don’t care much. The effort put into the scene by the two actors, leveraging this background joke into something resolute and hopeful, was worth it.

I’m not used to writing up Zero-One episodes this way. (Other shows, definitely, but not Zero-One.) Usually, there’s one main plot, and a couple thematically-linked subplots that spoke off of that. Now we’re into different territory, where it’s harder to see one common theme or emotion across the variety of plots taking place. The action is still good, and the actors are all great (Aruto crushed it this week), but it feels so much less cohesive than I’d like. There’s a grab-bag feeling to some of this episode, where we’re checking in with a bunch of plots without really needing to for the sake of the episode’s story. Like, good content, but not a good episode, if that makes any sense.

So, this episode is fine, a bit too fight heavy for my tastes, but still enjoyable. Speaking of fights, continuing from last episode, Ark beats down Aruto and Jin and then proceeds to possess Jin, so things are not going well for the heroes. We then see Yua talking to Ai-chan and just like Fuwa somehow manages to feel better in a few hours, which seems pretty unrealistic, I don't believe that a few hours of therapy can just make you better instantly, you'd think it would take multiple weeks, but I guess they can't give too much time to these subplots when they have to rush because of Covid, but I'd appreciate at least a bit more thought on it.

We cut to Gai and he suggests that the day the Raidrisers go on sale, that they'll have the ZAIAspecs lose control on purpose to get people to buy a Raidriser, and this is just something I can't even begin to describe in how it makes me feel, I know that Gai is technically a villain, but he's actually suggesting that many people die just so he can get more money, which is just, no, don't do that, that is such a horrible idea, what about poor people who can't afford Raidrisers, but might've gotten a ZAIAspec as a gift, are they just going to all die? He even says that letting people die is justifiable for the success of the Raidrisers, I completely forgot this was a thing that happened, I thought last episode's suggestion of putting the Raidrisers on sale was bad enough, but this, this is just terrible, I can hardly defend any of Gai's actions, you can't redeem murdering a bunch of people, simply to get more money, that's very clearly a crime, I'm going to move on, but I can't justify this.

Luckily, the other two (I can't remember their names) also think that this is a horrible idea, even going to Aruto to get Shesta up and running so that they can collect all of Gai's criminal acts and get him taken out from his position. Gai sees Naki, who now has a Forceriser of their own, and it's a Japanese Wolf, which looks really good, it's a really nice suit design in my opinion. we then get a rather long fight between MetsubouJinrai and A.I.M.S, as well as Gai and all the Raidriser fodder, of course, they're all beaten badly, and then Aruto shows up to meet the same fate, basically accomplishing nothing for anyone. This is a fine episode, way too much fighting for my taste, but it was still alright, though next episode does introduce my favorite character from Zero-One (which you might guess from my User Title:)), but this episode is just okay.

https://media.giphy.com/media/xT9IgH...hfQk/giphy.gif

I don't think you're supposed to view anything Gai's ever done as defensible? There's a whole Broken Clock Is Right Twice A Day aspect to a few of his arguments, where Aruto's optimism doesn't really account for how people actually live or interact with technology, but: no, Gai does not care about anyone but himself. Period. He's exactly like the Ark, in that he views anyone and anything outside of himself as tools; humanity exists to glorify him or be destroyed. "Tools don't have dreams", remember? The Ark in action is just Thouser, spouting all of his catchphrases (including the one Gai spouts at Naki and Ikazuchi earlier that episode), which should tell you everything you need to know about Gai's psychology.

It was nice to see that Fukuzoe and Yamashita haven't been sitting on the sidelines and off-screen as total comedy relief but have been working to retain the integrity of Hiden Intelligence, the company that Aruto still feels some emotional tethering too, and are ready to finally take Gai out. And to see Fukuzoe finally properly face Aruto, as Aruto, and be the one to support him after how topsy-turvy their relationship has been since the premier felt like a really great moment.

And Shesta's back! That was just really nice.

Kamen Rider Naki! Naki has a really cool Rider design, and I like how it's a different expression of a wolf Rider compared to Vulcan. In fact it is kind of cool seeing Metsuboujinari united as a group of Riders and beating the tar out of Gai.

(Also, that on-brand underwear...)

It is kind of amusing how the mess Gai made and that he planned to use to sell his products has now come home to roost and basically screw up everything. Gai was a bad parent to the Ark and now it's come to join in on the classic Thouser beatdown.

Like I said you better be ready for rushed pacing because hoo boy did they not know how many episodes they had left! I know I keep repeating it but I'll keep repeating it for good reason!

But also this episode is where I'd like to talk about the stipulation they had in filming fights! See here's the thing, and someone can correct me, but they were forced into a one-take rule for fights. I think they could practice, but each fight scene could only be done in one take.

Which basically forces to actors to put all they have into the fights, fumbles and all. And it ends up making the fights in this era of Zero-One a lot more visceral and I honestly love it!

Other notes on this episode, I really like Kamen Rider Naki! Aside from liking how they reused the Night Rogue bodysuit. Uh... There are two wolves within you! One is Shooting and one is Japanese! That's my joke.

I like the returning gag of her trying to turn herself off because she doesn't work for Aruto, only to have Fukuzoe be like NO I'M HERE DON'T GO. And then she blanks on Yamashita's title! Such a fun reunion.

The fights in this one were really excellent. Seeing MetsubouJinrai just surgically destroy Thouser was delightful, and the Ark/Zero-One fight was intense and emotional.

Fun fact: "Naki" can be translated as "Death."

KAMEN RIDER DIE CONFIRMED!

Also, my main takeaway for the big fight in this one is that Gai totally would've won in a one-on-one. He held up surprisingly well for a 4v1!

It's Episode 37!

- Uh oh, Our heroes are down for the count! I'm surprised Ark-One didn't just like, immediately explode Aruto and Fuwa once they tried to run? Maybe they're the type of person that likes to play with their food...?

-Heyyy, Naki finally transformed! I really like that they're a wolf like Fuwa, and the suit's not bad either! Naki getting their go-round on the weekly "embarass Gai" bit for a second time must be so cathartic for them.


-Like. I get it. I know the appeal of venting your feeling out in any methods other face-to-face (over calls, on certain sites, etc etc), and its especially important here because Fuwa and Yua aren't exactly willing to open up all the time, but like. My main thing with Ai-chan is that she kinda feels like...more of a plot device than anything? Maybe because she's not humanoid, it always felt like to me kinda a "ok so we kinda need to push So-and-so's arc in this direction but we don't exactly have the time do that "properly", so deploy Ai-chan.....!" Like I get what they're trying to do with her, but it still feels a bit like that, yknow?

-VP coming around to help Aruto reaffirm his beliefs is kinda sweet. Always fun when comedic characters get a chance to be serious.

-Excited for next episode, if I'm remembering the right one after this one.

Well, there isn’t really another chance for me to share this.

Progrise: I assist a vice-president. Secretary: Shesta.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2qssPQrpdTA

And we follow up with the suit everyone’s talking about.

Progrise: The Roar of Victory! Japanese Wolf! Awakening the instinct of a beast long lost.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4-gDyuORUP4

And some BTS fights over their debut.

In keeping with Naki being non-binary (heh, binary), the suit actor is Yuichi Hachisuka, a male suit actor who normally plays either female characters or petit male characters. This is only his second suit role for Rider (having previously been the female IXA suit actor in Kiva), with most of his roles being in Sentai.

The guy playing Ikazuchi suggested on his YouTube that his character was the one who suggested they destroy Gai’s clothes.

And Gai’s actor put on weight for the gag, since he’s 45 years old, and isn’t going to be in perfect shape, no matter how much plastic surgery he has to look younger.

Honestly thought Gai was going to die here, this seemed like perfect spot to end him. He was going to do the most heinous thing and sell the Raidrisers + Horseshoe crab set on P-Bandai! And I... I know he said that the ZAIA specs were going to go berserk on purpose on the day they release, it's a terrible act, mind you, but I also think that selling the Raidrisers by itself isn't a wholly terrible idea?

Hear me out here, we've seen time and time again the Humagears turn into murder machines quite quickly, so I'm in the mindset that having the Raidrisers as some sort of protection wouldn't be too bad of an idea? Would some get their hands on it for nefarious purposes, sure, but also everyone runs the risk anyway of losing their lives because someone gave a Humagear a snide remark and it turned into a terminator quickly. It's... really weighing this morality things. Also, Gai making it so the ZAIA specs go berserk is honestly pointless and just serves to make him look bad yet again, people have gone berserk already so they should know what it feels like and some would have the incentive to buy a Raidriser.

I treat the Raidriser thing like a gun. A... really big gun. Ill-minded individuals will use it for bad things, but there are also who might have it just to protect their loved ones, personally I'd keep one for myself (not only cuz it'd be cool to be a pseudo Kamen Rider lol) if I live in a world where the robo-butler next to me suddenly turned into a mammoth murderbot just because I accidentally stepped on his toe.

On other topics, oh hey Naki finally transformed. It looks... Fine, I guess. The lack of sizeable shoulder pads and short torso really make the arms look longer and awkward, but I guess I do kind of like how it's purposefully unisex in design. The S.H. Figuarts of it and various fanart does fix the awkward look of it, who knew extending the torso does it wonders.

I do kinda think Gai was meant to die here too. It makes too much sense -- his role as the last villain had ended (for quite a while, honestly), it demonstrates the threat of the Ark, it's poetic irony of his sins catching up with him, it's basically what's happening the entire fight until Ark needs to pull the last shot... like, I dunno, kinda feels like the need to sell Thousandrivers got in the way here.

Kamen Rider Naki!! I wish they got to do more in this form than be Ark's mook but their actual character development happened a while ago, so this is basically just giving me a sick Rider form for one of my favourite characters no matter the context. One of the relatively small handful of non-main Rider SHFs I picked up; they look even better there!

A hypocrite is a person in the process of changing. Gai doesn't know how to cope with failure, so after a streak of humiliating defeats, he was forced to choose between his desire for perfection or his morality. He declared war on Metsuboujinrai for hijacking the ZAIASpecs and now he's doing the same thing, for profit. After an ultimatum to reveal evidence of his crimes to the world if he doesn't step down, he snapped. The fact that he doesn't have a way to frame what he almost did as being anybody else's fault but his own is a sign of how unsustainable his dishonest way of life has become. This is his last chance. Gai needs to change now, or else he won't be able to come back.

Naki's one my favorite characters on this show (when... they are allowed to be a character), so I do not mind the comparison! I will instruct my lawyers to apply a light touch in the forthcoming trial.

I really got the impression from this episode that the Ark is way more theatrical than we'd considered. It... like, I think it very much wants everyone to know that it's better/stronger/tougher/smarter/etc., more than it actually wants to win. It's a machine that lives entirely off of its hatred for humanity -- it's not looking to eliminate that hatred, so it's also not in a hurry to eliminate humanity. The juice for the Ark is in terrifying humanity.

What bizarre commitment to a one-shot gag! That's neat!

I'm not sure it would make ZAIA look worse than before, honestly. People are still wearing the ZAIAspecs after the previous outbreaks, so a small bit of chaos won't break the company. And, like, ZAIA wins either way: they're selling the matches and the fire extinguisher.

I hear you, but I feel like Gai being detonated lets him off too easy. The catharsis for the show was never in him being murdered; the catharsis is in Aruto's perspective winning out, or in ZAIA being defeated, or in Gai being disgraced for... well, for being Gai. That dude needs to live a long, unhappy life.

Good gosh, I need to catch up on this thread...

Let me read up on some of the episodes here and I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully). Also, be prepared for a long, long post.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 38 - “I AM 1000% YOUR FRIEND”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone38a.png

One of the things I knew about Zero-One before starting the series was that Thouser named himself after his robot dog from childhood. It’s such a bonkers late-series reveal that of course it bubbles out into the general tokusatsu fandom. When I heard it, I thought it was hysterical. I didn’t know anything about Kamen Rider Thouser, but, like: dude took his costumed-hero name from his toy dog? That’s the dumbest, best thing. What a hilarious choice!

As I got to know Gai, it became an even funnier end-point to imagine. This merciless capitalist, this rapacious plutocrat, and he’s naming his superpowered alter ego after an Aibo or whatever? Now it’s not just hilarious, but it’s pathetic. They are going to make this dude a laughingstock, and I’m psyched to see it take place.

I'm watching this episode, though, and... it’s honestly one of my favorite moments in Zero-One, because it’s beautiful. It’s perfect. I wasn’t laughing, but I was almost crying.

I get that it’s probably not going to work for everyone. It’s a bold swing to follow last episode’s casual suggestion of multiple homicides with this episode’s attempt to resolve Gai’s childhood trauma. Gai’s seemed an absolutely irredeemable character, and I get it if this turn comes far too late (or far too random) to be convincing.

For me, it worked perfectly. I love the mundanity of it all: how Gai was a kid with a shitty dad, and he couldn’t process those feelings of inadequacy, so he pushed himself to be a hyper-competent asshole. He had this one friend, an AI from Hiden Intelligence, and the loss of it became this psychic wound that warped him in the weirdest ways. His hatred of AI was the absence of a friend; his desire to take over Hiden was a chance for a connection to something that used to make him feel worthwhile; his push to grow its profits at any cost was proof that his affection for Thouser was reciprocal, and valuable. It’s all sort of pathetic, but it’s a recognizable kind of pathetic.

Because horrible people don’t come from nowhere, and that’s worth acknowledging. Gai’s a terrible human being, but there were things from his past that made this terrible outcome feel right to him. It's everything this show's been talking about with intolerance and hatred, how they have a root cause rather than an innate presence. This isn’t an episode about forgiving Gai; this is an episode about understanding him, and maybe seeing if there’s anything to be salvaged.

I will always give the benefit of the doubt to a Kamen Rider episode that wants to try and rehabilitate someone rather than destroy them. I love stories that don’t ask what punishment someone deserves, but what forgiveness they might earn. Bestoying just a bit of grace on Gai is worth doing if there’s a chance he could work to redeem himself. It’s not wiping the slate clean or anything – I’m not even sure if Gai could ever make up for all of the people and Humagears he harmed – but it’s allowing for the scales to be brought closer to balance.

I found this episode to be enormously moving, and riveting in its attempt to sketch in Gai’s motivations. They’re ludicrous in isolation, but, y’know, so is Gai. It’s in the context of this wider story about how technology helps us reach our potential, and how we all need someone to see the best in us, that it actually becomes poignant and memorable. I can’t believe this is the episode I was laughing at a couple years ago when I read the description.

I love this goddamn franchise.

https://i.imgur.com/TdBNE0H.png
Remember how I said that Gai's actions from last episode were indefensible? Yeah, so this episode, this episode... Anyways, let's talk about Thouser (the dog), I love Thouser, as well as all other dogs in any form of media, I'm also looking for any reason not to discuss this episode, so let's talk about Thouser, both of the Thouser models are versions of Sony's AIBO robotic dogs, though if you want to buy the new model seen in the episode, it'll cost you nearly 3,000$ (so my hopes and dreams of owning a Thouser of my own are crushed). I rate Thouser 10/10, I love dogs so much that even just a robotic one fills me with joy. What about the episode? I believe that episode 37 is certainly an episode in the series Kamen Rider Zero-One, and it contains the character of Thouser, so I can say without a doubt, this episode does in fact exist. That is all I have to say.

Thouser's great! I can see why the loss of him engendered a full-on Tokusatsu Citizen Kane from Gai.

So, I get why and how people would be upset by this episode, and I understand this is not exactly the most solid of things given how rushed it had to be. Since well, they did say they were going to lead into a Thouser redemption Arc but that had to get truncated because well... Covid. That's basically what all the losses were leading up to this point, Gai just pushed to the breaking point where he sort of... just kind of... reevaluates things?

The one thing that makes this stick for me is the aftermath, we're not there yet but I'll make it clear on why I'm actually fine with this sort of turn with Gai in general.

Anyway while I do love how merciless the Ark feels in action. I think the highlight of this episode is the Hiden Office fight. Just like the entire interaction where we see Aruto use the secret passage again, Aruto just belittling Gai's childish actions, and Gai deciding "Today is a good day for murder" while the Hiden Exec's just start yelling as he transforms. And then just the very claustrophobic battle with all the boxes and everything, real good stuff.

Also good on Aruto just going directly for the belt! I feel like we don't see that too often. Aruto was not looking to humiliate Gai, just disable him as fast as possible.

Anyway we get to Thouser one of my favorite characters in Zero-One. It's just a delight and the fact that Sony lent the crew their pristine robot dog is hilariously wholesome.

For me personally, I just can't get into redeeming Thouser, I did like the story with Thouser (the dog), but it's not enough to let me overlook him, you know, allowing a bunch of people to die so that he could sell more Raidrisers. I honestly kind of liked the redemption when I first watched the series, but even with the rush caused by Covid, I'd assume they could've left out that scene from the last episode where Gai says he's fine with letting some people die, and even if I might've shed some tears when Gai reunited with Thouser, having a bad childhood isn't enough to gain my forgiveness. This episode is perfectly fine, but after all Gai's done, it's hard to forgive him. But, I can get why a lot of people do like the redemption, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, personally.

Gai's a lunatic, but even a lunatic is eventually going to look around and realize they can't win. There's no way for him to succeed by running Hiden like ZAIA, and he sees that now. With victory out of his grasp, and it makes sense to me that he might take a breath and try and accept There's gesture. I'm not sure that you could tell a Gai Gets Even Crazier story, so you might as well pivot to some character examination after so many episodes of character assassination.

I don't... it's easy in these types of stories to think of what's been asked of the audience as "forgiveness", and I don't think that's correct? Heroes aren't perfect angels, and villains aren't inhuman devils. You can do good without necessarily being good, you know? Gai might not be a hero, but he's attempting to find a way to contribute, to offset his villainy with some altruism. We can hope for him to get better without condoning his transgressions.

I'm very ambivalent about this episode. On the one hand, it is patently ridiculous at this point in the series to pull a face turn for Gai. He's been manipulating and gaslighting the heroes since his first appearance and is the primary cause of most - arguably all - of the show's main conflicts. Literally one episode ago he was plotting to put potentially thousands of people at risk to turn a profit. There has been little, if anything, to indicate that he has any kind of redeeming characteristics. Any effort to reform him would require a very long and difficult process to pull off in a way that a) didn't feel forced and b) might actually be convincing. Instead we get this: "I got my robot puppy back so now I'm a good guy." It is objectively ludicrous.

That said, it absolutely worked for me and I legitimately got teary eyed when I watched it. I've always had pets and I've loved them all deeply. I had to put down my 15-year-old cat last month after a months-long battle with cancer. The anticipatory grief alone almost wrecked me. I have also always over-empathized with inanimate objects. I was a stuffed animal kid well into elementary school and there is absolutely a teddy bear whose reconstruction would be like regaining a family member for me. Everything about Thouser (the dog) was custom-made to appeal to my emotions and this episode hit me like a truck.

So yeah, this episode absolutely worked for me, even if, on paper, it's one of the dumbest plots in a franchise that once included a plan to destroy Japan's economy by getting artists promoted to the heads of major corporations and then giving them writer's block.

I'll give my overall thoughts on this situation once the thread reaches next episode, but speaking for this episode specifically, the only thing in it that I didn't like was Aruto & co treating Gai's' love of Hiden as some big twist, when Gai outright told Aruto about the respect Gai held for Aruto's' Grandfather when they first met.

It's Episode 38!

-Yes, it's indeed the long-awaited "Thouser and Thouser" episode. Before I say anything, I must note that similar verbal abuse and pressure that Gai goes through that parents inflict on their children is a very, very, serious and awful thing. However.....Doesn't this whole reveal feel downright goofy, or is it me? I can see how having an awful parent that pressures you to meet a standards that is frankly impossible while forcing you to push away any "distractions" (such as one cute robot dog) may turn someone into a person who uses any method they can to get ahead to reach that standard, but like...this is Gai Amatsu we're talking about, yknow? The guy who either directly or indirectly caused every bit of the show's conflicts. It's a bit hard to swallow, I suppose, even if the show at this point isn't necessarily asking me to forgive him right now. (Gai's delivery on "Yes Aruto I have gotten my robot dog back and recieved a brief therapy session let's now ~work together~ to defeat Ark" is so amusing to me, so there's that.)

- Thouser the Dog is super adorable though, Rider is naturally improved just have random mascot-esque characters running around, dunno why they stopped after like, what? Wizard?

(.......This may be perhaps a bit Too Much, so you're all free to ignore this part perhaps what makes Gai hard to swallow is that due to my own personal experiences is that people of Gai's position who share similar mindsets...are just straight up awful? There's no sob story at the beginning of their stories: they are just Terrible People who don't care about the Terrible Things they do to people as long as they are happy and successful. I am fully aware however, that this is a show about karate bugmen making each other explode to teach children how to be good people, so I understand such a concept is an unsavory deal to write about. It's a big part about how I find this stuff to be a lil less than ideal in watching this show, so I felt like I should mention it.)


-I forget to mention it earlier, but someone did translate the full list of dirt Shesta pulled up on Gai. It's.....A Lot! Ranging from sexual harrassment to tax evasion to simply faking reasons to be absent from work. I know it's in the very fabric of Gai's character to be as cartoonishly evil as possible but like. Maybe they shouldve not include that first crime if you want everyone to be willing to even hear out any kind of sympathetic lense for him.......? But that's just me.

It's the best thing about this franchise, you know? There's nothing so stupid that it can't be made beautiful.

After everything Gai's done to destroy Grampa Hiden's legacy, I think it's fair to assume that Gai mostly just wanted to piss all over his former idol. Aruto's making a reasonable assumption when he looks at Gai burning down everything Hiden Intelligence stood for. Gai's a complicated dude!

Gai showing up to help... like, some of that is still Gai being a self-absorbed prick who needs to be the center of attention at all times. I think there's a step towards redemption, but he's not suddenly a good person. I like that choice from the show?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the sexual harassment charge is just Yua being like It Is Not My Job To Be This Guy's Wingwoman and reporting him to HR. But, no, not exactly a joking matter for a kids show, you're right.

I know we're all talking about Gai and Thouser, how Thouser is the most adorable thing ever, and Gai getting a redemption arc...but I just wanted to point out the fact that the bike finally came back after like 20 or more episodes and we get to see Aruto not only transform on said bike but make a desperate charge at Ark while in his base form, on his bike. Like, yeah, if you're going to bring the bike back after so long, you make it have an impact.

I guess it's not altogether unsurprising that yet another Takahashi CEO Rider villain would have daddy issues and would end up joining the heroes' side (albeit even Gai's not as messed up and deranged as Kuroto and seems genuinely more salvageable) and we get the former rivals/nemesis finally teaming-up against Big Bad...but this time we have a cute robot dog in the middle of it!

I do like how Aruto's final fight with Gai is merely perfunctory and altogether just the icing on the cake that is Gai's complete and utter defeat in everything that mattered, beating him down to ashes so he could receive mercy from Satellite Zea in the form of Thouser.

Also, Gai is kind of projecting his old pet on a new model that was just constructed right in front of him? But I guess if it works, it works.

I like to think that There had a backup of Thouser, and just built a new upgraded body for him. Same pet, new body.

Also, can I mention how much I love Thouser skidding up to Gai during the fight scene at the end? It's just like with Izu and Aruto! Which... is maybe a little rude to Izu! But I still loved it!

He had to arrive spectacularly to match Aruto arriving on his bike.

"Oh, you rode a bike for the first time in a couple dozen episodes. That's cool, here's my resurrected robot dog, which is now hyper-advanced and powerful." Typical Gai!

This... IS MY (one of two) FAVOURITE EPISODE! I thought Gai was gonna die last episode, but then I see him now at his lowest point, even being destroyed by Zero-One in his (not) own office. He has nothing to turn to, well, besides the little plot device, but I will be ignoring that. That is, until the 3D printer crafted it for him, his old friend. A ROBOT DOG!! :lol

This.... is amazing! The man who despised artificial intelligence, Hiden, and Aruto, this darkness within him was all because of his ridiculous childhood of having horrifically-realistic-asian-parents and the loss of Sony AIBOU, it's so stupid, it's dumb, it's.... brilliant! Maybe real even because even the smallest of events in one's life can of course influence one's outlook in the future. He literally named his rider form after his long lost robot dog! This is just stupendous! It is *chef's kiss* when Thouser scans him and it just tells you right away what he's feeling just to further how ridiculous but also kind of heartfelt this scene is, all thanks of Nachi Sakuragi's acting of course.

And then what does he do? He goes out with the robot dog to face the monument of his sins, the Ark. Successfully blocking the Ark's blast! This is one example I feel that Thouser is one of the most powerful suits in the show, it's just how it's handled that determines if it's strong or not. The shot of Thouser (the rider) with his back turned against Aruto is really cool. Even Aruto is dumbfounded that Thouser is working with him with newfound resolve! All he really is missing is a new form to go with it if, say, this show aired a year or so later. :lol

This scene (and next episode) is also something I love seeing. I already said that Thouser's design doesn't quite look like a villain suit nor does it perfectly fit a hero design either, it finds a perfect middle ground. That's why it's so nice to see it in this way as well.

That said, of course this episode is not perfect. There are a few bits I would have like changed. One of course is Gai absolutely deleting every one of his crimes, completely unneeded and his development as a character afterwards would be much stronger had they left out this scene.

Next one is removing Ai, the little plot device. I think it would have been better if Gai was all to himself, recollecting his thoughts up until, I guess, Zea notices his grief and then builds Thouser for him. Having Ai cough up what Gai needed to say isn't as strong as having Gai admit it to himself.

Overall, if I didn't love Gai already, this and the succeeding episode cemented it for me!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSOjPxDa...jpg&name=large

art by: @yu_sui77 btw, massive Thouser fan

One thing I remember was that Thouser being portrayed by AIBO was part of a promotional deal with Sony (though I’m not sure whether the deal had been planned before they wrote this episode, or if they made it specifically for the episode). Though sadly, Thouser the Rider does not come with Thouser the dog as an accessory, due to Takara having the toy rights for AIBO (though they did release a tiny figurine around the time of this stretch of episodes, with their blog suggesting that you “pair it with suitable action figures”

They did, and I'm still hunting them down on places like Yahoo Auction to get a hold of them

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUj3ISea...jpg&name=large

Oh this is the episode they used the bike for a scene?? I guess there is something I like about this episode then

38 is straight up my favorite episode in Zero-One, and I think the last one I actually enjoyed at the same time.

Gai was, at this point, just straight up my favorite character since he was both very well defined and someone who was an active participant in the plot, while our heroes just kept bumbling around. And I had gotten a bit annoyed how after winning against our heroes, he is simply reduced to the buttmonkey, leaving the show without a central antagonist for a while, so, seeing this episode really felt right at the time.

It really explains where a person like Gai can come from, and I adore that. It really just treats him like a multidimensional character again, and I'm all here for it. His backstory really struck a chord with me, and I adore how Ai-chan and Zea go out of their way to cheer him up.

Small tangent, Ai-chan is probably the best use of Aruto as a protagonist. He really was drowned out in the show proper and doesn't have many good moments, but I count all of Ai-chan's moments as his as well since this AI is something only he could have come up with. It's the most impact he has on the story, and I really like it. I'd loved it if stuff like this was used more for him since he comes off as super bland otherwise.

Another reason I may love this episode is that I called it xD
Ok, mostly a joke, but I find it funny that I called Gai's daddy issues around the early twenties and was proven right. Stroking my ego always makes me like a series more. Also helps make this come less out of nowhere.

That said... There are a few issues I have with what surrounds the episode. Primarily the foreshadowing for Gai's daddy issues. It's there with how much he seems to idealize grandpa Hiden and how much the dismissal of his concerns clearly felt personal to Gai that gets brought up in Aruto's and Gai's early coffee talks. That said, it quickly kinda just dips out of the show, and for the majority of Gai's time in the show, it is effectively forgotten. And yeah, that is a massive problem since there needed to be more to make it really work in the series's greater context. It just doesn't fit with what came before it in some way, similar to the Workplace Competition arc. That one is, in my opinion, the best arc in the show, strong antagonist, solid two-parters, and I feel it dives into what makes Humagears special the most but is terribly placed. Going from the frantic first arc to a slow and structured second one is a terrible idea and wrecks havoc on the show's pacing. It doesn't work well with what has been done before, just like with this episode.

That said, I still love this episode to bits!
Also, cute robot dog!

And that one I save for later use as well.

I totally cried. Back when the show was airing, I went in to this episode knowing it was going to be about Gai's redemption and I was determined not to sympathize with him at all. But that was exactly what Sakuragi wanted me to think, since he worked so hard to obscure any redeeming qualities about the character. That was genius. In 20 minutes, I changed from wanting to punch Gai to wanting to hug him.

Suddenly, all the foreshadowing made sense. Him calling Isamu a "stray dog" was projecting his own feelings, cause he's been astray for the last 35 years chasing perfection and dismissing anything else as an unnecessary distraction, that's what his father's psychological abuse did to him. It's important to emphasize that despite his youthful looks, Gai is a middle-aged dude, he's been learning the wrong things for decades, so it's harder to get through to someone like that. In a way, he's like the Ark, he relinquished his capacity for love and kindness in childhood, represented by Thouzer, leaving nothing left to make him sincerely happy.

That's why his start on the road of redemption is believable, as his evil was caused by his ignorance to what he was doing, the consequences of his actions on the world around him. He never took the chance to look at himself, on the inside, until now. It's only after a pep talk by a HumaLexa and Zea giving him Thouzer back that he saw what a terrible person he had become. Thouzer, being designed for therapy, was immediately able to see what many of us couldn't, that Gai was "lost", felt like he "wasn't worth a percent", etc. We dismissed him as an irredeemably bad person, but Thouzer showed us through his own eyes that deep down, Gai was actually a suffering person in need of help and love, but too ashamed to ask for it. After this episode, I wasn't fully prepared to forgive him, but I could give him a fraction of that forgiveness and the space to start anew.

Easily my second favorite episode, after 29.

Damn! As someone who loves cats, I give you my condolences. That really sucks. I've experienced the loss of beloved pets as well, even neighbors' pets. I feel like the waiting part is even worse than the actual death, it's heartbreaking seeing them deteriorate until they eventually die. Gai's reunion with his old robot dog is like wish fulfillment to me, the desire to see those cute animals once more.

Honestly, it's the opposite for me. I think it works even better without the external pressure of all those crimes, severe enough to send him to jail for a very long time. Since it's only the evidence of his coercion and assault of Jun that Aruto actually manages to hold on to, it means that the conclusion Gai reaches is more of his own will, with a little help from some AIs. It gives Gai the autonomy to decide his own atonement. He hasn't deleted the crimes, he deleted the evidence, but he'll continue to carry the burden of those crimes on his conscience as he fights to make up for them, which is a very Kamen Rider thing to do.

Are you somehow immune to Thouzer's inherent cuteness?

The dog? That thing annoyed me so much lol

Oh.... Well I commend your bravery for sharing such a controversial opinion. :p

It's a shame that the reception for ep 37 were not that high. For all its sake, ep 37 is simply a plot episode or an episode solely to progress or move the characters to the next phase. That being said, all of the moments in that episode were all *chef's kiss*. Ranging from Aruto doubting his believe in technology, Yua started reconciling with Fuwa, Ai-Chan still the best talking partner, Gai being stomped again for the Xth time, and the cherry on top was Fukuzoe bringing Aruto back to his sense. Those were all good but maybe a spreading it to an episode or two would be even better. That's asking too much for that time's condition, tho.

Episode 38, on the other hand, saying it was a masterpiece would be an understatement. I don't think I need to elaborate it much more; Die, TheRaizin and the others have given their thoughts thoroughly. The scene between Gai and his pet robot dog, Thouser, might not be as effective for me, unlike with the others. Still, I can't help but feeling a fuzzy warm after seeing Gai reunited with the Izu-equivalent for his side. There's some sort of relieve and glad in just seeing Gai be honest and make peace with himself and the others. Gai was pathetic, yes, especially in the last couple of episodes. But I'm glad the first ever victory Gai have earned in the series was not gaining triumph over Aruto, but simply gained back what he had lost and needed the most.

The decision for redeeming Gai will always be a hot take and conversation no matter what. I must prefix this by saying Gai's redemption was held back a bit by Takahashi's insistent to depict Gai as the most horrible prick and Sakuragi Nachi was too effective in portraying Gai as horrible as possible. I'm in Switchblade's boat in which I'm also ambivalent whether I like the decision to redeem Gai. Do I want to see Gai being kicked in the ass for the Thousandth time and give him the most horrible death like Kusaka? I firmly say Yes. But man, I DO love the decision that Takahashi and the others made by salvaging Gai back from what we thought a point of no return. Maybe deep down in our hate for Gai, we also dearly love him as much as we hate him; not unlike Gai's love for Hiden Intelligence.

NB: A bit of hot take, but Yamashita is the best source of comedy in the show. He made me cracked a smile whenever he's on scene. For those who love Onari, Shunpei or Akiko, Yamashita is a much better source of laugh for me.

Actually, for this evil vs evil fight, Thouser gets some credit, outside of the humiliating Thouser week, he managed to put quite decent fight against MetsubouJinrai.net, he jacked Naki's powers to put down everyone but Ark (a reminder that, they outnumber Thouser 4 to 1). Speaking of Gai here, last bit of his cruelty is shown here in the staggering 1843 complaints about him, which the list includes age spoofing, illegal auction bidding, illicit sales, misappropriation of company finances for personal benefit (i.e trips to beauty salons and hot springs, haircuts, etc.), plagiarizing technology from other companies, possession of a fake bank account, sexual/moral harassment, tax evasion, and many more. Though there's comedic petty ones like buying unnecessarily large quantities of expensive tea and faking reasons of absence. And before too Gai caused more chaos by providing Raidriser to defend against ZAIA Spec rampage, which, actually would be providing even more dangerous tool to the public, people using Raidriser to commit crimes unprovoked for example.

It's probably an evolution for Yua, from someone who's more cold and aloof before, she's overcompensating it, but she's now more open and honest to at least Fuwa, to apologize for more minor things too (and acknowledging that Humagears aren't tools, at least Ai). It's an evolution even from here as she tried to cover it up in a tsundere remark, but Ai pushed her to open up instead. Though yeah Fuwa didn't hold it against her and was caught off guard by her apology, but then again he used it to remark on how Ai is really something else, and a proof about Humagear's usefulness, and that Yua should give her back to him at some point.

This is quite a repeated one when Aruto lost trust of Humagears which got him reminded by Fuwa before, but now it's done by one of his resenters Fukuzoe. By caring about Hiden Intelligence, from the start, he had been nothing but a thorn in Aruto's side, wanting him removed as Hiden Intelligence's President, hoping him to fail, scheming with his subordinates to drive him away, etc. But as caring about Hiden Intelligence is about upholding its ideals, the potential artifical intelligence and Humagears hold for the future of humanity (and as a longtime employee), he'd eventually acknowledge Aruto for this, as no one had campaigned for them more than Aruto, and that they need someone who will stand up for them even when nobody else will.