So fun fact, the real girlfriend Sougo runs into at the end (who can be distinguished by the fact she calls him “kawaii boy”, while Yuko calls him “kawaii otoko”) is played by Yuri’s actress, Yu Takahashi. Though Sougo’s just as out of luck with her, since not only was the actress married, but she became pregnant the month after this episode aired.

Now then, let’s get on with…

Ridewatch Playlist: Everyone, Did You Know? Mix

And I’ll mention that this is what inspired me to do this thread. I saw someone create a playlist for this video in its comments and decided “What if I did that for all of these videos”. Which is why it’s the second and final time the theme song doesn’t appear (though aside from that, I have suggested some alternate songs in some places, while preserving the original list)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=P6-e72t506U

“Wake Up! Power of the vampire, the vampire Rider is… Kiva.”

And the song they went with was Destiny’s Play https://youtube.com/watch?v=1LxukijQ7fc

“The limit has been broken on the hidden power. Clad in the armour of the emperor, Kiva Emperor Form”

The person who made this list went for Supernova https://youtube.com/watch?v=hWFSXgHdGjA

Whereas I went with This Love Never Ends (Emperor edit) https://youtube.com/watch?v=VL3ffz_7LzM

“Clad in the armour of darkness, the king of Fangires is… Dark Kiva”

The original list maker went with Exterminate Time to indicate that it’s King https://youtube.com/watch?v=gkdJ5KbS_mU

While I went with Roots of the King (acoustic edit) to indicate that it’s Taiga (the description doesn’t really allow for Otoya) https://youtube.com/watch?v=OM4iXBfdRhY

“Please return that life to God! The white, powered suit Rider is IXA”

And they went with the most appropriate IXA song, considering who that description indicates is the main IXA, Individual System Keisuke Nago ver. Fight for Justice https://youtube.com/watch?v=SeH1qkUM1jQ

And for Another Kiva, they chose to go with Maya’s cover of Rainy Rose, Rainy Rose (Queen Edit) https://youtube.com/watch?v=s7MrQYWubV8

And here we are with the list of the unreleased, with the final of the 10 winners (the other 9 being Cross-Z Charge, Genm Zombie Gamer, Poppy, Cronus, Faiz Blaster, Eternal, Ouja, Scissors and Chalice) being Dark Kiva. I’ll still be posting lists like this for the remaining 4 series, though more as a bonus than anything.

Kamen Rider Kiva (Garulu Form)
Kamen Rider Kiva (Basshaa Form)
Kamen Rider Kiva (Dogga Form)
Kamen Rider Kiva (DoGaBaKi Form)
Kamen Rider Ixa (Save Mode)
Kamen Rider Rising Ixa
Kamen Rider Saga
Kamen Rider Rey
Kamen Rider Arc
Kamen Rider Legend Arc

And now for the compare and contrast, with Yuko being an impressive specimen, as she is the opposite to practically everyone in Kiva’s cast.

Wataru: Wataru shut himself away from the world at first because he believed he was allergic to it, and later because he believed he’d do nothing but hurt the people he loved. And when he chose to become King, it was only because there was no other way to ensure peace between humans and Fangire. Yuko was locked away by the police for being dangerously unstable (and as her arrest document shows, not disposing of the corpse), while she wanted to become Queen purely for her own benefit.
Otoya: Otoya was a great man, who was respected by his peers, even if they didn’t like him. Yuko is a delusional madwoman shunned, even by those who wanted to help her.
Yuri: When Otoya broke up with Yuri for Maya, she took it well and only tried to murder her rival when she turned out to be the Fangire Queen (and even then, she relented). When Yuko got dumped by her boyfriend for a new woman, she reacted by beating his new flame to death and tried again with his fiance years later.
Nago: Nago was a man caught up in his own delusions, much like Yuko, with the key difference being that he was changed by the people around him and brought back to reality.
Mio: Both were given the power of a Queen, but Mio struggled with using it for her people’s benefit, whereas Yuko has zero hesitation in using it to exact revenge. Even their deaths play out similarly (they both get murdered by one fo the villains at a wedding and die in the protagonist’s arms), though unlike Mio, Yuko isn’t the woman Sougo fell in love with.

And as for the design, Another Kiva is essentially a female version of the Bat Fangire, who has the ability to call upon copies of Bashaa and Dogga from within her.

And I’ll close off by pointing out that this episode is a prime example of how context can get distorted across different subs. First up is Rider-Time.

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

And next is Over-Time
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FRNK5cXX...jpg&name=large

And finally, Tv-Nihon.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FRNKz-7X...jpg&name=large

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP36)

I feel like past me pretty much hit the nail on the head when I said this episode being "good" or not isn't really important to me. Because plenty of time has passed, and exactly like I thought, this two-parter is still insanely memorable, and stands out as something completely different from Zi-O's usual fare.

Does it stand out in a bad way? If you told me it did, I'd have no trouble seeing your point.

Does it stand out in a good way? If you told me it did, I'd be able to see where you're coming from.

For my part, on the surface, there is an absolute ton about this plot conceptually I don't like, and yet Yuuko is just such a compelling presence that she holds the whole thing together for me. It's easier to just laugh off what a non-entity Kamen Rider Ginga is when the other antagonist here is picking up the slack to this degree. I think a lot of it is just in her performance, especially. Part of the Another Riders' concept is supposed to be that they're people the Time Jackers are setting up as rulers, and Yuuko is one of the scarce few to actually have an explicit interest in that. And the way she carries herself, it's like, it's not hard to see her *as* a queen? She's already dominating every scene she's in, after all.

These are messy episodes, based on what's probably Inoue's messiest series, and just like Kiva itself, while I have an easy time making fun of them for their bizarre choices, at the end of the day, this is a two-parter I think back on surprisingly fondly.

There's already even foreshadowing before to show that Yuko's the wrong girl, so it's not sudden. Sailor Girl "Yuri" calls Sougo "kawaii no bouya" ("cute boy"), while Yuko calls Sougo "kawaii no ko" ("cute kid"), so that's different shit they go with. And also Sougo later recognized the Sailor Girl with the original nickname. It's also actually a reference to Kiva itself, with how a romance ending in any way but as tragically as possible was unlikely. The reference was an arc where Wataru's first love as a woman who was a queen of sorts but turned out not to be as innocent as we thought. Yuko's ending was about how Ora successfully got her revenge on her, creating another case of villain brutalizing another villain (like White Woz to Time Jackers before). Regarding Sougo's reaction to her death, well, this would be something spoiler to talk about, but what would you think about Sougo's reaction against a Time Jacker that got victimized?

By this, I don't know how this is another attempt to fight back against system in this writing, when Yuko's nothing but unhinged insane entitled queen-complex? It shows that the system was the right one against Yuko, Yuko's just unhinged murderer who is deluded to think that she's innocent and that she's entitled to "right" any of the world's laws, when this time, she's portrayed as even worse than what she's portrayed before, all of the previous episode was a red herring to reveal her being even more depraved, the lawyer tried to do good to her just that they failed instead of setting her up. And by above it shows even more of Yuko's crime to manipulate Sougo into believing that she's his 'first love', that's all the first love in this 2 parter was about. Yuko is willing to pretend to be someone's first love to get his power at her side, the opposite on how Sougo the manipulator is open and honest about how he leads people on.

Oh c'mon, Ginga serves as something to Yuko! It shows about the irony in how Yuko has too much of overconfidence in her 'destiny' as a queen to ignore Ginga as small fry while also ignoring her deal to all the Tokiwa freeloaders and Time Jackers. Yuko meets her end by Woz using Ginga's power, due to Yuko ignoring him leading for the team to work together and Woz to obtain it. Ginga is also a bit of an opposite to Yuko about how they both think that their power allow them to take control of the world, but while Ginga is transparent on his intentions, Yuko lies to everyone around her including herself that she was wronged when she's just a murderer who only cares about getting her way. Like Yuko vs Ora, there's an evil vs evil involved in Ginga too with Swartz allying with the heroes with obvious goal to get his hands on Ginga's power, so it's now about Swartz being 'redeemed' or such here.

Ah yes, the Manhole Murder Incident.

I oddly enough liked this pair of episodes, even if it was split between Kiva and Ginga's arcs, I feel they pulled these off rather well. It's also funny how a lot of these Rider Tribute plots mirror some of the plot points of prior seasons, seeing as Sougo's in love here (Geiz's reaction was golden), there's a wedding, there's bloodshed, and a cool, shady stranger (I haven't watched Kiva, so I'm just spouting nonsense here). But then there's Ginga. My favorite Future Rider, though I guess he's more of a Space Rider in this case. I don't know why I love him as much as I do, or Woz Ginga Finally, for that matter, but there's just something about them that hits all the right marks, from the cosmic body, the UFO helmet, or the planet motif, it's just a really neat design. Do I think he could have worked better in his own arc? Of course! But his inclusion here was done alright in my opinion. (And yet nobody played a violin. Bad tribute!)

There's also something funny how the Time Jackers are forced to bow down to Another Kiva (I realize there might have been potential for Kivala this arc, but I'm not complaining), and they're all thinking, "looks like we screwed up." This feels close to what their goal of crowning another Rider Ruler (Kamen Ruler?), and it somehow feels worse than Oma Zi-O to them.

Now here I'm going to talk a bit about how Another Kiva is one of the best Another Rider designs, it's sleek, it's not too busy, but most importantly, it's got stained glass like a Fangire! Maybe it's most obvious to me here, or what, but I love how the design works in that regard as not only a monster version of Kiva but implements much of the monster designs from his respective season, which I figure is the whole point, given Kiva himself is a Fangire, but seeing it meshed into the design makes this one of my favorites of the seaason.

All in all, a nice pair of episodes, even with all the chaos they fit in, I still liked them. Again, the Kiva Armor Time is a nice design, but unlike some of the others, the visor doesn't look as good as some of the others, given the Katakana for Kiva is so short, and also worth mentioning is that the Katakana is yellow, similar to Decade where it was green, which is interesting how some of the Armor Times change Zi-O's eye color.

It wouldn't shock me!

I just wish that Ginga had ONCE commanded Woz or Swartz to return their wicked life to the Space Lord or something. Just once!

It's really best to just let Inoue episodes was over you.

It was so great to see her again! Really glad I didn't know she was in this episode.

For better or worse, she's the only character this two-parter is interested in. There're some neat ideas around the edges (I really enjoyed the underdeveloped plot about Team Time Jacker and Team Zi-O needing to work together), but it lives or dies based on how much Yuko is on-screen at any given time.

There's also the scene when Sougo meets Yuko, and her response to his exposition is totally unconvincing. She doesn't volunteer any specific information, she just says Yes I'm The Lady From That Story. But she's a pathological liar, so we can't trust anything she says.

Who, Ora? I mean, she got scratched by a manhole cover. It didn't seem like a big deal, considering who she was provoking?

Yeah, it's easy to point at individual elements and go No Thanks, but I think as a whole they were pretty entertaining.

It's been awhile since I watched this, but I am pretty sure that the subs I watched translated the phrases the same way (I want to say it was "sweet boy"). I definitely did not pick up on the distinction between the two. Also, I have to assume, between that seeming like a pretty common expression and Sougo being kind of a moron sometimes, that this is not the first time he's been convinced that he found his queen and that everything went sideways very badly. I really wish we'd gotten that as a Rider Time spin-off because I would watch the hell out of it.

At the time the episode aired it had been about a decade since I watched Kiva, so I completely failed to recognize Yuri's actress until it was pointed out to me. Made a lot more sense why she got such specific focus at the end once I realized that. I also have this really dumb tendency to assume that she and Otoya's actor must be a lot older than they are because, of course, their stuff was filmed in the 80s.

It was my third choice as well. Nice to see so many people in this thread speak so highly about it, since I recall it was pretty disliked when it first aired. Inoue really put his all in to this arc for sure!

Sougo's really grown a lot here, as we see him at his highest and lowest point. He (Woz Ginga) Finally got to experience a new first love as an adult, as well as his first heartbreak. Unlike Wataru though, he can't even throw a heartbreak party for himself, since his crush is also dead. Tragically, it was a doomed relationship from the start, since Sougo's faith in her innocence was misplaced, unusual for someone so skilled at analyzing people, but love can make us biased in our judgment. Even so, there is a glimpse at a small amount of goodness inside her, which is the part that Sougo mourns. Yuko never repented for her crimes, so she isn't redeemed, but I can understand why Sougo would still feel saddened about losing her.

Kitajima Yuko, Another Manhole Kiva, is totally an awesome villain and the most memorable Another Rider! Actually, her manhole gimmick was so popular that it spawned the show's second greatest meme after IWAE, where circular objects are replaced with manholes. For example:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6WMdWrU...jpg&name=large

From what I understand, Ginga isn't that complex as a character since he's merely a personification of cosmic law, who came to destroy the world due to all the recent paradoxes warping reality. This can be seen in his fighting style, where his body seems to move on its own in response to attacks. So Jirou was pretty much right about him.

Unlike the other Miriders, he's not portrayed by a former Sentai actor (other than minor roles as MOTWs), but rather a future Sentai actor, since Sugita Tomokazu later voiced King Oradin from Kiramager.

I also recall the Ginga suit was originally mistaken for an April Fools joke, until it turned out to be real. Can anybody confirm this?

It wasn't that long ago that I rewatched TV-N's sub of Kiva and I'm pretty sure they never spelled Kivat as "Kivatte" before. How inconsistent!

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 37 - “2006 - NEXT LEVEL KABUTO”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio37a.png

Ha ha ha YES.

YES.

This was such an on-point Kabuto tribute, and I’m not even talking about the Special Guest Stars. (But I will! I definitely will!) We’re in a version of Zi-O that wants to talk about Hidden Histories and Evolving Powers and Secret Families, all while moving at a breakneck pace. We even got about four notes of maybe my favorite Phase 1 opening song, enough music to make me shout I’M SORRY WHAT to absolutely no one, before the show transitioned into Over Quartzer. (I’ve really come around on Over Quartzer, but, like, man. You cannot tease NEXT LEVEL like that! Almost any other song is going to feel like a huge letdown!) This series has really nailed how to make each of their tributes evoke a specific show’s pace and storytelling, which is such a welcome treat. I felt like I was watching a Kabuto show starring Team Zi-O, if that makes any sense.

This was a real Asking Questions episode, which isn’t my favorite thing in Kamen Rider, but I thought the fleetness and humor and fan service of this episode made it more palatable. We don’t learn anything new, but the series is reminding us that, hey, it is a little weird that the Another Riders aren’t overwriting the Riders they’re based on anymore, and OH also Shibuya was leveled by a meteor 19 years ago technically. (I kinda love that Sougo, whose one scholastic focus is History, is like Maybe Shibuya Was Leveled By A Meteor Before I Was Born But Who Can Say For Sure. I feel like it would've come up in school, my dude! Probably would've been in a book or two about Japan!) The things that Sougo doesn’t think matter are maybe clues to this whole series, and I thought this episode used the Head/Heart team of Tsukuyomi and Sougo to explore some of those mysteries without stopping the episode dead to do it.

And lord knows the episode can’t afford to stop when there are SO MANY GUEST STARS.

Kagami looks exactly like what I thought he’d look like, thirteen years older. He looks like a middle manager, and he carries himself like his dad. Kagami’s in this interesting space of feeling neither like he’s lived up to his potential, nor squandered it. He’s aged, but I don’t feel like he’s grown or regressed. He just, like, got thicker, and that’s it. I’m not sure if that’s to any Kagami superfan’s taste, but it made sense to me. Kagami’s goals were always sort of nebulous, and small: protecting people, being a good guy, that’s about it. It worked great in the context of being Tendou’s sidekick, because anyone living in Tendou’s shadow was going to need to be more reactive and less driven. On his own, Kagami’s just Some Guy, and it’s actually kind of sweet to see a Kamen Rider turn out like that: normal.

Because HA HA HA Yaguruma and (the late) Kageyama! Clearly reaching back in their closets to get ready for the My Chemical Romance reunion tour, and as laughably nihilistic as ever. Building this Kabuto story around Yaguruma becoming a Shitty Kabuto and defending a manipulative fake Kageyama, because the only thing better than a devoted sycophant is a devoted sycophant who everyone wants to kill… like, YES. YES TO INFINITY. If I squint enough, I can see how it ties into Tsukuyomi’s story thematically (both stories are about people needing connections from their past even if -slash- especially if they hurt them), but who cares. This isn’t, like, a Thematic story. Maybe eventually, but that’s not what this episode is focusing on.

This one’s a blast of an episode, overloading you with cool bits of Clock Up action and tons of guest stars (Tsukasa!), so you maybe don’t notice how nothing gets resolved and almost none of it means anything. It’s bits of business, setting up things that are going to be very important to the show in the future. It makes for an overcrowded episode, even if it’s not an unpleasant one. By the time our cast is dealing with the Hell Figurative Brothers, a series of increasingly large meteors, and the Misery Suburbs of 2058, it’s hard to imagine any set of themes that could properly encompass this sprawl. But nothing wears out its welcome, and every thread is compelling, so it’s all still a success.

Of course, everything’s a success when you’ve got the cast of Kabuto to lean on.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio37b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio37c.png

Ah yes, the Kabuto Arc. Definitely a fun time, and I do love that we've got another canon character back in the role of the Another Rider. Now when I said I love Yuko as an Another Rider, I mean it. But I feel like Yaguruma is up there in terms of memorability because well... it's Yaguruma for petes sake.

Like if there's anything to pull from, the Hell Brothers stuff was definitely something to pull from. And I also just like the witty little quips of "I don't get my powers from space or some shit, I get them from hell." as he stands ominously behind flames. Also Kagami is here too and while I don't have much to say about him, I'm glad he ended up coming back.

Also Woz Ginga Finaly gets a better debut and fight here as we show off that yes, it changes forms, or rather powers/katakana. I'll be real though, Ginga Planetary is kinda meh to me in terms of powers and stuff. Since I guess he can just launch out planets? I think? They're never clear on like what kind of powerset 2/3rds of Ginga has tbh aside from weird gravity warping stuff.

That being said, hey Tsukasa's back, that's always nice to see this close to the finish line in terms of how many Riders we have left. And we're getting some more Tsukuyomi intrigue too, also nice.

Probably one of my favorite moments though is them using Ride Armors in an interesting way. What with Fourze Armor being used to deal with a meteor. Only for a BIGGER meteor to pop up with Sougo just whimpering out a "you've got to be kidding?" just as we end the episode off. Like that kid was so proud he managed to destroy a meteor only for a bigger one to rain on his parade, and his voice just sold how sad he was about that.

Anyway not much to say on the BGM Swaps this time that I didn't already say before. Same stuff as before

Zero's Legend Episode Previews Corner - EP 38 Preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7sD56Vxpr0

One of the things I remember from when this came out is that Kageyama's actor, either in an interview or social media post, said that he wished he'd gotten more advance warning before Teoi contacted him so he could have gotten into better shape before appearing on camera.

This is another fun round of returning guest stars in a story that builds on some of the existing story. I enjoy this arc, but I think it kind of suffers for me in that some of the other recent tributes have been of such high caliber and this just continues the trend. That's not a bad thing, but this stretch of Zi-O is so strong that it's hard to stand out.

The one thing I dislike about Yaguruma being Another Kabuto is that it means we see so much less of the KickHopper suit. I love that suit, and I love how it looks when he's in a scene with PunchHopper.

I think it works! There's a potential narrative reason for Worm Kageyama to be a little older, a little dumpy: it feeds into Yaguruma's nihilistic worldview, for Kageyama to come back the same, but worse. But there's also the meta reason of, like, Kageyama always looked in not great shape?

(That said, the episode isn't doing that dude any favors by having Sougo compare 2019 Kageyama to a picture from 2006. I don't think anyone's going to feel flattered by a thirteen year time jump?)

Count me as a Kagami Superfan! And I don't remember how I felt about the Hoppers at the time, but I remember feeling delighted to see them too. I completely forgot this episode did anything with Tsukasa and Tsukiyomi in it, but I think that's inevitable when this had KickHopper delievring such a classi edgelord line surrounded by flames, and Fourze Armour VS a world-ending meteor.

That little tease of NEXT LEVEL right before the opening also had me flipping out. Do you have a ranking in your mind of your fav rider openings?

It's a very random part of this episode. Tsukuyomi has a brief flash of mysterious strangers while she remembers to use her time powers again, and Tsukasa -- never more my guy -- shows up to be like Why Don't We Just Go To The Future And Figure This Out. Like the last couple times anyone from Decade popped in, it's not really this episode's A or B plot.

I don't really, no. I'm not huge on Phase 1 theme songs in general (Phase 2 is, literally, way more my jam), but I like a couple. NEXT LEVEL is, truly, a next level theme song. If I'm ranking just Phase 1, it'd go:

-Kabuto
-Kiva
-Den-O
-the rest of them

I'm excited to hear where Kabuto's theme lands on other people's Phase 1 lists!

This is a fun arc. I love seeing Kagami again.
A little distracting to see the Kabuto suits in disrepair tho, especially Gattack's armed form, but it's fiiiiiiine.

The irony of the Hopper suits being pristine while the Gatack suit crumbles is delicious.

Cast Off! It's Episode 37!

-Geiz screaming for Woz as he launches into the intro, too good.

-Watching tributes naturally leads me to thinking about how I feel about the original show, and man....Kabuto sure was something else. I can't really compartmentalize it into "good" or "bad" like other seasons, it is its own beast for better or worse. At the very least, the absence of a certain someone walking the path of heaven reminded me how much i really enjoyed the season's characters, theyre a real wild bunch!

-Kaaaaa-gaaaaaami! This feels....nice. Like yeah this is definitely what was he'd be like as an older dude. A nice evolution of the character. Him shoulder-bashing Kageyama into the dirt was a fun move.

-The kids going "Hey, haven't the rules changed a bit?" after all this time....In any other show, I'd probably be a little pissed at them dancing around addressing it, but like. It's Zi-O? I know these kids are far more concerned about other things than keeping an eye on the fabric of space-time! (Tsukasa going "Well, space-time is essentially Fucked right now" is a good enough answer for me right now)

I think it worked great because the show uses Tsukuyomi and Sougo as basically the Pro/Con of exploring these discrepancies. While Tsukuyomi has a personal stake in what's going on, she's also just naturally curious and slightly distrustful of random good fortune. Sougo, meanwhile, is just like I'm Having A Great Time and that's the end of his curiosity.

God the dinner scene at the start of episode24 is great from visual storytelling angle. Just the use of both literal and metaphrocial seperation between Geiz and Tsukuyomi as they dine in silence. The entire episode has this atmphospheric vibe as Sougo treks through both reality and dream often alone or in wide area to show case how big everything is and how small Sougo is in the all of it. Rento being his imaginary friend was such a sweet yet sad moment as you realize that Sougo because of his dream was always on lonely path and that always led to Ohma ZI-O. And i can't help but feel the kids in this case represent Sougo innocence and the belief that friends can come back together after all.

Now onto the things I don't like it's frustrating how the show has done such a good job of delving into the headspace of Sougo and Geiz to paint their actions in a new light we see them in but refuses to do anything of that sorts for Tsukuyomi and to give more context as to her reasonings to siding with White Woz. Similarly way to take the sails out of potentially making both Heure and Ora intreasting characters as Ora is just evil and Heure does nothing even being betrayed and the group dynamic between Time Jackers just stays the same despite the fact that both of them have now betrayed Heure.

Maybe! It gets a little trickier when the kids get scared of Rento and Sougo has to tell them that you need to have faith in your friends, even if you have a fight. So it could be that the kids are Sougo's earlier self-centered view of friendship; seeing Rento as a guardian and playmate, without really considering his individuality. Sougo himself is an empathetic view of friendship, allowing people to disagree without cutting them out of your life.

I love how Another ZI-O already had OOO powers at the beggining because thry obviosuly couldn't get back Kuroto actor for like 10 seconds lol. But yeah continuing with the last episode lots of dread and lonelyness from Sougo. I love catching up with the Another Rider Host however broef even if they aren't fully fleshed out charcaters them living good lives too me proves that despite all the riders getting erased, and dark future approaching that there small victories. Also White Woz failing to uses Quiz powers correctly is one of the show smartest uses of humor.

They do get to be happy, yeah! Just not for real long. It's nice to see Team Zi-O making a positive influence on people's lives.

Ah yes, the episode that got me to join this forum (mostly due to Tsukuyomi bringing up the biggest gripe I and a few others on another site had with the more recent episodes).

Also, Tsukasa is back again, this time for good, since Inoue’s schedule finally cleared up enough for him to be a regular. Which kind of works here, because he’s filling out the role of the absent Tendou

And speaking of absent Kabutos…

Armour Time! Change Beetle! Kabuto!
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...butoArmor.webp

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP37)

My original post for this episode is fun and all, but you know, it's been a few years, quite a few of these threads, and as long as Die's reviving the lyrical gimmick from his Hibiki thread, I figure I might as well go ahead and revive mine from the Kabuto thread, and give these episodes a proper rewatch and reevaluation. After all, thanks to that thread, I've actually become a way bigger fan of Kabuto than I used to be. And with that newfound appreciation, there's no doubt I'll be able to really focus in on the tribute aspects of this one, and dig deeper into them in a way I wasn't able to before!

https://i.imgur.com/eTaXFJ0.png

Man, I sure do love the cast of Kamen Rider Zi-O! Like, part of this is probably just the fact that I'm hopping back into this show in the middle for a little visit, but pretty much right away, as soon as Geiz was getting all upset about having to team up with Woz, it really felt like coming home.

I've already talked a bunch in this thread about how episode 28 marked a big turning point for the series not simply in terms of the plot, but for the overall style of the show. Right after that, we get the introduction of Trinity and the return of Blade, the latter highlighting a more actively fanservice-driven kind of tribute to the past, and the former recalibrating he dynamic between the three Riders (arguably a little too quickly) to firmly establish the one true Woz as part of that heroic trio of buddies. That should probably have felt way more incongruous than it ended up being! Woz, initially, he was clearly set up as a shady mystery man who would probably betray anyone if it advanced his own goal, which was and nominally still is furthering the ascension of an evil king who will ruin the whole world. But along comes this stretch of episodes, and suddenly, Woz is adorably trying to celebrate Sougo's birthday, and his dynamic with Geiz has become some kind of old married couple bickering where nothing about their animosity ever comes across too seriously. And I love it.

I love it because it's fun, and regardless of how well that fits with whatever predetermined path the story might've seemed "meant" to take early on, here and now (well, then, but you know what I mean), that emphasis on upbeat entertainment gels perfectly with everything else about this stretch of Zi-O. Most of the episodes in this stretch, they are just all about pure gratification for the viewer.

Tell me, who are the three characters from Kabuto you'd most want to see back in a big guest spot for this show? I have to imagine most fans would pick exactly the three they ended up getting, and that already starts this two-parter off on a good foot. Kagami in particular, he was very much the protagonist of Kabuto in the most traditional sense. He was a guy with a lot of flaws and a good heart who worked to better himself throughout the show's run, and as such it's great seeing him here, wise enough from experience to tell Sougo off for falling for a Worm's deception. Which ends up being hilarious, because Sougo actually did take some precautions when he trusted Kageyama's words, which is a level of planning Kagami himself would definitely not have displayed back in the day! And that's one great beat in an episode that's full of them. Woz Ginga Finally gets a fight scene that goes almost pointlessly over the top in how much they linger on that big explosion, but it starts making sense once it becomes a way for Kyouhei Yamaguchi to give us some shots of KickHopper surrounded by fire that do Ishida real proud.

And then while all that's happening, we've got Sougo heading out into space to stop huge rocks from hitting the Earth, because this really is just the summer blockbuster arc of Zi-O. Big stars, big plots, big action, lots of banter between big heroes... seriously, what's not to love?

This is really funny to me, because it's sort of my TokuNation origin story, too? I was having a rough time with Ghost, to an I Need To Talk About This level, and TokuNation became my salvation. Weird how that can happen!

It's the most Kabuto thing about this episode, maybe, how fun every single character in the cast is. Even Uncle gets a great solo gag when he's like There Sure Have Been A Lot Of Meteors Lately! Kabuto was a series that could tell a fun story with anyone, and then amplify the entertainment by combining literally any two characters. Zi-O's got that same energy, and they can even loop in one-off Legend guest-stars to positive effect.

It's so great to be watching a show this much fun in its back stretch!

Man I wish I could see these TV show.

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 38 - “2019 - THE ONE CHOSEN BY KABUTO”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio38a.png

One plotline aside, I felt like this was an episode where the fan service got away from the writer.

I don’t know that I buy Kagami becoming Kabuto. It’s vaguely reminiscent of the Hibiki/Kiriya thing from a few episodes back, but it lacks a lot of the weight of that story. Kiriya’s entire arc was about how basically no one wanted Kiriya to be Hibiki, so his redemption in obtaining the Hibiki Ridewatch has catharsis to it. Kagami and the Kabuto Zecter… like, no? He had his own destiny as Gatack, and he didn’t view Defeating Kabuto as some bucket list item. This two-parter doesn’t even bother to construct a motivation for Kagami to summon the Kabuto Zecter, beyond the twin possibilities of Why Not and It’s Nice To See That Suit Again. It all comes off as obligatory, rather than earned.

(That said, I love the idea of Kagami becoming Kabuto about sixteen times more if it’s just the Kabuto Zecter giving Kagami a pity henshin. Like, Kagami would be really grateful, and he’s sort of pathetic, so maybe that’s enough for a magic space beetle. If that’s where the show is leading the audience? Sure, you’ve got my vote.)

Tsukasa and Tsukuyomi – the Tsupergroup – with their trip to the Misery Suburbs of 2058… it’s the audience learning something instead of the characters, which I’m always less into. She learns that she’s from 2058 (the girl they got to play Young Tsukuyomi has the same GIGANTIC eyes, so good work from the casting department), but only the audience gets to learn that she’s maybe probably Swartz’z sister. It’s a neat concept, but one that falls apart if you think about it for more than two consecutive seconds. Like, she’s dressed the exact same way as Swartz’z sister, with the same gigantic eyes. He didn’t think that was worth thinking about prior to her busting out Time Powers? I assume there’s more to come on this, so I’m not too wound up about how ridiculous this Secret Sibling reveal is (hello Kabuto homage), but I don’t love how hard the show is going to have to work to make this twist make sense. Doesn’t seem worth the effort?

And it’s weird to see it fumbling with its own relationships, since it’s so smart in connecting the show’s dynamics with whatever series they’re homaging. To wit: did not even think about how much Yaguruma and Geiz overlapped before! Two grim Riders who have sworn to kill the person they’re closest to? And also completely can’t follow through on that because they care too much now? How did I not see it?!

The way Yaguruma’s inability to kill Kageyama exposes Geiz’z inability to deal with Zi-O is a great reminder of how much the show has evolved its cast. This episode has Geiz see himself in Yaguruma’s vow to kill Kageyama if necessary, but then it has Geiz see his real feelings in Yaguruma’s refusal to view Kageyama as a threat, no matter what. I don’t think we’re at some crisis of conscience with Geiz, though. Not any more. I think we’ve got a Geiz who realizes that he’s going to follow Sougo down whatever road he travels, even if it’s not one Geiz would’ve chosen. If there’s a beat the show wants to leave Geiz with this episode, it’s the idea of commitment, and how it can sneak up on you.

This episode… not my favorite? The action was STELLAR (that rooftop Henshin sequence!!!), but that’s the lowest bar I want one of these shows to clear. If my main praise lands on, like, the stunt team, someone did not write the best story. The Kagami plot never ended up justifying itself or its elevation of his powerset. The Tsupergroup plot was a trip that no one really needed to take after all. Only the Geiz/Yaguruma plot ended up being both surprising and relevant, and it’s maybe the third or fourth-most important plot in this episode. Fun to watch, all the way through, but not a story I’m raving about to anyone.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio38b.png

Nah, I was asking a hypothetical question, because at this point it'd be spoiler to talk more, but just asking hypothetical reaction when Sougo got to see Time Jackers got victimized.

I don't know about humor or fan service being the 'solution' to make 'asking questions' good/better (the "more palatable" part), when it should be about putting actual effort in writing it well. Those 2 traits are different categories altogether. And many do seem to criticize slow pace but fleetness or not is just different style of writing. Other than that, Sougo's capabilities should be given credit here, again, with Sougo always giving an impression that he's an idiotic airhead (including him screwing up the phrase of Fourze), including how he's at first glance seem easily gullible (of which many blamed it on how kindness is weakness) by Yaguruma by walking into his trap. But Sougo had a purpose why he's 'agreeable' with Yaguruma's plans, he brings Woz along for his own surprise against the Hopper brothers, trapping Yaguruma with his black hole. Sougo knows that it's the trap set by Hopper brothers, but Sougo utilized the trap in his own way. Sougo also has shown his growth in fighting against Geiz Revive before as Zi-O II, with him not solely relying on his predictive powers, but also letting PunchHopper hit him to lure him into his blade (as he's off-balance).

It'd create a good outcome but Kagami's goal here seem to be about defeating Kageyama, and it sounds kinda personal like about settling their past or something. I forgot about this one but I'd wish if Kagami would talk about why he wants to beat him (including to stop him from harming others as reason) or his ZECT related occupation to (not merely the professionalism aspect but about he himself there). It's really simple here that the enemy is Another Kabuto, so the secondary Riders won't be affected for obvious reasons, would it be too easy if the enemy is Another primary Rider and that series tribute feature secondary Riders or the others to deal with the Riders, at least by fighting? (not beating them, but to make others' job easier to obtain the Ridewatches).

Yaguruma is utilized fully in the fight as both Kabuto and KickHopper. I guess as for above, Yaguruma is the manipulative one here to lure Sougo or Arata into a trap, but of course it's an awesome moment for Sougo. And nothing says regarding how Tsukuyomi's connection to her past is due to it hurting her or such here btw, it's not complete yet. About Swartz's connection with Tsukuyomi here it wouldn't be something about Tsukuyomi being victimized by him or something like, Sougo kinda in the bus. Here the role is also Geiz having a conflict with Tsukasa for his friend Tsukuyomi's sake, also considering to stop her when she goes to 2058.

Change! Episode 38!

-Something about Kagami calling Sougo "Your Highness" makes me smile....he's been around too many weirdos, he's just learned to roll with it, I suppose?

-On my first watch, I felt conflicted about Kagami transforming into Kabuto: its a cute fanservice bit, but I felt like it made light of Kagami's own struggle to come into his own path, as Gatack? But someone had to become Kabuto this episode, I guess. I'm not too pressed about it now, but it still leaves a bitter taste. (At the very least, it's fun to see Kagami's aggressive fighting style in the Kabuto suit, which usually rarely engages in any unnecessary movement.)

-Does the revelation in this episode imply that the dumpy hat and oversized jacket is just what Swartz likes to wear? Kinda hilarious,,

-Bizzare tangent: This episode ending with Uncle's pile of onigiri instinctively reminded me of a rather recent Toei heroine who also quotes her grandma frequently with an occasional point to the sky! I keep bouncing back and forth between "it's mere concidence" and "potenially referntial", Shōji Yonemura was also a head writer for a bit on that franchise, after all......

-Felt like I haven't shared an interview in a while, so here's this thing where Tendou's actor cooks a meal for Kagami's actor and they reminiscence about Kabuto for a bit, among other things! Part 1 Part 2

For the purposes of this episode and the fact that every single Another Rider Buster was basically occupied, I'm fine with Kagami becoming Kabuto. Which in a surprising display he becomes the second Rider to defeat the Another Version of themselves without any other issues. The first being Den-O in the Heisei Generations Forever movie. Also I recall Tendou's actor talking to Kagami's about the Kabuto bit and how he watched the episode and said something along the lines of "It really fits you" I just found it kinda cute that he basically gave Kagami his own blessing in a way after the episode.

Overall I'd say there's a lot of minor things I like in this episode. The cute use of the assist robots to attempt to bamboozle the hell brothers, Woz and Sougo shouting about space and their whole mission where Sougo learns the hard way that a drill does not negate the pain that comes with drilling through super hard rock. The cool side by side with Goretsu into Shippu and Put On to Cast Off with Revive and Kabuto. Zi-O Trinity basically showing itself as very much the big powerhouse form with seemingly no range limits in calling the necessary Riders where it kicks through a gigantic meteor. Oh and Uncle making a bunch of Onigiri to the point where Team Zi-O realizes they have a lot of rice to eat for dinner, lunch, and then dinner again. Just a lot of little cool things that made up for some of the oddities of the episode.

Anyway next time given the contents we've got both a Den-O Next Episode Preview BGM and Toki no Ouja making its reappearance in the BGM Swaps. As always with these types of setups I usually prefer the preview BGM over the Insert Songs.

Zero's Legend Episode Previews Corner - EP 39 Preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63mw6-k1oeI

Having not seen Kabuto yet, I really felt like I was missing alot of context with this two-parter, which is a shame, because the past few did atleast feel as though they were written with newcomers in mind despite the change-up in the formula.

As such, I can really only judge it based upon what little context the episodes themselves provide, as well as comparison via the Kabuto tribute in Decade.

While I wasn't crazy about it, I did feel like it worked for the most part.

Like, it's basically no contest when it comes to these episodes vs the Decade episodes, considering not only were the plot of the latter outright nonsensical, but the moral(s) they tried to push were uh, baffling, to put it lightly.

As for the context of the story that these episodes in an of themselves(and again, haven't seen Kabuto yet so if I'm way off then whoops!), my read was that Kagami was once obsessed with getting the Kabuto Zector, and it was only through admitting to himself that someone else was better suited for it and not letting it hold him down anymore that he was finally able to grow as a person, and thus the Kabuto Zector allowed itself to be used by him. It's very basic symbolism, and allows Kagami be the one to finish the fight.

So yeah, both episodes ended up just being kinda decent for me. The action was great though, that's for sure.

Yeah, this is kinda where I'm at, too. It's a nice throwback to the first episode of Kabuto, but it still feels kind of weird in a way that just never sat right with me. I'm not sure why, but your comment about Kagami's growth as Gatack does resonate with me.

I did like the Hopper stuff, though, and apparently this was the episode where we saw Tsukoyomi's childhood.

I mean, it's what I'd like to see? It improves my experience of watching table-setting episodes? I'm not sure I'd phrase it differently.

Kageyama is a Worm sent to infiltrate and, eventually, destroy the Earth. That's all the motivation Kagami ever needed!

If my older brother dressed like that, I'd get some amnesia, too.

Aw, that's very cute! I like when even the guys they can't get back end up caring about their show's legacy.

Oh, god, this was light years better than the Decade story for Kabuto. Please don't make me remember that!

That is definitely the impression this episode wants to give you about Kagami's feelings after Kabuto! It's just not really accurate?

Like, they used a couple clips that are from Kabuto, but they're slightly out of context. Kagami did want the Kabuto Zecter... but for, like, an episode. Gatack did fight Kabuto... but it ended up not being a huge part of the series or anything. Kagami's arc in Kabuto was him realizing that he'd always feel inferior as long as he kept measuring himself against Tendou, so he needed to stop doing that. To have him be like I Always Felt Like A Failure Because I Wasn't Kabuto is a) not really his arc in the series past, like, the first dozen episodes; and b) weirdly dismissive of his many successes as his own hero. The one thing Kagami never lacked in Kabuto was willpower and a stubborn/stupid (it depends if you ask Tendou) belief in right and wrong.

Anyway, long story short, Zi-O kinda needed to cheat to give Kagami an arc in this story that resolved via obtaining the Kabuto Zecter.

Just guessing on why, but Kagami's growth is like, the highlight of early Kabuto(maybe even all of it!) in my opinion? Dude had to flail, struggle, and fight for every inch that eventually led to getting that Gatack Zecter. I'd wager that "underdog" story is what caused me and so many people really like the guy. So seeing this slew of recent tributes take such care in their references, for this one to go like "Uhhhhhh. Kagami really wanted that Kabuto Zecter once, right? Prove he was better than Tendou, or something like that?" felt a little...shallow? Like it ended up missing the forest for the trees in trying to justify it? (Kagami didn't become Gatack in an attempt to one-up or emulate Tendou, he's Gatack because he wants to help others! Gatack's debut ep is arguably all about that!) I'd be so bold as to say if they cut the part where Kagami talks about Tendou, the whole thing would feel a touch better in execution.

Geiz resolves for using Revive stemming from seeing the event of 2009 brings it all back to his guilt and really this episode is Geiz moment of introspection and finally his resolve to do it. Even if he regrets it for the rest of his life it's now or never for him he has to kill Sougo. And Sougo dosen't run away he trust in Geiz judgement it time for this end one way or another.

Also White Woz rejoicing c'mon even if you don't like White Woz you gotta admit this was pretty hype. And god Shippu is so cool that line about surpassing the future with his speed was so badass. And not to count our Goretsu him taking and dishing out Another ZI-O who at this point march ZI-O II( who've been shilling the last three episodes) was the nail in the coffin for the true match.

The whole Geiz Revive intro sequence -- Hat Woz'z IWAE, both form changes, how much Another Zi-O gets clowned on -- was really well done. There's a lot of negative emotions running through this stretch of the show, and we're watching a friendship dissolve under specious reasoning -slash- Geiz'z monumental martyr complex, but this show never forgets to make the suit action appropriately boss.

Surprisingly, no-one was willing to give my theory that Tendou himself set up Kagami to become Kabuto as a ploy to give the demon king kid his watch the time of day back when this first aired.

And speaking of watches…

Ridewatch Playlist: Ten no Michi Mix

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3QhWSOAwN58

“Cast Off for super acceleration. The beetle Rider is… Kabuto”

And luckily for me, Kabuto’s actual soundtrack is so small, I can apply one thing for everyone. So let’s start with Next Level https://youtube.com/watch?v=hHSSksH_W4E

“Super speed crossing over time. The rainbow wings are flapping, Kabuto Hyper Form”

And next up is Lord of the Speed https://youtube.com/watch?v=kPca4H4KoeA

“Kabuto’s partner, the blue stag beetle Rider is Gatack”

And finally, let’s end it with Full Force https://youtube.com/watch?v=3EdUGFCKWPc

And for Another Kabuto, I went with Miss You, a song from one of his actor’s albums that basically sums him up here https://youtube.com/watch?v=MeokBPRMvEI

And as for the unreleased:
Kamen Rider Kabuto (Masked Form)
Kamen Rider Gatack (Masked Form)
Kamen Rider TheBee (Rider Form)
Kamen Rider TheBee (Masked Form)
Kamen Rider Drake (Rider Form)
Kamen Rider Drake (Masked Form)
Kamen Rider Sasword (Rider Form)
Kamen Rider Sasword (Masked Form)
Kamen Rider KickHopper
Kamen Rider PunchHopper
Kamen Rider Dark Kabuto (Rider Form)
Kamen Rider Dark Kabuto (Masked Form)
Kamen Rider Caucasus
Kamen Rider Hercus
Kamen Rider Ketaros

And for the compare and contrast, Tendou and Yaguruma both started out as perfectionists, with the main difference being that Tendou had everything go right for him, due to his belief that he was walking the path of Heaven, while Yaguruma’s own arrogance cost him everything, eventually resulting in him deciding to search for Hell. And whereas Tendou is dedicated to preserving the world to keep both of his sisters safe, Yaguruma was willing to see it destroyed so he could be with the Worm!Kageyama (which also contrasts Kagami killing the Worm that copied his brother after accepting that he was really gone).

Design wise, aside from resembling a worm, there are a lot of visual jokes in Another Kabuto’s design. Not only is his head modelled after a samurai helmet (a Kabuto), but his belt is modelled after Stronger’s.

Next time: A new Zi-O power-up that DOESN’T debut alongside a card themed Rider? Unheard of

My brain honestly turned off when Kagami received the Zecter. It's not narratively correct for him to have it, but just for this one time thing, to help the new rider, it kind of felt right. Plus it was fun to see the (disrepaired) Kabuto suit move in a way that's not Tendou.

Although, it's kind of weird to see the Kabuto Zecter turn into a watch and then later come back to Tendou. Does Sougo get it back now?

While Kiriya and Hibiki was about how douche he is, I'm not really into this either, but Kagami and Kabuto was about Kagami's status perhaps, about how much of a pathetic loser Kagami was, someone who is miserable including being rejected by Kabuto Zecter, but later his growth made him to be the only person Tendou respects as his equal, and here he shows his mettle once more by using Tendou's Zecter, performing a feat similar to Tendou taking and using the Zecters of other riders (TheBee, Drake and Sasword). So I guess this is about how both Tendou and Kagami are the only ones to be able to make use of other people's Zecters, to show about how equally awesome Tendou and Kagami are (the opposite of him being pathetic) now. Though as you said Kabuto's about someone being their own's best selves, and it'd can be done by Kagami evolving as Gatack (he did have Hyper Gatack) which should be the one I prefer too by performing a feat equal to Tendou as Gatack (and there can be more badass showings than taking other Zecters), but I guess it's the purpose of making Kagami become Kabuto.

Not that it'd likely matter to you but yeah there'd be more to come on this, after all, what kind of family Tsukuyomi and Swartz wasn't known yet at this point. And then, CMIIW, but I guess Tsukuyomi would be something poorly chosen for Japanese myth naming to (code) name the female lead who has a sibling conflict (as there's a sibling conflict between Amaterasu, Susano'o, and Tsukuyomi in Japanese myth). And Tsukuyomi is one of the male siblings too, not the female one which is Amaterasu, and then Tsukuyomi and Susano'o are the bigger scumbag ones among the siblings. They don't seem to implement Japanese myth other than her codename so perhaps Amaterasu can suit her more for her gender and role. Other than that, if this episode is praised for the action, then Tsukuyomi should get credit for stopping the huge asteroid for the others to have a chance (by her stopping time powers). Once again here, Swartz inadvertently 'helps' the heroes here by giving back the Fourze and Ginga Finally Watches so they can stop the asteroid, but this good outcome is meant to be self-serving as, if the Earth is conquered by Worms before he was born then he'd die too.

Specifically, Yaguruma's similar but different to Geiz. Yaguruma's the evil version of Geiz here, both are the Riders who are put in a situation where they have to kill their loved ones (since ep. 15 for Geiz), but Geiz is someone who albeit started morally grey, he still was mostly better than Yaguruma at that point and he became even better person due to Sougo's influence and also his inherent moral compass from his well-meaning mission, while Yaguruma's someone who due to only caring about Kageyama, he literally only cares about him and it wouldn't matter to him if the Earth is destroyed/turned into hell so they can still be together, as Earth is already a hell to him (but not necessarily to others). Yaguruma is Geiz when he's so consumed by his desires instead of the world (including Geiz's self-righteousness at the beginning), as well as how Yaguruma never moved on from Kageyama's death in the series 13 years ago, so this version of Yaguruma here is set as continuation from the end of Kabuto where he had killed Kageyama as a Worm (so he had done it unlike Geiz).

The Kabuto arc is nice, I figure if I'd seen Kabuto, my thought might be different, but for now, I thought they were good.

I don't know Kagami at all, but I did kind of feel like they were just doing the same thing they did for the Hibiki route, so I didn't feel too attached to them making him Kabuto, since from what it sounds like, the Kabuto Zecter just picks whoever it thinks is fun, so hearing things like "Kagami is the real hero of Kabuto" don't mean anything to me, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, and my lack of knowledge on Kabuto as a whole (so I probably insulted every Kabuto fan and should get a Rider Kick to the face). But the Kabuto suits are still some of my favorites, which I talked about in length in the Kabuto arc in Decade.

I also enjoyed the one time shenanigans nonsense at the start about Shibuya getting blown up years ago, even though it's just there to put in the Kabuto connection, because they didn't get too crazy with it, I didn't mind it at all. But Zi-O and Woz destroying the Worm Meteor was a great scene, and Fourze wasn't forgotten! Which I love how they still found it in themselves to reuse some of the old forms instead of making them obsolete whenever a new form debuted.

It's probably already apparent by now that the Heisei Phase 1 Armor Times are somewhat more streamlined than the Phase 2 armors, so Kabuto's Armor Time using the Zecters for shoulder guards was genius and aesthetically pleasing, though I have to say, it looks less like a Kabuto armor and more like Zi-O just straight up stole his suit than added some bells and whistles to it.

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP38)

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

There's kinda no getting around how unnecessary it is to see Kagami actually become Kabuto. A big theme in that show was how it's more important to overcome yourself than it is to worry about "surpassing" others -- something Kagami learned more than anyone -- and we've even got the other end of that spectrum here in Yaguruma, a man who basically threw his entire life away all because he let beating Kabuto distract him from following his own path. Like, y'all can diss that Decade tribute all you want, but I think it had a much stronger grasp on the elements of Kabuto it chose to focus on. So, yeah, Kagami as Kabuto -- nothing we needed to see.

And yet, "unnecessary" is really the most scathing criticism I can give it?

It's something where I should be downright offended by it, as a Kabuto fan. I mean, if you've seen the show, you probably understand just how critical a point it is that Kabuto and Gatack are equals, and that the identity Kagami carved out for himself is not just a silver medal. It's like, downright blasphemous of Zi-O to even *risk* suggesting that. ...Just like it was blasphemy to undo the bittersweet tragedy of Blade's ending, or to have the most unpopular character in Hibiki earn a title basically nobody wanted to see him inherit.

Zi-O has a way of making me enjoy these things I should hate seeing, and that's just as true as ever here. I can only barely tell you the reasons why, but I think it ultimately comes down to two pretty simple words -- it's fun.

I figured this plot point might bug me more now than it did at the time, since, like I said, I've become a lot more passionate about Kabuto, especially when it comes to the messages and themes it explored, but man, I just can't be bothered to care? Kagami using the Kabuto Zecter is cool, probably something plenty of fans wanted to see happen, and something that Zi-O made happen, long after it seemed like there was any chance it would. It might not be a moment that perfectly fits Kagami's character, but it fits the vibe of this stretch of the show flawlessly. Who knows, maybe this is just part of that Geiz character arc I have with Zi-O as a series. Like I've gone so soft I simply can't view it with any suspicion anymore. But as awkward as some of the details become when you stop to think about them, this really is a delightful episode, and I can't help but let it off the hook for that alone. Maybe that stunt team did really good work, okay?! What's so wrong about that being the focus of praise every now and then?

This is probably one of those times where my attempt to defend something is only going to make it look worse, but I feel like the episode really sets a tone when it opens up with Sougo destroying a big rock in space, only to be met with the threat of Bigger Rock. I feel like it was a conscious decision to have Geiz and Yaguruma's scenes together be the main source of emotional complexity here, because I just can't imagine that was ever the overall priority for this story. We've got a hint of depth there, some overarching Plot progression with Tsukuyomi, and a dash of simple fanservicey fun with Sougo, even as they play a bit fast and loose with Kagami's character to get us there. (To be clear, I don't think Kagami's feelings are portrayed in a way that undoes any of his development, which is critical.) This is a two-parter with a little bit of everything, that arguably doesn't do particularly great at any one element, but adds up to a whole that's still satisfying. I guess you could say it's fun to watch, all the way through, but not a story you'd be ravin...

Wait, I did start this off trying to disagree with Die, right?