Yeah, it... it's a real hand-wavey thing, them giving us Classic Izu for the climax of the film. (It doesn't help that Izu and Aruto only share a single scene before she shows up to save him from his berserker rage!) It's the biggest walk-back from the finale, and it isn't grounded in much more than happy feelings. But! This was a story that only really works if Aruto and Izu are on the same level of a partnership, and New Izu just can't fill that role. The only alternative would be to have New Izu hit her Singularity in the movie, and there's just too much else to do for that to feel like it's being treated seriously. The best version was probably just Satellite There merging the two versions and sending them off to save Aruto.

(Zero-Two suit is still real good! I think Kamen Rider Lucifer was my favorite suit from this film, though. Eden plus skeletons? Sign me up!)

Wait. Was this also the movie where Gai tortures a naked dude? That was one of the most absurdly random things I've ever seen on Kamen Rider.

It was! And part of the "torture" was bringing back three former Humagear guests (GUTBUSTING TARO!!!) to get him to confess. Impressively bonkers sub-plot.

A lot of Japanese people would certainly agree with you here, considering RealTime was voted one of the best KR media in an official poll.

However, my opinion couldn't be more different. I strongly disliked it. In fact, I easily rank this as the worst KR "summer" movie I've ever watched, a dishonor formerly held by Agito's.

You already summarized the most apparent reason from the start, the way the admittedly eyecatching action takes the foreground at the expense of maintaining a strong narrative. I want more than action from an action movie though, I want the action to be a framing device in service of something I can emotionally invest in and this isn't it. Like, after a show full of deep debates about the meaning of humanity and how HumaGears have a place in that, suddenly it's just nanobots and this dude called S who's way less vital to the overarching plot than the finale's post-credits made him out to be. He's not even as interesting as Kabuki.

Aruto's only appearance as Zero Two is at the start and he doesn't even win. If I disliked RealEyezing Hopper before, then it's even worse now that it's not exclusive to the finale, cause that makes it an excuse for Aruto to loan his literal Final Form to Izu anytime she happens to be around, instead of actually using it himself.

Speaking of Izu, yeah, I'm also annoyed about Zea pretty much overwriting New Izu's identity with her predecessor's and essentially fulfilling Aruto's unhealthy dream of creating a replacement for the dead by literally replacing her with the same person. It takes that controversial last scene from the show and mostly ignores any wrongdoing on Aruto's part, other than showing him being overprotective due to his past trauma. What even is Izu anymore?

Fortunately, despite what DS and En-chan would have you believe, this isn't the last content for Zero One, so please look forward to 01hers!

There's also the other shorter "summer" movie belonging to Saber that was double-billed with this in place of the usual Sentai movie, Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin, which was much more my thing.

Yeah, I'm so glad I happened to be home alone when I watched this.

Yeah, I’m a lot like Shi on this one. I didn’t like the movie when I saw it, or when I rewatched it. I didn’t feel that S was particularly sympathetic (since he’s essentially forcing people into a fantasy they don’t want to be part of) and the one thing that might’ve made this mvoie distinct (the whole “real-time” gimmick) turned out to be a pack of lies (the “hour” actually takes up 1 hour and 13 minutes of screen time. I counted). I felt the Thinknet guys were more sympathetic, since they’ve essentially been lied to by someone who intends to kill them. I dunno, I’d want to murder his wife after that.

I also wasn’t keen on the Is revival, since it cheapened her whole death. And I don’t see why they had to reshoot the movie to be post-series, given that Gaim and Drive both had post-show movies set during the series (and Kyoryuger had a whole episode made 4 years after it ended, also set between episodes). Especially since the sacrifice was the one thing you complained the movie was missing: screen time for Naki and Ikazuchi.

This reveal one thing where Naki's the one who arranged for Jin's arrival. The 2 primary villains of Zero-One here adds up more contrasting role that Gai views him as a tool, while Horobi insisted that Naki and Humagears aren't humanity's tools. The thing though, Gai also viewed humans like Yua as his tool, so it's not only about Humagears but merely about Gai's superiority complex to anyone, any species, but I guess Naki's still in learning phase to not know which is bad to follow anything both his superiors do. Though In the series iirc, Naki was later revealed to be the Humagear entity that resides within Fuwa, but here Naki already existed as a co-worker for both villainous sides.

Yeah, the action in this movie is some of the better ones I've seen regarding Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Eden utilizing his abilities in complete and varied way, and even better, Eden's stats are weaker than Zero-Two's, but it managed to keep up against a stronger Rider. I'm also glad that Zero-Two is used here unlike the last arc of Zero-One where it somehow got neglected for weaker Ark-One, though the irony is that, Aruto'd need a weaker form too against Eden in Metal Cluster Hopper that has similar abilities but better stats.

And like Metal Cluster Hopper being the solution, it seems that Bell/Lucifer is the Zero-Two version of the baddie here (accessed by mounting an Ark-based driver unit onto the Zero-One Driver), and like Zero-Two, it just did worse despite being the stronger one, as it seems to rely more on pure hand-to-hand combat, got outclassed by Aruto-Izu team up as Riders, not even getting a chance for a finisher. Other than Metal Cluster Hopper, there's the Hellrising Hopper part which is just scary and horrific, and though not that flashy, it captures the horror vibe well. There's even the creepy part of Aruto's arm dislocating though he puts it back.

Role has no correlation with morality/alignment. Ofc he's the antagonist, but just because he's not pure evil doesn't mean he's not villainous (he's a terrorist attacking various people and forcing the world to restart on his whims), he's still an anti-villain. I'd also say that another thing that is compelling about S/Eden is about how he's a smart and cunning type of villain that, he can carry out his plan due to hiding almost anything from others, thus his disciples are all swayed by him to help him carry out the plan to create a paradise by world destruction, only to turn out that the paradise was meant for the victims they attacked, who S digitized there, not the disciples, they're just used by S as tools, due to how S doesn't want depraved people to be in Akane's world, which is exactly his disciples who S plans to kill them off. He also provoked Aruto so he can take his Zero-Two key and create his world destroying weapon.

Unfortunately though, there's another smart villain in Bell, who noticed that there's something wrong in S starting the doomsday early, thus he began to act on his own to usurp S and proceed the promise that S lied to them, successfully doing so to become the final threat of the movie as Lucifer who almost wins. Albeit even Bell seems to be less malicious than the other members, as he wasn't sadistic like them and even has less self-serving goals unlike S (he only cares about Akane, just bringing other people to create proper world).

Compared to Yuya Takahashi's works, I guess S is Zero-One's version of Cronus, not in morality (Cronus' an irredeemable bastard), but in how they carry their evil plan, that they aim to create their own world by digitizing everyone else, or in S case, the ones not too rotten. Though sorry for this but dunno why I think S has some traits from Shiro Kanzaki in Ryuki, as they remade their consciousness as something else other than human (as ghost and nanomachines), want to create a world where their loved ones are there, and picked individuals they think are rotten enough to be used as their tools and killed off (other Rider War contestants as wish fuel and Paradise Guardia members), but finally gave up on their plans (not counting RT Ryuki) and die together with their loved one instead as their existence got deleted.

And yeah, I'd say that Aruto's experience against Humagears play important part here to convince S that he's doing something selfish. S thinks Aruto doesn't know everything, but as a Humagear endorse Aruto knows about AI nature that they aren't heartless, but are like humans, as copying their consciousness would mean their heart is copied too, and that'd extend to Akane, who Aruto has personally met, informing S how actually AI works (in this universe). I wish that Aruto can talk about his interactions with Akane though.

But yeah, I'd also think this is one of the better KR movies, but there are glaring flaws like, I don't like Izu being returned just by the old Izu memories happening to be in Zea. I know that Humagears can be rebuilt but, this is just cheap solution to get the audience familiar instead of exploring the different Izu. And regarding the suits, other than Naki and Ikazuchi, the scene of Gai and Yua fighting off some Abaddon Riders, like while they're cool it's more of them somehow missing each shot (like Stormtroopers) that it kind of undermines their feat more. It's more tolerable and convincing IMO for melee attack one like Kouta, Kaito, and Micchy fighting off Kurokage Troopers in Gaim as human. And though the 2 main baddies are overall smart, they still put... timer on their world-destroying plan, typical fiction pitfall for those plans.

Otherwise, many people before claim Gai was still smug and his behavior was similar after his 'redemption' and I was not convinced, but actually turns out it was true as shown in this movie, with Gai's speaking tone when dealing with Makio (the one stripped naked). Others seem to accept Gai better, though still quite dislike him as shown in the end, but ironically Gai displays more of his inherent creepy traits now, like torturing Makio. Seems that while he's not evil anymore, he's still not exactly a clean-cut good guy by his behavior to Makio.

This movie continues to be packed beyond belief that it surpasses my current memory in which I only remember things by people potentially saying them in their comments.

Somehow I had glanced over my favorite usage of Metal Cluster Hopper and didn't even mention it! I thought it was pretty smart for Aruto to go for (admittedly he had no choice) a weaker form via Metal Cluster and use its swarm ability to "infect" Eden and slowly wear him down by having the swarm just chew and mess with the nanomachines by mixing with them.

It's just such a clever usage of the form and I wish they had done more cool things like this with Metal Cluster when he had gotten the Hopper Blade to control it.

My favorite aspect of the movie can be summed up in one sentence:

gamers rise up

I guess this is a Your Mileage May Vary sort of sitchiation, where to me S came off as a sympathetic-villain version of most of Zero-One's larger themes: partnership, the role of technology in grief, how best to resolve guilt, etc. If it lacked greater integration into Zero-One's narrative, I think it still managed to feel thoroughly in line with what the show's always been talking about.

I like stories like these more as post-show content, honestly. The idea of Oh This Massive Villain Happened Between Episodes (and with enough weirdly contradictory elements to feel non-canonical) is usually a step down for me. It can be fun on a thematic or entertainment level, but spending mental energy trying to square the events of the movie with the events of the show... less fun!

I don't know if the series ever stated how Naki operated prior to being implanted in Fuwa, so there's really nothing here that outright contradicts the show. It's sort of ridiculous, but it's not a plot hole.

Yeah, this one... it's really hard to support the return of Classic Izu in any way other than saying It Felt Good. We were specifically told that Izu's sacrifice was irrevocable - that's what makes the last few episodes mean anything. To have that undone with no explanation whatsoever is kind of weak. It's not the best!

It's really great when these big movies can remember old forms, and use them tactically. The whole Punching Kong bit is the producers realizing that Fuwa can fight a jet if he's got super-strength, so here you go. Smart!

You can take the Takahashi out of Ex-Aid, but you can't take the Ex-Aid out of Takahashi.

I would definitely put RealxTime up there as one of my favorite Summer Movies. The pacing is breakneck, it's action-packed, but there's a strong emotional undercurrent and core to the story as it expands on our antagonist, his motivation, and the fallout of the Zero-One finale.

As far as Movie Villain Riders go, I think Eden was pretty great. His suit is amazing and suitably menacing, and a character who comes off like your generic doomsday Big Bad turns out to have far more layers than you would've expected, which made the climax all the more engaging.

I hope Horobi's audition for the Demon Slayer stage play went well.

"Forget it Horobi, that's not the original Izu! Because you basically killed her!" - What Fuwa basically meant.

That Fuwa/Jin scene was priceless though.

I love how we get a great bike scene and it's a female Rider who didn't even have her own personalized bike instead of the Main Rider. Although we did get a cool bike entrance with Zero-One.

Zero Two got it's first major loss right at the beginning of the movie, but it was nice to see Metal Cluster Hopper show up and actually help resolve the issue because so often with Riders it's the Final Form or bust. That said, I would've liked to have seen Zero-One's other forms because usually a Summer Movie is a good chance to bring them back or other forms that had been forgotten about.

Hellrising Hopper...I mean, just the sheer pain you can feel from Aruto in the transformation stands out so much, but as a movie exclusive form that isn't on-screen for very long it's surprisingly effective.

Wow, how handy would it have been to know the Riders could just bring out their weapons even untransformed.

Kamen Rider Lucifer is kind of just there to fufill the need for a Final Boss, but dang it if watching Aruto and Izu as Double Riders fighting to RealxEyes isn't super satisfying. Like, it feels so perfect and fitting, especially given the pair being such close partners and how Zero Two homages Nigo, and was nice to watch on-screen. Also a female Rider that basically matches the Main Rider at that point.

The Izu thing...honestly I think it's kept deliberately vague whether Izu is now 100% the original Izu or if it's New Izu with her memories and having to react to that, so in a way she's effectively the same but maybe not exactly if they want to play with it that way. At least that was my takeaway.

I love how Gai is at a point where he wants everyone to work with him and still at a point where no one even humors him.

Ending on Aruto and Izu fighting in a wedding chapel after they fought off a bunch of baddies together...catching some vibes there.

Also, speaking of RealxEyes, the ED was a straight banger.

I honestly really enjoyed how subtle and thoughtful that moment was. Having Horobi be the one to argue that Izu isn't thinking beyond her programming is such a smart way to:

-remind the audience that this isn't the same Izu from the series
-because Horobi murdered her
-and now he's trying to atone for that by defending Humagear sentience

Like, that's a whole bunch of dramatic ground to cover in an incredibly small moment, but the script nails it.

Yeah, Lucifer's just there to have an unambiguous asshole to detonate, and I think he fills that role splendidly. He gets blowed up real good!

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE: FINAL STAGE

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

I can’t think of a more brutal indictment of this stage show than the following: In a thirty-minute Zero-One story, Aruto doesn’t make a single joke.

Like, what’s the point of this stage show, then? Why bother getting any of the actors (including an alarmingly tan Fuwa) to come back? It’s a stunt show, and that’s it. There’s no story worth delving into (Ark Zero-One is a repaint suit with a rehashed motivation), and no writing worth discussing. It’s the most boilerplate Zero-One project I can imagine, and it’s relentlessly underwhelming to think about.

The main positive, maybe the only positive, is the fight choreography. It’s clearly the only part of this that was given any care or attention (that Ark Zero-One suit, jesus), and it’s definitely worth watching maybe four minutes of clips if you can find them online somewhere without sitting through this whole thing. The Valkyrie/Vulcan action rivals anything from Zero-One outside of REALxTIME, with their fight against Ark Zero-One being a particular highlight. All of the suit actors do an admirable job trying to create something of value, when the writing does them absolutely no favors.

I don’t… like, if you want to say It’s Just A Stage Show, fine. This is a children’s matinee trifle, where you clap along with the theme song to empower the heroes. It ain’t striving for anything more than a reason to buy a glow light at some stupid markup. But, man, these shows can at least be less mercenary in their obligations, you know? You can try to say something with the characters. (The Build stage show excels at this, if I recall.) This is just boring platitudes and misapplied encouragements, and it really let me down.

I thought the Metsubojinrai bits we got were really cute with Jin and the others.

Bringing Ansatsu-Chan back as Ark-Zero was also pretty cool.

But idk, I feel like you might just be expecting too much out of Final Stages? Heck even I thought Builds was alright at best. Tbh, the most I enjoy them as is idea fodder when it comes to my fanfics.

Though it was clear from the offset that this stage show was clearly impacted by Covid when it came to a lot of things. Mostly in the, instead of cheering or chanting, people clap along to a song which was honestly funny to witness when I realized why they did it that way.

Also now that the Stage Show is out of the way, I suppose I can say this when it comes to the Ark now. The hosts that usually go full tilt and never turn around and betray Ark are the people who just... do not have any

http://media.tenor.com/K9-SqJMNjkEAA...nal-damage.gif

emotional damage to them.

Horobi? Stuff about Jin.
Aruto? Stuff about Izu.
S? Stuff about Akane.

Meanwhile those that don't, end up being Ark till the end. Behru, Azu, I'm even counting Ansatsu-Chan, don't really have any emotional damage or baggage to them, which allows them to easily stay walking the path of Ark.

Just a fun thought honestly.

To me, this stage show was all about MBJR and showing how their dynamic has grown. Assassin Boy coming back and basically calling the group out for what they did to him was especially nice. This stage show is the closest thing we ever got to a MetsuboJinrai movie, and I appreciate it for that. Ontop of just being fun to watch.

Yeah this Stage Show was kind of boring and lacks a lot of energy. I give it some slack with when this exactly take place in terms of real world contedt which makes it hard for me to be critical of it.

But man coming off Build's and ZI-O Final Stafe which where more emotional and fun imo this does fall flat in compairson.

Cool to see more Zero-Two I guess.

The premise for a good Zero One movie is there, with the themes and a lot of cool sci-fi action, but yeah, I can't get past the poor execution, controversial developments and the lack of relevance to the narrative. S to me is merely one of many of Azu's ongoing attempts to revive Ark, far from a major character that holds any importance to anybody or anything that comes before or after. The world in this story feels so detached from the world of the show that I could expect Decade to show up and tickle Zero One in the back.

Feels like this was a consequence of rewriting the movie to take place after the finale and that the staff always planned for OG Izu to show up for the fight against Lucifer. Unfortunately, I'm convinced that New Izu was only introduced after Izu's death in the improvised final arc to serve as a plot device, a vessel to be filled, a tool to facilitate the return to a status quo that had overstayed its welcome. Regardless of the established rules of the setting, it seems like Zea is basically a god that can do whatever the hell it wants.

Even with a new president running the Japanese branch, ZAIA is still a ticking time bomb and everybody knows it. Gai means well, but the best thing he can do to rebuild his credibility and offer secure employment is to cut ties with that company and start from zero with a business that better represents his new values.

That's a thing I'm used to from a few years of New Japan Pro-Wrestling live events, where it's all claps and foot stomps. I think it works fine? The clap-along moment was sort of charming. I like that type of kid-oriented live entertainment for Kamen Rider occasionally, that reminder that this is all supposed to excite children, at the very least.

That said, man, I don't know why COVID has to equal Generic Story? I feel like there were plenty of options available to the production team (the show starts off as a Hiden Intelligence live demonstration before being completely abandoned) that could've been more exciting than Another Ark, padded out with bland speeches about teamwork. Like, COVID's definitely going to affect how many actors are going to be on stage together, but it's not going to impact voiceovers and plotting and whatnot.

I wish Naki and Ikazuchi weren't immediately brainwashed, but, yeah, this was a decent outing for MetsubouJinrai.

The glow sticks sure looked fun.

ZAIA Manufacturing!

I liked the Final Stage well enough. It's pretty rare that they really hit me; I can name all the ones that did that very easily - Ghost, Build, Zi-O and Revice - so this one just ends up falling into the category most do: Yeah That Was Pretty Fun. Could be better, but it's harmless and enjoyable enough

I feel like the actor for S carried a lot of emotional and narrative weight to me despite being another avenue for Ark to carry out his plan, but he did his own thing anyways and I don't think he needed a prior emotional connection to the cast or their story (beyond Aruto maybe relating to his loss) since it was Aruto learning about him in the movie.
To be honest it's hard for me to imagine Zero-Two Izu happening before the finale while OG!Izu was still alive.

AI's be pretty darn effective.
It worked for Aruto! Kind of!

Thouser Intellion be like:

Since everyone else had already given their amazing thoughts, I will just ask... Is everyone on the believe that The New Izu that received the memories from the Old Izu/Zea suddenly became the same Izu back then with all of those memories?

From my interpretation, Zea/Old Izu just gave this New Izu all of the memories of her with Aruto on the series. However, cmiiw, I think this New Izu hasn't reached a Singularity or at least not to the same extent that the Old Izu gained during Zero-Two's debut. This is the reason why I don't mind Izu gained back all of her memories. Just because you gain those precious memories back, that doesn't mean you have the capability to feel and emote back all of those memories. There's a line in the movie where Izu said to Aruto that she wanted to learn more about 'heart'; supporting the idea even more. So for those who believed the New Izu gained her memories back invalidate Izu's death in the series might need more space to think about it.

Also does anyone have any complaint or dislike with having Izu becoming a Rider and even more so, Zero-Two? I'm on the side that I don't really mind Izu becoming a Rider. If she wasn't a Rider not a problem but if she was a Rider, that was neat. I don't know why but most people I see on my country really dislike the notion of Izu becoming Zero-Two. Many people think that Izu should've just stayed as a heroine and shouldn't transform at all. Some people even said Izu tainted the Zero-Two's suit and making it did some feminine gestures on such a cool suit.

Other than that, I'm glad Die and everyone else enjoyed this movie a lot. Unfortunately, I might be on the minority that didn't enjoy this movie as much as everyone here. It's obviously not about Izu because I love how they handled Izu here. However, the movie felt a bit kinda chaotic and when I first saw this movie I was feeling a bit nauseated because the rough pacing of the movie. The second rewatch was better but getting smacked suddenly right in the middle of the movie with little context was not pleasant. Not to mention I kinda wish Bell didn't take over S position in the movie's climax. That was a pretty hard nope for me. The next movie that Die would cover, for me, is much superior and better in terms of storytelling, pacing, and thematic.

Given that Toei decided that Aruto had to become Zero-One again, I was all for Izu becoming Zero-Two, whether it be the original or the new one. It lead to a really awesome fight scene and symbolically represented that Aruto and Izu will always be tied together, whether one chooses to see it as platonic or romantic.

To speak up on the Izu memory thing though, while it is a bit iffy, I'm really not that bothered by it. As others have said, I don't really see it so much as the original Izu coming back, more so the first and second iterations sorta combining together in a sense. Also it allowed us to have a really cool double Rider moment in a chapel fighting off the bad guys, in which I will call it their wedding ceremony.... you may now Rider Kick the badguy.

Also I mean, it didn't come out of nowhere if we're being honest and that's enough for me. Like, we all remember what the Zero-Two Key was created out of right? Whose memory bank just fell out of her Humagear headset to reform into the key before the Zero-Two Driver was formed?

Even at the end of Zero-One where we see Aruto mulling over Izu's Humagear Key I was like "Uh dude... dude you're staring longingly at the wrong Key my man..."

I really like Izu as Zero-Two! Beyond taking her partnership with Aruto to the next logical level (...monster detonating. What did you think I meant?), I'm all for more lady Riders. I can't think of a single negative about Izu being a Kamen Rider. No notes!

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE: IS’S LECTURE ROOM EPISODE 3

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../lecture3a.png

It’s all Kamen Rider catchphrases here, and there’s maybe no better way to see off Aruto and Izu than this charmingly goofy tour of Kamen Rider history. Having these two actors deconstruct a few famous heroic declarations (Faiz’z “If fighting is a sin, THEN LET ME BE DAMNED” is and always will the most bad-ass thing for any Rider to ever declare) is fun as a window into two young people feeling the weight of a larger franchise, but it’s also a neat little celebration of their place within it. The segment where Aruto’s actor discusses what the “The only one who can stop you… is me!” catchphrase meant to him… gosh, it’s really lovely. It’s nice to see him feeling a sense of artistic accomplishment, as the series is completed.

As always, him and Izu have amazing chemistry. The recurring bit of Izu doing this high-pitched voice for Tiny Izu, as a way to give hints, was hysterical. Them both doing these specials as Forty Percent In-Character was absolutely the right move. It’s so fun. I wish there were a hundred of these quizzes, with Izu trying to lead Aruto to correct answers that he is a million miles away from (rucksack?!?!), and Aruto posing slightly philosophical questions that Izu really digs into. It’s delightful. I think these two kids were really something special.

Bonus: Decade is Aruto’s favorite Rider!!!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/.../lecture3b.png

If that was the intention, then I would've liked to see that depicted more clearly. Even after the time skip between the finale and this movie, New Izu still behaves very similar to her predecessor and that only escalates once Zea gives her the memories. I never feel like New Izu is her own character, as Aruto wants to teach her to be just like Izu. She never gets any say in her own development, as all the learning she experiences to reach comes from external sources. I'm actually a fan of the memory copying trope with the right execution, but I think this movie kind of skips over the important parts about how a character feels about those memories. If New Izu truly is still herself, then she should probably have some feelings about how being Izu's clone shapes her own identity, not only empathy for Aruto's fear of loss which he doesn't know how to express in a healthy way.

I have no problem with Izu becoming a Kamen Rider. I think anybody with the right spirit deserves to become one. However, I definitely have a problem with her becoming Zero Two, simply as that means Aruto gets even less time as Zero Two. I kind of understand symbolically why this happened, as Izu played an inexpendable role in its creation and using the suit herself allows it to live up to its advertisement as a unique Rider identity. But maybe that's the flaw with trying to make it both a Final Form for Aruto and a successor to Zero One, especially when the staff had to work to an uncertain deadline. Anytime I see RealEyezing Hopper or IzuZero Two, it just leaves a bad feeling in my stomach that Aruto got ripped off.

What about familial though? Aruto literally said that he considers all HumaGears his family.

I think there was a scene in the movie where it seems like Aruto acknowledges she's not the same Izu? Like the scene in the office?
I guess for me I don't see a problem because Aruto is Ichigo and Izu is Nigo. With two belts, it honestly makes sense that we'd get two Riders out of it, and Aruto with Zero-One fits the best.
I think quite a few people ship Aruto with Izu.

I personally wanted the opposite -- for Izu to take up Zero-One (a humagear taking up the destiny of humagears through being president of HIDEN) and for Aruto to keep using Zero-Two (his own power that's a representation of the company he made on his own path). Though some of that would require Zero-One to have gone in a direction it didn't, so I'll take this

Wasn't that before Zea's intervention though?

Aruto can be Rider 1 and 2 on his own, just like V3. I feel like it's only fair that he gets to claim his own Final Form.

Yeah, I know. The taboo-loving nature of the shipping community no longer surprises me.

I would've preferred this as well, would be cool to see the secretary become the president. Or even better, make Izu her own Rider System, since it's so easy to modify the Zero One Driver with new Driver Units.

Sure. That is most certainly a way to interpret it as well. I think what makes the relationship between Aruto and Izu so great is that it's just pure love. Whatever type of love one sees it as, it's all valid. Zero-One having so many layers to it is one of the many reasons I love it so much and I don't think there'll ever be anything that will take that awa--

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

WHOLE SHOW RUINED!!!

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE 01HERS: KAMEN RIDER METSUBOUJINRAI

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zeroone/mbjr1.png

Contentious!

I can see why this film isn’t for everyone. There’s about 75% of it that’s building towards a newfound heroism for our former-terrorist family - one built around Jin’s fiery empathy and Horobi’s cautious repentance - that then sort of abruptly swings towards a nihilistic embrace of Justice At Any Cost in the final quarter. It’s an ending that’s probably as disappointing to some segment of the audience as it is to Fuwa.

I liked it. I didn’t love the movie, but I liked it, and I liked the ending a bunch.

It’s a pretty classic Kamen Rider thing, immolating your hopes of a simple life in the pursuit of justice and freedom for others. It’s not… like, it’s not always supposed to be a good thing when a character chooses that path, and I think this movie’s melancholy ending is a good rebuke of the typical Kamen Rider story beats. We’re definitely in If Fighting Is A Sin Then Let Me Be Damned territory here. MetsubouJinrai is devoting the remainder of their existence to protecting Humagear futures, and they’ve left themselves nothing outside that vow. All they have is each other, forever. That’s pretty bleak!

The path to get there is… a little bumpy. Arkland’s a fun villain (he’s Gai meets Evolt, which is super entertaining to watch), but Kamen Rider ZAIA just never threatens as an adversary, and the Sword drones are barely a step above mooks. The stakes in this movie feel endlessly hypothetical; a theme in search of a threat. So much of the film feels like only half an argument, with very little to motivate an extension beyond Rescue Jin, let alone the sort of zero-sum conflict that precludes a ceasefire. Arkland’s like I Made Weapons So You’d Start A War, and that kind of philosophical trap… I don’t know, it doesn’t make for an especially thrilling story, even more so when the ending is MetsubouJinrai murdering him and destroying their hard-fought individuality and potential. It’s a kind of bummer ending that never feels like it’s in line with the established stakes, even if I’m okay with a bummer ending in this case.

(I laughed pretty hard at the eventual reveal that the Japanese government was never in a million years going to buy ZAIA’s Humagear soldiers. Not only does it show a modicum of intelligence - these sorts of weapon systems always backfire, always - but it also makes the darkness of the ending more intentional by showcasing its irrelevance. MetsubouJinrai lost everything to stop a dude who was never going to make a sale, and that’s some dark humor.)

Not the best follow-up for REALxTIME, but I found some entertainment in this movie. The new suits are nothing to rave about (ZAIA’s just Black Thouser, and MetsubouJinrai uglies up the basically-perfect Horobi suit), the action is rarely more than perfunctory, Naki and Ikazuchi still don’t get a ton to do: yes to all of it. But I liked Arkland’s theatricality, and I like how ambivalent the movie is about dedicating your life to the pursuit of justice. It’s very in keeping with the show about corporations to land a spin-off film on the dangers of work/life imbalance!

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Yeah, I can’t say that this film was my jam either. In particular, I really didn’t like how invincible Arkland was until the end reveal, or how anticlimactically As got killed off. But I did like the government guy, since he makes a lot of good points and he’s a rare official in fiction who has some common sense.

And for some casting trivia, just as Ikazuchi is played by the new Verde from Rider Time: Ryuki, the primary male Sword unit (I forget if he’s 9 or 20, it’s been a while since I watched this) is the new Tiger from the same miniseries. (Though that’s slightly less notable, considering how quickly killed he was in that series)

It's definitely a film that could be better and I agree with your criticisms; but I definitely feel this is one of the more well-rounded pieces of 01 media. I actually find it pretty well self-contained as a tragedy (mixed feelings about its sequel), and while some of it is a little weak... it's a V-Cin with under an hour to follow up on plot threads from the show, create a new threat, build upon the themes of the ARK and advance past them, and build character dynamics between Horobi, Jin and Fuwa that just weren't there in the show.

It's... a pretty big ask of a single movie like this, especially with one that inevitably has one of the shorter runtimes! So I find it pretty impressive what it is able to achieve in there; and that it smartly does place its focus on the inherent tragedy of Kamen Rider Metsuboujinrai

You know I did find it completely odd it only took until now for Toei to realize "Hey we should have Monkey Majik do music for Zero-One."

Given well... the Zero-One equipment is voiced by the two lead vocalists.

So I saw both of this and RealXTimw in the same day while skipping breakfast and the tone of these two are pretty different I actually don't mind how bleak this one was. Arkland whole philoshophy I think fits Zero-One and kinda wished he was in the actual show.


Given that this is from the same guys who got Hironobu Kageyama of Jam Project fame to voice Ex-Aid's Gashats and not have him sing any songs for that show who knows what going on in these peoples minds.

Your Opinion Has Been: Approved.

Yeah, the reformed Metsuboujinrai are very Showa in their dedication to fighting. Their resolution to protect the Solds' freedom and Jin's family, even if means making a martyr out of Arkland and becoming dreaded terrorists once more. Humanity won't know the truth, they won't thank them for committing this crime. Even worse, that a**hole Daimonji will surely use this information to further his evil campaign of discrimination against HumaGears. I think a recurring theme in 01hers is that hatred isn't the only thing that can divide a society, but also zeal, immoral psychopaths like Arkland and Daimonji who claim to be on the side of justice and abuse their good publicity to turn the world against those who oppose them, or simply those they hate.

I'm not going to pretend this movie was revolutionary or anything like that, although I certainly prefer it to RealTime. I do have a few complaints for sure. Azu's death was anticlimactic, considering she doesn't really accomplish anything here or behind the scenes. Ikazuchi and Naki still don't get a lot of development or focus, the main characters are basically Horobi and Jin. The kind of heavy-handed preachy way that Takahashi's script delivers the themes. It has a dark and edgy tone that I don't usually associate with the show.

Despite all that, I definitely appreciate the message this movie was going for and how it's not afraid to pull the hard punches. A moral about the sin of conformity and the sense of justice in fighting for the principles you believe in, even if they're unpopular and it makes you the "villain" of the story. The way that justice may be absolute, but it's also something that can be terribly misunderstood and perverted to evil, which is why justice isn't an ideal that everybody should unite around without critical thinking.

Azu’s death was sudden, but I felt that fit very well — since the beginning of the movie you’re led to believe this is yet another instance of her creating an Ark; of setting up this whole thing again. You think it’s going all their way, and then bam — Arkland has an entirely different philosophy that goes beyond the Ark’s parameters, and everything goes to pieces for the remnants of the Ark. Azu’s sudden death is the best way to demonstrate this immediate shift and make you feel it: the old guard is gone

I mean, Kamen Rider ZAIA is only good in one fight (the one versus Horobi and Jin in the Daybreak Town Arkboretum), and every time afterwards he just gets his ass kicked while laughing maniacally. But, like, even that works towards the story's reveal that he's not trying to defeat MetsubouJinrai, he... well, I mentioned Evolt:

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The point of Kamen Rider ZAIA is to power up MetsubouJinrai, and force them into open conflict with humanity. He only ever needs to be strong enough to piss off MetsubouJinrai, and not get killed. He almost managed it!

Structurally, the biggest problems I think this one has is that it's a little slow out of the gate (it sort of takes too many fights to establish what's really going on in the story), and maybe too much of the emotional weight is hung on Horobi's combination of icy contemplation and lack of affect. The Fuwa/Horobi scene helps drag out a lot of what's motivating Horobi towards the movie's climax, and even that's a little thin.

Like, I don't think it's necessarily trying to do too much, but that it's trying to do it through Horobi, which means it takes twice as much work.

The important thing is that they got there eventually?

Yeah, I think the recurring problem for MetsubouJinrai hasn't been that humanity's malice will etc etc, it's that they still haven't gotten humanity to see the Humagears as more than appliances. Letting the movie purposely eliminate Humanity Is Evil as a problem, so as to put the spotlight on Humanity Will Never Voluntarily Support You Over Its Own Comfort, that lets the fight that MetsubouJinrai's in feel muddier and harder to combat.

Hilariously, that third Is's Lecture Room short has Aruto's actor pontificating about the difference between fighting for Justice and fighting for Freedom, so maybe he saw this movie coming? The tragedy of MetsubouJinrai is that they're valuing Justice over Freedom, and fighting for Justice at all costs can be as toxic to the soul as fighting for Malice.

It's a welcome admission that Oh No The Ark Is Back has definitely run its course as a plot driver. I mean, I love the concept that the Ark as a concept can't ever be defeated, but I don't need Azu to wander the globe and flirt with Corporate Daddies to a point where they go punch Kamen Riders in the face. Time for some different threats!

I agree it works as a good plot twist that quickly establishes Kamen Rider ZAIA as a wildcard in Azu's schemes and I also like the scene where Metsuboujinrai pay tribute to her death as a fellow HumaGear who was corrupted by Ark and wronged by Arkland. While it's only a small criticism I have in the scope of the movie, I think it would've been even more shocking if Azu wasn't already so ineffectual in all of her attempts to revive Ark. Admittedly, that's not exactly a fault of the movie, but a fault of that character in general.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE 01HERS: KAMEN RIDER VULCAN AND VALKYRIE

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All these old men won't die too soon
Flesh balloons still waving their arms around and
Slipping over the sides
Closing my eyes, making room
Oh, for somebody else
-Superchunk, “I Got Cut”

There’s a nice finality to this Zero-One movie. In a series about what parents owe to children, or what one generation can teach to another, we get this film that’s all about realizing when your ways won’t work anymore, so the best you can offer as you exit the stage is an example for the next generation, to either follow or reject as they confront the problems you’ve created.

This is another movie that I didn’t love, despite respecting its take on passing the torch. Fuwa and MetsubouJinrai are relics of another time, another war. Their solutions were always going to be measured in battles and destruction. What the future needs is people like Yua, who can see both sides of a conflict and work towards common ground. She was a tool who became a leader. She’s a soldier who questioned her mandate. She’s someone who saw beyond technology’s use to find something that reflects the soul and hopes of humanity. If anyone deserves to be the voice of reason in the future, it’s her.

Too bad she mostly eats shit in this superhero story, though! The grim inevitability of this film means that Fuwa’s sacrificial nature was always going to be put on a higher pedestal than Yua’s empathy and self-control, but MAN does Justice Serval just exist for one brutal beatdown by MetsubouJinrai. I like the suit better of the two new ones (Lightning Hornet’s a fun base for it), but Yua’s bold new upgrade is just more grist for Fuwa’s feral heroism.

Fuwa… it’s so funny, to see Fuwa as the mediating voice in a MetsubouJinrai rampage. That’s a cute final story for him, trying to tell violent Humagears that they’ve warped the message of a Humagear terrorist organization. Like, the deranged lunatic of the early Zero-One episodes is the one fighting for the soul of his former enemies. That’s a neat summation of Zero-One’s goals as a story, that we need to better understand the next generation (of technology, or of people) rather than resort to aggression and mistrust. Fuwa’s this story Working As Intended, but he’s still too violent to stick around.

I don’t know if his melancholy death worked for me. Him or MetsubouJinrai, honestly. The metaphor, that old ideas need to give way to new ideas, is solid. It’s the end-point of this story of generations. But MetsubouJinrai is all inference here, with Fuwa going Here’s What They’re Saying, and that keeps it from feeling like a mutual acceptance of obsolescence. He’s just detonating a rampaging piece of technology, which sort of undercuts the supportive speech he gives the Swords.

The two main Swords, 9 and 20, are okay. They’re very clearly Proto Fuwa and Proto Yua, filling the Doctor Who companion role of asking questions and getting lectured by the main characters. I liked them being in the film as a way of demonstrating Yua and Fuwa’s growth, but they were never really more than plot devices. They didn’t come across as characters to me.

Yeah, I… I don’t know if this one really did service to its characters, despite feeling like it honored Kamen Rider Zero-One as a show. It’s an ending that feels both obligatory and inevitable, which is a kind of fascinating space to exist in. Not the most fun to watch, but interesting to think about.

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