I always thought this was a pretty great, very straightforward first proper upgrade form story. It's very traditional in its execution, in a way where I'd imagine someone with zero context about how the whole Rider merchandise thing works would still "get it", so to speak? Because you know, there can be times where it's like "why does this guy need a new costume again...?", and this story avoids that by making why Shining Hopper is needed, and how Aruto gets it such major focuses of the plot. Shibasaki's cool direction for its fights also makes it super clear just how much more powerful it is. Basically, I think this one made a lot of smart choices for the first show of a new era and all that. (Also: Ansatsu-chan will be missed! I really enjoyed his gradual evolution from random mook of the week to semi-major mini-boss.) And just as a Zero-One story, making a big powerup for Aruto all about his bond with Humagears is always a choice I'm going to be fond of.

...I've always wanted to be more fond of Lightning Hornet than I am, on the other hand? I remember thinking it was the coolest just before it debuted, and then that feeling just sort of left me, and I only kind of know why. I think I just don't like it in action all that much? It's that thing I know Switchblade likes to say about modern Rider shows, where it's all people throwing CG at each other? The whole powerset of shooting swarms of insects around while standing still means it takes a lot more work on the show's part to make Lightning Hornet look as dynamic as Rushing Cheetah does. Which, to be fair, having rewatched the show lately, they're usually doing the work! I guess it really is just a "me" problem! Maybe I just like Rushing Cheetah way too much.

Strictly as a suit, while I'm not overly fond of those little booties either, I definitely like it overall. I think making the colors a deep blue and gold especially was a brilliant choice to keep the hornet motif from stepping on Zero-One's territory while still being recognizable as a hornet, since dark blue often represents black, and gold is basically just a metallic yellow, with metallic colors already being the AIMS suits' whole thing to begin with.

I distinctly remember seeing the Lightning Hornet SO-DO for the first time and being immensely disappointed. Usually SO-DO nails the suit designs, and I understand why they couldn't this time; but... Lightning Hornet feels so off? The antennae are way too big, more like rabbit ears than anything; and then there's the thigh armour protruding out rather than being flush with the thigh, a lot of the body feels a bit small (partly due to the really annoying 'female body' mold)...

This was my favourite suit at the time (definitely have different opinions now!) so I was always a bit let down looking at the only figure representation it had

I think this was a really great Is episode, showing how she has developed from the beginning and is becoming more than just a cute robotic assistant for Aruto, why she's so important to Aruto and the whole Zero-One deal, and letting her really shine as a character. She even finally acknowledges her big brother!

I would've liked to have seen more Was but it does put some more emotional weight behind Shining Hopper.

Gotta love how they hype you up for a form only for it's debut fight to be a wash because it's not ready...which makes it all the more satisfying when we get it's proper debut and it wipes the floor with a major villain in a satisfyingly flashy action sequence. I just love Zero-One's speed and fluid motion and how Shining Hooper takes that runs with it up to 11.

RIP Assassin-Chan. You made Dodo's seem intimidating and were a nice quirky mini-boss.

Ep 13!

-Y'know....one of the things I was worried about the most when coming back to 01 is my perception of Izu. I remembered her being a good character, but I was worried somewhere along the way I had confused "character who fires off good gags every so often = geniunely engaging main character", yknow? Glad I seemed to be wrong. This is a very cool ep for her!

-Even though I didn't mind at all, your complaints about Wazu's end in this arc are super valid, I admit. There was no way Wazu was leaving this arc without getting scrapped in my opinion, so better for him to do it on his own terms.

-Man.....ngl I wish we got more with Zetto #5 and Lil' Assassin? Like I *guess* what we got is servicable but I personally wish we got more.

-I honestly completely forgot they didn't actually show Hiden wrapping up that whole scandal or anything, feels a little weird since it was bulit up quite a bit.

I thought Wazu's heroic sacrifice was pretty tragic (contrary to Fish's opinion, I've always held Sanjo's tragedy in higher regard than his comedy, like that Cyclone Effect Acoustic scene) and an appropriate way to teach his little sister Izu an important moral about the value of her life to others and pushing her closer to someday reaching singularity. He may not have been here for long, but I did enjoy Wazu and appreciate what he brought to the story.

I would've also talked about how it adds emotional weight to Shining Hopper, but then we both know that doesn't exactly mean a lot when the even cooler Shining Assault is just around the corner.

I love Lightning Hornet! While I usually lean more towards speed types like Rushing Cheetah, I just prefer Hornet's aesthetic out of Valkyrie's two main forms. It takes the symmetry of Vulcan Punching Kong, but distributes the parts more evenly around the body, making it look like a complete suit (and yeah, I'm including the cute navy booties, what do you think is wrong with those?!). Lightning Hornet and Flying Falcon are both high fliers to me!

I also think it's underrated due to people not liking how this is basically Valkyrie's final form and therefore the extent of her power (while totally ignoring the fact that poor Horobi has only one form for the most of the show). Nevertheless, it's important to remember that she's still the first ever female Rider to get a second form. That's a big deal! People should really give more appreciation to this.

He can definitely pull at the heartstrings when he needs to as well, for sure. But much like that scene in Double works so well because a year of goofy antics has made Shoutarou and Phillip into such an endearing duo, I think Wazu's sacrifice here works way better because of what a charmingly silly presence he was for so much of this two-parter.

"Poor" Horobi? Dude, Horobi survived a Rider Kick from a giant mammoth robot completely unscathed a few episodes before this one; I think he's okay with just the one form!

Fair point. Like, I'm not totally averse to the dumber stuff in Double and Drive either. I guess it's a matter of personal preference. Sanjo can also sometimes write more refined comedy when he puts his mind to it and that's the kind of interaction I value a lot more than his usual slapstick shenanigans, where it makes the characters more endearing for those tragic moments to land later.

Horobi is a real bad*ss for sure! Even in civilian form, he has that cool sword he uses to point at people intimidatingly. Honestly, I was mostly exaggerating about calling him "poor", just bringing up his general lack of other forms for the sake of comparison.

Wazu can't come back because his involvement in the Zero-One Project means he can never come back from his shutdown, because there are no backups of any of his data. As someone involved in Zero-One Project, that means there are no backups of his central memory in order to prevent security leaks, and Izu's like that too. And regarding that, no, the combat data is about Zero-One, not about Aruto. Anyone Izu serves can use (though she'd be loyal to Aruto). Wazu not knowing Aruto much shouldn't be a concern, he handles Zero-One the Rider. About Izu sacrificing herself, though Wazu took her place, this kinda shows that, actually someone should try to opt for another option outside of sacrificing yourself, not in pragmatic way that costs others instead though, but Izu needs to live regarding how important she izu to Aruto, for future assistances he'd need.

Yeah, Aruto isn't shown fighting at human form, but Aruto had an opposite scenario regarding upgrades compared to other Riders who have to become stronger (in power or will) themselves to use an upgrade, e.g., being too weak for the upgrade. Here Shining Hopper didn't function well at first because it's too weak for Aruto, before Wazu adjusted it.

Yeah, this'd be the end of Assassin-chan's stint in series, he's the MOTW from ep. 8-13. There's actually some twisted sense of love from him, trying to corrupt the last Matsurida Z into one of his Dodo Magia Chicks so he can subsume his "brother" into the same violent murderlust he has gained, which he views as his way of "mentoring" his brother. For this time, the MetsubouJinrai.net actually got their just desserts of being rejected to team up with the Riders, even Aruto, due to the atrocities they've committed. Wonder if first watchers would think Aruto can never change his mind about MetsubouJinrai.net here or not.

Well, to celebrate Kamen Rider Zero-One I went and did the most Zero-One thing imaginable: I contracted COVID! Never say that I'm not fully dedicated to putting myself in the headspace of the original viewers of these shows. (I probably should've held off until the 20s, but you all know how much trouble I have slotting these things in to the right order.) It's a light case, and I'm vaxxed and boosted, but I still feel like I've taken a Sting Dystopia to my bones and organs. Forming thoughts and finding energy are two things that are a little slippery right now, so I'm going to post some responses to the last day's worth of comments, and then I'm probably going to be scarce for the next few days. Thanks for your understanding!

Is it not Trigger I'm thinking of? What was the one with Sevenger, then. Maybe it was that one?

...

No, it was Trigger! I swear I heard people liked that one.

I don't know, this is, like, a 2024 problem to solve. I'll ask for recommendations then!

It's a good choice! I'm not crazy how the Key is getting produced so far in advance of the, uh, identifiable threat (I would like this story 25% more if Izu started constructing the Key after the Dodo had kicked Aruto's ass once or twice, but I guess Horobi's threat maybe necessitated it), but the resolution being wrapped up in Aruto's ability to gain strength from Humagears, literally and figuratively, is undeniably strong.

It's not great! A little hard to believe that it never got released as a Figuart (I think Fuwa has at least three figures?), so it would definitely sting to have it only in a subpar form.

He really was! I liked how his evolution muddied the waters of Aruto's mission, you know? Assassin-chan was evolving and changing... into a way more diabolical villain. It's the flipside to Aruto's faith in Humagears, something more akin to Fuwa's worldview, which makes for a fun villain in the world-building stage of this series.

Yeah, I didn't want to make a deal about it because, with how serialized this storyline has been, I wouldn't be shocked if 14 were all the wrap-up for the on-set shooting and framing. Still a little weird, though.

I would never dream of underselling the importance of a form change for a female Rider! That's why I wish it worked better for me? (I do not love the chest bees.)

Good point! It's unusual for a series to have the Rider be too strong for the upgrade, but super appropriate for Aruto.

This was a thing I meant to bring up!

The tease of a MetsubouJinrai/AIMS/Zero-One was fascinating to think about, and normally where a story like this would go (The Enemy Of My Enemy etc), but instead all three heroes immediately decline Horobi's offer by pointing out that they all hate him because he's a genocidal terrorist. While there'd be a lot of energy in seeing Fuwa have to work alongside Horobi, we're probably way too early in the series for that to feel viable for Fuwa's character, let alone Yua's or Aruto's.

Sevenger is from Ultraman Z and I know that one is very well loved. Trigger is... it's a mixed bag. As someone who's finally rewatching/watching it for the first time (stopped at the beginning, seriously two recap/filler episodes back to back after Episode 4?) the best I can say is... it's an average to mediocre show that doesn't know what it wants to be and with only like half the episodes Kamen Rider usually gets, that isn't a good thing.

Anyway I await that day in 2024 or so because I too have recommendations! Mostly Max as Switchblade has said! Though I might have a curveball too. Thankfully you really don't need to worry about finding subs and ways to watch with Ultraman.

Stay healthy though! Drink lots of fluids also!