was kinda hoping we'd get these in order so I can just spam memes from this video when it came time for Gaim (watched PMMM last year and it literally has the same plot as Gaim (minus the corporation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trgx...VideoonYoutube

If you're talking about Swartz's plan here regarding Another Gaim, then it's definitely not working out better for humanity. Swartz is an irredeemable villain (and Androzani was right... Asura was worse than even da(m)n Kuroto too), he just... didn't have as much of a power as Ohma Zi-O for now to make that much of a difference. The other Time Jackers aren't much better either like the sociopathic and cutthroat Ora.

There'd be an additional friend for Sougo which is the future/present Sougo to each other here. And as obviously, present Sougo is the first person to completely agree and empathize with what future Sougo intended to do. Sougo's the biggest supporter to Sougo, probably rivaling/more than Tsukuyomi and even Woz. And yeah it's not overconfidence, but Sougo's idealist, and his sentences also often ended with "Kigasuru" (Feels like it). It's totally Sougo's innocence, but he can actually come as creepy/disturbing due to his nature there, in how he can frequently wave off the bad stuff going off to concentrate on what he wants, like how him being quite nonchalant learning that Ohma Zi-O is evil tyrant, and this'd be a case too of him being unaware of the reality of this situation. And regarding what I think of Sougo pretending to be stupid... yeah it'd be what Eiji does too, taking advantage of his homeless status.

I mean as I said, Woz is villainous despite that he'd be helping Sougo. Woz is Sougo's ally, but both Tsukuyomi and Geiz's enemy. Woz had bad goal to those 2's good (albeit in pragmatic way for Geiz). It's a dynamic that can be created from a premise of current cheerful hero but is destined to be a tyrannical villain. It's expected for Woz to ally with Time Jackers to finish off the Time Orphans. It's also what Woz did before to goad Sougo into stop helping Geiz for helping him to be Ohma Zi-O. Woz also had dark belief on Sougo that he'd use others as a pawn until he no longer needs them (more on that below). But due to how those enemies flock to Sougo, there are some mutual parts between Tsukuyomi and Woz here, as both chastise Sougo for his well-being, potentially erasing himself with his paradoxical move. Tsukuyomi out of her concern for the currently harmless Sougo (that doesn't deserve Ohma Zi-O treatment, so that's also another reason why she's angry while suspecting there are 2 Sougos) and Woz out of accomplishing his goal.

Kouta had less screentime here, but I guess this 2-parter still showed about how godly Kouta is (not using the term Fruit Jesus, sorry). Kouta is someone that screwed up some part in Woz's plan here. Previously there's about Woz not expecting Sougo to already have Gaim Watch, and how there are now Geiz's name is in Woz's records. And regarding above with Woz believing Sougo will use anyone as his pawns, Kouta gave Sougo an advice to believe in his friends before, to not control them. That'd be probably a path of Sougo not succumbing into villainy like in the original timeline. Other than that, the cuts in the final fight is well-executed agree.

Not only that Kaito noted his hesitation, so Geiz being tsundere is apparently a quite canonically stated fact here. Other than that this is the first time you directly talked about both Woz and Time Jackers here.

Sure, but that's our perspective as viewers. As a character within the story, Swartz'z point is that he and Geiz are both mucking around in the past to change the future, so who can say which plan is the better one?

Really? Huh!

The Time Jackers aren't generally worth discussing because there's very little growth to them. Since their introductions, it's pretty much been the same plots for them. While Episodes 9/10 changed up their strategy by not conscripting grieving parents and heartbroken creeps into trying to become rulers of time -- instead picking someone who actually wanted to be the ruler of time -- the very next story was a guy who just wanted to head up a dance crew.

Woz is sort of the same way, but infinitely more charismatic and watchable. His deal's been pretty much the same since Episode 1, so much so that Sougo is anticipating his hard-earned IWAE in Episode 12. Woz is very fun to watch, but there's not a ton going on with him outside the margins.

That all looks to change, though, with Woz aligning with the Time Jackers (however briefly). Hopefully there'll be more to talk about soon!

I forgot just how glorious the .5 Episode was, seeing three normally serious guys descend into idiocy.

As for the episode itself, again, not much I can really recall in good clarity, but the two Sougos were a fun gag this episode, especially the dual fight. Really fun stuff.

But boy oh boy, am I looking forward to talking about the next episode.

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP11)
(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP12)

These episodes are even more significant to me than usual, if I'm remembering correctly. I don't think I really documented this anywhere, so I can't check, but as I recall, the visuals in these episodes impressed the heck out of me to such a degree that I actually felt the need to go look up the director, and when I found out it was Kazuya Kamihoriuchi, who I ~maybe~ already vaguely knew as the Hazard Form guy, a lot of things clicked into place. Especially because I'm pretty sure this was also when I found out he directed the Specter movie, and everything about these episodes of Zi-O looking so good made even more sense.

Back at that point in 2018, the only toku director who had a style I could instantly identify was Kouichi Sakamoto, because everyone can identify his work, but finding this whole new web of connections between some of the most beautiful and purposeful Rider cinematography I've ever seen inspired me to start making it a point to check who the director was for every episode of Zi-O going forward. I knew I wouldn't be able to understand what significance those names had at first, but I figured if I stuck with it, I'd eventually start picking up on other traits that are unique to other directors, as well. Now, of course, Zi-O ran into 2019, when a certain user joined this forum to start making threads like the one you're currently reading, and somewhere around him watching Agito and Ryuki, I started making it a point to call out those director names in there, too, despite still not grasping what actually defined most of them. Amazingly, the user in question was willing to indulge this. (Although I'm sure he'd just say it's amazing the forum at large is willing to indulge him.)

But you know, it did start paying off sometime after that! I went from describing Ryuuta Tasaki's work as not "particularly remarkable" to gushing about how fantastic his visuals are at conveying the story. I developed a massive appreciation for how Hidenori Ishida does much the same with raw atmosphere and mood, especially when I rewatched a certain show about one very Cool Guy. I developed an equally massive appreciation for Teruaki Sugihara around this same window of time, as well... but, ah! I'm getting ahead of myself now! I suppose that's still in the future for you, after all, isn't it, Die?

And it still seems like the further we move into the future, the more I'm still learning about all these people. Like how much Satoshi Morota loves throwing people into water, which is one of those things I always smirk a bit whenever I notice now. Heck, maybe one day, I'll even be able to properly articulate what I think makes Shoujirou Nakazawa's direction so cleanly and pleasant to watch.

...And *ALL* of this might very well go back to these two humble episodes of Zi-O, because -- and I'm repeating this for emphasis -- they're utterly gorgeous. The fight at the end of 12 just totally blew my mind, especially. How good the script was for this two-parter just makes it all the better. Just when I was worried Mouri's take on Zi-O might not be up to snuff, he immediately swings things around from his rough-around-the-edges first go at it, and gives us an amazing story that delivers on a very creative premise with loads of inspired comedy, and all backed by a genuinely solid core to the narrative, focusing on the relationship between Sougo and Geiz.

The bit with Geiz remembering the chicken at the end has always stuck with me as much as anything else in these ones, too. I think that's such a perfect illustration of his arc in this story. One of my favorite general things about Geiz is that he only ever calls Sougo "Zi-O". It's sort of this conscious dehumanization of Sougo, to only ever refer to him by that title. He's not some goofy yet charming high school kid you could potentially be friends with, he's Zi-O, the guy who ruined all your lives, and the guy you're here to stop... and yet, when all is said and done, Geiz can't help but find himself trying to live under the same roof as everyone else. He can't stop himself from coming home, you might say.

(Oh, and yes, Sougo immediately becoming best friends with his own self from half a week into the future is immensely adorable. You can see it in my old posts, too, but this is definitely around the point where Sougo starts to click into place as a character.)

After two episodes of searching, Takatora could finally be reached for comment. He stated, quote, "this will not save the world."

https://i.imgur.com/VeYJf09.png

He could be heard muttering something about childish dancing games as he walked off. Yggdrasil is still maintaining media silence after five years.

...Anyway, this was light on Gaim, but still a pretty enjoyable romp. Woz is fun. Geiz with the chicken is his best moment yet. We get a few more hints as to what Fruit Jesus can actually do with literal godhood. If Best Fruit were here I'd give it a few extra points, but alas.

It would've been nice if there'd been a minute for Sougo to say goodbye to Future Sougo. I feel like that scene would've been really sweet and weird.

I'm sure they always will, because it's continuously amazing and generous.

(We're talking about Switchblade, right?)

The Geiz/Sougo dynamic is great, to an extent that makes me a little sad for Tsukuyomi. (She's real quickly becoming a permanent Time Mom, a role she's only able to shed when Geiz isn't around.) But there's no denying how electric the camaraderie is between Geiz and Sougo. Geiz CONSTANTLY saying he isn't there to make friends, despite moving in with Sougo. Sougo CONSTANTLY smiling at all of Geiz'z actual threats, happy to see his friend living his best life.

Unbelievable how fun those two characters are to watch.

Takatora probably became another weird billionaire with a rocket fetish. If only he had somewhere to channel his energies, like fruit-themed armor and near-escapes from fratricide! It's the world's loss...

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 13 - “GHOST HUNTER 2018”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio13a.png

I really wanted to love this one – Ghost! Decade! Agito and Hibiki, sort of! – but it didn’t come together for me in a major way.

It’s real disjointed, you know? It feels like a very transitional episode, shifting gears into a new Act. We’ve got dissension in the ranks of our heroes, a new bad-ass lieutenant for our villains, and not much more than that. There isn’t a lot in here to unpack thematically (it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s About anything), and the amount of stuff in this episode keeps it from really affecting Team Zi-O. I assume/hope that’ll change in the second half, but this one just felt like it was three different chunks of story, wedged together.

-ZI-O CHUNK-

Unfortunately, this was the least fleshed-out part of the episode. It’s mostly just Team Zi-O attacking the premise in the most straightforward way possible. There’s a monster, they’ve already got the Ghost RideWatch, and that’s kind of it for them? It gets a little more complicated when Sougo has to confront the consequences of defeating a zombified Another Ghost, but that only gets a couple seconds of screentime, and no resolution. All set-up for Part 2.

The rest of their antics were Geiz’z increasingly violent attempts to keep Sougo’s attention, which were honestly delightful. I love the idea of Geiz spending an introductory scene in each episode trying to kill Sougo, and then just immediately calling a truce as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Kaito is off somewhere rolling his eyes so hard at this kid.

-GHOST CHUNK-

The meatiest chunk of the story, despite it featuring both Shibuya and Narita, the most worthless Ghost characters. (Even the puppet was more integral to Ghost’s story!) But we also get Takeru, back in his 2015 hair color (my preference), working as a ghost hunter. The story he’s in this episode is sort of Adel’s story in miniature, so it’s One Of Those for Zi-O. In lieu of doing anything that directly addresses our core cast, let’s just run ‘em through a Legend Rider’s story, giving the Legend Rider in question most of the screentime. It’s fine, as a basic celebration of the show in question, but it’s not the most clever or impactful use of the returning cast.

Because we’re just doing a story about a guy who wants to turn people into ghosts out of a misguided need for control. There’s the complicating factors of His Sister and Is A Zombie, but it’s all still in the Kamen Rider Ghost mode of needing to emotionally rescue some person who’s letting their fear and anger keep them from engaging with the world. Also, they’re dead!

This part of the episode… again, fine. I’ll never ever care about Shibuya and Narita, but it’s fun to see Takeru again.

-DECADE CHUNK-

But nothing in this episode compares to the undiluted ecstasy of seeing Tsukasa hang out and make everything worse for Kamen Riders.

I couldn’t even begin to guess at what his role in this story is going to be, or why he’s working alongside the Time Jackers. It’s Tsukasa, so the reasons could be anything from Upcoming Betrayal Of Villains, to Evil Again, to Felt Cute Might Destroy World Later. You can have Tsukasa show up in any story, for any reason, and you probably should.

He’s great in this. I love the Neo DecaDriver. I love that it’s magenta. I love seeing him lounging around in an observation tower at a helipad or wherever (what is up with those flashing lights at the end?) and just drinking coffee until Ora asks him to go murder Geiz. I love how little context we’re given for his actions. I love him just doing his catchphrases and looking cool as hell.

I am too easily impressed, when it comes to Decade. Beyond shit-stirring, which is what Tsukasas do best, there’s really nothing about Decade’s appearance to even talk about. I mean, we don’t even see the Decade suit at all! Not once! We see Agito twice! But I don’t care. I don’t care! Tsukasa’s great, and any moment he wasn’t on the screen, I was asking Where’s Tsukasa.

Overall, not a great episode of Zi-O. Too scattered in its storytelling, rendering everything a little too basic and lacking in thematic weight. (There’s a vague thing in here about Working With Villains, but it’s too incomplete to construct.) Good scenes, pleasant Legend appearances, but it really didn’t add up to much.

-I DON’T CARE THOUGH BECAUSE TSUKASA-

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/zio13b.png

—

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT EPISODE 13.5 - “GHOST TEACHER”

Takeru’s confidence and generosity is the best. He’s great with these three weird teenagers, even as Tsukuyomi says he’s getting too old -slash- isn’t Shinnosuke, and Sougo cheerfully points out how much of Ghost’s mechanics were lifted from Dragonball. (Geiz, the Makoto of Team Zi-O, is very quickly won over by Takeru’s burning spirit.) It’s fun to hear about cost-saving shooting techniques, especially when they’re delivered by such a cool teacher.

I missed Takeru!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zio/ziocp13a.png

This was an interesting set of episodes. I do enjoy Tsukasa being set up as an antagonistic force. Cause let's be honest, it'd be too easy if he was on the good guys side. It'd make things way too easy, so I appreciate what they do with him here.

This reaction is funny because I feel like your praise about Tsukasa is the one thing people latched onto while ignoring everything else about the episode. So everyone called it the best episode ever. To be fair, it's Tsukasa. But, the way the fandom reacted over Tsukasa's appearance kind of annoyed me cause this was still where people were still trying to get used to Sougo. So you just had people constantly dunking on Sougo. And it's Tsukasa! I get it. But that doesn't mean I had to like people bullying and actively wishing harm upon my clock son.

We've got another BGM swap but with Ghost and Decade still! I will still say Decade's BGM Swaps are the best for like any time they show up.

Zero's Legend Episode Previews Corner - EP 14 Preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE2CKseqlJ4

Also, showing up like a villain and making things worse is how Tsukasa says Hello. If he showed up out of nowhere to help Team Zi-O out, this episode would be a million times worse. It would be so massively out of character that I'd probably never shut up about it. Having Tsukasa show up and not be a lazy nuisance would be like Godai returning and not doing the thumbs up. Fans got expectations, man!

Yeah, I maybe mentioned this at the start of the thread, but I'm not really here for the Legend Rider stuff? It's nice when it's done well and additive to the story of Kamen Rider Zi-O, but I don't ever want it instead of the story of Kamen Rider Zi-O. This episode didn't really carve out space to tell much of a story about Sougo, Geiz, or Tsukuyomi.