I don't know what to say. This episode feels normal to me. Though it makes me curious and wanted to watch the next episode. I feel like we're going to have every episode team up with past Riders pattern like Decade and I think that will be boring. Not that I hate to see the past Riders again.

Is it really possible to meet all of the the past riders in the past? Maybe some of the actors are aged and will look different from the series and that will be odd if Zi-O meet them in the past.

I kinda feel like Sougo's whole desire to "be a king" thing would've made more sense if we were shown him living a shittier life. As of this episode, we see him as just some middle class/average joe going to high school and living at his uncle's place, so the his catchphrase makes him come off as some dude with delusions of grandeur.

Had this been the tale of a kid who was constantly mistreated by life and found out being rich and powerful could make things better for him and his uncle, it would come across as more believable that he became a overlord under good intentions but turned evil along the way.

Actually they already have a way to get out of that scenario, the fact that Geiz uses the Ghost RideWatch in this episode means we no longer need to have a Ghost tribute episode since Geiz already collected the main powerup from that series.

Theoretically they could just introduce more RideWatches by saying that Geiz or Tsukiyomi somehow collected them before they met Sougo, or possibly introduce a third or rather a fourth rider who already has a bunch of their own.

err...I watched it too and I got huge Decade vibes from it...
The beginning is too similar to Decade. I mean, we started Decade with a warning about who he was to become...we got the same thing here.

The episode feels rushed as hell and I think they should really start to do the kind of pilots we have in the West ( a 40 minutes ~ hour long episode)

Woz is interesting but I'm more interested in the little guy that transformed the civilian into a monster...

Also, I already like Tsukuyomi...I wonder if they will exploit the japanese Mythology with a name like that....

I don't like Sougo....I'm not a fun of dumb protagonists....

This was pointed out earlier-

https://i.imgur.com/zUFhW7W.jpg


coincidence? :P

If that's on purpose that's very clever design.

Liking the first episode. It's very interesting in the setup, the nods, and the story devices, and love the camera techniques. Woz is definitely an early break out hit.

Going to have to keep an eye out for Ride Majins as miniplas.

A more harsher life usually leads to more empathy, he wouldn't have become an overlord. It's usually the middle to upperclass "spoiled" with dreams of grandeur that become corrupted by power and strength. Hence why his friend tried to humble him with that flip off. So if he had a crappier life, Oma Zi-O actively wouldn't exist. You see it in how Sougo acts. He's mildly directionless, king for power's sake and to rule. Not for a reason. This episode is interesting because how he gained that power was for a reason to protect others. How the story goes from there, how he become power mad and corrupted, is where the journey takes us. Like pointed out in the feudal era, this guy doesn't seem like Oma Zi-O he actually cares about the well being of others and is gentle. Those who live a harsher life, usually end up more understanding of where people come from. Selfishness and sometimes education is usually the deciding factor. A bullied kid often turns inward and is compassionate, a bullied kid that has privilege usually strikes back and commits atrocities. Surrounding circumstances make all the difference. You see it predominately in America as examples. Privileged cause atrocities by their own actions or ignorance or selfishness, underprivileged get goaded into their mistakes by outside factors whispering in their ear. So having Sougo have this mix of education and a loving supportive uncle, raises the question more of how he got corrupted by power and stopped caring about others. But that's a myth that underprivileged "crappy life" or low income kids learn to hate others. More often the opposite is true and it's the privileged or spoiled or selfish that do. Things that Sougo isn't, but his directionlessness can lead to if the wrong person begins whispering in his ear or guiding him. So it's not "crappy life" that determines that, but bad parenting or influences.

As for other rider cameos. It's only the last 20 years. While some have aged, there'll likely be some in suit only, and some haven't really visibly aged that much at all. Other bits can be written off as time fluctuations. Like the audience was told with the faiz shot. The focus is on Heisei. So Showa will be a rare to non-existent thing of the way far back past. That's later when they get to the 50th.

Well the entire premise is that he's a dumb teen that wants to be king and has more going for him than he realizes. Which is why his paths diverge. On one side he becomes Oma Zi-o corrupted by power and deciding to rule by strength, on the other side, he tries to help people and learns compassion and empathy. This is the story of his growth from dumb kid to adult.

It's like that royalty argument in Fate zero between Artoria and Alexander the Great. With Sougo as Emiya, the girl as Artoria, and Geiz as Alexander, but in this instance it's more Geiz thinks that Souga will turn into something worse than a king that revels in privilege and rules by strength to hold others down.

The show is built on that moral foundation for kids/teens that look at 'power' and 'ruling' as end goals for power's sake and is a forewarning about what that leads to and why.

It's a bit different than Decade. Decade is more a Hakaider rider. He was about destroying the other riders because of his origins, to then learning he could gain their abilities through more co-operation.

In Zi-O's case, he's destroying fake riders, and befriending the real to learn life lessons from them. This is more a partnership/bond than how Decade forced his whims on the past riders. Zi-O has their powers lent to him, not forcefully taken or abusing them. Decade was more forceful without even asking which you see in how he 'kamen rides' and then pushes the rider in position to use them as a tool.

But Oma-Zi-O is likely potentially tied to some kind of Future Shocker. They've been a constant thorn in all generations under new names. Even Foundation X is a splinter group of them. They're one of those rider constants since they gave birth to the original story-wise.

We also haven't seen the cause of the change to overlord either. There could be reasons he changed. Could be as simple as Oma Zi-O is Another Rider. Or could be more complicated because of events that set it in motion that pushed him to it from things others do in trying to prevent it. Or Woz's machinations that push Zi-O into it by altering the influences in Zi-O's life. I have a feeling the uncle will play a key role in that, as will others he meets along the way. And Evol has yet to show up too and how that impacts Zi-O and Oma Zi-O.

Someone already got the word "Shocker" when hacking Ziku Driver, so why not?

But honestly, I hope Shocker will not be involved in the show's story. Maybe they can appear in a movie, but I really hope this show can develop their own villain group

Good episode. I liked it and am definitely interested in seeing more.

I thought 'Other Build' was pretty neat looking. Especially the monster face and eyes. It was like finally seeing one of it the SIC figures realized in 'real life.'

I just realized that!

The pacing is too fast and there was barely anything told about the main characters.

And I know people don't like Ghost that much, but to make it the first alternate form for the evil Rider? Ouch!