Nah, park's for automatics. Isamu would never trust a machine to shift his gears!

Would be inconsistent, in you using Was for the older brother, but Izu for the little sister. Yeah, at first glance he'd be impossible to take seriously, and Izu here acts cold, aloof, and rather stuck-up against him. But there are lessons from Wazu here, other than to not judge the book by its cover. Wazu's someone who uses unconventional method as the best detective around, and that's about how, sometimes, unconventional approach to things can actually be the best course of action, compared to how people like Izu and especially Fuwa (as a professional military member, except when he goes off the rails to satisfy his grudge) always do things by the book and not look out of the box, especially regarding professional stuff (character or faction) that is usually acknowledged as 'competent' and encourages following all what they want, particularly pragmatic approaches (looking at you Yua). Using unconventional method also can, of course, make it unpredictable to the enemies, though there's a risk of the allies trying to stop the perceived lunatic from 'ruining' everything.

Wazu also managed to further change Fuwa's stance that he'd admit he's good, as well as giving him an idea of how a Singularity izu like, instead of the threat he perceived them as. Wazu also shows the countermeasures Hiden did take about Humagear's evil plots. Wonder if Assassin-chan is sort of the evil counterpart of Wazu here of how he had become so advanced (in Version 5) that, he acted as beyond a tool, by turning on Horobi and Jin, and it's an unexpected moment for them. And so here, Assassin-chan's true identity is revealed that he's Matsurida Z, a dancing Humagear. Its name is based on Japanese phrase "matsuri daze" which means "it's a celebration". There's also number theming of how 4 is a death number that, there are 4 Matsurida Z stolen, and the 4th one is also the strongest iteration.

While Horobi is my favorite base Rider suit, yeah for Zero-One, I suppose for me the upgrades look better, like Rising Hopper suit here, though admittedly, the reason I like it would be about it being more serious Zero-One.

Riku Sanjou only ended up writing for this show because Takahashi took longer than expected to write Reiwa The First Generation, apparently. I'm EXTREMELY glad he took long enough for us to get these episodes. I've told you several times over how I don't think there's a big difference between Takahashi and Kakehi's writing on this show, and that's a good thing, but when Sanjou is writing it, it's just Double, and that's a *great* thing.

I'm not sure if I've given this spiel specifically to you before, Die, but... wait, no, I just remembered I brought this up back when we were talking about Kamen Rider Brain, so, once again...

...so "fun" is always my key word with this writer, and at the risk of making the show sound all downhill from here, this is probably THE most raw fun you'll have watching Zero-One. This story stands out so much from the rest, and in such a good way. It's just completely grin-inducing and funny the whole way through, which helps (I adore Aruto having some YouTube page full of countless sub-100 view videos of all his lame standup gags; not to mention "these are my work clothes!"), but again, just like Double, the script is also genuinely well-constructed beyond that. It's no surprise seeing you praise the episode for swinging away from a heavy atmosphere while still advancing the story and characters meaningfully, because like, that's Double! That's why that show is a beloved classic, and it makes me so happy that Zero-One got to tap into that same magic for a few weeks. And like you mentioned, basically everyone gets a bit in here, which I've always felt is something that happened because we had a new writer? You gave Sanjou all these toys, and he's gonna play with 'em, dang it!

Oh, and speaking of toys, I do rather like Shining Hopper. It'd sort of be easier to talk about once you've actually seen the form in action, but they took an unusual approach to the design by having it do that whole subtractive upgrade thing. It's Zero-One after shedding most of his armor, (which, again, will seem more relevant in a bit for you!) and the undersuit itself bulking up nicely suggests how this is an overall upgrade instead of just any random new animal.

They also used up like all of their best ideas at once for this form, and between:

-"WHEN I SHINE! Darkness fades..."
- Turning the Key like an actual key
- The bug-catching net

...it's really no surprise I can't help but love it? I'm amazed they didn't hold off on at least one of those for some bigger upgrade down the line. I'm not sure if I really have a favorite Zero-One upgrade, per se, but Shining Hopper in particular gives me a lot of warm feelings.

I'm not sure anyone's explicitly addressed this yet, but yes, weird names are very much the Hiden tradition. Not only does it apply to pretty much all the Humagears, and their satellites too, but you've got Korenosuke and Soreo ("this" and "that"), and Aruto himself is literally "a person", which also apparently came from the staff's desire to portray him as a regular guy first and foremost, rather than as some paragon of justice who's always in the right.

It's a sort of broader theme with the show I can't really define that well off the top of my head, but the episode titles kinda fall in line with the same idea, as they're generally very straightforward phrases, with the consistent format of a pronoun or demonstrative word written in katakana for emphasis. And it's like, why is a boring regular word the part you're calling attention to? I still only sort of understand, even a couple years later, but I've definitely come to love how understated and sort of poetic those titles can be. I may not be able to describe it well on its own, but if you contrast it against how Takahashi's previous Rider show about garishly-colored video game doctors loudly mixed Japanese and English together for its episode titles, the deliberately subdued flavor of Zero-One's shtick might seem a bit clearer.

Looking at Die's current signature as of this post I miss Kenta Uchino as Teppei from Ultraman Mebius, which Die, if you ever start Ultraman start from either that or Max if you don't mind mid-2000s toku. Mebius btw was the show that aired alongside Kabuto circa 2006.

I actually really like that about Aruto. It ties into alot of the things that I interpret the show doing, and makes me love him as a character all the more.

It's funny how, with Toku being known for being rather out there, especially to people not really familiar to it, that Zero-One chose to define itself in trying to come across as plain and to the point. Heck, it's one of the few nitpicks I have with the official subs; Them using ZEA instead of THERE. Still, it's a pretty fun meta thing overall.

That's a clutch comeback! Nicely done!

Yeah, it's not a suit I'm fond of, but Shining Hopper definitely communicates its purpose pretty clearly.

And I'm okay with it being a one-story diversion? This show's generally been about weightier existential questions, and you need a bit more seriousness to the show for that to work. There's no saying you can't drill into thorny questions about technology or empathy with a character who's as much of a buffoon as Was is, but the dissonance there is probably tough for a full series to handle. This is a fun outing, but I don't need it to be the baseline.

I want to say the vague idea is to do Ultraman Trigger in the future? I heard that was a good one?

To be fair, the "ZEA" spelling does appear on-screen at one point, so I think that's what they were deferring to. (Even though "There" gets used too...) Honestly, I just really respect that they even had the guts to keep Is and Was as the normal words they are.

(Oh, and while I was looking around to check that information, I found out the 3D printer is even named "That"? Hiden really takes this naming shtick seriously!)

This is one of my favorite episodes in Zero-One.

I just love the detective and how he's an older Humagear model with old-fashioned detective duds, but the fact that his role in the episode is such a good one makes it better for me.

We also get Shining Hopper, which is a suit I actually really like, it's different from the norm when it comes to Rider upgrades, and the protrusions on the chest are a nice touch. Although, much like Zi-O II, it runs into the weird problem of being a little overpowered compared to some later ones, but not as much. Nitpick though it may be, it's just standard procedure for Rider, but still a neat form overall, though I do like Rising Hopper better.

And R.I.P. Ansatsu-Chan.

That quote is so good, and I still wonder why I love it so much.

Also, Haha! I either forgot most of the official names, or just now learned what they actually are, but I find those names extremely funny. No wonder Aruto tried and failed to become a comedian.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 13 - “BEING THE PRESIDENT’S SECRETARY IS MY JOB”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone13a.png

An overall solid finish to this mystery story, with some terrific action to complement some nice character growth, even if some of the story beats feel a little rushed.

And, let’s start with those rushed story beats: I feel like the Was sacrifice, along with the potential Izu sacrifice, sort of comes out of nowhere? The idea of the Shining Hopper Key being incomplete because the satellite doesn’t know what Aruto’s capable of in the same way Izu does, that tracks. This is a show about seeing past faces and descriptions and origins to get at the limitless potential within everyone, so we need there to be an obstacle that can only be cleared through the bond between a human and a Humagear. I could quibble about Izu deciding to sacrifice herself now, when the threat of MetsubouJinrai is far more terrifying than an errant Dodo, but, like, she’s had a rough day. Folks make bad decisions sometimes in the immediate aftermath of failure. Sure.

But then the solution to You Can’t Murder Izu In Episode 13 is Was taking her place, and that just doesn’t work for me? He’s got Zero-One combat data, sure, but he doesn’t know Aruto, not really. He just showed up that day! He’s seen Zero-One fight for maybe fifteen seconds! It not only ends up robbing the Shining Hopper Key of the specific bond that Was spends his dying breaths explaining to Izu, but it rushes the Was/Izu story into a quick resolution that it didn’t really need. They save the actor from 11, but they drop Was? Why couldn’t he have survived this brand-new process?

Besides that, though, I thought this was a pretty fun take on the First Upgrade Form story. I like that Shining Hopper is about Aruto’s ability to constantly (Prog)rise to meet any challenge, and his view of technology as a way to unlock power. Seeing him surpass a machine that was built to surpass him was an exceptionally smart way of illustrating not just Zero-One’s cool new overpowered ability that will be utterly negated within six episodes, but a great distillation of Aruto’s sense of his own untapped potential. I don’t love the suit a whole lot, but this episode certainly sold the concept of Shining Hopper to me.

There’re a few other things that felt like they’d be discussion topics, but ended up not being utilized enough to bother. I was as excited as Aruto about him teaming up, officially, with Vulcan and Valkyrie, but then the whole fight is decided by Zero-One’s new form that everyone marvels at. Similarly, I thought the last Assassin-chan Humagear was going to get some screentime in the finale, but he’s just casually mentioned as being in custody, so I guess everything’s okay now? The pressure on Hiden Intelligence was what was motivating this entire story, and it’s sort of handwaved in a line of dialogue over the final scene. Not great follow-through?

I complain about some of these points, but I still had fun with this episode. It’s a little more action-focused than last time, which means a bit less comedy, but there’s still plenty of joy to be had. (I especially liked Yua wondering what two Hiden Humagears were doing inside an AIMS van, since Fuwa split without leaving a note or anything. Funny gag!) It’s a little sloppy in its wrap-up, but I liked what it was talking about. Very fun two-parter.

—

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 03: KAMEN RIDER VALKYRIE - LIGHTNING HORNET

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...zeroone13b.jpg

Lightning Hornet! I legitimately would’ve felt bad if we’d waited much longer to talk about Valkyrie’s first form change. It would’ve felt… I don’t know, disrespectful? Luckily, we a) talked about Shining Hopper last time, and b) actually got to see Yua use this form in this episode, so we’re good to go!

It’s an interesting suit design. It gives up some of the aggression of Rushing Cheetah for a nimbleness, which is a nice tactical option. Rushing Cheetah’s all about maneuvering around the battlefield until Yua can move in for the kill, while Lightning Hornet spams attacks from the air until the opponent is ready for the finisher. Both styles benefit from Yua’s strategic mindset, but Lightning Hornet feels a bit more self-sufficient in its ranged attacks.

The design’s… I like it, but I don’t love it. I think it’s the antennae on the helmet? It looks a little too dainty, and I want Yua’s suits to have the same sense of power as Fuwa’s or Aruto’s. (The little blue booties do not help in this regard.) Still, I enjoy the crispness of the blue and gold and white. It sells Lightning as the main thing for this suit, and the honeycombed hexagons fill in the Hornet part.

This figure, though! Yikes! The one box is about 60% of the body and four stickers, while the other box was all the armor, a bunch of replacement body parts, and twenty-odd stickers. The second box was bulging. Most of the stickers were annoying, but not time-consuming: everything needed to fold around in some way, which made centering things tricky. A bit of a bummer that the wings show up in a later accessory pack, especially when the first box was so light, but I’ve got that accessory pack in a pile somewhere.

Anyway, yeah, decent suit and a decent figure. Sorry it took so long to get to!

Yes, start with Max. Everyone should watch Ultraman Max.

Trigger is... Okay, so Trigger isn't objectively bad, but I think it's safe to say that if you start there, then any other New Generation show you may want to watch next is a step up.

Or, you could go back to '05 and watch Max.

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!

The Ultra recommendations I usually give people are X, Geed and Z and I'd probably keep to that for you Die! I'm really sorry to hear you got Covid; stay safe...!

Max is the first one I watched. It's an adequate show. It's good for showing you what a standard Ultraman show is. Nothing unusual or ever particulary innovative, but nothing badly done either. It's competent and sets the right expectations, but nothing more than that. For the first show, that's not so bad.

As far as the franchise goes, it's a reset after Nexus, which is kinda the Hibiki of Ultraman. It took franchise in a radical new direction which fans did not like and stopped watching. Unlike Hibiki, it got to play out the season without being forced to change. It's actually pretty popular with western viewers.

But Max was made to win back the old fans, which is why is about the plainest vanilla you can get. It's good vanilla, but its still plain vanilla.

Don't really care for Zero-One but I see where mentioning Ultraman
recommendations to Die and I'm going to toss my suggestion in the ring and it gotta be Gaia! You like a show with a great rivalary between two heroes? Standalone with no connection to past series? An recurring antagonistic force that brought up enough to never forget end goal of a season? But still keeping the franchise greatest strength of episodic stories every week? And massive budget and world with a cast large enough to fill a world wide threat? Then Gaia great!

That is vintage me, yeah.

Lightning Hornet... I mean, I like the suit well enough, but I always found it to very much be a decision the show made that we got our first full participant female Kamen Rider and her primary attack in one form has made me spend the last three years actively trying not to type out the phrase "lactates bees."

Max is absolutely Ultraman-flavored Ultraman, but that's why I like it. It doesn't try to reinvent anything, it just does what it does really, really well and with a really likable cast.

Also, technically Nexus was cancelled. And I don't mean like how I always say Hibiki was cancelled to be spiteful. There was an entire arc of Nexus that was planned but ended up getting crammed down into the last two episodes because the show bombed so badly. Max only happened because Tsubaraya had a contract with the network and the network demanded that they come up with something to fill the time slot.

I'm so sorry! Please take as long as you need to rest and recover!
I would also throw in Orb which, despite the premise of the form changes, is actually one of the more standalone New Gen Ultra shows (at least until the movie) and a really nice watch.

I personally started watching the modern New Gen shows from the start with Ginga but that's just me being a completionist.

Now I'm not saying Takahashi series have a thing for virus, but it's certainly 'a' coincidence. Hope you recover quickly Die!

Also, while we're doing Ultra recs, I've only actually finished both of Nexus and R/B, and both are pretty good! Completly opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, but good!

I'm a bit late in saying this, but take all the time off you need, Die! We'll still be here waiting for you once you've taken back your smile. Go show that virus who's boss!

https://i.imgur.com/U2d3pHo.png

(Even if it probably won't be anywhere near as fun as Ex-Aid makes it look...) :p

Everyone here is so nice! My condition has not exactly improved (still feverish, lost my sense of taste and smell), but my mood is bolstered immeasurably by your incredibly thorough Ultraman recommendations and almost-as-thorough emotional support. Thanks so much!

(And, in retrospect, it was probably Ultraman Z that I was thinking of. But thanks for the many other suggestions!)

Yeah, I'd say that other than guaranteed recovery, hope that there'd be still available treatment for you to get and not have all those treatments filled in. For series part though, viruses would be related to Ex-Aid, and yeah, big irony that several of their actors like Hiroki Iijima (Emu), Shouma Kai (Parado), and Ruka Matsuda (Poppy) have contracted Coronavirus too, of course them being infected later one at least the latter 2 got game clear-ed for it.

Yeah, actually this'd be what I want to say to refer to the main characters as "the heroes". While for most part (in other series) it's true, it can be misleading to use at few occassions if it only refers to main character, and Zero-One as for now is one of them. Not even talking about Fuwa, who is a morally ambiguous hero (anti-hero, still subcategory of hero), but it's about Yua, who is one of Gai Amatsu's enforcer as for now, so. There are some good things she did, but it's meant to humanize her to some extent, instead of her being one of heroes at this point (as someone who is ambiguously bad at least before).

Take all the time you need to recover, hang in there Die! Lemon Juice helps with recovering taste.

Also, did somebody say Ultraman? Though, I believe everybody has given some great recommendations, so I guess I don't really need to say anything here. And yes, Z is probably the one you're thinking of, and also yes, it is a great show, though I also think all the New Gen and Heisei (that I've seen) are solid picks.

I'll probably drop more Zero-One thoughts later, but right now, I'm wishing you the best!

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE HYPER BATTLE VIDEO - “WHAT WILL POP OUT OF THE KANGAROO? THINK ABOUT IT BY YOURSELF! YES! IT MUST BE ME, ARUTO!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zeroone/hbv1.png

This was… pleasant.

Is that enough for one of these HBV installments? I feel like it probably is. It may miss out on the undeniable mania of the Faiz HBV, or the shocking poignancy of the Build HBV (still maybe my all-time fave for these specials), but it’s agreeably corny and threaded with thirteen weeks’ worth of nostalgia. That’s not nothin’.

This was a nice story to come back to. (My COVID’s not gone, which is causing me to cancel some long-awaited plans, but I’m feeling way better today than I did the last few days. There’s a mend happening, even if it’s a longer one than I’d hoped.) It’s a predictably low-stakes deal, with Jin making a new Magia out of three reused suits… just, literally reused, no crazy alterations or combinations or anything. Izu’s accidentally let the Vice-President take the case with all the Progrise Keys, so Satellite There creates a new Hopping Kangaroo Progrise Key – based on the cartoon mascot for the Vice-President’s Australian travel guide – to allow Aruto to defeat the new three-form monster. It’s small. It’s a small story, even by the standards of these HBVs.

It’s cute, though. There’s always a bit of budget-stretching when it comes to what’re essentially bonus episodes. There’s some money for a kit-bashed exclusive hero form, but everything else needs to be a bit more… thrifty than normal. So we get the usual backstage lots and warehouses that signal We Had To Do This Fast And Cheap, but we also get some incredibly charming effects work. Like, the gimmick for Hopping Kangaroo is that Aruto gets a fourth-dimensional pocket that summons helper Humagear from past adventures. We get an initial effects shot of the sushi Humagear growing out of Zero-One’s chest, but every subsequent use of the power is just some dude pressing up very close and very low to Zero-One. It’s my favorite kind of tokusatsu thing. My FAVORITE. I love dumb little practical things like that, and they made this story more memorable to be than any other ingredient.

Because the other ingredients… I mean, again, pleasant, but also pretty by-the-numbers? It’s a story about how Aruto draws power from the Humagears he empowers, which is what basically every Zero-One story is about? That’s a core theme, and I’d be shocked if it wasn’t a part of the HBV outreach thing, but it’s sort of all that’s here? We’re nominally talking about Aruto not realizing that his partners are all of the Humagears, but a) the idea of Aruto having a comedy partner that he’s been abandoned by is introduced as a concept maybe twenty seconds before it becomes even vaguely relevant to the plot, and b) it’s not like Aruto didn’t already consider the Humagears to be his family. There’s no real original conflict to this special, which keeps it from being anything more than a fun little diversion.

I feel like the biggest drawback to this HBV special is how early in the series it’s appearing? Not sure why they dropped this episode around the winter movie, instead of what feels like the more traditional summer slot (unless I’m remembering it all wrong), but it seems to have worked against them here. (I mean, knowing how Summer 2020 worked out… probably for the best they filmed this earlier!!!) The late-series HBVs have an accumulation of weirdness that’s available to be leveraged: deeper casts, underexplored nooks, better chemistry, loopier actors. There’s no energy that this thing is playing with or against, you know? This isn’t Nago teaching you calisthenics or Tsukuyomi turning into a sadist to torture a teammate, this is just a cute story for Zero-One and Izu, that’s it.

But it was a cute story, and that’s okay. This wasn’t a normal episode of Zero-One, and it’s weird to hold it to normal standards. I wish it had been as bold in its storytelling as it was with its practical effects, but this was all very enjoyable to watch.

(Oh, and I never paid extra for the assumedly-exclusive Hopping Kangaroo SO-DO, so no new figure review. I liked the shoulderpads becoming boxing gloves, but that was about it. Too much of Rising Hopper’s COLOR for my tastes!)

Where would Kamen Rider be without Hyper Battle Videos with their fun comedy, hijinks, and last-minute merchandise/forms?

Although Hopping Kangaroo is actually kind of awesome. I mean, it has boxing gloves!

It's the one non-pulling-a-friend-through-the-fourth-dimension-to-assist-you-both-emotionally-and-physically thing about the suit I liked! The boxing gloves made out of the shoulderpads!

Not much to say about this one, it's a HBV, it's got cute hijinks, what more could you want?

(Hopping Kangaroo reminds me that I want more Riders with a boxing fighting style....kicks are iconic to the franchise and all, but it's a really cool style, yknow?)

AND WE’RE (kinda) BACK!

And that goes double for me, since I sat last episode out (didn’t have anything to say about it). I don’t have much to say for this one, so I’ll just get the point showcasing Fuwa’s new toy.

Progrise: Impossible to Escape! Trapping Spider! No-one can escape its web.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...61B5F7E7C.jpeg

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MFZ-y4tQcUI

And this one got TWO Legend Rider remixes

Cyclone, Joker! CrimeCounting Double! Two minds, one great detective.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KZHTunDD-I0

Detective in Futo! HalfBoiling Joker! Futo entrust itself to one detective.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1Z5RJ80EH_I

I always liked looking into the legacy Progrise Keys, just to hear what weird quasi-English phrases each Rider got.

They're really cool for the most part too! I STILL haven't worked out what Decade's says...

Since they're all electronic I was always surprised they didn't do a Saber key as a pre-order bonus for the Swordriver, like they used to do a lot

Punching suits are always a plus!

It's random to have Fuwa show up to this story by just, like, rounding a corner (on his day off!), but it's super random for him to have an all-new Progrise Key that becomes instrumental in defeating the story's Magia. We get this whole story about needing a new Key to defeat a villain -slash- keep Izu from killing herself, and then Fuwa just found one on the bus or something? Not the tightest storytelling, even for an HBV!

Considering you were already calling out the charmingly cheap effects, Die, I have to mention what is maybe my absolute favorite gag in the entire thing, which is how they get around the inability to afford a proper CG robot kangaroo for the transformation... so instead they just have a flat cartoon picture of a kangaroo jumping around.

I feel like it's safe to say this is actually one of my favorite HBV's at this point? Like you say, it's not actually doing anything particularly notable, but I think it utterly nails the basics (Hopping Kangaroo is a downright perfect exclusive form for one of these, especially), and it's managed to stick in my memory better than a lot of the others as a result.

Although part of the reason I'll always remember it is because, being the comedy spinoff for Zero-One, Aruto is at peak mania for nearly the entire runtime, and it made me appreciate Fumiya Takahashi's performance that much more. It'd be grating if it were anybody else, but it's him, so it's great! There was an anecdote about him I came across doing the usual Wikipedia reading I try to for these threads, that apparently everyone agreed he was the guy for the job because he was the only one at the audition who was specifically concerned with getting across the character of a comedian, instead of simply trying to be funny, and I feel like him understanding the distinction there explains a ton about why I enjoy this awkward goofball so much.

It's really a nice touch. Satellite There is winging it just as much as the rest of the heroes in this special!