Crap...

You win this time!

-Episode 28!

-Of course, Revive has a drawback, and of course Geiz will take that shit anyway, have you met the guy?

-Now I remember, it was this conversation that made me really enjoy Uncle. Such a good side character, man.

-It's kind of hilarious how much Another Zi-O is like more of a plot device for this arc more than anything? Need a way for Woz to get the Beyondriver? A reason to explore Sougo's past? A quick fight/distraction for X character? Do I have the MOTW for you! Sure it's technically part of the ongoing plot, but I feel like Hiryuu's own angst has no room to breathe or be explored a bit more with everything going on.....It's a bit of a letdown for an Another Rider based on the protagonist.

-I'm nuetral on Ora and Heure, but man do I hate Swartz. More on that later, though! For now, let's say he gives out an equal amount of "You exist, I guess..." energy as the other two, but the show's attempts to paint him the most mysterious/scheming/strongest Time Jacker while still being Pretty Boring is somehow a bigger disappointment?

It's the BEST BEAT, because Woz goes on forever about the horrible, deadly side effects -- like Geiz cares -- and then wraps up with asking Geiz if defeating Zi-O and saving the future is really worth risking his life.

!!!

WOZ

I KNOW YOU ARE A ZI-O FANBOY BUT THIS IS LIKE GEIZ'Z MAIN ATTRIBUTE

HIS WHOLE DEAL IS RISKING HIS LIFE TO SAVE THE FUTURE

MY DUDE

WHAT THE EFF

Yeah, he's just a distraction in this episode. There's no pathos to his thwarted attempts at relevance, because the guy he's got a grudge against doesn't even know or care about him. He's like a dumber Inigo Montoya, you know? He's got this weird grudge, he can't stop talking about it, and no one cares.

Well I didn’t have much to say about the episode when it first came out (beyond a joke about the next episode a few people on kissasian found funny enough to upvote), so I’ll share some BTS fun facts.

The actor playing Woz had initially auditioned for the role of Sougo (they didn’t decide he was in high school until the guy they went with ended up being 17 years old)

The character designer said that if he’d been given more time and a greater budget, he would’ve given Black Woz a more distinct Rider form rather than recycling White Woz’s.

(Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Zi-O - EP27)

I was all prepared to give some huge rave about that Uncle/Sougo scene, but it kinda warms my heart to see everyone already seems to get everything I could say about it.

Conversations between those two are generally a highlight of the show, but this particular one is a shining example of what I mentioned earlier about how well the show put its earlier, arguably weaker episodes in a more nuanced context retroactively. When you watch those first couple episodes, it's like, you're just wondering why Sougo's uncle is so weirdly not-pushy with him, and you can probably write it off as that just being his weird character quirk or whatever, but along comes this episode, which reframes all that in a way that's real and emotional and sad and touching. He treats Sougo that way because Sougo was a little kid going through a lot at a young age, and Junichirou wanted to be as supportive and caring as possible, to the point where it maybe became a fault.

I mean, it's one of those things where I feel like me trying to explain it ruins the point of why I like the scene so much, which is how it can get you thinking all this and making these connections with just a few lines of dialogue that don't even hit you over the head with it that much. There's a particular flavor I feel Zi-O's character drama has that I've always felt is different from most of the other recent Rider shows, and I struggle to describe it. The current version of my theory about that, thinking about the series a lot thanks to this thread, is that maybe, it's because I like how small and personal the emotions end up being, despite the scale of the story?

Like, Sento around this point in Build was constantly worried about the ethical ramifications of scientific progress, and the weight of his own past actions as someone who had developed weapons, and stuff like that, you know? I don't need to tell anyone that Build's themes were thoughtful and interesting in their own right, but I bring it up to highlight the contrast when I say how nice I find it that Zi-O could take a story about a future despot and two soldiers from a ruined tomorrow trying to change fate, and ultimately make it about a kid trying to grow into the adult he wants to be, and how much his friendships mean to him. That's a core part of the appeal of any fantasy story to me -- how you take those outrageous concepts and explore something immediately identifiable and relatable with them -- and with how Zi-O handles that, especially during this stretch, I guess it's hardly surprising that, exactly as I suggest in that old post, it ended up being a favorite for me. It's on a long list of favorites, mind you, but still! I don't even know why I was still pretending to have my doubts by this point. I really was Geiz! :p

All this is to say, I liked the episode a lot! We're over to Tasaki on direction now, too, which extra sells how important this arc is. I adore touches like the way the usual cold open is handled, as well. This is the first ever time since the premiere that we don't open directly on Woz, because the visual of Geiz and Zi-O fighting kinda says it all.

I also loved the Woz VS Woz action in this one, which I'm sure is another opinion that doesn't need much explaining. "Indeed, the power of Kamen Rider Woz... is in the hands of Woz." might be one of my favorite lines in a show filled to the brim with lines I like (it's also a long list!), and it really highlights how good Keisuke Watanabe was at differentiating the two characters. White Woz has a completely different set of facial expressions, and it's impressive how much he starts to genuinely feel like a completely different person.

Also! The BGM accompanying the one true Woz's transformation is pretty great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CHhckFegN0

While I praise how different Sahashi's work on Zi-O is from usual, this one has him playing in his comfort zone a lot more, and proving that isn't a bad thing. This track is still very Woz, but it's also distinctly a little Den-O, and I dig it.

!!!

Oh right! Thank you for mentioning this, because it also made me realize that I'm probably misinterpreting the song title here? I kind of assumed they just messed up using "II", but given there are quite a few pieces on the soundtrack that have a "2" at the end of them, in actuality, it might be as simple as this being the second motif for Zi-O, rather than one specifically for Zi-O II? It's grouped with the ones that are named after his upgrade forms though, so I don't know. Not that it matters either way, I guess.

Interesting! I think Woz'z actor would've been a good lead Rider, but I can't see him as Sougo.

I can't remember if I've talked about this before, but one of the really neat things about this anniversary series is how broad its central theme is, and how that works to encompass every post-Kuuga Heisei show's specific themes.

Like, you can have a show about how to use memories well (Den-O), or how to work with people you don't like (Ex-Aid), or how to accept yourself in the face societal indifference (Faiz), but all of those shows are really just individual flavors of Kuuga's main objective: teaching kids how to grow up into good adults. It's all just providing lessons on how to navigate adolescence, but from the perspective of each show's creative team.

So it's sort of perfect for an anniversary show that wants to touch on every Heisei Rider show to explicitly make its story about how to get Sougo to become a good adult. It's not even subtext; the goal of the show's characters is to help Sougo become a well-rounded adult who makes the best decisions for himself and others.

Anyway, yes! I also enjoy how this show is less concerned with Time Nonsense and global genocide, and more concerned with How Do We Grow Up Well.

This makes use of the same name before like the ones seen in Faiz (Kusaka) or Blade (Hirose)! White Woz writes in his tablet that the Kamen Rider Woz power will return to Woz, but he didn't specify which Woz, so his probability manipulation instead lands another Woz (not Another Woz) advantage! So it's quite a gag that is also plot relevant and something useful to advance it. And yeah there'd be his IWAE on his own henshin too. Other than Heure before starting to improve (also joining Woz while Ora coldly told him off), Woz also started to improve here as he showed a bit of concern to Geiz to warn him about Geiz Revive's use. Previously he'd only be annoyed at Sougo ignoring him when he checked the Another Ex-Aid victim and encourage Sougo's bloodlust, showing his lack of empathy. A bit as he'd still be about creating Ohma Zi-O, the tyrant one, by fighting Geiz here, and Heure's still convincing Hiryu to corrupt random people as Another Riders.

Another reason why Sougo can end up as Ohma Zi-O in the future is explored here, as Junichiro puts it, someone who'd deny their feelings of loneliness would be a ruler that has no empathy for their subjects. Which was what Ohma Zi-O ended up as. So another key to solve Sougo succumbing to his capacity of evil like in the original timeline has been solved too here, other than not being denial about his dark impulses inside. I don't know if this change is also partially caused by Geiz and Tsukuyomi barging in, as Sougo's stronger feelings of loneliness in this case might be caused by a real chance of him getting actual friends that is snubbed away from him here, which leads to Junichiro to act up here and scold him (Junichiro's still the main player and biggest contributor here though!). And this seems to also show that Junichiro genuinely takes Sougo's dream to become a king seriously, he's the one to guide Sougo on the right path here, instead of those 2 friends barging in. While in the original timeline, likely as Sougo never had a chance to get real friends, he'd act the same as previously which'd not drive Junichiro to scold him thus he ends up as what Junichiro warned him as Ohma Zi-O.

At their beginning fight, Sougo actually play smart by, actually being a pragmatist that he attacked with his finisher while Geiz charged his finishers up, so it wasn't fully charged and at the end, Sougo was able to make a comeback that they tied their battle instead. And Geiz finally rises to not be Woz's humiliation target anymore! But other than that, this episode makes it clear(er) on how rotten White Woz is, as you said above you didn't like him, it's revealed more now. About the side effects Geiz suffered as Revive? It shows that White Woz doesn't actually have a sympathy towards even Geiz. He only cares about Geiz killing Sougo so his timeline comes to pass, otherwise he'd let Geiz perish by his hyped up power. White Woz also refered to Geiz as "my savior", which literally means only a personal savior for him only as in making his timeline a reality, others who suffer from this be damned. He even now refered that his envisioned world would only benefit the few, likely only him! It was a spoiler before, but not anymore, the main problem in the world White Woz envisioned isn't Geiz or his psychological and emotional issues, but White Woz himself as made clear here including to Geiz himself. An appropriate time for him to get his payback I guess.

No offense and I understand about this but Swartz is quite undersold here in this talk. Plot or character is different storytelling and one is not better than the others even if character is prefered one here, but, I think this is the first real dive into Swartz, other than him using his underlings as fodders. It's something more than just Tsukuyomi expectedly won't resort into killing Sougo, now turns out Swartz is the one that wants Sougo to be Ohma Zi-O, although admittedly this is a set up (still not everything can be told in one episode), as the reason is still unknown for now (key: Ohma Zi-O is someone very OP), but turns out that Swartz already had the king candidate he needs, which is Sougo himself, and that's done by him further crossing all the lines to involve endangering any of the Tsukasa bus' passengers. This also shows that Sougo is still quite gutsy as a child, directly confronting Swartz too. Likely that leads into Swartz choosing Sougo to be made as a king though. I don't know if this'd not sit well but the origin of Zi-O premise starts there. But regardless of the opinion, it's to make Swartz as despicable as possible... even more than Ohma Zi-O himself!

Junichiro: Am I a joke to you? Pointing out about Sougo potentially turning into a ruler without empathy...

So Tsukasa just abandoned all those 2009 kids to the mercy of the Dai Mazines on the Day of Oma, huh? I wonder what DreamSword thinks about this.

White Woz is always acting like an insufferable snob, so it felt good to see him defeated by his own words and his enraged reaction to losing control of the situation. It's a moment of petty revenge for Heure as well, for that time he tried to run him over with a car in the Shinobi arc. Now the true Kamen Rider Woz has arrived, heralded by his own IWAE!

I mentioned before that Uncle Tokiwa is the MVP of this show and here's one of the best examples of that. Not only is he the greatest repairman in history, but he also finds the courage to bluntly tell Sougo what he needs to hear. Sougo has been acting like everything's okay, but truthfully, he absolutely deserves the right to be upset about his situation. What Geiz and Tsukuyomi have been doing to him, regardless of their intentions, is not fair. How can he become a king that people can trust, when he can't even trust his closest allies enough to be honest about his feelings? That's an important piece of wisdom Uncle Tokiwa gives him.

BTW, remember the Ridestriker, that bike Sougo virtually never uses? Pay close attention to it next episode, cause you won't get another chance.

Watanabe Keisuke wasn't the only one to audition for the role of Sougo. There was also Itagaki Rihito, who was instead cast as Heure. What do you think of a hypothetical Sougo portrayed by Itagaki?

Agreed. Kamen Rider Woz looks best in silver. No point changing a suit that already looks awesome!

Yeah, I'd say that even the negative things that've happened to Sougo since the Time Orphans showed up have had a net positive effect on him. It's a bummer for him to be fighting with his friends, but it got Uncle to help him see how valid his feelings are.

Not sure! I think Heure's character is the most interesting of the Time Jackers, but he's so tiny. Like, smaller than Chalice tiny. Very difficult to not get weirded out by seeing an actor that small get roughed up by monsters.

I recall he does grow a few inches towards the end of the show, although he doesn't quite reach Okuno's height. Sougo and Heure are both characters with a cheerful appearance, so I can imagine Itagaki could've made the mannerisms work at least. I'm glad they decided to go with Okuno though. I heard that his henshin pose was something he came up with, using his proficiency at ballet.