I’m really digging the pink accents on his guy. Has a Decade feel to him. The watch theme is also really nice. Goes a step further than Wizard’s head that is also a ring by extending down onto the torso with the watch band. The watch hands at 10:10 is genius.

I also enjoy the the symbol above the eyes (Does that say Kamen?) because it’s where the Rolex logo would be. Very nice touch. As for the eyes themselves...they are weird but they work. The eyes in the later half of Heisei phase 2 have all been unconventional; so this is on brand. I see the Deadpool in the eyes as well. The symbols for Rider definitely create a “one eye open, one eye slightly closed” expression worn by Deadpool or Spidey.

This fucker has Ra, I and Da spelled on his face those avbolute madmen

That's fair, makes me happy to hear he atleast loved Kuuga.

All thanks to the director who convinced him to stay, and when filming episode 2, built a chapel building from scratch only to burn it to the ground for the most badass debut of KUUGA MIGHTY FORM(Jin/Kamen RiderAmazon Alpha's actor Taniguchi can attest to that). 5 years later the same director worked on Hibiki but got kicked out for being too artsy and blowing through the budget like it was an air conditioner on lowest temperature and full blast during mid-production.

From what I can see, it looks fantastic. Silver and pink is a nicely unique color scheme

Whaaaat, they build that from scratch? I just got done watching Kuuga a few weeks ago and that scene's been sticking with me since, that and the last fight and the teacher's explination about the thumbsup scene.

same I was like GHOST 2.0 before I realized the Watch design

so we went from Pepsi Man to Jake Paul(he got that Rollex)

I'm really liking that design. How they mixed in a wrist watch to it is really neat. Kind of curious if the watch band will change styles to forms.

Definitely one to watch during super hero time!

I swear I read a rumour last week that the main character is female?

Likely not if history is any indication, but no casting has been shown or announced yet. So who knows.

Maybe next series though if not this one, and we've yet to see any side riders too.
And if this is anything like Decade to W. This might be the first in a set of anniversary series. But this anniversary it's celebrating is the watch one.

Zi-Oh as far as I know, isn't the one that'll step outside those bounds. It could, but the 4th wall breaking might make it too much for a debute of a female lead, because then the 4th wall commentary could be perceived as insulting instead of playful. You know how fragile male perceptions are on those topics, though in japan it's typically not as bad in America on that level of ignorant spin.

I do expect we will get some kind of female lead rider within the next 5 years, and maybe more than one. And it also depends on the spin they use for the story too for this. If they went from the angle of a mother connecting to her child through a show her child likes, that could really work. But that feels more like a one off special than a series. It would be neat to see some respect shown to female fans of the franchise though, so we could get something at some point. But likely more towards the same year they announce a male pretty cure member. They'd want to balance it some, but also not alter the demographics too much.

Until more story details and casting are announced though, it's anyone's guess.

You did, yeah, I've seen that one around. It'd be amazing if true, but I doubt it. There are easily ten false Kamen Rider rumours to every grain of truth every few months when a new Toy Catalog drops.

Like, for Build, early rumours said he was a construction worker using the World Driver, with second and third riders from the get-go (a gardener and fashion designer, respectively).

The rider being pink and silver does lend itself to being a girl, if we follow society's stereotypes. The design is based on a woman's Rolex watch, not a man's.

I mean, Ex-Aid and Decade were both pink. The only thing I could see it giving away a more female rider vibe are it's long nails.

I just hope Zi-O won't be like Decade as a devil/destroyer nor will his season be flumped!

Fascinating design from what we can see. All main Kamen Rider suits (with the maybe-exception of Ex-Aid) have been in some way a riff on the original Kamen Rider suit, but this one is more specifically referential of multiple previous Rider suits. I'm seeing
- Decade's color scheme
- Den-O's vertical chest piece
- Build's shaped-eyes motif and asymmetrical antennae-analog
- 555's fingertips
- Wizard's collar and shoulder line
- Ghost's framing of the face

They could just be coincidental - again, all those designs riff on Kamen Rider 1 - but it feels to me like a lot of these might be deliberate visual references to Heisei Riders. I'm not detecting any Fourze, Gaim, Drive, OOO, Ex-Aid, or W references, but then again, we're only seeing the head and part of the shoulders.

IIRC, Zi-Oh at one time was at least considered to be a female rider, but then various amount of debate points bounced around trying to figure out if it was time for that yet. So this one may be male. Granted, we're also assuming only one person will wear it. Which may not be the case either.

Could though. Especially if they don't overtly tweak the armor to seem like it. So the toys can be either or. One of the perks to full body suit/masks and armored characters is it can be anyone under the mask unless it's obvious in sculpt/design.

So like form fitting tights that show musculature like Spider-man typically reveal gender based on that. But Rider armor so long as it's not designed with a boob plate, can still market toys to boys and girls without an issue no matter who is under it. The watch band though on the chest is typically male. Granted it's becoming a more modern trend of both styles of watch bands are used for either or, it used to be the thicker watch bands were male watches while thinner bands were female watches.

Zi-Oh can go either way, but I don't think the magenta is a sign of anything at all other than a color that made the design standout. Japan isn't as archaic in color choices as other areas. And even over in Sentai, there's been a streak of Blue female rangers like a conscious effort to get rid of color use stereotypes.

Fingernails wouldn't be a way to reveal it either. Phillip painted his(fang joker), Hibiki had sharp ones, and so have other riders. So finger nails aren't really a "female reveal" kind of thing at all when it comes to designs.

I can't believe Zi-O would be a girl, cause otherwise wouldn't the Rider name be Zi-Ojo or something?

I'm not a super big fan of the design, it doesn't have a unique silhouette compared to most Riders.

I like it. Can't wait to see the whole suit!

Not at all. Girls are called kings in anime and the like all the time.

Yup. In fact it's been the modern trend of Japanese media for a bit.
Women as kings. Pure strength. Often times the biggest badasses with the best action scenes. And that's been spilling over into Rider series too.

Decade made it a point that Tackle does count as a rider. OOO's had the inhumanly strong girl. Even as far back as Faiz had Delta initially worn by girls. Hibiki was supposed to have a larger story focus on one apprentice Oni that was a girl. Kivara was the decisive character to stop Decade. Wizard made it a point to get reprimanded for his views on girl mages.

So it is entirely possible Zi-Oh could be a girl. Which actually kind of fits the watch band motif too, as t's become a relatively modern trend of girls using the thicker watch bands now for watches. And tbh, I kind of favor that concept myself. Lots of story potential there, from a mother that's a rider, or a teenage girl otaku, or a big sister, or more. And it does fit the "Sadako" pattern if jumping into TVs is true.

That's the beauty to a rider suit, most at least. They are relatively non-descript to the point any gender could be underneath unless it's directly a point to make it a gendered suit. And Japan isn't shy of trying things like this either, as we saw with the casting in Shibuya 15. They could feel it's the right time for this.

But like I said, it could go either way. But it is interesting to note that the suit does feel rather "ungendered" intentionally. Like how Delta was.

Also found it kind of interesting that the name seems to be a play on multiple levels. Zi-Oh is not that far off of Zero, as in zero hour refering to "origin point" or a point of release or point of change. While also phonetically spelling G-O which spells GO as in Let's Go rider kick. And then it also has the in joke of "Time King". Which with Toei's sense of humor, they would consider gender bending that intentionally. Like pointed out, in japanese media there's a conscious effort to go against expectations or other culture's perceived norms.
So making this rider a woman could fit to that.

So blatantly calling it a "Time King" rider does raise the chances it could be a girl underneath the armor. It really could go either way.

My personal only worry is how the 4th wall breaking comes across then. Sarcastic and fun, or if handled wrong will it be insulting. Perceptions based on gender with the same line delivery is sadly there with audiences. But the more I think about it, the more I actually kind of prefer this concept as a woman instead of male. Something new for the time and fresh. Plus toei's humor. A person deriding the show for its lead's gender: "Watch it!" Which also works on many levels too.

Honestly, I personally kind of feel a woman as the rider works the best to break down false preconceptions. And it really is overdue.
Do really love this design so far too. Not sure which way it'll go for wearer, but so far that design is very sweet.

And the concept of "Time for change!" does fit some themes of what may end up being 21, 22, and 23 on series of the new era, which I guess would be 1, 2, and 3 of the new period, which with the shift happening during Zi-Oh, really does make it the zero hour show.

Really excited to see how this one turns out! Already want a Shodo figure of this rider.

I like your reasoning, but I still think that it's extremely unlikely that Toei will choose a female main Rider. The sticking point is marketing: modern Kamen Rider is all about toy sales to their target market of young boys. A big part of the sales figures (if I understand correctly) is roleplay items, and I can easily see Toei being skittish about young boys turning up their noses at roleplay items "for girls."

If they were to go with a female main Rider, I assume it would be Bandai experimenting with marketing to young girls. It's not entirely outside the realm of possibility that they might try this, but I doubt they'd dive directly in. I suspect they'd want to test the waters by debuting a series with two main Riders, probably brother and sister, most likely sharing the same weapons/items, so as to as to avoid the "cooties" problem. (And to be clear, I'm not talking about what kids actually want or would respond to; I'm talking about what media/toy companies think kids want.)

I would love, of course, to be wrong. I don't like that female Riders have been so rare, and usually been relegated to tertiary status. Seeing Toei/Bandai take a chance would be really exciting.

That helmet is absolutely beautiful. I love that it says "kamen" in katakana in the style of a trademarked logo on the forehead. I can't wait for the full reveal. I certainly hope we get some kind of figure featuring diecast parts at some point, it feels like it'd be a total waste if all the toys were just plastic.

I would love it if Zi-O ended up being a woman!
Like others have said though, it doesn't seem terribly likely for a main rider to be a woman considering where society is right now -- so I'll believe it when I see it. If I DO see it though, I'll be celebrating like heck!

I'd like a female main Rider.

Like others have said, women have been portrayed as tough and king-like in recent years. Not to mention, LuPat is doing pretty well, especially with two of its actors being idols (LupinYellow and Patren #3).

Besides, we got a pink main Rider a while back. I think it's time we go female civilian form. Besides, as long as the suits and toys look cool, I don't think anyone's gonna be boycotting KR because "the male role model is gone".

Also, if we could just get a male secondary/tertiary Rider to compliment the potential female lead (or a female secondary if the main is male) that'd be nice.

EDIT: Also, I love the suit!! The eyepiece spells "Rider" (ライダー) and the forehead jewel says "Kamen" in katakana (カメン).

looks good!

Just curious, but is this desire for a female lead rider a predominantly western thing?

Seeing as girls have Sailor Moon and probably some others, I highly doubt they'll "gender-mander" Kamen Rider for the sake of doing it (or today's socialist agenda - which again is a very western thing e.g. Star Wars, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Doctor Who).

I really hope that the people who are hoping/theorizing that Zi-O will be a female main Rider aren't setting themselves up for disappointment if it turns out that Zi-O's a male Rider. I'm just excited to see how Zi-O will turn out.

From personal experience it's a very western thing to care about this stuff, Japanese companies more or less don't, often just doing what makes money or their own personal preference. I should point out I couldn't care less, aslong as my Masked Rider still kicks stuff and explodes stuff I'm happy, the gender behind the suit wouldn't matter.

I'd love for Zi-O to be a girl, but Toei seems pretty stuck on the belief that a female Kamen Rider doesn't appeal to Kamen Rider fans (I'm still waiting for KR Poppy to get a figure outside of the Shodo line).

I'd expect that's doubly true for an anniversary season, where they'd tend to do less experimenting to avoid alienating their core fanbase (from Toei's perspective of course).

The perks of having an auteur for a director. :lolol

I agree. I don't really care what sex/gender the Rider is. But, honestly, I'd like a female Rider who doesn't get shafted.

Huh. My mistake, though I still doubt it considering Toei's track record. Though should they do it, I'll probably get the toy line to show some extra support

Why is BoJ making a friggin' wristwatch-themed hero in 2018 (current year argument)?

Looks so awesome! Excited for the figures!

Edit: never mind. Not trying to upset anyone.

Looks like this Rider is going over time & space.

I really really really doubt we will has female character as main protagonist Rider since the Kamen Rider and the merchandise (especially toys) are more aimed to boys.....

Because Toei already has Precure so I really doubt Toei want to make female character as main protagonist Rider.....

You're probably right to be concerned, as this material is highly flammable. (Long story short: your perspective will resonate with some people and will do whatever the reverse of resonating is with other people. I'm happy to talk about it via PM.) It's probably best to steer this conversation back to Kamen Rider ZiO as quickly as possible.

Some people have noticed the silhouettes we've seen so far have been relatively slight, plus a specific rumor was talking about a female main Rider this year; that's where this came from. My suspicion is that if said silhouettes do reflect something like this, I still think it's more likely that this year's Rider is considerably younger, maybe a 'tween.

With long-running properties, people tend to want to see said property do something different from time to time. "Something different" could also apply to, say, a middle-aged protagonist. With late-teens-early-20's males, narratives tend to stick to a relatively small subset of shounen-hero types.

Rider has tried a few personality types I hadn't seen before in the past, which has sometimes been received well (Den-O: "the Rider is a wimp!") and sometimes, less well (Kiva: "the Rider is a shut-in!".) YMMV. I always hope for something a little new when a new series debuts.

I have to say that now people have pointed out the Rolex thing, I can't unsee it.

...I see what you did right there...!