KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 14 - “WE’RE THE ASTRONAUT BROTHERS!”

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“No chance of surviving.”

I mean, Fuwa, right? Everyone in the cast knows it: there’s no way that much anger is sustainable.

This whole episode is interesting in the ways the narrative can’t seem to decide if Fuwa is a righteous man seeking revenge against a wicked enemy, or a deranged lunatic who can’t stop treating every fight as a suicide mission. Nearly every time something spotlights his blinkered fanaticism – like him hearing that the word “lightning” could possibly indicate an unknown member of MetsubouJinrai, so he immediately suspects the next Humagear he meets that utters the word “lightning” in a sentence – something else proves his instincts 100% correct. Literally the first person Fuwa accuses of being a MetsubouJinrai spy is a MetsubouJinrai spy. The universe is constantly validating both his paranoia and his recklessness.

Like, hey, new upgrade Progrise Key for Fuwa! The Ark Satellite gets reactivated, and the first thing it produces is a Fuwa-themed upgrade form. Even the enemy satellite can’t resist the universal equilibrium of Fuwa’s rage being rewarded, his self-destruction given more room to detonate. Look at that thing. It’s got a furiously red reactor where a heart should be. Like Fuwa, there’s no subtlety to this form’s relentless march towards the funeral pyre.

And it’s… that’s sort of what’s interesting about the narrative’s reluctance to either judge or impede Fuwa’s self-destructive insanity. MetsubouJinrai did cause a disaster when he was a kid. They are responsible for acts of terror. Yua’s worried about him, but Gai’s willing to keep him out in the field as long as he continues to channel his rage in useful ways, which he has. People are generally worried about him (Aruto’s whole Are You Okay thing as Fuwa’s crawling on the ground, coughing up blood, sort of undersells the required dismay at Fuwa’s recent antics), but no one’s acting like he’s crossed any real lines. The universe seems to have given him the green light to get his revenge.

That idea is the most interesting part of Fuwa’s continuing story, because the lack of roadblocks or judgments puts the onus on Fuwa to realize his choice: just because you’re owed vengeance, it doesn’t mean you have to take revenge. If Fuwa’s vengeance comes at the cost of his happiness, his sanity, his relationships, his career, his health, his life… what’s the point? And, if it only cost him his happiness, was even that too much to pay?

It’s a tricky story to tell. The early stages definitely felt like a show that didn’t understand the ways it was valorizing Fuwa’s psychotic persecution complex. But the turn here, as we start to explore how power isn’t always the right move, makes some of the earlier missteps feel a little more intentional.

Other than Fuwa, I don’t know that the rest of this episode really came together for me? I thought the Astronaut Brothers were neat, until the story abandoned them for Izakuchi. Just finding more about how random bits of toku nonsense have a little cast of characters making them happen… it makes the Rise Hopper one of my favorite bikes now? Some put-upon blue-collar robot brothers, taking pride in their job while Aruto makes life hell for them? That’s a great idea, and I wish the show had wanted to spend more time with it.

Fights were great across the board, at least. I’m never going to feel like trading unique character perspectives and fascinating world-building for More Action is a great move, but the action was continuously well-shot. There’s a bit in the beginning where Valkyrie goes around one side of a truck to fight mooks while Vulcan goes around the other, the camera stays with Vulcan, a mook comes flying out from the front of the turck, and Valkyrie comes out shooting after him. I had to go back and watch that shot twice.

But, it’s a Fuwa episode, so maybe the humor and pathos should get jettisoned for more violence. Not my favorite front-to-back episode (pivots too hard away from the Astronaut Brothers stuff), but I liked the new shades of Fuwa’s story, and how the show is content to let him make his own decisions, even if they’re obviously bad ones.

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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 04: KAMEN RIDER VULCAN - ASSAULT WOLF

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It’s Kamen Rider Vulcan, in his Unhealthy Violence suit!

This is a form that I don’t like aesthetically – it’s not a Figuart I’m aching to get, assuming they produced it – but I appreciate narratively. It’s not fun to look at, but, like, neither is self-destructive mania! Everything about Assault Wolf should be slightly unpleasant, bordering on scary.

And it is! We already touched on my favorite element, the furious reactor where a heart should be, but the rest of it is equally gross: red lights and lines everywhere, aggressive shoulderpads, basically zero humanity. It looks like the kind of form an evil anti-human satellite would produce, and the kind of form Fuwa would not learn any lessons from.

The SO-DO version is remarkably accurate, even giving him Zero-One’s brand-new gun to carry. The torso stickers sometimes layer over molded/raised parts, but they link together to make the deco feel contiguous. The only rough spot was the helmet, since the asymmetry and fairly arbitrary coloring of the show suit made the location for the forehead crest sticker feel incredibly unclear. Probably ended up drifting it a little too far to the right. My version also has a very loose left pauldron, so I don’t think this is a figure I’m going to keep on display forever, even setting aside the whole Fuwa Has A Death Wish of it all.

It’s a fascinating suit, and a fun figure, but I do not need to spend this much time staring at Fuwa’s psychological failings! Please get this away from me now! It’s bumming me out!

This episode, while I liked it overall, does have one of the few things in the show I disliked: That being that after all of the great character development we got from Assassin Boy, he's just discarded and his place is taken by Raiden, who has alot less to work with by comparison.

Still liked the episode overall though. No major complaints.

He has, like, a dozen of those Progrise Key holsters! They come two to a pack, so he had to buy six of those Rushing Cheetah packages. SIX!

Raiden is clearly an upgrade!!!

I always like to assume that after realizing how much of a hassle it is for Arutor to summon the bike and then have them drag it back into space (man, that's got to be a lot of work just for a bike), he decided to stop using it less. Not that he had really been using it much anyways.

It definitely feels like something's about to shift in the structure of the show when we have Aruto, with Shining Hopper, finally holding his own against Horobi. Of course in true upgrade fashion he can only use the form for so long.

I liked Raiden's energy and bro vibe, especially with his little bro. Like an old school Humagear who really felt like a human. Which added the sense of tragedy when it turns out he was, unbeknownst to himself, a secret spy for Metsuboujinrai as Ikazuchi. Like, the dude just wanted to mentor his little brother and get him ready for the future! Don't do him like that! I feel like they didn't quite grapple with the emotional tragedy going on.

Speaking of which though...Kamen Rider Ikazuchi is kind of neat! I mean, kind of feels weird to have a Rider debut and get destroyed all in the span of one episode (Cough)Scissors(Cough) but the red really stands out and it's a cool design. Still feel bad for Raiden though.

Assault Wolf! Honestly I can't think of a better upgrade for Fuwa than a form that literally lets him obliterate and go all out against his opponent. Like, pure power and utility in a single form, because Fuwa is so razor-focused on destroying his enemy. It's even in the transformation phrase. Nice to get a good Secondary Upgrade episode after the Main Rider. Again, sucks for Raiden though.

I remember someone actually worked out how much it would cost to cosplay the character by combining the prices of the Zetsumeriser, the Forceriser, 10 Progrisekey holders and the 10 keys themselves (this was before the Memorial sets included their version of the Dodo key).

So fun facts time.

The discussion at the beginning about how there must be a Bou and a Rai becaus there’s a Metsu (Horobi) and a Jin is basically how it went down in real life. There were no plans for other MetsubouJinrai members, hence why Ikazuchi is a) recycling Blood Stalk’s undersuit (if it’s any consolation, the eventual Bou will be recycling the Night Rogue undersuit) and b. He ends up helping make the “No chance of surviving” that much more ambiguous in syntax.

And speaking of Assault Wolf, as you’ve mostly surmised, the suit itself is a death trap. It has no life support, no defibrillators and no oxygen supply. And it has an electric diode in the heart area. In short, it was designed to be used by a robot.

And despite being intended as a Vulcan upgrade out of verse, you can have Zero-One use the Assault Wolf key (and I don’t just mean the fact it comes with the Shining Hopper dlc)

Progrise: There is Nothing Stronger! Big Shot Ready, Fire! Ready, Go! Assault Wolf! No chance of surviving.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YMr8-cbdY_g

Bit of a rough day, let's hope Zero One can punch up my spirits! It's Episode 14~

-Raiden's such a funny guy. I love Humagears who are so passionate about about their job that it comes off as a bit too intense to humans. I feel really bad for him, he takes so much pride in his duty, knowing that he was unintentionally doing harm to the company all this time.

As for Ikazuchi....Sure does exist, doesn't he. Is it weird to say although I like Raiden, I was never a fan of the "Ikazuchi" persona...? Anyway, Gotta ask for the folks who were watching this live at the time, the Dodo Rider not being Lil Assassin, did that hurt?

-Izu's little grin at Aruto being dragged away, how cute. I'm sure she wouldve laughed at that if she could.

-Fuwa..........Ngl, we've all done things out of spite and anger a few times in our life, but a life where you survive off of pure anger, drunk on the idea of vengance...sounds like quite the miserable life, doesn't it? The show has treated Fuwa's rage as half "oh this guy's clearly lost it" and half "hmm perhaps he has a point (occasionally)", but I think the ending of this episode really emphaizes how self-destructive this kind of life is. There's something really sad and almost patethic about Fuwa stumbling off alone, muttering about taking down MJBR?

(There's something so funny about Horobi and Jin going "lol you can't use that", and Fuwa going "well it has my fursona on it so it's obviously mine to use". I may not like base Vulcan but Assault Wolf is pretty cool.)

For this one, the kanji that make up their organization's name Metsubou and Jinrai come together to form "Thunderclap (Kaminari) of Death (Bou) and Destruction". So while it sounds more foreign to non-Japanese watchers, of course Fuwa as a Japanese native would figure this out much more easily. This shows that Fuwa is surprisingly observant and careful when he keeps his cool.

No one does, but it makes sense for the characters of the people that surround Fuwa. Aruto's accepting and forgiving, while Yua is morally questionable and only saw Humagear as tools, the only concern is him potentially ruining AIMS' work. Why would she be concerned about Fuwa's revenge to species she doesn't care much other than AIMS' work? And Gai, he's a horrible person of course, why would he call out Fuwa's traits? If he'd pull something much more than just Fuwa's destructive rage. The latter 2 wouldn't care much about him crossing a line or not as they could be even worse people... not a good judge to indicate the universe giving him a green light!

His vengeance could've definitely cost his career (and probably life by this) at least, as other than how Yua viewed him, he had been known to break the rules frequently in his pursuit to destroy any Humagears he can find.... or also had him completely miss his target. Other than what you mentioned, it seems that those who take revenge can be overconfident to feel that they'd get it which implies they kinda think they're unstoppable (Fuwa can be observant by keeping his cool), when the target won't stand still, cycle of revenge can happen and if the ones who want to take revenge back is much stronger, you can be a dead meat (I guess it can be what you refer for his health/life)?

For others, it's trickier as, it's often presumed that, regarding the happiness (and probably sanity) part, achieving your vengeance would lead into their happiness, though actually it wouldn't, but it's still easy to hold on that assumption if their revenge is never realized. But the tricker part is, when this vengeance is applied on the characters with Rider sensibility (and briefly) such as, Sougo before, pummeling Swartz, of which while Swartz is very much a deserving target, revenge is still a corrupting trait still and Sougo must avoid being corrupted with power, which can make revenge seem to be less of a problem than it is.

I don't know if Raiden actually indirectly admits that he's a spy for MetsubouJinrai.net, as how he reacts to Fuwa's accusations is denying being a terrorist. Which'd mean at least Raiden knows who MetsubouJinrai.net are. IIRC, not all Humagears get to know about them like many who fell prey of being hacked. Otherwise, Raiden and Subaru are established brothers, but this aspect would be more important much, much later, instead of here.

Actually, this'd be something I like more than Vulcan's base suit. Vulcan's upgraded forms are some of my favorite Zero-One suits. His suit here is actually meant for Humagears, and thus lacking things like safety and life support. But... Fuwa can use it albeit he got a blood from mouth, his name Fuwa suits him here that it means "unbreakable", and Fuwa using Assault Wolf displays that. The announcement of "no chance of surviving" has double meaning too, about how Fuwa's opponent can't stand a chance, and also the realistic result of using something meant for someone much stronger than you (if it's not someone unbreakable like Fuwa).

Yeah, it's really weird how we spend so much time not just with Raiden, but with his little brother, to showcase their specific bond and the hopes Raiden has for this younger Humagear's future... and then the little brother completely vanishes from the story halfway through. Like, why would you devote so much audience goodwill to that familial bond, and then forget to leverage it for the finale?!

Incredibly strange choice to me.

It's a little disappointing that the holsters are just plastic cases, since it'd've been neat of getting a bunch of them together could've triggered a rad scene like in the episode. Alas! Probably for the best that Bandai wasn't incentivizing a massive purchase like that. More, uh, more than they usually incentivize it, anyway. *gestures to the Kamen Rider franchise*

This was really nice! I get the feeling that Izu wishes the Singularity could hurry up so she can be more of a driving force in Aruto's growth, the same way Raiden is here. I feel like she wants to stop waiting for him to ask for help, but that's just where her programming's left her right now.

Well, for one thing, I'm not sure Aruto's generous sense of self-determination is going to roll over to a guy with a visible death wish. Like, Aruto's not blind? There's giving people room to make their own decisions, and then there's keeping people from rushing headlong into a fiery demise. I think Aruto knows which is which?

But, mostly when I talk about "the universe", I'm saying Episodes Of Kamen Rider Zero-One. I'm talking about the broader narrative. There's been cause and effect that've situated Fuwa's revenge in the realm of the Imminently Plausible, and that's a story that's trying to talk about something.

I feel like Gentaro and Raiden would have gotten along pretty well.

Actually, I just imagine Gentaro's whole solution to stopping Metsuboujinrai being "let's be friends with them!" and Aruto going "Hey, that's not a bad idea!" while Fuwa realizes there's two of them now.

Raiden! I love this guy, he's got such a great energy going for him and his relationship with his brother is surprisingly fleshed out and interesting for such a minor character. One of my favourites from the show

Vulcan has some of my favorite forms.

Anyway, this is another one of my favorite episodes, much like the previous two, the Humagear introduced being the Astronaut Brothers, are some of my favorites, especially Raiden, really fun guy, and while a minor appearance, him and his Rider form were neat.

Speaking of Rider forms, Assault Wolf, it's an interesting take on making something just completely weaponized, screaming "no chance of surviving." Yeah, it's messy, the black kind of clashes with the dark blue, but strangely, I like it. It's not my favorite suit, but I like Vulcan's forms, and this one's not bad. It also has a pretty sick debut, just going ham on Metsubojinrai and just leaving Fuwa in shambles, which yes, is the old "super dangerous form that will kill you" Secondary Rider trope, but I still like it.

And boy, can we appreciate the dedication the Astronauts go through for Aruto's bike. They just beam it down, then send it back, imagine if Riders used their bikes more than they do now (the traffic laws weren't the only thing that wanted them to limit bikes). So yeah, I like this episode and the Astronauts.

The orange jumpsuits were definitely giving me flashbacks to Fourze summer movie, and probably had me subconsciously expecting Aruto to go on some wack space-training montage.

He's very fun, and the actor does a great job imbuing him with a charming prickliness, where you feel like him and Aruto could be friends eventually.

And then the show forgets about that plot for some MetsubouJinrai shenanigans.

That's the fun twist, because normally Rider shows give the Dangerous Upgrade to the normally nice and sweet guys, to telegraph how much their decision-making is compromised by anger/guilt/etc. (Hazard Form in Build is probably the gold standard of this trope.) So to give it to the guy who already doesn't believe in half-measures against the enemy, or cares about his own survival so long as he accomplishes his mission... it's a neat way of sort of leaving the interpretation up to the audience. Again, it's a show that is way more interested in discussion than in telling you how to feel.

The whole "It's gotta be mine because it's a wolf" bit from Fuwa has always been so funny to me. I know we've established that *is* a great animal motif for the guy, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one watching that scene at the time thinking "well maybe if that was an Assault Kong Key, we'd know it's for you, ya' big gorilla." :lol

I really love Assault Wolf as a form. Especially because of the more muted color scheme compared to Shooting Wolf, it comes off almost like the gritty and grounded live-action adaptation version of Vulcan (even though he was always live-action...), and it just makes a ton of sense for Fuwa. Also the Progrise Key is a perfect example of something Bandai/PLEX excel at, in how there's that leg of the wolf on the outside that's also the jaw of the wolf on the inside. One part looks like two totally different things without actually changing shape at all. You see that kind of thing on Sentai robots often, making simple transformation schemes feel like they're still accomplishing a lot, and it always really impresses me how clever they can be.

This is an episode of Zero-One I love quite a bit, especially for how much slick setup it does of future things for the show... but that obviously makes it pretty hard to talk about right here and now. Mind you, I still really enjoyed the episode even before knowing how it fit into the bigger picture too, but I feel the best things about it are in how much it's looking forward.

Ikazuchi is pretty great, by the way. I always think of Raiden as being discount Ryuuga Banjou, and believe me when I say that's a compliment. I still remember how weird it was when this new Rider showed up and then immediately bit the dust, too. Like, I don't think anyone knew about him before the episode aired at all? It was a highly unusual debut.

I just... I really like how this show is continuously having Aruto learn lessons from Humagears. From intensely personal ones about family, to utterly practical ones like Do You Even Know How Your Company Works, it's nice to always feel like Aruto is coming from a place of cooperation and reciprocity. If some gruff Space Dock-Worker shows up in his office to berate his lack of familiarity with where all the cool bikes come from, Aruto's going to be present emotionally for that dressing down.

Assault Wolf is a suit I have feelings on for other reasons, but yeah, it certainly looks dangerous! The edge-lord version of Fuwa, just in time for his teenage phase (at least as episode counts go).

As for Ikazuchi... maybe the least interesting MBJR member yet? Even his suit is a kitbash of his predecessor, poor Dodo boy.

I like that suit a whole lot (the deep red/maroon, the flatness of the dodo in the helmet), but the first appearance was really nothing to write home about.

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 15 - “EACH ONE’S END”

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Family! It’s both a theme for this week’s episode, and a word that gets said about seven hundred times.

I like Aruto’s view of Humagears as his family. In a way, it’s nothing more than the idea of a found family – a staple of Kamen Rider shows for decades – blown up to a societal degree. It’s Aruto taking his responsibilities as both a Kamen Rider and a CEO, combining them, and amplifying them with his own unique backstory. Sort of no surprise that this episode ends with him getting a hybrid upgrade form, is it?

He’s always viewed Humagears as partners more than servants, so it makes sense that he’d form emotional attachments with the very concept of Humagears. It’s a two-way street, and it doesn’t end when it becomes inconvenient. While even Subaru initially scoffs at the idea of treating an appliance like a member of the family, it tracks with Aruto’s sense of reciprocity. If someone treats you with care, you treat them with care. If they need you, you help them. The validity of these connections has never depended on genetics, so why should it depend on biology?

Aruto’s belief that Humagears are his family is mirrored in a way with an actual Humagear family, Jin and Horobi. The fun part of that one is, in the spirit of hybridization, it’s a form of family that’s mixed up with Fuwa’s interpretation of connection… which is to say it is inextricable from things like Revenge and Obligation. All Jin exists for is a way to pass on Horobi’s goals of the Ark’s goals. It’s nothing that builds up or improves; it’s just a way to maintain hate well past the point of any articulated grudge or crime. It’s family as a trap you can’t escape, rather than a pathway to something better.

So we get this nice intersection of storytelling where Fuwa gets his revenge, Horobi sacrifices himself for duty, and Izu gets injured for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s a layered scene of seeming catharsis, that becomes one more cause for alarm.

It’s an episode that, in sort of classic Zero-One fashion, is just rolling around an idea. If found families can be a way for lonely people to make connections, can they also be weaponized against lonely people? Treating friends like family has made Aruto into who he is, but the same thing has warped Jin. The best scene of the episode is Aruto’s baffled plea to Jin about the dozens of destroyed “friends” left in Jin’s wake. How can you claim to understand concepts like family when you think it’s okay to destroy friends? The anguish on Aruto’s face isn’t the raging cruelty of Fuwa’s arguments with MetsubouJinari, it’s Aruto trying to find the humanity somewhere within a machine that everyone else would destroy. It’s Aruto arguing with a machine, on behalf of other machines.

I really like this show sometimes.

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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 04: KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE - SHINING ASSAULT HOPPER

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It’s Assault Wolf, with a Shining Hopper coat.

I don’t love it? My favorite things about Zero-One suits have been cleanliness, tight color schemes, and aerodynamics, so here’s a multicolor suit with spiked shoulderpads. It’s the busiest suit on this show yet, and it’s the exact opposite of what I enjoy in Zero-One suit design. No thanks!

(I do like how the Assault Wolf jingle is changed up to “No hope of surviving this shot.” There’s more of an intentionality to Aruto’s use of the form than Fuwa, a targeted effort rather than the suicide pact of Assault Wolf.)

The figure is equally not my thing, with a bunch of stickers that curve over parts or need to nestle into crevices just so. It’s a recipe for a figure that basically executes the design, while looking too compromised to really feel proud of.

Shining Assault Hopper is another one of those suits where I get why it looks that way – it’s literally Aruto’s hope trying to contain Fuwa’s rage, and it goes about as well as you’d expect – but I don’t love looking at it.

This is where the show realised that Is is the one Humagear character they can conceivably threaten, given the whole “no backups” rule established two episodes back.

As for Assault Hopper… I am on record as being one of the few who prefer it to regular Shining. Honestly that form looks way too dull, doesn’t really look that cool in a fight and has a really bad jingle.

Well, that’s all for today. See you next time

So haven't been talking much so I'll just talk briefly about things!

Like Raiden! Raiden's cool, wish he did a bit more though but he was certainly memorable to me and definitely enough for me to differentiate him from Little Assassin as our new Dodo. Though to be honest even if they hadn't brought in Raiden I doubt Little Assassin would have continued further than he did. But yeah, Ikazuchi is a pretty neat design, though probably my least favorite of the MBJR Designs. I do find it pretty clever they retooled the Blood Stalk bodysuit for this.

Assault Wolf is also cool in that... it's such a dangerous looking form? And it makes sense given that it was pretty much Ark created. You know that thing is bad news!

Which brings me to Shining Assault Hopper, and while this may not change your opinion... you're absolutely right in it looking weird and off. While I like it, mostly for it's mixing of two styles, it is evoking the right emotion for you Die!

Shining Hopper is a pure HIDEN Rider in terms of design and aesthetics. But then you've got the Assault Grip adding Ark made portions from Assault Wolf onto it. So it's very much not a clean HIDEN Rider anymore, it's a mix and it doesn't really feel like Zero-One's next true evolution because of the source.

Oh, so you're talking about Fuwa's self-preservance too. Then yeah it'd be something worth questioning for Aruto not trying harder to stop him. About the second part you said, it'd be tricky yeah, balancing between giving people room for decisions or intervening on people's decision. Of which it can be a damned if you do/don't situation, like being "apathetic" for the former, and being "forceful"/"imposing" for the latter.

I think Subaru isn't about refusing to gain human trait or something as a Humagear, unlike certain group here. He's just livid over Raiden's betrayal of him that he'd rather disown him. Which actually is kinda Subaru having some human traits here too, processing a terrible thing that happened to him, and react accordingly, not in favorable way, but he does. You said here to care about someone who treats you with care, but for Subaru at this moment, all the care Raiden gave him was fake due to his real identity. This seems to be about how to process a family member that is more unpleasant than you think... like having an evil dad (so many in KR) or big bro or such. This'd be quite tricky too, to talk about still acknowledging those terrible people as family which can also be interpreted as never acknowledging their crimes (as it was never addressed), and covering up their crimes due to being family.

But Jin and Horobi aren't the only actual Humagear family that appeared here, there's also Izu with Wazu before which is referenced here (for Subaru with Raiden). It's just different types of family that appeared, though the other families had someone making a fault to the other like Izu's coldness at first and (much more severe one) Raiden's treachery, Jin and Horobi displays an abusive family. Well, not completely (other example is probably Yuka was fed by her abusive parents in Faiz) like Horobi showing potential concern for Jin before Ark hijacked him here, but most of his actions towards him are still emotionally abusive. Though of course Humagear displaying terrible one can potentially spark another excuse for Fuwa, when actually there are many humans who are also abusive like this.

This contrasts about some of Izu's arc before, like her learning the word (and human trait) passion. The MetsubouJinrai.net, at least, are people who know a word, but don't properly understand the word. In this case, Jin making a hollow claim about the Humagears being his friend when he treats them like disposable underlings. It's probably out of malice, but Jin had a case of incomprehension here. Knowing the word, a.k.a, just theory, isn't necessarily enough, you gotta expose yourselves to comprehensible material too so you aren't misled.

I like how Aruto talks with Subaru and really validates his feelings about his brother and Raiden, showing the potential for Humagear's to be...well, human, and that to Aruto that is perfectly okay.

Oh hey, Vulcan finally does a Rider Kick!

Is...did you really need to stand so close to them to confirm Horobi was down for the count? Like, do you not have super vision as a machine or something? Seemed like a less than logical choice on her part even if she was determined to see if they'd succeeded.

I guess we complete Jin's character arc of flip-flopping between being an obliviously joyful collaborator in hijacking his fellow Humagears for the sake of destroying humanity...to being utterly determined to destroy humanity. And that his dad died saving him for that express purpose...feels really emotionally complex.

Shining Assault Hopper! It feels like it's really become a trend lately to have "incomplete" upgrades to where you get a form but there's always an inevitable add-on to make it feel complete (depending on how you ask) and give you the form as it was meant to be. Ironically using a device that was linked to another Riders' upgrade form. Personally I like it design-wise because I feel like the blue blends in with the black and green very well and it gives this "serious business " vibe that matches Aruto's determination as Zero-One.

Which is fine? I don't mind them treating Izu as an active participant in the combat portions of the storytelling, rather than some sort of Progrise Sommelier that hovers around the experience.

Sure, it's a bit of a hijacked form, which is interesting. We've seen the Ark suits take Hiden designs and co-opt them; now we get to find out what happens when Hiden co-opts Ark designs. Fun concept to explore, even if the finished product isn't my thing.

One of the things this episode never really gets into to my satisfaction is that Raiden didn't know he was a spy. Subaru's like My Brother Was A Spy and Team Aruto's like But He Was Also You Brother... instead of being like HE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS A SPY. I feel like that's a distinction - that the Raiden Subaru knew was 100% dedicated to both his job and his family - that's relevant to the discussion they're having?

She was weirdly excited about their victory! Or maybe she just wanted to see a dead body?

Don't really have much to add about the episode besides "it was really good" (I feel like I've been having this problem for a bit now?), but I'm more than happy to stick up for Shining Assault Hopper. I was never outright opposed to it to begin with, but I remember seeing some gallery of promotional shots for the Figuart when that was coming out or something, and for whatever reason, that made me really start to appreciate the design? I honestly think it looks gorgeous, and while vanilla Shining used to be my favorite on the strength of its debut story, nowadays I like the completed version at least as much.

And yes, apparently Shining Assault's design was actually finalized first, with them working backwards to make Shining, which explains how weird Shining looks. That's kinda what I like about that form, because it's a really fresh idea for a new era and all that, but Shining Assault Hopper takes a very traditional approach to being a power-up form. Zero-One with a silver jaw and bulky shoulder pads is a lot more normal looking, for sure, but all those details just make the suit pop. I love how the dark blue still lets the neon yellow stand out as the dominant color, and the way the lines of those colors wrap around each other without really combining, which helps communicate that each of them is coming from a different source. Ark and Zea are intertwined, but also fundamentally opposed, and they somehow managed to convey that just through the color layout. As usual for Zero-One, there's an impressive level of intent to the design. Plus, it brings back the antennae that went away with vanilla Shining, so just on that level, this suit feels more right. What's a grasshopper without his feelers!?

Oh, and while Shining Assault Hopper's debut may not have the entire story building up to it the way its incomplete version did, I do love the detail that the sun rises right after Aruto transforms. Darkness literally faded when he Shined... just in time for the Key to drop that amazing phrase. You see now why I kinda wished they saved some of those great ideas from Shining Hopper's debut?

Shining Assault has a much less cool catchprase than Shining, that's for sure. Shining Assault's is like I'M GONNA WIN THIS FIGHT, while Shining's was more My Inner Strength And Dedication Has Precluded The Chance Of Evil Surviving. I think it's clear which one is cooler!

I guess this is an example where Isamu embodies the tragic parts of Showa Rider. His admirable dedication to his mission, even at the cost of all those things. He's an unstoppable force and there's no object he cannot move, no Progrise Key he cannot pry open, so if he feels like he wants to pursue the revenge and justice that he's owed, then nobody is going to be able to talk him out of it. Even coughing up blood is something he can overcome with his pure determination, similar to Geiz Revive. That's just the kind of man he is, a Rider first, a human second, which unfortunately doesn't leave much to enjoy in his life, but he's definitely authentic in his strong beliefs and prepared to act on them.

I think the navy and black darkness with malicious red lines creates a pretty cool and imposing appearance, which is totally appropriate for a suit that was designed by the hateful edgy Ark. Even the white base suit beneath changes to a darker grey color. Easily my favorite Vulcan form so far, but without a doubt the least heroic-looking.

Oh yeah, haha, the Authorise Buster. Humorous story about that. I kind of like this weapon in the show, but Bandai's DX merchandise version has such a laughable flaw. Guess where they put the button to change between gun and axe mode?

In the muzzle! Literally the most dangerous part of a gun, they put the button there! :lol

It's a great meta excuse for the staff to limit bike scenes. In universe though, storing the bike in Zea is totally impractical.

I enjoyed seeing Isamu and Raiden butt heads, due to how similar they are on the surface with their inclination towards yelling and confrontations. It's the first time we've seen a HumaGear show their singularity in a prideful way, with Raiden actually standing up for himself and not just taking Isamu's rudeness. Unfortunately, this ambitious HumaGear suddenly goes all My Name Is Viktor Reznov on everybody by turning in to his original Ikazuchi identity, leaving his little brother Subaru alone to figure out what he should do and whether or not his familial relationship was even real.

I recall there was speculation at the time that Ansatsu-chan was going to become Kamen Rider Ikazuchi, since we didn't know there was an actual dude called Ikazuchi. It was a little sad to see Ansatsu-chan reach his peak so soon, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Technically, if you consider that HumaGears were all manufactured by Korenosuke, "born" from him, then it makes sense why Aruto would see them as family. They're all his aunts and uncles, basically, even Horobi and Jin. I mean, some people will say something trite like, "blood is thicker than water", but oil is even thicker, you know? Like how Seiji commissioned Seine to be his replacement daughter, yeah, that example is a little messed up, but it's better than treating someone as a disposable tool. HumaGears were invented to help humanity, therefore, humanity should engage emotionally with HumaGears to bring out the best in them. Any healthy relationship depends on symbiosis, mutual gain and respect, or else it will eventually stagnate or fall apart.

I think the yellow and blue work as polar opposite colors, with Zero One representing the rift between humans and HumaGears, Zea and Ark. It has more details to look at anyway, with all the new attachments over Shining and introducing the Shine System. A neat detail is the chest reactor, which changes from Assault Wolf's malicious red to a compassionate blue, which is also the brand color of Hiden Intelligence.

That seems like a slightly dangerous lesson to teach children, that fun things happen when you put your fingers inside gun barrels.

I wonder if that's true for a lot of "incomplete" forms.

KAMEN RIDER - REIWA: THE FIRST GENERATION

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zeroone/reiwa1.png

ALL DADS ARE DEAD.

I remember it being a thing I first started saying during the Ghost thread. It’s an insane mortality rate, being a father in Kamen Rider. Aruto loses his biological father as a baby. (I think this movie is the first time that’s actually referenced?) He loses his Humagear father in a flashback in Episode 1 of the TV series. And now here we are in the Zi-O crossover movie, which means we are one thousand percent traveling back in time to have full-grown Aruto watch his Humagear dad die again.

It’s all the lowest-hanging daddy issues shit, and I can generally take or leave it. This franchise is lousy with dudes who lost one or both parents at a narratively convenient off-screen age – all the better to facilitate an endless number of kindly uncles or oblivious grandfathers or well-meaning belts. I don’t honestly know why Toei’s internal policy is that living parents are detrimental to the sales of toys to children, but I’ve never done any focus-testing in Japan. Maybe every child in Japan is actually being raised by a mysterious benefactor who found them suffering from amnesia in the rain, and is secretly training them to bring about the end of the world, and they want to see their lives reflected back at them. I don’t know! But I do know that All Dads Are Dead.

Having Aruto travel back to 2007 and interact with his deceased robot dad, it’s largely an irrelevant tangent. While it’s a formative trauma, and helped Aruto crystalize his own belief in the humanity of Humagears, there was no real mystery lingering in the narrative. Headphones Dad blew up in an already-explained explosion, directly in front of Aruto. Moreover, there’s really nothing in Aruto’s first dozen episodes that feels like it’d be improved by some one-on-one time with Headphones Dad. This isn’t Sento, who needs to understand some element of his own past, or Takeru, who is explicitly following in his father’s footsteps. Aruto doesn’t seem to require any closure from his dad?

So to see this movie not only go all in Aruto Requires Closure From His Dad, but then hinge the entire climax on the film with Aruto needing to physically defeat AND KILL his own father to prove that he’s capable of being his own man… I hate that? I hate almost every word of that, and it all feels antithetical to every single smart thing this show ever did. The scene of Headphones Dad tearfully telling Aruto how proud is he of Aruto, finally, because Aruto was able to murder him – for COMPLETELY FAKE REASONS – made me so angry I almost turned it off. Aruto fighting his dad is gross. Headphones Dad faking being evil to force Aruto into a fight is disgusting. The movie deciding that Aruto executing his father is both an unavoidable and deeply noble act, that should be celebrated, is horrifying.

Everything story-wise with Headphones Dad is infuriating. It’s insulting. And it’s all the more aggravating for how much else in this movie I liked.

I mean, sort of. There’s an idea in here that I think is worth exploring, even if the movie never really wants to discuss it in a meaningful way. It’s in the scene where Will is talking to Aruto’s grandfather about the recent promotional push for the Humagear launch. Hiden is positioning the Humagears as a way to bring smiles to humanity. Will askes, simply, how will humanity bring smiles to Humagears? It’s a fair question, and a smart question. Hiden can say that Humagears are partners to humanity, but everything about them is sold as slave labor. What is humanity doing to uplift Humagears? Aruto’s grandfather basically goes You’re So Clever and immediately leaves the room, so we never even get to hear even a bullshit platitude to placate Will, and I’m starting to understand his genocidal rage. This is a question core to both this movie, and the series as a whole, and almost no one wants to address it. What we’re given is just Don’t Do A Genocide, and I’m not sure that gets at the fundamental imbalance in the human/Humagear relationship?

I don’t… I don’t like how dumb this movie was about the things it’s usually smart about. The action was great, across the board, and the concept of Darkest Timeline With Robots is a great mid-point between Zero-One and Zi-O. The pieces were there to do something at least inoffensive, if not exceptional. But the focus on an unnecessarily shitty dad (who just wholesale participates in a genocide for a decade, I guess?) and an avoidance of difficult philosophical questions makes the whole thing seem like it doesn’t get anything about Zero-One.

Zi-O does not fare that much better! Team Zi-O’s incredibly charming in this, old pros showing how it’s done, and incredibly wasted in this. The movie never quite finds a way to integrate Sougo’s worldview into the narrative, leaving him and Geiz and Tsukuyomi and Woz to hover at the edges and deal with a bland I’m Here To Talk About Generations And Riders villain. (I don’t know why there are still more Timejackers???) They feel like they’re guest-starring on someone else’s show, rather than collaborating on an exciting new adventure. They’re a plot device to get Aruto moving back and forth in time, and that’s about it. You could take out the Another Ichigou stuff entirely and it wouldn’t affect either the plot or the themes.

I dislike thinking about this movie. I cannot believe they made a story that resurrected Headphones Dad, just so Aruto could heroically murder him. I can’t figure out why it was ever a story worth telling, and then telling it in this way. It made me like Kamen Rider Zero-One less as a concept, and possibly as a character.

—

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 06: KAMEN RIDER ZEROZERO-ONE

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/zeroone/reiwa2.jpg

Here’s the twist: ZeroZero-One is maybe my favorite suit in the entire series.

It’s been my favorite since before I even knew what it was. (I thought it was, like, a proto-form?) It’s everything I love about Rising Hopper, but mixed with everything I love about the MetsubouJinrai suits. It beautifully mixes the speed and COLOR of Zero-One with the tactical bad-assery of his foes. It feels like a weapon dropped onto a battlefield, but one that’s here to provide a rescue. It’s the Shining Assault Hopper I wish we’d got.

The SO-DO is equally impressive. A ton of stickers, but used smartly. (Well, mostly. There are two stickers for the upper arms that are basically invisible.) The shins are three stickers each that look like one when they’re applied. It takes some time, but nothing’s aggravating or unclear. And the end result is, to my eyes, a premium-looking figure.

I love this suit as much as I hate this movie’s story, which is a little annoying to me. But! I love this suit.

It's Reiwagen Time!

-I actually missed out on this movie bc I hadn't watched Zi-O when I first watched 01, and like, forgot the movie existed after finishing it up Zi-O. Let's give it a proper first watch!

-I think this is the first and only time we see where Aruto lives? It's a cozy apartment, its kinda cute?

As soon as we got to the Hikarigomi segment, I got the biggest grin on my face. -You really don't know what you have until you go a long while without it, and man! I missed the Zi-O kids and Woz? It's kinda weird seeing Sougo as the "senior"(Aruto is still older than him, so it feels a bit weird calling him that, huh) Rider when his show was more or less about him being the new kid on the Rider block,, Since this is largely a 01 story, they're just here for the ride/extra hands to fight, but its nice to see them! (Also hey! I really like Sougo moving through all of his major upgrades in the movie, saving Grand Zi-O for last.)

-As with any Zi-O-related plot, we've got a bunch of timeline-messing shenagians! It's a strange AU where Humagears have nearly completely taken over the planet? Ik we only have so much time, but I do wonder about all the changes to Humagears made to themselves in order to maintain an all Humagear soicety. (Like, the mere concept of child/teenage Humagears brings up a lot of questions imo! Do they purely exist to fufill regular Humagears's desire to have families? Can they "age", or are they permamently adolscent? Do they partly exist to continue to provide roles for Humagears bulit for childcare/educational purposes?)

-Hey, it's 001! The 01 suit, now MJBR flavored! Don't really have any strong feelings about it, but cool that it exists! I amittedly haven't watched alot of the Rider movies, but surely this suit is notable for being the primary suit in the movie in comparsion to the "save it for the big moment" usages of movie-exculsive suits ive seen.

-Ichigata's a real neat suit, direct inspiration from Ichigou rather than lightly referencing it like 01! Enjoyed all the cute refrences.

Finis definitely has the best wardrobe out of all the Time Jackers, right? Straight up goregous. What isn't goregous, is that Another Ichigou. Sufficenly freaky, I love the whole centaur look, honestly?

-Depsite this being a Hiden family story, it kinda.....throws Koronosuke under the damn bus? Going "well *Soreo* was the one who created the KR system and was cruical in making sure Ark's plans were thwarted", and all Koronsosuke gets to do is realize Will's plans before it's too late, it's a little......At the very least, I wanted to know why the guy thought giving his orphaned grandson a Humagear dad was better than raising Aruto himself?

If you asked me my thoughts on this movie: It sure does exist? I honestly feel very little about this movie's narrative? Like, Finis's whole deal in this movie is to essentially just give Sougo something to do while Aruto is Going Through It, their motives personally made less sense than whatver Tid was up to in Heigen Forever? The Soreo and Aruto part.....no. Really disappointing on all fronts. I fail to see how re-traumatizing your own son will help him take his own path, or whatever this movie is trying to say. If you *really* wanted to dig into Soreo's deeds in the past, make a TTFC special or something. The other part of the special, in that Heigen way of exnaming Kamen Riders, is trying to re-affirm Aruto's core ideals and how his actions as a Kamen Rider will shape the new era....the problem is, I feel like the show already does a fine job of doing that? Granted, there's only so much you can with a movie's runtime, but by the time this movie came out, the show has done a good job, establishing, pushing back, and reinforcing his ideals? The movie largely feels a mishmash of undercooked ideas slathered up in 01-standard action on steroids, it kinda left an odd taste in my mouth.


(........Since Die occasionally like to mention those wacky train kids on occasion, I will mention the Humagear teacher is played by Shin Nagahama, who played Nijino Akira/ToQ 6 in Toqger!)

So to start off with, you probably recognise the guy playing Will as Jin, Taro’s “not-dad” from Donbrothers.

And onto the production info. Which is somehow more detailed on the actual plot that the movie itself is.

The Time Jacker who started all of this is called Finis (Swedish for “the end”), though what her motive is differs between sources. The official synopsis states that she was trying to prevent the destruction of Daybreak Town (which doesn’t jibe with what we see of her in the movie), while Shirakura says that she’s a minion of Schwartz who’s trying to avenge his death by destroying everything Sougo helped create. (I only hope that when Sougo reset everything this time, he gave her a position as, the school secretary, or something).

And now for the return of an old favourite. The “compare and contrast” between the Another Riders and their originals.

Aruto is is a human who inherited Hiden Intelligence from his grandfather after his death from natural causes and believes in a future where humans and AI can smile together. Will on the other hand is a Humagear who stole the company by murdering said grandfather and believes the only happy future is one where AI has eliminated humanity.

And for the second one, Takeshi Hongo is a young man who was kidnapped and forcibly turned into a monster, setting off the lineage of heroic Kamen Riders. Finis is a Time Jacker who willingly turned herself into a monster to create a lineage of villainous Kamen Riders and is the last of the Time Jackers.

Design wise, Another Zero-One continues the trend of extinction motifs, by being based on the Rocky Mountain Locust (as is Ichigata). As for Another Ichigou, aside from regular Ichigou being a Shocker monster, the second form’s spider legs evoke his first monster, the Spider Man. And just as Another Kuuga has no thumbs, Another Ichigou has no feet, which you should realise the significance of.

Overall, I wasn’t that keen on this movie. The plot isn’t that great, the visuals are very uninteresting and whoever edited the sound for it should be fired, since the mixing is atrocious.

Break Down

This movie is what got me to realize the significance in those words from the Force Riser, and in turn made it my second favorite belt in the show.

While it's by no means perfect, I really like this movie. The action is top notch as always, the characters are engaging and/or interesting, and the emotional core of it all: the test of Aruto's resolve and if he's really willing to fight for what he believes in regardless of who his opponent might be, really worked for me.

The Zi-O stuff is whatever, but Aruto and his father really shined here, which is definitely what the whole movie hinges on. Easily the best movie that Zero-One has to offer.

This being a 01 x Zi-O movie really feels like it didn't think any further than "The time-travelling crew takes the current main hero to the past!", given how the Zi-O cast just... basically are time tourists along for the ride after that point. I don't even remember Sougo and Aruto having any moments together other than that bizarre ending scene and the inevitable team-up fight with Grand (which I swear Momotaros' actor gave a voice cameo for)

One thing that is nice though is that Tsukuyomi is just... a part of that gang as a Rider with no need for explanation, and just treating it like she had been the whole series. It's also a thing in Geiz Majesty and Decade vs Zi-O, so it's neat to see it be that consistent after her form's really horrible debut in the series itself

You might be interested to know that Revice defies this trend. The KR siblings' dad is not only still alive but part of the supporting cast as he runs the business that acts as Revi's home base and is always around.

So this movie!

As always, we get Tsukuyomi transforming in the tradition of "Let's use the Tsukuyomi suit as much as possible post series". Though this is the last thing you haven't covered that she was in so...

ICHIGATA!!!

Ichigata is my favorite suit from Zero-One (Ironic considering what my profile picture is, don't worry it's fittingly #2), it has a lot of good heft to it, is a really cool reference to Ichigo, bringing him into the modern era with a more mechanical aesthetic... and he has an energy scarf. I love energy cloth accessories, so if you give me an energy cape, scarf, etc? I will eat it up!

I actually surprisingly liked the movie myself, but to each their own!

I like how Zi-O seemingly separated all the Rider Worlds and yet that still isn't preventing crossovers.

I dunno, the conflict between Aruto and his dad worked for me. Maybe it's because their suits were so amazing, the fight so dynamic, and Aruto gaining a new understanding of his father and what he did to help others and how much he really cared about Aruto...to me it was the emotional core of the whole movie. And I just loved those suits.

I like the concept of Another Zero-One. Like, design-wise it fits a lot as a more monster version of Zero-One and continuing the trend of Another Riders up to that point, and having it be a Humagear fighting for the sake of other Humagears makes for a great parallel to Aruto. And yet...I don't feel they emotionally resolved him quite so well? I feel like Aruto should've been the one to ultimately confront him instead of Fuwa and Yua coldly slaying him no problem because there was no real emotional catharsis or reaction to his genuine concerns about Humagears.

I like Finis design-wise even if she's even more razor-thin than most Time Jackers. And Another Ichigo...well, like, the Showa Riders were never really relevant to Zi-O but I guess in a theme about a new generation inspired by Ichigo on several fronts, it makes sense.

I like that the movie showed off a lot of forms, like all of Zi-O's upgrades, team Zi-O fighting together as a team, and while Zero-One doesn't get a movie upgrade or Shining Hopper, he gets to fight alongside Grand Zi-O in all his forms before they finish with a Double Rider Kick in their base forms, which was neat for a final fight.

I always found it interesting that Korenosuke is such a pivotal character to Aruto, his character arc, and his entire job really...and they never interact on-screen. Like, there's never one scene of them together or face-to-face between the actors, it's all in absentia. Aruto reacts to his grandfather's actions and legacy but never to his grandfather himself.

Also, the implications that Korenosuke made a Humagear of his own son to raise his grandson...was he so consumed by grief and the effect it would have on Aruto that he didn't think he had any other choice? Was he on some level testing the depths they could go to with Humagears? Why didn't he build a Humagear of Aruto's mother? Did he feel he was already playing God too much? Was he just razor-focused on his own son? Did he not think Aruto needed a mother?

I know Jin and Horobi were currently the major villains, but wow...they tanked a triple Rider Kick and didn't even de-transform!

Sougo setting up Heisei vs Reiwa early with a quick Zi-O and Zero-One fight. I like to think Aruto won though.
They kind of investigated together (I think they were confronted by Soren together) and Sougo helped emotionally support Aruto a bit. We didn't get a lot of them together but I felt like they had good chemistry, plus it was fun seeing Sougo be a Rider Senpai.

Yeah, it always irked me how Aruto's feelings about his grandfather are all very vague and in reference to his legacy as Hiden's president...but not as his grandfather? It's never impiled or hinted at what Korenosuke's dynamic with Aruto was like post-Soreo's destruction and pre-Episode 1 (Like, we are supposed to assume he took care of Aruto personally during that time? Or the way they're implied to be slightly estranged in Ep 1 is supposed to mean he just shipped him off somewhere while he focused on maintaining Hiden?)

(Aruto's mother is such a nonexistent concept (we don't hear a lick about her ever iirc) that it makes me think Aruto's real dad just invested in the adoption/surrogate process as a single father. As for Korenosuke's choice.....I don't know about you, but no matter how cool my robot parent turned out to be, the fact that my only living relative would rather do that, than yknow, actually spend time raising me, I'd be a little miffed personally.)

I'm trying to think of Main Riders with significant mother figures.

Tendo had his grandmother but that was about it.

Ryotaro's older sister was basically his mother.

Wataru's mother was fairly plot relevant (and Megumi was kind of defined by her own mother) even if she only really did any actual mothering in, like, the last few episodes of Kiva.

Kota was another instance of a characters' older sister basically being his mother.

Sento's mom showed up for two episodes (but those were some very emotionally impactful two episodes).

The question of why Aruto not only wasn't cared for by his grandfather after his died is one of MANY questions I have regarding that family.

-What happened to Aruto's mother?

-Why does Grampa Hiden make a robot dad, but not a robot mom?

-What happens after Headphones Dad is blown up? Does Aruto just live in an orphanage for the next decade?

Aruto and his grandad never feel like they had some being falling out, but that old man avoided Aruto like he was radioactive. A lot of questions left to answer!

I KNEW I KNEW HIM FROM SOMEWHERE. Thank you!

And onto the production info. Which is somehow more detailed on the actual plot that the movie itself is.

I'm glad you had a good time with it!

I'm glad to see her at least on Woz'z level, as far as usefulness in fights. That's the bare minimum!

That said, my favorite scene for her in this movie was trying to wrangle Geiz in 2007, when he's just doing combat rolls in front of every robot he sees. Her being some perennially-overworked Time Mom is intensely nostalgic for me.

That's good to hear! All Dads Are Dead needs to stay in Heisei!

It's a very good suit! My second-favorite series-wide, maybe, after ZeroZero-One. All the Ichigou touches are great, and it even references the bulk Dad Ichigou suit from the Ghost movie!

Yeah, there's a real narrative shrug here, with Woz going I Guess They're Combining Again. I don't care, it's just a movie, and we need them to team-up. But still! Not a ton of effort on justifying the return of a lot of the elements Sougo sacrificed so much to eliminate.

Yeah, all dads are dead so far (until Revice as said above which is fully against this), and it's not Toei exclusive thing, many characters in series are made independently without their parents in general. It's probably done solely for story's sake, and as it seems that some people tend to forget non-tragic backstories, many backstories are made by filling it with tragedy (of which some think that type is the only one qualified as backstory), and the loss of parents are easy way and thus a popular choice. Either to satisfy what they think people demand or that this type of backstory had been done so much some people forget about the more normal backstories. Or that they'd want to avoid writing parents if they can't do so, and it'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone to provide what they think are compelling backstory and a reasonable excuse to not write about parents.

This is an altered time of Zero-One, the alternate timeline to have... all of this happening so it's separate from the main series, but yeah it does betray the principle of Aruto having a good, loving Humagear dad that fueled his worldview, because here, though he's not operating in malice, he seems to be a dad who gave poor upbringing to Aruto, like his view of his son being ready to be on his own is the.. outdated Spartan way of besting him in a fight? Along with the complicated setup like feigning being corrupted with Ark to make sure that the fight is done to the death so Aruto can be "independent". Why making yourself dead in the process? Kids would rather have their parents around right even if they're already an adult. Another showing of Soreo having poor grasp of being a parent here. This is an alter(ed)nate timeline, but dunno if Soreo would pull BS like this?

Korenosuke is definitely well-intentioned and sticks to his principles, and he does have preparation in the main series when the robotic war happens, like Zea to fabricate the Zero-One Driver and give Izu orders, but here yeah, he really does have a severe lack of foresight here and can unintentionally cause some problems himself. He outright deflected Will's question here. This is an example of miscommunication (TM) that plagued the conflict. I also even think that Korenosuke had a lack of foresight when announcing how humans would be free from work at the presentation, and.. so where'd humans get their incomes? Though in the series he doesn't believe in androids stealing human's jobs. Though of course, Will's genocidal rage is probably understandable but he'd target far more than just Korenosuke, but humans who don't have anything to do with him. This movie actually displayed about how Ark worked, it corrupts and brainwashes the Humagears into submitting to its... will. Will himself actually isn't brainwashed though as a twist and used Ark to accompany him.

I have to say that Finis (that Time Jacker's name, obviously, it's based on “finish”, or "end" as in Latin, as so far the last Time Jacker to appear. Also based on finis word that in Swedish, typically means "closing time" or "the end") has stunning outfit, but that's about it. They (Finis' genderless as per actress interview) only had wanting revenge for Swartz, for unknown reasons why one would be fiercely loyal to total scumbag like him.... and some misleading trailer that painted Finis as a someone who tried to alter Zero-One's history to prevent the tragedy of Daybreak Town, but the end product had Finis wiping the history of Kamen Riders instead, like Tid from Heisei Generations Forever. But perhaps, with all your complaining here, the Zi-O part is done so... none of these can be seen as canon as all of those are altered timeline? (crossovers are probably usually done for fan-service). Character wise, I'd say that here, Woz is actually being mostly helpful to others instead of his usual hidden selfish agenda schemings (other than typical hammy debutings).

I'm also left wondering what happened to the Aruto of this timeline, since a) Headphones Dad didn't get blown up to leave him a double-orphan this time; and b) the AIMS crew knows exactly who he is, so he must still be around in the present? (As a criminal/fugitive, based on every Humagear trying to hunt him down.) So, like, what was Headphones Dad doing with his human son during a global purge of humanity for an entire decade? Please stop doing alternate timelines if you aren't going to put any effort into it, Kamen Rider!