Kamen Rider Zi-O Episode 44- "The Call Of Aqua 2019!"
 

Sougo investigates a number of recent disappearances when he is confronted by a Rider from the future, determined to return to the 2050s.

Thought this was a good episode~

Apparently, Tsukuyomi's real name is Alpina? I wonder what that means, if anything (Swartz sounds like Schwartz/Black).

Aqua was a fun cameo. Another Drive came in to screw around with everyone. Did not expect Hora to be Another Drive, though a buncha other people did. Maybe I'm just clueless.

Zi-O didn't hambone his Grand buttons. Still disappointed about that. ;_;

Otherwise, nice episode. :D

Didn't catch what Tsukuyomi's real name was...
Still salty what happened to Tsukasa though he seems cool about it. Probs gonna major troll Swartz later in the show.

Still Aqua pulling that shorts out of nowhere was absolutely hilarious... xD
Major callout to the guy who freed him from possession... xD

Alpina is alpine white. Alpina relates to watches as well.

As for Ora being Another Drive? That's just its ability as the Roidmudes to copy someone.

Alpina always seemed like a car thing to me.

I swear if that's because Switzerland (located in the Alps) is responsible for half of the world production of watches I'm going to cut my own throat :'D

I already thought Swartz was Switzerland + Quartz, but now...

I started to think the Time Jackers probably have some connections with Ganma civilization.....

Very solid episode.

Interesting that Aqua has his own Time Mazin, and a prototype at that. It's awesome that they got Michal's actor back since he was only in a single film. But I like how they build on his role and give him the position of a time enforcer. It works with his backstory in MegaMax where he ended up returning to 2011. And he's from 2051 - Tsukuyomi's timeline, based on when Tsukasa took her back in the Kabuto arc, happens in 2058, so it's reasonable to believe Michal would know who she is.

Then there is his goal of bringing Geiz back to 2068, contrasting with how Sougo is open to letting the ex-Time Jacker's call Kujigoji-Do home. I think this is a good way to develop Geiz's character - to show that he doesn't necessarily NEED to be there anymore, he just wants to be, but it's hard for him to accept that.

Glad to see Tsukasa's still in the picture and his scene with Tsukuyomi was quite moody. It's nice to clear up his motivations, if only a little.

Sougo is a really nice guy and his scene with Uhr felt really quite genuine. On the ex-Time Jacker side, it was funny to see Ora struggle with cooking and also Sougo's uncle shocked at how Michal was eating the okonomiyaki wrong.

This wasn't a Drive tribute but the presence of Another Drive made this kind of feel like one. I think the design is pretty cool and it's nice to see the "Donyori" effect again. Fits with the theme of the Another Rider's having the monster powers of the respective show it represents. Another Drive being Ora was pretty twisty too.

Aqua pulling out Eiji's "tomorrow pants" was a great callback (especially with the TaToBa jingle) but must have seemed super awkward to those who haven't seen MegaMax lol. I love Aqua's henshin, the belt effects are a throwback to Showa-era Rider henshin's. Fight scene was great too with tons of practical water effects.

And we finally learn more on Tsukuyomi. Her real name is Alpina and she is the source of the timelines converging since she is from a different reality altogether. It seems like the A.R concept from Decade is coming back full-force, first with Tsukuyomi's story and also with Schwarz's goal. From the brief glimpse we got of the kidnapped runner in the beginning, I can only theorize that Schwarz is kidnapping people to populate his own Alternate Reality.

And as Another Decade, he summons Riders from separate realities too. The assortment of movie Riders was exciting to see, since we've seen a few of these guys so sparingly. Fuma, Rey, and Dark Ghost didn't do much but the guys at Toei seem to LOVE G4's missile launcher.

Lastly, with Drive's RideWatch still being a big deal and considering all the attention it's been given, it will be a real bummer when it doesn't get addressed in the show and relegated to the film instead. Unless they have some other surprises for us. Kind of doubt it, but we do see Drive fighting alongside Grand Zi-O next week. All of this seems like it's building up to some kind of huge Drive tribute, so hopefully the film delivers on that promise (though it doesn't seem likely, based on everything I've seen).

Oh, and Daido Katsumi/Eternal's back next week. That's a pleasant surprise! I honestly didn't see this one coming but it makes a ton of sense. He's tight with Toei and TV-Asahi and his actor also sang "SURPRISE DRIVE". So it's kind of a double-tribute (no pun intended), if you will.

Another Decade can summon other Riders are reference to Narurtaki's Rider summoning ability......

I got to say Ora becoming Another Drive was something I did not see coming. Well played Zi-O, well played.

Well as Tv Tropes points out, Ora is the opposite of Shinnosuke and Mr. Belt, in terms of character arc and relationships respectively.

That’s not Ora! That’s Another Drive’s ability similar to the Roidmudes! Copying someone!

Well, that's the first time I see Kamen Rider Aqua.
His Henshin is quite...hum....old school right?

I kinda like it.

This episode was good but weird, I don't see Tsukuyomi and Geiz going back to the future....It's more like, I don't want to see that.

Also, To who Geiz was saying that "he" was creating a sinister future?
To Schwartz? Sougo?

None of that would have happened if it wasn't for Daiki Kaito...He really fucked up Sougo's world this time >.>

I wonder if all this is a plan coming from Ohma Zi-O.

And in the end, is Ohma Zi-O really Sougo?
It was established to be him but I still have my doubts.

Henshinzero, welp, good point you're raising! It might be just that which confuses the hell of the viewer if he doesn't remember this detail.

And now that I think about it. Schwartz got the power of the NeoDecadriver, not the old one.
Perhaps Tsukasa still has that.

Yeah, Aqua's pretty old-school; essentially he is to water what Ichigo is to air, though Ichigo's air/wind stuff kind of gets forgotten. I liked that he actually had separate powers ('comes from the future but uses the same driver' is a surprisingly common point), which makes him fit in pretty neatly here.

One thing I like is that they showed Eternal appearing in the next episode around the same time Marvel announced details on their Eternals movie. Purely coincidence but a funny one

According to Aqua, he mentioned that the presence of Tsukuyomi and Geiz are the main reason why oma zi o is there in the first place. This is an important hint to why or how oma zi o become so powerful.

If the power of time control can be passed on to another, plus the fact that oma zi o is indeed sougo future self (the possibility of an alternate sougo, parallel world version). Oma zi-o is = sougo grand zi o + Tsukuyomi powers + parallel world version.

Hey everyone, guess what time it is!

https://i.imgur.com/amEGe6H.jpg

Time for me to put that last arc behind, because Zi-O is firmly back on track for the final stretch. I mean, Shimoyama is writing again and we get a returning character from a Kobayashi series? Like I could be anything other than satisfied.

This episode goes a long way to further prove the notable difference I feel exists between the two writers this show has had. There aren't any particularly crazy, fun concepts to the plot, but it's just as exciting because it compensates with way more in-depth character work. Mind you, Tsukuyomi is still failing to impress me with her uncanny ability to stand around looking sad, but beyond that, there's boatloads of excellent development here. The backstabbing drama between the Time Jackers is heating up to a point where it's become genuinely interesting, Geiz feels like he's about to take another huge step forward, and Sougo was perfectly on-point, showcasing that trademark "anything goes" kind of wisdom only he can offer.

Speaking of which, Aqua was great in this episode. I didn't know what to expect out of him, but the way Miharu is written here, with all those little moments of normal human awkwardness that you don't usually get out of characters in a dramatic show like this, was extremely true to how naturally characters in OOO were written, and that contrast was fun. I appreciate that he apparently actively carries those underpants around, too.

The whole episode kept me super engaged the whole time. It was also a nice reminder of why I say Zi-O has unusually tight writing. So much happened I was legitimately convinced the episode was about to end when Another Drive's identity was revealed, but that wasn't even close. It even pushes past the first time Zi-O and Geiz get blown up in slow-motion (one of the all-time classic ways Rider cliffhangers play out) to have Swartz summon a bunch of movie Riders to blow them up in slow-motion again. Now that's what I call fanservice.

The only complaint I have is once again Grand Zi-O. I'm trying to lower my expectations, but why even summon the Handle Sword if you aren't going to turn that wheel? I get that Drive himself barely did that after a while, but within the context of this show, surely you want to demonstrate the things that make all these different Rider powers unique, right? Because after the first couple times he's pulled out other Riders' swords, it's starting to lose some impact.