Kamen Rider Zero-One Episode 22- "He Didn't Do It!" Discussion
 

With ZAIA on the verge of a clean sweep in the corporate competition, Fuwa uncovers a crucial bit of evidence that may turn the tide.

I'm going to be gutted when Metal Cluster eventually goes into the "rolling" phase, as that was a cool intro to it. He beat Thouser, who was handing his ass to him since his intro, by just standing still.

Well from looking at the livestream today, Metal Cluster, very horrifying transformation and very messed up. Really nicely handled, especially the save at the end by Fuwa, dude can pry off just about anything. The swarm of hopper locusts acting like nanotech/microbots was really cool. But...

It doesn't seem to lead anywhere aside from Aruto suffering more and there being something that can easily beat Thouser.

Hiden wins yeah so the buyout isn't happening yet, but Gai still gets the last laugh and is smug despite getting his shit wrecked. As a result it doesn't even feel like a victory. So needless to say the debut was a tad disappointing because it doesn't feel like anything moved forward.

Raw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT0-Wh9cn6s

This is more yabei! than Hazard Build. Goddamn this is good.

And yeah Fuwa can just brute force anything at this point.

And F*** you Yua! I believed in you!

Metal Cluster Hopper looks badass!
Can't wait to see this form in Figuarts form (though I doubt a weapon will be included).

Metal Cluster Hopper is great! But I fear that after 2 weeks his ability to project forms and objects out of the tiny grasshoppers will be dropped entirely because budget and he will result to only hitting people with his sword...

Why shouldn’t they? It will be Web-Exclusive anyways. No reason not to include it. They will definitely force you to use the Attache Calibur that comes with Vulcan for the combined mode, but I doubt that they wouldn’t include the Progrise Hopper Blade.

Wow..... Remember when I said I dislike silver forms? Metal Cluster subverted my opinion. I don't know what exactly that makes me love the suit, but it just looks beautiful in action.

Which still makes me sad when OOO dropped the bleeding Cell Medal thing.

This is not Metal Cluster Hopper's true debut. Much like how Shining Hopper's first fight/debut with Dodo wasn't. Notice how when Thouser presses the progrise key button and places it on Aruto it says: "Metal Cluster's Ability" and not "Everybody Jump!"

Metal Cluster Hopper's true heroic debut is with the Hopper Blade.

I forgot all about the Progrise Hopper Blade for a second :o.

I was never a big fan of twin-bladed weapons (although I don't outright hate them either), so it won't bother me too much if they didn't include the Attache Calibur for it.

I wonder how this will turn out. I like how they handled Shining Hopper, let's see what Metal Cluster's "true" debut looks like.

To be fair, it wasn't in this episode ;)

It also doesn’t work as well as, for example, the Daidaimaru & Musou Saber combo from Gaim either; the colors and different styles just clash too much IMO. But hey, let’s see what this puppy can do in the show before I make my final judgment.

So I guess one of my speculations sorta came true in that his consciousness is not completely hi-jacked but rather he just helplessly watches himself wreak havok. And the swarm of grasshoppers, THAT IS A FRIGHTENING SIGHT. Oh yeah, next episode we get a Go-Busters reunion. This means all three main Go-Busters have now appeared in a Kamen Rider Episode recently as guests since, let us not forget, Takahiro Suzuki who played Hiromu/Red Buster was Kamen Rider Quiz in Zi-O.

Kinda like a swam of locusts, which incidentally, look similar to grasshoppers.

Fight today were really good. Even the ones not involving Metalcluster were really good.
Especially Fuwa henshin scene was truly exceptional.

I'm disappointed by Yua. At first you would think she is kind of blackmailed or pressured by Gai to work for him, but that smile she gives when he praises her when handling the metalhopper. urgh I dislike it so much.

I continue to hate Gai so much. "the humagears have caused more harm than good" => yeah. because of you that is. What a flawed logic... I really hope after this arc, Gai doesn't become a regular character, and certainly not a good guy like the trend is in KR nowadays, or i'll be really mad.

I liked the fact Aruto investigating ZAIA happens in a trial/courtroom based episode. Feels like an Ace Attorney reference.

Here's the thing, I could care less about a true debut or whatever they have planned. We've been stuck on the same pattern for 6 weeks with this Tournament Arc. We look to be dragging out the contest further by not focusing on it next week and the week after in favor of a Metal Cluster Arc. And I hate that because this Tournament Arc is not the most fun to watch at all. The fact is, that after 6 weeks Gai is still a smug boring villain that really brings down the debut because of his "Yes this is all as planned" mentality.

Is it cool and horrifying, yes! But that's not what I wanted from a form debut given the preceding weeks of this show.

I was hoping that the form would give us some kind of change, but it looks like we have to wait another 2 weeks for anything actual meaningful to happen. And I really hate that. Especially given Zero-One's snappier pacing beforehand in regards to arcs. Everything is just dragging and I hate it.

Still Fuwa continues to be the MvP of this entire arc and I will hopefully stan him till this show ends.

Izu is the best. And the episode was very well done,nice "pseudo"-debut of this frightening form just chock-ful of(wonder what the "improved" version will be like? ...pure spec there..) METALLIC SWARMS OF ANGRY GRASSHOPPERS

While a nice intro to MCH, I'm still waiting for this arc to finish, cause it's been a real drag.
Plus I really can't stand Aruto now. The screechy voice just gets on my nerves.

https://i.imgur.com/MpDlGd4.jpg

THIS! THIS IS THE ZERO-ONE I REMEMBER FROM LAST YEAR!

I mean, not the character! Last time I checked Aruto doesn't go around strangling people! But the show! This episode is spectacular!

I'm honestly shocked just how much this one stuck the landing. The first part was already a huge improvement over what we'd been getting, but the conclusion tops even that, finally bringing back that edge-of-your-seat excitement that I've come to expect from Rider shows written by Yuuya Takahashi. I just... where do I even start? Alright, in no particular order:

- Direction direction direction! Sugihara delivers on some truly astonishing action here, from Zero-One and Thouser's fight at the start which shows how much mileage he can get out of Shining Assault Hopper's speed, to Zero-One and Thouser's fight at the end, where he just plain shows off by somehow making a fight where Zero-One is standing still look dynamic. Wow.

- Fuwa gets to be a crazier Ichijou from Kuuga and a less crazy Nago from Kiva, going all bounty hunter on Aruto's behalf, which is awesome.

- A lot more of the themes being advanced, with Aruto getting let in on even more plot points the audience has been privy to for a while.

- On which note, Aruto gets some of his best characterization yet, with Fumiya Takahashi getting to do more great foaming-at-the-mouth anger in a plot about whether or not humans can control their darker impulses, something that's set up right at the start with how heated he gets fighting Thouser, and carriers through right to the end, with Metal Cluster Hopper.

- Speaking of that initital fight between Zero-One and Thouser though, I can't stress enough how great it is. The stunning visuals complement the added intensity it already has as part of the story, and after these fights were starting to get repetitive, it was nice to see the twist of Aruto just absolutely flipping his s*** after putting up with Gai for so long.

- The fact that Aruto's entirely justified anger also doesn't solve his problem is yet again Zero-One showing it knows how to beat its hero down when it needs to. Most good heroes don't win by letting themselves lose their cool, and that's certainly not an admirable trait for the head of a major corporation to have.

- The way Bingo teams up with Fuwa to save the day was a really well deserved way for Hiden to get their first win in the competition. Aruto suggests Bingo might be able to do something only a HumaGear could to help, and we actually see that happen, with him processing and analyzing an entirely different set of information from a different location being fed to him wirelessly during the trial, which I don't think is something most lawyers who aren't computers could pull off.

- The twist with the Raider's identity was indeed extremely telegraphed, but I'll refer you to my post on the last episode where I said whether or not the twist was obvious isn't the point.

- And of course, the big deal here is Metal Cluster Hopper, which hooohhooohoo oh MAN did that leave a great first impression. Sugihara's direction once again really helps sell the story, with the new form coming off like some truly unstoppable force of nature. Hazard was just good as punching things mercilessly. Metal Cluster Hopper feels like it barely even registers what it's actually doing, and also doesn't care. Not a good combination for a form with the power to sick swarms of locust on people! Using the established fact that Aruto's mind is connected to the satellites to show us firsthand how horrified he is by what's happening, and how completely helpless he is to do anything was also another good touch. I don't think I was alone in worrying this would just feel like a retread of one of Build's best storylines, but I'm happy to see there's a lot making this feel different.

- Oh, and I've gotta give a shout out to my main man Fuwa for taking control of the situation before it went too far. By using brute force, naturally. Izu can say what she will. Sometimes, you've just gotta be a gorilla, and Fuwa gets that.

Whew! I think that's enough for now. I wish I could've come up with something more coherent, but I'm practically shaking with excitement from how much I enjoyed this episode.

I actually would be okay with that in this specific case? It would be a pretty good visual signifier of Aruto "taming" Metal Cluster Hopper to basically rein it in from violently eating opponents to classic heroic swordplay with a weapon that's apparently going to be designed specifically not to harm things too bad. There'd be a more direct reason for it than Shining Hopper's reverse-afterimages being largely forgotten.

Still waiting for Hiroya Matsumoto to play a Rider, but hey, I don't want to seem ungrateful. :p

Thouser vs Shining Assault Hopper:

https://www.gunjap.net/site/wp-conte...12/08/7245.jpg

so we have Psycho-Trigger themed detectives and a Newtype bit/funnel fight between riders

the creators must be NERDs


Fuwa: you arrested the detective and brought him into a courtroom . . . WITHOUT SEARCHING HIM FIRST? i mean take the damn extinguishriser off him, you idiot!



Gai: you fucking idiot. Thus far, Aruto has, at best, been able to get to a draw with Thouser even in his best form. You beat Aruto like four times, including with fuwa's help. So you go out and create a progrise key that is SO OVERPOWERED it basically turns him into goddamn T-1000 and drives him insane so he is willing and wants to kill you? What the hell? That woulda been the dumbest way to take out Gai ever. they better not go that way, it would be such a character failure for a guy who has thus far been calculating

I'm glad to see the Detective is starting to grow as a character. For a long time it seemed like when he wasn't being a Rider he just kind of scowled a lot.

Weird that Wolf seems to now be his base 'go to' form considering when he first started using it it just about killed him.

That aspect of the form in the storyline seems to have been completely forgotten about.

The new zero-one metal form reminded me a lot of Build Hazard, driving the Rider crazy and turning him into a killing machine.

I've been pretty bored with the whole contest arc but this episode wasn't bad, and I liked seeing the Humagear lawyer processing information and investigating while he was doing The Lawyer Thing in the courtroom. It's a good illustration of a Humagear doing something a normal human lawyer could not do.

and Izu still managed to sneak in a cute moment at the end...

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

Ditto all of that, this was possibly my favorite episode yet. A couple other things I want to point out:

- That opening fight between Shining Assault Hopper and Thouser ended in a draw, which I love. I know we're all sick of Aruto getting smacked around by Gai, and I think this fight shows that when he goes all-out and isn't distracted by trying to protect someone else, he can stand up to Thouser.

- Yua's doubts about what she's doing for Gai seem to be getting stronger, and TBH that can't happen fast enough. She's been pushed to the background pretty hard lately, I really hope she gets a redemption arc and goes back to fighting the good fight soon.

- Horobi freaking out when he learned that humans were using the Ark was downright unsettling. Which is appropriate, given that he's fought so hard to destroy humans this whole time, learning he was just a tool for one must be quite a shock. I'd almost feel sorry for him, if it wasn't for the whole "he's a mass murderer" thing.

- Speaking of mass murder, I appreciated how when Gai was launching into his philosophy lecture about humanity's violent nature or whatever, Aruto wasn't having any of it. Such a satisfying "shut up!"
I mean, it's also good that Gai actually has an at least semi-logical motivation, and that Aruto can't just rage his way through his problems, but it was refreshing to see the evil monologue not lead to "yeah maybe the villain has a point" for a change.

- So many cool effects around MetalCluster Hopper. The screaming voices in Aruto's mind are super creepy and really hammer home how painful this must be for him. Another really nice touch was how when it created those spiky metal constructs, patches of the external armor disappeared, which really sells the idea that the armor is formed from the same metal locusts as the constructs. As a bonus, sometimes enough armor came away to reveal Aruto trapped helplessly inside the suit. As much as I loved Build Hazard, MetalCluster is shaping up to be an even better berseker form.

- It was so, so satisfying to see Gai finally be on the receiving end of a beatdown (do I hate Gai too much?). He even used TWO finishers, one using the "apex of Zero-One's technology" he stole earlier, but the Dynamiting Lion attack didn't even break through Zero-One's shields and the Shine System defense barely lasted a second.

- Izu trying to cheer Aruto up by making him tell a joke was adorable but also really sad. Both of them are trying so hard to stay hopeful while everything falls apart around them.

You just got to give to Gai as a villain. He just makes you love to hate him.

Gai's a real jerk and I strongly doubt he's getting redeemed. Then again Kuruto Dan got redeemed and he unleashed a plague because Emu was better at designing games than him.

As for Aruto he's clearly not in a good state. Calling it now, he's going to try and kill Gai at some point in the future

Damn - after this I really can't see Gai switching sides. Makes sense too, I think Jin will come back to aid the heroes and maybe Horobi will not directly help them but try to settle the score with Gai.

Putting aside the satisfying conclusion to last week’s courtroom plot that didn’t even need to be as cleverly put together as it needed to be, the debut of Metal Cluster Hopper was awesome. Gorgeous looking suit with a really cool ability and they made the great decision to disconnect Aruto's mind from his body, so it’s not all too similar to Black Hazard Build.

I was a tiny bit disappointed how lightly Aruto took the fact that he almost killed a dude while being trapped by a consciousness of malice within the freakin' ark, but hey - that's how you know it's Aruto!

I think MetalCluster almost did kill Gai, after all it kept attacking after the Thouser suit had already de-transformed. If Fuwa hadn't interrupted, there's no way Gai could've survived those spikes without his armor... unless looking the same as he did 20 years ago isn't the only trick he has up his sleeve (calling it now, he's a cyborg, clone, genetically modified or some other kind of transhuman).

It seems to me like he's trying to use humor as a coping device. Act cheerful to hide how traumatized you are, kinda like Eiji Hino.

someone mentioned that the metal cluster progrise key is clamped on the zeo-one belt, i just hope when aruto gains control of the form he will still transform with just the key and not just putting on the belt until his final form.

Not gonna lie I thought Horobi would be super boring the whole way through but watching him freak out at thought of Gai using The Ark for his own gain actually gave him enough character for me to enjoy.

I really hope Gai doesn't become good. Been a while since we had an evil Rider (Cronus and Evolt doesn't count) that's more like Ouja.

Also, I'm saving up money for SH Figuarts MetalCluster. I do hope Tamashii would make them extra shiny.

I'm sure it'll be nice and shiny and yes, we're long overdue for a new Ouja

Thinking about it what Aruto was going through when he transformed into MCH was probably what a humagear goes through when corrupted by a Zestumriser and/or the Ark except the Humagears' personality "dies" unless backed up.

It's also weird that Metal Cluster locusts only eat up the "armor parts" of henshined persons, and not down to biological components.

The last time we get an Ouja was technically with Ryugen but he went back to being a good guy again. Sure, Kuroto is painted as the bad guy again in Another Ending movies, but I really want an wildcard Rider for the whole series but is not the main antagonist, exactly like Ouja. Hopefully Gai can be that.

Very true, the design of the clamp component almost looks like a hand covering the authorization portion, blocking anything else from getting authorization.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/05...g?v=1581231785

I dunno, they sure left that dirty cop guy's clothes a lot more destroyed than when he transformed, more so than we normally see when someone gets beaten out of a transformation, and IIRC he was bleeding too. I think Aruto managed to reign them in just before they started eating him!

I see that as collateral effects from fast moving small parts slicing the clothes and skins.

Aruto doesn't have controls when in MCH yet.