[FreshToku]

I don't like feeling salty about this show so now that we're at the end, I'm going to now talk about things I really liked, just like Xtreme RX. Not in a full-review kind of way, but just some of the things I know I'll always look back on fondly when I think of Zi-O.

I've really grown to like (some of) the main characters. It's impossible for me not to have gotten a little attached over the course of 49 weekly episodes, but this show really got me to care about Sougo and Geiz. I definitely wouldn't put them on the level of Eiji and Ankh or Shotaro and Philip, but they had a really strong premise here. Soldier from the future comes back to kill the young version of the evil overlord ruining his world, ends up forming an unbreakable bond with him. It's great.

I don't believe for a moment they fleshed it out or focused on it nearly as much as they could have, but they spent just enough time and a good enough job that it made me care a lot. Their big conflict and following team-up during the Another Zi-O arc was my absolute favourite part of the whole series, and I got emotional in pretty much every scene from then on that featured the two.

And who's the other Rider in this show I really like? White Woz! Yeah, I loved just about everything about him from his debut to his very sloppily-written exit. When he showed up from an alternate future, it took the entire story for such a spin on it's head which carried my excitement greatly through many episodes. And I still really enjoyed the great and sometimes even hilarious contrast between the fact that he (ostensibly) wanted to bring a bright and peaceful future to the world, while also being a shamelessly and blatantly terrible person himself.

I loved the Another Riders. Both as a concept, and all of their designs. Though I can't be the only one who thinks Another Decade should have come before Another Zi-O II, right? Or have them both share the position of final villain since both Sougo and Tsukasa are here? Eh, something to think about in a hypothetical re-write.

As an anniversary series, it was weird as heck. Most of the really good tributes came in the second half (save for one bat-shaped exception) but special mention to the Agito one featuring not only Shouchi himself but also BELIEVE YOURSELF which blew both mine and a lot of people's minds in a good way.

Over-Quartzer is my favourite theme song in all of Kamen Rider. It's really good! In fact, a lot of the soundtrack as a whole is good and I eagerly await it's release so that I may pirate it.

So yeah, this was definitely a bizarre but honestly still greatly entertaining year for Rider. But honestly, I'm looking forward to a more 'restrained' kind of insanity with Zero-One. After all, Zi-O makes Build and Ex-Aid look like coherent and perfectly logical narratives.

Also RIP Kamen Rider Aqua. If we don't ever see him again, we may have to assume he's dead for good. Not to be mean to him or anyone who likes him, but I find that almost comically cruel.