[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BUILD NEW WORLD: CROSS-Z



God, I thought this came out great. They managed to 100% get me on board with this story, despite it undoing a big chunk of the ending of Build, as well as relitigating yet again how ambivalent the citizenry was of the Kamen Riders. I still loved it!

Right up front, though, I know I shouldn't love this story. It takes the ending of Build and unspools a bunch of the consequences, setting up more fights for characters that already achieved their victory. It's sort-of what I complained about back when I rewatched Ex-Aid True Ending, that it's to the shows' credit that they end. The constant exploitation of a series to feed a ravenous fanbase, it's not what I like about Kamen Rider as a franchise. But! I thought this worked, and I'm not totally certain why. Some if it is that I felt like Build's ending went too far, destroying a family dynamic that I'd come to love. In just a couple of scenes, everyone's back together, cracking wise and fighting for each other. It's so welcome that I don't really mind that it takes away from the TV finale, because this makes me feel better. Similarly, I don't care so much that Evol(t) is back, because Evol(t) is great. Killbas is awesome, and I'll talk about him in a bit, but Evol(t) is outstanding. It's a bit dodgy that he just up and leaves at the end (although I guess nearly getting eliminated from existence might make you give Team Build a wide berth), but obviously there's more of these specials coming, there's a chance his story isn't over. I can't be too mad at this series of specials because of shit like that, how they know that what makes this series work is all of these characters bouncing off of each other, and they're all so good at it that they could probably do these forever. Maybe it's just my fondness for the TV series clouding my judgment, but I just responded so emotionally to these characters having more adventures that I couldn't bring myself to scold them for coming back.

It helps that the story is so good. This is the "Kamen Riders are hated by the public" story that the show kept feinting at but never delivered, at least with a specificity that I thought it required. This isn't some mind-control plot by some lunatic, or a stray news report we're just supposed to accept. This is someone's life that was destroyed because of Kamen Riders. Yui's story is relatable, and probably all too common. The Kamen Riders were doing battle constantly, and it's reasonable that one of them, especially Banjou, might not notice a group of civilians in danger. It's horrifying that Yui was experimented on, tortured, immolated. It makes sense that she'd harbor a grudge, that she'd have no faith in Banjou or the others to save people. It's not her being mean to characters who tried and failed, it's someone who got ignored and suffered fatally for it. Worse, not only does she bear the scars of the old world, but all of the kids she tried to protect are comatose. She's right to be mad at Kamen Riders! They pretty much dropped the ball on this one!

It's the best idea to have this story land on Banjou's shoulders, since it doesn't seem as likely to wreck him as a similar storyline did to Sento in Be The One. Banjou's growth, his many But Why Heroism speeches, were a central part of his character. Yui's story isn't some shock, it's the natural consequence of his life. He was a fighter, he fought for his friends, he didn't understand why you'd fight for anyone you didn't know. It's now, in the aftermath of the TV series, that he's able to see his failures, to try and atone. It's maybe the perfect story to do in an epilogue movie. It's not a new road he's on, it's the culmination of all he's experienced. He's learned his lessons, he's paid for his mistakes, he's ready for his reward.

Amongst other things, that reward is a slick new suit. Cross-Z Evol is gorgeous, a great melding of the Cross-Z dragon motif and the stark black-and-white Evol coloring and circles, with some killer blue and pink pops of color. I've always liked the Wizard-style coat/skirt on suits, and Cross-Z Evol wears it so well. It's definitely in my top three Cross-Z suits.

Kamen Rider Killbas, didn't love the suit that much (too many spider legs restricting movement, the red needed to be broken up more along the torso) but he's an awesome movie villain. Style for miles, and great physicality. (The fact that Killbas moved like Shinsuke Nakamura for the whole movie? Killed me. I am dead.) This was a dude where, when Evol(t) goes "He's my brother," I was like, "I can see that." It's a bit of a narrative shortcut, villain-wise, to just do What If Evol(t) But More, but it's also incredibly effective. It not only immediately establishes stakes, in that this dude is worse than the dude we just spent 49 episodes watching Team Build fight, but it allows Evol(t) to join the heroes in a classic The Enemy Of My Enemy Killed My Parents And Is Just A Total Asshole And He's Definitely Going To Try To Kill Us Again Soon But FINE Let's Team Up. Evol(t) joining Team Build is something you can't really do more than once (they sort-of did it in Be The One, but not nearly to this extent), and I think they got everything out of it here. He's funny, casually cruel, and he still hates everybody, but his weirdly effective torturing/mentoring is key to victory. It's a great use of the character.

The rest of the cast was fairly backgrounded here, but I'm sure they'll all get a turn in the spotlight. Everyone was great, though. Everyone got a little moment. It's great hanging out with these weirdos and their weird family again. I like this new world. It feels like home.



I think that's for now for me and Build? I don't have anything else to watch for this series, at least until the Grease movie drops in December or whatever. Huh. Feels weird. Weird to be done with Build.

You guys! Thanks for reading all this. Feel free to respond to this thread if you've got stuff to say, I'll keep an eye on it. I'll probably watch the Ex-Aid stage show (that I just found recently) some time later this week, and that'll land in the "Kamen Rider Die rewatches Kamen Rider Ex-Aid movies" thread for lack of a better place. Then, I don't know, like a week or so off from watching Kamen Rider? I like to take at least some time between series, or they blur together too much. I've got a couple non-series specific discussion questions I might drop on the boards, to keep active, plus I'm legit curious about how other fans feel about a couple things. After that, it's time for Masked Rider Kuuga. I'll see you around!