[Kiwami]

Sadly this episode left me a bit unfazed. Ark being "Okay I kill Aruto now" - I mean sure? Why though? I guess he's your main threat now that you control the satellite but you could’ve done that last week super easy.

Not a fan of the whole simulation / time-rewind thing. You see it coming so the pain you should feel for witnessing these characters die is numbed to nonexistence. The only time this episode got me was when Izu tried to wake Aruto up, that was a really well done scene.

And then - Zero-Two. The suit is glorious, it absolutely is. Streamlined, looks great, simple function. No reusing past powers shenanigans, no reusing past weapons shtick. They thankfully eliminated those before with Rampage Gatling and Ark-Zero. It’s great that a final form can just be the strong thing that punches and kicks well.

I'm glad they brought the visuals from Shining Hopper back as well, because honestly, that's when this show got really creative with visualizing the powers of the AI combatants and it has never been surpassed for me since. Although this is where Zero-Two also falls flat a bit for me: It doesn’t do much original stuff. All the things I praised it for are valid, but it still lacks that little pinch of originality.

So the episode was good I guess? The scene with Izu crying made me feel things, Zero-Two is nice - but overall the episode only felt like a solid 6/10 when I wanted it to be a 12/10. I'm also really not a fan of how the Progrise Key and Driver came into existence. Felt a bit wonky overall.

Lastly, there is one thing I actually hated about this episode. Zero-Two had a cyber muffler just like his dad after withstanding Ark-Zero's finisher. Why is this not a thing for this form? Why doesn’t he have it when he moves around fast? It would've not only looked awesome but would’ve been a nice nod to Ichi-Gata. It’s funny, whenever I feel like Kamen Rider does movie tie-ins terribly they cannot figure out one simple thing I actually would’ve enjoyed seeing referenced.