[Fish Sandwich]

My in the moment response to this one was hugely positive. I think this episode was fantastic at using emotions to sort of pave over the bits of plotting that aren't all there at times. The way the Zero-Two Driver and Key were created is the perfect example... is what I would say if I didn't realize as I was writing this that the Ark has the ability to print out weapons after getting a body, and the whole explanation here is that Zea essentially exists within Izu now, so...

The point is, even if there was some major contradiction to established series rules, the meaning of those scenes isn't in what's literally happening. Zero-Two is born when a human and HumaGear join hands to leap towards their dreams. It's that simple. The visuals are telling the story in that moment, and it's all the more powerful a scene for it, in my opinion.

And that's kind of the story with the whole plot, for me. Sure, Ark-Zero showing up to murder Aruto with finger lasers is completely uncharacteristic, obviously the entire main cast was not going to drop dead, yadda yadda yadda... but that kind of thing is how the show rolls, and I accept that as long as I feel there's a greater purpose being served, and that was very much the case here.

The debut episode of a final form is generally meant to be a penultimate statement on the overall themes of the series, and as such, choosing to specifically focus the narrative on Izu was without doubt the best decision. It just could not have been anyone else, even Aruto himself. I don't think I ever put this down in writing, but back when the show started, I was crazy excited about the potential of her character. I was hoping for basically the best character development of a Rider heroine ever, with a gradual but massive shift in personality as she became more and more indistinguishable from a human through her experiences with Aruto. In my mind, she was always the key to the entire story. The growth she's had ended up being a lot more subtle than I was maybe hoping for. I was going so far in my head as to expect her to stop defining herself as an assistant entirely, while the direction the show went in ended up emphasizing how assisting Aruto is now a genuine desire for her rather than a predetermined purpose.

The more episodes go by, and the more time I've had to think about, I really love what the show has done with her over time despite, and maybe even because of the downplayed approach. The main thing was, I needed Izu to really start showing different emotions by the end. All of this is to say, seeing her crying here, and all the sadness surrounding it, had all the impact I could've hoped for. It felt completely earned. The situation is simulated, but the tears are as real as can be. I loved that.

Aruto's part in all this is pretty good too, and I especially liked getting to see all the brainstorming he did to create Zero-Two, which, delightfully, has just about nothing to do with the technical specifics like a discount Sento, and everything to do with what he wants Zero-Two to represent, with a bunch of crossed-out rejected names on top, and that big triangle dominating the bottom showing how dreams, hearts, and technology all support each other. It's all exactly the kind of stuff Aruto would be thinking about, you know? Heavier on the raw passion than the step-by-step logic.

If I could critique one thing in all this, it'd be to echo what FreshToku said about involving Zea in any capacity muddling the theme of surpassing predictions and not needing to be reliant on his legacy anymore. I don't necessarily need Aruto to build the Zero-Two Driver in a cave with a box of scraps, but the less old hands involved, the better. Still, points for not having Gai involved in the slightest, which gives me newfound hope his redemption arc isn't just happening because it's convenient for the other plot threads.

But again, this is very much an episode where the problems just sorta melt away for me. At the end of the day it gets us to a real cool fight scene as usual, bolstered by Shoujirou Nakazawa's gift for clean and concise direction, with his typical smooth use of slow-motion to emphasize a moment, such as Zero-Two sliding by Ark-Zero's right hook as the fight begins. Plus, it does that thing the big climax fights always do where the little mechanical overlay or whatever appears over Aruto's foot as he leaps into action, which is always nice to see. And a second insert theme! How about that? I don't think it tops the existing one, but literally nothing can, so second place is nothing to be ashamed of here. Plus, and I know literally nobody else cares, but I legitimately love how slick the font for Zero-Two's finishing moves is. It's a perfect match to the sharp lines of the suit itself.

And as you can tell from my points of praise getting that minor, I'm kind of out of things I really want to say about this episode, but I absolutely think it was another real good one. There was an absurd amount of time we had to build up expectations for Zero-Two's debut, but, at least for me, I'd say it lived up to them.