[FreshToku]

I was thinking to myself how exactly was this totally different from other Rider endings, because like 'is it really??'. But I suppose this is technically the only finale where the battle is won through the hero and villain making peace and forgiving one another. I know that happened in Drive and Ghost, but not quite in those show's last episodes.

Anyhow I liked this ending. The conclusion to the fight was really nice both from an emotional and an action standpoint. When he first transformed into Zero-One again and it said 'Initialise', I was like 'aw why isn't it Realise like the theme song-' and then it shouted 'Realizing Hopper' and I was like 'ooooooh'. I liked all the other subtle callbacks to the first episode's fight too. That jump he does where we see the mechanical overlay on both his legs got me especially hyped.

The little epilogue afterwards was also nice, teasing about future movie stuff notwithstanding. Naki and Yua as buddies in AIMs... I wanted to see that in the show itself, while Vulcan was there too! Thouser, now that everything is said and done, I can also laugh at his little office in the basement that's filled only with his robot dogs. Fuwa is off being a showa hero through and through.

I was a little weirded out that the show very casually shows Jin is just perfectly fine and okay though. I know the show itself established that he could be brought back and that they were even working on it but... it spent a lot of time on Horobi's anguish about his death, so it was kinda odd. I was expecting him to just be a ghost or something that only Horobi can see.

But I was even more weirded out with regards to Izu. Like, think about it for a second... Aruto lost someone he loved, and he's like... purposefully replacing her with someone that looks and sounds just like her, and choosing to give her the same name? It's not even like this is in respect of the Izu he lost, but he actually implies that with time and teaching her all the quirks the old one had, it will make her the same Izu as before. That's creepy! How is that any different from that one guy who made that humagear look like his dead daughter!

So yeah, I thought that last part was a bit of a misstep, but otherwise, really nice finale. That instrumental of the theme song playing at the end reminded me of the Ex-Aid's last scene, and how Parad and Poppy came back... Huh. Okay, where was Gai playing with a Saber Progrise Key which then plays an extended trailer for that show!?