[Kurona]

I'm just gonna quickly put out there as someone who's seen just about all of them except the Showa stuff and the reboots... this is one of my top 10 Rider Movies. Ever. I'm shocked at how this was not only solid, not only did it really bring Zero-One back to its roots of what it was really about, but done so in an extremely compelling way that perfectly balanced characterisation with its themes, something I found sorely lacking in 01 as a whole lately.

There's weak points, naturally -- stop me if you've heard this one before; but Naki and Raiden really get the shaft with no real scenes for they themselves and at worst they can feel like tagalongs to MBJR than their own characters. I'm mostly fine with this; aside from it just being the one flaw I'm happy to overlook at a fantastic whole, both of them already had enough development in-series and enough personal connections to make their motivations in this movie make sense. And frankly I'm always up for seeing one of my favourite characters with their funny jock friend no matter how little attention they get.

Aside from that? Thrilling. Lyon Arkland is a bit like early-game Thouser but in so much hyperdrive he's straight up become a Metal Gear Solid villain with how insane, over-the-top and knee-deep in war profiteering he is and it's a joy to watch; especially with some thrown-in Kamen Rider English lines. God, his henshin device even uses DINOSAURS and says "I Am The President", I cannot get over how funny yet perfect this guy is; it's exactly what I wanted and even more beyond that for a 01 villain!

I remember when we first saw ZAIA and MBJR's suits I was pretty displeased with the latter's design -- ZAIA I was fine with, black repaint with red eyes is always a winner; but MBJR I did not like at all. It didn't truly combine any of the team's traits, it looked like a generic robot warrior kind of thing, I didn't get any sense of characterisation off of it and it was a shame for me as someone who adores fusion forms in Kamen Rider. Turns out that's the point! Turns out that's thematically relevant, so take that, dumb fool Kurona from three months ago or whatever! The entire concept of MBJR consigning themselves to becoming a killing machine to take down ZAIA and sacrificing themselves for the common good, the sheer tragedy of that, the sheer fatalistic outlook they have... it's hard convey just how good it is. MBJR is a scary good performance.

And then as Enchy above notes (can I call you that? Tell me if I can't), Fuwa walks in to do what the guy does best; practically force character development and interactions out of you in a way you simply have to love, and the subtle connections forged between he and Horobi here is compelling in a way I just did not expect. He doesn't get to do much in this movie but damn if his few scenes don't show why he's the MVP of this show.

Like... this is just everything I wanted and didn't expect. Actual characterisation and development for Horobi and Jin (with an explanation, FINALLY, for how and why he was rebuilt; only took about a year since Slashriser pre-orders went up), actual dynamics and interactions between characters which lead them to the places they go and the people they become; a corporate enemy who's as wonderfully entertaining as he is threatening; and theming so strong it's impossible to miss.

This is definitely part 1 of part 2, and I'm pointing desperately at Vulcan/Valkyrie going don't you dare mess this up, but as-is I'll be happy to take this movie as one that exceeded all my expectations. Zero-One is back




Also has anyone ever done that SOLD pun before? Where it's a double meaning of SOLD being short for Soldier but also that they're literally being sold as products? This CAN'T be the first time that has happened right, that's surely so obvious, but I've never seen anyone do it before. This feels like when I saw the Dynaman bad guys were called Evilution