[Sh Ranger]

(opens Oma Advent Calendar and gestures dramatically)

IWAE! Sharing opinions and bringing the Kamen Rider community together, the one who will review every episode of every season of Heisei Rider. His name is Kamen Rider Die. And he has now reached the final installment.

....

But before I can give my thoughts on Zi-O, I have a promise to keep from the Decade thread.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I'll be sure to compare Blade's performance to Hibiki's here when I finally get around to watching Missing Ace!

Blade King Form and Armed Hibiki both destroyed the same giant monster with a single blow. However, Blade's finisher was more stylish (most Final Forms are more stylish than Armed Hibiki), so I ultimately have to agree with you here. Blade is the most qualified for this specific fight.

And yeah, that means I have now watched all 20 Heisei Rider seasons!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I?d wanted to be done with all dozen or so threads before starting Zi-O, but I only managed four. (Legend, Decade, Kiva, Kabuto.)

If you're updating the threads in reverse-chronological order, then why did you skip Den-O?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 1 - ?KINGDOM: 2068?

But Sougo? I can?t get a handle on him, as a character? Not even as a protagonist or a hero or a lead, but as a character. He wants to be a king, but like, as a career? That?s ludicrous. I?ve seen plenty of ridiculous motivations in Kamen Rider (and I love Tsurugi, who is a preposterous bundle of Bizarre Achievements in an ascot), but this is beyond the pale. You cannot study to become a king. You can?t fill out an application to be a monarch. There isn?t a good school to major in the regency arts.

It?s the sort of stupid, stupid motivation that I normally adore, because the thought process behind it is usually so specific and bonkers that I am enthralled. Tsurugi?s quest to be the Best At Besting is drawn from his traumas, his desires, his isolation, his responsibilities, his etc. But Sougo wants to be a king? because it seemed like a good idea?

As a defining trait goes, it?s terrible. It?s an absence of definition for his character. It?s generic: I Want This instead of I Want This Because. There?s room in the episode for it to be purposefully generic, certainly. The overriding feeling of the episode is that of inevitability, that Sougo couldn't ever become anything other than the King Of Time(pieces), and that outcome has trickled backward to his present. But it?s never portrayed as a burning drive, or a path he can?t veer away from. It?s portrayed as perfunctory; a concept as necessary for reflection and analysis as blinking. Becoming king ? something utterly ridiculous ? is treated as an autonomic process.

It is a crucial mistake in the introduction of Sougo, and it?s, sadly, only the first crucial mistake this episode makes.

The second one is in the way this episode never really pushes back on Sougo?s motivation? His friends and family (an uncle, since it?s Heisei Phase 2 and All Dads Are Dead) shrug it off as some quirk, like Takumi?s dislike of hot foods in Faiz, rather than an absolutely terrifying life choice for a teenager to be making. When someone says that they don?t want to take college entrance exams because they?re going to be a king, that?s bad! That isn?t a life choice! That is them throwing their life away! You don?t follow up that declaration with a cute anecdote about not letting chances pass you by! You follow that up with an intervention!

I mean, there's a lot of free estate in Antarctica. If Sougo moved there and claimed a piece of land for himself, he could declare himself king. Sure, none of the major countries would take him seriously, but maybe that's his best shot at becoming a king, other than using the power of magic watches?

Regarding why he wants to become a king, well there is a reason for that. But Sougo isn't always the most open about his feelings and doesn't really feel the need to justify his intentions to people he just met. What's important though is that becoming a king is Sougo's dream, no matter how absurd it sounds. So when he replies to the revelation that his future self is a demon king, by saying he's going to become the greatest kindest demon king, I think that's just his way of saying he's going to follow his dream, which can be a symbol of heroic determination. There's a hint of sarcasm to his declaration, like he's rejecting what Geiz and Tsukuyomi are saying as he believes in the altruism of his dream and that giving up his dream isn't an action befitting of a future king. It's like he says, he was born to be king, so it isn't really a choice, or an action that some time travelling weirdos can make him reconsider. It's something he feels like he just has to do. He lives in the moment, so he's not going to let their dystopian future get in the way of his present.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It only gets worse once Tsukuyomi shows up.

Haha, yeah, she does that.

Anyway, there's a cool and macabre detail at the end of the episode where Geiz Ghost Armor Time summons the Parka Ghosts to fight Zi-O. One of them is Takeru's own soul, Ore Parka. Which makes sense considering that Oma Zi-O killed all the Riders.

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Actually there's one thing I don't think was mentioned?

How does everyone feel about our OP for this season? Over Quartzer.

I personally enjoy it and there are certain shots I absolutely adore, like everyone in the "Mid-Rider Kick Dimension" where they're just looking and poking at things. Or how we see Zi-O and Geiz kick past all the other Riders who immediately proceed to kick all at once after they do. And then out of the flames of that you see Zi-O riding his bike.

Real good stuff honestly! I never really got a chance to appreciate the visuals due to all the text on screen but thankfully that All Heisei Rider Clean OP that Toei officially put up allowed me to take in the really cool shots since those had no credits.

It's a catchy song! I like how Faiz is the first Rider visible in the foreground of that time-frozen shot. Regarding the bikes, you really have to take whatever bike action you can get in this show.