[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I would take everything that Takumi and Kusaka say in this short with a GIGANTIC grain of salt. The kids are coming in with some intense skepticism about any Faiz/Fourze connections, and the Faiz Riders are kind of going overboard with their rebuttal. There's some real stuff in there, but I think they get a little goofy as their "evidence" increases.

So you're practically rejecting yourself. Takkun and Kusaka are just doing what we all do here or what the fandom does and write in some other sources of KR. Talking about the series and theorizing about it, only that if it's done on the show, it's more official. Hypocrite.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 7 - ?MAGIC SHOWTIME 2018?

There?s definitely some Wizard themes at play, but they?re a lot more subtle than I?d like. Hopelessness is the main emotion of the Another Wizard host, Hayase. He?s desperate to cling to some sense of stability, rather than try and reinvent himself. His world is moving on without him, and his need to keep everything the same has him spinning out of control.

Hayase actually shows a misfortune of someone being too good, and too famous/successful, that Nagayama wanted to shut down the stage anyway as he deserved bigger stage. It's another unknown stuff that Kaori (Heat Dopant) is already engaged too. So Hayase's about futility of his efforts due to some unknown information regarding what's surrounding his life.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

That tension between Geiz and Sougo is the main thing this episode has to offer. There?s nothing in the way of Legend appearances, and the Time Mission is sort of bland. (The show?s really having a tough time sketching out its one-story characters in a compelling way? They don?t really pop, you know? Adequate at moving the story along, but pretty two-dimensional.) While it?s fun to see how differently Sougo and Geiz approach an investigation ? Sougo and Tsukuyomi talk to people and put together clues, Geiz runs around Tokyo until he just runs into a monster, which is actually SUPER Wizard ? we?re not really in a tricky storyline or anything. It?s a bit wide-open, probably so we can start to resolve/progress the relationship of Geiz and Sougo.

Now here there's the usual primary and secondary Rider clash, and it shows that Geiz doesn't have the executioner approach only to Sougo, but to anyone that he deems as evil and a threat like Hayase, any Another Rider. This shows more about Geiz being an anti-hero like many other secondary Riders and him being similar to someone like Gou who also had prejudice towards the 'bad' species. This shows that the cutthroat approach Geiz holds also isn't entirely benefical, as he had a case of self-fulfilling prophecy here of actually kickstarting Hayase's villainy by provoking him. E̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶T̶e̶r̶u̶i̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶W̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶v̶o̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶a̶g̶i̶c̶i̶a̶n̶ ̶M̶O̶T̶W̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶L̶i̶l̶y̶.̶ Though this episode had a good balance on showing how Sougo's more empathetic approach to diplomatically deal with Hayase can slow down things when Hayase started harming people, though while it's partly Geiz' fault, it had happened. Geiz would've made the situation even worse with him attempting to create an infighting to Sougo before Tsukuyomi stopped them though.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I think it works for Sougo?s character to not understand why he and Geiz can?t be friends, though. There?s an obliviousness to Sougo?s character that vacillates between Troubling and Adorable, and it?s way more on the Adorable end of the spectrum this episode. Like, Sougo and Geiz are teammates, and they can be friends. Geiz?z insistence on making things easy for himself by being intractable and stubborn is a defense mechanism, and Sougo?s right to keep pushing back against it. Much like Hayase's frustrating need to cling onto a theater no one else wants anymore, Geiz would rather vilify Sougo forever than open himself up to the possibility that Sougo is redeemable. It?s hard to risk that certainty, even if it makes you sadder and angrier to keep it.

I guess I mostly consider friendships/relationships with less conflict/tension between them as a closer one, (though obviously there's specific exceptions for banters that clearly showed they're friends like Sento and Banjou), and Tsukuyomi against Sougo here is that with them complementing their worldview as you said. Though Sougo does value Geiz as closely, Geiz' hostility against Sougo are actual hatred (even when there's likely some tsundere traits) for plausible reasons. For Sougo asking the executioner to talk, Geiz should've learned with the Hayase incident, but Geiz' quite self-righteous to have the mentality of destroying any evil if they aren't seen to do the 'right thing', so it'd be harder to get this through Geiz' head. Geiz is weirded out for him never feeling as in he's in the wrong, but that should be something for Geiz to learn (for both Sougo and Hayase). Though Geiz' trait here would later lead into another one of Sougo's capabilities.

Other than that, Woz also teases Sougo and Geiz' potential friends for Woz' agenda of him grooming up Sougo, and there's a set up of their history with Geiz never beating Woz. But Woz is also opposing Geiz and Tsukuyomi again as Sougo grows closer and his goal can be foiled. And Woz saved Geiz before from Schwartz, the main antagonist, and he actually shows how to use the time stop the proper way by actually almost killing Geiz. Schwartz is the one that's actually not fucking around.