[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I've mentioned in a couple of those old posts how the dynamic of being a viewer watching Zi-O kind of has some broad similarities to how Geiz, you know, watches Zi-O, and much like he realized Sougo is capable of far, far more than he was giving him credit for, this plot made me start to consider the potential of this show as more than just hypothetical.

It's really funny that they ended up making the abrasive, grim executioner the secret POV for the audience. Bold move! Definitely helped with the reveal, though.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I'll also mention here, because it seems like a good spot, how much I love the Dopant model of Rider monster? It's just my taste in heroism, I guess, but I like seeing evildoers stopped, rather than outright destroyed, and as Zi-O's Another Riders have already demonstrated a few times, including here, it lets you do stories where the villain is also one of the people the hero is trying to save, which is an interesting dynamic, and just makes things feel so much more human and intimate.

Yeah, that's my preference, too. I'm more into stories that are Let's Fix This Problem instead of Let's Detonate This Monster. It allows for more thoughtful, empathetic storytelling. It's holistic, rather than hostile, which I appreciate.

It's also more complicated to do, so I'm always grateful when a show makes it a core part of their storytelling. It's easy to do (and I love this show, but) Agito-style storytelling, where a monster shows up to murder people, and the heroes have to deduce the pattern in time to save at least one victim. It's more compelling to do a story where terms like Victim and Monster don't land where you think, or are even synonymous. It just creates more diverse, ambiguous stories, which is a positive thing to do.

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Originally Posted by Daikaijuman54

I do have a soft spot for Nittou, and did really enjoy him throughout Wizard, and I find it strangely hilarious how he transforms for the Beast Fans, and yet we never get to see Beast. Makes me wonder if Toei did this intentionally for any of the non-Beast fans.

I just took it as these .5 episodes having a budget of Whatever Cash Is In The Producer's Wallet That Day. Even paying to get the suit actor on set, dressing him up, doing the VFX... that's not what these bonus episodes are equipped to do! They probably shot this whole thing in about forty minutes, while they were rigging up the fight scene from Episode 8.

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Originally Posted by Layton13

Oh, just remembered. The hiding under the blanket thing? Ripped straight out of a Wizard episode, even in an hospital I think. Love details like those!

Ha ha, good catch!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Despite his apparent outwardly stupidity and delusion. Sougo. Is. a. Cunning. Manipulator.

I think it's more that he's become a cunning manipulator, not that he always was. We've started a journey with Sougo, and that journey has already helped him feel more confident in pursuing his dream. Previously, he was content to just assume he'd be a king someday, and it's dopey and worrisome. But now that he's fought and struggled and overcome adversity -- thanks to going on Time Missions, a thing he probably would've never done without Geiz and Tsukuyomi showing up in 2018 -- he's a more capable person than he used to be.

Like, I think it's important to acknowledge that Geiz and Tsukuyomi are helping to turn Sougo into (maybe!) Oma Zi-O, which is the nicely ironic twist at the end of Episode 8.