[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I'm pretty much 100% in the bag for Tsukasa? I mean, I'm watching Zi-O for the stories of Sougo, Geiz, Tsukuyomi, Woz, etc., but I'm not gonna pretend I'm not thrilled to see Tsukasa do whatever he wants at whatever amount the show feels like dispensing.

Tsukasa is a gigantic pain in the ass, but he's also a Legend Rider who's been instrumental in the defeat of a number of apocalyptic menaces. Tsukasa will always show up to ruin some Rider's day, but he'll eventually help them save it. The things people could criticize Tsukasa's character for are inextricably bound up in the things that make Tsukasa such a compelling character. He's the best because he's also frequently the worst.

I didn't talk about those other people but me (actually would feel more alone here), I was more talking about the inconsistency part or such, not about his "the worst" traits. Him being instrumental in the defeat of those menaces are due to him being OP, you only need to be powerful (or genius) enough to be instrumental of anything (not that being a gigantic pain in the ass makes one being powerful). For favoritism was talking not about Zi-O but in general for any other franchise aspect.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 14 - ?GO! GO! GHOST 2015?

And to do it with such diametrically opposed characters! Sougo, who turns adversaries into allies and allies into friends; versus Tsukasa, who couldn?t ever pay a compliment without making it sound like an insult. Sougo is all smiles, while Tsukasa is all smirks. Sougo is outgoing and generous, while Tsukasa is moody and unreliable. Sougo?s goals are broadly stated and aggressively pursued, while Tsukasa?s are vague and haphazardly advanced. You literally couldn?t design a better villain for Sougo to face.

From what I said before, the similarity between Sougo and Tsukasa are both of them being manipulative and that it can cause tensions to the allies (like Woz against him changing time here I guess), but other than that, both are also anniversary Riders who deal with threats to all of the Kamen Rider multiverse that stems from their own actions from their time as nearly all-powerful villains (Destroyer of the World, Ohma Zi-O). And other contrast is that, Tsukasa's villainy was in the past whereas Sougo's is in the future (2068). Tsukasa met alternate versions of the other Riders, while Sougo meets the actual legend Riders (y'know, the returning actors even Takumi Inui). Tsukasa was portrayed in his show as the most powerful Kamen Rider of all, and acted as a mentor who imparts lessons to the AR Riders that he meets, while Sougo is outclassed as a fighter and a hero by most of the other Riders that he encounters, and spends the show learning and growing from what they have to teach him.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

All of the Ghost Legend Rider stuff was great. Takeru continues to be a charming guest-star, bonding easily with Sougo over the weirdness of being a Ghost. (Which? there?s a gag at the end I loved, where Sougo immediately says that he?s hungry once he?s alive again. That?s a great callback to Takeru?s need to eat again when he was a ghost, and Takeru even says I KNOW, RIGHT in response. Except, this Takeru never died, right? So how could he commiserate with Sougo?) Makoto showing up ? was not expecting that! Bringing back Akari's Ghost Visibility Spray to, uh, make Takeru completely corporeal (???) was a neat way of paying homage to the cast members that weren't brought back. It?s all in service of a very Ghost plot, with Sougo using the power of a Luminary (Tsukasa) to free a tormented soul and reunite a family. It?s a very charming tribute to a frequently overlooked -slash- reviled series.

Regarding Sougo and Takeru here, Sougo is being calculating and smart again, though the plan is quite simple to go back in time so Makimura won't die. It still won't prevent the threat as Heure still shoved the Ghost Watch, but Heure's mind games are solved here as previously it was relying on the heroes still letting Makimura died if they beat Another Ghost, but now if Another Ghost is beaten, then it's the usual the host is reverted back. Takeru also saw through Geiz's denial with him fighting for Sougo of which his tsundere tendencies are becoming more and more obvious. Now Zi-O got a mid-season upgrade in Decade Ridewatch that also allows him to access other mid-season upgrades, but this is the part where I draw a line at bulkiness, as I said before I'm not into the overly boxy design here or also the "plastered" Rider face/other parts.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

This was a lot of fun, and I didn't even mention how much I loved the name "Heiseiber" for Decade Armor's weapon. (I LOVE IT SO MUCH.) Last episode definitely came off a little uneven, with a lot of Decade and Ghost but not enough Zi-O, so it was nice to see both the Decade and Ghost stuff feel connected to the Zi-O stuff. Connections! One more gift from the Ghost side of things!

This tribute is executed well yeah, compared to like, OOO tribute before of which it was more of a Kuroto tribute. And Heiseiber is a nice name! Like a well-played word play.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT EPISODE 14.5 - ?PINK DEVIL?

But just seeing Tsukasa swan around 9-To-5 and lazily demand respect while Team Zi-O tries to downplay his undeniable achievements in elevating the Heisei Rider aesthetics? super fun. Super fun! It?s all of the kids on the show playing straight man to Tsukasa?s immortal charisma and weird physicality. (He?s very balletic in this? I don?t remember Tsukasa gliding as much before.) He owns a room in a way that I think can get missed in the context of a tokusatsu show. Here, it?s like a play, and you?re just putty in his hands.

Don't know how to feel on this with the misguided view of masculinity that pink makes them more sissy or something here (including Tsukasa correcting it as magenta ofc, but it's not about him but about overall directing here).