[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 16 - “FOREVER KING 2018”



It’s sort of the only solution, when you come down to it.

Some of it’s just, like, We Have Thirty-Three More Episodes. The solution to Sougo’s dilemma can’t be quitting. I’d totally watch that Geiz series, but it doesn’t feel like a very Toei move. Can you imagine them having a Christmas episode where you lose a Kamen Rider? Preposterous.

But the other part, the better part, is that it’s the logical rebuttal to Episode 15’s lesson in consequences and responsibility: You can’t live your life paralyzed by what could happen in the future. It’s good to have an awareness of potential outcomes, but you can’t let negative outcomes keep you from moving forward.

We spend a lot of time here dealing with the stuff I sort of wished we’d gotten in the opening story. Namely, a Sougo who feels an intense reluctance to use the power of Zi-O, knowing where it might lead. In the first story of this show, Sougo came off like an oblivious jerk, feigning sympathy in the Time Orphans’ hardships, pretty visibly thrilled to become a despot. It was a bizarre choice, and I’m not entirely sure it was the right one, even if this episode concludes that thread with style. Back then, it didn’t feel so much like the show wanted to explain the inconsistencies and illogic of Sougo’s dream, so the show just punted on it until now. There’s a frustrating middle section of this first Act that only really works by ignoring Sougo's motivation, rather than offering up an alternative to Sougo Doesn’t Know What A King Is. It’s a weird delay in the storytelling.

It ends up resolving itself smartly, though. We see Sougo actually try to end Oma Zi-O’s reign, instead of just pinky-swearing that he won’t commit even a single genocide, not even on his birthday. There’s actual weight to his decision, not least of which is losing all of his Time Friends. Sougo’s all alone with his eternal guilt and shame, afraid to even think about what being a king could do to the world.

It’s Geiz who motivates Sougo back into becoming Zi-O. A depowered Sougo is still going to risk his life to help people, and that’s enough to convince Geiz that Oma Zi-O is a risk he’s willing to take. Sougo needs to try to make the future he wants to see, instead of accepting a fate he never wanted. There’re risks to everything, and consequences for any decision you make. To live your life convinced that the worst is going to happen… like, man, even Geiz has more optimism than that. Kid stole a Time Mazine and went back fifty years to be a grim executioner and maybe alter history! It’s okay for Sougo to try and save enough people with Time Powers to maybe be a hero instead of a villain. No one knows what the future really holds; not even people in the future.

This was a great End Of Act 1 episode. It brings back a bunch of little details (Uncle’s story about missing out on a dream becomes a story about dreams never really going away; Sougo still won’t go to college I guess) and puts a pin in some others (Tsukasa taking his honestly-somewhat-tiresome “Wild Card, Bitches” act on the road for a minute; the Time Jackers get trounced) while promising a bunch of weird things to come. It really felt like we’d come full-circle, resolving a big character flaw in Sougo by strengthening his bonds with the rest of the team. (Well, mostly Geiz. Tsukuyomi is in full Time Mom mode this episode.)

A really nice episode. A little bit more contemplative than last time, but still terrifically character-focused. An excellent Christmas present!



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KAMEN RIDER ZI-O COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT EPISODE 16.5 - “BE FOREVER COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT (PART TWO)”

Final .5 episode! It’s… not a good one!

It’s just Team Zi-O talking around the surprise of Ryotaro being in the just-released Heisei Generations Forever movie. It’s interesting to hear the lengths the production team went to in order to hide Ryotaro’s return (a fake scene for the Advance Screening!), but it’s just some fun trivia. I like these shorts better when they’re completely insane, which this one really wasn’t. (The concept of Toei Hitmen is a fun note, though.) It’s informative, which isn’t really what I like best for these .5 episodes.

There’s also no Legend Rider guest-star, because they are still trying to keep Ryotaro’s presence in the movie a surprise. It’d be weird if he showed up here to goof around! So it’s just Team Zi-O, providing fun trivia, the end.

Pretty fun series of short films, though. I will miss them!