[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 35 - ?2008 - FIRST LOVE, WAKE UP!?

We?re now in our third straight story based on an Inoue series, but this is the first one he?s written for the Zi-O series proper. With Inoue himself at the helm for this Kiva celebration, you can count on a few things:

-We are immediately going to be talking about how systems inherently fail the individual.
-We are also going to be talking about how people let down by systems invariably end up designing similarly-unhelpful replacement systems that reflect their own biases, rather than dreaming of something better.
-It?s going to be horny.

And, boy, three for three! Add in a final act that has absolutely nothing to do with our main story (the antagonist literally watches for a while and then walks off!) and you?ve got a thrillingly nonsensical episode that everyone but me probably hated.

I also quite enjoyed this episode, to tell you (I'd also confess that some of my favorite commercial in TV are the bizzare funny ones). This ain't something like RT Ryuki (you'd be quite mistaken for what to count for Inoue things that can inspire hate there other than 50/50 the horny one, it'd be about Inoue being overly edgy but especially about what's written in novels), and for me personally, there aren't really any OOC moments here (other than Sougo likely turning more stupid in his judgment) so that's good, including those being done for comedy; being comedy doesn't mean it's not OOC like Kaitou causing trouble by his funny actions (o̶f̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶y̶i̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶q̶u̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶g̶l̶a̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶p̶r̶a̶i̶s̶e̶ ̶T̶e̶z̶u̶k̶a̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶p̶r̶a̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶p̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶p̶r̶a̶i̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶c̶o̶i̶n̶s̶,̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶K̶i̶b̶a̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶). The one that can earn 'everyone hate' regarding your list is the horny one (either being seen as creepy or derogatory-memed like Kusaka having oedipus complex to Mari) though probably this one I don't hear it, probably this one's not on that extreme stuff so more tolerable. Yuko's actually is one of the more popular MOTW in Zi-O too, the other one is Rentarou (so give that one credit too... though not rewarded in proper way if RT Shinobi is like that).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Yuko?s an interesting foil for Sougo in this one, because it sort of interrogates the usual Daddy Issues orphan-angle stuff of Kamen Rider by having Sougo crush on a woman ten years older than him. There?s something seriously Oedipal in Sougo?s attraction to Yuko ? his flashback story is all about her maternally caring for him, soothing his fear, etc. It?s? I don?t want to say It?s Weird, because sexual attraction as a teenager can be a messy web to disentangle, and it?s not helpful to shame a fictional character for trying to understand how his psychology informs his sexuality. But it?s a little weird!

Well hehe, Yuko's still shrouded in mystery in general, so I can't talk more about what about her yet, but kinda glad too that Yuko's not immediately seen as good here for her intentions (if it's "evil ace attorney"), her fun character, or how the protagonist (Sougo) views her while also being someone who knows her more compared to the others. But if she's already rightfully seen as bad here, then I gotta tell that it's still just the beginning too. Other than probably being comedic, I actually like about how Yuko's a creative fighter that makes use of everything she can around her to get upper hand? Manhole cover? It's a really effective weapon! It can be used as a shield, and it's effective enough as a bashing weapon or throwing weapon. My argument's the same as how Hibiki makes use of musical instruments as weapons. Her fighting against Time Jackers, specifically Ora, ain't about her being actually good to fight off cruel villains or being undercover as "Queen", but it's about how she has little regards to anyone for her superiority complex as a "Queen", actually is 'ungrateful' to the Time Jackers.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Geiz is suitably annoyed at Sougo?s lusty confidence in an escaped convict?s string of attacks on the same legal profession he was all I Salute Your Service about earlier, which shows that this episode understands the swing it?s taking. The Time Orphans in particular are a good audience surrogate in this one, rolling their eyes at how Sougo?s empathy now seems to generate exclusively from his Ziku Driver Area. But Inoue?s all about big swings, and I?m interested in how he?s going to square up the obvious pitfalls of this premise.

This shows about Geiz changing too. Preivously he'd be more similar to Yuko, that's probably still a stretch, but about him being more merciless, about how Geiz would eliminate anyone he perceives as evil like Another Rider simply for being Another Rider. But now, Geiz won't approve on extreme law enforcement (and that's only the surface of Yuko for now), speaking up against eliminating subjects. Other than that, while Sougo does have dumb and naive traits, here his love for Yuko makes him dumb in his judgment and manipulative abilities too, he shuts off his brain and believes every word she says. When usually Sougo's the one that actually gulls other people despite his outwardly silliness. Here Sougo also has a genuinely naive view (dunno if this is OOC as this probably isn't love related but the job in general) about how lawyers are inherently good due to what's expected of them alone. I'd think a person/character shouldn't be judged by their job/occupation alone, either elevating them as beacons of goodness simply due to taking jobs that are seen as heroic or being scums for not taking those jobs.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Also, the entire story stops dead so Kamen Rider Ginga can appear in Kamen Rider Quarry, kick three Riders worth of crap out of Zi-O Trinity, and then go to a cliffhanger. I don?t? I don?t really feel like talking about this part? The direction was super fun, but even for Inoue this was some tonal incoherence. We?re in the middle of a story about Sougo falling for a femme fatale, and then suddenly Team Zi-O, Heure, and Ora are watching some flying saucer-themed Rider (nice Saga reference; I see you, Inoue!) walk out of a meteor and start blowing everything up? What? Why was this happening at all, let alone in the last four minutes of a Kiva tribute?

I'd say that Ginga's showing is cool though, he actually makes use of his abilities well and it fits his galaxy theme (as per the name 'Ginga'). And though for above, Sougo is the one that is ridiculous in this episode, as Zi-O Trinity, turns out that the other males are no better than Sougo too, they actually can't use Trinity right with constant arguing that even reduces their effectiveness. For this one, Tsukuyomi's the one that rolls her eyes about how incompetent her comrades are, though well, potentially infuriating that she's "useless" compared to the others as she isn't a Rider for now and she cannot come close into doing as good as bickering Zi-O Trinity towards Ginga, thus has no "right" to complain about the actual Riders.