[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 39 - “2007 - DENLINER CRASH!”



This episode is definitely trying to instill a sense of foreboding. The cold open is Yuuto and Deneb watching the (very cool!) new Grand Zi-O form wallop the crap out of Another Den-O, fearful of the unstoppable power that Sougo will soon wield. It’s supposed to feel like we’re at the precipice, moments before things irrevocably change for the worse.

But it’s also an episode where the DenLiner Imagin cajole a clock repairman to fix the DenLiner because it’s "basically a clock"; an episode where the main character immediately says Hey This Yuuto Guy Played Kiriya In Hibiki; and an episode where Momotaros joins Woz and Sougo to form Zi-O Trinity.

It’s… I don’t know that all of these pieces fit together tonally, and it’s the more serious parts that end up feeling incongruent.

Some of the problem with the impending arrival of Grand Zi-O is that the show can’t figure out how to worry about it, considering the huge aftermath to the arrival of Zi-O II. It’s the exact same threat as it was a dozen episodes ago: Sougo is about to activate a power that can’t be stopped, so maybe he should be stopped now. But we did that plot, with these same characters. Tsukuyomi even has this pained expression, where Yuuto’s saying the same things she said to Geiz a few months ago, but now everyone from Team Zi-O can hear how weird they sound. Sougo needs this power to stop an evil overlord in the future, not become one, and we’re way past the point of folks being conflicted about Sougo’s intentions. It’s like Yuuto time traveled from Episode 23, when this plot might’ve found a more receptive audience.

Luckily, this episode is only briefly concerned with a dimly-lit This Is Serious exploration of Sougo’s dedication to defeating Oma Zi-O. It’s mostly just a screwball comedy, and a ridiculously successful one at that.

Just… so fun, all of these Den-O characters. Yuuto and Deneb alone would’ve made this a delight, but tossing in the shockingly unchaperoned DenLiner Imagin (Not even Naomi?! For a second Hey Don’t I Know You scene?) creates exactly the right madcap energy for a Den-O homage – a Den-hOmage, if you will. (I will!) There’s a breakneck pace to the episode, which is a boon to the Legend Rider comedy elements, even if it ends up being a curse for the Grand Zi-O setup. Deconstructing a joke rarely does it any favors, so we’re going to go List Form for this episode’s many, many high points:

-Momo 100% crashing the Den-Liner for no real reason, and avoiding all blame
-Uncle assuming the Den-Liner Imagin are Sougo’s friends because Kiriya said he was an Oni, and *gestures at Momo*
-The entirety of the Kiriya/Yuuto scene, which should hang in a museum
-The return of Deneb Candy, my favorite non-watermelon thing from Kamen Rider Den-O
-Yuuto trying to leave on a tough-guy line, until Deneb does his usual clean-up act and begs everyone to ignore Yuuto's pissy attitude and Please Get Along With Yuuto
-The DenLiner Imagin being shocked that their whole ruse about the DenLiner being a big clock was actually maybe true
-MomoGeiz trying to Henshin and needing a very aggravated Tsukuyomi to explain how this show's role-play items work
-Momo ending up inside Zi-O Trinity next to a sleeping Geiz
-Geiz nearly choking Momo to death for the last two lines

It’s a stupidly entertaining episode, and its only real misstep is not landing a plot that the show can’t quite figure out to launch. The grim sense of foreboding is almost as laughable as the actual comedy. I’m sort of okay with that trade-off?