[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O NEXT TIME: GEIZ, MAJESTY



Wow. Total home run.

It’s funny to think that we never really got Geiz’z But Why Heroism moment in the entire year he was on Zi-O. There’re a few explorations of Geiz’z turn from Grim Executioner to Devoted Friend, but we never really delved into his motivations outside of the Marry/F**k/Kill options of his relationship with Sougo. We never knew what Geiz wanted beyond Saving The Future, you know?

With the future more-or-less saved – or at least the imminent Time Apocalypse forestalled – we’ve got a little bit of space to get into Geiz’z larger worldview, and this movie does an exceptional job of both coloring in Geiz’z hopes and dreams as his own character, and giving us the Team Zi-O camaraderie/nonsense we’ve fallen in love with. It’s the absolute perfect balance of warm nostalgia and forward-thinking character development. It’s literally the best possible continuation of Kamen Rider Zi-O.

Mostly because it’s just the first two episodes of Zi-O, but Starring Geiz. Which… I mean, I grew to love Sougo, but I will always feel like the first couple stories in this show would’ve been immeasurably improved if they’d been from Geiz’z perspective. He was the guy with the most legible motivation in the early cast, since Killing Time Hitler is an easy sell, even in a kids’ show. Sougo’s vague desire to be a king, coupled with his naivete surrounding his role in a future genocide, took a few stories to really come into focus. But Geiz’z steely determination and grumpy reluctance to treat Sougo as anything other than a future chalk outline, that had a clarity that an early premise requires. So setting our first post-finale story around (a) Woz showing up to present Geiz with a Ridewatch and Driver, while mysterious assassins from the future attempt to close off a timeline he doesn’t even want? That’s good! That works!

It works because it’s way more fun, and I guess we can thank the King of Time version of Sougo for that. About half of this movie features the best-ever versions of our cast – a bunch of lunatic high-schoolers – and it’s enormously entertaining. I literally didn’t care if any superheroes ever showed up. The easy comedy of our cast isn’t dimmed by impending doom; it somehow flourishes beneath its weight. I would happily watch another season of Zi-O with this version of the cast. SWARTZ AS A TERRIFYING HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL! That is in the Top 10 of Kamen Rider ideas for all-time. I can’t believe how much better every single character is in this thing.

And it’s all still the characters we knew, despite the new reality. Geiz is still a kid who’ll readily accept failure as his birthright, even as he never gives up. There’s no sense of the universe owing him anything other than what he can win, which is both refreshing and sort of aggravating. It’s the same old Geiz thing of focusing on situations as Victory or Defeat, instead of as Helpful or Unhelpful. Outside the context of a grim executioner from the Misery Fields of 2068, we get to see that he’s kind of just as focused as he ever was, to the exclusion of a wider sense of self. He’s dedicated to being a judo champion, but he’s completely forgotten why he ever wanted to do it in the first place. The lesson he learns here is to think about what you’re doing, but to care about why you’re doing it. Being the best at judo originally mattered to Geiz because he wanted to protect people; he’d let that get buried under years of competition, but it was always inside of him, waiting to be unearthed.

That’s the lesson of a lot of Secondaries, you know? The title hero usually has an easier path to heroism; a resolve that marks them as deserving of power. Secondaries usually come at it from a different angle. They’re darker, more conflicted versions of the title character. Their path is one of self-discovery, or even self-acceptance. They have a chip on their shoulder, or a fatalism masquerading as pragmatism, and the arc of their character is to see outside of their grudge/vendetta/selfishness/Kusaka and understand the point of view of the hero. They become the best versions of themselves (well: Kusaka) by their proximity to another hero, and start to see themselves as heroes as well.

So, yeah, I loved all of the cameos? After crabbing about Accel not showing up for any of the various tributes, look who offers good advice while sternly rebuking questions from teenagers sent specifically to ask him questions: It’s Terui! And AKIRA DATE, the best Birth! And KUSAKA, who I guess just heard me getting a shot off on him! And KAITO! And they’re all here to let Geiz know that it’s okay to have your destiny altered, which is (Kaito aside) the fate of all Secondaries. All these guys reminiscing about how horrible they were, before they learned to use their power for something other than their own emotional shortcomings or selfish goals. To see Geiz in the same type of lineage as Sougo did in Zi-O… pretty great use of all these guys?

(One of my earliest favorite moments in Zi-O was Brave sort of ignoring Sougo to try and get Geiz to see past his anger and do something heroic, so this story for Geiz is a very long time coming.)

Tightly-written movie, too. Every time something weird would come up, like Hat Woz still existing, there’d be a line of dialogue a little later explaining it. All the characters are in the story for a reason, and contribute something to the plot. Despite the large roster, there’s never a sense of this not being Geiz’z story, front to back. This is his time to become the hero, and he’s bringing all his friends (and Woz) along for the ride.

And, man, what a ride. I’m a little bummed that there aren’t twenty more of these. It was smart, funny, thrilling, and poignant. It honored twenty years of Secondaries (and Garren). It fleshed-out Geiz’z character, filling in the blanks left after a year of being in someone else’s shadow. It moved the focus, expanded the scope, and zoomed in on the details.

It was majestic.




NEW TIMELINE, WHO DIS?

Back for a final anniversary commentary, it’s Androzani84, DreamSword, Name, and ZeroEnchiladas! The five of us grappled with this movie, judo-like, using nearly Geiz-levels of skill and power, and I think it went well. There were very few injuries! Please enjoy our goofy asides and off-the-cuff analysis, as we close out the Heisei era of Kamen Rider. Thanks for listening! And keep detonating monsters!