[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O - THREAD WRAP-UP



And that just about does it for KAMEN RIDER DIE WATCHES KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!

As always, thanks to everyone who participated in this thread, whether you came prepared with a series-long gimmick, or just popped in when you couldn’t resist commenting. I’d be enormously grateful just to be tolerated for my weird thoughts on Kamen Rider, but y’all are constantly making these threads a fun party. I can’t ever thank you enough, but I’ve got a few more threads to give it a try.

There was a window where this might’ve been a collaborative thread like Decade was, and while that didn’t happen, I think it maybe did in a better way? Decade was a series of one-on-one discussions, where I’d chat with another fan about a specific story, and then move on to another fan and another chat. With Zi-O, it felt like everyone was coming to this thing with their own perspective, and their own set of goals for the experience. I think that’s more Zi-O than trying to rehash the Decade thread?

Zi-O was a show about how we each individually need to figure out what the future means, and work daily to get there. But while those things are up to us, they only become valuable if everyone gets the chance to do those things, and is supported in their attempt. So a thread where it’s two people taking apart a story, and then they’re done… that’s not this show? This one needs a dozen people working in tandem to explain their perspectives, and share their insights, so we can all benefit from the effort. Everyone showing up with their bits, or their links, or their breakdowns… kind of the ideal way to approach this show, honestly.

I had a really good time with this thread. Decade was a ton of work, and then the holiday break movie thread was, inexplicably, even more work. Getting back to a weekly show and daily posts, it was nice. Felt good!

I don’t know if it read good, though? (Beyond my conversational writing style; see “read good”.) There’s some stuff I liked writing about – Oma Zi-O as addiction metaphor was the thing I was maybe happiest with – but I never really felt like I said anything too insightful or trenchant. Most of my analysis felt facile, and not terribly original. Didn’t– didn’t much feel like I was digging into these episodes in ways other than how everyone else dug into them a few years ago. Maybe it was fun to read, though? I don’t know, I’m the last one to judge that. I hope it was fun!

Regardless of my thoughts on the quality of these posts, I got myself a treat!



SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Zi-O! Finally get to open this guy up, since he’s been sitting in a closet for a few months. (He needs Ridewatch stickers reeeeeally bad.) I also recently snagged Woz and Zi-O II, with Geiz and Geiz Revive on the way. Planning to add Oma Zi-O, Grand Zi-O, Trinity Form, and Woz Finally to the collection, but that’ll probably be it. Never was too crazy about the Armor Times, and a movie-only form isn’t something I need to see in the cabinet right now. Maybe someday, though.

Haven’t done this in a minute, but how about a Watch Thread word-art?



It’s the 200 most-used words in my episode posts, all arranged in a nicely regal crown shape. If anything in there reflects your Zi-O experience, please call it out. “Swartz Something Nothing” is so true it’s painful.

I’ll still pop into this thread if people have thoughts to share, but this is the end of any daily work on it from me. I’ll be going on a brief hiatus, where I both let my brain reset a bit for the next show, and just generally catch up on the many things I’ve avoided over the last couple months. DonBros, for sure, need to get caught up there. (I also heard there was an OOO movie? Any good?) I’ll try and spend some time fixing broken images in older threads, but I’m not sure how far I’ll get. (I’ve got a bunch of non-Rider projects to work on, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to fix more than a thread or two.) Other than that, I’ll be back in mid-June for KAMEN RIDER DIE WATCHES KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE (XXX XXXXXX XXXXX). Tentatively planning on Thursday, June 16th, but it may be later that weekend. This summer’s going to be a bumpy ride, scheduling-wise, so we’ll have to play it by ear. Definitely going to be back in under a month, though, promise.

Thanks again to everyone who shared their thoughts in this thread, or just lurked in anonymity. I’m very grateful, and I think of you all as friends. You can’t see it, but I’m typing this with a smile that’d make Sougo look depressed.