[Fish Sandwich]

Okay, I'm finally totally and completely finished rewatching just about everything related to Zero-One, and while it won't be as elaborate as that last post, I do have a few fresh thoughts on some of those non-TV adventures.

Kamen Rider: Reiwa The First Generation



I think I've seen this movie at least four times now? Thanks to Die's Zi-O thread it's fresh in my mind that I weirdly smack-talked it when reviewing Geiz, Majesty, and I'd just to like say -- I'm really sorry about that, Reiwa The First Generation! You're a pretty dang good movie! It's one of those Rider films that's massively grown on me with each successive viewing. A big key to that is how there were big aspects of it I loved right away, and with each time I come back to it, the issues I originally had feel less and less glaring.

Like, the Zi-O cast isn't super prominent, right? So I think a lot of people including me kind of took that to be like they don't even need to be there at all, but now I kind of feel like there's a really good fake out the movie does with the whole "The First Rider" thing? Because having Zi-O there kind of sets you up to think about it in that Shirakura meta kind of way, where you've got a villain modeled after Rider #1 it could be referring to. And then one of the big selling points of the film is that Aruto's father was secretly an earlier Kamen Rider in Zero-One's history, also modeled directly on the Showa OG, which makes it sound like it's about him. I mean, why is Zero-One even called that, in-universe, if he's just following in his dad's footsteps? And that question ends up being the whole point of the story, working the idea of Zero-One as the start of a new era into the show's own story, and adding a ton of emotional weight to Aruto taking on that title. It's brilliant. I don't know how anything could've made me even slightly disappointed in this movie originally when it has even just that going for it. There's a lot of other stuff in this movie I really enjoy as well. (The very last scene with Izu and Aruto is one of my favorite of many great moments between those two characters, which is an entirely separate thing I should really talk about at some point.) I actually rewatched this way back after the first arc, but I'm including it in this post anyway because I just regret not saying anything about it that much. It's a bit of a shame this didn't make it into Shout's release of the series, really, with how much it complements the TV show, but then, I suppose one movie is still a lot better than none. I'll get to that in a second though...

Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider MetsubouJinrai

What I say when someone asks me to describe Kamen Rider ZAIA's character in one word:


What I say when someone tries to argue that Kamen Rider ZAIA is an overrated character:


What I say when someone asks me who the greatest Kamen Rider V-Cinema villain of all time is:


Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider Vulcan & Valkyrie

Okay seriously though, I'm absolutely in the crowd that quite likes both these films. It's one of those cases where I get why people wouldn't, but there's just way too much commendable about them for it to feel fair to me to dismiss what they're doing entirely. I mean, people always clown on Justice Serval's fight scene, right? But that's a great scene! It's such a wonderful show of growth for Yua's character, making this desperate last stand in the hopes of saving lives, even calling back to her sorta-catchphrase from early on, now changed to reflect how much she's moved beyond her outlook on AI that was clearly influenced by Gai. And you're gonna look at that grand display of heroic resolve and tell me it's lame because it isn't flashy enough for you? That's very much the story with this duology for me. A lot of the aspects that might otherwise stand out as negatives to me kind of get buried under how smart I find so much of the characterization and thematic work.

Yua is honestly the highlight of the whole thing for me, even. I think Vul/Val does a great job adding context to her personality that naturally expands on what we saw in the show in a way that also retroactively adds depth to the series as a whole. The dynamic between her and Fuwa was always about contrast. You know, a blue dog and an orange cat -- it's pretty straightforward. And, among other things, they really capitalize on that concept when it comes time to explain their differing outlooks on justice. Fuwa is a character all about freedom (he IS a Showa Rider, after all), so he just stops worrying about the concept entirely after deciding it's not worth his time. But Yua's thoughts on the topic suggest that she's given an immense amount of thought to how tricky a word "justice" can really be, and has tried to come up with an answer that would fit as many of those clashing systems and creeds as best as she could. It's exactly the kind of unrealistic pressure Yua would put on herself, as someone who doesn't fundamentally reject authority the way Fuwa constantly does. That's just one little thing in the film, and combined with everything else in it, it made Yua's arc in the show make boatloads more sense to me on that rewatch, which is not something to sneeze at. I liked Valkyrie way more after watching this than I did before, and that's exactly the kind of praise a spinoff like this should be getting out of someone. And that's just one character in it, too!



(Plus, I'm really glad Monkey Majik got to do proper songs for Zero-One. I remember thinking ever since watching Chou Super Hero Taisen that it'd be great if those guys got a Rider thing that maybe earned that sort of theme song a little more, and SOS and Frontier fit their movies fantastically.)

Kamen Rider Zero-One: REALxTIME

All that being said, I also deliberately watched the movies out of order, figuring Real Time would be a nicer vibe to leave off this rewatch on. There's only one person who can decide how this story ends... and it's me! Wait, that's not even how that line goes... At any rate, I'd advise anyone else rewatching Zero-One to do the same thing if those V-Cinemas bum you out too much. Canon's just what you make of it, at the end of the day, isn't it?

Getting back to the topic at hand, though, I'm extremely glad this movie made it as part of the official release of the show, considering Ryuki didn't come with Episode Final or anything. It feels almost like a statement that Real Time is just too good to not include, and I wholeheartedly agree! It's a must-watch film! What kind of monsters would try to tell you that you can't watch it? I've pretty much said what I want to about this movie before, and there's basically no way this thing is ever going to stop holding up.



And that's pretty much a wrap on Zero-One from me, for a bit... and I do mean *only* a bit, considering there's going to be a whole thread about the show from a certain someone on this forum in a bit, which may or may not have been what motivated me to pick up the pace on this rewatch in the first place. I actually more or less totally put Fourze on hold, which maybe once again says something about how much pull Zero-One has with my heart. It's funny, because I don't even remember why I started watching the whole show again? Wanting to check out the subs doesn't explain why I felt the need to watch the entire first arc over, and I didn't mention any deeper reason in that post, so I guess that'll just be a mystery forever now. Not that I'm sweating it too much, because "it was fun" is all the reason I need. And while I'm not as chatty about that show, Fourze's sure to be loads of fun as soon as I get back to it, too!