[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 1 - ?I?M PRESIDENT KAMEN RIDER?

It really clicks in when the cute lady assistant shows up to deliver a driver to our title character, to better help him defend a group of civilians from a monster attack at a public place. But even beyond that, there?s the way Aruto's story is so central to this episode; the way the A.I.M.S. team is sketched in without necessarily being drawn into the narrative; the way MetsubouJinrai.Net is clearly Gathering Data, one of the few disappointing hallmarks of early Ex-Aid; the way a young man dedicated to helping people one way, takes a left turn to help people in a different way.

Izu izu (Is is, that's a show not by Aruto, I̶z̶u̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶f̶i̶c̶i̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶"̶I̶s̶"̶) probably the only female lead that is successful in whole franchise-scale (e.g. characters like Momotaros or Kuroto), and if it's talking about her chemistry (laughed at Izu's failure to throw the briefcase at Aruto, but due to it being accidental, not intentional), and her inherently stiff robotic nature, it is something earned by her and the actress Noa Tsurushima alone, as it's regarding how a character is written and perhaps to create a good chemistry between the casts, it's something that needs to be inherently done. But it can also be about how useful Izu izu to Aruto, while that also deserves appreciation, I think it'd be unfair to bash other female leads for not being able to do as much as Izu, as she's a really advanced technology that'd mean she's inherently more useful than normal humans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

That last aspect was my favorite part, and the emphasis on it was what really elevated this episode for me. Ex-Aid had Emu start as a doctor, and become a Kamen Rider, but still work as a doctor. Zero-One has Aruto pursuing his dream of being a(n objectively terrible) comedian, and then says No to him, somewhat definitively. His dream was to make people happy, and now he?s being asked to run a company while defending humanity from a robot death cult -slash- liberation army. (Tokusatsu is written by the winners!) But in doing so, he can give people the safety to be happy. He?s not actively doing the thing he wants, but he?s providing the conditions for it to be done. I like that message, that we can sometimes mistake the path for the destination, or the process for the result. Aruto wants to make people happy; why does it have to be as a comedian? Why define yourself one way? Why stick to one definition?

Yeah, Aruto's comedy attempts, I was wondering how awful it is to be seen in person, but yeah I was truly puzzled when actually watching the show (by Aruto). But in my particular experience, I was actually looking into where's the comedy part, he seems to just make some sentences with puns, and that'd be actually not a comedy at all (though yeah, puns can be commonly used to joke around, including me, actually one of my main attempts for that, but for the creativity part), though it's indicated by Aruto's catchphrase after making said sentences (not made by me):



But I think you're understating Aruto's main motivation here, if you talk about how he mainly wants to make people happy by defending humanity from robots. Like, fighting Magia is the last resort for Aruto. Aruto wants for humans to also appreciate Humagears (there'd be something relatable by this personally but I'd save it for later) and actually wants for them to co-exist together. MetsubouJinrai.NET also consists of.... Humagears.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And that seems like it could be a big theme for the season, what with robots overcoming their programming and humanity deciding how much of their society they want to leave up to a new lifeform. Exploring the parameters of freedom and self-sufficiency, trying to figure out how to integrate technology into society without abandoning our humanity, using industry with empathy, that all feels like stuff this show wants to touch on, judging from this first episode.

I actually would be a bit conflicted regarding the pushing to integrate more and more robotic technologies, and for this one, Humagears are outright humans without standard human weakness (robots also aren't tired, but some of them are, immobile, only stays in 1 place and only fulfills certain roles), though Humagears are still not perfect, and actually their issues are what'd be explored in episodes ahead. That'd be something that can potentially create more unemployment, and Aruto perhaps should think about it once in a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And, like, even beyond thematic reads and fun morals and Ex-Aid structural callbacks, this was just a ton of fun. The action choreography was exceptional, Izu?s got cute chemistry with Aruto, and Aruto?s split-second decision to become Kamen Rider Zero-One (the ferocity of his acceptance was such a great counterpoint to his normal easy-going haplessness) was a glorious Rider debut. You can see the bones of Ex-Aid in there, but the finished product has successes all its own. Fantastic first episode for our first Reiwa Rider!

Yeah, the part of Zero-One dodging the disc attacks and going through several cars is nicely done, and I like that it's not flashy just for being sake of flashy, like for example, Wizard's finisher. Though unpopular opinion here, but I think his Rider Kick, Rising Impact, isn't that spectacular, to me it's more about how Humagears mechanic that they don't explode in fiery manner, but are also broke apart into many pieces when it's beaten, and it's more about how robotic fights inherently are more destructive due to their hard-but-brittle nature, and can sound more punchy and impactful at times. The Rider Kick being simplistic like that is however, I know this is quite done as some homage to Showa Riders (as well as the 01 name or stronger bug theme), sorry

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 01: KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE RISING HOPPER

I like the little grasshopper face in the torso armor, and how the red of the eyes comes back in on the boots. There?s always so many interesting touches on Rider suits, and even a fairly straightforward design like this one manages to weave in some fun details.

Yet again, you showed some disappointment regarding insect motif iirc like for Kabuto before due to relation of Showa... but then again as OOO enjoyer perhaps you should appreciate GataKiriBa's design too, that has insect motif.