[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 11 - “DON’T STOP THE CAMERA, STOP HIM!”



Long day, late night, more to do after this, we’re maybe going to have to move to a five-post-per-week format soon because holy shit are Wednesdays becoming just as bad for me as Tuesdays, so let’s try and knock this one out!

The conclusion to this two-parter was appropriately grim and dramatic, letting the treachery and shifting fortunes leak in from the in-universe TV show designed to Humagears to Japanese adults. (I really… man, I really wish this show had even a little leaned into joking about trying to work in more Hiden product placement, or showing off the Q2 merch at the expense of the story. Wasted opportunity!) Good guys are caught in the crossfire, the best intentions trap our heroes, and everything turns to shit while the bad guys celebrate their victories.

Despite all that, this second part didn’t drastically improve from the first for me. It’s solid, and I enjoyed its bummer ending quite a bit, but the slowly tightening noose is not my favorite mode for these stories. It leaves the heroes mostly fumbling around for a little too long, barely able to see the shape of the trap that they’re already caught in. Fun for a little bit, but I mostly just wait for the more appealing counter-attack.

There were a couple big things I liked in this episode, though.

The first is the scene with Oowada and Aruto. It’s a fun exploration of how relationships improve with mutual respect and optimism, but with the added dimension of how we need to consider AI as something that needs us as much as we need them. It’s the old Garbage In, Garbage Out thing, where any system is going to break down (BREAK DOWN) if all you feed it is bad data. If Oowada looks at Enji as a machine that’ll never be a real actor, that’s all Oowada’s going to get out of him. But if Oowada approaches the relationship with generosity and patience, with the goal of improving Enji, then they can both benefit from the partnership. It’s asking Oowada to see the collaborative aspects of acting, and telescoping that out to a human/Humagear future.

The second thing I dug was, uh, the guy who maybe arranged to have Oowada murdered in front of witnesses?

Hey, it’s the formal introduction of Gai Amatsu, the CEO of ZAIA (and absolutely nothing more ever)! He’s an instantly engaging nemesis for Aruto, with his largesse and ever-present smile and incredibly thinly veiled threats that he’s already enacted his master plan thirty-five minutes ago because he’s not a Republic serial villain, Dan. He’s warm and confident as he tells Aruto that he should really consider selling his company to Gai, since Gai is currently in the process of immolating Hiden Intelligence. It’s a threat that Aruto never considered, and it’s one he’s even less prepared to confront than the one he’s already doing a shit job at containing. This is an episode that’s nothing but Ls for our heroes, the end, roll credits.

I guess… hmm, maybe this was an improvement over the last one for me? This one’s got a real Empire Strikes Back ending, but with even less daylight for Aruto than the farm boys and space princesses of that film. (Also Fuwa, but that dude’s as written out of this one as Aruto was last time.) There’s a nice little message in here about trying to approach situations with optimism and faith, and then that message gets executed. That actually sounds like a pretty cool story?

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KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 01: KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE - BITING SHARK



Absolutely no time to build a SO-DO tonight, so, sorry Lightning Hornet, but we’re going to take a look at one of the final pre-built SO-DO I’ve got: BITING SHARK, who very kindly appeared in this episode to make it topical!

Biting Shark’s a lot like Flying Falcon in the over-use of COLOR parts, but I think Biting Shark wears it better? The COLOR and blue complement each other a little better, and I think the blocks of colors keep from bleeding into each other in a discordant way. Blue on the chest, shoulders, helmet, shins; COLOR on the forearms, feet, back. I’m pretty happy with it?

Helmet just works great, too. Fish helmets always look cool to me, and this one’s no different. The jagged teeth are solid without being too angry-looking, and the additional fins give a nice sense of forward motion.

This is a really well-executed suit, and a fun little figure. It looks like all the blue is painted, and most of the COLOR pieces, as well. Not bad!