[Kamen Rider Die]

Well, to celebrate Kamen Rider Zero-One I went and did the most Zero-One thing imaginable: I contracted COVID! Never say that I'm not fully dedicated to putting myself in the headspace of the original viewers of these shows. (I probably should've held off until the 20s, but you all know how much trouble I have slotting these things in to the right order.) It's a light case, and I'm vaxxed and boosted, but I still feel like I've taken a Sting Dystopia to my bones and organs. Forming thoughts and finding energy are two things that are a little slippery right now, so I'm going to post some responses to the last day's worth of comments, and then I'm probably going to be scarce for the next few days. Thanks for your understanding!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Trigger is... Okay, so Trigger isn't objectively bad, but I think it's safe to say that if you start there, then any other New Generation show you may want to watch next is a step up.

Is it not Trigger I'm thinking of? What was the one with Sevenger, then. Maybe it was that one?

...

No, it was Trigger! I swear I heard people liked that one.

I don't know, this is, like, a 2024 problem to solve. I'll ask for recommendations then!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And just as a Zero-One story, making a big powerup for Aruto all about his bond with Humagears is always a choice I'm going to be fond of.

It's a good choice! I'm not crazy how the Key is getting produced so far in advance of the, uh, identifiable threat (I would like this story 25% more if Izu started constructing the Key after the Dodo had kicked Aruto's ass once or twice, but I guess Horobi's threat maybe necessitated it), but the resolution being wrapped up in Aruto's ability to gain strength from Humagears, literally and figuratively, is undeniably strong.

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Originally Posted by Kurona

This was my favourite suit at the time (definitely have different opinions now!) so I was always a bit let down looking at the only figure representation it had

It's not great! A little hard to believe that it never got released as a Figuart (I think Fuwa has at least three figures?), so it would definitely sting to have it only in a subpar form.

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Originally Posted by Frontier

RIP Assassin-Chan. You made Dodo's seem intimidating and were a nice quirky mini-boss.

He really was! I liked how his evolution muddied the waters of Aruto's mission, you know? Assassin-chan was evolving and changing... into a way more diabolical villain. It's the flipside to Aruto's faith in Humagears, something more akin to Fuwa's worldview, which makes for a fun villain in the world-building stage of this series.

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Originally Posted by cosmicrescend0

I honestly completely forgot they didn't actually show Hiden wrapping up that whole scandal or anything, feels a little weird since it was bulit up quite a bit.

Yeah, I didn't want to make a deal about it because, with how serialized this storyline has been, I wouldn't be shocked if 14 were all the wrap-up for the on-set shooting and framing. Still a little weird, though.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Nevertheless, it's important to remember that she's still the first ever female Rider to get a second form. That's a big deal! People should really give more appreciation to this.

I would never dream of underselling the importance of a form change for a female Rider! That's why I wish it worked better for me? (I do not love the chest bees.)

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Here Shining Hopper didn't function well at first because it's too weak for Aruto, before Wazu adjusted it.

Good point! It's unusual for a series to have the Rider be too strong for the upgrade, but super appropriate for Aruto.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

For this time, the MetsubouJinrai.net actually got their just desserts of being rejected to team up with the Riders, even Aruto, due to the atrocities they've committed. Wonder if first watchers would think Aruto can never change his mind about MetsubouJinrai.net here or not.

This was a thing I meant to bring up!

The tease of a MetsubouJinrai/AIMS/Zero-One was fascinating to think about, and normally where a story like this would go (The Enemy Of My Enemy etc), but instead all three heroes immediately decline Horobi's offer by pointing out that they all hate him because he's a genocidal terrorist. While there'd be a lot of energy in seeing Fuwa have to work alongside Horobi, we're probably way too early in the series for that to feel viable for Fuwa's character, let alone Yua's or Aruto's.