[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 24 - “IT’S OUR TURN”



One of my favorite Kamen Rider moments is the finale of the Fourze summer movie. Gentarou’s getting beat down in space, and it’s up to every one of his friends on Earth to activate enough Astroswitches to create the McGuffin that’s going to save the day. It’s a moment that leverages dozens of disparate stories – and occasional disposable elements – to create the most epic resolution imaginable for a franchise that’s all about the power of empathy. It’s not even that folks are paying off a debt, or whatever; there’s not really a sense of obligation to it. It’s just that Gentarou has shown them the value in helping each other out, so now they’re going to help him out.

This episode… I mean, it’s only halfway through the show, so it can’t hit that hard-earned feeling of the Fourze movie, but I loved it just the same. Probably my favorite episode so far in Zero-One.

It works because it exposes the real flaw in Aruto’s recent usage of Metal Cluster Hopper: it wasn’t that he couldn’t see the danger to himself or his friends, it’s that he only saw the danger in the Humagears. Much like Ark could only see the violence and cruelty of humanity, Aruto was stuck seeing Humagears as only potential opponents or helpless victims. It wasn’t malicious, or anything. He’s not Gai, looking down on the very concept of AI’s walking around. But it’s born from a fear that any Humagear could get hacked, or go berzerk, and just generally terrorize the public. This is what Aruto has to deal with nowadays: Humagears constantly going crazy.

Except, y’know, that’s not accurate? Aruto used to see his role as building a bridge between two species, and showcasing the power of humanity working in concert with Humagears. He’d forgotten that in his conflict with Gai, and it’s up to Izu and a stacked roster of Humagears to remind him.

I really liked how this episode turns the reins over to the Humagears, and Izu specifically. Yua’s back in her Kamen Rider Secretary role, and Fuwa’s randomly exposing all of his inner traumas to a captive terrorist, so there’s really no one else to fix this problem for Aruto. Izu immediately steps up and marshalls the friendly Humagears of the last two dozen episodes to both study and solve the problem of Metal Cluster Hopper. (Which, boy does this approach make Aruto look even more careless and reckless! His plan was mostly just staring at his Driver and hoping this time he didn’t lose control and attack people. Give full ownership of the company to the Humagears!) It’s the Humagears working together to counterbalance Ark’s nihilism with their own faith. It’s them reminding Aruto of the need to see people as more than just victims or villains, but as sources of strength and reserves of decency.

I dug the hell out of this story. I love that the conclusion of Aruto’s steady descent into self-negating sacrifice was Izu metaphorically reaching out a hand to him. (Just like in the opening!) Aruto’s had help and support around him all this time, he just needed to be reminded that they were there. The whole show is built around the idea of partnership, and here’s this beautiful story about Aruto needing to let his family shoulder some of his burden. Hard to find any flaws in a story that big-hearted.