[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE - “A MIRACULOUS REMATCH!? ARUTO VS GUT-BUSTING TAROU: FATEFUL GAG BATTLE!”



I really love the detail that Gut-Busting Tarou, the comedian Humagear, is the one Humagear that Aruto doesn’t like.

In the aftermath of the Job Battle arc, with a somber, chastened Aruto vowing to continue working towards his dream of human/Humagear coexistence, it’s nice to be reminded that this dream of Aruto’s is maybe six months old. He used to have a completely different dream, to be a successful comedian. He still tells jokes in the show – Gotta Have Aruto – but it’s more of a side hustle. There’s no sense that Aruto’s actively pursuing it. Mostly, it just feels like an involuntary reflex from an inveterate joker. But for the longest time, it was his sole identity and only income.

So, like, Gut-Busting Tarou as a successful Humagear comedian is the Aruto version of all of those Job Battle stories. This is a robot that renders him obsolete, and he hates it. HATES it. All of Aruto’s high-minded talk of harmony and cooperative dreams vanishes in the white hot rage of jealousy whenever Tarou's around. Aruto’s petty and combative and nervous, a far cry from the excitable optimist of the regular series. Which I love? I love that he’s kind of a needy jerk in this one? It’s nice to see him as someone who fears for the loss of his identity in the march of technological progress, even if the special mostly treats it as a gag.

There’s some interesting subversions of the Job Battle template, though. I liked how the crux of the story was the human having to prove themselves to the Humagear. That’s not something that factored into the Job Battle stuff, beyond a sliver of the firefighter story, so it’s nice to see it happen here. And even Aruto’s victory is this sort of thematically appropriate thing of Tarou noting that while Aruto isn’t funny, he makes the people around him funnier, which is a helpful trait. It’s this backhanded compliment that Aruto has to sort of endure, and it’s a really funny conclusion to this plot.

Speaking of funny! Oh man, Fuwa! Tarou picking Fuwa to judge because of his staunch No Jokes demeanor -slash- they go to the same gym (PRICELESS) was the best decision this special could’ve made. I’m not sure what was better: Fuwa losing his mind at every single one of Aruto’s mostly-lame gags, or Fuwa’s insistence on always siding with the Vulcan gag because it’s stronger. Both were real good! No wrong answers!

This special was a blast, both as a goofy riff on the Job Battle template, and a breather between 29 and 30. I needed a laugh after the emotional roller-coaster of last episode, and this thing completely delivered. Bonus points for taking shots at Bandai’s hyper-focus on showcasing toys! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go look at the new info on the DX Desire Driver...