[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 30 - “I’M PRESIDENT KAMEN RIDER AFTER ALL”



Oh, this was a cute little epilogue to the Job Battle arc.

I don’t know that it felt like it was saying anything new or shocking. The Jin stuff had the most interesting facets to it, but everything else was just folks establishing their roles and boundaries and goals. It’s more of an episode about reminding you of the show’s core values, than it is some bold new direction.

But that’s nice? I thought it was a nice episode. Aruto only became Zero-One to protect people, and now he’s becoming Zero-One again to protect all types of people: human and Humagear alike. ZAIA’s a clear threat, with their plan to scrub the Earth of Humagears, so Zero-One’s protection has to expand beyond emotional support and advocacy, and into the Armed Resistance phase of societal change. Aruto’s always going to want to reach hearts and minds, but his current campaign is a lot more superheroic than it used to be.

It’s a campaign that’s going to require more than just him, and it looks like his support system is growing to include both Fuwa and Jin. This is, by far, the most Ex-Aid move this show could make, and I love it. Ex-Aid was a show about, amongst other things, how to work alongside people you don’t like; how to separate teamwork from friendship. So here are Fuwa and Jin, two characters that are desperate to take down ZAIA, but absolutely not for the same reasons. Jin is a freedom fighter who wants to liberate Humagears from human oppression, while Fuwa’s aimed (too soon?) his limitless rage at the company that ruined his life and views people as tools. These are two characters aligned in their targeting, but not in their intentions. That sort of team, with Aruto as angel and Horobi as devil, is incredibly fertile storytelling terrain.

And then there’s Izu, naturally.

There’s a reaffirmation here to the Izu/Aruto partnership that was as thrilling and warm as it was sort of redundant. I love these characters! I love their energy! But this story was… I don’t think it said anything new? There’s a ton of cleverness to Izu’s standard Beat The Enemy By Doing Paperwork problem-solving, but I already knew that Aruto and Izu supported each other at all times. (Honestly, I’m mostly just shocked that Aruto quit Hiden, knowing that there was a very real chance that Izu would be killed. Good thing Jin thought to rescue her! No wonder he was so skeptical about Aruto’s claims of benevolence…) Of the entire episode, this was the part that felt the most perfunctory, coasting on the electric connection of the actors to elevate an already-established dynamic. Crowd-pleasing scene-work, but sort of hollow in the aftermath.

Still, it’s a terrific epilogue to the last arc. The weird corporate rivalry has evolved into open conflict, Fuwa’s committed to taking down his old teammate, Jin’s working alongside Aruto (however briefly), and Aruto’s starting from the ground floor (in Snipe’s old clinic?!) to create a future for Humagears and humanity alike. No big surprises, but a very enjoyable episode nonetheless.

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KAMEN RIDER SABER SO-DO BOOK 01: FIGHTING JACKAL RAIDER



I dislike the Fighting Jackal suit for a few reasons, but the main one is that it’s emblematic of everything I dislike about Yua’s character by this point in the show. It’s a suit that very specifically says she’s Evil now, a bad guy lieutenant in spirit and in form. But, like, why is she wearing it in Episode 30, beyond the weird narrative protection of her previous Good suits? Before, it was clear that Gai wanted to publicly demonstrate the effectiveness of the consumer-grade Raidriser. She’s back in charge of AIMS now, though; are all the Valkyrie keys busted or something? Rushing Cheetah and Lightning Hornet have proven effectiveness against both Humagears and Vulcan, while Fighting Jackal is 0 for 2 – and they were not close fights. Everything Yua does and says seems to be driven by plot demands and thematic coherence, not because there’s any recognizable psychology to her character, and this suit is the exact same thing.

Not really a great toy, either? The head extends so far that it clips against her torso armor, limiting posability. The only two black hands she comes with are these gigantic oven mitts to grip her sickle, so it’s either two monstrous gripping hands, two off-model white hands that can’t hold anything, or a mixture of the two. (Because of the reuse of previous Valkyrie hand runners, she also comes with the blank Shotriser holster, despite this suit’s Driver not being detachable!) The stickers are decent, and the weapon’s cool, but it’s a little too kitbashed to be worth praising as a complete item.

So, yeah, a suit I sort of resent is also a toy I shake my head at. YUA! Why do you always disappoint me?!