[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 38 - “I AM 1000% YOUR FRIEND”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I don’t really know much about Zero-One, really. I heard that an/the Ex-Aid guy was the writer for this season, which is great for me. I came in through Ex-Aid, so that guy has my undivided attention and eternal support. Other than that… robots? CEOs? We Named The Dog Indiana? Some very expensive Figuarts? It’s all a bit of a blank slate to me.

One of the things I knew about Zero-One before starting the series was that Thouser named himself after his robot dog from childhood. It’s such a bonkers late-series reveal that of course it bubbles out into the general tokusatsu fandom. When I heard it, I thought it was hysterical. I didn’t know anything about Kamen Rider Thouser, but, like: dude took his costumed-hero name from his toy dog? That’s the dumbest, best thing. What a hilarious choice!

As I got to know Gai, it became an even funnier end-point to imagine. This merciless capitalist, this rapacious plutocrat, and he’s naming his superpowered alter ego after an Aibo or whatever? Now it’s not just hilarious, but it’s pathetic. They are going to make this dude a laughingstock, and I’m psyched to see it take place.

I'm watching this episode, though, and... it’s honestly one of my favorite moments in Zero-One, because it’s beautiful. It’s perfect. I wasn’t laughing, but I was almost crying.

I get that it’s probably not going to work for everyone. It’s a bold swing to follow last episode’s casual suggestion of multiple homicides with this episode’s attempt to resolve Gai’s childhood trauma. Gai’s seemed an absolutely irredeemable character, and I get it if this turn comes far too late (or far too random) to be convincing.

For me, it worked perfectly. I love the mundanity of it all: how Gai was a kid with a shitty dad, and he couldn’t process those feelings of inadequacy, so he pushed himself to be a hyper-competent asshole. He had this one friend, an AI from Hiden Intelligence, and the loss of it became this psychic wound that warped him in the weirdest ways. His hatred of AI was the absence of a friend; his desire to take over Hiden was a chance for a connection to something that used to make him feel worthwhile; his push to grow its profits at any cost was proof that his affection for Thouser was reciprocal, and valuable. It’s all sort of pathetic, but it’s a recognizable kind of pathetic.

Because horrible people don’t come from nowhere, and that’s worth acknowledging. Gai’s a terrible human being, but there were things from his past that made this terrible outcome feel right to him. It's everything this show's been talking about with intolerance and hatred, how they have a root cause rather than an innate presence. This isn’t an episode about forgiving Gai; this is an episode about understanding him, and maybe seeing if there’s anything to be salvaged.

I will always give the benefit of the doubt to a Kamen Rider episode that wants to try and rehabilitate someone rather than destroy them. I love stories that don’t ask what punishment someone deserves, but what forgiveness they might earn. Bestoying just a bit of grace on Gai is worth doing if there’s a chance he could work to redeem himself. It’s not wiping the slate clean or anything – I’m not even sure if Gai could ever make up for all of the people and Humagears he harmed – but it’s allowing for the scales to be brought closer to balance.

I found this episode to be enormously moving, and riveting in its attempt to sketch in Gai’s motivations. They’re ludicrous in isolation, but, y’know, so is Gai. It’s in the context of this wider story about how technology helps us reach our potential, and how we all need someone to see the best in us, that it actually becomes poignant and memorable. I can’t believe this is the episode I was laughing at a couple years ago when I read the description.

I love this goddamn franchise.