[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 40 - “TOWARD MY DREAM AND MY DREAM”



This is one where I sort of don’t know if the ends justify the means?

I really liked where this episode ended. Beyond the catharsis of seeing Aruto humiliate the Ark via some absolutely jaw-dropping action choreography (I’m particularly a fan of using a bunch of Zero-Two doubles to pop in and out of frame, to make Aruto feel impossibly fast), I love how this ending reinforces the series-long notion of interconnected fates. Aruto’s argument in favor of human/Humagear coexistence is that things like happiness, or success, or contentment aren't – if you’ll pardon the expression – zero-sum things. Someone else doesn’t necessarily succeed at someone else's expense; we can all succeed together. Aruto empowers Izu to be better, which in turn empowers Aruto to be strong enough to defeat the Ark. We can win by helping others win. I love that message.

But the road to get there? Man, I don’t know.

The first ten minutes of this episode had me riveted. I 1000% bought into the idea that the Ark murdered Aruto. I was like, Holy Shit. What a bold turn, to leave Aruto’s dream in the hands of the people who looked up to him! What a great demonstration of this show’s themes and theories! And, god, Izu’s performance! Heartbreaking and vulnerable, it got me entirely on this show’s side.

Until they murdered the rest of the cast, and I was like Oh It’s Just A Dream. The stakes basically evaporated, and I was just biding my time until the twist was revealed. Which somehow got worse, as the twist was that Aruto was psychologically torturing Izu (who consented?) until she hit her Singularity Point and coughed up an upgrade that could beat the Ark. It’s… boy, I don’t love it? It takes something enormously affecting, like Izu crying over the body of her dead friend, and turns into some sort of Heroic Prank, and that’s a kind of a horrible way to evolve the core relationship of this show. It shortcuts it in ways that may help the heroes succeed today, but at the cost of a more honest and thoughtful story.

Still, that ending! I do like that ending. Bonus points for Izu being super mad at Aruto. Me too, Izu! Me too!

—

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE SO-DO AI 09: KAMEN RIDER ZERO-TWO



Much like the episode that introduces it, I’m sort of torn on this suit.

I generally like it. I think it cleanly communicates Upgrade Zero-One form, even if it doesn’t really nail Designed With Izu. The decrease in COLOR and increase in red and silver keep the suit itself firmly ensconced in the Zero-One aesthetic, and the blocks of color are pleasant to look at. (I know the red gloves and Two of it all are Showa references, but I don’t truck with Showa. Feel free to gush over that aspect if you’d like.) There’re some in-universe aspects to the new Driver that I feel like are too over-thought – I’m not sure we needed to define the central emblem as a link between Aruto’s family, considering this suit already has to shoulder the thematic weight of humans and Humagears working in unison on a dream – but the Driver itself is solid in design. Which, yeah, that’s sort of my whole thing about this suit: I don’t know if it’s hitting all of the beats it wants to, but I like looking at it enough to not really care.

Befitting a new Aruto form, this figure really goes all out. Well-placed stickers help shape the colors of the legs, while paint and molded plastic cover the torso and head. This is a figure where you can definitely see the budget being dumped into it.

A little conflicted about some of the story elements around this suit, but it’s still awfully pretty.