[Layton13]

Ok, time to write up my kinda complicated feelings for the show, which I kinda have shown already through the sporadic posts on this threat.

What did I think about Zero-One the show? Or, the four shows crudely chopped up and forced into the shape of the show Zero-One?

Because that's how the show felt as a whole. It doesn't really seem to fit together. Every arc of the show feels... detached from each other in some way. The first is fast and frantic with plots mostly wrapped up in one episode, the second is slower, more structured, and to some repetitive with two-parters, the third feels like a weird middle child that once more relies on one-offs, and the last part of the show is a continues story that hard focuses on interpersonal drama.

In short, the pacing and structure of the show are an unmitigated disaster to me. We go from fast-paced, to the slowest arc of the show, before speeding up slightly and hitting Mach 5 in the last arc.

There are just so many parts of the show that feel like they weren't approached in a "How will this feel in the greater context of the show" way. Instead, they were just important for right now, and quite frankly, it shows.

We waste a lot of time on things that really don't matter in the long run, prime example, Antsu-Chan. He's a character you could replace with Ikazuchi, and you'd probably improve the show since Raiden was severely underdeveloped in the show. And there are many points in the show like that. Another one being Vulcan getting an extension of his arc with his fake memories that really doesn't go anywhere and kinda robs him of a satisfying conclusion

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

SERIES WRAP-UP



So much of the MetsubouJinrai stuff in the first two-thirds of the show felt thin and unconvincing, compared to the depth and nuance of the average Humagear storyline.

My favorite run of the show was the Job War arc, easy. It?s the smartest set of episodes in an already smart show. The switch from pointless MetsubouJinrai punch-em-ups to the individually-motivated Raiders and Humagears turned each week?s storyline into a tense showcase for societal integration and economic anxiety. The fights mattered, all of a sudden. The conflicts helped explore a society that advanced as quickly as it could without figuring out where exactly it was going. They leapt towards a dream, but didn?t know how to land safely. I loved that version of this show.

It?s also the version that seemed to irritate almost everyone else, which maybe gets to my point about how effectively this show served both its themes and its genre. It?s hard to be a superhero fantasy that celebrates physical action AND a cerebral investigation into how societies codify intolerance into economic systems. Like, there?s some overlaps there, and this show was very clever about finding them, but too often it was one or the other. At worst, it was one or the other in the same episode.

Very much agree. I love the Competition arc for its solid two-parters, nice character development, and a threat that actually feels tangible.

Still, I feel it'd serve as a better arc one, with some obvious changes.

In short, the show feels like its less than the sum of its parts for me.

Aruto just doesn't leave enough of an impact for me in the long run, same with most of the cast. They feel far too passive for far too long, and it's honestly frustrating. The cast isn't terrible, but they are something arguably worse for me, forgettable.

And my biggest gripe with the show, the final arc and what it's about: A forced conflict that feels mostly detached from the themes of the show between two characters that are just dull to me.

And now it's time to unstick the things I wanted to talk about later:

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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.

This is actually one of my biggest gripes with Horrobi as an antagonist. Horobi didn't come from his own experiences, he was always just a hate puppet for the arc, which kinda made him incredibly dull as a character. His hatred wasn't his own until Jin's second death. Which quite honestly feels incredibly lazy and as if they writers cared more about the gaol than how they'd get there.

He honestly reminds me of a certain One Piece character; One Piece spoilers incoming: His entire stick was racism. He hated humans to an insane degree, and eventually, a character in the story asks him why. Why does he hate humans so much? His answer was simply "Nothing." There was nothing to his hate, it was simply learned. It wonderfully shows how hate spreads through generations and will poisen innocent people, turning them into monsters.

This shows things like this can work, Zero-One just kinda... doesn't know what to do with the fact Horobi has no personal stake in this and manufacturers a reason for his hatred.

And now the second thing:

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The problem this time is that it's weirdly more about Aruto and Horobi, two characters who don't really know each other at all

And here is my second gripe: Horobi and Aruto, for all the parallels they pull between them, really have no business being each other's greatest nemesis. They don't really have any personal grievances that tie them together in the end. It makes this fight even more manufactured, especially when suddenly it's a fight that will decide Human and Humagear relations, which just feel... Why? Why would this have any big impact? I don't buy it.

So, yeah, I feel this is the final to a show I haven't watched. Because I don't see the proper build-up and tie-in into some of the major themes of the show.



Oh boy... This ended up more chaotic than I had hoped for, but I do feel it's kinda on brand for the show

In the end, Zero-One left a sour taste in my mouth and is currently 3rd least favorite Rider show, but it'll very, very likely get a bump to 4th very soon with the end of Revice.

I am however glad you found enjoyment in the show!