[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER GENMS - THE PRESIDENTS EPISODE 1



ha ha ha OKAY.

I love Kuroto. Always have, probably always will. I honestly don’t know if it’s just because Genm was my first bonkers mastermind-turned-”ally” in Kamen Rider, thanks to coming in through Ex-Aid, or if the performance is really as singular and addictive as Kuroto’s 1000 post-show appearances would suggest. Like, I can’t be objective about Kuroto appearing anywhere he wants in Kamen Rider. It always makes me cackle like a lunatic.

Which is not to say that this special is just Kuroto Greatest Hits or whatever! (Him craning his head back 90 degrees instead of ducking under a barrier is pretty Greatest Hits, though; the dude’s body is as elastic as ever.) There’s a point to Kuroto showing up, in that we’re back into a story about how a president should behave, and how charisma can deceive employees, and whether Gai’s lost a step by finding some humility. Kuroto’s here to be the dark reflection of Gai's former malevolence, to remind him what’s at stake if he abandons the people who put their trust in him.

Kuroto’s also here to bring back the Kamen Rider Genm Lvl 2 suit, which is incredibly sweet. I don’t dislike any of Genm’s suits, but I love the purple-on-black of the Lvl 2 suit. The fight between Genm and Thouser (in the Oh You’re Sick So I’m Making You Use The Black ZAIA suit, for the most handwavey reason of all time) isn’t especially extravagant, but I love to see those Ex-Aid suits in (mighty) action again.

And then we even get Masamune back at the cliffhanger! To remind the viewer that Zero-One is very much a series about how parents can fail children! Also, because HOLY SHIT IT’S KAMEN RIDER CRONUS!