[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER OUTSIDERS EPISODE 5 - “THE GODDESS OF CREATION AND THE THIRD SINGULARITY”



I mean, you start things off with Tsumuri at the Geats Shrine, and you’ve already got me rooting for you.

In typical Outsiders fashion, we eschew the budding story of everyone we’ve been following for the last three episodes to have Ark and There debate the future of AI, while Kuroto and Tsumuri take on Zein. It’s significantly more straight-forward than the rushed-yet-meandering work of the previous few installments, with room for both gravitas and, like, a coherent plot.

I don’t know that it’s any great shakes – Zein is another Ark-esque malfunctioning AI that is keen to eliminate the malice in humanity by eliminating humanity – but at least it’s something to latch onto for this episode. It gives the characters something specific to oppose, and something tangible to try and defeat. There are parameters to what’s happening that enables us to get an actual strategy, rather than yet another Foundation X improv squad blundering through obvious betrayals. Kuroto knows what he’s up against, he knows what he wants, and he knows how he can get it.

Of all the things I wasn’t expecting in Episode 5 of Outsiders, a story that takes Kuroto seriously has got to be near the top of the list. While there’s for sure the now-standard cackling and mugging, there’s a middle section where Kuroto has a stillness to him. He’s been a caricature for so long (SEVEN YEARS!) that it’s easy to forget that he’s a child of trauma and loss, who wants to leave something of value to the world. The idea that he wants to defeat Zein by making rogue AI like Zein into his children… I mean, sure? Sure, that feels like an appropriately bizarre and grandiose plan for a lonely boy that needs to have control over a chaotic world. Making it insanely convoluted – Kuroto needs a hidden power-up to force Zein to use the Zero-Two card so he can steal the power to send to Zero-Three and then get murdered so Tsumuri will cry and Zero-Three can take that tear to grant Kuroto’s wish and bring him back to life so he can create a Singularity that will avert Zein’s plan – is just the icing on the cake.

The Zero-Three of it all... it’s fine? I like the V3-themed costume. The fight against Zein is very cool, showcasing the high-level move sets that both AI can utilize, but now in a nice, well-lit arena. It’s just hard to love this development, when it jettisons 90% of the cast of the last chunk of episodes to bring in two brand-new characters that are crucial to saving the day. (The last episode ended with the Juuga Driver, and George doesn’t even get mentioned in this episode!) It continues to make previous episodes feel retroactively pointless, and that’s not super fun. In isolation, I think this focus on AI and the legacy they want to leave to the world is fun; in conjunction with Ouja and Garren and Thouser (remember that guy?) and the Orphnoch King (holy shit, remember THAT guy?) and everyone else that’s accrued like quickly-forgotten toys in a kid’s bedroom, it feels less fulfilling than it should.

Which… I guess that’s Outsiders, at least until September. It was consistently and thoroughly less than the sum of its parts, and one of the most disappointing TTFC projects since that godforsaken Bravo/Gridon thing. As a fan of basically every single show they pulled from, I’m not gonna say there was nothing in here for me – Tsumuri, Nico, Desast, Ren, I see that Mii-Tan’s getting called back up. I’m not immune to nostalgia! But I wish there had been a story here that utilized those characters in the way those actors – and fans – deserved. What we got is a mess, and rarely a compelling one. I’m sorry if this wasn’t fun to read! I really wanted to come away with some optimism!