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Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Zero-One (and builds SO-DO)
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08-06-2022, 09:31 PM
#
686
Kamen Rider Die
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,083
KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE EPISODE 35 - “WHAT DO HUMAGEARS DREAM OF?”
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kamen Rider Die
The villains on this show… boy, not my favorite?
Episode 35: "Thanks for the feedback! What if this episode was almost entirely devoted to a conflict between Horobi and Gai?"
Not my favorite episode! I don’t think it does anything egregiously wrong – it’s not an episode I want to scrub from my memory or anything – but it’s so heavily devoted to telling a story that marginalizes Aruto and the Shotrisers (who are also playing this Sunday at The Hideout; doors open at 8pm) that I found myself only vaguely entertained by the fight choreography, instead of drawn into the storytelling. I just don’t care who wins in a fight between a hypocritical terrorist and an egomaniacal capitalist? Is that rude to say?
There were things I liked, though. I found the hospital interludes with Naki, Fuwa, and Yua to be an episode highlight, and
maybe
a series highlight. I was always 1000% uninvested in Fuwa’s Secret Past, mostly because it’s only been brought up recently, and Fuwa
himself
barely cares about it. The reveal that he’s just some boring, unexceptional dude is both a hilarious subversion of Yua’s quest to uncover the truth, and the smartest decision this show could ever make. Fuwa’s past
fundamentally doesn’t matter
. We’ve already
gone
on Fuwa’s emotional journey. We've watched him shed the intolerance and anger he’d shielded himself with for over a decade, and rebuild himself into a hero who protects anyone or anything that needs protection. There’s nothing from his past that would help illuminate his character, because we already
had
30-plus episodes of illumination. The best choice is to defuse it all with a joke.
(Taking the Fuwa’s Just Basic joke and then elevating it by having Naki deliver an affectless take on Aruto’s gags, at which point Fuwa is exposed as a dude who can’t help laughing at puns? That’s just the icing on a very delicious cake.)
Aruto’s role in this episode was interesting, if a little too beholden to daddy issues for me to praise it. There’s some heroism to be found in Aruto’s desire to reignite Horobi’s paternal instincts, and put the blame for MetsubouJinrai’s terrorism back on Gai’s plotting, but I think it’s a plot that doesn’t completely square that circle. There’s no real remorse from Horobi, and only a slight indication that he doesn’t view Zero-One as negatively as he does the rest of humanity. But, like, MetsubouJinrai is completely reformed! The Ark is still setting their agenda! I don’t love a story where the hero gets out on a weird limb just because he’s reminded of his dad, you know? There’s a lot of
projection
in Aruto’s plot this episode, without anyone really pushing back on his potential naivete (that would be Fuwa’s job, if he weren’t in the hospital!), and that leaves his story not totally clicking with me.
But the bulk of this episode was concerned with the battle between ZAIA and MetsubouJinrai, and I really liked… how it was shot. Great staging for the opening of the battle, with Horobi and Thouser’s Henshins centered in the frame, flanked by mooks. Fun back and forth combat between the two generals, with each of them getting cool finishers. And I like how Horobi’s saved by the people who have faith in him, while Gai is beaten ONCE AGAIN by assuming his adversaries will eat an endless amount of shit. It’s a nice encapsulation of the show’s beliefs.
It’s just that the stakes are… I don’t care? I don’t care about Horobi (yet?), and I don’t care about Gai. Either one of them triumphing over the other is unappealing and mostly uninteresting. Aruto’s left to act as a slightly-delusional voice of support, Naki’s only around for the finale, Jin’s nowhere to be found (did he have an appointment or something?), and the Shotrisers are cleaning up their mess from last episode. There’s no one for me to
root for
in the back half of this episode. We’re probably three episodes – at a minimum – from Horobi being in a place where I might see him as worthy of redemption. (When Aruto’s like Follow Your Dream, I was having really vivid flashbacks to
Phoenix’s spotlight story from Wizard
. Maybe don’t tell the unrepentant villain to do the things that make them happy!) And Gai’s, like, Gai. He exists on this show to get humiliated. What stakes am I supposed to be invested in for this episode?
Sort of a bum note to go into the COVID Era* on. There’s still some really great characters on this show, and interesting topics to cover, but not every episode mixes them together in the best ways.
—
*PROGRAMMING QUESTION
So, let’s talk about the COVID Era!
I’ve got a bunch of stuff, but I’m not entirely sure I’ve got it scheduled correctly. Over the next few days, I’m planning on covering the following specials in the following order:
-Episode 35.5
-President Specials 1 and 2
-Shooting Special
-Super Job War 1 and 2
Is that right? Should anything be moved around? Any feedback would be appreciated!
__________________
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KAMEN RIDER W
! Archive of previous shows on
KamenRiderDie.com
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