[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 12 - “ME X MY STAGE 2013”



I’m starting to come around on this smiling would-be-tyrant!

The performance is reliably great, but this time doubly so. There’s a disarming abundance of cheerfulness, no matter the stakes or circumstance. It never feels (in this story, at least) like Sougo’s unaware of the reality of the situation, just… he’s confident that he can save the day. And that’s not an overconfidence, it’s just him seeing the best outcome for everyone, and doing what it takes to make that future come true.

The central paradox of Sougo’s character really snaps into focus in this episode, as he deals with both Woz’z sudden but inevitable betrayal, and Geiz’z vow to stay by his side forever and ever just in case Geiz needs to kill him and for no other reason.

Sougo’s fine with both! He’s genuinely happy to see both of his friends doing what they think is right, even if it could hurt and/or kill him. That’s why he wants to be king: so people can be free to do what they think is right. He wants to be the sole arbiter of right and wrong, so no one can tell anyone what to do. He wants to be a Good Despot. It’s, as always, completely idiotic. But here, in this episode, it feels sweet and generous. I get why folks like Eiji and Emu would chuckle knowingly at Sougo’s effervescent enthusiasm for unquestioned command. Sougo wants people to work towards the future that makes them happy, even if it’s in opposition to his. He values friendship more than fealty.

Which is good news, because two of his most trusted friends (out of, uh, three) are pretty convinced he’s on the complete wrong path. Geiz is jilted, sure (he just comes home to try and make Sougo feel bad, pretty standard sworn enemy behavior, zero percent weird), but he’s pretty much telling Sougo that an execution is imminent. And Woz! Woz, who is past the point of advising Sougo to knock it off with the friendly shenanigans and is openly collaborating with the Time Jackers to bump off the Time Orphans. We’re definitely in for a rough patch for Team Zi-O.

This was a pretty great outing for them, though. Not much to touch on from the Legend Riders – Kouta was less useful here than in Heisei Generations Final, which is saying something – but the rest of the story was a delight. Some terrific gags (there’s a bit where the background music drops out so Tsukuyomi can yell at Double Sougos that things are too confusing right now), and a final battle that utilizes the dual timelines to the most visually-stunning level yet. Everything about the bisected screens was gorgeous.

I don’t know if this was as good as the first part (really let down by Kouta’s non-factor), but as a whole? Really excellent two-parter that used twice as many Sougos to solve his weirdest character trait. Super excited for where this show can go when its firing on this many cylinders.



KAMEN RIDER ZI-O COMPLEMENTATION PROJECT EPISODE 12.5 - “INTERVIEW WITH A TIME JACKER”

On the one hand, this was probably the most worthless .5 episode yet. Nothing in here expands your knowledge of the show or its characters. The versions of Geiz, Woz, and Swartz – Team ZZZ – shown here should be encased in quotation marks as big as a Time Mazine. It’s four minutes of mugging, breaking, and non-sequiturs.

On the other hand, BEST .5 EPISODE YET.

Everything about this killed, with Swartz’z incredibly flamboyant egotist setting the tone for the episode. Geiz and Woz matched his wackiness with self-effacing jokes and just a tiny smidge of burning chemistry. It was such a blast to watch these three actors make jokes about pre-Christmas character intros and other tokusatsu tropes.

God bless these three idiots.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Also!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I love that the best/most frequent defense of Sougo is He Gets Better At Some Point But I Don't Remember Why. Like, that's just getting worn down? I'm all for finding fun takes for irritating characters, but you gotta start giving me something for this kid that I can latch onto in the present tense.

I will be sure to shout out the moment Sougo Gets Good, so we can all bookmark it for later fans.

Episode 12.

[Sylarking]

Movie Time.

[Enchilada645]

Episode 11 and 12 is definitely when everything started to click in place for me.

And also you've finally come to understand Sougo as I know him. I believe he's said it a few times, I forget what subs people use but he usually says something along the lines of "I think I can do this."

Basically, in the words of my favorite LP'er/Streamer, "I'm optimistic about things!" that sums up Sougo's personality really well for me and I'm glad you've gained this knowledge.

The episode was also pretty good, Kaito is Kaito, Kouta is Kouta, nothing too grand for these two but they work. Also the Kodama Suika Arms activation gag is absolutely incredible.

That being said... don't like Gaim Armor! I feel like it gets too bulky. I get what it's trying to do, but it's not for me! OOO Armor all the way!

Anyway given the content teased for next time at the end of the episode you'd think we'd only have one BGM for the swap this week. Nope, if you watched the episode preview, you'd know that we've got a second BGM swap. And I'm sorry Ghost, as much as I love you... the superior BGM swap is the second one this time.

Zero's Legend Episode Previews Corner - EP 13 Preview:

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylarking

Movie Time.

Soon! I've got Heisei Generations Forever due up after Episode 15, which should put it on this Sunday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

And also you've finally come to understand Sougo as I know him. I believe he's said it a few times, I forget what subs people use but he usually says something along the lines of "I think I can do this."

It's weird how the performance sort of redeems the character choices? There's an On Paper version of Sougo that I'd probably despise: too self-confident, too upbeat, too certain of his own righteousness, too condescending of anyone without Plot Armor (Time). But the actor finds a real earnest charm to a teenage boy who wants to rule over everything, but for nice reasons.

It's easy to see, after this episode, how Sougo could theoretically become the Ruler Of Time because people wanted him to be.

Kamen Rider Puppy Dog Overlord! I like him now.

[FreshToku]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Soon! I've got Heisei Generations Forever due up after Episode 15, which should put it on this Sunday.

May I recommend that you watch the movie after episode 14, since the two-parter format is still going strong for this duration so stepping out in the middle of an arc to watch an unrelated whole movie might feel awkward. (Plus, that's just my personal ideal order for the next few bits of Zi-O media)

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreshToku

May I recommend that you watch the movie after episode 14, since the two-parter format is still going strong for this duration so stepping out in the middle of an arc to watch an unrelated whole movie might feel awkward. (Plus, that's just my personal ideal order for the next few bits of Zi-O media)

I hear you, but I'm going to end up doing Heisei Generations Forever after Episode 15 for three reasons:

1) That's when it came out during the show's run, and I always like doing it that way whenever possible.

2) My understanding is that the movie doesn't really connect to the episodes around it, so it can sort of land anywhere in this chunk of the series?

3) Secret Scheduling Reasons.

But I appreciate the advice! As long as we're talking about when to schedule spin-offs, lemme get people's thoughts on where the following were/are going to be slotted:

SHINOBI - After Episode 18
RYUKI - After Episode 28
FINAL STAGE - After Episode 34
OVER QUARTZER - After Episode 43
HBV - After Over Quartzer

Thoughts? That all seem okay?

[FreshToku]

That's fair! I think how you're doing it should be fun and interesting too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

SHINOBI - After Episode 18
RYUKI - After Episode 28
FINAL STAGE - After Episode 34
OVER QUARTZER - After Episode 43
HBV - After Over Quartzer

Doesn't FINAL STAGE come long after everything else, though? Came out in 2020, I think.

[Enchilada645]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

FINAL STAGE - After Episode 34
OVER QUARTZER - After Episode 43
HBV - After Over Quartzer

Thoughts? That all seem okay?

Okay so I was wondering when you had Over Quartzer and I'm going to be honest.

Save it for after you watch Zi-O. Like I honestly feel it would be better for you to just burn straight through the finale of Zi-O and then watch Over Quartzer.

Try and also find a way to grab the Final Stage Show, and just watch those two back to back in terms of scheduling. It will all make sense and I consider watching those two things after Zi-O, probably the best immediate complementary thing you can do for it.

People who have seen both Over Quartzer and the Final Stage Show, you know what I'm talking about given a few details.

Also I feel like you have the Final Stage and HBV mixed up in regards to watch order...

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreshToku

Doesn't FINAL STAGE come long after everything else, though? Came out in 2020, I think.

Yep! I was confusing it with Special Event (which I can't find anywhere, so it looks like that's getting skipped) which came out in the middle of the series. I've moved Final Stage to after the show, along with Geiz Majesty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also I feel like you have the Final Stage and HBV mixed up in regards to watch order...

I'm just going by this bit from the Wiki:

"As the Den-O Ridewatch can be seen on the Ridewatch Daizer, this special takes place sometime after episode 43 but before episode 45."

I'd sort of rather do the HBV after the movie? As a little dessert?