Kamen Rider Zero-One episode 45
Well the first Reiwa era Kamen Rider series is done.
I'm sad it's all over, well okay there's the movie to look forward to and some specials before they beat the horse dead. I'm going to miss this series.[/quote]
Yes... This is easily one of my favorite KR series, and I'm sorry to see it go, especially 4 episodes early. It was a pretty effective ending, with Aruto prevailing by connecting emotionally to Horobi and making him realize their common ground, and what really motivated him. I was really struck by Horobi's line about how he hated humans for teaching him the emotions that caused him such pain, and wanted to punish them for that.
Still, it was awkward that they had to pay off the expected formula by going from that epiphany to
another big fight scene that seemed like a step backward.
Also, the supporting cast was really underutilized, although at least Yua got to play a major role by bringing Jin back.
But how did Fuwa/Vulcan manage to rip that car door clear off in civilian form rather than Rider form? Has his arm just gotten that strong from wrenching all those Progrise Keys open?
Also I guess Azu will be explained later, considering the tease. I am quite glad they didn't just pull out some magical explanation to restore Izu, it's both nice and heartbreaking they remade her body.
As much as I like it that Noa Tsurushima will still be around, it seems inappropriate and disrespectful to just try to create a copy of Izu, as if she were interchangeable rather than a unique and complex personality in her own right. I'll have a hard time accepting this "Izu" as a substitute for the real one that I came to admire so much.
For a moment, I was thinking that maybe Jin would reform Azu, and she would atone for her evil deeds by taking Izu's place -- not a mere copy, but a distinct successor trying to fill the void. That could've been interesting.
Gotta love that we get the full final battle and wrap ups for our main cast, but just because Azu created Eden for the movie, Zero-One's ending is "Decade 2" despite actually having more of an in-show ending than Decade LOL
I wouldn't go that far. They completed the main story but just put in a tease for what comes next, like having Thanos show up in the post-credits scene of
The Avengers. That's totally different from
Decade, which just
stopped on a cliffhanger and didn't resolve the core story arc until the following crossover movie. (Not to mention also only explaining Decade's origins and backstory in a movie, so that's
two movies you needed to get the complete core narrative.)
This whole endgame feels like the finale to an entirely different show than the 40 or so episodes that came prior to it and no, that really can't be blamed entirely on the COVID problem. They clearly had an idea of who they wanted the final fight to involve... and yet had done practically no real preparation for that the entire season and so had to quickly write in the scenario to get there. This then comes at the cost of pretty much everything it felt like the painfully drawn-out job-of-the-week had tried to make a point out of, and didn't feel earned for any of the characters involved.
I dunno, I felt it connected fairly well. It refocused on the symmetry of the core relationships -- Horobi mentoring Jin, Aruto mentoring and being mentored in turn by Izu. Both leaders of the opposing sides, opposing points of view on whether humans and Humagears could coexist. With Ark manipulating the whole conflict all along, then manifesting more openly in the climactic, well, arc. The one bit that felt like it came out of left field was the new ZAIA president who just popped up.
For some reason the Japanese audience really like the sort of episodic two parters with guest stars and human interest stories that started with Den-O and continued with W/OOO/Fouze/Wizard/1stHalfOfDrive. Maybe it's easier to get into versus the serial arcs (Gaim/Build/Ex-Aid) where missing just one episode can confuse the hell out of casual viewers. Zero One was really an attempt to bridge these two storytelling formats and the result were ultimately mixed.
I kind of like the regular 2-parter format. It's basically akin to a 24- or 26-episode season of hourlong episodes, and it lets them have more time to tell each story. Plus it makes it less repetitive since you don't have to end every single episode with a monster blowing up or whatever. And of course it has obvious budgetary advantages because you only need half as many distinct monsters-of-the-week.
I think the bad parts of the show were Yaiba's underutilized potential and that competition arc
I didn't have anything particularly for or against the competition arc. It was a way to keep up the 2-part guest-driven formula while also telling a story arc about Aruto vs. Gai and their corporate clash. I agree, though, with the comment in the Twitter thread about the Rider/monster fights feeling tacked on.
But yes, Yaiba/Valkyrie was given short shrift. Our first series-regular female Kamen Rider (not counting series regulars who became a Rider once in the finale or a sequel movie) deserved better.
I am going to miss this show, which has been one of the most solid science fiction entries in the franchise.
Saber is going more for fantasy, but it does look promising, and I hope it does a good job filling the void.
