#have I mentioned I love Geiz? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dangerouscommiesubversive · 4 years ago

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*hiding behind a wall to see if commie accepts* Tsukasa (ot4) and Sougo(ot..4?), Z (found family)?

Z is for family

Junichiro laughs awkwardly. “I’m so sorry, Mr--Yuusuke, it feels like whenever you come here you end up repairing something.”

Yuusuke shrugs, grins. “I like having things to do with my hands, and there’s no sense in making you waste money on a plumber for something this simple to fix. And I’m going to teach Geiz how to do it too, so if it comes up again and you can’t get in touch with me he can take care of it.”

Blinking in surprise, Junichiro looks past Yuusuke’s shoulder to Geiz, who shrugs. “Woz hates being dirty and Sougo...uh...I kinda don’t think we should encourage Sougo to take apart stuff in the house. Um, no offense.”

“None taken, Geiz, I’ve known him longer than you have and I don’t know that I’d trust him to fix the toilet either, he’s, ah...”

“A little absent-minded?” is Yuusuke’s cheerfully diplomatic suggestion.

“Yes, exactly.”

A frustrated noise floats in from the dining room, and Geiz glances over nervously towards the doorway. “Maybe we should get started on that before Daiki actually manages to lose his temper.”

“I don’t think he’d really lose his temper over something like this.” Yuusuke also glances toward the dining room and frowns. “But then again, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him lose at chess this many times in a row.”

There’s a notable silence, and then the sound of Tsukuyomi saying, quietly, “Checkmate,” followed by Daiki’s aggrieved, “Where did you learn to play chess like that?”

“Yeah, let’s head upstairs, either he’s going to actually get upset or he and Tsukuyomi are about to have some kind of serious conversation and he’d be embarrassed if we overheard him, he hates getting serious in public.”

In the dining room, Tsukuyomi frowns at her queen and says, “I...I don’t actually know. I know how to play chess, but I don’t remembering...learning how to play chess. Or who taught me.”

Daiki's resetting the chessboard, so he doesn't look up at her, but he does say, "You know, sometimes I envy Tsukasa for having been allowed to forget things." Before Tsukuyomi can reply, though, "But then he'll go saying something like you just said and I remember how lucky I have it."

Tsukuyomi's frown gets a little deeper, but now she looks more confused than frustrated. "What do you mean?"

"Has he ever mentioned that he can't remember his parents' faces? Or their names?"

"He...no, he hasn't."

"Being able to forget is a blessing, but only if it's something you can allow yourself to do. Having it happen to you is a different thing entirely." He finishes setting up the pieces. "Sorry, I'm being gloomy, it happens sometimes."

Tsukuyomi peers at him for a moment before responding. “That’s why you started showing up to talk to Geiz, wasn’t it. Because of something you wish you could forget.”

Daiki still doesn’t look up at her. Now that the board’s reset he’s started fidgeting with the pieces again, picking up both kings and queens and rolling them in his hands. “You’re too sharp for your own good, you know that?” He puts the kings and queens down again in a little square in the center of the board. “I had a younger brother once. I failed him pretty badly.”

“I mean, apparently I had an older brother once, and he tried to kill me.” Tsukuyomi taps the white queen on the top of its little crown. “That’s also why you keep bringing me Watches.”

“Got it in one. You deserve a better brother. I think you four remind us all of ourselves.” Daiki looks down thoughtfully at the little square of pieces. “Hey, look, by the way, it’s you.” He taps the white queen just as Tsukuyomi did. “So I guess that’d make this one Sougo--” the black king, “and this one Geiz,” the white king.

She giggles. “And Woz is the black queen?”

“Well, it’s not a perfect one-to-one. I guess I could go with the black bishop, but guys who go by Bishop tend to be pretty ominous characters and he's not nearly as worrying as he used to be.”

“So if we’re like you guys, then which one of these are you?”

“Oh, we’re not chess pieces, we’re cards.” Rustling, and a Tarot deck emerges from one of the interior pockets of Daiki’s jacket. He slides it lovingly out of the box and flips through the deck, drawing four cards and laying them down on the table next to the chessboard--the King of Wands, the Queen of Coins, and the Knight of Swords, and the Page of Cups. “See? There’s Tsukasa, that’s Natsumi, obviously this one is Yuusuke, and that’s me.”

“You just...had that in your pocket? And...Cups is the one that turned into Hearts, right? You’re the Page of Hearts?”

They’re interrupted by a startled noise from the kitchen, Woz saying, “How did you get that--” as Tsukasa, at the same time, says, “Princess, we don’t play with kitchen knives, give me that.”

“Ooh, sounds like things are getting exciting in there.” Daiki’s face lights up with a genuine grin. “Anyway, you have no idea how much stuff I’ve got in my pockets, that’s right, and of course I am. The Knave of Hearts, he stole some tarts. Speaking of which...” The Tarot deck goes away, and is replaced by on the table by a deck of regular playing cards. “Why don’t we switch games? You know how to play poker?”

Tsukasa carefully takes the paring knife from Yuzuki and puts it back on the counter, farther back from the edge than it was before. “I’m pretty sure you grew, I don’t think you could have reached up there last week.”

She grins up at him. “Tall!”

“Yeah, that’s right, you’re very tall.”

Woz shifts nervously as she returns to the kitchen chair she’s been occupying and clambers up onto the seat. Once she’s occupied with her stacking cups again and in no apparent danger of getting her hands on another knife, he visibly relaxes. He picks a piece of dumpling filling from the mixing bowl with his chopsticks, deposits it in the wrapper in his hand, and passes the whole thing to Tsukasa. “I appreciate your assistance with this.”

Tsukasa shrugs and starts to crimp the dumpling shut. “I figure you’re probably not usually cooking for ten people.” Closed, the dumpling goes onto a sheet pan, where there are already at least fifty completed but uncooked pieces laid out.

“You might be surprised. Sougo and Geiz both eat a great deal.”

“And you don’t?” Tsukasa accepts another filled wrapper and looks Woz up and down. “I’ve seen you eat, it’s kind of amazing that you’re so skinny.”

“That’s...not unfair.”

They make dumplings in silence, Woz filling and Tsukasa crimping as the sheet pan becomes fuller and fuller. Eventually they have to get a second pan, and when they’ve got ten dumplings down on that, Yuzuki slides down from her chair with a thump and tugs on the hem of Woz’s shirt. “Woz. Woz. Woz.”

Woz looks down at her in alarm. “Yes?”

She points imperiously to the counter. “Book.”

“Ah...yes? That’s my book.”

A firm nod. “Woz, book.”

“She wants you to read to her.” Tsukasa puts aside another completed dumpling. “Right, princess?”

Yuzuki nods again. “Ok! Read book!”

Woz only looks more alarmed. “Why me?”

“Well, she knows it’s your book.”

“Yes, but my book is...” Woz glances to the side. “My book is not suitable for children.”

Tsukasa’s eyebrows go up. “Isn’t it? If the stories in there aren’t suitable for children then I don’t know what is.” He pauses. “I mean, maybe don’t read to her about the Amazon kids, the Greek ones, but otherwise. I can keep making dumplings by myself, I’ll be fine.”

Uncertain, Woz nods, puts aside the cooking chopsticks, and washes his hands before taking his book down from its spot on the counter. Yuzuki claps delightedly as he sits down in the kitchen chair and climbs up onto his lap with only minimal wincing on his part. “Woz, book! Thank you.”

His mouth twitches slightly, as if he’s trying not to smile, and Tsukasa winks at him. Then, carefully, he opens up the book and turns to a spot about sixteen pages in. “Long, long ago, there was a man who knew how to do one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine things--”

“Big number.”

“Yes, very big. There was a man who knew how to do one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine things, and his name was Godai Yusuke.”

“Like Daddy! Yusuke!”

“Just like your father, yes. And he loved nothing more than the blue sky and to travel and have adventures...”

“Hm. A little to the left, please.”

Sougo blinks. “Which one?”

“The Ride Booker. Your big watch is so chunky that it’s actually managed to make the Booker look small, which is pretty impressive.” Natsumi frowns, peering at the screen on her camera, and then shifts slightly as Sougo adjusts the placement of the Ride Booker. “Yeah, there we go, that looks nice.”

She takes several pictures. They’re working outside in the sun, so she doesn’t use the flash, and after ten or so shots she nods in satisfaction and Sougo says, “Do you want me to rearrange them?”

“No, that’s fine, I’ve got what I wanted. Here, toss me the Booker, you can take your watch now.“

“Ok, here. Why did you want a picture of the Grand Zi-O watch?”

She shrugs. “I don’t get to do a lot of still photography, most of the studio’s business is portraits. I thought it’d be a nice change.” The Ride Booker goes into her bag, her camera goes back into its case, and she sits down on the bench they were using as a platform for the set-up. “Besides, the weather’s good today, it’s a nice excuse to get outside and get some fresh air.”

The Grand Zi-O watch fizzes away, presumably back to the bedside table in Sougo’s room, and he sits down next to Natsumi. “It is nice out today, yeah. But I mean, like. Why Rider stuff? Why not, I don’t know, nature photography?”

“Because I don’t get out in nature as much as I’d like, but Rider stuff’s been a lot of my life. Tsukasa takes all kinds of photos of Rider stuff, of course, and they’re kinda great for what they are, but they’re not really practical records. The story of the whole thing matters, and it’s easier if you’ve got clear pictures.”

“The story? What story?”

“Whatever story’s being told. That’s what photography’s for, to tell stories about our lives. You know, like, here’s when Ritsuko got married, and this is when Miki and his sister graduated high school, and here’s when we saved the world the first time and Tsukasa got turned into a giant belt for ten minutes.” She glances over at him and grins. “Anyway, I wanted to get a picture of his transformation whatsit with yours because it’s kind of funny to see him pick up a junior, I think it makes him feel better about himself knowing that he’s not the only one doing what he does.”

Sougo nods, frowning slightly. “Tsukuyomi said you’re a Rider too, but I’ve never seen you carrying anything that looks like Rider stuff, what do you use?”

“Oh, god, she’s around here somewhere.”

“...she?”

“Hey! Kiva-la! I know you’re here!”

And a little purple-and-white bat flits into view and says, “Obviously I’m here, what do you want?��

“Sougo wanted to know what I transform with. See,” to Sougo, “Tsukasa and Daiki just get cards, Yuusuke’s got his stone, but if I need to do hero stuff I have to deal with her.”

Sougo stares at Kiva-la wide-eyed for a moment before saying, “It’s, uh, nice to meet you? Ma’am?”

Kiva-la turns a loop-de-loop in the air. “I like him! No one’s ever polite to me! Anyway,” with a pout in her tiny voice, “Tsukasa said to tell you it’s time for dinner.”

The whole building smells like frying dumplings and cooking soup and good food in general, and Yuusuke and Geiz straighten up and put the lid back onto the back of the toilet moments before Woz says, in his most carrying, I-Am-Making-An-Announcement voice, “It is time for dinner,” echoed by Yuzuki’s enthusiastic shout of, “Dinner!”

Yuusuke’s face lights up. “Oh, perfect timing. Here, wash your hands, I’ll wash mine, and we can both head down.”

“Sounds good.” Geiz turns on the water and starts scrubbing his hands vigorously. “Thanks for showing me that, by the way, everyone else here is useless at repairs.”

“I mean, I don’t know that I’d put it that way...”

“No, seriously, I live with Sougo, he’s a space case. And Woz is...he’s Woz. He’s great, but he’s also Woz.” Geiz backs away from the sink and grabs a towel to dry his hands as Yuusuke starts to wash his. “Why’d you want to, though? Like I appreciate it, but what made you want to teach me something like this?”

“I like fixing things, and you seem like someone who needs to find more ways to relax.” Yuusuke accepts another hand towel. “Rider stuff is exhausting, it’s nice knowing how to do normal things too. Wow that all smells good, I’m so excited to eat a meal that I didn’t have to cook any of myself.”

As they head for the stairs, Geiz says, “No offense, but you seem...different, somehow, from Tsukasa and Daiki and Natsumi.”

“That’s because they’re huge drama queens.” Yuusuke grins at him. “I love them so much, you have no idea, but if we were all like that then nothing would ever get done around the house.”

Geiz stifles laughter.

Yuusuke’s grin just gets wider. “See, I knew you’d get it.”

#tokiwa sougo #myoukouin geiz #tsukuyomi #woz #kadoya tsukasa #kaitou daiki #hikari natsumi #onodera yuusuke #fanfiction #anonamouse

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toku-explained · 4 years ago

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The Swordsman of Light

Heroes's Odyssey: Zero compares the 1st SAAG's Ultroid Zero to the TPC's Terranoid, and it's eventual corruption into Zelganoid.

Saber: Yuri entrusted Tassel with Story of Hougouken Saikou, so do all of the Sword books exist? So the story, the speculation is that the first image has Luna's ancestor at the front, and the first 5 Swordsmen, speculated to be Master Logos and Tassel on one side, and on the other Zooous, Storious and Legeiel. Yuri once wielded Saikou and Kurayami together. After Sword of Logos was formed, Rekka was the first Seiken made by human hands. And here is a tragic moment, turns out tons of Megiddo have been born and had their lives snuffed out to create new Alter Ride Books, and neither side even noticed. Daishinji decides to join Touma. Tassel has the book on Nagare, Suzune, Hayate, possibly all of the swords we know, before finding Saikou's, which Yuri uses with SwordXMan to create the book X Swordman. Touma's almost able to separate the Megiddo from the host thanks to his feelings. Yuri debuts as Kamen Rider Saikou at last, I love how he just goes all Super Hero. But this one isn't over yet.

Kiramager: Okay I'm loving those 2 classmates this episode. Garza gets to become part of Yodon's body. And then, thanks to Crunchula's help, is able to destroy Yodon and become Lord Garza. So like, obviously the boy in the flashback had to look like that to obfusciate his identity, but does that mean Garza's black colouration is a sign of corruption? Why was he ever allowed near Takamichi or Mabusheena?

Dogengers: Yabai Kamen leaves, with Yuki running over to Tanaka as he passes out. He awakens back home, with Kitaqman and Yamashiron, who has now moved in as well. Yabai Kamen is starting to worry about everyone losing the Golden Seal, when Shaberryman informs him of the other Golden Seal mentioned history. The one their power has been gained from was found by farmers on Shikanoshima, so maybe the second is in the same area. In order to get a digger for them to use to try and find it, Uzagi goes to Yahata Construction. While Yamashiron explains that at the moment he can't unfuse, the Chief at Yahata and his men are fighting of Uzagi and his Karami when Nakama City's El Brave arrives. Uzagi unleashes the power of his Stuntman, mocks El Brave's height, and knocks him all the way to Tanaka's house just as they're talking about him. Grousing further about his lack of height, El Brave goes off for a Revenge Match, followed by Tanaka, they find all the workers were captured by Uzagi in the meantime. The Chief has Rookie fight so he can give El Brave a pep talk, leading him to accept his shortness as he assist Rookie in reaching Uzagi, allowing them to defeat him and save the workers. Unnoticed, the lower of the Golden Seal leaves Uzagi and enters El Brave's wrestling belt, hanging in the warehouse. While Tanaka is glad for what he's learnt, he's bemused that El Brave has also now moved into his house.

Rider Time: I already love these paired miniseries, I don't care how bad everyone thinks the new forms are. I have criticisms, sure, but I'll address those in a dedicated post when it's over.

Zi-O Vs Decade: Inves are attacking a couple of groups. The "Casual" Sougo appears, becomes Zi-O, as does the "Cool" Sougo. Both defeat the Inves, and introduce themselves to the rescued parties. At school, Heuru and Ora are waiting for the regular Sougo and Geiz, and when they spot them hand over love letters. Geiz just tears up Ora's, and while Sougo intends to read Heure's at least, Geiz drags him away. A trio of students make a break for it from the school, but are cornered by Inves immediately, Geiz stops Sougo from going out, and the kids are killed. Swartz marks the desks of all the dead students, and we discover the school is the only building wherever they are. Swartz, the only member of staff there, is under a lot of stress. Sougo and Geiz talk over their meager dinner, before Swartz is alerted to some male students taking a female hostage, he knocks out two and the third leaps out the window, easy prey for the Inves. Out in the forest, Tsukuyomi is cornered by Inves, and Henshins to fight them. At another school in the same predicament, "Casual" Sougo is preparing to ride out of school when Kudo Misa, the one new character shared between the two series appears, and insists on coming with him, they ride out together, Sougo having to fight some Inves off. Swartz holds a lecture for some students on love, though "Ora-sensei" intervenes and gives a more "effective" lecture. Meanwhile Sougo? has been running a small festival, which a student comes to enjoy, when "Casual" Sougo and Misa pull up, Misa "assists" his henshin into Zi-O, when Sougo transforms into Zi-O to protect the new arrivals, and Geiz arrives too. The two Zi-O's don't notice eachother during the fight, but both Geiz and Misa do and are confused, but the two Sougo's are confused afterwards. Casual Sougo has the OOO Ridewatch. To add to the confusion the "Cool" Sougo also arrives. Meanwhile, in a 4x4, Kadoya Tsukasa is making his way.

Decade Vs Zi-O: A "Sporty" Tokiwa Sougo wakes up, shortly followed by Onodera Yusuke, then an Old Man, Housewife, Yakuza, as well as Heure, Ora Swartz and Kudo Misa. (Heure is in casual clothes, Ora very fine clothes, Swartz a much smarter suit and has a beard, and Misa in Seifuku). Ora tries to leave, leading them all to discover the house they're in is the only thing on a small island. The masked jester figure appears on screen, welcoming them to the "King Game" and challenging them apparently to have a chair each in 10 minutes, splitting in various groups to do so, while the Yakuza refuses to play, Misa gives the Old Man an extra chair she found. The Jester summons Another Ryuki, who targets and kills the Yakuza. The group now suitably terrified, the Old Man starts offering wads of cash for protection. That night everyone's trying to make sense of everything, some more desperate than others, when the Jester appears again, this time giving 10 minutes to find a Kitchen pot, Misa again having to give one to the Old Man. Thanks to Ora stealing the one the Housewife found, the Housewife is killed by Another Ryuki. Then Misa screams, having found the Old Man dead, and the blood makes it clear it's not Another Ryuki's handiwork. As they start pondering the mystery, Kadoya Tsukasa arrives.

#toku explained #kamen rider saber #kiramager #dogengers #kamen rider zi o #kamen rider decade

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fantasyinvader · 4 years ago

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So, we’re a month into Kamen Rider Saber. Time for some thoughts.

* I usually give Rider some time to find it’s footing, as the first quarter is rather hectic between establishing the plot and pushing this year’s collectable gimmick. It’s usually around Christmas that things start becoming hype, or that’s when the show starts showing signs of serious problems. That being said, I found that Saber has been bumpy. Not rough but far from smooth.

* I guess the biggest thing contributing to this has been, well, I know Kamen Rider is a kid’s show. Hell, I got into it because of the nostalgia I feel for Saban’s efforts not just bringing Sentai over but other toku as well. But with Saber, it feels more like it’s playing into a kid’s show which, unfortunately, pushes the characters into being less believable and more cartoony. Not in an endearing way like how, say, Drive handled it’s side characters. It’s more forced, like Geiz or Sougo from Zi-O.

* I really love the suits, especially how they feel like OOO’s, except with part-swapping between multiple Riders. So cool. Espada’s is my favorite so far.

* I seriously, absolutely hate Tassel. If he’s not the big bad of the series, I’ll be disappointed.

* Also hate we have a Rider named Blades. Not only is too close to Kamen Rider Blade, a main rider, the dude doesn’t even use a two sword style. Shameful, just shameful.

* The Ska OP and ED have to grow on me. I do feel the latter is closer to doing so than the former though, but I have to wonder why they even went with one. We haven’t had a ED since Hibiki and Kuuga before that. That’s 2 in 21 years guys, Rider not having one is almost a staple of the franchise right now. Like, maybe this has to do with filming restrictions due to Covid, and the ED and stock footage eat up time to get around them?

* While I don’t usually like stock footage henshin’s in Rider, the fact the characters wear different clothes and this is taken into account makes it better. Though I have to say, while Touma doesn’t have the worst fashion sense we’ve seen in Rider he wears hats unconvincingly. Like they don’t seem to suit him, and it’s just...annoying. Like he’s wearing different hats just to wear different hats.

* ...seriously, why do they go with Peter Fan? The original book should be in the public domain. Like Peter Fantasia doesn’t bother me since it’s a power-up based on that tale, but call him Peter Pan when discussing the actual story. Just, please.

Still, I’m not hating what I’m seeing right now. Just Tassel really. The rest are things that feel off to me, things that can mostly be straightened out as the series progresses since that has happened in the past before. Not to mention series dipping in quality towards the end in response to how people have reacted to the series.

#kamen rider saber

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jokerxtreme36 · 5 years ago

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Thoughts on Zero One and Kiramager so far + extra (Spoilers)

Man it has been a while since I’ve done this. I was a bit uncertain to really come back and speak my mind on these since I feel what I say doesn’t really matter, I tend to fear what I say could be an unpopular opinion and get flack for it. I’m still hesitant on writing but I felt like wanting to write again after so long. I don’t know if I’ll bring this back but we’ll see. A lot has happened with Toku that’s surprising, I’m surprised how much Toku has been slowly getting itself up to be official over here thanks to various services like discotek and Shout Factory, in an age where you can officially watch the original Kamen Rider series and Kuuga online, If you told me that 5 years ago, I wouldn’t know what to believe.

Recap:

Been three years since I’ve done this iirc, but here’s My thoughts on the seasons I never wrote my full thoughts on.

Kyuranger: This was an up and down series for me. When I first started, I was hating it, due to awful pacing and was doing an awful job of establishing characters, especially Lucky who was hitting the marks of why I disliked Right and Takaharu, thankfully the series picked itself up around the second quarter with Scorpio’s arc and introducing Tsurugi. Would later go down and up with each arc but In my opinion, ended on a decent note. It does suck it never had a crossover with Zyuohger but I did enjoy the Space Squad crossover, which utilized the strengths of the characters really well and was ultimately satisfying.

Ex-Aid: Ex-Aid was a series I was a bit skeptical by but was one over by the end. I enjoyed Emu and his adventures and I give props for the show having two female Riders (Nico counts, fight me!). If there’s an issue, it’d be that I wish they’d just end with the crossover movie cause I feel the V-cinema’s felt like tacked on alternate endings, I do give them credit for trying to connect it to other films.

Lupinranger vs Patranger: A series I’ve seen that’s either enjoyed or disliked. I’m in the former and do like that they experimented with the concept of two different teams. I dig the idea that the Lupins are influenced by more modern Sentai that get the gimmick of the episode while the Pat’s are more akin to classic seasons where they just focus on the Monster, also doesn’t help that Japan has very low views on their justice system so the Lupins are more favorable. Plus I loved the way it ended on an open note, much like how Sanjo tends to do in his writing.

Amazons: Another divisive series and I’m leaning towards those that dislike it.On its own, it’s alright but as a series that uses elements from a classic series, it mostly is superficial in how it uses it cause the original series was remembered for how violent it could be, but there was more to it than just mindless violence. Also doesn’t help the producer’s comment on how “Recent Rider’s aren’t interesting, this series will give it it’s fangs back” saying the shows before it were not good when they were enjoyed by a lot fans. I do give the series credit for trying to write a gray moral type of setting but its flimsily written that it can come off as irritating,, especially around Season 2. Though I’ll give the movie credit for ending the series on a decent note.

Dino Force Brave: A miniseries that caught a lot of fans by surprise, since Korea commissioned a miniseries/continuation for Kyoryuger given how popular it was. It seemed promising, then I saw who was producing and writing it, instead of Sanjo returning. we got Ninninger’s writer. it retcons things like Torin’s not dead and Devius isn’t mentioned (the latter I don’t mind). The series is short which is both its strenght and weakness because for a miniseries, it isn’t given much time to flesh out the new characters, since they only have 12 minutes for each story, shows like the Ultra Fight series work since its serialized and can work as a movie, this not so much but unlike Amazons, I consider this harmless, its nothing too bad and there’s some merit to it (even if they tried saying it was canon in the last Taisen film)

Build: Now this was a series I was actually surprised by, this series is probably my third favorite post Decade Rider series. The series blends the right amount of silly and mature moments. It has a lot of memorable characters and one of my new favorite villlains in the franchise, Evolt was a great villain that really brought the stakes and made you think how this series was gonna deal with him. I remember the ending being divisive but I was ok with it since it does give an explanation for how Build could interact with the other Riders in future crossovers with how the previous seasons (minus Amazons) could connect. plus the V-cinema’s were well handled from an ok one like Cross-Z to a surprisingly Amazing one that is Grease’s V-cinema, now this is how you do a continuation.

Strongest Battle: Now this was a miniseries that caught me by surprise as well since they brought back returning actors to lead up to the next season. Seeing Arakawa still got it and made me hope to see him return writing someday (hint hint).The cast they got surprised me, some I was glad to see return and some I wasn’t too happy with like Takaharu and to an extent Kagura (but too be fair, she wasn’t as bad as Right), but I was intrigued to see what Arakawa would do with them and I was ok with how they were written here though still dislike Takaharu as a character.

Ryusoulger: Ryusoulger is a series that I’ve seen that is pretty loved from what I’ve seen but sadly I’m on the opposite side, I don’t think it was that terrible but more or less disappointing and somehow boring. Strongest Battle setup a lot of things for Ryusoul to follow up on that it felt like a downgrade, like Gaisorg being underutilized that you can tell they didn’t know what to do with him. The writing was all over the place that it was hard to be invested with the characters, who did their best with what they were given but their wasn’t much stakes. If there’s one thing I enjoyed, I really loved the ending arc for giving us not only a Female big bad but also blowing my expectations and breaking status quo, with Red not being the one to finish off the main villain. The ending arc was great yet at the same time was upsetting that the rest of the series wasn’t up to par with it. But now its gonna be the next adaptation after Beast Morphers. With Hasbro in charge, I’m intrigued to see what they do with it.

Zi-o: From the same minds behind Dino Force Brave and Amazons comes what is meant to be a big celebrate/closure of the Heisei era, but threw logic out the window for what is ultimately a fun kind of mess. I don’t mind continuity but I was iffy on how Zi-o retconned the previous seasons as not connected since that’s what they were trying to do until this series went (rip paper) whoops it broke. The series does have some merit with the idea of the Another Rider’s and showing the development of our protagonist and his attempt to defy fate. I also enjoyed when the series stopped time travelling but instead met the characters in the present day cause then the arcs were written better like in Blade and Agito’s tribute episodes. I haven’t watched Geiz’s V-cinema yet but also heard from the producer’s twitter that Woz’s V-cinema isn’t happening, which sucks cause there’s potential in it.

Now that those are done, here we go.

Kamen Rider Zero One:

Now with the start of the Reiwa era, I was hyped since we had Ex-Aid’s writer returning and we got not only a cool awesome secondary but a surprising Female Rider early on and is our third Rider. The first arc starts off strong with Aruto wanting to save the Humagears from Metsubojinrai. Things were looking good until things went downhill thanks to a certain Gold turd known as Thouser, before I get to my issues, I love his suit and how his finishers have a trademark, but that loses its charm when you see him everytime as he’s a very arrogant and obnoxious about his views on how “Humagears aren’t necessary” almost every time. There’s character’s that are meant to be hated, but then there’s characters that you just want to see go away. Once the arc ends the series thankfully pics up with Fuwa getting Rampage, Yua quitting and the return of Izakuchi and Naki. I’m interested to see where things go from here.

Mashin Sentai Kiramager:

Now this was a series I was cautiously optimistic by, since Arakawa returns to write a new series and after my disappointment with Ryusoul, I was nervous but thankfully this series is off to a good start, was surprised we started with episode 0, which does a good job setting up the main 4 before the red shows up. I was a bit skeptical on Juru since he screamed a lot of traits that they could’ve easily screwed up. Thankfully they’ve been doing a good job with Juru, he’s cheerful and imaginative but not a total idiot (what Right should’ve been) and the series has been doing a good job giving everyone their own center episode while not being afraid to take a few risks. I also enjoy the villains like Garza and his rivalry towards Juru due to having a similar ability to his brother that he despised, especially the fight in episode 4 being a highlight. I like that Juru wasn’t sure if he was qualified into being the leader but saw that his passion could help the team in his own unique way. Another thing I love is the Monsters with them going for a Showa aesthetic on mask based Kaijin but with an added twist of a Kaiju counterpart for them to fight, it’s a nice change of pace from just having them grow. The series has done a great job at bringing back an old style and breathing fresh life to it. Was scared hearing what happened to Juru’s actor but thankfully heard he’s doing ok and I’m excited to see what the series brings next.

#JX36 says something.

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reversemoon255 · 5 years ago

Photo

Another year, another time, another Rider, and once more a king.

I was hesitant going into Zi-O. I'm not a fan of Legacy Rider content, finding most of it to be boring and repetitive, with only a few cases standing out as merely ok, so to go into a full season of a show like that was not something I was looking forward to. But my first season was Decade, a show with a similar premise, and I enjoyed that, so to not at least give this show a try would be against the spirit that drove me to this show in the first place.

The Good: And it was handled ok. The show felt like it got better as it went on, especially when Riders started giving up their powers rather than their memories. Agito was probably my personal favorite set of episodes, even if the series itself wasn't my favorite. It was also cool to see some Riders and stories from the (theoretical) future, including the return of Aqua, which is pretty important for a time travel series.

The effects were also pretty good, a few projectile angles and an un-feathered T-Rex not withstanding. Zi-O certainly gave Ex-Aid a run for its money with how much of an SFX-fest it got to being at times. You also have to remember that a lot of their CG backlog probably needed a bit of polishing, and older material probably needed to be remade from scratch, not to mention all the impressive one-time use ones. There was a lot of effort, love, and time put into this series which shows how important it is.

Onto the show itself, I enjoyed it. Looked forward to each week. Sougo isn't my favorite Rider, but he's not bad, and his somewhat laissez faire attitude played well off a few of the returning veterans. Geiz played the role of the secondary Rider well, being both a good antagonist and ally, even if his character felt like it lacked depth. I had ideas about what Tsukiyomi's role would be in the story would be. I guessed correctly that she'd be connected to the Time Jackers, though I thought she would end up being Sougo's daughter rather than unrelated (and thought that revelation would be revealed during the Kiva arc, because theming). Still, when she got to play it more fun and smiley she was good and when she was dour and serious she was kind of boring. It was also cool that she got to be a Kamen Rider at the end, even if her suit was only on screen for a minute total.

It’s 2:00 on the moon

Woz was above and beyond my favorite character, and I was happy when he fully allied himself with the team since it meant more screen time and interaction with other characters for him. He was always happy, snarky, and boisterous, and put life into the other characters on more than one occasion. I found I really like Heure. I think that was because he was totally crushing on Ora and every time he tried to do something for her it backfired tremendously. Speaking of Ora, she was ok, mostly again because of Heure. She certainly had a few good moments, but most of her acting was very droll. And lastly, Schwartz, went from being a mysterious villain to full blown crazy very quickly.

Also enjoyed Shinobi and Brain (the one and only true first Reiwa Rinder!). They were neat bonus content.

The Bad: While the pacing was mostly good, since everything was done in 2-episode chunks there was occasionally a bit of rushing, though it was only a real issue during the opening when they were trying to cram a lot down your throat. The stuff with Chase at the very end was a little confusing, feeling mostly like they just wanted to get one Drive character in there before it was over, and whether his appearance gave Sougo full access to the Drive Watch was glossed over. Also, no one explained Ginga Finally and I'm still confused as to how that form works.

Honestly, the only consistent issue I had was the acting. Don't get me wrong, everyone was alright, but as I may have mentioned I felt the characters were at their best when they got to be fun and be put in weird situations and actually smile. Smiling is important. When everyone was all end of the world, frowny frown, evil plots, I felt much less invested in the characters and what was going on. It's probably why I like Woz so much, as he was the only main character who had that attitude the majority of the time.

Time Mazine 2020: And we stand on the horizons of Zero-One. I think it looks neat, I think the premise is cool, I don't mind our protagonist being an unfunny comedian, we get a female Rider out the gate. Everything seems good. My only issue is Ryusoulger and Star Twinkle. I'm enjoying both those series now, but they had rocky starts. They were so dedicated to starting their seasons action packed that it took them about three months each to start actually developing their characters, like they’re more interested in episodic fun than anything else. It's not a terrible style, but I'd really like it if Zero-One didn't fall into that hole.

Overall, Ghost is still worst... I'm kidding. Not about Ghost, about Zi-O. Ghost is terrible and still the worst season of Kamen Rider.

I think I enjoyed this more than other people whose opinion's I've read, but it's just a solid 3/5 for me. Some good moments and episodes, but hard to get invested in when it counts. Still, as I've seen almost every Heisei series, it was a nice trip down memory lane. And hopefully... in another 10 years... We do not recycle this plot again.

#kamen rider #kamen rider zi-o #review #kamen rider geiz #kamen rider decade

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years ago

Text

Zi-O Ep 46: (silent shock)

Okay, so… last week was… oh, right!

Everything is painful and nothing is okay!

This week?

THINGS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN AND NOT BE OKAY!

Liveblog under the cut, because there was no good early spot to break it off!

––––

So yeah, Swartz summoned Hat Woz, because of course he did. Just, you know, the ultimate insult to injury. I always wonder if Watanabe likes playing this version of Woz, because Hat Woz is just such a smug little bastard in a completely different way from Scarf Woz.

And oh look, surprising none of us, Swartz is going to try and kill Tsukuyomi, because there’s no room for her in the future he’s going to write.

Hat Woz has his Future Note again – which is odd.

See, Tsukasa had theorized that the Dark Riders were being summoned from timelines where they won, but that didn’t sit right with me. Eternal was surprised to be alive again. He wouldn’t have said anything like that if he’d won, because he’d definitely have survived his fight. You know, for the certain value of surviving he can have. Not being any more dead than he already was.

And this Hat Woz knows Tsukuyomi, says that it’s been a long time… but Daiki stole the Future Note the first time we saw him, when he may or may not have been ‘helping’ Oma Zi-O, so he shouldn’t be able to have it now.

So when is this Woz from?

Anyway, Eternal gets some good hits in on Aqua while Swartz is being distracting by way of how much of a tool he is. Swartz advances on Tsukuyomi…

And is blocked by a shoulder check from Scarf Woz Ginga.

…Ah, man, the Woz V Woz fight is gonna be hard to write, isn’t it?

Scarf Woz summons a minature star to blind the opponents, because of COURSE his Sun form can do that, why NOT! Then… okay, hang on, this one has to be in script form.

Woz: (summons a mini sun)

Woz: (turns to the camera) According to this book-

Woz: (focuses back on the scene and increases the intensity of the light)

Then when the light fades, he, Tsukuyomi, and Aqua are all gone – and we head into the recap vault, where he’s got a model of Another Decade.

Woz. Woz what are you?! What is the purpose of the recaps?! Where is this vault?! Please explain!

Anyway, the recap is basically him saying that Swartz is Another Decade, that he’s trapped Geiz in one of his Another Worlds, a brief clip of Heure being stabbed and dying in Sougo’s arms, and apparently, we’re going to finally find out what Swartz’s plan is!

––––

The current team at 9 to 5 consists of Sougo (still pretty beaten up), Woz (sulking against the wall, as usual), Tsukuyomi (depressed and blaming herself), and Miharu (less depressed but also kinda dumb). Sougo summarizes one of the current issues: Geiz is stuck in an Another World. Woz mentions that Decade or Diend might be able to get them there, not that they’d be much assistance.

Yeah, I still don’t think they’re actually de-powered the way you think they are, but sure, let’s run with it.

Sougo lets everyone know that one fo the other things Tsukasa had said was that the only way to get people out of an Another World is to destroy it… which is a problem, since that’s not a thing anyone here can do. I’m not entirely sure Tsukasa actually can, either, since I’m pretty sure they fixed that little ‘problem’ of his back in his portion of the W & Decade movie. …But only pretty sure, because the season never bothered to explain what was going on with that in the first place, or what was actually causing it, because literally the only person with answers was Narutaki. And Narutaki’s not exactly known for giving details. Though, if he shows up in the last episode of Zi-O to give exposition on this season, and still blames Tsukasa for everying… I don’t know if it’d be frustrating or hilarious.

…I kind of want that to happen, now.

OKAY, RIGHT, THE SHOW IS STILL A THING.

Tsukuyomi blames herself for falling into Swartz’s trap – which. Uh. Sweetie. You didn’t. Technically, you set a trap for him. It didn’t work, but that’s because he’s incredibly overpowered.

Same goes for you, Miharu. Don’t you go blaming yourself, either! Especailly by saying it’s because you weren’t ‘brave enough’! You’re plenty brave, you did great, buddy! Again, Swartz and Eternal are both super-overpowered. None of this is either of your faults.

Enter Junichiro for the distraction! This time, he’s got salads with white truffle oil, to bring out the flavor.

Something about the ‘white truffles’ makes Woz realize something. I don’t know if he’s got an idea, if he’s fanboying over how good of a cook Junichiro is, or both – I kind of think it’s both.

(At this point, if either of them wanted to change career paths, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if they became chefs.)

There’s also a nice little aside where Woz comments that Junichiro is such a hot hand with cooking, taking Junichiro’s hand sin his own – to which Uncle mentions that Woz has really hot hands. Meaning at least one of them is probably still hot from that little stunt he pulled with a miniature sun earlier.

––––

Aw, this is actually kind of sad – Hat Woz went to the overlook where he was un-realitied during Another Blade.

Sougo & Co. show up – and they’re asking for his help. Which is a: really kind of depressing, because last time he was around they hated each other, and b: really kind of sweet, because Sougo and Woz, at least, are willing to work with him.

Of course, Hat Woz has zero reason to listen, and asks what they’re going to do if he says no.

Woz, Sougo, and a hesitant Miharu hold up their belts.

Hat Woz, probably scoffing internally, says that’s not a threat that’s going to work on him… and holds up his belt. Of course he has it back, Scarf Woz. Another Worlds are made of lost opportunities, aren’t they?

I love how he’s just… everyone else is holding their belts, ready to put them on at a moments notice, and he’s just dangling his by the watch holder. Not even with all fingers, just with one finger and a thumb. Let it never be said that Hat Woz will miss out on a chance to be incredibly Extra.

He doesn’t really want to help them, in particular, but… well, he does want to rescue His Savior.

Riiiight, Geiz Revive was, in his timeline, supposed to be the one who stopped Oma Zi-O on Oma’s Day – which I’ve doubted for some time, since Hat Woz is made of smugness and deceit, but I’ll allow it.

We cut to… oh, noooo, it’s the guy who was Victim of the Day #2 from the Den-O Arc, the one who made a contract – Takuya – reminiscing at Sayuri’s grave. Then here comes Swartz, saying that he’ll make him his own world.

Takuya is pulled into an Another World, one where ‘Sayuri’ never died.

Hat Woz starts to narrate.

Basically, Swartz is using his powers as Another Decade to place people in Another Worlds, where they relive one moment, over and over again, for eternity. We see the runner from the last episode, winning his race, before time resets, and he wins again. We see Owada winning the match, before time resets, and he wins again.

By sending people into the Another Worlds, Swartz is able to summon Dark Riders – in Takuya’s case, Kamen Rider Yuuki, from the Saraba Den-O film.

Looks like Hat Woz counts himself among the Dark Riders… which. Uh. Is a good point. Most Dark Riders are movie exclusives, usually being mirrors of the lead. Hat Woz doesn’t mirror Sougo, but he is a reflection of Scarf Woz. So… yeah, he would count.

He tells the group that in order to save his Savior from the Another World, they’re going ot have to ‘cross a dangerous bridge’ – and everyone is willing to do so.

So then. Shall they begin?

––––

Cut to a beach, with Miharu watching the ocean. Hat Woz ‘narrates’ via his book, giving an ‘instruction’ for Kamen Riders Aqua and Eternal to fight.

And so, they do – Eternal shows up, Miharu transforms, and they start exchanging blows. Sougo runs up, and joins in the fight as Zi-O.

(Sougo, please don’t use your base form for this! At least use Zi-O II! I get that the appearance of the fight is way better this way, but still. Katsumi Daido is not a Movie Rider to be trifled with!)

––––

Somehow, Swartz knows that Zi-O and Eternal are fighting. He doesn’t much seem to care about Aqua, though.

He also knows that Hora’s here, and that she’s alone.

He asks where Heure is.

She holds up his feather decoration, saying that he’s ‘right here.’ Now, give her her powers back.

Swartz smirks.

I don’t know if he believed she’d actually go so far as to kill Heure, but either way, I think he’s impressed.

Probably not in the way she wants him to be, but…

––––

On the beach, Aqua and Zi-O are fighting Eternal, up until Yuuki draws Zi-O out into a fight of their own.

Hat Woz watches, flouncy and smug as always, when Scarf Woz comes up.

Hat Woz makes a comment about how he wishes that they’d take he and his fellow Dark Riders seriously – and Scarf Woz says that he’ll be his opponent in the long-awaited Woz-on-Woz fight.

(PIC OF WOZ HENSHIN HERE)

This is a really cool transformation! I don’t think we’ve gotten a good veiw of Ginga’s transformation, so this is as good as any!

They exchange a few punches, and then go into their Rider Kicks…

And holy shit I can’t believe Hat Woz is fucking dead. He got demolished by the Ginga finisher, like, he didn’t stand a chance.

––––

…

Ah. We briefly flash back to the canyon… and he told Scarf Woz to kill him. Mercilessly.

They can’t let on that it’s an act, after all.

They’ll get their real fight later.

––––

Back on the beach, Swartz appears, clapping. That sure was a fancy display. Why not do it again? He opens a wall, and Hat Woz steps out, flouncy as ever, saying it’s time for round two.

Tsukuyomi steps out, trying to pause him, saying that won’t happen – but she’s only got some of her power back, not enough to actually stop Hat Woz.

In retaliation, he takes the wall that he’d come through, and. Uh. Whips it over to Scarf Woz and Tsukuyomi, spinning it around them until it – and they – disappear, and tells Swartz that he’s sent them off to an Another World for him.

Sougo shouts, breaking off from his engagement with Yuuki, and tries to attack Swartz, but is blocked by Eternal.

Swartz tells him to give up, he’s not going to see them again. They’re going to be there for the rest of eternity.

Kamen Rider Eternal says that he likes the sound of that word – ‘Eien’. Eternity.

He pulls out his Gaia Memory, and inserts it into his knife’s finisher slot.

Eternal! Maximum Drive!

To which I, a Double fan, have a general reaction of NOPE NO NUH-UH I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!

For those who didn’t watch Double, or didn’t watch it’s summer movie, “Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate”, That is a very bad thing to hear. In the movie, using just that one Memory for a finisher disabled all the Gaia Memories in the city, except for the type he was using.

I mean, it’s not like it would effect the watches, but it still brings up SOME BAD TIMES.

Case in point; here he uses it to ‘conjure’ what is basically a blade of blue fire, and proceeds to slash said blade towards Sougo – AND A WALL OF FIRE EXPLODES AROUND HIM.

Zi-O’s left on the ground, in pain, but still transformed, so good for him for absolutely tanking that hit.

Aqua rushes to his defense, and is intercepted by Yuuki, as Eternal re-engages Zi-O.

Hat Woz, sighing dramatically, starts up his transformation.

––––

Tsukuyomi and Woz are in the Another World that Geiz is in.

So, before I continue actually watching the scene, I want to say what I’ve been thinking Geiz’s World might be. It’s supposed to be a moment of ‘lost possibilities’, a moment the captive regrets, and wants to take back.

So… what could Geiz’s be?

I figure… I’ve been figuring it might be related to his defeating or not defeating Sougo – or rather, Zi-O. Either way… I don’t think it could be some triumphant moment. Geiz is pretty much never in a good place emotionally, because he has seen some shit, and he doesn’t really know what his goal is anymore.

Starting back up, and…

Oh.

It’s the confrontation by the river the other day.

Where he pointed out that Sougo became Oma Zi-O, and ruined the future.

In the original moment, he and Sougo fought, yelling at each other, and Geiz took off.

Here?

He stops himself after saying Oma Zi-O created the terrible timeline he’s from. He catches himself, backing off, getting quieter.

Saying that he… he fled from there, coming back to the current time. He looks so sad. He knows he has to go back, but he doesn’t want to. He wants to stay here, to keep living in 2019, to create a new future with Sougo.

Tsukuyomi and Woz watch, stunned, as time rewinds, and Geiz starts over.

This is the moment Geiz wanted to retry.

Not a battle, not the fight against Oma Zi-O in the first episode, not any of the times he could have finished Sougo off.

It’s his not saying that he trusts Sougo.

Oh, Geiz…

––––

Zi-O and Eternal have managed to change locations, and Sougo thinks of something. It was Double who defeated Eternal before, right? So that’s who he’s going to use.

Armor Time! DOUBLE!

It’s not just the reused sound effects from Double’s transformation this time. It’s actual music during the fight. One of the more hard-boiled fight tracks, the one usually used during the final confrontation against an opponent. And I love it. We won’t get a proper Double arc, or a Kuuga one – I know that by now. There’s not enough time left in the season. And that’s killing me.

But using the fight music? That’s… that’ll have to do.

Of course, in keeping with his whole thing, Daido says that he didn’t lose, it was just that the wind changed! He activates his other Gaia Memory, Zone.

This is the one that was super destructive. The one that summons 26 Gaia Memories to him, to let him use a supercharged version of the Eternal Maximum Drive. The finisher we saw him starting to use in the preview.

A nice note: Of the memories we hear the system announce, there are Accel, Cyclone, Fang, Heat, Joker, Metal, Luna, Trigger, and Xtreme.

There are a few others mixed in that seem mostly random, except perhaps Weather, who was one of the main enemies for a time, but these nine?

These are the ones that Shotaro, Philip, and Ryu used.

…Thank you.

Sougo stands firm against the Maximum Drive, and inserts a different Ridewatch into his belt.

Zi-O! Geiz!

A beam of yellow light shoots down onto the looping, trapped Geiz, transforming him into his armor, and then into a watch.

Woz!

A beam of blue light shoots down onto Woz, transforming him into his armor, and then into a watch.

We flash to Hat Woz’s plan. The Eternal Maximum Drive can destroy a world, forever. But to use it to clear out the Another Worlds, they have to get him into one.

And we’ve already seen, during the Kabuto arc, that it doesn’t matter how far away they are – Trinity can pull Geiz and Woz from anywhere, even from Earth into space.

So, it may be a gamble, but it just might be able to cross between worlds.

It’s a solid idea, and it makes sense that Hat Woz is the one to think of it. They got the Trinity watch from him, after all.

In the present, a veil of red light surrounds Zi-O and Eternal, who is still powering through his kick. They disappear-

-and reappear in ‘Geiz’s World’.

Trinity probably either takes the path of least resistance, or follows Sougo’s will. The only other time we’ve seen it used at a great distance was the incident in Kabuto, where Sougo and Woz were both in orbit, and Geiz was drawn from Earth to them.

Here, Geiz and Woz are both in the Another World, so Sougo’s pulled to them… and so is the guy he’s in contact with.

As the Trinity transformation finishes, Zi-O steps aside, letting Eternal’s kick collide with… what might be a sort of barrier point in the world. Regardless of how, it starts cracking the fabric of reality, starting right at the illusory Sougo.

Owada’s world starts to crack, and then shatters.

The runner’s world cracks, and then shatters.

Takuya’s world cracks, and then shatters.

In reality, a dimensional wall appears, cracks, and shatters, to reveal Tsukuyomi and all of the people who had been trapped – or, well, six people. Hard to say how many more there could have been… except that we can count, can’t we?

Four Dark Riders were summoned in episode 44, so that’s four of the victims accounted for. There’s Owada, who was used for Eternal, and Takuya, who was used for Yuuki. Geiz was used for Hat Woz, so that’s technically seven people rescued.

The Trinity transformation ends, Geiz seeming surprised, like he’s just waking up. Sougo tells Tsukuyomi to get everyone out of there, and she herds the civilians away.

Katsumi ends his transformation, going back to his normal form, saying that an interesting wind sure blew through here.

Casual note from the Double Fan to those who may not have watched: He’s a native of Fuuto, just like Shotaro, so the wind metaphors and comments are incredibly appropriate. Fuuto is the ‘windy city,’ so it basically goes without saying that it’s important to them.

Sougo steps forward. He tells Katsumi he took advantage of his powers, and that he’s sorry about that.

(Sougo never wanted to erase anyone.)

But… it’s okay. Thanks to Sougo, a world where only Katsumi was revived was destroyed. Now, he can go to where his comrades are.

His team from the film. Hanehara Reika, the Heat Dopant. Izumi Kyosui, the Luna Dopant. Domoto Gozo, the Metal Dopant. Ashihara Ken, the Trigger Dopant. Maria S. Cranberry, the Cyclone Dopant, and his mother.

They all died in the movie, as did he. And he was callous then, because he had lost control, but before the events of his V-Cinema… he truly did care about them. He was slowly losing touch with his humanity, but before then… they were a team; a family, almost.

And in the Another World that Swartz created, he was the only one brought back. Now? He’ll get to be with them again.

He holds out his hand, his thumb to the side. One of his standard pre- and post-battle tics is a harsh thumbs down, signalling his opponents defeat.

This time? It’s a thumbs up.

Katsumi Daido fades back out of existence, going out with a smile.

Behind them, Hat Woz laughs. He thought they’d be able to do it, he was counting on it.

Scarf Woz… wants to know why hat Woz would make a plan that would cause himself to disappear.

It’s simple, really. He wanted to save his Savior. That was his lost possibility. His old timeline.

Sauntering up, glitching, he approaches Geiz, telling him to listen carefully. From the start, Swartz has been after-

A bolt of purple energy strikes him, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Hat Woz glitches out of existence, stuck in pain as he disappears.

As Swartz lowers his hand, Kamen Rider Yuuki shudders, fading back out of existence.

Swartz is impressed, really. They all had him fooled. But it’s foolish of them to think there weren’t any more of his Another Worlds.

To prove his point, the four Dark Riders from the end of episode 44 show back up; Fuuma, Dark Ghost, Rey, and G4.

…So… Who were the runner and the other three nameless victims for?

Woz and Geiz go to fight them. Now, Sougo and Swartz are alone. Shall they settle this?

Sougo doesn’t flinch. He’s not alone, after all.

Aqua appears behind Swartz, jumping to punch him – and time freezes for Aqua and Sougo.

Swartz isn’t alone, either. Hora is behind Sougo, lowering her hand from her customary flip of her feather.

––––

Swartz circles the frozen Sougo, giving a very… ‘familiar’ speech. Sougo really was born to be a king. He will become a king, and have the duty to save the world from annihilation.

Sougo finally realizes what we’ve known for some time now – that Swartz was the one in his dream… his memory.

Swartz continues circling, until he stopps behind Sougo’s back. He’s always been watching Sougo, and now… Now Sougo’s completed the development fitting of a king. He’s collected the powers of so many Kamen Riders, and now Swartz will be taking them off his hands.

So that Swartz can become king.

The Time Jackers have always said that they were looking for a candidate for king, and it’s been clear that he’s had his candidate all along.

At first, it was implied to be Hiryuu. Then Sougo. But no.

He’s been his own choice the entire time.

He freezes.

Hora’s not impressed. That’s what he’s been trying to do, all this time? As her hand glows red, forming a blade around it, she says that she’s going to do what Heure couldn’t, and kill him.

She stabs forward, into his chest.

He starts to move again, and looks… smug. Did she really think he wouldn’t know what she was doing?

She didn’t stab him. Her hand-blade is caught in a tiny little dimensional wall – which spreads, holding her in place as Swartz becomes Another Decade, and round-house kicks her in the face, sending her flying.

He makes a quip about how he hopes she and Heure enjoy their ‘lives’ together, as she struggles to get up for a few moments…

And then stops moving.

Time resumes for the others.

Sougo turns, and sees Hora a distance away. Coldly, he tells Swartz that he’s not fit to be king.

Swartz’s reply? Why not? He’s certainly powerful enough.

Sougo’s mad. A king is supposed to make the world better. That is what power is supposed to be for!

An enraged Grand Zi-O begins to fight Another Decade.

––––

In a dark warehouse, Geiz Revive Fury and Woz Ginga Sun fight the four Dark Riders, quickly finishing them off with a pair of final attacks.

Also, Woz’s burned through some of the columns. Maybe don’t use that one indoors again?! We’ve already seen that Sun Form can, given the right amount of time, destroy asteroids, so I’m just saying that it might be a little too powerful for inside use!

Ginga being incredibly dangerous aside, Tsukuyomi runs up.

Geiz goes to her first, with an admission. Turns out he wants to stay here, in this time period. It’s where they belong. Not just him, but the three of them. He’s saying this to Tsukuyomi, and using ‘ore-tachi.’ ‘We.’ The group. And he thanks Woz, because he really does owe him that.

Woz comments that the other him would have loved to hear that.

Of course, as Geiz says, there’s still the question of what Hat Woz was trying to say at the end. What is Swartz really after?

The orchestral version of Toki no Ouja starts playing.

The discussion they have points out that all of his timing is strange. Why wait until now to take Tsukuyomi’s power? Why not when she first found out about it, confirming that she was his sister? Why attack his Time Jackers now, of all times, when he could have dropped them at any point? Why create the Another Worlds?

Woz mentions that it all seems random, but Geiz realizes – what if it’s not? What if there’s something connecting all of this?

Woz picks up the train of thought. The targets… Heure was starting to bond with Sougo. Owada and the runner were his classmates. Tsukuyomi had long since gotten close to him.

Geiz continues. He was targeted, too.

Tsukuyomi brings up a point – that Swartz only started finally putting his plans in motion once Sougo obtained Grand Zi-O.

Geiz turns, realizing. Swartz has only had one actual target.

Zi-O.

––––

(deep inhale)

(sharp exhale)

HOLY SHIT.

Grand Zi-O and Another Decade are at that power plant location.

Swartz… oh.

He flat out tells Sougo that if he wants to stop his plans, then go ahead and defeat him. But there’s a catch to it. If Swartz is stopped, then his time axis will disappear. Swartz will disappear… and so will Tsukuyomi.

The two of them – Swartz and Kamen Rider Zi-O – can’t both continue to exist, and as such, neither can Tsukuyomi and Tokiwa Sougo.

There is one other path, though…

Aqua interuppts, running up, shouting for Sougo not to listen, Swartz is just trying to trick him! He tries to use a Rider Kick, dropping down towards Another Decade…

Who simply opens a wall that moves Aqua from in front of him to behind, before using another to move himself to face Aqua.

Swartz says that it’s a shame… as his ‘belt’ glows, jagged red rectangles of light circling the center. He swings a roundhouse kick right at Aqua, in a corrupted version of Decade’s Rider Kick, complete with scattered images of cards mixed in among the explosion, some of which hit Aqua, and some which go outward along the ground to strike Sougo, knocking the both of them out of their transformations.

A thunderstorm starts, as Aqua rolls along the ground, sparking painfully, before his transformation breaks, and he’s laying on the ground, gasping in pain, with a large burn mark on his shirt.

Sougo runs over to him, the storm already approaching full swing. Miharu struggles to breath, one hand holding tight to the pair of underwear that Eiji gave him years ago.

In accordance with the OOO rule of three.

He manages to say just a little.

“For Tsukuyomi… for Alpina… and tomorrow…”

Minato Miharu, Kamen Rider Aqua, the young man from the future who was so, so afraid of his own power, but managed to over come it and become a hero… lays on the ground, in a storm… and stops moving.

Sougo kneels beside him.

Swartz, in his normal appearance once again, starts talking as Sougo glares. He’s got three paths available to him…

One for Tsukuyomi, one for himself… and the one where he becomes Oma Zi-O.

Sougo looks down, soaked, disbeleiving. “The path of Oma Zi-O…?”

The sound of the rain trails off, leaving nothing but the sound of Sougo breathing heavily, before he yells Swartz’s name in rage.

The endscreen is silent.

––––

The preview opens with Woz and Geiz fighting Dustards and a Smash. It cuts to the quartet in the lobby of 9 to 5, with Swartz saying that ‘the destruction of worlds has begun’ - transitioning into a shot of the Gaim and Double watches, in their place on the tower, lighting up and then going dark, their color gone, but the images still there.

There’s a shot of the Orion Zodiarts and the Shika Inves (Deer Inves), accompanied by a group of Masquerade Mooks, Yummies, Dustards, and Elementary Inves.

A shot of Another Zi-O II, with someone saying they will take the last treasure – but it sure doesn’t sound like Daiki, who was the last person seen with the Another Zi-O watch. That audio clip overlaps with a shot I definitely do not like, of Tsukuyomi bent over Tsukasa, who does not look to be getting up any time soon! (Please just be passed out, PLEASE just be passed out!)

Sougo says something about ‘other worlds meeting their end’, which is played over… that is Mondo! That’s Quiz, in his civilian form! There’s also a serious-expression Sougo.

Then, a shot of… Uh.

That. Is Another Zi-O II… being fought by. Uh. Grand Zi-O… and Zi-O. Regular, base-form Zi-O.

Sougo are you going to summon yourself, somehow?!

The voice clip playing over that is a deep voice. “I am the Grim Reaper – I will surpass the Kamen Riders!”

oh no.

The next fight has Geiz Revive fighting a figure in black, silver, and purple, with a distinct engine motif.

Oh no.

Then a shot of Chase.

Then Machin Chaser, with blank versions of the three basic types of Roidmude.

OH NO.

––––

Zi-O. Toei. This is NOT what we meant when we said we wanted a Drive Arc. This is definitely not what we meant when we asked for Chase to return.