#my anxiety fueled stomachaches are straining me so i guess this is a combination of critique/what i like

[iristial]

I've only skim watched episode 44 but I do have some thoughts

The Humagears going into full riot mode is super interesting and I do wish the series had let their voices be heard on a frequent basis. Any chance to let the co-existence theme shine gets an instant check in my book

Maybe I missed something but I'm pretty sure Naki and Raiden's ForceRisers didn't break; meaning that Naki could've fought Aruto themselves and last longer than Fuwa, and the Key wouldn't have broken. I do like that double headed wolf motif + how Naki entrusted their own Key to Fuwa, I have feelings about those two together, but the logistics don't cut it. I guess Fuwa using the Key instead of Naki was a symbolic move then? Aruto has always reached out to Humagears, and they to him (like with countering MetalCluster Hopper) but he never had his relationships with humans properly fleshed out. In fact, most of his relationships to the prominent human characters start off as antagonistic, and Aruto's attempts to be cordial and kind get brushed off. So Fuwa trying to punch sense into him (not the best way to cure a broken heart, as Yua points out) could be a reminder that things aren't what they used to be, and Aruto doesn't have to be "the only one who can defeat [insert opponent]" aka he doesn't have to be alone. Zero One did have a I work alone theme going on - which also ties into Fuwa's old lone wolf mentality....I could go on about this, and how it looks like Aruto thinks he has to go down fighting to make up for killing Jin...how Horobi and Aruto are just grieving on their own at this point...maybe that's even a deconstruction of how Kamen Riders were conceived as heroes who fought alone...

Horobi's small scene with Raiden was probably my favourite part. "What would you do if someone killed your younger brother" -> nothing is black and white anymore, like how we can't say all hacked Humagears are bad because there's metsuboujinrai and the implication that a jobless Humagear is denied the right to live (never mind that they are terrorizing the local public when turned into Magias). Humans and their concepts have permeated Humagears and their way of thinking, and humans can learn from Humagears too. The fight has become about the heart, and you can never be logical when it gets erupted with feelings

Yua handling the protestors was a step up from how she always hesitated before doing the right thing under Gai's thumb. Her becoming captain of A.I.M.S. was rather nice - I had the "president Yua" headcanon for a while + the officers had sworn loyalty to her as opposed to ZAIA episodes ago, so she was captain in all but name only. However, there should've been emphasis on Yua earning the position of her own merit, rather than Gai handing out positions in government organizations like candy (as if that instantly makes up for the harm he caused), because it feels like she can't completely escape Gai's clutches

This is wishful thinking but I want Raiden to hand Yua his Dodo Key so she can transform one last time. She didn't get to transform much during the series and for her to be put out of the running in an anti-climatic fashion was disheartening, to say the least

If Jin is permanently dead...there's fanfic, and there's me yelling at the writers for killing him twice. The fact that his footage for the episode 45 preview does not look fresh, looks like it's part of a "where they are now" shot, and the only other scenes available are Aruto and Horobi bleeding and crying and smiling does little to settle my nerves

I actually think Ark Scorpion is cool, especially that face plate (reminding me why I like different coloured eyes when it comes to symbolism, I see). And Horobi stabbing his katana into the ground to activate the transformation and summon an entire field of weapons collected across the series is the kind of thing I like. It's just so...metal