Kamen Rider Zi-O Discussion Thread

I watched episode 35 and 36. Such an amazing arc with a more serious and dramatic tone like Kiva had, thanks to the staff bringing back the original writer. That show also had Inoue's tragic love triangles. Another Kiva's repeated utility of manhole covers as weapons and shields was random in a unique kind of way. The reaction to Sougo having a crush shows once more that despite being a future evil overlord, they always underestimate the depth of his character.

Ora killing Yuko in revenge makes me wonder if Uhr is the most redeemable of the Time Jackers. He's the most willing to side with Woz and usually contracts with Another Riders when they're in no position to refuse. Another Build and Ghost would both be dead without his intervention. Swartz "doesn't take no for an answer" and Ora manipulates their feelings to convince them to accept the contract.

Yuko's death was karmic since she herself was a murderer, but now so is Ora. I suppose that's the disadvantage of creating Another Riders in the present rather than the past. Their actions don't get erased. The consequences are permanent now. Anybody who dies stays dead, including the Another Riders. Fortunately for Sougo, his real crush was somebody else (who happens to share Asou Yuri's actress) and still alive.

My only disappointment with this arc is that it missed the chance to visit the 20th Century. Half of Kiva took place in 1986 and we've never seen Sougo and Geiz leave the 21st Century, except for that dream where Sougo was in the 22nd Century and that dystopian timeline was probably erased on the Day of Oma. It would have been nice to see Yuri's actress reprise her old role as well as Otoya's actor who was Kazumin in Build recently.

I also think it's a missed opportunity Matsuda Kenji didn't reprise his other role as Zanki in the preceding arc. Although I like Jirou as well, the original prototype IXA user and Garulu. Did anybody else think of Evolt when he claimed Mal d'amour's new coffee was the worst in the world? How infuriated would Jirou be if he tasted the actual worst coffee in the world? This is the same guy who once killed an innocent bystander after being disappointed with his coffee. Evolt was lucky they never met.

^ I have a problem with the Agito and Kabuto arcs.

I don't like how Agito's first insert song was used, I hated that and I hated how it would play every single time in a fight scene. I synced Over Quartzer with that scene just to make it more tolerable to watch. They should have used Deep Breath instead, that was a decent and underrated insert song.

I don't like how the Kabuto arc focuses on Kageyama and Yaguruma. I liked them when they were The Bee, back when they weren't trying too hard to be dark and edgy and contributing nothing to the plot. And I don't like how the show suddenly decided to kill off Kageyama for no reason.

Inoue can screw up badly sometimes but he's also responsible for virtually perfect shows like Faiz and Jetman. I thought Rider Time Ryuki and the Kiva arc were pretty good as well, excluding that infamous scene with Tezuka and Jun. I wouldn't mind if they brought him back for the Reiwa Era if he can write something like Faiz.

I can kind of accept Kiriya being the new Hibiki since the original Hibiki is middle aged now and Kiriya is no longer the same person he was in the show, he's developed in to a likable character. I'm not sure if it's just temporary and he will revert to being Kyoki though. Oni Riders' forms are supposed to be unique to the user. The only thing I noticed that was weird was that Kiriya didn't lose his clothes after canceling his henshin. That used to be a major inconvenience for Oni Riders in the show. Although I remember the summer movie didn't have that clothes problem either, probably due to Inoue writing it and the new staff not really understanding the show's status quo until later.

^ Well, Purple, you're entitled to your opinion and I respect that, even though I disagree.

^ My preferred fight songs would be Revolution from Ryuki, Supernova from Kiva, Cyclone Effect from W and Ready Go from Build.

Movie poster:

Guys, the rumor from 2018 has finally been confirmed in 2019. Shijima Gou, also known as Kamen Rider Mach, will return for the Drive arc in the upcoming movie! Krim is back as well, for real, not the identical scientist from Kamen Rider Brain.

Source: natalie.mu/eiga/news/334753

I guess this means Sougo needs to obtain the Drive Ride Watch to assume his extra final form, while Geiz's version will suffice to unlock Grand Zi-O.

Following the revelation from Swartz in episode 38, I predict that Narutaki is his father. Notice how they both wear the same style of hat and see Tsukasa as a meddler!

^ Another Drive will probably appear in the movie for the Drive arc. Another Decade is pretty much impossible to create since the Time Jackers don't know Tsukasa's origins.