When I was king: Zi-O 9 & 10
Nov. 18th, 2018 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameOkay, so...
Let's get this off my chest here and now: I really, really wanted to love the OOO Arc of Kamen Rider Zi-O. They were bringing back Eiji and Hina, they were doing this cool idea of a past Rider coming back as one of the Another Riders, and I'm always a sucker for "for want of a nail" AUs. But maybe I built myself up for something that wasn't really going to be there.
I'm not going to do a full-on review like I normally would, if only because I think that would require more in-depth analysis on Zi-O than I'm really prepared for. Suffice to say, though, it's been a mixed bag so far. I think I've enjoyed the tributes more than the actual story--Sougo's determination to become king despite literally everything telling him that he will be a despot stops being endearing and starts looking really annoying fast. It doesn't help that he's fully in the naive hero image that's been in vogue from the Big Four--Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Ultraman, and Power Rangers--over the past few years...which is basically "around Neo-Heisei, New Generation, and Neo-Saban" eras. In fact, other than Sougo's really ridiculous dream to be a king, he'd kind of hard to distinguish from Brody Romero of Ninja Steel.
Geiz is...look, I love the moody, asocial characters. I will pick on them, but I fucking love them--Ren from Ryuki, Ankh from OOO, Andros from PRiS, Dillon from RPM, Bitchy Tezuka from Gaia, they're all my special babies for being thickheaded, stubborn idiots. But here's the thing--usually they grow. Ren's insecurities and inability to kill become obvious, especially when he starts growing attached to Shinji and Yui despite knowing he has to kill Shinji to save Eri; Ankh begins to trust Eiji and starts to realize that he and Hina are more important than himself; Andros warms up to the other Rangers and starts to be himself, even if only in uniform; Dillon starts to want to make new memories rather than focus as much on those he's lost; and Fujimiya has to suck it up and deal with the fact that maybe he doesn't hate all humans and also he got duped by the bad guys and maybe he actually needs to make up for all the harm he's caused rather than just run away from it. Again, idiots, but special ones. Very, very special ones. Geiz, on the other hand, is rubbing me as the kind of character who's never going to learn his lesson and still keep making the same mistakes over and over--again, I literally just described Andros and Dillon, but Geiz feels like even moreso.
And as for Tsukuyomi...unfortunately, she feels like she continues the trend of "We need a female character because the higher-ups say so. Ew, girl cooties." She's there, and that's about all I can really say so far. I've given up on having a new female Rider, let alone one who doesn't suck, but as far as good supporting heroines in this franchise go, I'm still so brokenhearted by the way they let us down with Kiriko in Drive that I can't bring myself to hope for a competent character who carries the story along and isn't just a damsel in distress or utterly forgotten in the final quarter.
Now let me get this straight--these episodes are not bad. Just because I complain about them, it doesn't mean I hate them (see above with Ren, Ankh, Andros, Dillon, and a dude I literally call "Bitchy Tezuka"). I just get emotionally invested. But I feel a little let down by this, and maybe it's because of the dual nature of the tribute--I felt a little cheated by the Fourze/Faiz tribute, even though I love 555 to death. Or life. I don't know, it was kind of ambiguous/shot. The fact that they couldn't actually get anyone from Fourze (namely because literally all three of its Riders were busy as three of the four leads in Bleach) did drag it down somewhat, and because of that, I wish they'd just skipped over the Fourze element and done just straight 555 if they had Takumi and Kusaka booked already. Hell, I actually liked how they worked with Kusaka being a not-horrible person this time! It felt like because he and Takumi had the chance to live out their full lives, they both fucking learned something--Kusaka learning that maybe he shouldn't be such a steaming pile of dog turds, and Takumi learning some communication skills and how to tell Kusaka to just fucking deal and stop being a steaming pile of dog turds.
And I do feel the same here. I have no real opinion of Dan from Ex-Aid, much like I have no real opinion of Ex-Aid other than "It exists and is not my thing." I don't have the fury that I had when Kabuto failed me...around the time they revealed Hiyori's identity and Dark Kabuto; nor do I have the intense, burning indifference that Blade left me with toward its entire cast. It's just something I didn't watch and have no intention of watching. That's fine.
That being said, this was not the episode to bring in Dan. From his pimp costume to his ham to his utterly ridiculous plan to set up his own country, he overshadowed everything. And of course, the leads didn't help, with Sougo still appearing naive, even though it's obvious he's trying to infiltrate; and Geiz being the dumbest dumb who ever dumbed. Don't get me wrong, OOO has fucking ridiculous characters--I cannot get over the fact that Kougami's actor was in Ultraman Gaia and knows how to use his indoor voice, act like a real human being, and dress himself in the morning. But Shu Watanabe and Riho Takada are treating this seriously, mostly because everything I've seen as far as interviews regarding Heisei Generations Final says that Shu's really trying to put the band back together for a real OOO reunion, and they're being vastly outshone.
So let's get into the timeshift. Dan becoming Another OOO coincides with the end of episode 3 of OOO, which means that Eiji and Hina never officially met. I guess? See, I reviewed the episode, and I know that right after that, Kazari confronted Eiji and Ankh and beat the shit out of Eiji--after which point, Hina found him, forcing him to reveal what happened to Shingo. Eiji not being OOO shouldn't change any of that. But if we assume that the Timejackers' interference erases his memories altogether and gets rid of whatever monsters are connected to that Rider--something that couldn't be, considering Takumi still fucking exists, and he's an Orphnoch which is the only reason he survived childhood--then does that mean Eiji didn't get hurt, missed meeting Hina, and has been keeping it a secret for 8 goddamn years that her brother fucking died because there's no assbird pulling an Ultra/host relationship with him? Because that meeting should be pretty fucking awkward--"My name's Izumi Hina." "Oh, Izumi? Like that...detective. Oh shit, you're the sister I lied to 8 years ago and said that he was undercover. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." I mean, the only other alternative is that Ankh is still alive and literally took his eyes off of Eiji for a minute, and the idiot got his fool ass kidnapped...which sounds like the more logical scenario now that I say it.
Okay, that being said, let's get into Eiji's role as a politician. See, the writer for these episodes was Nobuhiro Mouri, who has done a handful of OOO episodes...and the novel. So while I can defend his ability to write the season, I can't necessarily defend his ability to write it well. He's one where I feel like he knows that there are small details in the show that can be called back on--Hina as a fashion designer, Eiji coming from a long line of politicians and likely being groomed to be one himself--but I feel like he misses the meaning behind it. If Hina's a designer, what's she doing working for Dan? Her presence makes it feel like she knew about the whole "seceding from Japan and forming a new nation where a maniac is King," but it only just happens. Also, it is fucking not cool as all fuck that Dan hits her when she refuses to become his bride, then has Sougo imprison her until the wedding day. Seriously, what the extremely literal fuck was that about? I just praised this season for creating a timeline where Kusaka doesn't become a rapist (see the original 555 novel), but you're going to try and pull this shit with another enemy Rider? What is wrong with you, Kamen Rider?
Anyway, that tangent aside, at the end of episode 9, we see the Diet member who was kidnapped before the episode and held hostage in Dan's castle--Eiji. And as someone who got very emotionally invested in this moron, I have to say I have concerns about him being a high-ranking politician. Yes, Mouri, I'm happy that you picked up on that detail. And yes, I appreciate the red feather on his lapel. And yes, his tragic backstory still happened regardless. But goddamnit, did you miss the rest of the show, let alone the rest of that story? Eiji's politician parents bailed him out of Africa and left everyone else, including Date to die. Then, and this is important, they and his siblings manipulated the story to make it look like he was a tragic figure who only escaped by sheer luck (and not a shit-ton of cash), then exploited his pain and suffering to win sympathy with voters. The whole goal of OOO as a series was to finally bring Eiji to enough closure with his past that he could travel again. He still wants to reach out and help people, but he's not borderline suicidal anymore, he realizes he can reach out for help, and he's ready to see the world and take joy in it again.
AU Eiji? Wants to use his position to reach out and help people. That would be fine if he'd had the room to heal--he clearly didn't. Because without being OOO, he doesn't have the power that let him help people. Yes, that power slowly corrupted him, but the fact that he could do something, the fact that he had Ankh beside him, the fact that he had Hina worrying about him, the fact that he had Date and Goto screaming at him to take care of himself and let others help him, the fact that he had Satonaka actually giving a flying fuck about him--that was the best thing that ever happened to him. Eiji didn't need OOO to break through his PTSD, he needed the people that came with it. See, with Takumi and Kusaka, it made sense that they'd act normally, even without Takumi being Faiz anymore. It actually improves things, to some extent--Kusaka is unaffected, since he'd be Kaixa regardless. But Takumi would have to reveal the truth about being an Orphnoch and force himself to deal with that. Sure, Kusaka would hate him for it. And it would of course cause issues between him, Mari, and Keitaro. But they'd again come to care about him, and they'd make it clear to Kusaka that if he can't get over himself and accept Takumi as he is, then he can get out. It means that Takumi learns how to communicate and stand up for himself. It means that when he finds out that Yuka is an Orphnoch, he tells her that he is too, and then the entire Smart Brain trio has to actually meet with him, talk about everything, and realize what Smart Brain is up to. And hey, maybe it means Yuka and Yuji survive. That's a good ending.
OOO without OOO is not. This timeshift means that with no power to reach out his hand and help others, Eiji returns to his family. He becomes the politician they wanted him to be. And sure, he keeps his humanity and doesn't hurt anyone, but I can't honestly believe that he's happy. He's just...responsible. And contrast this with him in Heisei Final (which I will review, btw), where he seems more lively and determined. He's traveling. He has hope. And sure, they fucking break his little heart and mine by not having him keep Ankh, but I feel like that was much truer to the character and story than this ever was.
And yes, I know that the whole thing is supposed to be wrong. That there's something inherently wrong about them not being Riders. But think about this: Sento/Takumi and Ryuga got to live normal lives in the new Earth without being troubled by the fact that they don't belong. Emu became a doctor who really focused on trying to save his patients. Gentaro still became a teacher, and one so involved with his students' lives that when one stopped showing up for class one day, he led a one-man campaign trying to find out what happened to her. Takumi became a man who can actually stand up for himself, and Kusaka became not a steaming pile of dog turds. Nitoh was still an archeologist and lived in a tent most of the time. Why is Eiji the outlier? Why is he something he wasn't in the show? Why isn't he allowed to still be a traveler? Why does he still say that he'll be fine with just a little money and some underwear for tomorrow, when you know that's not the kind of life he gets to live anymore? Why does he have to become everything that his backstory and personality indicates that he wouldn't want to be?
And that, at its heart, is what troubles me the most about this tribute. As a Genm tribute, it's fantastic and fun. As an OOO tribute, it's disappointing because of the lack of focus on Eiji and Hina, and it's depressing because Eiji really doesn't get to live out his dream to see the world and reach out to the people in it. I mean, I would have been okay if he were an ambassador, but Japanese Diet member doesn't feel right at all.
The one thing I can take from this, as an OOO fan, is that the franchise is suddenly pushing a lot of OOO merchandise. Whether it's the Ride Watches or the boxsets or interviews, it does feel now like they're getting ready to close the circle and let the series have the full conclusion it deserves. And I know, it's OOO, talking about how endings can be a good thing is complete antithesis. But it's been seven years since we were promised that Ankh could be revived. It's been a year since we saw his temporary resurrection. We're ready. And based on this and the movie, the actors are ready. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Kougami and Maki just fucking show up in uniform as the captains from Ultraman Gaia and X, ready to go regardless. I don't know what Kobayashi's doing, but hopefully she'd be able to write. I really do want to see things being handled by the original main writer, and not by someone who did a handful of episodes and kinda sorta gets the characters. I want to see the love for the characters and especially for the fans, without someone else stealing the spotlight. And I honestly don't care if the budget is just the contents of Eiji's pockets, including underwear--I feel like we've waited long enough. Don't give us this and tell us it's a tribute. This is a Genm tribute also featuring Hina and Eiji, just as much as Fourze/Faiz was a Faiz tribute featuring Sota Fukushi as "Sir Not Appearing In This Episode."
Please, Kamen Rider. In a year where Power Rangers has given us Shattered Grid, "Dimensions in Danger" and the majority of Hyperforce, you can stand to show a little more love.
Let's get this off my chest here and now: I really, really wanted to love the OOO Arc of Kamen Rider Zi-O. They were bringing back Eiji and Hina, they were doing this cool idea of a past Rider coming back as one of the Another Riders, and I'm always a sucker for "for want of a nail" AUs. But maybe I built myself up for something that wasn't really going to be there.
I'm not going to do a full-on review like I normally would, if only because I think that would require more in-depth analysis on Zi-O than I'm really prepared for. Suffice to say, though, it's been a mixed bag so far. I think I've enjoyed the tributes more than the actual story--Sougo's determination to become king despite literally everything telling him that he will be a despot stops being endearing and starts looking really annoying fast. It doesn't help that he's fully in the naive hero image that's been in vogue from the Big Four--Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Ultraman, and Power Rangers--over the past few years...which is basically "around Neo-Heisei, New Generation, and Neo-Saban" eras. In fact, other than Sougo's really ridiculous dream to be a king, he'd kind of hard to distinguish from Brody Romero of Ninja Steel.
Geiz is...look, I love the moody, asocial characters. I will pick on them, but I fucking love them--Ren from Ryuki, Ankh from OOO, Andros from PRiS, Dillon from RPM, Bitchy Tezuka from Gaia, they're all my special babies for being thickheaded, stubborn idiots. But here's the thing--usually they grow. Ren's insecurities and inability to kill become obvious, especially when he starts growing attached to Shinji and Yui despite knowing he has to kill Shinji to save Eri; Ankh begins to trust Eiji and starts to realize that he and Hina are more important than himself; Andros warms up to the other Rangers and starts to be himself, even if only in uniform; Dillon starts to want to make new memories rather than focus as much on those he's lost; and Fujimiya has to suck it up and deal with the fact that maybe he doesn't hate all humans and also he got duped by the bad guys and maybe he actually needs to make up for all the harm he's caused rather than just run away from it. Again, idiots, but special ones. Very, very special ones. Geiz, on the other hand, is rubbing me as the kind of character who's never going to learn his lesson and still keep making the same mistakes over and over--again, I literally just described Andros and Dillon, but Geiz feels like even moreso.
And as for Tsukuyomi...unfortunately, she feels like she continues the trend of "We need a female character because the higher-ups say so. Ew, girl cooties." She's there, and that's about all I can really say so far. I've given up on having a new female Rider, let alone one who doesn't suck, but as far as good supporting heroines in this franchise go, I'm still so brokenhearted by the way they let us down with Kiriko in Drive that I can't bring myself to hope for a competent character who carries the story along and isn't just a damsel in distress or utterly forgotten in the final quarter.
Now let me get this straight--these episodes are not bad. Just because I complain about them, it doesn't mean I hate them (see above with Ren, Ankh, Andros, Dillon, and a dude I literally call "Bitchy Tezuka"). I just get emotionally invested. But I feel a little let down by this, and maybe it's because of the dual nature of the tribute--I felt a little cheated by the Fourze/Faiz tribute, even though I love 555 to death. Or life. I don't know, it was kind of ambiguous
And I do feel the same here. I have no real opinion of Dan from Ex-Aid, much like I have no real opinion of Ex-Aid other than "It exists and is not my thing." I don't have the fury that I had when Kabuto failed me...around the time they revealed Hiyori's identity and Dark Kabuto; nor do I have the intense, burning indifference that Blade left me with toward its entire cast. It's just something I didn't watch and have no intention of watching. That's fine.
That being said, this was not the episode to bring in Dan. From his pimp costume to his ham to his utterly ridiculous plan to set up his own country, he overshadowed everything. And of course, the leads didn't help, with Sougo still appearing naive, even though it's obvious he's trying to infiltrate; and Geiz being the dumbest dumb who ever dumbed. Don't get me wrong, OOO has fucking ridiculous characters--I cannot get over the fact that Kougami's actor was in Ultraman Gaia and knows how to use his indoor voice, act like a real human being, and dress himself in the morning. But Shu Watanabe and Riho Takada are treating this seriously, mostly because everything I've seen as far as interviews regarding Heisei Generations Final says that Shu's really trying to put the band back together for a real OOO reunion, and they're being vastly outshone.
So let's get into the timeshift. Dan becoming Another OOO coincides with the end of episode 3 of OOO, which means that Eiji and Hina never officially met. I guess? See, I reviewed the episode, and I know that right after that, Kazari confronted Eiji and Ankh and beat the shit out of Eiji--after which point, Hina found him, forcing him to reveal what happened to Shingo. Eiji not being OOO shouldn't change any of that. But if we assume that the Timejackers' interference erases his memories altogether and gets rid of whatever monsters are connected to that Rider--something that couldn't be, considering Takumi still fucking exists, and he's an Orphnoch which is the only reason he survived childhood--then does that mean Eiji didn't get hurt, missed meeting Hina, and has been keeping it a secret for 8 goddamn years that her brother fucking died because there's no assbird pulling an Ultra/host relationship with him? Because that meeting should be pretty fucking awkward--"My name's Izumi Hina." "Oh, Izumi? Like that...detective. Oh shit, you're the sister I lied to 8 years ago and said that he was undercover. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." I mean, the only other alternative is that Ankh is still alive and literally took his eyes off of Eiji for a minute, and the idiot got his fool ass kidnapped...which sounds like the more logical scenario now that I say it.
Okay, that being said, let's get into Eiji's role as a politician. See, the writer for these episodes was Nobuhiro Mouri, who has done a handful of OOO episodes...and the novel. So while I can defend his ability to write the season, I can't necessarily defend his ability to write it well. He's one where I feel like he knows that there are small details in the show that can be called back on--Hina as a fashion designer, Eiji coming from a long line of politicians and likely being groomed to be one himself--but I feel like he misses the meaning behind it. If Hina's a designer, what's she doing working for Dan? Her presence makes it feel like she knew about the whole "seceding from Japan and forming a new nation where a maniac is King," but it only just happens. Also, it is fucking not cool as all fuck that Dan hits her when she refuses to become his bride, then has Sougo imprison her until the wedding day. Seriously, what the extremely literal fuck was that about? I just praised this season for creating a timeline where Kusaka doesn't become a rapist (see the original 555 novel), but you're going to try and pull this shit with another enemy Rider? What is wrong with you, Kamen Rider?
Anyway, that tangent aside, at the end of episode 9, we see the Diet member who was kidnapped before the episode and held hostage in Dan's castle--Eiji. And as someone who got very emotionally invested in this moron, I have to say I have concerns about him being a high-ranking politician. Yes, Mouri, I'm happy that you picked up on that detail. And yes, I appreciate the red feather on his lapel. And yes, his tragic backstory still happened regardless. But goddamnit, did you miss the rest of the show, let alone the rest of that story? Eiji's politician parents bailed him out of Africa and left everyone else, including Date to die. Then, and this is important, they and his siblings manipulated the story to make it look like he was a tragic figure who only escaped by sheer luck (and not a shit-ton of cash), then exploited his pain and suffering to win sympathy with voters. The whole goal of OOO as a series was to finally bring Eiji to enough closure with his past that he could travel again. He still wants to reach out and help people, but he's not borderline suicidal anymore, he realizes he can reach out for help, and he's ready to see the world and take joy in it again.
AU Eiji? Wants to use his position to reach out and help people. That would be fine if he'd had the room to heal--he clearly didn't. Because without being OOO, he doesn't have the power that let him help people. Yes, that power slowly corrupted him, but the fact that he could do something, the fact that he had Ankh beside him, the fact that he had Hina worrying about him, the fact that he had Date and Goto screaming at him to take care of himself and let others help him, the fact that he had Satonaka actually giving a flying fuck about him--that was the best thing that ever happened to him. Eiji didn't need OOO to break through his PTSD, he needed the people that came with it. See, with Takumi and Kusaka, it made sense that they'd act normally, even without Takumi being Faiz anymore. It actually improves things, to some extent--Kusaka is unaffected, since he'd be Kaixa regardless. But Takumi would have to reveal the truth about being an Orphnoch and force himself to deal with that. Sure, Kusaka would hate him for it. And it would of course cause issues between him, Mari, and Keitaro. But they'd again come to care about him, and they'd make it clear to Kusaka that if he can't get over himself and accept Takumi as he is, then he can get out. It means that Takumi learns how to communicate and stand up for himself. It means that when he finds out that Yuka is an Orphnoch, he tells her that he is too, and then the entire Smart Brain trio has to actually meet with him, talk about everything, and realize what Smart Brain is up to. And hey, maybe it means Yuka and Yuji survive. That's a good ending.
OOO without OOO is not. This timeshift means that with no power to reach out his hand and help others, Eiji returns to his family. He becomes the politician they wanted him to be. And sure, he keeps his humanity and doesn't hurt anyone, but I can't honestly believe that he's happy. He's just...responsible. And contrast this with him in Heisei Final (which I will review, btw), where he seems more lively and determined. He's traveling. He has hope. And sure, they fucking break his little heart and mine by not having him keep Ankh, but I feel like that was much truer to the character and story than this ever was.
And yes, I know that the whole thing is supposed to be wrong. That there's something inherently wrong about them not being Riders. But think about this: Sento/Takumi and Ryuga got to live normal lives in the new Earth without being troubled by the fact that they don't belong. Emu became a doctor who really focused on trying to save his patients. Gentaro still became a teacher, and one so involved with his students' lives that when one stopped showing up for class one day, he led a one-man campaign trying to find out what happened to her. Takumi became a man who can actually stand up for himself, and Kusaka became not a steaming pile of dog turds. Nitoh was still an archeologist and lived in a tent most of the time. Why is Eiji the outlier? Why is he something he wasn't in the show? Why isn't he allowed to still be a traveler? Why does he still say that he'll be fine with just a little money and some underwear for tomorrow, when you know that's not the kind of life he gets to live anymore? Why does he have to become everything that his backstory and personality indicates that he wouldn't want to be?
And that, at its heart, is what troubles me the most about this tribute. As a Genm tribute, it's fantastic and fun. As an OOO tribute, it's disappointing because of the lack of focus on Eiji and Hina, and it's depressing because Eiji really doesn't get to live out his dream to see the world and reach out to the people in it. I mean, I would have been okay if he were an ambassador, but Japanese Diet member doesn't feel right at all.
The one thing I can take from this, as an OOO fan, is that the franchise is suddenly pushing a lot of OOO merchandise. Whether it's the Ride Watches or the boxsets or interviews, it does feel now like they're getting ready to close the circle and let the series have the full conclusion it deserves. And I know, it's OOO, talking about how endings can be a good thing is complete antithesis. But it's been seven years since we were promised that Ankh could be revived. It's been a year since we saw his temporary resurrection. We're ready. And based on this and the movie, the actors are ready. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Kougami and Maki just fucking show up in uniform as the captains from Ultraman Gaia and X, ready to go regardless. I don't know what Kobayashi's doing, but hopefully she'd be able to write. I really do want to see things being handled by the original main writer, and not by someone who did a handful of episodes and kinda sorta gets the characters. I want to see the love for the characters and especially for the fans, without someone else stealing the spotlight. And I honestly don't care if the budget is just the contents of Eiji's pockets, including underwear--I feel like we've waited long enough. Don't give us this and tell us it's a tribute. This is a Genm tribute also featuring Hina and Eiji, just as much as Fourze/Faiz was a Faiz tribute featuring Sota Fukushi as "Sir Not Appearing In This Episode."
Please, Kamen Rider. In a year where Power Rangers has given us Shattered Grid, "Dimensions in Danger" and the majority of Hyperforce, you can stand to show a little more love.