Farewell Heisei Era Riders, Hello To The First Reiwa Era Rider Next Week

Well, I haven't updated on Kamen Rider Zi-O for some time again, haven't I? I have to admit that there are some passions that catch me whether it's what I missed in old school and some new school stuff I haven't checked out yet. I'd like to give my thoughts on Kamen Rider Zi-O's finale which had me mixed through and through. I would like to share my mixed feelings. Remember that if you liked the finale then fine. If you don't like it then also fine. But let's just be civil unlike a certain group of trolls who just can't stand anybody disagreeing with them.

First, I'd like to share my thoughts on the finale arc...

Some things are predictable and some things aren't. Some things are just random like Tsukuyomi becoming a Kamen Rider -- I thought it was just as random as GoGoV introducing the Max Victory Robo Sigma Project as a last-minute pullout to defeat Grandienne's final invasion. Schwarz being the final antagonist was not at all surprising. He was the one moving the gears. I even want to believe that his plans-gone-wrong is the reason why Sougo became the Demon King Zi-O.

The stakes are high and Schwartz is determined to rewrite history for himself. He can't accept Tsukuyomi and not him will be the next ruler. This also has the fake betrayal scene gone wrong. What in the world as well Kento Shimoyama thinking about it? IMHO, most fake betrayal scenes happen a little bit earlier during the finale arc. I remembered how Janperson wrote the fake betrayal of Kaoru to get Tatewaki's trust. Here, it's just too random causing the death of Tsukuyomi. The whole fake betrayal here is just WTF stupid. At least, Maria in Jetman's fake betrayal (after she was restored to her human self) defined the whole plot. Here, it just seems random for me which makes me think maybe Toei could work on firing Shimoyama for good.

Sougo did have his moment. It was sad to see Geiz die right in front of him. Sougo decides that he has become the Demon King Zi-O in the merged worlds of previous Kamen Riders. He did this in order to defeat Schwartz. What I really didn't like though was though Shimoyama failed to get some loose ends tied. For example, I think that Schwartz himself should be the reason why the disastrous future even took place -- it's because he corrupted Sougo through and through. Previous episodes showed how Schwartz played with time -- it could've been a good hint that Sougo could've been a good king IF Schwartz didn't intervene. Demon King Zi-O (younger self) defeats Schwartz (who's also Another Decade). Sougo meets his future self and chooses not to be king and rewrites history.

It all goes back again to September 2018 with a new history. However, Aura and Hour are now going to school with everyone. Sougo is back to the slacker he is -- except now that Geiz and Tsukuyomi are revived together with Hour and Aura. So what's this new timeline then? Sougo still has his memories for some reason like Sento/Takumi had in Kamen Rider Build in the new world. But it seems that Sougo still can't avoid his future. Like, I even want to think of how I'd probably want it to happen. Honestly, I think Demon King Zi-O should just cease to exist and maybe Woz should also just focus on training Sougo to become a better king in the new timeline.

So, I'd like to consider the whole Demon King Zi-O plot. IMHO, I think the better twist would be that Sougo himself becomes the Demon King Zi-O but the goodness of his heart prevents him from becoming a dictator. He chooses to split the worlds and becomes a benevolent king in the future. But he temporarily gives up his power in order to focus on improving the world for now. So really, what was Shimoyama and maybe should I include Shinichiro Shirakura thinking? Wait, wasn't Shirakura also the producer of Kamen Rider Ryuki? I would admit Kamen Rider Agito's finale arc didn't have a very good conclusion either -- Toshiki Inoue style. I can't say the finale is that horrid either but the whole reboot is just WTF. At least Black RX kept most plot development INTACT.

Though I feel like the reset button was forced by executives like Ryuki's was. It seems to be symbolic of something coming up...

Is the finale meant to show that Toei might be rebooting Kamen Rider now?

Kamen Rider is a show that has been rebooted more than once. Do you remember how Kamen Rider Skyrider and Kamen Rider Black were both attempts to reboot the Showa era Riders? Skyrider was simply released as "Kamen Rider" and was just called Skyrider to avoid confusion with the first show. Then said show referenced all the predecessors. Kamen Rider Black then became an attempt to reboot the show since Gorgom apparently had no connection to the Great Leader. However, the poorly received Kamen Rider Black RX forcibly inserted itself into the previous Riders. Was it an attempt to save series? Black RX did end up wrapping up the Showa era Riders while having migrated into the Heisei era. Zi-O wrapped up the Heisei era while having migrated into the Reiwa era. Zi-O and RX are Riders that aren't pure to their eras and ended up wrapping their eras.

How do I view the finale of Zi-O in correlation to a reboot? Well, wasn't it that history was rewritten? Isn't that Toei's way of telling audiences of their habit of rebooting or having self-contained shows most of the time? Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger didn't have the Gokaigers use the Greatest Treasure of the Universe since it'd cost the 35 years of Super Sentai to disappear -- yet said series felt like a send-off to the series. Zi-O's finale was probably meant to preserve the history of the Kamen Riders while leaving a dangler. I mean, we do still have the Kamen Rider Geiz movie which may be an OVA to the series. But at least the show didn't end up like Kamen Rider Decade with a really bad finale. Decade though managed to redeem itself ten years later. But you know how much I hate that series even when I can always praise the Shinkenger crossover to be superior of that of Saban's Mashed Rider with Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. 

Also, credit that Zi-O didn't cause the same kind of hiatus Black RX had. The 90s attempted to revive Kamen Rider but failed -- they were just short movies. Though should we credit the demise of Metal Hero in the late 90s to be necessary to bring Kamen Rider back? I mean, it's been 20 years since Robotack ended the franchise in 1999. It seems Toei was more interested in reviving Kamen Rider than Metal Hero for a reason. I guess that's why Metal Hero got shelved with no new series -- though I think it can make a major return IF Toei may decide to shelve Super Sentai! Shelving Super Sentai? Ryusoulger just won a toy award though I'm still skeptical about the longterm performance of the show. Is Super Sentai still as strong as it used to be? I can't be too sure though I admit that I enjoyed Lupinranger vs. Patranger -- it had lower toy sales during its airing. I think Bandai ended up producing more toys to meet Kyuranger's demand then there was a surplus as a result. Maybe, that's why Lupinranger vs. Patranger toys didn't get the estimated sales during its airing. Also, I think the Kyuranger toys look cooler than the Lupinranger vs. Patranger toys. I can't be too certain about Super Sentai right now if it can still reach that long after several reboots. 

The idea of calling the first true Reiwa Rider as Zero-One does imply the reboot button got pressed. Remember how the first Kamen Rider was later called Ichigo and he was later called as Kamen Rider the First? Spelling Zero-One in the numerical format gets you 01 -- which really tells us on our faces that he's the first true Reiwa Rider. The plot seems serious and dark but that's no guarantee that it's going to go well. I kind of want to see how this possible reboot will do for the Kamen Rider franchise considering that its toy sales have been pretty good as far as I've heard.

IMHO, I decided that I might take a bit of a break from Ryusoulger because of Zero-One and Vagabond. I might catch up on Ryusoulger later but I think I'd want to focus on Zero-One as of right now. Vagabond? Well, I'm planning to write episode reviews too. I can take a short break from Ryusoulger then catch up on it later.