KR Zero-One 06 released

[Xelger]

Is it just me, or does it feel like the writers were quick-fixing an error of "flight is too overpowered for this early in the story, yoink!"

[Dante ShadowRoadz]

Definitely glad to see the story isn't afraid to deal with heavier topics that fall in grayer areas, though you can definitely see the Japanese inclination towards societal health over individual. Processing loss is a universal human need but shoehorning technology into place to fix it kinda straddles the line of what's actually healthy or not. Also while the episode was decently paced, the development for Jin probably should have had at least one more episode to cook first, his sudden turn around and fixation over parent-child relationships feels wayyyy out of left field for his character.

Lightning Hornet is the best form change we've seen yet, kudos to them actually giving it to the woman on the team. Also definitely seeing a stylization trend dividing them all up at this point. Zero-1 as more of a personally created highly funded creation versus the more standardized, streamlined governmental designs with Vulcan and Valkyrie. And the scavenged Jinrai Riders looking haphazard and un-evenly designed fits the idea of the machines forcing together what components they can to advance their combat potential.

[Kogashi]

okay, back on track with the quality, I do not have to rant about toxic tropes, the trope here is rather straight forward for robot stories, the 'this robot is a replacement for someone I lost' stories. Do not need to get into that... do I want to say one thing though, that I cannot stop laughing to myself over...

So Jin was a bad boy, so his dad took out the belt.

[WannaFantaMan]

You would think with all of the magears hacking other humagears and turning them into mindless minions, they would have increased security on them, or at least reduce the number of them that are security guards (xD). Also loving the pink/magenta rider. WE NEED MOAR PINK KAMEN RIDERS IMO!!!

[NightdyneMesa]

I love Lightning Hornet, I guess that's kind of a tribute to TheBee in a bit except for the flying part. The Parent/Child thing just tugs my heartstrings a lot with this episode. I feel for the guy who lost his own daughter which was why he got that Humagear in the first place. Now I wonder what if it was the other way around? Would the Humagear lose its purpose and be reformatted just like some machine?

I like how Jin had this conflicted state because he does not understand the Parent and Child relationship as it is obvious to me that Horobi is just using him but Jin is probably too pure to understand complex stuff that's why he acts that way in a very childish manner.

The transformation reminded of Blood Stark tho and they really like them pastel colors.

[takenoko]

Clearly Humagears need a patch where instead of running into a situation and getting converted, they need to run the hell away.

Also is Anna going to be the rare Humagear to resist the virus? Guess the daughter didn't love her dad that much if she turned into a killer machine

[Eternal_Winterbane]

I was expecting the Falcon Key to have tougher security to prevent unauthorized use. MetsubouJinrai doesn't seem to have any trouble hacking it. Hopefully, this revelation will lead to a security upgrade for both the Driver and remaining Progrise Keys.

From what i understand, the Keys the Mager's use are more like data cards, and the actual progrise keys need authorising to use, but as we have learnt from our MemeWolf it is possible to force the lock open, which is what the new drivers are designed to do, hence Forcerise. atleast that's my understanding of it

[ViRGE]

That was an enjoyable episode. Though like everyone else has already noted, it's not quite as strong as the first four.

I'm glad the show is continuing to weave world building into things even when an episode is a bit more one-off. Specifically, we finally have a bit more information on what the deal is with Robo Dad, and that he's not Aruto's father. I'm not really sure it should have ever been a mystery, but at the same time I understand the need to have it there to develop Aruto's backstory early on, while saving a bit more information for this episode so that it thematically aligned.

Otherwise, the episode is a solid lightweight treatment of why it's a bad idea to make bots look like dead people (and I'm glad the show isn't wasting time in establishing these rules). The father isn't a bad guy - his pain is real - but it doesn't mean that making a doppelganger of his daughter is what's best for him (or anyone else, for that matter). This did make the episode kind of predictable since the show is killing off a plot-relavant Humagear every episode, so of course she was going to get destroyed, thereby fixing the problem. My only real problem with the execution here is that it's never made clear what's going on with the flashbacks we see when she malfunctions. Did the dead daughter's memories somehow get placed in the bot? If so, that seems like a very important detail to gloss over.

(Also, the actress must be really short. Those were some significant platform shoes she was wearing, and she was still shorter than everyone else)

Meanwhile, we have Jin. I like that he's imperfect as a Humagear, struggling to understand certain basic concepts. Make no mistake, he's still an evil bastard who enjoys what he does, but it gives the character room to grow, and better establishes the idea that he hasn't had "proper" socialization programming like Hiden's bots. Also, his Kamen Rider form is as grunge as all heck. Like the other Rider designs in this show it's pretty different from anything that's come before it, but the show makes it work both in style and in overall theme.

One thing that's throwing me off however is his initial transformation sequence. They show him getting reprogrammed like a MOTW, complete with the dead stare and monotone voice. And yet he's 1) already evil and loyal to MJnet, and 2) after he transforms, he seems perfectly fine. So what was the point of showing that?

Speaking of the bad guys, the frog may very well be the worst MOTW design in ages. It just looks so ridiculous and non-threatening; and the suit itself seems incomplete, like someone was in a rush to finish it. Even if you removed the weird flapping head, it would still look pretty awful. it wouldn't be so bad as a one or two-off, but based on how KR has been using MOTW suits over the last half decade, you know we're going to see that suit several more times before the show is done.

I'm also not sure how to feel about Lightning Hornet's debut, though for different reasons. The suit design is consistent with the other AIMS suits, giving it that spiffy plated look, while the blue/yellow colors are kind of garish. The bigger issue is that while I like the concept of the suit, the actual fight was a letdown. It's a lot of CGI, and this was only Yua's second fight. CGI-heavy forms are a fact of life for this series, but normally they go on the main rider, who gets plenty of time doing practical fighting as well. Conversely, going with a CGI fight for the Rider who already has the least amount of screentime just robs us of a chance to see a good fight.

Finally, as odd as this sounds, I think this episode also ended up being the most hysterically Japanese episode of the series yet. Horobi saying that "Children should listen to their parents" with a serious, straight face is unintentionally hilarious.

Side observation: I guess this series is going to be pushing the belt merchandise hard? We're 6 episodes in and there are already 4 belts: Zero-One, AIMS, MJnet, and the MOTWs. Normally it takes all season to get that far

I get why Humagear physical appearances would be heavily regulated to make sure they don't replace people. But why is it against the law even if the person is dead, especially if a family member gives permission? Like I'm sure the relatives of Marilyn Monroe have control over how her appearance is portrayed, right?

This episode was a real lightweight treatment of the concept, but basically people aren't going to be able to let go of the dead if they can make robot duplicates of them.

I was expecting the Falcon Key to have tougher security to prevent unauthorized use. MetsubouJinrai doesn't seem to have any trouble hacking it. Hopefully, this revelation will lead to a security upgrade for both the Driver and remaining Progrise Keys.

I had that same thought as well. Particularly since there a line in the very first episode about how the Zero-One Driver and Progrise keys implemented a cutting-edge security system?

OK its the 6 episode. The magear changes any humagear into henchman when they show up, but has anyone notice that Izu is right there and has never been targeted by the magear?!? What is up with that?

Ahh...don't worry about that. You'll see it sometime mid-season I'm sure lol
She's too precious to be wasted on an ordinary episode (Izu has the early plot armor)

I'm calling it now. She will be the Magear in the episode where Zero-One will use his mid-season or final power up form.

Aye. It's a super obvious arc for the show to do, and they're clearly waiting for a bit before doing it. I'm eager to see where it ends up going, but with so much else already going on, it's all in due time...

So Jin was a bad boy, so his dad took out the belt.

That's dark, but hilarious. Jin's dad belted him.

Clearly Humagears need a patch where instead of running into a situation and getting converted, they need to run the hell away.

It's a bit ridiculous, but the show needs a mechanism to explain where all the mook bots come from. So it's likely to end up being a trope/running gag of sorts.

[TypicalStandUser]

Fuwa’s arresting Mr. Tazawa for owning a Humagear based off his deceased daughter. So, the Special AI Law has a rule where a citizen cannot create a Humagear based off deceased people. Based on Seine’s off-script take, as well as the singularity, that rule is possible.

Yeah, someone at Hiden's R&D's gonna get fired.

Not surprised about Jin’s true nature, his insanity or the fact that he can endure the corruption.

Excellent debut for Lightning Hornet, eh for Jin’s rider form.

Good episode.

Apparently, according to @ao_zoo0ra, the Magear MOTWs so far have a secondary theme, in that they're shoutouts to DARK's MOTWs from Kikaider.

[Catastrophe]

Return to form after last episode. Wish they'd slow down the Kamen Rider appearances, but at least Jin is somewhat of an interesting character.

[Sentai_ZXR7]

While everything is going smooth, have you noticed some parallel between KR Ghost and Zero-One?
The bad guys are collecting the Progrise Keys so they can start the world's destruction, whereas in ghost the Gamma tried to collect the Ghost Eyecons.

[Doublesteel]

While everything is going smooth, have you noticed some parallel between KR Ghost and Zero-One?
The bad guys are collecting the Progrise Keys so they can start the world's destruction, whereas in ghost the Gamma tried to collect the Ghost Eyecons.

If the connection is that the bad guys are collecting the trinkets of the show, then the same could be said of pretty much, Double, OOO, Build and Zi O with maybe a possible case made for Blade and Ryuki

[sdsichero]

As with the other episodes so far, it was decent. Wasn't blown away, but it was entertaining. I do like that they drop little tidbits here and there about both the world (eg. the AI laws) and the overall plot (Aruto's pseudo dad; Jin being Horobi's son, etc). I kind of miss the two-part arcs though.

[sdsichero]

I'm late with this article, ironically it was published in October, but they should have watched Kamen Rider Zero-One:

https://nerdist.com/article/license-fac ... ced-robot/