KR Zero-One 43 released

[Catastrophe]

i blame corona for this nonsense.

I'm hesitant to put the blame entirely on this.

What would happen if the episode count wasn't cut? Ark jobbing like Cronus every episode until they kill it towards the end?

[FangTrigger]

Right now, Zero-One is tied with Gaim as my favorite Kamen Rider series final arc's. It's been a bit of a slog to get through that second arc, but boy howdy has this ride been otherwordly. The holy war is back on, and Azu stands with her hand in both camps. There is just sooo much good stuff to talk about here.

First, let's talk about Arkruto (had to get that one in and I am not sorry for it.) Ark having the ability to hack human hearts was something that was hinted at way back in episode 21 (I think) when Aruto's eyes turned red while he was battling Thouser, we just didn't know what to make of it. Now it stands out as a great call back. And the way he dodged everyone's attacks and rendered them all useless when compared to his arsenal. Also, this 180 has worked wonders for his character. If I had to pick a gripe, it's that Aruto still looks too clean for someone dealing with the emotional trauma of losing another loved one. Were he more disheveled, it'd really sell his malice and downfall more than the dark circles around his eyes.

Horobi being conflicted yet dogmatic in his beliefs will continue to carry this character in the Kamen Rider hall of fame for villains. His actor deserves whatever is Japan's version of an Oscar. This guys talent is amazing. His interactions with Jin and the dialogue they shared really showed how much of a hard time horobi is accepting that 'malice' wasn't something that is strictly limited to humans. Though Jin, much like Mai in Gaim, suffers from the 'not using my time to tell you what not to do to prevent the coming disaster' flaw his death was far from wasted.

Horobi and Aruto are compromised by their mailce. The last line of defense before total war now consists of Ikazuchi, Naki, Thouser, Valkyrie, Vulcan and ZAIA. Will Humagears exist or perish alongside humanity?

I don't know cause I skipped the preview, but I'm tuning in next time for Kamen Rider Zero-One!

[BreadToku]

Personally, I'm not really counting on nor expecting any of the other riders to contribute much in this final stretch, outside of one or two token attempt to talk either Aruto or Horobi down. For me personally, the ideal way for this story to conclude is purely through Aruto and Horobi either deciding on their own to step down from their rampage, or to go down in a blaze for it. Aruto's probably heading towards the former but I can still see Horobi going either way.

What would happen if the episode count wasn't cut? Ark jobbing like Cronus every episode until they kill it towards the end?

An extra month of Zero-Two just being the biggest boss and Ark being the biggest loser sounds like the most likely thing to have happened. I'm sure the other riders would have also gotten some spotlight by fighting alongside Zero-Two. Ikazuchi and Naki certainly could have used it, buuuut to be honest, I also don't really care enough about either of them to think we missed out that much.

[FangTrigger]

The thing is though, Aruto has suffered losses before. He lost his parents, his Robo-dad, his grandpa, and now his Robo-maid. He seemed to get past those earlier deaths and grew past them yet losing Izu is what pushes him to do this craziness? What about Izu makes it that much more of a loss than parts of his actual family other than she's the cute girl and we need Aruto to be an angry boy.

And even if it was that big of a hit to him, there are better ways to deal with the aftermath than what we got.
- Yua could've taken him away and comforted him despite Fuwa's wishes
- Or Aruto could've locked himself in Hiden whichever name it's going by at this point and whined
- Or to use examples from other media I've seen: the moment in Heartcatch Precure when Tsubomi talks Yuri down from fighting in a blind rage saying that it's not how Precure fight or what they stand for. Or Bloom Into You where Koito realizes just how broken up Nanami became from losing her sister so she chooses to rewrite the ending of the play they were working on as sort of a wake-up call to her senpai.

Taking Azu's advice and becoming a murder satellite robot isn't smart and subversive, it's immature and tragicdarkedgy.

Aruto had time to process and deal with those deaths though. I've already had to bury two of my older siblings and I can tell you that it takes more that a few minuets to bring yourself back to sanity, particularly when you know that the person who murdered your loved one is still alive just like you are.

The thought stays with you, longer than betrayal, deeper than any scar, and more damming than the worst truth you could possibly hear. Knowing that there is someone out there who took the life of someone close to you...knowing that while you and your family had to suffer mentally, emotionally, spiritually and financially to bury a loved one, they're still alive. Breathing, eating, sleeping, enjoying life in their own way, at the cost of another. You can't forgive that. You don't forgive that. And if the devil approaches you disguised as an ally and offers you a way to get revenge?

[Where's the dotted line?] would be my first thought.

[hiro9796]

Indeed it is. Deaths of people isn't something you can get on with so quickly. Whether you are smart or an idiot to this matter, it does not make any difference, especially if you experience this for the first time. Everyone needs their time. Even myself with my paternal grandmother and then my maternal grandfather. Taking at least few hours to lament and think isn't wrong but don't drag it forever. If you need to talk to somebody or whoever you can trust about this, then do so. In the story context, they are engaging in a war so pretty much some will stay behind to lament while the rest press on to end it. To say certain someone closely acquainted with the deceased is not affected by it and act like it is no big deal isn't entirely true. They might have more experience in facing that and lamenting would waste their time to prevent more casualties in the war. Simply saying, they wanted to mourn when the chaos settled down.

[Go-On Macaroni]

Just for the record, I wasn't trying to argue that people shouldn't be affected by a death. Given my own past few years, that'd be rather short-sighted of me. What I was trying to argue was simply that I've seen narrative resolutions that I personally thought were satisfying and I thought there were different ways the Zero-One staff could've gone about this rather than Ark-One, that's all. My apologies if anyone got the wrong impression though and my condolences respectively.

The thought stays with you, longer than betrayal, deeper than any scar, and more damming than the worst truth you could possibly hear. Knowing that there is someone out there who took the life of someone close to you...knowing that while you and your family had to suffer mentally, emotionally, spiritually and financially to bury a loved one, they're still alive. Breathing, eating, sleeping, enjoying life in their own way, at the cost of another. You can't forgive that. You don't forgive that. And if the devil approaches you disguised as an ally and offers you a way to get revenge?

I still don't think I'd take revenge though and I sure wouldn't take Azu's bait. If such did happen to me, chances are, I'd try to move on with my life like I've been doing and if it came down to it that I saw the person again and I couldn't avoid fighting, I'd try to just knock them out and/or tie them to a pole or something so the cops can take care of them. I'm no vigilante, anything else is beyond my jurisdiction.

[Catastrophe]

Exactly. Not trying to make the argument that Aruto should get over the death of his closest friend and ally, but more the inconsistency of how it played into him becoming Ark One compared to what they've tried to make his character.

[indestructibleman]

The thing is though, Aruto has suffered losses before. He lost his parents, his Robo-dad, his grandpa, and now his Robo-maid. He seemed to get past those earlier deaths and grew past them yet losing Izu is what pushes him to do this craziness? What about Izu makes it that much more of a loss than parts of his actual family other than she's the cute girl and we need Aruto to be an angry boy.

Aruto didn't have one of the most powerful weapons in the world handed to him when those other people died. And he wasn't face to face with their killers.