[DISCUSSION] Kamen Rider Zi-O, Episode 36

[SamuraiEchidna]

Finally! We made it out without a single vampire bite.

Welcome to the discussion thread for Kamen Rider Zi-O, episode 36; "2019: First Love, Finally!".
(Episode title's translation may vary depending on your fansub group of choice.)
This week: Finally aware of who Another Kiva is, Sougo approaches her in an attempt to make amends just as the Time Jackers try to form an alliance with her to stop Kamen Rider Ginga. Meanwhile, Geiz travels to the year 2015 to find out what really happened to Sougo's first love.

This thread was made with Toku Prime's permission. And remember, this is a SPOILER ZONE! If you are trying to avoid spoilers, this is not the place for you.​

 

[Black Fang]

Given the whole confusing over the "Another Agito" in Agito and Zi-O's "Another Agito", I don't get why Zi-O couldn't call these villains "Kaijin Riders". "Kaijin Kiva", etc. sounds better.

 

[Japaneseseriesfan]

Given the whole confusing over the "Another Agito" in Agito and Zi-O's "Another Agito", I don't get why Zi-O couldn't call these villains "Kaijin Riders". "Kaijin Kiva", etc. sounds better.

This is just another case of Japanese people, or rather Southeast Asians thinking if the Romanized every concept they had, it'd sound "cooler" and more "intellectual". They're full of ****.

 

[raden238]

This was a noticeably poor arc from Zi-O. Ginga's debut served no purpose to Kiva's story other than being a new form change for Woz. I heard that his origins will be explored in the Kabuto tribute arc, which is coming next. So couldn't they just use him as a villain in the next episode instead? The worms and Ginga could come from the same meteorite.

Another Kiva didn't have much substance other than having a parallel death like Mio. They never explained why the Merman, Frankenstein and Wolfman appeared when she was fighting either. Sougo falling in love didn't make any sense either because the woman turns out to be someone else. They should have gotten back Otoya and used Yuri properly. Have them return as older characters or do some time travel to 1986, for the story arc. What a wasted opportunity. This was a pretty poor tribute.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

I like Yumiko Shaku and the Sky High references in these episodes, and I think Shaku makes a great Inoue femme fatale, but...I think it's the Ginga stuff that I disliked most about these episodes. It was so random and pointless. And why didn't he even have an identity like the other Future Riders? And if they're going to get Kivat's voice actor for him, why not have a scene with Kivat giving Sougo the Kiva Ride Watch? Makes more sense than the gratuitous Jirou. (I like Kenji Matsuda, and I like Jirou...when he started off as a villain. I never liked when the show tried to redeem him. Jirou was a dick!)

I was most disappointed by the wasting of Yuu Takahashi in a random role. Yuri was one of my top favorite characters in Kiva.

 

[Toku Prime]

I'm sure Ginga was only in this in order to line up with the toy release dates, but I wish they'd concentrated on him more. Instead, Inoue's back with his usual melodramatic BS, and it's as painful to sit through as always.

 

[Kamen Rider IXA]

Instead, Inoue's back with his usual melodramatic BS, and it's as painful to sit through as always.

Not having seen Zi-O since episode 12, I can't imagine Inoue at his worst writing as bad as Shimoyama during first 8 Zi-O episodes.
And yes, I've seen Shougeki Gouraigan.

 

[Black Fang]

Gouraigan was good when it was just about the demons adjusting to life on Earth. When it got to the actual battle was supposed to occur, it fell apart.

 

[Japaneseseriesfan]

I liked Shougeki Gouraigan's opening. Shame the story didn't compliment it in the later half.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Man, talk about being blue balled...

So if I understand this episode correctly, Yuko was just a killer who believed her own lies about her innocence. I really was expecting a much better pay off then that, like a misunderstanding in the past, and maybe a reason why the Arms Monsters were following her around. Instead... Nothing. Instead, we ended up getting empty melodrama that is more pretentious than anything we saw in the actual Kiva TV show. Heck, I'm still not completely sure if she is the same woman from Sougo's childhood past or not. She may have just pretended to be, just to string Sougo along.

Ginga had even less of a reason to be there. He just pops out of space for no reason, attacks for a while, then gets defeated. I am sure Woz will put the powers to better use, but... Talk about a complete waste. The only interesting thing was seeing the Riders genuinely defeat Ginga. When do we ever see Riders defeating Riders without getting a bait and switch? Anything from the Decade movies don't count. I hope we do get more of an explanation for Ginga later, because so far, I feel like we need another Rider Time special for him.

And sorry this reply came in so late, everyone. Last week had me really busy.