[DISCUSSION] Kamen Rider Zi-O, Episode 44

[SamuraiEchidna]

Bring a towel, it's time to get wet.

Welcome to the discussion thread for Kamen Rider Zi-O, episode 44; "2019: The Call of Aqua".
(Episode title's translation may vary depending on your fansub group of choice.)
This week: As the Time Riders investigate the disappearance of a former classmate of Sougo's, they encounter Michal Minato/Kamen Rider Aqua, who has come from 2050 to take Tsukuyomi and Geiz back to their time for unknown reasons. However, while fighting Another Drive, the group are confronted by Swartz, who reveals his new power as Another Decade while he's gathering the Another Riders' power for himself.

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.
HOWEVER! This is not the place discuss future episodes nor next-episode previews. You may discuss previous episodes and related subjects, but stick to the episode at hand. Please be considerate of those who haven't watched ahead yet. Thank you.​

 

[raden238]

I liked the idea of expanding the backstory of Aqua in this tribute arc. Aqua has a nice design and I'm kinda bummed they never released a CSM version of his Aqua Driver, its clearly a nice homage to the Showa Riders but with Water instead of Wind.

It's also pretty cool that Another Decade is essentially the monster form of one of our main villains. I just realized that, there is not a single villain in this show that isn't just an evil counterpart of a Kamen Rider! It's also fitting that Toei used Decade in that sense, since he was evil/destroyer of worlds etc....

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Hold on a second, I thought summoning movie-exclusive Riders was DiEnd’s gimmick!

In some ways, I halfway expected this to happen, just not so late into the series. In the back of my mind, I was expecting someone to say that Geiz and Tsukuyomi’s presence is actually speeding up the birth of Oma Zi-O. However, it didn’t happen sooner, and so much has changed for Sougo along the way. It’s kind of odd that they’re trying to tell this story NOW of all times… Also, where has Aqua been for the last 43 episodes? He sure took his time doing this…

Speaking of Aqua, I both laughed and felt bad seeing him pull out a pair of underpants. It’s a great call back to OOO, but it’s kind of sad seeing him doing. For Eiji, it was a charming part of his character. For Aqua, it’s sad that he has to actually look at it just to work up his courage and remember what he’s fighting for.

(Also, I may need help keeping track of the Ride Watches and what they mean to Sougo. They had the Drive Watch, but that somehow doesn't count since Sougo himself didn't earn it? I really need to look back and see what other Ride Watches he didn't earn. It's strange that they are even bringing this up now, and yet somehow it doesn't affect Sougo's ability to become Grand Zi-O, but I'll just save these questions for later. Give the show a chance to flesh these ideas out a little more.)

EDIT: Just remembered something I forgot to ask, but how is it that Destiny Shift can slow down Geiz Revive? That doesn't seem right...