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mangolon · 1 year

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Seasons of Kamen Rider Where a Rider’s Actor Sang a Song

1971

Hiroshi Fujioka (Takeshi Hongo) sings the first opening for Kamen Rider - Let’s Go! Rider Kick!

1973

Hiroshi Miyauchi (Shiro Kazami) sings the opening for Kamen Rider V3 - Tatakae! Kamen Rider V3

1980

Shunsuke Takasugi (Kazuya Oki) sings the opening for Kamen Rider Super-1 - Kamen Rider Super-1

Shunsuke Takasugi (Kazuya Oki) sings the first ending song for Kamen Rider Super-1 - Hi o Fuke Rider Ken

1987

Tetsuo Kurata (Kohtaro Minami) sings the opening for Kamen Rider Black - Kamen Rider Black

Tetsuo Kurata (Kohtaro Minami) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Black: Hurry to Onigashima - Ore no Seishun

1988

Tetsuo Kurata (Kohtaro Minami) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Black RX - Kuroi Yuusha

2002

Satoshi Matsuda (Ren Akiyama) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Lonely Soldier

Ryohei Odai (Shuichi Kitaoka) duets with Tomohisa Yuge (Goro Yura) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Dear Friend

Ryohei Odai (Shuichi Kitaoka) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Kienai Niji

Takashi Hagino (Takeshi Asakura) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ryuki - Spinnin’ Around

2003

Masayuki Izumi (Yuji Kiba) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - Cross a river

Mitsuru Karahashi (Naoya Kaido) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - Yume No Kakera ~ Romantico

Yuria Haga (Smart Queen) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - I wish

Yuria Haga (Smart Queen) duets with Yoshika Kato for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Faiz - Taiyou no Kage Tsuki no Yoru

Ken Mizorogi (Keitaro Kikuchi) sings an insert song for Kamen Rider Faiz - Hang on

In 2018, Kento Handa (Takumi Inui) and Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) sing a cover of the opening for Kamen Rider Faiz - Justifaiz

In 2020, Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) sings a cover of an insert song for Kamen Rider Faiz - Existence ~KAIXA-nized dice

In 2020, Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) sings a cover of an insert song for Kamen Rider Faiz - Red Rock

In 2023, Kohei Murakami (Masato Kusaka) duets with Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) for a cover of the opening for Kamen Rider Faiz - Jusitfaiz - Kaixa Day Ver.

2004

Kousei Amano (Sakuya Tachibana) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Rebirth

Ryoji Morimoto (Hajime Aikawa) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Take it A Try

Takayuki Tsubaki (Kazuma Kenzaki) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Wanna Be Strong

Takayuki Tsubaki (Kazuma Kenzaki) duets with Terunosuke Takezai for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Shout it Out

Takahiro Hojo (Mutsuki Kamijo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Blade - Hero

2006

Yuki Sato (Arata Kagami) sings alongside RIDER CHIPS for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kabuto - LORD OF THE SPEED

2007

Toshihiko Seki (Momotaros), Koji Yusa (Urataros), Masaki Terasoma (Kintaros) and Kenichi Suzumura (Ryutaros) all sing the second opening for Kamen Rider Den-O - Climax JUMP Den-LINER Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Toshihiko Seki (Momotaros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Sword Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Koji Yusa (Urataros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Rod Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Masaki Terasoma (Kintaros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Ax Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Kenichi Suzumura (Ryutaros) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Gun Form

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) duets with Shin-ichiro Miki (Sieg) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Wing Form

Toshihiko Seki (Momotaros), Koji Yusa (Urataros), Masaki Terasoma (Kintaros), Kenichi Suzumura (Ryutaros) and Hochu Otsuka (Deneb) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Climax Form

Dori Sakurada (Kotaro Nogami) duets with Daisuke Ono (Teddy) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Double-Action Strike Form

Hiroyuki Watanabe (Gaoh) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O: Ore Tanjou! - Double-Action Gaoh Form

Yuuichi Nakamura (Yuto Sakurai) duets with Hochu Otsuka (Deneb) for an insert theme from Kamen Rider Den-O - Action-ZERO

Takeru Satoh (Ryotaro Nogami) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Den-O - Real-Action

In 2010, Yuuichi Nakamura (Yuto Sakurai) duets with Hochu Otsuka (Deneb) for the opening for Chou Den-O Episode Red: Zero no Star Twinkle - Action-ZERO 2010

2008

The band TETRA-FANG is created to create music for Kamen Rider Kiva, with Koji Seto (Wataru Kurenai) on vocals

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Destiny’s Play

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Individual-System

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Shout in the Moonlight

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Innocent Trap

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Supernova

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Roots of the King

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Silent Shout

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Message

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Rainy Rose

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Exterminate Time

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen RIder Kiva - Eternity Blood

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - No Matter Who You Are

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Prayer~Message 2

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Beginning~Message 3

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Mind Garden

TETRA-FANG performs an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Lightning to Heaven

Koji Seto (Wataru Kurenai) is a featuring artist with Crimson-Fang, singing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - With you

Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Fight for Justice

Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Don’t Lose Yourself

Kouhei Takeda (Otoya Kurenai) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - This love never ends

Yu Takahashi (Yuri Aso) duets with Nana Yanagisawa (Megumi Aso) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Feel the same

Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - IXA-cise

Kenji Matsuda (Jiro) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Keep alive

Yu Takahashi (Yuri Aso), Kouhei Takeda (Otoya Kurenai), Nana Yanagisawa (Megumi Aso) and Keisuke Kato (Keisuke Nago) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Kiva - Inherited-System

2009

Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Decade - Ride the Wind

Kimito Totani (Daiki Kaito) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Decade - Treasure Sniper

In 2021, Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) covers the opening of Kamen Rider Decade - Journey Through the Decade

In 2021, Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) duets with So Okuno (Sougo Tokiwa) on the ending theme of Rider Time: Kamen Rider Decade vs. Zi-O - Decade Mansion’s Death Game - INSIDE-OUT Decade ver.

Koji Kikkawa (Sokichi Narumi) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider W - Nobody’s Perfect

Renn Kiriyama (Shotaro Hidari) and Masaki Suda (Philip) perform an in-universe cover of an insert theme for Kamen Rider W - Finger on the Trigger

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Katsumi Daido) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate - W

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Katsumi Daido) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Eternal - cod E ~E no Angou

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Katsumi Daido) with Koji Kikkawa (Sokichi Narumi) for the chorus sings the ending theme for Fuuto PI - Tsumi to Batsu to Underground

2010

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings alongside Maki Oguro for the opening for Kamen Rider OOO - Anything Goes! Special Edit

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Regret Nothing ~ Tighten Up

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Got to Keep It Real

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Ride On Right Time

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Sun Goes Up

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) duets with Ryosuke Miura (Ankh) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider OOO - Time Judged All

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider OOO - Shout Out

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) duets with Akira Kushida for an insert theme of Kamen Rider OOO - Power to Tearer

Hiroaki Iwanaga (Akira Date) duets with Asaya Kimijima (Shintaro Goto) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider OOO - Reverse/Re:birth

Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) and Ryosuke Miura (Ankh) sing alongside Ken Matsudaira for the ending theme of Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: the Shogun and 21 Core Medals - Ole! Te wo Tsunagou

In 2019, Shu Watanabe (Eiji Hino) duets with Ryosuke Miura (Ankh) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Final: Build & Ex-Aid with Legend Riders - Time Judged All ~ 8 Years Later

2013

Gaku Sano (Kouta Kazuraba) sings an insert theme of Kamen Rider Gaim - Rise Up Your Flag

Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) sings an insert theme of Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Baron - Unperfected World

Mahiro Takasugi (Mitsuzane Kureshima) sings an insert theme of Kamen Rider Gaim - Point of No Return

Gaku Sano (Kouta Kazuraba) duets with Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Gaim - Ranbu Escalation

Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) sings alongside Gaku Matsuda (Zack) and Saku Momose (Peko) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gaim - Never Surrender

Yutaka Kobayashi (Kaito Kumon) sings alongside Gaku Matsuda (Zack) and Saku Momose (Peko) for an insert theme for Gaim Gaiden: Kamen Rider Knuckle - Dance With Me

2014

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the opening for Kamen Rider Drive - SURPRISE-DRIVE

Ryoma Takeuchi (Shinnosuke Tomari) sings alonside Yuu Inaba (Go Shijima) and Taiko Katono (Chase) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Drive - Spinning Wheel

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for D-Video Special: Kamen Rider Yongo - time

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future - re-ray

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Chaser - good bye little moon

Mitsuru Matsuoka (Yongo) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Drive Saga: Kamen Rider Mach and Kamen Rider Heart - eternity (~from SURPRISE-DRIVE)

2016

Ruka Matsuda (Poppy Pipopapo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - Pinple Pell

Ruka Matsuda (Poppy Pipopapo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - PEOPLE GAME

Ruka Matsuda (Poppy Pipopapo) sings the ending song for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Trilogy: Another Ending - Para-DX and Poppy - Real Heart

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - JUSTICE

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid - Wish in the dark

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings the theme song for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Trilogy: Another Ending - Genm vs. Lazer - Believer

Hiroyuki Takami (Masamune Dan) sings the theme song for Kamen Rider Genms - The Presidents - GAME CHANGER

2018

ISSA (SOUGO) is a featuring artist on Shuta Shueyoshi of AAA, singing the opening for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Over “Quartzer”

So Okuno (Sougo Tokiwa) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Zi-O, Toki no Ouja

Gaku Oshida (Geiz Myokoin) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - FUTURE GUARDIAN

Keisuke Watanabe (Woz/White Woz) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Black&White

Shieri Ohata (Alpina Tsukuyomi) sings alongside Kamen Rider Girls an insert theme for Kamen Rider Zi-O - Tsuki no Michiru Toki

Hideya Tawada (Rentaro Kagura) sings alongside Sakuramen for the opening for Rider Time: Kamen Rider Shinobi - IZANAGI

ISSA (SOUGO) sings alongside Masayuki Tanaka, Shinichi Ishihara, Rica Matsumoto, Nanase Aikawa, Akira Fuse, YU-KI, AAA, Tourbillon, Gackt, Aya Kamiki, Takuya, Maki Oguro, Anna Tsuchiya, Shou Kiryuuin, Shonen no Kaze, Mitsuru Matsuoka, Kishidan, Daichi Miura and Beverly for the opening for Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever - Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever Medley D.A. Re-Build Mix

In 2021, So Okuno (Sougo Tokiwa) duets with Masahiro Inoue (Tsukasa Kadoya) for the ending theme of Kamen Rider Zi-O vs. Decade - 7 of Zi-O! - INSIDE-OUT Zi-O ver.

2019

Manyard and Blaise Plant (MetsubouJinrai), the lead singers of MONKEY MAJIK, sing the ending theme of Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider MetsubouJinrai - S.O.S.

Manyard and Blaise Plant (MetsubouJinrai), the lead singers of MONKEY MAJIK, sing the ending theme of Zero-One Others: Kamen Rider Vulcan and Valkyrie - Frontier

2020

Syuichiro Naito (Touma Kamiyama), Takaya Yamaguchi (Rintaro Shindo) and Ryo Aoki (Kento Fukamiya) all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Saber - Rewrite the Story

Rina Chinen (Sophia) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Saber - Story never ends

Syuichiro Naito (Touma Kamiyama), Takaya Yamaguchi (Rintaro Shindo) and Ryo Aoki (Kento Fukamiya) sing alongside Asuka Kawazu for the ending theme of Kamen Rider Saber: Trio of Deep Sin - Bittersweet

Robin Furuya (Storious) sings alongside Kairu Takano and Koji Saikawa for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Saber - Rock Scissors Paper

2021

Subaru Kimura (Vice) is a featuring artist on Da-iCE, singing the opening for Kamen Rider Revice - liveDevil

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi), Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi) and Ayaka Imoto (Sakura Igarashi) with backing vocals by Subaru Kimura (Vice) sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - Go with the flo

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi) and Subaru Kimura (Vice) sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - VOLCANO

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi) duets with Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota) for the ending theme of Kamen Rider Revice the Mystery - Without You

Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota) sings the ending theme for Kamen Rider Revice: Dear GAGA - Without You Dear GAGA ver.

Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi/Kagerou) sings an insert theme of Kamen Rider Revice - Mirage Mirror

Ayaka Imoto (Sakura Igarashi) duets with Miku Ito (Lovekov) for an insert theme of Kamen Rider Revice - Cherry-ish!

Subaru Kimura (Vice) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - #GekiyaVice

Hikari Kabashima (Hana Natsuki) sings the ending theme of Kamen Rider Jeanne and Kamen Rider Aguilera With Girls Remix - Riot in bloom

Subaru Kimura (Vice) is a featuring artist on Da-iCE, singing the ending theme for Kamen Rider Revice: Battle Familia - Dance Dance

Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - George Karizaki’s Rider System

Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - George Karizaki’s Rider System Dark ver.

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Revice - Kimi wa Sono Mama de

Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi/Kagerou) duets with Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota) for the opening theme for Kamen Rider Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons - Come alive

Kentaro Maeda (Ikki Igarashi), Wataru Hyuga (Daiji Igarashi/Kagerou), Ayaka Imoto (Sakura Igarashi), Junya Komatsu (Hiromi Kadota), Hayata Seki (Olteca), Kurodo Hachijoin (Go Tamaki), Hikari Kabashima (Hana Natsuki) and Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) all sing the ending theme for Kamen Rider Revice Forward: Kamen Rider Live & Evil & Demons - Love yourself

Noritaka Hamao (George Karizaki) duets with Hayata Seki (Olteca) for an ending theme for Kamen Rider Juuga VS Kamen Rider Olteca - Itoshi no Frenemy

2022

Hideyoshi Kan (Ace Ukiyo) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Star of the Stars of the Stars

Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - I Peace

Yuna Hoshino (Neon Kurama) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Beat of My Life

Kazuto Mokudai (Michinaga Azuma) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Undead Fire

Hideyoshi Kan (Ace Ukiyo) duets with Fuku Suzuki (Ziin) for an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Live for the moment

Weather Hearts, which has Tsubasa Sakiyama (Win Hareruya) and Kaname Futaba (Hiroki Amamiya) on vocals, performs an insert theme for Geats Extra: Kamen Rider PunkJack - ROLLIN’ ROLLIN’ PUNK KING

Ryo Kitamura (Niram) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Non-fiction

Kazuto Mokudai (Michinaga Azuma), Ayaka Namiki (Beroba), Dai Goto (Daichi Isuzu) and Shihou Harumi all sing an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - Odds n’ Ends

Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai) duets with Hideya Tawada (Rentaro Kagura) for the opening theme for Geats Extra: Kamen Rider Tycoon Meets Kamen Rider Shinobi - IZANAGI Geats ver.

Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Geats - IZANAGI - Ballad Version

Hideyoshi Kan (Ace Ukiyo), Ryuga Sato (Keiwa Sakurai), Yuna Hoshino (Neon Kurama) and Kazuto Mokudai (Michinaga Azuma) all sing alongside Kokoro Aoshima for the opening theme for Kamen Rider Geats: Jyamato Awakening - CREATORs

2023

Jyutaro Yamanaka (Zukyumpire) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Kimi ni Zukkyun

Seiichiro Nagata (Houou Kaguya Quartz) sings an insert theme for Kamen Rider Gotchard - Living Legend

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descendant-of-truth · 1 year

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The amount of unexplored concepts in Zi-o is driving me insane but I can only tackle one thing per post so let's talk about Sougo for a minute

As someone who immediately clocked Sougo as having something off about him (to the point where I wrote day-one fanfiction about it), I was really expecting there to be a few episodes where we just. sat down and unpacked all of it. We didn't get that, but the crumbs we did get only solidify my opinion that Sougo is a really compelling character when you take the time to think about him.

On a surface level, Sougo is… very normal, I think. He's a cheerful guy, he's polite, he has a definite silly streak to him. He's kinda awkward, he fumbles around with Sento's catchphrase and struggles with his schoolwork. Like any good-natured protagonist, he has a drive to protect others and has no problem inconveniencing himself a bit to help someone out. These are all true things about him.

Sougo is also very good at manipulating people. And he does it by using his usual mannerisms to his advantage.

Take the episodes with Kuroto for instance. Sougo gets on Kuroto's side effortlessly by looking bright-eyed and enthusiastic about working with him, and this is completely believable to us as viewers because Sougo is always this enthusiastic. It's even relevant to his goal to become king - of course he would want to study under an actual king to get experience!

What makes this interesting is that it's only half true. Sougo isn't faking his enthusiasm, but he is faking his motivation. He doesn't want to work with Kuroto because he thinks he's cool, he wants to work with him because he wants to confirm if he's terrible first, and then take notes on how to not be terrible in the future.

And this is what makes him so good at manipulation: he knows how to channel his behaviors in such a way that he always seems genuine. Of course, it probably helps that he's often only half-faking anyway, which makes it even more convincing.

He's also usually using this skill for a good cause, but when armed with the knowledge that he became evil in the original timeline, it suddenly puts him in a different light; one where you can go "oh, so that's where he's keeping all his supervillain potential."

He displays this cunning side to him in a lot of smaller instances - using Woz's dedication to him as a means to summon him at any time, getting Geiz and Tsukuyomi to hang out with him under the pretense of their mission to keep him from turning evil, so on and so forth.

They sneak this part of him into the script all the time, and the only person to really bring it up is, interestingly enough, his mirror world self.

This scene makes me go nuts because it perfectly displays Sougo's inner conflict that he's usually really good at keeping under wraps. Though admittedly, they also make it a little unclear as to whether he was actually trying to manipulate anyone or just feels like he did anyway... but I think I've got it mostly figured out.

What's happening here, as I understand it, is that Sougo does genuinely want to save Geiz, but there is a small part of him that wants the power that comes with the Ryuga watch, too. And he does not like that part.

He knows that he's manipulated people before, and so when he notices having a second motivation here beyond his more idealistic one, he feels like he's manipulating people again. Making Tsukuyomi think that he's actually a good person when he just prompted Geiz to go sacrifice himself - he harbors a surprising amount of guilt.

And that's another key thing about Sougo that I haven't talked about yet: he hides things constantly.

Like, for example, why he wants to become king in the first place.

This is a lie. Sougo wants to become king because of a recurring dream depicting the most traumatic event of his life, where his only solace is someone telling him that he can save the world if he becomes a king.

But he insists in multiple episodes that it's just "something he's always known." He treats it very casually, despite it dramatically affecting his life plans.

Sougo treats most things with the same smiley nonchalance, honestly, in a way that can make him feel sort of detached from reality at times. But he takes things more seriously than it seems, and it's clear that he harbors a very deep sense of loneliness in him as well. Geiz and Tsukuyomi being his first real friends is one of the driving forces of the narrative, after all.

He also just drops lines like this sometimes that make me go crazy like hey has anyone checked on this guy emotionally during the entire show, I am Concerned

Like!! he says this about the possibility of him being the only person to not survive the final battle, and I know this isn't the first time he's expressed a similar sentiment and it's kind of a tradition for the protagonists of these shows to be like this but. god. and he says it while smiling

(You might be noticing a theme with Sougo and smiling through pain and you would be absolutely correct to do so)

I guess what I'm getting at with this whole post is that the appeal of Sougo's character, to me, is that he's just as much a silly, awkward guy with loads of enthusiasm as he is a cunning, clever person who knows how to lie to get the outcome he wants. He's both very cheerful and very sad on the inside, and none of these things are treated like they're in conflict with each other.

Sougo himself said it best:

And I dunno, I just think that's a really cool way to write your main hero who's working against his destiny to become evil. Or just any character in general. I both completely believe him as a hero and also never quite got rid of that "off" feeling that made me compelled to write about him when the show first started.

Zi-o as a show missed a lot of opportunities to explore things deeper, and Sougo is definitely included in that, but it never failed to keep me interested in him as a character because something about his specific combination of personality traits makes him very compelling to watch.

(He also makes the other writing flaws that much more frustrating because he's way too good of a character for these scripts)

#kamen rider #kamen rider zi o #tokiwa sougo #analysis #meta #Long story short he's Kinda Weird and I love him for it

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