Kamen Rider Zi-O

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Fandom
Name: Kamen Rider Zi-O, 仮面ライダージオウ, Kamen Raidā Jiō
Abbreviation(s): Zi-O, ZiO
Creator: Shotaro Ishinomori
Date(s): September 2, 2018 – August 25, 2019
Medium: Television
Country of Origin: Japan
External Links: at Wikipedia
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Kamen Rider Zi-O is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in the Toei Company's Kamen Rider franchise. It is the twenty-ninth Kamen Rider series overall as well as the twentieth and final series in the Heisei period.[1] Toei registered the Kamen Rider Zi-O trademark on May 5, 2018.[2] The show premiered on September 2, 2018, following the finale of Kamen Rider Build, joining Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger and later, the miniseries Super Sentai Strongest Battle, followed by Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, in the Super Hero Time line-up.

The series has a time travel/multiverse motif while paying tribute to all of the previous Heisei-era Kamen Riders due to being a spiritual sequel to Kamen Rider Decade. The series and related films also feature returning actors reprising their roles from the previous Heisei series.

Fandom

Shipping

There is a large shipping scene for Kamen Rider series in general, and Zi-O is no different. The most popular pairings tend to be M/M with some F/F and M/F ships.

Ships

Controversies

During the airing of the show, there ship wars were between Sougeiz and Souwoz shippers. With both Geiz and Woz introduced in the first episode, the wars raged from the start. Sougeiz fans tended to be more interested in the rivals to lovers trope and many preferred the ship due to Sougo and Geiz being of similar ages. Some fans argued that Souwoz was problematic, as it was impossible to know Woz's age in canon, but his actor was 25. Many fans accepted this as either his canon age or took it as the lowest his age could be. Some souwoz fans would argue that the power dynamics were more complex than age, due to Woz's role as Sougo's servant. Many leaned into the complexity of their relationship but others argued that there wasn't anything inherently problematic.

This ship war was then interrupted when the web special, Rider Time: Kamen Rider Zi-O VS Decade -7 of Zi-O!-, was released. In the web special, Heure is revealed to have feelings for Sougo, giving him a love letter and playing the role typically for the tragic female lead. The special also featured Geiz coming across as homophobic in response to Heure's confession, despite Sougo's delight at receiving the love letter, though it's arguably more about his reaction to the bigger plot of the special. Fans had both a shipping-based response to this and a more general response to the web special.

how come inoue can write some of the gayest shit I’ve ever seen and then make his actual gay characters homophobic

realxtime on Twitter

I THINK ITS BECAUSE LIKE. there's a billion scenes of geiz and woz being gay for sougo, but comparatively very few the other way.

MEANWHILE the few sougoheure scenes are just as much sougo being gay for heure as it is heure being gay for sougo

HunterSerge on Twitter

for those needing context: a decade vs Zi-O leak basically stated that heure confesses to sougo and geiz says some stupid homophobic bs. I pray it ain't real. hope I tagged that right.

zajchuu on Twitter

I need Sougo and Geiz not Sougo and Heure. This is not what I've imagine!

UltasceRenzo on Twitter

i feel like you guys won't believe me after i spent all of zi-o proclaiming the romantic tension between sougo and geiz so here you go. heure canonically has a crush on sougo and geiz is home of phobic

space_ace_rat on Twitter

I mean, don't get me wrong, it was sure nice to have Sougo being immediately accepting of Heure's feelings. But I hope someday we can have something that isn't just maybe gay.

RainbowRiderBoy on Twitter

God, Sougo/Heure really was a big brain move on Inoue's part the man boldly went where no others would dare

sleepytentacles on Twitter

i still dont get why Heure was suddenly gay for Sougo but hey whatever floats your boat Inoue i can never comprehend what goes on in that mind of yours


you made one guy gay all of a sudden now everyone might as well be


hell throw one in Donbrother for all i care

anopocrypha on Twitter

i extract heure/sougo canonization and burn everything else

HunterSerge on Twitter

i wish the 7 Zi-Os special did a bit more with the idea of Heure being in love with Sougo. like, i just wish that they atleast implied that the two of them got together at some point (maybe between episodes)

Swoopy_Kaiser on Twitter

Example Fanworks

Meta

Challenges

  • Pieathon - a Thanksgiving 2019 event themed around "Woz/Pie"

References