Following on from the events of Kamen Rider Genms specials -The Presidents- and -Smart Brain and the 1000% Crisis-, the revived Dan Kuroto has restored the Genm Musou Corporation whilst Gai Amatsu continues to prepare for the coming of Zein - a super AI that threatens humanity with its warped sense of justice. To this end, Gai has allied himself with Foundation X to launch "Project Outsiders", which seeks to assemble a team of evil Kamen Riders to combat Zein.
Meanwhile, another group of Riders is working to accelerate Zein's evolution - believing that the AI is key to ridding the world of evil. As the two factions clash, Kamen Rider Zein awakens. Commanding the powers of all of the previous Riders, Zein puts its plans to extinguish malice into motion - placing the whole world in grave danger.
If there's one thing that Kamen Rider Outsiders should be praised for, it's that it's certainly ambitious. In addition to continuing the stories from the three series Yuya Takahashi served as head writer on (although it's primary focus is still just Ex-Aid and Zero-One), Outsiders also pulls from Ryuki, 555, Blade, Den-O, Decade, Drive, Build, Saber and Revice - arguably the most any one Kamen Rider title has attempted whilst without simply pulling alternate world or time-travel shenanigans (not that those aren't present here as well). It also follows up on the activities of the mysterious Foundation X - something we saw hinted at in W, OOO and Fourze but has mostly been forgotten since. And although some of the returning faces are treated as just that, for the most part an attempt has been made to keep story threads from their respective series intact. The first (true) episode for example is almost entirely devoted to restoring Takashi Asakura to the bloodthirsty Ouja we know from Ryuki, having lost his memories as per the series' ending. While it certainly doesn't get everything right, even that level of care feels quite unexpected for something that was born from a fair of April Fools' specials.
However between bringing all of these threads together and telling its own newly created storyline, eight episodes isn't a great deal of time - even if they are full length 25-minute ones. As such it doesn't take long for Outsiders to pick which characters matter to the story, with the rest quickly falling to the wayside after their introduction. The aforementioned first episode only really makes reference the main plot at the very end, after which Asakura isn't seen again until the final episode. The second episode similarly deals with the resurrection of Saber's Desast, focusing on his continuing rivalry with Ren before he too disappears until the finale. Even before that, the prologue episode brings both Smart Brain and the Arch Orphnoch into the mix - neither of which have any real bearing on the story outside of being another piece to the puzzle (as well as bringing Yuria Haga back to cameo as both Mari and the new Smart Queen). While their inclusion helps make the complex tapestry of Kamen Rider continuity Outsiders is trying to build all the richer, it takes away what should be the biggest appeal of crossover stories - the character interactions.
It isn't really until the third episode that the main plot kicks in and the show begins to find its favourites, offering up a particularly interesting roster of returning cast members with the faction rallying behind Zein's agenda. Seeing the likes of Nico Saiba, Horobi, Brain, George Karizaki and Sakuya Tachibana in the same room together really helps make these series feel connected. For the most part Outsiders does well by their characters too, however the fast pace of the story doesn't allow for much in the way of nuance when it comes to their motivations (Tachibana in particular could have done with a little more focus to make his actions in this make a little more sense). Likewise, Horobi even mentioning his fallen comrades given the ending of the second Zero-One Others V-Cinema would have been nice. However the problem of Outsiders quickly jumping from one character to another each episode remains even after the main story is underway, and the strong focus on entities like the Ark and There suggest a strong desire to continue Zero-One's story even without any of its principle cast members. At which point, you do have to wonder what story there is left to tell. There's also the sense that, given how wildly varied modern Kamen Rider can be, that some of these stories simply shouldn't try to be slotted together. Geats' involvement towards to the end feels particularly egregious - the Desire Grand Prix not only clashing with the rest of the story, but also contributing towards a pretty underwhelming finale.
While most of the returning characters in Outsiders make immediate sense to its story, the big surprise here is the inclusion of Yuto Sakurai - or a version of him at least. The series doesn't divulge too much about this Yuto's backstory, but he comes from a dark future where humanity has been destroyed and he himself did not fight to protect those he loved. Travelling back to the past, he now believes Zein may be the key to preventing this future. Though it's clear that isn't the Yuto that we know and love, the story riffs on elements from the Den-O original to make an interesting take in its own right, especially using the time travel aspect to turn him into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Although it remains a strange take that could have debatably been filled by any returning character (or even a brand new one), the complexities that surround Yuto in regards to time travel make him a surprisingly good candidate.
Kamen Rider Zein, or rather the Zein AI, is an interesting concept too - playing on the blur between good and evil when it comes to the idea of "justice". In a way it harkens back to the infamous "Human life is more important that even peace and justice" line from the original Kamen Rider series, because these are ideals that can easily be warped and manipulated. The idea of destroying all evil becomes evil in itself, with the AI believing the only way to destroy human malice is to destroy humanity itself. It's a debate that the show does look at to some extent, even if the suggestion that good and evil are simply two sides of the same coin does feel like something of a simplification. Having much of the debate fought by AIs is also an interesting approach, rather than having the rebuttal just coming from the humans themselves. Unfortunately there simply isn't the time to have it all play out satisfyingly, so by the end of the series Zein feels more or less just another tool for another villain to exact their plan.
Ultimately though a lot of Zein's appeal is meant to be found in the visuals, with Toei going so far as to produce an (at the very least mostly) all-new suit rather than just kitbashing some older ones like they usually do. Though Riders that can summon the power of other Riders is now a painfully overdone concept, there's something wonderfully silly about the Zein Driver shredding the cards up like a paper shredder in order to use them. Zein might not be quite as great a villain as Outsiders hypes it up to be (nor does it cross-promotion cameo on Gotchard suddenly feel any more deserved), but there's an interesting idea here as well that Kamen Rider visual sense that turns something silly into something cool.
Meanwhile whether the character has outstayed his welcome by this point is up for debate, but it's clear Takahashi is still having just as much fun writing Kuroto Dan as Tetsuya Iwanaga is playing him. Whereas most of the principle characters in this series are heavily involved in the Zein storyline, Kuroto is once again marching to the beat of his own drum - only getting actively involved when it crossed paths with his own lofty plans. Over the years we've seen Kuroto go from human to Bugster to Humagear, with Outsiders as the platform for the next evolution in what is arguably Kamen Rider's most over the top character. Iwanaga plays Kuroto with just as much energy as ever, making it hard to dislike him even when his persona just seems to be getting progressively sillier and sillier. His brand-new look and appropriately showboaty transformation sequence are evidence enough of that. But underneath all of that ostentatiousness, you do sometimes wonder if there is a desire to do something deeper with the character. Outsiders' ending leaves a lot of things open-ended, but the future of Kuroto Dan is perhaps the most significant of all. So long as Iwanaga is happy to keep coming back, then I very much doubt this will be the last we've seen of him.
But to some fans the main allure of Outsiders will be the opportunity to create all new forms and gimmick items for past Riders, and that's an area the series certainly isn't lacking in. Nearly every Rider featured in Outsiders receives a brand new form, most of which were also accompanied by a Premium Bandai DX toy release. The overall execution of them however is mixed, and the pattern of having at least one debut per episode makes all of them feel like very flash in the pan inclusions. Things like Ouja Survive and Garren King Form stand out because they feel like part of their respective shows (as well as being a long time coming), but losing the story beats that made them so significant in their respective shows takes away a lot of what makes them special. The creation of Kamen Rider Desast is another moment that feels earned by its character, but feels wholly unrelated to the story after its debut in the second episode and lacks the gravitas it could have had coming from a Saber-focused story. As much as they make sense, Zero-Three and ZiinGazer just feel gratuitous - particularly coming from shows that are already heavy on both Riders and alternate forms. The same can be said Genm's Hyper Fumetsu Gamer, whereas the likes of BronzeDrive and Evol X are just unnecessary. Though it may be an element of Kamen Rider particularly synonymous with TTFC specials, it seems a shame that these will probably end up being what Outsiders is best remembered for.
Kamen Rider Outsiders pulls from a lot of different places to create an ambitious storyline, but the sheer size of those ambitions often leads to its downfall. While the attention it pays to past series may prevent it from feeling solely concerned with fan service and toy sales, the amount of characters and storylines it tries to cram into such a short runtime leaves many of these threads underdeveloped and unfulfilling. That said, there is an element of fun to how it treats the whole Kamen Rider universe like its toy box, and the fact you never quite know what'll happen next surely has to count for something. While the post-credits sting of the final episode suggests that the Outsiders may return, any potential future begs the question as to whether some stories should just be allowed to end.
4 comments:
What is your favorite Outsiders new form?
Either Ouja Survive and Garren King. Like I said in the review those just feel "right" in existing, even if they don't necessarily need to.
You summed up my thought on Outsiders. It was fun when it lasted, but ultimately it wasn't that much memorable. I think 555 20th Anniversary was better, and even that movie wasn't Inoue's best.
And I know that Ouja Survive and Garren King weren't going to look as cool as their S.I.C. designs, but damn did they look kind of cheap. They couldn't even make brand new Visor and Rouzer for them.
Outsiders is basically if you adapt Suicide Squad into a Star Wars movie. It's not hard to see why because of the juxtaposition of good and evil, and the future Yuto being a carbon copy of Anakin and Kylo Ren.
All and all, Outsiders feels a bit more rushed, considering the 3 to 4 month gap 9f every episode release. It has many flaws in terms of inconsistencies from past seasons, but still. God knows when are we going to see crossovers like this ever again.
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