Recap: Kamen Rider Zero-One, Episode 8 – “Fangs that can chomp through concrete.”

Recap: Kamen Rider Zero-One, Episode 8 – The Destruction Begins Now
Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Izu accompanies Aruto to the hospital where he is getting a physical exam from very angelic Humagear nurse Mashiro. Izu explains that Humagears have greatly helped improve health care and says that all their medical records are kept safe via a local network using the hospital’s personal data center.

The data center is so secure not even Assassin-chan, whom Horobi was able to recreate using the backup data, can hack into it. Horobi believes they need more firepower, so he sets their next target on Yua.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

At A.I.M.S. HQ, Yua is speaking on the phone with her mysterious boss at Zaia Enterprise about the Giger, a powerful new weapon.

Back at the hospital, Izu happily reports to Aruto that he’s got a good clean bill of health. Aruto loudly makes a joke that no one in the hospital laughs at except for Isamu who tries to coolly play off his amusement.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Isamu is here for his own physical exam even though he can’t believe the swarm of Humagears staffing the hospital. He vows that he would never put his life in the hands of a Humagear. Izu points out that Humagears actually make more accurate diagnoses and provide better treatment than humans.

Isamu says it’s because the idea of Humagears gaining sentience is dangerous. They may lose control at any time.

Back at A.I.M.S HQ, Yua is being walked through the Giger assembly line by the project manager. The Giger connects to out-of-control Humagears and can force them to shut down through the network.

Yua orders to have the Gigers unlocked and powered up. But just then, the alarms sound.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Horobi, Jin and Assassin-chan are outside HQ, preparing to storm their way in.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Assassin-chan henshins as does Yua and they battle. While they are busy, Horobi and Jin make their way inside HQ. Jin messes with the Gigers while Horobi finds the weapons lab.

Jin returns outside to join in the battle between Yua and Assassin-chan. Yua is later surprised when Horobi walks out with a pair of attaches. She asks him what their goal is. Why are they using Humagears for evil and hurting other people.

Horobi says this is the will of The Ark.

Jin uses one of the Attaches Horobi swiped to shoot at Yua and force her to dehenshin as they leave. Yua hurries inside to check on the Gigers and she concludes they haven’t been tampered with.

Back in Daybreak, Horobi says they have all the firepower they need and now only need more friends to welcome The Ark’s revival.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Over at the hospital, Nurse Mashiro has just finished fixing up Yua’s injuries. Isamu warns her to be careful of relying too much on Humagears for medical care. Yua says it’s just so she can get back to work as soon as possible and tells him not to push his personal feelings about Humagears on her.

Nurse Mashiro asks Isamu if his head is okay because she sees in his medical records that he hasn’t had it checked out lately. Izu says neurology is not one of Nurse Mashiro’s designations. But Nurse Mashiro says this is based on her personal judgment.

Aruto believes Nurse Mashiro is reaching sentience so they bring her back to Hiden HQ to examine her. Izu finds nothing out of the ordinary in Nurse Mashiro’s system.

Aruto asks Izu if she thinks Humagears have hearts. Izu says that’s not possible unless a Humagear reaches Singularity. Aruto has no idea what that means. Isamu and Yua come down into the lab and Yua explains that Singularity is the moment a Humagear obtains power beyond human design.

Nurse Mashiro has begun operating outside of Hiden’s original designation and whenever that happens, A.I.M.S. must deal with the Humagear immediately. Isamu is ready to shoot her down, but Aruto stops him. Yua tells him to calm down.

Izu points out that Humagears are attacking people because of MetsubouJinrai.net’s hacking.

Yua suddenly gets a call that a Giger is rampaging and attacking the hospital’s data center.

They all hurry outside and confront Horobi and Jin. Aruto asks why they would do such things that harm humans.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Horobi removes his headband and Jin pulls his hood down and pulls his hair back, revealing…

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

They are Humagears!

Horobi says The Ark decided that humans are the species most overdue for extinction. And that makes it MetsubouJinrai.net’s will.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

The Giger infects all the Humagears in the area and Horobi calls upon them to awaken so they can end humanity and take over the world.

Jin tells the Humagears that they will no longer help save humans. But Aruto says he is wrong. Humagears are the result of human’s dreams. He points to Nurse Mashiro as an example. But Nurse Mashiro begins to laugh maniacally as do the other medical care Humagears-turned-Magia.

Horobi orders Assassin-chan to target Aruto instead.

Aruto, Isamu, Yua and Jin all henshin and they all battle.

Aruto faces off against Assassin-chan. Izu analyzes Assassin-chan and offers Aruto a battle pattern using each of the Keys Aruto has obtained so far.

Aruto is able to destroy Assassin-chan with a Flaming Case Dynamic. Horobi picks up the damaged Key and leaves.

Isamu wipes out the Magia before helping Yua against Jin.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Just then, Horobi appears and declares today is the day the revolution has begun and the day MetsubouJinrai is victorious.

Horobi slaps on the ForceRiser and henshins. Isamu recognizes him from the broadcast on the day of Daybreak.

Isamu is enraged and attacks Horobi, the memories of Daybreak fresh in his mind. Horobi says he doesn’t care one bit about Isamu. Isamu tells Horobi to go f- himself and bombards him with bullets and a Power Punching Blast.

But that doesn’t even leave a scratch on Horobi who delivers an Amazing Case Shoot that knocks Isamu on his back.

Horobi tells Isamu to die before he delivers a Sting Dystopia finisher at him.

Everyone fears Isamu has actually died.

Kamen Rider Zero One Episode 8 Recap

Episode Thoughts

It’s only Episode 8, but it was a very exciting episode. It’s certainly very interesting to see the villains making a “big” move this early in the season. And so we wonder what is in store for us over the next 40 episodes.

I guess I always assumed Horobi and Jin were Humagears, so that certainly wasn’t a big shock though the reveal was a nice scene.

I hope there’s more to Horobi and Jin than just simply being Humagears who gained sentience. I would be really intrigued by a storyline where Jin, who happily supports his Papa Horobi in working toward the extinction of the human race, finds out he’s actually human himself. That could trigger the return of emotions we saw from him momentarily the other episode ago. And it would definitely work with the idea surrounding humans and machines, what it means to be human, etc. The moral dilemmas that would pop up for many of our characters would be great drivers of story moving forward.

They’ve obviously shown that it’s easy to recreate a Humagear in the same likeness once it’s been destroyed. And they pointed that out again in this episode with Assassin-chan. That leads me to again wonder if that will lead to the idea of human DNA/memory “data” being implanted or transferred into Humagears/machines. More so and a step further than just the simply making a robot with the same face and voice as a real, existing human.

For some reason I’m reminded of Attack on Titan and perhaps it might be possible here on Zero-One for a situation where the “humans” end up actually being the bad guys or have done something bad in the past. And somehow, they’ve forgotten it or had their memories erased. That is, humans were the aggressors and the Humagears/MetsubouJinrai/whomever were the true victims. And the graying of that area later on.

Perhaps even the fact that something is called “The Ark” and is deciding which species should be extinct might be a clue as to what’s going on here too.

Overall, I think this was a good episode to have at this point since the show has done a solid job with world building in the first seven episodes. Because of that, taking this relatively big step forward in the story makes sense and opens up some nice possibilities moving forward. All the characters as well have been adequately positioned so each of them can also possibly branch out with their own agendas in a way that doesn’t feel contrived.

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