Recap / Kamen Rider Outsiders ep. 3: The Battle Fight Resumes and Birth of Zein

ep. 3: The Battle Fight Resumes and Birth of Zein

Original Airdate: July 23, 2023
Written by: Daiki Nagahama (under supervision by Yuya Takahashi)
Directed by: Takayuki Shibasaki

Summary

"My form is justice, and my form is the world... Worship me! Give praise unto me! Me, the beautiful, the sublime... Me, the invincible, the almighty and divine... All hail, Zein!"

^{Click here to see the episode's key visual.}

"Zein is a being that will eradicate evil. Even if they gather the Outsiders, Zein will outdo them. The birth of Zein draws near. The people on our side are already making their move."

—Horobi

Nico Saiba is given the Zein Driver developed by George Karizaki, who installs the rebooted Kamen Rider Chronicle into the device and delivered it to the Institute for the History of Humanity, also known as BOARD. BOARD's CEO, Sakuya Tachibana picks up a certain suitable person who can transform into Kamen Rider Zein.

Meanwhile, Foundation X learns that Zein is gathering followers in its campaign against malice, and they decide to revive new Outsiders...

Tropes

• Always a Bigger Fish: Kamen Rider Zein is this to Bronze Drive, if the latter can access Drive, Mach, and Chaser's equipment, Zein can do the same, but with every single Kamen Rider not just Drive. It's no wonder that Banno is quickly reduced to a scaredy-cat after all the bluster from beating the crap out of Horobi.
• Asshole Victim: Banno is and has always been an evil bastard in his home series. But the fact that not only Foundation X isn't giving any rat's ass about him and getting beaten to near-death by Kamen Rider Zein, both the heroes and villains benefit at him getting thrown into the wringer in just a single episode.
• Back from the Dead: Banno is revived when Foundation X managed to salvage the damaged Banno Driver. Unbeknownst to him, Brain is also revived as a Humagear!
• Big Damn Heroes: A dark example. The moment Kamen Rider Zein arrives, he doesn't hesitate at beating Bronze Drive to a pulp until he's reduced into a whimpering mess, matters not helped that Zein even turns the Mad Scientist into a Human Pincushion in the grittiest way possible.
• Call-Back: Banno starts begging for his life as he finds himself cornered by Zein in the same way he is at his own son's mercy. Unlike his demise in Drive, Banno has to run for dear life just as the Ankokuken Kurayami and Dogouken Gekido are about to impale him.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Though Banno barely survived the following episode, getting turned into a Human Pincushion when 10 Holy Swords skewering his Humagear body from top to bottom in a gruesome fashion is not a good way to go.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Bronze Drive mops the floor with Horobi after ambushing the latter...
  • ...only for Kamen Rider Zein to appear out of nowhere and kick Banno's ass within an inch of his life.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Banno having the audacity to gloat and revel while beating the living tar out of Horobi for merely associating with Zein bites him in the worst possible moment when Kamen Rider Zein beats him within an inch of his life to put the Ark and Foundation X on notice.
• The Dreaded: Kamen Rider Zein's presence alone, and its Curb-Stomp Battle against Banno is never played in a heroic light, so much so Banno gets scared shitless before he gets skewered to death via Haou Xross Sei Retsuzan. Even Ecole is both impressed and absolutely terrified at the same time.
• Evil Will Fail: Horobi declares to Ark that so long Zein exists, all malice will die along with Ark itself. Even after getting beaten by Bronze Drive, Horobi wasn't bluffing and considering how Zein executes Banno with extreme prejudice, putting both Ark and Foundation X on notice.
• Feet-First Introduction: Both George Karizaki and Yuto Sakurai are introduced shoes-first in this episode.
• Happy Ending Override: The ending of Kamen Rider Drive was already bittersweet, one of the upsides to it was definitely Banno getting killed off for good and not getting away with all the atrocities he inflicted. However, it's revealed that Banno was able to survive by storing himself in the Internet and he gets given a new body by Foundation X. While he's destroyed by Zein at the end of the episode, the fact that he survived by nestling in the Internet implies he can come back at any time, meaning the one who tormented and corrupted the Roidmudes technically got away with his crimes.
• Horrifying the Horror: Both Banno and Ecole can only react with dread and fear the moment (Kamen Rider) Zein appears, so much so that the former is reduced to a whimpering mess and realizing just how screwed he is now as he futilely escapes with his life before he is about to be turned into a human, or rather Humagear pincushion by Zein from getting skewered by the Seikens summoned from the Haouken Xross Saber.
• Hourglass Plot: This episode acts as one for episode 41 of Kamen Rider Drive with Banno's flashbacks of him torturing the Roidmude that would become Heart. In this episode, Banno would find himself getting beaten within an inch of his life by Kamen Rider Zein, not helped by the man behind the suit being Yuto Sakurai, who himself has a knack of physically abusing his own Imagin partner.
• Human Pincushion: How Bronze Drive is finished off by Kamen Rider Zein. Zein summons all the 10 Seikens via Haouken Xross Saber and fire them towards Banno, the swords fly towards Banno like guided missiles while helplessly escaping with his life as he gets impaled from top to bottom, destroying his Humagear body in the process.
• Humiliation Conga: It only took just a single barbaric beating from Kamen Rider Zein to reduce the sadistic and vainglorious Banno into a cowering mess before being turned into a Human Pincushion. Even though Banno is revealed to have barely survived the following episode, it was nevertheless a horrific experience for him to be trampled by Zein.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Horobi learns that the full extent of Project Outsiders is for Foundation X to conscript Kamen Rider villains from previous seasons to form a resistance faction against Zein, the titular Kamen Rider Outsiders. And so is the Ark learning that almost every heroic Kamen Rider are siding with Zein in its mission to eradicate malice.
  • Brain is also revived along with Banno, using the former's eyeglasses. He spends most of the episode hiding while Banno is fighting Horobi, and subsequently getting beaten into submission by Zein.
• Insistent Terminology: Banno wants everyone to keep calling him Gold Drive despite the fact that his armor is clearly colored bronze.
  Rando Joseph: You are NOT EVEN GOLD AT ALL!!
• Knight of Cerebus: Kamen Rider Zein's arrival is meant to inspire dread and eerie instead of a cool and heroic entrance, matters not even helped that Zein's introduction is accompanied with Ominous Latin Chanting. The moment he viciously beats Banno down within an inch of his life, all of the Mad Scientist's bluster turns into screams of fear and terror before subjecting him into a torturous skewering. Even Ecole of all people is trembling in fear, despite witnessing the fight from afar.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Banno ambushes Horobi for associating with Zein, only for the namesake Rider to beat him within an inch of his life, reducing him into a cowering mess, and execute him on the spot.
• Make an Example of Them: Kamen Rider Zein's No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Bronze Drive serves as a warning to the Ark and Foundation X. The expression of dread and eerie from Ecole's face speaks for itself.
• Mook Horror Show: Banno gets reduced to a whimpering mess trying to helplessly escape the wrath of Kamen Rider Zein after the latter soundly defeats him into submission. Even Ecole is showing visible signs of fear. It shows that Zein's beatdown of Banno is never meant to be played in a heroic light, being ripped straight out of a fatality from a Mortal Kombat game.
• Mythology Gag: Brain's reaction to a resurrected Banno as Bronze Drive is to hide at a safe distance, knowing that he would be a foo to expose himself unless he went full suicidal like his previous death. Just like how he did (Medic's pet dog) when Banno first unveils his Gold Drive form.
• Never Trust a Title: The Battle Fight is Title Dropped in this episode, which is a battle for survival of the fittest among the Undead. Though the only reference to Blade only has Tachibana's return, no less.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Banno finds himself in the receiving end of one from Kamen Rider Zein, unlike his one-sided smackdown of Horobi, this one is taken to ultraviolent levels especially when Zein uses Xross Saber's Finishing Move to turn Banno into a Human Pincushion.
• Oh, Crap!: Banno completely freaks out once he's at Zein's mercy.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: Kamen Rider Zein's introduction is accompanied with a rather sinister Gregorian requiem chanting, invoking dread and eerie. And this is to further emphasize the way Zein dominating Banno is anything but heroic.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Banno is already one of the vilest Kamen Rider villain in recent history, and the way Zein ends Banno by turning him into a Human Pincushion is downright barbaric and inhumane as it is also well-deserved.
• The Quisling: Horobi reveals that almost every heroic Kamen Rider threw in their lot with Zein in its campaign against malice going so far as to surrender their powers to Zein. The very idea that the heroes are willing to have humanity submit to a Knight Templar A.I. not only puts their reliability and Character Development in question, but this could be seen as a disgrace to their duty as Kamen Riders.
• The Reveal: Yuto Sakurai is revealed to be Kamen Rider Zein!
• Stupid Evil: Had Banno showed any restraint after managing to overpower Horobi, he could've spared himself from being beaten to near death by (Kamen Rider) Zein.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Banno is turned into a human pincushion as Zein skewers him using the 10 Seikens summoned from the Haouken Xross Saber.
• Unable to Retreat: Zein launches the Seikens at Banno like homing missiles to make sure he doesn't escape alive.
• Villain Killer: Banno is the first villain to be on the list of Zein's body counts, despite having barely survived the following episode.
• You Will Not Evade Me: Zein launches the 10 Seikens from the Haouken Xross Saber like guided missiles at Banno, who hopelessly tries to run away with his life, only for the Ankokuken Kurayami to impale him, followed by the Dogouken Gekido, along with the other eight swords would follow suit.

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"Looks like the flow of time has changed. I am Kamen Rider Zein."