Humagears (humanoid robots), created by the leading company for AI, Hiden Intelligence, serve humanity’s every convenience. But a cyber-terrorist organization begins hacking the Humagears in a conspiracy that turns them into monsters. Aruto Hiden has taken over at Hiden Intelligence, and along with the CEO’s post, he also takes over the responsibility for Kamen Rider Zero-One by using his company’s technology. Aruto tries to keep the peaceful world between humans and Humagears with his Humagear secretary, while A.I.M.S., a military squad, pursues the terrorists!
INCLUDES ALL 46 EPISODES FROM THE ORIGINAL ARCHIVAL MASTERS + THE MOVIE + SPECIAL EPISODES!
For thoughts on Kamen Rider Zero-One: The Complete Series + Movie, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Kamen Rider Zero-One: The Complete Series + Movie arrives on Blu-Ray with a pleasing AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The levels of detail this presentation is able to eek out is quite striking, as all of the subtle details in the production design and costumes are easily identifiable. One of the most endearing aspects of the series is seeing the textural details of the adversaries in a way where you feel like you can almost reach out and grab them. Both the series and movie are quite bright and colorful, just like the main characters, and there are some magical instances of beautiful colors popping off the screen. The yellow of the protagonist always presents as quite bold. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. The bright whites of the show do not fall victim to any blooming in this presentation. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast. There are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable here. The Blu-Ray presentation should be more than satisfactory to fans of the show.
Audio Quality
Shout! Factory brings us this new Blu-Ray set with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix in the original Japanese that accurately reproduces the series and film sonically. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming though clearly without being stepped on by the score or sound effects. If there are any complaints about this one, it is that the track feels the slightest bit insubstantial in terms of pure power. The release sounds fine, but it does not give you the depth of sound you might want from a fight-heavy show. The film actually sounds a bit more dynamic in comparison to the rest of the series as the stage is filled with powerful action pieces for much of the runtime. There does not appear to be any damage or distortion associated with the audio track. This is a track that functions as a steady workhorse rather than anything too showy. Forced English (SDH) subtitles are provided on these discs.
Special Features
- Movie: Kamen Rider Zero-One: REALxTIME (1:19:45)
- Special Episode: President Special Part 01 (23:54)
- Special Episode: President Special Part 02 (23:51)
- Special Episode: Shooting Special (23:51)
- Special Episode: Super Work War: Battle 1 (23:52)
- Special Episode: Super Work War: Battle 2 (23:51)
Final Thoughts
Kamen Rider Zero-One feels like a solid addition to a franchise that has been running for decades. This particular genre will not appeal to everyone, but those who are fans will appreciate some of the cultural commentary that is woven into the show to make it have a bit more substance. Those who are just looking for fun action scenes will get what they desire at least once an episode. It might feel a bit repetitive if you attempt to binge the series all at once, but overall it is a fun time for fans. Shout! Factory has released a new Blu-Ray set which brings the entire experience together with a great A/V presentation. If you are anxious to have older entries of the series given similar treatment, it would probably be a good idea to support this one.
Kamen Rider Zero-One: The Complete Series + Movie is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
