With Kamen Rider Zero One finished I'd like to share my favorite episodes from the show.

The entries will be listed by chronological order/broadcast order. There will be a summary of each episode followed by why I loved them. Major spoiler warning if you haven't watched Zero One. Also, this list is entirely personal so tell us your favorite episodes in the comments.

1. Episode 4 - The Bus Guide saw it! Anna's Truth

Summary:

Aruto and Is join a middle school field trip to observe the performance of the bus guide Humeager Anna. One of the students named Go Sakurai is bullied by his classmates claiming that his father was the one who caused the Daybreak Incident.

Review:
Anna is one of my favorite Humagears. She appears only in this episode but she was the key to unlocking the truth behind the Daybreak Incident. Go blamed himself for being the son of the alleged person behind the Daybreak Incident but upon discovering the truth finds freedom. We also see Kamen Rider Horobi for the first time.

2. Episode 6 - I Want to Hear Your Voice

Summary:

Aruto and Is observe Seine Kanazawa a Humagear voice actress. During her live presentation, Horobi and Jin arrive and cause trouble. As for Seine herself, there seems to be a secret behind her identity.

Review:

This is Kamen Rider Jin's debut episode. The moment Jin learns about parent-child relationships he starts questioning his identity seemingly taking the first step to Singularity. What appears to be a change of heart for Jin shows us that he may not be as evil as we think. Also, we discover why there are no Humagears resembling other people.

3. Episode 10 - I'm the Actor Shinya Owada

The Assassin Humagear/Dodo Magia wants to learn how to become better at his job. He sees the actor Shinya Owada and decides to become his apprentice in order to improve. However, something unthinkable happens...

Review:

Assassin became my favorite villain even more than Ark or Metsuboujinrai.net. In a shocking twist of events Zero One features something that you wouldn't expect from children's shows: explicit gun violence against humans.

4. Episode 13 - I Work as the President's Secretary

Is's "older brother" Was helps in investigating the case of stolen Humagears and weaponizing them for profit. We learn about the origins of the Assassin and see him evolve. In order to combat this Is prepares to sacrifice herself to perfect the Shining Hopper Progrise Key.

Review:

While this episode marks the debut of Zero One Shining Hopper we also see Assasin evolve into his "final form" making him the only Magia to do so. It's such a shame that this also marks his final appearance and makes him a red herring for the 4th member of Metsuboujinrai.net.

5. Episode 23 - In Love with Your Intelligence


Summary:

After her previous relationship had failed Chiharu Ebii seeks advice from a dating consultant type Humagear Enmusubi Match. However, Chiharu ends up immediately falling for the Humagear and asks his hand in marriage.

 Review:

It's interesting to see Chiharu for more than one arc making her almost a semi-recurring character. The best thing about this episode is the reunion of Go-Busters cast members Arisa Komiya and Ryoma Baba.

 6. Episode 28 - My Rap will Change the World!


Summary:

Gai Amatsu continues his campaign against Humagears and even enlists politicians to aid his cause. Aruto and Is, on the other hand, find an unlikely ally in DJ Chekira who uses his rap and charisma to rally people to protect Humagear rights.

Review:

This episode will show you how despicable Gai can get. There is also the very real idea of politicians being bought and used for nefarious purposes.

7. Episode 30 - I'm a President and Kamen Rider after all!

Summary:

Aruto completely loses to Gai and Hiden Intelligence is completely taken over by ZAIA.  Gai orders all Humagears to be shut down. He also decides to hunt down Aruto to erase him once and for all.

Review:

Aruto shows us why he's the main character. The final scene of the episode really felt like a conclusion to a huge chapter on the story while hyping up the next one.

8. Episode 31 - Take Off toward Your Dream


Summary:

Picking up the pieces after his defeat at the hands of Gai and ZAIA Aruto starts his new company. Aruto collects all the discarded Humagears to be re-launched to the public. His first client Choichiro Ishizumi the renowned manga artist who Aruto had helped before.

Review:

Aruto shows us that he can become a worthy company president learning from his experiences at Hiden Intelligence. We also see Aruto working together with a renewed Jin towards a common goal: defeating ZAIA.

9. Episode 35.5 - How was Metsuboujinrai Created?


Summary:

A Humagear named Azu introduces herself to the members of Metsuboujinrai.net as Ark's secretary. One by one she collects their memories using an ominous Progrise Key.

Review:

This is the only filler that will be included in the list. This is also technically the first episode to air after the show's brief hiatus during the pandemic. It builds up towards the introduction of Kamen Rider Ark and eventually Ark One. Noa Tsurushima's acting as a robot is impressive enough but seeing her portray a Humagear that actually has more human-like expressions will make you love her more.

10. Episode 42 - As long as there's Malice


Summary:

Aruto and Horobi defeat Ark together but it seems that the battle isn't about to end just yet. A confused Horobi struggles with his existence and Izu tries to convince him to change. Things don't turn out well...

Review:

Aruto typically faced adversity with a smile and sometimes laughter but how much tragedy should a man like him go through that it turns him around 180 degrees? This for me is the emotional peak of the show.

Honorable mentions:

Episode 1
Episode 3
Episode 9
Episode 29
episode 45

Image source: Kamen Rider Fandom
https://kamenrider.fandom.com/wiki/Kamen_Rider_Zero-One