Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Episode 25- "A New Game Starts!" Discussion"
 

The new game, "Kamen Rider Chronicle" is released to the public. Citizens delight over the new powers of "Ride Players" and begin to challenge Ex-Aid to progress in the game. But Ex-Aid knows the horrible truth- Chronicle is infecting ALL players with Game Sickness....

The opening is going to return in this episode.

Finally, Fish can talk about it without the drinking game going!

Yeah, we're getting a new OP sequence this ep, apparently. Still EXCITE, though.

New op visuals are hype.

Parad straight up killed a bunch of dudes, and Kamen Rider Chronicle's true purpose is revealed to be to allow Bugsters to exterminate humanity.

Welp.

Well,

That was brutal.

Really feels like a another full arc started, clean beginning with barely any left over baggage or anything.

That OP was awesome!
Oh btw, Chronos and Para-DX Perfect Knockout appeared in the new OP.

LOL, Salty continue to be the most pathetic of the bugster. LEVEL 10!? Last time Motorz revived, he was already 20.

Really interesting episode...

Some of Ride Players killed by Palllad....

Pallad become my most favorite villain in this series.....

Probably the Ride Player who is already in CR room will be survived after saved by Emu...

And, the opening is back with new visual!!! I am really happy!!! :D

Hmm...since Lazer bike Form still in opening scenes, I am really want someone become new Lazer.....

Is it bad that I kind of want to play Kamen Rider Chronicle? Not the whole using your life as a token thing, just that the game parts of it looks simple and fun.

At the very least, I want a new Battride War where you get to create a Ride Player.

So Ex-Aid's half way done and we have begun the next major story arc for this show. I'm really excited for this Kamen Rider Chronicle thing and for Chronos. I'm so glad the opening is back.

Oh I definitely would be okay with that last part.

I mean, this season is half about video games. Not releasing a Battride War in time for this show would be a crime.

Jesus christ.
This show has been fucking spectacular. Kamen Rider Chronicle as an idea is great, it shows character development for the Bugsters, it foreshadowed a certain green Rider, it has orgasmic new sounds, it's fucking TATAKAE WA. Unless the writers go insane suddenly, this might be one of the best shows I've watched period
Also, the Bugsters' plot is fucking brilliant

-Uses Gemn Cooperation to sell the KR Chronicle Gashat
-Basically the players have to reach to the top through defeating the never-ending waves of Bugsters
-Wild cards like Parad will appear, killing the players in real life
--Emu and co. can choose to stop Parad, yet the Ride Players will treat them as a nuisance as well and take their gashats.
-Without the Gashats, the doctors cannot save their patients. Yet the only way to get them back is to let others die by a game over, which is obviously against a doctor's way.

The bugsters got it all figured out.
Not only are people buying their own impending doom but they vilify the riders while at it.

Man and I thought mirror riders from Ryuki had it bad, sucks to be a Rideplayer.

So, anyone wanna buy this game ?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...41692478_n.png

So did anyone notice that Nico turns into a Kamen Rider in the new opening.

Yeah, magazine scans also showed she'll keep her hat as a Ride Player

YES.

I would agree with Blade Raider, this needs to be a Battride 2017 customize your own Rider game.

If there is one word I can use to describe Ex-aid to someone, it would be brutal. Emu can't catch a break, and he's considered the best gamer. It has to be incredibly hard knowing that the game is not just actively getting smarter at beating you, it is trying to kill you. And doing it with real people. To be a doctor and know that you are responsible for that is brutal.

The level of drama, timing, and gravity at mid way through the series is how I felt near the end of Gaim. So well done! Even the new OP is great.

The Rider players aren't really nice to look at but they are based on goombas so I do get the color scheme . The new Genm CEO is a creep and Pallad is turning out to be a great villain.

I noticed that the game box has "Cero A" on it, which is the Asian equivalent of a "PEGI 7" or "E for Everyone" rating.
That means children would likely be picking up this game...and subsequently be under threat of death by Bugster.
HOLY MOLY.

By the way, I highly recommend checking out this blog that summarizes and analyzes Kamen Rider and a bit of Garo: https://capesandcoolscarves.wordpres...25-do-no-harm/

I saw that too, but outside of the 'death' thing it adds up! Cartoony violence, no bloodshed, goofy designs, etc.

Well, the Bugster's plan to exterminate mankind. Children aren't safe.

This blog page is looking good, thanks for the link.

Has anyone noticed that Hiiros father is missing ?

Last time I saw him he was in front of me in the like to get Kamen Rider Chronicle.

Well, ever since things got really heavy, he's been practically non-existant. I wonder why? But I think I see what you're getting at. Is he a Bugster or spy or something? Or is he already aong the countless dead? Honestly, I'm hoping none of these. Although I would find it funny if my old theory about him being a program is true. :lol

I thought the same until he got a bloody nose!

I think it's just a case of 'shoo out the clowns'.

The sudden importance of Poppy Pipopapo to the series is a fantastic turn of events. But I miss Asuna... :(

Yeah, the Tokusatsu Network podcasters are probably stoked as Poppy's complete uselessness was their chief criticism of Ex-Aid's early episodes.

I have one major thing to say: THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING. I think we're looking at major contention for my favorite Rider show at this point. I mean, the Bugsters have a really clever plan, characters are enjoyable, and it basically takes the best aspects of Gaim and Ryuki and throws in some of its own flair too. Anyways, points:

-I love the new intro, although I almost forgot what having an intro was like, haha.
-I am really looking forward to finding out more about whatever Parad's deal is and his relation to Emu after THAT.
-Poor, poor Emu.
-The whole idea behind Kamen Rider Chronicle is just so great. It really does seem like a game that people would want to play.

I am so excited to watch more!

So, uh, this was something. Overall I liked it though.

First off, yay the opening! Now to complain about them being inconsistent! No but seriously, outside of the fact that Kamen Rider has seemingly forgotten how to have the episodes transition into it, which I always felt was a unique, defining thing about Heisei Rider intros, I'm glad to have it back.

But I guess everyone on the planet outside of the protagonists turned into a moron at some point? I guess maybe the reason they needed Poppy was to make magic mind-control ads or something because it's otherwise inexcusable for people to not find this whole Kamen Rider Chronicle situation insanely sketchy, given the existence of Kamen Riders and Bugsters is explicitly public knowledge now. And yet these idiots don't recognize Ex-Aid? Or what the actual purpose of a Kamen Rider is? For real?

http://i.imgur.com/gws3UK6.jpg

Did they not read all the online articles that presumably went up after that press conference? Do they just think this guy who is obviously not a game character is just a game character? Do the KRC Gashats pump the user full of drugs that make them not question this s***? This wouldn't be the first time Ex-Aid has seemingly done something dumb only to turn out to have a good reason for it, so I'm sure I'm in the wrong here, but it'd be really nice if Ex-Aid would ever go into the details first, instead of leaving me scratching my head for weeks on end. And yes, I know new CEO guy definitely has mind-control powers, but all we've seen him be able to do is talk to a single person. Anyway, whatever. I'll stop worrying about it for now, and I'm willing to accept a sketchy premise for the sake of a good story, but man, if the series ends without even touching on the logistics of any of this, I'm going to be kind of grumpy.

THAT BEING SAID, I approve of this direction for the plot. It's interesting. It's different. Parad's way cooler than Genm could ever be (yeah I said it!), and our trio of Riders is as fun as ever. Emu still can't seem to get off the pain train though. Poor son of a gun.

Whooooo! The opening is back and better than ever! This episode though... wow... The start of the episode plus the new opening really cement that this is the turning point of Ex-Aid. Also, all those Ride Players dying is like Kiriya PTSD for Emu times ten :p Anyway... I love how the episode really gives off a hunted feel, it was really uncomfortable to watch Riders who effortously beat Bugsters before suddenly have problems with the patients attacking them. If I were in the Riders' positions, I would quit because having the stress if people trying to steal my stuff would be overwhelming. In fact, uncomfortable is a great adjective for this episode because it's a turning point, our heroes are thrown in a whole new scenario.

One thing I kept asking myself when watching though... Why would anyone play Kamen Rider Chronicle? You risk your life and if you're not physically capable, you're at a disadvantage, which is why people play video games over sports :D (at least for me). Also, if parents think Pokemon is too violent for their kids, how did this get into the market?

You overestimate the integrity of the masses, sir. People will try something simply for the sake of it. Especially those who saw those press conferences and went "dude, people turning into superheroes? I'd love to try that." Plus, I'm sure some players wouldn't attack the Kamen Riders knowing that they're doctors intended to save patients, but keep in mind at this point Chronicle has been out for less than a day. These guys we see playing now are the early adopters; the hardcore GENM fans who only care about getting as far ahead of the competition as possible on day one. Plus, it looks like the ministry is gonna have a field day with this mess, judging by the previews for next week.

As an aside, I'm sorry man. It's incredibly hard not to see sort of a "hipster" bias from your posts. From my perspective it looks like this series is popular, and therefore you must find more things to nitpick about it. The same way how when most people didn't like Ghost and you jumped to praise it, dumb inconsistencies, plot holes, and all (keep in mind this is coming from someone who found Ghost enjoyable.) Don't take this as an attack or anything, please. I've just found that personally this perception has made it tough for me to get through your posts in these threads. I just wish you'd read between the lines of this show and give it more benefit of the doubt, the same kind I felt you gave Ghost in your weekly reviews.

Give me. Para-DX lv99. NOW.
I will buy all the Kamen Rider Chronicle gashats if I have to.

In the defense on how people could forget about Kamen Riders being mention in the news. I can understand some of them not knowing only because not everyone watches the news.

I just assumed that crazy tokusatsu stuff happened to Japan so often that people barely react anymore honestly. "Oh, looks like the Riders are fighting kaijin near my office building, I better get an early start on my commute in case there are delays" kinda reactions.

Once again, I'm too late to add anything new to the discussion, so I'll just talk about the little things in this episode.
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I honestly thought that song Poppy sang in that last episode sounded too upbeat for a game like KR Chronicle. But apparently the Bugsters are using it and Poppy as a way of getting civilians to play the game, so I suppose in that sense it does work.
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Turns out Enchilada645 almost perfectly predicted the last fight scene in the previous episode discussion thread.

"I already have an idea for how the scenario is going to play out based on preview images. Emu's already probably seen one Game Over at this point. So he's reluctant to fight them and loses all of his stuff including his belt so the Ride Players begin taking his stuff.

In comes Para-DX because he has a hard on for Emu and probably won't let anyone else beat him. He utterly wrecks the Ride Players and they game over while they drop his stuff, giving us that scene from the preview.

I'll laugh if I just predicted the episodes climax just like that."
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I loved the Charlie Brown moment where all the RidePlayers take Emu's stuff:

Player 1: "Gashacon KeySlasher!!"

Player 2: "Gashacon Breaker!"

Player 3: "Gashacon Sparrow!"

Player 4: "Why I didn't get anything?!"
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Lastly, due to the other replies talking about why people would buy up KR Chronicle, I really don't want to make it seem like I'm attacking Fish. But I do think there are some additional reasons as to why people would play the game.

1. The only people who knew about the malicious intent of the game were Dan, Parad, and the Riders. And with Dan dead, Parad and the riders have no reason to tell the Minestry of Health or anybody about how dangerous KR Chroncle is when the was no foreseeable way for it to ever come into existence until now.

2. Genm Corp is run by a completely new CEO who has done nothing wrong in the eyes of the public so far, so logically people have no reason to assume that he is also planning on destroying humanity.

3. Poppy only seems to tell people about the "If you die in the game, you die for real!" situation as they're dying.(which is rather dark now that I think about it.)

4. Technically, the life threatening risk of using KR Chronicle is only a risk if you lose. According to scans, Nico could use KR Chronicle and be completely fine due to how she's on par with M in terms of gaming abilities.

To be fair, she also didn't tell Emu and Hiiro until episode 3 when they were pretty close to kicking it. She's not good at providing useful information in a timely matter, even when not evil.

Fuck U Fishipster!

I kid! I think it's a fair-ass question and, because we like Ex-Aid, we're gonna do contortions to give a plausible answer.

It seems to me that Poppy has some sort of hypnotic power via that track, probably designed by Ren which is duping people into playing.

Also, don't forget that many, many, many people are wholly delusional in regards to their abilities; simply witness any talent show tryouts ala American Idol, X-Factor whatever. These people live in a world far removed from any sort of self-reflection, to fantastical levels of false confidence.

So, sure, it could easily happen even with the threat of death for some nutjobs.

Also, Poppy never really shows up until a question is asked by a player. So....yeah.