Kamen Rider Build Episode 3- "The Borderline of Heroism" Discussion
 

Ryuuga & Sento are now on the trail of the mysterious man known as "Nabeshima" who submitted Ryuuga for SMASH experimentation. What secrets could he hold???

This episode showed the you can get around the wall easily. It's just that the 3 governments are making it hard for the general population to do so.

New Link Kamen Rider Build 3 RAW : rawkamenriderbuild(.)blogspot(.)com

Hmm for some reason i can't buy and take seriously that sento don't know the best matches because the initial sticker in the top of the bottle because of that, it just make him bit a "unintellegent" for some reason maybe its better that he give the initial sticker to the bottle for sake of the story.
other than that the episode is okay the story is bit slow IMO so i have nothing to say TBH

Why brother?

Well that was great once again! I'm really loving the distinctive setting this time around, and am excited that we will get to see another part of Japan next episode. The pace has slowed down a bit, which is nice, but there was still plenty of interesting stuff going on. Stark looks a lot more like Night Rogue than I initially thought from scans, but there is a certain Chase vibe to him, so maybe he is our tertiary Rider. Ryuuga and Sento are still making the show for me, and rest of the supporting cast is fun too.

As for the "why doesn't Sento just look at the stickers on the Full Bottles to figure out the Best Matches?" question, it honestly seems like the kind of thing they would make fun of in a Hyper Battle Video or something, haha.

Damn this show is nuts, I kinda love it. Like, the idol part was so damn weird and stupid but they just deal with it. Aso Ryuga is adorable, the actor is really going all out.

What bothers me though was how they explained Best Matches... like I was thrilled once they started addressing it but then... something cool happens when you have all? Like, really? The Eyecon- and Gashat-shit all over again? That's it? Come on. So there really is no reason to use them in a fight beyond the finisher... that's so dumb.

And they had another great chance to poke fun at the toys, I was expecting Ryuga to tell Sentou that he found the Best Match since the letters on the bottles match. Which then would send Sentou in a frenzy about how that could mean anything since he didn't want to admit that it was this easy. Oh well.

Also, I don't get why they have a panel in the wall for testing when the Driver should be there all the time. I guess if one is broken for some reason, but, on the wall? Why?

Anyways, I enjoyed this one, the cast is great, the action was nice, and there are some cool things to come. So it's Blood Stark and not Shark? And he has a Cobra motive... huh. We only need a Spider-one now, and then please let all three meet Mashin Chaser in a future crossover movie. Pretty please.

Because I'm sure there's more to that then the Cafe owner is letting on. You have to admit he's a suspicious guy. The panel looks like the same sort of Martian(?) technology Pandora's Box itself is made out of, so it's definitely more than just a way to test bottles. Who knows what's hidden behind that wall?

This episode felt a like nice breather after last episode.

I was kind of annoyed with Sento and the Narrator's giving recaps at the beginning, but the actual opening scene of Sento being frustrated and explaining the situation to Banjo for a third time made the whole thing turn around and became extremely hilarious to me.

So from what is the second most "everyone-is-evil-except-for-the-one-guy" meeting I've seen, the leader of Touto is still standing by his stance of total Pacifism, but everyone else including his son seems to be gearing for war.

And if I'm understanding the subs correctly, the Full Bottles do something when you get the best match for all of them. So not only are they not Sento's invention, they're also this seasons special McGuffins... Well that's disappointing on multiple fronts.

Also we get a shot of what is possibly all of Sento's Full Bottles on his workbench, assuming my color vision deficiency doesn't screw this up. From left to right we see:

Orange-Gorilla
Yellow-Lion
Blue-Tank
White-Hedgehog
Teal-Vacuum
Red-Rabbit
Grey-Gatling
Light Blue-Diamond
???-Can't tell, but probably Hawk

So whoever was disappointed with Sento pulling random Full Bottles out of his butt last episode, it seems like your problems are now solved because it doesn't seem like he has anymore left to do that.

Speaking of Full Bottles, I just had a thought. What if the reason Sento doesn't notice the cap labels with letters on them is just because Sento doesn't know the English alphabet? Granted, it would still be dumb of him not to notice when two bottles have the same label, but it could work as an explanation.

Lastly, Blood Stark seems to be operating on his own, considering we should've meet him earlier if he was under Night Rogue's command, and what's more Night Rogue now seems to have the Rocket Full Bottle.
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Actually, they briefly say that the Build Driver couldn't decipher Best Matches originally, but Sento later installed the feature into the Build Driver so they didn't have to rely solely on the wall panel.

Before I continue, I'm curious: are any of you the author of this blog? Because I'm loving these reviews.

https://capesandcoolscarves.wordpress.com/

I broke down and watched the Overtime version this week out of sheer impatience. This is silly because TV Nihon's turnaround on these episodes has been about as short as I've ever seen from them. I'm finding that I still prefer a lost of TVN's stylistic tendencies, but Overtime's mild script doctoring is sometimes great. If only I could combine the two into a BEST MATCH.

*ahem*

We're on episode three, and so far, the series still feels not just promising to me, but like it realistically might deliver on that promise. We got worldbuilding, character building, action, a Kamen Rider riding something, and still managed to hawk - pun only intended after the fact - some toys. I still like the tone, and the humor is still working for me, since it comes from character rather than faux-zany antics.

I'm curious about BloodStark, and I'm wondering if the point is that they're each in charge of Faust in that region of the divided Japan. If so, there's an implication of a third master villain for the final region. Is the security guard (Nobusomething?) dead - devoured by BloodStark's snake (form?) - or kidnapped?

I'm blaming the ridiculousness of the labels on the FullBottles on some combination of Bandai and Toei. Toei could have just removed the stickers for the purpose of the show, and then, they could hawk a premium-DX version of the bottles without the giveaway labels. Heck, this episode could have introduced that labels are only applied after a bottle's Best Match is discovered. Sloppy.

I'm excited that the core cast is feeling distinct, and they're beginning to be fleshed-out. Ryuuga may be my favorite character, but Sento isn't far behind, and the rest of the Cafe crew has me curious. NightRogue (I feel odd about using a space) feels dastardly in a way that the villains of a few prior series (I'm looking at you, Fourze, Wizard, and Drive) haven't. He's directly menacing rather than being a vague, looming threat.

Something understated that I've noticed about these episodes is that Sento and Ryuuga are both a little bit superhuman even when they're not transformed. Ryuuga has broken free of chains for two episodes straight, and there are a couple of other indications that they're abnormally strong. That Ryuuga gets additional power just from holding the Dragon FullBottle is pretty cool. I'm very much looking forward to Kamen Rider Claws.

A couple of years ago, we were at what felt to me like a low point in Super Hero Time. I wasn't enjoying Ghost or Ninninger. Now, we're back to where I felt when Kyoryuger/Gaim was airing: really excited for both shows.

If this series keeps up what I'm enjoying, I may need to revise my rating scale. I've been rating them as excellent so far, but I suspect I may be able to raise my standards for this show.

My interpretation of the discussion around the Pandora Panel is that something is supposed to happen when they get all the Best Matches and mount them on it. That is to say, the point of the Panel isn't to identify Best Matches, but rather, the point of identifying Best Matches is to be able to fill out the Panel...but I suppose that's not really explicitly stated. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I mean that really seems like a given. We know they existed way before Build, because Night Rogue exists. Though we can't really discount at this point that they're not his creations from before he lost his memories. We just don't know.

Assuming you're referring to the shot we see at just before the 10 minute mark, that's, from left to right, Taka, Light, Kaizoku, Harinezumi, Diamond, Gorilla, Gatling, Soujiki and Lion. Rabbit and Tank are in the Driver.

No...he certainly knows English. There's English written on the blackboard and stuff in the hideout.

https://i.imgur.com/VRWdCCz.jpg

I think I'm just going to keep making the screencap every week Build riding his bike until an episode comes along where he doesn't. It makes me absurdly happy to see a Rider consistently doing that. Watch him not ride it next week just because I'm taking it for granted now...:

- You know what else makes me absurdly happy that isn't even a big deal? Cold openings and seamless transitions to the theme song being back. I know that might sound even sillier than the bike thing but I honestly considered that a HUGE part of Heisei Kamen Rider's identity right up until they ditched them for three years.

- I finally pegged why I like Sento so much. It's not just that he isn't as aggressively nice as the past few protagonists, it's that he's the first Rider protagonist since Hibiki (or maybe Haruto? There's room for debate) to not function as the audience surrogate. That role pretty clearly goes to Ryuuga this year, and that allows Sento more freedom to have layers and secrets you can't have otherwise. It's a dynamic I enjoy because it makes the larger than life hero feel that much more larger than life. See Ultraman Orb for reference.

- And since I like him so much, rest assured that "world's stupidest genius" is an affectionate nickname, and not an insult. Seriously though dude, how hard is it to match 2 stickers? Even if you don't know the alphabet, and are colorblind, you can instantly rule out any two Bottles with different labels. Or maybe he can't rule them out? Like maybe as a man of science(!), he prefers to be thorough in his research? I'll just pretend that's the case for now but even that excuse still begs the question of why it's such a surprise when you do find a Best Match.

- Getting on to the episode itself, I have to say this one was WAY better than last week. Mostly due to less crazy pacing, even if all the political intrigue and secret organizations makes it clear this series is going to have a dense plot. It's admittedly a bit worrying that Sento felt Ryuuga (who, remember, IS the audience) needed a flowchart to spell out all the pieces when we're only 3 episodes in. Although he's not wrong, because I can't even remember half the names yet. For instance, I'm dead positive Night Rogue is "that obviously evil guy" because it's clearly the same voice. I thought Ex-Aid had a lot going on...

- That being said, this episode didn't suffer from any of that, and we got a fun standalone-ish plot that built nicely on Sento's hero credentials.

- Hey, and I also learned Night Rogue and by extension Cobra guy (I'll get the names down eventually I swear) have actual eyes under their visors. I don't know if that looks cool or weird. Perhaps it's a Best Match of the two.

So we going to see a spider bad guy next aren't we.... Man they sure like bring back the classic villain styles don't they.

Definitely improved pacing from last week. All around I'm really digging this show. I like the main characters a lot and the show is really doing a good job of having them interact with each other and develop some chemistry. I'm also really digging the show's more serious tone with things like the creepy enforcer robots and the divisions between the three regions. Really liking Build a lot at this point.

You're right, I got that myself after rewatching the scene.

Also...

Yup. I mean I already think Misora is a Martian because of her powers, maybe her dad is one too.

Like I fully expect this show to make a turn later and tell us that what was left of the Martian people after their world was destroyed migrated to Earth.

Faust is taking advantage of Martian technology for their own needs but the Martians work against them, so they saved Sentou and helped him become Build.

Kamen Rider Kabuto's last few episodes come to mind when I think about what could happen in future episodes of Build.

That's not quite the case for me personally as I don't like Kyuranger but I'm just glad that Kamen Rider is on track again after the ghoulish ghostly tales from the garbage can.

But I agree, Build is a glorious return to form. Ex-Aid kinda did its own thing and thus didn't work for anyone but was still very good IMO.

That episode is bound to happen but yeah, it's nice to see a Kamen Rider who deserves the "Rider"-part of his name again.

I realized that last week after I saw the Sodo-toy with the obvious stickers and then checked episode 2 again.

I think it's neat, very Metal Heroes-inspired.

The idol part is a turn off. Luckily it was only in the cold opening. I don't want another Poppy dammit!

But after that, a pretty damn good episode. The sets are different from what we've seen in Toku, props to that. And I'm really glad Build is using his bikes a lot, even just for riding around. The last time we saw that was what, Double? Or Drive if you count Tridoron.

Also hot mom. Though I gotta admit when she first appeared again wearing leather I thought she was going to be a bad guy, or maybe an agent or something lol. And didn't expect them to get to Seito this quickly. I thought it would be like an arc thing.

I dunno, Poppy's one of the best female Riders the franchise has ever had solely due to her character

ALSO, the flipping shit during HawkGatling's debut was awesome

Can I just say that HawkGatling is awesome? For some reason, I found this form to be quite satisfying although I can't exactly place why. Maybe because of his gun fu style of fighting? I even liked the HawkGatlinger toy.

So the three governments are in contact with one another but they make it difficult to move from one place to another? I wonder why? Something sinister is afoot, I can feel it.

Ryuuga being Ryuuga is awesome.

Oh, something else I like. Sento's actually a good person despite his smug attitude and helps people because they need help

Well, I think it was one of the best jokes so far. And it made the following with the knife throw work even better in contrast. I didn't mind Poppy either.

This season is way too funny. A lot of stuff happened this episode:
-The pandora panel from the toy scans was revealed
-The murdered scientist is probably Night Rogue (Faust = the demonic scientist)
-The scientist guy has the rocket Full Bottle
-The scientist guy knows about Blood Stark
-Blood Stark was revealed way earlier than he should've been
-Full Bottles give you special powers just by holding them

Isn't the guy with the beard Night Rouge? That's my guess at least.

Did...he just go Death Blossom on all those enemies?
http://www.tokunation.com/attachment...1&d=1505745659

AWESOME.

There was so much to get into with this one, it actually felt more frenetic to me than episode 2. But that's not a bad thing. The writing is tight. They deciphered some of how the bottles come to be best matches. Obviously the wall plug in is going to lead to Build's second form. Ryuga is just beast, I love how he's developing. Even the cornball isn't too overblown.

My only gripe? No one can out idol Poppy. No one. SMASH!

Such a shame that Kouta's mom is going to die and he'll be forced to live with his sister where has to join a gang that dances for money.

I had the same thought.

Gotta say i'm digging this show. I especially like the main character as he's not a goody two shoes like some of the past ones (not that it's a bad thing, just refreshing) as he's the kind of guy to tell it as it is, like in the first episode before he saves Ryuuga from the military, he was like "oh god, i'm gonna regret this" like he knows it's the right thing, but will suck for him at the same time.
Liking the bromance between Sento and Ryuuga.

Looks like Ryuga will be hiding out for a while. He could return as Claws in later episodes.

I definitely thought this was better than last week's. It pretty much confirmed what I suspected which was that they really just wanted to get a lot of the basic setup stuff out of the way last week so they can move on with the story, and I'm totally fine with that. The fight scenes were good in this one too, the basic premise of Build's ability to swap his powers around is really cool and they utilized it well here. I especially liked the first fight, where he uses the vacuum/gorilla combo to pull the Smash into melee range so he can slam it with the gorilla arm. That combo made perfect sense in this instance against that specific opponent, and I thought that was great. It's hopefully an indicator that the show isn't going to just spam abilities with no thought behind them and will continue to show creative and sensible combinations, I would love to see the combat remain that well thought out.

I also like the way Sento's and Ryuga's dynamic is continuing to develop, their sort of rough but ultimately friendly interactions are great. I particularly liked towards the end when Sawa is helping Ryuga understand Sento's motives for his actions, as he starts to see that Sento's goal isn't just to solve his own problems, but because he genuinely is trying to help people as Build. That ties in great to Ryuga's current motivations for his own actions, and I'm sure further development in that area is going to end up playing a big role in his attitude and mentality once he becomes Claws.

So far Build continues to impress, and I'm really looking forward to where it goes from here, especially with the little bit of world building we got this episode, and of course Blood Stark's debut. I'm mostly excited for more Blood Stark because that is an awesome looking suit.

I still not feeling the girls in this series.
I can connect with Asuna/Asuna/Poppy in the first three episodes of Ex-Aid, but still unable to connect with Miitan and the reporter lady. They feel more like plot devices so far...
The three leaders are still in conference? But why the wall still there?

I'm fine with Poppy's character especially when she's Asuna, I just despise that 'kawaii' personality, which thankfully prevents me from being a full-blown weeb.

Anyone feel Misora will have a HUGE role as the series progresses?

That depends, is her actress a really popular idol with competing schedule conflicts?

My bad, sorry I wasn't clear with my...words, lol. I meant in the series itself. I really wanted to ask if Misora would have a much more major role within the show as the story progresses, perhaps even bigger than what Poppy meant for Ex-Aid?

It was a joke about how Koyomi's actress had significantly less screentime than planned due to said schedule

Damn, I forgot about that tidbit lmao! Welp, that seriously went over my head. I definitely missed that one. XD

On re-watching the opening this morning, I noticed something that bothered me: Sawa isn't in the opening credits. Given how she's been treated in the series and promotional materials so far, I'd have at least expected to see her in the cafe group shots, but she's nowhere to be found.

Not every regular is, of course - we don't see probably-NightRogue's assistant - but it feels like an odd omission, given the amount of screen time Sawa is getting.