It wasn't only Garulu Form I was thinking of when I wrote that, but yes, it's pretty great that I'm still eagerly finding any excuse I can to praise Kuuga's foundational nature, and you're also over here going That's Cool But It Reminds Me More Of Something From An Inoue Show. Like, man, what a completely unpredictable surprise that these are the connections we would each choose to make. :lol

My biggest and most positive takeaway of these early episodes, is that I love the way Kiva fights. Just short of being a wild monster, he goes in on the Fangire like a super-aggresive wrestler. It's kind of like that trope of a hero in a kung-fu movie or something going all-out against the villain when they have been pushed past some breaking point, except Kiva is like that at all times.

Al that extends to the form changes courtesy of the Arms Monsters. Garulu Form's sword is wicked cool with that curved blade, and how he sticks low to the ground like a wolf. And then finisher where he puts the saber in his 'teeth'? It's so anime but also so awesome in... you know, I'm not even gonna say in a 'cheesy' way, I just genuinely think it is amazing.

I'd never get tired of the usual kind of martial arts you get out of these toei toku shows, but these episodes of Kiva stand out so much in terms of cheography and aesthetic, that I can't help but wish the franchise would spice it up more often!

It's always best if you and I knock these things out early, so anyone new to the thread knows what to expect. We're not predictable, we're considerate.

There's definitely a feeling like Wataru loses himself in the Kiva identity... maybe on purpose? I can see Kiva being an outlet for someone who's as closed off as he is. It wouldn't surprise me if the aggression of Kiva (vs the timidity of Wataru) was a decision from the production team/Takaiwa.

I laughed incredibly hard (in excitement!) at Garulu Form's debut. The whole sequence is lunacy, which is aesthetically appropriate. Kiva shoves a plastic ampule into Kivat's mouth, and the next thing you know Zanki is racing across a dining hall to scratch at the floor, transforming into a werewolf sword. After that it's a feral Kiva that eventually locks his werewolf sword (that has a debilitating howl attack!) into his non-mouth, careening through the moonlight to detonate a Fangire. It's bonkers. Delicious, delicious bonkers. A series high-point for action sequences. (Best of four! Only the highest of praise!)

You may have noticed that Garulu is Zanki, but did you notice the kid he’s with (who won’t be named for a few episodes) is Daichi from Urataros’ debut in Den-O (I said he’d be back).

Anyway, I’ve not got a lot to say on the episode itself (I have no idea who we were supposed to route for), so I’ll just do the fact file, now that the spoiler taboo is off.

Moth Fangire

True name: The Well Named Corruption (背徳という名の井戸 Haitoku Toiu Na no Ido)

Human identity: Aya Natsukawa

Class: Insect

Rank: Pawn

Actors: Misato Tachibana, Erina Yamazaki (voice in Fangire form)

I think I should clarify that Garulu is NOT a Fangire. He’s a Wolfen, a totally different Demon Race (there are thirteen in total, including Fangires, Kivats and Wolfens. Some will appear in the show, some won’t).

I mean hey, it was you that said something along the lines of "Agito doesn't get talked about much? That's a crime, everyone should be talking about Agito in every situation!!" so you're getting that very justified wish, right?

really looking forward to when die gets told the lore behind kivas bike

Comes from the same magical source as Captain Ghost, the mythical "Sell our toys" land.

I'm pretty sure I had some things I wanted to say after this episode, but none of it really stuck with me. One of my biggest takeaways is that you can definitely see that Kiva wasn't fully operating out of the Den-O playbook. There's probably a lot to argue about how much Den-O immediately influenced Kiva vs. how much Kiva still operated by pre-Den-O standards. Den-O and the Phase 2 shows never would have killed the crossing guard and ramen cart guy. Honestly, that part just seemed really needlessly cruel, no matter how much I like the empty glass body effect.

Also failing to see some of the logic in Wataru and the Moth Fangire's views on Otoya. He's not a jerk because he played violin for some flowers? Not quite sure how that tracks since the measure of his douchiness is how he treats other people, not how he acts when he's alone (which, as his bath scene shows is, is still kinda creepy). Either way, the Fangire's plaid 80s outfit was fantastic (a disproportionate percentage of my posts in this thread are probably going to be me praising 80s fashion and hair).

*gasp* CLAWOLVES! It's all happening!

I really, really don't want the Kivehicle to be Wataru's mom. Just gonna say that now.

This show already has the dodgy-looking CGI monstrosity in Zanki's Dragon Cathedral (not my favorite Ghibli film), it doesn't need a second one.

Oh, no, don't worry; it's something that

A) Is just said in guidebooks and such
B) Is along the lines of What? rather than creepy or weird

I also enjoy the visual of the exsanguinated transparencies. It's definitely a little weird how randomly high the bodycount is in this relatively subdued (no pun intended) Kiva adventure. It's this story about Wataru needing to understand that his father wasn't perfect, but there's still those two guys Otoya wronged who get monster murdered, plus that one dude who was just camping? It's a little unnecessary, and it smacks of some production fears that the Otoya/Wataru story wasn't action-y enough for kids.

Agreed! Weird how half of the outfits in the 1986 scenes have come back around, fashion-wise. That plaid outfit could probably work at some high class event, honestly. Otoya really screwed up when he let her get away!