Kamen Rider Gotchard Episode 9- "Dash to Kyoto! School Trip!" Discussion
 

Houtaro develops feelings for a classmate on a trip while the Sisters lurk in the city...

Is the UFO seen by a priest at a shrine in Kyoto the level 10 RCC of the Occult category, UFO X? From the news mentioned by Kajiki @ 02:18, I think that's very likely the case.

Lachesis uses a new RCC that looks like Bulletbaang, called Bambamboo. So, there are two gunslinger-type RCC's. Unlike humans, when the Sisters turn themselves into Malgams, they can fuse with more than one Chemy to create a stronger Malgam. Humans' bodies can only withstand the raw power of one Chemy, while they can stand two or even more without the use of additional tools like Valvarusher or Gotchardriver that function as filters.

Along with the scene @ 06:16 when Atropos is doing an alchemist experiment, this makes me more convinced that they are actually rogue alchemists that were formerly humans that augment their physique with alchemy to transcend beyond humanity, albeit turning themselves into abominations of nature. This explains why Spanner called Lachesis a monster in the beginning of episode 6.

Atropos is creating something out of the fusion of several unknown substances and a piece of Dragonfly Malgam. It's very likely an early season power-up for Gotchard, similar to the Assault Grip. Is it to be used with level 10 RCC's, in coincidence with their appearance like mentioned by Atropos @ 06:29? I'm curious as to what forms the level 10 RCC's grant. Or is she creating a new Driver? Spanner also obtains another piece of Dragonfly Malgam. What's he gonna do with it? Is he going to create a new enhancement for the Valvarad suit?

Lachesis calls Spanner a hound. Perhaps she knows that Spanner is just a tool manipulated by the AA's top brasses. It'd be an irony to Spanner.

Clotho is finally upping her game by scouting an actual bloodlust convicted criminal, a much better candidate for Malgam creation than mere people with petty grudges.

Kajiki has another encounter with Chemies, this time it's Hopper1. Is he gonna be Neuralyzed again this time? Hijiri/the girl is actually a fellow Chojo Wakusei contributor. Hijiri says @ 16:48 that there's another world next to this one. Is she alluding to the Ouroboros aka The One where all things are born? I think the mysterious man is Hijiri's older brother.

Rinne is less gloomy and more upbeat in this episode.

Minato's civilian attire is hilariously unkempt in this episode. The Clotho vs Minato fight scene is actually shot at Toei Studio. Is turning ninja mannequins into actual ninjas Minato's best skill? He should use more alchemical tricks before resorting to bare fists. He should be better than this. He's gonna have a heck of a Neuralyzation job due to so many people seeing the Jungle Malgam vs Gotchard Batkingrobo form fight.

This episode only shows one new form in Wild Mode (Batkingrobo) and none in actual suit. The next episode will be the debut of Goldmechanicer form in suit. It looks nice. There are 38 more base forms to show. The road ahead is still very long.

A cliffhanger followed by a pre-emption.... Damn! Not as appropriate as Geats doing it after a DGP season finale.

Clotho mentioned about a Level 10 Chemy in Kyoto, not long after the UFO rumors started. Surely it has to be UFO X. If Clotho could use it to become a Malgam, she'd probably be very strong!

Happyclover Malgam using Bambamboo as an arm basically makes her the Plant Chemy equivalent to Valvarad's Vehicle Chemy. There are at least 3 gunslinger-type Chemies, as Rinne once used Pilets in the Chemy Riser to gain a flintlock pistol.

Looks like it has a card slot on the left side and maybe the big circle is an LED display. The whole unit is pretty big, like it could function as a Driver on its own. There's a rumor that Rinne's getting some kind of Henshin attachment, which sounds like it might be a Mega Ulorder type of device. Who knows? I agree that it probably has something to do with those Level 10 Chemies.

Hijiri has the face of Geats' heroine and the surname of King-Ohger's heroine's given name (in romaji anyway). It was good to finally have a focus episode for Kajiki and see more of his best friend dynamic with Houtarou. They share a lot of excitement and it was humorous how they cling to each other for safety in the haunted house while Rinne just laughs at them.

Fun cosplay parallels with Houtarou and Rinne. While Rinne is a Shinsengumi who obeys the rules of Tokugawa Bakufu, Houtarou's kimono and Western boots combo is their rival Sakamoto Ryouma's signature look, which is a good fit for Houtarou's belief that Renaissance is a guy who chases dreams.

BatKingrobo is huge! Awesome how he can use the GotcharDriver on his chest like Iron Man! However, the cost of this OP form is that it depletes his energy fast. Next episode, in addition to GoldMechanicer, HiikesRose will also appear in suit, which reminds me of Fourze Fire States.

Turning into 2 other big 3 tokus.

I'm someone who prefers grounded Hotaro and aren't into his constant shouting... and it seems that both his and Kajiki's enthusiasm is now addressed in-universe by an annoyed Rinne, the customer at Tamami's restaurant, and possibly even Tamami herself before opening.

Rinne's excited through the haunted house, though I wonder if it's due to actual interest of her or enjoying the boys' misery through it. Outside of that she still has coldness to Hotaro to find the idea of joining his group ridiculous. There's some dynamics too in Hotaro following the school rules, yet Rinne knows that Hotaro always breaks (alchemy) rules, while Rinne herself doesn't follow her words to also visit Shinsengumi. Other than haunted house, Rinne also takes selfies . Not quite like Misora's process of a shut-in girl enjoying herself after Banjou takes her out though.

With Hijiri's surname being Himeno (alphabet-wise)... is she a deliberate reference to both the heroines of the other airing tokus, KR's Neon and Sentai's Himeno? Though I wonder what's the point of these references are done. Her plot seems to be an ideal romance trope, including the easy hookup of her and Kajiki due to shared interests as well as her hugging a male at the end... though it's possibly her brother who's an escaped convict.

A kaiju battle is more commonly featured in Sentai/Ranger and Ultraman, and here, BatKing is robotic like Megazords, and it has Ultraman's rise. It also has Ultraman's time limit and color timer to revert Hotaro back to human after certain time passed, before being saved by Renge (a female literal rider) and Sabi so he can still henshin. Guess Rinne is also more knowledgeable for the Chemies to act as Hotaro's assist. Clotho's showcase so far is her brutally physically fighting as the brute of the sisters.

Some will have Tsumuri come to their mind instead for this phrase.

Giant Robot and Tree Monster fight in Kyoto. Enough said.

Got to give it to Houtaro, sometimes you shouldn't just expect to need to be a hero, but then again this is a Tokusatsu show designed to sell toys on a week-to-week basis, so he should probably come to expect this by now.

Anyway, from the sounds of it, the sisters are trying to make Spanner their new lackey or something and are also making a brand-new toy! Though I wonder, what's the point in making a Kamen Rider belt for themselves when they already have the power to transmute multiple Chemies unto themselves? Is the belt a substitute key for their Door to Darkness? Or are they just jealous because Gotchard and Spanner sell more toys than Malgams? Anyway, curious what they think they can accomplish with that.

In other events, I'm guessing that other criminal is Hijiri's brother, mainly because she mentioned him, I kind of doubt it's another boyfriend, but then again, I could be wrong.

Next Episode: Big trouble in little Kyoto!

I concur.

I think episode 10 will be the (very appropriate) on-screen debut of a Level 10 Chemy, most probably UFO X. It will very likely fall into The Sisters' hands and will be used to overwhelm Gotchard for several episodes until episode 12. This is because based on the information from Bandai's website here, the DX X Gotchalibur will be released on November 25, a day before episode 12 broadcast. Although I think, like you said, the X Gotchalibur is not necessarily the same item that Atropos is creating in this episode. It might come from somewhere else.

I can't wait to see Gotchard's Level 10 form(s). I hope they look better than the majority of ordinary forms. I also hope the writers can provide a good, logical reasoning why Level 10 RCC's have identical rear sides.

Ah yes. I totally forgot about Pilets. Too many Chemies, too little screen time. Haha. Bambamboo is closer to a mini cannon than a gun/rifle to me. My girlfriend said that it looked like a bamboo cannon.

I think in each category there are several Chemies that function as gauntlet/power-type weapon, gun/rifle/cannon/projectile launcher/long-range weapon, sword/knife/melee weapon, poison/neurotoxin-type weapon (including the antidote), flight capability, distraction/illusion/audiovisual trickery, giant-sized forms, etc, though they don't necessary pair.

I concur. It does look like a watch, though it would look very clunky if worn on wrist. If it is indeed equipped with (many) LED's in the center display, then it's potentially a P-Bandai release. This could be this season's Demons Driver/Vision Driver. But I doubt it.

I think its vague appearance in this episode might be just a red-herring. It doesn't necessarily have something to do with Level 10 RCC's. There's a rumor several weeks ago that Rinne will get a Driver and she will henshin into a fox-themed Rider. There's a fox Chemy named Ninetail (Occult category, no. 9), which is appropriate for her because her surname is written with the kanji for nine. And it's paired with, surprise surprise, Happyclover (Plant category, no. 1), which I called a Precure mascot in the episode 8 thread. Though I think that her Driver doesn't necessarily use 2 cards like Gotchardriver do. It could only require 1 RCC to henshin.

Or, it could be a Driver for Spanner... Or one of The Sisters... Or Glion.

If Renaissance is the protagonist who chases dreams, then Dark Age is the villain who destroys dreams.

Looks like huge forms like Batkingrobo or Spiclewhale have energy innefficiency problem. I wonder if Level 10 form(s) and other upcoming advanced forms will drain Houtarou's energy even faster than these do, or even pose a danger to him. I prefer if the writers keep this internal logic. I like it when an upgrade or final form not only give the ultimate power but also the ultimate danger. And by danger I mean actual life-threatening danger, not memory loss like in Revice or exhaustion like in Geats.

And can Houtarou or other AA alchemists use an RCC's power directly with only The Ring, without additional tools like Chemy Riser, Valvarusher, or Gotchardriver, similar to eating Helheim fruits? Is the use of raw power of RCC's forbidden by the AA due to the potentially fatal side effects to the user? Or will it simply transform them into Malgams? I hope the writers can answer these simple yet logical questions. Oh, and Houtarou still has not combined 2 mismatched RCC's for curiosity's sake, yet. Haha.

Another boyfriend? Is Kajiki the official one? :D

Very cool episode. They finally remembered that the show is about schoolchildren, they climbed onto the territory of Sentai and even those who are not supposed to ride a motorcycle. I also want to note a funny reversal of the clich?, when the goodie unleashes a crowd of troopers on the villainess. And in general, I liked the atmosphere of a school trip, albeit typical for such stories, with these kimonos and visiting the sights.
I actually really like Gotchard's approach to telling heartfelt human stories with some very dark elements. I'm looking forward to what happens next.

It seems to me that the issue here is not about raising the stakes, but about the different approaches of the sisters. Lachesis prefers offended people with a clear goal, while Clotho likes thugs who are dangerous to everyone around him. Atropos's tastes are unknown at this point, but given that her conversation with Rinne in the last episode happened after telling her sisters, "It's time for me to step up to the game," I'd hazard a guess that she's slowly luring her victim to the dark side.

This. I concur.

I mentioned here that Atropos might be manipulating Rinne and planting seeds of doubt into her mind by tempting her and gradually revealing the perks of the dark side, with the final goal of recruiting her to their side.

Same reason why they want the GotcharDriver, I guess. Their Malgam powers must be lacking something important that the Alchemy Academy possesses. As the GotcharDriver is an invention of alchemy, it makes sense that the Dark Sisters would have the means to create their own version if they can figure out the missing component. Fuga chose Houtarou for his ability to bond with the Chemies emotionally, so maybe the Sisters need someone who can do the same, since Happyclover doesn't look like a willing ally for them.

Yeah, after seeing the X Gotchalibur, the Dark Sisters' creation is clearly something else. That Rinne Rider rumor also said it would be Premium Bandai, which isn't so strange when you remember how most of Tycoon's merchandise was either Premium or a campaign item. Seems like only the Primary Rider is guaranteed DX releases these days. So, assuming the rumor to be true and considering Atropos' personal interest in Rinne, I think this likely to be the corresponding device.

Considering how Gotchard is a mix of 3 lifeforms at minimum and Level 10 forms seem to use SteamHopper as a base under the X Gotchalibur, it could be dramatic if Houtarou's first Gotcha-N-Go with a Level 10 Chemy results in a resistance between them. The form would deplete faster and Houtarou being a mere mortal would take all the damage, until they learn to synchronize or something like that. But yeah, I'll gladly take potentially life-threatening stakes over that lame "oh no Ikki's memories" nonsense again.

Perhaps the greatest power of alchemy requires a genuine connection between a human and a Chemy, and the Gotchardriver allows that, if used by the right person like Houtarou. Cooperation with a Chemy will grant greater power to the user. I think The Sisters are alchemically-enhanced humans that have lost (or almost lost) this ability. That's probably the price they must pay for being abominations of nature. They need to resort to coercion to bond with a Chemy. Coercion and malice, like practiced by the Sisters, perhaps provide greater raw power, albeit temporarily, because a Chemy can reject and break the bond formed by this method, for example when Skebows tried to break free from the bond with its human host in episode 2, or when Happyclover was frightened when coerced by Lachesis in this episode. Happyclover should be called Sadclover as it was making a sad face when it bonded with her.

There are still several unanswered questions regarding the Gotchardriver. For example, who were the people Fuga stole the Gotchardriver from? Were they the AA's top brasses or The Sisters' boss? Another question is what's the connection between the Gotchardriver and the Ouroboros? Was it created by the ruler(s) of Ouroboros? What is the Ouroboros, exactly? Or how is the Gotchardriver able to not only open the door to eternal darkness, but also hope? It looks like the Gotchardriver is a versatile tool that can be used both ways.

It could be something else, or it could be the X Gotchalibur. It could be a red herring, or a red herring of a red herring, haha.

The Sisters could be making another Driver to copy/mimic the Gotchardriver's ability. Thus, it requires a human user (not the Sisters) and a genuine intention from the user. If Atropos is actually manipulating Rinne, then Rinne should have a genuine intention or dream that she's hoping to come true. And there has to be at least one Chemy that agrees with her. So far, her longing for her very misunderstood dad could be the most genuine intention shown by a character in this story, besides Houtarou's dream of a coexistence between humans and Chemies. So, I think she's a very viable candidate to be the Sisters' puppet.

Another candidate is Spanner, but so far, his characterization and the motive of his intention are still not explored. From several dialogues in this episode, it looks like Lachesis is trying to manipulate him. From the very minimum amount of information the writers have given about him, he could be this season's third Rider, while Rinne could be the second Rider.

And yeah, it looks like only Gotchard's and Valvarad's gears are released as retail DX. This Driver, if it indeed exists, will be very likely released via P-Bandai. Could it be this season's Demons Driver/Vision Driver?

It looks like level 10 RCC's can be used with any normal pairs. Level 10 RCC's probably function as accessories, armor or weapon attachment. Or will it modify or even fuse with the base forms? If so, then the base forms could be added with new armor shapes/colors/patterns. It'd be better if level 10 RCC's grant completely new forms. And given that the letter X is a combination of the symbols > and <, it could mean that level 10 forms are twice or even four times as strong as base forms.

I think I've kinda figured out how the X Gotchalibur works. It's attached to Gotchardriver's top slot, and the proper use of level 10 RCC's is by inserting it into the X Gotchalibur slot, not Gotchardriver's slot. That's probably why it has identical rear sides. The X Gotchalibur can be attached to the Gotchardriver and used with or without inserting a level 10 RCC into it, so it's functionally similar to Gaim's Genesis Core. The story will probably have Houtarou wrongly insert the level 10 RCC into Gotchardriver's slot, before eventually realizing that he should insert it into the X Gotchalibur's slot instead.

What I haven't figured out is how the X Gotchalibur announces the sound for level 10 form(s). For example, if I insert Exceedfighter (level 10 RCC of the Vehicle category) and Blank RCC into Gotchardriver's slot, it will announce "Top Vehicle! Exceedfighter!". Will the X Gotchalibur announce a different phrase if I insert Exceedfighter into its slot? The top slot on Gotchardriver only has a small lever that will press anything above it, and that's the only way it will activate the X Gotchalibur. If so, then if used in conjunction with Steamliner and Hopper 1, the Gotchardriver will probably first announce "Steeeaaammm... Hoppeeerrr!!!" and then immediately followed by the X Gotchalibur that will announce a new additional phrase. The complete announcement would be "Steeeaaammm... Hoppeeerrr!!! X!!!" or something in that vein. Or perhaps the Gotchardriver can communicate with the X Gotchalibur via other ways (RFID, NFC, etc)?

Here are the annotated images of my simple analysis of how the X Gotchalibur works.

https://www.tokunation.com/forums/at...1&d=1699722768

https://www.tokunation.com/forums/at...1&d=1699722768

And here I am writing this comment as the instrumental version of Back-On's CHEMY?STORY playing on repeat in the background.