Kamen Rider Gavv Episode 4- "More Marshmallows Please!" Discussion
 

Hanto begins researching the strange Granutes.

In the opening monologue, Hanto says that the rumor about the existence of Granutes has recently spread among the public. Does this mean that the Granutes have only recently kidnapped humans and turned them into Dark Snacks? From the sparse pieces of info that have been spreading in social media, it does look like the kidnappings have only happened recently in less than a year. Hanto also said in previous episodes that he had only recently acquired the crucial leads about the event that happened to him 18 years ago, so he confirmed that the kidnappings have only happened recently. Or have they done it since a long time ago, at least since the elusive, feral Wolf Granute kidnapped Hanto's mom 18 years ago?

Nyelv mentions @ 02:04 that there's a possibility of a fatal failure/glitch in a Granute's modification. This could mean that the Granute's Gavvs are some kind of modified organ or tool that grant them their human forms and the ability to transform humans into Hito Presses. He then says that he's arrived for a check up on the Granutes who have been remodeled, and he's considering to review the design. This could mean that he's designing a new Gavv for the Granutes, which later will be developed into a Granute-only transformation belt/device that can also use or even produce RG's similar to what Shouma's red Gavv does. Based on what he says @ 02:38, he might be secretly doing an experiment on the Granutes' Gavvs, perhaps to test the effectiveness and side effects of different types of modification. If he's indeed developing a Granute-only transformation belt/device, then he's Kenzou's antithesis.

Shouma says @ 01:20 that he's been eating grasses around the side characters of the week's (the Nakamura elderly couple) neighborhood. He also says @ 05:19 that grasses were what he and his mom used to eat. Does this means that Shouma and his mom did only eat grasses in the Granute world, not artificial foods like I've hypothesized since episode 2, or is it just a white lie? And, once again, Shouma is fainting due to starvation and need to be helped by the side characters of the week. Why don't the Gochizous help him find some food, at least leftover foods from nearby restaurants or stores? And why doesn't Shouma find a job that makes use of his inhuman strength? Since he can easily replace 10 workers and a lifting machine, he'll make some nice moola with his strength if he works at a shipping/logistics company or at construction sites, and he won't ever need to be starved to (near) death again. This dumb plot of Shouma being unable to find foods, fainting due to starvation, and then meeting the side characters of the week has been repeated 3 times since episode 2. Yes, you read that right. 3 times! If this is repeated once again in episode 4 then it's clear the writers are lazy.

Hanto visits Kenzou's place to gather some new info, and Kenzou says to him @ 07:00 that Granutes have kidnapped humans and used them as "spices" for their snacks. He then adds that the Granute's snacks are addictive foods called Yamikashi/Dark Snacks that are made of humans who have been transformed into small, board-like objects. He hypothesizes that those small, board-like objects use a similar technology to freeze drying technology used in food processing. I think it works almost similar to the freeze compression technology in Mirai Sentai Timeranger (2000) which was used to capture and incarcerate prisoners in Londarz prison. He's quite sure that a major number of disappearance cases have been caused by the Granutes' operation. When he's told by Hanto that his mom was kidnapped by the Wolf Granute without being Hito Pressed first, he concludes that the Hito Press technology is a recently developed. He shows Hanto the Chocodon and Chocodan RG's that he kidnapped in episode 3, and says that if he or Hanto are able to use the RG's then they can defeat the Granutes like Shouma does. The fact that Kenzou considers himself or Hanto to be able to use the RG's could be a subtle sign that there's a high chance that he'll transform into the fourth or fifth Rider later.

If Kenzou has known this far about the Granutes' operation, then could it mean that he has been supplied with information by informants/insiders among the Granutes or within the Stomach corporation itself? If he's only an outsider who has been researching the Granutes' operation based on the very sparse rumors and info from the victims/witnesses and looking at it from afar, then it'd make sense if he's only known about what can be seen, for example the fact that Granutes have a mouth on their stomach and humans are transformed into small, board-like objects to be kidnapped. But, since he's demonstrated that he's already known that those small, board-like objects (Hito Presses) are ingredients for the Granutes' snacks called Yamikashi/Dark Snacks, then it's strongly suggested that he acquired those crucial pieces of information from one or several sources that are much closer to the Granutes than the mere witnesses, or even from a group of people that have out a much bigger resources into researching about the Granutes. The part about where Kenzou acquired the crucial pieces of information and who are the people that support him in developing the Valen Buster is the most interesting part so far.

Shouma only eats plain marshmallow, and he produces 2 different types of RG's (Fuwamallow and Marumallow)? It makes sense if different types of RG's are produced due to him eating different flavors of foods, for example the different flavor of gummy candies in episode 1 that produced 2 different types of Gummy RG's (Poppin Gummy and Kickin Gummy).

Mr. Shioya feels that there's something suspicious about Kenzou. He thinks Kenzou knows too much. He thinks that the info that Hanto's acquired from Kenzou might be a grand delusion on Kenzou's part, and advises Hanto to wait and see before he fully trusts him. It seems like Mr. Shioya is trying to be more rational here, or perhaps he's subtly preventing Hanto from knowing the truth. Many people have hypothesized that Mr. Shioya is also a Granute, and some have even hypothesized since episode 2 that he's actually the elusive Wolf Granute who kidnapped Hanto's mom 18 years ago. If those hypotheses were true then it'd be one of the most easily guessed plot twists in the history of this franchise.

Shouma addresses Shite and Jeebh as his older sister and brother @ 13:28, and @ 14:44 Shouma addresses Lango as his older brother, so yes, it's finally proven that he's the Stomach sibling's half-brother. Jeebh says that the red Gavv he saw on a social media post looked familiar, and then he and Shita say that only Shouma has the red Gavv. Soooooo, if Jeebh and Shita (and very likely all Stomach siblings) has already known about the red Gavv that Shouma has, then how does it take quite long for Jeebh and Shita to connect the dots since they first saw KR Gavv on a social media post at the end of episode 2? If a strange creature/KR Gavv (that they thought was a Granute) appeared, then who else can be suspected but Shouma (who has the only Granute who has a different Gavv)? Shita says @ 14:09 that Shouma couldn't be transformed into a Hito Press because he has the red Gavv. Lango says in the flashback scene @ 14:52 that the father that had protected Shouma and his mom is dead, so my hypothesis here about father Stomach having protected Shouma and his mom is quite correct. Lango says that humans are not his family, but mere ingredients for the Dark Snacks.

All weekly Granutes have been shown to have kaijin bodies, and the Stomach siblings are shown to have kaijin heads but human bodies. I have a hypothesis that Granutes were actually once humans who consume the creatures/plants in the Granute world and evolved monstrous body parts, and the Gavv is an evolved or artificial organ that was created to allow Granutes to consume the creatures/plants in the Granute world in a safer manner. That explains why the Granutes' kaijin forms (including the Stomach siblings) have no mouth, only Gavv. Low/middle class Granutes consume the most amount of raw/unprocessed foods and all their body parts are transformed into monstrous parts, and the high class Granutes consume the least amount of raw/unprocessed foods and thus allow them to keep the majority of their body parts in the original human form. That, or perhaps the Stomach siblings do have fully monstrous kaijin forms which are yet to been shown.

Jeebh hypothesizes @ 17:54 that the RG's are Shouma's minions, and Shita says that Shouma isn't supposed to be able to use them due to being a failure, and Jeebh concludes that Shouma is able to use his minions since he came to the Earth (and has eaten the humans' snacks). I have a hypothesis that if RG's are Shouma's minions that he produced, then the Stomach field agents are actually the Stomach siblings' minions.

Shouma's fainting (again!) after the fight, as a suspicious character is approaching near him. That character looks big and doesn't look like a human. Is he a Granute?

Sachika is the heroine yet she's completely absent in this episode, not even one frame.

Next week:

In a flashback scene, Kid Shouma is being operated on by a Granute, which from the shape of the head is seemingly a member of the Stomach corporation. What were the modifications that he did to Kid Shouma's Gavv? This Granute is very likely the same Granute that approaches Shouma as he's fainting in the previous scene. He says @ 23:08 as he's looking at Shouma in the KR Gavv Poppin Gummy form that the operation was successfull. The operation was likely done to allow Shouma to eat human snacks and produce the RG's.

Kenzou is examining the schematics of a device that he's assembling which is very likely the Valen Buster. He's able to construct the Valen Buster in just 2 weeks since he kidnapped the Chocodon and Chocodan RG's in episode 3. Where do all the resources come from? Is he just very rich or is he supported by a clandestine organization? I doubt if he's working alone. KR Valen will very likely debut in episode 6, since the DX Valen Buster will be on sale on October 5th.

It seems like the show is progressing faster than I expected, with a big event already being revealed.

It's ironic that Shoma had dealt with a thief last week, and now he unknowingly steals from others by picking vegetables to eat. I wonder what would have happened if Shoma didn't resemble Makoto, and if the old couple had reported him to the police instead. Now Shoma realizes that he has to work to earn money for food. It's not just big eaters like him; humans in general work to eat.

The Stomach family is racist towards humans, which explains why they are cruel to them. They not only use humans for food but also eliminate any humans in their family, like Michiru and Shoma, although Shoma can't be turned into a Human Press as he is a half-Granute. If Shoma is the oddity as a part-human, it likely means that the Stomach's father has multiple wives. Shoma's reason for caring for humans is because it was the world his mom grew up in. Shoma still refers to his mother's murderers with -niisan suffix.

Shoma really embodies Showa and Kekera's views, about the lonely suffering of a Kamen Rider. He endures bad food, his mom's murder, and has to stay away from people, as otherwise he'd make them happy and get them targeted by the Stomachs, leaving people sad, like the old couple. I wonder what would happen to Sachika if her vow to make people happy would also cause disaster instead. Shoma's triumph in this episode is a power of friendship cliche, with him remembering the humans he bonds with to beat the Agents.

Dunno if the early part of the show emphasizing plants references previous works by Takebe; Gaim and Geats, which both had plant monsters. The agents also remind me of the latter, wearing masks in a hoodie and keeping them while fighting, like the Game Masters. Gavv does a fine job in its finishers, making the opponents suffer a barrage from multiple copies of the food form, and now the multiple foods in Fuwamallow form turn him into a bulldozer.

Hanto meeting Suga is a jackpot for him, where Hanto can learn more about the species of his mother's murderer. And as a toku scientist, it's expected that Suga would be really useful, successfully developing a countermeasure against the Granutes, storing a Gochizo that seems like it will be used for Valen's debut. Like George before, Suga uses English phrases like "yes," and for now, Soji is suspicious of him.

This. The Showa-esque elements are quite strong so far. Heck, even Hanto's whole backstory gave me V3 vibes.

I watched this live on TV in Japan today without ever having seen another episode and without knowing enough Japanese to understand most of it. Here's my thoughts:

- It seems like the main guy is in hiding? And he doesn't want people to find out his secret identity? But looks like the villains know who he is...
- It seems like he's still learning to be a Kamen Rider?
- The marshmallow scene at the beginning was pretty funny
- The marshmallow form is a little silly though.
- Those two girls look like they're meant to be twins but they didn't care enough to find people who look even remotely similar

Well, considering that you think both of them are girls, I think the casting worked

Ouch, so much for my theory of Shouma saving his mother in the future, damn that was cold.

Anyways, I still enjoy the structure of this show a lot and appreciate the "wandering hero"-structure while it lasts. The actions sequence was ridiculous but lots of fun.

Next week we're meeting an outcast Granuta who operated on Shouma in the past? What? Are they on the road of making this show feel even more Showa-like by revealing that Shouma wasn't born with the red Gavv, but that it was implanted?

One boy and one girl, although that's intentionally not made clear. Until this episode actually since Shouma refers to them with familial honorifics when he sees them, neesan and niisan.

Also, they get a pass for the actors not looking very similar IMO, since their human forms are just disguises; their real forms look identical enough.

https://i.imgur.com/DF9qtLR.jpeg

If I had a nickel for every time I spotted twins with canine designs recently, I'd have two nickels-- which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Bau bau!

Minor detail, but I really loved how the Stomach family turned into their monster forms by removing those little transformation trinkets from their belts, instead of putting them in. IIRC the part-timers were shown doing that too, but it was given a bit more focus here and it really emphasizes how their monster forms are their true forms while their human forms are just disguises.

The fight against the agents was quite cool, and it was interesting to see the "footsoldiers" of this series actually give the hero more trouble than the monsters.

And the poor little motorcycle-launching attack got to be useful this time! A little bit! I mean, it didn't do any actual damage, but it disarmed one agent and briefly distracted the other, so that's better than nothing! ... I'm guessing the writers really hate that gimmick.

Next episode I look forward to see Hanto stand up to the humans who mistreat Gavv/Shoma as a monster. In Hanto’s eyes, he sees Gavv a hero.

Let’s hope Hanto will learn of Shoma’s identity and offers they work together and trust in each other.

His mother's actually dead! There's no 'they can still be saved later' shtick, she's actually 100% unambiguously dead. And so are the other human victims.

I didn't expect it to be revealed this early in the show tbh. It does give the show some actual stakes so I do enjoy that.

The shot of his mother's lifeless body being crushed to pieces was sadistic, good grief.

Also, something I noticed was that the two emo goth twins call the Gochizos 'minions'. We've heard Shouma call thenm that before but the twins being surprised he has some implies that the Stomach Family have minions of their own.

I guess we know who our villainous Kamen Riders are gonna be this season.

Actually, I feel like the implication is that the Agents are the minions. They've specified that it was Lango's Agents that were supposed to kill Shoma, and the twins balk in disbelief that he defeated their Agents.

The way the agents dissolved after being beaten instead of exploding also seems to imply they're not just Granutes in uniforms but some other kind of being, which would fit with them being the Stomach family's minions

The Agents are voiced by the Gochizos' voice actors so you may be on to something.

Oh my god, Shouma, haven’t you ever seen a farm before? Don’t you understand the importance of property and privacy? You can’t just pull out and eat the crops of hones, hard-working farmers! But at the same time, I like how we are witnessing Shouma integrate himself into human society. I think most Rider shows would literally just skip this part of the story because it is too difficult to write about.

Also, Shouma resembles the farmer’s deceased son Makoto. I wonder if this will be one off thing or will have wider ramifications and consequences?

Nyelv Stomach obviously commands respect. He wears glasses so he must be smart! But also, it’s surprising that Jeebh and Shita Stomach want to recruit Shouma instead of eliminating him. In a sense, that is terribly practical. If This stranger can beat your part-timers then they are obviously strong so why not recruit them? Also, interesting that the Twins don’t want Nyelv to steal their kill/recruit. There is some serious sibling rivalry going round here. But Nyelv knows they are hot on Shouma’s trail. See, I knew he was smart! Those glasses gave it away.

Hurray, the farmer wants Shouma to stay with him!

Karakida Hanto is now meeting the mysterious lab rat! How exciting! Lab Rat Suga is gonna give Hanto the down low. And now Hanto knows that the secret spice of monster treats is human beings! Also, Hanto not seeing his mother get compressed means that human compression is a relatively recent technology in the Granute world. Also, seems like Suga is a stereotypical apathetic scientist type. And he has two Gochizos. Let’s see Hanto suit up then.

Marshmallows!

Shioya is right. This Suga dude sounds suspicious. But since this is a Rider show, it will probably turn out Suga isn’t a bad guy.

Sad that Shouma had to leave the couple like this. But evil is restless and heroism has its costs. And that’s some nice sharp shooting, preventing Shouma from transforming. And oh look, it’s Jeebh and Shita Stomach! Here for pitching their recruitment offer, I suppose. Oh wait, it’s not a recruitment offer. They’re just here to taunt Shouma over his mother’s death. I suppose we needed over the top sneering to seal the Stomach Twins’ villain credentials.

So Shouma’s mother was turned into confectionary spice after Shouma’s father died. Seems like only his presence was protecting his mother. She and her son were never accepted by the rest of the Stomach clan. And Shouma’s Granute heritage renders him immune from compression. That’s nice to know as you watch your mother get turned into candy ingredients. Also, according to Shita, Shouma couldn’t use Gochizos prior to his arrival on Earth? Perhaps that’s why the Stomach family underestimated him in the beginning?

Man, these agents are quite capable, dodging a slash like that. They’re definitely better than random mooks and monsters. They even disarmed Shouma and wrestled him to the ground. In the end, Shouma couldn’t tank all of their hits. But worry not, FuwaMarshmallow is here to save the day! It’s even bouncier than PoppingGummy! And the agents were dispatched with a Marshmallow Rolling. Sorry agents, you may have been capable mooks but this is only episode 4 which is why you were mandated by the plot to die.

So Shouma gave Jeebh and Shita the same choice he usually gives the other mooks but they blew him off and went away. Shouma was exhausted and worried for the couple who had taken care of him which is why he didn’t give chase. But at least he has delivered his ultimatum to the Stomach Twins: Keep your hands off humanity.

As I expected, Shouma has left the couple for their own safety. That way, they won’t have value as confectionary spice. But our hero has collapsed from exhaustion and a sinister shadow looms over him! Will Shouma be able to get out of this predicament? I guess we’ll have to wait till next week to find out!

The show is actually sticking with the wandering hero concept for longer than I expected it to. I know that will change, but I'm really enjoying it for now. Also digging the sense of mystery that the show is giving us with the slow rollout of Shouma's backstory.

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

For the record, Fuwamallow Form is totally the non-gummy-related one of Gavv's many looks I was most immediately enamored with when we started seeing stuff about the show revealed. I'm not even a big fan of marshmallows in real life, but the eye-catching stark white on the black/silver undersuit looks great, and the concept of just a big puffy man taking on evil was absolutely the thing that started to get me to understand the appeal of this year's typically Has No Right To Actually Be Cool motif for our main hero.

So I was looking forward to seeing it in action, naturally, and it didn't disappoint. Swinging around on its own sound effects is brilliant; despite the (also typical for Rider) wonky CG, I like that it can also become bigger puffy man to do some major damage; I also *love* that its adorably awkward huge mittens are canonically incapable of properly holding a weapon, which is the kind of thing a form like this would usually go out of its way to avoid demonstrating.

All that being said, I also think Poppingummy got the most interesting action here. The catharsis of those Agents getting almost literally steamrolled by Gavv is as palpable as it is in huge part due to how the fight leading up to that point does a good job emphasizing how simply having two opponents to deal with puts Shouma on the back foot. Between that, a creative use of the breakable armor, and that cool shot of it on that tree for more of that wild appeal, it's an episode where both the base form and the new flavor of the week get their time to shine, which is basically my ideal of how multi-form heroes should work.

The story tying all this together is once again equal parts sweet and sad. The first episode, with Gavv making sure a child can be reunited with his mom, laid out Shouma's heroic motivation as basically giving people the happiness he can't have himself, and after three episode in a row of the people he protects calling him a monster, this one comes along to twist the knife that much more cruelly. Shouma once again finds a place he feels comfortable living, only to have the rug pulled out from under him by the main villains, putting a new level of pressure on our hero by making him feel his mere presence alone puts the people he wants to protect at risk. It's an effective way to start tying the Stomach family into things more actively, revealing a lot about Shouma's past more clearly than before, while also working on an emotional level simply in the moment, because like, I wouldn't mind if Shouma could just be happy living with some kind old folks! I wouldn't mind if Shouma could just be happy anywhere, for that matter! So much like I just said about the balance of different forms, I think this one also did a solid job creating a narrative that exists to push the overall story forward without forgetting to still work as its own thing.

Marshmallow Guyver FTW :rock:

I hope they stick to the wandering hero for a bit longer. It's a nice change of pace.

Also, I do enjoy how Shouma is actually influenced by everyone he meets in some way. The kid he meets in the first episode convinces him of keeping a secret identity, Sachika makes him start a food diary, and after encountering the thief last week, Shouma's actually tryng to purchase vegetables now instead of spending all his money on junk food.

The character development is subtle, but it's there!

I hope not too long. It's too sad for me.

I need Shoma to have friends like Hanto & Sachika already! It's too heartbreaking for Gavv to be treated as a monster by the people. Hanto sees him as a hero. I hope Sachika does the same too.

Surprising to hear Hanto doing the narration this time instead of Shouma. This is a more Hanto-focused episode, so it's cool to hear some of his perspective on recent events. The casual way he opens with "Yo, sup!" and how he talks about his investigation progress is a quick and effective way to distinguish him from Shouma, who's more reserved and doesn't have a clear goal other than taking care of the MOTW.

Intriguing to learn that Hitopressing is apparently a new invention to make abducting humans more discreet and yet despite that discretion, the Granutes have instead become more notorious now than when they were attacking kids' mothers in public. We also learn that the red Gavv is a one-of-a-kind creation, which means that Shouma somehow got it from the Granute Wolf, or.... No, he couldn't be, right?

Suga is portrayed by the young-looking 48 year-old Asanuma Shintarou, who previously voiced my favorite character Juran in Zenkaiger. He seems like a pretty cool and smart guy, but I totally get why Shioya would be cautious of these eccentric scientist types, considering how George ended up as the final villain. I like that Shioya isn't telling Hanto a hard "no", just saying he should investigate properly before trusting Suga. It's tempting to bet everything on a hot lead after 18 years of searching, but Hanto needs to play this right.

Shioya refers to himself as a foster father, so it sounds like Hanto's father is dead as well. Hanto better take care of his little sister then.

Similar to Houtarou with the GotcharDriver, Stomach are after Shouma for his red Gavv, but they're also after happy humans for their high quality spice. So this gives Shouma several reasons to keep a secret identity.

Yep, his first henshin was in Episode 1. Geats is currently the only Reiwa Primary Rider to start with experience.

Twins aren't always identical, y'know. Just look at Ricky and Cutannar.

The good old Inoue Toshiki method of integrating gimmicks in to the story.... Don't!

Of course, this is Kamen Rider, after all. The last 3 protagonists having living parents were outliers, so Gavv should remind people that dead parents are actually expected in this franchise.

I mean I'm afraid that this'd be used to romanticize trauma in how strong Shoma (and the other similar characters) would end up from it and also encourage it further to people to be done, or have villains justified where they're 'molding the heroes stronger'. I think it's just anywhere, like people in position of power seen as good like parents, teachers, etc., or even nasty daily people, that have their awful behavior or actions, or the predicament they bring to others, justified because it's "tough love" and that "misery builds character", and that it's their victims that need to have "thicker skin". Kekera is meant to be a deconstruction of this view, that being a 'harsh mentor' or 'giving difficulty' doesn't necessarily mold one stronger, but it can break them instead.

Well... this sounds as if, shows being made darker is better, but that's just tone. It doesn't indicate quality even if many dark shows are well-received. Albeit ofc all lighthearted shows aren't devoid of darker aspects, though perhaps some can feel the stakes are lacking like the early death of Takeru in Ghost with 99 days left, which many feels still executed cheaply.

He's an alien who just landed on Earth he wouldn't be accustomed to people's norms. For other Kamen Riders, the protagonists are already normal human so why have them 'integrate to human society', they are already living in human society. Even for some non-human ones like Wataru, they still already live and got raised in Earth their entire life.

More about this story specific cuz happy people got targeted for better spice. About the cost, being non-heroic, like being apathetic, will still not make you safe from being targeted by monsters, and even being evil won't stop you being targeted by other evil people, because evil isn't always one big happy family. Shoma's past suffering isn't a result of his heroism, it's about his species that he's viewed as monster or being targeted by the Stomach for being human. Sachika should also deal with similar cost as she wants to make everyone happy (and her sthick should be labeled as heroism too...).

Sachika is out of question, obviously she'd unconditionally accept Shoma. Hell, people like her should be accepting towards heinous villains too if they need help or turn a new leaf. You wouldn't question if (most) main Rider wouldn't accept an 'outsider' like other supporting characters being a monstrous species or such eh.

Ofc, traditional Kamen Rider shouldn't have the hero given a clear goal other than to help others/save the world to highlight their absolute heroism/selflessness without any potential distraction or corrupting factors (seems to be how personal goals are considered greed). I mean, not something you and I would agree, just that, for the heroism/KR purists, it seem to be. This is also often used as a complaint (which I heavily disagree with) for how goody two shoes are flat/one dimensional due to their lack of goals other than the expected one for good guy role.

George is suspicious from the start already due to him reveling in the chaos caused by the Deadman and KR's fight, and he also guilt-tripped Hiromi about Kagerou to have him take the belt and become his lab rat. But as iirc you claimed George to be one of the few things you like about Revice, what do you think about how since middle, when George genuinely helps the cast, the cast never felt resentful or scrutinized towards him, despite that George never acknowledged his wrongs like admitting he knew Kagerou lurking inside Daiji and give him TwoSiDriver to unleash it, endangering the family in their holiday, and indeed at the end he still lashes out to them and made Ikki forget his family, directly bringing despair to them, but still had him taking a bath at said family's spa afterwards?

Guys, I can't stop listening to Gavv's OP. It's such a bop!

Not my intention. Shows don't need to be dark to be good. I mean, just look at Fourze.

Just saying that the show presenting actual stakes is something I enjoyed as it gives viewers a reason to be invested.

Ex-Aid was it it's best when it was about videogame doctor riders being whimsical.

Feels like there's a double standard for that complaint, that even somebody rude like Takumi has a lack of goals, while the good guy Keitarou has the huge ambition of turning all the world's laundry white. I guess a character with a clear goal can be more intriguing to watch though. At the moment, Shouma is on the run and the plot is happening around him, but Hanto is running towards something and driving that plot forward, which makes me curious to see where that goes. Of course, Hanto isn't any less heroic for that either. It's totally cool for him to have a personal goal as long as it's not harming anybody else and even cooler to have one that helps others. Shouma is a selfless hero, but he's afraid to pursue his own happiness and that's not healthy, as those who care about him wouldn't want him to stay sad and even he admits that his sudden disappearance would bring sadness to the Nakamuras.

As expected of a character in Revice, George's arc was also a mess. It was disappointing to learn that his entertaining chaotic behavior was caused by a devil transplant. The Weekenders just ruin the whole plot. But I liked how George's and Hiromi's relationship developed with their cute punch scene and George making him promise to stop gambling his life all the time. And even though Juuga was a lame final villain mostly in service of escalating an even lamer plot device, I think Hamao did a good job showing George's repressed grief for his dead father. Another case like Hyuuga, where talented actors do their best even when the material is dumb.

Yeah, I disagree with that view, just that, previously Gotchard gets accused of people hating it due to it being 'light-hearted' or 'kid-friendly'.

Well, I guess Ex-Aid, theme aside, would fit a darker type of KR show, like the Riders being at odds with each other and/due to the sheer amount of unlikeable people in the cast, and the scale of the damage done by the virus the villains launch, etc.

Yeah true about Faiz, though seems that people don't know much about Phase 1 seasons in detail. For Keitaro, guess in general KR series don't really touch upon what are the good guy's aspirations in their daily jobs (but ofc they'd have those jobs), other than if they'd want to make everyone happy like why Aruto wants to be comedian, and Keitaro wants to clean all laundries to make everyone happy too.

And as I said to someone else above, some people just depict Shoma suffering as the cost of being heroic, that he won't be able to be happy if he chooses to be good, which annoys me as seemingly another 'virtue is weakness' view as if someone chooses to be evil, they'd be able to be happy and successful (and the view that 'realistically bad guys always win'), with the KR challenge seen as giving up the thing they want the most. Though Shoma's well-received so far, what you said, about the plot happening around him, it'd be why goody two shoes are often considered as 'just there' (applies more to non-MC), they generally create the plot less unlike villains such as the Stomachs who hunt happy humans for Dark Treats, they react to problems to mitigate it, as creating the plot often involves stirring shit, done more by assholes or villains.

I feel that I don't know what Hanto's full deal is to judge how heroic he is yet. He seems to have a similar goal to many secondary Riders, to hunt for the group that deprived them of their loved ones, likely for revenge. Most secondaries would be anti-heroic for having this. Though next episode will show Hanto seemingly not being prejudiced towards Granute at least, in defending Gavv, unlike some other secondaries like Gou to Roidmudes.

This too, George is the culprit of Hiromi's shortened lifespan. Isn't it big coming from George to tell Hiromi to not waste his life? The cast should persecute and scrutinize George for the irreversible harm he had done to Hiromi.

The Hitopress process has made the kidnappings more rampant precisely due to how it's made kidnappings more convenient for the Granutes. Kidnapping humans without Hitopressing them, not only adult humans but also children or toddlers, would've been far too outrageous and would've risked leaving huge number of evidences. The Hitopress process has made the kidnappings easier and look like mere mysterious disappearance cases, not kidnapping cases.

Regarding Shouma's red Gavv, I have a hypothesis that it was created or at least modified by the Crocodile(?)/Alligator(?) Granute who will appear in episode 5 today, based on the prototype which was worn by the Wolf Granute which could be Father Stomach. Hanto's mom was kidnapped as a test subject in a research effort to create and improve the Hitopress process, and perhaps to improve the design of Shouma's red Gavv as well. The Alligator Granute was likely Shouma's uncle (aka Father Stomach's younger brother) or at least Father Stomach's right-hand man/confidante/consigliere, basically the person in the Stomach corporation/Granute world he trusted the most. He was likely Father Stomach's equivalent of Tom Hagen in The Godfather trilogy.

Based on his friendly manner toward Shouma, the Alligator Granute is likely one of the Granutes who's supported Father Stomach's dream of creating peace and coexistence between Granutes and humans. Father Stomach could have a similar dream like the one the Don Clan had in Donbrothers. Also, based on how Lango addresses Father Stomach as a crazy old man in low regard, Lango (and the other Stomach siblings) likely resented Father Stomach for protecting Shouma and his mom (and all humans). The question is: Where is Mother Stomach? Kinda strange that the Stomach siblings have never brought up her name. Has she also died, or could she be the big bad of this show?

According to the Producer Blog Summary, the marshmallows that Shoma ate actually contains two flavors!

https://www.reddit.com/r/KamenRider/..._blog_summary/

Hahahaha I love that.

Unfortunately I did not watch Gotchard so that reference is lost on me, but appreciate the explanation

Well now I feel silly, hahaha. What I meant is more like...he didn't seem fully comfortable with it yet.

Who? But yeah, I know that...but this seemed like a case where they're meant to be identical twins. But then again I thought they were both girls so I guess I'm way off here :lol[/QUOTE]

Strange. The color of the marshmallow on the packaging was white, like the contents which was all white, which meant it should contain only plain-flavored ones. The label on the packaging also indicated nothing about the 2 different flavors of the marshmallow. As far as I know, if nothing is indicated on the packaging, then the contents are usually just the plain-flavored ones.

Gavv 04 @ 10:18
https://i.imgur.com/er7hnqI.jpg

A good story is a self-contained one, meaning all the necessary pieces of information are contained within the story itself, and doesn't need to be added post-factum via external sources like articles, books, side contents, etc.

Funnily enough, this is exactly the same image shown in the official site when they mentioned the two marshmallow flavors.

https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/gavv/05/

Nope, two different color shades (and shapes). The cylinders (A) are more white, the spheres (B) are of a pinker hue. Here's a better resolution image:

https://i.imgur.com/CvzfcTd.png

And here's what the color extraction tool from my software says,

A:

https://i.imgur.com/h3Nb4yO.jpeg

B:

https://i.imgur.com/l5o1yBa.jpeg

That's why it's funny. It was supposed to be a minor prop mishap during shooting, but the producer said that it was intentional.

Of course the bottom ones look darker. They look darker because they're in the shadow area, not highlight area, which look much whiter. The bottom ones are also closer to the red lines on the packaging, and that's why they look more pinkish/purplish compared to the one on top left corner which looks white because it's in the highlight area. It's a common visual/photographical illusion.

As far as I know, if the contents consist of different flavors, then the factory would've already indicated it in the package. The package would've said "assorted flavors", "plain & strawberry flavors", or something in that vein.

Cool, but I'm talking about the ones that are right next to each other though. Those are literally two different colors.

https://i.imgur.com/Mfq2TuB.png

https://i.imgur.com/IZCxhsG.png

Like I said, the bottom ones are closer to the 2 red lines on the packaging (above the word "MARSHMALLOW") which give them the pinkish/purplish shade. The light (which is a bright, natural, outdoor daylight) comes from the top left part of the photo, so the least lit part of the photo is of course the bottom right part. The bottom right part being the least lit area (aka the shadow area), combined with the red lines on the packaging (which are also on the bottom right part of the photo but are slightly better lit) is what give the darker, pinkish/purplish shade to the objects on the bottom right area. If seen under a room light, the difference in shade and brightness between the objects would virtually be unnoticeable.

Like other processed foods, especially candies/marshmallows, the packaging is also made of thin, reflective, plastic sheet with an almost aluminum foil-like/mirror-like inside. The reflectiveness of the plastic packaging is also what helps give the illusion of a pinkish/purplish color to the objects on the bottom right corner. A painted reflective object basically acts like a lamp if exposed to intense light, for example a natural daylight like shown in the photo.

The top one on the top left part of the photo looks much closer to bright white due to it being located in the highlight area. Tiny differences in the actual objects are usually caused by variation during fabrication of the different shapes. In real life, marshmallow (and other processed foods) of different flavors are much easier to identify. No way I could mistake white/plain flavored marshmallows for pink/strawberry or purple/grape ones.

Two different colors.

Like I said, the sphere on the top left corner looks much whiter, closer to the cylinder next to it due to them being positioned the furthest from the 2 red lines. And of course, even if you sample their colors on the highlight area using eyedropper tool in Photoshop there would still be tiny difference. You move just 1 pixel, and the eyedropper tool can give a different shade. Even 2 different pixels on the same area on the same object can give 2 different results. Those who've used Photoshop or other raster graphics editing softwares know that.

The more important point was the label on the packaging. As far as I know, all brands of processed foods always tell the consumers if each packaging contains multiple flavors. The label always mentions "assorted flavors", "multi fruits", "random flavors", etc or the specific flavors ("plain & strawberry", "cookies & cream", etc). No way a brand will ever mix other flavors inside the packaging of their products without mentioning and or indicating it on the packaging, unless it's caused by a batch error during production in the factory.

I think I better stop here. I've presented my case. Let common sense be the judge.