[Fish Sandwich]

I'm loving the layers the show is imbuing Shouma with so quickly.

His enthusiasm for snacks and his obvious love for people make him very endearing, which makes it all the more heartbreaking to think about just how sad he is, between those moments of joy. I think it's very telling that the last thing before the fight scene here is him settling into his "new world", only for him to once more run off at the end, after being called a monster again. There's the obvious aspect of it where he's scared people won't accept him for who he is, but it definitely comes off like the deeper problem is really that Shouma doesn't fully accept himself yet. He's so quick to resign himself to not fitting in with humanity, but he can't turn a blind eye to the Granute either, which leaves him struggling in this sort of void without a proper sense of place or identity. Which is a lot more messed up than I expected from Kamen Rider Candyman! It makes me pretty sad to think about, which is exactly why I love it. I love that Shouma is this stray puppy of a guy where you can occasionally see all this deep-seated trauma starting to surface. I'm rooting for him like crazy already, and given the way these things tend to go, I'm looking forward to the dramatic irony of the end here paying off someday, with our lonely Kamen Rider speeding off towards solitude on his bike, right over a guy who, just like Sachika, is no doubt going to eventually be one of those people who lets Shouma believe in himself a little more.

So yeah, two for two with Gavv so far, if it wasn't obvious. Personally, as a fan of that other Rider show Koumura wrote for that had a traumatized hero with a sweet tooth whose familiars/minions alerted him to monsters trying to steal people's happiness and/or hope, I'm having a great time. I thought this one did a great job firmly laying out the overall mission statement of sorts for the show -- that Shouma wants to make people happy -- in a way that makes it all, like, felt, if you know what I'm trying to get at. I thought it was especially brilliant that Shouma specifically describes Sachika as "cool" rather than just "amazing" or something along those lines. I'm not sure how to articulate the difference, but I think that word choice makes it a lot clearer how much Shouma (and by extension, the series) recognizes a kind of strength that isn't about hitting people, which is one of those things I'm always looking to see in these shows. Like with much of the episode, there's some appreciable nuance going on there.

Not that I don't also look for fun and engaging superhero action scenes, of course, because that was also still thoroughly entertaining here. Very happy to see Zaku Zaku Chips stressing how oddly fragile Gavv is in its own unique way with the swords. ...But then, not as happy as I am to realize Shouma offering that last chance to the monster is going to be a recurring thing. Dang, guess I looped right back around to talking about the drama. Probably says something about the storytelling going on here that it can get to me to only barely mention the action in something directed by Sugihara!