[DreadBringer]

Kamen Rider Gaim watch

The Beat Riders Saga

Episode 3: Shock! The Rival's Banana Transformation!?

Written by: Gen Urobuchi, Directed by: Takayuki Shibasaki (Ryuta Tasaki for the first 2 episodes)

With newfound power from Sengoku Driver as Gaim, when not fighting, Kouta further uses it to benefit daily activities, mainly, to increase the Team Gaim's standings, skyrocketing their standings from 9th to 5th, and showing that Armored Riders themselves can directly battle in the arena in place of summoning Inves with Lockseeds, the Rider vs Inves Battle type of Inves Game. I wonder if Rider's fight in the Inves Game arena is easier or not compared to the Rider's usual fight against Inves in real world, the Inves in arena is much smaller than Inves in real world.

The next scene jumps into the in-universe education system, Heaven's Tree Private High School, which seems to be a part of Yggdrasill with its decorations anywhere, and a class that has the seat formation resembling the one's used in theatres. 2 girls are talking about Inves Game where Gaim beats up the Inves by himself, who considers it stupid, but envies the free time that Team Gaim has that they can waste, while another student, a boy, is a no-nonsense type to tell off others to focus on studying and not wasting time themselves, pointing to Micchy as an example....not awaring that Micchy is a Team Gaim member himself (should likely an example that you're allowed to both study and...live more!), albeit Japan's a country focused on study and work). Micchy is shown to have different persona outside of Team Gaim, he's reserved and closed-off, and seems to be hostile to his peers, including the students that scolded the girls, telling him to not bother him and saw him as a rival too... something that I feel is a bit similar to Kaito's competitive approach to his peers.

After school, Micchy switches to his Team Gaim attire, and meets up with Kouta, who, wears his Team Gaim jacket too, the one with Date Masamune in the back, signifying Kouta as being back on the team after spending time wrecking his room in comical effects to look for it, fearing it'll be eaten by moths. Micchy clarifies, for now, that Team Gaim is really important to him that it's all where his friends is and act as himself. So apparently for now, Micchy's true self is the cheerful and friendly one showed to Team Gaim members. Micchy laments that he cannot carry the team's weight unlike Kouta who can fight the Inves by himself Gaim, but as expected Kouta would console Micchy as only doing his best for the team, claiming himself as lucky to find the belt...oh man, I'd like it if Kouta spoke about Yuuya here for the Sengoku Driver, I'd like to see how the team would respond to it regarding Yuuya.

The other Team Gaim members are also in awe watching Kouta's performance as Gaim in Inves Game. The interaction between Mai and the other Team Gaim contrasts with Micchy and Kouta's reaction above, where the whole team cheers for Kouta and expects to rely on Kouta to get on the top, but Mai had the more strict take as the co-leader, who chastises the team to try pulling their own weight and not just sit back, though it's likely also chiefly from Kouta quitting the team before. Kouta comes, and Mai's dispute with him confinues further as she pulls him to the outside. Firstly Mai questions about Kouta's jobs, which he said he had, again, quit, and that he re-joins Team Gaim to act as a stand in for the missing Yuuya. Then it's explored further about the reason of her strife with him, that Kouta's someone who is too concerned with putting others above him, that he had too severe case of this as he got a case of codependency and outright lack of care for their own. While heroism is an admirable trait, addiction to it will turn it into a flaw instead. So apparently Mai knows about Kouta better than the other members of Team Gaim despite her less favorable reaction to him... and the other members of the team ships them, though I'd like it if Mai also takes into account the benefit that befalls on Team Gaim currently (except if the team's laziness is considered as disadvantage to her). Micchy reacts to the team shipping them less enthusiastically (compared to his persona in Team Gaim)... foreshadowing a part of the memetic nature of his character known by the KR fandom.

Team Invitto, led by Hideyasu Jonouchi, witnesses another Team Gaim's Inves Game with Team Raid Wild, planning to beat Team Raid Wild when they win, but Team Gaim wins with Armored Rider Gaim in a Rider vs Inves Battle, elevating their rank into 3rd in the standings, which enrages Kaito, enough to throw a card at TV screen to break it, but not for how Team Gaim raises in rank, but for the way Kouta uses his belt. Sid plans for a twist in the Inves Game and calls Kaito. Kouta goes home and hands his winning, which is more than his usual job, to Akira, but Akira refuses the money, and Kouta receives another lecture from Akira that, job is meant to help strangers living better lives ahead of getting money, refering to Kouta's previous 2 jobs (delivering food and painting buildings). Beat Riders job, in comparison, is only having fun with his friends and making only the group happy, and Akira views it as merely game compared to real jobs, like her current job or Kouta's previous jobs. As Kouta's new guardian after their parents' deaths, I guess I can see that Kouta takes up from Akira for his noble qualities, from how Akira views job as a platform to do altruistic things to the society instead of personal gain (mainly, making money for living). I also feel Kouta is put on tough situation here, that both girls had constrasting things for Kouta to follow, where Mai chastises Kouta for treating Team Gaim as childish stuff (likely taking it up from Akira too as that's her view) and his selflessness, while Akira chastises Kouta for ditching real job and his selfishness (at least in Akira's eyes).

Kouta laments in Drupers about how he feels like he's helping others (his team) in Team Gaim, as if it's not enough (it depends if, he'll ignore others who need help in favor of his team or not), but he's consoled by G̶o̶r̶o̶ Bando who gives him a free parfait to console him, establishing Bando as another parent-like figure to Kouta, in a similar vein as Kazari from Kuuga. Shortly after Kaito comes to Drupers, and explains the reason of his disdain to Kouta's ownership of the belt, which is social darwinism; that he doesn't go out of his way to use his power to crush others and make them suffer, which Kaito enjoys as a taste of victory, but instead just using the power to defend themselves from the others who challenged them without making any enemies especially worthy ones, so Kaito feels that enemies equal greatness. Kaito feels it's especially a waste for them to not utilize the power to defeat others easily and take their stage away by going out and challenging them. Yeah, Kaito's views are like that, but people are different. Kouta may have different philosophy for Beat Riders stuff, that he likely only wants to make sure that Team Gaim had a stage to dance, so he only defends themselves, but let others have their dance elsewhere, likely because, Kouta's enjoyment is when others are happy and content, and likely will let other teams dance elsewhere to provide enjoyment for people in that area, even better when there are 2 or more teams performing at the same time in their respective stages elsewhere.

But Kouta's success as Armored Rider Gaim seems to also went to his head, and he's irritated enough by Kaito to accept Kaito's challenge without thinking things through. Mai with a new hairstyle questions about taking a challenge without anything at stakes like the team or stage, but Micchy clarifies this is not a game, but a duel. Kaito reveals his Rider form for the first time, Armored Rider Baron, with Banana (and the unsymmetrical Banana Arms armor!) motif. Baron's name and color scheme, which is red (and white/yellow), is a reference to Manfred von Richthofen, whose alias is the Red Baron. He also had BanaSpear as a weapon in Banana Arms, which is a spear, making it as a reference from another secondary Rider in another multiple Rider series, Ren/Knight's Sword Vent from Ryuki. Sid implements the twist in the game shortly after, which is a Pass 1 game, where both Armored Riders are given Lock Vehicles, Sakura Hurricane for Gaim and Rose Attacker for Baron. While they're racing, a green radar shows up in their bike which isn't a speedometer, and then an event happens. I don't know if this will be explained later, but this is still too nonsensical for me to process, the Riders are suddenly surrounded by petals, and floats while rolling uncontrollably to be transported into the Helheim Forest. They're then assaulted by the Inves, where Gaim urges both to run, which is treated as spineless move again by Baron, who stays to fight off the Inves, while Kouta struggles with a flying Inves (at least the Musou Saber can shoot!). It ends with Baron's finisher, Spear Victory, Squash version, where Baron stabs the opponent in a projection of giant banana. I'd like to see the fruit aspect in the finisher more, like the banana being peeled and taking the Inves to pieces in the process, don't think this one is as good as the Orange Charge Gaim Orange Arms had, the banana just feels like usual attack projection to me.