[Fish Sandwich]

I can't imagine a conclusion much better for Gavv, honestly.

There are things that come to mind I would've liked to have seen, for sure. An easy one is that, while Fujita's action direction during that amusement park fight had so many wonderful ideas back-to-back with a density befitting a finale, the actual images are frequently less dynamic than they probably would've been with Sugihara there to take it even further. That's the big complaint I expected to have going in, and on that particular point, the episode performed merely to my expectations.

In so many other ways, though, it did exactly what I want from a finale, by surprising me with things that far exceeded my expectations. I was ready to be content simply with PoppinGummy returning one last time, but I was delighted to get a full-on showcase of every Gavv form (that wasn't a seasonal thing), constructed specifically to go in reverse order of how they were introduced (barring Over Mode flipping back to Master), counting down to the suit that started it all.

That's a concept that feels traditionally *big*, but I also think what truly made this finale shine was how it doesn't really need to be big at all, because its strongest moments are often smaller and more quiet. Great as the action was, and as nicely written and performed as the dialogue between Shouma and Lango is (and there are some *real* nice nuances in those exchanges), the simple visual of Shouma leaving behind that pack of candy is maybe the most powerful bit of storytelling in the whole episode.

There's room in there for every viewer to read into it a little differently and have it all be valid, but it strikes me as Shouma basically wishing his older brother happiness in the next life. In the end, there's no proper reconciliation; Shouma Stomach ends the series as the last remnant of his father's lineage -- the only one who managed to truly escape that cycle of sorrow. From early on, I felt the series did a good job playing up the inherent duality of Shouma's bubbly personality and the more somber tone he occasionally has in-costume, forced to protect the happiness of humanity by taking the lives of people who are just as much his own kind. So I also see that moment after the fight here as Shouma's way of resolving to cleanse himself of that lifestyle, now that the threat has ended, connecting to the very final scene of the show, which suggests a Kamen Rider who now rides off to help even the monsters he once fought against.

And that's pretty beautiful, right? It's very true to the show's spirit, and it demonstrates so much growth for the characters. It's how I feel about pretty much everything else going on here, too. Jiip's sendoff isn't like anything I would've asked for myself, but he finds a sense of clarity that makes his whole journey feel meaningful. Having Valen up against a duo of characters who currently are or have previously been out for revenge creates a strong parallel, just like the Gavv/Lango fight does, and having Hanto finding himself wishing he could show those Granute opponents mercy pays off his whole year of development just as well. Vram got his last fight scene in last time, but Lakia similarly gets to reaffirm all that he's learned in a way that's sad without being the outright tragedy the show could've chosen if it had been so inclined. Even Masaru gets to recognize the truth of his connection to Shouma, and decide on his own terms how to let that affect their relationship, which, true to his character, turns out to be very similar to how Shouma decided to handle it.

Despite being a finale, the vibe of it ends up being more just that life goes on, rather than being a definitive last page where everything is neatly wrapped up forever. There's a sense all these people will continue to grow and change, whether that's in a post-series film we get to see, or in a place we can only imagine ourselves. I couldn't imagine Gavv actually ending, and as it turns out, I didn't really need to. This is still a highly satisfying resolution, but from a slightly different angle than usual. In terms of plot and character development, it feels almost like we could just move on to a new chapter next week if we really wanted to -- I'm sure Bandai could keep selling Gochizo for another full year -- but in terms of the sorts of broader questions the show was asking, it certainly feels like we've got our answers at this point.

--



I'd imagine the feathers left a greater impact on me than on most people? Totally justified Morota being the director for Gavv's finale to me. It's a trick of his I've liked since Gaim, that I've loved since it was such a prominent motif in Ghost. And now that it's in Gavv too, I'll love it that much more.

I've frequently described Saber as a Kamen Rider show that's must've been made by me, but Gavv feels more like a show I'd say must've been made for me. A lot of decisions it made are not ones I would've thought to, but those decisions, nearly *every* decision it made, resulted in a show that, in its totality, was tailored perfectly to my tastes on a level that not many Rider shows can claim. I believe Gavv to be a pretty special show in general -- one plenty of people are going to look back on in retrospect after some time and realize all over again how good they had it for a year -- but it's special to me in a way that's probably, well, special to me.

Whether or not I've managed to convey any of that in an interesting fashion writing about it for a year, I'm not sure. But I am glad I made that choice to try and put it into words, and I'm glad I managed to stick to that choice all this time. Hopefully, I made at least a couple good observations somewhere in there that were fun to read, but for my own sake, I'm simply grateful I got to be so immersed in Gavv throughout its run. Not just having fun watching it, and not just writing the posts, but all the parts in the middle that I've never had the room to mention until now, because until now, I've never done a post about Gavv that's double the servings. I was watching each episode twice, that second time actually being with fansubs for the first time in a while. I was thinking about each episode so much harder, not just from that, and not just from the writing, but even from things like how I'd think about the visuals of an episode a bit more in the process of picking a screencap. I had a whole secret rule for that part (only broken for this final summary) that every one would feature a transformed Rider, something I decided on after the second episode's picture, figuring it would be a neat challenge to try and find something in the action that also conveyed the story... or at least something that looked nice enough as a still image, failing that. (Assuming I even managed that much consistently!)

That's all probably rather excessive, but I knew right away I wanted to savor the experience of Gavv as much as possible, and I feel pretty confident that I did exactly that. I'll no doubt continue to savor it, whether in my memory or just by going back to watch it all over again, but right here and now, in the moment, I felt it was important to do all that I could to recognize what a big deal Gavv is to me. It's a show that manages to encompass simultaneously all of the most fundamental things that makes Kamen Rider appeal to me, from across all its different eras, while also making room for so many smaller treats recalling more specific things I've loved throughout the franchise's history, all while adding its own unique sensibilities to contribute something new to that tapestry. So at the end of the day, the only thing I can think to say that sums up Kamen Rider Gavv -- perhaps the smartest observation I can make about it -- is still the very same one I started with.

When I think of Kamen Rider, I'm generally thinking of a show like this.