[Paladin]

Houtaro suggest a way to restore Kajiki's lost memories.

[Zolda]

Gaelya who claims that she can read the future and see destinies thinks she's better than Gigist and Germain who missed the opportunity to rise to the throne of the Unholy Trinity because they were too obsessed with Houtarou. She also thinks that Glion's obsession with the El Dorado myth is foolish endeavor. Her superiority could make her end up like Germain. Instead of absorbed by Glion, she could end up being absorbed by Gigist. She could even be given an ironic demise where she's able to see everyone's fate, but not her own. The question I asked here remains unanswered:
- Why was the uber-demon's power split into 3 members in the first place? Was it split when the uber-demon was defeated by the Alchemist of Dawn (which was why the uber-demon was portrayed as a single entity in the alchemists' folklore, not as a trinity), or was it already like that since the beginning of time?
- The answer: Don't know!

Gaelya is trying to take Clotho under her wing by guiding and preparing a fate for her. She also sees that Atropos is starting to act different. It seems like she'll try to sway Atropos next, since Glion is subtly dismissing Atropos' concerns about Gaelya manipulating Clotho.

In the scene @ 02:02 Kyouka is planning to humanize Lachesis via 2 processes, the first is re-transmuting/regenerating the biological tissues in her body. She says Rinne's bringing Fuga's files on ancient alchemical techniques because there aren't many alchemists that understand ancient alchemy. Well, if so, Fuga should be more actively involved in the process, not just providing literatures behind the screen. The second process Kyouka mentions @ 03:26 has something to do with the memory of her model. According to the result of Kyouka's analysis, her body reveals traces of elements of human biology, which is a proof that she's modeled after an actual human. Kyouka postulates that if the cellular memories contained in these human cells is somehow able to affect the biological tissues in her body, then she'd become more human. Minato concludes that the second process is basically the recovery/reconstruction of the memories sealed inside those human cells. I think this means that if these processes succeed, Lachesis will assume the memories and personality of the actual person she was modeled after, and it's likely that that person lived in the distant past and is already dead. When Kyouka says @ 04:54 that a person's true nature doesn't change much, Lachesis wonders what of person she was modeled after. The scene @ 18:31 also shows that she's afraid to discover the truth about the person she's modeled after.

Kyouka also states that the second process is similar to the memory manipulation process, only performed in reverse. Minato then reveals that the Neuralyzer/memory manipulation spell doesn't actually erase the memories of the Chemy witnesses, but seal and overwrite them, very likely with blank memories, which created holes/lapses in a subject's memories. The blank memories are likely similar to what happens to a person's memories when he's drunk or drugged/sedated. I think the reversal process is basically opening "the seal" (aka the blank memories) and recovering the original memories. This is a nice elaboration on the internal logic, but it should've been hinted at and shown since many episodes ago, not dumped in an exposition dialogue in a single scene. I mean, it's episode 44 already!

Renge unintentionally blurts the information about Hijiri's older brother being imprisoned in front of Kajiki @ 09:35. Hopper1 and Nijigon then appear from under the table, and as Kajiki's memories about his previous encounters with various Chemies and other events unavoidably resurface, Minato appears in the right time and Neuralyzes him. Minato says @ 11:15 that because Kajiki's memories have been Neuralyzed several times, any Neuralyzing process could pose a danger to him. I think the overlapping memories could make him go insane. Spanner insists that Kajiki's memories must be Neuralyzed again, this time he even suggests to Minato that he completely erases Kajiki's memories about Chemies/alchemy. So, it seems like memory erasure spell does exist.

The stalker guy/Deepmariner Malgam from episode 3 & 4 appears again in this episode, thanks to Clotho kidnapping him from the prison. He's revealed by Gaelya to be a serial stalker/killer who's obsessed with women. He's then re-transformed into Deepmariner Malgam by Gaelya, without the need of the Deepmariner Chemy/RCC. Clotho reveals @ 14:58 that Gaelya told her that the Chemy element remains in former Malgam hosts, so as long as they have malice they'll still be able to transform into Malgams without being exposed to Chemies/RCC's. The weird thing in this scene is that Clotho is accompanied by a Golem. Is that Glion's Golem? I don't think so because Glion's not part of the sub-plot in this episode. This means that it's created by Gigist or Gaelya. But Gigist's also not part of the sub-plot in this episode, so it must be Gaelya's Golem, which means that the power of Golem creation is not a unique power only possessed by Germain, but also by Gigist and Gaelya, and perhaps also by Nijigon(!).

The Dread Troopers' helmets @ 10:40 look like they're 3D-printed, haha.

Next week:

Hijiri is apparently re-transformed into Raidenji Malgam by Gaelya.

All these reveals about the reversal of the memory manipulation process could very likely be a setup for the full reveal about Houtarou's manipulated memories and his past, which I think very likely have something to do with Houtarou's dad and the circumstances of his disappearance, the identity of the the Alchemist of Dawn, and the possibility of the connection between Houtarou, his dad, and the Alchemist of Dawn. The reversal process could be applied to his mom as well. So far, Houtarou has never told anyone about his partially uncovered memories and his past since it was revealed by X-Rex in episode 14.

[DreadBringer]

Chemy Law's negative effect finally catches up on at least Kajiki and Hijiri. Although they still have the chance to interact after their memories are blocked, their deja vu causes them pain and temporary separation on Hijiri's behalf. Houtaro is known as a 'rule breaker', but Supana and to a lesser extent Rinne still adhere to said law. Supana still shows disdain for Chemies, to the point that now Houtaro calls his BS.

While Lachesis had been on the Kitchen Ichinose Alliance's side, now finally she actually shows regret over her previous actions due to the blocked memories, which gives Houtaro an idea about what's happening on Kajiki. And Supana has warmed up on her too to give sincere praise, albeit it may indicate Supana's one of those who think asshole = genuine. Besides Kajiki learning that his best friend is the Kamen Rider, his problem is now connected to the main plot to locate where Clotho may target other Malgams due to his relationship with Hijiri.

While Geryon continues to be as evil as ever, Atropos seems to waver a bit and shows concern over how Gaelijah treats Clotho. This answers my wonder about how Atropos is doing after bringing Geryon back and apparently breaking her promise to Rinne. Then again, Atropos seemed uncomfortable around Geryon early on too before actually being completely devoted to him.

In contrast, Clotho here is at her most malicious, relishing over humans that have become Malgam turning into one again without Chemies, due to its residual, not unlike Germain. Houtaro claims she's changed by this, but I'd think he just had a rose-colored view of her before, regardless of whether it makes sense for him to show concern over villains. I'm not sure about Tsurugi getting praised here by Houtaro as having a change of heart either.

Yeah Riders are indeed superior to alchemy as obviously Rinne can fight back against Submarine Malgam as Majade unlike her using alchemy, so indeed alchemy fighters are like Fangire Hunters of Kiva. Rinne also displays dodging moves before henshin in fights. Though this means Gotchard's final form is wasted on weak MOTW again here albeit it's important to show off DeepMariner abilities.

[Mesnick]

Well, it turns out Gaelijah has the power to return people who were malgams to the state of monsters even without Chemies. And that means returning costumes and actors. Klotho even changed her outfit in honor of this. I also like the logical choice of the re-transformed: of course, criminals are a more suitable option for this than people who have not dealt with their emotions.
Also, the story of Kajiki and Hijiri raises a rather interesting issue. Yes, in any case, they came together based on common interests, but without a deeper connection, their relationship falls apart. In fact, it doesn't have to be a heartbreaking tragedy.I would venture to suggest that if Kajiki and Hijiri lived in the same city, they would be able to strengthen their connection without defeating the monster. However, the stakes must be high.
I'm also interested in the idea that the Sisters are based on real people. Given Geryon's special relationship with Atropos, one wonders if it was founded by someone important to him. Or, more accurately, in the past for him. Also, it’s strange that no one has ever encountered the originals. Maybe they are no longer alive?
Minato also decided to trust Houtarou, since it had proven itself many times in the past. I wonder what the consequences will be?

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Kyouka also states that the second process is similar to the memory manipulation process, only performed in reverse. Minato then reveals that the Neuralyzer/memory manipulation spell doesn't actually erase the memories of the Chemy witnesses, but seal and overwrite them, very likely with blank memories, which created holes/lapses in a subject's memories. The blank memories are likely similar to what happens to a person's memories when he's drunk or drugged/sedated. I think the reversal process is basically opening "the seal" (aka the blank memories) and recovering the original memories. This is a nice elaboration on the internal logic, but it should've been hinted at and shown since many episodes ago, not dumped in an exposition dialogue in a single scene. I mean, it's episode 44 already!

Blank memories make sense, as otherwise people would immediately notice they're forgetting stuff. Human memory is pretty malleable, with imagination filling in any gaps to construct a coherent sequence of events, so the memory wipe spell is essentially inflicting false memory syndrome, like what Gai did to Isamu. Kyoka's machine reminds me of the Animus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

The stalker guy/Deepmariner Malgam from episode 3 & 4 appears again in this episode, thanks to Clotho kidnapping him from the prison. He's revealed by Gaelya to be a serial stalker/killer who's obsessed with women. He's then re-transformed into Deepmariner Malgam by Gaelya, without the need of the Deepmariner Chemy/RCC. Clotho reveals @ 14:58 that Gaelya told her that the Chemy element remains in former Malgam hosts, so as long as they have malice they'll still be able to transform into Malgams without being exposed to Chemies/RCC's.

Not just any Deepmariner Malgam, but the Dark Deepmariner Malgam, the same variant created from Gigist's corruption of Chemies. So the Dark Kings can do that to humans as well, provided the target is a former Malgam. We already knew this host was a creepy stalker, but a killer as well, damn, he's worse now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And Supana has warmed up on her too to give sincere praise, albeit it may indicate Supana's one of those who think asshole = genuine.

I was surprised to see Spanner casually giving praise and reassurance to Lachesis like that, I think he's really softened in a good way. There could also be a parallel that Spanner became stronger by confronting his lost memories and he believes that Lachesis can do it as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

In contrast, Clotho here is at her most malicious, relishing over humans that have become Malgam turning into one again without Chemies, due to its residual, not unlike Germain. Houtaro claims she's changed by this, but I'd think he just had a rose-colored view of her before, regardless of whether it makes sense for him to show concern over villains. I'm not sure about Tsurugi getting praised here by Houtaro as having a change of heart either.

I think you're being a little too skeptical here. Other than Houtarou having a talent for character judgment, we saw that Clotho has good intentions of wanting to bring her family back together but she's willfully ignorant to the problems that are preventing that from happening, like Rintarou was. For Tsurugi, he's encouraging Hijiri to move on with her life and receiving rehabilitation in prison, so I still believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt that he can someday return to society a changed man.

Curious to see how Clotho's and Gaelijah's alliance will develop. Gaelijah has reversed the upgrades given by Geryon and Gigist, so looks like she wants to create a new path for Clotho, using the power of astrology to guide her to the future she wants. The Dark Kings can be manipulative though, so I fear that Gaelijah might be planning to exploit Clotho's trust.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though this means Gotchard's final form is wasted on weak MOTW again here albeit it's important to show off DeepMariner abilities.

Sky's The Limit even when you're submerged, I guess. I totally enjoyed the creativity of this fight scene and the surprise return of VenoMariner, since that form wasn't included in the Souchaku Henshin Series so a lot of people thought it might've been scrapped for parts. Notice that Gotcha Brothers are usually recurring forms or limited to Wild Mode.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Klotho even changed her outfit in honor of this.

Makes sense for her most revealing outfit to return for the summer. It was originally changed in winter due to being impractical for cold weather.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

I'm also interested in the idea that the Sisters are based on real people. Given Geryon's special relationship with Atropos, one wonders if it was founded by someone important to him. Or, more accurately, in the past for him. Also, it?s strange that no one has ever encountered the originals. Maybe they are no longer alive?

This could result in some weird biological stuff, like how Takeru married a clone of his mother. However, if Geryon is an artificial lifeform created by Germain, then I wonder what could possibly be his connection to Atropos' human template, that causes him to favor her to the others. Some connection to Kongo Mami, perhaps? Looks like they have history.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Minato also decided to trust Houtarou, since it had proven itself many times in the past. I wonder what the consequences will be?

I have to praise Minato's impartiality here, he's a good and wise mentor. At the start, he was afraid to believe in Houtarou's hope, but now he has gained the courage to stand up for it, while still respecting the cautious words of Spanner regarding the dangers of alchemy reaching the outside world. He carefully considers all the options before reaching a conclusion.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think you're being a little too skeptical here. Other than Houtarou having a talent for character judgment, we saw that Clotho has good intentions of wanting to bring her family back together but she's willfully ignorant to the problems that are preventing that from happening, like Rintarou was. For Tsurugi, he's encouraging Hijiri to move on with her life and receiving rehabilitation in prison, so I still believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt that he can someday return to society a changed man.

No one's denying that Clotho has a soft spot for her fellow sisters like Lachesis. That doesn't mean the same treatment applies to others though. She's never shown to have any care towards common people or have her actions motivated by their well-being while being a part of a group that frequently attacks them; don't know what they're expecting about what activities she'd do for being surprised by her going after civilians and reveal what she sees about humans (albeit as I said, her doing this is why I claimed she's at her most malicious here).

Continuing for above, even if Clotho brings her family back together, it can be about attacking people together with them again (it's completely plausible if she wants Lachesis to revert to the type who tempts people to give in to their malice). Of course, I'm not against heroes wanting to help their enemies, because everyone is important to someone, but they're still villainous by then, so their causing harm is expected.

Then again for Tsurugi's part, I did already disagree with the "but he's your family!" reason before not to kill him, even though it's true that Malgam Hijiri should be stopped not to let her succumb to her hatred. This often comes up when someone, for example, avoids their abusive parents they're pressured to do so with "but they're your parents/family!", guilt-tripping them for not patching things up while refusing to believe said parents have been horrible (insisting "they meant well" or "deep down they love and miss you") including using basic decency as excuse like giving them roof or food. This is defining people by what they are rather than what they do, and some would never be acknowledged in the wrong like parents, just for being a parent (other example can be some occupation like teachers).

I mentioned this as it's not shown yet how's Tsurugi now, but if he actually changed, then it's about him being actually problematic before, not that he was innocent and misunderstood before (including by Hijiri). About Tsurugi being imprisoned, this isn't another disagreement from me, just saying that this seems to be a problem for some people if a villain receives redemption, that they never received punishment or 'justice', like sentences/prison time or constant warranted hatred and distrust from anyone regardless of how they make up for it due to the damage they have already done, thus to them, the villains get away scot-free.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

No one's denying that Clotho has a soft spot for her fellow sisters like Lachesis. That doesn't mean the same treatment applies to others though. She's never shown to have any care towards common people or have her actions motivated by their well-being while being a part of a group that frequently attacks them; don't know what they're expecting about what activities she'd do for being surprised by her going after civilians and reveal what she sees about humans (albeit as I said, her doing this is why I claimed she's at her most malicious here).

Well yeah, she's still a villain, albeit a sympathetic and conflicted one. To bring her family back together, she must either bring Lachesis back to the villains, or persuade Atropos to defect to the heroes as well and it seems easier to try and assert authority over the younger Lachesis than to challenge the older Atropos. The main problem is that Atropos is loyal to Geryon and Clotho is loyal to Atropos, so Geryon needs to be taken care of. But if Atropos suddenly quit being evil, then Clotho surely would as well. Gaelijah is the only one who entertains Clotho's desire, so it makes sense that Clotho would join her for the sake of getting Lachesis back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I mentioned this as it's not shown yet how's Tsurugi now, but if he actually changed, then it's about him being actually problematic before, not that he was innocent and misunderstood before (including by Hijiri). About Tsurugi being imprisoned, this isn't another disagreement from me, just saying that this seems to be a problem for some people if a villain receives redemption, that they never received punishment or 'justice', like sentences/prison time or constant warranted hatred and distrust from anyone regardless of how they make up for it due to the damage they have already done, thus to them, the villains get away scot-free.

Then those people don't truly believe in redemption, if they'd continue to persecute a former villain for the rest of their life. There needs to be a point where the punishment ends and the former villain can receive the same basic kindness given to others. Kazumin punched Gentoku as revenge for killing Akaba, but then they became friends. I think the moral here is that carrying all that hatred for something in the past is unhealthy and eventually you need to let it go and move on. Tsurugi is an arsonist and deserves to serve a sentence for that, but attacking Hijiri and vice versa was done under the influence of a Malgam, so it would be unfair to blame him for everything.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Well yeah, she's still a villain, albeit a sympathetic and conflicted one. To bring her family back together, she must either bring Lachesis back to the villains, or persuade Atropos to defect to the heroes as well and it seems easier to try and assert authority over the younger Lachesis than to challenge the older Atropos. The main problem is that Atropos is loyal to Geryon and Clotho is loyal to Atropos, so Geryon needs to be taken care of. But if Atropos suddenly quit being evil, then Clotho surely would as well. Gaelijah is the only one who entertains Clotho's desire, so it makes sense that Clotho would join her for the sake of getting Lachesis back.

Fair enough about Clotho being primarily based on Atropos. I feel if Clotho is actually good, regardless of the side, she'd persuade Atropos to defect either way because she's doing the wrong thing (because asserting authority is something bad and bully-ish as well, Lachesis also calls her out on this).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Then those people don't truly believe in redemption, if they'd continue to persecute a former villain for the rest of their life. There needs to be a point where the punishment ends and the former villain can receive the same basic kindness given to others. Kazumin punched Gentoku as revenge for killing Akaba, but then they became friends. I think the moral here is that carrying all that hatred for something in the past is unhealthy and eventually you need to let it go and move on.

Some can think that you don't need to forgive to forget, as it seems that carrying hatred is unhealthy if your life revolves around that, like focusing on planning revenge on them and having your life stagnate. You can move on and enjoy activities you like, while still having a low opinion regarding said villain or those who wronged them in case someone else brings it up (but otherwise pretending they don't exist). Cutting off toxic people from your life is something many think should be encouraged to more people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Tsurugi is an arsonist and deserves to serve a sentence for that, but attacking Hijiri and vice versa was done under the influence of a Malgam, so it would be unfair to blame him for everything.

Tbf other than Hijiri, all Malgams up until then are also all genuinely bad people (or were during that time, for Kenji and Tsurugi). Sudo was a robber who backstabbed his partner. Takemoto was a misanthrope who wished bad things. Kariya was an unapologetic creep. Gouriki was a thug. Boruto would do anything to satisfy his ego. Kenji was an abusive dad (still an extremist for his good intentions). Yabuki was a hardened criminal. It's not like they're decent people being made to do vile actions against their will, I feel Malgam just gives them the power. The only ones corrupted (as Houtaro insists) were the pure Chemies coming into contact with them.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

The only ones corrupted (as Houtaro insists) were the pure Chemies coming into contact with them.

Come to think of it, that does kind of make Gotchard a little more unique. Usually it's the other way around where the power corrupts the person.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

Come to think of it, that does kind of make Gotchard a little more unique. Usually it's the other way around where the power corrupts the person.

I think it applies to some previous series too. Like in W, Dopants are also generally genuinely bad people, but given power in Gaia Memories to act on it. IIRC Zi-O also had Another Riders being genuinely bad people given power by the Time Jackers. Revice's Contract Holders too, the Deadmans are the manifestation of their malice too, with superpowers.

Not talking about the discussion here, but if a supernatural element is involved surrounding someone's villainy, it happens that people can justify said villain by deflecting all blame on said supernatural element even though in actuality they're vile people making use of said supernatural. Ex: Sephiroth in FF7, claiming he's just controlled by Jenova, when it's confirmed Sephiroth's the one controlling Jenova.