[Paladin]

Houtaro finds out that he is not in Kansas anymore.

[Zolda]

Yep. The worst thing happens in this episode. It seems like Hiroki Uchida goes full Yuuya in this episode. Out of nowhere, without any hint whatsoever in previous episodes, @ 01:16 Minato shows that he has actually suspected about the existence of an unknown Chemy (i.e. Nijigon) inside Houtarou's body. Kyoka says @ 01:37 that the unusually high amount of energy is the signature of the 101st Chemy, so it turns out she has also known about the existence of the unknown 101st Chemy outside of the known 100 ones. Yep. It turns out 2 important characters have known about the existence of an ultra-crucial, plot-defining item, yet they've always failed to mention it or at least to show their suspicion... Until the very convenient moment the writer calls for it when the story needs it in this episode. The very very very sudden and very very very convenient appearance of an ultra-crucial, plot-defining information without any hint at all is one of the hallmarks of Yuuyaism aka Yuuya Takahashi's trademark atrocious writing style. It's basically not a reveal nor plot twist, but an asspull. *facepalm*

Then there's yet another asspull. Minato says @ 01:48 that he has also heard rumors about the existence of the 101st Chemy, a phantom Chemy that doesn't fit into any Level numbering system, and that Fuga integrated it into the Gotchardriver. Soooooooo, Fuga actually integrated Nijigon into the Gotchardriver all along? Nijigon also says @ 03:51 that he has existed inside Houtarou's Gotchardriver all this time. Yep. Another ultra-crucial, plot-defining information that very very very conveniently appears out of nowhere without any previous hint at all. Maaannn... What a bad writing. And, if Nijigon was integrated into the Gotchardriver, then how and when did he move into Houtarou's body? Is it because he's gradually fused with Houtarou's body due to Houtarou's continuous use of the Gotchardriver? And why did it take a long time for Gigist to locate Nijigon's position, if it has such a high level of energy signature?

And if Nijigon has existed inside the Gotchardriver all along (and or Houtarou's body) then why didn't Kyoka mention her suspicion about it in episode 21 @ 07:26 when she scanned Houtarou's whole body when he transformed as KR Gotchard, along with the Gotchardriver? Why didn't she show any sign of suspicion about the existence of an unknown alchemical matter/energy signature inside the Gotchardriver (and or Houtarou's body)? One could dismiss my question by saying that Nijigon's high energy signature remained dormant in previous episodes and is only active in this episode due to Houtarou falling into despair after he "killed" Hopper1, but, even if Nijigon's high energy remained dormant, at least Nijigon's matter was still inside the Gotchardriver (and or Houtarou's body) and should've been detected by Kyoka. Matter being conserved and converted into energy (and vice versa) or other forms of matter has been the core idea of alchemy (and modern chemistry and physics). The writer of episode 21 (Keiichi Hasegawa) should've shown a hint by making Kyoka showing some kind of minor gesture of suspicion or surprise. Well, of course, Hasegawa didn't show it in episode 21 because he had no plan at all to make the asspull in this episode. The discrepancies between episodes written by Hasegawa and Uchida could be a sign that those two writers don't communicate their ideas with each other very well. It seems like they don't see eye to eye. It seems like they have two completely different ideas and approaches to writing Gotchard's story. Well, if my suspicion is true then it explains why Gotchard's story feels like a story with severe identity crisis. The writers being unsure about what to do with the story is probably the main reason why Gotchard's story feels so hollow, vapid, and lethargic.

As shown in the scene @ 03:32, Nijigon is very likely just another Chemy, not Houtarou's dad, so my hypothesis in episode 37 thread here is completely wroooonnnggg, haha. The hypothesis I proposed in episode 37 thread was to remedy several severe logical anomalies surrounding Houtarou's dad disappearance, Kid Houtarou being stranded in the Ouroboros world (and using alchemy without the Ring) in episode 18, Houtarou's ability to understand Chemies, and several others. So, if my hypothesis last week is proven wrong in this episode, then those logical anomalies still remain unremedied. I'm 90% sure that the truth about Houtarou's dad existence and identity will be used as a cheap shock factor by the writers (or rather the writer, i.e. Hiroki Uchida) in future episodes, probably between episodes 40-45. Some people hypothesized that Houtarou's dad is actually Fuga. Some others hypothesized that Houtarou is his own dad and his mom is just an alchemy doll. If they're true then they'll be several of the cheapest plot twists (or rather, asspulls) in the history of this franchise, though still not as cheap as the plethora of asspulls in (God forbid) Geats.

The appearance of a Chemy Malgam made of 5 Chemies at once (Donposeidon, Macentaurus, Vanfenrir, Gingriffon, and Haodin) @ 05:31 is obviously to shill 5 new RCC's at once, haha. I wonder if Zukyumpire's zukkyun finisher is effective against Chemy Malgams like this one.

Gigist brings up Spanner's black flame powers @ 04:30 and offers a chance for Spanner to join his side. It seems like Spanner's black flame powers will be reclaimed by Gigist as plan B in the case he fails to reclaim Nijigon.

Why does Nijigon say @ 06:56 that Houtarou is just a normal high schooler who happened to be entrusted with a Driver? Hasn't the story established that Houtarou is a genius alchemist in the making?

Where's Lachesis? She doesn't appear at all in this episode. Not even one frame. She should appear and help Spanner as the new Valvarad.

KR Rainbow Gotchard looks nice. I wish it has a signature weapon like Geats IX's Geats Buster QB9. And, as expected, KR Rainbow Gotchard has the ability to resuscitate "dead" Chemies, so Hopper1, Antrooper, and Skebows are back to normal. Soooo... All's well that ends well. Might as well revive Glion to make it a happy ending for everyone, haha.

Next week:

The debut of KR Rainbow Gotchard's summon ability that can create 2 copies of Best Match forms. This is probably the ability granted by the normal RCC's that are upgraded by Nijigon's powers. From the preview, it seems like KR Rainbow Gotchard will summon the Gaiardragon form.

And the Gigist guy will very likely get his ass kicked for the first time.

[Enchilada645]

Wow this was a beautiful episode.

The directing, despite them switching directors, was still very much on point here. The opening narration growing more muted than usual alongside the title card in the black stormy sky and the sponsors screen just being rain sfx and the shot of the egg? Real good stuff.

The mood was set perfectly throughout I feel, there's this crushing weight to everything outside, meanwhile there's this odd serenity during Houtaro's interactions with Tamagon (love this kid's naming sense).

But there's also just some fun moments in general, like... I think just the general idea of Houtaro feeds an egg an omelette while they are inside an egg is absurd. Yet I loved every second of it, that is like peak Tokusatsu to me.

And speaking of fun though, Rainbow Gotchard's debut. This might just be my favorite Final Form debut as a whole? I think the pieces around it work so well and I love how the emphasis is on Houtaro fighting to save the Chemy that were corrupted by Gigist. Cause really that has been the whole show, Gotchard fights to save the Chemy from the Malice that hurts them. There's just this unique nature to Rainbow compared to prior final forms. There's never been a Final Form that's felt so upbeat and fun in its debut, there have been cool grandiose, terrifying, uplifting, even sobering ones, but Rainbow's really stands apart from the crowd I feel.

Also that insert song? Back-On + Beverly? That's a win to me.

[AkibaSilver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Yep. The worst thing happens in this episode. It seems like Hiroki Uchida goes full Yuuya in this episode.

I like how it's not enough for you to chaste Gotchard for some arbirtary standards of "What it should have done" rather than assessing the episode on its own merits, it also has to devolve into randomly taking swipes at other writers, Takahashi truly living rent-free in your head.

But yeah, pretty good final form debut, even with small character beats for Rinne and Valvarad (has he has a solid win in the last 15 episodes? Classic Spanner).

[Sh Ranger]

Reminds me of a similar event from Strongest Chemies. X Wizard and Nijigon both ask Houtarou to stay in an illusion world and both times Houtarou says there are people who need him and he wants to return to their side. While X Wizard was misguided, Nijigon is projecting his own fear on Houtarou from not wanting to experience the despair he watched. Houtarou and Nijigon are like both the mother and child to each other. Nijigon assuming a SteamHopper-like appearance upon his birth could be due to Houtarou having imprinted on him, hence Nijigon suddenly acting more Houtarou-like as well. The cold Alchemist Union could only create the egg, but Houtarou was able to hatch it with his warmth and nurture Nijigon in to a proud Chemy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

And, if Nijigon was integrated into the Gotchardriver, then how and when did he move into Houtarou's body? Is it because he's gradually fused with Houtarou's body due to Houtarou's continuous use of the Gotchardriver? And why did it take a long time for Gigist to locate Nijigon's position, if it has such a high level of energy signature?

Based on how Gotchard can transmute himself in to Wild Forms, gaseous or liquid states, I'd say Nijigon had transferred to Houtarou from the moment the latter first equipped the Driver. So Gotchard is still the human user's body after all, with the ability to manipulate biomass secretly granted by Nijigon. This also explains further why Geryon coveted Houtarou's basic GotcharDriver, as it was the only one that contained Nijigon's essence, in addition to Houtarou's strong synchronization with Chemies.

I guess Gigist missed Nijigon's energy signature as it was simply camoflauged by Houtarou's, like how Ryutaros had been hiding in Ryoutarou ever since Urataros appeared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

And speaking of fun though, Rainbow Gotchard's debut. This might just be my favorite Final Form debut as a whole? I think the pieces around it work so well and I love how the emphasis is on Houtaro fighting to save the Chemy that were corrupted by Gigist. Cause really that has been the whole show, Gotchard fights to save the Chemy from the Malice that hurts them. There's just this unique nature to Rainbow compared to prior final forms. There's never been a Final Form that's felt so upbeat and fun in its debut, there have been cool grandiose, terrifying, uplifting, even sobering ones, but Rainbow's really stands apart from the crowd I feel.

Rainbow Gotchard's debut lives up to the feeling of bright and fun for sure! It's not gimmicky like Platina (stay tuned for next episode!) but it does focus on functional combat alchemy by connecting it to one of Houtarou's Gotchas. It's inspiring how Houtarou never stays depressed for long, as he assures Nijigon that he'll find a way to revive his friends, somehow. He's not stuck in the past or worrying about the future, he focuses on what he can do now.

My favorite Reiwa Primary Rider Final Form is still Xross Saber, but I have to appreciate how Rainbow totally goes full power full throttle with the same bright and fun aesthetic that Gotchard has always been about. The standby jingle sounds full of hope, dreams and justice, which is exactly like Houtarou and his vision for the future where humans and Chemies can live together in harmony. A Final Form weapon would've been nice, but I guess I don't need one every year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also that insert song? Back-On + Beverly? That's a win to me.

Agreed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

But yeah, pretty good final form debut, even with small character beats for Rinne and Valvarad (has he has a solid win in the last 15 episodes? Classic Spanner).

He may be a Valvafraud, but he's our Valvafraud!

[Enchilada645]

Well if TokuStats on Twitter is any indication and the way they go about figuring out fights (which is very meticulously mind you) he had a total score of 9-10.

Specifically though

Kamen Rider Valvarad score is 8-5
Non-Rider Valvarad score is 1-5

Counting in this episode though, we're now at 9-11 for his overall score. Not the worst ever but yeah.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Based on how Gotchard can transmute himself in to Wild Forms, gaseous or liquid states, I'd say Nijigon had transferred to Houtarou from the moment the latter first equipped the Driver. So Gotchard is still the human user's body after all, with the ability to manipulate biomass secretly granted by Nijigon. This also explains further why Geryon coveted Houtarou's basic GotcharDriver, as it was the only one that contained Nijigon's essence, in addition to Houtarou's strong synchronization with Chemies.

I guess Gigist missed Nijigon's energy signature as it was simply camoflauged by Houtarou's, like how Ryutaros had been hiding in Ryoutarou ever since Urataros appeared.

I also thought that the Nijigon egg transferred itself into Houtarou's body the moment he first equipped the Gotchardriver, due to the appearance of faint rainbow-like visual effects. But then, if the Nijigon egg has moved into Houtarou's body since the moment he first equipped the Gotchardriver, then why did the Nijigon egg say in this episode that he had been watching Houtarou from inside the Gotchardriver, not from inside Houtarou's body?

Another strange thing said by the Nijigon egg in this episode was when he said that Houtarou was just a normal high schooler who happened to be entrusted with a Driver, and had no special aptitude in alchemy. Did the Nijigon egg think that Houtarou was just a run-of-the-mill alchemist, not the next big shot alchemist? If the Nijigon egg had been inside Houtarou's body since episode 1 then he would've definitely seen in episode 17-18 how Kid Houtarou had already made friends with Chemies 10 years ago and did proper alchemy without even using the Ring. This is a weird logical anomaly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

I like how it's not enough for you to chaste Gotchard for some arbirtary standards of "What it should have done" rather than assessing the episode on its own merits, it also has to devolve into randomly taking swipes at other writers, Takahashi truly living rent-free in your head.

Arbitrary standards of "What it should have done"? What??? What I've been doing is assessing every episodes (or rather, a series) on its own merits.

I often mentioned Yuuya Takahashi and his atrocious writing because it's a gold standard of how not to write a story. It was once Hanta Kinoshita's writing in Revice, but (God forbid) Geats beat Revice in the atrociousness department by a huge margin. Takahashi has done virtually all the wrongest of the wrongest of the wrongest of creative writing so other writers don't have to. As stated by Winston Churchill, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

I could be 1000% wrong in the most epic, gigantic way, though. I could be the only crazy person here. Takahashi's atrocious writing could be the next big thing that will replace quality writings from the likes of Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, Gen Urobuchi, etc. In the meantime, I'll snooze my alarm clock. Please wake me up when it has actually happened.

[DreadBringer]

The Egg is explained as the 101st Chemy, a.k.a Nijigon, watching over Houtaro from the Driver thanks to Fuga. Unlike others, it is capable of actual speech, providing clearer insight into the Chemies for the audience.

At least for Nijigon, Chemies don't necessarily want to harm people and turned into Malgam, contrary to Gigist's claims. However, Nijigon is initially a bit cynical about being born and living, focusing on the negative aspect of Chemies being hurt and is skeptical about Houtaro doing good deeds, wanting him to stay instead.

Houtaro is still fine because he can rely on alchemy's potential to restore Hopper1 and his friends, which is accomplished in his final form, Rainbow Gotchard. Houtaro is established as having mastered alchemy, equating it to cooking, and he can now cook where others enjoy it in Nijigon. The fight, however, is not particularly special, just attacking with a rainbow aura, and a bit of alchemy that isn't really different or more spectacular than previous ones.

As it seems recurring now, Rinne's trait is that she easily succumbs to despair when things get tough, both here when Houtaro is 'locked away' or when Seina was frozen. Even when she gets over the latter, she regresses back here. It doesn't appear often, but Renge is the one who had the most chance of lashing out among the cast (like the next episode against Houtaro in the park), albeit for this one, Rinne is really being weak to Renge's disappointment.