[Paladin]

Houtaro is charged with protecting the Laboratory- and learns some secrets about the origins of the Chemys.

[Zolda]

This episode begins with Minato also getting entangled in the same freezing liquid mishap that happened to Rinne and Renge. And the solution to this mishap as shown @ 21:25 is simply using Kesuzo to erase the freezing liquid from the victims. If Sabimaru already knew the solution, then why didn't he immediately do it in the previous episode? Don't know!

I've just realized that there's something weird in this episode and the previous one. Rinne said in episode 2 @ 11:40 that there's a one-in-a-million chance that inorganic, non-living matters will create an organic, living organism. If so, then how could 2 mere novice alchemists (Kid Kenichi and Kid Sabimaru) successfully created a Chemy (Kamedoon) on their first attempt, simply by following instructions from text books? If the creation of Chemies are true outlier results of experiments that are very very very hard to replicate, then how could they instantly create a Chemy without trial and error? Even the likes of Minato, Kyouka, or Spanner have never been able to create a Chemy. Not even Fuga has been able to create a Chemy, because it's implied that he was not the one who created Nijigon.

In the scene @ 13:16 it's shown that Glion transmutes Kenichi's copy of the Isaac tablet into a Dreadriver which is then he commands to transform in KR Dread and fight Sabimaru. My hypothesis in episode 42 thread here was quite correct. It explains the stiff movement of this particular KR Dread. Glion then says that this particular KR Dread is the Dread Trooper, an AI-controlled doll that moves according to the commands from a copy of his soul inside the Dreadriver. Hmmm? Aren't The Sisters and his other homunculi are, in a sense, AI dolls with their own sentience? Perhaps The Sisters and his other homunculi are sentient automata, but are not directly connected to and or controlled by Glion's soul, which creates the risk of defection, like what happened to Lachesis. In the scene @ 22:45 Glion transmutes his favorite golden Rubik cube into a Dreadriver that creates a network of interconnected Dreadrivers (which is an obvious allusion to neural network), so the Dread Troopers are directly connected to each other and controlled by a copy of his soul stored inside each Dreadriver unit, creating zero risk of defection. The Dread Troopers are basically a legion of soldiers over which Glion has absolute control. Glion's soul-copying technique likely works similar to Fuga's surrogate bodies, which also contain copies of his soul. Could the Valvarad Troopers (?) work in similar way, maybe even reuse Kenichi's AI technology and combine it with Fuga's surrogate technology?

There's another weird thing in this episode. If Glion is already a master (maybe even the master) at creating numerous amount of homunculi, then why doesn't he simply copy his soul into the bodies of blank homunculi, effectively replacing the homunculi's souls with his? He already managed to copy his soul into his favorite golden Rubik cube that was used by Atropos to revive him in episode 41. If Glion has already mastered the soul-copying technique, then why does he need a meandering plan in this episode to steal Kenichi's Isaac AI technology, which is also another technique at copying a human's soul? Don't know!

There's yet another weird thing in this episode. In the scene @ 18:11, Sabimaru manages to destroy the Dread Trooper using the X-Gotchalibur and Kamedoon RCC. If that destroyed Dread Trooper was created by transmuting Kenichi's copy of the Isaac tablet (which contained the AI technology) into a Dreadriver, then how can Glion transmute his favorite golden Rubik cube into a network of Dreadrivers that still contain Kenichi's AI technology? Isn't Kenichi's AI technology supposedly to be also destroyed when Sabimaru destroyed the Dread Trooper? Don't know! TLDR: That Dread Trooper is destroyed = AI Dreadriver is destroyed = Kenichi's Isaac tablet is destroyed = Kenichi's AI technology is also destroyed = Glion doesn't have it anymore. So, chronologically, the scenes @ 13:16-18:36 should happen after the scene @ 22:45. It seems like the writers didn't properly storyboard-proof their script.

Based on what Houtarou says to Kenichi @ 16:24, what Glion whispers to Mami @ 15:36 is likely "I've never loved you." Haha. She was likely also involved in the creation of The Sisters and Glion's other homunculi, or at least in developing the technology. So, in that sense, she could be viewed as The Sisters' mother.

Next week:

Something strange is seemingly happening to Kajiki's memory due to being Neuralyzed several times by Minato. It seems like the erased memories resurface and confuse him and create a problem in his relationship with Hijiri. Kajiki's resurfacing memories could be a set up to prepare for the full reveal of Houtarou's manipulated memories, 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.

Malice of the past is reawakening. It seems like several Malgamized humans will return in episode 44, thanks to Clotho. Because Houtarou et al has possessed all 101 RCC's, are the new Malgams created from the Repli CC's? And is Clotho secretly colluding with Gaelya to sabotage Glion's plan?

Keiichi Hasegawa returns to writing duty and will likely write all remaining episodes. KR Gavv was announced this week and will begin broadcasting in September 2024, very likely on September 1st, like Gotchard that began broadcasting on September 3rd 2023 and all previous KR series since Build that began broadcasting in the first week of September. If my prediction is correct, then there are 7 episodes remaining (44-50) that are all written by Hasegawa. He has a gargantuan task of cleaning up the mess created by Hiroki Uchida and Akiko Inoue. I wonder how he will resolve several logical anomalies that have appeared in this story. I'm also curious as to how he will resolve the circumstances surrounding Houtarou's dad and the possibility of the connection between Houtarou, his dad, and the Alchemist of Dawn like I mentioned above. The circumstances surrounding Houtarou's dad (and the the identity of the the Alchemist of Dawn) have been set up since episode 1, very likely as a plot twist. I hope it's resolved well as a proper plot twist. If it's poorly handled, then, instead of being resolved, it will end up as an asspull and as a cheap "Gotcha!" moment that will potentially break the story into pieces.

[Mesnick]

Well, the solution to the brothers’ conflict turned out to be that they are too similar. Both are talented alchemists, but closed people with a sense of inferiority. That’s why they couldn’t discuss their conflict earlier, or even figure out that Kamedoon was a common creation. I have to admit that the episode really let the actor Sabimaru shine, releasing all the emotions that his character had been holding back. His clumsy but passionate sword swinging was more compelling than many far more effective fight scenes. Also, how often does an untransformed character defeat a rider in hand-to-hand combat? By the way, the fate of the trouper was predicted for Valvarad, but it turned out that it was intended for Dread. This character has an interesting path.By the way, his appearance as an empty shell is quite creepy.
Geryon does what he does best: being an absolute villain. As a result, he gets what he wants, tortures whoever he can and sets the laboratory on fire. Also, either out of gratitude, or (which is more likely) to strengthen her loyalty, he already calls Atropos a daughter, and not a doll. And here is the answer to the question why there were no sisters in the previous episode: they were looking for the throne for the newly-made king.
Spanner had the opportunity to be a hero-savior, and not just a gloomy lover of a fight. Well, the clowning with characters not involved in the plot continues.
And the next episode focuses on Kajiki, a character with a truly unique position in the show.I wonder what outcome his story will come to?

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

There's yet another weird thing in this episode. In the scene @ 18:11, Sabimaru manages to destroy the Dread Trooper using the X-Gotchalibur and Kamedoon RCC. If that destroyed Dread Trooper was created by transmuting Kenichi's copy of the Isaac tablet (which contained the AI technology) into a Dreadriver, then how can Glion transmute his favorite golden Rubik cube into a network of Dreadrivers that still contain Kenichi's AI technology? Isn't Kenichi's AI technology supposedly to be also destroyed when Sabimaru destroyed the Dread Trooper? Don't know! TLDR: That Dread Trooper is destroyed = AI Dreadriver is destroyed = Kenichi's Isaac tablet is destroyed = Kenichi's AI technology is also destroyed = Glion doesn't have it anymore. So, chronologically, the scenes @ 13:16-18:36 should happen after the scene @ 22:45. It seems like the writers didn't properly storyboard-proof their script.

Most likely, Glion copied everything in advance onto his cube or even just onto a flash drive immediately before setting the laboratory on fire. And he took the tablet out of a banal desire to make fun or, in his language, to conduct an experiment.

[DreadBringer]

Turns out it's not strictly females, Minato was trapped by the plot too so he can't intervene. If Minato got that treatment due to his mastery, I wonder what Rinne or Renge has that they need to be 'nerfed'.

Houtaro finally told Sabi to speak his mind and it does wonders. Kenichi's cold act still puts a misunderstanding that the issue was never known until now that Kenichi has inferiority complex to Sabi for being able to create Chemies while wanting to protect him from Geryon. Though Sabi knows that Kenichi's ring also glows means he also contributed.

Sabi also now achieves what Supana did in ep. 21, to defeat a threat as a civilian, though armed. His leg throw move was also sick. Despite overcoming his past trauma by defeating Dreatrooper, he still wants to keep Isaac. Geryon still wins by obtaining a copy of Isaac for said Dreatrooper though.

I don't think Mami gets a proper conclusion when Geryon revisits other than Geryon caressing her a bit. About KameDoon being an important secret between the brothers, Renge wanting to force Sabi to reveal it out of spite is just handwaved too with some laughs.

Alumi was trapped inside a fire with Valvarad saving her. Obviously Alumi's opinion of him will change, but Rider powers will make going through fire a non-issue unlike a small child, albeit he had Isaac's help to find her location.

With Geryon still continuing his atrocity as ever, and Atropos still supporting him, I wonder about Atropos' promise, maybe she really was just pretending to keep the promise but she doesn't, though wonder if that can be changed later, Atropos' always the most callous among the Dark Sisters.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Most likely, Glion copied everything in advance onto his cube or even just onto a flash drive immediately before setting the laboratory on fire. And he took the tablet out of a banal desire to make fun or, in his language, to conduct an experiment.

Remember the old adage: Show, don't tell. Moreover, the Isaac AI is not just an ordinary software installed into ordinary iPad/Samsung Galaxy/etc tablets. It's a specialized software which is supposed to only work with alchemically-altered tablets. This story has an alchemy theme, right?

Even if the story had shown Glion copying the Isaac AI software out of Kenichi's tablet, it still made no sense. Glion is already a master at copying his soul into inanimate objects such as his favorite golden Rubik cube, which is functionally identical to Voldemort's Horcruxes. I'm not sure if he's able to create infinite copies of his soul, but if so, then he's virtually immortal. The point of using AI to control the Dreadriver is to eliminate the need of a human/homunculus user. An AI, seemingly having a "soul" or "mind" of its own, is supposed to eliminate human/homunculus users. If he's already able to copy his soul into inanimate objects, which should also include the Dreadriver, then he's already able to create artificial "souls"/"minds". He's already able to create a legion of Dread Troopers without the need for the Isaac AI.

And like you said, if the Dread Trooper in this episode contained a copy of Glion's soul/mind, then how could it be destroyed by Sabimaru, a mere untransformed human, although wielding the X Gotchalibur? It should've been far more competent than that.

Oh, and now that Glion has acquired Germain's power, he's also already able to create virtually infinite number of Golems, which can then also be infused with copies of his soul. So, he already has not only one, but two(!) methods of creating a very powerful army. Once again, no need for the Isaac AI.

Gotchard has the bad habit of showing a great, grandiose premise and then executing it in a half-hearted, underwhelming manner. This story's got huge amount of potential, be it from the internal logic or the plots/conflicts/intrigues, yet 50% of them are underwhelming and 30% are completely wasted. I'm not sure what the writers are trying to pull here. The more I watch Gotchard, the more I see the writers shoot themselves in the foot. It's very very very unfortunate.

[Mesnick]

It is possible that Glion does not need copies of his soul in the bodies of Dread Troopers. I mean, these will be individual Glions, and not a sleeping consciousness in a golden cube. Given the nature of the original, he may well have feared a clone rebellion. The AI ​​will still be more obedient.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

This episode begins with Minato also getting entangled in the same freezing liquid mishap that happened to Rinne and Renge. And the solution to this mishap as shown @ 21:25 is simply using Kesuzo to erase the freezing liquid from the victims. If Sabimaru already knew the solution, then why didn't he immediately do it in the previous episode? Don't know!

Huh, you're right. I rewatched the cold open of Episode 42 and Sabi is totally useless here. Oops!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Geryon does what he does best: being an absolute villain. As a result, he gets what he wants, tortures whoever he can and sets the laboratory on fire. Also, either out of gratitude, or (which is more likely) to strengthen her loyalty, he already calls Atropos a daughter, and not a doll. And here is the answer to the question why there were no sisters in the previous episode: they were looking for the throne for the newly-made king.

Poor Clotho though. She was just looking at Geryon hugging Atropos and feeling left out. It's terrible how Geryon neglects his younger daughters like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

It is possible that Glion does not need copies of his soul in the bodies of Dread Troopers. I mean, these will be individual Glions, and not a sleeping consciousness in a golden cube. Given the nature of the original, he may well have feared a clone rebellion. The AI ​​will still be more obedient.

As I understand it from the previous episode, Isaac uses an alchemy-based system to interface with the user's soul and read their thoughts, so he can talk and act according to their will. Actual soul-splintering is surely a dangerous technique, so yeah, I think the Isaac method for mass-producing the Dreads is safer and less taxing on Geryon's soul.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Turns out it's not strictly females, Minato was trapped by the plot too so he can't intervene. If Minato got that treatment due to his mastery, I wonder what Rinne or Renge has that they need to be 'nerfed'.

It's kind of difficult for me to defend Rinne against her haters when the show does stuff like this. Honestly, I was hoping her contrived chemically-enforced absence would only be limited to the previous episode, as I would've liked to see Rinne's reaction to Kongo Laboratories. Besides, we know her ring needs to be recharged every few episodes, so why not just stick with the same reason to omit Majade if necessary, instead of omitting Rinne entirely? Oh well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Houtaro finally told Sabi to speak his mind and it does wonders. Kenichi's cold act still puts a misunderstanding that the issue was never known until now that Kenichi has inferiority complex to Sabi for being able to create Chemies while wanting to protect him from Geryon. Though Sabi knows that Kenichi's ring also glows means he also contributed.

Sabi also now achieves what Supana did in ep. 21, to defeat a threat as a civilian, though armed. His leg throw move was also sick. Despite overcoming his past trauma by defeating Dreatrooper, he still wants to keep Isaac. Geryon still wins by obtaining a copy of Isaac for said Dreatrooper though.

Houtarou even said the Infinite Potential thing! Seems like communication is the theme for this 2-parter, with Isaac being created for that purpose and yet the lack of communication drove a wedge between the Tsuruhara brothers for many years, as they tried to protect each other in a misguided way by hiding the truth and carrying all the burden alone. Houtarou has the right idea here. After all, before you can try and understand Chemies, you must understand humans a little, especially your own brother. I'm glad that Sabi and Kenichi were finally able to make up.

I love how Sabi's arc is concluded here with him confronting Dread, who's not only the manifestation of his past trauma, but using his beloved Isaac for evil as well. Truly an enemy worthy of this occasion. Sabi is totally bad*ss in this fight scene, as he and Kamedoon work together to destroy Dread, using the same X-Gotchalibur that beat Dread the first time.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

It is possible that Glion does not need copies of his soul in the bodies of Dread Troopers. I mean, these will be individual Glions, and not a sleeping consciousness in a golden cube. Given the nature of the original, he may well have feared a clone rebellion. The AI ​​will still be more obedient.

I think eliminating the risk of defection/rebellion is one of Glion's rationales for not using his homunculi as the users of the Dread Troopers. Lachesis has defected, and Clotho is starting to show signs of rebellion as well, so he doesn't fully trust his homunculi, except maybe Atropos. The only person he trusts is himself, thus he uses the copies of his mind/soul as the Dread Troopers. I already elaborated on this point in my first comment in this thread. The simplicity (and maybe even the banality) of his sole goal of turning the El Dorado myth into reality is what enables him and his copies to think monolithically. Moreover, he has already had Germain's body and powers, while his copies are only put inside Dreadrivers.

Even if his hypothetical non-Isaac AI-equipped Dread Troopers eventually decide to rebel and defect en masse because they've finally found Jesus (haha), he still has the ability to create Golems, which have been shown to be more competent and powerful, as shown in this episode and previous episodes where they managed to withstand the attacks from both KR Valvarad and KR Rainbow Gotchard, compared to the Dread Trooper itself which could be destroyed by a mere untransformed human. Intelligent-wise, the Golems are similar to the Dread Troopers, maybe even smarter. Unlike the homunculi, the Golems being transmuted from inorganic matters make them obedient and easily controlled, so they don't present the risk of defection/rebellion. If he needs them to be converted into Dread Troopers, then he'll simply equip them with Dreadrivers, or even transmuted them from Dreadrivers. The Golems are the optimal solution to his need of a legion of soldiers.

My point is that the last 2 episodes are unnecessary and only make the story and its internal logic more convoluted. If the goal is to create a legion of obedient soldiers, then the story has already had the optimal solution. Of course, it's a completely different story if Glion is still in his human form and hasn't acquired Germain's power of Golem creation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

As I understand it from the previous episode, Isaac uses an alchemy-based system to interface with the user's soul and read their thoughts, so he can talk and act according to their will. Actual soul-splintering is surely a dangerous technique, so yeah, I think the Isaac method for mass-producing the Dreads is safer and less taxing on Geryon's soul.

I've mentioned several times in my previous comments and in my first comment above that Glion's golden Rubik cube is functionally identical to Voldemort's horcruxes, but I think I was a bit incorrect. Voldemort's horcruxes used soul-splintering process which did damage his soul and made it unstable, but so far, Glion's golden Rubik cube has never shown any negative effect on his soul. My conclusion is that Glion's horcrux works by copying his soul (which is safer to the original soul), not by splitting his soul (which caused irreparable damage to the original soul).

And, even if Glion's soul-copying technique is proven to be damaging to him later in the story (albeit already very very very late), he still has Germain's power of Golem creation. Golems can do almost everything KR Dread can, except being KR Dread. Like I said above, if he needs them to be converted into Dread Troopers, then he'll simply equip them with Dreadrivers, or even transmuted them from Dreadrivers. The logical weirdness in this episode came from the fact that Glion already has the optimal solution to his need of a legion of obedient soldiers, without involving anything revealed in the last 2 episodes. The Isaac AI is a redundant element in the control chain, and the last 2 episodes are unnecessary and only make the story more convoluted.

Another logical weirdness in this episode is, if the Isaac AI tablets interface with the user's soul and read their thoughts, then why does Sabimaru's tablet read his thoughts but have Kenichi's soul/personality? Why doesn't it have Sabimaru's soul/personality, while Arumi's tablet has Arumi's soul/personality and Glion's tablet has Glion's soul/personality? Moreover, Sabimaru's tablet was given to him by Kenichi before he resented Sabimaru, so it should have Kenichi's normal behavior/personality, not his resentful personality after his rift with Sabimaru. The reveals in the last 2 episodes make the snarky, rude personality of Sabimaru's Isaac tablet (which has been firmly established since the beginning of the story) make even less sense. These reveals only make the story contradict itself.

This is what I meant by a convoluted story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Huh, you're right. I rewatched the cold open of Episode 42 and Sabi is totally useless here. Oops!

It's 100% plot-induced stupidity aka idiot plot. If I were Rinne, Renge, or Minato, I'd be really pissed off at Sabimaru, haha. Making smart characters do stupid things merely to create a cheap comedy is the worst type of comic relief.

I think perhaps the writers have no important lines/scenes for Rinne, Renge, or Minato in the last 2 episodes, but they couldn't make them absent like they did to Lachesis and Kyouka, who were completely absent. So they decided to keep them at the AA by making them entangled in a stupid mishap. Had Minato had an active role in these episodes, he would've been able to better protect the Kongou Lab, Mami, and Kenichi, so Glion's plan to snatch Kenichi's tablet would've been harder to execute. Smells like an idiot plot!

[Enchilada645]

I've got to say, allowing Sabimaru to deal with Dread with the weapon that helped save his life alongside Kamedoon? Real great stuff. Another Rider series would have probably made this his big debut fight as a Kamen Rider but nope, we get a satisfying usage of an older weapon by an ally character.

That said, Spanner's little shenanigans with Arumi in these episodes and it ending in him saving her from the fire kind of like how Kyoka saved him from his own black flames is a cute and touching bit of writing they decided to do.

Just in general this two-parter was rather cool since we're addressing older characters in the lead-up to the endgame which I'm guessing will start on Episode 46. Speaking of though, I was already enjoying the prospect of Kajiki getting a focus episode to address everything, but we're also making it a sequel to the Kyoto episodes? Now that's pretty cool.