[henshinzero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

I hope they stick to the wandering hero for a bit longer. It's a nice change of pace.

Also, I do enjoy how Shouma is actually influenced by everyone he meets in some way. The kid he meets in the first episode convinces him of keeping a secret identity, Sachika makes him start a food diary, and after encountering the thief last week, Shouma's actually tryng to purchase vegetables now instead of spending all his money on junk food.

The character development is subtle, but it's there!

I hope not too long. It's too sad for me.

I need Shoma to have friends like Hanto & Sachika already! It's too heartbreaking for Gavv to be treated as a monster by the people. Hanto sees him as a hero. I hope Sachika does the same too.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

In the opening monologue, Hanto says that the rumor about the existence of Granutes has recently spread among the public. Does this mean that the Granutes have only recently kidnapped humans and turned them into Dark Snacks? From the sparse pieces of info that have been spreading in social media, it does look like the kidnappings have only happened recently in less than a year. Hanto also said in previous episodes that he had only recently acquired the crucial leads about the event that happened to him 18 years ago, so he confirmed that the kidnappings have only happened recently. Or have they done it since a long time ago, at least since the elusive, feral Wolf Granute kidnapped Hanto's mom 18 years ago?

Surprising to hear Hanto doing the narration this time instead of Shouma. This is a more Hanto-focused episode, so it's cool to hear some of his perspective on recent events. The casual way he opens with "Yo, sup!" and how he talks about his investigation progress is a quick and effective way to distinguish him from Shouma, who's more reserved and doesn't have a clear goal other than taking care of the MOTW.

Intriguing to learn that Hitopressing is apparently a new invention to make abducting humans more discreet and yet despite that discretion, the Granutes have instead become more notorious now than when they were attacking kids' mothers in public. We also learn that the red Gavv is a one-of-a-kind creation, which means that Shouma somehow got it from the Granute Wolf, or.... No, he couldn't be, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Hanto meeting Suga is a jackpot for him, where Hanto can learn more about the species of his mother's murderer. And as a toku scientist, it's expected that Suga would be really useful, successfully developing a countermeasure against the Granutes, storing a Gochizo that seems like it will be used for Valen's debut. Like George before, Suga uses English phrases like "yes," and for now, Soji is suspicious of him.

Suga is portrayed by the young-looking 48 year-old Asanuma Shintarou, who previously voiced my favorite character Juran in Zenkaiger. He seems like a pretty cool and smart guy, but I totally get why Shioya would be cautious of these eccentric scientist types, considering how George ended up as the final villain. I like that Shioya isn't telling Hanto a hard "no", just saying he should investigate properly before trusting Suga. It's tempting to bet everything on a hot lead after 18 years of searching, but Hanto needs to play this right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

This. The Showa-esque elements are quite strong so far. Heck, even Hanto's whole backstory gave me V3 vibes.

Shioya refers to himself as a foster father, so it sounds like Hanto's father is dead as well. Hanto better take care of his little sister then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

I watched this live on TV in Japan today without ever having seen another episode and without knowing enough Japanese to understand most of it. Here's my thoughts:

- It seems like the main guy is in hiding? And he doesn't want people to find out his secret identity? But looks like the villains know who he is...

Similar to Houtarou with the GotcharDriver, Stomach are after Shouma for his red Gavv, but they're also after happy humans for their high quality spice. So this gives Shouma several reasons to keep a secret identity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

- It seems like he's still learning to be a Kamen Rider?

Yep, his first henshin was in Episode 1. Geats is currently the only Reiwa Primary Rider to start with experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

- Those two girls look like they're meant to be twins but they didn't care enough to find people who look even remotely similar

Twins aren't always identical, y'know. Just look at Ricky and Cutannar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FairyKing

And the poor little motorcycle-launching attack got to be useful this time! A little bit! I mean, it didn't do any actual damage, but it disarmed one agent and briefly distracted the other, so that's better than nothing! ... I'm guessing the writers really hate that gimmick.

The good old Inoue Toshiki method of integrating gimmicks in to the story.... Don't!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

His mother's actually dead! There's no 'they can still be saved later' shtick, she's actually 100% unambiguously dead. And so are the other human victims.

Of course, this is Kamen Rider, after all. The last 3 protagonists having living parents were outliers, so Gavv should remind people that dead parents are actually expected in this franchise.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

This. The Showa-esque elements are quite strong so far. Heck, even Hanto's whole backstory gave me V3 vibes.

I mean I'm afraid that this'd be used to romanticize trauma in how strong Shoma (and the other similar characters) would end up from it and also encourage it further to people to be done, or have villains justified where they're 'molding the heroes stronger'. I think it's just anywhere, like people in position of power seen as good like parents, teachers, etc., or even nasty daily people, that have their awful behavior or actions, or the predicament they bring to others, justified because it's "tough love" and that "misery builds character", and that it's their victims that need to have "thicker skin". Kekera is meant to be a deconstruction of this view, that being a 'harsh mentor' or 'giving difficulty' doesn't necessarily mold one stronger, but it can break them instead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

His mother's actually dead! There's no 'they can still be saved later' shtick, she's actually 100% unambiguously dead. And so are the other human victims.

I didn't expect it to be revealed this early in the show tbh. It does give the show some actual stakes so I do enjoy that.

Well... this sounds as if, shows being made darker is better, but that's just tone. It doesn't indicate quality even if many dark shows are well-received. Albeit ofc all lighthearted shows aren't devoid of darker aspects, though perhaps some can feel the stakes are lacking like the early death of Takeru in Ghost with 99 days left, which many feels still executed cheaply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo Novum

Oh my god, Shouma, haven’t you ever seen a farm before? Don’t you understand the importance of property and privacy? You can’t just pull out and eat the crops of hones, hard-working farmers! But at the same time, I like how we are witnessing Shouma integrate himself into human society. I think most Rider shows would literally just skip this part of the story because it is too difficult to write about.

He's an alien who just landed on Earth he wouldn't be accustomed to people's norms. For other Kamen Riders, the protagonists are already normal human so why have them 'integrate to human society', they are already living in human society. Even for some non-human ones like Wataru, they still already live and got raised in Earth their entire life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo Novum

Sad that Shouma had to leave the couple like this. But evil is restless and heroism has its costs. And that’s some nice sharp shooting, preventing Shouma from transforming. And oh look, it’s Jeebh and Shita Stomach! Here for pitching their recruitment offer, I suppose. Oh wait, it’s not a recruitment offer. They’re just here to taunt Shouma over his mother’s death. I suppose we needed over the top sneering to seal the Stomach Twins’ villain credentials.

More about this story specific cuz happy people got targeted for better spice. About the cost, being non-heroic, like being apathetic, will still not make you safe from being targeted by monsters, and even being evil won't stop you being targeted by other evil people, because evil isn't always one big happy family. Shoma's past suffering isn't a result of his heroism, it's about his species that he's viewed as monster or being targeted by the Stomach for being human. Sachika should also deal with similar cost as she wants to make everyone happy (and her sthick should be labeled as heroism too...).

Quote:

Originally Posted by henshinzero

I hope not too long. It's too sad for me.

I need Shoma to have friends like Hanto & Sachika already! It's too heartbreaking for Gavv to be treated as a monster by the people. Hanto sees him as a hero. I hope Sachika does the same too.

Sachika is out of question, obviously she'd unconditionally accept Shoma. Hell, people like her should be accepting towards heinous villains too if they need help or turn a new leaf. You wouldn't question if (most) main Rider wouldn't accept an 'outsider' like other supporting characters being a monstrous species or such eh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Surprising to hear Hanto doing the narration this time instead of Shouma. This is a more Hanto-focused episode, so it's cool to hear some of his perspective on recent events. The casual way he opens with "Yo, sup!" and how he talks about his investigation progress is a quick and effective way to distinguish him from Shouma, who's more reserved and doesn't have a clear goal other than taking care of the MOTW.

Ofc, traditional Kamen Rider shouldn't have the hero given a clear goal other than to help others/save the world to highlight their absolute heroism/selflessness without any potential distraction or corrupting factors (seems to be how personal goals are considered greed). I mean, not something you and I would agree, just that, for the heroism/KR purists, it seem to be. This is also often used as a complaint (which I heavily disagree with) for how goody two shoes are flat/one dimensional due to their lack of goals other than the expected one for good guy role.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Suga is portrayed by the young-looking 48 year-old Asanuma Shintarou, who previously voiced my favorite character Juran in Zenkaiger. He seems like a pretty cool and smart guy, but I totally get why Shioya would be cautious of these eccentric scientist types, considering how George ended up as the final villain. I like that Shioya isn't telling Hanto a hard "no", just saying he should investigate properly before trusting Suga. It's tempting to bet everything on a hot lead after 18 years of searching, but Hanto needs to play this right.

George is suspicious from the start already due to him reveling in the chaos caused by the Deadman and KR's fight, and he also guilt-tripped Hiromi about Kagerou to have him take the belt and become his lab rat. But as iirc you claimed George to be one of the few things you like about Revice, what do you think about how since middle, when George genuinely helps the cast, the cast never felt resentful or scrutinized towards him, despite that George never acknowledged his wrongs like admitting he knew Kagerou lurking inside Daiji and give him TwoSiDriver to unleash it, endangering the family in their holiday, and indeed at the end he still lashes out to them and made Ikki forget his family, directly bringing despair to them, but still had him taking a bath at said family's spa afterwards?

[gashatfreak]

Guys, I can't stop listening to Gavv's OP. It's such a bop!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Well... this sounds as if, shows being made darker is better, but that's just tone. It doesn't indicate quality even if many dark shows are well-received.

Not my intention. Shows don't need to be dark to be good. I mean, just look at Fourze.

Just saying that the show presenting actual stakes is something I enjoyed as it gives viewers a reason to be invested.

[Leo Novum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Well... this sounds as if, shows being made darker is better, but that's just tone. It doesn't indicate quality even if many dark shows are well-received. Albeit ofc all lighthearted shows aren't devoid of darker aspects, though perhaps some can feel the stakes are lacking like the early death of Takeru in Ghost with 99 days left, which many feels still executed cheaply.

Ex-Aid was it it's best when it was about videogame doctor riders being whimsical.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Ofc, traditional Kamen Rider shouldn't have the hero given a clear goal other than to help others/save the world to highlight their absolute heroism/selflessness without any potential distraction or corrupting factors (seems to be how personal goals are considered greed). I mean, not something you and I would agree, just that, for the heroism/KR purists, it seem to be. This is also often used as a complaint (which I heavily disagree with) for how goody two shoes are flat/one dimensional due to their lack of goals other than the expected one for good guy role.

Feels like there's a double standard for that complaint, that even somebody rude like Takumi has a lack of goals, while the good guy Keitarou has the huge ambition of turning all the world's laundry white. I guess a character with a clear goal can be more intriguing to watch though. At the moment, Shouma is on the run and the plot is happening around him, but Hanto is running towards something and driving that plot forward, which makes me curious to see where that goes. Of course, Hanto isn't any less heroic for that either. It's totally cool for him to have a personal goal as long as it's not harming anybody else and even cooler to have one that helps others. Shouma is a selfless hero, but he's afraid to pursue his own happiness and that's not healthy, as those who care about him wouldn't want him to stay sad and even he admits that his sudden disappearance would bring sadness to the Nakamuras.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

George is suspicious from the start already due to him reveling in the chaos caused by the Deadman and KR's fight, and he also guilt-tripped Hiromi about Kagerou to have him take the belt and become his lab rat. But as iirc you claimed George to be one of the few things you like about Revice, what do you think about how since middle, when George genuinely helps the cast, the cast never felt resentful or scrutinized towards him, despite that George never acknowledged his wrongs like admitting he knew Kagerou lurking inside Daiji and give him TwoSiDriver to unleash it, endangering the family in their holiday, and indeed at the end he still lashes out to them and made Ikki forget his family, directly bringing despair to them, but still had him taking a bath at said family's spa afterwards?

As expected of a character in Revice, George's arc was also a mess. It was disappointing to learn that his entertaining chaotic behavior was caused by a devil transplant. The Weekenders just ruin the whole plot. But I liked how George's and Hiromi's relationship developed with their cute punch scene and George making him promise to stop gambling his life all the time. And even though Juuga was a lame final villain mostly in service of escalating an even lamer plot device, I think Hamao did a good job showing George's repressed grief for his dead father. Another case like Hyuuga, where talented actors do their best even when the material is dumb.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

Not my intention. Shows don't need to be dark to be good. I mean, just look at Fourze.

Yeah, I disagree with that view, just that, previously Gotchard gets accused of people hating it due to it being 'light-hearted' or 'kid-friendly'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo Novum

Ex-Aid was it it's best when it was about videogame doctor riders being whimsical.

Well, I guess Ex-Aid, theme aside, would fit a darker type of KR show, like the Riders being at odds with each other and/due to the sheer amount of unlikeable people in the cast, and the scale of the damage done by the virus the villains launch, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Feels like there's a double standard for that complaint, that even somebody rude like Takumi has a lack of goals, while the good guy Keitarou has the huge ambition of turning all the world's laundry white. I guess a character with a clear goal can be more intriguing to watch though. At the moment, Shouma is on the run and the plot is happening around him, but Hanto is running towards something and driving that plot forward, which makes me curious to see where that goes. Of course, Hanto isn't any less heroic for that either. It's totally cool for him to have a personal goal as long as it's not harming anybody else and even cooler to have one that helps others. Shouma is a selfless hero, but he's afraid to pursue his own happiness and that's not healthy, as those who care about him wouldn't want him to stay sad and even he admits that his sudden disappearance would bring sadness to the Nakamuras.

Yeah true about Faiz, though seems that people don't know much about Phase 1 seasons in detail. For Keitaro, guess in general KR series don't really touch upon what are the good guy's aspirations in their daily jobs (but ofc they'd have those jobs), other than if they'd want to make everyone happy like why Aruto wants to be comedian, and Keitaro wants to clean all laundries to make everyone happy too.

And as I said to someone else above, some people just depict Shoma suffering as the cost of being heroic, that he won't be able to be happy if he chooses to be good, which annoys me as seemingly another 'virtue is weakness' view as if someone chooses to be evil, they'd be able to be happy and successful (and the view that 'realistically bad guys always win'), with the KR challenge seen as giving up the thing they want the most. Though Shoma's well-received so far, what you said, about the plot happening around him, it'd be why goody two shoes are often considered as 'just there' (applies more to non-MC), they generally create the plot less unlike villains such as the Stomachs who hunt happy humans for Dark Treats, they react to problems to mitigate it, as creating the plot often involves stirring shit, done more by assholes or villains.

I feel that I don't know what Hanto's full deal is to judge how heroic he is yet. He seems to have a similar goal to many secondary Riders, to hunt for the group that deprived them of their loved ones, likely for revenge. Most secondaries would be anti-heroic for having this. Though next episode will show Hanto seemingly not being prejudiced towards Granute at least, in defending Gavv, unlike some other secondaries like Gou to Roidmudes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

But I liked how George's and Hiromi's relationship developed with their cute punch scene and George making him promise to stop gambling his life all the time.

This too, George is the culprit of Hiromi's shortened lifespan. Isn't it big coming from George to tell Hiromi to not waste his life? The cast should persecute and scrutinize George for the irreversible harm he had done to Hiromi.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Surprising to hear Hanto doing the narration this time instead of Shouma. This is a more Hanto-focused episode, so it's cool to hear some of his perspective on recent events. The casual way he opens with "Yo, sup!" and how he talks about his investigation progress is a quick and effective way to distinguish him from Shouma, who's more reserved and doesn't have a clear goal other than taking care of the MOTW.

Intriguing to learn that Hitopressing is apparently a new invention to make abducting humans more discreet and yet despite that discretion, the Granutes have instead become more notorious now than when they were attacking kids' mothers in public. We also learn that the red Gavv is a one-of-a-kind creation, which means that Shouma somehow got it from the Granute Wolf, or.... No, he couldn't be, right?

The Hitopress process has made the kidnappings more rampant precisely due to how it's made kidnappings more convenient for the Granutes. Kidnapping humans without Hitopressing them, not only adult humans but also children or toddlers, would've been far too outrageous and would've risked leaving huge number of evidences. The Hitopress process has made the kidnappings easier and look like mere mysterious disappearance cases, not kidnapping cases.

Regarding Shouma's red Gavv, I have a hypothesis that it was created or at least modified by the Crocodile(?)/Alligator(?) Granute who will appear in episode 5 today, based on the prototype which was worn by the Wolf Granute which could be Father Stomach. Hanto's mom was kidnapped as a test subject in a research effort to create and improve the Hitopress process, and perhaps to improve the design of Shouma's red Gavv as well. The Alligator Granute was likely Shouma's uncle (aka Father Stomach's younger brother) or at least Father Stomach's right-hand man/confidante/consigliere, basically the person in the Stomach corporation/Granute world he trusted the most. He was likely Father Stomach's equivalent of Tom Hagen in The Godfather trilogy.

Based on his friendly manner toward Shouma, the Alligator Granute is likely one of the Granutes who's supported Father Stomach's dream of creating peace and coexistence between Granutes and humans. Father Stomach could have a similar dream like the one the Don Clan had in Donbrothers. Also, based on how Lango addresses Father Stomach as a crazy old man in low regard, Lango (and the other Stomach siblings) likely resented Father Stomach for protecting Shouma and his mom (and all humans). The question is: Where is Mother Stomach? Kinda strange that the Stomach siblings have never brought up her name. Has she also died, or could she be the big bad of this show?

[Eclipyon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Shouma only eats plain marshmallow, and he produces 2 different types of RG's (Fuwamallow and Marumallow)? It makes sense if different types of RG's are produced due to him eating different flavors of foods, for example the different flavor of gummy candies in episode 1 that produced 2 different types of Gummy RG's (Poppin Gummy and Kickin Gummy).

According to the Producer Blog Summary, the marshmallows that Shoma ate actually contains two flavors!

https://www.reddit.com/r/KamenRider/..._blog_summary/

[EpsilonX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndigoRetsu

Well, considering that you think both of them are girls, I think the casting worked

Hahahaha I love that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Similar to Houtarou with the GotcharDriver, Stomach are after Shouma for his red Gavv, but they're also after happy humans for their high quality spice. So this gives Shouma several reasons to keep a secret identity.

Unfortunately I did not watch Gotchard so that reference is lost on me, but appreciate the explanation

Quote:

Yep, his first henshin was in Episode 1. Geats is currently the only Reiwa Primary Rider to start with experience.

Well now I feel silly, hahaha. What I meant is more like...he didn't seem fully comfortable with it yet.

Quote:

Twins aren't always identical, y'know. Just look at Ricky and Cutannar.

Who? But yeah, I know that...but this seemed like a case where they're meant to be identical twins. But then again I thought they were both girls so I guess I'm way off here [/QUOTE]