[Paladin]

Shoma and Hanto are both shocked by the strange new Riders' appearance.

[Zolda]

The opening scene is almost completely identical to the ending scene of episode 17. I've just realized that during the opening scene @ 00:15, Shouma/KR Gavv is surprised that Lage 9 has a Gavv and a Gochizou. It makes sense for Shouma to be surprised when he sees the Doppudding RG, an unknown Gochizou that he has never created. But why the heck is he surprised to see a Granute with a Gavv? It makes sense for him to say "What the heck is that Gochizou!?", not "A Gavv and a Gochizou!?".

The Vrastum Gear looks really nice. Can it use regular RG's, not just tubular shaped ones like Doppudding and Purujelly? That doesn't seem to be the case. If it's true, then the DX Vrastum Gear could have a very limited playability, like the DX Sclash Driver, albeit looking much better than the DX Henshin Belt Gavv and DX Build Driver.

Nyelv appears @ 05:19 and introduces Lage 9 as KR Vram. He says that it's a Rider System based on Shouma's red Gavv. Just when I think that KR Vram is about to kick Shouma/KR Gavv's and Hanto/KR Valen's asses, Nyelv and Lage 9/KR Vram casually walk away from the battlefield, and Shouma/KR Gavv and Hanto/KR Valen just let them go, haha.

Shouma/KR Gavv mentioning Nyelv's name @ 05:41 should be the dead giveaway to Hanto that Shouma is connected to the Stomach family. In the scene @ 06:53, Hanto asks Shouma to confirm whether Shouma knows Nyelv's name. Hanto asks whether Nyelv is Shouma's enemy, and Shouma only nods his head. Hanto then straightforwardly says that Shouma is hiding something from him. I was like, "Well, Shouma is hiding something from you, Hanto. And what he's hiding from you is the fact that he's half-Granute, but he already showed you that he's half-Granute when he showed you in episode 14 @ 07:26 that he could read the ransom message in Granute alphabets written by Shita's and Jeebh's agents. If that scene can't knock some sense into your thick skull, then nothing will." Heck, even Shouma himself elaborates the fact about Stomach corporation as a family business that sells snacks in the Granute world, and he then mentions the names of all 5 of the Stomach siblings. If Hanto has common sense, then he should ask Shouma how the heck a mere part-timer at Sachika's shop is able to know the details of an otherworldly organization that invades the Earth. If Kenzou knows too much, then Shouma knows 2 times more than Kenzou does. If Kenzou is asked by Hanto how the heck he's able to know too much, then Kenzou can simply use his "I'm a Granute researcher" excuse. But what about Shouma? What excuse is Shouma gonna give to Hanto? Yep, this scene should tell Hanto that Shouma didn't come from the Earth, but from the Granute world. The very very very stupid thing is, instead of concluding that Shouma is a Granute, Hanto is thanking Shouma for stopping him from entering the Granute world in episode 16 because it would've been very dangerous to go there. Heck, even Hanto himself says @ 08:57 that Shouma knows too much. Hasn't he ever asked himself how the heck Shouma (who he thinks is just a human whose mom was kidnapped and killed by a Granute) is able to know sooooooooo much about crucial information? Hasn't he ever asked himself that perhaps Shouma is backed by a benefactor, just like he's backed by Kenzou? Don't know! Hanto is supposed to be an extreme, staunch Granute hater, but when all facts point to Shouma being a half-Granute and or came from the Granute world, all of a sudden Hanto's IQ drops 100 points and loses all forms of common sense. Gosh, how dense Hanto can be? Hanto is easily the worst second Rider in the history of this franchise. Hanto's stupidity is only matched by Sad Boi Keiwa's stupidity. *facepalm

In the scene @ 10:11, Kenzou is impressed by the Vrastum Gear. He's also very enthusiastic when he sees Lage 9 who he says is the first living Granute he sees in a safe environment. Nyelv says that he's also a living Granute, but Kenzou says that he considers Nyelv to be a fellow researcher. Soooooooooooooooo, my hypothesis in the episode 15 thread here is confirmed to be correct in this scene. Kenzou has known about Nyelv's identity as a Granute in human disguise for a long time, very likely since the first time the met. The weird thing is @ 10:57 where Kenzou unplugs Lage 9's Mimic Key to see him revealing his true Granute form. Why the heck is Kenzou soooooooooooo excited in this scene? Has he never seen Nyelv unplugging his Mimic Key? What's so exciting about unplugging a Granute's Mimic Key, when the person you've been working with for a very long time is also a Granute? Don't know! Kenzou's excitement in this scene makes no sense at all. Meanwhile, Lage 9 looks very disinterested in being treated like a freak show, haha.

Nyelv confirms his ongoing cooperation with Lage 9 @ 11:30. He authorizes Lage 9 to defeat KR Gavv and KR Valen. Based on his suspicious smile @ 11:49, it seems like he's planning something big by manipulating Lage 9, Kenzou, and Hanto/KR Valen. It's very likely that he'll gain something crucial from the conflict between the 3 Riders. So yes, like I hypothesized in the episode 17 thread here, Lage 9 could be the first pawn who'd get the short end of the stick from his cahoots with Nyelv.

The (bird?) Granute of the week aka the woman with red scarf is trying to ensnare a potential victim @ 11:54, but the victim is immediately scared and runs away when he sees her. A highschool girl and boy also do the same when they see her. It turns out that the (bird?) Granute of the week aka the woman with red scarf's human disguise has been exposed in social media as a dangerous person. Like I elaborated in the episode 8 thread here, episode 10 thread here, and episode 13 thread here, if changing a human disguise is as easy as changing clothes (like Kenzou said in episode 8 @ 04:52), then why hasn't Lango/Stomach provided their part-timers with an infinite number of human disguises to prevent them being detected by humans, except for only one time in episode 8 for Iwashimizu/fake art dealer who only had 1 alternate disguise? Don't know! The (bird?) Granute of the week (and the previous ones) would been much much much harder to identify by humans had they simply changed their human disguise after committing each crime. If Granutes can change the appearance of their human disguise as easy as changing the wallpaper on my smartphone then the only thing that makes sense that Lango/Stomach should already do is supplying their part-timers with infinite number of disguises. That would've greatly reduced the risk of being detected by humans and Shouma/Hanto. Then again, this story is sooooo sloppily written, so I won't expect anything that follows logic, rationality, and common sense, haha.

Sachika also finds the social media post about the (bird?) Granute of the week aka the woman with red scarf @ 12:29 and confirms that it's the same person she saw yesterday. It turns out it was Hanto and Shouma who posted the drawing of the woman with red scarf in social media. Surprise, surprise. Sachika then tells Shouma and Hanto that the (bird?) Granute of the week aka the woman with red scarf's modus operandi involves a strong wind that blows her scarf to lure her potential victims, to which Hanto then concludes that she's able to control wind.

In the scene @ 14:06 the (bird?) Granute of the week aka the woman with red scarf is pissed at how no one falls for her trick anymore. She moaned about not being able to get Dark Snacks. Lage 9 then conveniently asks her @ 14:09 if she badly wants Dark Snacks, to which she replies and describes the effects of Dark Snacks on her body and psychology. Didn't Lage 9 already know about this? This scene is a convenient scene to enable the writers to insert a flashback scene @ 14:39 that shows Lage 9 arguing with a female Granute who is also a Dark Snack addict. One of my hypotheses in the episode 17 thread here about Lage 9 having a personal motive is confirmed to be correct in this flashback scene. He could be a civilian Granute or a police spy Granute with not only a professional motive, but also a personal grudge that could have had something to do with Stomach's crimes in the past. As shown in the flashback scene, perhaps that female Dark Snack junkie Granute was one of his family members, friends, or relatives, and she could've been a victim of Dark Snack fatal overdose that could've killed or at least severely damaged her physically and mentally.

In the scene @ 15:13, Sachika finds several social media posts about the (bird?) Granute of the week aka the woman with red scarf's current crime where she's creating a strong wind to catch several humans. This is not the first time a Granute doing a huge damage in a public place. Heck, even Shouma, Hanto, and Lage 9 are transforming in the open in a very public place like this. If the police are still not doing anything to investigate and deal with the Granutes' threats, then this story is not only an idiot plot, but also a second order idiot plot. Once again: Congratulations, Gavv's writers and producers! *facepalm *slow clap

Lage 9/KR Vram debuts his weapon, the Vram Breaker. And yes, it's very ugly, haha. Hanto/KR Valen asks Lage 9/KR Vram whether he's a member of the Stomach family @ 22:07. That simple question manage to break Lage 9/KR Vram's concentration and create an opening when he's managed to be punched by Hanto/KR Valen. Lage 9/KR Vram breaks his calm demeanor @ 22:22 and enters the rage mode, so yes, like I've elaborated above, it's very likely that he has a personal grudge against the Stomach family. Hanto/KR Valen is defeated by Lage 9/KR Vram and is seemingly badly injured, so he'd likely demoted to the substitute player's bench in episode 19 because Lage 9/KR Vram will need to get his backstory told, haha.

Next week:

Lage 9/KR Vram finds out about Shouma/KR Gavv's identity as a half-Granute. He'd likely give a hint about his sob story to Shouma/KR Gavv in this scene, haha.

Kenzou meets Shouma, likely in the scene where Shouma brings the injured Hanto to Kenzou's crummy office/lab. Kenzou reveals that he also knows that Shouma is KR Gavv, likely told by Hanto or via his own observation or info from Nyelv. Does he also know that Shouma is a half-Granute? I think so, since Nyelv would gain no benefit from hiding Shouma's identity from Kenzou. Kenzou could also likely already know about Shouma's secret as a half-Granute for some time, whether via his own observation or info from Nyelv, but he'd say that he wouldn't tell Hanto in order to make Shouma feel like being on the edge of his seat because his secret could be leaked by Kenzou at any time, haha. There's even a possibility that Kenzou is planning to manipulate Shouma by using Shouma's secret identity as a leverage to further his own plan, which could be developing a secret upgrade/weapon for Hanto/KR Valen or even developing a brand new Driver without Nyelv's knowledge. Kenzou could very likely already know that he's been manipulated by Nyelv, so he knows that it's finally the time to prepare a secret trump card by developing a new upgrade/weapon/Driver without Nyelv's knowledge.

Where is Jeebh? He was last seen in episode 16. I think he'd be sidelined for several more episodes to build momentum, and would finally reappear in between episodes 20-25 with a brand new look and a brand new Driver and RG.

Mmmaaayyybbbeee...

[toughfighter83]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

snip

i think gavv has been one of the worst written seasons i have watched, like other than the plot of of shoua's mother, he's just getting power ups out of nowhere and nothing else about him, even the sibling rivalry was weak, only get mad for a few episodes, one gets defeated and doesnt show up in any of episodes.

main villains havent done nothing other than show up once and dont even fight shouma, lage 9 like what's is the point of this character? feels like another random villain to give the driver to. would have made more sense for one of the main villains to use it.

hanto like again what's the point of giving him a rider form when he cant beat weak villains? his rider form is worse than gavv. hiding their identity's so annoying and every episode is just monster of week and nothing to build from these episodes.

sachika i mean like again what's the point of her being here if they are just keep her on sidelines? even if they give her a rider form, it's been a really weak attempt at it because there's just no character development with her, heck i think the character developments for all three has been really weak.

like everything is just getting thrown in there and hope it sticks.


if i sound harsh on this series, im sorry, im really trying to give this series a chance, im really not feeling it. from alot of kamen rider series that i have watched, one thing i loved about it was that the main characters are always there in every episode and you always feel bonding with them.

with this series it feels like an empty shell.

[gashatfreak]

Vram hates the Stomachs and, if the next episode preview is anything to go by, has a dead loved one. The way the preview is framed showing him beating the bricks out of Gavv implies that he thinks Gavv killed his loved one, which, uh, would be pretty hilariously dark considering the theory that Shouma is the Granute that killed Hanto's mom.

It does seem like Vram will become a heroic Rider, but let's not forget how this guy casually kidnapped entire rooms of people. I feel like that might be the next point of contention between Shouma and Hanto.

Anyway, as for the episode itself, it was nice. The usual fare of introducing a new Rider, whichis to make them overpowered and beat the bricks out of the heroes while showcasing the new toys. I am excited abou the prospect of exploring more of Granute society, if Laage 9's flashback of his drug addict loved one is any indication. Also, considering how much he hates the Stomachs, there's a good possibility he might not be part of Granute law enforcement as previously theorized, but just a guy who's taking matters into his own hands.

[gashatfreak]

I would like to say how in love I am with this show's choreography and use of each form's gimmicks. I would have never thought potato chips bursting out a bag could be so epic, but when Gavv planted te chip bag hilt onto the wall with his foot and the blade extended? Oh man, that was awesome.

Not to mention the Vram vs Valen fight. Overall peak.

[Kiwami]

They’re building Lage9 up to quite the interesting character. So he had a loved one who was ruined by Dark Treats and decides to take the organization down as a result. He plays an addict to get inside and be hired, excels as his job to get higher positions and closer to his targets. At the same time he appears to be a Granute who is entirely disregarding of human life so while their goals align, it seems impossible for him to work with Shoma and Hanto.

Was asking myself before if there might be an authority or individual from inside the Granute world taking action at some point, given that the Stomach family essentially wants to overthrow the government.

I wonder how this will develop. The easiest route for him to be redeemed would be revealing that he stored the humans he captured and they can be released again. Then again, we have seen his work collected by agents and Lango himself judged their quality, so it’s unlikely he could’ve used copied fakes.

I will applaud this show if they can keep Lage9 a rather despicable character we as an audience can understand and want to succeed in his goals yet judge for his deeds, not everyone needs a redemption arc.

Also, it seems like Shoma’s quest to find the missing person isn’t over as he noted that one wasn’t along the ones he rescued, I like that, would’ve been too easy of a solution.

The actions was crazy fun this week as well, this is so cool!

[Leo Novum]

I just want to say, that as a person who has seen some bad Rider designs before, Vrams' design does not sit well with me. His helmet looks like it is sporting a goatee.

But overall, nice episode. Vram is turning out to be a deep character. But then again, the whole Gavv series seems to be built on surprisingly deep characters. Even Jeebh and Shita were surprisingly deep. So can't wait to see where this goes.

[DreadBringer]

Like when he sees Valen being de-henshined before, forcing Gavv to reveal that he's Shoma, Gavv also blurts out Nyelv's name while Valen is present, raising Hanto's suspicions about Shoma's secret. So far, Shoma has disclosed information about Stomach Inc. and the siblings who run it. Fortunately for Shoma, Hanto assumes positive intentions behind his secrecy. And Glotta's beatdown of Valen is brought up here too. Hanto doesn't suspect how Shoma knows so much about them.

It's also fortunate that Gavv didn't use the '-niisan' suffix when referring to Nyelv that time, where he still uses it later in his thoughts about him. We see Suga learning about Granutes onscreen for the first time, observing how they can disguise themselves as humans. Lage9 has a flashback about his younger brother Comel, who was addicted to Dark Treats and seemingly killed by Gavv, and he expresses disgust at the thought of being part of the Stomach family.

It’s misleading when people finally manage to avoid Chooul through a social media post, as it initially appears that Sachika is behind it. However, it turns out that Hanto simply drew her with Shoma, while Sachika just learns about the post and the truth that she was about to be abducted. I hoped that Sachika would join Shoma and Hanto when she discovers a post about Chooul's location, but that doesn’t happen, at least onscreen for this episode.

Chooul resorts to attacking humans directly and kidnapping them, which only leads to fear and unhappiness, which the story acknowledges that the Dark Treats' quality wouldn't be as good this way. Vram doesn’t seem as imposing in this fight as he did previously, though he still puts Valen in danger, albeit now Valen puts up a better fight. Although Gavv's explosion of Chooul could have increased the stakes by putting the Hitopresses in jeopardy, this does not occur, and Takeshi isn’t one of the Hitopresses present. Also, the show doesn’t depict the other people being freed in this scene.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

It does seem like Vram will become a heroic Rider, but let's not forget how this guy casually kidnapped entire rooms of people. I feel like that might be the next point of contention between Shouma and Hanto.

Would be like Necrom, Parado, or Gentoku's case, redeemed villains. If he stops doing his evil deeds he'd be heroic, but he's not someone heroic from the start like Shoma but initially villainous, people can change alignments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

They’re building Lage9 up to quite the interesting character. So he had a loved one who was ruined by Dark Treats and decides to take the organization down as a result. He plays an addict to get inside and be hired, excels as his job to get higher positions and closer to his targets. At the same time he appears to be a Granute who is entirely disregarding of human life so while their goals align, it seems impossible for him to work with Shoma and Hanto.

There can be just enigmatic minions in a villainous groups, having their own agenda. And not all would be doing it for good intentions, but villain infighting can happen for that regardless. Evil vs evil stuff. Even Nyelv doesn't exactly follow the main agenda of Stomach Inc. Won't be exclusive to Lage9 that a villain may take down another villain, but actions matter more, he's another Granute that are no different to others, who see no value in humans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

I wonder how this will develop. The easiest route for him to be redeemed would be revealing that he stored the humans he captured and they can be released again. Then again, we have seen his work collected by agents and Lango himself judged their quality, so it’s unlikely he could’ve used copied fakes.

I will applaud this show if they can keep Lage9 a rather despicable character we as an audience can understand and want to succeed in his goals yet judge for his deeds, not everyone needs a redemption arc.

If this happens this'd be the very first time in KR franchise, to have the 3rd Rider being a pure enemy like for example Reiji Nogi in Kabuto. Admittedly I rather miss when not all Riders would end up banding together, like some of the Phase 1 shows, where late Phase 2 shows onwards tend to have most of the Riders becoming allies. But getting redemption arc means they won't be judged for their deeds? There gotta be something they change about themselves to redeem themselves rather than them not really being in the wrong?

[Fish Sandwich]

I really appreciate how much this episode makes time for a lot of basic joys in the action, even with everything else going on.

Multitasking in general seems to be a particular strong suit of Gavv as a whole, but moving into the new year with Rider shows, as my post on the last episode reflects, I always start dreading once the powerups and the plot developments start kicking into high gear that a lot of the little things will quickly fall by the wayside.

By the standards that have been set over the years, it's extra credit that this one makes time to give both Fuwamallow and ZakuZakuChips distinct beats in the climactic fight where they make use of their unique abilities in creative and fun ways. They don't need to have that much screentime if they use what little they get to stand out, and if they stand out with what little they get, they don't need that much screentime, so you can put plenty of different suits in a single fight. It definitely seems like Gavv understands this the same way it understands the importance of the base form, so I really hope both of those things continue to be true of this show well beyond this point.

I also appreciated the basic joy of Gavv doing the cool catchphrase again, which is one of those things that's occasionally struggled to find a place in episodes where Shouma is hanging out with Hanto. Totally understandable, since it's very much *not* Valen's attitude, but Gavv offering a choice to the monster like that was something that made me want to share my thoughts on the show to begin with -- something I think defines the whole series -- so obviously I'm always that much happier when there's room for it.

And there would be room for it in an episode like this, because the action is far from the only thing that effortlessly makes room for loads of different things to matter all at once. Man, even just the quick beat of Shouma thinking back to when he killed Siita has quite a few layers going on when you stop to consider what the assumptions he's making there say about his own sense of guilt versus the reality of how much the rest of the Stomach Family besides Jiip actually seem to care about the loss.

And it's just sorta like that for most things going on here, which means, as usual, I'm not going to be digging into most of it that much. The biggest topic I'd want to at least touch on is that it's just as nice a showing for the other two Riders. I especially loved how Valen lands the only good hit on Vram that anyone manages so far the way he does, because that's a really cool way to convey Lage Nine's deeper motivations. Kinda sad and funny to think this is already the third time we've had a cliffhanger of Gavv stumbling upon Hanto laying on the ground beaten half to death though! Poor guy is here just trying to be a solid friend and a good kouhai and he always seems to get "rewarded" like this. It's like the dude is just fated to suffer or something!

[Sentai King]

This show is really good so far. I like the plot of Vram being the one who wants revenge against stomach family for what happened to his brother. He a strong rider and brings a lot to the plot. I can’t wait to see how all this turns out who will attack the stomach family first Lango or Lage9 hmm…