[Paladin]

A wedding announcement also contains a declaration of war...

[Zolda]

Like I said in my post in episode 29 thread last week here, in the midst of the fight between Shouma/KR Gavv and Lage 9/KR Vram vs the Granute of the week, in a very very very convenient coincidence, Liselle appears out of nowhere at the fight @ 00:14, totally undetected by Shouma/KR Gavv and Lage 9/KR Vram and the Granute of the week, haha. The most laughable thing about this scene is: Out of 1,000 nice destinations in and around Tokyo, why the heck does she choose to go to a forest? And even more convenient, she immediately encounters not only 1, but 2 Riders at once, and after enabling the Granute of the week to escape, she says @ 01:41 that she's resuming her stroll and just casually walks away from the scene. What an awfully convenient scene. This series contains a gazillion of convenient scenes like this.

Oh, and Jeebh's name is now Jeebh Zeludac. The one who changed name was Jeebh, not Liselle. Does it mean the Granute society is a matrilineal society? If so, then where's Mother Zeludac, Bocca's wife? Heck, where's Mother Stomach? I mentioned about Mother Stomach in my posts in episode 4 thread here and in episode 5 thread here, but until now, Mother Stomach has never been hinted at, mentioned, let alone shown.

Lage 9 says @ 03:43 that the President's position is decided by the upper class circles, so the Granute society is basically an aristocracy. In the scene @ 05:19 Bocca is visited by a businessman named Magen who is his political ally/benefactor. Magen is boastfully mentioning that his contribution to Bocca's political career has allowed him to stay in power and prevent younger leaders from the opposition from taking his position. Magen says that he'll continue supporting Bocca if his business is treated well, which means that Magen is an oligarch in the Granute society, very likely one among several others. Bocca treats Magen with a piece of Dark Snack which instantly hooks him, and he's planning to use Dark Snacks to control Magen. So yeah, like I hypothesized last week in my post in episode 29 thread here, Bocca's aim is purely political. By making Magen and other oligarchs and the whole Granute upper class members addicted to Dark Snacks, he can easily control them and stay in power forever. Heck, even in my post in episode 6(!) thread here I already hypothesized about the possibility of the existence of a financier/ruler/supreme member (who could potentially be the big bad of the story) who is the true owner of the Stomach corporation, aka the invisible hands who is orchestrating the grand design and shaping Stomach corporation's visions, including its political aspirations via Lango the stupidest CEO villain.

Bocca says @ 07:43 that he's found out that Lango the stupidest CEO villain has had the same plan of using Dark Snacks to gain political power in the Granute society (like I hypothesized in my post in episode 5 thread here). So, like I asked in my posts in episode 17 here and in episode 28 here: Why hasn't Lango the stupidest CEO villain, Glotta, and or Nyelv married themselves off already to wealthy and powerful Granutes? They're much more powerful and smarter than Shita and Jeebh, so they should be better candidates to represent the Stomach family in the upper class circles of the Granute society. Why Shita/Jeebh, not Lango the stupidest CEO villain/Glotta/Nyelv? I said at the end of my post in episode 28 thread here that the answer was "Don't know!", but now I know the real answer: Plot convenience, as always. Jeebh/Shita needed to be the ones to be married off to other Granute upper class families simply because that's what the writers needed in order to make the super duper hyper mega ultra convoluted plot happen. If I were Bouche, then I'd definitely have secured the position of Stomach family in the whole Granute upper class circles by arranging the marriages for Lango the stupidest CEO villain and Glotta and Nyelv since a million years ago. The fact that Bouche died before even arranging the marriages for either Lango the stupidest CEO villain or Glotta or Nyelv proves how idiotic this atrocious story is. If even there's only one person among Lango the stupidest CEO villain, Glotta, or Nyelv who has been married to another powerful family in the Granute society since a long long looooooooooooooooooong time ago (since all of them are already more than eligible for marriage), then Shita/Jeebh would've served very little purpose in the story. For examples:
- There'd be very little meaning in Shita's death. Her death would just be a regular death of a starter villain who was killed by Shouma/KR Gavv Caking form in episode 14.
- There'd be no way for Jeebh to get revenge on Lango the stupidest CEO villain since if Lango the stupidest CEO villain were already married off to another powerful family in the Granute society, then it'd be pretty much pointless for Jeebh to one up him.
This means that Jeebh/Shita's entire existence could've been replaced simply by marrying either Lango the stupidest CEO villain or Glotta or Nyelv off to another powerful family in the Granute society. This proves that Jeebh/Shita, and their character arcs (Shita's death and Jeebh's marriage) were added to the story with the goal of making the super duper hyper mega ultra convoluted plot become even more convoluted.

Bocca says @ 07:53 that he's concerned about what the Granute police would do if they find out about the existence of Dark Snacks, and he's offering Lango the stupidest CEO villain an offer he can't refuse by implying that his powerful position enables him to control and manipulate the Granute police. If Bocca had only known about the existence of Dark Snacks since he was told by Jeebh who met Liselle after Shita's death in episode 14, then it means Bocca only manipulated the Granute police since episode 15 at the earliest. It means that before episode 15 the Granute police should've still been able to investigate the Dark Snacks normally. So, why the heck the Granute police's investigation hadn't shown any results at all? Why were the Granute police's activites only mentioned once in episode 5 @ 04:53 when Lango the stupidest CEO villain said that he was concerned that the Granute government might've cracked down on Stomach's illegal drug operation? And, more importantly, like I elaborated in my posts in episode 19 thread here and here and in episode 22 thread here:
Why the heck were Granute police/law enforcement authority still in the dark after 2 decades of Stomach's Dark Snack operation and can do nothing to deal with it, but Lage 9, a mere ordinary civilian with virtually zero detective/investigative skills, was able to connect the dots and trace the name Dark Snacks to Stomach corporation in just several months? Like almost everything in this atrocious story, these very very very awful plot conveniences just make no sense.

Liselle returns to the Granute world and brings several mundane items as souvenirs to Bocca @ 10:04. Bocca says @ 11:11 that although he was a little worried when Jeebh propose his marriage to Liselle, it turned out Bocca struck a gold mine (the Dark Snacks' power to control Granutes). Liselle is surprised and voices her objection because she thinks that Bocca is planning to take Jeebh under his wings, so yeah, this further shows that Liselle is very likely a spoiled brat with a possessive tendency who treats other people beneath her as toys yet doesn't like it when the toys are taken from her. I see a possibility that if Bocca has conflict with Jeebh later, then she would actually side with Jeebh and oppose Bocca. As Bocca says to his assistants @ 11:43, it seems like Liselle also has tendency to get bored of everything quickly.

And yeah, exactly like I hypothesized last week in my post in episode 29 thread here, Shita who was seemingly revived in the preview section in episode 29 @ 23:12 is actually just Jeebh who is using Shita's fixed Mimic Key. A Mimic Key is just a mask in the shape of a human, so why doesn't Jeebh reminisce about Shita by looking at her photos or watching her videos that show her real Granute form? Why does he reminisce about Shita by using her Mimic Key, which is basically just a mask? Very very very weird reasoning by Jeebh.

In the scene @ 15:08 Shouma finds out that the Granute of the week is the owner of a bath house that was found by Sachika @ 14:28 in a very very very convenient manner, as usual, haha. Lage 9 asks Sachika @ 15:43 whether there's a room in the bath house that can't be accessed by guests, and she says that it's the boiler room, so they enter the boiler room, and again, in a very very very convenient manner, they find an open suitcase that contains the Hito Pressed humans there, haha.. What's even stupider is that there's an agent (that belongs to Lango the stupidest CEO villain). Why the heck hasn't that agent secured the suitcase already? The answer: Because the writers needed the suitcase to be found by Lage 9 & Sachika in a very very very convenient manner. Gosh, this atrocious story is soooooooooooooooo full of plot conveniences.

KR Gavv Blizzardsorbet form makes an appearance again after missing for 3 episodes (27-29).

In the closing scene @ 21:55, Lango the stupidest CEO villain has summoned Glotta and Nyelv for a seemingly important meeting, but seems to be unable to say anything. Instead, it's Liselle who reveals that from now on the Stomach corporation belongs to the Zeludac family. She reveals that she's now the CEO, while Jeebh is the vice president. Glotta doesn't seem to like it, but Nyelv looks like he doesn't care. This meeting ends with Jeebh gleefully revealing that Lango the stupidest CEO villain is now demoted to procurement and purchase. It looks like Jeebh is gonna have fun ordering Lango around for the next 4 or 5 episodes.

Next week:

Jeebh is seemingly having power trip over his older siblings, especially Lango.

Hanto's left hand is fused with Lage 9's right hand.

Shouma/KR Gavv is fighting one of Bocca's assistants. Or perhaps that's not an assistant, but a minion, like the Stomach family members' agents?

What's happened to the body of Kenzou who died after being unceremoniously defeated by Hanto/KR Valen Frappe Custom form at the end of episode 28? I've hypothesized that his body is repurposed by Nyelv and is used as a test subject in the next phase of his experiment. The last active Dark Shouma/KR Bitter Gavv and all the remaining unactivated Dark Shoumas inside Kenzou's crummy office/lab were destroyed by Lage 9/KR Vram in episode 28 @ 17:31, but there are still 2 other KR Bitter Gavv forms which haven't been shown (Breacookie form and Bakibaki Stick form). Who will transform into KR Bitter Gavv for those forms? It could be Kenzou whose corpse is reanimated and equipped with a Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv by Nyelv, or a clone of Kenzou that is created by Nyelv based on the cells from Kenzou's corpse.

Mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyybbbbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeee...

[Mesnick]

I returned to watching it at a very opportune time. In the end, we have a good development of the previous episode. Hanto shows off his investigative skills, and Lakia shows off her knowledge of Granutes' behavior and the coolest demonstration of invisibility in the franchise. It was also established that the two often argue, which will be developed in the next episode. Even Mot2W is charismatic and memorable enough, even if he is not the focus of the plot.
But I want to digress and note that in the form of a chocolate frappe, I am very distracted by the straw. I keep waiting for Valen to pull it out and use it as a weapon.
There is also a mysterious candy seller who will also appear in the next episode. Is he a human relative of Shouma?
But it's time to talk about the one the episode is named after. Komura should be commended for subverting expectations. Everyone expected Jeebh to return much stronger, more confident, and with a different style. Instead, he didn't change at all (though, given Liesel's fascination with the human world, it's entirely possible that at some point the newlyweds will change their style to a more casual one). Moreover, he did what was demanded of him and simply let his new relatives take power in Stomatch Inc. By the way, it is funny that this time Shouma is not compared to other riders, but to villains. He is waiting for a meeting with old relatives, and new ones have come to the Stomatch family. It is also worth noting that, unlike Lango and Glotta, Nyelv remained indifferent to the personnel changes. He probably thinks his position as chief scientist is safe.
In any case, Liesel and her father are a breath of fresh air and a much-needed boost to the show. There's nothing wrong with the StoMatch siblings, but they're too passive. I saw that in the comments to the previous episode, Liesel was called a sociopath, but this statement is refuted by the fact that she brought her father gifts. And she also treated her husband kindly, who was reconciling the persona of his deceased sister. However, one should not be mistaken in the opposite direction. Liesel is spoiled, egotistical, does not tolerate objections and has a perverted concept of beauty. But even in the episode with such a title, she did nothing wrong. Except for trying to kill Shouma, which from her point of view is justified. So she is clearly a villain, but with the potential for redemption.
Overall, the show has lost some of its drama, but it's clearly still going strong and is going to be very interesting. I like it.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Oh, and Jeebh's name is now Jeebh Zeludac. The one who changed name was Jeebh, not Liselle. Does it mean the Granute society is a matrilineal society? If so, then where's Mother Zeludac, Bocca's wife? Heck, where's Mother Stomach? I mentioned about Mother Stomach in my posts in episode 4 thread here and in episode 5 thread here, but until now, Mother Stomach has never been hinted at, mentioned, let alone shown.

Most likely, it is simply strictly hierarchical. The Zeludak are a stronger and more influential family than the Stomatch, and so Jeebh takes their name to enhance his status. As for the Stomatch mother, she is most likely dead.

Quote:

Bocca says @ 07:43 that he's found out that Lango the stupidest CEO villain has had the same plan of using Dark Snacks to gain political power in the Granute society (like I hypothesized in my post in episode 5 thread here). So, like I asked in my posts in episode 17 here and in episode 28 here: Why hasn't Lango the stupidest CEO villain, Glotta, and or Nyelv married themselves off already to wealthy and powerful Granutes? They're much more powerful and smarter than Shita and Jeebh, so they should be better candidates to represent the Stomach family in the upper class circles of the Granute society. Why Shita/Jeebh, not Lango the stupidest CEO villain/Glotta/Nyelv? I said at the end of my post in episode 28 thread here that the answer was "Don't know!", but now I know the real answer: Plot convenience, as always. Jeebh/Shita needed to be the ones to be married off to other Granute upper class families simply because that's what the writers needed in order to make the super duper hyper mega ultra convoluted plot happen. If I were Bouche, then I'd definitely have secured the position of Stomach family in the whole Granute upper class circles by arranging the marriages for Lango the stupidest CEO villain and Glotta and Nyelv since a million years ago. The fact that Bouche died before even arranging the marriages for either Lango the stupidest CEO villain or Glotta or Nyelv proves how idiotic this atrocious story is. If even there's only one person among Lango the stupidest CEO villain, Glotta, or Nyelv who has been married to another powerful family in the Granute society since a long long looooooooooooooooooong time ago (since all of them are already more than eligible for marriage), then Shita/Jeebh would've served very little purpose in the story.

Jeebh's case is one example of why this didn't happen. Other powerful families wanted their share of both Stomatch Inc. and the human world. So only someone desperate like Jeebh would agree to this. I also actually think that the Stomatch olders siblings may well have families, but their spouses just don't take part in the management of the company.

Quote:

- There'd be no way for Jeebh to get revenge on Lango the stupidest CEO villain since if Lango the stupidest CEO villain were already married off to another powerful family in the Granute society, then it'd be pretty much pointless for Jeebh to one up him.

Considering Bocchi's status and Liesel's character, I think that Lango's marriage to some aristocrat would hardly have saved him from demotion. Jeebh literally pulled the ace of trumps in the world of Granute.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

I returned to watching it at a very opportune time. In the end, we have a good development of the previous episode. Hanto shows off his investigative skills, and Lakia shows off her knowledge of Granutes' behavior and the coolest demonstration of invisibility in the franchise. It was also established that the two often argue, which will be developed in the next episode. Even Mot2W is charismatic and memorable enough, even if he is not the focus of the plot.

While it took 30 episodes, it was great to finally see our main 4 in the same room with open identities and how they work together as a team to hunt evil Granutes and save Hitopresses. Their dynamic is kind of like Zi-O, except that Sachika and Tsukuyomi are different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

But I want to digress and note that in the form of a chocolate frappe, I am very distracted by the straw. I keep waiting for Valen to pull it out and use it as a weapon.

I'd never even thought of that but now I think that would be cool!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

There is also a mysterious candy seller who will also appear in the next episode. Is he a human relative of Shouma?

Common theory is that he's Shouma's uncle, Michiru's bro. Since Hanto just brought up the existence of Michiru's family last episode, I think this seems plausible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

It is also worth noting that, unlike Lango and Glotta, Nyelv remained indifferent to the personnel changes. He probably thinks his position as chief scientist is safe.

Nyelve's consistent. He seldom seems fazed by any developments affecting the company unless it may incriminate him, like Lakia's betrayal. As long as he can still experiment, he's chill and yeah, like you said, his position is pretty safe as he's easily the least expendable asset.

I notice some people calling Lango's demotion "karma", but like, other than being an evil company president, he'd been pretty fair to Jeep, only firing him after several failed chances. On the other hand, Lango wanted Jeep to become more serious and well, I guess you could say that his wish has been granted, just not in the way he wanted. This is a pretty messed-up family.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

In any case, Liesel and her father are a breath of fresh air and a much-needed boost to the show. There's nothing wrong with the StoMatch siblings, but they're too passive. I saw that in the comments to the previous episode, Liesel was called a sociopath, but this statement is refuted by the fact that she brought her father gifts. And she also treated her husband kindly, who was reconciling the persona of his deceased sister. However, one should not be mistaken in the opposite direction. Liesel is spoiled, egotistical, does not tolerate objections and has a perverted concept of beauty. But even in the episode with such a title, she did nothing wrong. Except for trying to kill Shouma, which from her point of view is justified. So she is clearly a villain, but with the potential for redemption.

As the new president of Stomach, there's still time for Liselle to live up to her episode title as she will most likely continue her predecessor's dirty work of human trafficking and drug dealing. So far, she reminds me of Beroba, another sadist with a soft spot. We also learn that she is attracted to Jeep in Theta's appearance, which I guess would make her the second openly bi character since Tezuka Miyuki.

Surprising to hear from Lakia that Bocca is actually popular among the Granute public majority, while it turns out he's actually a two-faced man who's not above using despicable methods to gain power, even showing apathy towards his daughter after she leaves his office. I'm curious to see if there are any ethical Granutes in powerful positions who may become important later, like Adonis for the Ganma World, as I can imagine the Granute world will soon be needing a new president when Bocca's crimes are exposed.

[Eclipyon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Surprising to hear from Lakia that Bocca is actually popular among the Granute public majority, while it turns out he's actually a two-faced man who's not above using despicable methods to gain power, even showing apathy towards his daughter after she leaves his office. I'm curious to see if there are any ethical Granutes in powerful positions who may become important later, like Adonis for the Ganma World, as I can imagine the Granute world will soon be needing a new president when Bocca's crimes are exposed.

Seems like a mistranslation, according to the Chinese sub I watched (which also has Japanese sub under it), Bocca is in fact unpopular among the common Granute folks.

[DreadBringer]

The cast is now together.

It seems Bocca is portrayed as evil in this episode, although the show hints at the likely society of the Granute World. Bocca claims the police are on good terms with him, but he questions how they might react, considering the involvement of Dark Treats. Liselle only treats Jeebh well while being condescending to the other Stomachs. She even threatens her father to leave Jeebh alone, suggesting a strained relationship since Bocca disregards Liselle's souvenirs.

Hanto's prejudice against Granutes has diminished. He now wonders if he will end up fighting the entire Granute race because of Bocca, having realized that Stomach Inc. is primarily to blame. I’m uncertain whether Hanto is on Sachika’s payroll, but his journalistic skills are useful for tracking down Granutes and disguises. Rakia's now shown to want to save humans, even snapping Sachika out of her emotional reactions, although he still disapproves of some occupations, such as journalism.

In this situation, Sachika is the one reminding others to prioritize saving people. She understands that the Granute part-timers target happy individuals, and gets mad for it. Unlike Shoma, who has his own issues early in the series, she doesn’t dwell on this, knowing it's their fault to attack innocent people. I wonder if she would set civilians aside for Shoma if she were fully aware of the discussions regarding the President, as it shows that Shoma is still relentlessly hunted by Jeebh.

Though Granute Ochiru appears ordinary, without any significant transformations or upgrades like Yard, he may be the strongest part-timer so far, managing to take on both Gavv and Valen's super forms. Vram could previously defeat Bitter Gavv without problem; however, Lango's Agent poses a greater challenge for him now, even though it was Guruchan who defeated 2 Agents simultaneously before. Liselle can at least de-henshin Guruchan and Vram just by her aura, much like LaToraTah's henshin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I notice some people calling Lango's demotion "karma", but like, other than being an evil company president, he'd been pretty fair to Jeep, only firing him after several failed chances. On the other hand, Lango wanted Jeep to become more serious and well, I guess you could say that his wish has been granted, just not in the way he wanted. This is a pretty messed-up family.

Obviously, though this isn't necessarily a case for you, people generally are more sympathetic towards the twins compared to the others, as they have suffered for being neglected by their older siblings and father, making them feel more relatively good in people's eyes due to some victim status. I'm fed up with the claims that they turned out evil due to said upbringing, when, Stomach family will have anyone being human kidnappers regardless of upbringing? Lango forcing the twins into an arranged marriage is being terrible to them, regardless of their job, though. Though I doubt if Jeebh do get more serious here like Lango wanted, I still doubt if Jeebh would be more competent, just because he has higher position now, I think he can still just be a a simple vengeful sadist who just wanted to abuse his position for his personal satisfaction, like how he confronted Red Gavv that he revels more in sadistic joy to Lango's dismay, but to more targets now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

As the new president of Stomach, there's still time for Liselle to live up to her episode title as she will most likely continue her predecessor's dirty work of human trafficking and drug dealing. So far, she reminds me of Beroba, another sadist with a soft spot. We also learn that she is attracted to Jeep in Theta's appearance, which I guess would make her the second openly bi character since Tezuka Miyuki.

While you'd perhaps accept Inoue's work, as Tezuka being bi equals to him being another depraved Rider of Ryuki rather than the only other straight up hero like in the main series, dunno if this should be considered his actual character as a whole. Albeit Tezuka does get different characterization in each of the media, even for 13 Riders, by Inoue too, but though he was Eri's ex who has similar motivation to Ren rather than fortuneteller, he's still good, to question about killing others to save Eri.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eclipyon

Seems like a mistranslation, according to the Chinese sub I watched (which also has Japanese sub under it), Bocca is in fact unpopular among the common Granute folks.

Yeah, looks like the translators got confused here. Speaking of Bocca, I think even if he survives the show, his retirement is inevitable.

[Leo Novum]

A president put in place by his rich buddies and not popular with the common folk? A world where a candy company like the Stomach Corporation can dream and even reach for taking over the world? Great Caesar's Ghost, the Granute world seems to be in the throes of last stage capitalism!

Oh, the President just fed one of his sponsors a Dark Treat because that sponsor was getting too pushy. This dude is seriously bad news. And Lango has been reduced to an errand boy. Something tells me that Lango is going to switch sides just out of spite.

Jeebh using Shita's human form does not bode well for his mental health.

Oh I just realized that this is probably the first time Sachika has seen Hitopresses. Way to go, Candy Team!

An ape throwing barrels at the main character? Is this a Donkey Kong reference!

So this is probably the first case in which every member of the Candy Team helped. Even Sachika. Team work truly does make the dream work.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo Novum

A president put in place by his rich buddies and not popular with the common folk? A world where a candy company like the Stomach Corporation can dream and even reach for taking over the world? Great Caesar's Ghost, the Granute world seems to be in the throes of last stage capitalism!

I would say that the world of rock-eating creatures with a second mouth on their stomach seems eerily familiar.