[Paladin]

Rakia may have found the Granute who killed his brother, while a new conflict brews in Shoma's family...

[Eclipyon]

Huh, didn't expect Over Mode to debut next week, and of all the villains we have, they actually choose Magen, Bocca's Dark Snack addicted backer, who will transform into Bitter Gavv Breacookie Form for Gavv to fight against. Based on that one scene from Dente as well as the dialogue from next episode's preview, looks like Gochipod is Dente's creation.

Also, looks like Granute Ripper is not the one who killed Comel. Glotta theory still alive!!!

[Zolda]

Hanto says during the opening monologue section that he and "the pudding guy"/Lage 9 ended up investigating the same case by coincidence. Yes, I agree with you, Hanto. It's a coincidence, a very very very convenient coincidence, like many things that have happened in this story. Lage 9 is looking at a mark on a tree caused by the barber shop owner/Granute of the week @ 00:27, and it reminds him of the wound on Komel's body. He thinks that perhaps the barber shop owner/Granute of the week was the part-timer who was ordered by the mysterious upper member of Stomach corporation (who was not Lango, Glotta, Nyelv, or Jeebh/Shita) to get rid of Komel. He asks Sachika @ 01:13 to find the location of the barber shop owner/Granute of the week, as if she's an intelligence specialist from NSA, haha. Soooooo, if Sachika has always been able to find the location of various Granutes simply by searching for tips from social media posts, then how the heck has the Tokyo police department never been shown investigating the Stomach part-timers' activities and their Dark Snack operations (including the missing person cases like Shouma's mom and Hanto's mom) during the last 20(!) years or so? So far, in 32 episodes, the Tokyo police department has only made 2 appearances (in episode 21 @ 14:34 in the morning after the owner/steward of a restaurant was attacked and beaten up by a Dark Shouma the night before, and in episode 22 @ 10:34 at the crime scene at the Nagihama tunnel where a truck containing snacks/candies was robbed by the same Dark Shouma/KR Bitter Gavv), yet the only had something to do with ruckus caused by a Dark Shouma, and none of them had anything to do with the Stomach part-timers' activities. There has been multiple reports of monster appearance in social media, and definitely a plethora of mysterious disappearance cases (and even blatant kidnapping by a monster like what happened to Hanto's mom), yet, after 2 decades, the Tokyo police department still can't connect the dots and read between the lines. Soooooooooooooooo conveniently stupid. *intergalactic hyperdrive facepalm

A detached Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv is shown at Nyelv's lab @ 03:53. Soooooooooooooooooo, a Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv is now detachable? Hasn't it already firmly established since episode 1 that a Henshin Belt Gavv (and Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv as well) is basically a modified Gavv, which is a digestive organ? Even if Henshin Belt Gavv/Bitter Gavv is not an organ, it's at least a device that's directly connected to the Gavv, and then to the digestive system of a Granute. This is basically the continuation of the question that I asked in my post in episode 22 thread here about how Kenzou was able to clone Shouma's Henshin Belt Gavv. In that post I asked: "How was Kenzou (if he's indeed the one who created Dark Shouma as a clone of Shouma) able to create a copy of Shouma's red Gavv/Henshin Belt Gavv? Shouma's red Gavv/Henshin Belt Gavv is a prosthetic device (just like the Stomach Drivers), not an organ, so Kenzou should not be able to copy it by cloning Shouma's cells. Did Nyelv give him Dente's schematics of Shouma's Henshin Belt Gavv? There's no reason for for Nyelv to allow Kenzou to access Dente's schematics of Shouma's Henshin Belt Gavv because Kenzou is only responsible for developing the Valen Buster (and manipulating Hanto)." Even this question is still not answered, and probably will never be answered.

An agent informs Nyelv @ 04:10 that someone's location has been found. Nyelv then says that that person is the traitor of the Stomach family, which means it's Dente.

In the scene @ 04:23 Liselle is treating Shouma at a cafe. She's telling Shouma that she's now the CEO of Stomach corporation, and Lango is now working as a procurement officer under Jeebh who is now VP. When Shouma asks her why she decided to marry Jebbh, she says because he was simply cute. She says Jeebh was sad due to Shita's death, and according to her, that's what made him cute. She's even thanking Shouma for killing Shita and making Jeebh miserable. Yea, like I've said before, it seems like Liselle is a spoiled brat who likes seeing other people beng miserable, or maybe she just likes seeing other people being more miserable than her. As she's pulling out several flowers from a pot, she's even hinting that she's enjoying seeing Shouma/KR Gavv fighting the other Stomach siblings. So yeah, she's a spoiled rich kid who likes to create conflicts and see the people she deems beneath her destroy each other. The ultimate surprise could be when she sees that Hanto is willing to work with Lango to defeat Bocca. Or maybe not, haha.

In the scene @ 07:21 Hanto asks Lage 9 whether Stomach corporation also took someone important away from him. When Hanto says that that person is likely Komel, Lage 9 enters rage mode. Hanto tells Lage 9 that he also has the same experience and proceeds by telling Lage 9 his sob story about his mom being kidnapped by a Granute some 18 years ago. So yeah, like I said in my post in episode 19 thread here, all the 3 main Riders are motivated by revenge. I call them "The Revenge Trio", haha. All of them have the same motivation, which makes them veeeeeeeery boring. Jeebh went crazy after Shouma/KR Gavv Caking form killed Shita in episode 14, so if Jeebh is later confirmed to be another KR Bitter Gavv, then that would make 4(!) Riders that are motivated by revenge. Dang! Sooooooooooo boring!

Lage 9 tells Hanto that Komel was his little brother who was involved with Stomach corporation as a part-timer, and was eliminated by Stomach corporation when he tried to escape from the job. He thinks that Komel was able to resist the Dark Snacks' temptation due to his conscience, and Hanto lauds Komel for that. It's still unclear whether Komel was working as a part-timer in the Granute world or in the human world. If Komel was working as a part-timer in the Granute world, then it makes sense that Komel was able to return to Lage 9's house in the Granute world in episode 19 @ 17:13. But, like I've already elaborated in my previous posts, if Komel was working as a part-timer in the human world, then the only possible route for him to return to Lage 9's house in the Granute world in episode 19 @ 17:13 was by being allowed to return there by the mysterious upper member of Stomach corporation, who was not Lango, Glotta, Nyelv, or Jeebh/Shita. That person could be Dente, and because he's still a member of the Stomach family, he still has the ability to open the interworld portal. Or it was just Bouche. Or perhaps there's another unseen upper member of Stomach corporation? Perhaps Zomb is indeed still alive? Don't know!

In the scene @ 11:24, Dente is surprised when Nyelv is visiting him at his cave while bringing a box of Dark Snack as gift. Nyelv knows that the Vrastum Gear that is used by Hanto/KR Valen was created by Dente by copying Lage's unit, and says that Dente as his former mentor is the only person who is able to copy his skills. Yep, like I elaborated in my post in episode 28 thread here, since Nyelv himself admits in this scene that Dente knows everything that he knows, it means that Nyelv has stopped learning new skills and stopped gaining new knowledge since about 20 years ago when Dente went AWOL in the human world. Nyelv's (and Dente's) skills and knowledge is basically 2 decades behind the current technology in the Granute world, haha. If Dente and Nyelv as the chief scientists of Stomach corporation only updated their knowledge 2 decades ago, then it means Stomach corporation's technology must be far behind other companies in the Granute world, haha. Nyelv is asking Dente to return to Stomach corporation, though Dente thinks that his true intention is to get rid of him. Dente refuses Nyelv request and says that Shouma is the only person he's supporting. Dente is starting to realize that his days are numbered, so he's opening a blank blueprint and starting to work on a new RG for Shouma, which is definitely the Gochipod RG.

Shouma/KR Gavv fights one of Lango's agents @ 13:24. Why is that agent operating openly at a public place like that and risks being easily found by Shouma and other humans? Why didn't it simply open the interworld portal right after receiving the Hito Presses? Why did it loiter at a public place instead? And why does that agent only collect the Hito Presses in this episode, while the barber shop owner/Granute of the week had already Hito Pressed several humans (including Mitsuru who was mentioned in episode 31) 3 weeks ago (or 2 weeks before episode 31)? The answer: Plot convenience, as always.

Yep, exactly like I hypothesized last week in episode 31 thread here, the theme of the subplot in episodes 31-32 is mistaken identity, and at his defeat @ 18:47, the barber shop owner/Granute of the week says to Lage 9/KR Vram that he doesn't know anything about Komel, which means that the culprit who assasinated Komel is yet to be found. Surprise, surprise.

In the scene @ 21:27, the same bottles of ingredients on the table like shown in episode 31 @ 01:37 are shown again. Like I said last week, this scene could imply the similar method of how the recently revealed Gochipod RG would be created. The Gochipod RG could be created in a similar manner to how beetles grow, where larvae burrow inside soil and similar substrates until they molt into pupae and then adult beetles, so similarly, several types of RG could be stored inside a container filled with some kind of substrate for some time until they combine into the Gochipod RG. Or perhaps Shouma would attempt to create his own candies by using the ingredients from those bottles, which look like sugar and chocolate. Or perhaps the normal RG's just come closer together and combine into the Gochipod RG, haha. Mmmaaayyybbbeee...

In the scene @ 21:33, Magen is visiting Bocca and eating several pieces of Dark Snacks. He's expressing his fondness of Dark Snacks to Bocca, and would like to order another for today. Bocca says that he's unable to supply Dark Snacks in the meantime, which upsets Magen, who says that he'd do anything to get a hand on Dark Snacks. Bocca is telling the desperate Magen to follow a plan from Nyelv, who enters the room while wearing his human disguise, which of course makes surprises Magen. What's the aim of this plan by Nyelv?

Next week:

The debut of KR Bitter Gavv Breacookie form. And the user is revealed to be Magen. So this is the aim of Nyelv's plan. Soooooooooo, Magen is so desperate for Dark Snacks that he's losing common sense as well? He's putting himself at danger by following Nyelv's plan and using the Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv, and he should've ordered his trusted bodyguard to do the rough job instead. Oh, and since he's using the Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv, does it mean that he would have had his Gavv modified by Nyelv, just like Kid Shouma who got his red Gavv modified by Dente into the Henshin Belt Gavv, or is he just wearing the Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv like Lage 9 or Hanto wearing the Vrastum Gear? If this Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv unit can be worn by anyone without requiring medical procedures (unlike what happened to Kid Shouma and his red Gavv), then it means that it could be passed on to several other characters. Jeebh, Liselle, Bocca, and Glotta could be the next users of this Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv unit.

Sachika is shocked when she sees Dente collapsing on the ground in the preview section @ 23:10. This could mean that Dente is dying from an assassination attempt by one of Nyelv's agents/goons, or he's just exhausted from lack of sleep when creating Gochipod RG, haha.

In the preview section @ 23:12, Nyelv is introducing Magen as a big shot businessman in the Granute world, likely before Magen debuts his transformation into KR Bitter Gavv. What's the point of Magen transforming into KR Bitter Gavv? If Magen dies, then who would be manipulated by Bocca? Who would help Bocca in maintaining his position as the president of the Granute society? Even if Bocca is likely planning to manipulate several other oligarchs as well, it'd still make no sense for Bocca to harm Magen. If I were Bocca, why would I harm Magen, a very influential person that I can manipulate? If I were Bocca, then I'd request help from Magen for supplying as many disposable Granutes as possible to be trafficked into the human world and be used as part-timers. If I were Bocca, then I'd definitely request Magen's help for financing the expansion of the Stomach corporation's Dark Snack factory and other aspects of its illegal operation. If I were Bocca, then I'd also request Magen's help in inviting other oligarchs to my parties where the main course is Dark Snacks, and I would make several oligarchs get addicted to Dark Snacks in one fell swoop. Magen is basically Bocca's goose that lays golden eggs, so why would Bocca harm him by making him transform into KR Bitter Gavv? Bocca's plan to make Magen transform into KR Bitter Gavv is only harming Magen and creating unnecessary risks. No shrewd, cunning businessman nor politician will ever do what Bocca is doing to Magen. It makes no sense at all, be it from business standpoint and or political standpoint.

Episode 33 also marks the debut of the Gochipod RG and KR Gavv Gochipod form Over Mode. Based on the preview section @ 23:15, it seems like the Gochipod RG would be created by several RG's out of thin air or them combining into it, and would probably also be fueled by Shouma's grief over Dente's death (if he's indeed assassinated by Nyelv's agents/goons). Oh, and it seems like Shouma transforms into KR Gavv Gochipod form Over Mode at the same forest where Nyelv previously introduced Magen before his debut as KR Bitter Gavv, so there's quite a high chance that Magen/KR Bitter Gavv could be the first punching bag that would be defeated by Shouma in his debut as KR Gavv Gochipod form Over Mode, haha.

[Mesnick]

Well, as expected, Hanto and Lakia found common ground amid their shared grief. It's odd that this hadn't come up before, considering that Vram had repeatedly shown that he was only empathetic to beings in similar situations. However, Shouma most likely felt that he had no right to reveal the wounds of others, and he had never been so open with Valen. Also, in the flashback at Wolf-Granute, the red Gavv is not shown, which once again proves that things from pilots sometimes change in subsequent episodes. In any case, their reconciliation led to a gorgeous fight on the scaffolding, with an amazing production even by Gavv standards. And Hanto also worked out the main function of a secondary rider: he beat with a human shield.It also came out that Ripper didn't kill Comel after all, meaning Glotta is still the prime suspect.
As a result, Hanto and Lakia are still arguing about everything, albeit in a more good-natured manner. At least on Granute's part. And Vram apologized to Sachika. Nice.
Shouma's conversation with Liesel went more peacefully than expected. In fact, Gavv was simply informed about changes in the management of Stomatch Inc.Liesel has also shown her warped understanding of beauty and relationships more clearly. We unexpectedly learned that Jeebh attracts her precisely because of his suffering. That is, Liesel likes him while he is unhappy. I wonder if Jeebh suddenly overcomes his grief, will she mock him or just leave him? Nyelv also begins to act. And if his visit to Dente is essentially just reconnaissance, then the final scene is more significant.
The idea of ​​making Magen a rider is still unclear to me. It's clear that Nyelv would prefer to test the belt on a rat first, which would not end up like Suga. But wouldn't it be better to use someone less significant? So far I only see the narrative benefit of this decision, since it shows that Nyelv communicates with Bocca in secret from his relatives. Well, let's see what new possibilities this plot opens up.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Even if Bocca is likely planning to manipulate several other oligarchs as well, it'd still make no sense for Bocca to harm Magen.

In his first appearance, Magen tried to blackmail Bocca. Perhaps the president thinks that even as a drug addict, Magen is too dangerous. For example, Magen could try to conspire with the Stomatch family to get rid of Bocca together. After all, why would he need a middleman to get Dark Snacks?
Or maybe it's even simpler and Bocca just hates Magen. And now the president has enjoyed his humiliation and wants to get rid of him. Not everything has to be subject to strict logic, especially in a show about junk food`s superhero.

[DreadBringer]

Hanto and Rakia respond in opposite ways when their past traumas resurface. Hanto shuts down when Suga mentions the death of Soji, while Rakia loses his temper when he learns about the potential killer of Comel, even shouting at Sachika. Despite often being the instigator, turns out it's Hanto who reaches out to Rakia, revealing that he too lost a loved one to Stomach Inc. This confession opens Rakia up about his past, and Hanto praises Comel for wanting to overcome his addiction.

Rather surprising that Shoma had an actual date with Lizel. I expected them to show Lizel enjoying the food as much as Shoma does, creating a mirror effect between the two. Earlier, when Shoma encountered Jeebh, he didn't address him with the -niisan suffix, but he does it again here. Naturally, they become official enemies after Lizel threatens the nearby humans, not understanding why Shoma would want to protect these fragile creatures. It’s not just Suga—various characters, including Rakia, now make statements about the fragility of humans.

While Nyelv remains polite during his visit to Dente, he is, at his core, a depraved member of Stomach Inc. Despite not always being aligned with his siblings, his primary concern during the visit is to expand the Stomach Inc. Dente's motivation also revolves around making Shoma happy, similar to Hanto, who is now focusing on Shoma's relative in his journalism. Shoma appears to be the only character who are allowed/not viewed as having motives that aren’t solely tied to someone else.

In the end, despite claiming to have resolved their issues, Rakia still provokes Hanto. Rakia's the clear instigator, despite him also admitting that he's stupid during their fight with Ripper. Of course, many will interpret any cases of this as mere banter, and most'd hope for dynamics like this for characters. However, I believe Rakia is closer to Shoma and Sachika, as he treats them better, particularly with his genuine apology to Sachika. And I still hope that Shoma and Sachika won't engage in this dynamic just for comedic or entertainment purposes.

[Leo Novum]

Man, Hanto sure gets a rough deal, doesn't he? Even though he is the weakest and yet works the hardest. Justice for my chocolate boy!

[Fish Sandwich]

Much like how Lakia realizes he's been undervaluing Hanto here, I feel like this episode has shown me a level of potential for episodes of this show not written directly by Koumura that I didn't previously see.

I don't know if part of it is just the staff kind of gradually working out how to make guest writers and Gavv mix together smoothly (because it feels like every time it's happened, it's always been better than the last time?), but I was shocked how well this two-parter turned out. It's almost hard to believe this is Uchida's first go with these characters and this world.

First of all, structurally, I love the whole idea of a two-parter that pivots like this in the middle, so that each half is its own distinct thing while still being clearly connected. Rather than a broader consistent tone throughout, the first part played up the clash between Hanto and Lakia's personalities in as overtly comedic a fashion as possible. In a move that also strikes me as very true to Gavv's style for reasons I'm not sure I can articulate succinctly, it also avoided taking the easy way out, so to speak, by resolving the whole glued-together plot point without it bringing the two any closer emotionally by the end. That made room for this part to instead lean into more internal drama, with Valen and Vram's bond ultimately being strengthened solely by sharing their honest feelings and learning to see a bit of themselves in each other. That's the Gavv factor! It helps that it's a direct parallel to the also Kamihoriuchi-directed scene in 12 where Hanto and Shouma talked in a dark room about losing people they care about, but it feels like an appropriate and tasteful place to sort of rhyme that scene with a different combo of Riders to me, rather than a lack of creativity or anything.

Besides, there's more than enough going on elsewhere to keep things from being repetitive. A big one is the showstopper final fight with the Vrastum Gear duo, which pulled out every stop imaginable to provide a shining example of how much it can add to a fight scene for the location itself to play such an active tactile role. It seems like something that would break the bank, and indeed, they actually seem to have cleverly scrounged the funds together with tricks like setting it up right at Toei's own studio lot, and by not bothering to go film Dente's scene at his actual cave. Me being me though, I was honestly at least as thrilled just to see PoppinGummy doing a basic Rider Kick. Shouma even showed up to that fight on his bike!

But then, that's not even the thing with Shouma in this episode I liked the most, because the thing about the script I think takes it to that level where I probably wouldn't notice it wasn't from the main writer if I wasn't told is that it's doing the obligatory countless little things Gavv tends to do throughout an episode. Tons of small seeds planted for future stories, including Shouma pretty obviously feeling conflicted about basically breaking Jiip... as opposed to Jiip's new wife, who seemingly wouldn't be interested in him if he *wasn't* broken, which is probably not the healthiest thing in a relationship! So that's all pretty interesting, but it's also the really tiny things, too, like how Hanto interacts with the Gochizo throughout more like how Shouma always has, which, especially with the cute nicknames in the first half, seems like a deliberate effort to highlight how he and the whole status quo of the show have grown by this point. Heck, now that I think about it, maybe it's actually perfect that the chunk of the show where the heroes are all working together more closely has guest-written episodes that feel themselves more closely part of a cohesive whole?

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eclipyon

Also, looks like Granute Ripper is not the one who killed Comel. Glotta theory still alive!!!

Yeah, I figured it wouldn't be that easy. But Ripper was still a useful plot device to start the friendship between Hanto and Lakia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Liesel has also shown her warped understanding of beauty and relationships more clearly. We unexpectedly learned that Jeebh attracts her precisely because of his suffering. That is, Liesel likes him while he is unhappy. I wonder if Jeebh suddenly overcomes his grief, will she mock him or just leave him?

So Liselle is like a twisted version of Sachika with how she's drawn to unhappy people, except where Sachika wants to cheer them up, Liselle only wants to bask in their "cute" unhappiness. Would be interesting to see how these two interact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

In the end, despite claiming to have resolved their issues, Rakia still provokes Hanto. Rakia's the clear instigator, despite him also admitting that he's stupid during their fight with Ripper. Of course, many will interpret any cases of this as mere banter, and most'd hope for dynamics like this for characters. However, I believe Rakia is closer to Shoma and Sachika, as he treats them better, particularly with his genuine apology to Sachika. And I still hope that Shoma and Sachika won't engage in this dynamic just for comedic or entertainment purposes.

Shouma and Sachika aren't the types to act like that. While Lakia's continued provocation of Hanto looks like typical tsundere behavior to me, I agree that he's still closer to Sachika, the one who can get through to him the easiest. Hanto's and Lakia's dynamic reminds me of Geiz and Woz, where they have mutual respect and friendship, while still kind of disliking each other and being more attached to the Primary Rider. Hino Yusuke even joked about Lakia stealing Shouma from Hanto, so I guess they can also be compared to Otoya and Jirou (not the frappe).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo Novum

Man, Hanto sure gets a rough deal, doesn't he? Even though he is the weakest and yet works the hardest. Justice for my chocolate boy!

It's due to Hanto being the weakest that he has to work the hardest to keep up with his Granute comrades. That's what we love about him, right?

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

So Liselle is like a twisted version of Sachika with how she's drawn to unhappy people, except where Sachika wants to cheer them up, Liselle only wants to bask in their "cute" unhappiness. Would be interesting to see how these two interact.

I always think that how Stomach Inc. work is a counterpart to Hapipare, where both try to cheer people up and make them happy, but obviously, Stomach Inc. does that for their personal gain that it's only to increase the flavor of their product and they'd kill off those happy humans, while Hapipare does that for the right reasons. I feel the show haven't taken notice of this comparison yet, before going for Lisel and Sachika.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Shouma and Sachika aren't the types to act like that. While Lakia's continued provocation of Hanto looks like typical tsundere behavior to me, I agree that he's still closer to Sachika, the one who can get through to him the easiest. Hanto's and Lakia's dynamic reminds me of Geiz and Woz, where they have mutual respect and friendship, while still kind of disliking each other and being more attached to the Primary Rider. Hino Yusuke even joked about Lakia stealing Shouma from Hanto, so I guess they can also be compared to Otoya and Jirou (not the frappe).

Ofc they aren't, but there can be media or writers or such that would think it's nothing wrong for one to be assholes for comedy, and I do see some kind-natured characters being made like that. For example in KR, I feel Inoue would be the type that is more likely to do that. And for your Zi-O example, it's even more obvious example of how they aren't the closest compared to others; regardless of your feelings to the character, Geiz obviously likes Tsukuyomi better than Woz and is closer to her; thus he treats her better compared to Woz (and to Sougo, in the beginning), while Woz obviously likes Sougo better than Geiz, and his actions are mainly to support Sougo, even though his intentions are twisted, while Geiz was his enemy at a time that Woz personally eliminated for Sougo's (Ohma Zi-O) sake, and that Woz also has encouraged Sougo to throw Geiz and Tsukuyomi under the bus as well.