[Paladin]

Hanto is badly injured by a stranger with a black Gavv...

[Zolda]

In the opening scene @ 00:29, Nyelv says that the implantation is complete. Bocca is satisfied because the allure of Dark Snacks made Magen offer up his body. Yeah, Magen is so dumb that he's willing to endanger himself by dealing with the Riders directly. If Magen is indeed a Dark Snack addict, then his main priority is his addiction. The only thing that matters to an addict is satisfying his pleasures, so if his own life is endangered, then how would he enjoy the pleasures of Dark Snacks? If he's a true addict, then he would've chosen to maximize his pleasures by offering Bocca his best assets: His money, his connections with other oligarchs, or his people. He would've either offered Bocca his financial backing and connections among the Granutes' upper class to expand Stomach corporation's illegal operations, and or would've offered Bocca his bodyguards/muscles to deal with the Riders and or become Stomach's part-timers, perhaps even equipping them with Henshin Belt Bitter Gavvs as a weapon against the Riders, creating an army of weaponized part-timers, effectively creating Bitter Gavv troopers stationed in the human world. That would've been a huge win-win solution for both Magen (as an addict who wants to maximize his Dark Snack pleasures) and Bocca (as a cunning politician who wants to manipulate Bocca and maximize the gain he's achieved from manipulating him). What's even stupider than Magen allowing himself to be endangered by dealing with the Riders directly is the fact that Bocca authorized Nyelv's plan that endangers Magen in the first place. Like I said last week in my post in episode 32 thread here, 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 allowing Nyelv to make Magen transform into KR Bitter Gavv is only harming Magen and creating unnecessary risks for both Magen and Bocca. 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.

Oh, and there's something even a gazillion times stupider that that. I already hypothesized since my post in episode 5(!) here that Lango had shown signs of having some kind of political ambition. Sooooooooooooooooooooo, if he had had a political ambition, then why didn't he invite Magen (and or other oligarchs) to work with him? Heck, he (or even Bouche or Zomb!) should've even invited Bocca to his office and offered him Dark Snacks, and he (or even Bouche or Zomb) would've single-handedly made Bocca, the president of the Granute society (and or the previous presidents), his perfect puppet! By manipulating Bocca or the previous presidents, he (or even Bouche or Zomb!) would've been able to achieve his ambition of controlling the whole Granut society in one fell swoop! Working with corrupt politicians/cops/judges/DA's/lawyers is basically the very first thing every leader of an organized crime enterprise would do, so why had Lango/Bouche/Zomb never done exactly that? Why have they done nothing, and instead, allowed Stomach corporation to be taken over by Bocca, not the other way around? The answer: Plot convenience for the utterly idiot plot, as usual. If Lango/Bouche/Zomb has been able to manipulate Bocca (not Bocca manipulating Lango/Bouche/Zomb), then the plot since episode 29 about Stomach corporation being taken over by Bocca/Liselle (via Jeebh) would've never happened, and the carefully planned convoluted plots would've pathetically crumbled like a house of cards and the story would've gone 1000% haywire. Heck, even the series Kamen Rider Gavv would've never begun in the first place because the whole plot of the story since episode 1 would've never happened at all, because by then Stomach corporation's political powers would've been sooooooooooo deeply entrenched in the whole Granute society. It means that the whole Granute society would've been systemically captured by the Stomach family via manipulating Bocca and or the previous presidents. Dark Snack is virtually the most harmless-looking yet the most potent tool of control/manipulation, so anyone who can produce and control it will have the most perfect tool of mind control at his disposal. If I were Lango/Bouche/Zomb, I would've invited the Granute president to my office under the guise of business/political contribution matters and served him Dark Snacks, and in just one sitting I would've been able to gain control over him, and thus, the whole Granute society. Controlling the leader = Controlling the group. It's the most basic principle in political science 101. The fact that the villains from the Stomach family (Lango/Bouche/Zomb) have had an easy, simple, perfectly executable solution that would've allowed them to manipulate, control, and systemically capture the whole Granute society since a long, long, long, loooooooooooooooooong time ago but did not do it simply because the writers needed the super duper hyper mega ultra convoluted plot to happen in the future is the ultimate proof that KR Gavv's story is a gigantic, colossal idiot plot. Important characters making colossally stupid decisions that completely ruin and negate the existence of the whole story is the worst (and painful!) form of narrative suicide. It's basically identical to KR (God forbid) Geats' plot where the whole 49-episode story could've been solved (and thus negated out of existence) simply by Sueru pressing the reset button on his super computer that contains the universe simulation for Ace's world. That's how utterly stoooooooooopid this whole story is. This is the ultimate proof (among a gazillion other) of how pathetically, laughably, indefensibly lazy, cheap, sloppy, heavy-handed, and atrocious KR Gavv's story is. KR Gavv, identical to KR (God forbid) Geats, is the peak of the peak of the peak of creative bankruptcy, which is hilarious (and sad at the same time) because both were produced by Naomi Takebe. Thanks for impressively atrocious story, Gavv's producers and writers! *facepalm while vomiting from the cringe-inducing stupidity of this story

This scene also confirms that the Henshin Belt Gavv/Bitter Gavv is indeed a prosthetic device. Like I've been asking since the appearance of Dark Shouma #1 in episode 21, is the the Henshin Belt Gavv/Bitter Gavv a modified organ or just a prosthetic device? Someone would say that the Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv was created by Kenzou, but since his job was only to manipulate Hanto, then it would've made no sense at all for Nyelv to give Kenzou the details of Dente's medical procedures on Kid Shouma and the blueprints of the Henshin Belt Gavv. It's completely irrelevant to his job of grooming and manipulating Hanto. So, how the heck was Kenzou able to create copies of the Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv? Also, from which Dark Shouma did Nyelv extract the detached Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv (as shown at his lab in episode 32 @ 03:53)? All the Dark Shoumas were destroyed by Shouma/KR Gavv and or Hanto/KR Valen and or Lage 9/KR Vram. Dark Shouma #4, along with all the remaining unactivated Dark Shoumas, were destroyed by Lage 9/KR Vram in episode 28 @ 17:31. It has never been shown on screen, but did Nyelv somehow capture Dark Shouma #5 and extract the detached Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv from him? Dark Shouma #5 only appeared once in episode 27 @ 00:21 in a very very very convenient coincidence when Hanto visited Kenzou's crummy office/lab and he saw Kenzou talking with Dark Shoumas #4 and #5, and since then, Dark Shouma #5 has never appeared again nor transformed into KR Bitter Gavv.

Also, Nyelv has full, unrestricted access to the results of Dente's medical procedures that were performed about 18 years ago on Kid Shouma's weak red Gavv to strengthen it, so why didn't he just create copies of Shouma's Henshin Belt Gavv based on Dente's data? Why did he choose to use an extracted Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv (that was somehow created by Kenzou), not create a brand new copy of the Henshin Belt Gavv? I have a hypothesis that he chose to equip Magen with an extracted Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv because he's planning to expand on Kenzou's research on the Dark Shoumas. Perhaps he's planning to equip Magen or future users of the Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv (Jeebh? Liselle? Glotta? Lango?) with the Bake Magnum to see how it works with the Granutes' biology. He's likely planning to combine the results of the researches from Dente, Kenzou, and his own researches (via the Vrastum Gear) into the ultimate research that will result in the creation of the ultimate RG and Driver that are based on the power of Dark Snacks itself, and that's why he's been looking at the data from both Dente's and Kenzou's researches. There's also high chance that he'd perform the improved version of Dente's medical procedure on himself that would allow him to eat Dark Snacks safely and then produce the ultimate RG based on it. He has never eaten Dark Snacks because he already knows the negative side effects of Dark Snacks on a Granute's mind, and the ultimate RG and Driver would likely allow him to eat Dark Snacks, create the ultimate RG based on it, and acquire the ultimate power safely without any negative side effects. If he's indeed planning to create his own ultimate Driver, then there's a high chance that it would be based on Kenzou's Bake Magnum, or perhaps even the combination of all the best aspects of the Henshin Belt Gavv, Vrastum Gear, and Valen Buster/Bake Magnum. Perhaps it'd be in the form of a weapon that can be attached to a belt, similar to AIMS Shotriser/ZAIA Slashriser from KR Zero-One or the Seiken Swordriver from KR Saber. Mmmmmaaaaayyyyybbbbbeeeee...

In the scene @ 04:32 Lango says that the number of high-quality Hito Pressed humans is steadily increasing. His agent says that it's now brought back to the same level before Shouma/red Gavv showed up. Lango then asks his agent what Nyelv has been up to, to which his agent says that Nyelv looks like he's having fun, and it makes Lango become suspicious. Hellooooooooooo, Lango? It's episode 33 already, and you've just realized that Nyelv could be plotting something against you? Like I said in my post in episode 29 thread here, it was episode 29 already, but he had never bothered to check on Nyelv's performance during these 6 months since episode 1. He has never bothered to check whether Nyelv's had actually delivered his promises. Even the busiest people in the world like presidents or CEO's still have time to evaluate their employees' performances and measure it against their company's goals. Any bad performance would've immediately stuck out like a sore thumb, let alone an abysmal performance by a high-ranking general like Nyelv. This level of laughably underwhelming performance by Lango as the stupidest CEO villain himself means that he's either uncommitted to the Dark Snack project, and or lazy, and or just stoopid. So yeah, Lango the stupidest CEO villain has very likely never really bothered to evaluate his employees' performances. He's not only stoopid, but also lazy. No wonder he's soooooooooooo out of the loop. No wonder he's soooooooooooo stoopid. No wonder this story feels soooooooooooo laughably shallow, one-dimensional, and sterile. Shallow villains = Shallow story. Stupid villains = Stupid story. *intergalactic hyperdrive facepalm

In the scene @ 05:01 Hanto is looking at another list of missing people, which is actually a public list acquired from a website. That list (and the similar list in episode 31 @ 03:11) is so weird. It has the addresses of the victims, but it doesn't show the gender of the victims? An address is a more detailed and private information that gender, so how the heck does that list has people's address but not their gender? So weird. It seems like weirdness and other forms of logical anomaly is the name of the game in this story, haha. Oh, and like I elaborated in my post in episode 31 thread here, why hasn't Hanto just visited the local police precinct to confirm the accuracy of data about a missing woman named Michiru Inoue? The police have a database of solved and unsolved cases of missing people, and a simple Ctrl + F would've already shown the various details about a victim named Michiru Inoue who went missing in early 2000's, such as legal name (including the kanji spelling of it), gender, date of birth, last known address, last known profession, marital status, last known family members, history of previous investigations, etc. I bet all my net worth that there would've not been many woman from Tokyo specifically named Michiru Inoue about the age of 20-30 (at that time) who went missing in the early 2000's. The whole problem (and the plot!) would've been solved by a simple Ctrl + F in the police database. Gosh, this story is just soooooooooooooooooooooo unnecessary convoluted to the point it completely disregards many obvious, simple, easy, perfectly executable solutions. Oh, and as usual, in a very very very convenient coincidence @ 05:05 he encounters Magen who is pretending to be a good Samaritan, haha!

In the scene @ 05:30 Nyelv is working on (modifying?) Kenzou's Bake Magnum. When Lango asks him what kind of research he's been up to recently, he shows Lango the reworked Bake Magnum which he says will help Lango gather more Hito Pressed humans. Perhaps he's planning to make Lango his ultimate pawn by making him transform into KR Bake with the Bake Magnum, like I elaborated in paragraph #4 above.

In the scene @ 08:10, when Lage 9 is looking for rocks around a river, in another very very very convenient coincidence, Magen also arrives there, like he did several moments ago with Hanto. It seems like Magen conveniently knows Hanto's and Lage 9's location at any time, haha. A gazillion of coincidences, as usual.

In the scene @ 12:48 Shouma arrives at the forest where Lage 9/KR Vram and Magen/KR Bitter Gavv are fighting. He asks Magen who the heck he is, to which Nyelv answers by introducing Magen as a big shot businessman in the Granute world, much to his dismay. It turned out Nyelv introduces Magen after he debuted his transformation into KR Bitter Gavv. I got it backward last week, haha.

In the scene @ 13:46 Sachika arrives at Dente's cave, and finds Dente collapsed on the floor. Yea, like I said last week, Dente's is not dying from an assassination attempt by one of Nyelv's agents/goons. He just collapsed fom exhaustion, which he later says @ 18:33 that it was due to him removing several of his own teeth and grinding them into materials for the creation of the Gochipod RG. It seems like, during the last 20 years in the human world, Dente has been learning alchemy from Houtarou Ichinose/KR Gotchard at the Alchemy Academy, haha.

Sachika arrives at the fight scene @ 15:48 to give Shouma/KR Gavv the new bottle-shaped Gochipod RG. How does Sachika know the location of fight scene? Looks like just another plot convenience. She says it's 100x stronger than a normal RG. Because it's still empty, it does nothing when Shouma put it in his Henshin Belt Gavv. I've hypothesized since episode 31 that 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. Well, I got it quite right when it's shown @ 17:45 that the Gochipod RG is fueled by the normal RG's that combine inside it until it's full. KR Gavv Gochipod form Over Mode looks nice, though I still much prefer Caking form. I consider Caking form KR Gavv's final form, haha. And yeah, exactly like I said last week, Magen/KR Bitter Gavv is indeed the first punching bag that's defeated by Shouma in his debut as KR Gavv Gochipod form Over Mode. He's defeated and sent flying away by just one simple punch from KR Gavv Gochipod form Over Mode. Magen feels more and more like a random Granute villain that's turned into a Rider just to be the first punching bag for the main Rider's newest form. He needs to be a KR Bitter Gavv because Bandai still needs to shill the DX Henshin Belt Bitter Gavv and its related RG's. It's very likely that there would be another Granute-villain-turned-Rider as the punching bag for KR Gavv Gochipod form Master Mode's debut. Based on what's been shown so far, it could be Jeebh/Glotta/Lango's turn to get their asses kicked, though I think Lango is more likely due to him being shown the modified Bake Magnum by Nyelv like I elaborated in paragraph #7 above.

Also, if KR Gavv Gochipod form Over/Master Mode is indeed KR Gavv's final form, and KR Gavv Gochipod form Master Mode would debut in episode 38 (like in the previous 3 or 4 series), then the last toys to be advertised in the remaining 10 or so episodes could be Nyelv's ultimate RG and Driver like I elaborated in paragraph #4 above, which would debut not long after Lango(?)/KR Bake(?) is defeated by KR Gavv Gochipod form Master Mode in his debut. That, or perhaps KR Gavv Gochipod form Over/Master Mode is not KR Gavv's final form, which means that there's another RG/form that would act as KR Gavv's true final form. Mmmmmaaaaayyyyybbbbbeeeee...

Next week:

Shouma says that the RG's are gone, likely due to the usage of the Gochipod RG in episode 33 that requires the combination of 100 normal RG's. Hanto says that Shouma needs to gather 100 new RG's, so perhaps Shouma would need to find a way to create 100 new RG's in short time.

Lango has finally realized that Nyelv's been planning to betray him. Surprise surprise, Lango Mango! Haha.

Sachika and Dente are seen making cakes/sweets and or candies. Perhaps they (and Shouma) are making their own candies like I hypothesized last week? That could be the case. Although, if Shouma needs 100 new RG's, then he could simply buy candies/snacks/ice cream from the nearby 7-Eleven or other convenience stores. It's not that candies/snacks/ice cream are expensive, haha. This is why a protagonist Rider being able to easily create his own trinkets is a bad trope.

Magen/KR Bitter Gavv is defeated, but is actually still alive. Would he finally meet his Maker this time around? Or perhaps Magen is killed in episode 33, and the KR Bitter Gavv in episode 34 is not him, but another Granute-villain-turned-a-Rider (Glotta? Jeebh?) as a placeholder opponent for Hanto/KR Valen and Lage 9/KR Vram.

There are about 15 episodes remaining, and there are still many major villains (Lango, Glotta, Nyelv, Jeebh, Liselle, Bocca, and Magen), not to mention the weekly/bi-weekly Stomach grunts/part-timers, and the possibility of hidden villains (is Zomb still alive?), such as the Stomach family insider who assassinated Komel. I wonder how the writers would've eliminated them. It'd take an average of 2 episodes to eliminate each one of them, and it'd feel very rushed. Several major villains like Jeebh and Glotta even rarely appear, especially Jeebh who was missing from the story for 12(!) episodes straight. Well, that's what you get for writing a story with a super duper hyper mega ultra convoluted plot. That's what you get for focusing on sheer quantity, not quality.

[DreadBringer]

The final form debut, back in the Neo Heisei number.

Sachika seems to be engaging directly with Shoma about his crusade against Stomach Inc. I rather hope Sachika would also bring up her wanting to make everyone happy here to participate, outside of Hapipare stuff, because it's not limited to Hapipare job, but also about stopping monsters from attacking humans. Dente doesn't actually die; he is simply exhausted like... Kuroto creating Muteki. Dente, using his teeth to create Gochipod for his nephew, catches even Sachika off guard.

Despite having the moral high ground, Shoma misjudges Nyelv by thinking he is stealing Suga's work, when in fact, Nyelv is Suga's partner, which he points out to Shoma. Lango is genuinely competent; despite being demoted, his good work allows him to stay afloat, including uncovering Nyelv's work behind others' backs, but Lango no longer has authority over Nyelv despite this. Shoma's also concerned over Nyelv double crossing Lango, the more clear oppressor to the twins before.

Vram has finally faced defeat. He has been struggling lately and has now been de-henshined by Magen. Vram is also clearly weaker than Blizzardsorbet, who manages to put up a fight against Magen before it melts. The Gochizos took an exceptionally long time to make the Gochipod function, which allowed Shoma to get beaten up by Magen. Gochipod’s Over Mode power is focused on tankiness, although his body is also bouncy, resembling Fuwamallow on steroids. The power of Over Mode is sufficient to cause significant collateral damage.

[Kiwami]

A bit of a nothingburger this episode. Certainly not fit for a new form debut.

No real stakes to make the upgrade feel special, just a random goon to take down.

Dente using his teeth for making the pod was neat but yeah that’s about it. The new form also wasn't really in this one too much, so kind of hard to get a good impression for it. The "gummy" aspect was kinda nice I guess.

[Mesnick]

The meeting with Liesel made an impression on Shouma, making him expect trouble. But the closest enemy has a very indirect relation to the president's daughter. Improved by the black Gavv, Magen is used as a hunter of hunters and his first victim is the poor fellow Hanto. Still, there is a departure from the typical distribution of roles and the most unfortunate is still the secondary rider.
In Magen himself, his Granute-Scolopendra power is much more impressive than his rider abilities. Most likely because he doesn't show anything new. However, he doesn't need it, because in this episode the focus is shifted to Gochipod. Created by Denta at the cost of his own health, absorbing many Gochizo and brought by the caring Sachika, Gochipod contains everything Shouma has achieved during his stay in the human world. The only thing left out is his relationships with other riders. Getting Gochipod itself elevates it to a very high level for me, but the possibilities of the form are no less impressive.
I really like the contrast with the Gavv's base form. If one begins to fall apart from blows, the other does not feel even a flurry of the strongest enemy attacks, even one of which is before this de-henshin Valen. Also the final powerful blow. I remember more effective and more emotional presentations of forms, but since the time of Kuuga I do not recall such a frightening demonstration of power. But with this Gavv does not forget about balance. For all its power, Gochipod Over Mode is very slow and Shouma can barely move in it. I imagine that a faster opponent could become a serious threat to him. However, Master Mod will probably come in handy for such cases. But in any case, I am very interested to know what happens next.
Another interesting thing: Lango directly accused Nyelv of betrayal, receiving a response in the style of: "I will not say what I do, but believe me, it is for the common good."Also in this episode Nyelv shows emotions for the first time outside of the usual detached contemplation. And that is also very interesting.
Overall, a very simple intermediate episode, but not bad. It fulfills the main function: it makes you look forward to the next one. And the opportunity to see Shouma's new powers in full glory.

[Fish Sandwich]

I'm still not convinced Gavv is ever gonna top Caking, but it also feels like the show itself is entirely conscious of how high it set the bar for Shouma's big power-up stories so early?

As I mentioned at the time, BlizzardSorbet's debut works in part specifically because it seemed to actively avoid trying to be some climactic event, and now here comes Over Mode with a gag where Shouma has to do the big dramatic wind up to the transformation twice because the first time is way too easy for it to be a properly exciting moment.

It's similar to the gag the show did with the previous empty transformation trinket Dente gifted one of the heroes not too long ago, which is arguably redundant, but especially with how it plays up the initial fake-out so much harder, there's enough different about it to still work the second time around.

Emphasizing the personal sacrifice Dente makes to create the Gochipod is absolutely a great idea to give the new form the appropriate emotional weight to go with all that literal physical bulk. It keeps with the theme of Gavv's powers coming from the bonds he's forged, but from a new angle, where it's about how Shouma has inspired Dente to atone for the mistakes of his past. It's sort of morbid to have the new toy be made out of a guy's teeth, but I love that it's such an active penance. Especially with how Lakia was used a while back to call into question the very idea of treating Dente as an ally, this is an episode that really vindicates Shouma's whole sense of heroism.

Even still, with an opponent lacking any meaty existing connection to the heroes and the stakes of the big fight just being saving Vram -- a guy who can usually save himself -- the episode isn't focused enough to actually reach those Caking heights. But once again... that might all be part of the plan? It definitely seems like the Gochipod is going to drive at least a couple stories after this, so I can already vaguely see how the show might end up mining enough dramatic potential out of it so that the totality of it adds up to something far greater than the individual pieces, which would be a very fitting way for it to earn its keep in my eyes.

Picky as I may be about the (still quite enjoyable!) story, however, it's not like I'm above the charms of Over Mode. Not sure where I'll end up on the aesthetics. I don't have strong feelings either way right now, but BlizzardSorbet has grown on me immensely with time, so who knows? In terms of the fight scene here though, it's great. The action direction has always been a highlight of this show, and I think they found an incredibly simple yet effective way to have a debut that was both different from anything we've already seen in Gavv, while also conveying that sense of raw power. It literally is just the one hit, but a hit that satisfying is more than enough.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I'm still not convinced Gavv is ever gonna top Caking, but it also feels like the show itself is entirely conscious of how high it set the bar for Shouma's big power-up stories so early?

Caking is a great form visually and functionally, but I personally am extremely against the claims that it should be the final form. The concept of "Shouma is no longer an outsider, but a king who can create humanoid minions like a full-fledged Granute and even better" is clearly not what the show is aiming for. Gochipod, although little shown so far, at least plays by Reiwa's rules: "The final form is similar to the base form."

Quote:

It's similar to the gag the show did with the previous empty transformation trinket Dente gifted one of the heroes not too long ago, which is arguably redundant, but especially with how it plays up the initial fake-out so much harder, there's enough different about it to still work the second time around.

Dente doesn't have the ability to create the hardware for gadgets, so this is something the heroes have to handle on their own.

[Leo Novum]

I don't like the new form. Too bouncy.