[Paladin]

Hanto begins researching the strange Granutes.

[Zolda]

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

Nyelv mentions @ 02:04 that there's a possibility of a fatal failure/glitch in a Granute's modification. This could mean that the Granute's Gavvs are some kind of modified organ or tool that grant them their human forms and the ability to transform humans into Hito Presses. He then says that he's arrived for a check up on the Granutes who have been remodeled, and he's considering to review the design. This could mean that he's designing a new Gavv for the Granutes, which later will be developed into a Granute-only transformation belt/device that can also use or even produce RG's similar to what Shouma's red Gavv does. Based on what he says @ 02:38, he might be secretly doing an experiment on the Granutes' Gavvs, perhaps to test the effectiveness and side effects of different types of modification. If he's indeed developing a Granute-only transformation belt/device, then he's Kenzou's antithesis.

Shouma says @ 01:20 that he's been eating grasses around the side characters of the week's (the Nakamura elderly couple) neighborhood. He also says @ 05:19 that grasses were what he and his mom used to eat. Does this means that Shouma and his mom did only eat grasses in the Granute world, not artificial foods like I've hypothesized since episode 2, or is it just a white lie? And, once again, Shouma is fainting due to starvation and need to be helped by the side characters of the week. Why don't the Gochizous help him find some food, at least leftover foods from nearby restaurants or stores? And why doesn't Shouma find a job that makes use of his inhuman strength? Since he can easily replace 10 workers and a lifting machine, he'll make some nice moola with his strength if he works at a shipping/logistics company or at construction sites, and he won't ever need to be starved to (near) death again. This dumb plot of Shouma being unable to find foods, fainting due to starvation, and then meeting the side characters of the week has been repeated 3 times since episode 2. Yes, you read that right. 3 times! If this is repeated once again in episode 4 then it's clear the writers are lazy.

Hanto visits Kenzou's place to gather some new info, and Kenzou says to him @ 07:00 that Granutes have kidnapped humans and used them as "spices" for their snacks. He then adds that the Granute's snacks are addictive foods called Yamikashi/Dark Snacks that are made of humans who have been transformed into small, board-like objects. He hypothesizes that those small, board-like objects use a similar technology to freeze drying technology used in food processing. I think it works almost similar to the freeze compression technology in Mirai Sentai Timeranger (2000) which was used to capture and incarcerate prisoners in Londarz prison. He's quite sure that a major number of disappearance cases have been caused by the Granutes' operation. When he's told by Hanto that his mom was kidnapped by the Wolf Granute without being Hito Pressed first, he concludes that the Hito Press technology is a recently developed. He shows Hanto the Chocodon and Chocodan RG's that he kidnapped in episode 3, and says that if he or Hanto are able to use the RG's then they can defeat the Granutes like Shouma does. The fact that Kenzou considers himself or Hanto to be able to use the RG's could be a subtle sign that there's a high chance that he'll transform into the fourth or fifth Rider later.

If Kenzou has known this far about the Granutes' operation, then could it mean that he has been supplied with information by informants/insiders among the Granutes or within the Stomach corporation itself? If he's only an outsider who has been researching the Granutes' operation based on the very sparse rumors and info from the victims/witnesses and looking at it from afar, then it'd make sense if he's only known about what can be seen, for example the fact that Granutes have a mouth on their stomach and humans are transformed into small, board-like objects to be kidnapped. But, since he's demonstrated that he's already known that those small, board-like objects (Hito Presses) are ingredients for the Granutes' snacks called Yamikashi/Dark Snacks, then it's strongly suggested that he acquired those crucial pieces of information from one or several sources that are much closer to the Granutes than the mere witnesses, or even from a group of people that have out a much bigger resources into researching about the Granutes. The part about where Kenzou acquired the crucial pieces of information and who are the people that support him in developing the Valen Buster is the most interesting part so far.

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

Mr. Shioya feels that there's something suspicious about Kenzou. He thinks Kenzou knows too much. He thinks that the info that Hanto's acquired from Kenzou might be a grand delusion on Kenzou's part, and advises Hanto to wait and see before he fully trusts him. It seems like Mr. Shioya is trying to be more rational here, or perhaps he's subtly preventing Hanto from knowing the truth. Many people have hypothesized that Mr. Shioya is also a Granute, and some have even hypothesized since episode 2 that he's actually the elusive Wolf Granute who kidnapped Hanto's mom 18 years ago. If those hypotheses were true then it'd be one of the most easily guessed plot twists in the history of this franchise.

Shouma addresses Shite and Jeebh as his older sister and brother @ 13:28, and @ 14:44 Shouma addresses Lango as his older brother, so yes, it's finally proven that he's the Stomach sibling's half-brother. Jeebh says that the red Gavv he saw on a social media post looked familiar, and then he and Shita say that only Shouma has the red Gavv. Soooooo, if Jeebh and Shita (and very likely all Stomach siblings) has already known about the red Gavv that Shouma has, then how does it take quite long for Jeebh and Shita to connect the dots since they first saw KR Gavv on a social media post at the end of episode 2? If a strange creature/KR Gavv (that they thought was a Granute) appeared, then who else can be suspected but Shouma (who has the only Granute who has a different Gavv)? Shita says @ 14:09 that Shouma couldn't be transformed into a Hito Press because he has the red Gavv. Lango says in the flashback scene @ 14:52 that the father that had protected Shouma and his mom is dead, so my hypothesis here about father Stomach having protected Shouma and his mom is quite correct. Lango says that humans are not his family, but mere ingredients for the Dark Snacks.

All weekly Granutes have been shown to have kaijin bodies, and the Stomach siblings are shown to have kaijin heads but human bodies. I have a hypothesis that Granutes were actually once humans who consume the creatures/plants in the Granute world and evolved monstrous body parts, and the Gavv is an evolved or artificial organ that was created to allow Granutes to consume the creatures/plants in the Granute world in a safer manner. That explains why the Granutes' kaijin forms (including the Stomach siblings) have no mouth, only Gavv. Low/middle class Granutes consume the most amount of raw/unprocessed foods and all their body parts are transformed into monstrous parts, and the high class Granutes consume the least amount of raw/unprocessed foods and thus allow them to keep the majority of their body parts in the original human form. That, or perhaps the Stomach siblings do have fully monstrous kaijin forms which are yet to been shown.

Jeebh hypothesizes @ 17:54 that the RG's are Shouma's minions, and Shita says that Shouma isn't supposed to be able to use them due to being a failure, and Jeebh concludes that Shouma is able to use his minions since he came to the Earth (and has eaten the humans' snacks). I have a hypothesis that if RG's are Shouma's minions that he produced, then the Stomach field agents are actually the Stomach siblings' minions.

Shouma's fainting (again!) after the fight, as a suspicious character is approaching near him. That character looks big and doesn't look like a human. Is he a Granute?

Sachika is the heroine yet she's completely absent in this episode, not even one frame.

Next week:

In a flashback scene, Kid Shouma is being operated on by a Granute, which from the shape of the head is seemingly a member of the Stomach corporation. What were the modifications that he did to Kid Shouma's Gavv? This Granute is very likely the same Granute that approaches Shouma as he's fainting in the previous scene. He says @ 23:08 as he's looking at Shouma in the KR Gavv Poppin Gummy form that the operation was successfull. The operation was likely done to allow Shouma to eat human snacks and produce the RG's.

Kenzou is examining the schematics of a device that he's assembling which is very likely the Valen Buster. He's able to construct the Valen Buster in just 2 weeks since he kidnapped the Chocodon and Chocodan RG's in episode 3. Where do all the resources come from? Is he just very rich or is he supported by a clandestine organization? I doubt if he's working alone. KR Valen will very likely debut in episode 6, since the DX Valen Buster will be on sale on October 5th.

[DreadBringer]

It seems like the show is progressing faster than I expected, with a big event already being revealed.

It's ironic that Shoma had dealt with a thief last week, and now he unknowingly steals from others by picking vegetables to eat. I wonder what would have happened if Shoma didn't resemble Makoto, and if the old couple had reported him to the police instead. Now Shoma realizes that he has to work to earn money for food. It's not just big eaters like him; humans in general work to eat.

The Stomach family is racist towards humans, which explains why they are cruel to them. They not only use humans for food but also eliminate any humans in their family, like Michiru and Shoma, although Shoma can't be turned into a Human Press as he is a half-Granute. If Shoma is the oddity as a part-human, it likely means that the Stomach's father has multiple wives. Shoma's reason for caring for humans is because it was the world his mom grew up in. Shoma still refers to his mother's murderers with -niisan suffix.

Shoma really embodies Showa and Kekera's views, about the lonely suffering of a Kamen Rider. He endures bad food, his mom's murder, and has to stay away from people, as otherwise he'd make them happy and get them targeted by the Stomachs, leaving people sad, like the old couple. I wonder what would happen to Sachika if her vow to make people happy would also cause disaster instead. Shoma's triumph in this episode is a power of friendship cliche, with him remembering the humans he bonds with to beat the Agents.

Dunno if the early part of the show emphasizing plants references previous works by Takebe; Gaim and Geats, which both had plant monsters. The agents also remind me of the latter, wearing masks in a hoodie and keeping them while fighting, like the Game Masters. Gavv does a fine job in its finishers, making the opponents suffer a barrage from multiple copies of the food form, and now the multiple foods in Fuwamallow form turn him into a bulldozer.

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

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Shoma really embodies Showa and Kekera's views, about the lonely suffering of a Kamen Rider. He endures bad food, his mom's murder, and has to stay away from people, as otherwise he'd make them happy and get them targeted by the Stomachs, leaving people sad, like the old couple.

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

[EpsilonX]

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

- It seems like the main guy is in hiding? And he doesn't want people to find out his secret identity? But looks like the villains know who he is...
- It seems like he's still learning to be a Kamen Rider?
- The marshmallow scene at the beginning was pretty funny
- The marshmallow form is a little silly though.
- Those two girls look like they're meant to be twins but they didn't care enough to find people who look even remotely similar

[IndigoRetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

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

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

[Kiwami]

Ouch, so much for my theory of Shouma saving his mother in the future, damn that was cold.

Anyways, I still enjoy the structure of this show a lot and appreciate the "wandering hero"-structure while it lasts. The actions sequence was ridiculous but lots of fun.

Next week we're meeting an outcast Granuta who operated on Shouma in the past? What? Are they on the road of making this show feel even more Showa-like by revealing that Shouma wasn't born with the red Gavv, but that it was implanted?

Quote:

Originally Posted by EpsilonX

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

One boy and one girl, although that's intentionally not made clear. Until this episode actually since Shouma refers to them with familial honorifics when he sees them, neesan and niisan.

Also, they get a pass for the actors not looking very similar IMO, since their human forms are just disguises; their real forms look identical enough.



If I had a nickel for every time I spotted twins with canine designs recently, I'd have two nickels-- which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Bau bau!

[MKDremare]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

If I had a nickel for every time I spotted twins with canine designs recently, I'd have two nickels-- which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Bau bau!

much more hilarious is how they're both basically shiorin in appearance

[FairyKing]

Minor detail, but I really loved how the Stomach family turned into their monster forms by removing those little transformation trinkets from their belts, instead of putting them in. IIRC the part-timers were shown doing that too, but it was given a bit more focus here and it really emphasizes how their monster forms are their true forms while their human forms are just disguises.

The fight against the agents was quite cool, and it was interesting to see the "footsoldiers" of this series actually give the hero more trouble than the monsters.

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

[henshinzero]

Next episode I look forward to see Hanto stand up to the humans who mistreat Gavv/Shoma as a monster. In Hanto’s eyes, he sees Gavv a hero.

Let’s hope Hanto will learn of Shoma’s identity and offers they work together and trust in each other.