[Zolda]

I have several new hypotheses and (outlandish) speculations.

Hypotheses:
- The face on the Henshin Belt Gavv is actually Dente's face.
- The power-up items for the upgrade form and or final form will likely involve removing the top plate on the Henshin Belt Gavv.
- There could be a Granute police officer who has been going undercover in the human world to investigate Stomach's operation. This Granute police #1 have likely had already become acquainted with Kenzou as a partner in intelligence sharing. This could explain why Kenzou had known way too much about the details of Stomach's operation like I mentioned in episode 4 thread here. This Granute police #1 was also the one who supplied Kenzou with a sample of a Granute's internal organ in episode 6. This Granute police #1 could also be a user of a new transformation device created by Kenzou.
- If Kenzou is indeed backed/supported by a clandestine organization, then this Granute police #1 is likely also acting as a liaison between his police department in the Granute world and Kenzou's organization in the human world.
- There could be another Granute police officer who has been going undercover inside the Stomach corporation. This Granute police #2 is the who has been supplying insider information to Granute police #1.
- Similarly, there could be one or several of Lango's/Stomach's spies inside the Granute police department and or Kenzou's organization who have been tasked with intercepting information about crackdowns.
- If Lango's/Stomach's is serious about protecting his operation, he could've even planted one or several of his spies inside the upper echelons of the Granute police department and or Kenzou's organization and tasked them with spreading disinformation and sabotaging the enemies' operations, or even corrupting and drastically alter the direction of both organizations.
- There could be a lazy Granute who is abusing the reward system by focusing on quantity, not quality, and kidnaps random humans indiscriminately.
- Since this story has made no distinction between happiness, contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, etc, there could be high-quality human targets with completely different situations/back stories, such as:
a man whose wife is just giving birth,
a fresh graduate whose job application has been accepted by his dream employer,
a music composer who has just completed his magnum opus,
a man who has just finished his meal at his favorite restaurant,
a man who has just visited a red light district,
a drug addict who has just had his latest dose,
a disgruntled accountant who has just managed to transfer his boss' money to his bank account,
a scam artist who has just succeeded in defrauding his victims,
a dirty, sleazy politician who has just done an insider trading by manipulating a new bill he helped pass,
etc.
- There could be a financier, or even the financier, who has been financially funding all of Stomach's business ventures, be it the legal or the illegal ones. This financier/ruler could be an outsider, or the supreme member of the Stomach family, who could be Mother Stomach or Grandfather Stomach, which means that there's another member of the Stomach family who has had more authority than Bouche did. Bouche, and now Lango, are the CEO's whose duties is overseeing the day-to-day operation, and this financier/ruler/supreme member 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. This financier/ruler/supreme member could potentially be the big bad of the story, and, as usual, could very likely transform into a Rider with his/her own Rider system which is being or has been developed by Nyelv.
- Nyelv's main goal is to create the perfect Driver/transformation device which combines the best aspects of Granutes and humans and has the ability to produce Dark Snacks in the most efficient manner, likely as ordered by the financier/ruler of Stomach corporation above. The perfect Driver/transformation device can be considered a miniaturized, portable version of the whole Dark Snack factory.
- The perfect version of Dark Snacks produced by Nyelv's perfect Driver/transformation device could likely be consumed by both Granutes and humans as well, which makes it the perfect way to manipulate both the Granute and human societies.

(Outlandish) speculations:
- Kenzou Suga and Nyelv are the same person, which means that Kenzou is just another one of the human disguises used by Nyelv. This could explain why Nyelv appears right after Kenzou runs away in episode 6 @ 23:34, and also why he possesses the bottom half of Mr. Shioya's Hito Press. Kenzou being Nyelv's alter ego could also explain how Kenzou is able to possess a sample of a Granute's internal organ in episode 6. Nyelv/Kenzou is also the one who's manipulated Mr. Shioya's death in episode 6.
- Nyelv-Kenzou's initial plan was to use KR Valen as sparring partner (aka unknowing pawn) whom he'll gather valuable data from. Now that Shouma/KR Gavv has appeared, Nyelv-Kenzou's planning to also use KR Gavv as his another pawn.
- However, these speculations have too many logical anomalies to even mention.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Haven't you considered the possibility that these pieces of evidence were deliberately left behind as a calling card to Hanto? Either to motivate him to accept the operation, or to warn him what happens to journalists who put their noses in dangerous places. Journalism is about finding the truth, which means thinking of solutions as well as problems.

That's why I put the "orgy of evidence" meme from Minority Report in a new paragraph. Whether those pieces of incriminating evidence were left by the actual culprit, or by someone who was framed as the culprit, or by someone who was the manipulator, it'd still look dumb. Sure, the writers can make that those pieces of incriminating evidence were left by a manipulator, but it would only make the story more convoluted and create more questions, such as:
- Who was the manipulator? Was it Nyelv (who is also Kenzou like I mentioned in my (outlandish) speculations above)? Was it the reason why Nyelv was holding a broken Hito Press which looked like the bottom half of Mr. Shioya's Hito Press in episode 6 @ 13:16?
- Who broke Mr. Shioya's Hito Press? Was it broken by the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou?) or by the captor (the Mushroom Granute)?
- What was the point of the Mushroom Granute submitting Mr. Shioya's (broken) Hito Press to the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou)? Was he simply forced by the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou)? Did he know that it was part of a plan to manipulate Hanto, which means that Hanto would later suspect him if Mr. Shioya's (broken) Hito Press was conveniently left at the crime scene?
- More importantly, how could those objects (a piece of paper containing the address of the bar, a wallet, a camera, a bag, and Mr. Shioya's broken Hito Press) very conveniently stay in that same open spot without being found by random passers-by? No way in God's green Earth that big, conspicuous objects like a camera and a wallet could stay unrecovered in the same exact spot on a busy street near a public place in a business district without being found and recovered by a random passer-by and then reported to the nearest police station in the lost-and-found section. Mr. Shioya's broken Hito Press, having his face printed on it, can also act like an ID, so it would've also definitely recovered by the random passer-by and reported to the police station. You plant fake/manipulated pieces of evidence in a closed, undisturbed environment that's safe from any external interferences until the intended victim comes into your trap. You never plant fake/manipulated pieces of evidence in a very open, very public place like this that can be disturbed by random passers-by. It's makes no sense at all.
- And, if it's done to intimidate or silence or deter journalists, then it should've also be done to the primary eyewitnesses who have posted their encounters with Granutes in social media. If Stomach corporation needs to hide their operations and cover their tracks, then then should start by silencing the primary eyewitnesses, or better, by kidnapping them as well. So far, many Granutes kidnap people in open, public spaces, for example the Mushroom Granute in this episode who kidnaps people during his magic show. Stomach corporation should focus their cover-up effort in silencing those many eyewitnesses, not intimidating journalists (or other third parties) who are often not eyewitnesses.

Unnecessary "manipulation" subplot (and likely plot twist) like this requires way too many conveniences. That's the hallmark of a convoluted story: Conveniences after conveniences after conveniences after conveniences after conveniences. This type of robotic, rigid, clumsy writing is so forced and unnatural that it makes the viewers roll their eyes. Plot convenience is one of the worst ways to break the story's immersion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

You can't just blame everything on a higher power, or else there would be no point in journalism.

What I've meant by "a higher power/a higher force" in my comments is the writers of this story who love manipulative/unnatural/forced/heavy-handed writing.

[Tokumonkey]

That we've clearly seen the other, intact half of Mr. Shioya in the hands of STOMACH suggests that our heroes' understanding of how the process works may be imperfect. I won't be entirely surprised if Valen gets tempted with a way to bring Mr. Shioya back if the two haves are fused back together.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though this also happened before, to Michiru, who was clearly miserable, and the Stomachs compressed and murdered her due to her being a human. Nyelv can still be a mastermind with Soji being killed, likely to see and learn the human Kamen Rider project or other evolution, and some think Suga may be involved in this too. Guess gotta wait to know more about this case.

The difference is that we saw Michiru get Hitopressed and snapped by Glotta, whereas Shioya was "killed" offscreen. Why wouldn't they show that, unless they were hiding something? We didn't see him die and we can't trust that the broken Hitopress is real. From a meta perspective, I believe that this is an attempt to deceive the viewer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Took a long time to do this, after Ryuki introduced henshin items that can be carried around with pocket, which'd be mostly used in most series later. What'd you think about that tarnishing of KR franchise? Even also about non-bug animal motif.

Amazon was the first non-bug Rider though. If it was accepted in Showa, then it should be accepted in Heisei.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

While there's nothing wrong in them repeating a common trope, dunno if this can become tiring that Hanto would just be like most other secondaries being revenge-driven and wants to destroy enemies completely type, considering that previously Hanto was seemingly presented as a laid-back secondary unlike most (though Reiwa actually often did this, albeit some who got a heel turn in later story), and he had suffered tragic loss too before, twice in his mother and grandmother.

Which implies even more that his father was already dead, so Hanto has probably lost 4 loved ones so far. He's suffered a lot, but he keeps finding the strength to keep going. Dude's definitely living up to the title of Reiwa V3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

- The face on the Henshin Belt Gavv is actually Dente's face.

I can kind of see it. Explains why the teeth look bristly, like a whale's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

- Who was the manipulator? Was it Nyelv (who is also Kenzou like I mentioned in my (outlandish) speculations above)? Was it the reason why Nyelv was holding a broken Hito Press which looked like the bottom half of Mr. Shioya's Hito Press in episode 6 @ 13:16?

Maybe we shouldn't complicate this by assuming Nyelve and Suga are the same person, as we have no evidence of that. Although it's possible they are working together, considering their shared interest in Valen. Based on the possession of the broken Hitopress, I agree that Nyelve is the manipulator.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

- Who broke Mr. Shioya's Hito Press? Was it broken by the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou?) or by the captor (the Mushroom Granute)?

- What was the point of the Mushroom Granute submitting Mr. Shioya's (broken) Hito Press to the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou)? Was he simply forced by the manipulator (Nyelv-Kenzou)? Did he know that it was part of a plan to manipulate Hanto, which means that Hanto would later suspect him if Mr. Shioya's (broken) Hito Press was conveniently left at the crime scene?

Since the Shioya incident clashes with Granute Otake's usual method, he may have been executing a special request from Nyelve. Why would Otake produce a Hitopress with such low spice value unless he had something else to gain from it? I believe Otake broke it and delivered the bottom half to Nyelve's agent, in exchange for a high yield of Dark Snacks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

- More importantly, how could those objects (a piece of paper containing the address of the bar, a wallet, a camera, a bag, and Mr. Shioya's broken Hito Press) very conveniently stay in that same open spot without being found by random passers-by?

NPCs can be unobservant. If they don't notice Miho's corpse in Episode Final, then why would they notice a bunch of random items left in a shady place at night?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

This type of robotic, rigid, clumsy writing is so forced and unnatural that it makes the viewers roll their eyes.

Which viewers? This claim needs citation, since you currently seem to be the only eye-rolling viewer here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

What I've meant by "a higher power/a higher force" in my comments is the writers of this story who love manipulative/unnatural/forced/heavy-handed writing.

I know what you meant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tokumonkey

That we've clearly seen the other, intact half of Mr. Shioya in the hands of STOMACH suggests that our heroes' understanding of how the process works may be imperfect. I won't be entirely surprised if Valen gets tempted with a way to bring Mr. Shioya back if the two haves are fused back together.

That could make sense. After all, we've never seen if it's possible for a broken Hitopress to be fixed, since Stomach have no incentive to do that. The fact that the victims' pictures stay the same implies that their lives are maybe still preserved until they get sent to the processing plant to become Dark Snacks. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for Nyelve to be holding on to it.

[Zolda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Maybe we shouldn't complicate this by assuming Nyelve and Suga are the same person, as we have no evidence of that. Although it's possible they are working together, considering their shared interest in Valen. Based on the possession of the broken Hitopress, I agree that Nyelve is the manipulator.

That's why I said that my speculation was outlandish. Nyelv and Kenzou are proven to be 2 different people, but from the recent episodes, it seems like someone who may or may not be Nyelv has been providing Kenzou with crucial information and resources such as a Granute's internal organ. It'd be too easy if that person is Nyelv, whose look and demeanor already give away the vibe of a manipulator, haha. It could be Dente, or a brand new character who represents a clandestine organization like I've hypothesized since episode 50 of Gotchard. The identity of that person (and his organization) will likely be revealed by Christmas or New Year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Since the Shioya incident clashes with Granute Otake's usual method, he may have been executing a special request from Nyelve. Why would Otake produce a Hitopress with such low spice value unless he had something else to gain from it? I believe Otake broke it and delivered the bottom half to Nyelve's agent, in exchange for a high yield of Dark Snacks.

Sure, that may be true, considering how the writers of this story love convoluted, heavy-handed writing. It'd only make the Granute look stupid because he left a residue of his own chemical signature in Mr. Shioya's Hito Press. The Granute basically sabotaged himself. And, if he did gain something from Nyelv, what did he gain? The story didn't show anything about it. If he was indeed ordered by Nyelv yet gained nothing from him, then he, like many characters in this story, was indeed intentionally made stupid simply to move the plot.

A Granute can choose to produce low quality Hito Presses simply because low quality Hito Presses are still rewarded, albeit less than the high quality ones. Also, turning human witnesses into Hito Presses is an effective strategy in covering up their crimes. Why would a Granute let a human target escape simply because he's a low quality targets, and risk being exposed by the escaped human target?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

NPCs can be unobservant. If they don't notice Miho's corpse in Episode Final, then why would they notice a bunch of random items left in a shady place at night?

We're talking about Gavv here, not Ryuki. Don't deflect criticisms by changing the subject.

Those items weren't left in the cafe, but outside the cafe. That cafe isn't located in a shady place. It's located in a business district. It's similar to what red-light districts look like. You may be required to provide certain credentials to enter it, but you're almost never required to show any credentials to simply walk on the street outside. The inside may be frequented by shady, murky individuals, but the outside is just a normal street. By morning, many people should've noticed if items of importance such as wallet were dropped outside on the street. Oh, and police are often doing night patrols as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Which viewers? This claim needs citation, since you currently seem to be the only eye-rolling viewer here.

Which viewers? The answer: The viewers that have common sense yet rarely speak their mind, aka the silent majority. I've presented many pieces of evidence of how hilariously sloppy the writing in this story is. Time will eventually tell if my criticisms of this series are congruent with reality or not. So far, this story has been consistently making sloppy mistakes to laugh at.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I know what you meant.

So, what does the fact that the writers of this show love manipulative/unnatural/forced/heavy-handed writing have anything to do with journalism?