[Paladin]

Shoma deploys the Gochizos to find a missing cake shop.

[xSauriaNx]

This episode was another fun one.

the dysfunctional dynamic between Hanto and Shouma is hilarious. Both are helping one another yet not really getting in the way each other.

That granute was nasty as hell being that sneaky and effective worker.

Hanto seeing Candy Gavv was a funny shock to him. I think this episode really solidifies that Valen and Gavv has a level of trust for each other to the point that Gavv has no problems giving Hanto some of the chocodan gochis just 'cause Shouma thought that Valen was like him and can't produce minions... as it may be a shamefully hilarious moment for Hanto to ask.

This episode also further solidifies my thoughts that Suga works for/with Nyelv. No way he got those footage easily as it was also a flash drive with granute esque casing on it.

Now it makes me think that Suga knows the wolf granute that munched Hantos mom.

[Zolda]

Shita and Jeebh are starting to get desperate due to their declining performances in procuring the Hitopressed humans. Jeebh is commanding his agent to tell the Granute part-timers to collect more efficiently. Them overworking the Granute part-timers could backfire that one or several of the part-timers could end up rebelling against their order.

Aaaannnddd... Shouma does get to work in a construction site, at least for this sole episode, like I hypothesized 6 weeks ago in episode 4 thread here. The very weird thing is, why does it have to involve Sachika? Shouma could do so many jobs there much much much faster and more efficiently compared to 99% workers there. So why does he have to depend on Sachika on giving him a construction job (or any other jobs for that matter)? Like I said in previous threads, the answer is clear: Because the plot needs him to be dependent on Sachika so that she can be more relevant to the story. Without Shouma being dependent on her, she would only at most be a recurring minor character who has little relevance and impact to the story. Yep, this story has finally confirmed my suspicion (since episode 1!) about its blatant heavy-handed writing. No wonder this story feels so off and gives off a very odd vibe. Congratulations, Gavv writers and producers.

Hanto @ 02:05 conveniently finds the packaging of the cake eaten by Kirari (the kid of the week) in episode 9.

Shouma writes in his notebook @ 04:30 that he receives the donuts from the manager at the construction site. Yep, Shouma needs to be dependent on other people giving him foods and jobs.

Yet another weird thing is @ 05:19 where Hanto asks Sachika to find the location of the Granute of the week's shop. Really, Hanto? Can't you do a simple Google search by yourself? I mean, the name of the shop (Patisserie Gateau-Coquille) is even written on the packaging. Why does he often involve Sachika when he needs a simple information search like this? It's obvious: To make Sachika more relevant and important to the story. Great, one more character being dependent on Sachika.

In the scene @ 06:29 Glotta visits Nyelv's lab. She points out her suspicion that he has already known about KR Gavv's and KR Valen's meddling, yet he's failed to disclose that. She suspects that he's plotting something behind her (and Lango's) back. he dismisses her suspicion, and says that his only interest is using KR Gavv (and KR Valen) as pawns in his experiments. It'd be interesting if Glotta (or Lango) actually tests his honesty (and loyalty) by spying on him and or sabotaging his plans.

Hanto and Shouma arrive at the 2 different locations of the Granute of the week's shop @ 07:33, but it's already vanished. I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but it's so funny that what vanished is not only the Granute of the week's shop, but also the 2 or 4 shops right beside it, haha. There are also traces of an object being dragged on the ground, like shown in the end of episode 9. Another weird thing is, the Granute of the week has just given out cakes to kindergarteners @ 08:38, but when Shouma and Hanto arrive there @ 10:16 the school has already vanished. Sooooooo, is the Granute of the week moving the whole school building in broad daylight without attracting people's attention? Don't know! This story has far too many nonsense, absurdities, weirdness, and other forms of logical anomalies.

In the scene @ 11:03 Shouma and Hanto follow the traces which lead them to an empty field/quarry area where the Granute of the week is keeping the school building. So, if the Granute of the week's plan is to collect as many kids/kindergarteners as possible, then why the heck does he also steal the whole school building (and his own shop)? What's the point? It makes no sense at all. Does he do it to erase his traces? Of course not, because instead of erasing his traces of crimes, it actually leaves a lot of traces. If his plan is to erase his traces of crimes then he should only need to change his human disguise by asking for (or maybe buy) new disguises from Nyelv, like the Granute of the week did in episode 8. Oh, and why didn't anybody notice the weird marks on the ground and investigate it before Hanto and Shouma did? Buildings don't just disappear with no reasons, especially public buildings like the Granute of the week's shop. Man, these 2 episodes make little sense. The writing is sooooooooooooo lazy and heavy-handed, and the writers don't even attempt to hide it.

Hanto/KR Valen confronts the Granute of the week, and shortly thereafter, Shouma/KR Gavv appears. It's revealed that the Granute of the week actually has an alternate form in the shape of a giant spider. And he moved his shop and the school in that giant form and nobody has noticed it, including when he moved the whole school building in broad daylight several minutes ago? Don't know! Also, didn't the Granute of the week keep the Hitopressed kids inside 5 black containers @ 13:18? Then why does he still have the Hitopressed kids with him @ 16:39 and @ 17:27? Don't know! I understand that the writers intended to showcase KR Gavv Gurucan form, but can't they do it in a more logical/sensical and less lazy way? It seems like the writers (and producers) didn't even bother to storyboard-proof their scripts to see whether there are logical and or visual inconsistencies within it. Bonus weird scene: KR Gavv & KR Valen are instantly teleported from an empty field/quarry area to a public park @ 18:16. Very weird!

In the scene @ 18:46 Shouma/KR Gavv and Hanto/KR Valen are wondering what happened to each other when the fight with the Granute of the week broke out. Hanto/KR Valen is asking for some of Shouma/KR Gavv's Gochizous, and Shouma/KR Gavv still thinks that Hanto/KR Valen is an abnormal Granute that can't produce his own Gochizous? Hanto/KR Valen is not only unable to produce his own Gochizous/agents, but he also doesn't have a Gavv in the first place. A Gavv is the most crucial organ of a Granute, so if a human-looking organism is proven to not have a Gavv then the only correct logical deduction is that that human-looking organism is not a Granute, but is actually a human. Gosh, how dense is Shouma to not have already realized it? Don't know!

Also, Shouma/KR Gavv and Hanto/KR Valen still can't figure out each other's identity behind the masks. It's very clearly shown in this episode that there are only 2 people in God's green Earth who knows the location (the empty field/quarry area) where the Granute of the week kept the school building he stole: Shouma and Hanto. If KR Gavv arrived at the location, then Hanto/KR Valen should've been able to deduce with 99,9 % certainty that KR Gavv is actually Shouma aka the part-timer guy from Sachika's shop, and vice versa, if KR Valen arrived at the location, then Shouma/KR Gavv should've been able to deduce with 99,9 % certainty that KR Valen is actually Hanto aka Hanti aka the regular customer guy from Sachika's shop. At this point, it's virtually makes no sense for them, persons with normal intelligence, rationale, and logical/reasoning capabilities, to not have already figured out each other's identity as Riders. If they still haven't figured it out in the next episode, then it's crystal clear that they're dumb, and worse, they're intentionally made dumb by the writers in order to extend the secret identity subplot for who knows how many episodes. If they still can't connect the dots and arrive at the simplest logical conclusion in the next episode, then the story will prove itself to be very very very lazy and heavy-handed.

In the scene @ 22:12, Kenzou receives a package that contains a weirdly-shaped USB flash disk. The flash disk contains the recording of the previous fight between Shouma/KR Gavv and Hanto/KR Valen vs the Granute of the week. And yes, as always, the recording is cinematic, haha. Who sent the flash disk to Kenzou? It could be Nyelv, or Dente, or another party. If it's Nyelv or Dente, then it could mean that both of them are doing experiments to upgrade the Granutes' Gavvs or Shouma's Henshin Belt Gavv, which could mean that Dente is a suspicious character that actually has an ulterior motive in helping Shouma. Although, it's still unclear how Nyelv and or Dente is able to record that fight. Did Dente spy on Shouma/KR Gavv and Hanto/KR Valen by using the Zakuzakuchips RG given to him by Shouma in episode 6 @ 11:40? If it's another party, then I have a hypothesis that it's a clandestine organization like I mentioned in KR Gotchard episode 50 thread here and elaborated in episode 4 thread here. This huge reveal could happen by Christmas or New Year in episodes 16, 17, or 18. Kenzou has been shown to know waaaaaay too much and possess information, resources/funding, and objects faaaaaaar beyond the reach of a independent researcher, so I think the most plausible explanation is that he's been funded and supported by a clandestine organization behind the shadow, although he may not have actually met even one member of that organization, which means that he's likely also a pawn that is manipulated by that organization. Also, if Kenzou's plan is to spy on Hanto/KR Valen and Shouma/KR Gavv to gather visual data of their fights, then why doesn't he simply command one of the Chocodon RG's he stole from Shouma? Do the Gochizous only obey Shouma's commands? Don't know!

Next week:

Hanto is investigating the Granute of the week who poses as a romance scammer, like the Granute of the week in episodes 7 & 8 who posed as a career scammer.

In the preview section, it's shown that Hanto is falling down after an apparent explosion. I think that that's how his identity as KR Valen is revealed to Shouma/KR Gavv. So, Shouma will likely find out about the real identity of the person behind KR Valen's mask not via deduction, but simply via circumstance when KR Valen detransforms due to sheer damage and reveals Hanto as the user of the Valen Buster. Mmmaaayyybbbeee...

[Eclipyon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

It's revealed that the Granute of the week actually has an alternate form in the shape of a giant spider.

Have you ever seen a spider with shell and pincers? That's a hermit crab, man.

Personally I think Suga is in cahoots with Nyelv.

[gashatfreak]

This show keeps finding new and exciting ways to kidnap people and equally exciting ways to kill kidnappers with candy. This show has been a total blast so far.

Suga continues to get shadier and shadier as the episodes go by. This is honestly how I wish George was handled in Revice. Also, we see that he gets a parcel with a rather Granute-y looking flash drive. I'm starting to suspect that he might acutally be an Agent with a human disguise on. I mean, the Agents don't have belly mouths right?

Overall a fun episode, and it seems big bro is coming to town next week. Also, interesting how the preview is edited in a way that makes it seem like Gavv finds out Valen's identity next week, though we'll have to see if that actually happens. It feels a bit too soon for that.

[DreadBringer]

This episode felt tighter than the previous one and aligns more closely with the typical Gavv suff, IMO.

Shoma and Hanto’s simultaneous need to hide their identities expands to include concerns that the other could get caught up in the destruction of their Rider fights. It becomes increasingly difficult to keep their identities a secret, especially when they’re in danger and must henshin instead of letting each other escape. When Shoma’s actions blow their cover, he proves to be the quicker one to fold between the two; he’s more of a 'pushover,' often choosing the path that de-escalates the situation. In contrast, Hanto openly expresses his frustration and is bolder in his decisions.

Sachika being a 'snoop' is addressed here, with Hanto actually pleading with her to search for the kindergarten, her claiming as an expert on it, and she did find the location. I feel the best clue is the drag marks left by Granute Yard when moving the kindergarten, as they can follow after it, otherwise, her and Shoma might be seen as getting the wrong address. Her taking a picture of Shoma provides good evidence for Hanto that Shoma is safe, while Shoma already knows from her that Hanto asked about him earlier.

A new trait of Glotta is revealed, as she apparently disapproves of Nyelv's scheming, despite him being the researcher for Stomach Inc. Nyelv’s lack of enthusiasm for Valen implies it's something deliberately orchestrated by him. Additionally, Nyelv claiming he can’t wait for the new report, coupled with Suga having footage of Gavv and Valen’s fight with Granute Yard and knowing that Gavv is a Granute, make it likely that the report will implicate Gavv as a Granute, likely to be said report to be given to Nyelv, would further raise viewer suspicion about Suga being likely Nyelv’s partner.

Granute Yard targets children because they're more likely to be happy, as they're likely less jaded than adults about the world due to having less knowledge about it. So children is also an easy target for Stomach Inc., not about them being smaller and weaker, but about their innocence, seeking happy people. Hanto'd think it's the former, likely not understanding what Granute Yard means about them being premium product to be delivered due to their happiness, unlike Shoma who'd fully know about the Dark Treats and his siblings' business.

Granute Yard targets children because they are more likely to be happy and less jaded than adults. So children is also an easy target for Stomach Inc, not about them being smaller and weaker, but about their innocence, as they target happy people. Hanto might think they are easy targets because of their size, likely not understanding what Granute Yard means about them being premium product to be delivered due to their happiness, while Shoma is more aware of the implications surrounding the Dark Treats and his siblings’ business.

So far, the Gurucan form is performing better than the other Gavv forms, other than being the only one to resist the Twins' new weapon, here it's the only one that can break the Granute Yard's shell. I wonder if there'd be something that Gurucan can't do, but what other forms can do better. Bakucan Blast is a pretty sick finisher, unleashing various types of weapons for a powerful energy blast, reminiscent of Zolda’s Final Vent, my favorite finisher from KR Ryuki. So Gavv is also another series to feature a gigantic MOTW, like Takebe's previous series Geats, but not on the very first episode. And though it's claimed all the kids are safe, only Kirari was shown to be freed onscreen, unlike ep. 5 where all compressed civilians are freed onscreen.

The preview for the next episode teases Lango finally making his move, with a large number of civilians seemingly in danger. This kind of scenario typically occurs later in the series, like Adel's Project Demia in Ghost or Gaelijah exposing the Chemies to the public in Gotchard. If it's true, then once again Gavv moves really fast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

Suga continues to get shadier and shadier as the episodes go by. This is honestly how I wish George was handled in Revice. Also, we see that he gets a parcel with a rather Granute-y looking flash drive. I'm starting to suspect that he might acutally be an Agent with a human disguise on. I mean, the Agents don't have belly mouths right?

My expectation or hope for George in Revice was him making a live Kamen Rider show in real life without regard for the casualties, as long as he can live and realize his dream/enthusiasm, backing up both the Riders and the monsters so fights will happen.

[Fish Sandwich]

I still don't feel like this story moved all that much forward, but in just about every other way, I think these two episodes were ultimately a strong showing for Kaneko's first (televised) work on Rider.

One of my bigger issues is that even though it's the crux of the plot, it doesn't really come off as any sort of revelation to me that Hanto is actually a pretty caring dude. Despite having the speech patterns of a street punk and a much more aggressive overall demeanor than our puppy dog main Rider this year, I don't think that's ever really been in question? And sure enough, even here, it's less about challenging Hanto's behavior and causing some change in him, and more about just sort of highlighting an aspect that's more or less always been there.

That's one of those things that makes it a less dynamic narrative than I'd like, but...! And this is where this swings back around into praise! ...I think the fact the plot doesn't try to contort itself to make something like that happen shows what a strong grasp Kaneko has on these characters already. The dynamic between Hanto and Shouma here is spot-on, and this back half of the two-parter really snaps into focus by putting its emphasis more on how these two heroes end up working together to bring the latest monster case to a close.

And the monster case is pretty clever! It's a fun little mystery that takes advantage of the idea of a hermit crab villain in a fairly unique way that makes both the process of getting to the fight scene, and the fight itself, much more interesting. Plus, much like the heroes are written to top form, the villain here gets some perfect scumbag dialogue trying to justify his already inherently repulsive scheme to target children's lives, which means it's that much more satisfying to see the heroes win too.

It makes me feel bad about picking on the last episode, because all throughout, I thought this one was honestly kinda on fire, in a way that made up for whatever it lost by not being the next one from Koumura.

Without knowing how much more of this show isn't going to be from Koumura, I can't say for sure, but my current assumption is that "don't move too much forward" was like, the mission Kaneko was given here, and if that is the case, and it's also the case she'll be writing more episodes later, I feel like she can probably be trusted with a story that's allowed to shake things up more than this one did.

Don't get me wrong, I still want the Christmas story to be from Shimo, but clearly Kaneko's at least got dibs on Valentine's Day after this, right?

[Kiwami]

Fun episode, although I didn’t quite buy the hermit crab-thing. Apparently it does mainly move at night but still – ain’t now way no one ever saw that giant thing moving around

Okay, toku logic, no biggie. The interactions between Shoma and Hanto continue to be precious, but it seems there will be a new layer to that next week?

Also kinda cute how Gavv handed over the Gochizo, although I expected a donut to be among them. Guess that comes later.

Really interesting to see what Kenzo Suga is up to. That guy is so suspicious I almost expect them to throw a curveball and make him turn out to be a good guy.

[Leo Novum]

Still like it. Still enjoying it. That's all I wanted to say.

Also, I am liking how they are slowly developing the relationship between Shouma and Hanto. This could have all been rushed but having a small cast gives us more breathing space for character development.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xSauriaNx

I think this episode really solidifies that Valen and Gavv has a level of trust for each other to the point that Gavv has no problems giving Hanto some of the chocodan gochis just 'cause Shouma thought that Valen was like him and can't produce minions...

Those were Chocodons! Chocodan is the milk one that murdered Poppingummy in Episode 7.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

In the scene @ 06:29 Glotta visits Nyelv's lab. She points out her suspicion that he has already known about KR Gavv's and KR Valen's meddling, yet he's failed to disclose that. She suspects that he's plotting something behind her (and Lango's) back. he dismisses her suspicion, and says that his only interest is using KR Gavv (and KR Valen) as pawns in his experiments. It'd be interesting if Glotta (or Lango) actually tests his honesty (and loyalty) by spying on him and or sabotaging his plans.

Seems like investigation would be the only way to expose Nyelve's secret activity. Even though he's totally suspicious and hardly pretending not to be, it would be illegal to fire him without proof of misconduct, especially since Stomach are already deep in to black marketing that they'd want to keep quiet from the government. Nyelve gives me a serious final villain kind of feeling, as the only one uninterested in the company's goal and only using it for his own sake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eclipyon

Have you ever seen a spider with shell and pincers? That's a hermit crab, man.

The humorous part is how Zolda misidentifies him in the same paragraph where he faults people's observation skills.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

I'm starting to suspect that he might acutally be an Agent with a human disguise on. I mean, the Agents don't have belly mouths right?

They don't seem to have free will either, considering their suicidal subservience to their spawners. I think Suga has too much personality to be a mere agent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

When Shoma?s actions blow their cover, he proves to be the quicker one to fold between the two; he?s more of a 'pushover,' often choosing the path that de-escalates the situation. In contrast, Hanto openly expresses his frustration and is bolder in his decisions.

Shouma was forced to risk the safety of Hanto to prevent Yard's escape with the Hitopressed kids, so even though Hanto is bolder and more stubborn, the one who made the important decision here was Shouma and I think he should be respected for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

So Gavv is also another series to feature a gigantic MOTW, like Takebe's previous series Geats, but not on the very first episode.

I enjoyed this fight scene for sure and I thought it was pretty cool how it basically switched the Riders' roles, with Gavv Gurucan being the destructive one who weakened Yard and Valen being the rescuing one who saved the Hitopressed kids. They've got strong synergy and it shows that despite their opposite temperaments, they're both worthy of the proud mantle of Kamen Rider.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

One of my bigger issues is that even though it's the crux of the plot, it doesn't really come off as any sort of revelation to me that Hanto is actually a pretty caring dude. Despite having the speech patterns of a street punk and a much more aggressive overall demeanor than our puppy dog main Rider this year, I don't think that's ever really been in question? And sure enough, even here, it's less about challenging Hanto's behavior and causing some change in him, and more about just sort of highlighting an aspect that's more or less always been there.

Yeah, it feels more like reaffirmation than revelation. Hanto became a Rider for revenge, but he became a journalist due to Shioya's inspirational speech about wanting to make a good change to the world. It's clear that Hanto totally loves justice and took his mentor's heroism to heart and now he actually has the opportunity to fight for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Don't get me wrong, I still want the Christmas story to be from Shimo, but clearly Kaneko's at least got dibs on Valentine's Day after this, right?

Shimo doesn't write for this show though.