[Paladin]

The power Houtaro needs may lie within a mysterious UFO.

[Zolda]

As I hypothesized last week, the top brasses from the AU appear in this episode, although only one appears. The one sitting is the top brass, while the other two guys standing beside him are probably elite advisors or guards. I think these hooded, mysterious leaders are only upper middle of the hierarchy, not the top one. I think they could be part of some kind of council/board. And they're all middle aged man, so I don't think they will transform into Riders, haha.

The top brasses state that they haven't received any reports regarding Shiori's espionage activities, her connection to The Sisters, the appearance of KR Dread, and the resulting hostage situation with Sabimaru. Licht definitely smells fishy here as he's supposed to report to the top brasses in regards to Shiori's espionage activities. Or, Licht probably did report it, but was dismissed by them. They prioritize capturing all 101 Chemies above anything else. They seem to consider hostages like Sabimaru (and probably also other victims) as collateral damage to their top priority. It seems like they already have a plan of what to do with those RCC's, probably like the one I hypothesized last week. They also seem to prioritize bureaucracy and formalities, a fact derisively mentioned by Spanner @ 04:37.

From Houtarou's dream, it seems like directly using the X Gotchalibur to defeat KR Dread will result in Sabimaru dying along with the destruction of the Dreadriver. Clotho says @ 07:16 that Sabimaru could be dead the next time he transforms into Dread. Lachesis says @ 07:22 that an alchemist at Sabimaru's level can barely use the Dreadriver. Does this mean that an alchemist with a much more advanced level skills can use it well? Perhaps Spanner, Minato, or Licht could be the permanent/final user.

Another look at the obscured face of Houtarou's dad @ 08:17 and 08:45. Looks like something important regarding Houtarou and his mom actually happened in the past like I mentioned here.

Kajiki has finally managed to channel his UFO-ria to summon a UFO. Although unfortunately, he doesn't get to see it because he's knocked unconscious before UFO-X actually appears.

UFO-X also has the ability to kidnap a human into the Ouroboros world, like Steamliner does. My analyses on how the X Gotchalibur worked here were largely correct. What I got wrong was where the Level 10 RCC would be inserted. I thought that the Level 10 RCC would be inserted into the front slot, but it turns out that it's inserted into the top slot. No wonder all Level 10 RCC's have no helmet patterns on their rear sides, only an identical X pattern. So, the Level 10 RCC's can be used in tandem with any normal RCC combination. Super Gotchard Cross UFO-X has arguably the goofiest armors in the whole history of this franchise. Looks like the SHF is gonna have limited articulations around the shoulder and neck area. I still like the color and the shape of the X Gotchalibur, though. As expected, the X Gotchalibur has power similar to the Kougouken Saikou aka the sword of light that can separate a human host from a dark entity, although in this case Houtaro is required to access the Super Gotchard Cross UFO-X form to properly separate them.

KR Dread looks amazing. The only mediocre thing about him is his gun props that look low-quality. I hoped that Sabimaru could be the sole user of the Dreadriver, but it turns out he's only a hostage. It seems like the Dreadriver is gonna be this season's Kaixa Driver/Delta Driver. I'm not really a fan of this one-Driver/powerset-being-used-by-several-people trope. And how the heck is Sabimaru still connected to Isaac?

It seems like the writers are taking their time and don't rush the plot. It seems like they're still obliged to show the appearances of the 101 RCC's. Spanner's backstory, Minato's backstory, The Sister's backstory, and major plot points like the truth about Houtarou's dad, the truth about the AU, the identity of Glion, the true nature of the Ouroboros, etc are still shrouded in complete mystery.

Next episode: Clotho and or Lachesis will transform into KR Dread. I hope Toei will use an actual female suit actor, not male one, and make actual female-sized suits and armors, like when they made the female KR Calibur. I think their altered physique is more suited for the Dreadriver. Houtarou will get a new Level 10 form, Cross Rex. At least this one doesn't look goofy like the Cross UFO-X.

[Sh Ranger]

Spanner: "Friendship is for chumps, Ichinose!"

Houtarou: (points at Episode 13 title)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

And they're all middle aged man, so I don't think they will transform into Riders, haha.

I mean, they have become more common recently. Masamune, Shinobu, Gai, Genta, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

They prioritize capturing all 101 Chemies above anything else.

Which is weird, since it's literally written in Chemy Law that Level 10s cannot be subjugated and yet one of those execs is like, "you haven't even subjugated a single Level 10!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

From Houtarou's dream, it seems like directly using the X Gotchalibur to defeat KR Dread will result in Sabimaru dying along with the destruction of the Dreadriver. Clotho says @ 07:16 that Sabimaru could be dead the next time he transforms into Dread. Lachesis says @ 07:22 that an alchemist at Sabimaru's level can barely use the Dreadriver. Does this mean that an alchemist with a much more advanced level skills can use it well? Perhaps Spanner, Minato, or Licht could be the permanent/final user.

The surprising part about Houtarou's nightmare is how close it resembles the future reality, even down to the seemingly random appearance of Kajiki saying, "A black Kamen Rider!", despite Houtarou having little reason to dream about him specifically in that scenario. Makes me wonder if X Gotchalibur can actually predict future possibilities, similar to Kurayami. I can totally relate to Houtarou sleeping through English class, so he's lucky to have (had) such a chill teacher who'll allow him to do that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

What I got wrong was where the Level 10 RCC would be inserted. I thought that the Level 10 RCC would be inserted into the front slot, but it turns out that it's inserted into the top slot. No wonder all Level 10 RCC's have no helmet patterns on their rear sides, only an identical X pattern. So, the Level 10 RCC's can be used in tandem with any normal RCC combination. Super Gotchard Cross UFO-X has arguably the goofiest armors in the whole history of this franchise.

I didn't even know the X Gotchalibur had a top slot until watching this episode! While Level 10s can hypothetically Gotcha-N-Go with any pair of cards that Houtarou has high synchronization with, I'm not sure if we'll get to see anything other than SteamHopper as the base, since there are so many standard forms left to show off. Super Gotchard Cross UFO-X is just as goofy in action for sure, but I can still appreciate the goofiness for its charming quality and unique design, even though I agree that X-Rex is much cooler. I also like the difference in how UFO-X gives extra armor to the arms and X-Rex to the legs, while the SteamHopper base armor ensures that everything still looks interesting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

And how the heck is Sabimaru still connected to Isaac?

Seems like Isaac has some kind of empathic ability, allowing him to sync with Sabi's emotions in close proximity and translate them in to words. This would explain why he sounds a lot more expressive whenever Sabi experiences a strong emotion like anger, stress or despair. I recall he also briefly expressed happiness in Episode 5, when Houtarou complimented Sabi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Next episode: Clotho and or Lachesis will transform into KR Dread. I hope Toei will use an actual female suit actor, not male one, and make actual female-sized suits and armors, like when they made the female KR Calibur. I think their altered physique is more suited for the Dreadriver. Houtarou will get a new Level 10 form, Cross Rex. At least this one doesn't look goofy like the Cross UFO-X.

The usual male suit actor for female Riders recently is Fujita Satoshi, who I think would be good at portraying Clotho-Dread's more macho fighting style, while Miyazawa Yuki who acted for Sophia-Calibur and Na-Go would be a good fit for Lachesis-Dread's elegant swordsmanship. Alternatively, Gomi Ryoko hasn't had a main role in Sentai since Kirama Green (another sword user), so Toei could make use of her in Rider. I feel like Miyazawa might end up as the main suit actress for the rumored Rinne Rider anyway, considering the visual similarity between Na-Go's magic and Rinne's alchemy.

[Mesnick]

Well, that was great! From the nightmare of Hotaro and the important alchemists sitting on thrones in hoods there is a very strong Saber vibe. It also appears that Sabimaru really needed to be saved now, given that he was weakened to the point that Dread lost to Valvarad. However, this is at least understandable, unlike Minato. In previous episodes he lost to Clotho, but in this one he managed to detain three sisters at once. Is it really all about the spear?
But seriously, based on his behavior in this episode, I don't think Minato is Gilion. Too sincere. Unless he is playing with his own memory. But this is already a mystery for the future.
By the way, speaking about the future. Houtarou's dream almost came true. I wonder if this is just a coincidence or if his vision for the future is not limited to new suits?
Let's move on to the form. It looks ridiculous, but the transformation is beautiful and the finisher is one of the best in the franchise. For my taste. Now I'm looking forward to other X-forms.
And talking about them. The next episode promises an X-Rex that eats people. In past threads, the show and its character have been condemned for their unwavering belief in Chemies' innocence. Well, here’s a reason to doubt her. Although Houtarou has dealt with unfriendly and disobedient Chemies before, I wonder how he will get along with the ferocious dinosaur.
P.S. The Kajiki were used as comic relief in this episode. I expected him to have a more important role. And so he participates only because of the UFO.

[DreadBringer]

The mid-season upgrade.

Hotaro's lesson here, due to his nightmare about killing Sabi, seems to be about being proactive rather than passively worrying. Tamami said that rather than worrying, he should try to look for the solution. It's true that worrying won't accomplish anything, and gotta look for ways to make the situation better (and... yeah, idealism is important as a drive for this, being cynical resigns yourself to worst case scenario), though I can also think that, one shouldn't impulsively take action.

As expected, Supana just goes after the easy solution of eliminating a threat regardless if it'd catch the innocent, like Michinaga before against Parasite Jamatos. It's just his superiority complex holding him back from the best case scenario, to decide that Sabi can't be saved and treat the students he sees as inferior as incompetent and jokes, when they have their own merits. Here Rinne isn't played up as the soft spot for Supana.

Though he has grievance to the Chemies, Minato is still a fair teacher through and through to let the students and give Hotaro guidance, and stand up against Supana. The executives of the Academy, now it gives me the vibe that Academy is also a secretly bad organization like others, with them not giving a damn about the student being in danger and only caring about capturing Chemies.

Even Chemies are subject to miscommunication. The plot here is about UFO-X only giving Exgotchalibur without explaining anything about it, thus Hotaro and friends have to seek out UFO-X to use it properly. Super Gotchard UFO-X has space theme like Fourze without uchuu kitaa, and he weaponizes the UFO to levitate and trap his opponents. His way of saving Sabi is "de-henshining" him by pulling him out of Dread so that Dread can be destroyed without someone caught in crossfire, though enough data is still collected for Dark Sisters. That seems to be a broken ability to Kamen Riders, dunno what is his upper limit of pulling someone out of their Rider armor, by this even Ohma Zi-O can have Sougo being pulled out of it.

Hotaro's compassion once again saves the day by having him befriend a lv. 10 Chemy and stops it from going wild, something out of the Dark Sisters mind to only think about subjugating Chemies by force. But this now earns him Minato's approval and Supana might've now acknowledged him a little. I wonder if this can lead into bad people like the Dark Sisters trying to act nice to someone to gain something in return, and getting frustrated when they don't get what they want like Hotaro here (and it can happen irl such as incels).

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

That seems to be a broken ability to Kamen Riders, dunno what is his upper limit of pulling someone out of their Rider armor, by this even Ohma Zi-O can have Sougo being pulled out of it.

I think, given how much Sabimaru has weakened in this episode compared to the previous one, the writers could make the extraction only work on depleted hosts.

[DH21965]

I’m trying to get into Gotchard, but every single episode is so loud an annoying for me, like a screaming strobe-light. It’s just not very good, personally.
I knew the day would come when I got too old to appreciate current KR

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DH21965

I?m trying to get into Gotchard, but every single episode is so loud an annoying for me, like a screaming strobe-light. It?s just not very good, personally.
I knew the day would come when I got too old to appreciate current KR

Considering that loud jingles have been mainstream since at least OOO, it?s strange how you lasted so long. In any case, this is not a reason to despair. I have a feeling that next season will be unusual and perhaps quiet. Plus, sooner or later Toei will quarrel with Bandai and become less focused on toys.

[Dormamu]

Let's face it, Super Gotchard UFO-X isn't the the most amount of stuff hanging off a suit that we've ever seen. And with the solid callback to KR Meteor, Fourze 2023 is rockin it hard.

I do like that there's a solid Hogwarts vibe, and the Three Hades sisters continue to impress with how solidly malevolent they're written.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

But seriously, based on his behavior in this episode, I don't think Minato is Gilion. Too sincere. Unless he is playing with his own memory. But this is already a mystery for the future.

Yeah, while Minato is often wrong for ignoring people's feelings and blaming Chemies for problems, he at least cares enough about humans to want to protect them even if it means taking risks, which is a lot more the Union. He's actually a good influence here as one of the few people who can successfully discourage Spanner's cynical behavior.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Even Chemies are subject to miscommunication. The plot here is about UFO-X only giving Exgotchalibur without explaining anything about it, thus Hotaro and friends have to seek out UFO-X to use it properly. Super Gotchard UFO-X has space theme like Fourze without uchuu kitaa, and he weaponizes the UFO to levitate and trap his opponents. His way of saving Sabi is "de-henshining" him by pulling him out of Dread so that Dread can be destroyed without someone caught in crossfire, though enough data is still collected for Dark Sisters. That seems to be a broken ability to Kamen Riders, dunno what is his upper limit of pulling someone out of their Rider armor, by this even Ohma Zi-O can have Sougo being pulled out of it.

Chemies typically only speak a few syllables, so I guess miscommunication is inevitable. Although since it's possible for humans to understand Shiftcars' mechanical beeps, then understanding Chemies should be easy by comparison.

The Dread System seems to be animated similar to those prop ninjas from before and programmed to put whoever's holding it under Atropos' spell, with Sabi merely being used as a source of power and knowledge to make it strong. Whereas the Gotchard System is a fusion of harmony between Houtarou and 2 Chemies, with the physical humanoid body only appearing in some forms through strong synchronization.

There are other Riders who Cross UFO-X definitely wouldn't be able to separate from their suits, like Amazon and Hibiki who are biologically attached to them. Oma Zi-O could probably use Newton Damashii's power to resist the kinetic force, which is canonically strong enough to suspend an entire city district for several seconds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I wonder if this can lead into bad people like the Dark Sisters trying to act nice to someone to gain something in return, and getting frustrated when they don't get what they want like Hotaro here (and it can happen irl such as incels).

This sounds like your pitch for the Hyper Battle DVD.