[Paladin]

Shoma is saved by a mysterious creature.

[Zolda]

My hypothesis last week here and several hours ago here are proven to be quite correct within the first 2 minutes of this episode. Shouma was saved by a Granute with whale motif (not crocodile/alligator) named Dente Stomach, who is a high-ranking Stomach family member and was a trusted associate of Bouche aka Father Stomach/Goat Granute/Shouma's dad. Dente was actually Bouche's uncle, not Shouma's. He was the one who modified Shouma's Gavv into the red variant, likely by adding mechanical parts to it. All of his body parts are still kaijin, not only his head, quite different if compared to the Stomach siblings who have kaijin heads but human bodies. The weird thing is that he's been living like a destitute sage inside a cave, unlike the other Granutes of the week who've seemingly integrated with the human society. A brilliant scientist like him could make a fortune in the human world. It'd be interesting if there are indeed other Granutes who prosper and choose to live peacefully in the human world and refuse to be treated as Stomach corporation's lap dogs.

Shita and Jeebh say @ 03:24 that Shouma was weak as a kid, and the operation performed by Dente was done to strengthen his Gavv. Although they initially say that it bore no fruit, then they suspect that the success of the operation has actually just been recently shown, likely referring to the ability of Shouma's red Gavv to produce Gochizous by eating human foods. Shita says that Dente was the scientist who created the Hitopress process and other processes related to the creation of Yamikashi/Dark Snacks. Jeebh says that Dente was the mentor of Nyelve in science. This dialogue between them looks kinda funny because it's an obvious infodump. I mean, why would they recite pieces of information they've already known, unless it's done to dispense the information to the viewers. A flashback scene is a better way to inform the viewers. Show, don't tell. It seems like the writers are going full throttle on dispensing too many pieces of information in every episode. They should be careful not to waste ammo this early, or the story will lose steam reeeeeeally quickly.

Lango says @ 04:18 that he has a mission to change the Stomach corporation. By using the Dark Snack technology created by Dente, he's planning to conquer the Granute society. It seems like he has some kind of political aspiration. It'd be interesting if there's another faction within the Granute society that oppose the Stomach family. It'd be even more interesting if that other faction also manufactures their own version of Dark Snacks (and Rider system) to compete with Stomach's. People never rise to power easily without contenders. There must be other people who are also vying for the same position.

In the scene @ 04:30 it's shown that a Stomach's field agent is selling snacks to the Granutes in their world. Those snacks that are sold in the open are very likely viewed as mere ordinary snacks within the Granutes' legal system. Another Granute comes and is suspiciously purchasing a box of Dark Snacks, implying that Dark Snacks aren't legally sold. Lango says that Dark Snacks are only popular within the underworld, kinda like the Gaia Memories in KR W. He's concerned that due to its illegal and murky nature, Dark Snacks might be cracked down by the Granute government. He might be planning to get the majority of Granute population, especially the wealthy ones like he says @ 05:00 and stated in episode 2 @ 04:22, to get addicted to the Dark Snacks so that he'll gain enough political power to legalize it and further consolidate the Stomach's family power within the Granute society. This dialogue between Lango and Shita/Jeebh is also another obvious infodump. I mean, why would Lango retell and reelaborate his master plan to Shita/Jeebh who are supposed to already know it, unless he's doing it simply to inform the viewers.

Like I hypothesized last week here, in the scene @ 05:14 it's shown that Stomach's field agents are indeed the minions created by the Stomach siblings. Agents are to the Stomach siblings like Gochizous are to Shouma.

Dente says @ 07:51 that he was asked by Bouche to modify Shouma's weak Gavv because it couldn't create minions/agents unlike the Stomach's. His inital attempts failed, and he decided to settle in the human world to research humans and find what could strengthen Shouma's weak Gavv. As he says @ 09:17, he likely found out that human's snacks are what was able to strengthen Shouma's Gavv and awaken its powers. He didn't only research human's snacks, but also got hooked on it, which was what upgraded his kaijin form to a full one, not only the head. The reason why all Granutes of the week so far have a full kaijin body is because they've eaten human's foods. If Granutes can actually eat human's foods, then what do they eat in the Granute world? If they eat the animals and plants of the Granute world, then the Dark Snacks are likely just expensive, novelty, recreational foods for those who have enough money.

Shouma says @ 09:50 that Bouche aka Father Stomach kept him and his mom at the Stomach mansion. Dente says that Bouche, who was starting to grow fond of humans, did it to protect Shouma and his mom from being targeted as humans spices by Lango et al and their agents. Dente says that Bouche was intentionally making them suffer to make them unattractive as human spices. But, if Bouche actually cared about Shouma and his mom, then why didn't he simply let them go and transfer them back to the human world, instead of house arresting them in the Stomach mansion and keeping them like pets? He could've simply commanded his agents and Granutes in the human world to white list and never kidnap Shouma and his mom. Normal people in the position of Shouma and his mom would've definitely gone crazy and become very mentally disturbed, especially Shouma who had never ventured beyond the Stomach mansion. Very very very weird and irrational decision by Bouche, unless he's a very short-sighted person and or a 99% abusive psychopath. It feels like he did it simply because the writers needed him to do it to create the plot of this show. There goes my respect for Father Stomach.

Hanto defends Shouma/KR Gavv @ 20:04, which means that the opposite could happen in later episodes. He could have a serious conflict with Shouma later, which perhaps will have something to do with the kidnapping of his mom 18 years ago. Bouche/Father Stomach is revealed to be Goat Granute, so the Wolf Granute is likely another Granute. Bouche/Father Stomach/Goat Granute also looked like the Stomach siblings and Dente, where his mouth was completely sealed, unlike the Wolf Granute who had an exposed mouth. This means that the Wolf Granute is a different type of Granute, perhaps some kind of wild/feral/savage type which was completely different if compared to the civilized type of the Stomach family or even all the Granutes of the week so far. Was the elusive Wolf Granute a normal Granute that became a wild freak of nature due to the failure in one of Dente's experiments when researching the Hitopress system?

Shouma returns to Sachika's shop @ 20:46 with the intention of working there again (and finding a living space). I've been asking why Shouma hasn't found a job since it's shown that he clearly needs money to even simply buy foods. Now it's clear why Shouma has been unable to find jobs and has been living like a vagrant/pauper. If Shouma actually finds a job (which he's more than capable of doing, let alone with the help of the Gochizous), then he'd have money to rent a living place. If Shouma finds a job that actually makes him money and enables him to live by his own means, then he would not need to return to Sachika's place to ask for her help, and she'd be irrelevant to the whole story in the next episodes. She'd be just another side characters of the week like Hajime, Mr. Sujimoto, and the Nakamura elderly couple. At most, she'd be a minor recurring character who is connected to Shouma via Hanto who may still have a need for her shop's service. So yes, Shouma is being manipulated by a higher force (read: the writers). TLDR: If Shouma finds a stable job, even a low-paying one, then Sachika would've little relevance to the story.

This dumb plot is obvious. It goes like this:
- Shouma is unable to find jobs,
- Thus he has no money,
- Thus he's unable to buy foods and rent a living space,
- Thus he often fainting due to starvation and living like a vagrant,
- Thus he meets, is given foods, and is bonding with the side characters of the week.
This dumb plot has been repeated 4 times consecutively since episode 2. Yes, you read that right. 4 times! Last week I said that if this is repeated once again in episode 5 then it's clear the writers are lazy. Well, it is repeated in this episode in the scenes involving Dente, so the writers are indeed demonstrating that they are lazy.

Mr. Shioya is investigating a bar which Hanto says @ 05:29 is an illegal gambling den that's often visited by famous people. He's then licked by the Granute of the week, so it's pretty much proven that he's just an ordinary human, not a Granute.

Next week:

Sachika discovers 2 Gochizous. What would she think they are? Toys? Pets? Invasive species?

Kenzou has finally completed a transformation device of his creation, the Valen Buster. Perhaps he's initially planning to use it himself, but changes his mind at the last minute after seeing Hanto having a conflict with the Granute of the week who licked Mr. Shioya. I'm still interested to see the people who are supporting Kenzou behind the scene. Unless he's a very rich yet eccentric/one-track minded genius like Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the Future trilogy, it's unlikely that he's able to secure funding for his science project in just 2 weeks. It'd also be interesting if Dente ends up supporting him.

If Mr. Shioya is indeed used as a bait in the conflict and subplot between Hanto and the Granute of the week in episode 6 and to make Hanto transform into KR Valen who will debut in the same episode, then this story is demonstrating that it's going way too fast.

Nyelv says @ 23:14 that stimulation is important. I have a hypothesis that he's likely planning to use KR Gavv and KR Valen as sparring partners (aka unknowing pawns) whom he'll gather valuable data from. Those data will then be used to upgrade the design of the Granutes' Gavvs, or even to develop a Granute-only transformation belt/device that can also use or even produce RG's similar to what Shouma's red Gavv does. It'd be interesting if he's indeed Kenzou's antithesis, and they're trying to one-up each other. The clash of their Rider systems is the clash of their intellects.

[Kiwami]

Funny since it's a Rider with sweets and snacks as a theme, but still, this show has me all Gordon Ramsay: "Finally, some good fucking food."

Gavv is excellent so far, the first five episodes which are build to make us familiar with its setting an characters are amazing. Now it's time to set the status-quo and enter the secondary Rider, I'm excited.

As for this episode specifically: I'm amazed that Granute society is a thing and that Stomahc Inc. is not at the top of it all? Like, I expected them to just go the easy way and be like "all the Granute are evil", because it's a kids show after all, why even bother. But no, the Granute have their own world, they have authorities opposing the bad guys, and Stomach Inc. is trying to take control by making the rich and powerful addicted to their Dark Treats. That's so cool!

And man do we get some back-story right here: We see the father of the Stomach family for the first time; we meet Dente, Shouma's grand-uncle who's actually responsible for creating the red Gavv and the Dark Treat production technology. So creating minions really does run in the family, again, that's so cool. And wow the scenes with Shouma and Dente hit really hard. Dente is all friendly and wholesome, but can't even grasp how horrible the situation was for Shouma and his mother.

I adore how they set up Shouma's main drive: He was afraid to make people around him happy so that they won't be targeted by the Granute, but realized that's no way forward, he needs to protect those who are happy. And find his own way to live.

The action scene was super fun also, as a moderate spicy chips addict I love the fire upgrade. Having a bad guy interrupt the interaction with the belt, and then using said bad guy to crank the handle by spinning oneself around was so creative and fun.

Yeah, can't state it enough: Gavv is an absolute winner of a show so far. Easily on track to become my favorite Reiwa entry, and a high contender for spot on the podium for best show overall. Please keep the quality this high, please!

PS. Another appearance of a King-Ohger vinyl toy. I love it!

[DreadBringer]

Even more on the Granute society and Shoma's family now.

So Shoma's dad is named Bouche, and there's someone even older in the family tree, the great uncle Dente. Indeed, the Agents are like the Gochizos of the actual Granute, and Shoma is only able to produce Gochizos because of Dente's modification. Wonder how Dente would integrate to humans in him studying humanity to modify Shoma's Gavv.

Thought Shoma may have a prejudice to Granutes to just be cold to Dente, but there's a good reason, as Bouche was shown to be an abusive dad who forces Shoma to do what he wants like training and beat up Michiru. Bouche kidnapping Michiru and not letting her escape also has a disturbing implication in Shoma's birth. Dente constantly depicts Bouche in positive light, like claiming he only does that to protect Shoma and Michiru as if they're happy they'd be targeted by the Stomachs, and there's a flashback of Bouche saying he wants to help Shoma by asking Dente. Training is also likely meant for self-defense to other Granutes.

The Stomachs aren't fully on the same page. Jiip and Siita are more interested in observing Shoma's performance, of which they knew him as weak, but Lango wants to save their company from the authorities, rising their status from an underworld as the ruler of the Granute world. This should mean the Stomachs are a threat not only for humans but for other Granutes as well, the Granute MOTWs are evil due to being their part-timers. I wonder if Jiip and Siita would ironically need Shoma's help if Lango becomes too dangerous for them, like Lachesis against Glion.

Shoma's lonely Kamen Rider days are over after he helps a child retrieve a toy, framed like his flashbacks with Michiru, using his strength once more, he realizes now that it's not his fault that people are turned into Hitopresses. His helping nature should inherently make people happy, and he'd continue doing that, while claiming to strive for his own as well. It's obviously the bad guy's fault for doing evil things. Ofc he can still suffer by failing to protect people if the adversary is too strong, though.

Hanto's field allows him to quickly learn the Granute's deal, finding a Gochizo, Agents, and the Hitopresses. So far, Hanto seems to be heroic too to be concerned about the people who got compressed, trying to prevent Agents from taking them, and trying to free them after Gavv beat the Agents, and of course defending Gavv from the people who are scared of him, albeit for now he doesn't know if Shoma is Gavv and a half-Granute. Ritsu should learn now as well, as she interacts more with Hanto.

For different flavors of the same food, it only enhances stuff rather than giving separate forms, like the spicy Hirihirichips giving fire elemental attacks to Zakuzakuchips. I wonder if this applies to non-spicy stuff too, like seaweed.

Sachika so far has the providing information role by checking up the social media. Otherwise, she's kinda a bit mean to Shoma when he decides to return to Hapipare, being snappy over his departure rather than being understanding (even without knowing why). Shoma chooses to return to Sachika rather than to the Nakamuras, likely because (for in-universe reason) Sachika takes a more active role in making others happy like what Shoma wants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

As for this episode specifically: I'm amazed that Granute society is a thing and that Stomahc Inc. is not at the top of it all? Like, I expected them to just go the easy way and be like "all the Granute are evil", because it's a kids show after all, why even bother. But no, the Granute have their own world, they have authorities opposing the bad guys, and Stomach Inc. is trying to take control by making the rich and powerful addicted to their Dark Treats. That's so cool!

Well, there were good monsters in previous shows too, starting from Faiz with the main Orphnoch trio. There are others too like Shima Undead, Hiyori in Kabuto, the main Taros (particularly Kintaros) or Deneb in Den-O, the Arms Monsters in Kiva, Invisible Dopant in W, Chase without brainwash in Drive, Cubi in Ghost, Burgmon in Ex-Aid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

Yeah, can't state it enough: Gavv is an absolute winner of a show so far. Easily on track to become my favorite Reiwa entry, and a high contender for spot on the podium for best show overall. Please keep the quality this high, please!

I don't know if you've known this, but Gavv already had 20+ episodes filmed before it even started to air. Guess it explains why it's a winner of a show, the preparation really pays off, and guess I made the right choice of still trying to watch a KR show during airing one more time. Being better than other Reiwa shows isn't a high bar though.

[Kiwami]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Well, there were good monsters in previous shows too, starting from Faiz with the main Orphnoch trio.

Of course!

But they were outlaws, rebels against their kind. It always seemed like their entire race was evil, or specifically made to be, and the good monsters were defects and traitors.

With the Granute it seems like they are much closer to humankind, as in the general population is law-biding and Stomach Inc. and their supporters are criminal elements.

I wonder how that plays out later on. Especially since humanity is now experiencing only the bad sides of Granute-kind which will strain their future relations. Maybe Gavv can negotiate, as a half-human half-Granute. Although he himself isn't too keen on the Granute either. Maybe he will take a trip to their world and learn more about his heritage?

Also, I think the good monster trope started with Mole Beastman and was soon after perfected by the best monster ever, Whale Mutant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I don't know if you've known this, but Gavv already had 20+ episodes filmed before it even started to air.

I do know that! Doesn't stop my paranoid self from fearing the quality will drop regardless or set in noticeably after the 20th episode

[gashatfreak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

Honestly, my leading theory int his show has to do with the Dark Treats. They're shown to be addictive, and Stomach Inc. targets rich folk through their 'premium line' (as said in a previous episode), implying the existence of a regular line. Additionally, the show's producer blog said that the heirarchy of the Granute world will play an important part in this show later on. It's possible that Dark Treats are being used to subjugate the lower-class Granutes under the control of Stomach Inc. through their addictive qualities. You can't question the rule of your rulers if they're feeding you food that causes severe withdrawal symptoms after all. If this theory ends up being correct or close to the truth, then there's some real Promised Neverland stuff going on here.

My theory has not been entirely proven or disproven, and there seems to be some differences to what I was guessing, but I called it; the Dark Treats are part of Stomach Inc's ploy to take over/influence Granute society from the shadows. I had a feeling those things were illegal; human farms would've been a thing if they were.

Would be interesting if Gavv teams up with Granute law enforcement or something llike that in the future, but I digress.

And hot dang, Shouma's father is messed up. Dude controlled Shouma and his mother because he 'loves' them. I don't think I've seen this kind of family dynamic in Kamen Rider before, and this franchise is no stranger to dysfunctional relationships. Also, it's obviosuly not gonna be said outright due to this being a kid's show, but this episode pretty much confirms that Shouma was born from rape.

[Kiwami]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gashatfreak

Also, it's obviosuly not gonna be said outright due to this being a kid's show, but this episode pretty much confirms that Shouma was born from r**e.

Eh not necessarily. There are multiple scenarios how that could've played out.

Either dad was wearing a human disguise, interacting with mom pretending to be human and only revealed his true self after Shouma was born, or they were actually in love for real, and the tragedy only happened once dad realized his other children were after the mom and Shouma so he took them both prisoner to protect them.

He's a major asshole in both scenarios, I'm not trying to defend him or anything, but straight up sexual violence is not something I see implied here.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

Dente says @ 07:51 that he was asked by Bouche to modify Shouma's weak Gavv because it couldn't create minions/agents unlike the Stomach's. His inital attempts failed, and he decided to settle in the human world to research humans and find what could strengthen Shouma's weak Gavv. As he says @ 09:17, he likely found out that human's snacks are what was able to strengthen Shouma's Gavv and awaken its powers.

So Shouma is a Kaizo Granute after all. Pretty realistic depiction of the health problems involved with interspecies breeding, with his human side resulting in a weak Gavv that needed to be remodified to function properly. Since the lonely suffering of Remodified Humans is considered an outdated Showa trope due to how human culture has become more accepting of people with physical distinctions, it's a smart move to play that trope with Granute culture instead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

But, if Bouche actually cared about Shouma and his mom, then why didn't he simply let them go and transfer them back to the human world, instead of house arresting them in the Stomach mansion and keeping them like pets? He could've simply commanded his agents and Granutes in the human world to white list and never kidnap Shouma and his mom. Normal people in the position of Shouma and his mom would've definitely gone crazy and become very mentally disturbed, especially Shouma who had never ventured beyond the Stomach mansion. Very very very weird and irrational decision by Bouche, unless he's a very short-sighted person and or a 99% abusive psychopath. It feels like he did it simply because the writers needed him to do it to create the plot of this show. There goes my respect for Father Stomach.

Unfortunately, love and abusive psychopathy are not mutually exclusive. I believe Dente when he claims that Bouche loved his family, but it's just that the way he expressed that love was twisted, for all the reasons that Shouma called him out. Even a Mary Sue hero like Tendo would deny Hiyori's freedom to protect her from the 1999 Worms, until he thankfully saw the error of his ways. Love can make people do stupid things, so Bouche acting irrationally towards his loved ones is like the whole point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zolda

TLDR: If Shouma finds a stable job, even a low-paying one, then Sachika would've little relevance to the story.

Shouma said he wants to be like Sachika, who represents ideal happiness to him. Why should Shouma settle for any job when he can get one that appeals to his desire to help others and potentially gives him more money to spend on his Tasty Diary and a warm place to live with a girl who cares about him? It's a sign of his character development that he's willing to be more selfish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

Having a bad guy interrupt the interaction with the belt, and then using said bad guy to crank the handle by spinning oneself around was so creative and fun.

Reminds me of that (Rider) Time when Sougo used Geiz's kick to henshin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

Easily on track to become my favorite Reiwa entry, and a high contender for spot on the podium for best show overall.

Way too early to make judgments like that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

The Stomachs aren't fully on the same page. Jiip and Siita are more interested in observing Shoma's performance, of which they knew him as weak, but Lango wants to save their company from the authorities, rising their status from an underworld as the ruler of the Granute world. This should mean the Stomachs are a threat not only for humans but for other Granutes as well, the Granute MOTWs are evil due to being their part-timers. I wonder if Jiip and Siita would ironically need Shoma's help if Lango becomes too dangerous for them, like Lachesis against Glion.

Jeep and Theta are hypocrites here for expecting special treatment as Lango's family, even though they literally tried to murder their little bro last week. Lango seems like he only thinks of his younger siblings as company assets and would easily replace them if it benefits Stomach, but at least he's honest about it. Shouma's exile was only the start, so this is a useful warning to the twins that they should also be careful of provoking Lango if they repeatedly fail to meet his standard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Shoma's lonely Kamen Rider days are over after he helps a child retrieve a toy, framed like his flashbacks with Michiru, using his strength once more, he realizes now that it's not his fault that people are turned into Hitopresses. His helping nature should inherently make people happy, and he'd continue doing that, while claiming to strive for his own as well. It's obviously the bad guy's fault for doing evil things. Ofc he can still suffer by failing to protect people if the adversary is too strong, though.

And now Shouma overcomes his own hypocrisy here after remembering that Bouche also caused sadness for the sake of protecting others. He learns that happiness is what makes life worth protecting, so even if it puts others in danger of the Granutes, he'll bring them happiness and when the Granutes appear, that's what Gavv is for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Hanto's field allows him to quickly learn the Granute's deal, finding a Gochizo, Agents, and the Hitopresses. So far, Hanto seems to be heroic too to be concerned about the people who got compressed, trying to prevent Agents from taking them, and trying to free them after Gavv beat the Agents, and of course defending Gavv from the people who are scared of him, albeit for now he doesn't know if Shoma is Gavv and a half-Granute. Ritsu should learn now as well, as she interacts more with Hanto.

A good journalist reveals the truth. Hanto wanted those civilians to know that the monster called Kamen Rider is not a bad guy and deserves their respect and gratitude. This may have been the last push Shouma needed to return to Hapipare, the validation that even a Granute like him doesn't have to stay an outcast to humanity and it's okay to pursue his own happiness. I hope that Henshinzero will be satisfied with this outcome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

Eh not necessarily. There are multiple scenarios how that could've played out.

Either dad was wearing a human disguise, interacting with mom pretending to be human and only revealed his true self after Shouma was born, or they were actually in love for real, and the tragedy only happened once dad realized his other children were after the mom and Shouma so he took them both prisoner to protect them.

He's a major asshole in both scenarios, I'm not trying to defend him or anything, but straight up sexual violence is not something I see implied here.

The first scenario seems unlikely, as Bouche's Gavv must've been exposed while they were physically interacting with each other. I agree with the second scenario though, based on how Dente praises him. And yeah, Bouche is still an abusive father and husband to the extent that the story needs him to be, but he's not totally depraved in that way.

[Leo Novum]

The presence of law enforcement in Granute society and Largo being in a race to get the wealthy addicted to Dark Treats before the cops get a wind of his operations is an excellent bit of world building because to me it means that Granutes aren't inherently evil. Largo just happens to be an amoral sociopath who puts profit before morals.

[Leo Novum]

Bouche and his one-sided love. This Kamen Rider show isn't afraid to go dark, is it? Bouche and his uncle Dente may have the best intentions but they were evil for imprisoning Shouma and his mother in Bouche's mansion. Not to mention, the circumstances of Shouma's birth carry dark implications indeed.

EDIT: Okay, so Bouche was just straight up abusive. No wonder Largo is so messed up. If Bouche treats those he loves so harshly, how would he treat his non-favourites? Not well, I assume.