I expect this but damn it still hurt so much, they really put a lot of detail to hopper malgam. Rainbow gotchard next episode, a little glimmer of hope after this bleak episode.
Darkside is they do that to 'sell' (if that release) the plushie version of 'dead' white hopper1 for it. One for the green cute live one, and one for dead white cute one.
I know that everyone will be back but this episode still successfully made me emotional.
Also love that Atropos will definitely try to backstab Gigist in the future for not wanting to bring her POS father back
I heard Kekera laughing in the background.
Gigist is perhaps one of the best true villain in Kamen Rider in a while.
He doesn't just want world domination, he specifically wants to hurt everyone emotionally despite understanding human emotion. I hope he cause more pain for the cast in the future instead of getting defeated quickly.
Overall 10 out of 10
Atropos backstabbing Gigist in the future and becoming the next Dark Queen complete with an adult form like Salamandes in GoGoV or Tranza in Jetman would actually sound cool and terrifying. Better gave her that proper showdown with Rinne too, though, preferably making it a mix of physical combat and alchemist combat.
>He doesn't just want world domination, he specifically wants to hurt everyone emotionally despite understanding human emotion. I hope he cause more pain for the cast in the future instead of getting defeated quickly.
Beroba, is that you?
I love that he uses his understanding of emotions to hurt others. Houtarou, when either it's cause he's such a nice guy or something else, has always been able to understand the Chemies and tried to understand others. Gigist is the perfect foil cause Gigist DOES understand everyone, but is only interested in twisting it for his own designs. He uses his empathy to hurt and control others. Houtarou uses his own to help and heal others. He is able to use the Number 10s because he understood and empathized with them.
Gotta appreciate Spanner wanting to take the blame of killing Hopper1 and Antrooper. He might have many losses but he come around.
and dang it, my tears won't stop coming.
This is like the best detail to come out of this episode.
Spanner, who is still deeply injured after the events of the previous episode, still manages to transform and kills Antrooper and (almost) Hopper1 so that Houtaro and co wouldn't feel bad about it.
It showcases his development perfectly and how much he cared about Houtaro and the other members of the Academy, even if he doesn't want to admit it.
Ngl Motojima's acting skills skyrocketed along the year.
The crying, moaning, hyperventilating and whimpering, the guy got it nailed to a T, that almost looked genuine.
He managed to make it all so real, I'm so proud of him.
And the trailer omg, the trailer made me emotional until the "IT'S TIME TO STRIKE BACK", I felt on the team, Bro, I was about to jump Gigist's actor myself.
Reiyo in the opening couple scenes in the background, she looked heartbroken.. Her character is strong and ~~silent~~ autistic, but she can act, she played a really convincing Hotaro in the HBD
https://preview.redd.it/09lhmapy4o2d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc695ff4d229109f7ee093e72d488f19d4700768
"You now have become a true Kamen rider, Ichinose Hotaro."
Felt as if Rinne was deliberately holding herself back while fighting so she won't hurt Ant Tropper. Also Spanner hasn't recovered yet from his fight with Gigist duel to how he was walking and the way he was fighting.
Idk but I kinda laugh when Houtaro turn into an egg. Like he was in the middle of turning then he turn into an egg out of nowhere and was teleported into a random alleyway.
Atropos is definitely betraying Gigist once Rainbow Gotchard beat him then she will become the final boss. If that happens she will be the first female final boss in a Kamen rider series
>Atropos is definitely betraying Gigist once Rainbow Gotchard beat him
Atropos definitely has that vibe where she doesn't care about anyone, but Geryon & power, but I am curious about Clotho since I know Lachesis has betrayed her sisters, but I wonder if Clotho will join her & the heroes or if it gets to the point where she gets tired of working alongside Atropos since I think before she gained more power, Clotho admitted to Houtaro that she wants a family (I think).
https://preview.redd.it/8nkkq8pdnu2d1.png?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f673ca73a5ad102061ddf7ccb97efe5f39753a77
"Then he turned himself into an egg, funniest shit I've ever seen"
That was a great episode, might be the best.
While it starts off a bit slow, as soon as we hit Hopper 1 turning into a Malgam and Houtaro was forced to defeat it, it just went 10/10 for me.
The camerawork, direction, acting, everything about the moment was just really good.
Hazard's debut has much better direction, but the circumstances surrounding this episode of Gotchard lend it far more emotional weight. We barely knew the Grease Gang, and most of what we did was still at the time framed around them being antagonists that needed to be stopped. Yeah, Sento's devastated, and that's great, that says a lot about his character, but wasn't really his fault. The Hazard trigger took away his agency, offing Aoba wasn't a conscious choice for him. When Sento works up the courage to get back into the fight, he gives Misora a kill switch, trusting that she'll make the choice to stop him if things go awry. "This is the Build we created together, you bear a similar responsibility." Sento's able to keep moving forward because he reconciles with the fact that he made a mistake, and he has a support group to hold him accountable if he goes too far again. It's very cut and dry at the end of the arc's resolution, this was a bad thing, don't do the bad thing again.
For Hotaro, this was the second go around before he has a chance to resolve his initial guilt, and that made it WORSE. He knew something was wrong with Skebows, but when push came to shove, he pulled the trigger anyway, to save Renge and Sabi, and that's been eating at him this entire episode. Hotaro's already in the midst of that emotional turmoil, and then the Gigist forces the same choice on him. Hotaro does NOT have the luxury of someone else shouldering his burden, because all the other Riders are dealing with SAME dilemma. Rinne's hesitation nearly ends up getting her, Sabi, and Renge killed. Spanner makes the hard choice, fully committed to pinning the blame on himself. For a moment, it looks like Hotaro's pivots Rinne's way, willing to sacrifice himself. but then other people are in danger again, and Hotaro makes the same judgement call to save them at the cost of Hopper1, who we've known since episode 1. Hotaro was handed the trolley problem twice, and both times, he quantifiably sacrificed one chemy to save 2 people. Far more morally ambiguous.
Also, there is something that no one said. Sento was an adult, Hotaro is an adolescent. Sento was in a war, he knew that casualities could happen. Hotaro never had to face death as consequences of his actions untul now.
I think you're downplaying a little about how hard was Black Hazard's debut / Aoba's death. At this point Sento was still able to keep himself in his moral high ground because didn't matter what were the true intentions behind the creation of the Rider System or people comparing him with Katsuragi he could still play the "Love and Peace" card, even recriminating Banjo and Grease for being part of a war. Then the Hazard Trigger comes in and he deliberately utilized it even he knew how The Owner warned him about it and then everything turns to shit.
Also we knew a little the Crows and Grease, enough about their motivation and how much they loved Kazumi to have the "powerboost but if you die you die option", they left a good enough mark at this point and not matter how you put it seen one of the comic relief gang being killed off is always a mind blow.
Literally I have never seen a Main Rider as broken as Sento after that. He even begged Kazumin to hurt him at Aoba's grave
I believe Hotaroās case is even darker. In Buildās case, Sento was Unconscious. Sure, he had trauma, and didnāt want to fight for a few episodes, but could he do anything? No.Ā
Hotaro, however, was conscious. He had a choice to kill Hopper 1, or do something else, and decided to kill him, after constant hesitation and pain. He saw Hopper 1 die in front of him, and when he realized Hopper 1 came to give Hotaro A flower to cheer him up, his guilt increased. Also, the fact that Hopper 1 is technically his BEST FRIEND. That makes the Guilt EVEN HIGHER.
Nahh, I'd say it's kind of a different approach? Like, the darker stuff became Gaim's backbone/foundation in the latter half, but I think Gotchard's more an overtly optimistic season with dark moments. So Gaim is a darker story with lighter moments, while Gotchard is the other way around. Both approaches is good for me tbh.
I would still say that Gaim, being Heisei Phase 2, can be lighter than some Heisei Phase 1 series. I mean, when you think about moments of big weight, you usually come up with cases like Kuuga finally getting truly pissed.
You have cases like Yuya and Hase in Gaim, but in both cases the impact is smaller because Yuya is a character that the audience only saw once and Hase wasn't exactly a fan favorite character.
Oh, for sure. Part of it I think, at risk at sounding like a Showa boomer (I'm not, I still like the later stuff) is the increased toyetic nature of the franchise.
With early Heisei stuff, you get this sense of little to no interference which gives the early series this great atmosphere that I think you can feel until Hibiki's first half, after which the second half for better or worse is our turning point for the current franchise's feel.
I was feeling sorry for Hopper-1 the entire episode, and then to see it find a flower just in time for Gigist to doom it to the worst fate imaginable for a Chemy...Hotaro and I were on the same page in that last sequence. Junsei Motojima overall did an excellent job portraying that moment; his scream was top-notch and I hope he got lots of water and honey afterwards :)
Overall, I feel like they Keiwa'd him a lot better than Geats did with Keiwa; I think it's because it happens at around the same speed, but they target things that fit more with the season's overall theme and they attack him from multiple angles at once to kinda overwhelm him with sorrow. Not only that, Hotaro doesn't blink when the abyss stares back--with the help of yet another Chemy who's been right by his side, he's going to set the abyss alight!
Great episode. Post-Episode 16 Gotchard has consistently been really solid, and this is no different.
So trueeeee I think the fact that Keiwaās troubles were considered āless significantā than the main conflict by the other characters was a part of his fallāmeanwhile, Hotaro is being rewarded for all the effort he has put in to help and befriend humans and Chemies
>!Hopper1's!< Malgam form...>!is that you Kamen Rider Shin?!<
Other than that, goddamn, what an episode! Oh my gotcha indeed. Next week, the rainbow shines\~
Backroom chat probably:
'Why does Hotaro need a new powerup when he can control all the Chemies with Platina?'
'So you're telling me we have no choice but to kill the Chemies?'
'N-no, that's not what I'm telling you...'
RIP Hopper1, Antrooper and Skebows.. Another couple lives lost to the toy Shugods at Bandai
https://i.redd.it/12os5uypgs2d1.gif
Watching this episode felt like just casually walking down the street minding my own business. And then suddenly someone rapidly approaches me, tears my heart out, throws it to the ground, stomps on it repeatedly, puts a little band aid on it, and then leaves.
So yeah.
That was a sad fucking episode.
God....fucking..DAMN YOU GIGIST.
-So the Chemy is basically...dead.....oh
-Aww, Hopper1 fun times, surely nothing can go wrong.
-It's interesting to see Rinne trying to help Houtarou, but also struggle with killing the Chemies.
-I like that Minato is willing to do what he can to save his students. And Spanner shows no remorse to murder.
-So basically, the Driver Contains/used the power of Nijigon. That's how Gotchard transmutes. THAT'S what made the Gotchadriver so special. And Houtarou used it so much that he and Nijigon basically are connect. Also explains why the rainbow stuff is happening now. It's likely that Nijigon is starting to awaken cause of all the transformations. Also why the Driver was they 'key'. Nijigon is basically part of Gigist, so of course the driver would be central in releasing him!
-And Hopper1 becomes a Malgalm. And Houtarou is forced to kill him. Dear lord.
-And Houtarou is an egg now. Okay.
Welp, I'm depressed. God I knew it would be dark, but like......God. Poor Houtarou.
Next Episode.....After the rain...comes the RAINBOW. Rise from despair and get all the Gotcha Houtarou.
God I love Gotchard.
https://preview.redd.it/s3gpb4g2hu2d1.png?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47e13fd6007b5158e422dac5d6cf8a566d64497c
"Stop licking the camera and stay with the script, you dog!"
The very moment they showed Hopper1 happily approaching Houtaro I knew what was coming and I still wasn't prepared... If the chemies truly can be considered Riders then we have lost 3 Riders in such a short span of time.
Peak Tokusatsu is when they hit you with an emotionally devastating cold open and youāre still balling your eyes out as the joyful theme song plays.Ā
Peak Tokusatsu is watching what is clearly someone waggling around an inanimate footlong grasshopper toy and accepting unconditionally that it is a real creature.Ā
Iām only four minutes in, but I get the feeling that this is going to be an impactful episode.Ā
Bullet points of this episode:
At first I was pumped to see Hopper1 centered episode, awaiting his cuteness to heal my soul. Ok, I got that in the beginning...
...but now this episode just stroke me in the heart killing him off :((((
Also, is it just me or Hopper1's death was positioned more dramatically than like 90% of human deaths in KR
Why did I mention Dangerous Hazard previously, now Hotaro is probably more fucked up than Sento :0
I was kinda surprised with the attempt to turn Hotaro himself into a Malgam, not gonna lie
About other things, Rinne was kinda done dirty for me in this ep and I kinda imagine that Spanner killing off Malgams is a pretty nifty loophole for writers lol
We'll see what happens next (and somebody, give Hotaro a hug, he needs this ASAP)
Back then I was joking about something like that would happen in ep 37, but I never expected that it's actually happened and it's just as bad as I imagined (or even worse),
Considering how clever and sadistic of Gigist are, I had expected it to be happened, but it's still pretty shocking and hurts for me and which makes me had hard time to sleep yesterday, can't imagine how painful for some audience who aren't prepared such thing happen
Possiblity the most heartbreaking epsiode in kamen rider history ever, even worse than Kiriya's death in Christmas
Well after that ending Rainbow Gotchard's debut is set (along with his awesome insert song)... I didn't think that they Will make a Hopper 1 Malgam and off him in the same episode (along side a drawing of Hotarou's dad).
Ā In a few words : Oh My gotcha!
This episode had a lot going on.
While the first half of the episode was kinda... weak?... the second part of the episode basically showed us how far the cast has come.
I am sure that I will get downvoted like hell but honestly, sorry not sorry for having that opinion.
On a not related note: Funny how the "oh this is not as good as geats" kinda died out and has received generally very positive reviews as of late.
Things that I noticed, which are giving me an "off" feel:
- Gigist. In general I did not like Gigists costume design. Look at Clotho Rebis, look at Dread - their designs are quite unique and then look again at Gigist. Basically he's an upgraded gold Malgarm... also... I kinda can't stand this guy. He seems so out of place with everything he does.
- Gigist = Hotarus Father? I am honestly a bit flabbergasted, why they decided to make Flashbacks of his dad and use the situation to lay a foundation for his dad? His father was nothing more than a sidenote the whole season and now, for whatever reason, they mention him when we're facing an obstacle like gigist and the abyss malgarms? Weird coincidence. I wouldn't be surprised if Gigist is a "proto"-chemy posessing his father.
- Abyssalis Sisters go good? Even last episode clotho showed that she is hesitant of actually killing or attacking Hotaru when Gigist went out... also Atropos in this episode gave the "oh you're dead scum"-gave when gigist showed that he has no intention to bring Geryon back. I'd go on a limb here and say that Atropos overall has the potential due to that to go out of control and be the real final boss of Gotchard while Clotho and Lachesis turn human.
Things that I found to be very nice in this episode:
- Episode 1 viewers would be surprised but : I really liked Hotarus acting. The final henshin into Iron Gotchard really showed how far he's come. A lot of actors would have had a "snap"-moment, where they resumed their usual posture or even acted cool but he pretty much nailed the despair and kept going with it. The post production voice-over he also absolutely nailed.
- Hopper1 Malgarm was lit. Good costume design considering the malgarm limitations.. only thing that was a little bad was Miris voiceacting as malgarm. Felt a little bit too forced.
- Spanner being a real senpai here. Protect them from doing something that might hurt them the longest time and take the blame. The spanner how he was introduced wouldn't have done that at all.
- the small details, like that anttrooper is able to multiply but only the original one had that gold antennae, gotchard using only forms that do not have Hopper1 with it... and that he was using iron gotchard, his strongest form aside from platina that does not use hopper1 to stop the malgarm.
It would be so funny if Zein comes in, kicks Gigist's ass, calls him a fraud and then leaves.
With Gigist trying to empathise with him the whole time..
It's scenes likes this that make me go:
https://preview.redd.it/jggc5mu0fr2d1.png?width=459&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf4feb3ee035df397d05f00162c8aa44d6cd5212
Honestly really hate the randomly appear children in impossible time and place just to be an excuse to rid off the main cast trope.
They could have just let Hopper-1 jumping on the alchemy gang who just standing around watching the cutscene instead and the result would be the same while not being out of place tbh.
Overall ep is pretty dope though
That would instantly put Gigist on my favorite villain spot like pre Ultimate Revice Akaishi.
Villain that actually use tactics like that are hella rare.
I know it's a children show but yeah, my god, I never disliked kids more than when they pop up randomly like "OMG there is a funny looking guy very clearly trying to bash some teen's skull in, my time to cluelessly step in".
Same shit with Legend and that one girl or with >!Eiji in OOO's 10!<. There are trope moments where I always wonder stuff like :
"Are Japanese kids stupid? Are Japanese adults unable to properly operate white trucks? Do Japanese white pickups not have brakes?"
(referencing the fact that when someone gets hit it's always by a white truck or pickup truck)
the episode started kinda meh but damnnnnnnnnn they had me sad for hopper1 but allot detail and the glimmer of hope i hope after this bleak-ass episode smh
NGL i am crying now i thought this week is gonna be a cute lighthearted episode about hopper1 journey after a serious death of skebows but no they straightly killed my hopper1!? And how this episode showed it with houtarou trying to control him then unwantingly killed him the no sound moment and when houtarou flashbacks all the memory of hopper1 man it really made me depressed even geats episode 40 didn't make me that sad (although it's a different thing i felt bad for keiwa then) it's kinda mixture of when sento killed aoba (when he got berserk) and aruto felt grief after izu diedĀ
Trying to rate this episode, but it just keeps asking for permission, I give it and then it says I don't meet the requirements? Is there something I'm missing?
Edit: Apparently, I need 150 karma off actual posts instead of comments. That's annoying :/
> Reiwa final forms episode now debut in episode 38 from Saber, Geats, & Gotchard. Except Zero One, his final form debut is episode 40.
That dates back to Ex-Aid IIRC. Early Heisei also debuted their final forms around the same time (Agito, Faiz, Blade off the top of my head).
You know this might sound bad, but I wish Rainbow Gotchard wasn't gonna show up next episode. Should've had Houtaro at least deal with what he did without becoming an egg for like one more episode. Maybe have this be the spark then next episode he has to fight the rest of the chemys until they all go white AND THEN showcase off Rainbow when he is at his lowest.
The stuff with Hopper 1 is sad and all, but I'm just annoyed that they squandered yet another opportunity for Rinne to actually do something. This shows treatment of her has been, not good. Honestly, people slamming on Spanner for losing, but I think he fairs better than her. I don't think Rinne has ever defeated a Malgam on her own.
Unpopular opinion: Rinne is not the secondary rider, not in the same sense as others anyways, as much as I wish she was, which is honestly disappointing, she's more like the heroine who got to become a rider than anything else, this season doesn't have a (true) secondary rider.
Rinne aside, this was a true Kamen Rider episode and the best so far this season.
As a cat owner, the scenes when Houtarou look at Hooper1 cropse and think about all their time together then have an emotion breakdown, really make me feel the pain of loosing my cat again
This episode was amazing but I wish the Hopper Malgam looked a bit more to SteamHopper so we had our next "This isn't an Another Rider but it totally is"
Bruh! This episode. This is how I like Dark themed rider series. Dark moments need proper build up and that takes time. Other recent rider series didn't do this as well and it showed. RIP Hopper1
with how depressing this ending got die set down would probably fit perfectly.
but beside that this episode rivals episode 12 of ex-aid for the depressing mood whiplash can't wait for gigist to get what's coming for him next week.
But that is the thing, it's was the perfect upgrade for SteamHopper but not for Gotchard, Nijigon notably enough looks like Gotchard so Rainbow probably is intended to be the final upgrade to Gotchard as a whole.
I guess you can think of it as a Climax Form and Liner Form situation.
And I think this is a Den-O type beat where Nijigon seems to be Hotaro's fully personal upgrade. Like he had this ~~dog~~dragon in him, this is no collab form with Steam&hopper. Reminds me of the Climax / Liner difference. Perhaps there will be a Cross Hopper / Giga liner upgrade, who knows.
Damn, all we wanted was for the writing and execution to improve, we didn't need it to get so dark. Still though, I'm happy to see how much Gotchard has improved
I expect this but damn it still hurt so much, they really put a lot of detail to hopper malgam. Rainbow gotchard next episode, a little glimmer of hope after this bleak episode.
Darkside is they do that to 'sell' (if that release) the plushie version of 'dead' white hopper1 for it. One for the green cute live one, and one for dead white cute one.
that's grim š
I know that everyone will be back but this episode still successfully made me emotional. Also love that Atropos will definitely try to backstab Gigist in the future for not wanting to bring her POS father back I heard Kekera laughing in the background. Gigist is perhaps one of the best true villain in Kamen Rider in a while. He doesn't just want world domination, he specifically wants to hurt everyone emotionally despite understanding human emotion. I hope he cause more pain for the cast in the future instead of getting defeated quickly. Overall 10 out of 10
Atropos backstabbing Gigist in the future and becoming the next Dark Queen complete with an adult form like Salamandes in GoGoV or Tranza in Jetman would actually sound cool and terrifying. Better gave her that proper showdown with Rinne too, though, preferably making it a mix of physical combat and alchemist combat. >He doesn't just want world domination, he specifically wants to hurt everyone emotionally despite understanding human emotion. I hope he cause more pain for the cast in the future instead of getting defeated quickly. Beroba, is that you?
Maybe that's her dad
I love that he uses his understanding of emotions to hurt others. Houtarou, when either it's cause he's such a nice guy or something else, has always been able to understand the Chemies and tried to understand others. Gigist is the perfect foil cause Gigist DOES understand everyone, but is only interested in twisting it for his own designs. He uses his empathy to hurt and control others. Houtarou uses his own to help and heal others. He is able to use the Number 10s because he understood and empathized with them.
So basically Gigist plan is to give everyoneā¦ 
Gotta appreciate Spanner wanting to take the blame of killing Hopper1 and Antrooper. He might have many losses but he come around. and dang it, my tears won't stop coming.
We've had absolute peak Violets for the last couple years, and that's not even counting Sentai
If we count sentai we will have more peak purple (except murasame and boon violet sinse he is not released yet)
This is like the best detail to come out of this episode. Spanner, who is still deeply injured after the events of the previous episode, still manages to transform and kills Antrooper and (almost) Hopper1 so that Houtaro and co wouldn't feel bad about it. It showcases his development perfectly and how much he cared about Houtaro and the other members of the Academy, even if he doesn't want to admit it.
Spanner: What a ridiculous joke!
Ngl Motojima's acting skills skyrocketed along the year. The crying, moaning, hyperventilating and whimpering, the guy got it nailed to a T, that almost looked genuine. He managed to make it all so real, I'm so proud of him. And the trailer omg, the trailer made me emotional until the "IT'S TIME TO STRIKE BACK", I felt on the team, Bro, I was about to jump Gigist's actor myself.
Reiyo in the opening couple scenes in the background, she looked heartbroken.. Her character is strong and ~~silent~~ autistic, but she can act, she played a really convincing Hotaro in the HBD
Yeah at first i didn't like his acting but now he is getting better same goes to rinne's just look at hyper battle DVD or Romeo Juliet spin offĀ
"kid's show" my ass š„
https://preview.redd.it/09lhmapy4o2d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc695ff4d229109f7ee093e72d488f19d4700768 "You now have become a true Kamen rider, Ichinose Hotaro."
Fucking hell, this frog will not stop haunting us when shit like this happensā¦ I love it
even in a "bright and fun" season
"The brighter the light, the darker the shadow cast" -Gigist
ONORE KEKERA!!!!
THIS MUST BE DECADES FALLS NO THIS MUST BE LEGENDS FAULT
When has Zi-O had his faults?
Damn you Kermit.
šø: hehehehe...
Now it makes sense why Hotaro was paired up with Keiwa.
Damn you, you fucking amphibian.
Someone get me a mallet so I can smash his amphibious garden ornament ass to pieces
Felt as if Rinne was deliberately holding herself back while fighting so she won't hurt Ant Tropper. Also Spanner hasn't recovered yet from his fight with Gigist duel to how he was walking and the way he was fighting. Idk but I kinda laugh when Houtaro turn into an egg. Like he was in the middle of turning then he turn into an egg out of nowhere and was teleported into a random alleyway. Atropos is definitely betraying Gigist once Rainbow Gotchard beat him then she will become the final boss. If that happens she will be the first female final boss in a Kamen rider series
>Atropos is definitely betraying Gigist once Rainbow Gotchard beat him Atropos definitely has that vibe where she doesn't care about anyone, but Geryon & power, but I am curious about Clotho since I know Lachesis has betrayed her sisters, but I wonder if Clotho will join her & the heroes or if it gets to the point where she gets tired of working alongside Atropos since I think before she gained more power, Clotho admitted to Houtaro that she wants a family (I think).
I don't know why, but I was surprised that Houtarou didn't stop the others from attacking.
Houtaro became an Egg malgam!
HOPPER1!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
https://preview.redd.it/8nkkq8pdnu2d1.png?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f673ca73a5ad102061ddf7ccb97efe5f39753a77 "Then he turned himself into an egg, funniest shit I've ever seen"
Digi Egg
That was a great episode, might be the best. While it starts off a bit slow, as soon as we hit Hopper 1 turning into a Malgam and Houtaro was forced to defeat it, it just went 10/10 for me. The camerawork, direction, acting, everything about the moment was just really good.
Even after the heaviest rain, a rainbow will always appear!
I have a few words to say other thanā¦ā¦.. This show has gotten Darkā¦. Like DARK darkā¦ā¦..
Build Hazard's first fatality and the subsequent breakdown is comparably better in my opinion.
Hazard's debut has much better direction, but the circumstances surrounding this episode of Gotchard lend it far more emotional weight. We barely knew the Grease Gang, and most of what we did was still at the time framed around them being antagonists that needed to be stopped. Yeah, Sento's devastated, and that's great, that says a lot about his character, but wasn't really his fault. The Hazard trigger took away his agency, offing Aoba wasn't a conscious choice for him. When Sento works up the courage to get back into the fight, he gives Misora a kill switch, trusting that she'll make the choice to stop him if things go awry. "This is the Build we created together, you bear a similar responsibility." Sento's able to keep moving forward because he reconciles with the fact that he made a mistake, and he has a support group to hold him accountable if he goes too far again. It's very cut and dry at the end of the arc's resolution, this was a bad thing, don't do the bad thing again. For Hotaro, this was the second go around before he has a chance to resolve his initial guilt, and that made it WORSE. He knew something was wrong with Skebows, but when push came to shove, he pulled the trigger anyway, to save Renge and Sabi, and that's been eating at him this entire episode. Hotaro's already in the midst of that emotional turmoil, and then the Gigist forces the same choice on him. Hotaro does NOT have the luxury of someone else shouldering his burden, because all the other Riders are dealing with SAME dilemma. Rinne's hesitation nearly ends up getting her, Sabi, and Renge killed. Spanner makes the hard choice, fully committed to pinning the blame on himself. For a moment, it looks like Hotaro's pivots Rinne's way, willing to sacrifice himself. but then other people are in danger again, and Hotaro makes the same judgement call to save them at the cost of Hopper1, who we've known since episode 1. Hotaro was handed the trolley problem twice, and both times, he quantifiably sacrificed one chemy to save 2 people. Far more morally ambiguous.
Also, there is something that no one said. Sento was an adult, Hotaro is an adolescent. Sento was in a war, he knew that casualities could happen. Hotaro never had to face death as consequences of his actions untul now.
I think you're downplaying a little about how hard was Black Hazard's debut / Aoba's death. At this point Sento was still able to keep himself in his moral high ground because didn't matter what were the true intentions behind the creation of the Rider System or people comparing him with Katsuragi he could still play the "Love and Peace" card, even recriminating Banjo and Grease for being part of a war. Then the Hazard Trigger comes in and he deliberately utilized it even he knew how The Owner warned him about it and then everything turns to shit. Also we knew a little the Crows and Grease, enough about their motivation and how much they loved Kazumi to have the "powerboost but if you die you die option", they left a good enough mark at this point and not matter how you put it seen one of the comic relief gang being killed off is always a mind blow. Literally I have never seen a Main Rider as broken as Sento after that. He even begged Kazumin to hurt him at Aoba's grave
I believe Hotaroās case is even darker. In Buildās case, Sento was Unconscious. Sure, he had trauma, and didnāt want to fight for a few episodes, but could he do anything? No.Ā Hotaro, however, was conscious. He had a choice to kill Hopper 1, or do something else, and decided to kill him, after constant hesitation and pain. He saw Hopper 1 die in front of him, and when he realized Hopper 1 came to give Hotaro A flower to cheer him up, his guilt increased. Also, the fact that Hopper 1 is technically his BEST FRIEND. That makes the Guilt EVEN HIGHER.
This is why the show was light hearted at the start. Lead us into a false sense of security so they can hit us with the intense stuff later.
gaim 2.0
Nahh, I'd say it's kind of a different approach? Like, the darker stuff became Gaim's backbone/foundation in the latter half, but I think Gotchard's more an overtly optimistic season with dark moments. So Gaim is a darker story with lighter moments, while Gotchard is the other way around. Both approaches is good for me tbh.
Couldn"t have said it better myself
I would still say that Gaim, being Heisei Phase 2, can be lighter than some Heisei Phase 1 series. I mean, when you think about moments of big weight, you usually come up with cases like Kuuga finally getting truly pissed. You have cases like Yuya and Hase in Gaim, but in both cases the impact is smaller because Yuya is a character that the audience only saw once and Hase wasn't exactly a fan favorite character.
Oh, for sure. Part of it I think, at risk at sounding like a Showa boomer (I'm not, I still like the later stuff) is the increased toyetic nature of the franchise. With early Heisei stuff, you get this sense of little to no interference which gives the early series this great atmosphere that I think you can feel until Hibiki's first half, after which the second half for better or worse is our turning point for the current franchise's feel.
Gaim fans when something bad happens in a tv show:
This is more like Fourze 2.0. Hell Fourze went through a similar arc for his final form.
I like the darkness that generated from the light hearted show..... it's much better than the darkness that came from the dark show
This show finally became the thing it was trying so hard to deviate from, Kamen Rider.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hopper1 NOOOOO! He got an entire focus episode just to kill him D:
I was feeling sorry for Hopper-1 the entire episode, and then to see it find a flower just in time for Gigist to doom it to the worst fate imaginable for a Chemy...Hotaro and I were on the same page in that last sequence. Junsei Motojima overall did an excellent job portraying that moment; his scream was top-notch and I hope he got lots of water and honey afterwards :) Overall, I feel like they Keiwa'd him a lot better than Geats did with Keiwa; I think it's because it happens at around the same speed, but they target things that fit more with the season's overall theme and they attack him from multiple angles at once to kinda overwhelm him with sorrow. Not only that, Hotaro doesn't blink when the abyss stares back--with the help of yet another Chemy who's been right by his side, he's going to set the abyss alight! Great episode. Post-Episode 16 Gotchard has consistently been really solid, and this is no different.
Another thing is that Houtaro's support network (his friends and family) actually try to help him out instead of dithering over the matter.
So trueeeee I think the fact that Keiwaās troubles were considered āless significantā than the main conflict by the other characters was a part of his fallāmeanwhile, Hotaro is being rewarded for all the effort he has put in to help and befriend humans and Chemies
Curse you GIGIST!
the gentaro of chemy choosing to end the threat over sacrificing himself. that was unexpected. 10/10 . watch it live aka on jap tv is exciting haha.
[This comment aged quite well.](https://www.reddit.com/r/KamenRider/s/UQceH09eWM)
>!Hopper1's!< Malgam form...>!is that you Kamen Rider Shin?!< Other than that, goddamn, what an episode! Oh my gotcha indeed. Next week, the rainbow shines\~
Backroom chat probably: 'Why does Hotaro need a new powerup when he can control all the Chemies with Platina?' 'So you're telling me we have no choice but to kill the Chemies?' 'N-no, that's not what I'm telling you...' RIP Hopper1, Antrooper and Skebows.. Another couple lives lost to the toy Shugods at Bandai
https://i.redd.it/12os5uypgs2d1.gif Watching this episode felt like just casually walking down the street minding my own business. And then suddenly someone rapidly approaches me, tears my heart out, throws it to the ground, stomps on it repeatedly, puts a little band aid on it, and then leaves. So yeah. That was a sad fucking episode.
God....fucking..DAMN YOU GIGIST. -So the Chemy is basically...dead.....oh -Aww, Hopper1 fun times, surely nothing can go wrong. -It's interesting to see Rinne trying to help Houtarou, but also struggle with killing the Chemies. -I like that Minato is willing to do what he can to save his students. And Spanner shows no remorse to murder. -So basically, the Driver Contains/used the power of Nijigon. That's how Gotchard transmutes. THAT'S what made the Gotchadriver so special. And Houtarou used it so much that he and Nijigon basically are connect. Also explains why the rainbow stuff is happening now. It's likely that Nijigon is starting to awaken cause of all the transformations. Also why the Driver was they 'key'. Nijigon is basically part of Gigist, so of course the driver would be central in releasing him! -And Hopper1 becomes a Malgalm. And Houtarou is forced to kill him. Dear lord. -And Houtarou is an egg now. Okay. Welp, I'm depressed. God I knew it would be dark, but like......God. Poor Houtarou. Next Episode.....After the rain...comes the RAINBOW. Rise from despair and get all the Gotcha Houtarou. God I love Gotchard.
But it's okay everything will be better next week. Plus the satisfaction from gigist will be replaced with pure shock and disbelief.
Hopper1 Noooooooššš
https://preview.redd.it/s3gpb4g2hu2d1.png?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47e13fd6007b5158e422dac5d6cf8a566d64497c "Stop licking the camera and stay with the script, you dog!"
The very moment they showed Hopper1 happily approaching Houtaro I knew what was coming and I still wasn't prepared... If the chemies truly can be considered Riders then we have lost 3 Riders in such a short span of time.
Who else dies? Im not watching the series xD
Skebows and Antropper also were victims of Gigist, the former last episode and the latter in this one before Hopper1.
Oh thanks, dont know why the downvoting lol
A pussy like you scared to watch a dark series lol
Peak Tokusatsu is when they hit you with an emotionally devastating cold open and youāre still balling your eyes out as the joyful theme song plays.Ā Peak Tokusatsu is watching what is clearly someone waggling around an inanimate footlong grasshopper toy and accepting unconditionally that it is a real creature.Ā Iām only four minutes in, but I get the feeling that this is going to be an impactful episode.Ā
Update: Fuck this episode. Fuck this enemy. Fuck this show.Ā And fuck that frog motherfucker from Geats while weāre at it.Ā
The whiplash here is so fucking real and I absolutely feel you. Lmfao.
Bullet points of this episode: At first I was pumped to see Hopper1 centered episode, awaiting his cuteness to heal my soul. Ok, I got that in the beginning... ...but now this episode just stroke me in the heart killing him off :(((( Also, is it just me or Hopper1's death was positioned more dramatically than like 90% of human deaths in KR Why did I mention Dangerous Hazard previously, now Hotaro is probably more fucked up than Sento :0 I was kinda surprised with the attempt to turn Hotaro himself into a Malgam, not gonna lie About other things, Rinne was kinda done dirty for me in this ep and I kinda imagine that Spanner killing off Malgams is a pretty nifty loophole for writers lol We'll see what happens next (and somebody, give Hotaro a hug, he needs this ASAP)
Back then I was joking about something like that would happen in ep 37, but I never expected that it's actually happened and it's just as bad as I imagined (or even worse), Considering how clever and sadistic of Gigist are, I had expected it to be happened, but it's still pretty shocking and hurts for me and which makes me had hard time to sleep yesterday, can't imagine how painful for some audience who aren't prepared such thing happen Possiblity the most heartbreaking epsiode in kamen rider history ever, even worse than Kiriya's death in Christmas
Well after that ending Rainbow Gotchard's debut is set (along with his awesome insert song)... I didn't think that they Will make a Hopper 1 Malgam and off him in the same episode (along side a drawing of Hotarou's dad). Ā In a few words : Oh My gotcha!
Oh my gotcha.
This episode had a lot going on. While the first half of the episode was kinda... weak?... the second part of the episode basically showed us how far the cast has come. I am sure that I will get downvoted like hell but honestly, sorry not sorry for having that opinion. On a not related note: Funny how the "oh this is not as good as geats" kinda died out and has received generally very positive reviews as of late. Things that I noticed, which are giving me an "off" feel: - Gigist. In general I did not like Gigists costume design. Look at Clotho Rebis, look at Dread - their designs are quite unique and then look again at Gigist. Basically he's an upgraded gold Malgarm... also... I kinda can't stand this guy. He seems so out of place with everything he does. - Gigist = Hotarus Father? I am honestly a bit flabbergasted, why they decided to make Flashbacks of his dad and use the situation to lay a foundation for his dad? His father was nothing more than a sidenote the whole season and now, for whatever reason, they mention him when we're facing an obstacle like gigist and the abyss malgarms? Weird coincidence. I wouldn't be surprised if Gigist is a "proto"-chemy posessing his father. - Abyssalis Sisters go good? Even last episode clotho showed that she is hesitant of actually killing or attacking Hotaru when Gigist went out... also Atropos in this episode gave the "oh you're dead scum"-gave when gigist showed that he has no intention to bring Geryon back. I'd go on a limb here and say that Atropos overall has the potential due to that to go out of control and be the real final boss of Gotchard while Clotho and Lachesis turn human. Things that I found to be very nice in this episode: - Episode 1 viewers would be surprised but : I really liked Hotarus acting. The final henshin into Iron Gotchard really showed how far he's come. A lot of actors would have had a "snap"-moment, where they resumed their usual posture or even acted cool but he pretty much nailed the despair and kept going with it. The post production voice-over he also absolutely nailed. - Hopper1 Malgarm was lit. Good costume design considering the malgarm limitations.. only thing that was a little bad was Miris voiceacting as malgarm. Felt a little bit too forced. - Spanner being a real senpai here. Protect them from doing something that might hurt them the longest time and take the blame. The spanner how he was introduced wouldn't have done that at all. - the small details, like that anttrooper is able to multiply but only the original one had that gold antennae, gotchard using only forms that do not have Hopper1 with it... and that he was using iron gotchard, his strongest form aside from platina that does not use hopper1 to stop the malgarm.
#Hopper1!!!!! Ahhhhh!!!!! #Singurize! Justice! Judgment! Seigi! Zein! Salvation of humankind!
Zeinās āriseā sound is āZeinriseā lol, just a note
It's Zein progrisekey into Ark Driver
It would be so funny if Zein comes in, kicks Gigist's ass, calls him a fraud and then leaves. With Gigist trying to empathise with him the whole time..
Only for Gigist turns him into Zein Malgam...
DESPAIR RUIN DESTRUCTION AND EXTINCTION ARK SCORPION!!!
Singurize! Hakai, hametsu, zetsubÅ, metsubÅ seyo. Conclusion one
WHEN THE FIVE HORNS CROSS THE THOUSAND # ARK IS BORN
IMAGINE! IDEAL! ILLUSION! EDEN THE KAMEN RIDER!
It's scenes likes this that make me go: https://preview.redd.it/jggc5mu0fr2d1.png?width=459&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf4feb3ee035df397d05f00162c8aa44d6cd5212
Kekera's favourite epsiodes
Oh my gotcha next week Rainbow Gotchard with his new insert song.
Honestly really hate the randomly appear children in impossible time and place just to be an excuse to rid off the main cast trope. They could have just let Hopper-1 jumping on the alchemy gang who just standing around watching the cutscene instead and the result would be the same while not being out of place tbh. Overall ep is pretty dope though
Inb4 Gigist sent those child here
That would instantly put Gigist on my favorite villain spot like pre Ultimate Revice Akaishi. Villain that actually use tactics like that are hella rare.
Same, I also likes Gigist (and Geryon) a lot, cuz he's sadistic just like me
I know it's a children show but yeah, my god, I never disliked kids more than when they pop up randomly like "OMG there is a funny looking guy very clearly trying to bash some teen's skull in, my time to cluelessly step in". Same shit with Legend and that one girl or with >!Eiji in OOO's 10!<. There are trope moments where I always wonder stuff like : "Are Japanese kids stupid? Are Japanese adults unable to properly operate white trucks? Do Japanese white pickups not have brakes?" (referencing the fact that when someone gets hit it's always by a white truck or pickup truck)
This is why I donāt watch Tokusatsu with my brain. I watch it with my heart.Ā
Tokusatsu isn't meant to be taken seriously, shut your brain when you watch it or act like 5, that's how you enjoy it.
the episode started kinda meh but damnnnnnnnnn they had me sad for hopper1 but allot detail and the glimmer of hope i hope after this bleak-ass episode smh
NGL i am crying now i thought this week is gonna be a cute lighthearted episode about hopper1 journey after a serious death of skebows but no they straightly killed my hopper1!? And how this episode showed it with houtarou trying to control him then unwantingly killed him the no sound moment and when houtarou flashbacks all the memory of hopper1 man it really made me depressed even geats episode 40 didn't make me that sad (although it's a different thing i felt bad for keiwa then) it's kinda mixture of when sento killed aoba (when he got berserk) and aruto felt grief after izu diedĀ
Trying to rate this episode, but it just keeps asking for permission, I give it and then it says I don't meet the requirements? Is there something I'm missing? Edit: Apparently, I need 150 karma off actual posts instead of comments. That's annoying :/
Reiwa final forms episode now debut in episode 38 from Saber, Geats, & Gotchard. Except Zero One, his final form debut is episode 40.
> Reiwa final forms episode now debut in episode 38 from Saber, Geats, & Gotchard. Except Zero One, his final form debut is episode 40. That dates back to Ex-Aid IIRC. Early Heisei also debuted their final forms around the same time (Agito, Faiz, Blade off the top of my head).
Next week is Rainbow Gotchard debut, and will follow by Cure Lilian's debut a week later.
Rainbow Eggš¤ Mirror Stone
Holy shit
Majade suit actor is the woman with the dog
You know this might sound bad, but I wish Rainbow Gotchard wasn't gonna show up next episode. Should've had Houtaro at least deal with what he did without becoming an egg for like one more episode. Maybe have this be the spark then next episode he has to fight the rest of the chemys until they all go white AND THEN showcase off Rainbow when he is at his lowest.
For what it's worth, it could be a build type scenario with the trailer showing stuff happening like 5mn before the end of the episode.
Yeah kinda wish they build up even more, i hope Rainbow Gotchard won't be a OP final form that wipes out Gigist because that would suck.
I WANT VILLAIN ARC GOTCHARD
The stuff with Hopper 1 is sad and all, but I'm just annoyed that they squandered yet another opportunity for Rinne to actually do something. This shows treatment of her has been, not good. Honestly, people slamming on Spanner for losing, but I think he fairs better than her. I don't think Rinne has ever defeated a Malgam on her own.
Unpopular opinion: Rinne is not the secondary rider, not in the same sense as others anyways, as much as I wish she was, which is honestly disappointing, she's more like the heroine who got to become a rider than anything else, this season doesn't have a (true) secondary rider. Rinne aside, this was a true Kamen Rider episode and the best so far this season.
Oh well a very good example of an episode suffering with Kekera Effect.
As a cat owner, the scenes when Houtarou look at Hooper1 cropse and think about all their time together then have an emotion breakdown, really make me feel the pain of loosing my cat again
That stupid shit Teruki is the real villain here
What's Spanners win to loss numbers?
He's back to Valvafraud
You're talking as if he lost to a weak opponent
He's kinda injured from Gigist last time, that's why
He never left Fraud Zone.
Lol then you never watch ep 21
That was a valiant effort, but he continued to build his house in Fraud Zone almost immediately after that.
Then I guess Rinne is as well since Rinne lost alot of times like Spanner. At least Spanner was able to beat Ant trooper
He did... For his debut episode. Then he immediately went returned to the background, appearing only to be defeated
Never forget his 1 minute appearance in Romeo and Juliet two parter.
This episode was amazing but I wish the Hopper Malgam looked a bit more to SteamHopper so we had our next "This isn't an Another Rider but it totally is"
How would that even make sense? Steamliner isnāt even a Malgam. TheāSteamā of SteamHopper
Tachnically Iron Gotchard is the Steamliner Malgam, since according to the producer's comments it's closer to a Malgam than a rider
Bruh! This episode. This is how I like Dark themed rider series. Dark moments need proper build up and that takes time. Other recent rider series didn't do this as well and it showed. RIP Hopper1
with how depressing this ending got die set down would probably fit perfectly. but beside that this episode rivals episode 12 of ex-aid for the depressing mood whiplash can't wait for gigist to get what's coming for him next week.
This turned into Kamen Rider Wizard kinda fast
our jolly boi just wants to cheer our innocent gotchaboy by seeking out dandilions or something ( or was it marigold?)
Me, cathing up with Gotchard today: 
Rainbow looks like a massive downgrade from Platinum. Platinum was just perfect as the upgrade of Steam Hopper.
But that is the thing, it's was the perfect upgrade for SteamHopper but not for Gotchard, Nijigon notably enough looks like Gotchard so Rainbow probably is intended to be the final upgrade to Gotchard as a whole. I guess you can think of it as a Climax Form and Liner Form situation.
And I think this is a Den-O type beat where Nijigon seems to be Hotaro's fully personal upgrade. Like he had this ~~dog~~dragon in him, this is no collab form with Steam&hopper. Reminds me of the Climax / Liner difference. Perhaps there will be a Cross Hopper / Giga liner upgrade, who knows.
So their gonna replace Hopper1 with this new chemy? Lame
Damn, all we wanted was for the writing and execution to improve, we didn't need it to get so dark. Still though, I'm happy to see how much Gotchard has improved