Snack up, Riders! This week’s Ride Review has handymen, crisps, Mollusks, soda, and a promise of chocolate to come! There’s a lot to get through so join Ethan and let’s tuck in!
Episode 2
Recap
Picking up from the end of episode 1, we see a passed out Shoma in the park as he’s found by Amane Sachika. She takes him back to her place, lets him clean himself up and gives him snacks, explaining that she runs her own handyman business because she believes everyone deserves happiness. When she gets a call to help her friend move, Shoma offers to help. As you can imagine, his otherworldly strength makes short work off the task.
Later that night, after a really nice scene where Shoma opens up about his mother, Amane suggests he make a taste diary, giving him the notebook and pen for it. Shoma is filling out the book when two of the Zakuzaku Chips Gochizo that Shoma made thanks to his celebratory bag of crisps (potato chips, for you non-Brits!) reports back to him that they saw a Granute nab the girl who he and Amane helped move.
Following his snacky pikmin’s intel, he ends up at the Mollusk Granute base, the toku warehouse (you know the one). Transforming into Poppin Gummy, the pair clash with Shoma being able to rescue the girl from her restrained shrinky dinky form.
Still under attack, he transforms into Zakuzaku Chips form, quickly realising that this form’s gimmick is that unless he cuts at the right angle with the chip swords, they will shatter. The fight goes how you would expect. Kaboom!
After freeing the girl from her bindings, she freaks out asking if he’s a monster. Shoma just apologises for scaring her and asks her to be careful not to run into any more monsters. On the way home, Shoma drives past Hanto, who was pondering the lead he finally has on the monster that killed his mother eighteen years prior. He screams aloud that he finally saw them, monsters, happy to know that he wasn’t imagining things as a child.
Elsewhere, Amane finds the note Shoma wrote, thanking her for everything and remarking that he wants to be like her and make everyone happy. He adds will fill out that taste diary and rides off to his next adventure. Meanwhile, Shita, the female twin among the Stomach family leaders meets with one of her agents who shows her a phone with social media feed with blurry screenshots of a Shoma’s fight from episode 1. We end with her wondering what that other thing in the photo is, referring to Shoma as Kamen Rider Gavv.
The Bad
Honestly I got nothing. This was a great episode.
The Good
Episode 2 does a wonderful job of picking up the momentum from the premiere and running with it, just a great job all around. Highlights include our short look at the villains and the pan out shot of their factory, Shoma starting to introduce himself as Shoma Stomach but stopping himself, the night time warehouse fight, the wonderful chemistry between Nozomi Miyabe and Hidekazu Chinen, and the little bit of extra fleshing out Hanto got during his investigations this episode. Lots to love, here.
The Conclusion
Two episodes in, Gavv continues to be a treat tastier then the snacks he eats. All of the strengths from episode 1 are here on full display again with none of the one nitpicky issues I had with the debut. They even made the big bombastic vehicle section of the pilot fight a major plot point, which I loved. Cannot wait to see next week! Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Amane; she’s very fun!
Episode 3
Recap
This episode starts with Jeebh tasking one of their part time human harvesters to pick up the slack, since other part times are going missing. When they leave Shita and Jeebh task another of their faceless agents to find out more about this mysterious figure that’s taking out there part timers.
We then cut to said mysterious figure that’s been taking out all their part timers, Shoma, who is struggling to pick out what snack to buy with the last of his money. He eventually settles on a pack of Poppin Gummies, which he accidentally spills everywhere over a man named Sujimoto, before passing out. This taking us to the opening which, I forgot to mention during episode 2, is a banger.
Sujimoto treats Shoma to some bento, explaining that he needs to eat more than just snacks and that they are more something you have when you’re celebrating or are down. After seeing how strong Shoma is, he asks him to help on with a job. Elsewhere, Hanto talks with his editor in chief/foster dad about how one of the two monsters being talked about online is reportedly saving people, though they are not sure which one. The editor in chief warns Hanto to be careful as he investigates further.
Turns out the job Sujimoto wanted Shoma’s help for was to burgle someone and, when Shoma realises, he picks up Sujimoto and carries him away while his Gochizo put everything back. Meanwhile, Hanto visits Amane and asks her to keep an eye online for anything related to the monsters he’s investigating. Amane’s friend from last week is there and tells Hanto what she perceived to have happened. Something slimy grabbed her and next thing she knows Gavv is standing over her.
Sujimoto and Shoma have a heart to heart and it turns out Sujimoto wanted to do those crimes to pay back someone that helped him and took him in off the streets when he had nowhere else to go. Shoma says that’s no excuse and Sujimoto storms off. Seeing the bento food truck from before left unattended with its cash box unlocked, Sujimoto goes for the steal only to get grabbed by Granute Bon, who had laid this trap from the start. The Poppin Gummy Gochizo that Shoma asked to keep an eye on Sujimoto runs off to report this to Shoma. Feeling down, Shoma has a gummy; one he hasn’t had before, a soda flavour gummy. As the taste hits him, he realises his Gavv has made a new little Gochizo, Punching Gummy. Just then, the Poppin Gummy returns and Shoma takes off.
Pulling up in front of the van, a fight quickly breaks out between the pair of Granute. Just as Hanto is thinking about the clues he has so far, concluding the monster the people have dubbed “Kamen Rider” is probably the one saving people, he gets a call from Amane about Shoma’s latest fight. He arrives just in time to see it and the fight goes about how you would expect it to, new soda punch finisher and all.
After the fight, we see a new mystery person steal two of Shoma’s chocolate based Gochizo
Hanto approaches Shoma after the fight, asking if he’s human. The other guy, a self proclaimed Granute researcher, argues with Hanto, allowing Shoma to make a quick getaway.
At his factory job, Sujimoto is told by his old man that the factory is shutting down. He says he’s sorry for not being able to pay him back, to which the old man replies that he didn’t take him in looking for a reward, and he thinks to himself an apology to Shoma. Elsewhere, the agent reports back to Shita and Jeebh with the footage of Shoma’s latest fight. They both remark about his red Gavv, bringing the episode to a close.
The Bad
Yeah, yet again no notes. Not even nitpicks.
The Good
All in all Gavv has been hitting it out of the park so far; this was another great episode. The development of the story seeing Shoma’s wandering food adventure, meeting people by chance and seeing how he impacted them by the end of the episode is a perfect formula for single episode stories. There’s also the the overarching serialised plot forming in the background while everyone else, Hanto and the Stomach family investigate who this person with the red Gavv is. It’s great and engaging stuff, and the fights so far have been fun and creative. Not to mention, Shoma’s character himself is really likable and fun.
The Conclusion
Kamen Rider Gavv episode three maintains all the great momentum built so far and keeps the ball moving, stepping up the Hanto plot line in a way that I think we can all see his path to Rider-hood going forward. It also maintains all of the positive aspects of these past few episodes, even recontextualising Shoma’s flashback with his mum last episode in away that really worked well for me. Great stuff all round.
As always, what do you think of the episodes? Did you like Hanto’s plot progressing? Did you dig the fights in these episodes? As always, I’ve been Ethan: Writer, reviewer and person investigating this new “Kamen Rider” for The Toku Source. I’ll see you next time on The Ride Review!
