The Ride Review with Ethan: Kamen Rider Gavv Catchup – Episodes: 19-21

Snacks up, Riders! This time, Ethan’s got a full course meal worth of Gavv catchup and opinions for you to chew on! Let’s get stuck in!

Recaps 

Episode 19: School Yard Brawl

After dropping off Hanto at Suga’s place (he also quickly works out that he’s Gavv and subtly takes a DNA sample), Shoma looks for Laage9, working out he’s responsible for the mass disappearances. He runs into him at a school and the pair come to blows. We are treated to Vlam’s backstory; his little brother got hooked on Dark Treats and Stomach Inc. killed him. Vlam joined them pretending to be another addict to get close to them and find out what happened. The episode ends with Shoma making a very convincing argument that, instead of inflicting the pain Stomach Inc. did to him on humans, he should join him and fight Stomach Inc. 

Episode 20: Raid Reveals

Lakia (Laage9’s real name) agrees to join Shoma. Together, the pair raid a Stomach Inc. production factory but run into Glotta. While the pair survive the encounter and free everyone Lakia and the Bird Granute had grabbed, Glotta lets slip that Shoma is a Stomach and a Granute to Hanto. 

Episode 21: A Bitter Reveal

Following on from the revelation at the end of episode 21, Hanto is upset at Shoma and conflicted after learning the truth. Despite this, he decides to hear Shoma out. Meanwhile, Shoma grows paler and paler before passing out while shopping. Hanto sees someone that looks just like Shoma dressed in all black and randomly attacking people, stealing food. He comes across sour cola gummies, which lead him to transform into Kamen Rider Bitter Gavv. The pair come to blows and Lakia arrives and sees them fighting. He moves to join the fight as the episode comes to a close.   

My Thoughts

Woo! Finally! Hanto is now in the know. His initial reaction was a confirmation of Shoma’s fears but from his perspective someone he was close to had been lying about serious stuff to him. Lying is maybe a little strong, it was more withholding info, but still it was a betrayal of trust and he was upset. The fact that he had made up his mind to go speak to Shoma, before running into Bitter Gavv, was nice to see, even if he wasn’t able to do so this episode. Gotchard review fans will remember I praised the emotional maturity of the show and them not doing misunderstanding-leads-to-conflict storylines, and I can see that there’s a lot of thought being put into the various perspectives so that its all understandable and handled well. It’s really gripping stuff, and Vlam, Lakia is cool. I like him a lot and look forward to him learning more about humans while also being a counter to Hanto.    

I think it’s safe to say Bitter Gavv is some weird science clone baby thing or like Jeebh altered into being a Shoma clone, right ? All the stuff with Suga taking Shoma’s DNA seems to be pointing towards that. His suit looks cool and I’m hyped to see more of him. I have to wonder, though, if this is a Spider-Man clone saga situation where the clones are unstable and that’s why he’s moving the way he is. I imagine we will find out for sure when it’s used as an explanation of he’s now much stronger without getting a new form, or something. 

Conclusion

Kamen Rider Gavv continues to blow away my expectations while being stylish and fun with it and is a highlight of my week to watch. These episodes have kept up the momentum. Fantastic stuff from start to finish. 

What do you think? Do you like #PuddingBoy? Do you like Bitter Gavv? Let me know in the comments! As always, I’ve been Ethan: Writer, reviewer, pudding and sour sweet enjoyer for The Toku Source. I’ll see you all next time!