Snacks up, Riders! Ethan’s back with cookies and a side of frappé. Last time we ended with a big reveal so we better jump right in there! Stay for some extra news at the very end!
Recaps
Episode 27: The Cookie Crumbles
Picking up right from the end of episode 26, Hanto confronts Suga, yelling at him, but after Suga explains that all he cares about is making the ultimate life form and just wants to make Hanto stronger to transcend humanity, Hanto ends up running away and passing out due to the strain the Chocold Gochizo has been putting on him. Luckily though, Shoma and Sachika drive past and find him and take him to Gruncle Dente for help, who patches Hanto up and explains that, yeah, the Chocold Gochizo put to much strain on his Granute organ which is the cause for the chest pains.
Wanting to know what a barely conscious Hanto meant when Shoma found him and he said “no, not Suga, he’s a bad guy.” Shoma goes to confront Suga, who assuming the jigs up goes fully mask off and holds Shoma hostage, telling Hanto to met them in a parking lot as he has something to show him. While Hanto runs off to the meeting, Dente and Sachika call Lakia, who’s chilling at a party, and ask them to bring their driver with them so Dente can make a copy for Hanto to use.
Meanwhile, at the parking lot, Suga transforms into Kamen Rider Bake using his new Bakemagnum and tries to get Shoma to fight him to demonstrate his new tech to Hanto, in an attempt to win him back. When Shoma refuses to fight back, as Suga is a human, he reveals all the lives he’s sacrificed in the pursuit of creating the ultimate life form, including Hanto’s mentor. While Hanto is understandably freaking out at this revelation, Shoma grabs him and makes an escape.
Episode 28: Frappé for Two
Shoma gets a call from Sachika and updates her on things. Meanwhile, remembering what Sachika told him about how Shoma’s not been himself lately and how its really been a mental hang up that’s been causing it, the mentally distraught Hanto runs away. After getting assaulted on the streets on his way, he makes his way to his mentors old office. Blaming himself and drowning in self loathing, Shoma arrives, guided by the white chocolate Gochizo. After letting Hanto feel his feelings and being there for him, they go get some frappé together, where Shoma gives a little speech about how Hanto’s a victim of Suga’s and he shouldn’t blame himself or languish in despair because as long as we are alive and move forward we can make up what we lost.
Meanwhile, seeing as Dente is mostly finished copying the Vlamdriver, Lakia takes his and heads to Suga’s lair to take out the rest of the Bitter Gavv clones and have his turn at the confined space fight. While Vlam and Bitter Gavv start fighting, Suga loads up some info on a USB and runs off. Bumping into Shoma and Hanto, Suga and Shoma transform and start fighting. Shoma tells Hanto to run as he’s still healing, materialising his bike for him to escape with.
Hanto takes off to Dente’s, picks up the new Vlamdriver and bikes back to Shoma as fast as he can. At first, lacking any pudding Gotchizo to use and being unable to transform just as Shoma gets knocked outta his transformation just in time for us to get civilian Shoma and Hanto fighting Bake, getting bodied and getting back up again. That is until Shoma’s Gavv glows and he gives birth to the new Gochizo: Choco Frappé. Hanto uses it, looks great and dismantles Suga like he’s made of Lego.
Meanwhile Lakia destroys the Shoma clone lab and finds a baby sock. While Shoma gives him a piggyback ride to meet up with the others, Hanto tells him that while they do have a lot of baggage between them and he’s sure things are going to only get more complicated from here, he really does like him. Hanto then feeds him a gummy snack as the pair walk back. A dying Suga is found by Nyelv who says to leave everything to him.
Episode 29: Dunk City
This episode opens revealing there’s been a month time jump (we had a lot of eps happen right after each other so I’m pretty sure this just catches us and Gavv up time wise). They have had some adventures off screen (I’m assuming this is when the Hyper Battle DVD / Cameos take place ). Shoma has been making new Gochizo and everything has been relatively chill. While going out for frappés, Hanto asks Shoma about his mom as she should have relatives outs there meaning that Shoma should have extended family that he doesn’t (hopefully) have to battle with. Shoma says he doesn’t want to meet them yet but Hanto looks them up anyways as Shoma might change his mind down the line.
Shoma, Lakia and Sachika get a job as fill in members for a basketball team and, well, they obviously win with Shoma and Lakia both getting dunk after dunk in. However, they notice a player has gone missing and, after they go back to return a towel, they discover an old man who was in the crowd watching was in fact a Granute. Shoma and Lakia chase them into the woods.
Meanwhile, we catch up with Jeebh who, since we last saw them, has gotten married and to the president of the Granute world’s daughter, Liselle Jaldak no less. He told her and the president all about the human world and the dark treats, and it turns out she’s very interested in this new world. After she gets her dad, Bocca to get Lango to set up a holiday home for them in the human world. They go for a walk and run into Lakia and Shoma mid battle with the Granute of the week and go to join in the battle.
Episode 30: Dunk City 2 – The President is Giving Out Drugs
This episode opens right where the last one leaves off, with Liselle blasting Shoma and Lakia while the Granute escapes. Back in the Stomach Inc. plot line, President Bocca gives some of his campaign donors Dark Treats, as having them addicted to drugs will apparently make them easier to control. He threatens Lango with legal action against Stomach Inc if they don’t go along with what he wants and puts his daughter in charge as the new CEO. She immediately delegates running Stomach Inc to her spouse, Jeebh, who re-signs Lango to procurement (which is the note the episode ends off on, Lango is coming to the human world.)
Over in the Shoma plot line, the gang retrace the steps of the missing basketball player and eventually find the Granute posing as a bathhouse owner, who would target players who were washing off and celebrating their latest win. Shoma and Hanto chase the Granute while Lakia and Sachiki fight one of Lango’s agents, who showed up to collect the pressings. Both parties win their respective really cool fights and celebrate back at base, with Shoma happily looking over at Hanto and Lakia bickering, happy as the team has assembled.
My Thoughts
GOD THESE EPISODES HAVE BEEN GREAT! Not a single thing I can say that wouldn’t be more gushing, I love how Suga’s motivations are built up to over the episodes and hinted in the background which, for the people at home that haven’t put it together, he used to be a dad but his child died; all of this, his pursuit for the ultimate life form, the cloning, was his way of trying to bring back his lost child but stronger and wouldn’t die young. Everything involving Hanto’s Arc and the big payoff they hit for the things they have been building up to so far. This might be the best episode of the show so far. Which I know is saying a lot as Gavv’s currently not had a bad episode. If future big payoff episodes can hit the bar this episode set, we might be looking at an all-timer here, best of the Reiwa Era (so far) at the very least.
As for Episode 29 and 30 these, too, were fantastic. They were great breather episodes dropping the stakes from the last couple episodes for a regular Granute of the week two parter, while also building up the new stakes with the introduction of President of the Granute world and his daughter. Bocca and Liselle Jaldak are both extremely powerful big players. The fun juxtaposition of the fun charming Shoma and the gang (and there fun group dynamics) plot line with the Lango “it could legitimately have been in Breaking Bad political-thriller-esque” plot line (which, a while back I talked about how I enjoyed Stomach Inc and Lango as bad guys partly because they are basically what if Walter White was Willy Wonka). It’s safe to say the addition of “the President is giving his campaign backers meth because while addicted to drugs they will be easier to control” to the original absolutely adds a lot to it and my personal joy. Special shoutout to the scene of Jeebh in front of the mirror turning into Shita. I’m sure it will turn out to be someone’s awakening.
Conclusion
Man I love Kamen Rider Gavv.
I have nothing but high hopes for things going forward. It’s nice to see we going to have some Grantue of the week episodes to reset emotional momentum after this week, which is probably a good call. Hopefully they manage to balance them with plot progressing beats. As I’ve said before, we need that emotional juxtaposition for the highs to really hit so while building to the next big peak some smaller adventures are are good breather. Thinking about it, we are probably going to start building to Shoma getting his final form soon; judging by the poster for the next Arc, that will be soon.
Originally, I had planned to end this off with a prediction about Shoma’s final form but in the time between writing my original draft for this article and the additions that made this a larger serving of Gavv for you, they released this poster!
According to whispers online, the form itself is called “Over Gavv” and “Over Gavv Master” or something close to that, and has two modes, likely the purple being faster and the orange being stronger and tanky. I’ll leave bigger discussions about them for when they debut, but what do you think of them?
That’s it for today’s Gavv recaps but what did you think of the episodes? Did Hanto’s arc emotionally resonate with you? Did it make you want a frappé as well? As always, I’ve been Ethan: Writer, reviewer and soon to be frappé drinker for The Toku Source and I’ll see you all next time!
