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asknarashikari · 2 years

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My thoughts on Over Demons.

I'll be talking more on the rider itself and not necessarily the users of it. And I do consider Over Demons to be a separate from Demons. (Side Note: Regarding Hikaru, I don't think he's that good of a character. But on the other hand, I do think he's not as bad as other people might think. I don't like him that much but I don't hate or dislike him either. I'm just indifferent or meh on the guy, I was fine with him prior to becoming a rider and when he was just in the background/sidelines.)

Let me say this, I think Over Demons is... kinda weird. It's a mixed bag for me? There are good ideas and concepts, probably on paper though but I digress. I kinda like the suit okay tbh, I do like the original Demons a lot more though, even if Over Demons is basically just Vail's armor overlapping the original Demons' undersuit. I still am kinda disappointed on how Over Demons isn't like a power up/alternate form for Demons for several reasons I might go over soon. But on the other hand, I do actually like the idea of a completely separate rider that literally utilizes the same driver (and it's not even the mass production copies the troopers use!) as Demons. However, I feel like Over Demons shouldn't even be called "Over Demons" if it's supposed to be a completely different rider from Demons, that name really sounds like it could be another form for the original Demons. That's really different from Build and Agito regarding Rogue and MadRogue plus Agito and Another Agito, they actually feel like they are completely separate riders and should be like they are in literally so many ways. Not just different names, but indistinguishable suit designs that actually make them feel believably separate enough, henshin jingles, and drivers. But Over Demons is bit of a...funny case. Not just the name, but even the HENSHIN JINGLE sounds like it should've been for a power up/another form for the original Demons. Henshin Announcement Comparisons: "Decide Up! Deep! Drop! Danger! Kamen Rider Demons!" - Demons Henshin Annoucement "Delete Up! Unknown! Unrest! Unlimited! Kamen Rider Over Demons!" - Over Demons' Henshin Announcement

Well if you exclude the "Delete Up" part, I guess. But still, Over Demons' jingle actually overall kinda sounds like that henshin jingle could've been used for a new form for Demons!

And yeah, I know that Demons uses the spider vistamp and Over Demons is kuwagata (stag beetle). Both completely separate vistamps. Even the Demons Troopers kinda confirm that they're separate but I do like the idea on two different kinds of fairly similar rider mooks, like the Demons Troopers either being based off Demons or Over Demons' animal themes. Then again, Live/Evil had the bat theme for their primary base forms... That suddenly SWITCHED to the crow theme for the power up forms. What difference does that make? Crows and bats aren't even that similar, just like spiders and stag beetles. (At least with KR Vail and Destream, Kabuto and Hercules are kinda similar and those beetles are even from the same family.) Remember what I said about Over Demons' suit basically a mix of both the original Demons and (Kamen Rider) Vail's suits? That's another idea I actually like (even if it could be pulled off better theoretically), considering the Demons Driver is used to transform into Demons plus Genta's demon Vail was sealed and resided in the Demons Driver for some time. Not to mention that the Vail Driver (now the Destream Driver) was basically a prototype to the Demons Driver, they even have similar designs and functions! They could've gone more on the similarities but it's sad there probably wasn't time to flesh that out!

If you really think about it, Over Demons is just Demons but with a stag beetle motif slapped onto it. They use the same driver, they both use the genomix system, and even their designs (mostly the lower body and forearms) are similar. And not to mention some of the ideas/concepts regarding Over Demons just give me the impression that these ideas should've just been used as an alternate/new upgrade form for Demons. (Yeah, it's weird to give Demons a power up before Jeanne, the tertiary rider but still.) But I don't think the show really did a good job of making Over Demons naturally feel like a "vaguely similar enough yet completely separate" rider from Demons, even several other shows kinda did that aspect better.

So when you all come down to it... I think Over Demons is such a awkward choice? It's a mixed bag to me for sure and I really appreciate the concepts for Over Demons that are probably mostly better on paper. But my biggest gripes regarding Over Demons is how some of the ideas regarding it both sound and seem like it could've been used for a power up for Demons, even though Demons and Over Demons are completely different riders. Yet they don't do enough to make the ideas regarding Over Demons actually feel like that it is and should be a completely separate rider beyond the users that get it I guess. It baffles me so much to the point I just needed to get my thoughts off.

#submission

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luckykittenpirate · 20 days

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Kamen Rider MadRogue Maniac

#kamen rider build

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raidensharkgun · 1 year

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Considering my curiosity and the fact I seem to be the only active one paying attention to your Rider AUs, Build continues to pique my curiosity. Allow me to dump some questions.

Is your Blood Stalk design, being a fox, the "Katsuragi" of the AU? I see two candidates for his identity, the more likely of the two (Nine) being a SLIGHT creative liberty, but fitting very well.

What of Utsumi/MadRogue? Going for the obvious choice (Rouge,) or the surprisingly fitting secondary one (Surge?)

And if Surge and Kit aren't either of these roles... I assume they and Starline would be the three movie villains, with Starline becoming Kamen Rider Blood?

oh yeah and the three guys who follow Grease everywhere are Team Chaotix I assume

sorry if this is too many questions

I’ll try and Answer as much as I can..

Yes Blood Stalk is Supposed to be “Katsuragi” just like in the Og show (:

I’m still decided who should Play the Role of Utsumi But Surge seem like a great Candidate Cause..

Starline is Playing the role of Namba ( ironic isn’t it? ) As for Blood I was thinking of someone like Idk Memphis the dark?

The Chaotix is would be perfect roles for the Hokuto Crow trio

#Raine Answer

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rosello6 · 6 years

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had to do it to em

#kamen rider #build #kamen rider build #nariaki utsumi #madrogue

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yeonchi · 4 years

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“Kamen Riders are not weapons!”

“仮面ライダーは兵器じゃない!” You’ve heard this line come up in recent Kamen Rider series as a justification for the heroes’ actions against their villains. Musing on this line, I realised that in some way or another, Kamen Riders are indeed weapons and in the same vein to the Cross of Fire, their morality is defined by the actions of those who use their powers - as it is said, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

It’s easy to say that Kamen Riders are weapons because the heroes use their powers to fight against the villains, but in some cases, there is a deeper meaning behind it all. So let’s take a look at how Kamen Riders are weapons to the respective enemies of their series.

Showa Era

I don’t think I’ll touch on this a lot since I’m not familiar with the Showa era episodes nor do I have any interest in becoming so. If I get any of this wrong, feel free to point it out.

Usually, Kamen Riders who were modified by the villains (usually Shocker or whichever organisation the Great Leader led) started off as “tools” for their conquest of the world. However, the Riders would be freed before they could be brainwashed into serving the villains and as such, they essentially became weapons against the organisations who made them that way.

There are some anomalies in the Cross of Fire theory during the Showa era where some Riders were created by their allies for non-malicious purposes. For example, Keisuke Jin (Kamen Rider X)’s Kaizorg suit was originally intended for undersea exploration before his father was fatally wounded by G.O.D. and was forced to convert his son into a cyborg so he could fight them. In the same vein to the previous case, these Riders still became weapons against their respective enemies.

Kamen Rider Kuuga

The powers of Kuuga were created by the Linto tribe for Riku so he could protect them against the Gurongi tribe. When Yusuke Godai became Kuuga in the modern era, he fought to protect humanity in the same vein as his predecessor. He becomes associated with the police, who usually rely on Yusuke to fight the Gurongi, thus becoming their weapon.

Kamen Rider Agito

Agito’s (and by extension, Gills’) power was bestowed upon humanity by the Overlord of Light as a means for them to combat his brother, the Overlord of Darkness and his servants, the Lords.

The G3 System was originally created by the police to be based on Kuuga for the intention of fighting the Gurongi, but when the threat of the Lords came, it was ineffective against them until it was upgraded to G3-X.

Kamen Rider Ryuki

The Ryuki Riders were created by Shiro Kanzaki so they could fight each other to become the sole victor and have their wish granted. Their associated powers also serve as weapons against the wild Mirror Monsters lurking in Mirror World, though some Riders are less interested in fighting Mirror Monsters than others.

Kamen Rider 555

The Rider Gears were created by Smart Brain to protect the Orphnoch King, though Faiz, Kaixa and Delta’s Gears would be used to fight Smart Brain and the Orphnoch.

Kamen Rider Blade

When the 52 Undead were unsealed, BOARD created the Rider Systems for the purpose of resealing them.

Kamen Rider Hibiki

The purpose of the Oni Riders is to fight Makamou and their equipment has been specialised for that purpose.

Kamen Rider Kabuto

The Native Worms, who arrived on Earth in 1971, developed the Masked Rider System for ZECT to fight the Worms that would arrive in 1999.

Kamen Rider Den-O

The Imagins’ objective was to make their future a reality by using humans to go back through time and as such, Den-O and Zeronos were created to protect the flow of time.

Kamen Rider Kiva

Kiva’s power is granted to the King of the Fangires, though Kivat-bat the 3rd chose to help humanity with Wataru. In the past, (Dark) Kiva sought to exterminate the Arms Monsters, the last members of their respective kinds, while in the present, Kiva sought to protect humanity from the Fangire.

The IXA System was created the Wonderful Blue Sky Organisation for the Fangire Hunters. As the modern-day Fangire King, Saga executed Fangires who disobeyed their laws and associated with humans.

Kamen Rider Decade

The Decadriver and Diendriver were created by Dai-Shocker. Tsukasa, originally the Great Leader, would come to fight monsters and Dai-Shocker themselves as Decade, while Kaito stole the Diendriver and became Diend.

Kamen Rider W

The Lost Driver and Double Driver were created by Museum to filter the raw power of the Gaia Memories as they continued to collect data for the Gaia Impact. When Sokichi and Philip/Shotaro eventually got hold of them, they were used against the Dopants and Museum.

Shroud, whose research contributed to the development of the aforementioned Drivers, created the Accel Driver for Ryu to use. Both of them had motives against the Dopants and Museum.

Kamen Rider Fourze

The Fourze Driver was originally created for space travel until it was used to fight the Zodiarts. As the series went on, new Astroswitches were unlocked for Fourze’s use.

Kuniteru Emoto, the Virgo Zodiarts, works for Mitsuaki Gamou and the Horoscopes, but he also had his own agenda against them, taking on the identity of Tachibana and giving Ryusei the means to become Kamen Rider Meteor.

Kamen Rider Wizard

The machinations of Sou Fueki (Wiseman) caused the Phantoms to be created. His intent was to have them bring out more Phantoms from Gates so he could amass the energy to resurrect his daughter, Koyomi. However, when he discovered that Haruto was able to contain his inner Phantom, Fueki gave him the means to become Wizard as he searched for more humans who could contain their Phantoms. To that end, Wizard served as Wiseman’s weapon for the purpose of defeating Phantoms and helping those who didn’t have the ability to contain them.

Beast Chimera, a cannibalistic Phantom, used Kosuke as a tool by having him fight Phantoms as Beast in order to feed on their mana.

Kamen Rider Gaim

During the Inves Games, the Lockseeds and Sengoku Drivers were used as “weapons” by the Beat Rider teams while Yggdrasil collected data on them. Later on, the Genesis Drivers became the weapons of Yggdrasil while the remaining users of the Sengoku Drivers became the weapons of Yggdrasil or the resistance against Yggdrasil, the Inves and the Over Lords.

Kamen Rider Drive

The Core Driviars, which power the Roidmudes, were also used in the development of the Drive System and Next System (Mach Driver). In similar veins to Kuuga and G3 (Agito), the Riders became weapons of the police against the Roidmudes thanks to Krim Steinbelt being a colleague of Jun Honganji.

Kamen Rider Ghost

It’s a bit hard for me to find a deeper meaning behind the arsenal of this series, though in the end it boils down to Riders using the power of historical figures through the Eyecons to defeat the Gamma, who also use the power of the Eyecons.

Kamen Rider Amazons

The purpose of the Amazon Riders is to kill Amazons (and later, Amazon-infected humans) who have succumbed to their urges to eat humans. In addition, the Nozama Pharmacy’s Sigma Project was originally intended to mass-produce Amazon soldiers from human corpses, thereby turning them into weapons.

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

The Gamer Riders are doctors who defeat Bugsters to cure patients of the game disease. Later on, the premise of Kamen Rider Chronicle is to have players fight Bugsters to cure themselves of their game disease that they infected themselves with by playing said game in the first place.

Kamen Rider Build

This series is the Trope Namer. Project Build was originally created, based on the Evol-Driver, as a means to oppose Evolto, but was manipulated by him into becoming weapons of war and the basis of what would come in the series.

The three territories created by the Sky Wall have their own weapons aside from the footsoldier Guardians; Touto has Build and Cross-Z, Hokuto has Grease and the Three Crows (Hard Smash) while Seito has Rogue and the Hell Bro’s (the Kaiser System). The ordinary Smash have no other purpose than to encourage further development of the Rider System. The Transteam System is transient because its users are affiliated with more than one organisation throughout the series.

During Namba and later Evolto’s takeover of Seito, their weapons include the Hard Guardians, Clone Smash, Lost Smash, MadRogue and Evol.

Kamen Rider Zi-O

Rider powers are weaponised in this series, namely being that Another Riders can only be defeated by their counterpart’s powers, whether it be through Armors or Futurerings or the original Riders themselves. Then, once Zi-O, Geiz and Woz get the power to weaponise time and space, everything’s free game.

Kamen Rider Zero-One

This series shadows the direct example shown in Build (as opposed to indirect examples for the other series). MetsubouJinrai.net turns Humagears into Magears for their subjugation of humanity, but in turn, they are a byproduct of Gai Amatsu’s machinations. In the same vein, he also weaponises Kamen Riders and Progrise Keys, with his company developing equipment for himself, A.I.M.S. and the Raiders. Gai aimed to acquire Hiden Intelligence so that he could weaponise Zero One, but due to some fine print, he was unable to do so, leaving him with only a company that acted as the shell.

As the series continues to go on, there will be more examples of Rider powers being used as weapons against the villains. In the end, it’s not about what the weapon is being used for, but about the people using them.

#kamen rider

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fighterxaos · 6 years

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Premium Bandai has recently updated with an official pre-order page for S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider MadRogue. For those who are not aware, Nariaki Utsumi became Kamen Rider Mad Rogue in episode 38 of Kamen Rider Build. He was able to become this form by using the power of the Evol-Driver along with the Bat and Engine Fullbottles.

The figure will include:

Exchangeable Wrists (Left X3, Right X3)

Nebula Steam Gun

Steam Blade Part A

Steam Blade Part B

Bat Fullbottle

Engine Fullbottle

Pre-orders for the figure will open on October 12 at 4 P.M. JST and the item will be released in April 2019 priced at 6,264 Yen. Those who are interested should contact their preferred middleman for more details.

Source: Premium Bandai

Official Images: S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider MadRogue

Premium Bandai has recently updated with an official pre-order page for S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider MadRogue. For those who are not aware, Nariaki Utsumi became

Official Images: S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider MadRogue Premium Bandai has recently updated with an official pre-order page for S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider MadRogue. For those who are not aware, Nariaki Utsumi became

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narashikari · 5 years

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Watched Build Final Live during a slow day of work...

So no screenshots, but thoughts, emotions and feeeeels:

• Seriously why the eff is Evolt so effing hard to kill

• I hate him so much guys. Like. So much

• Lost Bottle quest again... though this time it’s just defeating the resurrected Lost Smash without the emotional trauma of the one in the show

• Most morbid audience participation ever... thanks Toei for making all of us dead

• Most morbid (again) Rider comeback ever: They’re There Because They’re Dead!

• Kazumin heard Misora call him Kazumin... and he was so happy... it would’ve sweet if he wasn’t so creepy about it

• Kazumin’s entire monologue I cannot... thank you Kouhei Takeda for somehow managing to record that without completely ruining it

• Misora’s still tsun tsun for Kazumin even after all that though which is even more hilarious

• YES CROSS Z CHARGE IS BACK!! (I like ok #dontjudge)

• Robo Utsumi... Pfffft

• UTSUMIN... OH MY GOD HE IS ADORKABLE.... RYUUGA DON’T LEAVE THE DORK BEHIND~

• Oh they subbed the lyrics to the insert songs too... Nice nice. It’s already rare to get subs for live shows but they went the extra mile for this too

• The banter between the Riders loool

• Utsumin still being ok with dying for Nanba is disturbing but he’s kinda still kinda crazy at this point I guess so ok

• The theory that Sento will cease to exist when the new world is created... everyone is just accepting it numbly except Ryuuga who is sulking and clearly refusing to even think of it

• Sento saying “us Riders” and including Utsumi... so pure...

• FINAL FORMS GALORE. MadRogue+ Prime Rogue+ Grease Blizzard+ Cross-Z Magma+ Build Genius

• HOW DARE YOU. HOW DARE YOU MOCK THE BEAUTY OF BUILD GENIUS. FUCK YOU TO HELL EVOLT

• (I was almost screaming at the screen while watching at work, no joke... my boss who sits across from me is 🤨❓)

• The obligatory audience cheer of “Ganbare!!” lead by Sawa and Misora...

• Cross-ZBuild! Be the One! Yeeeeeeah! Aka the “wedding” that this time everyone gets to attend

• Be the One’s second verse is being played?! Le gasp!!

• “Sento and I are the Best Match!” PARASOLS... THE PARASOLS... “LOVE AND PEACE FINISH!!”

• THE RYUSEN IS SO STRONG IN THIS ONE...

• Everyone’s goodbyes to Sento as they leave for the new world...

• Utsumin saying his new humanity is one of Sento’s miracles and promising to invent something just as great as Sento’s inventions

• Gentoku managing to somehow be sincere with a goofy T-shirt print... (“39” ➡️ “san-kyu” ➡️ “thank you”) d’aaaaaaaw

• Sawa’s “Thank you for giving me a family”... damnit watching this at the office was not a good idea

• Kazumin... saying he became a true Kamen Rider because of Sento... KAZUMI!!!! Also I truly wonder if that side poke was an adlib on Kouhei’s part to mess with Acchan

• Misora’s “I will never forget about Kiryuu Sento...” Then remember the finale where she says “Have we met before?” DAMN YOU SHOGO MUTO

• (I mean she does remember by Build New World and HeiGen Forever BUT STILL)

• Sento being an awkward bun with the girls... so adorable, yet so sad... (also Acchan seriously needs to eat more, his arms are so thin)

• Be the One instrumental playing over the farewells... growing quieter and quieter as they leave... until it’s just Sento and Ryuuga left on stage with complete silence

• Ryuuga’s whole speech to Sento. Calling him out on his BS. Screw destiny. “I will find you again, no matter what.” Whoever says Banjou Ryuuga is not a romantic needs to have this scene played over and over to them till their eyes bleed

• Let me emphasize: The stuff of legends. A love story for the centuries. The Once Upon A Time reference/parasol killed me, resurrected me, and ascended me into OTP heaven. HEATED DRAMA BETWEEN MEN...

• “To me, the law of victory was to have met everyone.” Why does it feel like it was Acchan saying that to us all?

• ACCHAN!!!! I LOVE YOU NOW AND FOREVER

• Then Ryuuga’s door doesn’t open looool.

• A “recreation” of the final scene... honestly I don’t think it was an impactful as then because we already saw it and was expecting it... though the end bit is pretty funny

• Ryuuga. Don’t talk about peeing while on stage.

• Wait... if Ryuuga co-created the universe with Sento... should we call him Dragon Jesus now?

• Does this mean he and Sento are consorts like many creation gods (Izanami and Izanagi, Gaia and Ouranous, Kouta and Mai, etc)?

• Btw I hope GemnCorp also subs the talk show. I think we’ll get a lot of gems out of that one (see what I did there)

• I kinda wish we got the cast saying goodbye to each other and not just to Sento....

• Like... Kazumin admitting that it was because of them he regretted dying... or Utsumi and Sawa saying goodbye as “siblings”...

#kamen rider build #build final live #kiryuu sento #banjou ryuuga #otp: best match #sawatari kazumi #isurugi misora #himuro gentoku #nariaki utsumi #takigawa sawa

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tokucosplay · 5 years

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Kamen Rider MadRogue cosplayed by @ChibaChibaki.

#Kamen Rider #Kamen Rider Cosplay #Kamen Rider Build #kamen rider mad rogue

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buildridernews · 6 years

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[Review] Kamen Rider Build - Episodes 47-49

This is it, folks - the final chapter. Or rather, the final three episodes of the show. We've got a lot to dissect, so let's get to it.

Episode 47: "A Zero Degree Flame" (ゼロ度の炎)

After the most painful week of waiting, we're back to Grease in his new Grease Blizzard form, which we know now is such a powerful form that it could kill him. As he's tearing down the Lost Smash doppelgangers, Sento, Ryuga and Gentoku make their way to another floor where doppelgangers of Remocon Bro and Engine Bro are waiting - Gentoku decides to stay behind and fight them himself, allowing Sento and Ryuga to progress through Pandora Tower.

Misora and Sawa show up with their Pandora's Box, realizing that Grease is using a new form with Shinobu's missing Build Driver. The two of them know exactly what this means for Grease, so Misora tells Sawa to keep going without her.

Rogue has difficulty taking on the gear bros, which is fair since he's now dealing with Evolt-level copies. MadRogue steps in, and while Rogue wants to be cocky against him, we learn what's really going on with MadRogue. He suddenly turns on the gear bros, revealing that he joined Evolt specifically to gain an edge since the Rider System didn't seem like it would be enough to beat him - not only that, but he wanted to avenge President Namba. As far as Rogue is concerned, they can both achieve their dreams together, so the Rogue boys team up!

Even together, they don't do a great job of taking on the combined form, so it's a good thing Sawa showed up with Pandora's Box! As it turns out, the call from "Namba" earlier was Utsumi arranging for the girls to show up with the bottles, and I love how this one line fixes any weakness in Utsumi's character: He's loyal to Namba. He never went crazy seeing the president's death, he stayed loyal. That's super interesting, especially since it means he's now an ally instead of an enemy. And the connection to Sawa makes it even better.

The plan was for MadRogue to exploit a weakness in the Kaiser System. The Same and Bike Fullbottles are specially designed to neutralize the system's attacks, which is a nice callback to the YouTube spinoff. They use finishers to deal with the gear bros, defeating them. Then Evolt's DNA leaves them, reforming as Soichi and demanding the Lost Fullbottle they got from that pair of mimics.

Meanwhile, Grease Blizzard is continuing his assault on the Lost Smash trio, practically losing control. However, he pauses once he starts letting off an aura that occurs with any Hazard Level carrier who's on the brink of death. Misora begs for him to stop but he figures this can only end one way for him. Sento and Ryuga catch this fight on a TV in the tower, and Ryuga questions why he'd invent such a dangerous weapon for Kazumi to use, because they both know where this is going - nothing left to do but continue traversing the tower.

Back with the others, MadRogue takes on Evol and reveals that he stayed with him this long so that he could input data from HIS belt. Then MadRogue starts charging up, apparently achieving the various Phases of power Evol had, then unleashes a quick barrage of attacks that legitimately shock him.

Speaking of legitimate shock, before MadRogue can deal the final blow to avenge Namba, he... starts to short circuit. His suit dematerializing, Utsumi falls to the ground with sparks coming from his chest. This is when Evol nonchalantly remarks "Oh right, you're a cyborg." EXCUSE YOU?

When Gentoku had Utsumi pose as Night Rogue... that shot in his shoulder, which caused him to fall off a bridge, was actually fatal enough that he was turned into a cyborg. That-- Wow. Okay, that's a pretty damn good twist, which once again fixes a slight nitpick of "He sure recovered well from that presumed death". And those motherfuckers made a cold opening where they joked about him being a robot! Did they make a joke then turn it into a plot point, or is this some Steven Universe foreshadow-trolling? Anyway, cool stuff.

With Utsumi seemingly dead now, Rogue tries his best to avenge him, but Evol sends him flying. With Gentoku lying before Sawa, Evol comes towards them with an attack, when Utsumi gets in the way and takes the hit for them, claiming he isn't doing this for them - he's doing it for the bottles. Gentoku and Sawa make a quick escape using the Nebula Steam Gun, leaving Evol mighty miffed.

I should take a moment and put what I said all into one paragraph: Utsumi was an interesting character to see develop. I thought it was nice seeing him come back, was totally hoping he'd become Kamen Rider Rogue due to the irony of it all, and was delighted to see him become MadRogue. Even so, his turn as a villain felt weird and kinda forced in retrospect, as did the presumed death and subsequent return - it's fascinating how this episode cleanly deals with both things and at the same time turns him into more of a heroic character, even if one that's been raised by a cult. And the cyborg thing is a nice return to Kamen Rider's origins, even if it's such a brief reveal. May he be missed.

... On a related note, back to Grease Blizzard. He finishes off the Lost Smash trio, claiming he's ready to hang out with his bros... on the other side. With all of them gone, his suit dematerializes, and that death aura ain't lifting anytime soon. He gives Misora the Lost Fullbottle he had, and it's here they have their final words. Misora still calls him Grease, and she reveals that she never wanted to call him by his real name, presumably so she didn't get to attached - it's... kind of fair since he always calls her Mii-tan.

Misora begs for him to live, and now even Kazumi is starting to tear up, because hey, his waifu is rooting for him, how lucky can a guy get? He decides he'd better brag to his boys on the other side, so... he disappears, leaving Misora to utter "Kazumin..." Wow. </3

So, Kazumi was great. I loved the actor in Kiva so I had an immediate attachment, and I feel he played a pretty superior character here - one with more depth and an interesting change in personality as the world around him changed.

But a pretty unfortunate flaw of this episode is that his death was basically spelled out from the beginning, and we had to wait a week to see it happen, so by this point the impact was not as strong as it could’ve been. It might’ve been better if Sento introduced him to his new weapon by saying it’s powerful “as is”, and having Kazumi remark to himself how it looks like the Magma Knuckle. Then when he steals the Build Driver, it’s more of an epic cliffhanger. The preview showing his death could have been framed in such a way that maybe his new form wasn’t strong enough, with the twist being that the form was what killed him.

I dunno, maybe I’m over-analyzing at this point. I just feel that the week long break hurt the impact of what they had written. Plus Utsumi’s whole twist and death kinda overshadows it since I did not see any of that coming.

Moving on... now we're in the area Evolt was in, which I guess is meant to be part of Pandora Tower even though there's no walls to be seen. The gang is all together and pretty somber after presumably learning what happened with Utsumi. It gets worse when Misora silently approaches, handing Sento the Lost Fullbottle and telling them the news...

... and it's at this point I found the scene sad and beautiful. All you hear is the wind - everyone is muted for dramatic effect, and each of them is reacting to what you assume is "Kazumi is dead." It sinks in, and they all break down. Misora falls to her knees, Sawa comforts her as she cries, Ryuga punches stone with a look of disbelief and anger, Gentoku straight up screams in despair... and Sento silently broods.

Then Soichi breaks the silence with "Yo!" and Sento turns, screaming Evolt's name. END OF EPISODE. Fucking stunning.

Episode 48: "For a World of Love & Peace" (ラブ＆ピースの世界へ)

Time for an entire episode of fighting! Everyone does their best to take Evol on, and we also get to learn what Sento wanted to tell Ryuga before at their cookout: Only Ryuga can save their world because he has the Evolt DNA to make stuff happen with the white panel. He starts using the Hazard Trigger with his Cross-Z Magma form, gets in some good hits, but in the end, Evol is still too strong.

Eventually, Evol manages to get back the two bottles and return to his final monster form, which is BAD. Evolt opens up a black hole which absorbs their goddamn moon, which... actually probably won't affect them in the long run according to Dragon Ball. But he also starts tearing at the Earth, which is definitely going to be a problem.

When Misora is begging for Vernage's help, Evolt tries to destroy her, only for Rogue to take the hit for her. He's already getting that death aura, but he takes Evolt head on.

We also once again come back to that cookout where Kazumi talked to Gentoku about being a political figure once this was all over, and... at this point I understood Gentoku - even after all he's doing to save the world, he feels like he's yet to really make up for who he was, and that's pretty damn interesting since he was under some nebula gas influence until becoming a hero. Even more interesting is the fact that Kazumi says he's forgiven Gentoku for everything, and that's pretty big of him to do. No wonder Gentoku reacted to his death so intensely...

Rogue, unfortunately, bites off more than he can chew as he tries to fight a god mode Evolt. His helmet gets broken, which only makes things look even more grim - as he seems to be falling, however, the people of the city are screaming and cheering for the Kamen Riders, which I must say, is goddamn powerful. Rogue is living by his father's words: It's not about the person in power, is about the people who put them in power. MANLY TEARS MOMENT.

While his attacks seem to be amounting to little, Rogue seems to be onto something with attacking Evolt's Evol Trigger. However... he can't fight his fate, and ultimately his transformation disengages, leaving a weakened Gentoku to question... did he measure up to his father at all after this? With a beautiful shot where Rogue's shadow can be seen on the wall next to him, Gentoku fades away...

I'll be honest, this character started out as a bit of a nothing character to me. I've said it before: After episode 1, there were at least 1-2 people telling me every week, if not every other day, that Gentoku is gonna turn out to be Night Rogue. It was obvious, and I found Blood Stalk more interesting. To me Night Rogue seemed like one of THOSE Rider villains: The one who's gonna stick around until the hero gets their first power-up form, then gets killed off. Phoenix, Javert, Graphite, just characters made to be a really strong obstacle that makes the power-up more impressive. I didn’t invest in him for that reason.

But Gentoku stuck around. He disappeared for a bit, then came back as the grim Kamen Rider Rogue. And while he was very cool visually, I described that period as "Comically edgy Gentoku" because he was just leaning too far into grim territory. But once we got the implication that he was starting to lose that nebula gas edge, and was starting to show some heroism, then he got interesting. I mean, maybe they could have used at least one line to explain his turn to comedy, but besides that, I really like him now that he's become one of the heroes. He will truly, truly be missed.

Build and Cross-Z Magma transform, powered by the screams for justice still cheering them on, and suddenly... Evolt has trouble moving. It seems that Gentoku's death wasn't in vain, as the Evol Trigger has some lasting damage. The two Rider Kick the bottles out of him again, and this time, Cross-Z Magma runs at him with the white panel to fuse them together, causing the black panel to disappear.

With the white panel attached to the Pandora's Box they brought, a beam shoots out into the black hole... and out of it comes another Earth, one without a Skywall. Evolt is given some heroic monologuing to explain that their plan was to use his energy with this beam to fuse these two Earths, forming a world without the Skywall and without Evolt's presence. Shockingly, the Genius Fullbottle's power gets absorbed, leaving Build with one less power-up.

As Build prepares to send Evolt flying, Cross-Z Magma shoves him aside, causing his suit to dematerialize. He tells Sento that he's got Evolt's DNA in him, so obviously... he should be the one to finish the job. Cross-Z Magma propels himself into space, leaving Sento screaming his name!

Episode 49: "The Tomorrow Created by Build" (ビルドが創る明日)

While the Katsuragi in Sento's head seems content with letting Ryuga sacrifice himself, Sento won't have it - from the point on, there'll be no sacrifices. Using RabbitRabbit, Build leaps into the space where Evolt and Cross-Z Magma flew into, which takes him to a wasteland. Here, we finds what he thinks is Ryuga, but surprise, Evolt absorbed Ryuga and intends to finish off Sento so that he can become powerful again.

To Evolt’s dismay, though, Ryuga fights back inside his body, giving Sento the chance to regain his composure, and gives him the silver Dragon Fullbottle. He also tells Sento something very important: Since they met, Ryuga has now become the definition of Sento's heroism, a person who can't help but smile when he's managed to save someone. Ryuga, and all the others, have built up Sento into the hero he wants to be, so he can't let them down now.

Build charges into battle, back at it again with RabbitRabbit, then moving into TankTank, all while he and Evolt trade some powerful blows that cause them to get just a hint of death aura. As they keep fighting, Evolt loses some of his bulk, and Build switches to RabbitTank Sparkling. As Evolt loses even more of his power, Build is reduced to just RabbitTank, which Evolt takes amusement in... until Build turns the tides.

With this Hazard Level, Build's Rabbit Fullbottle turns gold, and he uses it with the silver Dragon Fullbottle to unleash a powerful finisher in the Fullbottle Buster. Finally, with Ryuga holding Evolt back, Build uses these gold and silver bottles to transform into a special Trial Form that the bent decides is a Best Match, because that’s what Sento and Ryuga are! With a Rider Kick that Evolt attempts to counter, Build sends him flying to the ground, causing him to explode.

And that's it. Vernage leaves Misora's body, now that she can confirm that the evil is defeated, then that gold bracelet finally falls off of Misora's hand. The two Earths begin to merge, with strings of math breaking down the Skywall... because I guess we needed to homage the opening?

And then... silence.

...

Sento wakes up in a grassy field with an odd product placement in the form of the Cross-Z RideWatch, then looks around and realizes that the Skywall is indeed... gone. As he walks into the city and sees Prime Minister Himuro on a large TV screen, he and Katsuragi reflect on the fact that they were successful, and that this was the world their father wanted: The last 10 years have been completely different for this new world, more peaceful. Of course, this means the people Sento remembers aren't gonna remember him.

We then get a wonderful montage of things. Gentoku is his father’s aide, Sawa is a political journalist that’s having a nice professional exchange with Gentoku, Utsumi is working for Namba which is now a workshop, Kazumi and his bros hang out at our favorite coffee shop to meet the cute barista Misora, and... damn is it nice to see them all happy.

But it’s also sad, because even though Sento practically created his world, it’s a world that doesn’t know who Sento Kiryu is. Katsuragi bids Sento farewell, letting him know that it's been fun tagging along and watching him do his hero thing. By this point, he seems to have come to terms with everything, so he will cease to be a voice in Sento’s head.

Sento then encounters Ryuga, who’s hanging out with his not-dead girlfriend, and confirms that not even Ryuga remembers him. He tries to play it off then goes to the coffee shop, where it seems like Misora recognizes him... but her dad points out that he’s Taro Sato, the rock star on the poster in their shop! As Sento drinks his coffee, he makes the shocking revelation that Misora's dad actually knows what coffee is after all, and can't help but finally crack a smile as the two act like goobers over his resemblance to this rock star.

Outside, Sento reflects once more on the world he's created, and finds it pretty ironic that the man who once had amnesia is now the one person no one remembers... except the guy who calls out his name~?!

Ryuga shows up, asking what the deal is with this world. He found out there was a version of him here who's dating his girlfriend, which Sento realizes is because... Our Ryuga wouldn’t technically exist in a world without Evolt since he has Evolt’s DNA, so the Ryuga here is one who grew up normally! And is maybe 8 months younger! The two decide to ride off together, with a wonderful callback to episode 1.

The show ends with Sento revealing to Ryuga that he's written a 49 episode script about his adventures, which is frankly NOT the weirdest comedic ending a Rider show has gotten. Neo Fangire.

So... that was Kamen Rider Build. It was-- actually, it's better if I let the review end here. This is long as is, so I'll be giving my overall thoughts of the show in a separate post. Mostly positive, some small nitpicks, and perhaps it’s worth talking more about the ending. Til then!

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bloodstalk · 5 years

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Best of Toku 2018

no one tagged me but i have important fucking opinions so you’ll see them anyway

Best New Show of 2018: Gridman counts right? Gridman. Best New-to-You Show of 2018: Kamen Rider Kabuto is the height of media Best Rewatch of 2018: I ain’t really got an answer for this one I guess OOO? Best Movie of 2018: Be the One and I ain’t even see it yet. Best Male Lead Character: Sento fucking Kiryu even though he debuted in 2017 Best Female Lead Character: Umika Chad Lesbian Best Male Supporting Character: Does Utsumi count? Utsumi. Best Female Supporting Character Best Villain: Utsumi if he’s allowed here, Evolt if not. Yes they both debuted in 2017 but like fuck off though Best Returning Past Character: Tsukasa Kadoya Best Actor: My man Yuki Ochi went hard as fuck in Build and we all have to accept that. I won’t let anyone ignore that. Best Actress: Takada Kaho Toku Crush of 2018: Oh take a wild fucking guess (it’s Yuki Ochi aka Utsumi Nariaki. Woz and Evolt take close second) Best Writer: Muto Shogo off his shits Best Director: Kazuya Kamihoriuchi Best Suit Design: Kamen Rider Rogue still big sexy Best Weapon/Vehicle/Mecha: Lupin Magnum tbh Best Fight Scene: Madrogue Phase 4 Best Dramatic Scene: Best match boys reunion Best Comedic Scene: Gentoku’s “I Agree with Him” shirt Biggest “WTF did I just watch?” Moment: The beam that makes you go home in Lupat, or Utsumi’s cyborg reveal. Best Song: I’m assuming I’m not allowed to say Yume no Hero so I’ll say Law of the Victory instead with Over Quartzer and Patokaiser as the close seconds. Best Piece of Merchandise: That shirt that’s Madrogue and Genm. Crazy lads solidarity. Biggest Surprise of 2018: Everyone else is saying it but Takeru Satoh’s return

Award for Single Worst Thing in 2018 Tokusatsu: Haruka, you ate a child?

#kamen rider #lupat #gridman

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buildridernews · 6 years

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[Review] Kamen Rider Build - Episodes 42-46

We're really getting close to the end here, folks! And since Katsuragi's dad is becoming more of a subject, bit of a running change to the reviews: I'm going to start referring to the Katsuragi in Sento's head by as Katsuragi like I have been, and refer to the dad as Shinobu. Simple fix.

Episode 42: “A Skeptical Legacy” (疑惑のレガシー)

This picks up after Sento's last encounter with Evol and a Lost Smash. While it's merely a quick talking point that Evol has emotions now, the bigger mystery to solve is what happened to Sento's dad, since he may still be alive and no one can say for sure what his motives are. I mean, considering we've had bad dads since at least Wizard, I'd be cautious. Yeah, I'm counting Gaim. Takatora's dad had a history in Gaim Gaiden. Anyway.

Evol causes a scene, so the other Riders show up to take him on, only for him to pull some very intense bullshit and destroy the Toto government office! Seeing this black hole triggers something in Cross-Z Magma, causing him to lose control and beat the shit out of MadRogue, then take back the Dragon Fullbottle, which turns a silver color. After MadRogue flees, it seems we have another Build on the scene as he uses NinninComic Form to create a smokescreen and attack Cross-Z Magma and Grease, then flee without being seen. We then learn that this Build recognizes the silver Dragon Fullbottle as something to do with Hazard Level 7...

Disguising himself as the Seito prime minister, Evolt uses this opportunity to pretty much unify Japan under his control with a speech that all the nations root for. While this alone is enough to be cause for alarm, MadRogue then starts causing destruction with the claim that all the Kamen Riders have formed an anti-government movement, making every one of our heroes the enemies of Japan. Damn. One fell swoop.

Build and Rogue do their best to challenge MadRogue, but he's making Rogue feel pretty low as he laughs at how Toto's government is gone now. Build gives a nice speech about doing the right thing with the power they were given, both Gentoku's dad, and the Rider System that Build honestly believes was built by Shinobu to stop Evolt.

The two have Utsumi on the ropes, then the second Build from before shows up, telling thgem that the Rider System wasn't built for idealistic nonsense. He lands near them and disengages his transformation, revealing himself to be... Shinobu Katsuragi.

This is one of those episodes I'm glad wasn't the start of a hiatus.

Episode 43: “Another Build” (もう一人のビルド)

Sento can only watch as his father coldly takes on the other Riders as Build, until Cross-Z Magma loses control again as a result of Evolt's influence on him. In order to save a father he's unsure about, Sento transforms and delivers a final form kick to knock Cross-Z Magma back, which results in him being out of commission for a little bit. It also results in Kazumi and Gentoku leaving since they don't want to trust Sento in the state he's in.

Sento is once again left wondering what he's fighting for since he was essentially formed into a hero as a means to an end - Shinobu seems more concerned with collecting the Lost Fullbottles which would bring on a new world, meaning he is currently their enemy.

Things do not look any better for Shinobu as he and Evolt have lured Misora out with the promise of a tactic that will help Sento - unfortunately, she falls for it. The plan is to unleash Vernage by injecting her with lots of nebula gas, which of course is a fatal thing.

When Sento gets the call that Misora needs help, he finds her and discovers she's become the CD Lost Smash. It seems like he's on the ropes, as Shinobu joins her side as the other Build in order to take on our protag Build, explaining that Vernage's power is complicating things and could kill Misora.

Ryuga's back in action and lifts Sento out of his mood, reminding him that the things he believes in aren't illusions - there's a lot of awesome hot-blooded-shonen-spirit speeches going around~ The two transform, and when Cross-Z Magma loses control once again... Build gets an idea to help fix two problems.

Using Genius Form's special power, Build literally kicks the Mars out of Misora and sends it into Cross-Z Magma, neutralizing the effect of Evolt's influence and saving Misora from being a monster. The day is saved. And after nabbing the other Build's Rabbit Fullbottle, it turns gold in Build's hand, which he then uses to attack the other Build. This is when he lets Build know that he, like Cross-Z Magma, has reached Hazard Level 7, then escapes.

Shinobu returns to Evolt's side, being honest about how Build actually surprised him this time. Utsumi then lets them know that Kazumi and Gentoku are wandering the area... and it's at this point I remember that Kazumi is stronger but will apparently die if he loses a fight.

This is another one of those episodes I'm glad wasn't the start of a hiatus.

Episode 44: "Evolt's End" (エボルトの最期)

Kazumi and Gentoku are looking for a particular part of Faust when they're caught by Utsumi, and taken to the room where people are exposed to the nebula gas that turns them into Lost Smash. Meanwhile, Sento is using data from Ryuga's new Evolt-and-Vernage body to create the Blizzard Knuckle, a polar (HA) opposite to the Magma Knuckle.

Not all hope is lost as we learn that Kazumi and Gentoku were trying to get caught so that they could raise their Hazard Levels through the nebula gas. They try to escape, when Build and Cross-Z Magma make a surprise visit to rescue them.

This is when the second Build shows up, attacking Build's Hazard Trigger with a direct hit, then letting him know pretty directly that the world is doomed if Build stays as weak as he is - something about his wording seems odd, especially when he uses the blade of NinninComic to make Build teleport then tell Madrogue that Build escaped... Not only that, but he wants Evolt to do something for him with 3 of the purple Fullbottles.

At the cafe, the gang is back together since Sento has accepted that his dad is their enemy. He also seems to be in a rush to make progress, as he gets Ryuga to try and use the Blizzard Knuckle to transform, to no avail. As he thinks alone, Evolt calls him with what is presumably a typical "Kindly give me that Lost Fullbottle you have or die" offer. While Sento is frustrated over it all, he starts to read into what his father said in battle and the attack towards the Hazard Trigger...

Sento arrives at the usual abandoned factory to take on Evol, who knows he won't go down without a fight. As Build prepares to use the Blizzard Knuckle, the others how up knowing that Sento needs all the help he can get. They all work together to fight Evol, and even with a noticeable stat boost on Rogue and Grease, they're still heavily outclassed.

Finally, the ultimate finisher. Grease and Rogue distract Evol, while Cross-Z Magma uses the Blizzard Knuckle to deliver an icy punch to his Evol Trigger, causing him to revert to his default form. This allows Build to come in with a kick, which... actually kills him off! Smoke clears, no more villain!

While the others take this moment to celebrate, Sento seems perplexed that there are now 3 Lost Fullbottles - the same bottles he was given earlier - left as remains. The other Build swoops in and snatches them, letting them know this all went exactly as planned.

This is, again, makes me glad that this wasn't the start of a hiatus.

Episode 45: “The Scientist of Hope” (希望のサイエンティスト)

As Shinobu takes the Lost Fullbottles left behind by Evol, he also takes the Evol Driver and puts it into a special little tank, explaining that he was waiting for this moment so that he could seal away Evol. It seems that he's been working with Evolt all these years waiting for the right moment to betray him for the sake of humanity, which is making it a little hard for others to trust him. We also learn that the actual power of the Lost Fullbottles is the ability to warp through wormholes, which is certainly as unheard of as the vague documentation suggested.

While it seems all went well, Utsumi shows up, possessed by Evolt. It seems he had anticipated something and made sure that part of his DNA left his body before his defeat. He delivers a single attack to Shinobu, killing him. As Sento props him up, Shinobu hands Sento some sort of cards, and parting words. It seems like maybe there was a good man in there after all...

Grease is hit with a particular type of attack, and everyone manages a narrow escape with Pandora's Box, but the Lost Fullbottles are left behind with Evol. Only one left... and Sento has it.

At the cafe, Sento is trying desperately to get into some sort of files using the cards he was given. Shinobu left him with the hint that there was a white Pandora Panel that Evolt didn't know about, and that he needed to use the Hazard Trigger to figure it out. However, the voice of Katsuragi in his head has been very doubtful of his father ever since they learned he might still be alive, and now he's telling Sento that no such panel exists. Katsuragi won't be a fool to his father's deception anymore.

Evol causes trouble in Toto, which calls the Riders to action, minus Kazumi. Evol is using his default form, and reveals why: Kazumi wakes up, possessed by a bit of Evolt DNA, then steals the CD Lost Fullbottle from the girls and shows up to give Evol a complete set! And for some reason, Build can't use Genius Form right now!

This is when Evolt achieves a new evolution, a monster form that happens to be wearing a Rider belt despite being classified as a monster: Gamedeus Cronus Evolt (Monster Form). He's really on another level now, throwing people through buildings and even warping himself and Build to another planet just to destroy it and absorb it to become even stronger. He returns to Earth and gives Build a thorough beating, which actually seems to be enough to jog his memory...

At one point before the Skywall incident, Shinobu proclaimed he would find out if alien life exists, and when Katsuragi jokes that they might invade us, Shinobu says he wants to create something to defend them, and asks if Katsuragi would help - the reason Genius Form wasn't working so far was because Sento was so angry at Evolt for killing his father, when he really should be fighting for justice as his father did. So, he has the chance to fight once more.

Everyone joins together for a massive Rider Kick, which actually causes the Lost Fullbottle panel to escape Evolt's body! Build then punches the panel using a finisher, and the Hazard Trigger reacts, turning two of the bottles back to their normal purple color. Evol reverts back out of his monster form, perplexed and angered, then flees.

Following Evolt's speech as Mido, the Seito prime minister, unifying Japan, it seems that three new people have been enlisted to rule the three nations under Mido. As Utsumi comes to rub this loss in Evol's face, he threatens Utsumi to make sure he doesn't tell "those three" what he's REALLY after...

Finally, Sento figures out the password to these new documents from his father. With this, they can defeat Evolt.

At this point, this is where the movie takes place. Yes, it's weird, but so was the initial comment on the movie's placement. What they said before was that it took place "After the war for Pandora's Box", which was some news I addmittedly took as "Wait, isn't the war technically over now?" - at this point in the show, Evolt is unifying Japan, so yeah, the war is over. Which means that the movie which comes out a week after this next episode is meant to take place riiight now.

I know it's confusing, just like Ex-Aid's True Ending movie which has a confusing title for a movie that turned out to be a post-finale story that premiered during the show's run. Not totally into this trend either.

Episode 46: “A Vow To Be The One” ( 誓いのビー・ザ・ワン)

Oh damn, the opening theme (and movie) title gets dropped in an episode. Bit early, guys.

So I was curious how this episode would address the movie, and it does it... minimally? Evolt gives a speech as Seito's prime minister about how Japan has been unified, then transforms into Evolt to reveal what he is to all of Japan - he also presents a challenge for the Kamen Riders, a final battle for the planet at the top of Pandora Tower! But are they bad enough dudes to rescue the planet from aliens? We'll find out... now!

Making use of Ryuga's Evolt DNA, Ryuga places the Hazard Trigger into the open Pandora's Box, causing a new white panel to appear. As Sento learned from his father's documents, the black and white panels, combined with the Lost Fullbottles and Evolt's power, will basically allow them to fuse with an alternate reality that has no Skywall, safely undoing all of this and allowing them to be free of Evolt. Which is pretty crazy as far as plans go, and I can dig it. I'm curious how closely the finale will mirror that. No pun intended, for once.

Kazumi echos the fandom and requests a power-up from Sento so that he can be of more use to them, to which Sento - being Sento - reveals he was always intended to get one with the Blizzard Knuckle previously used against Evol. He even thought to use data from Kazumi's buddies as part of its bottle. However, he warns that the Hazard Level spike this item would give him would probably be too much for his body, so he should only use it as a weapon - nothing more.

The gang has a barbeque while they wait for shit to go down, and it's a wonderful character-building scene BUT the one thing of note here is Sento wanting to tell Ryuga... something. I am fully expecting that to come back later because Sento is just that good at last-second planning.

As the city prepares for the final showdown, Evol storms in with a huge army of Hard Guardians, with the Riders showing up to get this all over with. That's when Evol reveals the rules for his game: They have to make it up Pandora Tower, and with every 10 minutes they waste, he destroys a part of Japan - as he demonstrates to really show them the stakes involved. Legit, people are getting sucked into this black hole, it's horrific! So they better get this over with in at least two more episodes. With time for a wrap-up episode after and a Zi-O cameo.

So, not only does he do this, but as he waits outside, part of his DNA leaves his body. As the group enters the tower, we quickly see what the DNA went to: Clones of Akaba, Aoba and Kiba, which turn into Lost Smash - Grease stays behind to fight, as you'd expect.

Another small scene that needs to be addressed: With the sudden destruction caused by Evol, Misora and Sawa are looking for the Build Driver left behind by Sento's father, which I guess Sento hid in the Fullbottle chamber - mysteriously, it's missing. Also, Sawa gets a call from... Namba? HM. I suspect Evolt's got a rat. A rat bat. A mad-- you get the idea.

Grease does his best to deal with the Smash trio, but they keep tricking him by flinching in character, toying with his emotions. This is no time to hold back, as Evol causes more of the city to be eaten up by a black hole. Kazumi cancels out his transformation, reminding himself of just how broken he became after the deaths of his comrades, then breaks a promise to Sento by slapping on a Build Driver (his dad's, even, ouch) and transforms with the Blizzrd Knuckle... becoming Kamen Rider Grease Blizzard.

And that's how the episode ends - Grease finally joins the others with a new form, and it's with the implication that he'll die. Even the episode preview is leaning into this! This is definitely one of those episodes I'm glad wasn't the start of a hiatus.

...

Oh wait, it is. Fuck.

Yes, next week the show will be taking a break due to sports, a classic tradition. Those watching Lupinranger VS Patranger will get to carry on as usual while the Rider fans suffer this one out. And it's at the start of Build's final months, too...

Stay strong, my friends. Stay strong.

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