Kamen Rider Gaim Series Review

Kamen Rider Gaim easily brought something new to the Kamen Rider franchise as fans were quick to give this series praise… Then when the series was done the fans changed their minds so quickly… Either way I can say that Gaim was a big breath of fresh air as Kamen Rider still keeps me interested in current Toku. My episode reviews for this series was an interesting little trip I had. I felt like I improved on noticing things for themes and writing. It reminds me of when I was reviewing Kyoryuger, but I ended up loving Gaim and not having a battle with it. Anyways, let us take a bite of fruit and get some soda to chug it down with, it’s time to change fate!

Kamen Rider Gaim is about the tale of Kouta as he is growing up and decides to leave his little dance group. During that time he tries to find a new job, but doesn’t get any luck. Meanwhile, his little dance group, Team Gaim is having some trouble staying on top because of the new hip thing the Inves Games. There is a team called Baron that is dominating the scene with a strong leader and with some little cheaters. The leader of Gaim, Yuuya finds a way to get back on top, but before he gets a chance to make his scene, he vanishes. A close friend of Yuuya and Kouta, Mai asks Kouta to help her to find Yuuya and there they find a rift. In the rift is a mystical forest with many unique fruits and while they found the item that Yuuya was holding to, there was no Yuuya. There was a monster though and it’s out for blood! Kouta takes the belt and finds out that the fruit he was holding onto became Lock Seeds, the item that the dance groups are using in the Inves Games. Kouta decides to take a chance to use the belt and the seed as he transforms into Armored Rider Gaim a name which is given to him later. During his first fight, Mai appears, but with a whole different look. There she asks him if he is ready for what is about to come, during the time Kouta doesn’t realize what is happening and just wants to protect Mai. Ever since that day, Kouta started to use his powers to help the dance team and put them back on top and then there are many developments in the background happening.

Now here is the thing about Kamen Rider Gaim, the plot changes and I will easily go through those changes as well until the very late changes. The thing with Gaim though even in this first part of the series there are many hints to what is going to happening. There was the odd looking Mai, the many character hints with how Micchy and Kaito were acting, and the whole idea of fate being intertwined. Now one many think they can see what is coming up, but personally I know many people who couldn’t see what was going to happen. Now this is not a bad thing because the series has its hints and there are many of them. I really felt dumb for not seeing them at times because when you know what happens, you see the hints everywhere in the early episodes! Then there are even hints in those episodes as the series goes through four major arcs. The first one would be the Inves Games, second would be Yggdrasil, third would be the Helheim arc, and finally we got the finale. I easily could give them different titles, but I am trying to keep things a secret.

So I am going to talk about the second arc of the series for those who are wondering this is the last plot description I will have because it’s the biggest change to the overall tone of the series. This is a warning for anyone, but there will be some major spoilers and again this is only the second arc of the series. So during the time the Beat Riders have been fighting each other with Inves and Armored Riders, there has been a company in the background gathering information. This is Yggdrasil the company that ended up saving the town as they are using kids to be test experiments. Yggdrasil kept things enclosed very well and thanks to Armored Riders as well things were kept under control. Even if things got hairy for this company, they have do have optional plans. The Beat Riders will take the fall for the Inves invasions because they have been using them for games and the people take the bait and blame them in the end. It also doesn’t help that Beat Riders have found ways to use their Inves for other purposes like theft! Yggdrasil even uses another rider, Bravo to take out Beat Riders. Kouta after learning what has been happening wants to put an end to Yggdrasil and Micchy a close friend wants the same. The bad news is that Micchy is the younger brother of the president of Yggdrasil, Takatora. Now many would think Yggdrasil is being evil, but they are doing this for a greater good. They want to know what the Lock Seeds can do along with the Drivers because the world is in danger. The forest which is called Helheim and it already destroyed on civilization and it’s out to invade Earth and takeover! This is when the split starts to happen as Kouta finds a greater resolve, Micchy a boy who has been helping Kouta starts to disagree with him when he finds out the truth, Kaito goes on his own, and Takatora doubts his own plans. To further the stress, Takatora and three other members of Yggdrasil are given improve Drivers as these were called the Genesis Riders. Kouta does find new strength though with the Jinba Arms and later getting Kachidoki Arms and he finds a new truth about the forest. A scientist named Ryouma has been investigating the Inves in the Helheim forest and there is a special type of them as these become more apparent in the series and starting off the third arc of the series. 

There are many characters in Gaim as I did mention some of them in the plot descriptions, but many of them are minor. I will just talk about the main four riders and could mention anyone who is connected to them. First there is Kouta the main character of the series. This is a kid who wants to grow up and find a new job and he finds a chance to change his life and many other lives in general. Kouta goes through a strong progression of understanding of what is truly fighting for oneself and how that is not a horrible thing. Kouta also learns that to make his dreams a reality he may have to force things and he may regret some of his decisions as he continues to move on. Kaito, the rival character and my favorite Kamen Rider since Accel is simply an amazing character. His development is the most interesting since he doesn’t change as a character, except for some powers. The series does give him a back story and those events made him the person he is now. His ideal of power may seem wrong to many, but he is the same as Kouta in many ways. Both of these riders wants change to happen and who is to say which of them is right or wrong since the series doesn’t do things like that. Kaito wants people to become stronger and with the people he is with he can see that with Zack a fellow Armored Rider, Mai, and Yoko a Genesis Rider. Micchy is another big character as he is Kouta’s close friend and he is the most complex character of the main four. He is young, goes to a rich school, has a legacy to live up to, acts innocent around his friends, but acts sinister to anyone who wants to use him. The sad thing is that all of this makes the poor boy confused and he does things that can be unforgivable. People have different opinions about Micchy and just seem him as a villain, but again Gaim is not about that at all! Finally, there is Takatora the leader of many movements in Yggdrasil. Takatora lives in regret as he does want to save the world, but with his plans they do cause people to die. Takatora still does move forward though and Kouta learns that from him. Sadly many of his allies, Sid, Ryouma, Yoko, and even Micchy see things differently and act behind his back. Ryouma wants to advance his technology and become stronger that way while Sid just wants power and Yoko follows the ones who are truly strong. There are still many characters that I haven’t mentioned, but we will be here forever so I am moving on.

A major thing in this series is that it tears down the concept of good versus evil as there is good, but evil is not there. It’s even debatable what is good and what it means to be a hero in this show. Even people like Sid who just wants power isn’t evil, he’s just greedy. There are many people who do things for themselves and I wouldn’t call them evil. These would be people ran be desires and there are even other characters who do just kill and want to enslave humans, but again they are diabolical and yet I wouldn’t say evil. The characters I talk about are too dumb to even be considered evil and there is one who has many great plans and yet all she wants is a toy to play with. The leader of these guys is then not even a villain since he was a past hero in many ways who regrets what he did. Things even get more intense as the human characters get in heated battles with themselves as I will say this takes the concept of riders fighting each other that series like Ryuki and Faiz tried to do and actually makes it work for every scene. These are people fighting for what they believe in and at times it could be just desires. As I said before in my final episode review the series is about progressing in life and it’s a simple message as the shows goes to major extremes to show this. The story of the show is well written, the dialogue is smart, and all of that just excites you to see the confrontations and yet that build up is better than the actual fights.

Gaim wasn’t perfect as the show did suffer from the current rider sins, mostly the use of CGI. There are many moments where CGI will be used and it’s disgusting at times. There were some fights I do like from the series, but my goodness the CGI fights are all terrible. The series can use special effects well at times when it simply adds something to a slash or even some scenery use. The overall look of the Helheim Forest is beautiful, there is an actual set and the whole background is an effect. It easily felt like a whole different world which was the point. Still things like the bikes both in air and on ground can be ruined because of CGI and don’t get me started on Sukia Arms! Even some big fights that should be amazing ended up being bogged down by CGI like the final fight was disappointing in many points because I would rather see the small armies of Inves fight each other with the riders fighting each other. What ends up happening is that special effects are just thrown around everywhere as the final part of the fight was way more entertaining. What really saves the show was the overall story, but for an action show and having some fights being lackluster does affect the overall feeling.

The best fights would have to go to Jinba Arms

The show also has way too many characters and while some can get some cool moments, it’s very little compared to the major characters. I do like characters like Zack and Jonouchi, but their overall screen time is too little. Now this is good as well since the show can make good characters in little time, but then you do want more things for them at the same time. Also many characters ended up being for comedic use while I feel Jonouchi was the best example for comedy. Even though he has a huge progression of a fighter and he also becomes more comfortable with himself as he acts like Oren in future scenes. Now Oren was a different story as there was way too much put into him as his dialogue alone was funny and then the use of altering his voice or throwing effects around made it annoying. The overall comedy is most for Oren as well since he is a rider and gets more screen time than other characters. I do like Oren and yet his comedy can get annoying at points. There are other minor characters that do have some nice moments though like Badou the owner of a café.

Overall, Kamen Rider Gaim easily focused more on the story than anything else and for how much I loved the story, the dialogue, and the characters there are problems still. Some episodes were movie tie-ins and the beginning arc can be hard to get through at first even though I do have more positive thoughts for them compared to my initial viewings of those episodes. There is a ton of content regarding story and character development as we got broken characters, tragic characters, foils, and greedy characters and yet none of them are evil. Gen Urobuchi did a great amount of this show and I do love how his story broke free from the Bandai curse of constant toys being presented because soon the overall product placements gets lowered. There are new things to see, but later on things like that are heavily story driven. I still do like Kamen Rider Wizard, but Gaim is easily the superior show and the same can be said to Fourze and definitely OOO! Gaim was very much its own thing and yet it also felt like it worked with concepts from past Hesiei series that failed. Kamen Rider Gaim gets an A-

Kamen Rider Gaim Episode 32 Review: Fruit Basket! (Major Spoiler Alert!!!)

With the Red Overlord, Demushu still on the run and Yggdrasil have finally become more open with their plans as they protect the city. Things seem to be at an end for Yggdrasil though as the Beat Riders will have to step up now. Can Kouta even stand up to what is happening?

The first thing I want to talk about is Kouta as he made a big step in progression in this episode. Sagara returns to Kouta and there things do not go well. Kouta starts realizing that Sagara has been toying with him as he had Kouta believe in him just so he can continue fighting. The thing is that Kouta did take Sagara's word too lightly as he did tell Kouta that the Overlords were only the rulers of the forest and nothing else. With what has been said, high chance Kouta doesn't see any hope for the Overlords anymore as they are just Inves to him. What's odd is that Sagara speaks about Demushu so casually just like how he talked with Roshou in the previous episode. Again I think I may have discovered what Sagara is with what he has been saying. Now the reason why Sagara told Kouta about the Overlords is that, yes they do have the power to save the world, but with how they are there isn't any hope of that. Sagara directly tells Kouta that only an Overlord has the power to save the world, but Kouta has to take that step. Yes, Sagara tells Kouta he needs to become an Overlord to save the world and the only way of doing that is to defeat the trails of the forest and obtain the golden fruit. Sagara even mentions that only one can obtain the power to rule which reminds me of what he told Kouta before about destroying the old rules and making new ones. Basically Sagara is back to tell Kouta the same thing, but to be more blatant about it. Sagara even tests Kouta by putting the new Lock Seed away from him and seeing if he would go for it. This makes me believe that Sagara could be some sort of hybrid being of both human and Overlord since he has powers unlike a human, but still retains his original form which is something that changed for the Overlords. Also this would explain how he knows so much about the forest and the Overlords. The question now is how he became the being he is now or if I'm even correct (please don't tell me!).

Hearing all of this news and seeing the new Lock Seed, Kouta has no choice as he starts to head for the Lock Seed. For some reason Sagara held him down with some force like magic which reminds me of Roshou a bit. Sagara even tells Kouta on how to obtain the fruit and it's pretty much a fight for the fruit as there are many other takers. Now Mai did bring up a good point, Sagara is clearly keeping somethings a secret and again we don't know what those are or why he is even hiding anything. Sagara is simply giving Kouta a fighting chance for his best interests. Now Sagara does clear a little bit up of why he is using Kouta and it's simply because he's a wild card in the whole situation. By what the other Mai has said before things seem to be following some sort of path like fate controls the events, but Kouta could not be a part of that. Kouta changes things up and Sagara realizes that so he wants him to be the most powerful one. Then Kouta's reasoning for wanting the new power is simply because he knows what he has now won't change anything. Again Kouta does have a desire for power, but is using it for a good thing and not like what some of the Overlords want. Kouta is taking a dangerous path of taking Sagara's gifts and he has gotten a power stronger than Kachidoki Arms.

Now some other interesting developments were with the Overlords. There was a quick scene with Reduye the green Overlord and Roshou as I bet they were talking about Demushu entering the human world. Reduye even notices that Takatora is holding onto a certain hat and takes it. Now the scene with the two Overlords seemed interesting, I bet Roshou knows how what Reduye is trying to do and is keeping a close watch on him mostly by the final look he gave to her. Then she reacts to Sid's death as like it was nothing as she just passes the hat along to Micchy. All Sid was to Reduye was a tool and sadly Sid is now a broken tool. So continuing on Micchy starts to ask Reduye why she wants the fruit. Reduye simply wants to take control and be king of a world. Sadly her own world is nothing now so she wants to try to see how Earth is. There was even some discussion about how the Overlords prepared for the forest compared to how the humans did it. It also seems the Overlords has an interest in the humans now because of how they prepared for the forest. Reduye now has a plan though and thanks to her servant being in the human world she can prepare a connection and make her own rift. She makes the rift where the one for Yggdrasil tower was and sends an invasion to Earth! Yggdrasil tower has been taken over by the Inves and even Ryouma retreats leaving everyone in the tower to be killed. Well that sure escalated fast!

So with Yggdrasil pretty much being destroyed the only people left to protect the city are the Beat Riders! I really loved this change of pace as Jonouchi and Oren do appear randomly, but it's done so correctly that I really didn't mind. The Beat Riders have taken a bigger stance on the situation and thanks to Kaito they can already act like a fully fledged team. What was also cool was how much stronger they seem now as Zack literally fought alongside with Kaito against Demushu! Then Jonocuhi easily became a better fighter as he can take out more evolved Inves and Oren is still strong like before. Again even those moments like these are random they give the character some new light and just make watching the show a bit more surprising and fun. I mean even Oren's reason for fighting is nothing much of a common hero, but it's just more fun to actually be enjoying this character now for a better reason compared to how he was before. Even Marika takes a step up as she gives up on Ryouma and sees that Kaito and the other riders have more potential than Ryouma, also there is the fact he completely abandoned everybody! So I am liking this huge change of pace for the show as we are getting more heroes in the series some are just simple characters, but having them along with everyone else just gives more to enjoy, it's like having a side dish with the main meal.

Before the invasion there was an interesting little scene with how Yggdrasil has been more out in the open now. The civilians are all inside just pondering about what exactly is happening and then without any way of communicating there is pretty much this barrier around the city. Then seeing how the Kurokage troops were dealing with Inves attacks was interesting. Now if the invasion didn't happen so soon there would have been an interesting change of pace with the city itself. Yggdrasil has taken a more direct measure of protecting the city and it would have been interesting to see more done with that idea, but the invasion was more of a surprising touch so I'm glad they went with that earlier than expected. So the question now is how living in the city will change with a complete invasion of Inves! Also could this mean that the forest could now start to expand more into the Earth?

Another question would be what will Ryouma do next?

The action in this episode was awesome as it was more action packed compared to other episodes. The beginning was sweet with Baron and Knuckle fighting Demushu and even getting him a couple of times. I'm more surprised by Knuckle since he is a Armored Rider with a prototype belt and yet he still got some good hits on Demushu. I even love how the two fought together, Knuckle has to go for close combat and during that Baron was using his Sonic Arrow from afar. The two then perfectly moved together and got some great hits on Demushu. The second fight was nice with the sudden appearance of Jonouchi and Oren as these two helped out the three other riders. For once Gridon can finally hit Inves with his hammer and actually do damage as well! Kaito even unites them quickly as they just tore those Inves up! What's nice to see are some little quirks from Jonouchi and Oren as the boy still has some training to go, but at least he has learned to still keep going at it. At the end there was even a nice united attack from the five riders as they take down the five Inves. Again things like this are just fun, seeing heroes team up and defeating monsters is simple and yet good television.

Then there was Demushu who came back with more power since he ate some fruit that grew on Earth. Kaito was even worried about this as he knows the Overlords are still Inves so they can easily power themselves up. Sure enough Demushu shows up with a new look and more power. The changes on Demushu are pretty simple, but they are nice touches. Mostly his horns just grew longer and that alone gives him this more menacing look. There is even the fact of how he shown off his new strength. First of all he can just take hits and bounce them back! The five riders all try a finisher as Demushu just takes them, absorb them, and use those attacks against the five riders. Demushu's fire attacks even improved as he can spread them out unlike before. This was a really nice way of showing a change of power and it's too bad this was Demushu's last appearance, but he does go out on a big reveal!

Kouta returns to the battlefield as he quickly shouts out that he has no time for any regrets as he has to fight and protect the city. Kouta enters the fight with Kachidoki arms as he quickly slashes Demushu and gets ready for his new power. As he activates the Lock Seed, all of the past fruit appear out of the sky and attack Demushu. I will have to say this reveal reminded me a whole lot of Blade's King Form. There was even a similar way of how the riders got their powers. Both Kouta and Kenzaki were giving warnings about their new powers and yet they had to proceed on with those powers. Even how the fruit were summoned reminded me of when the cards appeared around Blade. So Kiwami Arms have been revealed and it's a nice final form. I will say I do like the Shogun look along with the complete change of color for Gaim. Every color gets replaced by the bright silver armor as that really screams out final form right there. I will say I do not like how the form is activated with it connecting to the Kachidoki Lock Seed since it looks a little too big for the standard belt he has. I will say the chest plate has a nice design with all the fruits being shown off showing what fruits Gaim can access now.

As for how Kiwami fought, I did like how he kept a great presentation while fighting. His stances and movements reminded me of a Shogun at many times. Then with how he summoned the many weapons that belonged to other riders was great as well. The weapons can even just float around and attack when they are summoned just giving Gaim a whole new way of fighting. Gaim uses his Orange sword, the Durian Saws, Melon Defender, Grape Gun, and Banana Spear while at the same time using them his own way not like the other riders. Then Gaim can even do special attacks for all the weapons as he does this with Banana and keeps a hold on Demushu. Then here comes the big finale as he summons the DJ Gun and equips it to his sword as he goes for an Au Lait special. Holy crap the effects around the big sword look glorious as there are many colors that blend well together while looking like some sort of flame. It was a pretty good reveal fight as with it resembling to Kamen Rider Blade gives it some more positives for me.

The show easily just had another surprise to it as things have changed once more. Yggdrasil is no longer a concern as I feel the major fear will be the Overlords and Micchy. Along with that we got some more heroes in the mix and seeing them team up is just simply awesome. Then there was Kouta getting another offer from Sagara as these two have a much different conversation than before. Kouta though takes the risk once more and will take his power to use for his heroic deeds. I will say the only flaw I would say would be Marika as her character got a sudden change in this arc overall, it just didn't feel right to me. Other than that this episode gets an A.

Next Time: Micchy and a new Overlord?

Kamen Rider Gaim Episode 31 Review: So Much Red! (Major Spoiler Alert!!!!)

For those who are wondering I decided to skip on episode thirty because it's just a movie tie in episode. There is a reason why it took me a while to review the Gaim and Toqger crossover and that was because I had to catch up with Toqger. I needed to know what the other show was about and how the characters were portrayed. This is the problem I have with episode thirty, it's a tie in with the new Kikader movie and sadly I don't know all that much about Kikader. I have seen little bits of Kikader like the live action show and the animated series, but not to a full extent yet. Also episode thirty is a bit bare to do a fully fledged review on so for now I will skip it, sorry for anyone who wanted my full thoughts on it. I will say I did enjoy the episode though. Going on though, episode thirty one continues the story where the Red Overlord appears in the city as Kouta, Kaito, and Yggdrasil try their best to prevent him from destroying the city. Meanwhile Micchy and Sid meet up with the Green Overlord who will lead them to the forbidden fruit.

The first thing I want to talk about is the depth they put into both Kouta and Kaito for this episode. Kouta was still thinking of keeping the Overlord alive because of how they could help with the forest even though the red one just wants destruction. He fights because it's fun for him as he loves to test his might. Kaito kept telling Kouta about how this monster could even help out. Kaito even sees he's just a power hungry fool who just aimlessly swings his blade. Something funny to note is that Kaito does share something with the Overlord which is something I will get to later. So when the Overlord tells Kouta about how much fun he has with destroying and fighting Kouta realizes what Takatora has just learned recently. Kouta sees what really took down the Overlord's past civilization based on how the Overlord talked. I love the parallels we are getting here as looking at this in a writing viewpoint really makes the show seem grander. It's an easy observation to have, but the thought of planning things out for the whole series is an amazing task. I am highly impressed on where the show keeps going and now Kouta himself is taking a stand against the Overlords now as he sees one of them is nothing, but a barbarian.

Kaito in this episode was my favorite part as his character got a lot of great moments. First is how he was talking with the Overlord as he talks like he already knew the Overlord. What Kaito said was right, he was learning things through fighting and his ideology seems to be fitting more than Kouta's ideas at least for this moment. Also Kouta ends up fighting in the end so in a way Kaito was right. What was really interesting was how he reacted to the other events. When Yggdrasil shows up they try to take Kouta down and in the process, the Overlord knocks him out. When Kaito got his chance he transformed and saved Kaito from the chaos. He talked back saying that Yggdrasil could have gotten Kouta on their side since they came out to fight the Overlord which is what he was doing. Kaito is actually more observant than I thought he was. Kaito is really in the middle of the opposing forces in the series. Sure he is working for Yggdrasil, but at the same time he helps Kouta and even protects the man. Kaito has taken information from both sides and I bet he knows how to find common ground which I have a feeling could be happening soon.

Later on there was a scene where Kaito drops off Kouta so that he can heal up, but before he leaves Kouta asks him something. Kouta asks him if he has the same viewpoint as the Overlord. This viewpoint being about power and the meaning of fighting, for the Overlord he sees that the crushing the weak is right for the victor and Kaito even responds with a yes to the question. Kouta gets mad, but he can barely even stay awake to do anything. What's amazing is that Kaito tells Kouta that he needs to get stronger and soon him and Zack head out to fight the Overlord. Even though Kaito does believe in the strong conquering the weak it's because he has learned that from experience and it's more like he wants to prevent people from being defeated and most importantly himself. Kaito wants to be strong so that he can never be crushed and I think he wants others to be like that as well. He wants people to be strong so that they can continue on and the discussions he had with Mai easily show that. Kaito takes in consideration that Mai's strength could be stronger than what it seems as he waits to see if she is right. Kaito is not like the Overlord as he wants to help a person become strong which is something that was apparent since his first reveal and it's amazing how he is used in the series. Many characters have changed their thoughts many times and yet Kaito remained the same. He still develops and moves along with the series, but he keeps his views. Kaito is still heavily enjoyable ever since the series started and this is why he's my favorite character.

Going about other people who tried to fight the Overlord, Yggdrasil took an interesting stance on how to do things. First of all, there was way more destruction compared to previous Inves attacks as the mayor of the city calls Yggdrasil. How he was talking really made me think that he knew about their operations. The mayor literally says that the causalities would be low and easy to cover up. So does he know about Project Ark then? With the mayor in flames though, Ryouma takes control of the city, literally! He shuts off any communications in the city so that the news wouldn't spread out and sends his men to take the Overlord down. Marika and Kurokages appear and surprisingly their tactics were smart. The Kurokages are easily out matched so they had to set smoke bombs and get some aerial coverage on the Overlord. Sadly, they couldn't stay strong the whole time as they are all taken down as Marika pretty much as to fight alone. Ryouma doesn't even care for these deaths as it seems Yoko is having some second thoughts on everything as she talks to Ryouma in a different tone. Luckily, Kaito and Zack show up to help as the episode ends around there.

Alright that's the end of the review then, nah just kidding there is much more to cover here. First off there is the fact that both Micchy and Sid have their part in the episode. The Green Overlord appears as she does fight the two and is almost outmatched by them. She thinks of a plan though as she tells the two where the forbidden fruit is. Now Sid just follows the path and Micchy does as well, but he catches on what the Overlord is thinking. When she takes the two to the place Sid heads off as Micchy gets a chance to talk with the Overlord. Micchy sees what she wants and that is the forbidden fruit. What's funny is that this Overlord is pretty much Micchy. The Overlord is trying to keep it's hands clean and tries to use both Sid and Micchy to get it for them. How many of Micchy's plans had him out of the conflict? Or whenever there was a plan Micchy was usually in the background so these two have some interesting common ground. When Micchy yells at the Overlord she takes an interest in him. These two are going to have more with each other I bet as this was an interesting pairing as both these two are masterminds or I should say one is trying to be. The Overlords have shown before that they're not that smart and this only makes Sid look a bit dumber in comparison then.

Now before I get to Sid I think it's time to talk about the forbidden fruit. It has been discussed about in the previous episode where Takatora talks with the leader. This time however the leader tells Takatora that the fruit won't be used for humanity. This is when Sagara comes in as Takatora wants to know the Overlord's reason. As he appears he talks to the Overlord in a casual sense even speaking his name out, Roshou. Sagara says that Roshou has already intended for the fruit to be for humanity. Sagara gives him some news though, that having one species fight for two forbidden fruit is against the rules. Roshou tells him otherwise though and says he will use the fruit for a better purpose. What Roshou wants is to save one life that is precious to him and he will let seven billion lives die for this cause. We then see a flashback of probably when Roshou was given the fruit of knowledge and I have a feeling I know who gave it to him. What's cool is that in the flashback we clearly see a shadow of Roshou before he transformed into the Overlord we know today. It such a little touch to have, but again this is world building! There is back story to learn from this series as it creates a sense of wondering. Gaim clearly knows how to use that element and it's mostly thanks to the Overlords right now.

After that scene Sagara tries to bargain with Roshou as he is trying to even the playing field once more. Sagara even thinks there is still hope for humanity, as he could be talking about Kouta. Roshou wonders if Sagara is trying to help the humans a bit too much, but Sagara again is just here to balance things out. Seeing Sagara again just makes me wonder of who he is. He has said before he is an observer and is simply trying to make things interesting, but why? Also he clearly has connections with people including Roshou the leader of the Overlords! Sagara easily has something about him as the series is constantly teasing this at us. It's a good tease though as we get more ideas of what Sagara could be while the show continues on. So Roshou agrees with Sagara and gives him an item straight from the fruit itself. It's a new Lock Seed, but it's far different than the others as it's a key for some reason. All I can say is that I know who Sagara is going to give this to.

Now for Sid, oh now I get to Sid. He was truly an evil character as he kept fighting for what he wanted. It didn't matter if there was any sense of wrong, for Sid everything is right as long as he is happy. When Sid comes for the forbidden fruit he decides to fight Roshou as things don't go well for him. Sid is outmatched as Roshou clearly as more power than him. Sid only gets one chance of attack as it's blocked with ease and then Roshou holds him down with some force like energy. Roshou gives him once chance to leave, but Sid yells out that no one is giving him orders anymore. This is actually something interesting about Sid as he took orders for a long time, he's been probably waiting for a moment to break free for a long time. Sid even wanted to be more than human as his lust for power mostly had with him wanting to be in the lead to be the powerful one so that no one can boss him around. In the end, Sid keeps fighting for the fruit as Roshou gives him the gift of death. He breaks opens a cliff and sticks Sid between the crack as he crushes the man in the cliff. This last moment of Sid gave him some more character bits to analyze and it's makes me wonder why he had this lust for power. Sid did take things too far though as he does deserve his death as he didn't even try to save Hase from before, he just killed him with no problems. I have mixed feelings on his death since he was one of the closest things we had to evil in the series, but at the same time he just felt like a person who wanted more in his life and knew the price he would have to take for that. Finally, Sid's death shows that the show is getting on a more serious path as we have our second rider death in the series as this could soon happen to other riders.

This was just another powerful episode in the series as the last moments really surprised me. I can't really recall a death like Sid's in the franchise in such a long time. The closest I can think of was Ryuki since those deaths were brutal. Gaim clearly is taking notes from the history of the franchise and is using them to their best potential. Along with that, the use of characters are great and the action in this episode was a bit lower so that there could be more drama, but there were still strong moments like when Kouta takes a stand against the Overlord. It's just another perfect episode for me, I can't really think of any flaws other than little nit picks, A+

Next Time: Dai Dai Dai Shogun!

Also for a quick update, I did a further analyse on the recent Smash Bros news. (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-13207-further-analysis-of-lucina-and-robin-in-super-smash-bros-wii-u3ds/)

Kamen Rider Gaim Episode 27 Review: Finally Uniting (Spoiler Alert!!!)

The show intensifies even more as we get more focus on Takatora and how much he does want to save humanity, but we also learn about Ryouma's intentions. Meanwhile Kouta is still unconscious thanks to Micchy as anything could happen to him now.

First I want to talk about both Takatora and Ryouma as their past gets a major focus in this episode. For Takatora we see the hardships he puts through just for the plan to save humanity. Takatora was the first test subject for the use of Lock Seeds and has a scar from those tests, high chance that will play into the show sooner than expected. Even when he gets injured though he was hard at work as he constantly did paperwork and still gave orders. Takatora at the beginning of the series was a threat and almost villain-like, but when learning more about him he seems to be a tragic hero. This man has to decide on the fact that six billion have to die just so that one billion people can live and to some that may seem villainous. Takatora knows of this and this is why he has been holding onto his doubts for a long time. In many ways he is similar to Kouta as he does want to find another way of helping the world. This is why he even started to have more doubts after seeing Kouta become the hero he is now. Kouta reminds him or himself before he started Project Ark and since Kouta came back with Kachidoki Arms, he is holding onto his dream. In this episode he comes back to ask Ryouma is there could possibly be more belts made before the ten year limit.

Going on with Takatora he ends up seeing another possibility as he meets an Overlord for the first time. The red Overlord is out for vengeance as he wants to find Kaito for the previous fight they had. When seeing the Overlord he is amazed to see an Inves with a weapon and the ability to talk Japanese. When Kouta comes to help he tells Takatora about the Overlords with how they could help with saving their world. The Overlord is not happy with this however and just tells them they are going to die. Takatora then has the insight to capture the Overlord and try to find a way to save the world. The man even ends up siding with Kouta as he even tells him his name and shakes his hand. This is a big moment as these two were rivals on the opposing side and now Takatora is breaking that as he and Kouta share the same beliefs. Again this is very similar to both Lloyd and Kratos from Tales of Symphonia and I absolutely love how those characteristics are being used for Kouta and Takatora.

Now onto Ryouma and boy did a good amount get revealed about him in this episode. It's mostly thanks to the flashbacks we got of Takatora being a test subject for the Lock Seeds. Ryouma at first respected Takatora since he saw him to help in his ambitions. As mentioned before, Ryouma wants to obtain the next step in human evolution and he sees that the forest and the forbidden fruit can be his answer. We even saw DJ Sagara tell him about the forbidden fruit and we all saw his reaction towards that. So when Ryouma is ordered to make more drivers based on quantity and not quality, he was not pleased with Takatora. He thought Takatora would share his belief of more power as he did want to go straight to the Genesis Drivers. Takatora wanted to save as many people as he wants to and power is not the way to do that. At that point is when Ryouma decided to betray Takatora and who knows how long he has been keeping that from him. Ryouma even learns about the Overlords on that day and decides to keep that a secret for himself. Now with Takatora knowing about the Overlords, Ryouma sees that he has to interfere and possibly kill Takatora. I will say I loved how the series teased us with Takatora looking like a villain while at the same time there were truly other people that can take the villain spot. Ryouma is a man of ambitions and he will make sure those get satisfied.

Also I really did enjoy the nice black and white moments.

On with Kaito as he was in the beginning of the episode. It's mostly him reacting to seeing Micchy shooting Kouta in the back and even trying to kill him. Kaito interferes with Micchy's plan and attacks him and soon makes him run away. The reason why Kaito did that is because he doesn't see Kouta as his enemy, even though they have different opinions. Again Kaito is a man who uses powers to make his dreams a reality and he sees that part of himself in Kouta. It's actually quite interesting to see how many character traits are shared between characters and yet each character is heavily different from each other. Kouta is going to try the impossible and change the rules of the world itself and to do that he needs to be powerful. Kaito wants to be powerful in a similar fashion as he does want it for himself, but at the same time he wants to share that power so that others can be strong. Now his true foes are backstabbers and Micchy is clearly one of those. This is why Kaito is my favorite character, he is an anti-hero, but it is easily done in a more good fashion compared to many other anti-heroes. Sometimes there are some anti-hero characters that just seem evil which completely not the point is. Kaito though is easily one of the best examples of an anti-hero though thanks to how he acts and fights others.

Oren was in this episode as he was just being the comic relief and for the most part I did like it. Now I will say the series did try a little too hard as some of the ending points got to be annoying with the comedy. I love the set up and delivery, it's just how it ends makes it bad. It's mostly because it goes too far with visuals as those are not needed for this character. Oren is colorful enough and he doesn't need additional ones around him. Let the character itself be funny and use the perfect timing ques to make it even funnier. The best example of this is whenever Oren saw food because he was lost in the forest for a long time, you hear this symphony in the background as it's the moment of hope for this man. Oren even knew how to break the ice in the middle of the action as he takes a hit for Takatora. Takatora tells him that was a sloppy move, but for Oren it was the best move since he was in his arms. That got me to laugh a bit and then seeing him getting thrown as nice, but at the very end it goes too far with a face cam moment pretty much. I will also say, Oren is clearly going to help more thanks to finding out about the cracks and the forest and I'm fine with this as this man can be helpful and does bring some good comedy at times.

Now I can't forget about Micchy as he came straight back to his happy place after getting attacked by Kaito. The scene he has with Mai really makes me wonder what Micchy will do because he is having a struggle with himself. Mai mentions that when he yelled at Kouta that wasn't his usual self. Micchy then replied with a question, "What should I do to act like myself?" Mai then tells him that he always seemed to be mature and in control as Micchy sees that as fantasy. Right there makes me really think about Micchy sees him. First of all he has some type of split personality as he can live happily with Mai and his friends, but when he is with Yggdrasil his dark side easily comes out. What's funny with Mai's line and Micchy response is that he isn't in control. There was a scene with Micchy saying he has the power of influence while the truth is that he can barely keep himself in check. Micchy is going to pick a side soon and I feel he could be going on the paths of Ryouma or is even that not enough for him?

The action in this episode was awesome as there was one part of it in this episode. It's when the Overlord appears and attacks the human researchers. Takatora comes out first and his surprise in the new Inves does get him off guard for a bit. Kouta saves him though and soon the two fight together. Again with Takatora and Kouta being similar to each other they end up working well together. Kouta always follows up when Takatora finishes his attacks and the two did perfect with shooting their arrows. There was even a great moment when the Overlord uses the trees to attack the two. Again thanks to the forest itself being a graphic, it makes effects like that look well done since it blends in with the environment. It was also an even fight since the Overlord got back at the two riders with his special powers, but soon had to leave because of another Overlord it seems.

This was my favorite part of the episode, the reveal of another Overlord and this one seems to be in control of everything. This Overlord is white and sits on a chair as he commands the red Overlord to retreat, or so I think. Again the Overlords have their own language and I love that since their scenes can be full of mystery with what they are simply talking about. I even love at one point the red one talks about his race saying the apes won't survive like they did. What I liked was that his race's name was in his own language so who knows what they were before they became Overlords. Its things like this that actual make the world in a show seem expansive and I hope more series can pick this up.

The only thing that sours this episode is the comedy, but again the comedy wasn't at its worse like episode twenty-five. I still love the use of the characters as they are really getting full development thanks to the plot increasing in suspense. Some characters are put into a new light like Takatora and Ryouma as one could find a new hope while the other one has to stop that. I really can't wait to see how things continue and yes I've been avoiding the spoilers very well, so don't tell me anything! Either way this episode gets an A-

Next Time: The Duke enters the scene

Kamen Rider Gaim Episode 23 Review: Triumphant Return! (Major Spoiler Alert!!!)

Oh man, oh man! In this episode of Gaim, Kouta is put to a great challenge of asking himself what he is fighting for now. There are people who give him some answers, but only one has the truth he wants to hear.

Kouta in the beginning of this episode was a mess. I'm not saying this as a bad thing for his character at all because he just learned he broke his number one rule in the very beginning. I don't blame him at all for this and now Takatora is confident that Kouta has been taken care of for good. Kouta first goes to where it all started where he spotted his first rift and Mai is there as well. Both of them are around to remember Yuuya and Kouta keeps hearing the great news from Mai. The dance group is doing better and getting more of an audience now. Mai even wants Kouta to dance for the team once more, but with what he found out he cannot do that. He even almost tells Mai the truth about Yuuya, but Micchy stops him. After a scene with him and Micchy, he is still battling himself on what he should do. In this beginning Kouta is given a lot of information there is Micchy who is telling him that the truth is not all that good, the other Mai who tells him that he can retreat and find happiness, and then Sagara who tells him what he needed to hear, but was that for the best? I love this part of the episode, Kouta has his own opinions in all of these regards of what the three characters tell him and then he finally forms his answer with all he has been told, which I will get to later.

First there was Micchy who was telling Kouta about how telling the truth to Mai would only ruin things. He mentions on how she would blame herself for Yuuya's death even though the truth is that he ate the fruit and became an Inves. Actually Kouta doesn't focus on that as for him the truth is that he killed Yuuya. Either way though could result in the same conclusion of Mai blaming herself which is Micchy's main point. The truth doesn't matter at some points since the most important thing is how the person reacts to the truth. Micchy even says the truth can be used as a weapon, but the same could be said the same about lying, which is actually something Micchy has been doing for a while. This again brings up the strange contrast for his character, he has goodness in him, but at the same time he can have these evil moments. Micchy wants both Kouta and Mai to be happy and does want the best for humanity. The way he is doing it though is like controlling people and he even says why couldn't Kouta listen to him and stand down. The whole time he is helping he can actually be making things worse since he is covering many facts away from the others. While he thinks hiding the truth can be a good thing which has been mentioned many times in the series with the truth of Helhiem and how the public would react to that. Again I can see everything just go badly for Micchy as he is trying to be good, but just having the wrong ways of doing so.

The other Mai appears telling Kouta that he can finally step out of his fate and find happiness. Now I am very confused with her. She does want to stop people from being riders, but why? We see many people trying to continue with the fight and finding out more about the forest. She is really one of the few characters who say no to this progress. Is it possible that she is from the forest? Is she actually a character who is working with the villains, but is trying to find a peaceful way to end things? I mostly bring this up because of her conversation with Sagara as she wonders why he put Kouta back into the battlefield. Sagara tells her off saying he knows who she is. Sagara even mentions that being chosen by her is something special, so is she connected to the forest in a different way the than these new beings living inside of the forest? Again this character has been a mystery since episode one! It actually has been a while since we saw her as well, so what is her deal anyways?

Then there was Sagara and man did he really jump out in this episode. First of all we already knew he was working on his own and was just with Yggdrasil for some unknown reason. Then there is the fact that he even knows a secret of the forest that even Takatora doesn't know about. The man could even take a fruit and change it into a Lock Seed! Who is this man?! Sagara even gets bigger attention because he talks to the other Mai saying that he is simply an observer right now and wants to see who gets the Forbidden Fruit. I am completely baffled here because this guy at first was just a goofy deejay and now he is a mastermind hiding in the background. The thing is what I can't pin down is if that Sagara is a villain or hero. Actually there are so many people who have good intentions so is there really a villain per say? Yggdrasil at first was seen to be the evil corporation, but even they want to save humanity at any cost. Anyways, onto to what Sagara said to Kouta.

Sagara talks to Kouta about many things. First of all he mentions how ridiculously it is to use power to protect since it's only used for destroying. Kouta takes that as a bad thing, but in reality it can be good. Sagara tells Kouta that he needs to destroy that rule that sacrifice is needed since that is Kouta's true enemy. Sagara makes an example by saying Yggdrasil is weak since those people just follow that cold rule and don't try to change it. He then goes on about who the real strong person is, Kaito. He is the character who has given up a lot of things except his quest for power. Even though there be a bad fate for him in the end, Kaito is trying to find a way to change the world which is true. Kaito the whole time wanted to use power to guide and change people and he hasn't given up that part of his personality. Then Sagara mentions to Kouta what Kaito is after, the Overlords which I will get to later as well. Kouta does see this as a chance since the Overlords can be a major game changer and knowing that Ryouma is after them makes him mad and wants to stop him. My goodness this scene was amazing as it ends with Sagara giving him a new Lock Seed. We get a new look on how the show can progress again! These shows is a major surprise as there are new angles being revealed and completely change the idea of the series while it is transitioning greatly as well. Everything is just flowing perfectly and with that element of surprise it just gets you off guard.

About the Overlords now they are the rulers of Helhiem, even though they can be seen as really bad rulers. These higher beings are from the destroyed civilization that was seen before. They actually evolved with Helhiem which is why Ryouma wants to know more about them. He wants to see if he can use what the Overlords had to maintain a new path in human evolution. Kaito is looking for this being and lures it out with human text? What's also odd is that the Overlord can speak in its own language. For being the ruler of the forest it can control the plants and beasts that the forest consists of, but they are not the ones spreading the forest out. The forest is simply growing to other worlds as the Overlords are simply accepting that and maintain their power. The first one we see is a big red one as it carries a huge sword. Kaito does fight this being, but he barely stands a chance against it. He doesn't give up as we cut away when he uses Mango Arms to fight the Overlord. Again the idea of the Overlords just took the show in a new way as these guys could contain more information about the forest and who knows, Sagara could be one of them.

So with all that has happened and with all the new knowledge Kouta has been given he is able to stand up and fight again. This time he is not fighting to simply protect people anymore; he is fighting to make sure that others don't make the same mistakes he has made. Also he uses the concept of destruction to actually destroy that idea and change the world. He will get rid of hopelessness and despair and finally become a true hero the world needs. Kouta's evolution as a character is simply the best I have seen in a long time. Again he started out as a kid playing a game with his friends and now with the stakes at large his hero qualities start expanding. Even when he has committed a sin, he is going to accept those mistakes and continue on with his task. He doesn't want any more bloodshed or sacrifice as the only thing that needs to be destroyed is that rule. This is a big step for any hero as he is going to try to change the world! What also makes this revelation great is that he gets a new form that shows that he is going to make his dent in the world. Overall Kouta has become one of the best main riders in the franchise.

So with the new Kachidoki Arms being revealed in this episode, I am amazed this isn't the final form in the series. I mean it comes right after Kouta takes the biggest step in his character development so far. The form itself can even take down a horde of Kurokages down. First I will say I love the Shogun motif and look. The helmet gets a big change as everything changes and gets additions. It easily makes a Shogun helmet while working on Gaim's helmet. Like how his crest gets an extension on the other side and there are two silver plates below his eyes that work along with the mouthpiece. Then the whole big armor is lovely as it can take damage and look impressive with its mix of orange and red. I also love how the Gaim crest gets more attention now which makes me think of Blade's King form. A new weapon it has is the DJ Gun which seems a bit odd for a Shogun form, but I love the thing. It has strong sounds and can change its fire rate in many ways. My favorite part though are the flags as they can make great coverage weapons thanks to their size, but can also send out rings of fire! The best part is how the fight is shot; this is easily the best mixture of special effects I have seen so far. The background can even have some CGI in, but along with good camera angles it makes the battlefield seem more complex. Also it knows when to slow down or speed right through it. Overall an outstanding debut for this new form as it takes everyone by surprise, especially Ryouma since he didn't make that Lock Seed.

Episode twenty-three is beyong amazing and outstanding. It takes its main character and evolves him to great potential even more. Kouta will deal with his sins and prevent from anyone committing the same mistakes as he becomes a grand hero. This episode also as more game changers as the Overlords, Sagara, and the other Mai are given new focus angles. I just want to keep watching this show as there are many new reveals, but at the same time new surprises and mysteries as well. Kamen Rider Gaim is becoming a revolutionary show as this episode gets an A+

Next Time: Peach Jinba!