KR Geats 33 discussion thread

[resop2]

I don't know if Beroba has thought this through. Buffa wants to defeat all Kamen Riders and she is also a Kamen Rider.

Will Buffa want to defeat Lupo even though she no longer wants to be a Kamen Rider? And, will Buffa also beat up Sparrow? Also, what about the Jamato?

[ViRGE]

Well that was a rather pensive episode at times, but I rather enjoyed it. Tsumuri has been more or less sidelined during the entire JGP arc, so it's nice that she's finally getting some character development. After all, second to Geats himself, she has the second greatest amount of screen time in the OP; so while she's a supporting character, she's not a minor one.

An episode with so little of the main cast is quite the change in pace. But given just how focused on Geats this show has been for, well, just about forever, it's nice to focus on some of the smaller characters. The Gamemaster v2 in particular has always been rather aloof, but now we're getting to the point where I'm wondering what his dysfunction is. He doesn't just not care about lives, but he seems oddly compelled to stage the DGP, far more than anyone who is interested in their own survival should be. Also, his grabbing of Tsumuri's face, while played for laughs, was rather creepy altogether.

I did not foresee Buffa returning the GM's vision driver though. That was a surprise. In retrospect it makes sense, since he now has the power to beat anyone. Arming your opponent still seems like a bad idea, but hey, Buffa is living his best life (death?). And mechanically, the writers needed to do something to get the power of creation back out of the hands of the Gruesome Twosome, so that they aren't making more wishes.

I am a bit bummed that Buffa didn't get a wholly new form out of all of this. Despite being all powerful now, he's basically just waltzing around in Fever Buffa form, with some shiny new horns on top of it. If anything deserved a new form, I would think it's this. Meanwhile, once the obligatory ultimate form arrives for Geats, it'll be a hoot to see how the writers explain their way out of how Geats can beat a Rider with the power to defeat all other Riders.

And Beroba really has it out for Neon, doesn't she? The girls being catty to each other is beyond cliche (especially when one is a cat?), but it's very on brand for her thus far. Still, at some point it would be nice to get an explanation of why she seems to loathe Neon more than the rest.

Meanwhile, I guess the Desire Royale is just now starting? I had assumed from how episode 32 ended that we were dovetailing right into it. But this episode still plays out as more of an epilogue to the JGP than it does the start of a new game. Which is fine, but it also makes the Desire Royale stuff at the end of episode 32 a bit baity.

Oh, and when did Zinn get his gun back? Ace died with it at the end of the previous episode. So in theory, Zinn shouldn't be able to transform here...

And Geats is back?! Obviously he's the title character for the show, but I really thought he'd stay dead for an entire episode. But man, this really puts the episode 34 leak in a whole new light; people who accidentally saw that in place of episode 33 would have been hit with a massive case of spoilers.

Finally, any bets on who the new masked figure is? Is Gamemaster v1 back from the dead?

Looks like Buffa's human again

Good eye. Yeah, we didn't see his plant arm in this episode. And his ID core is now fixed. That's a neat little detail.

With Geats dead, no opening this week

With everything going on, the episode needed all the run time it could get. Even then I'm willing to bet a decent bit was left on the cutting room floor.

Does Tsumuri ever feel guilty for having people join to be Riders, knowing that most of them will die?

If she didn't before, she sure does now. Other than the supporters, she's the only other person from the future to showcase an interest in the welfare of the modern humans.

Good old Beroba, meddling in the best way possible. How tall is she compared to Neon?

Considering just how ridiculously short Neon's actress is, tall enough. Neon's actress is a flat 5 feet tall according to the wiki, so basically fun-sized. Which is why the height difference between Neon and Ace closes by 6 inches whenever the two are transformed. Said wiki also puts Beroba's actress at 5'4". And then heels (or lack thereof) throw everything out of whack.

Hmm, I still find the DesiGra's rules confusing on whether you're permanently dead or just returned to the world with your memories erased

I think Connie has nailed it. These guys are being Retired (blue ending), so they're going to go back into the world with their memories erased and their greatest desire stripped from them. When people have died they have received a Mission Failed (red ending). That said, it would be nice to see Ben and John back at work to confirm this.

I'm now curious if Tsumuri is developing powers similar to Mitsume, or if she secretly IS Mitsume, or at least a part of her. it'd play into their names with the eye theming. all the DGP related people having eye/vision names and powers/rider names related to them, and then Mitsume's powers were shut off by closing her eyes (Tsumuri's name meaning to close one's eyes and all).

I would certainly hope she's not Mitsume. That would kind of rob her character of agency. Plus it means Ace was trying to get a date with his mom near the start of the series.

I don't know if Beroba has thought this through. Buffa wants to defeat all Kamen Riders and she is also a Kamen Rider.

Oooh! That is a really good point!

[takenoko]

> did not foresee Buffa returning the GM's vision driver though.

As messed up as Buffa is, he does have his weird honor code. He tells Neon to not become a Rider and probably wouldn't have fought Ben and John if they hadn't regained their memories either.

I don't know if Beroba has thought this through. Buffa wants to defeat all Kamen Riders and she is also a Kamen Rider.

Oooh! That is a really good point!
[/quote]

I think we've seen enough of their interactions to know that Buffa'd take out Beroba too. Like anyone actively participating in the game is fair game for his wrath, since they're all contributing to the system of DGP or JGP that he hates

[ViRGE]

As messed up as Buffa is, he does have his weird honor code. He tells Neon to not become a Rider and probably wouldn't have fought Ben and John if they hadn't regained their memories either.

Which reminds me: his whole Kamen Rider hunt is rather honorable/noble as well. As best as we can tell, he's not killing anyone. He's just defeating them and stripping them of their powers. He's treating the other Riders better than his lost friend was treated.

[Connie_Edogawa]

oh! I had a thought!

what if Tsumuri is developing goddess powers because of Ace's wish from waaaay back to make the DGP staff his family? if his mom is the goddess, and Tsumuri got magically turned into his actual sister, and not just "according to all official records, we are now a family.", then she'd retroactively become related to the goddess, too, and the powers might be genetic, which could also possibly tie into Geats' eventual final form.

[takenoko]

oh! I had a thought!

what if Tsumuri is developing goddess powers because of Ace's wish from waaaay back to make the DGP staff his family? if his mom is the goddess, and Tsumuri got magically turned into his actual sister, and not just "according to all official records, we are now a family.", then she'd retroactively become related to the goddess, too, and the powers might be genetic, which could also possibly tie into Geats' eventual final form.

Are you Kamen Rider Zolda? Because I think you'd be a great Rider lawyer

[Connie_Edogawa]

oh! I had a thought!

what if Tsumuri is developing goddess powers because of Ace's wish from waaaay back to make the DGP staff his family? if his mom is the goddess, and Tsumuri got magically turned into his actual sister, and not just "according to all official records, we are now a family.", then she'd retroactively become related to the goddess, too, and the powers might be genetic, which could also possibly tie into Geats' eventual final form.

Are you Kamen Rider Zolda? Because I think you'd be a great Rider lawyer

hmm.... I do own the CSM V Buckle with all the deck cases and cards....

[Gokider]

Oh, and when did Zinn get his gun back? Ace died with it at the end of the previous episode. So in theory, Zinn shouldn't be able to transform here...

When Ace disappeared, you can see the Raise Riser fly off the side of the screen as the focus was on the Vision Drivers.

[SVNBob]

And Beroba really has it out for Neon, doesn't she? The girls being catty to each other is beyond cliche (especially when one is a cat?), but it's very on brand for her thus far. Still, at some point it would be nice to get an explanation of why she seems to loathe Neon more than the rest.

The tropey answer, and thus the one Toei is unfortunately most likely to end up using, is that Beroba is interested in Kyuun. So she sees Neon as a "love rival" that she needs to "defeat" somehow so she can "win" Kyuun's affection.

[takenoko]

Hmm, I don't really see that happening. I think Beroba just likes targeting Neon because she's an easy target

[Gokider]

Hmm, I don't really see that happening. I think Beroba just likes targeting Neon because she's an easy target

Especially since with the whole "rich girl who can get whatever she wants" who expresses who herself via streaming with a bunch of adoring fans looking for true love and all that, the misery payoff from bringing her down is probably a lot more than anyone else.

[Mxylv]

What a tease with Ben and John--not sure if it was intentional, but it'd be pretty hard to accidentally make a helmet for a one-time cameo and skip the existing characters . In fairness, though, hyping up Riders to retire them almost instantly would probably be equally awkward. Still holding out hope for a Time Dad prequel

Between seeing the darker side of the showmanship-focused current gamemaster and his corrupt and game-rigging predecessor, the Producer doesn't seem like the best judge of who should run the game. This feels like only part of a larger problem with the staff, though: since the future is perfect by traditional standards, it probably didn't even occur to the DGP staff that the Prix could hijacked so badly, or that a coup d'état could even be attempted, let alone work. The future's only seen real conflict in games and ancient history, so regardless of their power, they don't seem to have a psychological framework for dealing with problems at (or above) their own level, leaving the comparatively toy-equivalent present Riders to pick up the slack.

With a new arc starting, I'm curious where the show's going with its track record on moral philosophy questions--the first arc challenged a form of Deontology (does one's goal matter if one's still doing the right thing?) while the JGP arc took on a form of relativism (what if the dominant culture decides Riders are the bad guys?), so I can only assume the Desire Royale has another big idea to take on.

[HowlingSnail]

In fairness, though, hyping up Riders to retire them almost instantly would probably be equally awkward.

Haha yeah, they'd never do that. *Looks at Scissors*

Da-Pan was actually marketed pre-show as a major Rider. Then he died 10 minutes in to episode 1, so there's a precedent.

For a non-toku example, in Torchwood

Spoiler

all the marketing showed Suzie as a member of the team. Suzie turns out to be the villain of the first episode, and is killed off.

[Gokider]

Da-Pan was actually marketed pre-show as a major Rider. Then he died 10 minutes in to episode 1, so there's a precedent.

That was Shirowe.

Da·Paan was Retired at the end of episode 4. Ginpen was the first to go of the advertised 7 Riders and was killed in episode 2.

[Gokider]

What a tease with Ben and John--not sure if it was intentional, but it'd be pretty hard to accidentally make a helmet for a one-time cameo and skip the existing characters .

It'd be hard not to as Groovy's helmet was a rework of Lopo's and wasn't being used at the moment while there weren't any of the others left except for the one used for Mary and Letter, but that's only one and was needed for someone else soon after.