Kamen Rider Gotchard Reviews

Gotchard Episode 9 Review

We're going to Kyoto! Let's go!

Okay, I was really excited for this episode. I always love when characters are going outside of their usual settings because it allows the protagonists and antagonists to tackle the plot within a new environment, potentially with new characters, and explore different themes.

I also love how everyone's used and separated. While Minato is their teacher, a criticism I can kinda see is that Gotchard doesn't use the main school enough. I don't one hundred percent agree since the focus is more on Hotaro and Rinne being high schoolers dealing with expectations and dreams, but to address this criticism, this is more of my liking.

We have Minato, Hotaro, Rinne, and Kaiji being together since they're all in the same class. Meanwhile Renge and Sabimaru can't go since they're...I think seniors or college students, it's not really one hundred so Hotaro has them keep his Chemies...even though it's probably better he kept them on board. Evil takes no holidays.

But Hopper 1 sneaking aboard is pretty funny and cute.

That being said, before we get to the main couple in the show, could I just gush about Minato's role in this episode. He's using his role as the teacher to also work for both his jobs, and people have accused alchemy for being glorified magic, but damn is it not cool to see Minato use the ninja mannequins front he Kyoto Film Studio to animate to hold off Clotho.

A lot of teen superhero shows have this really annoying issue of not using the teacher's at all, making them incompetent or only making things worse, so the fact the teacher can hold off a main general for a bit while the heroes deal with the main threat is just fun to watch.

Clotho: Where's the Kamen Rider brat?

Minato: Busy, school trip. As his teacher, his safety's my main concern.

This episode also fights the "Rinne is bland allegations" hard. Continuing from her snack debut, she's just having so much fun on the Kyoto trip: watching her laugh her pleasure out at the haunted house while the boys are flat out screaming in terror as she becomes a haunted house and Shinsengumi enthusiast. When Hotaro has to remind her to focus while she's dressing up as one, it just offers a really funny character beat..

And before we get to the main point, we haven't talked about the action. And honestly, it was the least interesting part near the end outside of Minato, but it was still interesting: we had Valvarad use two Chemy cards at once while Lachesis transmutes Bambamboo after becoming the Clover Malgam using Happyclover as a base. You almost never get villains using multiple forms, and with the reveal they're trying to make their own driver soon, it makes you wonder if this was how they're setting up to this plot point going further.

Also, I appreciate Sabimaru and Renge coming in for the save to help Hotaro, especially showing off Sabimaru's love for Chemies is second to Hotaro's as he plays with Steamliner.

But I love how Batkingrobo's WIld Mode is introduced as this giant Ultraman or Gridman reference, and all the onlookers think the fight between the Jungle Malgam and it is this performance for the Kyoto Film Studio. It also fits with Minato using the ninja mannequins, almost like it was foreshadowing to that earlier.

And the highlight is Kajiki and Hijiri: I love she's introduced after secretly as one of the ghost actors, but approaches them still in costume, causing both the boys to scream again until she and Kaijiki bond over their supernatural experience. For him it was love and hobbies, and for her, it was an escape to deal with her family trauma.

Given that one of the two criminals is definitely going to be her brother, it's pretty interesting to see how will the Malgam attack affect her because it could end with either one becoming a Malgam. Though it is funny that Kajiki thinks the guy she hugs is her secret boyfriend when in reality, it's her boyfriend.

Well, we'll see how it plays out in....two weeks, damnit!