Kamen Rider Gavv Episode 20 Recap and Thoughts
Last time, Shoma and Lage-9 had a heated fight that eventually ended in a reveal about the reason why Lage-9 joined Stomach Inc. Shoma was spared, but he wasn’t sure if his request for alliance got through to Lage-9.
Recap
Shoma visited Suga’s place to check up on Hanto’s recovery. Luckily, thanks to the granute organ implanted by the shady scientist, his wounds have now closed, and thus will wake up soon. Suga also took the chance to ask Shoma about what happened to Vlam. Shoma tells him about the incidents he has caused and reassures Suga that him not doing anything yet is a good thing.
Meanwhile, Nyelv went to Lage-9’s hideout and offered him the Purujelly Gochizo despite him not really needing it due to the Vlam System’s sheer strength and Lage-9’s skill in overwhelming Valen and (Red) Gavv. As Nyelv left, he considered whether he should accept Shoma’s help.
When Shoma returned to Hapipare, he saw Sachika printing wanted posters for Takeshi Mitarai, as his parents were really worried. Since Gavv dealt with the granute in Episode 18, she thought that he ran away from home. She gave some posters to Shoma, and she left to give posters as she helped out in finding him. After she left, Shoma got some news from the Poppin Gummy gochizo, who managed to track down Lage-9. He then visited his hideout as he wanted to know about Lage-9’s answer to his offer. As Lage-9 was thinking about it, Shoma dragged him toward the city where Sachika and Takeshi’s parents were distributing posters. At first, Lage-9 was indifferent to humans as he didn’t know they existed until he worked as a part-timer in Stomach Inc. However, Shoma tried to bring home that he should understand their pain as he, too, once lost a family member. When the father stumbled down while he delivered posters, it gave him flashbacks of the same exact scene that happened to him while looking for Comel. Tears filled his eyes as he looked at them, prompting him to help Shoma in locating the individuals he had taken. Lakia realized that Comel’s words about having done something wrong before his death might have stemmed from his role as a part-timer—someone who ultimately couldn’t bear the thought of abducting innocent people. This decision, driven by his own past trauma, was a powerful moment in the story. The two introduced themselves, and we learned Lage-9’s real name – Lakia Amaruga. Honestly, this was a powerful scene and the way it was delivered was really amazing that it made me cry.
As they went around the alley, Shoma asked if Lakia knew the way back to the Granute world. However, it was a secret, even to Lakia, so they didn’t get to move back and forth to the Granute world freely. Luckily, they spotted Lango’s agent delivering Hitopresses to their factory. They both follow him, leading them to a comfort room where the agent turns a door into a portal back to the Door Room [1], a mysterious realm with a labyrinth of doors that allows people to traverse the human world to the Granute world. Lakia tried to mimic the agent’s actions to enter the world, but unfortunately, it didn’t work as they saw the toilet lid open automatically. After repeated tries, Shoma gave it a shot, and they could enter the labyrinth of doors. After several tries, they were able to locate the door that leads directly to the Stomach mansion, the headquarters of the crime syndicate Stomach Inc.
Then, they went into the underground factory where the pressed humans are turned into Dark Treat spice. Surprisingly, the password for the factory remained unchanged since Shoma’s last visit to this room. As Lakia hurriedly pulled Shoma back to avoid detection, Shoma was flooded with memories of the time he met Hanto’s mom while they were trying to find his mom. The sight of Hanto’s mom’s photo triggered a painful headache, prompting Shoma to question why this memory was repressed. Could it be because it was his first encounter with a human being pressed while he and his mom were attempting to escape the Stomach mansion? I can’t wait to see how this unfolds.
However, Glotta’s agents spotted them. Thanks to Shoma and Lakia’s teamwork, they were able to enter the factory.
Meanwhile, Hanto finally woke up in Suga’s office. Suga told him that Shoma brought him here, which made him worried that he had done something to him. While Suga tries to reassure him that nothing has happened, he is in the process of doing some experiments with Shoma’s hair sample, which will become the Dark Gavv.
Shoma was able to find Takeshi and the other pressed victims. Unfortunately, Glotta arrives to stop them from taking Dark Treat ingredients. Lakia revealed his true identity to her and why he entered the company. But Glotta took no responsibility as she believed it was the fault of the people addicted to their treats. Lakia is so pissed at Glotta, that he transforms into Vlam to fight her while Shoma takes all the pressed victims. As Glotta learns that he’s the “third Granute hunter,” she shows how she’s on a whole different level than Vlam despite his incredible skill and strength in the previous episodes. Shoma and Vlam manage to escape. However, Glotta’s agents pursue them as they manage to go back to the human world.
The two stumbled into a concert where Glotta and her agents managed to catch up to them. Fun fact: the two artists were Back-On, the singers of Kamen Rider Gotchard’s opening. As she is now in the human world, she is free to let loose as she reveals her Granute form for the first time. She managed to pin down Vlam, showing her elegant dominance over him, despite the latter’s incredible skill in the previous episodes. Hanto sees a picture of the three, thinks that Gavv is outnumbered against Glotta and Vlam, and rushes to the rescue. Gavv then transformed to Caking form as he spawned a Whip Soldier to take the pressed humans away from Glotta and her agents.
The Whip Soldier managed to escape, thanks to Shoma distracting Glotta. Meanwhile, Vlam used the Purujelly gochizo Nyelv gave him to transform into Jelly Custom Vram. He was able to confuse the agents thanks to the invisibility capabilities of this form. However, it has the insane drawback of stopping his heart, thus he needs to use it carefully. Seeing the form in action was really cool since it was my first time seeing an invisibility-based form in a Kamen Rider show. Also, some jellyfish are invisible to prey, which Lakia’s granute form is based on, so it fits perfectly.
Hanto managed to arrive while Gavv and Vlam continued to fight Glotta. He was about to transform, but the unexpected team-up caught him off-guard, which made him cancel his transformation. Despite their best efforts, Gavv and Vlam were overwhelmed by Glotta’s sheer strength as she delivered a powerful punch after absorbing enough damage. In a desperate attempt to turn the tides, Gavv used Caking Finish to deal some damage to Glotta. She managed to hold off the attack and strike Gavv back at the cost of destroying her scythe.
Glotta was amazed by her strength, which she says is natural as the youngest child of the Stomach Family. Due to her amusement, she spared Gavv and Vlam for now. While Lakia asked to confirm Shoma’s real identity, Hanto was so pissed hearing that revelation. He confronted Shoma about the revelation, but before Shoma had a chance to speak, he punched Shoma in frustration about the lies he said as the episode ends.
Final Thoughts
This episode was really amazing, from how they handled the consequences of Lakia’s actions to the revelation that shocked Hanto. I really love how they used parallelism to send the message to Lakia. Another thing that wasn’t mentioned is that by working for Stomach Inc., Lakia unwittingly causes even more Granutes to get addicted, just like his brother. Either way, that part was handled really well.
The flashback about Shoma meeting Hanto’s mom in the production facility is interesting. How did Hanto’s mom arrive there? And did this event happen before his mom got pressed? This scene raises some interesting questions.
Finally, Hanto’s anger and racism peak as Shoma, whom he knows is protecting humans and whom he defended back in Episode 4, is now his enemy due to the lies he said in fear of his anger. While Shoma’s actions are understandable, more so as he did what Grand Uncle Dente has advised, he still has to deal with the consequences of his lies. I can’t wait to know which path Hanto takes after this shocking revelation.