Kamen Rider Gavv Episode 21 Recap and Thoughts

In the last episode, Glotta’s unintentional revelation that Shoma is a Stomach to both Hanto and Lakia was shocking. This revelation shattered Valen, who was already stunned from witnessing Shoma and Lakia join forces against Glotta.

Recap

Disturbed by what he had learned and seen when Shoma and Lakia teamed up, Valen claimed he was teaming up with Lakia to create more Dark Treats because he was a Stomach. Shoma was left stunned by the accusation. He tried to explain why Lakia had joined Stomach Inc., but Valen dismissed his explanation and walked away. Hearing what happened, Lakia urged Shoma to tell the truth about himself.

Shoma revealed to Lakia the reason why he fought against Stomach Inc. He was surprised by how quickly Lakia believed him, but Lakia’s support bolstered his confidence as Lakia reminded him of how they raided the evil company together. However, Lakia reminded Shoma that he was still indifferent to humans. He also mentioned that he could not work with Hanto, suggesting that Shoma should ditch him as an ally due to how weak Hanto is. Shoma tried to convince him that it was not a matter of needing his strength in the fight against Stomach Inc.

Aside from that, I love how the gochizos interacted this episode, where they are getting acquainted with each other. They’re such adorable little creatures.

Hanto, feeling frustrated about the secrets Shoma kept from him, rushed to Suga’s lab. He asked Suga if he knew about his true identity, to which Suga responded that he had suspected Hanto was a Granute but was not certain. Hanto then revealed to Suga that Shoma had teamed up with Vram, to which the scientist reacted with shock, as Vram was the culprit behind the mass disappearances. Hanto’s frustration led him to conclude that Shoma had been working with Granutes all along, forgetting what they had done to him. Meanwhile, Suga smiled slightly as he sowed the seeds of doubt in Hanto’s mind and created something from Shoma’s hair strand from the previous episode.

Meanwhile, at the Stomach mansion, Glotta reported how their factory was raided and how Lakia worked with Shoma, to the shock of Lango. Glotta revealed that he was the third Granute hunter, despite not acting like one, as well as how he was the older brother of Comel, who previously worked for them. Realizing his mistake, Nyelv’s hands were slightly shaking as he tried to quickly find Comel in their database. This was the first time that Nyelv lost his composure, which is shocking since he’s usually calm and confident. Lango’s shock was palpable as he realized how Lakia faked his identity to infiltrate their company to enact his revenge.

Glotta directed her frustration at Lango for the incident, but Lango quickly reminded her that she had also been present during the interview process, making her equally responsible. Sensing the blame shifting, Glotta blamed Nyelv, accusing him of supplying the Vramstum Gear used against them. Flustered, Nyelv pointed out that playing the blame game would not resolve anything. In response, Lango instructed Nyelv to enhance security measures and tasked Glotta with inspecting the factory equipment and checking the warehouse. Following this, Glotta directed Lango to procure additional Presses to replace those Shoma and Lakia took.

Shoma arrived late at Hapipare and quickly apologized to Sachika for his late return. Sachika, feeling relieved after Takeshi’s return, had prepared snacks to celebrate. Despite the festive atmosphere, Shoma couldn’t shake off his sadness from a recent incident, and Sachika noticed this when she asked him how the food tasted.

In his mind, Shoma wrestled with the decision of whether to reveal the truth to Sachika, knowing she would eventually find out about his true identity. He struggled to gather the courage to tell her, fearing her reaction might mirror Hanto’s.This fear of rejection was a significant internal conflict for Shoma. As he munched on snacks, a Zakuzaku Chips gochizo popped out, but surprisingly, no other gochizos emerged from his Gavv.

Seeing Shoma’s unusually somber demeanor, Sachika grew concerned and inquired about what was bothering him. Flustered, Shoma made an excuse to leave Hapipare, claiming he needed to buy more snacks. Left behind, Sachika felt frustrated that she was unable to comfort him.

Shoma left Hapipare to go to the city, feeling confused about what to do. He worried that Sachika might notice something was wrong with him, so he tried to calm down before heading back. However, due to some unknown reason, he passed out in the middle of the city.

Hanto went to the place where his mother had been abducted to think. He received a message from Sachika saying that Takeshi had returned after being taken by a monster. This news made Hanto search online for updates about the missing victims. Surprised by what he found, he realized that Shoma might have convinced Lakia to turn against the Stomach family.

Hanto thought about the confusing information regarding Shoma’s identity. He remembered how Shoma had fought against his own family and even killed one of them. Hanto decided he needed to talk to Shoma to understand everything clearly. He then saw Shoma wearing dark clothes and chose to follow him.

Shoma then went to an oden shop who was about to close, feeling incredibly hungry. Seeing him craving for food, the owner decided to stay for a few more minutes. However, he ate immediately, not bothering to pay the owner and even hurting him when he was asked to stop. This interaction shows that he’s not the Shoma we know. Seeing the owner unconscious, Dark Shoma continued to eat more food. However, no gochizo popped out, which makes him incredibly frustrated as he thrashed the place.

Hanto set out to grab breakfast the following day when he unexpectedly encountered a restaurant where Dark Shoma had entered, causing a ruckus. Alarmed by this revelation, he hurried to Sachika’s place to inquire about Shoma’s whereabouts. Upon learning that Shoma was missing, he urgently warned her not to let him in, explaining that Shoma was a Granute—a monster disguised as a human and attacking people. Sachika was shocked by the news.

Lakia was disappointed when he lost access to his Stomach phone. At first, he felt hopeless about finding information on Comel, but then he remembered that Shoma had asked him about Takeshi’s identity. This inspired him to go out and gather more information while also trying to adjust to life in the human world.

Dark Shoma entered a snack shop and tried eating marshmallows and ramune, but no gochizos appeared. When the old shop owner tried to stop him for not paying, he attacked her. He then found and ate a Sparking Gummy, which he enjoyed, and was excited when gochizos finally popped out. Hanto saved the old woman, and was incredibly angry at Dark Shoma while thinking it was the real Shoma. In response, Dark Shoma tested his newfound power of the Sparking Gummy gochizo as he transformed into Kamen Rider Bitter Gavv.

Bitter Gavv confronted Hanto, even though he was in civilian form, and dislocated his arm in the heat of the battle. Remarkably, the arm returned to normal, highlighting Bitter Gavv’s incomplete nature. As the fight intensified and Bitter Gavv mistook Hanto for Shoma, Hanto felt compelled to transform and determined to take him down. Valen capitalized on Bitter Gavv’s stiff movements, landing some solid hits. When he was cornered, Bitter Gavv drew the Bitter Gavvgablade, having trouble carrying it and inflicting additional damage during the fray. Meanwhile, Lakia observed the escalating conflict and took note of the black Gavv. Amused by the unfolding chaos, he transformed himself, delivering a direct hit with Vlam shooting before joining the fight.

Opening

Lakia getting added to the opening is so cool! I love how he was so nonchalant about the main trio dancing. This makes for good meme material, and shows his laidback personality.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a great one as it highlighted the conflict between Shoma and Hanto that was built up throughout the story, starting from Valen’s debut. Dark Shoma’s debut also accentuates this conflict, as while Hanto manages to think carefully about Shoma’s motivations, a dark copy of Shoma throws a wrench in his thinking.

I loved the moment when Hanto turned his head, trying to see whether Suga was telling the truth. It added a nice comedic touch that caught me off guard. The running gag with Lango being shocked by any company news is also a highlight; it shows his weakness as a CEO since he does not keep tabs on his own business, offering a subtle yet humorous insight into his character. Additionally, the camera work during the celebration of Takeshi’s return was impressive. It effectively contrasted the lighthearted festivities with the seriousness of Shoma’s struggle to reveal his identity to Sachika.

One of the highlights of this episode is Hanto’s scene where he thinks about Shoma’s motivations. It is a good way to use his investigative skills to work while not necessarily dragging the conflict for too long due to unreasonable anger. Another highlight is the fakeout where Dark Shoma was seen after Shoma passed out. I’m sure that he’s not Shoma with a different personality, mainly because of his Gavv. The scene where a PC monitor shows cells dividing gives away that this is a clone, not a Rider Belt Suga made for himself. While dark copies of the main character have been done multiple times, using clones sets Dark Shoma apart from the other “Dark” riders, and I’m excited to see how his character plays out as he’llhe slowly gains more dark gochizos in his arsenal.

As for the forms, I love Bitter Gavv. I like how it is not a repaint of Kamen Rider Gavv; instead, it features unique details that set it apart from the original. For instance, the teeth are more pronounced, and the red “flames” with spikes effectively capture the cola motif, providing a striking contrast to Gavv’s smoother design. I also love how unhinged Shoma is when portraying his dark self. The actor clearly had a lot of fun playing this character.

Overall, this is a really solid episode. I hope that Hanto will reconcile with Shoma since he has seen how he fights against Granutes. Hopefully, this will give good character development to a character who screams, “I hate Granutes!”