Kamen Rider Revice, Episode 38: Father and Child Weaving Together! The Ultimate Revice!
Anyway, after the huge angry confrontation last episode and Akemi's death, Daiji's kind of convinced that Ikki's busybodyness is doing more harm than good. I must say that it being Hiromi randomly showing up with restored memories (which I think is supposed to be covered in some side-story I haven't watched) isn't really something that's quite significant enough to change Daiji's mind and cause him to walk it off. Later on in the episode, Hiromi also confronts Daiji about how righteousness and blind justice can go out of hand real quickly. It's nice, I guess, but it happens so quickly that it barely registers, and Daiji brushes it off very quickly too.
The two Karizakis are discussing their brand-new power-up item that's supposed to be powered by Giff cells... but then Papa Genta shows up to volunteer his own Giff Cells. One of the more epic reveals this show did was the revelation that Genta's actually a former Kamen Rider, but other than Vail-the-demon being a weekly occurrence, it really has been more of a backstory and origin explanation than an actual plot point, so it's nice that we have a bit of a follow-up to that.
The huge conflict is between Karizaki Senior and George, the latter who is absolutely disgusted that Karizaki Sr. is 'repeating his sins again'... which... I dunno, it just feels slightly forced? I get that he's got a lot of daddy issues, but I think that this is something that I feel could've worked better if George didn't literally witness Genta volunteering himself.
There is a very great moment of Genta and Ikki meeting each other and having a nice, civil conversation about sacrificing oneself for the family... and while the show doesn't actually bring this up in any way, one of the more recent episodes did show that Ikki is a big fat hypocrite because he's also doing the same 'sacrificing himself for the family without telling his family' with the whole memory-loss thing. Ikki meets up with George, who at least admits that he is being stubborn about the whole thing... but I don't know. I guess we do need some George spotlight? Eh. As expected, in the middle of the surgery on Genta, Karizaki Senior's health falters, he falls, and then George walks in to help him.
Akaishi gets bit by bit some more explanation as to who he is and what his goals are, and I guess he's just an overly-psychotic 'greater good' type of guy who can't see a way out of fighting against Giff... and also noting that Giff apparently turned him into an immortal so he can guide humanity to the right path (i.e. subservient to him) in order to pay for the sins of betraying Giff in the past and branding him the devil. There are some talk about how humanity and their new weapons are the 'true demons' and whatnot, and... it's nice to have some thematic exploration, but Akaishi is, y'know, kind of too much of a loco to be taken seriously. It's entertaining hamminess, at least.
The mid-episode battle scene happens and it's a neat way to show off the secondary riders and what they're doing since the cast of fighters is expanding at a rapid rate. We get Thunder Gale Revice, as well as Kamen Riders Jeanne, Aguilera and Over-Demons having a simultaneous transformation, and they fight a bunch of Giff minions. Vail also shows up for his weekly beating... but then spasms in response to Genta's life signs being close to dying.
Ikki ends up panicking and retreating to the Weekend base, and I guess the surgery's complications would actually claim Genta's life if they continue? Ikki smashes the Vistamp and tells the two Karizakis that he wouldn't want to use the stamp if making it would cost his father's life... and... the Giffard Rex stamp flies off and I guess that stabilizes Genta's condition? It's a bit off, and the fact that we literally teleport from the surgical room in the Weekend base to the courtyard where everyone is fighting is kind of jarring as well.
The Giffard Rex flies to the Giff portal up in the sky, but Ikki manages to catch up with it with the Faiz hovercar, and both he and Vice rip the Vistamp into two. And thus they create Ultimate Revice, with both Ikki and Vice getting a belt and using the two halves of the Giffard Rex Vistamp. And... what I assume is their final form is... kind of underwhelming? To me, at least. I kind of get the concept; both Revi and Vice both have an identical final form other than their helmets, but it feels rather lazy. I dunno. I guess having the same colours as the base form is a plus? Not my favourite final form.
We get a rather... it's not unimpressive first outing, but I don't know, I felt like Jack Revice and Thunder Gale Revice and the more recent Aguilera debuts are a lot more bombastic? There's a bit where they summon a bunch of clones, and then use magnetic powers to destroy the True Giffterian and then a bit where they kick a ball or whatever, but... I don't know. It just doesn't have that oomph. It's not bad, it just didn't impress me quite as much.
Giff himself actually attacks from his portal of ominousness, and Giffard Rex is able to send it back with a ball of energy, so I guess that's something? This cuts immediately to Akaishi ranting about how all this resistance will cause humanity to go extinct under Giff's wrath, and while Akaishi's obviously pretty fucking nuts, we get a nice shot of Daiji seemingly getting hardened as he gets swept along this evil influence in his ear.
The episode ends with Junpei apologizing to his family and kind of handwaving the inconsistency on his personality going back to 'Junpei' despite having all the memories of his past life back, but he's just forcing himself to be more 'Junpei-like'. Eh, whatever. It's an all right episode overall. Not my favourite, but it's got a pretty nice conflict and subplot that they resolve through the episode. I don't mind it, but I guess this batch of Revice episodes have just been pretty dang solid.
Random Notes:
- As much as Daiji is being a dumbass, I do appreciate that his turn to villainy is actually played up as a major, ongoing plot point instead of it just being a plot point for a two-parter, or done without any believable character development and a fall to evil.
- ...I really don't like to shit on Saber any more than I had done, but man, Daiji's antagonism feels so much better than Kento and especially Ren.
- He doesn't say anything memorable, but Buu-san is there when Ikki talks to Genta, and I felt like that's a nice touch.
- That is a glorious angry-scowl face Hana makes.
- The Karizakis display absolutely utter disregard for operating room sterility, but I guess I know enough about demon organ surgery to comment.
- Okay, I get it, I'm enough of a science geek to realize that the huge shockwaves that Giffard Rex Revice makes to beat up the True Giffterian are based on magnetic patterns. I get it, Ikki and Vice are the north and south poles. They don't actually point this out, though, which I thought was nice.
- I'm back to referring to 'Gifu' as 'Giff'. Sorry for flip-flopping.
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