Parado tells Graphite it’s time to start the next test-play now that all the players have been assembled. Graphite is eager to get rid of the Kamen Riders so Bugsters can take over the world, but Parado wants them to stick to his plan. He welcomes everyone to Level 3.
Next morning, Emu stumbles, literally, upon a hooded guy in need of help.
At the CR, Poppy tells Hiiro that not even Kuroto Dan knows who the Dark Ex-Aid is. Speaking of, Kuroto Dan calls them to report that the four new Gashats have been stolen. He shows them CCTV footage of the thief and it’s the hooded guy Emu just met.
Emu calls Asuna to report the hooded guy has Game Syndrome.
Taiga and Kiriya are with Kuroto Dan who tells them to retrieve the stolen Gashats.
The hooded man says he’s very hot. Emu takes his Gashat out, ready to treat him just as Hiiro and Asuna arrive. They recognize him as the Gashat burglar. Hiiro demands the Gashats before they can treat him, but Emu is the noble doctor wanting to treat him regardless.
The hooded man runs. They chase after him, but run into a Bugster that’s already separated from the patient. Asuna sees this Collabos Bugster has the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat in its head.
Emu and Hiiro henshin. The Dark Ex-Aid arrives and fights them a little before going Level 3 to distract them from whisking away the Bugster.
Kiriya pops up and tells them he saw the hooded man henshin to Dark Ex-Aid. Kuroto Dan goes to the CR and they tell him about the dark guy’s identity. He asks them to take care of the guy and recover the Gashats. But Emu wants to help him since he’s suffering from Game Syndrome.
Hiiro doesn’t want to help a criminal. He reminds Emu that getting too close to a patient is how he lost his Gashat the first time. But Emu stands on his principles and says a doctor must not forsake any patient.
Kuroto Dan follows Emu up to the helipad. He says Emu has a noble view, but he agrees with Hiiro that retrieving the Gashat takes priority over saving some patient.
Emu counters that a life is a life, no matter how bad a person is. To neglect a patient is something he absolutely cannot do. Kuroto Dan says Emu should be named Crystal, but that doesn’t mean all patients are good people deserving of medical care. If Emu ever encounters an evil patient who steps on him, it’ll be very bad for body and soul.
But Emu stands firm with his doctor’s oath.
Getting the call, Emu rushes over to face the Collabos Bugster with Hiiro as it is rampaging downtown. Taiga pops up and says he will be taking the stolen Gekitotsu Gashat. Kiriya also arrives and Taiga suggests they play together.
Dark Ex-Aid joins the party too. Emu doesn’t want to fight the patient, but the other three don’t really care. They henshin.
Hiiro, Kiriya and Taiga fight Dark Ex-Aid, but they’re all completely overwhelmed. Asuna yells for everyone to run for the hills and away from this Level 3 beast or else face certain Game Over death.
But Dark Ex-Aid continues to pummel Kiriya, forcing him to dehenshin. Dark Ex-Aid turns to Hiiro and he dehenshins as well. Taiga defiantly faces Dark Ex-Aid who then turns his attention to Emu.
Emu says he doesn’t want to fight, he just wants to cure him. But Dark Ex-Aid actually isn’t the now-non-hooded guy.
The hooded guy is actually… Graphite! He morphs into the Bugster form.
Taiga is livid at this revelation and fights Graphite only to get knocked around and be forced to dehenshin.
Emu is at a loss when Dark Ex-Aid grabs him by the neck. Dark Ex-Aid tells Emu to think like a gamer, not a doctor.
Emu screams because he’s confused. He demands to know who Dark Ex-Aid is and what he wants. But Dark Ex-Aid says Emu must defeat him first.
Asuna runs over to Emu so they can run for their lives, but Emu pushes her aside.
The wind blows in winter and Emu smiles.
He’s ready to play.
Emu henshins and immediately goes Level 2. Asuna gets the f- out of the way as Emu and Dark Ex-Aid battle.
Emu gets a power coin and delivers a Mighty Critical Finish to take care of the Collabos Bugster and retrieve the Gashat.
Graphite leaves, annoyed. Emu activates the Gashat and it allows him to go Level 3. The two Ex-Aids resume their battle.
Emu initiates a Gekitotsu Critical Strike and sends Dark Ex-Aid flying. But Dark Ex-Aid disappears.
Emu dehenshins.
Dark Ex-Aid’s gauge is at critical level. He dehenshins and it’s… Kuroto Dan.
He meets with Graphite and Parado. Isn’t Ex-Aid terrifying? Graphite asks. Kuroto Dan laughs. What’s terrifying, he says, is his own power.
Kuroto Dan smirks like a maniac and Parado confirms that Dark Ex-Aid is actually Kamen Rider Genm.
Episode Thoughts
That was a very good episode. Maybe my favorite of the five so far. Everything felt pretty predictable, but it was at least exciting and had legit story movement.
I also very much enjoyed badassEmu. I want moar. I’ve been kinda iffy on the sight gags of him being clumsy all the time. But I guess they were very effective because the wind blowing-personality shift was most impactful this episode.
I never really follow toy news or advance spoilers, so I didn’t know Kuroto Dan would be Genm, but it wasn’t a surprise that he was. What was a surprise though was him at the end there. I kind of envisioned a Takatora-type all-business kind of guy. Instead, that little 5 seconds of the “real” Kuroto Dan felt like how the big bad acts at the end of a season. When the big bad goes all nuts. Very interesting. But I guess it was also another example of the show using sharp contrasts.
It would be very intriguing if the sharp contrasts continue into the story and we have grimdark plots against the colorful, happy games hosted by one Poppy Pipopapo.
Overall, a very good episode and a good one to have before the one week break.
They seem to be giving Hiro/KR Brave some Kaito Kumon vibes, but his “philosophy” feels really weak and muddled compared to Kaito’s more clearly defined social Darwinism (the weak should be governed by the strong). I honestly don’t get the logic behind his “don’t get attached to the patient, just operate on them” thinking. This makes the clash between him and Emu feel very one-sided and uninteresting.
But, hey, at least they stated the Bugsters’ supposed plot of “conquering humans and ruling over them” early. Very classic villain goals, but that would actually let them throw a lot of interesting curve balls later.
And speaking of curve balls, my God! that final scene is definitely a much needed one. It isn’t the reveal that Kurota Dan is KR Genm, or that he is working with the Bugsters, but more with his maniacal reactions. Man, the guy is showing Micchy levels of insanity this early. That was downright creepy, hope they manage to pull this off more.
Right? I wonder if that means Kuroto Dan dies early on. Because if he’s already this nuts at episode 5, how is he going to be even 10 episodes from now? lol