Recap: Kamen Rider Build, Episode 2 – The Innocent Runaway

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Sento explains to Soichi his reasoning behind saving Ryuga and bringing him back to the Café. Sento believes he was also used as a guinea pig test subject exactly like Ryuga was.

While Ryuga doesn’t remember where he was being experimented on, Sento thinks solving the murder Ryuga was framed for could lead them to Batman.

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Sento asks Ryuga to tell them his story. Not his whole life story though. Just how he was arrested. Ryuga explains that he went to meet the scientist for a job, but was already dead when he arrived. The cops showed up at the same time which seems very suspicious.

Storytime is interrupted when Misora has successfully converted the latest Smash elements into a Gorilla Full Bottle. Misora and Ryuga meet for the first time.

Sento believes the murder and Ryuga’s jailbreak must be connected in some way, so they must investigate.

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Just then Sawa comes walking down to the lab and offers to help them. Soichi had forgotten to close the door behind him. But Sawa was able to find the cafe since Sento dropped a matchbook with the café’s location on it.

Sawa wonders if she can cover the Kamen Rider to help her freelance career. Sento says no, but she threatens to expose them all if he doesn’t agree. Soichi says it should be fine as long as she won’t reveal their identities.

Later, Sento heads out when there is a report of a Smash by the docks. Instead, Sento is surrounded by Guardians.

Back at the lab, Misora has Ryuga in chains. He asks who exactly they all are and Misora gives him a board explaining how she can convert Smash elements into Full Bottles that can be used by the Kamen Rider.

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Trying to get Misora’s cell phone, he challenges her to make a Full Bottle right this minute. She heads into the chamber and Ryuga grabs the phone with his feet to call a girl, Kasumi, who (to his shock) is currently in Batman’s custody and about to be experimented on.

When Misora gets out of the chamber, she finds Ryuga has escaped. She calls Sento and tells him to use her cell phone (which Ryuga still has) to track him using the GPS.

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While on his bike, Ryuga flashes back to a romantic memory with Kasumi. She asks him if he lost his fight on purpose just to get money for her surgery which then resulted in him being banned. He denies it.

But now that he’s out of work, she tells him of a scientist who is looking for an assistant. That scientist, Kasuragi, was the man he eventually was framed of murdering.

Suddenly, back in the present day, Guardians find Ryuga and they chase him into a warehouse. Sento finds him just in time and asks why he ran away, Ryuga says he’s got a girl waiting for him.

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A group of Guardians suddenly show up and combine into one huge robot.

Sento tries out the new Gorilla Full Bottle with Diamond and it’s a Best Match. He builds up to Gorillamond. Ryuga tells Sento to hop on the back of his bike, but Sento’s got this. He literally knocks Ryuga and his bike to safety while using his quick physics solution to destroy the robot for good.

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Sento finds Ryuga and asks about the girl he’s heading to see. Ryuga explains that Kasumi was the one who sent him to the murdered scientist. But before Sento can ask anymore questions, Ryuga knocks him out and leaves.

Ryuga apologizes and says this is his problem to deal with.

When Ryuga gets to the location, it explodes. A Smash appears and the voice of Batman comes out of nowhere explaining that this Smash IS Kasumi.

The Smash attacks Ryuga, but Sento again arrives just in time. He prepares to henshin, but Ryuga tells him that’s Kasumi.

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Just then, Batman arrives and introduces himself as Night Rogue. Sento quickly henshins and takes him on. He asks if he was experimented on, but Night Rogue says he can’t remember every single guinea pig he’s had.

Sento knocks Ryuga out of the way as the Kasumi Smash again attacks. Sento says he can remove the Smash element and Kasumi will return to normal. But Night Rogue says that’s not the case. She will actually disappear because if the human is too weak when infused with the gas, the removal of the Smash element will cause both the body and soul to disappear.

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Sento charges toward the Smash anyway, but Ryuga stands in his way. The Smash aims at Ryuga, but suddenly shoots at itself instead.

Sento says once a person is turned into a Smash, they lose their personality. But this Smash intentionally hurt itself trying to avoid attacking Ryuga.

Ryuga thinks about Kasumi and pleads with Sento to turn her back to normal even if she can’t ultimately be saved.

Sento uses the Rabbit and Soujiki Full Bottles to build up. He uses a vacuum to suck up the Smash’s fireballs. He releases he fire into the air and builds up to Gorillamond. He sends diamonds at the Smash and Kasumi is released.

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Sento tries to keep the Smash elements in the air while Ryuga tends to Kasumi. She is glowing and ready to disappear, but she wants to confess about deceiving him. She says a man named Nabeshima told her to get Ryuga to the scientist and get the ban lifted.

Kasumi apologizes and says Ryuga’s life would have been so much better if they never met. Ryuga says that’s nonsense. He can’t live without her and is grateful for the time they did spend together.

Kasumi disappears. Sento drops the Smash and sucks up the elements into an empty Full Bottle.

Sirens can be heard approaching them. Sento says it’s time to go, but Ryuga just sits on the ground, crying. “It’s alright,” he says.

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Sento grabs Ryuga by the shirt and asks what’s alright? That he’ll still be a murderer when he is captured? Would Kasumi want that?

Sento heads back to his bike and Ryuga follows. They ride together.

Back at the Cafe, Soichi is reading a news story about the fugitive Kamen Rider on his tablet. Soichi then morphs his tablet into a back scratcher.

Down in the lab, Ryuga thanks Sento for allowing him to speak with Kasumi one more time at least.

But Sento is asleep. He wakes up though when Misora has converted Kasumi’s Smash elements into a Dragon Full Bottle.

Sento gives Ryuga the Full Bottle and says he should thank him only when the charges against him are dropped.

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Sawa walks in with info on the guard who drugged Ryuga before escaping. His name is Nabeshima Masahiro. The same Nabeshima who told Kasumi about the scientist?!

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Episode Thoughts

A very nice second episode. A little more exposition to help get things going, both character-wise (for Ryuga) and with the overall mechanics of the plot elements (Smash and weak humans?).

It was good to see that little peek at Ryuga’s backstory so immediately after first meeting him. It almost felt like they just wanted to get it out of the way. Kasumi was certainly in and out very quickly. But she definitely served two purposes. First, she helped add to Ryuga’s character. A character’s past is certainly important to see how they move forward through the series, where they come from and all that. And her death certainly looks to be another motivator for Ryuga moving forward against whatever enemy did this to them both.

Second, Kasumi helped to illustrate one aspect of the Smash and the process of first turning people into Smash and Sento’s extraction of them and the Smash elements to be turned into Full Bottles. It was also a way to introduce Night Rogue to Sento and Ryuga as well.

It’s very interesting how a weak person won’t be able to come back from being a Smash. Of course, very convenient that Kasumi was already sick. But it adds to the mystery and questions over what the goal is with the Smash and the experiments. And of notBatman/Night Rogue.

For these first two episodes (and that long teaser trailer before the premiere), Build has been an interesting mix of science and magical alien boxes and now detective work. You’ve got all these different genres and themes intersecting in really interesting ways so far. Seeing how they continue to balance that will certainly be even more interesting in and of itself. Can’t really say that about other recent seasons.

Misora and Soichi are very mysterious. When Soichi turned his tablet into that strange backscratcher, I literally said OMGWTF?! out loud. Like seriously, WTF?! There’s certainly something up with the father and daughter.

But what’s even more interesting to me is that the mystery with them just adds to this “new world” kind of feel. The Skywall certainly wreaked havoc on Japan and changed a lot of things, if not everything about everyone’s daily lives. Not only that, but obviously Pandora’s Box unleashed something (things?) into the world that may include stuff like magic and special powers or even full-on alien beings. Who knows?! Exciting!

The opening recap was fun and helps to build up that back and forth (bromance?) between Sento and Ryuga. The opening and theme song are great too. Very J-pop-ish with an anime opening feel. I like it a lot. Looking forward to the full song.

The Full Bottles are also very amusing. Like, I want to walk around shaking little bottles now too. The opening especially makes it seem so cool. Lol

Overall, a good second episode. I am liking what I am seeing so far.

6 thoughts on “Recap: Kamen Rider Build, Episode 2 – The Innocent Runaway

  1. Hmm, looks like they are going for a more sitcomy humor compared to the last few seasons’ tendency to swing towards slapstick. I like that change.

    Also, it seems that they are slightly putting aside the MOTW format in favor of a more arc-based story early. Compared that to the last few seasons where it was MOTWs for the first half, only moving to arcs in the second. Kasumi isn’t an MOTW since she is directly tied to Ryuga’s plot.

    Well, that dragon bottle pretty much gives away Ryuga becoming the second Rider.

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