Recap: Kamen Rider Build, Episode 31 – Surging Magma!

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Sawa says based on what she’s learned so far, she has reason to believe Ryuga may not be human.

RecapRai taps out and Fu goes Hell Bros just as SoichiStark decides to give the Riders a change of scenery. He taps Pandora’s Box and the game area [/Ex-Aid] changes to the beach. A box pops out of the sand and in the box is Gentoku. He henshins.

Ryuga runs over to Gentoku, fired up with the memory of Kasumi and how she died. Gentoku talks about Stark wanting to raise Ryuga’s Hazard Level by pushing his emotions to the limit. That’s why they killed Kasumi. Ryuga charges toward Gentoku, but Gentoku hits him with a Dragonic Finish, forcing Ryuga to dehenshin.

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Back at the lab, Sawa says no one she talked to would say anything about Ryuga, which prompted her to look through data at the hospital. Misora asks how she gained access to the hospital records, but Sawa says it’s best for her not to know.

But the data had been sent to Nanba Heavy Industries Integrated Sciences Laboratory, the lab where Pandora’s Box was first stored. Sawa says Ryuga was a test subject there.

Ryuga’s mother, Banjou Yuuri and her husband worked as security guards at the lab. An unmanned probe successfully landed on Mars 23 years ago. When it returned to Japan, Mama Banjou was in charge of the security team. But she suddenly lost consciousness while guarding it. Just like Misora with Pandora’s Box. After a medical exam, it was discovered that she was one month pregnant.

The doctors assumed that was the reason she fainted. But one month later, Mama Banjou gave birth to Ryuga. He was a very healthy baby, but being born after only two months in the womb was obviously very unusual. When Ryuga was examined at the university hospital, they discovered he had an unfamiliar cellular structure. That’s when he was sent to Nanba Lab for further examination.

Sawa has a USB with the results and research data from those examinations. They begin to look through them.

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Back at the fake beach, Sento is able to force Fu Washio to untransform. He then turns his attention to Gentoku. But while engaged, Gentoku has something to tell Sento. He tells him about Nanba stealing PM Mido’s face. Also, Gentoku says he planned on using Pandora’s Box as a deterrent force in order to reunite the country. But Nanba wanted the power to rule the world. That’s why Sento must retrieve Pandora’s Box before Nanba opens it.

Gentoku says he has a chip in his body that allows Nanba and Co. to flip a switch to kill him instantly if he steps out of line.

“Now that you know… finish me off…”

Sento uses a Full Full Match Break to force Gentoku to dehenshin.

Just then, one of the empty frames strewn across the beach embiggens and reveals the room where Pandora’s Box is being kept. Kazumin finishes off the two Hard Guardians and dehenshins himself.

Sento hurries over to Ryuga to ask if he’s okay. He does not answer.

Sento, Ryuga and Kazumi walk through the frame and Sento fills them in on what Gentoku told him. They cautiously take Gentoku at his word.

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They reach a stone wall which then opens up to reveal Stark leisurely sitting in front of Pandora’s Box. SoichiStark says he’s been waiting for them and demands they hand over their Bottles to he can open the Box.

Boxes pop out of the floor to reveal two new Nanba weapons, Clone Smash, which feel nothing and fight until they die. The guys henshin, but only Sento and Kazumi take on the Clone Smash. Ryuga sets his sights on SoichiStark.

Ryuga is having a little trouble against SoichiStark, but he demands to know the reason Kasumi had to be killed. SoichiStark says he seeks Ryuga’s strength, but it’s still not enough.

SoichiStark uses Pandora’s Box to levy attacks on the guys. He slams Kazumi into the wall which forces him to dehenshin and fall unconscious. He then boxes in Ryuga, blows it up and forces him to dehenshin.

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Back at the lab, Sawa comes across a section detailing how Ryuga had a non-human gene structure. That is, he had alien genes.

Sawa has a theory and it may be similar to Misora’s situation. It is possible that an alien hid in the unmanned probe and then forced itself into Mama Banjou’s body, possessing fetusRyuga in the womb,

Until Papa and Mama Banjou died in the accident, Ryuga had regular visits to Nanba Labs for examinations. Misora says Ryuga’s never mentioned anything like that. But Sawa wonders if the examinations were in secret or if they did anything to Ryuga to make him forget.

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SoichiStark has Ryuga on his last ounce of energy as he collapses to the floor. Sento charges toward SoichiStark who taps Pandora’s Box and sends a powerful attack straight at him. Sento is forced to dehenshin and collapses right next to Ryuga.

SoichiStark grabs Sento by the neck of his hoodie and knees him in the face. Ryuga, unable to move his body, watches as SoichiStark drags Sento across the floor and then grabs him by the neck. He then taunts Ryuga, asking if he is just going to sit back and watch another loved one die right before his eyes.

Ryuga tries to give every bit of energy left to get himself to stand up, but he can barely move. He thinks about all that Sento has done for him, but now he can’t even do anything for him? Just like always. Ryuga is in tears, feeling helpless.

Or not. As the tears rolls down his face, he begins to move. He forces himself onto his feet. Of course he won’t just sit and watch his precious Sento die.

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Ryuga’s eyes glow red as he screams out. SoichiStark drops Sento, excited. He tells Ryuga to keep going as he hurries over to Pandora’s Box and taps it. A huge energy shoots out and hits Ryuga straight in the chest. The black Bottle from earlier floats in front of him, now filled.

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Ryuga catches it as Sento tells him to insert it into the Knuckle. Ryuga does just that and he henshins to Cross-Z Magma.

Ryuga takes on both Clone Smash by himself and easily finishes them off. He then turns to SoichiStark who is happy to see this strong display from Ryuga.

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Ryuga delivers a Volcanic Attack at SoichiStark and it gets him on the ground.

Sento tells Ryuga to grab Pandora’s Box. As soon as Ryuga touches it, a huge column pops out of the wall and hits SoichiStark. An opening in another wall allows for the guys to escape the Tower.

Before running out, Sento hears SoichiStark saying the “vessel is complete. Now I just need to find the Ultimate Driver and everything will be in place.”

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A Pandora’s block sets Sento, Ryuga and Kazumin safely into the middle of an abandoned intersection. Kazumi regains consciousness and Ryuga tries to get him to believe it was he who saved him.

While Ryuga and Kazumi roll around on the ground, Sento wonders how Ryuga was able to control Pandora’s Box.

Back at the lab, Sawa has found something else. The person in charge of Ryuga’s research was Katsuragi Shinobu… Takumi’s, that is, Sento’s father!

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Episode Thoughts

Lots of exposition, obviously, but a good episode. Definitely lays the groundwork for what should be ahead.

Ryuga’s backstory definitely took a turn, didn’t it? As Sawa was putting the pieces together, I almost thought the Martian directly impregnated Mama Banjou. That would be some kind of twisted, even for Kamen Rider. Simply possessing the fetus though is definitely more appropriate and less problematic for a Sunday morning kids show, even a Japanese one.

I’m not sure if we’re supposed to assume Ryuga is simply an alien or a human possessed by an alien. I would think if we are to believe Sawa’s theory, then simply possessing Ryuga wouldn’t make him have alien DNA and a completely foreign cell and genetic structure? I don’t know. I’m not a genius scientist. Lol But the revelations about Ryuga definitely set up for some big things coming soon.

Sawa acting all suspicious again though has me paranoid. lol Not questioning her methods is okay. But that very logical, though random explanation about the alien raping Mama Banjou to possess Ryuga is just so out there that she can’t have just deduced that herself.

If she did though, then that’s pretty cool. But! I would like to think her sketchiness and knowledge of possible things like this come from her time as a Nanba Children. Who knows how Nanba screwed with the Children’s minds.

I kind of enjoy the slow development of Gentoku’s story. It makes sense and especially now with everything else, it’s not like there is a need for his story to be in the forefront just yet.

Overall, a good episode with lots of interesting developments.

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