Recap: Kamen Rider Revice, Episode 1 – Family! Contract! The Devil Whispers!

In 1971 South America, archaeologists unearthed a mysterious stamp that allows a person to form a contract with a demon.

Meanwhile, a mysterious group known as Deadmans, led by Aguilera and accompanied by Olteca and Julio are stamping people to unleash their inner demons. In doing so, they will be able to wreak enough havoc to revive Aguilera’s husband Gifu, the true leader of the Deadmans.

50 years later in 2021, Fenix has developed a system to harness that similar power. Aware of this threat, especially after the Deadmans stole a great number of so-called Vistamps from them, Fenix’s lead researcher George Karizaki has developed the Revice Driver. He informs Wakabayashi Yujiro of a candidate for the Driver: Igarashi Daiji.

On the other side of town, eldest son Igarashi Ikki is preparing to welcome customers to his family’s bathhouse for the day. While entertaining their loyal patrons, Ikki hears a mysterious voice in his head and it causes him to raise his voice. Mama Igarashi bops Ikki in the head as Papa Igarashi comes home from filming something legendary outdoors.

A breaking news bulletin reports on the strange glyph that’s appeared in the city which is similar to the one that appeared above Fenix labs ahead of the Deadmans attack.

Suddenly, Ikki is startled when a strange figure appears next to him.

Later that evening, the Igarashi family is celebrating middle child Daiji’s promotion to Captain in Fenix. Ikki says they’ve invited some of their regulars to come with to cheer him on tomorrow. The youngest Sakura says she has karate in the morning, but Ikki says one day off won’t hurt. Especially when it’s unheard of for a newbie to get promoted so fast.

During dinner, the strange being appears once again, excited to eat. Ikki ends up shoving his mother off the bench to avoid being eaten. With only Ikki able to see this being, he has to play it off to his family.

Later, Ikki tries to get some answers from the being. But they are interrupted when Daiji comes in.

Ikki and Daiji enjoy a soak in the warm bath. Daiji noticed that Ikki seemed a little out of it earlier, but Ikki says he’s alright. Daiji then asks why Ikki never pursued his dream of going pro in soccer. But Ikki avoids the question and says not to worry about him.

Over at Deadmans HQ, Olteca and Julio bring a violent criminal to Aguilera who stamps him and releases his inner demon.

Next day at Fenix, the Igarashis and their friends cheer Daiji on as the promotion ceremony begins, much to Daiji’s embarrassment. Taking care of the bathhouse while everyone else is away, Papa Igarashi watches online as Kadota Hiromi begins his speech. George, however, interrupts so he can succinctly explain how his scientist father discovered a way to separate humans from their inner demons thirty years ago, creating the Vistamps.

Today, Deadmans are trying to misuse those Vistamps for evil. So George was able to develop a way to mix the demons and human DNA to create the Revice system. This will help in their fight against the Deadmans.

Just then, the Deadmans burst through the wall. Aguilera stamps the ground to summon Giff Juniors, while Olteca and Julio shoot at the peoples. The Mammoth Deadman, born out of the criminal from earlier, also jumps in.

Ikki tells his family to get to safety. His own demon emerges once again and is excited to see what he calls a party going on.

Hiromi smashes the glass so he can take the Driver to use, but George warns him that he cannot control his demon. Hiromi decides to try anyway. He slaps the Driver onto his waist. But when he tries to use the Vistamp, his demon becomes separated and rampages.

Aguilera, Olteca and Julio says Gracias and leave.

George goes over to Daiji to tell him that the Driver is meant for him. Daiji grabs the Driver and Vistamp. But he pauses and hesitates.

That leaves him out in the open. Ikki runs over and pushes his younger brother out of the way of a charging Deadman. He tries to get him to snap out of it.

Ikki’s demon appears again and introduces himself before offering a contract. One that involves selling your soul to the devil.

Ikki turns to see his mother in trouble. Sakura tries to fight off the Juniors, but Mammoth Deadman slaps Mama Igarashi and she goes flying.

Ikki’s demon says the only way to save his family is for Ikki to use the Vistamp to separate them. Ikki grabs the Vistamp and does it, releasing his demon who easily whacks the Deadmans in his way. But the demon suddenly sets his sights on Mama Igarashi as his “meal.”

George tells Ikki to use the Driver. He leaps for it and slaps it onto his waist, returning his demon into his body.

Daiji, Sakura, Mama Igarashi, their friends and a very excited George watch as Ikki declares he will protect his family.

Ikki activates the Vistamp before stamping it on his Driver. George tells him to henshin.

Both Ikki and his demon transform. His demon says he was just playing a joke with him re: his mother. Ikki says he’ll deal with him later. Right now, they need to take care of the Deadmans.

Ikki and his demon team up to take on the Deadmans. George tosses another Vistamp to Ikki which summons a weapon that his demon names the Ouin Buster.

Later, Ikki stamps his chest to unlock even more extra power. Ikki’s demon speaks to the audience about how cool everything is before both he and Ikki finish off the last of the Deadmans.

George applauds Ikki and his demon, calling them Kamen Rider Revice. Ikki is Revi while his demon is Vice. Vice likes the new name.

When Ikki dehenshins, Vice returns into his body.

But Ikki returns the Driver and Vistamp to George and says he already has a mission of protecting his family’s bathhouse.

Later, the Igarashi family are happy to see Mama Igarashi finally awake in the hospital and doing well.

Episode Thoughts

I am just so excited for a brand-new season of Kamen Rider. New characters, new themes, new story. I have been ready for a while now and finally it’s here.

I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited for a new season of Kamen Rider as I am with Revice. And if you are not new to DryedMangoez.com, then you will know part of the reason why.

It’s not that the premise or the cast or the toys are so amazing that I can’t wait. It’s just that I’ve had to endure a whole year of disappointment when it comes to Kamen Rider.

But anyway, let’s not dwell on that and instead focus on this shiny new season. And after this first episode, I like what I see so far. I know part of the positive vibes I have is because of the last year. But I sincerely like a lot of things about the show so far.

My favorite aspect of the season is definitely the family dynamic. I already love the Igarashi Family. And it’s great to see a full family too. Usually it’s just a pair of siblings or something like that. Or long-lost parents. But we get a whole family and our titular hero’s stated objective is to protect his family.

I think there can be so many stories when it comes to a family dynamic. And they already gave us a taste of a few here.

Obviously, Daiji’s hesitation with the Driver will be an interesting plot thread to follow. And I can see how they can potentially touch on a story between him and his older brother Ikki. Some insecurities perhaps? Something about his inner demon? But also, Daiji was the original choice for Revice. So that’s another thread to follow too.

Imagine the three main (human!) Riders this season are siblings? I would love it. Sakura practicing karate isn’t for nothing, I will assume. (hehe) And I can already see Daiji’s redemption arc leading to him getting his own Driver as well.

It’s also great to see (both!) parents who are there as supporting characters (and who know their child is a Kamen Rider too) rather than being damsels parents in distress somewhere. Also, being a family, it allows for there to be a couple of supporting characters without the need for in depth focus that random characters coming together would need. As a family, their stories will always be connected somehow. Whether it’s their history/backstory or even just the effects of any current events.

One of my complaints from the last year was the inability to juggle so many different characters. So a family dynamic can help alleviate such concerns.

And speaking of family, it’s fun to see Toshihiro Yashiba, who played Papa Igasaki in Ninninger. Another family-centered season! The bathhouse regulars will also be nice recurring characters to have. I already know they’ll probably get their own focus ep in the future where their own demons will have to be taken care of.

Being only vaguely familiar with Kamen Rider W (which I definitely want to watch in the future), this will be my first split-Rider season. I don’t even really know how they might compare. Or if they’re at all similar. But anyway, having this two-in-one titular Rider is a refreshingly different concept for me that makes the story even more interesting.

The idea of everyone having a demon inside them is also ripe for lots of story. And Vice essentially following Ikki around, in a way, reminds me much of Death Note (with a similarly fun shadow of a character) which I love. And also, one of the few concepts I liked even though there was much dropped potential: Desast following Ren around in Saber.

Fenix as an organization feels like many familiar big toy-supplying orgs in the past like an Yggdrasill or something. A few more characters, but none that will overwhelm the show.

With the Deadmans, it’s great to see a female lead villain. At least, until the apparent frozen big boss (a familiar toku trope of course) gets unleashed later on. I don’t get the Latin motif for our main three Deadmans though. But they made a strong first impression. I hope we get to learn more about them early and not just wait until the final arc.

As for the toys and designs, I guess pink is a requisite anniversary season color choice. It’s very interesting, but it looks nice here. Definitely much brighter than Decade or Zi-O, so it’s different. And the idea of stamps as the collectable item is also creative and new, for me at least.

Overall, I was excited for the premiere and it didn’t disappoint for me. I don’t know if that meant I had high expectations or low expectations (because of the last year). Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. There was a lot I liked. And I have a renewed sense of excitement and hope for Kamen Rider once again.

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