Recap: Kamen Rider Revice, Episode 29 – Crank In! Memory of Hiromi!

Sakura excitedly tells Lovekov that Hiromi is apparently alive and well. But when Ikki and Daiji come home after visiting the Kudota home, they discover that Hiromi has lost his memory. No worries though because George has all the episodes of Revice, some editing software and vlogging gear. Everything they need to make a memorial movie for Hiromi.

They get started with Daiji working as a production assistant and Sakura directing a dressed up Ikki who narrates their story. After a night of filming, the siblings and Vice celebrate thinking they’re done. But George reminds them they still have the fun part left to do: editing.

After the siblings pull another all-nighter, George comes in and Vice shows him his and Ikki’s part of the movie that he edited himself. Vice’s edit goes through introducing the siblings and how they got their Rider start, but with a Vice-centric focus. Ikki stops the video and says there should be more of them instead.

But Ikki, being technologically challenged, accidentally deletes the video.

Thankfully, they are able to restore the files. George reminds them though that Hiromi is supposed to be the star of this movie. Daiji and Sakura present their more dramatic edit instead, including pointing out Fenix’s sketchy foundation.

George asks them to stop the video there. Daiji says it must hurt to watch considering it was George who did not tell Hiromi the dangers of the Demons Driver.

George says he’d like to explain himself. He had been under strict orders by Director Akaishi with the Demons Driver at the center of Fenix’s plans. But George recognizes his wrongdoing and promises to do whatever he can to help Hiromi now.

George bows in apology. Daiji motions for him to stand and says the root cause of all this was always the rot within Fenix. Sakura says she’ll Rider Kick George if he does anything weird from now on though.

George says they get back to work and reminds them that all this footage is property of Toei Fenix and should not shared on the internets to international fans.

Too late, because Vice has just uploaded his edit to YouTube. George screams to stop the illegal uploads of Toei intellectual property.

Returning to editing, they decide to include the episodes since Hiromi went missing. Sakura asks about the Weekend, but George says he doesn’t have those clips of the episodes. And with his daddy there, George doesn’t really want to sour his mood now.

Sakura decides to flash back in her mind instead, reminding herself that she joined the Weekend so she wouldn’t be the little sister needing to be protected anymore.

Juliamaki comes stumbling into the spa, crying about not being able to find Aguilera whom he wants to save from the clutches of Gifu. Sakura tries to reassure him and says she’ll help as well.

As a grateful Juliamaki hugs Sakura’s waist, George tells Daiji that he also did an edit as well and he pulls a USB out of his shirt, telling us to watch closely.

George’s exercise-focused edit recounts the results of his experiments and the recently concluded arc.

In the video, George declares the end of the Deadmans and asks who the next Revice antagonist could be.

Over at Fenix, Director Akaishi is addressing an unknown audience, also recapping the series from his perspective. He says he almost shed a tear at Olteca’s demise, but it’s alright since his replacement (implying Daiji) is within their grasp.

The Deadmans’ sole purpose was in Fenix’s plans to steal and distribute Stamps to fight the Kamen Riders. And all their efforts have led to Gifu’s revival.

Back at the spa, George says Fenix has summoned Ikki and Vice to battle repainted Giftarians rampaging in the city. George says with the Gifu Stamp still inside the tree coffin, Gifu must have made these Giftarians himself.

Ikki and Vice henshin to Thunder Gale and finish off the Giftarians.

Back at the spa, they have finally completed Hiromi’s movie and burned it onto a DVD. Ikki says he’ll deliver it to Hiromi himself.

Sakura comes in with her bags packed, ready to leave for the Weekend. She says she wants to continue to grow stronger on her own. She asks Ikki to look after their mother while she’s gone. Daiji, meanwhile, has things to do at Fenix and asks Ikki what’s next for him for the next 21 episodes.

Ikki says he will protect Happy Spa so they and their father have a home to return to.

The siblings fist bump and Vice hugs George.

Later, Ikki and Vice work to clean up. Vice asks if the siblings splitting up is for the best. Ikki says they’re never far away from each other since they’re all working to defeat Gifu. That and the fact that they’ll always be family.

George is in the corner looking at Igarashi family photos and is shocked to see Ikki disappearing from one of them.

Over at Fenix, Director Akaishi completes his report to Gifu-sama himself via purple fireball portal and is excited to usher the regression of humanity.

Episode Thoughts

Well, it’s a clip show. What can you say about it. As a clip show, it was fine. Not the worst way to spend a half hour. And it was relatively fun overall. I guess.

But, I’m more concerned with the actual story developments they squeezed in and the way they used this clip show to essentially press the reset button on the season.

This must be what some people felt when Go-Busters supposedly overhauled itself in the middle of the season. And while I didn’t agree that they actually did, I could still understand why some would think that considering the tepid response to the (at the time) radical tweaks to the format and the lower ratings/toy sales.

I haven’t seen any such critiques of Revice, so a similar reset at the midpoint of the season certainly wouldn’t make sense to me.

Now, I’ve called the defeat of the Deadman3 (as this episode very clearly pointed out) at Episode 15 a “reset.” But that was more because of how abrupt it was. Especially when it felt like they were just getting started.

But this episode definitely feels more like an actual reset. I mean, they undid one of the biggest shockers of the first half of the season (Hiromi’s “death”) at the snap of a finger. And they awkwardly previewed the battle ahead. I don’t get.

First of all, Hiromi just popping up with amnesia is beyond the typical soap opera trope. Because usually when amnesia is used on American or Filipino or Korean soaps, it’s usually to provoke some juicy character drama. It’s always frustrating and fun to watch the characters deal with the usually-resurrected loved one’s dilemma and agonize over how to get their memories back. Or the amnesiac person doing things and affecting story in a way they wouldn’t have normally.

I can only assume we’re not getting any of that with Hiromi. And this is all essentially just to bring him back to the story, thus undoing and rewriting what was one of the few interesting and well-executed plot points of the post-Deadman3/King Olteca Era of Revice.

It almost feels like a big “Ooops! Never mind!” When actually, Hiromi turning up alive should be a major story. This after they all agonized over his “death” and specifically pointed out the dangers of the Demons Driver.

What’s next? Buu-san drives Papa Igarashi home like nothing’s happened?

And speaking of, another reason it feels like a reset is they’ve essentially tossed the Deadman3 aside as also-rans and comic relief in favor of the “true” villain of the season. Usually, this move is saved for the 40s. The Final Boss popping up episodes before the finale.

So I don’t know if I should be happy or more annoyed that the usual Episode 40+ Final Boss emergence happened ten episodes earlier.

Usually, even in the 40s, there’s a bit more of a transition between the antagonists we’ve come to love to hate and the actual final big bad the heroes must defeat in the finale. (And of course, this is no guarantee Gifu is the final boss anyway.)

I definitely don’t feel that here. Especially when this potential final, or at least next boss has merely been a flying tree. (Though Gifu’s physical form looks absolutely terrifying. Would’ve been nice if they introduced it as the cliffhanger of an episode where it’s possessed a resurrected Hiromi or Olteca or Papa Igarashi or heck, Mama Igaashi even.)

The end of the episode with the siblings going their separate ways was just a rehash of the “cliffhanger” from last week. So there wasn’t anything new there.

I dunno. It’s just odd. I can’t believe I have so much to say about a clip show. But I wish it were more positive. And while I’m excited to watch the Kamen Rider Vail miniseries, this clip show kind of encapsulated my disappointment of these last couple of episodes and further lowered my expectations for the rest of the way.

Oh! And also, I don’t know if the warning about uploading episodes online was serious or a tongue in cheek acknowledgement of the ~controversy~ last year. Or maybe even an actual F- you! to the international fans in a “We’re not making it easier for you to watch our shows, so deal with it! But please still visit p-bandai.com!) You never know with Toei. *sarcastic laughter*

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