Recap: Kamen Rider Geats, Episode 9 – Chance Encounter F: Wake Up! Monster

Tsumuri explains that they did not expect the Last Boss to survive the can kick, so it is still out there somewhere. Thus, the game is not over yet and the Jyamar Area is even expanding. The alarm sounds and the Last Boss eats the can, now making their mission even more challenging.

To help, the hooded figure who turns out to be Game Master appears and gives them each an egg to take care of. Inside the eggs could be something that might help them defeat the Last Boss when they hatch.

In the city, the now-gigantic Last Boss kills a mother and father by stepping on them and making their baby an immediate orphan. Ace, Neon and Michinaga arrive on the scene and henshin. They each figure out how to keep their eggs safe as they battle the Jyamatos.

Ace passes a secret mission when he is able to spot the can’s location inside the Last Boss. He acquires a Boost Buckle as a reward, but the Last Boss quickly disappears.

Back at the green room, Neon’s egg hatches and Girori identifies the contents as the Propeller Buckle. Michinaga knocks his egg on the table and it also hatches, revealing a Drill Buckle. Girori picks up the egg shells for them to throw away.

Ace says his egg is a late bloomer. But it’s also a sign that Michinaga and Neon should just stay behind until the game is over and Ace is declared the winner. He reminds them that if you die in the game, you die forreals. So why not stay safe in the confines of the Desire Temple and be able to go back to their normal lives like Keiwa.

An annoyed Michinaga grabs Ace by the collar and vows to defeat him and win. Neon also believes she will win. Ace says there’s a difference between courage and recklessness. Neon says they might be reckless, but she refuses to just give up. Especially having come this far.

Neon and Michinaga leave for the evening. Neon does one final livestream of NeonTV. She announces to her fans that she is risking her life to follow her dreams and asks them to root for her.

Michinaga, meanwhile, encounters Toru’s ghost who tells him not to force himself in the DGP, saying it is okay for Michinaga to just forget about him. Michinaga scoffs at that and is confident he will win.

Toru says he knew Michinaga would feel that way and roots for Michinaga to show him his ideal world.

Ace is training on the rooftop when he takes his mother’s coin out of his pocket, remembering the day she left. He vows to find her. But he wonders why his egg is still sleeping and not hatching yet.

Next morning, Neon and Michinaga arrive on the scene first where the Last Boss and an army of Jyamatos appear. Both henshin to take on the basic Jyamatos. Neon tries to attack the Last Boss using her Propeller Buckle, but is unable to get close enough. Michinaga uses the Drill Buckle, but Last Boss just swats both of them away.

Ace arrives and tells them to just fall back and wait until his egg hatches. Michinaga refuses and says that for zombies, death only makes them stronger. So he is not afraid to continue fighting. “I will live through death!” Michinaga says as he Revolves. He doesn’t care about courage or recklessness. He is just here to win, no matter what it takes.

Ace seems to be moved by Michinaga’s words and he rushes to step in front of Michinaga as Last Boss slashes down toward them. Ace holds the egg up to absorb Last Boss’ attack and it hatches to reveal the Monster Buckle. Ace says his eyes are finally open as he uphenshins.

Ace delivers a Monster Strike punch to destroy the can and send the Last Boss flying into the sky to explode.

Tsumuri declares Ace the winner and the new-old God of Desire.

Punkjack dehenshins and acknowledges Ace’s skills. He says the next DGP should be very exciting.

Michinaga asks Ace why he saved him. Ace says Michinaga is a good teacher who taught him to never back down from adversity. Ace thanks him, but Michinaga is still angry and annoyed. Ace says as long as Michinaga does not give up, he will win eventually. And until then, Ace will accept his challenge.

Neon approaches as Michinaga is retired. She believes she wanted to win the most out of any of them, but realizes that’s not enough. Ace says as long as she does not forget her ideals, she will get her wish someday.

Ace picks up Neon’s Driver after she is retired.

Tsumuri, however, tells Game Master that Ace’s wish should not be granted. Game Master says he won fair and square, so it must be. Tsumuri is reluctant, but Game Master says rules are rules.

Game Master signals the beginning of the new world building which includes damaged buildings being rebuilt to their original condition and the parents of the baby now alive and not flattened on the pavement.

Game Master sits alone in the darkened green room. He removes his mask and it is actually Girori. He watches Ace on the rooftop and hopes he will show him what lies beyond this world he strived for.

Episode Thoughts

An interesting episode. I feel like I should be a bit more excited about it, but it really just felt like a normal episode. There was certainly a lot going on with the face reveals and the more overt scenes of Ace seemingly using the DGP to look for his mother. But while I enjoyed the episode, I found myself looking for something bigger or more exciting? I dunno.

First with the reveals. The Punkjack reveal doesn’t mean much yet until we meet him next episode. But with Girori Master, it was funny to me because during the egg hatching scene, I for some reason kept thinking about the possibilities with his character. Like, I wondered if he could either be the season’s Final Boss or someone higher up and not just a concierge. I didn’t expect them to reveal he was Game Master this episode though! lol

And with Game Master, I must have missed when they first called the hooded man that in earlier episodes. But if not, then I think they probably should’ve mentioned it. Maybe have Tsumuri refer to him as such earlier so as not to make him seem like some shadowy figure. Of all the Squid Game nods in this season, the hooded masked figure pulling all the strings is certainly one of the more direct ones. So I would’ve liked a better set-up for the big reveal here.

It really felt weird not having Keiwa in the episode. But I also quite liked the more serious tone with the remaining three. And it’s a vibe that I haven’t really felt half the time this season so far. So it was very refreshing here and probably the only thing about this episode that would help to support the necessary climactic DGP finale feelings that it was supposed to convey.

Just like the evening scenes of Neon and Michinaga reaffirming their resolve to remain in the DGP and win. I think those were very nice character moments. A nice moment with Michinaga and ghostToru. But also a great, serious moment from Neon who the show likes to merely use to fill the kawaii quota most of the time.

This episode also had Tsumuri be the most expressive too. On one hand, it actually felt a bit jarring considering her more official nature as DGP host so far. But on the other hand, I would like to think it opens up more possibilities with her character moving forward too.

Overall, it was an okay episode. If it weren’t the final final round of this DGP “season,” I’d say it was a great episode. But I was just looking for a bit more considering what the episode was supposed to be about. Anyway, I hope next episode does a better job at conveying the potential interesting quirks of a new world transition.