Recap: Kamen Rider Gotchard, Episode 7 – Goodbye SaboNeedle

The AA4 (Alchemist Academy 4 lol) are out looking for MechaniChani Chemy which is difficult to find as it can cause electronics to malfunction and hates bright light. But Rinne, Ringe and Sabimaru are impressed as Houtarou uses a makeshift fishing pole, dried squid and SmaPhone Chemy to quickly track down MechaniChani in the creek.

Ringe and Sabimaru use alchemy to bind MechaniChani, but Houtarou uses PikaHotaru and SmaPhone to flash a bright light, freezing the Chemy and allowing him to catch it in a Card.

The AA4 head to Kitchen Ichinose to celebrate their catch. But Ringe and Sabimaru want to know who will take credit for it. Houtarou thought they would all share the credit since they worked together. Though Rinne points out Houtarou used his Kamen Rider powers which is not allowed.

While they argue, a little boy who had seen them catch the Chemy earlier walks into the restaurant with the Chemy SaboNeedle which has a kind and carefree personality. The little boy is fifth grader Sunayama Riku. He explains that he and his father found the little cactus Chemy, but his father has told him to throw it away.

When Riku saw them Catching the Chemy earlier, he thought maybe he should bring SaboNeedle to them instead. Rinne assures Riku that they will take care of the Chemy. But Houtarou senses that Riku might not really want to part with the it.

Rinne pulls Houtarou aside and reminds him they cannot allow Riku to keep the Chemy. Chemys disrupt the natural order. That’s why they must erase memories, otherwise it won’t end well for Riku or anyone else.

Houtarou insists that Riku will be fine since Malgams are only born out of bad people. Rinne says it’s not that simple, but Houtarou says it is. Riku and SaboNeedle just need to get along.

Ringe comes over and asks what they’re arguing about when Riku already told them it was alright. She turns and Catches the Chemy in a Card. But Sabimaru points out Riku has just hurried out. Houtarou runs after him.

Mama Ichinose comes out to ask where Houtarou is since she had an errand for him. Rinne offers to help instead. And when Mama Ichinose says she’ll pay her, Ringe offers to help as well.

Meanwhile, the Sisters are in a church where Clotho is annoyed that their Malgams suck really bad. Atropos says it’s alright because the flask still fills with malice and they can swipe the Driver later. Lachesis tells her sister not to worry as she has a new Malgam target. Atropos, meanwhile, says she has a friend to play with.

Later, Lachesis dressed as a nun, meets with the man who fuses with the Chemy to turn into a Malgam.

Over in the park, Houtarou finds Riku and asks why he ran off. Houtarou says he felt Riku didn’t want to leave SaboNeedle. Riku thinks he’s a weirdo and annoying as he already said it was alright. He asks Houtarou to pipe down while he studies.

Houtarou is taken aback, but humors the kid and asks to hand over his tablet so he can solve the problem. Riku says if Houtarou can’t solve it, he must buy him a drink.

Houtarou gives it a try, but ends up buying Riku that drink instead. Riku knew Houtarou wouldn’t be able to do it considering Riku is the top student in his cram school. Houtarou says kids are very different and a lot smarter these days.

Riku explains that he promised his dad that he would study hard and get into a good university. That’s why he doesn’t have time for friends. Houtarou has an idea. He proposes they play kick the can. If Riku loses, he must tell Houtarou what he really feels. Riku is confident he can win.

Unbeknownst to them, the mysterious man Lachesis groomed to become a Malgam earlier has been watching them. And he is angry. He begins shooting at Houtarou and Riku.

Houtarou shields Riku and henshins to take him to safety.

Back at the Academy, Sabimaru tells Minato-sensei what happened earlier. Spanner hears all of this and scoffs at Houtarou and his attitude toward Chemys. Spanner adds that he doesn’t waste his emotions on mere tools such as Chemys.

As he leaves, Sabimaru, via Isaac, says he really hates Spanner.

Spanner asks Minato-sensei why he doesn’t take the Driver back from Houtarou when it is obviously too much for him, not to mention how much he breaks the rules as well. Minato-sensei says he just believes in Chemys and their potential.

Spanner says Chemys bonding with a good person is rare. And all of this is just mindless idealism. Minato-sensei agrees there are more important things than mere ideals.

Minato has more to say, but Spanner stops him and says he is here to do some research.

Downtown, Rinne and Ringe have finished Mama Ichinose’s errand and they decide to go for some tea. The many available options makes Rinne’s head spin, so Ringe tells her to find them a place to sit and she’ll take care of the order.

Rinne heads outside to an open table. She doesn’t know how to order since she doesn’t really hang out with people after school. Anyway, while waiting, Atropos approaches her, asking if she’d like to play a game.

Back in the park, Houtarou assures Riku that he’ll protect him. But the Malgam finds them and starts shooting once again. Houtarou is unsure of where the attack is coming from.

Lachesis, still dressed as a nun, tells the Malgam he better take care of Houtarou first.

Spanner looks into the Sisters and their goal of opening the Door of Darkness. He wonders how turning humans into Malgams is connected to that goal. It doesn’t make sense if they just want the Driver.

Just then, Houtarou calls Sabimaru to ask about what this Malgam could be. But Houtarou can’t hear Sabimaru’s soft voice through the explosions. Sabimaru panics when Isaac shuts down after running out of battery. So Spanner takes the phone and asks Houtarou to describe the Malgam.

Spanner and Sabimaru find the Chemy for this Malgam is Greatonbo, a dragonfly. Houtarou realizes it must be flying high in the air. Just as Houtarou sees it, Dragonfly Malgam shoots and hits him right in the chest. Thank goodness the Hopper1 Card is able to block the spike from going through into Houtarou’s body.

Houtarou henshins and tries to fly up to catch the Malgam. But he needs a boost, so he uses HawkStar and SaboNeedle to uphenshin. This gets him up high. But SaboNeedle suddenly pops out of Houtarou’s Driver, causing him to dehenshin and begin freefalling back down to Earth.

Episode Thoughts

Oooo! A two-partner! Fun! And this was another great episode.

I think we got some nice Houtarou focus, but also a lot of great little moments with everyone else too.

I like how Houtarou, even with his high energy moments, can also be serious and realistic. Like when Riku tells him to be quiet because he’s so annoying while he studies. Houtarou didn’t make some goofy, overexaggerated reaction. He laughed in disbelief (is there another word for that? I can’t think of it lol) and reacted like how a normal person might react to a little kid telling him off lol I don’t know how else to explain it.

Then there was the scene where he gets annoyed with Spanner too. Scenes like this are great for me as it helps to ground Houtarou and not make him be some over-the-top character. It really is a refreshing change since it also helps to ground the season itself too. Starting off with these seemingly simple things is of course laying the foundation for the big concept ideas that will surely come later. And I think that is one way to help make the story ultimately effective and hopefully satisfying.

Again, Houtarou being your everyday nice guy really helps endear his character and the season as a whole to me. And I’m really enjoying everything, in large part because of how affable he (and really, everyone else too) is so far.

And then with everyone else. Nice seeing some great little moments from everyone this episode.

We see more of Rinne’s personality where we learn she isn’t the type to have many friends or hang out after school. Of course, partly due to what happened to her father. So we’ll see how Atropos aims to try and exploit Rinne’s weakness in that sense. But long-term, it will be great to see her become closer to the other AA4. (That’s what I’m calling them now lolol)

Nice seeing more of Sabimaru on his own. First, seeing him panic without Isaac and then also with his reaction to Spanner’s own cold personality. Then we see more of Ringe and how she is with money, whether making it or saving it. Lol

I actually like that the four of them aren’t too much at odds with each other. Like, it would be easy to make the four of them, or even just red vs blue uniforms, have a strong rivalry or conflict. But so far, the show seems to be playing up the friendly-ish competition. At least, there’s no hard feelings or trickery or something like that. And I actually would like to see that continue.

Of course there might be a disagreement later on. That would make for a good episode or two. But for the most part, it’s again very refreshing that they’re pretty much cool with each other. And as we see regularly, they can all be good friends as well.

Good scene with Spanner and Minato-sensei. A short, but good look into each of their own philosophies and ideals. Nice seeing Spanner’s researching and adding some small, new ideas to the Sisters and their story thread this season.

And the Sisters’ own scene in the church was a good reminder of how their dynamic is as well. Though I must say, Toei has playing around with Christian, even Catholic imagery on both Sentai and Kamen Rider lately. Very interesting. Mostly random though. Just them making use of their regular locations I guess lol

Finally, Riku’s story and his father also feels different from how a similar story may usually play out. The show didn’t present the idea of a parent caging in their child in what could be a more typical approach. And they don’t seem to be resolving it in a typical way either. I wonder what twist there will be in the next episode regarding Riku and SaboNeedle’s relationship.

Overall, another great and fun episode of Gotchard.

https://www.redbubble.com/people/dryedmangoez/shop