Recap: Kamen Rider Gotchard, Episode 32 – The Great King Appears! The Dolls’ Dilemma

Clotho rampages in the Meikoku lair, wishing to become stronger. Atropos comes in and says her specs are not enough to handle Level Three, thus will never be able to defeat the Kamen Riders.

Atropos says Clotho is just as useless as their brothers. Clotho swears she will do everything to gain a new power.

Over in Legend’s World, Butler is working on modifications to Legend Kamen Riser. But his call to Kaguya drops when the “villains,” Kasshines led by a long-haired gentleman, Alpha, arrive through a portal. Captain Alpha tries to swipe the Riser, but it suddenly flies through the portal.

Meanwhile, Houtarou is battling a tentacled Malgam. Sabimaru and Renge cheer him on and suggest the best attacks which allows him to quickly finish the Malgam and Gotcha Akumanocaris Chemy.

The man who was engulfed by the Chemy charges toward Sabimaru and Renge. But they are able to use alchemy to subdue him, saying they will never allow Chemies to be used for evil. Minato-sensei calls and commends them on a job well done.

Sabimaru and Renge say they were inspired by Minato. Minato is proud that they are able to push themselves and grow.

Renge says she will treat Houtarou and Sabimaru to lunch. But Clotho pops in and kicks Houtarou to the ground. She vows to take the Driver and power from him.

Houtarou says Gurion is gone and the Door of Darkness is sealed, so what reason does Clotho have to continue to fight. She pauses. But suddenly, Captain Alpha and Kasshines arrive through a portal.

Alpha confirms Kamen Rider Gotchard is in front of them and orders him eliminated. Houtarou vaguely remembers seeing the Kasshines somewhere. But the captain charges toward him and they battle. Sabimaru and Renge have to take on the Kasshines as well.

Clotho decides to henshin to Dread. Atropos’ words ring through, but she swipes the Card anyway. Houtarou sees her struggling through the pain. But suddenly, a shadowy figure waves his hand and whisks Houtarou, Clotho and Alpha and Kasshines away.

At the Academy, Supana arrives with Lachesis after having been called to the Academy by Rinne. Rinne asks Lachesis about Atropos, saying she can’t just let her be. Lachesis hesitates, but Supana tells her to reveal everything she knows.

Saying Rinne is too nice, Lachesis explains that they are not humans. But mere dolls with no hopes or dreams. Especially Atropos.

Kyoka suggests she just become human them. Supana says that’s impossible, but Kyoka says they won’t know unless they try. It’s worth a shot, especially since Lachesis already has a human body. Kyoka-san asks if she can study every inch of Lachesis.

Lachesis is a bit afraid and wonders if she is serious.

After some analysis, Kyoka asks Lachesis if she remembers how she was made. Lachesis only knows she was created after Atropos and Clotho. Minato offers, based on what Gurion told him, that they are created out of dolls.

Kyoka realizes they might be homunculi. And homunculus is the forbidden alchemy for creating human life.

Just then, Renge sends a message to Rinne about Houtarou disappearing.

Meanwhile, Houtarou is lost in a labyrinth of doors. Houtarou tries to call the others, but his Sumaphone does not work here.

Clotho appears and is ready to defeat him. But she is struggling in pain. Houtarou helps her stand. But the Kasshines arrive once again.

Houtarou and Clotho fight the Kasshines. And when another door appears, Houtarou takes Clotho through.

Clotho says that special alchemy has been imbued in this labyrinth so it will be near-impossible to get out. Houtarou says she is amazing for knowing that. But she says of course she’d know since she is a doll made from alchemy herself through homunculus. Houtarou has no idea what that means.

Clotho hates that she was made to look disgustingly human. Houtarou tries to help her, but she would rather die than be pitied by an enemy. She asks why he would insist on helping her. Houtarou does not know, but he hopes that maybe they can become friends.

Clotho cannot believe him. But Houtarou tells her about his dream of a world where humans and Chemies can live in peace. She refuses to help him with that.

He asks why she insists on fighting. “What is your Gotcha?”

Clotho immediately thinks of her sisters, but she stops herself and says she merely has a duty to fight.

Houtarou believes everyone should have a dream. She calls him a moron. But Houtarou says he fights because he wants to realize his Gotcha.

Suddenly, Alpha arrives with Kasshines and denounces Houtarou and Clotho for trapping them in this labyrinth. Houtarou is surprised that it was not them who did it. He asks why they are targeting him anyway. The captain says it’s because he is allies with him and they will not allow them to stand in the way of acquiring the superweapon.

Alpha puts his armor on and Houtarou henshins to GoldMechanichor. He quickly takes care of Kasshines, but the captain summons more. Houtarou goes UFO-X and whisks himself and Clotho out to a rooftop.

Houtarou asks Clotho to fight alongside him against the Kasshines. She asks if he really trusts her and he says they can work together at least until they get out of here.

Clotho reluctantly agrees and they battle the goons. But Houtarou is forced to downhenshin when he shields Clotho from an attack by Alpha. Alpha says Houtarou should blame “deadweight” Clotho for that.

Clotho thinks about other people doubting her and looking down on her. She says who cares about duty or meaning. She will just fight the way she sees fit. She henshins to Dread Type Two and says that should be enough to take care of these goons.

Houtarou marvels at her power and says Clotho is pretty awesome. Of course I am, Clotho says.

Houtarou goes Platinum and with the help of Akumanocaris, he is able to deliver a finisher alongside Clotho at Alpha. This releases them all from the labyrinth.

Alpha presses a button and disappears.

Houtarou is happy they were able to get out safely by breaking out themselves. Clotho says it just worked out that way.

Houtarou invites her to join their team as long as she promises not to hurt humans and Chemies. Clotho says not to get it twisted. She was just using Houtarou to get out of the labyrinth and she swears to defeat him next time.

Suddenly, they get engulfed in a force field. Atropos appears and introduces her companion as the fruit born out of Gurion’s ambitions: Meikoku King.

The King grabs Clotho and says he will grant her desire. She remembers her sisters once again and she suddenly gets dressed in a spiffy new outfit. She feels the major power that now fills her. Atropos laughs.

The others arrive just as the Meikoku Family leaves.

Elsewhere, a new trio from the Hundred appear and pick up the button that Captain Alpha had pressed. They must destroy the superweapon before the shining hero arrives. And they must destroy Gotchard and pave the way for the Hundred to control this world.

Episode Thoughts

Wow! A big, full episode this week! Definitely lots going on. But maybe I am most excited to see that the Legend himself Houou Kaguya Quartz will be popping up in-series! Very nice!

I really enjoyed the Legend miniseries/pair of episodes. And it should be interesting to see how he gets folded into the regular series. I wonder if this is just a little miniseries-within-the-series type of deal. Or if he actually will also be able to move the regular stories forward too.

Especially now that we have the Meikoku King in the picture too.

So I’m looking forward to seeing Kaguya and him interacting with Houtarou again as well as our other friends. And what if Butler and Ryo come face to face?! Lol

Of course, with Kaguya comes the Hundred as well. Captain Alpha was a very charismatic leader. And we got a peek at the other three mysterious Hundreders as well. Should be another fun and exciting episode next week. (And hopefully more!)

I also stumbled upon the Instagram/Twitter post of Yu Miyazawa, the actor who played Captain Alpha and he had a photo with the Koichi Sakamoto.

「仮面ライダーガッチャード」
第32話ありがとうございました！
坂本浩一監督と⚔#仮面ライダーガッチャード pic.twitter.com/U444sGhDbV

— 宮澤佑 (@yuu_mi0403) April 21, 2024

So then I realized, no wonder this episode was so explosive with its action! Definitely some signature Koichi Sakamoto awesomeness!

You could see it in the awesome action sequences featuring the not-twins and Clotho later on. Loved seeing Sabimaru and Renge in action of course. And it was so awesome seeing Clotho in the spotlight in action away from her sisters (and brothers!).

Really loved the scenes with Clotho and Houtarou. I think Clotho is the best sister to be able to tell this story about the blank slate of the dolls. And potentially evolving and developing emotions or dreams and Gotchas! Of course Lachesis is already “in” with the Gang. And we saw what pushed her toward them. (Aside from any potential ulterior motive we might learn of later on.) So Clotho’s story, also as a contrast to the loyal big sister Atropos. And I’m looking forward to seeing what happens now with SuperClotho hehe

Kyoka wanting to study every inch of Lachesis was creepy and funny. Reminds me of Hange in Attack on Titan and her excitement at studying titans. Lol But it’s also great to have Kyoka-san grow to being a true supporting character too.

Overall, an exciting and full episode. Great story and character developments paired with the expected awesome action from director Koichi Sakamoto.