Recap: Kamen Rider Gavv, Episode 24 – A Spoonful of Revival Ice Cream

Though Shoma is able to catch up to Bitter Gavv, he is still quite weak. And that causes him to dehenshin and allow Bitter Gavv to speed off.

Sachika arrives and finds Shoma just after he collapses. She brings him back to Hapipare and he is able wake up. Shoma says he didn’t expect her to come looking for him. But she says she was worried about him being in no shape to be out and about after she told him about the imposter. He thanks her for letting him know.

While Shoma rests, Sachika flashes back to Hanto calling to tell her to warn Shoma about the dark doppelganger. Sachika also lets Hanto know that she figured out he must be the choco Rider.

Sachika thinks to herself that the weight of him and Hanto’s fractured relationship is what is making Shoma sick.

Hanto meets with Katarou at the location where he says he saw a monster. But it’s actually just a trap as Hanto gets shot with octopus ink inside, weighing him down. Hanto is shocked his friend would sell him out to the yakiniku restaurant owner.

Katarou says the guy just wanted revenge for some bad articles Hanto wrote. But as Katarou turns to leave with his money, the owner transforms into his Granute form and Presses him.

The Granute wants revenge for his friend that Hanto killed. Hanto tries to henshin, but the Granute shoots ink at it and the Gochizos too.

That evening, Uncle Dente finishes his dinner treats when Rakia arrives. Uncle Dente asks if Rakia forgot something and Rakia replies that he forgot to take Uncle Dente’s neck.

Rakia says if Uncle Dente didn’t invent Dark Treats, his brother would still be alive. Shoma might think well of him, but Rakia cannot just let it go.

Uncle Dente understands and he tells Rakia to do what he has to do. He says that seeing Shoma all grown up helped him to start reflecting on his actions. Seeing Shoma be able to stand against his siblings, no matter the odds, makes Uncle Dente regret not doing the same to his own brother back then. Then maybe, their sweet treats could bring happiness instead of misery like it is now.

Uncle Dente asks Rakia for one favor before he kills him. He asks him to be there for Shoma in his place. “That’s all I ask.”

To Uncle Dente’s surprise, Rakia dehenshins and says he will pay for his sins one day.

Uncle Dente gives Rakia a bag of treats and a phoneto take with him.

Next day, Dark Shoma decides rampage to lure the Riders out. A Gochizo goes to alert Shoma. He hurries out, but Sachika tries to stop him.

“I love this world so much, I don’t want to lose it,” Shoma says before he leaves.

Meanwhile, the Granute has been beating Hanto all night. But the Gochizo Suga gave him is able to break free of the ink and locks itself in the Driver. That allows Hanto to henshin, much to the Granute’s surprise. Hanto says he owes Suga one for this powerful Gochizo.

Hanto finishes off the Granute and picks up his Pressed friend.

Meanwhile, Shoma finds Bitter Gavv. He henshins and they battle, even though he is still weak.

Rakia is sitting with some Gochizos, telling them that with Shoma being able to turn Uncle Dente into an ally instead of having negative feelings toward him, he realizes that he might have underestimated how strong Shoma really is.

Just then, a Gochizo arrives to tell Rakia about what is going on.

Sachika arrives on the scene and tries to help, but just can’t find an opening to do so. Shoma is forced to dehenshin and she runs over to him. Bitter Gavv approaches to finish them both off, but Rakia arrives.

“Call for help when you need it, tsk,” Rakia says before he henshins.

Shoma tells Sachika that he is a Granute, but they share a common goal.

As Bitter Gavv and Rakia battle, Sachika tells Shoma not to push himself. Shoma wishes he had a bit more strength. Sachika sees the nearby ice cream cart and she hurries over to grab a cone and a scoop to give to Shoma.

Shoma remembers a time when he had been sick and his mother told him about how ice cream can be a way to sooth your body and heart when you’re not feeling well. Shoma eats the ice cream and is feeling a lot better. He thanks Sachika for the sweet treat as a Gochizo pops out of his stomach mouth.

Shoma gives Sachika his cone to hold as he uses the new Gochizo to henshin to Blizzard Sorbet.

Rakia dehenshins to watch as Shoma uses his new icy powers against Bitter Gavv. Sachika takes her phone out to record this icy fight in the sky.

Shoma gets some help from new Gochizo sleds and he is able to finish Bitter Gavv off with an Ice Illusion finisher. Shoma’s henshin melts away right after.

Back at Hapipare, Sachika uploads the video to Twitter to help take the heat off of Shoma with the public. Hanto texts Sachika about taking care of his Granute too. Sachika knows Umasho and Hanty will work things out soon.

Shoma thanks Rakia for saving them. Rakia awkwardly tries to absorb the colorful interior of Hapipare. Sachika asks if he has a problem with her taste in décor.

Rakia is surprised Sachika is not afraid of him since he’s a Granute. But Sachika says it’s alright since he’s on Umasho’s side. Instead, Sachika says they should celebrate a job well done and “Rakian” is definitely invited. Rakia is surprised by his new nickname, but Sachika says it’s cute.

Shoma happily tells the Gochizos that he’s got a lot of good people looking out for him.

Meanwhile, Hanto says he can beat Granutes on his own without having to rely on Shoma now after Suga gave him the new Gochizo. But the Gochizo has a sinister look in its eye.

Episode Thoughts

I specifically watched Gavv first this week so that if it depressed me again, I could cleanse myself with Gozyuger. But it was okay because this episode wasn’t as dark and morbid as last week’s. lol

This episode was quite fun actually. Lots of exciting action and great development with several relationships in the show.

First though, let’s hope Hanto can catch a break. He’s been on the verge of death several times already. He gets beat up a lot. Especially this time with the Granute seemingly beating him all night long. It’s a wonder how he can even stand on two feet anymore. lol Suga’s weird creations certainly aren’t going to make things any better it seems. So it’ll be a while before Hanto can breath a bit and take a break from the beating lol

Rakia had some great moments this episode as well. Of course, it was a great scene with Uncle Dente. Again, the show basically using the Dark Treats to tell a Sunday morning-safe story about addiction, substance abuse and the dark business of it all is so crazy! But it really is done with good care here.

Rakia being upset with Uncle Dente is certainly warranted. And it was great to see Uncle Dente acknowledge his role. Especially the line about him regretting not standing up to his brother back then. Great character insight to Uncle Dente and another opportunity for Rakia to take a step forward as well.

It was also a great way to have Rakia and Sachika meet like this. Having Sachika out in the field and actually in danger was also perfect to add to her character as well. During the time we’ve spent with her, I think we all know she is the type of person who would not hesitate to do such a thing, even if it put herself in danger so long as she can help.

So that scene plus her being able to figure out the choco guy was Hanto and her cheerful personality potentially drawing out Rakia’s full-on tsundere truth makes for a great episode for Sachika as a character!

Speaking of, only five seconds at the end, but my hopeless romantic self has already seen enough to start shipping Sachika and Rakia. Lol. Shoma and Hanto are locked in already so that of course leaves Sachika and Rakia lolol And what better way for Rakia to fully accept humans than by falling for human Sachika, yeah? Hehe Him being awkward at the end in the colorful Hapipare and Sachika being cute and already giving him his nickname has all the makings of the start of a romcom. Rakia being awkward and shy, trying to suppress his growing feelings for Sach… ah! I’m getting too far ahead of myself lolol

Anyway, with the other characters getting strong focus this episode, Shoma took a bit of a backseat. Which is fine and actually very much suited the episode’s plot and its position in the overall narrative and pace of this season so far. He was a bit out of it, so all he needed was an ice cream cone.

Wonderful flashback to the scene with his mother. Fit perfectly with Sachika as Umasho’s kinda mommy figure. And it all led to an exciting way to introduce the new toy.

The new toy also allowed for the VFX artists at Toei to go crazy this episode with that creative ice battle. Very exciting and very refreshing. It’s always great when the Toei tokus are able to find new ways to present the familiar elements of the series. And they’ve done that a lot the last couple of years. Really the opposite of a certain other franchise that is essentially dead.

(lol Sorry. Power Rangers popped into my head just now after it trended again this week on Twitter with fans debating whether it was actually dead or not lol)

Anyway, it’s good to see the boyfri… I mean, Shoma and Hanto aren’t making up just yet. It’s a different, but equally engaging way to keep them separated as opposed to still keeping Shoma’s identity a secret to Hanto. The tension is still there and it still opens up lots of great possibilities. As this episode showed.

So a less stressful episode this week, but definitely just as exciting and engaging to watch! And at this point, I expect nothing less from Gavv!