Recap: Kamen Rider Gavv, Episode 40 – The Reminiscent A La Mode

At Hapipare that evening, Shoma breaks the news to Hanto that Glotta has killed Uncle Dente and is also the culprit behind the murder of Rakia’s brother Comeru.

Hanto asks where Rakia is now. Shoma knows Rakia must be struggling to remain calm now. Indeed, Rakia is out desperately looking for Glotta. The memories of his brother and Uncle Dente running through his mind as he trips and falls on the ground.

Hanto asks Shoma how he is doing. Shoma says he’s fine. But he is more worried for Sachika and Rakia and how they are feeling now. Especially for Sachika who has not yet experienced grief in this way before.

Shoma asks Hanto if he can lend him a hand.

Over at the Stomach manse, the murdering… I mean, Glotta thinks about the happy memories with her siblings and grows annoyed remembering Uncle Dente telling her she was lonely.

She clutches a bottle of the toxin Lango was using to Press people to their deaths, given to her by Liselle to use as a gift from Papa Jarudak.

Back at Hapipare, Shoma and Hanto make some pudding a la mode. He invites Sachika over to try it out, but she is not in the mood. Shoma says this is actually the perfect time to enjoy it, especially for Uncle Dente. He had been excited to give it a try. So they should enjoy it now while he is in their thoughts so he can be right beside them.

The three of them sit and eat the pudding. Shoma says it is delicious and knows Uncle Dente would have loved it. Sachika hopes their feelings can reach him now.

A Zakuzaku Chips Gochizo tells Shoma that they have one last opportunity to see Uncle Dente through it. Shoma puts the Gochizo on his phone and they are able to play a message from Uncle Dente.

Uncle Dente tells them that he had left them this message just in case since he knew he was getting up there in age.

Next morning at the housewares store, Glotta uses the spray bottle to Press the shopowner before she goes around Tokyo Pressing more and more people.

Shoma finds Rakia. Thinking he must be starving, Shoma offers Rakia some delicious rocks he’s collected. But Rakia knocks the container out of his hands and wants to know how Shoma can be so nonchalant when his great-uncle was just murdered.

“Doesn’t it hurt?! Aren’t you sad?!”

“Of course,” Shoma says. “Of course it hurts!” But he wants to remain strong, especially for Sachika who is not in a good place right now. Breaking down and crying isn’t going to help, especially not in protecting anyone.

Shoma shows Uncle Dente’s message, specifically his message to Rakia. Uncle Dente had completed the antidote to Rakian’s toxin and says he hopes it comes in handy, but it would be even better if they won’t need it at all.

Uncle Dente says Rakia put his faith in him and spared his life. And he wants to repay Rakia in kind.

“You have my trust. I’m counting on you.”

Over at Hapipare, Sachika looks at a selfie she took with Uncle Dente. She tells Hanto that perhaps she is only now realizing how bad this situation with Stomach Inc really is. She asks if this is how Hanty, Umasho, and Rakian felt when they lost someone dear to them because of Stomach Inc.

“It hurts so much…”

Hanto hands Sachika a table napkin and she laughs that he should at least offer tissues instead.

Just then, Gochizos come to alert them of what Glotta is doing, though Sachika and Hanto don’t initially understand until they demonstrate it with ribbon. They call Shoma and he says he will check it out.

Rakia asks about avenging Uncle Dente, but Shoma says saving people comes first. He leaves the chips Gochizo with Rakia as he runs off.

Rakia thinks he understands where Shoma is coming from since it was Uncle Dente who modified his Gavv. Shoma may have had resentment toward Uncle Dente, but still found a way to forgive him and befriend him.

Rakia thinks of what he is fighting for now as well. He thinks of Shoma saying Comeru died because he wanted to quit kidnapping humans, the same way Uncle Dente wanted to make up for his sins as well.

Rakia sees the people around him distraught that their loved ones are now missing. He runs off.

Meanwhile, Glotta has a lot of Presses now that she hopes will impress the Jarudaks and keep the Stomach Family alive.

Shoma and Hanto find this hiding place. Shoma whips out the Gochipod, but it is not full. He calls more Gochizos, but Glotta literally cuts them down, killing them all.

Glotta laughs that their recklessness will be the death of them. Shoma and Hanto henshin to Frappe and Blizzard. Glotta transforms. They battle. The Agents take off with the Presses and Hanto chases after them and saves the Pressed people.

Glotta takes pleasure in exhibiting her power.

Rakia arrives and henshins. He tells Shoma they must be sure to take her down. But Glotta is able to force both Shoma and Rakia to dehenshin. She says it is time for Rakia to die the same way his brother did and can’t think of a better end for him who continues to cling to his family.

Rakia says she is right. He is done chasing vengeance. Comeru and Uncle Dente entrusted him with the mission to save as many people as he can from becoming victims of their evil. That is his duty now.

Out of Shoma’s stomach mouth pops a new Gochizo. He tosses it to Rakia and says it is Uncle Dente’s final gift to them.

Rakia locks the Gochizo in and henshins to A La Mode Mode.

Glotta does not think this will make any difference. But Rakia is able to better counter all of Glotta’s attacks.

Shoma henshins to Cake and joins Rakia as they ravage Glotta. She is unable to keep up with their bombardment.

Shoma picks up the Presses that Glotta had in her possession and tees up Rakia to deliver a Full Charge Pudding Tempest finisher. Glotta can’t believe it.

That evening at Hapipare, Rakia gives the pudding a la mode a taste. He asks if Uncle Dente also left them a message. They show him the rest of his video.

Meanwhile, a sadly still barely alive Glotta stumbles in an alley and collapses on the ground. Just then, she is happy to see Lango-niisan come to see her before she dies. “They got you too,” he says to her as she goes limp.

Lango vows that the Stomach Family will rise again.

Episode Thoughts

Big news going on in the world today. But I still specifically kept myself off of social media until I watched this episode. At least, I tried to. I did stumble upon seeing Glotta trending on Twitter. But thankfully I did not actually see any spoilery tweets. And even when I mistakenly swiped over to Kohei Shoji’s IG stories, he didn’t post anything spoilery either lolol So, phew!

Now though, I might just have to mute accounts and “Kamen Rider” and “Gavv” and “仮面ライダーガヴ” terms for the next ten weeks so as not to be potentially spoiled about any and all possible surprises coming up. Lol

Well, we’ll deal with that later. Let’s refocus.

This was a great episode. I wanted more of a beat down for Glotta. But what we did get was still pretty amazing. Some excellent choreography and direction with Rakia and Glotta’s battle. Another great reminder of the incredible work of the stunt actors and the technical crew as well to bring those high flying and high-hanging(!) moments to life!

As to the nitty gritty of the episode. My goodness, the effect this show has on me. Why am I crying at people eating pudding on Sunday morning TV?! Lol

This was an episode of MaGMCMs, that’s for sure. The first one was of course Shoma, Sachika, and Hanto eating the pudding a la mode for Uncle Dente.

Then the way I giggled at Shoma giving Rakia rocks to eat and then my jaw dropping and me starting to tear up again when he knocked the Tupperware out of Shoma’s hands!

Loved this scene so much. The way it subtly, but effectively touched upon grief. And the way both Shoma and Rakia have dealt with it. It’s of course not just this episode. For Rakia, it’s something he has dealt with since we first met him (though of course even before he first appeared). For Shoma, he’s been through the ringer many times. Dealing with grief and pain over and over again. And that’s just since he escaped the Granute world. What more with his growing up in that hell hole.

And then the way the show tied in Rakia’s pain in losing his brother, the similar fates of Comeru and Uncle Dente trying to right their wrongs and Rakia understanding Shoma’s thinking with how to actually best honor the memory of their loved ones; just amazing stuff.

But even more impactful was what an amazing choice to tell this story with Sachika grieving for Uncle Dente. We saw her develop a friendship and bond with him in the last couple of weeks. And it was all to give yet another example of the scourge and the evil of the Stomachs.

“Is this how you, Umasho and Rakian felt?” That was an excellent line. You never know how something feels or the gravity of something until it touches you. And as caring as Sachika can be, it must have been a huge punch in the gut her here. So good to see the show tell that story.

And adding in Hanto trying to comfort her after he too had much trauma to overcome; you’ve got a perfect confluence of plot threads and character dynamics that produce amazing television. Something that is much more than just a simple toy commercial. And that’s really so cool!

The next MaGMCM was Shoma tossing Rakia the Puddinte Gochizo and saying it was Uncle Dente’s last gift to them. At this point, I’m in tears, but also on my feet screaming at the TV, rooting for Rakia to strike that murderous scum down! Lololol

Again, it was a great, badass sequence. Even if I did want to see a more spectacular end to Glotta lol

The scene back at Hapipare with the four of them in the evening was a wonderful way to end their physically and emotionally exhausting few days. Though of course we know things are only going to get more difficult coming up.

And finally, that final scene. I was like…

“Not her surviving too!” I thought to myself.

The scene of Glotta alone in the boardroom thinking of her siblings and then her being happy to see Lango in the end. I immediately thought of this again…

lol

And then Lango popped up and half of my hope was him coming to fetch her and accompany her to Granute hell. While the other half made me think all the “dead” Stomachs are just lurking about somewhere waiting to jump out of the shadows and pounce around like Episode 45 or something *shudder* lol

I don’t even want to think about that possibility right now. They can stew until they finally get offed for good later on lol

All I’m looking forward to is the Granute uprising overthrowing the Jarudaks (and preferably worse lol it would be deserved lol) and of course the complete and utter ruin, annihilation and decimation of the Stomach Inc drug empire! Stomach siblings, dead or alive, included! Lolol

Overall, a satisfying Episode 40 of this great season. I’ll need to take note of it being the biggest offender so far in producing MaGMCMs this year. But if the rest of the 40s can top it, I will very much welcome it lol