#eitoku

Looking at the Next Episode

Vram had merciless strength. The pudding party will continue from here. There’s even pudding in the title… (It might also be fun to prepare a snack while watching)

Lage9. He actually first appeared as a Granute in episode 12, and has been pretty hidden in the story. The suit actor Eitoku plays both his Granute form and Rider form. Soon the goal that he’s fighting for will be made clearer, but because of Eitoku playing him, it feels like Lage9’s human weakness (even though he’s a Granute) is showing. Please look forward to the next episode, which will get closer to Lage9’s secret!

Episodes 19 and 20 will be directed by Teruaki Sugihara. It’s his fourth turn with it. The rotation of main directors in this title is fast. “Gavv” started filming earlier than most years. Our reasoning was that no matter what we do or when, it always just barely gets finished in time to broadcast…… (Because it’s getting finished quickly, we can make the advance videos and promotional material flashier than most years.)

“Gavv” began shooting with the nickname “the third team” when “Boonboomger” and “Gotchard” were being filmed. So, if there are any staff enthusiasts, I think you’ll notice that there are many names seen for the first time in this work. The finishing touches like the effects and music selection are also the same way. The directors were also rotating in 3 teams, so… they had to be “compartmentalized”, so to speak. Gavv switches between Directors Sugihara, Shibasaki, and Morota at a fast pace. Maybe the more frequent appearances is a special quality as a series. Director Sugihara’s action sequences will be just as flashy next episode, so please anticipate it.

(Written by Naomi Takebe)

The Episode In Short

Thank you for watching episode 18! Continuing from last episode which saw the birth of Kamen Rider Vram, this episode shows Vram’s threatening power used to hunt down Shoma and Hanto. I think you can see his strength and appeal!

Such a strong pudding Kamen Rider! The battle between Gavv and Valen against Vram continues from the previous episode. Vram has immense power, overwhelming even Gavv’s CaKing form, which defeated Jeebh and Shita.

When you hear of pudding, you usually picture something soft and cute, but Vram’s character is sullen and his fighting style is super-aggressive! The stark contrast between the mental image of pudding and the offensive Vram action is interesting.

Even so, he takes the popular components that are distinctive of snack-themed Riders.

For example, the traditional letters that show during the action. They were also designed this episode by Tajima of Ishimori Productions, and when put into the action, they make for good accents!

Another example apart from that is the pudding inside the belt rocking each time he makes a step. Vram has a strong and threatening presence, but please don’t overlook the cute parts of pudding which can be seen in every detail. If you want to see the shaking pudding for yourself, please buy a toy and play with it!

It wasn’t really touched on last time, so I’ll briefly talk about the clothing of the Granute Lage9, played by Kohei Shoji! Lage9 wore suspicious black clothes up until episode 16, but when he transformed, he revealed a new outfit.

After Director Shibasaki designed the character, he adopted a “surf style”. Because Lage9 is a Granute with a jellyfish motif, his style is reminiscent of a surfer boy! His hair has gold-colored highlights like pudding.

The clothing takes the colors of Lage9’s Granute form, and it’s a casual blue-and-white style which is very different from his black clothing!

By the way, the accessories that he wears on his body was also a focal point. For example, the earring is a swaying design that resembles a jellyfish.

The ring and other items are also packed with details on closer inspection! It’s meticulous!

When Vram showed his overwhelming strength, the system’s creator, Nyelv, appeared. The fight ends with the developer asking, “So? Is he strong?” with a smug look on his face, and the two of them leave.

Nyelv makes sure to tell his fellow researcher Suga the outcome.

Lage9 seems really uninsterested as Suga plays with his mimic key (Laughs). If the average Granute was surrounded by 2 mad scientists like this, they’d pass out.

By the way, Asanuma made some ad-libs in the lines where Suga touched Lage9’s face. It was really fun to watch the exchange between Nyelv and Suga. (It’s surprising how calm they are about this…)

There’s a Rider storm zone around here!

Shoma and Hanto chase the Granute Chor after Vram got in their way last time. The two of them try to sketch a woman with a characteristic red scarf based on eyewitness information.

WOW, SUCH SKILL!!!

It’s Master Painter Hanto’s magnum opus… Chor searches for their next target, and begins to hunt again.

A true-to-life Dark Snack food review by Ms. Kameda, who plays Chor’s human form as the red-scarf woman! I think there were a lot of viewers curious about what Dark Snacks tasted like, and that end should be clear now.

A new truth! Dark Snacks are fundamentally “sweet”!!

Please don’t think about working for the Stomach Company if you’re curious about the taste of Dark Snacks…

Chor, who’s getting used to being protected by Vram, can’t use their strategy of using their scarf to capture humans like in last episode, and now tries to gather Human Presses in a more daring way.

Chor’s unique ability to control the wind is finally explained! It’s through flapping their wings! It’s full of ad-libs from Chor’s voice actor, Tomoaki Maeno (Laughs).

“Launching people on the wind” was written in the script, and it was very difficult to make that happen onscreen. The assistant director was hard at work to make the storm!

This is how we filmed Shoma being blown away by the wind.

Vram’s super-strong action returns!

Vram’s second transformation is in his human form rather than Granute! He twirls his hair in this form too!

Gavv and Valen begin to fight Vram again. Once more, he shows that he can overwhelm them even when he’s outnumbered.

Vram’s suit actor Eitoku said that he deliberately made a small amount of punches and tried to make each one important in order to show Vram’s strength in the fight scene.

I certainly felt that incredible strength when Vram slowly closed in on his opponent, and then pummeled them all at once.

This episode’s new item is the “Vram Breaker”, a weapon which Vram creates. With the idea of a weapon used by a person hunting the Granute hunters, it has similar colors to the Vrastam Gear, Vram’s belt.

Lage9, having more physical strength than most Granutes, is excellent in close-range hand-to-hand combat, but with a long-range weapon, it seems like he truly has no weakness!

You couldn’t see it in this episode, but the Vram Breaker also has a sickle mode…! Please expect to see that in the near future.

For Eitoku, who has used a great deal of Rider weapons over time, he has a long history with bows, and he said it was easy for him to handle.

Director Fujita’s action was just aa explosive this time!

Holding the Vram Breaker in a different way right before knocking the Valen Buster away, unexpectedly showing the blade of the Zakuzaku Chip Slasher with a kick— it’s not just showing which weapons are used, either. The fight scenes are constructed from crazy ideas, and watching it never gets boring!

This episode’s action scene can also be watched as much as you like on streaming services…

Gavv uses Caking’s whip attack against Chor so that they can’t fly away and escape! Whipped cream is definitely sticky and heavy…

Gavv succeeds in totally defeating Chor!! Chor’s final words were still just “Dark Snacks”. They were a Dark Snack lover of a Granute until the very end.

Meanwhile, Valen was defeated by Vram’s powerful finishing attack.

They’ve slowly realized the threat that Vram poses over the past two episodes. Isn’t it unusual for there to be battles in both the first and second episodes of an arc, and for the second of those two to still end in defeat?

Vram is just that strong and dangerous. And it’s a mystery what his true, occasionally-appearing, goal is. Next time, Gavv and Vram will clash with each other. Please look forward to it!