"Kamen Rider Geats" series: Episode one of ?? recap

 

 Air Dates: September 4th until August 2023(!), Sunday mornings at 9:00 am on TV-Asahi

Screenwriter: Yuuya Takahashi     Subs done by Anon at NYAA

Main Cast: This will be an ongoing work in progress and this section may never be 100% complete! Most was written up after viewing the first episode though we didn't meet every character and sure a bit more will be added in for every show but hopefully most things will be known by the fifth or so episode. All of the riders are fighting an alien race called Jamato.

The Desire Grand Prix will be explained in the opening and will have those details at the top beginning with the next recap.

Hideyoshi Kan as Ace Ukiyo/Kamen Rider Geats.... He truly is an ace fighter though slightly arrogant and is the most current winner of the Desire Grand Prix.

 Ryuga Sato as Keiwa Sakurai/KR Tycoon.... Newest Kamen Rider who was recruited at the end of the first episode. Keiwa is the younger brother of Sara and he was a college student who had been looking for work with no success. 

 Yuno Hoshino as Neon Kurama/KR Nago.... She was also recruited at the end of the first episode and is the youngest Kamen Rider. Neon comes from a very wealthy family and until becoming a 'superhero' had been a very influential celebrity influencer, especially among high school girls.

 Kazuto Mokudai as Michinaga Azuma/KR Buffa(buffer).... Think the Buffa is actually short for Buffalo and he is as tough as one!

 Yamato Kinjo as Takeshi Gotokuji/KR Shiro.... In real life is a firefighter 

 Koji Abe as Morio Koganeya/KR Merry.... Bit of a playboy

 Tomoharu Hasegawa as Takahito Taira/KR Ginpen.... Is the personnel manager at an IT company that screens for future Kamen Riders. He himself will be a rider in the second episode and his reason for wanting to win is to help his severely sick son.

 The others of the cast, don't think many more will be added in

Kokoro Aoshima as Tsumuri.... Navigates the Grand Prix as far as figuring out the points and other tidbits go but don't know enough about her yet.

 Nene Shida as Sara Sakurai.... My main reason for watching this show! She's the older sister of the newest Kamen Rider Keiwa and works as an OL.

Episode one promo video

 Have always enjoyed these superhero/Kamen series immensely, have watched at least twenty of them but none for about three years. With the problem being they're just so long at close to fifty episodes, after twenty it begins to feel like a chore but every one I've viewed has been a winner. **So will admit this now which is that I won't be recapping the entire series. Who knows how many shows will be done, could be ten or perhaps twenty, not going to make any promises and will just go with the flow.

 These recaps are done a bit differently than regular dramas where I tend to go in chronological order of the events. It's been a while since I wrote one of these up but mainly just discuss what took place instead of explaining blow by blow. So the screenshots are important to also view, especially the action scenes. The screenwriter said he threw in some new ideas for this series. That's because there's been so many Kamen Rider shows over the years they've become less interesting and also less popular. Hopefully those new ideas are fresh and let's finally get to this recap, most won't be long though the first two often are to introduce the story and characters. The toughest part is done which is the above, that can take a while and I probably make it too detailed.

 Will often refer to a Kamen Rider as..... KR name in these recaps.

 Many of these Kamen Rider series have featured 'games' but this appears to be the most ultimate one to date. The name of it is Desire Grand Prix as it shows in the top screenshot. Know a bit about it after this first episode but am positive we'll be learning so much more about it as time goes on. It's a six month battle for the Kamen Riders, whoever gets the most amount of points wins. You accumulate them by killing the Earth's main enemy Jamato and that's another thing we'll be learning more about, You can also gets points by saving lives and other various acts of heroism, the main controller of the game is in the second screenshot and her name is Tsumuri. *****You have to remember an episode is only 23 minutes in length so there's so much we viewers aren't aware of after just one show.

 But it appears this six month Desire Grand Prix is about to come to it's conclusion. All Kamen Riders are in this contest which could also be considered a survival game, more on that as we go along. The winner will have a very special prize as they'll be rewarded with the right to bring an ideal world to life or a world they want to see exist. This six month contest appears to be a runaway with the victor being KR Geatz whose real name is Ace Ukiyo. This young man is an Ace as he is such a terrific fighter though can be a bit cocky at times. He doesn't like to waste energy and often shows up in the nick of time. KR Geatz is in the red above and the bottom screenshot was from the end of the show where the city(Tokyo?) was being rebuilt because he won the contest and what kind of world did he wish for? That we'll find out in the next show but there's still a few other details to explain and some more characters to meet. 

 That man in the second screenshot above is named Takahito Taira and it was the only scene we saw him in, it was near the beginning of the show. Despite being much older he too will be a Kamen Rider with the name of Ginpen. His goal for wanting to be a future rider is because his son in very ill and needs an operation. So by creating a new world he's hoping that means his son could be saved. Taira works at an IT company which does the screening for new Kamen Riders but he doesn't make the final selection, that may be Tsumuri. In the interview was who I think may become the main star/hero of this series who is Keiwa Sakurai, he's about 22 in age. Keiwa is still in college but has been seeking employment to no avail, he failed that interview too and nothing seems to work out well for him. In two of the screenshots above he's with his slightly older sister Sara(Nene) who works as an OL and seems to support him, don't know if they live together.

 Sara is a big fan of the young woman in the bottom screenshot who is Neon, more on her coming up. While Sara was treating her brother to lunch into the small shop came the creature above, a Jamato! Like all Sentai series there's one or two major leaders, who we haven't seen, for these aliens who always seem to multiply and there must be millions of them! This Jamato instantly killed the restaurant owner and then had his sights set on Keiwa, somehow a force field appeared around Sara saving her. Keiwa was able to flee into the street where the Jamato army was having their way with the citizens who were no match for the creatures. Eventually Keiwa was able to escape to an alley where also hiding there was Neon. She comes from a very wealthy family and is a very popular celeb influencer but she wants nothing more than to live a normal life. Unlike his sister Keiwa could care less about 'influencers' but for once wanted to be a hero and save Neon. That wasn't to be as the pair were quickly surrounded by an army of Jamatos, only a Kamen Rider has the weapons to destroy them!

 But to their rescue were the first two Kamen Riders we met, we haven't seen many of them yet. In that top screenshot on the left is KR Buffa which I think is short for Buffalo. On the right is KR Shiro who in real life is a firefighter, the pair quickly defeated the small Jamato army. But more were on the way and very soon killed in action was KR Shiro, his partner KR Buffa didn't seem to care at all for there was that contest going on, more points for him! As mentioned these Jamato creatures can multiply and before long there were thousands, arriving on the scene to save the day was KR Geats as he often makes a grand entrance. Which he did once again and to the fury of KR Buffa stole many of the points he could have gotten for killing Jamatos. Even if you don't win the grand prize there are many other awards, during this scene is when I realized it was the last day of this current six month contest. KR Geatz has the nickname of Ace and he showed why as even without help from KR Buffa was able to defeat the army which by this time included a flying castle(!) that you can see above. KR Geatz was also able to save Neon who was falling from a roof. Him saving a human is rare for there aren't as many points as there are for killing a Jamato!

 It'd take a whole post to describe all of the weapons the riders have but many are in the below screenshots such as a unique magnum shooter and a flying motorcycle. So with that win over the Jamatos KR Geatz has won the contest and what kind of new world has he wished for? Everything up until now will soon become a forgotten piece of the past as when he woke up the next day Keiwa wondered was everything he witnessed a dream? No it wasn't but anyone who was involved in the slightest in a contest would have their memories of it erased, that includes all of the Kamen Riders. So the next episode should begin off with a new contest or perhaps a training session for any new riders. That bottom screenshot above was from the final ten seconds while the credits were rolling. That's the game's manager Tsumuri who has invited Keiwa to be one of the new Kamen Riders, also with an invitation was Neon and with that the episode came to it's conclusion. Whew, you wouldn't think that much could take place in a 23 minute show and it did, even had to leave a few smallish details out. So do recommend viewing the screenshots for many of the action scenes and also to see some of the weapons, next post is the recap for the second episode.