"Kamen Rider Geats" series: Episode two 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.

Desire Grand Prix rules

 Not all about the game has been revealed yet but this is what's known after two episodes. The contest lasts for six months, during it a Kamen Rider gets points with the most being for killing the alien Jamatos. Points can also be earned for saving human lives and other acts of heroism but not as many as slaying a Jamato. At the end of the contest the winner gets to choose what kind of world he wants to see exist, check on Ace below to see his wish as he won the last contest. Once a contest ends any person involved will have their memories reset and know zero about the contest and Jamato army so that person can live their live in peace. If they return for another contest those memories will return. Will update this section too as we go along.

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. Ace had a very unique and selfish wish for his new world. It would be one where he would be the Star of Stars or in other words immensely popular and to say he has a huge ego would be an understatement!

 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, killed in the first episode and will we see him again?

 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 became 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.

Opening theme song 'Trust Last" video

 This turned out to be a better episode than the first one, helps knowing a bit more about what's going on. Also helped that the main story has begun which is a brand new Desire Grand Prix contest which may take up the next 40+ episodes! If you read that first recap was correct with most unknown details, sure we'll be learning more up until the final minute of the series. So added that section in above describing the rules of the game but as was mentioned twice in this episode not every rule has been revealed yet. Let's get to the action and for a change will be doing a Sentai recap like a regular drama as the story was mainly a chronological one, so much takes place in only a 23 minute show.

 For the Kamen Riders will be referring to them as KR name which makes it easier for me.

 Not too much Nene as Sara in this episode, her role won't be a large one. That's her in two above screenshots and her new Idol has changed from Neon in the first episode to Ace in this second. That's Ace in the top screenshot, as KR Geats he won the last Desire Grand Prix which means he can choose to live in any kind of world he desires. Peace may have been one of his wishes but his largest one was to be the world's Star of Stars! Which means he's become the world's most popular person and everywhere Ace goes he's fawned over by everyone, Ace does have a bit of an ego problem. Don't know why, perhaps because he won(?), Ace remembered most things about the last contest. Wondered about that for when a contest ends everyone involved has their memories reset and shouldn't remember anything about it. But if you're chosen for another Desire Grand Prix contest those memories will return and guess what, the new contest is about to begin!

 Sara's brother Keiwa wasn't a Kamen Rider but had been saved by a trio of them in the first show, he vaguely recalls a few incidents of the contest and he wondered was it a dream? Of course not and at the end of the first episode he was recruited by the game's manager/navigator Tsumuri who is in the bottom screenshot above. In that screenshot Tsumuri is surrounded by at least 25 others she's recruited to be a possible Kamen Rider, they're of all ages. One other recruit is the celeb influencer Neon who we met in the first show and she'll have a large role in this series. Returning to the contest is Ace as KR Geats, another returnee in KR Buffa along with one other person who we met in the first show whose name is Taira. He works at an IT company but that could be a front as in that first show he had been doing interviews for possible future Kamen Riders. 

 Above Tsumuri was telling the recruits all about the Desire Grand Prix contest but as mentioned she hasn't revealed everything. Of course the main winner will get to choose what kind of world they want to create and live in, all of the recruits wrote their wishes on a secret card. Every Kamen Rider needs special weapons and they have too many to list! Before the actual fighting begins these recruits need to earn some weapons and that will be through a Treasure Hunt. Not an easy hunt as they'll be battling the enemy aliens the Jamatos but during the hunt were they the real deal or just part of Tsumuri's secret force to train the recruits? The battle was on and there was no limit on how many weapons you could win. A Jamato creature is in possession of a weapon, defeat the enemy and that weapon will be yours! It wasn't a long affair but we could tell who was a decent fighter and who wasn't, of course the two Kamen Rider returnees obtained a weapon rather quickly and were on the hunt for more. 

 One person who was useless during the battle was Keiwa who I think may become the star of the series. He hates to fight and during this battle hid from the Jamatos but lucked out when one of the aliens dropped a weapon which he picked up, it's a powerful unit called a Booster Buckle. That skirmish wasn't too long for the recruits were all whisked back to Tsumuri's HQ. There's been a real invasion by the Jamato army and though they haven't been trained properly the new Kamen Riders needed to be pressed into action! But not all for you need a weapon to fight these 'brutal creatures' who in all honesty are very inept. So when that Treasure Hunt was interrupted only seven recruits had obtained a weapon, they'll be allowed to stay on but the other twenty were gone in the blink of an eye! So these seven will be the defenders of the Earth and for five of them it's on to their first war but for one will it be his last?

 In that top screenshot above Tsumuri does say it's a survival game so guess when a Jamato beats you your life has ended! In the screenshot after that shows Keiwa on right with a pinkish helmet, he's now KR Tycoon but soon ditched his uniform or should I say lost the ability to wear it. Each rider also has an animal 'personality' about them, KR Tycoon is a raccoon while the ace KR Geats is a fox as they are very sly! In the middle of that second screenshot is Neon who is now KR Nago, she's the only female of the seven and she'll have the personality of a cat. The oldest new rider is Taira and he got a powerful weapon which was an arrow shooter but what a strong one it was, it would shoot beams and not arrows. However he went up against a very mighty Jamato, guess a few of them are decent fighters. That's because he was able to disarm Taira who had become KR Gingen, he was beaten severely and to my surprise died so early on. His wish if he won the game was to save his son who had a life threatening disease, would a new world have cured the boy? We didn't see all of the riders in action but think all did well, that is except for KR Tycoon who just hates to fight, he could have helped KR Gingen out but just couldn't do it.

 But of course KR Geats thrives on fighting the Jamatos and was able to finally slay the creature who killed KR Gingen though it was a struggle. So much he asked to borrow KR Tycoon's Booster Buckle which increases your strength and makes any other weapon you have that much more powerful. We quickly learned you can't trust KR Geats as he'll do anything to win a battle and accumulate points. He wouldn't give KR Tycoon's weapon back and taking another rider's is allowed though you're not allowed to steal them. With that this first battle came to it's conclusion and KR Geats had won the most points. The object is to win the overall Grand Prix but there are rewards for these kinds of battles. Unknown to his fellow Kamen Riders KR Geats used that one wish to cure KR Gingen's son Naoto, perhaps he has more values than we thought. So that ends this episode and most of the action screenshots are right below. This is a fun series and though I don't think all fifty(?) shows will be recapped will try to do as many as possible. So will be back every other week with a pair of recaps and enjoyed this episode so much wish I didn't have to wait until the next show!