Kamen Rider Geats (2022-2023) episode 1 “Daybreak F: Invitation to the Rider”
I watched the first five episodes of this show in raw Japanese last year, so it’s interesting to return to the program now after having consumed a bit of every other live action Japanese Kamen Rider series created. I was first introduced to Geats in Kamen Rider Revice the Movie: Battle Familia, where he makes a dramatic (and mostly nonsensical) cameo appearance. I was immediately intrigued and I loved his design and style—and I still do. In my opinion, Geats might be the coolest looking Rider of them all with his white fox design, awesome transformations, blistering fight choreography, and the exaggerated swagger of the hero, Ace Ukiyo.
The story centers at first on the brightly idealistic Keiwa Sakurai and his failed attempt to land a job. His supportive sister takes Sakurai out to eat his favorite food, tanuki soba (soba with fried tempura batter bits–“tanuki” is a kind of raccoon-like animal in Japan, and I am not sure what the connection is with fried tempura!). Just as the pair are about to chow down, though, a transparent energy barrier flies up between them, sealing off Sakurai in a battle zone where strange monk-like warriors burst into the restaurant and begin slaughtering innocents. Sakurai manages to escape with the assistance of two Kamen Riders (one themed after a polar bear, the other a bull). As the chaos intensifies, and one of the Riders is killed by a flying whale-castle kaiju, a third Rider arrives on his motorcycle—Kamen Rider Geats has made his entrance! Geats saves a YouTuber from a deadly fall, then shows off a series of acrobatic and astonishing fight moves, killing a whole team of battle monks in moments before turning his attention to the whale kaiju. Soon he is transforming into a powered up version of himself and jetting off on his hyper bike right into the kaiju’s nasty maw. The remaining bull Rider scoffs at Geats, but soon our hero comes riding out through the whale’s innards, blasting away vitals and killing the creature and gaining a boatload of points. You see, the Riders were competing in the Desire Grand Prix, and whoever wins the series of games will have one wish granted by some spectacular power overseeing the proceedings. With the game won, the next set of Riders are then invited for the next round—and that includes Sakurai and a whole mess of other individuals.
Ukiyo is one of the most mysterious protagonist Riders yet. We know almost nothing about him at the beginning, other than his extreme combat skills and self-confidence. Despite his detached air, he also seems concerned about saving individuals and making the world a better place—when the games conclude, the world resets, though some individuals may be dead and missing afterwards, but he still seems to want to rescue people. He could almost be a villain with a few tweaks, but I am glad they made such a non-standard eccentric as the lead.
The central gimmick feels like the classic CGI cartoon Reboot crossed with video-game-centric Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (which shares the main writer with this series) and Kamen Rider Ryuki with its army of competing Riders. The game/resetting world concept may have also been influenced by SSSS Gridman, which has some similar themes. As the series progresses and we encounter a gauntlet of varied game styles and objectives, the flexibility of the world-building becomes apparent—though with so many isekai anime exploring similar gameriffic territory, the show can feel a little unoriginal.
One nitpick: a big aspect of the series that comes to bear in the next few episodes is that for each game, the players are randomly granted certain weapons and power-ups… which is fine. I just find the look of the weapons very off-putting. They appear to be made of even cheaper plastic than the usual toy-centric designs that appear in these shows, practically appearing like faded plastic foam. They make the show feel much cheaper, which I think is disappointing, since while the CGI sequences can look gaudy and ridiculous, often the battles are a light-show ballet of fiery effects and impressive acrobatics.
So far, I like the action and costume design, dislike the weapons, find the characters a bit middling, and the concept enjoyable if a bit derivative. It’s enjoyable, but it doesn’t shake my world with excitement. Still, given that the show is currently in its weekly rounds, I am sorely tempted to catch up and watch it through to the climax!